The Extended Star Formation History of the Andromeda Spheroid at 21 kpc on the Minor Axis

Abstract

Using the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys, we have obtained deep optical images of a southeast minor-axis field in the Andromeda galaxy, 21 kpc from the nucleus. In both star counts and metallicity, this field represents a transition zone between the metal-rich, highly disturbed inner spheroid that dominates within 15 kpc and the metal-poor, diffuse population that dominates beyond 30 kpc. The color-magnitude diagram reaches well below the oldest main-sequence turnoff in the population, allowing a reconstruction of the star formation history in this field. Compared to the spheroid population at 11 kpc, the population at 21 kpc is ~1.3 Gyr older and ~0.2 dex more metal-poor, on average. However, like the population at 11 kpc, the population at 21 kpc exhibits an extended star formation history; one third of the stars are younger than 10 Gyr, although only a few percent are younger than 8 Gyr. The relatively wide range of metallicity and age is inconsistent with a single, rapid star formation episode and instead suggests that the spheroid even at 21 kpc is dominated by the debris of earlier merging events likely occurring more than 8 Gyr ago.

Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at STScI, and associated with proposal 10816.

Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and NASA, and made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.