2024ApJ...965...36F -
Astrophys. J., 965, 36 (2024/April-2)
Stellar Metallicities and Gradients in the Isolated, Quenched Low-mass Galaxy Tucana.
FU S.W., WEISZ D.R., STARKENBURG E., MARTIN N., MERCADO F.J., SAVINO A., BOYLAN-KOLCHIN M., COTE P., DOLPHIN A.E., LONGEARD N., MATEO M.L., SAMUEL J. and SANDFORD N.R.
Abstract (from CDS):
We measure the metallicities of 374 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the isolated, quenched dwarf galaxy Tucana using Hubble Space Telescope narrowband (F395N) calcium H and K imaging. Our sample is a factor of ∼7 larger than what is available from previous studies. Our main findings are as follows. (i) A global metallicity distribution function (MDF) with $\langle {\rm{[Fe/H]}}\rangle =-{1.55}_{-0.04}^{+0.04}$ and ${\sigma }_{{\rm{[Fe/H]}}}={0.54}_{-0.03}^{+0.03}$. (ii) A metallicity gradient of -0.54 ± 0.07 dex ${R}_{e}^{-1}$ (-2.1 ± 0.3 dex kpc–1) over the extent of our imaging (∼2.5 Re), which is steeper than literature measurements. Our finding is consistent with predicted gradients from the publicly available FIRE-2 simulations, in which bursty star formation creates stellar population gradients and dark matter cores. (iii) Tucana's bifurcated RGB has distinct metallicities: a blue RGB with $\langle {\rm{[Fe/H]}}\rangle =-{1.78}_{-0.06}^{+0.06}$ and ${\sigma }_{{\rm{[Fe/H]}}}={0.44}_{-0.06}^{+0.07}$ and a red RGB with $\langle {\rm{[Fe/H]}}\rangle =-{1.08}_{-0.07}^{+0.07}$ and ${\sigma }_{{\rm{[Fe/H]}}}={0.42}_{-0.06}^{+0.06}$. (iv) At fixed stellar mass, Tucana is more metal-rich than Milky Way satellites by ∼0.4 dex, but its blue RGB is chemically comparable to the satellites. Tucana's MDF appears consistent with star-forming isolated dwarfs, though MDFs of the latter are not as well populated. (v) About 2% of Tucana's stars have [Fe/H] < -3% and 20% have [Fe/H] > -1. We provide a catalog for community spectroscopic follow-up.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Dwarf galaxies - HST photometry - Local Group - Stellar abundances
Nomenclature:
Tables 4-6: [FWS2024] NNN N=374 among (Nos 0-378).
Status at CDS
:
Large table(s) will be appraised for possible ingestion in VizieR. // All or part of tables of objects will be ingested in SIMBAD with priority 1.
Simbad objects:
16
Full paper
View the references in ADS
To bookmark this query, right click on this link: simbad:2024ApJ...965...36F and select 'bookmark this link' or equivalent in the popup menu