Chemical evolution of dwarf spheroidal and blue compact galaxies

Abstract

We studied the star formation and chemical evolution in a sample of eight dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Local Group and in blue compact galaxies (BCGs) by means of comparison between the predictions of chemical evolution models and several observed abundance ratios. Detailed models with up-to-date nucleosynthesis taking into account the role played by supernovae of different types (II, Ia) were developed for both types of galaxies, allowing us to follow the evolution of several chemical elements (H, D, He, C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Ca and Fe). The models are specified by the prescriptions of the star formation and galactic wind efficiencies chosen to reproduce the main features of these galaxies. The BCGs are characterized by a star formation proceeding in several short bursts separated by long quiescent periods and by a low wind efficiency, whereas one or two long bursts and a very efficient wind well describe the dSph galaxies. We also investigated a possible connection in the evolution of dSph and BCGs and compared the predictions of the models to the abundance ratios observed in damped Lyman α systems (DLAs). The main conclusions are: (i) the observed distribution of [α/Fe] versus [Fe/H] in dSph galaxies is mainly a result of the star formation rate coupled with the wind efficiency; (ii) a low star formation efficiency (v = 0.01-1 Gyr -1) and a high wind efficiency (wi ∼ 5-15) are required to reproduce the observational data for dSph galaxies; (iii) the low gas content of these galaxies is the result of the combined action of gas consumption by star formation and gas removal by galactic winds; (iv) the abundance ratios of the BCGs are reproduced by models with two to seven bursts of star formation and an efficiency in the range v = 0.1-0.9 Gyr-1 ; (v) the low values of N/O observed in BCGs are the natural result of a bursting star formation; (vi) a connection between dSph and BCGs in a unified evolutionary scenario is unlikely; (vii) the models for both the dSph galaxies and BCGs reproduce the abundance ratios observed in DLAs, but imply different formation scenarios for these objects; (viii) a suitable amount of primary N produced in massive stars can be perhaps an explanation for the low plateau in the [N/α] distribution observed in DLAs, if real.