Related papers: The Young Outer Disk of M83

An abundance analysis based on a high-resolution spectrum is presented for a newly discovered post-AGB star in the globular cluster M79. The surprising result is that the iron abundance of the star is apparently about 0.6 dex less than that…

The Magellanic Clouds (MCs) offer a unique opportunity to study the stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis of massive Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in low metallicity environments where distances are known. Rubidium is a key element to…

We present theoretical surface-brightness fluctuations (SBF) amplitudes for single-burst stellar populations of young and intermediate age ($25 Myr \leq t \leq 5 Gyr$), and $Z=0.0003$, 0.001, 0.004, 0.008, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.04. We pay…

High resolution spectra of 110 selected red giant stars in the globular cluster M15 (NGC 7078) were obtained with Hectochelle at the MMT telescope in 2005 May, 2006 May, and 2006 October. Echelle orders containing Halpha and Ca H & K are…

Dating the ages and weighting the stellar populations in galaxies are essential steps when studying galaxy formation through cosmic times. Evolutionary population synthesis models with different input physics are used for this purpose.…

We analyse a sample of 507 evolved stars in the inner galactic Plane. We derive average ages for subsets of this sample and use those sets as beacons for the evolution of the Galaxy. In the Bulge the oldest OH/IR stars in the plane are 7.5…

While the first binary post-AGB stars were serendipitously discovered, the distinct characteristics of their Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) allowed us to launch a more systematic search for binaries. We selected post-AGB objects which…

The heavy mass loss observed in evolved asymptotic giant branch stars is usually attributed to a two-step process: atmospheric levitation by pulsation-induced shock waves, followed by radiative acceleration of newly formed dust grains.…

The spatial distribution of stars in the nearby S0 galaxy NGC 5102 is investigated using images obtained with WIRCam and MegaCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. With the exception of gaps between detector elements, the entire galaxy…

The timescales on which astronomical dust grows remain poorly understood, with important consequences for our understanding of processes like circumstellar disk evolution and planet formation.A number of post-asymptotic giant branch stars…

Many properties of circumbinary discs around evolved post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binary systems are similar to those of protoplanetary discs around young stars. The deficits of near-infrared (near-IR) flux in the spectral energy…

We are going to apply AGB stars to find star formation history for IC\,1613 galaxy, this a new and simple method that works well for nearby galaxies. IC\,1613 is a Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy that is located at distance of 750 kpc, a…

We analyse two-dimensional near-IR K-band spectra from the inner 660x315 pc^2 of the Seyfert galaxy NGC7582 obtained with the Gemini GNIRS IFU. The nucleus harbors an unresolved source well reproduced by a blackbody of temperature T 1050 K,…

Several recent studies have shown that about half of the massive galaxies at z~2 are in a quiescent phase. Moreover, these galaxies are commonly found to be ultra-compact with half-light radii of ~1 kpc. We have obtained a ~29 hr spectrum…

We present the first WFPC2 V, I photometry for the Sculptor Group galaxy NGC 300 in four fields ranging from the centre to the outer edge. We have made the first measurement of the star formation histories in two disk fields: the oldest…

We present high-resolution (R~60,000) optical spectra of a carefully selected sample of heavily obscured and presumably massive O-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). We report the discovery of strong Rb…

We have mapped the distribution of young and old stars in the gaseous HI warp of NGC 4565. We find a clear correlation of young stars (<600 Myr) with the warp, but no coincident old stars (>1 Gyr), which places an upper limit on the age of…

There is a group of binary post-AGB stars that show a conspicuous NIR excess, usually assumed to arise from hot dust in very compact possibly rotating disks. These stars are surrounded by significantly fainter nebulae than the "standard",…

Spectroscopic, photometric and dynamical data of the inner 3 kpc part of the starburst galaxy M82 are analyzed in order to investigate the star formation history of the stellar disk. The long-slit spectra along the major axis are dominated…

We report results of a program to image the extended circumstellar envelopes of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in dust-scattered Galactic light. The goal is to characterize the shapes of the envelopes to probe the mass-loss geometry…