The stellar content of nuclear star clusters in spiral galaxies

Torsten Boeker; Roeland P. van der Marel; Joris Gerssen; Jakob Walcher; Hans-Walter Rix; Joseph C. Shields; Luis C. Ho

doi:10.1117/12.456699

13 February 2003 The stellar content of nuclear star clusters in spiral galaxies

Torsten Boeker, Roeland P. van der Marel, Joris Gerssen, Jakob Walcher, Hans-Walter Rix, Joseph C. Shields, Luis C. Ho

Proceedings Volume 4834, Discoveries and Research Prospects from 6- to 10-Meter-Class Telescopes II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.456699
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

We discuss first results from a spectroscopic survey of nuclear star clusters in nearby, late-type spiral galaxies. The data, obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), allow us to derive cluster ages via stellar population synthesis methods. We present some typical data sets, describe the fitting algorithm, and discuss the results for the 6 objects studied so far. We find that only one nuclear cluster spectrum is dominated by a population older than 1 Gyr. In all cases, the fit is significantly improved by allowing for multiple generations of stars. Although preliminary, these results support the notion that nuclear cluster formation is most likely a repetitive process.

Citation Download Citation

Torsten Boeker, Roeland P. van der Marel, Joris Gerssen, Jakob Walcher, Hans-Walter Rix, Joseph C. Shields, and Luis C. Ho "The stellar content of nuclear star clusters in spiral galaxies", Proc. SPIE 4834, Discoveries and Research Prospects from 6- to 10-Meter-Class Telescopes II, (13 February 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.456699

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