arXiv subjects

Soung-Chul Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Soung-Chul Yang.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

HST/WFPC2 Imaging of the Dwarf Satellites And XI and And XIII : HB Morphology and RR Lyraes

We present a study of the stellar populations in two faint M31 dwarf satellites, Andromeda XI and Andromeda XIII. Using archival images from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we characterize the horizontal branch (HB) morphologies and the RR Lyrae (RRL) populations of these two faint dwarf satellites. Our new template light curve fitting routine (RRFIT) has been used to detect and characterize RRL populations in both galaxies. The mean periods of RRab (RR0) stars in And XI and And XIII are $ $=0.621 $\pm$ 0.026 (error1) $\pm$ 0.022 (error2), and $ $=0.648 $\pm$ 0.026 (error1) $\pm$ 0.022 (error2) respectively, where "error1" represents the standard error of the mean, while "error2" is based on our synthetic light curve simulations. The RRL populations in these galaxies show a lack of RRab stars with high amplitudes ($Amp(V) > 1.0 $ mag) and relatively short periods ($P_{ab}$ $\sim$ 0.5 days), yet their period -- V band amplitude (P-Amp(V)) relations track the relation defined by the M31 field halo RRL populations at $\sim$ 11 kpc from the center of M31. The metallicities of the RRab stars are calculated via a relationship between [Fe/H], Log P$_{ab}$, and Amp(V). The resultant abundances ($[Fe/H]_{And XI}=-1.75$; $[Fe/H]_{And XIII}=-1.74$) are consistent with the values calculated from the RGB slope indicating that our measurements are not significantly affected by RRL evolutionary away from the zero age horizontal branch. The distance to each galaxy, based on the absolute V magnitudes of the RRab stars, is $(m-M)_{0,V}$=24.33 $\pm$ 0.05 for And XI and $(m-M)_{0,V}$=24.62 $\pm$ 0.05 for And XIII. We discuss the origins of And XI and And XIII based on a comparative analysis of the luminosity-metallicity (L-M) relation of Local Group dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

RR Lyrae Variables in the Local Group Dwarf Galaxy NGC 147

We investigate the RR Lyrae population in NGC 147, a dwarf satellite galaxy of M31 (Andromeda). We used both Thuan-Gunn g-band ground-based photometry from the literature and Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 archival data in the F555W and F814W passbands to investigate the pulsation properties of RR Lyrae variable candidates in NGC 147. These datasets represent the two extreme cases often found in RR Lyrae studies with respect to the phase coverage of the observations and the quality of the photometric measurements. Extensive artificial variable star tests for both cases were performed. We conclude that neither dataset is sufficient to confidently determine the pulsation properties of the NGC 147 RR Lyraes. Thus, while we can assert that NGC 147 contains RR Lyrae variables, and therefore a population older than ~10 Gyr, it is not possible at this time to use the pulsation properties of these RR Lyraes to study other aspects of this old population. Our results provide a good reference for gauging the completeness of RR Lyrae variable detection in future studies.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2008

Globular Clusters in the Outer Galactic Halo: AM-1 and Palomar 14

AM-1, at ~120 kpc, and Pal 14, at ~70 kpc, are two of the most distant Galactic globular clusters known. We present Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 photometry of AM-1 and Pal 14 that reveals unprecedented depth and detail in the color-magnitude diagrams of these two clusters. Absolute and relative age measurements confirm that both are younger than the inner halo globular cluster M 3 by 1.5-2 Gyr, assuming all three clusters have similar compositions. Thus AM-1 and Pal 14 join Pal 3, Pal 4, and Eridanus (studied by Stetson et al.) as distant Galactic globular clusters with red horizontal branches and young ages relative to the inner halo. Within the context of the entire body of research on the ages of second parameter globular clusters, the observed correlation between age and horizontal branch morphology suggests that age is the best candidate for the second parameter. However, this conclusion is tempered by the lack of precise chemical abundance determinations for a significant fraction of second parameter globular clusters.

astro-ph↗