An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf

There has been significant controversy over the mechanisms responsible for forming compact stellar systems like ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs), with suggestions that UCDs are simply the high-mass extension of the globular cluster population, or alternatively, the liberated nuclei of galaxies tidally st...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Norris, Mark A., Escudero, Carlos Gabriel, Faifer, Favio Raúl, Kannappan, Sheila K., Forte, Juan Carlos, van Den Bosch, Remco C. E.
Formato: Articulo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2015
Materias:
Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Galaxies: stellar content
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/85905
Aporte de:
SEDICI (UNLP) de Universidad Nacional de La Plata
id I19-R120-10915-85905
record_format dspace
institution Universidad Nacional de La Plata
institution_str I-19
repository_str R-120
collection SEDICI (UNLP)
language Inglés
topic Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Galaxies: stellar content
spellingShingle Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Galaxies: stellar content
Norris, Mark A.
Escudero, Carlos Gabriel
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Kannappan, Sheila K.
Forte, Juan Carlos
van Den Bosch, Remco C. E.
An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
topic_facet Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Galaxies: stellar content
description There has been significant controversy over the mechanisms responsible for forming compact stellar systems like ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs), with suggestions that UCDs are simply the high-mass extension of the globular cluster population, or alternatively, the liberated nuclei of galaxies tidally stripped by larger companions. Definitive examples of UCDs formed by either route have been difficult to find, with only a handful of persuasive examples of stripped-nucleus-type UCDs being known. In this paper, we present very deep Gemini/GMOS spectroscopic observations of the suspected stripped-nucleus UCD NGC 4546-UCD1 taken in good seeing conditions (<0.7 arcsec). With these data we examine the spatially resolved kinematics and star formation history of this unusual object. We find no evidence of a rise in the central velocity dispersion of the UCD, suggesting that this UCD lacks a massive central black hole like those found in some other compact stellar systems, a conclusion confirmed by detailed dynamical modelling. Finally, we are able to use our extremely high signal-to-noise spectrum to detect a temporally extended star formation history for this UCD. We find that the UCD was forming stars since the earliest epochs until at least 1-2 Gyr ago. Taken together these observations confirm that NGC 4546-UCD1 is the remnant nucleus of a nucleated dwarf galaxy that was tidally destroyed by NGC 4546 within the last 1-2 Gyr.
format Articulo
Articulo
author Norris, Mark A.
Escudero, Carlos Gabriel
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Kannappan, Sheila K.
Forte, Juan Carlos
van Den Bosch, Remco C. E.
author_facet Norris, Mark A.
Escudero, Carlos Gabriel
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Kannappan, Sheila K.
Forte, Juan Carlos
van Den Bosch, Remco C. E.
author_sort Norris, Mark A.
title An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
title_short An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
title_full An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
title_fullStr An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
title_full_unstemmed An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
title_sort extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf
publishDate 2015
url http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/85905
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