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Analyzing Starbursts Using Magellanic Cloud Star Clusters as Simple Stellar Populations
Integrated spectra have been obtained of 31 star clusters in theMagellanic Clouds (MC) and of four Galactic globular clusters. Thespectra cover the wavelength range 3500-4700 Å at a resolution of3.2 Å FWHM. The MC clusters primarily cover the age range fromless than 108 to about 3 Gyr and hence are well-suited to anempirical study of aging poststarburst stellar populations. Anage-dating method is presented that relies on two spectral absorptionfeature indices, Hδ/Fe I λ4045 and Ca II, as well as anindex measuring the strength of the Balmer discontinuity. We compare thebehavior of the spectral indices in the observed integrated spectra ofthe MC clusters with that of indices generated from theoreticalevolutionary synthesis models of varying age and metal abundance. Thesynthesis models are based on those of Worthey, when coupled with thecombination of an empirical library of stellar spectra by Jones for thecooler stars and synthetic spectra, generated from Kurucz modelatmospheres, for the hotter stars. Overall, we find good agreementbetween the ages of the MC clusters derived from our integrated spectra(and the evolutionary synthesis modelling of the spectral indices) andages derived from analyses of the cluster color-magnitude diagrams, asfound in the literature. Hence, the principal conclusion of this studyis that ages of young stellar populations can be reliably measured frommodelling of their integrated spectra.
| Stellar populations and the distance scale : the Baade-Thackeray correspondence.
Not Available
| A Revised and Extended Catalog of Magellanic System Clusters, Associations, and Emission Nebulae. II. The Large Magellanic Cloud
A survey of extended objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud was carriedout on the ESO/SERC R and J Sky Survey Atlases, checking entries inprevious catalogs and searching for new objects. The census provided6659 objects including star clusters, emission-free associations, andobjects related to emission nebulae. Each of these classes containsthree subclasses with intermediate properties, which are used to infertotal populations. The survey includes cross identifications amongcatalogs, and we present 3246 new objects. We provide accuratepositions, classification, and homogeneous measurements of sizes andposition angles, as well as information on cluster pairs andhierarchical relation for superimposed objects. This unification andenlargement of catalogs is important for future searches of fainter andsmaller new objects. We discuss the angular and size distributions ofthe objects of the different classes. The angular distributions show twooff-centered systems with different inclinations, suggesting that theLMC disk is warped. The present catalog together with its previouscounterpart for the SMC and the inter-Cloud region provide a totalpopulation of 7847 extended objects in the Magellanic System. Theangular distribution of the ensemble reveals important clues on theinteraction between the LMC and SMC.
| Integrated UBV Photometry of 624 Star Clusters and Associations in the Large Magellanic Cloud
We present a catalog of integrated UBV photometry of 504 star clustersand 120 stellar associations in the LMC, part of them still embedded inemitting gas. We study age groups in terms of equivalent SWB typesderived from the (U-B) X (B-V) diagram. The size of the spatialdistributions increases steadily with age (SWB types), whereas adifference of axial ratio exists between the groups younger than 30 Myrand those older, which implies a nearly face-on orientation for theformer and a tilt of ~45^deg^ for the latter groups. Asymmetries arepresent in the spatial distributions, which, together with thenoncoincidence of the centroids for different age groups, suggest thatthe LMC disk was severely perturbed in the past.
| Ultraviolet spectral evolution of star clusters in the IUE library.
The ultraviolet integrated spectra of star clusters and H II regions inthe IUE library have been classified into groups based on their spectralappearance, as well as on age and metallicity information from otherstudies. We have coadded the spectra in these groups according to theirS/N ratio, creating a library of template spectra for futureapplications in population syntheses in galaxies. We define spectralwindows for equivalent width measurements and for continuum tracings.These measurements in the spectra of the templates are studied as afunction of age and metallicity. We indicate the windows with a strongmetallicity dependence, at different age stages.
| Moment analysis applied to LMC star clusters
Statistical moment-based ellipse fitting is performed on observations ofLarge Magellanic Cloud clusters, confirming that trends are evident intheir position angles and ellipticities, as had been reported in theliterature. Artificial cluster images with known parameters aregenerated, and subjected to the same analysis techniques, revealingapparent trends caused by stochastic processes. Caution should thereforebe exercised in the interpretation of observational trends in young LMCclusters.
| The evolution of carbon stars in the Magellanic Clouds
This study presents JHK photometric data for over 100 field stars in theSMC and for 10 in the Large Cloud together with spectroscopic resultsfor about half of them. In the Small Cloud carbon stars were found athigher temperatures and lower luminosities than previously observed. Thefaintest are below the top of the red giant branch. The medium- andlow-luminosity C stars in the M-C transition zone have a low C2 content.At these luminosities, most of the J-type stars are found close to theC2-poor stars in the HR diagram. Their C2 content is about as high as inthe coolest, most evolved C stars. The present observations of carbonstars in the SMC show that they cover a range in M(bo) from -3 to 5.9mag. The transitions from M to C via S appear to occur in both Clouds ata rather well-defined range in M(bol) for SWB and classes IV and V.
| The cluster system of the Large Magellanic Cloud
A new catalog of clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud has beenconstructed from searches of the IIIa-J component of the ESO/SERCSouthern Sky Atlas. The catalog contains coordinate and diametermeasurements of 1762 clusters in a 25 deg x 25 deg area of sky centeredon the LMC, but excluding the very crowded 3.5 sq deg region around theBar. The distribution of these clusters appears as two superimposedelliptical systems. The higher density inner system extends over about 8deg; the lower density outer system can be represented by a 13 deg x 10deg disk inclined at 42 deg to the line of sight. There are suggestionsof two weak 'arms' in the latter.
| Distribution of spectral types in the LMC clusters
The distribution of spectral types in 42 LMC globular star clusterscovering all evolutionary ages was determined using objective prismspectra taken with the 1.2-m U.K. Schmidt Telescope in Australia. Thederived spectral type distributions show that the clusters can bedivided into five age categories from about 10 to the 7th to more than10 to the 9th yr. Several clusters were found to contain carbon starswith C/M ratios ranging from 0.07 to 0.4. These ratios were comparedwith those found for the SMC clusters and the Milky Way. It was foundthat the stars of the LMC exhibit a smaller range of C/M ratios than inthe SMC, but larger than in the Galaxy, thus providing an additionaltest of the theoretical models predicting a correlation between the C/Mratio and metal content. It was also found that the majority of youngclusters were embedded in older fields, while the intrmediate clusterswere embeded in younger fields, and the remote old clusters wereembedded in a stellar content of similar age.
| Spectral classification of bright stars in LMC clusters. II
Spectral classification catalogs and their identification charts for tendisk LMC globular clusters and their adjoining fields are given. Theclusters range from very young to old and are located in various placesoutside the bar of the galaxy. For this project, film copies of the1.2-m UK Schmidt prism plates were examined in the Athens Observatory bymeans of a binocular microscope. All the stars classified in eachcluster are brighter than V = about 17.5 mag and located within thecluster's tidal radius.
| Radial-velocity determinations of six LMC superluminous giant candidates
Blue spectra at 121 A/mm have been obtained for 12 candidatesuperluminous giant stars (SLGs) in ten clusters of the LMC. For ten ofthese stars, red spectra at 125 A/mm were also obtained. Spectralclasses are given for the 12 stars. Of the six measured for radialvelocities, four are found to be foreground objects. The possibilitiesthat all SLG stars are foreground objects or the combined light of morethan one normal star are discussed.
| Age calibration and age distribution for rich star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
An empirical relation is presented for estimating the ages of rich starclusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), to within a factor ofabout 2, from their integrated UBV colors. The calibration is based onpublished ages for 58 LMC clusters derived from main-sequencephotometry, integrated spectra, or the extent of the asymptotic giantbranches. Using stellar population models, a sample of LMC clusters moremassive than about 10,000 solar masses is isolated, which is correctedfor incompleteness as a function of magnitude. An unbiased agedistribution for three clusters is then determined. The number ofclusters decreases with increasing age in a manner that is qualitativelysimilar to the age distribution for the open clusters in our Galaxy. TheLMC age distribution is, however, flatter, and the median age of theclusters is greater. If the formation rate has been approximatelyconstant over the history of the two galaxies, then the age distributionobtained here implies that clusters are disrupted more slowly in theLMC. The results contain no evidence for bursts in the formation ofclusters, although fluctuations on small time scales and slow variationsover the lifetime of the LMC cannot be ruled out.
| The ages of the Large Magellanic Cloud blue globular clusters NGC 2133 and NGC 2134
Well populated main sequences and giant sequences are noted incolor-magnitude diagrams of the large, populous LMC clusters NGC 2133and NGC 2134. The application of age criteria primarily based on themain sequence stars and evolved blue supergiants yields ages of 130 and110 million years for them, respectively, and the colors of the giantsallow heavy element abundances to be estimated which imply an Fe/H ratioof about -1.0 for both clusters. It is also noted that NGC 2134 may beone of the youngest LMC clusters endowed with a carbon star. Thecharacteristics of the superluminous giants appearing near the centersof both clusters are similar to those appearing in many other populousLMC clusters.
| The extended giant branches of intermediate age globular clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. III
The latest findings of a photographic near-IR survey of the red globularclusters in the Magellanic Clouds for upper asymptotic giant branchstars are reported. New IR (JHK) photometry for some 80 cluster stars isalso presented. These results combined with earlier data are used toderive age estimates for a nearly complete sample of Cloud clustershaving an integrated absolute magnitude less than -7. The agedistribution of clusters in the Large Cloud, which shows a pronouncedpeak at 4 Gyr, may be different from that in the Small Cloud. This peakcould be a result of luminosity evolution of clusters, however, and aconstant rate of cluster formation in the Large Cloud cannot be ruledout. A cluster age-metallicity relation clearly exists in the LargeCloud, althoug the degree of scatter about this relation is somewhatuncertain and may be significant.
| Instrumental color-magnitude diagrams for 24 Large Magellanic Cloud star clusters
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976ApJS...32..283H
| A Catalogue of Clusters in The LMC
Not Available
| Colors and Magnitudes of Some Star Clusters in the Magellanic Clouds
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