Bibcode
DOI
Bernard, Edouard J.; Gallart, Carme; Monelli, Matteo; Aparicio, Antonio; Cassisi, Santi; Skillman, Evan D.; Stetson, Peter B.; Cole, Andrew A.; Drozdovsky, Igor; Hidalgo, Sebastian L.; Mateo, Mario; Tolstoy, Eline
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 678, Issue 1, pp. L21-L24.
Advertised on:
5
2008
Journal
Citations
48
Refereed citations
42
Description
We present a study of the radial distribution of RR Lyrae variables,
which present a range of photometric and pulsational properties, in the
dwarf spheroidal galaxy Tucana. We find that the fainter RR Lyrae stars,
having a shorter period, are more centrally concentrated than the more
luminous, longer period RR Lyrae variables. Through comparison with the
predictions of theoretical models of stellar evolution and stellar
pulsation, we interpret the fainter RR Lyrae stars as a more metal-rich
subsample. In addition, we show that they must be older than about 10
Gyr. Therefore, the metallicity gradient must have appeared very early
on in the history of this galaxy.
Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,
obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by
the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under
NASA contract NAS5-26555. These observations are associated with program
10505.
Related projects
Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies
The general aim of the project is to research the structure, evolutionary history and formation of galaxies through the study of their resolved stellar populations, both from photometry and spectroscopy. The group research concentrates in the most nearby objects, namely the Local Group galaxies including the Milky Way and M33 under the hypothesis
Martín
López Corredoira