THE STAR FORMATION HISTORY OF M32

Journal Article · Fri Jan 20 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/745/1/97· OSTI ID:22011938

Monachesi, Antonela; Trager, Scott C ^[1]; Lauer, Tod R; Mighell, Kenneth J ^[2]; Hidalgo, Sebastian L ^[3]; Freedman, Wendy; Dressler, Alan ^[4]; Grillmair, Carl ^[5]

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1. Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands)
2. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726 (United States)
3. Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Via Lactea s/n, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
4. The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
5. Spitzer Science Center, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

We use deep Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys/High Resolution Channel observations of a field within M32 (F1) and an M31 background field (F2) to determine the star formation history (SFH) of M32 from its resolved stellar population. We find that 2-5 Gyr old stars contribute {approx}40% {+-} 17% of M32's mass, while {approx}55% {+-} 21% of M32's mass comes from stars older than 5 Gyr. The mass-weighted mean age and metallicity of M32 at F1 are (Age) = 6.8 {+-} 1.5 Gyr and ([M/H]) = -0.01 {+-} 0.08 dex. The SFH additionally indicates the presence of young (<2 Gyr old), metal-poor ([M/H] {approx} -0.7) stars, suggesting that blue straggler stars contribute {approx}2% of the mass at F1; the remaining {approx}3% of the mass is in young metal-rich stars. Line-strength indices computed from the SFH imply a light-weighted mean age and metallicity of 4.9 Gyr and [M/H] = -0.12 dex, and single stellar population-equivalent parameters of 2.9 {+-} 0.2 Gyr and [M/H] = 0.02 {+-} 0.01 dex at F1 ({approx}2.7 r{sub e} ). This contradicts spectroscopic studies that show a steep age gradient from M32's center to 1 r{sub e} . The inferred SFH of the M31 background field F2 reveals that the majority of its stars are old, with {approx}95% of its mass already acquired 5-14 Gyr ago. It is composed of two dominant populations; {approx}30% {+-} 7.5% of its mass is in a 5-8 Gyr old population, and {approx}65% {+-} 9% of the mass is in an 8-14 Gyr old population. The mass-weighted mean age and metallicity of F2 are (Age) = 9.2 {+-} 1.2 Gyr and ([M/H]) = -0.10 {+-} 0.10 dex, respectively. Our results suggest that the inner disk and spheroid populations of M31 are indistinguishable from those of the outer disk and spheroid. Assuming the mean age of M31's disk at F2 ({approx}1 disk scale length) to be {approx}5-9 Gyr, our results agree with an inside-out disk formation scenario for M31's disk.

• OSTI ID: 22011938
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 745; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
CAMERAS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
MASS
METALS
SPHEROIDS
STARS
TELESCOPES