2003/12/10 by T. J. Davidge, J. Stoesz, François Rigaut +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/380850
16 pages of text plus 7 postscript figures; to appear in the PASP
arxiv created 2003/12/10 · openalex publication_date 2003/12/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Deep H and K ' images recorded with the Altair adaptive optics system and Near‐Infrared Imager on Gemini‐North are used to probe the red stellar content in a field with a projected distance of 1 kpc above the disk plane of the starburst galaxy M82. The data have an angular resolution of 008 FWHM, and individual asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and red giant branch (RGB) stars are resolved. The AGB extends to at least 1.7 mag in K above the RGB tip, which occurs at K = 21.7. The relative numbers of bright AGB stars and RGB stars are consistent with stellar evolution models, and one of the brightest AGB stars has an H − K color and K brightness that is consistent with it being a C star. The brightnesses of the AGB stars suggest that they formed during intermediate epochs, possibly after the last major interaction with M81. Therefore, star formation in M82 during intermediate epochs may not have been restricted to the plane of the disk.