Star Formation Histories of the Galactic Satellites

Abstract

Late accretion models for formation of the Galactic halo require that many Galactic satellite galaxies have been cannibalised into the halo field. Comparison of the metallicity and age distribution function of stars in the surviving satellites with the apparently exclusively old stars in the field halo can constrain the importance of any such process. We have developed a new objective technique to determine star formation histories in dSph galaxies. We apply this technique to the surviving Galactic satellites, deducing an approximately uniform distribution of ages for the constituents, quite unlike the halo field stars. Thus, late accretion did not play a substantial part in Galactic halo formation.