Search

We derive the recent star formation histories (SFHs) of 23 active dwarf galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope observations from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey. We apply a color–magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting technique using two independent sets of stellar models, PARSEC-COLIBRI and MIST. Despite the nonnegligible recent activity, none of the 23 star-forming dwarfs show enhancements in the last 100 Myr larger than three times the 100 Myr average. The unweighted mean of the individual SFHs in the last 100 Myr is also consistent with a rather constant activity, irrespective of the atomic gas fraction. We confirm previous results that for dwarf galaxies, the CMD-based average star formation rates (SFRs) are generally higher than the FUV-based SFRs. For half of the sample, the 60 Myr average CMD-based SFR is more than two times the FUV SFR. In contrast, we find remarkable agreement between the 10 Myr average CMD-based SFR and the Hα-based SFR. Finally, using core helium-burning stars of intermediate mass, we study the pattern of star formation spatial progression over the past 60 Myr and speculate on the possible triggers and connections of the star formation activity with the environment in which these galaxies live. Approximately half of our galaxies show spatial progression of star formation in the last 60 Myr and/or very recent diffuse and off-center activity compared to RGB stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 7793, part of the Sculptor group. By analyzing the resolved stellar populations of the galaxy, located at a distance of ∼3.7 Mpc, we infer for the first time its radial star formation history (SFH) from Hubble Space Telescope photometry, thanks to both archival and new data from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. We determine an average star formation rate (SFR) for the galaxy portion covered by our F555W and F814W data of 0.23 ± 0.02 M⊙ yr−1 over the whole Hubble time, corresponding to a total stellar mass of (3.09 ± 0.33) × 109M⊙, in agreement with previous determinations. Thanks to the new data extending to the F336W band, we are able to analyze the youngest stellar populations with a higher time resolution. Most importantly, we recover the resolved SFH in different radial regions of the galaxy; this shows an indication of a growing trend of the present-to-past SFR ratio, increasing from internal to more external regions, supporting previous findings of the inside-out growth of the galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the Magellanic irregular galaxy NGC 4449 based on both archival and new photometric data from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3. Thanks to its proximity (D = 3.82 ± 0.27 Mpc), we reach stars 3 mag fainter than the tip of the red giant branch in the F814W filter. The recovered star formation history (SFH) spans the whole Hubble time, but due to the age–metallicity degeneracy of the red giant branch stars, it is robust only over the lookback time reached by our photometry, i.e., ∼3 Gyr. The most recent peak of star formation (SF) is around 10 Myr ago. The average surface density SF rate over the whole galaxy lifetime is 0.01 M⊙ yr−1 kpc−2. From our study, it emerges that NGC 4449 has experienced a fairly continuous SF regime in the last 1 Gyr, with peaks and dips whose SF rates differ only by a factor of a few. The very complex and disturbed morphology of NGC 4449 makes it an interesting galaxy for studies of the relationship between interactions and starbursts, and our detailed and spatially resolved analysis of its SFH does indeed provide some hints on the connection between these two phenomena in this peculiar dwarf galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of the dust-to-gas ratios in five nearby galaxies: NGC 628 (M74), NGC 6503, NGC 7793, UGC 5139 (Holmberg I), and UGC 4305 (Holmberg II). Using Hubble Space Telescope broadband WFC3/UVIS UV and optical images from the Treasury program Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) combined with archival HST/Advanced Camera for Surveys data, we correct thousands of individual stars for extinction across these five galaxies using an isochrone-matching (reddening-free Q) method. We generate extinction maps for each galaxy from the individual stellar extinctions using both adaptive and fixed resolution techniques and correlate these maps with neutral H i and CO gas maps from the literature, including the H i Nearby Galaxy Survey and the HERA CO-Line Extragalactic Survey. We calculate dust-to-gas ratios and investigate variations in the dust-to-gas ratio with galaxy metallicity. We find a power-law relationship between dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity, consistent with other studies of dust-to-gas ratio compared to metallicity. We find a change in the relation when H2 is not included. This implies that underestimation of in low-metallicity dwarfs from a too-low CO-to-H2 conversion factor XCO could have produced too low a slope in the derived relationship between dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity. We also compare our extinctions to those derived from fitting the spectral energy distribution (SED) using the Bayesian Extinction and Stellar Tool for NGC 7793 and find systematically lower extinctions from SED fitting as compared to isochrone matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but instead are distributed so that the age difference increases with the cluster pair separation to the 0.25–0.6 power, and that the maximum size over which star formation is physically correlated ranges from ∼200 pc to ∼1 kpc. The observed trends between age difference and separation suggest that cluster formation is hierarchical both in space and time: clusters that are close to each other are more similar in age than clusters born further apart. The temporal correlations between stellar aggregates have slopes that are consistent with predictions of turbulence acting as the primary driver of star formation. The velocity associated with the maximum size is proportional to the galaxy’s shear, suggesting that the galactic environment influences the maximum size of the star-forming structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of the effective (half-light) radii and other structural properties of a systematically selected sample of young, massive star clusters (≥5 × 103 and ≤200 Myr) in two nearby spiral galaxies, NGC 628 and NGC 1313. We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/UVIS and archival ACS/WFC data obtained by the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), an HST Treasury Program. We measure effective radii with GALFIT, a two-dimensional image-fitting package, and with a new technique to estimate effective radii from the concentration index of observed clusters. The distribution of effective radii from both techniques spans ∼0.5–10 pc and peaks at 2–3 pc for both galaxies. We find slight positive correlations between effective radius and cluster age in both galaxies, but no significant relationship between effective radius and galactocentric distance. Clusters in NGC 1313 display a mild increase in effective radius with cluster mass, but the trend disappears when the sample is divided into age bins. We show that the vast majority of the clusters in both galaxies are much older than their dynamical times, suggesting they are gravitationally bound objects. We find that about half of the clusters in NGC 628 are underfilling their Roche lobes, based on their Jacobi radii. Our results suggest that the young, massive clusters in NGC 628 and NGC 1313 are expanding, due to stellar mass loss or two-body relaxation, and are not significantly influenced by the tidal fields of their host galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of the hierarchical clustering of the young stellar clusters in six local (3–15 Mpc) star-forming galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope broadband WFC3/UVIS UV and optical images from the Treasury Program LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey). We identified 3685 likely clusters and associations, each visually classified by their morphology, and we use the angular two-point correlation function to study the clustering of these stellar systems. We find that the spatial distribution of the young clusters and associations are clustered with respect to each other, forming large, unbound hierarchical star-forming complexes that are in general very young. The strength of the clustering decreases with increasing age of the star clusters and stellar associations, becoming more homogeneously distributed after ∼40–60 Myr and on scales larger than a few hundred parsecs. In all galaxies, the associations exhibit a global behavior that is distinct and more strongly correlated from compact clusters. Thus, populations of clusters are more evolved than associations in terms of their spatial distribution, traveling significantly from their birth site within a few tens of Myr, whereas associations show evidence of disruption occurring very quickly after their formation. The clustering of the stellar systems resembles that of a turbulent interstellar medium that drives the star formation process, correlating the components in unbound star-forming complexes in a hierarchical manner, dispersing shortly after formation, suggestive of a single, continuous mode of star formation across all galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nearby dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 5253 hosts a number of young, massive star clusters, the two youngest of which are centrally concentrated and surrounded by thermal radio emission (the “radio nebula”). To investigate the role of these clusters in the starburst energetics, we combine new and archival Hubble Space Telescope images of NGC 5253 with wavelength coverage from 1500 Å to 1.9 μm in 13 filters. These include Hα, Pβ, and Pα, and the imaging from the Hubble Treasury Program LEGUS (Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey). The extraordinarily well-sampled spectral energy distributions enable modeling with unprecedented accuracy the ages, masses, and extinctions of the nine optically brightest clusters (MV < −8.8) and the two young radio nebula clusters. The clusters have ages ∼1–15 Myr and masses ∼1 × 104–2.5 × 105M⊙. The clusters’ spatial location and ages indicate that star formation has become more concentrated toward the radio nebula over the last ∼15 Myr. The most massive cluster is in the radio nebula; with a mass ∼2.5 × 105M⊙ and an age ∼1 Myr, it is 2–4 times less massive and younger than previously estimated. It is within a dust cloud with AV ∼ 50 mag, and shows a clear near-IR excess, likely from hot dust. The second radio nebula cluster is also ∼1 Myr old, confirming the extreme youth of the starburst region. These two clusters account for about half of the ionizing photon rate in the radio nebula, and will eventually supply about 2/3 of the mechanical energy in present-day shocks. Additional sources are required to supply the remaining ionizing radiation, and may include very massive stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]