Search

Early release science observations of the cluster NGC3603 with the WFC3 on the refurbished HST allow us to study its recent star formation history. Our analysis focuses on stars with Halpha excess emission, a robust indicator of their pre-main sequence (PMS) accreting status. The comparison with theoretical PMS isochrones shows that 2/3 of the objects with Halpha excess emission have ages from 1 to 10 Myr, with a median value of 3 Myr, while a surprising 1/3 of them are older than 10 Myr. The study of the spatial distribution of these PMS stars allows us to confirm their cluster membership and to statistically separate them from field stars. This result establishes unambiguously for the first time that star formation in and around the cluster has been ongoing for at least 10-20 Myr, at an apparently increasing rate., 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

The newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain multi-band images of the nearby spiral galaxy M83. These new observations are the deepest and highest resolution images ever taken of a grand-design spiral, particularly in the near ultraviolet, and allow us to better differentiate compact star clusters from individual stars and to measure the luminosities of even faint clusters in the U band. We find that the luminosity function for clusters outside of the very crowded starburst nucleus can be approximated by a power law, dN/dL \propto L^{alpha}, with alpha = -2.04 +/- 0.08, down to M_V ~ -5.5. We test the sensitivity of the luminosity function to different selection techniques, filters, binning, and aperture correction determinations, and find that none of these contribute significantly to uncertainties in alpha. We estimate ages and masses for the clusters by comparing their measured UBVI,Halpha colors with predictions from single stellar population models. The age distribution of the clusters can be approximated by a power-law, dN/dt propto t^{gamma}, with gamma=-0.9 +/- 0.2, for M > few x 10^3 Msun and t < 4x10^8 yr. This indicates that clusters are disrupted quickly, with ~80-90% disrupted each decade in age over this time. The mass function of clusters over the same M-t range is a power law, dN/dM propto M^{beta}, with beta=-1.94 +/- 0.16, and does not have bends or show curvature at either high or low masses. Therefore, we do not find evidence for a physical upper mass limit, M_C, or for the earlier disruption of lower mass clusters when compared with higher mass clusters, i.e. mass-dependent disruption. We briefly discuss these implications for the formation and disruption of the clusters.

We present narrow band, continuum subtracted Hα, [S ii], Hβ, [O iii] and [O ii] data taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope in the nearby dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 4214. From these images, we identify seventeen new planetary nebula candidates, and seven supernova remnant candidates. We use the observed emission line luminosity function of the planetary nebulae to establish a new velocity-independent distance to NGC 4214. We conclude that the PNLF technique gives a reddening independent distance to NGC 4214 of 3.19±0.36 Mpc, and that our current best-estimate of the distance to this galaxy ids 2.98±0.13 Mpc.

We present Wide Field Camera 3 images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope within a single field in the southern grand design star-forming galaxy M83. Based on their size, morphology, and photometry in continuum-subtracted Hα, [S II], Hβ, [O III], and [O II] filters, we have identified 60 supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, as well as a handful of young ejecta-dominated candidates. A catalog of these remnants, their sizes and, where possible, their Hα fluxes are given. Radiative ages and pre-shock densities are derived from those SNRs that have good photometry. The ages lie in the range 2.62 < log (τrad/yr) < 5.0, and the pre-shock densities at the blast wave range over 0.56 < n 0/cm-3 < 1680. Two populations of SNRs have been discovered. These divide into a nuclear and spiral arm group and an inter-arm population. We infer an arm to inter-arm density contrast of 4. The surface flux in diffuse X-rays is correlated with the inferred pre-shock density, indicating that the warm interstellar medium (ISM) is pressurized by the hot X-ray plasma. We also find that the ISM in the nuclear region of M83 is characterized by a very high porosity and pressure, and infer an SNR rate of 1 per 70-150 yr for the nuclear (R < 300 pc) region. On the basis of the number of SNRs detected and their radiative ages, we infer that the lower mass of Type II SNe in M83 is M min = 16+7 –5 M ☉. Finally, we give evidence for the likely detection of the remnant of the historical supernova, SN1968L.

We discuss how to read a planet's spectrum to assess its habitability and search for the signatures of a biosphere.\ud After a decade rich in giant exoplanet detections, observation techniques have advanced to a level where we now have the capability to find planets of less than 10 Earth masses (MEarth) (so-called "super Earths"), which may be habitable. How can we characterize those planets and assess whether they are habitable? This new field of exoplanet search has shown an extraordinary capacity to combine research in astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and geophysics into a new and exciting interdisciplinary approach to understanding our place in the\ud Universe. The results of a first-generation mission will most likely generate an amazing scope of diverse planets\ud that will set planet formation, evolution, and our planet into an overall context.

International audience; To estimate the occurrence of terrestrial exoplanets and maximize the chance of finding them, it is crucial to understand the formation of planetary systems in general and that of terrestrial planets in particular. We show that a reliable formation theory should not only explain the formation of the Solar System, with small terrestrial planets within a few AU and gas giants farther out, but also the newly discovered exoplanetary systems with close-in giant planets. Regarding the presently known exoplanets, we stress that our current knowledge is strongly biased by the sensitivity limits of current detection techniques (mainly the radial velocity method). With time and improved detection methods, the diversity of planets and orbits in exoplanetary systems will definitely increase and help to constrain the formation theory further. In this work, we review the latest state of planetary formation in relation to the origin and evolution of habitable terrestrial planets.

The European Space Agency and other space agencies such as NASA recognize that the question with regard to\ud life beyond Earth in general, and the associated issue of the existence and study of exoplanets in particular, is of\ud paramount importance for the 21st century. The new Cosmic Vision science plan, Cosmic Vision 2015–2025, which is built around four major themes, has as its first theme: \ud "What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life?" This main theme is addressed through further questions:\ud \ud (1) How do gas and dust give rise to stars and planets?\ud \ud (2) How will the search for and study of exoplanets eventually lead to the detection of life outside Earth (biomarkers*)?\ud \ud (3) How did life in the Solar System arise and evolve?\ud \ud Although ESA has busied itself with these issues since the beginning of the Darwin study in 1996, it has\ud become abundantly clear that, as these topics have evolved, only a very large effort, addressed from the ground\ud and from space with the utilization of different instruments and space missions, can provide the empirical results required for a complete understanding. The good news is that the problems can be addressed and solved within\ud a not-too-distant future. In this short essay, we present the present status of a roadmap related to projects that are related to the key long-term goal of understanding and characterizing exoplanets, in particular Earthlike\ud planets.

We show that we can obtain a good fit to the present-day stellar-mass functions of a large sample of young and old Galactic clusters with a tapered Salpeter power-law distribution function with an exponential truncation of the form dN/dm ∝ mα [1 − exp(−m/mc)β]. The average value of the power-law index α is ~−2.2, very close to the Salpeter value of −2.3, while the characteristic mass, mc, is in the range 0.1–0.6M⊙ and does not seem to vary in any systematic way with the present cluster parameters such as metal abundance, total cluster mass or central concentration. However, the characteristic mass shows a remarkable correlation with the dynamical age of the cluster, namely mc/M⊙ ≃ 0.15 + 0.5 × t3/4dyn, where tdyn is the dynamical time, taken as the ratio of cluster age and dissolution time. The small scatter around this correlation is likely due to uncertainties on the estimated value of tdyn. We attribute the observed trend to the onset of mass segregation through two-body relaxation in a tidal environment, causing preferential loss of low-mass stars from the cluster and hence a drift of the characteristic mass towards higher values. If dynamical evolution is indeed at the origin of the observed trend, it seems plausible that globular clusters, now with mc ≃ 0.35M⊙, were born with a stellar mass function very similar to that measured today in the youngest Galactic clusters and with a value of mc around 0.15 M⊙. This is consistent with the absence of a turn-over in the mass function of the Galactic bulge down to the observational limit at ~0.2M⊙ and argues for the universality of the initial mass function of Population I and II stars.

Aims. We aim to study the geometry and kinematics of the disk around the Be star α Arae as a function of wavelength, especially across the Brγ emission line. The main purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the disk rotation around Be stars. Methods. We use the AMBER/VLTI instrument operating in the K-band, which provides a gain by a factor of 5 in spatial resolution compared to previous MIDI/VLTI observations. Moreover, it is possible to combine the high angular resolution provided with the (medium) spectral resolution of AMBER to study the kinematics of the inner part of the disk and to infer its rotation law. Results. For the first time, we obtain direct evidence that the disk is in Keplerian rotation, answering a question that has existed since the discovery of the first Be star γ Cas by Father Secchi in 1866. We also present the global geometry of the disk, showing that it is compatible with a thin disk and polar enhanced winds modeled with the SIMECA code. We found that the disk around α Arae is compatible with a dense equatorial matter confined to the central region, whereas a polar wind is contributing along the rotational axis of the central star. Between these two regions, the density must be low enough to reproduce the large visibility modulus (small extension) obtained for two of the four VLTI baselines. Moreover, we obtain that α Arae is rotating very close to its critical rotation. This scenario is also compatible with the previous MIDI measurements.

We present the results of N-band spectro-interferometric observations of the silicate carbon star IRAS08002-3803 with the MID-infrared Interferometric instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The observations were carried out using two unit telescopes (UT2 and UT3) with projected baseline lengths ranging from 39 to 47 m. Our observations of IRAS08002-3803 have spatially resolved the dusty environment of a silicate carbon star for the first time and revealed an unexpected wavelength dependence of the angular size in the N band: the uniform-disk diameter is found to be constant and ~36 mas (72 Rstar) between 8 and 10 micron, while it steeply increases longward of 10 micron to reach ~53 mas (106 Rstar) at 13 micron. Model calculations with our Monte Carlo radiative transfer code show that neither spherical shell models nor axisymmetric disk models consisting of silicate grains alone can simultaneously explain the observed wavelength dependence of the visibility and the spectral energy distribution (SED). We propose that the circumstellar environment of IRAS08002-3803 may consist of two grain species coexisting in the disk: silicate and a second grain species, for which we consider amorphous carbon, large silicate grains, and metallic iron grains. Comparison of the observed visibilities and SED with our models shows that such disk models can fairly -- though not entirely satisfactorily -- reproduce the observed SED and N-band visibilities. Our MIDI observations and the radiative transfer calculations lend support to the picture where oxygen-rich material around IRAS08002-3803 is stored in a circumbinary disk surrounding the carbon-rich primary star and its putative low-luminosity companion.

International audience; We present the results of the first mid-infrared interferometric observations of the Mira variable RR Sco with the MID-infrared Interferometer (MIDI) coupled to the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), together with K-band observations using VLTI VINCI. The observations were carried out in June 2003, when the variability phase of the object was 0.6, using two unit telescopes (UT1 and UT3), as part of the Science Demonstration Time (SDT) program of the instrument. Projected baseline lengths ranged from 73 to 102 m, and a spectral resolution of 30 was employed in the observations, which enabled us to obtain the wavelength dependence of the visibility in the region between 8 and 13 μm. The uniform-disk diameter was found to be 18 mas between 8 and 10 μm, while it gradually increases at wavelengths longer than 10 μm to reach 24 mas at 13 μm. The uniform-disk diameter between 8 and 13 μm is significantly larger than the K-band uniform-disk diameter of 10.2 ± 0.5 mas measured using VLTI VINCI with projected baseline lengths of 15-16 m, three weeks after the MIDI observations. Our model calculations show that optically thick emission from a warm molecular envelope consisting of H2O and SiO can cause the apparent mid -infrared diameter to be much larger than the continuum diameter. We find that the warm molecular envelope model extending to ˜2.3 R\star with a temperature of ˜1400 K and column densities of H2O and SiO of 3 × 1021 cm-2 and 1 × 1020 cm-2, respectively, can reproduce the observed uniform-disk diameters between 8 and 10 μm. The observed increase of the uniform-disk diameter longward of 10 μm can be explained by an optically thin dust shell consisting of silicate and corundum grains. The inner radius of the optically thin dust shell is derived to be 7-8 R\star with a temperature of ˜700 K, and the optical depth at 10 μm is found to be ˜0.025. Based on observations made with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Southern Observatory.

An investigation of the stability of the transfer function of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has been carried out through observations of Fomalhaut over a wide range in hour angle. No significant variation in the transfer function was found for the zenith angle range 5-70 degrees. The projected baseline varied between 139.7 m and 49.8 m during the observations and, as an integral part of the determination of the transfer function, a new accurate limb-darkened angular diameter for Fomalhaut has been established. This has led to improved values for the emergent flux, effective temperature, radius and luminosity., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, uses an.cls, accepted for publication in Astron. Nacht

We present the first detection of the envelope which surrounds the post-AGB binary source HR 4049. VINCI-VLTI K-band interferometric observations of this source imply the existence of a large structure with a Gaussian angular FWHM 22.4 +/- 1.4 mas or uniform disk diameter of 34.9 +/- 1.9 mas. With the Hipparcos parallax of 1.50 +/- 0.64 mas these values correspond to a physical size of 14.9 (+11.1,-4.4) AU and 23.3 (+17.3,-7.0) AU, respectively. Our measurements, covering an azimuth range of about 60 degrees, for the sky-projected baseline, provide information on the geometry of the emitting region and show that there is only a slight variation of the measured angular values along the different directions sampled. Thus, our results are consistent with a spherical geometry of the envelope. However, we cannot completely rule out the existence of an asymmetric envelope (like the circumbinary disk envisaged by some recent models) because of the limited spatial frequency and azimuth range covered by the observations., 4 pages, 4 postscript figures, accepted letter for A&A

In this article, we discuss the instrumental requirements for planet searches from the ground. We review several methods and their fundamental limitations comparing the direct measurement of the visibility function (both modulus and phase) to astrometry and nulling interferometry. In particular, we will take the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) as an example. The VLTI is an excellent facility for planet searches from the ground since it has both large apertures and long baselines, providing high SNR and milli-arcsecond resolution.

International audience; Our Solar System was formed from a cloud of gas and dust. Most of the dust mass is contained in amorphous silicates1, yet crystalline silicates are abundant throughout the Solar System, reflecting the thermal and chemical alteration of solids during planet formation. (Even primitive bodies such as comets contain crystalline silicates2.) Little is known about the evolution of the dust that forms Earth-like planets. Here we report spatially resolved detections and compositional analyses of these building blocks in the innermost two astronomical units of three proto-planetary disks. We find the dust in these regions to be highly crystallized, more so than any other dust observed in young stars until now. In addition, the outer region of one star has equal amounts of pyroxene and olivine, whereas the inner regions are dominated by olivine. The spectral shape of the inner-disk spectra shows surprising similarity with Solar System comets. Radial-mixing models naturally explain this resemblance as well as the gradient in chemical composition. Our observations imply that silicates crystallize before any terrestrial planets are formed, consistent with the composition of meteorites in the Solar System.

We present new mid-infrared spectroscopy of the emission from warm circumstellar dust grains in Herbig Ae/Be stars. Our survey significantly extends the sample that was studied by Bouwman et al. (2001). We find a correla- tion between the strength of the silicate feature and its shape. We interpret this as evidence for the removal of small (0.1m) grains from the disk surface while large (1-2m) grains persist. If the evolution of the grain size distribution is dominated by gravitational settling, large grains are expected to disappear first, on a timescale which is much shorter than the typical age of our programme stars. Our observations thus suggest a continuous replenishment of micron sized grains at the disk surface. If the grain replenishment is due to the dredge-up of dust from the disk interior, the mineralogy we observe is representative of the bulk composition of dust in these stars.

Deep exposures of the metal-rich globular clusters NGC6496 and NGC6352 were obtained with the WFPC2 camera on board the HST through the F606W and F814W filters. The resulting colour-magnitude diagrams reach down to absolute magnitude M_814~10-10.5, approximately 5 magnitudes below the main sequence (MS) turn-off. The MS of the two clusters are sharp and well defined and their fiducial lines overlap almost exactly throughout this range. Their colour is, however, more than 0.1 mag redder than the MS fiducial line of the prototype metal-rich globular cluster 47 Tuc, after proper correction for the relative distances and reddening. This provides solid empirical evidence of a higher metal content, which is not surprising if these objects belong indeed to the bulge as their present location suggests. A good fit to the upper part of the MS of both clusters is obtained with a 10 Gyr-old theoretical isochrone from Baraffe et al. (1998) for a metallicity of [M/H]=-0.5, but at lower luminosity all models depart considerably from the observations, probably because of a deficiency in the treatment of the TiO opacity. The luminosity functions obtained from the observed CMD are rather similar to one another and show a peak at M_814~9. The present day mass functions (PDMF) are derived down to m~0.2 Msolar and are consistent with power-law indices alpha=0.7 for NGC6496 and alpha=0.6 for NGC6352. The PDMF of 47 Tuc is twice as steep in the same mass range (alpha=1.4). We investigate the origin of this discrepancy and show that it can be understood if the two clusters contain a considerably higher fraction of primordial binaries amongst their MS population, similar to that expected in the bulge. We briefly discuss the implications of this finding on the process of star and binary formation and on the universality of the IMF., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Prepared with aatex, 12 pages, 7 figures

We have studied the accuracy and reliability of the exposure time calculator (ETC) of the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with the objective of determining how well it represents actual observations and, therefore, how much confidence can be invested in it and in similar software tools. We have found, for example, that the ETC gives, in certain circumstances, very optimistic values for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of point sources. These values overestimate by up to a factor of 2 the HST performance when simulations are needed to plan deep imaging observations, thus bearing serious implications on observing time allocation. For this particular case, we calculate the corrective factors to compute the appropriate SNR and detection limits and we show how these corrections vary with field crowding and sky background. We also compare the ETC of the WFPC2 with a more general ETC tool, which takes into account the real effects of pixel size and charge diffusion. Our analysis indicates that similar problems may afflict other ETCs in general showing the limits to which they are bound and the caution with which their results must be taken., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, to be published in PASP on July 2002

We describe the first long-baseline interferometric measurement ever made of the luminous blue variable η Carinae. η Car was observed with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) with the 8.2 m Unit Telescopes as well as with the 40 cm test siderostats on three different baselines. We will detail the measurements and data analysis and discuss briefly the implications of the derived visibility on the morphology of the central source. Furthermore we will discuss the future possibilities of interferometric observations and will show that η Car is one of the prime candidates for imaging with the VLTI.

One of the observing modes available with the ESO Very Large Telescope will be coherent combination of the light received by up to four 8m unit telescopes and several 1.8m auxiliary telescopes. The location of the main telescopes is fixed, while auxiliary telescopes can be moved among some 30 observing stations. The locations of these stations were chosen to augment the (µ, υ) coverage of the unit telescopes as well as to function as an independent interferometric array.

First fringes with commissioning instruments and siderostats on both the Keck and VLTI facilities are expected for early 2001.

We present results from multi-band observations in the central region of the cluster NGC6712 with the ESO-Very Large Telescope. Using high resolution images we have identified three UV-excess stars. In particular two of them are within the cluster core, a few arcsec apart: the first object is star "S" which previous studies identified as the best candidate to the optical counterpart to the luminous X-ray source detected in this cluster. The other UV object shows clearcut H-alpha emission and, for this reason, is an additional promising interacting binary candidate (a quiescent LMXB or a CV). The presence of two unrelated interacting binary systems a few arcsec apart in the core of this low-density cluster is somewhat surprising and supports the hypothesis that the (internal) dynamical history of the cluster and/or the (external) interaction with the Galaxy might play a fundamental role in the formation of these peculiar objects., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. ApJL in press

Accurate luminosity functions (LFs) for a dozen globular clusters have now been measured at or just beyond their half-light radius using HST. They span almost the entire cluster main sequence (MS) below 0.75 M☉. All these clusters exhibit LFs that rise continuously from an absolute I magnitude MI 6 to a peak at MI 8.5-9 and then drop with increasing MI. Transformation of the LFs into mass functions (MFs) by means of mass-luminosity (ML) relations that are consistent with all presently available data on the physical properties of low-mass, low-metallicity stars shows that all the LFs observed so far can be obtained from MFs having the shape of a lognormal distribution with characteristic mass mc = 0.33 ± 0.03 M☉ and standard deviation σ = 0.34 ± 0.04. In particular, the LFs of the four clusters in the sample that extend well beyond the peak luminosity down to close to the hydrogen-burning limit (NGC 6341, NGC 6397, NGC 6752, and NGC 6809) can only be reproduced by such distributions and not by a single power law in the 0.1-0.6 M☉ range. After correction for the effects of mass segregation, the variation of the ratio of the number of higher to lower mass stars with cluster mass or any simple orbital parameter or the expected time to disruption recently computed for these clusters shows no statistically significant trend over a range of this last parameter of more than a factor of ~100. We conclude that the global MFs of these clusters have not been measurably modified by evaporation and tidal interactions with the Galaxy and, thus, should reflect the initial distribution of stellar masses. Since the lognormal function that we find is also very similar to the one obtained independently for much younger clusters and to the form expected theoretically, the implication seems to be unavoidable that it represents the true stellar initial mass function for this type of star in this mass range.

We have investigated the properties of the stellar mass function in the globular cluster NGC 6397 through the use of a large set of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. The latter include existing WFPC 2 images in the V and I bands, obtained at ~45 and 10' radial distances, as well as a series of deep images in the J and H bands obtained with the NIC 2 and NIC 3 cameras of the NICMOS instrument pointed, respectively, to regions located ~45 and ~32 from the center. These observations span the region from ~1 to ~3 times the cluster's half-light radius (rhl 3') and have been subjected to the same, homogeneous data processing so as to guarantee that the ensuing results could be directly compared to one another. We have built color-magnitude diagrams that we use to measure the luminosity function of main-sequence stars extending from just below the turnoff all the way down to the hydrogen-burning limit. All luminosity functions derived in this way show the same, consistent behavior in that they all increase with decreasing luminosity up to a peak at MI 8.5 or MH 7 and then drop precipitously well before photometric incompleteness becomes significant. Within the observational uncertainties, at MI 12 or MH 10.5 (~0.09 M☉) the luminosity functions are compatible with zero. The direct comparison of our NIC 2 field with previous WFPC 2 observations of the same area shows that down to MH 11 there are no more faint, red stars than those already detected by the WFPC 2, thus excluding a significant population of faint, low-mass stars at the bottom of the main sequence. By applying the best available mass-luminosity relation appropriate to the metallicity of NGC 6397 and consistent with our color-magnitude diagrams to both the optical and the IR data, we obtain a mass function that shows a break in slope at ~0.3 M☉. No single-exponent power-law distribution is compatible with these data, regardless of the value of the exponent. We find that a dynamical model of the cluster can simultaneously reproduce the luminosity functions observed in the core, at ~32, 45, and 10' away from the center, as well as the surface brightness and velocity dispersion profiles of red giant stars, only if the model initial mass function (IMF) rises as m-1.6±0.2 in the range 0.8-0.3 M☉ and then drops as m0.2±0.1 below ~0.3 M☉. Adopting a more physical lognormal distribution for the IMF, we find that all these data taken together imply a best-fit distribution with mc 0.3 and σ 1.8.

Observations with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a new optical jet in the core of the elliptical galaxy NGC 3862 (3C 264). Morphologically, this jet is similar to the synchrotron jets seen in other galaxies, as it shows knots and bifurcations. The optical spectral index is also similar to that found in other jets. Thus, the nucleus of NGC 3862 appears to contain the fifth known example of an optical synchrotron jet. Since NGC 3862 is a typical radio-loud elliptical galaxy, it seems likely that many nonthermal jets found in the radio continuum may also have optical counterparts.

We have imaged the core of NGC 6522 and an adjacent field 1' north in the U and B passbands using the (pre-COSTAR) HST Planetary Camera. We find 13 stars located 1.5 mag above the horizontal branch. These supra-horizontal-branch (SHB) stars have not been noted previously in NGC 6522, although they occur in other globular clusters. The SHB stars' radial distribution appears to be similar to those of the red giants. There are indications that the NGC 6522 core red giants are depleted relative to the horizontal branch stars. The SHB stars may be evolved blue horizontal-branch stars, the tidally stripped cores of red giants, or evolved blue stragglers. There is also a well-populated horizontal branch with a large number of very blue stars; in these passbands the overall color-magnitude diagram resembles that of the core collapse cluster M15.

We present HST observations of the lower main sequence of the Galactic globular cluster M3. Our data, obtained with WFPC2 in the F814W and F555W filters, sample a region centred about 4 arcmin away from the cluster centre (at ∼4.2 core radii). The photometry of the WF2, WF3 and WF4 fields extends down to V∼26.5 (I∼25), much deeper than any previous ground-based study on this cluster. The resulting luminosity function (LF) for the main sequence covers the interval MI=3–10.5, and reaches a maximum between MI=8.5 and 9, sharing in this feature the same behaviour as other clusters studied with HST so far. Making use of four different mass–luminosity (M–L) relations (theoretical and semi-empirical) a present-day mass function (MF) has also been obtained, which spans the mass interval ≃0.8–0.18 M⊙. Independent of the adopted M–L relation, the MF clearly flattens out at the low-mass limits. However, no attempt has been made to take into account possible effects due, for instance, to mass segregation and evaporation.

A 20'' × 20'' field located ~7' from the center of the massive galactic globular cluster ω Centauri (NGC 5139) was observed by the NIC2 camera of the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject Spectrometer on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) through the F110W and F160W broadband filters centered at 1.1 and 1.6 μm for a total of 3000 and 4000 s for the two filters, respectively. Standard photometric analysis of the resulting images yields 340 stars with a signal above a 10 σ threshold in both filters, covering the range of HST m160 magnitudes between 20 and 26, the deepest probe yet of a globular cluster in this wavelength region. These objects form a well-defined sequence in the m160 versus m110-m160 plane that is consistent with the theoretical near-IR color-magnitude diagram expected from recent low-mass stellar model calculations. The resulting stellar luminosity function increases steadily with increasing magnitude up to a peak at m16025, where it turns over and drops slowly down to the detection limit set by the incompleteness limit of 60% at m16026. With the theoretical mass-luminosity relationship that provides the best fit to the IR color-magnitude diagram, we obtain an excellent fit to the observed luminosity function down to a mass of ~0.2 M with a power-law mass function having a slope of α=-1.

We compare deep I-band luminosity functions of two globular clusters (NGC 6397 and NGC 6656) that have similar metal content but have experienced very different dynamical histories, both in terms of internal dynamics and as a result of different interactions with the Galactic tidal field. Their luminosity functions measured at the half-mass radius are indistinguishable from one another within the statistical errors over a range of more than 5 mag. They both show an increase with decreasing luminosity up to a peak at MI 8.5 and then drop all the way to the detection limit. We use the presently available theoretical mass-luminosity relations to convert these luminosity functions into mass functions and show that they all share one basic feature, namely, an exponential rise with decreasing mass down to about ~0.2 M☉ followed by a plateau. We conclude that an initial mass function that flattens out and possibly drops below ~0.2 M☉ is the only viable hypothesis for the low metallicity globular clusters studied so far.

We have used high-resolution HST-WF/PC images of the core of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae in the U-band to determine its radial density profile. The exceptional photometric quality of the data set ensures highly reliable measurements since no photometric completeness correction is required for stars at and above the turn-off luminosity over the whole field. The position of the center of gravity of the cluster is found to agree very well with that provided by previous FOC observations but differs by ~6'' from the position of the luminosity center as measured from the ground. Within the ~40'' radius of the cluster center sampled by this data set, the density distribution of stars with masses 0.85 M☉ is well fitted by a King-type profile with rc 122 ± 21. Values of rc larger than ~15'' are not compatible with the data and therefore are at variance with those obtained by both ground-based (rc 25'') or previous WF/PC studies (rc 23''). We show that the discrepancy with earlier results can be ascribed entirely to the effects of photometric incompleteness.

We have used new, deep, visible and near infrared observations of the compact starburst cluster in the giant HII region NGC 3603 and its surroundings with the WFC3 on HST and HAWK-I on the VLT to study in detail the physical properties of its intermediate mass (~ 1 - 3 M_sun) stellar population. We show that after correction for differential extinction and actively accreting stars, and the study of field star contamination, strong evidence remains for a continuous spread in the ages of pre-main sequence stars in the range ~ 2 to ~ 30 Myr within the temporal resolution available. Existing differences among presently available theoretical models account for the largest possible variation in shape of the measured age histograms within these limits. We also find that this isochronal age spread in the near infrared and visible Colour-Magnitude Diagrams cannot be reproduced by any other presently known source of astrophysical or instrumental scatter that could mimic the luminosity spread seen in our observations except, possibly, episodic accretion. The measured age spread and the stellar spatial distribution in the cluster are consistent with the hypothesis that star formation started at least 20-30 Myrs ago progressing slowly but continuously up to at least a few million years ago. All the stars in the considered mass range are distributed in a flattened oblate spheroidal pattern with the major axis oriented in an approximate South-East - North-West direction, and with the length of the equatorial axis decreasing with increasing age. This asymmetry is most likely due to the fact that star formation occurred along a filament of gas and dust in the natal molecular cloud oriented locally in this direction., 21 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science

In the first of a series of forthcoming publications, we present a panchromatic catalog of 102 visually-selected early-type galaxies (ETGs) from observations in the Early Release Science (ERS) program with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) field. Our ETGs span a large redshift range, 0.35 < z < 1.5, with each redshift spectroscopically-confirmed by previous published surveys of the ERS field. We combine our measured WFC3 ERS and ACS GOODS-S photometry to gain continuous sensitivity from the rest-frame far-UV to near-IR emission for each ETG. The superior spatial resolution of the HST over this panchromatic baseline allows us to classify the ETGs by their small-scale internal structures, as well as their local environment. By fitting stellar population spectral templates to the broad-band photometry of the ETGs, we determine that the average masses of the ETGs are comparable to the characteristic stellar mass of massive galaxies, 11< log(M [Solar]) < 12. By transforming the observed photometry into the GALEX FUV and NUV, Johnson V, and SDSS g' and r' bandpasses we identify a noteworthy diversity in the rest-frame UV-optical colors and find the mean rest-frame (FUV-V)=3.5 and (NUV-V)=3.3, with 1$\sigma$ standard deviations approximately equal to 1.0. The blue rest-frame UV-optical colors observed for most of the ETGs are evidence for star-formation during the preceding gigayear, but no systems exhibit UV-optical photometry consistent with major recent (, Comment: accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

Two sets of ultraviolet images of the Jovian north aurora were obtained with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The first series shows an intense discrete arc in near corotation with the planet. The maximum apparent molecular hydrogen emission rate corresponds to an electron precipitation of approximately 1 watt per square meter, which is about 30,000 times larger than the solar heating by extreme ultraviolet radiation. Such a particle heating rate of the auroral upper atmosphere of Jupiter should cause a large transient temperature increase and generate strong thermospheric winds. Twenty hours after initial observations, the discrete arc had decreased in brightness by more than one order of magnitude. The time scale and magnitude of the change in the ultraviolet aurora leads us to suggest that the discrete Jovian auroral precipitation is related to large-scale variations in the current system as is the case of for Earth's discrete aurorae.

Observations obtained with the recently refurbished Hubble Space Telescope reveal strong absorption arising from singly ionized helium along the line of sight to a high-redshift quasar. The strength of the absorption suggests that it may arise in a diffuse ionized intergalactic medium. The detection also confirms that substantial amounts of helium existed in the early Universe, as predicted by Big Bang nucleosynthesis theory.

The first disk-resolved image of Io's trailing hemisphere in the ultraviolet, as well as a visible image of the same hemisphere, has been obtained with the Faint Object Camera (FOC) of the Hubble Space Telescope on March 15, 1992, at a resolution of 210 km. Io shows no large-scale changes in the visible over the 13 years elapsed since the last disk-resolved imaging by the Voyager missions in 1979, despite the high volcanic resurfacing rate estimated from Voyager data. The UV image provides a measure of the combined effects of intrinsic surface albedo and absorption by atmospheric SO 2 gas, if present, allowing tighter constraints to be placed on both the surface characteristics and the atmospheric gas content. The gas abundance over SO 2 frost-rich regions depends on the assumed surface albedo, since the optical effects of the frost and gas may be competing at 2850 A. Assuming a surface composition in agreement with that inferred from Voyager data and previous spectroscopic measurements, the data are consistent with the presence of a SO 2 patchy atmosphere with a thick gas patch over the SO 2 frost-poor region where Pele is located. An estimate of the SO 2 gas flow rate from this volcano required to produce the observed patch is in good agreement with previous estimates based on Voyager data.

We highlight the main results of a multi-wavelenght study of the super star clusters NGC 3603 and 30 Doradus, recently observed with Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the HST.

Using observations obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we have studied the properties of the stellar populations in the central regions of 30 Dor, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The observations clearly reveal the presence of considerable differential extinction across the field. We characterise and quantify this effect using young massive main sequence stars to derive a statistical reddening correction for most objects in the field. We then search for pre-main sequence (PMS) stars by looking for objects with a strong (> 4 sigma) Halpha excess emission and find about 1150 of them over the entire field. Comparison of their location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram with theoretical PMS evolutionary tracks for the appropriate metallicity reveals that about one third of these objects are younger than ~4Myr, compatible with the age of the massive stars in the central ionising cluster R136, whereas the rest have ages up to ~30Myr, with a median age of ~12Myr. This indicates that star formation has proceeded over an extended period of time, although we cannot discriminate between an extended episode and a series of short and frequent bursts that are not resolved in time. While the younger PMS population preferentially occupies the central regions of the cluster, older PMS objects are more uniformly distributed across the field and are remarkably few at the very centre of the cluster. We attribute this latter effect to photoevaporation of the older circumstellar discs caused by the massive ionising members of R136., 15 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

(Abridged) We present a spatially-resolved near-UV/optical study of NGC 4150, using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Previous studies of this early-type galaxy (ETG) indicate that it has a large reservoir of molecular gas, exhibits a kinematically decoupled core (likely indication of recent merging) and strong, central H_B absorption (indicative of young stars). The core of NGC 4150 shows ubiquitous near-UV emission and remarkable dusty substructure. Our analysis shows this galaxy to lie in the near-UV green valley, and its pixel-by-pixel photometry exhibits a narrow range of near-UV/optical colours that are similar to those of nearby E+A (post-starburst) galaxies. We parametrise the properties of the recent star formation (age, mass fraction, metallicity and internal dust content) in the NGC 4150 pixels by comparing the observed near-UV/optical photometry to stellar models. The typical age of the recent star formation (RSF) is around 0.9 Gyrs, consistent with the similarity of the near-UV colours to post-starburst systems, while the morphological structure of the young component supports the proposed merger scenario. The RSF metallicity, representative of the metallicity of the gas fuelling star formation, is around 0.3 - 0.5 Zsun. Assuming that this galaxy is a merger and that the gas is sourced mainly from the infalling companion, these metallicities plausibly indicate the gas-phase metallicity (GPM) of the accreted satellite. Comparison to the local mass-GPM relation suggests (crudely) that the mass of the accreted system is around 3x10^8 Msun, making NGC 4150 a 1:20 minor merger. A summation of the pixel RSF mass fractions indicates that the RSF contributes about 2-3 percent of the stellar mass. This work reaffirms our hypothesis that minor mergers play a significant role in the evolution of ETGs at late epochs., 28 pages, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present results on the size evolution of passively evolving galaxies at 11.5. We identify 30 galaxies in ~40 square arcmin to H, Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to ApJ

We present grism spectra of emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from 0.6-1.6 microns from the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. These new infrared grism data augment previous optical Advanced Camera for Surveys G800L 0.6-0.95 micron grism data in GOODS-South from the PEARS program, extending the wavelength covereage well past the G800L red cutoff. The ERS grism field was observed at a depth of 2 orbits per grism, yielding spectra of hundreds of faint objects, a subset of which are presented here. ELGs are studied via the Ha, [OIII], and [OII] emission lines detected in the redshift ranges 0.22., Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. Updated to include referee comments. Updated sample using improved reduction contains 23 new galaxies (Table 1; Figures 2 & 3)

We describe the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) Early Release Science (ERS) observations in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) South field. The new WFC3 ERS data provide calibrated, drizzled mosaics in the UV filters F225W, F275W, and F336W, as well as in the near-IR filters F098M (Ys), F125W (J), and F160W (H) with 1-2 HST orbits per filter. Together with the existing HST Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) GOODS-South mosaics in the BViz filters, these panchromatic 10-band ERS data cover 40-50 square arcmin at 0.2-1.7 {\mu}m in wavelength at 0.07-0.15" FWHM resolution and 0.090" Multidrizzled pixels to depths of AB\simeq 26.0-27.0 mag (5-{\sigma}) for point sources, and AB\simeq 25.5-26.5 mag for compact galaxies. In this paper, we describe: a) the scientific rationale, and the data taking plus reduction procedures of the panchromatic 10-band ERS mosaics; b) the procedure of generating object catalogs across the 10 different ERS filters, and the specific star-galaxy separation techniques used; and c) the reliability and completeness of the object catalogs from the WFC3 ERS mosaics. The excellent 0.07-0.15" FWHM resolution of HST/WFC3 and ACS makes star- galaxy separation straightforward over a factor of 10 in wavelength to AB\simeq 25-26 mag from the UV to the near-IR, respectively., Comment: 51 pages, 71 figures Accepted to ApJS 2011.01.26

The transmission variability is reported for two filters in the EUV, where the filters were supported on an 80% transmission nickel mesh and fabricated by means of a vacuum deposition technique. The first film consisted of 2500 A-thick indium, deposited on 500 A-thick tin, and had its primary bandpass in the 740-960 A range. The second consisted of 1800 A-thick tin and 2000 A-thick carbon, with a bandpass of 500-750 A. At the end of 10 months, the transmission of both filters was measured to check variations. It is demonstrated that the EUV transmission of such filters can change over the typical lifetime of satellite missions, and that such variation depends on the storage environment. The use of vacuum, rather than dry nitrogen storage is recommended.

In this paper we present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable for the search for Earth like planets, with a special emphasis on the stellar aspects of habitability. Missions that search for terrestrial exoplanets will explore the presence and habitability of Earth-like exoplanets around several hundred nearby stars, mainly F, G, K, and M stars. The evaluation of the list of potential target systems in order to develop mission concepts for a search for Terrestrial Exoplanets is essential. Using the Darwin All Sky Star Catalogue (DASSC), we discuss the selection criteria, configuration dependent sub-catalogues and the implication of stellar activity for habitability., 14 pages, 4 figures, Astrobiology, 10, 1,2010

We combine new high sensitivity ultraviolet (UV) imaging from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with existing deep HST/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) optical images from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) program to identify UV-dropouts, which are Lyman break galaxy (LBG) candidates at z~1-3. These new HST/WFC3 observations were taken over 50 sq.arcmin in the GOODS-South field as a part of the Early Release Science program. The uniqueness of these new UV data is that they are observed in 3 UV/optical (WFC3 UVIS) channel filters (F225W, F275W and F336W), which allows us to identify three different sets of UV-dropout samples. We apply Lyman break dropout selection criteria to identify F225W-, F275W- and F336W-dropouts, which are z~1.7, 2.1 and 2.7 LBG candidates, respectively. Our results are as follows: (1) these WFC3 UVIS filters are very reliable in selecting LBGs with z~2.0, which helps to reduce the gap between the well studied z~>3 and z~0 regimes, (2) the combined number counts agrees very well with the observed change in the surface densities as a function of redshift when compared with the higher redshift LBG samples; and (3) the best-fit Schechter function parameters from the rest-frame UV luminosity functions at three different redshifts fit very well with the evolutionary trend of the characteristic absolute magnitude, and the faint-end slope, as a function of redshift. This is the first study to illustrate the usefulness of the WFC3 UVIS channel observations to select z, Accepted for publication in ApJ (24 pages, 7 figures)

In this outlook we describe what could be the next steps of the direct characterization of habitable exoplanets after first the medium and large mission projects and investigate the benefits of the spectroscopic and direct imaging approaches. We show that after third and fourth generation missions foreseeable for the next 100 years, we will face a very long era before being able to see directly the morphology of extrasolar organisms., Draft of a paper accepted in Astrobiology

International audience; The evolution of Earth-like habitable planets is a complex process that depends on the geodynamical and geophysical environments. In particular, it is necessary that plate tectonics remain active over billions of years. These geophysically active environments are strongly coupled to a planet's host star parameters, such as mass, luminosity and activity, orbit location of the habitable zone, and the planet's initial water inventory. Depending on the host star's radiation and particle flux evolution, the composition in the thermosphere, and the availability of an active magnetic dynamo, the atmospheres of Earth-like planets within their habitable zones are differently affected due to thermal and nonthermal escape processes. For some planets, strong atmospheric escape could even effect the stability of the atmosphere

International audience; The problem of the stability of planetary systems, a question that concerns only multiplanetary systems that host at least two planets, is discussed. The problem of mean motion resonances is addressed prior to discussion of the dynamical structure of the more than 350 known planets. The difference with regard to our own Solar System with eight planets on low eccentricity is evident in that 60% of the known extrasolar planets have orbits with eccentricity e > 0.2. We theoretically highlight the studies concerning possible terrestrial planets in systems with a Jupiter-like planet. We emphasize that an orbit of a particular nature only will keep a planet within the habitable zone around a host star with respect to the semimajor axis and its eccentricity. In addition, some results are given for individual systems (e.g., Gl777A) with regard to the stability of orbits within habitable zones. We also review what is known about the orbits of planets in double-star systems around only one component (e.g., gamma Cephei) and around both stars (e.g., eclipsing binaries).

After Earth's origin, our host star, the Sun, was shining 20–25% less brightly than today. Without greenhouselike\ud conditions to warm the atmosphere, our early planet would have been an ice ball, and life may never have evolved. But life did evolve, which indicates that greenhouse gases must have been present on early Earth to warm the planet. Evidence from the geological record indicates an abundance of the greenhouse gas CO2. CH4 was probably present as well; and, in this regard, methanogenic bacteria, which belong to a diverse group of anaerobic prokaryotes that ferment CO2 plus H2 to CH4, may have contributed to modification of the early atmosphere. Molecular oxygen was not present, as is indicated by the study of rocks from that era, which contain iron carbonate rather than iron oxide. Multicellular organisms originated as cells within colonies\ud that became increasingly specialized. The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life-forms. The resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and formed the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Aided by the absorption of harmful UV radiation in the ozone layer, life colonized Earth's surface. Our own planet is a very good example of how life-forms modified the atmosphere over the planets' lifetime. We show that these facts have to be taken into account when we discover and characterize atmospheres of Earth-like exoplanets. If life has originated and evolved on a planet, then it should be expected that a strong co-evolution occurred between life and the atmosphere, the result of which is the planet's climate.