Related papers: Post-AGB Stars as Standard Extragalactic Candles
We construct a data base of 125 post-AGB objects (including R CrB and extreme helium stars) with published photospheric parameters (effective temperature and gravity) and chemical composition. We estimate the masses of the post-AGB stars by…
We present a spectral atlas of the post-main-sequence population of the most massive Galactic globular cluster, omega Centauri. Spectra were obtained of more than 1500 stars selected as uniformly as possible from across the (B, B-V)…
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…
We present Faint Object Camera (FOC) ultraviolet images of the central 14x14'' of Messier 31 and Messier 32. The hot stellar population detected in the composite UV spectra of these nearby galaxies is partially resolved into individual…
We have imaged five 7\arcmin \x 7\arcmin\ fields in M31 spanning galactocentric radii from 4 to 32 kpc along the SW-major axis. The fields were observed through two broad-band (\V\ and \I) and two narrow-band (\CN\ and \TiO) filters. The…
In this paper we analyze the stellar populations present in M31 using nine sets of adjacent HST-NICMOS Camera 1 and 2 fields with galactocentric distances ranging from 2' to 20'. These infrared observations provide some of the highest…
In the 90's, theoretical studies motivated the use of the asymptotic-giant branch bump (AGBb) as a standard candle given the weak dependence between its luminosity and stellar metallicity. Because of the small size of observed…
We have used HST and ground-based photometry to determine total $V$-band magnitudes and mass-to-light ratios of more than 150 Galactic globular clusters. We do this by summing up the magnitudes of their individual member stars, using…
Broad- and narrow-band images covering the 1 - 4um wavelength interval are used to investigate the properties of the brightest AGB stars in the Local Group galaxy M32. The brightest AGB stars near the center of M32 have peak M_L'…
We present various infrared two-color diagrams (2CDs) for AGB stars, post-AGB stars, and Planetary Nebulae (PNe) and investigate possible evolutionary tracks. We use catalogs from the available literature for the sample of 4903 AGB stars…
A supergiants are objects in transition from the blue to the red (and vice versa) in the uppermost HRD. They are the intrinsically brightest "normal" stars at visual light with absolute visual magnitudes up to -9. They are ideal to study…
The bright stellar content near the center of the Local Group elliptical galaxy M32 is investigated with 0.12 arcsec FWHM H and K images obtained with the Gemini Mauna Kea telescope. Stars with K = 15.5, which are likely evolving near the…
Paper I of this series described the design of a CCD-based photometric system that is optimized for ground-based measurements of the size of the Balmer discontinuity in stellar spectra. This "uBVI" system combines the Thuan-Gunn u filter…
(Abridged) We have used optical spectroscopy to investigate the radio- selected active galaxy populations in a sample of 20 nearby Abell clusters. The spectra were used to characterize the galaxies as AGN or galaxies forming stars at rates…
We use medium-band near-infrared (NIR) Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 photometry with model NIR spectra of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars to develop a new tool for efficiently distinguishing carbon-rich (C-type) AGB stars from oxygen-rich…
We have obtained HST/STIS far- and near-UV photometry of globular clusters in four fields in the gE galaxy M87. To a limit of m(FUV) = 25 we detect a total of 66 globular clusters (GCs) in common with the deep HST optical-band study of…
We report the discovery of 4 candidate intracluster globular clusters (IGCs) in a single deep HST ACS field of the Virgo Cluster. We show that each cluster is roughly spherical, has a magnitude near the peak of the Virgo globular cluster…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the ultimate cosmic lighthouses, capable of illuminating the universe at its earliest epochs. Could such events probe the properties of the first stars at z $\sim$ 20, the end of the cosmic Dark Ages? Previous…
An extremely soft X-ray excess throughout galaxy clusters has been claimed as a new feature of these sytems, with important physical implications. We have reexamined this feature in the five clusters for which it has been discussed, using…
Two high galactic latitude B-type stars, PG1323-086 and PG1704+222, are analysed from low and medium resolution optical spectra and Stroemgren photometry. A differential abundance analysis for He, C, N, O, Mg, Al, and Si reveals that the He…