Bibcode
DOI
Vazdekis, A.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 513, Issue 1, pp. 224-241.
Advertised on:
3
1999
Journal
Citations
336
Refereed citations
276
Description
In this paper we develop an evolutionary stellar population synthesis
model to predict spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for single-age,
single-metallicity stellar populations (SSPs) at resolution ~1.8 Å
in two reduced but very important spectral regions around 4000 and 5000
Å. The input stellar database is composed of a subsample of ~500
stars selected from the original Jones spectral library This is the
first time that such an evolutionary model has employed such an
extensive empirical stellar spectral library, at such high resolution,
for supporting its SED predictions. A spectral library corresponding to
simple old stellar populations with metallicities in the range
-0.7<=[Fe/H]<=+0.2 is presented here, as well as an extensive
discussion about the most popular system of absorption indices at
intermediate resolution, the Lick system, showing the advantages of
using the new model predictions. Also, we show for the first time the
behavior of the Rose system of indices, at higher resolution, as a
function of the age and the metallicity of the stellar population. The
newly synthesized model spectra can be used to analyze the observed
galaxy spectrum in a very easy and flexible way, allowing us to adapt
the theoretical predictions to the characteristics of the data instead
of proceeding in the opposite direction as, for example, we must do when
transforming the observational data for using model predictions based on
a particular instrument-dependent system of indices at a specific
resolution. The synthetic SSP spectra, with flux-calibrated spectral
response, can be smoothed to the same resolution as the observations or
to the measured galaxy internal velocity dispersion, allowing us to
analyze the observed spectrum in its own system. Therefore, we are able
to utilize all the information contained in the data at their spectral
resolution. After performing this step, the entire observational
spectrum can be compared at one time, or the analysis can be done by
measuring a particular set of features in the synthesized and the
observational spectra rather than by trying to correct the latter from
broadening or instrumental effects. The SSP model spectra were
calibrated at relatively high resolution with two well-studied
metal-rich globular clusters in our Galaxy, 47 Tuc and NGC 6624,
providing very good fits and being able to detect well-known spectral
peculiarities such as the CN anomaly of 47 Tuc. The model was also
applied to an early-type galaxy, NGC 3379, revealing its well-known
abundance of magnesium relative to iron and showing the appropriateness
of the new model predictions as well as the way in which they can be
used for studying the elemental ratios of these stellar systems. In
fact, different models of different metallicities provide equal
approaches to the galaxy spectrum: once Hβ is properly constrained,
we are able to fit either the iron features (with a metallicity somewhat
in the range -0.4<=[Fe/H]<=0) or the magnesium features (with a
metallicity in the range 0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.2), but not both
simultaneously.