Complexity in small‐scale dwarf spheroidal galaxies

2009/05/05 by Andreas Koch · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Abundance (ecology) #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Biology #Dark matter #Dwarf galaxy #Dwarf galaxy problem #Dwarf spheroidal galaxy #Ecology #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy formation and evolution #Halo #Interacting galaxy #Local Group #Milky Way #Physics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA

paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/9783527629190.ch2

published in Reviews in Modern Astronomy, 39-69 · 34 pages, 8 figures; Ludwig-Biermann Award Lecture 2008, to appear in Reviews in Modern Astronomy, 21, 9

arxiv created 2009/05/05 · openalex publication_date 2009/08/18 · arxiv updated 2015/06/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Our knowledge about the dynamics, the chemical abundances and the evolutionary histories of the more luminous dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies is constantly growing. However, very little is known about the enrichment of the ultra-faint systems recently discovered in large numbers in large sky surveys. Current low-resolution spectroscopy and photometric data indicate that these galaxies are highly dark matter dominated and predominantly metal poor. On the other hand, recent high-resolution abundance analyses indicate that some dwarf galaxies experienced highly inhomogenous chemical enrichment, where star formation proceeds locally on small scales. In this article, I will review the kinematic and chemical abundance information of the Milky Way satellite dSphs that is presently available from low- and high resolution spectroscopy. Moreover, some of the most peculiar element and inhomogeneous enrichment patterns will be discussed and related to the question of to what extent the faintest dSph candidates could have contributed to the Galactic halo, compared to more luminous systems.

Citations

• NUCLEOSYNTHESIS AND EVOLUTION OF MASSIVE METAL-FREE STARS
• The predicted metallicity distribution of stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies
• Probing the formation of the first low-mass stars with stellar archaeology
• The Field of Streams: Sagittarius and Its Siblings
• A Comprehensive Maximum Likelihood Analysis of the Structural Properties of Faint Milky Way Satellites
• Stellar Kinematics and Metallicities in the Leo I Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy—Wide‐Field Implications for Galactic Evolution
• The Luminosity Function of the Milky Way Satellites
• An Orphan in the "Field of Streams"
• A SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION OF THE BOOTES II DWARF SPHEROIDAL
• Cats and Dogs, Hair and a Hero: A Quintet of New Milky Way Companions
• VLT/UVES Abundances in Four Nearby Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies. I. Nucleosynthesis and Abundance Ratios
• The luminosity-iameter relations for globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies
• THE NUCLEUS OF THE SAGITTARIUS DSPH GALAXY AND M54: A WINDOW ON THE PROCESS OF GALAXY NUCLEATION
• The Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Database
• A New Milky Way Companion: Unusual Globular Cluster or Extreme Dwarf Satellite?
• Kinematically Cold Populations at Large Radii in the Draco and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• The Star Formation History of the Local Group Dwarf Galaxy Leo I
• The Evolution and Explosion of Massive Stars. II. Explosive Hydrodynamics and Nucleosynthesis
• A common mass scale for satellite galaxies of the Milky Way
• Compositions of halo clusters and the formation of the galactic halo
• AGE DETERMINATION OF SIX INTERMEDIATE-AGE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD STAR CLUSTERS WITHHST/ACS
• Metallicity and Alpha‐Element Abundance Measurement in Red Giant Stars from Medium‐Resolution Spectra
• Stellar Chemical Signatures and Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
• Draco: A Failure of the Tidal Model
• Two stellar components in the halo of the Milky Way
• The importance of tides for the Local Group dwarf spheroidals
• Hundreds of Milky Way Satellites? Luminosity Bias in the Satellite Luminosity Function
• The Progenitors of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• The chemical evolution of dwarf spheroidal galaxies: dissecting the inner regions and their stellar populations
• A New Type of Extremely Metal-poor Star
• A near-zero velocity dispersion stellar component in the Canes Venatici dwarf spheroidal galaxy
• Star-Formation Histories, Abundances, and Kinematics of Dwarf Galaxies in the Local Group
• A Trio of New Local Group Galaxies with Extreme Properties
• ABUNDANCE RATIOS AND GALACTIC CHEMICAL EVOLUTION
• The Kinematics of the Ultra‐faint Milky Way Satellites: Solving the Missing Satellite Problem
• A Search for Ionized Gas in the Draco and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Is Ursa Major II the progenitor of the Orphan Stream?
• The Ital-FLAMES survey of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy