Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996apj...462..684t&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal v.462, p.684
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
46
Galaxies: Stellar Content, Galaxies: Individual Name: Leo A, Stars: Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Stars: Formation
Scientific paper
New observations of the resolved stellar population of the extremely metal-poor Magellanic dwarf irregular galaxy Leo A in Thuan-Gunn r, g, i, and narrowband Hα filters are presented. Using the recent Cepheid variable star distance determination to Leo A by Hoessel et al., we are able to create an accurate color-magnitude diagram (CMD). We have used the Bavesian inference method described by Tolstoy & Saha to calculate the likelihood of a Monte Carlo simulation of the stellar population of Leo A being a good match to the data within the well understood errors in the data. The magnitude limits on our data are sensitive enough to look back at ~1 Gyr of star formation history at the distance of Leo A. To explain the observed ratio of red to blue stars in the observed CMD, it is necessary to invoke either a steadily decreasing star formation rate toward the present time or gaps in the star formation history. We also compare the properties of the observed stellar population with the known spatial distribution of the H I gas and H II regions to support the conclusions from CMD modeling. We consider the possibility that currently there is a period of diminished star formation in Leo A, as evidenced by the lack of very young stars in the CMD and the faint H II regions. How the chaotic H I distribution, with no observable rotation, fits into our picture of the evolution of Leo A is as yet unclear.
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