scholarly journals Low-metallicity (sub-SMC) massive stars

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S329) ◽  
pp. 313-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Garcia ◽  
Artemio Herrero ◽  
Francisco Najarro ◽  
Inés Camacho ◽  
Daniel J. Lennon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Group ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
High Redshift Universe ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Review Current

AbstractThe double distance and metallicity frontier marked by the SMC has been finally broken with the aid of powerful multi-object spectrographs installed at 8-10m class telescopes. VLT, GTC and Keck have enabled studies of massive stars in dwarf irregular galaxies of the Local Group with poorer metal-content than the SMC. The community is working to test the predictions of evolutionary models in the low-metallicity regime, set the new standard for the metal-poor high-redshift Universe, and test the extrapolation of the physics of massive stars to environments of decreasing metallicity. In this paper, we review current knowledge on this topic.

scholarly journals Identification of dusty massive stars in star-forming dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group with mid-IR photometry

2015 ◽  
Vol 584 ◽  
pp. A33 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Britavskiy ◽  
A. Z. Bonanos ◽  
A. Mehner ◽  
M. L. Boyer ◽  
K. B. W. McQuinn
Keyword(s):  
Local Group ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Ir Photometry

scholarly journals Massive Stars at High Redshifts

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S250) ◽  
pp. 415-428
Author(s):  
Max Pettini
Keyword(s):  
Massive Stars ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Spectra ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
High Redshift Universe

AbstractThe five years that have passed since the last IAU Symposium devoted to massive stars have seen a veritable explosion of data on the high redshift universe. The tools developed to study massive stars in nearby galaxies are finding increasing application to the analysis of the spectra of star-forming regions at redshifts as high as z = 7. In this brief review, I consider three topics of relevance to this symposium: the determination of the metallicities of galaxies at high redshifts from consideration of their ultraviolet stellar spectra; constraints on the initial mass function of massive stars in galaxies at z = 2 − 3; and new clues to the nucleosynthesis of carbon and nitrogen in massive stars of low metallicity. The review concludes with a look ahead at some of the questions that may occupy us for the next five years (at least!).

scholarly journals Testing Evolutionary Models of Dwarf Irregular Galaxies through Gas and Stellar Metallicity Determinations in HII Galaxies

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 254-254
Author(s):  
Pieter Westera ◽  
François Cuisinier ◽  
Didier Curty ◽  
Roland Buser
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Line Strength ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Homogeneous Sample ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

AbstractDwarf irregular galaxies are usually low-metallicity objects, and show ongoing or very recent star formation, giving rise to their irregular appearance. Especially HII galaxies, a sub-category of dwarf irregulars showing unusually high star formation activity, are believed to be among the least evolved galaxies in existence today. Therefore, they are very interesting objects for studies of early galaxy evolution and of metallicity enrichment mechanisms.Several groups have developed theoretical evolutionary models of galaxies of this type, describing different possible formation and evolutionary scenarii, and varying factors such as gas infall and outflow, as well as the star formation history, and making predictions about their chemical evolution. One way to evaluate these models is by determining the metallicities of the different components of these galaxies, their gas and stars.We examine a sample of HII galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which possibly contains the largest homogeneous sample of HII galaxy spectra to date. Using very restrictive selection criteria, which guarantee a sample of high quality spectra and avoid “contamination” by spectra of objects of other nature, we defined a sample of ∼ 700 HII galaxies spectra.Through emission line strength calibrations and a detailed stellar population synthesis, we determined the metallicities of both the gas and the stellar content of these galaxies.For HII galaxies up to stellar masses of 5 × 109M⊙, we find enrichment mechanisms not to vary with galactic mass, being the same for low- and high-mass galaxies on average. They do seem to present a greater variety at the high-mass end, though, indicating a more complex assembly history. Our results favour galaxy evolutionary models featuring constantly infalling low-metallicity clouds that retain part of the galactic winds. Above 5 × 109M⊙ stellar mass, the retention of high metallicity gas by the galaxies' gravitational potential dominates.I would like to thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do São Paulo (FAPESP) for financial support.

scholarly journals Luminous Infrared Sources in the Local Group: Identifying the Missing Links in Massive Star Evolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (S307) ◽  
pp. 92-93
Author(s):  
N. Britavskiy ◽  
A. Z. Bonanos ◽  
A. Mehner
Keyword(s):  
Massive Star ◽  
Local Group ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Star Evolution ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Nearby Galaxies ◽  
Massive Star Evolution ◽  
Infrared Sources ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

AbstractWe present the first systematic survey of dusty massive stars (RSGs, LBVs, sgB[e]) in nearby galaxies, with the goal of understanding their importance in massive star evolution. Using the fact that these stars are bright in mid-infrared colors due to dust, we provide a technique for selecting and identifying dusty evolved stars based on the results of Bonanos et al. (2009, 2010), Britavskiy et al. (2014), and archival Spitzer/IRAC photometry. We present the results of our spectroscopic follow-up of luminous infrared sources in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies: Pegasus, Phoenix, Sextans A and WLM. The survey aims to complete the census of dusty massive stars in the Local Group.

scholarly journals Physical parameters of red supergiants in dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group

2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A95 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Britavskiy ◽  
A. Z. Bonanos ◽  
A. Herrero ◽  
M. Cerviño ◽  
D. García-Álvarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Group ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Agb Stars ◽  
Ic 10 ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Red Supergiants ◽  
Effective Temperatures ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Fundamental Physical

Context. Increasing the statistics of evolved massive stars in the Local Group enables investigating their evolution at different metallicities. During the late stages of stellar evolution, the physics of some phenomena, such as episodic and systematic mass loss, are not well constrained. For example, the physical properties of red supergiants (RSGs) in different metallicity regimes remain poorly understood. Thus, we initiated a systematic study of RSGs in dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs) in the Local Group. Aims. We aim to derive the fundamental physical parameters of RSGs and characterize the RSG population in nearby dIrrs. Methods. The target selection is based on 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm photometry from archival Spitzer Space Telescope images of nearby galaxies. We selected 46 targets in the dIrrs IC 10, IC 1613, Sextans B, and the Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte (WLM) galaxy that we observed with the GTC–OSIRIS and VLT–FORS2 instruments. We used several photometric techniques together with a spectral energy distribution analysis to derive the luminosities and effective temperatures of known and newly discovered RSGs. Results. We identified and spectroscopically confirmed 4 new RSGs, 5 previously known RSGs, and 5 massive asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We added known objects from previous observations. In total, we present spectral classification and fundamental physical parameters of 25 late-type massive stars in the following dIrrs: Sextans A, Sextans B, IC 10, IC 1613, Pegasus, Phoenix, and WLM. This includes 17 RSGs and 8 AGB stars that have been identified here and previously. Conclusions. Based on our observational results and PARSEC evolutionary models, we draw the following conclusions: (i) a trend to higher minimum effective temperatures at lower metallicities and (ii) the maximum luminosity of RSGs appears to be constant at log(L/L⊙)≈5.5, independent of the metallicity of the host environment (up to [Fe/H] ≈ −1 dex).

scholarly journals Dense Cloud Cores revealed by ALMA CO observations in the low metallicity dwarf galaxy WLM

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S321) ◽  
pp. 229-231
Author(s):  
M. Rubio ◽  
B. Elmegreen ◽  
D. Hunter ◽  
J. Cortes ◽  
E. Brinks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Group ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Irregular Galaxy ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Co Detection ◽  
Cloud Cores ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Co Observations

AbstractUnderstanding stellar birth requires observations of the clouds in which they form. These clouds are dense and self-gravitating, and in all existing observations, they are molecular with H2 the dominant species and CO the best available. When the abundances of carbon and oxygen are low compared to hydrogen, and the opacity from dust is also low, as in primeval galaxies and local dwarf irregular galaxies CO forms slowly and is easily destroyed, so it cannot accumulate inside dense clouds. Then we lose our ability to trace the gas in regions of star formation and we lose critical information on the temperatures, densities, and velocities of the material that collapses. I will report on high resolution observations with ALMA of CO clouds in the local group dwarf irregular galaxy WLM, which has a metallicity that is 13% of the solar value and 50% lower than the previous CO detection threshold and the properties derived of very small dense CO clouds mapped..

scholarly journals Mass loss and evolution of massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds

1991 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 480-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Leitherer ◽  
Norbert Langer
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Iterative Procedure ◽  
Metal Content ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Self Consistency

The structure and evolution of massive stars is significantly influenced by effects of chemical composition in a low-metallicity environment (as compared to the solar neighbourhood, SN), such as the Magellanic Clouds. A fundamental ingredient in evolutionary models is the stellar mass-loss rate M. Lower metal content decreases the mass-loss rates derived theoretically, which in turn affects the stellar evolution models. On the other hand, different evolutionary models predict different stellar parameters (especially L), which again influence M so that an iterative procedure is required to achieve self-consistency.

scholarly journals Extremely metal-poor galaxies with HST/COS: laboratories for models of low-metallicity massive stars and high-redshift galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (3) ◽  
pp. 3492-3506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Senchyna ◽  
Daniel P Stark ◽  
Jacopo Chevallard ◽  
Stéphane Charlot ◽  
Tucker Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Massive Stars ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Uv Spectra ◽  
High Redshift Galaxies ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
High Ionization ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Nearby Galaxies

Abstract Ultraviolet (UV) observations of local star-forming galaxies have begun to establish an empirical baseline for interpreting the rest-UV spectra of reionization-era galaxies. However, existing high-ionization emission line measurements at z > 6 ($\rm W_{C\, {\scriptscriptstyle IV},0}{} \gtrsim 20$ Å) are uniformly stronger than observed locally ($\rm W_{C\, {\scriptscriptstyle IV},0}{} \lesssim 2$ Å), likely due to the relatively high metallicities (Z/Z$\odot$ > 0.1) typically probed by UV surveys of nearby galaxies. We present new HST/COS spectra of six nearby (z < 0.01) extremely metal-poor galaxies (XMPs, Z/Z$\odot$ ≲ 0.1) targeted to address this limitation and provide constraints on the highly uncertain ionizing spectra powered by low-metallicity massive stars. Our data reveal a range of spectral features, including one of the most prominent nebular C iv doublets yet observed in local star-forming systems and strong He ii emission. Using all published UV observations of local XMPs to date, we find that nebular C iv emission is ubiquitous in very high specific star formation rate systems at low metallicity, but still find equivalent widths smaller than those measured in individual lensed systems at z > 6. Our moderate-resolution HST/COS data allow us to conduct an analysis of the stellar winds in a local nebular C iv emitter, which suggests that some of the tension with z > 6 data may be due to existing local samples not yet probing sufficiently high α/Fe abundance ratios. Our results indicate that C iv emission can play a crucial role in the JWST and ELT era by acting as an accessible signpost of very low metallicity (Z/Z$\odot$ < 0.1) massive stars in assembling reionization-era systems.

scholarly journals Chemical abundances of massive stars in Local Group galaxies

2003 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim A. Venn ◽  
Andreas Kaufer ◽  
Eline Tolstoy ◽  
Rolf-Peter Kudritzki ◽  
Norbert Przybilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Local Group ◽  
Iron Group ◽  
Chemical Abundances ◽  
Elemental Abundances ◽  
Irregular Galaxies ◽  
Ngc 6822 ◽  
Process Elements ◽  
Star Formation Histories ◽  
Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

The relative abundances of elements in galaxies can provide valuable information on the stellar and chemical evolution of a galaxy. While nebulae can provide abundances for a variety of light elements, stars are the only way to directly determine the abundances of iron-group and s-process and r-process elements in a galaxy. The new 8m and 10m class telescopes and high-efficiency spectrographs now make high-quality spectral observations of bright supergiants possible in dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. We have been concentrating on elemental abundances in the metal-poor dwarf irregular galaxies, NGC 6822, WLM, Sextants A, and GR 8. Comparing abundance ratios to those predicted from their star formation histories, determined from color-magnitude diagrams, and comparing those ratios between these galaxies can give us new insights into the evolution of these dwarf irregular galaxies. Iron-group abundances also allow us to examine the metallicities of the stars in these galaxies directly, which affects their inferred mass loss rates and predicted stellar evolution properties.

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