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And now there’s a problem with M dwarfs, too
The basis for something called the “G dwarf problem” is the comparison between observations and a simple model for chemical evolution in a galaxy. To cut to the chase, there are fewer very metal poor G dwarfs than are predicted by this basic understanding. This discrepancy has been shown to hold for the Milky Way as well as for other galaxies. It also holds for K dwarfs in the Milky Way – and now for M dwarfs as well.
Growing Galaxies Inside-Out
A picture of galaxy construction emerges by comparing the relative sizes of star-formation and stellar continuum emission from 57 z=1 galaxies.
Shadows Across The Universe: Mg II at High Redshifts
When the light from a distant quasar finally arrives at Earth, it often carries far more information than it did when it was emitted – the shadows of gas and galaxies that have intervened over the cosmic distances between us and the source. These features can tell us how the universe evolves in both space and time, by allowing us to sample both low and high redshifts for structures that would not otherwise be visible. This paper uses a new IR spectrograph, FIRE, deployed on the Magellan 6.5 m telescopes, to present the first high-redshift sample of Mg II absorption systems, including the most distant Mg II system yet found (z = 5.33). The authors show that the number of strong Mg II systems appears to peak and decline in number along with the star formation history of the universe, suggesting a correlation between the two, while weak Mg II systems stay mysteriously constant.
NGC 4261’s off-kilter globular cluster population
We think many galaxies we see today had mergers and interactions in their past, but how can we know for sure? Bonfini et al. look to evidence from a subtle pattern in the distribution of globular clusters in NGC 4261.