The Formation History of the M81 Spheroid

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Hst Proposal Id #10604 Stellar Populations

Scientific paper

Spheroidal stellar populations {elliptical galaxies, bulges, and halos} contain a significant fraction of all stars and metals in the local universe. The mechanisms responsible for their formation are ultimately the ones which governed galaxy formation during early epochs. To begin understanding the M81 spheroid, we are currently studying the globular cluster population using HST/WFPC2 multiband imaging and ground based optical spectroscopy. To complete this effort, we propose to use ACS/WFC to obtain deep {I, V-I} color magnitude diagrams {to the horizontal branch} of two fields in M81 - one dominated by thick disk stars and the other halo stars. These observations will provide tight constraints on the formation timescales and chemical enrichment history of the field star population. Combined with results on the globular clusters, we will reconstruct the early formation history of M81, and compare with those found for other nearby, massive galaxies. Because M81 is the earliest type spiral galaxy {Sab} available for such a detailed study, it provides a unique opportunity to probe the connection between elliptical halos and lower mass spiral spheroids.

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