The Star Formation History and Evolution of the Ultra-Diffuse M81 Satellite, F8D1

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Smercina, Adam, Bell, Eric F., Williams, Benjamin F., Velguth, Benjamin N., Pearson, Sarah, Bailin, Jeremy, Chan, Tsang Keung, Dalcanton, Julianne J., de Jong, Roelof S., D'Souza, Richard, Dolphin, Andrew, Guhathakurta, Puragra, McQuinn, Kristen B. W., Monachesi, Antonela, Slater, Colin T., Toloba, Elisa, Weisz, Daniel R., Wetzel, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866913946900889600
author Smercina, Adam
Bell, Eric F.
Williams, Benjamin F.
Velguth, Benjamin N.
Pearson, Sarah
Bailin, Jeremy
Chan, Tsang Keung
Dalcanton, Julianne J.
de Jong, Roelof S.
D'Souza, Richard
Dolphin, Andrew
Guhathakurta, Puragra
McQuinn, Kristen B. W.
Monachesi, Antonela
Slater, Colin T.
Toloba, Elisa
Weisz, Daniel R.
Wetzel, Andrew
author_facet Smercina, Adam
Bell, Eric F.
Williams, Benjamin F.
Velguth, Benjamin N.
Pearson, Sarah
Bailin, Jeremy
Chan, Tsang Keung
Dalcanton, Julianne J.
de Jong, Roelof S.
D'Souza, Richard
Dolphin, Andrew
Guhathakurta, Puragra
McQuinn, Kristen B. W.
Monachesi, Antonela
Slater, Colin T.
Toloba, Elisa
Weisz, Daniel R.
Wetzel, Andrew
contents We present deep HST imaging of one of the nearest ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) outside of the Local Group: F8D1, a satellite of M81 known to be tidally disrupting. UDGs are an enigmatic and diverse population, with evolutionary pathways ranging from tidal processing to bursty feedback and high initial angular momentum. To determine F8D1's evolutionary drivers, we resolve stars in F8D1's central $\sim$1 kpc and in a parallel field $\sim$6 kpc along its major axis to deep photometric limits, reaching below the Red Clump. We also image eight shallower fields along F8D1's major and minor axes. We calculate the star formation history (SFH) in the two deep fields, finding that while currently quiescent, both regions experienced a substantial burst $\sim$2 Gyr ago and a smaller burst $\sim$500 Myr ago, which likely formed F8D1's nuclear star cluster. In the shallow fields, using the ratio of evolved Asymptotic Giant Branch and Red Giant Branch stars out to $\sim$13 kpc along F8D1's known stellar stream, we confirm that F8D1 was globally star-forming until at least 2 Gyr ago. We estimate a total progenitor stellar mass, including the stream, of $\sim$1.3$\times$10$^8\ M_{\odot}$, with an average [M/H] $\sim$ $-$0.8. We compare F8D1's properties to those of Local Group galaxies with similar initial stellar mass. We find that F8D1 is consistent with a progenitor star-forming galaxy similar to NGC 6822, which is in the midst of a transition to a Sagittarius-like system. Notably, this evolutionary sequence can be accomplished through tidal processing alone, in galaxies that have experienced sufficiently bursty feedback to create cored profiles.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_13349
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Star Formation History and Evolution of the Ultra-Diffuse M81 Satellite, F8D1
Smercina, Adam
Bell, Eric F.
Williams, Benjamin F.
Velguth, Benjamin N.
Pearson, Sarah
Bailin, Jeremy
Chan, Tsang Keung
Dalcanton, Julianne J.
de Jong, Roelof S.
D'Souza, Richard
Dolphin, Andrew
Guhathakurta, Puragra
McQuinn, Kristen B. W.
Monachesi, Antonela
Slater, Colin T.
Toloba, Elisa
Weisz, Daniel R.
Wetzel, Andrew
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present deep HST imaging of one of the nearest ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) outside of the Local Group: F8D1, a satellite of M81 known to be tidally disrupting. UDGs are an enigmatic and diverse population, with evolutionary pathways ranging from tidal processing to bursty feedback and high initial angular momentum. To determine F8D1's evolutionary drivers, we resolve stars in F8D1's central $\sim$1 kpc and in a parallel field $\sim$6 kpc along its major axis to deep photometric limits, reaching below the Red Clump. We also image eight shallower fields along F8D1's major and minor axes. We calculate the star formation history (SFH) in the two deep fields, finding that while currently quiescent, both regions experienced a substantial burst $\sim$2 Gyr ago and a smaller burst $\sim$500 Myr ago, which likely formed F8D1's nuclear star cluster. In the shallow fields, using the ratio of evolved Asymptotic Giant Branch and Red Giant Branch stars out to $\sim$13 kpc along F8D1's known stellar stream, we confirm that F8D1 was globally star-forming until at least 2 Gyr ago. We estimate a total progenitor stellar mass, including the stream, of $\sim$1.3$\times$10$^8\ M_{\odot}$, with an average [M/H] $\sim$ $-$0.8. We compare F8D1's properties to those of Local Group galaxies with similar initial stellar mass. We find that F8D1 is consistent with a progenitor star-forming galaxy similar to NGC 6822, which is in the midst of a transition to a Sagittarius-like system. Notably, this evolutionary sequence can be accomplished through tidal processing alone, in galaxies that have experienced sufficiently bursty feedback to create cored profiles.
title The Star Formation History and Evolution of the Ultra-Diffuse M81 Satellite, F8D1
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.13349