Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21915102k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #151.02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We explore the size distribution of star clusters and stellar associations in nearby galaxies, in order to better understand the evolution of stellar clustering in the nearby universe. Using Source Extractor object selection on Gaussian-blurred Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, we find stellar groupings of sizes ranging from compact clusters ( 3 pc) to large stellar associations ( 100+ pc). The size of each stellar grouping was measured using the annular surface brightness plotted as a function of radius to determine the total light radius of each object. We also determine the basic properties of these stellar groupings using Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting to Simple Stellar Population (SSP) models (Bruzual & Charlot 2003). Galaxies presented here, NGC 4214, M83, M51, and NGC 2841, are the first set in a larger program in which we will investigate the stellar clustering in a statistically significant sample of 50 nearby star-forming galaxies. Preliminary results show that the size distributions of nearby galaxies are continuous in nature, indicating that there are no preferred scales for stellar clustering in these galaxies.
This work has been supported by programs HST-AR 1068401A, HST-AR 12137, and HST-AR 11360, provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Analysis of NGC 4214, M83 and NGC 2841 was based on Early Release Science observations made by the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee. We are grateful to the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute for awarding Director's Discretionary time for this program.
Chandar Rupali
Kaleida Catherine C.
Kim Hungsoo
Whitmore Bradley C.
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