| Issue |
A&A
Volume 391, Number 3, September I 2002
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 857 - 873 | |
| Section | Cosmology (including clusters of galaxies) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020894 | |
| Published online | 09 August 2002 | |
The star cluster system of the NGC 7673 starburst*
1
ESO, Karl Schwarzschild Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
2
University of Wisconsin, Department of Astronomy, 475 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706, USA
3
ESO ST-ECF, Karl Schwarzschild Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
Corresponding author: N. Homeier, nhomeier@eso.org
Received:
18
March
2002
Accepted:
7
June
2002
We investigate the star cluster system
in the starburst galaxy NGC 7673 using archival Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 broad-band images. For the first time we are able
to examine the internal structures of the prominent optical clumps
in this galaxy. The clumps are composed of young stars, 16–33% of which
are in bright star clusters. We identify 268 star cluster
candidates in both the F555W and
F814W images, and 50 clusters with the F255W
filter. These data allow us to estimate ages and masses using color-magnitude
and two-color diagrams for our sample. We find a population
of young, <6 Myr clusters located throughout
the galaxy with concentrations in the clumps. Star cluster mass estimates
are 5–50 
10
for the brightest objects. The
starburst remains active in physically well-separated
regions, indicating a widespread starburst trigger. We discuss clump
lifetimes, their implications for the future evolution of NGC 7673, and
possible relationships to high redshift starbursts.
Key words: galaxies: evolution / galaxies: starburst / galaxies: individual: NGC 7673 / galaxies: interactions / galaxies: star clusters
© ESO, 2002
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