Physics
Scientific paper
Sep 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998phdt.........2t&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PHD). THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA , Source DAI-B 59/03, p. 1157, Sep 1998, 171 pages.
Physics
1
Elemental Ratios, Galactic Chemical Evolution
Scientific paper
The character of nitrogen processing in spiral galaxies is studied in this dissertation. Of particular interest are questions of how the (N/O) ratio changes over time as a result of perturbations of environmental parameters, as well as the importance of primary vs. secondary nitrogen generation and the regimes where one may be the preferred method. A robust numerical chemical evolution code (NICE) was written to model the change in elemental ratios during galactic chemical processing. This code is consistent with standard observational constraints. A new method is developed for the calculation of (N/O) abundances in the absence of observed temperature-diagnostic emission lines. New (N/O) abundances are derived for previously observed HII regions in spiral and dwarf galaxies, and the trends noted in the observations are modeled with the numeric code NICE. I conclude it is likely that early-type spirals once had a higher rate of infalling material relative to late-type galaxies, resulting in both a higher (N/O) ratio as well as a lower gas fraction during later epochs. NICE models also suggest that the star formation rate was suppressed in the extremely metal-poor stages of galaxy chemical processing, as shown by the model fits to the I Zw 18 regions as well as a highly redshifted primeval galaxy. Primary nitrogen production is only realized in stars of 4-8 solar masses, so that this is the first source of nitrogen after an episode of star formation. This is seen in both the observations and the models of low-metallicity dwarf galaxies. At later times, secondary nitrogen is released by stars in the lower mass range (1-4 solar masses), contributing to the steeper slope seen in (N/O) vs. OH for the more chemically advanced spiral galaxies.
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