Episodic Star Formation in the Carina dSph Galaxy

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dc.creatorSmecker-Hane, T. A.
dc.creatorStetson, P. B.
dc.creatorHesser, J. E.
dc.creatorVandenBerg, D. A.
dc.date1996-01-05
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:20:43Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:20:43Z
dc.descriptionWe present photometry for stars in the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy that is unprecedented in depth, accuracy and spatial coverage. Our data demonstrate that Carina has had a surprisingly complex evolution dominated by episodic bursts of star formation. Comparing the color-magnitude diagram with new theoretical isochrones, we determine that the ages of the ``bursts'' are approximately 2, 3--6, and 11--13 Gyr. Note that the ``bursts'' and quiescent phases lasted for <~1 Gyr, which are much longer than the ~0.1 Gyr dynamical timescale in the galaxy. Each main-sequence turnoff in Carina connects to a single red giant branch, which tells us that, regardless of age, Carina stars are metal-poor with [Fe/H]~= -1.86 and a spread in metal abundance of only 0.2 dex. Thus the process of star formation, and the loss of metal-enriched gas from supernovae-drive winds, in this low mass dwarf galaxy occurred episodically over many Gyr rather than in a single, brief episode.
dc.description6 pages including 2 figures, gzip'ed and uuencoded postscript file, to appear in "From Stars to Galaxies: The Impact of Stellar Physics on Galaxy Evolution", eds. C. Leitherer, U. Fritze-van Alvensleben and J. Huchra, (ASP: San Francisco), ASP Conf. Series
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9601020
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9601020
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/10303
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleEpisodic Star Formation in the Carina dSph Galaxy
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