Carbon stars in Local Group galaxies.
Abstract
A near-infrared prism survey of the Local Group galaxies LMC, SMC, Sculptor, Fornax and NGC 6822 has been made. The survey has provided good estimates of the entire carbon star content of Sculptor and Fornax. Carbon star contents of Local Group systems are observed to vary with increasing metallicity. This suggests a single mechanism is operating in the formation of all the C stars observed. The main conclusions are that: (1) the spectra of the Sculptor carbon stars are not similar to Population II CH stars, but more similar to normal AGB C stars; (2) the Fornax carbon stars may be nitrogen rich; (3) if Sculptor velocity is 20 km/s, all the observed stars are members of their respective galaxies; (4) Sculptor is probably a member of the Magellanic Stream; and (5) the carbon star lying near the northern tip of the Magellanic Stream may be a remnant from an initial Magellanic Cloud/Galaxy interaction.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- January 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1086/160578
- Bibcode:
- 1983ApJ...264..114R
- Keywords:
-
- Carbon Stars;
- Galactic Clusters;
- Infrared Astronomy;
- Local Group (Astronomy);
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Star Distribution;
- Stellar Spectrophotometry;
- Abundance;
- Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars;
- Infrared Spectra;
- Metallic Stars;
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Near Infrared Radiation;
- Spectral Bands;
- Stellar Color;
- Stellar Magnitude;
- Astrophysics