Abstract
We present a color-magnitude diagram of more than 10,000 stars in the halo of the galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A), based on WFPC2 images through V-band and I-band filters. The position of the red giant branch (RGB) stars is compared with the loci of the red giant branch in six well-studied globular clusters and in the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 185; the tip of the RGB is signalled by an observed turn-up in the luminosity function at I ≃ 24.1 ± 0.1 mag; this yields a distance modulus (m - M)0 = 27.8 ± 0.2 for NGC 5128 (i.e., a distance of 3.6 ± 0.2 Mpc), in agreement with previous determinations based on the planetary nebulae luminosity function and on the surface brightness fluctuations technique. The presence of an intermediate-age stellar population (∼5 Gyr) is suggested by the luminosity function of the asymptotic giant branch stars, extending up to I = 22.6 mag (for V - I > 2) and Mbol ∼ -5 mag; however, the number of these stars constrains the intermediate-age stellar population in the halo of NGC 5128 to be less than ∼10% of the total. The color distribution at constant I magnitude, albeit affected by the completeness level of our sample, strongly suggests a mean value of [Fe/H] > -0.9 dex, possibly similar to the value found in M31 and higher than that observed in NGC 185. Like the M31 halo, the halo of NGC 5128 exhibits a broad range of levels of chemical enrichment.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 79-90 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 465 |
Issue number | 1 PART I |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1996 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Galaxies: Distances and redshifts
- Galaxies: Individual (ngc 5128)
- Galaxies: Stellar content
- Russell diagram
- Stars: Hertzsprung
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science