1. Spectroscopic ages and metallicities of stellar populations: validation of full spectrum fitting
- Author
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Caroline Soubiran, D. Le Borgne, Pierre Ocvirk, Ph. Prugniel, Mina Koleva, University of Sofia, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Département d'Astrophysique, de physique des Particules, de physique Nucléaire et de l'Instrumentation Associée (DAPNIA), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'astrodynamique, d'astrophysique et d'aéronomie de bordeaux (L3AB), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] (LAB), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg (OAS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski', Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation (GEPI), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physique des Galaxies et Cosmologie, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam (AIP), Pomies, Marie-Paule, Софийски университет = Sofia University, and Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
FOS: Physical sciences ,Astrophysics ,[SDU.ASTR] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,01 natural sciences ,Blue straggler ,Spectral line ,[PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO] ,Galaxy groups and clusters ,0103 physical sciences ,Spectral resolution ,Spectroscopy ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Physics ,Galaxy: stellar content ,(Galaxy:) globular clusters: general ,[SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,010308 nuclear & particles physics ,Astrophysics (astro-ph) ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Horizontal branch ,Stars ,[PHYS.ASTR.CO] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO] ,Space and Planetary Science ,Globular cluster ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,techniques: spectroscopic - Abstract
Fitting whole spectra at intermediate spectral resolution (R = 1000 -- 3000), to derive physical properties of stellar populations, appears as an optimized alternative to methods based on spectrophotometric indices: it uses all the redundant information contained in the signal. This paper addresses the validation of the method and it investigates the quality of the population models together with the reliability of the fitting procedures. We are using two algorithms: STECKMAP, a non-parametric regularized program and NBURSTS a parametric non-linear minimization. We compare three spectral synthesis models for single stellar populations: Pegase-HR, Galaxev (BC03) and Vazdekis/Miles, and we analyse spectra of Galactic clusters whose populations are known from studies of color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) and spectroscopy of individual stars. We find that: (1) The quality of the models critically depends on the stellar library they use. Pegase-HR and Vazdekis/Miles are consistent, while the comparison between Pegase-HR and BC03 shows some systematics reflecting the limitations of the stellar library (STELIB) used to generate the latter models; (2) The two fitting programs are consistent; (3) For globular clusters and M67 spectra, the method restitutes metallicities in agreement with spectroscopy of stars within 0.14 dex; (4) The spectroscopic ages are very sensitive to the presence of a blue horizontal branch (BHB) or of blue stragglers. A BHB morphology results in a young SSP-equivalent age. Fitting a free amount of blue stars in addition to the SSP model to mimic the BHB improves and stabilizes the fit and restores ages in agreement with CMDs studies. This method is potentially able to disentangle age or BHB effects in extragalactic clusters., Comment: accepted in MNRAS; Full version available at http://www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr/labo/perso/prugniel/mina/koleva.pdf
- Published
- 2008