Related papers: UV excess and AGB evolution in elliptical-galaxy s…
Recent observations and theories suggest that extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars and their progeny should be the cause of the UV excess seen in the spectra of many elliptical galaxies. Since the Galactic Bulge is the closest…
This paper is part of a series devoted to the investigation of a large sample of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), their properties and the relationships between these and the properties of the host clusters. In this paper, we compare the…
The UV properties of old stellar populations have been subject of intense scrutiny from the late sixties, when the UV-upturn in early type galaxies was first discovered. Because of their proximity and relative simplicity, Galactic globular…
In the local Universe, 10% of massive elliptical galaxies are observed to exhibit a peculiar property: a substantial excess of ultraviolet emission (UVX) over what is expected from their old, red stellar populations. Several origins for the…
The UV upturn is the rising flux with decreasing wavelength between the Lyman limit and 2500\AA found virtually in all bright spheroidal galaxies. It has been a mystery ever since it was first detected by the OAO-2 space telescope (Code &…
Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have obtained deep far-ultraviolet images of the compact elliptical galaxy M32. When combined with earlier near-ultraviolet images of the same field, these…
The so-called ultraviolet (UV) upturn of elliptical galaxies is a phenomenon characterised by the up-rise of their fluxes in bluer wavelengths, typically in the 1,200-2,500A range. This work aims at estimating the rate of occurrence of the…
Using GALEX, UVOT and optical photometry, we explore the prevalence and strength of the UV-upturn in the spectra of quiescent early type galaxies in several nearby clusters. Even for galaxies with completely passive optical colours, there…
We have performed a census of the UV-bright population in 78 globular clusters using wide-field UV telescopes. This population includes a variety of phases of post-horizontal branch (HB) evolution, including hot post-asymptotic giant branch…
Multiple stellar populations (MPs) are a distinct characteristic of Globular Clusters (GCs). Their general properties have been widely studied among main sequence, red giant branch (RGB) and horizontal branch (HB) stars, but a common…
The UV upturn refers to the increase in UV flux at wavelengths shorter than 3000 {\AA} observed in quiescent early-type galaxies (ETGs), which still remains a puzzle. In this study, we aim to identify ETGs showing the UV upturn phenomenon…
The UV excess shown by elliptical galaxies in their spectra is believed to be caused by evolved low-mass stars, in particular sdB stars. The stellar system most similar to the ellipticals for age and metallicity, in which it is possible to…
We present the deepest near-UV image of M32 to date, which for the first time resolves hot HB stars in an elliptical galaxy. Given the near-solar metallicity of M32, much larger than that of globular clusters, the existence of an extended…
Extremely hot horizontal branch (HB) stars and their progeny are widely considered to be responsible for the "ultraviolet upturn" (or UVX) phenomenon observed in elliptical galaxies and the bulges of spirals. Yet, the precise evolutionary…
We present preliminary results from spectral synthesis models of old stellar populations for the spectral range 912-4000 A with ~ 10A resolution, which can be used to investigate the UVX phenomenon and to assess ages and abundances. Model…
Much of the far-UV emission from elliptical galaxies is thought to arise from extreme horizontal branch stars and related objects. Only about 10% of the stellar population needs to evolve through this phase even in galaxies with the…
Galaxy counts from bright ultraviolet (UV) and deep optical spectroscopic surveys have revealed an unexpectedly large number of very blue galaxies. The colors and luminosities of these objects indicate that they are dwarf galaxies…
The search for binarity in AGB stars is of critical importance for our understanding of how planetary nebulae acquire the dazzling variety of aspherical shapes which characterises this class. However, detecting binary companions in such…
We use data from the GAMA and GALEX surveys to demonstrate that the UV upturn, an unexpected excess of ultraviolet flux from a hot stellar component, seen in the spectra of many early-type galaxies, arises from processes internal to…
Far-ultraviolet radiation is a ubiquitous, if unanticipated, phenomenon in elliptical galaxies and early-type spiral bulges. It is the most variable photometric feature associated with old stellar populations. Recent observational and…