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Main Authors: Jiang, Zhen, Li, Cheng, Zhang, Fenghui, Zhou, Shuang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14263
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author Jiang, Zhen
Li, Cheng
Zhang, Fenghui
Zhou, Shuang
author_facet Jiang, Zhen
Li, Cheng
Zhang, Fenghui
Zhou, Shuang
contents UV-upturn galaxies are characterized by unusually excessive flux in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) band, observed in some elliptical galaxies and the bulges of disk galaxies. We examine UV-upturn galaxies within the semi-analytic model GABE, which embeds the formation of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars -- proposed as key candidates responsible for the UV-upturn phenomenon. We have analyzed all related physical processes, including stellar evolution, initial mass functions (IMFs), dust attenuation, galaxy age, metallicity, and binary fractions, in an effort to determine which processes play significant roles. Our findings reveal two categories of UV-upturn galaxies in the semi-analytic model, each with distinct formation channels: old metal-rich quenched elliptical galaxies, which are intrinsic UV-upturn galaxies induced by EHB stars within their old stellar populations, and dusty star-forming galaxies, which are relatively young and may also be photometrically identified as UV-upturn galaxies when accounting for dust attenuation. Dust attenuation contributes to 20% - 60% of the UV-upturn galaxies, depending on the specific dust attenuation models adopted. With the binary star formation model of EHB stars, both of these formation channels exhibit strong preferences for high stellar metallicity. The high-mass end slope of the IMFs is found to have a marginal effect, indicating that a universal IMF is adequate for studying the UV-upturn phenomenon.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_14263
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Two categories of UV-upturn galaxies revealed by semi-analytic models
Jiang, Zhen
Li, Cheng
Zhang, Fenghui
Zhou, Shuang
Astrophysics of Galaxies
UV-upturn galaxies are characterized by unusually excessive flux in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) band, observed in some elliptical galaxies and the bulges of disk galaxies. We examine UV-upturn galaxies within the semi-analytic model GABE, which embeds the formation of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars -- proposed as key candidates responsible for the UV-upturn phenomenon. We have analyzed all related physical processes, including stellar evolution, initial mass functions (IMFs), dust attenuation, galaxy age, metallicity, and binary fractions, in an effort to determine which processes play significant roles. Our findings reveal two categories of UV-upturn galaxies in the semi-analytic model, each with distinct formation channels: old metal-rich quenched elliptical galaxies, which are intrinsic UV-upturn galaxies induced by EHB stars within their old stellar populations, and dusty star-forming galaxies, which are relatively young and may also be photometrically identified as UV-upturn galaxies when accounting for dust attenuation. Dust attenuation contributes to 20% - 60% of the UV-upturn galaxies, depending on the specific dust attenuation models adopted. With the binary star formation model of EHB stars, both of these formation channels exhibit strong preferences for high stellar metallicity. The high-mass end slope of the IMFs is found to have a marginal effect, indicating that a universal IMF is adequate for studying the UV-upturn phenomenon.
title Two categories of UV-upturn galaxies revealed by semi-analytic models
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14263