Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-12-2015
Abstract
We present WFC3 observations of three low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies from the Schombert et al. LSB catalog that are within 11 Mpc of the Milky Way. Deep imaging at F336W, F555W, and F814W allow the construction of the V - I color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) to MI = -2. Overall 1869, 465, and 501 stellar sources are identified in the three LSB galaxies F415-3, F608-1, and F750-V1, respectively. The spatial distribution of young blue stars matches the H maps from ground-based imaging, indicating that star formation in LSB galaxies follows the same style as in other irregular galaxies. Several star complexes are identified, matching regions of higher surface brightness as seen from ground-based imaging. The CMD for each LSB galaxy has a similar morphology to Local Volume (LV) dwarf galaxies (i.e., a blue main sequence, blue and red He burning branches, and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars). The LSB CMD's distinguish themselves from nearby dwarf CMD's by having a higher proportion of blue main sequence stars and fewer AGB stars than expected from their mean metallicities. Current [Fe/H] values below -0.6 are deduced from the position of the red helium-burning branch (rHeB) stars in the V - I diagram. The distribution of stars on the blue helium-burning branch (bHeB) and rHeB from the U - V and V - I CMD indicate a history of constant star formation for the last 100 Myr.
Keywords
galaxies: star formation, galaxies: stellar content
Publication Title
Astronomical Journal
Rights
© The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. This content is free to access, download, and share. For all other uses, you must obtain permission to reuse content: https://journals.aas.org/article-charges-and-copyright/#AAS_material
Recommended Citation
Stellar Populations and the Star Formation Histories of LSB Galaxies. V. WFC3 Color-Magnitude Diagrams. James Schombert and Stacy McGaugh 2015 AJ 150 72
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version