Stellar Metallicities and Gradients in the Isolated, Quenched Low-Mass Galaxy Tucana

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Fu, Sal Wanying, Weisz, Daniel R., Starkenburg, Else, Martin, Nicolas, Mercado, Francisco J., Savino, Alessandro, Boylan-Kolchin, Michael, Côté, Patrick, Dolphin, Andrew E., Longeard, Nicolas, Mateo, Mario L., Samuel, Jenna, Sandford, Nathan R.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Fu, Sal Wanying
Weisz, Daniel R.
Starkenburg, Else
Martin, Nicolas
Mercado, Francisco J.
Savino, Alessandro
Boylan-Kolchin, Michael
Côté, Patrick
Dolphin, Andrew E.
Longeard, Nicolas
Mateo, Mario L.
Samuel, Jenna
Sandford, Nathan R.
author_facet Fu, Sal Wanying
Weisz, Daniel R.
Starkenburg, Else
Martin, Nicolas
Mercado, Francisco J.
Savino, Alessandro
Boylan-Kolchin, Michael
Côté, Patrick
Dolphin, Andrew E.
Longeard, Nicolas
Mateo, Mario L.
Samuel, Jenna
Sandford, Nathan R.
contents We measure the metallicities of 374 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the isolated, quenched dwarf galaxy Tucana using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) narrow-band (F395N) Calcium H & K (CaHK) imaging. Our sample is a factor of $\sim7$ larger than what is published. Our main findings are: (i) A global metallicity distribution function (MDF) with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.55 \pm 0.04$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.54\pm0.03$; (ii) A metallicity gradient of $-0.54 \pm 0.07$ dex $R_e^{-1}$ ($-2.1 \pm 0.3$ dex kpc$^{-1}$) over the extent of our imaging ($\sim 2.5 R_e$), which is steeper than literature measurements. Our finding is consistent with predicted gradients from the publicly-available FIRE-2 simulations, in which bursty star formation creates stellar population gradients and dark matter cores; (iii) Tucana's bifurcated RGB has distinct metallicities: a blue RGB with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.78 \pm 0.06$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.44^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$, and a red RGB with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.08 \pm 0.07$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.42 \pm 0.06$; (iv) At fixed stellar mass, Tucana is more MR than MW satellites by $\sim 0.4$ dex, but its blue RGB is chemically comparable to the satellites. Tucana's MDF appears consistent with star-forming isolated dwarfs, though MDFs of the latter are not as well-populated; (v) $\sim2$% of Tucana's stars have $\mbox{[Fe/H]} < -3$ and 20% $\mbox{[Fe/H]} > -1$. We provide a catalog for community spectroscopic follow-up.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_05981
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stellar Metallicities and Gradients in the Isolated, Quenched Low-Mass Galaxy Tucana
Fu, Sal Wanying
Weisz, Daniel R.
Starkenburg, Else
Martin, Nicolas
Mercado, Francisco J.
Savino, Alessandro
Boylan-Kolchin, Michael
Côté, Patrick
Dolphin, Andrew E.
Longeard, Nicolas
Mateo, Mario L.
Samuel, Jenna
Sandford, Nathan R.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We measure the metallicities of 374 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the isolated, quenched dwarf galaxy Tucana using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) narrow-band (F395N) Calcium H & K (CaHK) imaging. Our sample is a factor of $\sim7$ larger than what is published. Our main findings are: (i) A global metallicity distribution function (MDF) with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.55 \pm 0.04$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.54\pm0.03$; (ii) A metallicity gradient of $-0.54 \pm 0.07$ dex $R_e^{-1}$ ($-2.1 \pm 0.3$ dex kpc$^{-1}$) over the extent of our imaging ($\sim 2.5 R_e$), which is steeper than literature measurements. Our finding is consistent with predicted gradients from the publicly-available FIRE-2 simulations, in which bursty star formation creates stellar population gradients and dark matter cores; (iii) Tucana's bifurcated RGB has distinct metallicities: a blue RGB with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.78 \pm 0.06$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.44^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$, and a red RGB with $\langle \mbox{[Fe/H]} \rangle = -1.08 \pm 0.07$ and $σ_{\mbox{[Fe/H]}}=0.42 \pm 0.06$; (iv) At fixed stellar mass, Tucana is more MR than MW satellites by $\sim 0.4$ dex, but its blue RGB is chemically comparable to the satellites. Tucana's MDF appears consistent with star-forming isolated dwarfs, though MDFs of the latter are not as well-populated; (v) $\sim2$% of Tucana's stars have $\mbox{[Fe/H]} < -3$ and 20% $\mbox{[Fe/H]} > -1$. We provide a catalog for community spectroscopic follow-up.
title Stellar Metallicities and Gradients in the Isolated, Quenched Low-Mass Galaxy Tucana
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.05981