TY - JOUR
T1 - Better age estimation using ultraviolet-optical colours
T2 - Breaking the age-metallicity degeneracy
AU - Kaviraj, S.
AU - Rey, S. C.
AU - Rich, R. M.
AU - Yoon, S. J.
AU - Yi, S. K.
PY - 2007/10
Y1 - 2007/10
N2 - We demonstrate that the combination of GALEX ultraviolet (UV) photometry in the far-UV (FUV; ~1530 Å) and near-UV (NUV; ~2310 Å) passbands with optical photometry in the standard U, B, V, R, I filters can efficiently break the age-metallicity degeneracy. We estimate well-constrained ages, metallicities and their associated errors for 42 globular clusters (GCs) in M31, and show that the full set of FUV, NUV, U, B, V, R, I photometry produces age estimates that are ~90 per cent more constrained and metallicity estimates that are ~60 per cent more constrained than those produced by using optical filters alone. The quality of the age constraints is comparable or marginally better than those achieved using a large number of spectroscopic indices.
AB - We demonstrate that the combination of GALEX ultraviolet (UV) photometry in the far-UV (FUV; ~1530 Å) and near-UV (NUV; ~2310 Å) passbands with optical photometry in the standard U, B, V, R, I filters can efficiently break the age-metallicity degeneracy. We estimate well-constrained ages, metallicities and their associated errors for 42 globular clusters (GCs) in M31, and show that the full set of FUV, NUV, U, B, V, R, I photometry produces age estimates that are ~90 per cent more constrained and metallicity estimates that are ~60 per cent more constrained than those produced by using optical filters alone. The quality of the age constraints is comparable or marginally better than those achieved using a large number of spectroscopic indices.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00370.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00370.x
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:36549035557
VL - 381
SP - L74-L78
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
SN - 1745-3925
IS - 1
ER -