Related papers: Stellar populations from adaptive optics observati…
We present adaptive optics-assisted integral field spectroscopy around the Ha or Hb lines of 12 gravitationally lensed galaxies obtained with VLT/SINFONI, Keck/OSIRIS and Gemini/NIFS. We combine these data with previous observations and…
The color-magnitude diagrams of $\sim 7 \times 10^5$ stars obtained for 12 fields across the Galactic bulge with the OGLE project reveal a well-defined population of bulge red clump giants. We find that the distributions of the apparent…
The compact elliptical galaxy M32 offers a unique testing ground for theories of stellar evolution. Because of its proximity, solar-blind UV observations can resolve the hot evolved stars in its center. Some of these late evolutionary…
Until recently, it has been possible only for nearby galaxies to study the scaling relations between central black hole and host galaxy in detail. Because of the small number densities at low redshift, (luminous) AGN are underrepresented in…
We have identified a clustering of red galaxies from deep optical/IR images obtained as part of the Institute for Astronomy Deep Survey. Photometric spectral-energy distributions indicate that most of these galaxies comprise nearly pure old…
We present multiband photometric observations of three spiral galaxies selected in a sample suited for the study of young stellar groupings and their relationship with the parent galaxy and the galactic environment. Star forming regions…
As new large-scale astronomical surveys greatly increase the number of objects targeted and discoveries made, the requirement for efficient follow-up observations is crucial. Adaptive optics imaging, which compensates for the image-blurring…
We present K-band $\lambda/\Delta\lambda$ ~ 2600 spectroscopy of five stars (K ~ 14 - 16 mag) within 0.''5 of Sgr A*, the radio source associated with the compact massive object suspected to be a 2.6 x 10$^{6}$ \msun black hole at the…
Mass loss is a key property to understand stellar evolution and in particular for low-metallicity environments. Our knowledge has improved dramatically over the last decades both for single and binary evolutionary models. However, episodic…
We systematically investigate the error sources for high-precision astrometry from adaptive optics based near-infrared imaging data. We focus on the application in the crowded stellar field in the Galactic Center. We show that at the level…
Using tools previously described and applied to the prototype galaxy NGC 891, we model the optical to far-infrared spectral energy distributions (SED) of four additional edge-on spiral galaxies, namely NGC 5907, NGC 4013, UGC 1082 and UGC…
We report on the first results of a new study aimed at understanding the diversity and evolutionary history of distant galactic bulges in the context of now well-established trends for pure spheroidal galaxies. To this end, bulges have been…
We present the initial results of a Hubble Space Telescope/ACS snapshot survey of 16 nearby, edge-on, late-type galaxies covering a range in distance from 2 to 19 Mpc. The images of these galaxies show significant resolved stellar…
(Abridged) We present the first Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO) observations of the Galactic center. LGS-AO has dramatically improved the quality, robustness, and versatility with which high angular resolution infrared images of…
Context: The number of known strong gravitational lenses is expected to grow substantially in the next few years. The statistical combination of large samples of lenses has the potential of providing strong constraints on the inner…
Both star clusters and variable stars are sensitive laboratories of stellar astrophysics and evolution: cluster member stars provide context for interpreting cluster populations, whereas variability reveals the nature of individual stellar…
We present J, H, Ks photometry from the the Multi conjugate Adaptive optics Demonstrator (MAD), a visitor instrument at the VLT, of a resolved stellar population in a small crowded field in the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud near the…
We present deep, photometrically calibrated BVRJHK images of the nearby interacting galaxy pair NGC 4038/39 (``The Antennae''). Color maps of the images are derived, and those using the B, V, and K-bands are analyzed with techniques…
We introduce a new method to determine the relative contributions of different types of stars to the integrated light of nearby early-type galaxies. As is well known, the surface brightness of these galaxies shows pixel-to-pixel…
This work is dedicated to investigation of galaxies that do not fit into a common scenario of galaxy formation - isolated lenticular galaxies. We have studied stellar populations and ionized gas content of a sample of 22 lenticular galaxies…