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The Resolved Stellar Population in 50 Regions of M83 from HST/WFC3 Early Release Science ObservationsWe present a multi-wavelength photometric study of approximately 15,000 resolved stars in the nearby spiral galaxy M83 (NGC 5236, D = 4.61 Mpc) based on Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 observations using four filters: F336W, F438W, F555W, and F814W. We select 50 regions (an average size of 260 pc by 280 pc) in the spiral arm and inter-arm areas of M83 and determine the age distribution of the luminous stellar populations in each region. This is accomplished by correcting for extinction toward each individual star by comparing its colors with predictions from stellar isochrones.We compare the resulting luminosity-weighted mean ages of the luminous stars in the 50 regions with those determined from several independent methods, including the number ratio of red-to-blue supergiants, morphological appearance of the regions, surface brightness fluctuations, and the ages of clusters in the regions. We find reasonably good agreement between these methods. We also find that young stars are much more likely to be found in concentrated aggregates along spiral arms, while older stars are more dispersed. These results are consistent with the scenario that star formation is associated with the spiral arms, and stars form primarily in star clusters and then disperse on short timescales to form the field population. The locations ofWolf-Rayet stars are found to correlate with the positions of many of the youngest regions, providing additional support for our ability to accurately estimate ages. We address the effects of spatial resolution on the measured colors, magnitudes, and age estimates. While individual stars can occasionally show measurable differences in the colors and magnitudes, the age estimates for entire regions are only slightly affected.
Document ID
20140010558
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kim, Hwihyun
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Whitmore, Bradley C.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Chandar, Rupali
(Toledo Univ. Toledo, OH, United States)
Saha, Abhijit
(National Optical Astronomy Observatories Tucson, AZ, United States)
Kaleida, Catherine C.
(Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory La Serena, Chile)
Mutchler, Max
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Cohen, Seth H.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Calzetti, Daniela
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
O’Connell, Robert W.
(Virginia Univ. Charlottesville, VA, United States)
Windhorst, Rogier A.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Balick, Bruce
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Bond, Howard E.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Carollo, Marcella
(Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Switzerland)
Disney, Michael J.
(Cardiff Univ. United Kingdom)
Dopita, Michael A.
(Australian National Univ. Weston Creek, Australia)
Frogel, Jay A.
(Galaxies Unlimited)
Hall, Donald N. B.
(Australian National Univ. Weston Creek, Australia)
Holtzman, Jon A.
(New Mexico State Univ. Las Cruces, NM, United States)
Kimble, Randy A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
McCarthy, Patrick J.
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Pasadena, CA, United States)
Paresce, Francesco
(European Southern Observatory Garching, Germany)
Silk, Joe I
(Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Trauger, John T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Walker, Alistair R.
(Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory La Serena, Chile)
Young, Erick T.
(Universities Space Research Association Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 8, 2014
Publication Date
June 12, 2012
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: Astrophysical Journal
Volume: 753
Issue: 1
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN9739
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-26555
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS2-97001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Hubble Space Telescope
morphological appearance
Wide Field Camera 3
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