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arXiv 0706.1202astro-ph
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小麦哲伦星云星团年龄分布的解释

On the Interpretation of the Age Distribution of Star Clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud

M. Gieles, H. J. G. L. M. Lamers, S. F. Portegies Zwart

摘要:

我们重新分析的年龄分布(dN/dt)的星团在小麦哲伦云(SMC)使用年龄测定的基础上麦哲伦云测光巡天。对于小于3x10^9岁的年龄,dN/dt分布可以近似为幂律分布,dN/dt propto t^-beta,其中-beta=-0.70+/-0.05或-beta=-0.84+/-0.04,具体取决于用于推导年龄的模型。预测的集群人口没有解散限制的V波段检测结果在幂律dN/dt分布的指数为~-0.7。这是因为限制集群质量随着年龄的增长而增加,由于集群的进化衰落,减少了老年时观察到的集群数量。当应用远高于限制集群质量的质量切割时,dN/dt分布在1 Gyr以下是平坦的。我们的结论是,集群溶解是小的重要性,在塑造dN/dt分布和不完整性的原因dN/dt下降。在最初的~10-20百万年中没有发现星团的婴儿死亡(与质量无关)的原因是由于对没有星云发射的星团的探测偏差,即幸存下来的婴儿死亡阶段的星团。我们发现没有证据表明潮汐(质量依赖)集群溶解在第一个陀螺的原因是由弱的潮汐场的SMC。我们的研究结果与Eschiar等人(2006)的解释形成鲜明对比,后者将dN/dt分布的下降解释为快速的团簇溶解。这是由于他们错误地假设样本是由星系团质量而不是光度限制的。

英文摘要:

We re-analyze the age distribution (dN/dt) of star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) using age determinations based on the Magellanic Cloud Photometric Survey. For ages younger than 3x10^9 yr the dN/dt distribution can be approximated by a power-law distribution, dN/dt propto t^-beta, with -beta=-0.70+/-0.05 or -beta=-0.84+/-0.04, depending on the model used to derive the ages. Predictions for a cluster population without dissolution limited by a V-band detection result in a power-law dN/dt distribution with an index of ~-0.7. This is because the limiting cluster mass increases with age, due to evolutionary fading of clusters, reducing the number of observed clusters at old ages. When a mass cut well above the limiting cluster mass is applied, the dN/dt distribution is flat up to 1 Gyr. We conclude that cluster dissolution is of small importance in shaping the dN/dt distribution and incompleteness causes dN/dt to decline. The reason that no (mass independent) infant mortality of star clusters in the first ~10-20 Myr is found is explained by a detection bias towards clusters without nebular emission, i.e. cluster that have survived the infant mortality phase. The reason we find no evidence for tidal (mass dependent) cluster dissolution in the first Gyr is explained by the weak tidal field of the SMC. Our results are in sharp contrast to the interpretation of Chandar et al. (2006), who interpret the declining dN/dt distribution as rapid cluster dissolution. This is due to their erroneous assumption that the sample is limited by cluster mass, rather than luminosity.

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