DIRECT DETECTIONS OF YOUNG STARS IN NEARBY ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES
Small amounts of star formation in elliptical galaxies are suggested by several results: surprisingly young ages from optical line indices, cooling X-ray gas, and mid-infrared dust emission. Such star formation has previously been difficult to directly detect, but using ultraviolet Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 imaging, we have identified individual young stars and star clusters in four nearby ellipticals. Ongoing star formation is detected in all galaxies, including three ellipticals that have previously exhibited potential signposts of star-forming conditions (NGC 4636, NGC 4697, and NGC 4374), as well as the typical ''red and dead'' NGC 3379. The current star formation in our closest targets, where we are most complete, is between 2.0 and 9.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}. The star formation history was roughly constant from 0.5 to 1.5 Gyr (at (3-5) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}), but decreased by a factor of several in the past 0.3 Gyr. Most star clusters have a mass between 10{sup 2} and 10{sup 4} M{sub Sun }. The specific star formation rates of {approx}10{sup -16} yr{sup -1} (at the present day) or {approx}10{sup -14} yr{sup -1} (when averaging over the past Gyr) imply that a fraction 10{sup -8} of the stellar mass is younger than 100 Myr and 10{sup -5} is younger than 1 Gyr, quantifying the level of frosting of recent star formation over the otherwise passive stellar population. There is no obvious correlation between either the presence or spatial distribution of postulated star formation indicators and the star formation we detect.
- OSTI ID:
- 22127048
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 770, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
THE DUST PROPERTIES OF z {approx} 3 MIPS-LBGs FROM PHOTOCHEMICAL MODELS
The X-ray luminosity functions of field low-mass X-ray binaries in early-type galaxies: Evidence for a stellar age dependence