arXiv subjects

Thomas M. Brown

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas M. Brown.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Transiting extrasolar planetary candidates in the Galactic bulge

More than 200 extrasolar planets have been discovered around relatively nearby stars, primarily through the Doppler line shifts owing to the reflex motions of their host stars, and more recently through transits of some planets across the face of the host stars. The detection of planets with the shortest known periods, 1.2 to 2.5 days, has mainly resulted from transit surveys which have generally targeted stars more massive than 0.75 M_sun. Here we report the results from a planetary transit search performed in a rich stellar field towards the Galactic bulge. We discovered 16 candidates with orbital periods between 0.4 and 4.2 days, five of which orbit stars of 0.44 to 0.75 M_sun. In two cases, radial-velocity measurements support the planetary nature of the companions. Five candidates have orbital periods below 1.0 day, constituting a new class of ultra-short-period planets (USPPs), which occur only around stars of less than 0.88 M_sun. This indicates that those orbiting very close to more luminous stars might be evaporatively destroyed, or that jovian planets around lower-mass stars might migrate to smaller radii.

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arXiv2005

Deep Photometry of Andromeda Reveals Striking Similarities in the Tidal Stream and Spheroid Populations

We present a color-magnitude diagram (CMD) for a field in the giant tidal stream of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). These observations, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope, are 50% complete at V~30 mag, reaching 1 mag below the oldest main-sequence turnoff. Striking similarities between the stream and a previous spheroid CMD imply they have very similar age and metallicity distributions, but present something of an enigma; we speculate on possible interpretations of this result, but note that none are without problems. Distinct multiple turnoffs, as might be expected from pulses of star formation caused by interaction with Andromeda, are not apparent in the stream CMD. Star formation in both fields lasted about 6 billion years, building up to relatively high metallicities and being largely complete 6 billion years ago. The close similarity of the spheroid and stream suggests that both may have derived from the same event; it would be worth exploring to what extent stars in these structures are the remnants of a disk galaxy that interacted with M31, or even were disrupted from the M31 disk itself by the interaction.

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arXiv2005

Stellar Cluster Fiducial Sequences with the Advanced Camera for Surveys

We present color-magnitude diagrams of five Galactic globular clusters and one Galactic open cluster spanning a wide range of metallicity (-2.1 < [Fe/H] < +0.3), as observed in the F606W (broad V) and F814W (I) bands with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. These clusters are part of two large ACS programs measuring the star formation history in the Andromeda halo, tidal stream, and outer disk. In these programs, the clusters serve as empirical isochrones and as calibrators for the transformation of theoretical isochrones to the ACS bandpasses. To make these data more accessible to the community, for each cluster, we provide a ridge line tracing the stars on the main sequence, subgiant branch, and red giant branch, plus the locus of stars on the horizontal branch. In addition, we provide the transformation of the Victoria-Regina isochrones to the ACS bandpasses.

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arXiv2004

Age Constraints for an M31 Globular Cluster from Main Sequence Photometry

We present a color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the globular cluster SKHB-312 in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster was included in deep observations taken to measure the star formation history of the M31 halo. Overcoming a very crowded field, our photometry of SKHB-312 reaches V ~ 30.5 mag, more than 1 mag below the main sequence turnoff. These are the first observations to allow a direct age estimate from the turnoff in an old M31 cluster. We analyze its CMD and luminosity function using a finely-spaced grid of isochrones that have been calibrated using observations of Galactic clusters taken with the same camera and filters. The luminosity difference between the subgiant and horizontal branches is ~0.2 mag smaller in SKHB-312 than in the Galactic clusters 47 Tuc and NGC 5927, implying SKHB-312 is 2-3 Gyr younger. A quantitative comparison to isochrones yields an age of 10 +2.5/-1 Gyr.

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arXiv2004

Star Formation Histories in the Local Group

Deep color magnitude diagrams extending to the main sequence provide the most direct measure of the detailed star formation history in a stellar population. With large investments of observing time, HST can obtain such data for populations out to 1 Mpc, but its field of view is extremely small in comparison to the size of Local Group galaxies. This limitation severely constrains our understanding of galaxy formation. For example, the largest galaxy in the Local Group, Andromeda, offers an ideal laboratory for studying the formation of large spiral galaxies, but the galaxy shows substructure on a variety of scales, presumably due to its violent merger history. Within its remaining lifetime, HST can only sample a few sight-lines through this complex galaxy. In contrast, a wide field imager could provide a map of Andromeda's halo, outer disk, and tidal streams, revealing the spatially-dependent star formation history in each structure. The same data would enable many secondary studies, such as the age variation in Andromeda's globular cluster system, gigantic samples of variable stars, and microlensing tracers of the galaxy's dark matter distribution.

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arXiv2004

RR Lyrae Stars in the Andromeda Halo from Deep Imaging with the Advanced Camera for Surveys

We present a complete census of RR Lyrae stars in a halo field of the Andromeda galaxy. These deep observations, taken as part of a program to measure the star formation history in the halo, spanned a period of 41 days with sampling on a variety of time scales, enabling the identification of short and long period variables. Although the long period variables cannot be fully characterized within the time span of this program, the enormous advance in sensitivity provided by the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope allows accurate characterization of the RR Lyrae population in this field. We find 29 RRab stars with a mean period of 0.594 days, 25 RRc stars with a mean period of 0.316 days, and 1 RRd star with a fundamental period of 0.473 days and a first overtone period of 0.353 days. These 55 RR Lyrae stars imply a specific frequency S_RR=5.6, which is large given the high mean metallicity of the halo, but not surprising given that these stars arise from the old, metal-poor tail of the distribution. This old population in the Andromeda halo cannot be clearly placed into one of the Oosterhoff types: the ratio of RRc/RRabc stars is within the range seen in Oosterhoff II globular clusters, the mean RRab period is in the gap between Oosterhoff types, and the mean RRc period is in the range seen in Oosterhoff I globular clusters. The periods of these RR Lyraes suggest a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.6, while their brightness implies a distance modulus to Andromeda of 24.5+/-0.1, in good agreement with the Cepheid distance.

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arXiv2003

The Rapidly Rotating, Hydrogen Deficient, Hot Post-Asymptotic Giant Branch Star ZNG 1 in the Globular Cluster M5

We report observations of the hot post-asymptotic giant branch star ZNG 1 in the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). From the resulting spectrum, we derive an effective temperature T_eff = 44300 +/- 300 K, a surface gravity log g = 4.3 +/- 0.1, a rotational velocity v sin i = 170 +/- 20 km/s, and a luminosity log (L/L_sun) = 3.52 +/- 0.04. The atmosphere is helium-rich (Y = 0.93), with enhanced carbon (2.6% by mass), nitrogen (0.51%) and oxygen (0.37%) abundances. The spectrum shows evidence for a wind with terminal velocity near 1000 km/s and an expanding shell of carbon- and nitrogen-rich material around the star. The abundance pattern of ZNG 1 is suggestive of the ``born-again'' scenario, whereby a star on the white-dwarf cooling curve undergoes a very late shell flash and returns to the AGB, but the star's rapid rotation is more easily explained by a previous interaction with a binary companion.

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arXiv2003

Flash Mixing on the White Dwarf Cooling Curve: FUSE Observations of three He-rich sdB Stars

We present FUSE spectra of 3 He-rich sdB stars. Two of these stars, PG1544+488 and JL87, reveal extremely strong C III lines at 977 and 1176A, while the carbon lines are quite weak in the third star, LB1766. We have analyzed the FUSE data using TLUSTY NLTE line-blanketed model atmospheres, and find that PG1544+488 has a surface composition of 96% He, 2% C, and 1% N. JL87 shows a similar surface enrichment of carbon and nitrogen, but some significant fraction of hydrogen still remains in its atmosphere. LB1766 has a surface composition devoid of hydrogen and strongly depleted of carbon, indicating that its surface material has undergone CN-cycle processing. We interpret these observations with new evolutionary calculations which suggest that He-rich sdB stars with C-rich compositions are the progeny of stars which underwent a delayed He-core flash on the white-dwarf cooling curve. During such a flash the interior convection zone will penetrate into the H envelope, thereby mixing the envelope with the He- and C-rich core. Such `flash-mixed' stars will arrive on the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) with He- and C-rich surface compositions and will be hotter than the hottest canonical (i.e., unmixed) EHB stars. Two types of flash mixing are possible: `deep' and `shallow', depending on whether the H envelope is mixed deeply into the site of the He flash or only with the outer layers of the core. Based on both their stellar parameters and surface compositions, we suggest that PG1544+488 and JL87 are examples of `deep' and `shallow' flash mixing, respectively. Flash mixing may therefore represent a new evolutionary channel for producing the hottest EHB stars. However, flash mixing cannot explain the abundance pattern in LB1766, which remains a challenge to current evolutionary models.

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arXiv2003

The UV Upturn: From M32 to Distant Clusters

I review the observational constraints on the stars responsible for the upturn in the UV spectra of ellipticals, ranging from galaxies in the local Universe to distant clusters. In nearby galaxies, this UV upturn is produced by a minority population of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars, with the large variations observed in the UV-to-optical flux ratio driven by variations in the number of EHB stars, and not the type of UV-bright stars. Deep UV images of the nearest elliptical galaxy, M32, show that it has a well-populated EHB, even though it has the weakest UV upturn of any known elliptical galaxy. However, M32 suffers from a striking dearth of the hot post-HB stars expected from canonical evolutionary theory. As we observe to larger lookback times in more distant galaxy clusters, the UV upturn fades, as predicted by theories of stellar and galactic evolution, but does so gradually. Because the EHB stars do not appear suddenly in the Universe, their presence is likely driven by a large dispersion in the parameters that govern HB morphology.

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arXiv2003

Evidence for Flash Mixing in He-rich sdB Stars

We present FUSE spectra of three He-rich sdB stars. Two of these stars, PG1544+488 and JL87, reveal extremely strong C III lines, suggesting that they have mixed triple-alpha carbon from the deep interior out to their surfaces. Using TLUSTY NLTE line-blanketed model atmospheres, we find that PG1544+488 has a surface composition of 96% He, 2% C, and 1% N. JL87 shows a similar surface enrichment of C and N but still retains a significant amount of hydrogen. In contrast, the third star, LB1766, is devoid of hydrogen and strongly depleted of carbon, indicating that its surface material has undergone CN-cycle processing. We interpret these observations with new evolutionary calculations which suggest that He-rich sdB stars with C-rich compositions arise from a delayed helium-core flash on the white-dwarf cooling curve. During such a flash the interior convection zone will penetrate into the stellar envelope, thereby mixing the envelope with the He- and C-rich core. Such "flash-mixed" stars will arrive on the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) with He- and C-rich surface compositions and will be hotter than the hottest canonical EHB stars. Two types of flash mixing are possible: "deep" and "shallow", depending on whether the hydrogen envelope is mixed deeply into the site of the helium flash or only with the outer layers of the core. Based on both their stellar parameters and surface compositions, we suggest that PG1544+488 and JL87 are examples of "deep" and "shallow" flash mixing, respectively.

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arXiv2003

The Star Formation History in the Andromeda Halo

I present the preliminary results of a program to measure the star formation history in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy. Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope, we obtained the deepest optical images of the sky to date, in a field on the southeast minor axis of Andromeda, 51 arcmin (11 kpc) from the nucleus. The resulting color-magnitude diagram (CMD) contains approximately 300,000 stars and extends more than 1.5 mag below the main sequence turnoff, with 50% completeness at V=30.7 mag. We interpret this CMD using comparisons to ACS observations of five Galactic globular clusters through the same filters, and through chi-squared fitting to a finely-spaced grid of calibrated stellar population models. We find evidence for a major (approximately 30%) intermediate-age (6-8 Gyr) metal-rich ([Fe/H] > -0.5) population in the Andromeda halo, along with a significant old metal-poor population akin to that in the Milky Way halo. The large spread in ages suggests that the Andromeda halo formed as a result of a more violent merging history than that in our own Milky Way.

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arXiv2003

Evidence for a Significant Intermediate-Age Population in the M31 Halo from Main Sequence Photometry

We present a color-magnitude diagram (CMD) for a minor-axis field in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), 51 arcmin (11 kpc) from the nucleus. These observations, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope, are the deepest optical images yet obtained, attaining 50% completeness at V = 30.7 mag. The CMD, constructed from approximately 300,000 stars, reaches more than 1.5 mag fainter than the old main-sequence turnoff. Our analysis is based on direct comparisons to ACS observations of four globular clusters through the same filters, as well as chi-squared fitting to a finely-spaced grid of calibrated stellar-population models. We find that the M31 halo contains a major (approximately 30% by mass) intermediate-age (6-8 Gyr) metal-rich ([Fe/H] > -0.5) population, as well as a significant globular-cluster age (11-13.5 Gyr) metal-poor population. These findings support the idea that galaxy mergers played an important role in the formation of the M31 halo.

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arXiv2003

Far-Ultraviolet Emission from Elliptical Galaxies at z=0.33

We present far-ultraviolet (far-UV) images of the rich galaxy cluster ZwCl1358.1+6245, taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). When combined with archival HST observations, our data provide a measurement of the UV-to-optical flux ratio in 8 early-type galaxies at z=0.33. Because the UV flux originates in a population of evolved, hot, horizontal branch (HB) stars, this ratio is potentially one of the most sensitive tracers of age in old populations -- it is expected to fade rapidly with lookback time. We find that the UV emission in these galaxies, at a lookback time of 3.9 Gyr, is significantly weaker than it is in the current epoch, yet similar to that in galaxies at a lookback time of 5.6 Gyr. Taken at face value, these measurements imply different formation epochs for the massive ellipticals in these clusters, but an alternative explanation is a "floor" in the UV emission due to a dispersion in the parameters that govern HB morphology.

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arXiv2002

The Hubble Deep Field South Flanking Fields

As part of the Hubble Deep Field South program, a set of shorter 2-orbit observations were obtained of the area adjacent to the deep fields. The WFPC2 flanking fields cover a contiguous solid angle of 48 square arcminutes. Parallel observations with the STIS and NICMOS instruments produce a patchwork of additional fields with optical and near-infrared (1.6 micron) response. Deeper parallel exposures with WFPC2 and NICMOS were obtained when STIS observed the NICMOS deep field. These deeper fields are offset from the rest, and an extended low surface brightness object is visible in the deeper WFPC2 flanking field. In this data paper, which serves as an archival record of the project, we discuss the observations and data reduction, and present SExtractor source catalogs and number counts derived from the data. Number counts are broadly consistent with previous surveys from both ground and space. Among other things, these flanking field observations are useful for defining slit masks for spectroscopic follow-up over a wider area around the deep fields, for studying large-scale structure that extends beyond the deep fields, for future supernova searches, and for number counts and morphological studies, but their ultimate utility will be defined by the astronomical community.

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arXiv2002

Isolating Clusters with Wolf-Rayet Stars in I Zw 18

We present UV images and spectra of the starburst galaxy I Zw 18, taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The high spatial resolution of these data allows us to isolate clusters containing Wolf-Rayet stars of the subtype WC. Our far-UV spectra clearly show CIV 1548,1551 and HeII 1640 emission of WC stars in two clusters: one within the bright (NW) half of I Zw 18, and one on the outskirts of this region. The latter spectrum is unusual, because the CIV is seen only in emission, indicating a spectrum dominated by WC stars. These data also demonstrate that the HI column in I Zw 18 is strongly peaked in the fainter (SE) half of I Zw 18, with a column depth far larger than that reported in previous analyses.

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arXiv2002

A New Formation Mechanism for the Hottest Horizontal-Branch Stars

Stars with very large mass loss on the red-giant branch can undergo the helium flash while descending the white-dwarf cooling curve. Under these conditions the flash convection zone will mix the hydrogen envelope with the hot helium- burning core. Such ``flash-mixed'' stars will arrive on the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) with helium- and carbon-rich envelopes and will lie at higher temperatures than the hottest canonical (i.e., unmixed) EHB stars. Flash mixing provides a new evolutionary channel for populating the hot end of the EHB and may explain the origin of the high gravity, helium-rich sdO and sdB stars.

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arXiv2002

Using M32 to Study Rapid Phases of Stellar Evolution

The compact elliptical galaxy M32 offers a unique testing ground for theories of stellar evolution. Because of its proximity, solar-blind UV observations can resolve the hot evolved stars in its center. Some of these late evolutionary phases are too rapid to study adequately in globular clusters, and their study in the Galactic field is often complicated by uncertainties in distance and reddening. Using the UV cameras on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, we have obtained a deep color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the M32 center. Although the hot horizontal branch is well-detected, our CMD shows a striking scarcity of the brighter post-asymptotic giant branch (PAGB) and post-early AGB stars expected for a population of this size. This dearth suggests that the evolution to the white dwarf phase may be much more rapid than that predicted by canonical evolutionary tracks for low-mass stars.

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arXiv2002

100 Times Faster and 3 Times Sharper: Background-Dominated Observations of Stellar Populations with an 8-meter Optical-UV Space Telescope

An 8 m successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) would make incredible gains in the study of stellar populations, especially in the Local Group. If diffraction-limited at 0.5 microns, the "Next HST" could produce high-resolution imaging of faint sources over a wide field in 1 percent of the time needed with the HST. With these capabilities, photometry of the ancient main sequence could be obtained for many sight-lines through Local Group galaxies, thus determining directly the ages of their structures and providing a formation history for the Local Group populations.

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