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IC 10 as a starburst dwarf galaxy in the Local Group (LG) has a large population of newly formed stars that are massive and intrinsically very bright in comparison with other LG galaxies. Using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) in the i-band and V-band, we performed an optical monitoring survey to identify the most evolved asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs) and red supergiant stars (RSGs) in this star-forming galaxy, which can be used to determine the star formation history (SFH). The E(B - V) as an effective factor for obtaining the precise magnitude of stars is measured for each star using a 2D dust map (SFD98) to obtain a total extinction for each star in both the i-band and V-band. We obtained the photometric catalog for 53579 stars within the area of 0.07 deg2 (13.5 kpc2), of which 762 stars are classified as variable candidates after removing the foreground stars and saturated ones from our catalog. To reconstruct the SFH for IC 10, we first identified 424 long-period variable (LPV) candidates within the area of two half-light radii (2r h ) from the center of the galaxy. We estimated the recent star formation rate (SFR) at ∼ 0.32 yr-1 for a constant metallicity Z = 0.0008, showing the galaxy is currently undergoing high levels of star formation. Also, a total stellar mass of is obtained within 2r h for that metallicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Local Group starburst galaxy IC 10 is the closest example of a blue compact galaxy. Here, we use optical gi imaging from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/MegaCam and near infrared JHK imaging from United Kingdom Infrared Telescope/Wide Field Camera to conduct a comprehensive survey of the structure of IC 10. We examine the spatial distribution of its resolved young, intermediate and old stellar populations to large radius and low effective surface brightness levels. Akin to other dwarfs with multiple populations of different ages, stellar populations of decreasing average age are increasingly concentrated in this galaxy. We find that the young, starbursting population and the asymptotic giant branch population are both offset from the geometric centre of the older red giant branch (RGB) population by a few hundred parsecs, implying that the younger star formation occurred significantly away from the centre of the galaxy. The RGB population traces an extended structure that is typical of blue compact galaxies, with an effective radius of ~5.75 arcmin (~1.25 kpc). These measurements show that IC 10 is much more extended than has previously been realized, and this blue compact galaxy is one of the most extended dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. The outermost isophotes of this galaxy are very regular in shape and essentially circular in morphology. Based on this analysis, we do not find any evidence to suggest that IC 10 has undergone a recent, significant, interaction with an unknown companion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an X-ray study of our nearest starburst galaxy IC 10, based on XMM–Newton and Chandra observations. A list of 73 XMM–Newton and 28 Chandra detections of point-like X-ray sources in the field is provided; a substantial fraction of them are likely stellar objects in the Milky Way due to the low Galactic latitude location of IC 10. The brightest source in the IC 10 field, X-1, has a mean 0.3–8.0 keV luminosity of and shows a large variation by a factor of up to ∼6 on time-scales of ∼104 s during the XMM–Newton observation. The X-ray spectra of the source indicate the presence of a multicolour blackbody accretion disc with an inner disc temperature . These results are consistent with the interpretation of the source as a stellar mass black hole (BH), probably accreting from a Wolf–Rayet (W–R) star companion. We infer the mass of this BH to be if it is not spinning, or a factor of up to ∼6 higher if there is significant spinning. We also detect an apparent diffuse soft X-ray emission component of IC 10. An effective method is devised to remove the X-ray CCD-readout streaks of X-1 that strongly affect the study of the diffuse component in the XMM–Newton and Chandra observations. We find that the diffuse X-ray morphology is oriented along the optical body of the galaxy and is chiefly associated with starburst regions. The diffuse component can be characterized by an optically thin thermal plasma with a mean temperature of and a 0.5–2 keV luminosity of , representing only a small fraction of the expected mechanical energy inputs from massive stars in the galaxy. There is evidence that the hot gas is driving outflows from the starburst regions; therefore, the bulk of the energy inputs may be released in a galactic wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superbubbles are crucial for stellar feedback, with supposedly high (of the order of 10 per cent) thermalization rates. We combined multiband radio continuum observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) with Effelsberg data to study the non-thermal superbubble (NSB) in IC 10, a starburst dwarf irregular galaxy in the Local Group. Thermal emission was subtracted using a combination of Balmer Hα and VLA 32 GHz continuum maps. The bubble's non-thermal spectrum between 1.5 and 8.8 GHz displays curvature and can be well fitted with a standard model of an ageing cosmic ray electron population. With a derived equipartition magnetic field strength of 44 ± 8 μG, and measuring the radiation energy density from Spitzer MIPS maps as 5 ± 1 × 10−11 erg cm−3, we determine, based on the spectral curvature, a spectral age of the bubble of 1.0 ± 0.3 Myr. Analysis of the LITTLE THINGS H i data cube shows an expanding H i hole with 100 pc diameter and a dynamical age 3.8 ± 0.3 Myr, centred to within 16 pc on IC 10 X-1, a massive stellar mass black hole (M > 23 M⊙). The results are consistent with the expected evolution for a superbubble with a few massive stars, where a very energetic event like a Type Ic supernova/hypernova has taken place about 1 Myr ago. We discuss alternatives to this interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]