TY - JOUR
T1 - A High-Excitation HII Region in the faint dwarf elliptical galaxy A0951+68
AU - Johnson, R. A.
AU - Lawrence, A.
AU - Terlevich, R.
AU - Carter, D.
PY - 1997/5/11
Y1 - 1997/5/11
N2 - We present the results of BVRI imaging and optical spectroscopy of the
dwarf galaxy A0951+68. The images reveal that, although this galaxy is
classified as a dwarf elliptical, it has some properties that are
similar to dwarf irregular galaxies. It contains two bright knots of
emission, one of which is red and unresolved, and the other blue and
unresolved. The blue knot also shows a high-excitation emission-line
spectrum. The observed line ratios indicate that this is an H II region,
though with some line ratios that are border-line with those in AGM. The
emission-line luminosity is consistent with ionization by a single, very
luminous O star, or several smaller O stars, but the extended blue light
in the knot shows that this has occurred as part of a substantial recent
star formation event. We find that the metal abundance, while low
compared to typical large galaxies, actually seems to be high for such a
low-luminosity dwarf. The position of A0951 in the literature is
incorrect, and we provide the correct value.
AB - We present the results of BVRI imaging and optical spectroscopy of the
dwarf galaxy A0951+68. The images reveal that, although this galaxy is
classified as a dwarf elliptical, it has some properties that are
similar to dwarf irregular galaxies. It contains two bright knots of
emission, one of which is red and unresolved, and the other blue and
unresolved. The blue knot also shows a high-excitation emission-line
spectrum. The observed line ratios indicate that this is an H II region,
though with some line ratios that are border-line with those in AGM. The
emission-line luminosity is consistent with ionization by a single, very
luminous O star, or several smaller O stars, but the extended blue light
in the knot shows that this has occurred as part of a substantial recent
star formation event. We find that the metal abundance, while low
compared to typical large galaxies, actually seems to be high for such a
low-luminosity dwarf. The position of A0951 in the literature is
incorrect, and we provide the correct value.
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/287.2.333
DO - 10.1093/mnras/287.2.333
M3 - Article
SN - 0035-8711
VL - 287
SP - 333
EP - 340
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
IS - 2
ER -