Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-08-10
Astron.J.129:2710-2713,2005
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
11 pages (emulateapj), accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Electronic tables available at: http://ngala.as
Scientific paper
10.1086/424938
We present age measurements for 195 star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud based on comparison of integrated colors measured from the Magellanic Clouds Photometric Survey with models of simple stellar populations. We find that the modeled nonuniform changes of cluster colors with age can lead to spurious age peaks in the cluster age distribution, that the observed numbers of clusters with age, t, declines smoothly as t^{-2.1}, that for an assumed initial cluster mass function scaling as M^{-2} the dependence of the cluster disruption time on mass is proportional to M^{0.48}, that despite the apparent abundance of young clusters the dominant epoch of cluster formation was the initial one, and that there are significant differences in the spatial distribution of clusters of different ages. Because of limited precision in our age measurements, we cannot address the question of detailed correspondence between the cluster age function and the field star formation history. However, this sample provides an initial guide for which clusters to target in more detailed studies of specific age intervals.
Rafelski Marc
Zaritsky Dennis
No associations
LandOfFree
The Star Clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Age Distribution does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Star Clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Age Distribution, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Star Clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Age Distribution will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-689111