Richard de Grijs

Flattening and truncation of stellar discs in edge-on spiral galaxies

We analyse the global structure of the old stellar discs in 34 edge-on spiral galaxies. The radial and vertical exponential scale parameters of the discs are obtained by applying an improved two-dimensional decomposition technique to our I-band photometry. We find a clear increase in the disc scaleheight with maximum rotational velocity, in accordance with observations of the stellar velocity dispersions in galaxy discs. The range and maximum of the intrinsic flattening of the disc light seem to increase with both maximum rotational velocity and total H I mass. We use the disc flattening to estimate the disc contribution to the maximum rotational velocity, resulting in an average of 57 ± 22 per cent. The disc light distributions are further investigated for the presence of radial truncations. We find that the radial light distributions of at least 20 spirals are truncated, corresponding to 60 per cent of the sample. For small scalelength spirals, which are the most numerous in the local Universe, the results suggest that the average ratio of disc truncation radius to disc scalelength is at least four.

A Neutron Star with a Massive Progenitor in Westerlund 1

We report the discovery of an X-ray pulsar in the young, massive Galactic star cluster Westerlund 1. We detected a coherent signal from the brightest X-ray source in the cluster, CXO J164710.2–455216, during two Chandra observations on 2005 May 22 and June 18. The period of the pulsar is 10.6107(1) s. We place an upper limit to the period derivative of u P 1M⊙. Taken together, the properties of the pulsar indicate that it is a magnetar. The rarity of slow X-ray pulsars and the position of CXO J164710.2–455216 only 1.6 ′ from the core of Westerlund 1 indicates that it is a member of the cluster with >99.97% confidence. Westerlund 1 contains 07V stars with initial masses Mi�35M⊙ and >50 post-main-sequence stars that indicate the cluster is 4±1 Myr old. Therefore, the progenitor to this pulsar had an initial mass Mi>40M⊙. This is the most secure result among a handful of observational limits to the masses of the progenitors to neutron stars. Subject headings: X-rays: stars — neutron stars — open clusters and associations: individual (Westerlund 1)

Dynamical Mass Segregation on a Very Short Timescale

We discuss the observations and theory of star cluster formation to argue that clusters form dynamically cool (subvirial) and with substructure. We then perform an ensemble of simulations of cool, clumpy (fractal) clusters and show that they often dynamically mass segregate on timescales far shorter than expected from simple models. The mass segregation comes about through the production of a short-lived, but very dense core. This shows that in clusters like the Orion Nebula Cluster the stars ≥ 4 M ☉ can dynamically mass segregate within the current age of the cluster. Therefore, the observed mass segregation in apparently dynamically young clusters need not be primordial, but could be the result of rapid and violent early dynamical evolution.

The early dynamical evolution of cool, clumpy star clusters

Observations and theory both suggest that star clusters form sub-virial (cool) with highly sub-structured distributions. We perform a large ensemble of N-body simulations of moderate-sized (N = 1000) cool, fractal clusters to investigate their early dynamical evolution. We find that cool, clumpy clusters dynamically mass segregate on a short timescale, that Trapezium-like massive higher-order multiples are commonly formed, and that massive stars are often ejected from clusters with velocities > 10 km s−1 (c.f. the average escape velocity of 2.5 km s−1 ). The properties of clusters also change rapidly on very short timescales. Young clusters may also undergo core collapse events, in which a dense core containing massive stars is hardened due to energy losses to a halo of lower-mass stars. Such events can blow young clusters apart with no need for gas expulsion. The warmer and less substructured a cluster is initially, the less extreme its evolution.

Stellar populations and star cluster formation in interacting galaxies with the Advanced Camera for Surveys

Abstract Pixel-by-pixel colour–magnitude and colour–colour diagrams—based on a subset of the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys Early Release Observations—provide a powerful technique to explore and deduce the star and star cluster formation histories of the Mice and the Tadpole interacting galaxies. In each interacting system we find some 40 bright young star clusters (20≲F606W(mag)≲25, with a characteristic mass of ∼3×106 M⊙), which are spatially coincident with blue regions of active star formation in their tidal tails and spiral arms. We estimate that the main events triggering the formation of these clusters occurred ∼(1.5–2.0)×108 yr ago. We show that star cluster formation is a major mode of star formation in galaxy interactions, with ≳35% of the active star formation in encounters occurring in star clusters. This is the first time that young star clusters have been detected along the tidal tails in interacting galaxies. The tidal tail of the Tadpole system is dominated by blue star forming regions, which occupy some 60% of the total area covered by the tail and contribute ∼70% of the total flux in the F475W filter (decreasing to ∼40% in F814W). The remaining pixels in the tail have colours consistent with those of the main disk. The tidally triggered burst of star formation in the Mice is of similar strength in both interacting galaxies, but it has affected only relatively small, spatially coherent areas.

A Hubble Space Telescope Survey of the Mid-Ultraviolet Morphology of Nearby Galaxies*

(Abbreviated) We present an imaging survey of 37 nearby galaxies observed with HST/WFPC2 in the mid-UV F300W filter and in F814W. 11 galaxies were also imaged in F255W. These galaxies were selected to be detectable with WFPC2 in one orbit, and cover a wide range of Hubble types and inclinations. The mid-UV spans the gap between our groundbased optical/NIR images and far-UV images available from the Astro/UIT missions. Our first qualitative results are: (1) Early-type galaxies show a significant decrease in surface brightness going from the red to the mid-UV, and in some cases the presence of dust lanes. Some galaxies would be classified different when viewed in the mid-UV, some become dominated by a blue nuclear feature or point source. (2) Half of the mid-type spiral and star-forming galaxies appear as a later morphological type in the mid-UV, as Astro/UIT also found in the far-UV. Some- times these differences are dramatic. The mid-UV images show a considerable range in the scale and surface brightness of individual star-forming regions. Almost all mid-type spirals have their small bulges bi-sected by a dust-lane. (3) Most of the heterogeneous subset of late-type, irregular, peculiar, and merging galaxies display F300W morphologies that are similar to those seen in F814W, but with differences due to recognizable dust features absorbing the bluer light, and due to UV-bright hot stars, star-clusters, and star-forming ridges. In the rest-frame mid-UV, early- to mid-type galaxies are more likely to be misclassified as later types than vice versa. This morphological K-correction explains only part of the excess faint blue galaxies seen in deep HST fields.We present a systematic imaging survey of 37 nearby galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in the mid-UV F300W filter, centered at 2930 A, as well as in the I-band (F814W) filter at 8230 A. Eleven of these galaxies were also imaged in the F255W filter, centered at 2550 A. Our sample is carefully selected to include galaxies of sufficiently small radius and high predicted mid-UV surface brightness to be detectable with WFPC2 in one orbit and covers a wide range of Hubble types and inclinations. The mid-UV (2000-3200 A) spans the gap between ground-based UBVR(IJHK) images, which are available or were acquired for the current study, and far-UV images available from the Astro/UIT missions for 15 galaxies in our sample. The first qualitative results from our study are as follows:

Radially truncated galactic discs

We present the first results of a systematic analysis of radially truncated exponential discs for four galaxies of a complete sample of disc-dominated edge-on spiral galaxies. The discs of our sample galaxies are truncated at similar radii on either side of their centres. With the possible exception of the disc of ESO 416-G25, it appears that the truncations in our sample galaxies are closely symmetric, in terms of both their sharpness and the truncation length. However, the truncations occur over a larger region and not as abruptly as found in previous studies. We show that the truncated luminosity distributions of our sample galaxies, if also present in the mass distributions, comfortably meet the requirements for longevity. The formation and maintenance of disc truncations are probably closely related to stability requirements for galactic discs.

Diffuse, Nonthermal X-Ray Emission from the Galactic Star Cluster Westerlund 1

We present the diffuse X-ray emission identified in Chandra observations of the young, massive Galactic star cluster Westerlund 1. After removing pointlike X-ray sources down to a completeness limit of ≈ ergs s−1, we identify ergs s−1 (2–8 keV) of diffuse emission. The spatial distribution of the emission can be described as a slightly elliptical Lorentzian core with a half-width at half-maximum along the major axis of , similar to the distribution of point sources in the cluster, plus a 5 halo of extended emission. The spectrum of the diffuse emission is dominated by a hard continuum component that can be described as a keV thermal plasma that has a low iron abundance (0.3 solar) or as nonthermal emission that could be stellar light that is inverse Compton scattered by MeV electrons. Only 5% of the flux is produced by a keV plasma. The low luminosity of the thermal emission and the lack of a 6.7 keV iron line suggest that 40,000 unresolved stars with masses between 0.3 and 2 M are present in the cluster, fewer than previously estimated. Moreover, the flux in the diffuse emission is a factor of several lower than would be expected from a supersonically expanding cluster wind, and there is no evidence for thermal remnants produced by supernovae. Less than 10−5 of the mechanical luminosity of the cluster is dissipated as 2–8 keV X-rays, leaving a large amount of energy that either is radiated at other wavelengths, is dissipated beyond the bounds of our image, or escapes into the intergalactic medium.

Star cluster ‘infant mortality’ in the Small Magellanic Cloud (Redivivus)

The early evolution of star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) has been the subject of significant recent controversy, particularly regarding the importance and length of the earliest, largely mass-independent disruption phase (referred to as ‘infant mortality’). Here, we take a fresh approach to the problem, using an independent, homogeneous data set of UBVR imaging observations, from which we obtain the SMCs cluster age and mass distributions in a self-consistent manner. We conclude that the (optically selected) SMC star cluster population has undergone at most ∼30 per cent (1σ) infant mortality between the age range from about (3–10) Myr, to that of approximately (40–160) Myr. We rule out a 90 per cent cluster mortality rate per decade of age (for the full age range up to 109 yr) at a >6σ level. We independently affirm this scenario based on the age distribution of the SMC cluster sample.

The VMC survey - XIV : First results on the look-back time star formation rate tomography of the Small Magellanic Cloud

We analyse deep images from the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds in the YJKs filters, covering 14 sqrdeg (10 tiles), split into 120 subregions, and comprising the main body and Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We apply a colour--magnitude diagram reconstruction method that returns their best-fitting star formation rate SFR(t), age-metallicity relation (AMR), distance and mean reddening, together with 68% confidence intervals. The distance data can be approximated by a plane tilted in the East-West direction with a mean inclination of 39 deg, although deviations of up to 3 kpc suggest a distorted and warped disk. After assigning to every observed star a probability of belonging to a given age-metallicity interval, we build high-resolution population maps. These dramatically reveal the flocculent nature of the young star-forming regions and the nearly smooth features traced by older stellar generations. They document the formation of the SMC Wing at ages <0.2 Gyr and the peak of star formation in the SMC Bar at 40 Myr. We clearly detect periods of enhanced star formation at 1.5 Gyr and 5 Gyr. The former is possibly related to a new feature found in the AMR, which suggests ingestion of metal-poor gas at ages slightly larger than 1 Gyr. The latter constitutes a major period of stellar mass formation. We confirm that the SFR(t) was moderately low at even older ages.