Abstract
We present our new, fully automated method to detect and measure the ages of star clusters in nearby galaxies, where individual stars can be resolved. The method relies purely on statistical analysis of observations and Monte-Carlo simulations to define stellar overdensities in the data. It decontaminates the cluster color-magnitude diagrams and, using a revised version of the Bayesian isochrone fitting code of Ramírez-Siordia et al., estimates the ages of the clusters. Comparisons of our estimates with those from other surveys show the superiority of our method to extract and measure the ages of star clusters, even in the most crowded fields. An application of our method is shown for the high-resolution, multiband imaging of the Large Magellanic Cloud. We detect 4850 clusters in the 7 deg2 we surveyed, 3451 of which have not been reported before. Our findings suggest multiple epochs of star cluster formation, with the most probable occurring ∼310 Myr ago. Several of these events are consistent with the epochs of the interactions among the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the Galaxy, as predicted by N-body numerical simulations. Finally, the spatially resolved star cluster formation history may suggest an inside-out cluster formation scenario throughout the LMC, for the past 1 Gyr.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 56 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 845 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 10 2017 |
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Keywords
- catalogs
- galaxies: star clusters: general
- Magellanic Clouds
- methods: statistical
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
Cite this
A Novel Method to Automatically Detect and Measure the Ages of Star Clusters in Nearby Galaxies : Application to the Large Magellanic Cloud. / Bitsakis, T.; Bonfini, P.; González-Lópezlira, R. A.; Ramírez-Siordia, V. H.; Bruzual, G.; Charlot, S.; Maravelias, G.; Zaritsky, Dennis F.
In: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 845, No. 1, 56, 10.08.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - A Novel Method to Automatically Detect and Measure the Ages of Star Clusters in Nearby Galaxies
T2 - Application to the Large Magellanic Cloud
AU - Bitsakis, T.
AU - Bonfini, P.
AU - González-Lópezlira, R. A.
AU - Ramírez-Siordia, V. H.
AU - Bruzual, G.
AU - Charlot, S.
AU - Maravelias, G.
AU - Zaritsky, Dennis F
PY - 2017/8/10
Y1 - 2017/8/10
N2 - We present our new, fully automated method to detect and measure the ages of star clusters in nearby galaxies, where individual stars can be resolved. The method relies purely on statistical analysis of observations and Monte-Carlo simulations to define stellar overdensities in the data. It decontaminates the cluster color-magnitude diagrams and, using a revised version of the Bayesian isochrone fitting code of Ramírez-Siordia et al., estimates the ages of the clusters. Comparisons of our estimates with those from other surveys show the superiority of our method to extract and measure the ages of star clusters, even in the most crowded fields. An application of our method is shown for the high-resolution, multiband imaging of the Large Magellanic Cloud. We detect 4850 clusters in the 7 deg2 we surveyed, 3451 of which have not been reported before. Our findings suggest multiple epochs of star cluster formation, with the most probable occurring ∼310 Myr ago. Several of these events are consistent with the epochs of the interactions among the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the Galaxy, as predicted by N-body numerical simulations. Finally, the spatially resolved star cluster formation history may suggest an inside-out cluster formation scenario throughout the LMC, for the past 1 Gyr.
AB - We present our new, fully automated method to detect and measure the ages of star clusters in nearby galaxies, where individual stars can be resolved. The method relies purely on statistical analysis of observations and Monte-Carlo simulations to define stellar overdensities in the data. It decontaminates the cluster color-magnitude diagrams and, using a revised version of the Bayesian isochrone fitting code of Ramírez-Siordia et al., estimates the ages of the clusters. Comparisons of our estimates with those from other surveys show the superiority of our method to extract and measure the ages of star clusters, even in the most crowded fields. An application of our method is shown for the high-resolution, multiband imaging of the Large Magellanic Cloud. We detect 4850 clusters in the 7 deg2 we surveyed, 3451 of which have not been reported before. Our findings suggest multiple epochs of star cluster formation, with the most probable occurring ∼310 Myr ago. Several of these events are consistent with the epochs of the interactions among the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the Galaxy, as predicted by N-body numerical simulations. Finally, the spatially resolved star cluster formation history may suggest an inside-out cluster formation scenario throughout the LMC, for the past 1 Gyr.
KW - catalogs
KW - galaxies: star clusters: general
KW - Magellanic Clouds
KW - methods: statistical
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028314763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85028314763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa8090
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa8090
M3 - Article
VL - 845
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 1
M1 - 56
ER -