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# HST observations of the cometary blue compact dwarf galaxy UGC 4483: a relatively young galaxy?1footnote 11footnote 1Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope through the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA,Inc. under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

## 1 Introduction

The dwarf irregular galaxy UGC 4483 can also be classified as a cometary blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy in the morphological classification scheme of Loose & Thuan (1986): the high-surface-brightness starburst region at the northern end of the galaxy represents the “head” of the comet while its low-surface-brightness (LSB) elongated body represents its “tail”. With equatorial coordinates $`\alpha `$(J2000) = 08h37m03$`\stackrel{\mathrm{s}}{\mathrm{.}}`$0, $`\delta `$(J2000) = +69°46′31″, it lies roughly midway between M81 (7$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$8 away) and NGC 2403 (7$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$3 away) and likely belongs to the M81 group of galaxies. Tikhonov & Karachentsev (1993) have derived a distance to UGC 4483 of 3.6 Mpc from photometry of its brightest stars. For comparison, the Cepheid-determined distance to M81 is 3.47 Mpc and that to NGC 2403 is 2.82 Mpc. Recently Dolphin et al. (2001) using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations have derived a lower distance of 3.2 Mpc and have argued that UGC 4483 belongs to the NGC 2403 subgroup rather than to the M81 subgroup. From H i 21 cm observations, Thuan & Seitzer (1979) derived for UGC 4483 a radial velocity of +156 km s-1, a hydrogen mass $`M`$(H i) = 4.1 $`\times `$ 107 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (at a distance of 3.4 Mpc) and a gas mass fraction of 0.39.

The first abundance determination of the ionized gas surrounding the brightest H ii region on the northern side of the extended LSB body in UGC 4483 is by Skillman (1991) who derived an oxygen abundance 12 + log O/H = 7.32. However, subsequent spectroscopic studies have resulted in higher values: 7.52 (Skillman et al. 1994), 7.58 (Izotov, Thuan & Lipovetsky 1994) and 7.54 ($`Z_{}`$/23) (Izotov & Thuan 1999). This low metallicity makes UGC 4483 a good candidate for being a relatively unevolved galaxy. Its nitrogen-to-oxygen abundance ratio log N/O = –1.64 $`\pm `$ 0.03 falls in the narrow range of values derived for other very metal-deficient BCDs with $`Z`$ $``$ $`Z_{}`$/20 (Thuan, Izotov & Lipovetsky 1995; Izotov & Thuan 1999). Izotov & Thuan (1999) have argued that chemical abundances in BCDs can be used to put constraints on their age. From the constancy of the C/O and N/O ratios as a function of O abundance, they have suggested that all galaxies with 12 + log (O/H) $``$ 7.6 ($`Z_{}`$/20) began to form stars less than $``$ 100 Myr ago. However, the most direct way to derive the age of galactic stellar populations is by color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) of resolved stars and comparison with theoretical isochrones.

We report here HST Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) $`V`$ and $`I`$ imaging of UGC 4483. These data are used to discuss the evolutionary status of this nearby dwarf galaxy. We describe the observations in Sect. 2. The distance to UGC 4483 is derived in Sect. 3. Its stellar populations are discussed in Sect. 4. In Sect. 5 we compare the CMD of UGC 4483 with those of other nearby irregular and BCD galaxies available from the HST archives. We summarize our findings in Sect. 6.

## 2 Observations and data reduction

We obtained HST images of UGC 4483 on 2000 August 12 during cycle 9 with the WFPC2 through filters F555W and F814W, which we will refer to hereafter as $`V`$ and $`I`$. The $`V`$ exposure was broken up in seven sub-exposures and the $`I`$ filter in five sub-exposures to permit identification and removal of cosmic rays. The total exposure time was 9500s in $`V`$ and 6900s in $`I`$. The galaxy was positioned on the PC frame so that the high-surface-brightness starburst region is at its North corner. The orientation of the WFPC2 has been chosen so that the major axis of the galaxy lies along the diagonals of the PC and WF3 frames. Some parts of UGC 4483 were imaged also on the WF2, WF3 and WF4 frames. The scale is 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$046 per pixel for the PC frame and 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$102 per pixel for the WF frames.

Preliminary processing of the raw images including flat-fielding was done at the Space Telescope Science Institute through the standard pipeline. Subsequent reductions were carried out at the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences using IRAF222IRAF is the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). and STSDAS333STSDAS: the Space Telescope Science Data Analysis System.. Cosmic rays were removed and the images in each filter were combined using the CRREJ routine. We found that all exposures in a given filter coregistered to better than $``$ 0.2 pixels.

In Fig. 1 is shown the mosaic $`V`$ image of UGC 4483. Many faint background galaxies are visible in the field, with several such galaxies along the line of sight to UGC 4483. The most prominent projected galaxy is located near the brightest star cluster. It is red, so is better seen in $`I`$ and $`VI`$ images. In Fig. 2 we show PC $`I`$ and $`VI`$ images where the prominent background galaxy is marked by a circle. The dark regions in the $`VI`$ image are young regions with ongoing star formation and ionized gas emission. They have a patchy structure implying non-uniform dust extinction.

The superior spatial resolution of the HST WFPC2 images combined with the proximity of UGC 4483 permits to resolve individual stars and study stellar populations in this galaxy by means of CMDs. We used the DAOPHOT package in IRAF for point-spread-function (PSF) fitting photometry. The PSFs are derived using the brightest stars in each frame. There are many bright and relatively uncrowded stars in the PC frame, resulting in a reliable PSF. The PSFs for the WF frames are not as reliable because of the lack of bright isolated stars. The measured full widths at half maximum (FWHM) of the stellar profiles are different for the PC and WF frames and for different filters. For the PC frame we obtain FWHMs of 1.8 pixels and 2.3 pixels respectively for the $`V`$ and $`I`$ images. The corresponding FWHMs for the WF frames are 1.5 pixels and 1.7 pixels. The background level in the PC field was measured in an annulus with radii 21 and 25 pixels (0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$97 and 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$15) around each source and subtracted. These radii are large enough so that the background annulus is free of contamination from the extended wings of the stellar profiles. We have checked that this is the case by using a background annulus closer to the source, with radii of 11 and 15 pixels (0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$51 and 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$69). The measured magnitudes with the larger annulus are $``$ 0.005 mag brighter than those obtained with the smaller annulus, implying that the wings of the stellar profiles do not contaminate the background appreciably at radii $`>`$ 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5. The sky level in the WF fields was measured in an annulus with radii 11 and 15 pixels (1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$12 and 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$53). We also experimented with a smaller background annulus with radii 6 and 11 pixels (0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$61 and 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$12) and did not find differences in the measured magnitudes, implying again that the wings of the stellar profiles do not contaminate the background for radii $`>`$ 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5. The zero point of the PSF-fitting stellar photometry was determined with the standard aperture photometry technique adopting a 2 pixel radius aperture in all frames. To convert instrumental magnitudes with an aperture radius of 2 pixels to the corresponding magnitudes with the Holtzman et al. (1995a) calibrating aperture radius of 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5 (respectively 11 and 5 pixels for the PC and WF frames), we need to derive aperture corrections. For this, we compared PSF-fitted magnitudes of bright isolated stars with the magnitudes of the same stars measured with the aperture photometry technique within an 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5 aperture. For the PC frames we obtained the corrections $`V_{\mathrm{ap}}`$(0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5) – $`V_{\mathrm{fit}}`$ = –0.37 mag and $`I_{\mathrm{ap}}`$(0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$5) – $`I_{\mathrm{fit}}`$ = –0.60 mag. For the WF frames the corresponding corrections are –0.22 mag in $`V`$ and –0.23 mag in $`I`$. Our derived corrections are very similar to those obtained by Holtzman et al. (1995a).

Stars with $`\chi ^2`$ greater than 4.0 and a sharpness out of the –1.0 – +1.0 range in both PC and WF frames were eliminated to minimize the number of false detections. Correction for charge-transfer efficiency (CTE) loss has been done according to the prescriptions of Dolphin (2000a). Figure 3 shows the distribution of photometric errors as a function of $`V`$ and $`I`$ magnitudes as determined by DAOPHOT. It is seen that errors are about 0.2 mag at $`V`$ = 27.5 mag and $`I`$ = 26.5 mag for both PC and WF frames. They increase to about 0.4 mag at $`V`$ = 28.5 mag and $`I`$ = 27.5 mag.

We have excluded stars with photometric errors larger than 0.2 mag in the final photometric list for both $`V`$ and $`I`$ images. The total numbers of recovered stars in both PC and WF frames are respectively 7672, 5411 and 3853 in the $`V`$ image, the $`I`$ image and in both of these images at the same time. The corresponding numbers of recovered stars in the PC frame only are 4508, 2985 and 2250. We have adopted a matching radius of 1 pixel, although changing that radius within the range 0.5 - 2 pixels does not change the number of stars in both $`V`$ and $`I`$ frames appreciably. That nearly half the stars are not matched is likely to be caused by incompleteness effect and an increasing number of false detections at faint magnitudes. Indeed, the number of the stars with $`V`$ = 25 – 26 mag recovered in both $`V`$ and $`I`$ images is $``$ 85% that recovered in the $`V`$ image alone, while the number of the stars with $`V`$ = 27 – 28 mag recovered in both $`V`$ and $`I`$ images is only $``$ 15% that recovered in the $`V`$ image alone.

The transformation of instrumental magnitudes to the Johnson-Cousins $`UBVRI`$ photometric system as defined by Landolt (1992) was performed according to the prescriptions of Holtzman et al. (1995b) and Dolphin (2000a). The magnitudes and colors of point sources were corrected for Galactic interstellar extinction adopting $`A_V`$ = 0.11 mag (Schlegel, Finkbeiner & Davis 1998).

We have carried out a completeness analysis for the PC and WF4 frames using the DAOPHOT routine ADDSTAR. For each frame we have added artificial stars amounting to $``$ 5% of the real stars detected in each magnitude bin in the original image. We then performed a new photometric reduction using the same procedure as the one applied to the original frame, and checked how many added stars were recovered. This operation was repeated 10 times for each frame and each magnitude bin and the results were averaged. The completeness factor in each magnitude bin defined as the percentage of recovered artificial stars is shown in Table 1. It can be seen that the completeness limit is reasonably good: it is about 67% – 70% in $`V`$ and 45% – 55% in $`I`$ in the 26 – 27 mag range, but drops to $``$ 41% – 44% and $``$ 7% – 15% in the 27 – 28 mag range.

## 3 Distance determination

In Fig. 4 we show $`I_0`$ vs $`(VI)_0`$ CMDs of UGC 4483 in all WFPC2 frames. The CMD for the PC frame is well populated by both young main sequence stars and older red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Such populations have also been detected and discussed by Dolphin et al. (2001) from less deep $`V`$ and $`I`$ HST/WFPC2 images. The CMDs in the WF frames are less populated, with a dominant contribution from RGB and AGB stars, although younger stellar populations are present.

The detection of RGB stars allows in principle to derive the distance to the galaxy using the apparent magnitude $`I_0`$ of the tip of RGB stars (TRGB). This technique is based on the observed constancy of the absolute magnitude $`M_{I0}`$ $``$ –4.0 mag of TRGB stars in old globular stellar clusters (Da Costa & Armandroff 1990). There is evidently a sharp drop in the RGB distribution toward brighter $`I_0`$ magnitudes in the PC, WF2 and WF3 frames (Fig. 4a – 4c). However the drop is not so evident in the WF4 frame (Fig. 4d) because of the large number of AGB stars atop the RGB tip. Therefore, care has been taken to minimize the contribution of AGB stars and more massive red helium burning (RHeB) stars in the determination of $`I_0`$(TRGB). For all frames, we have derived the distribution of the RGB stars located in the CMD to the red of the straight line defined by the pair of points $`I_0`$,$`(VI)_0`$ = (27,0.4) and (22,1.5) to exclude the contribution of the RHeB stars, and to the blue of the straight line defined by $`I_0`$,$`(VI)_0`$ = (27,0.8) and (22,1.9) to reduce the contribution of the AGB stars.

The distribution of stars in the combined PC, WF2, WF3, WF4 frames in steps $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`I_0`$ = 0.1 mag is shown in Fig. 5 by a solid line. The derivative of the distribution is shown by a dotted line. The location of the TRGB is determined by the first large increase in both the RGB luminosity function and its derivative, and is shown by a vertical tick mark. The $`I_0`$(TRGB) is 23.65 $`\pm `$ 0.10 mag. We also experimented with luminosity functions produced with different binnings, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`I_0`$ = 0.2 and 0.4 mag. The larger $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`I_0`$ result in more monotonic luminosity functions, but the value of the $`I_0`$(TRGB) is unchanged. It is 0.09 mag fainter, but is consistent within the errors with the one of 23.56 $`\pm `$ 0.10 mag derived by Dolphin et al. (2001) from their short-exposure WF observations.

The distance modulus is given by $`(mM)_I`$ = $`I_0`$(TRGB) – $`M_{I0}`$(TRGB) with the absolute $`I`$ magnitude defined as $`M_{I0}`$(TRGB) = $`M_{\mathrm{bol}}`$(TRGB) – $`BC`$($`I`$), where $`M_{\mathrm{bol}}`$(TRGB) is the bolometric magnitude of the TRGB and $`BC`$($`I`$) is the bolometric correction to the $`I`$ magnitude. $`BC`$($`I`$) is related to the $`(VI)`$ color of the TRGB by $`BC`$($`I`$) = 0.881 – 0.243$`(VI)_{\mathrm{TRGB}}`$, while the bolometric magnitude is related to the stellar metallicity \[Fe/H\] by $`M_{\mathrm{bol}}`$(TRGB) = –0.19\[Fe/H\] – 3.81 (Da Costa & Armandroff 1990; Lee, Freedman & Madore 1993). Usually \[Fe/H\] is derived using the $`(VI)`$ color of RGB stars with absolute magnitude $`M_{I0}`$ = –3. As pointed out by Lee et al. (1993) from analysis of Yale theoretical isochrones, this is because $`(VI)`$ is mainly dependent on metallicity and not very much on age. We caution however that this method for estimating metallicities of RGB stars may be less reliable when applied to relatively young stellar populations like those in UGC 4483 (see section 4.2), because Lee et al. (1993) have restricted their analysis to stellar ages larger than 7 Gyr. Futhermore, the Yale isochrones do not give a good fit to the observed isochrones for globular clusters (see the discussion by Da Costa & Armandroff 1990).

Fig. 6a shows the RGB region as obtained from the PC frame. We adopt a distance modulus $`mM`$ = 27.63, as discussed later. The superimposed solid lines are, in order of increasing metallicity from left to right, the observed isochrones of the Galactic globular clusters M15, NGC 6397, M2, NGC 6752, NGC 1851 and 47 Tuc with respective metallicities \[Fe/H\] = –2.17, –1.91, –1.58, –1.54, –1.29 and –0.71 (Da Costa & Armandroff 1990). Fig. 6b shows the RGB region of the combined CMD for the WF2, WF3 and WF4 frames.

It is seen from Fig. 6a that the $`(VI)`$ colors of the RGB stars in UGC 4483 are $``$ 0.1 mag bluer as compared to those in the most metal-deficient globular cluster M15 (\[Fe/H\] = –2.17) in the Da Costa & Armandroff (1990) sample. For the TRGB, we derive $`(VI)`$ $``$ 1.3 mag, or $``$ 0.1 mag bluer than in the Local Group irregular galaxy Leo A, suggested by Tolstoy et al. (1998) to contain a predominantly young stellar population. The $`(VI)`$ color of the RGB stars at $`M_{I0}`$ = –3 mag is $``$ 1.1 mag. These blue colors may result from both metallicity and age effects. Assuming that metallicity is the dominant effect we derive \[Fe/H\] = –2.39, using the equation \[Fe/H\] = –15.16 + 17.0$`(VI)_3`$ – 4.9$`(VI)_3^2`$, where $`(VI)_3`$ is the color of RGB stars with $`M_{I0}`$ = –3 mag (Da Costa & Armandroff 1990). The color-derived metallicity of the RGB stars in UGC 4483 is $``$ 1.0 dex lower than the one derived in the H ii region. We caution however that this relation has been obtained for metallicities in the range –2.1 $`<`$ \[Fe/H\] $`<`$ –0.7, so that extrapolation to lower metallicities might be uncertain. For the metallicities –2.39 and –1.4 (the metallicity of the ionized gas), $`M_{I0}`$(TRGB) = –3.93 and –4.03 mag respectively. Then the respective distance moduli are $`(mM)`$ = 27.58 and 27.68. Both values are slightly larger, but not significantly, than the value of 27.53 derived by Dolphin et al. (2001). We adopt $`(mM)`$ = 27.63 $`\pm `$ 0.12, as the mean of the two determinations. The distance to UGC 4483 is then $`D`$ = 3.4 $`\pm `$ 0.2 Mpc, which agrees within the errors with the distance of 3.2 $`\pm `$ 0.2 Mpc obtained by Dolphin et al. (2001).

The above distance determination is based on the assumption that the RGB stars in UGC 4483 are $``$ 10 Gyr old. If they are younger, the above method breaks down, and the metallicity of the RGB stars can be considerably larger. Then, theoretical isochrones should be considered to determine ages. Padua and Geneva evolutionary tracks are most often used for the analysis of resolved stellar populations in Local Group and more distant galaxies. However, as discussed e.g., Da Costa & Armandroff (1990) and Lynds et al. (1998) the theoretical isochrones do not fit the observed ones for globular clusters. We thus need to check the applicability of the theoretical isochrones for the analysis of the RGB population. For that purpose, we compare theoretical 10 Gyr isochrones as calculated by the Padua and Geneva groups for different metallicities with those observed for galactic globular clusters.

In Fig. 7 we show theoretical isochrones for two values of the heavy element mass fraction $`Z`$ = 0.0004 and $`Z`$ = 0.001 (Bertelli et al. 1994 (Padua); Lejeune & Schaerer 2001 (Geneva)) (thin solid lines) with the observed isochrones from Da Costa & Armandroff (1990) for the globular clusters M2 with $`Z`$ = 0.0004 and NGC 1851 with $`Z`$ = 0.001 (thick solid lines). All isochrones are plotted using a distance modulus $`(mM)`$ = 27.63 to fit the CMD of UGC 4483. It is seen from Fig. 7a and 7c that the 10 Gyr theoretical isochrones with $`Z`$ = 0.0004 from either group do not fit the observed ones. The Padua 10 Gyr isochrone is significantly bluer than the M2 isochrone, leading to a large age overestimate. Thus, the Padua isochrones would give an age of 10 Gyr for the RGB stars in UGC 4483, and an age larger than the age of the universe for M2. By contrast, the Geneva 10 Gyr isochrone is redder than that of M2, resulting in an underestimate of the age. In this case, a good fit to the RGB stars in UGC 4483 is given by the $``$ 2 Gyr isochrone, and the age of M2 would be 3 billion years.

The situation is better for models with $`Z`$ = 0.001 (Fig. 7b and 7d). Both Padua and Geneva 10 Gyr isochrones fit the observed isochrone of NGC 1851 quite well, the fit being slightly better for the Padua isochrones. However, we note that the isochrones for $`Z`$ = 0.001 of Bertelli et al. (1994) are based on evolutionary tracks calculated with an older set of opacities. All other isochrones with different $`Z`$ given by those authors are calculated with new opacities. Girardi et al. (2000) have also computed isochrones for $`Z`$ = 0.001 with the new opacities. The 10 Gyr isochrones from Girardi et al. (2000) do not fit the NGC 1851 isochrone, being significantly bluer and resulting in a large age overestimate.

Evidently, the uncertainties in theoretical isochrones for ages $``$ 1 Gyr are large, and additional work is needed. We decided to adopt $`(mM)`$ = 27.63 $`\pm `$ 0.12 for UGC 4483, derived from $`M_{I0}`$(TRGB) in globular clusters, assuming that it does not change appreciably between 1 and 10 Gyr. Although the distance of 3.4$`\pm `$ 0.2 Mpc is not derived entirely in a self-consistent manner, because of the age-metallicity ambiguity, it is the best that can be done with current observations and models.

## 4 Stellar populations

Several generations of stellar populations are present in the CMD of UGC 4483 suggesting continuous star formation over an extended period of time. Ongoing star formation is evidenced by the presence of the high-surface-brightness supergiant H ii region at the northern edge of the galaxy. Past star formation is implied by the older stellar populations distributed over its whole low-surface-brightness body. In the CMD resulting from the combination of both PC and WF data (Fig. 8), we have delimited the regions occupied by the different stellar populations: the main-sequence (MS) stars with age less than $``$ 15 Myr, the blue loop (BL) and the red supergiant (RSG) stars with age between $``$ 20 Myr and $``$ 200 Myr, and the older AGB and RGB stars with age $``$ 1 Gyr.

The spatial distributions of these different stellar populations are shown in Fig. 9. The main sequence stars (Fig. 9a) are nearly all located in the H ii regions at the northern edge of the BCD and show a clumpy distribution. The BL/RSG stars are found in and between the H ii regions and their distribution is smoother and more extended than that of the MS stars (Fig. 9b). Finally, AGB and RGB stars occupy the largest area of the galaxy (Fig. 9c – 9d). Similar results with somewhat smoother and more extended spatial distributions of populations with different ages have also been found by Dolphin et al. (2001). Such a general trend of more extended spatial distributions for older stellar populations is also found in other dwarf galaxies observed with HST (e.g., Lynds et al. 1998; Schulte-Ladbeck et al. 1998; Crone et al. 2000) and is likely a consequence of the diffusion and relaxation of stellar ensembles. We discuss next in detail the different stellar populations in UGC 4483.

### 4.1 Young stellar populations

We restrict our discussion in this section to the PC image because most of the ongoing and recent star formation is concentrated there, as evidenced by the bright supergiant H ii region (Fig. 1) and its blue $`(VI)`$ color (Fig. 2b). Fig. 10 displays a zoom of the PC $`V`$ and $`I`$ images showing the ionizing compact stellar cluster in the supergiant H ii region. The stellar cluster has a diameter $`<`$ 1″ or $`<`$ 16.5 pc for our derived distance of 3.4 Mpc. Dolphin et al. (2001) have constructed a CMD for this cluster and derived an age of 15 Myr for it. This age can not be correct, because with such an age the expected equivalent width of the H$`\beta `$ emission line in the H ii region is less than 10Å (e.g., Schaerer & Vacca 1998), instead of the value of 169Å measured by Izotov et al. (1994). The latter value gives an age of only 4 Myr. A similar H$`\beta `$ equivalent width has been obtained by Skillman et al. (1994).

We measure the $`V`$ and $`I`$ magnitudes for this cluster using a square aperture of 27 pixels (or 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$2) on a side centered at the point with coordinates $`x`$ = 601 and $`y`$ = 581, where the origin $`x`$ = $`y`$ = 0 is at the left lower corner of the PC chip. The galaxy background, measured at several points $``$ 3″ away from the cluster and amounting to 350 e- pixel-1 in $`V`$ and 140 e- pixel-1 in $`I`$, has been subtracted. We derive $`V`$ = 19.38 $`\pm `$ 0.01 mag, $`I`$ = 19.61 $`\pm `$ 0.01 mag, and $`(VI)`$ = –0.23 $`\pm `$ 0.01 mag for the cluster. Such a blue color is typical for young ionizing stellar clusters. We have not corrected the magnitudes and colors for the contamination of the ionized gas because a precise knowledge from spectroscopic observations of the emission line intensities in exactly the same region is required. The apparent $`I`$ magnitude of the cluster translates into an absolute magnitude of $``$ –8.0 mag, equivalent to the emission of $``$ 15 O stars with absolute magnitude $`M_I`$ = –5 mag. Approximately such a number of stars can be seen in the cluster (Fig. 10).

A very blue compact source with coordinates $`x`$ = 625 and $`y`$ = 491 is seen at a distance $``$ 4″ from the cluster (within the circle in Fig. 10). It is embedded within the ionized gas envelope surrounding the cluster. This source was not recovered by DAOPHOT because of its large FWHM of 4.2 pixels, about two times the FWHM of point sources. Using APPHOT and a 5-pixel aperture, we obtain $`V`$ = 21.83 $`\pm `$ 0.01 mag, $`I`$ = 22.38 $`\pm `$ 0.02 mag and $`VI`$ = –0.55 $`\pm `$ 0.02 mag. With a smaller 3-pixel aperture, the respective values are $`V`$ = 22.33 $`\pm `$ 0.02 mag, $`I`$ = 22.92 $`\pm `$ 0.03 mag and $`VI`$ = –0.59 $`\pm `$ 0.04 mag. Adopting the latter values, the absolute $`I`$ magnitude of the source is –4.7 mag. Its $`(VI)`$ color is bluer than the color of the most massive main-sequence O stars ($``$ –0.3 mag). It is probably an early-type Wolf-Rayet star embedded in a H ii region with a 4-pixel radius, or 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$18, corresponding to a linear radius of 3 pc. Several other bright blue stars are seen around the cluster (compare Fig. 10a and 10b). However, no appreciable ionized gas emission is present in the vicinity of these stars, and they are probably late O or early B supergiant stars.

To study the spatial variations of the stellar populations in the PC frame, we have divided it into six regions as shown in Fig. 11. Region 1 includes the supergiant H ii region and contains many bright main-sequence stars as is evident from examination of its CMD in Fig. 12a. In Fig. 12, superimposed on the data are shown theoretical isochrones for $`Z`$ = 0.001 (Bertelli et al. 1994). We use this isochrone set because its metallicity is close to the one observed in the H ii region, and its 10 Gyr isochrone fits well the observed isochrone of the globular cluster NGC 1851 which has a similar metallicity (Fig. 7b). However, as discussed in section 3, it must be kept in mind that the absolute age calibration of these isochrones is somewhat uncertain, and they are best used in a differential manner to compare stellar population ages in different regions. The logarithms of the age of each isochrone are given in Fig. 12f. Older stars are present in region 1 as well. The presence of blue loop and red supergiant stars indicates that star formation has continued in this region for the last several 100 Myr. Finally, $``$ 2 Gyr red giant stars can also be seen in the CMD of region 1. However, no AGB stars are seen. We conclude that, in addition to a strong recent burst of star formation as evidenced by the presence of the supergiant H ii region, star formation has occured during at least the last 2 Gyr in region 1. Alternatively, if the metallicity of the stars is significantly lower than that of the gas, then our age estimates could be significantly larger.

Similar conclusions regarding the star formation history can be made for regions 2 to 5 (Fig. 12b – 12e), except that the main sequence is not as well populated as in region 1, and ionizing upper main sequence stars are absent.

In summary, a large part of the galaxy around the supergiant H ii region shows evidence for continuous star formation during at least the last 2 Gyr. The exception is region 6 which is characterized by a low density of stars, and where mainly $``$ 2 Gyr RGB stars are present. It is likely that star formation never occurred in this region and the RGB stars migrated there from denser regions of the galaxy.

### 4.2 The RGB and AGB stellar populations

RGB and AGB stars are good tracers of the star formation history of UGC 4483 during the last several hundred Myr (AGB stars) to $``$ 2 Gyr (RGB stars). If there are no older stellar populations in the galaxy, then it can be considered as a relatively young galaxy, since a 2 Gyr age is much lower than the age of the Universe. Unfortunately, the galaxy is too far away for HST to detect the red giant clump and horizontal-branch stars which are good indicators of stellar populations older than several Gyr. Therefore, our discussion of the age of UGC 4483 will have to rely on the observed RGB and AGB stellar populations. It will be by necessity more qualitative than quantitative. This is because of the age-metallicity degeneracy of RGB star colors, the poor knowledge of the properties of AGB stars and the uncertainties in the theoretical isochrones.

We have already pointed out that the most striking feature in the CMD of UGC 4483 is that the RGB stars are very blue. The $`(VI)`$ color of the TRGB as measured in the PC frame is only 1.3 mag (Fig. 6a), bluer than the color of the TRGB of old Galactic globular clusters ($``$ 1.4 mag). The $`(VI)`$ color of the TRGB in the WF frames, though slightly redder, is 1.35 mag, or 0.05 mag bluer than the TRGB color of the globular cluster M15 with metallicity \[Fe/H\] = –2.17. Such blue colors of the RGB stars can be explained in two ways: 1) by a very low metallicity \[Fe/H\] $``$ –2.4 and an old age, or 2) by a higher metallicity and a younger age ($`<`$ 10 Gyr).

Let’s first consider case 1. If we suppose that the RGB stars in UGC 4483 are 10 Gyr old, then the extremely low metallicity required to produce their relatively blue colors is not easily understood. While stars with \[Fe/H\] $``$ –2.4 cannot be excluded in principle, they are rare in the Milky Way and in other well-studied nearby galaxies. There is an additional problem: if the slightly redder colors of the RGB stars seen in the WF frames is a real effect due to a higher metallicity, why would stars seen in the periphery of UGC 4483 which are likely to be older be more metal-rich as compared to the younger RGB stars in the main body of the galaxy? It is more plausible that case 2 prevails, that the blue colors of the RGB stars in UGC 4483 are caused by their younger age rather than by their lower metallicity. In that case, the metallicity of the ionized gas, while being probably higher than the stellar metallicity, may still be a reasonable approximation for the metallicity of the RGB stars. Then, using models with $`Z`$ = 0.001 from Bertelli et al. (1994), we derive an age for the RGB stars of $``$ 2 Gyr. Uncertainties in the theoretical isochrones and the unknown metallicity of the RGB stars in UGC 4483 preclude a more precise determination. While our CMDs do not show evidence for stellar populations older than $``$ 2 Gyr, they do not go deep enough to definitively rule them out.

AGB stars are tracers of the intermediate and old stellar populations. They are not as numerous in UGC 4483 as, for example, in the BCD VII Zw 403 (see Fig. 9 in Lynds et al. 1998) which has a slightly higher ionized gas metallicity ($`Z`$ $``$ $`Z_{}`$/15). AGB stars in UGC 4483 have a mean absolute $`I`$ magnitude $``$ –4.9 mag (Fig. 6a and 6b) and are brighter by $``$ 0.3 mag than those in VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290 (Fig. 6c and 6d). Again, as in the case of RGB stars, the difference in the absolute brightness of the AGB stars in UGC 4483 can be due to two reasons: a lower metallicity and/or a younger age than in VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290.

There are no theoretical isochrones that can reproduce well the observed properties of AGB stars at low metallicities (e.g., Lynds et al. 1998). While AGB stars in the CMDs of UGC 4483, VII Zw 403 and some Local Group irregular galaxies have a constant absolute magnitude $`M_I`$, the models predict a steady increase of $`M_I`$ with increasing $`(VI)`$ color, to the tip of the AGB (TAGB) phase, when the brightness of AGB stars reaches their maximum. The Padua theoretical isochrones with $`Z`$ $`<`$ 0.001 are too short and too steep to be able to reproduce the red colors of AGB stars (e.g., Fig. 7a – 7b). As for Geneva isochrones, they do not include the AGB stage. Therefore, instead of performing an absolute comparison of the theoretical isochrones with the data points we can only perform a qualitative differential comparison of the AGB populations seen in UGC 4483 and VII Zw 403, using the Bertelli et al. (1994) $`Z`$ = 0.001 models. Assuming that the AGB stars in both galaxies have the same metallicity, the difference of 0.3 mag in the TAGB brightness translates into two times younger age for the AGB stars in UGC 4483. Again, as in the case of the RGB stars, we find that the stellar populations seen in UGC 4483 are likely not to be older than $``$ 2 Gyr, an age which is considerably smaller than the age of the universe and which suggests that UGC 4483 is probably a relatively young galaxy as compared to other dwarf galaxies.

### 4.3 Surface-brightness and color distributions

Another way to study the properties of stellar populations is to consider their integrated characteristics as given by the surface brightness and color profiles in different regions in the galaxy. The advantage of this approach is that it includes both resolved and unresolved stars. The disadvantage is that populations with different ages contribute to the integrated light and assumptions have to be made on the star formation history to derive the age distribution of stars.

In Fig. 13, we show the $`V`$ (a) and $`I`$ (b) surface-brightness and $`VI`$ (c) color distributions along the major axis of UGC 4483 in a strip 2″ wide centered on the H ii region taken to be the origin. As before, surface brightnesses and colors have been transformed to the standard $`VI`$ photometric system according to the prescriptions of Holtzman et al. (1995b) and have been corrected for Galactic extinction with $`A_V`$ = 0.11 mag (Schlegel et al. 1998). The red background galaxy to the north of the H ii region seen in Fig. 2 is labeled B.G. in Fig. 13b. Its peak $`(VI)`$ color exceeds 1.0 mag (Fig. 13c). The gap in Fig. 13 at the distance of $``$ –35″ is caused by the lack of signal at the boundaries of the individual CCD chips (Fig. 1). The supergiant H ii region has a peak surface brightness $`\mu `$($`V`$) $``$ 20.0 mag arcsec-2, or $``$ 2 mag brighter than the surrounding regions. Its profile is broader in $`V`$ (Fig. 13a) than in $`I`$ (Fig. 13b) because of the larger contribution of the extended ionized gas emission in $`V`$. Therefore, the region with blue $`(VI)`$ color is very broad (Fig. 13). The bluest color in this region is $``$ –0.3 mag, bluer than the –0.23 mag color derived for the central ionizing cluster. The difference comes from the fact that some ionized gas emission around the cluster was subtracted in the derivation of the cluster color, while Fig. 13 shows the total stellar and gaseous emission.

Fig. 13c shows an evident $`(VI)`$ color gradient. The bluer colors for distances between –20″ and 0 suggest the presence of young stellar populations, while the asymptotic value of $`(VI)`$ $``$ 0.7 mag attained for distances between –60″ and –40″ is characteristic of evolved RGB and AGB stellar populations (see the CMD in Fig. 4c and spatial distributions in Fig. 9). This $`(VI)`$ color is slightly bluer (by $``$ 0.1 mag) than the one predicted for a $``$ 2 Gyr single stellar population by the Padua models with $`Z`$ = 0.0004 and 0.001 (Tantalo et al. 1996; Girardi et al. 2000; http://pleiadi.pd.astro.it). A 10 Gyr population would have a predicted $`(VI)`$ $``$ 0.9 – 1.0 mag, which is evidently not the case for UGC 4483. The combination of a 2 Gyr and older stellar populations, such as produced by constant star formation between 2 Gyr and 10 Gyr ago, would result in a redder color than observed.

We now compare the asymptotic value of $`(VI)`$ with the integrated colors of the globular clusters considered before in section 3. From the catalogue of Galactic globular clusters of Harris (1996) we obtained extinction-corrected $`(VI)`$ of 0.72, 0.80, 0.84, 0.88, 0.98 and 1.09 mag respectively for the M15, NGC 6397, M2, NGC 6752, NGC 1851 and 47 Tuc clusters, arranged in order of increasing metallicity. It can be seen that while the observed asymptotic color of 0.7 mag in UGC 4483 is consistent with that of a 10 Gyr population with the metallicity \[Fe/H\] = –2.17 of M15, the colors of the other clusters with higher metallicities are too red. Therefore, if the metallicity of the stars in UGC 4483 is larger than that of M15 then we again conclude that their age is younger than that of globular clusters. It is interesting to note that in spite of the Padua 10 Gyr theoretical isochrones being bluer than those observed for globular clusters, the predicted colors of single stellar populations are redder than the integrated colors of globular clusters. This is likely due to the steepness of the theoretical isochrones which results in too large predicted luminosities for the AGB stars.

A relatively young age seems to be typical of cometary galaxies. Thuan, Izotov & Foltz (1999) found the age of the stellar populations in the cometary BCD SBS 1415+437 ($`Z_{}`$/21) to be less than $``$ 100 Myr. Although the latter age is probably an underestimate because it was derived using instantaneous burst rather than continuous star formation models, the very blue $`VI`$ of $``$ 0.4 mag of its extended LSB body argues for an age less than 1 Gyr. Noeske et al. (2000) found in a detailed study of two less metal-deficient cometary BCDs, Mrk 71($`Z_{}`$/14) and Mrk 59 ($`Z_{}`$/8), that their stellar populations are not older than $``$ 3 Gyr in the first one, and $``$ 4 Gyr in the second one. On the basis of this very small sample, there may be a trend of younger age with lower metallicity, although a larger sample is needed to really tell.

Our age estimate of $``$ 2 Gyr for UGC 4483 is larger than the age of $``$ 100 Myr suggested by Izotov & Thuan (1999) for the class of very-metal deficient galaxies with $`Z`$ $``$ 1/20 $`Z_{}`$, to which UGC 4483 belongs. Their argument is based on the observed constancy of the N/O and C/O ratios with O/H. Izotov & Thuan (1999) argued that the constancy meant that carbon and nitrogen in these metal-deficient galaxies are made by the same massive stars responsible for oxygen production. In other words, intermediate-mass (3$`M_{}`$ $``$ $`M`$ $``$ 9$`M_{}`$) stars have not had the time to release their nucleosynthetic products, which puts an upper limit of $``$ 40 Myr, the main-sequence lifetime of a 9$`M_{}`$ star. However, there are several reasons to believe that the above age upper limit is too low. First, the major nitrogen production is not by 8$`M_{}`$ stars, but by 3 – 4$`M_{}`$ stars (e.g., Marigo 2001), increasing the time-scale for nitrogen enrichment of the interstellar medium by intermediate-mass stars to at least to $``$ 150 – 400 Myr. Second, some additional time of $``$ 1 Gyr (Roy & Kunth 1995) should be allowed for the mixing of fresh nitrogen to the interstellar medium. Other possibilities can be considered for reconciling the chemical abundance considerations with the age of UGC 4483. One possible way out is to note that chemical evolution models of dwarf galaxies follow the time evolution of local characteristics or assume instantaneous recycling of the matter. In particular, in closed-box models both oxygen and nitrogen are produced at the same place. However, judging from the spatial distribution of main-sequence stars and AGB stars in UGC 4483 (Fig. 9), this assumption may not be hold for this galaxy. The massive main sequence stars which are the main contributors to the interstellar medium of oxygen and probably of primary nitrogen (Izotov & Thuan 1999) are located in very compact regions of the galaxy, while the AGB stars occupy a much larger volume. This may result in a volume dilution of the nitrogen produced by AGB stars as compared to the oxygen and primary nitrogen produced by massive stars, decreasing the relative contribution of nitrogen by AGB stars. Other scenarios of nitrogen enrichment have been discussed, but they cannot account for the very small dispersion of the N/O and C/O ratios in very metal-deficient galaxies and the increase in scatter of those ratios in higher-metallicity galaxies (e.g., Pilyugin 1999; Henry, Edmunds & Köppen 2000).

We note also that the asymptotic $`VI`$ of $``$ 0.7 of UGC 4483 is the reddest color of all values derived thus far in our long-term study of the stellar populations in extremely metal-deficient BCDs, those with $`Z`$ $``$ $`Z_{}`$/20 (Izotov & Thuan 1999). The $`VI`$ asymptotic colors of I Zw 18 ($`Z_{}`$/50), SBS 0335–052 ($`Z_{}`$/41), SBS 0940+544 ($`Z_{}`$/28) and SBS 1415+437 ($`Z_{}`$/21) are respectively 0 (Papaderos et al. 2001), 0 (Thuan, Izotov & Lipovetsky 1997), 0.6 (Guseva et al. 2001) and 0.4 (Thuan et al. 1999). The colors of I Zw 18 and SBS 0335–052 are extremely blue, partly because the contribution of ionized gas emission is very important, even at large distances from the main star-forming regions. The ages derived for the oldest stellar populations in the above BCDs are all $``$ 1 Gyr, so that the age of $``$ 2 Gyr derived here from our CMD analysis of UGC 4483 is consistent with the idea that redder $`VI`$ colors are caused mainly by age rather than metallicity effects.

## 5 Comparison with CMDs of other galaxies

There has been several studies of the resolved stellar populations and star formation histories in Local Group and other nearby galaxies based on HST WFPC2 observations during the last few years. To put our findings in perspective, we have compared the CMD of UGC 4483 with those of several dwarf galaxies observed by HST with the same F555W and F814W filters and for which data are available in the archives. Our aim was to produce a homogeneous set of CMDs of dwarf galaxies reduced in the same manner so as to detect possible general trends. We have constructed the CMDs of three BCDs, I Zw 18 with an ionized gas metallicity $`Z_{}`$/50 (Hunter & Thronson 1995; Aloisi, Tosi & Greggio 1999), VII Zw 403 ($`Z_{}`$/15, Lynds et al. 1998; Schulte-Ladbeck et al. 1998), UGCA 290 (Crone et al. 2000), of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 2366 ($`Z_{}`$/14, Thuan & Izotov 2001) and of six Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies, IC 1613 ($`Z_{}`$/13, Cole et al. 1999), NGC 6822 ($`Z_{}`$/5, Wyder, Hodge & Zucker 2000), WLM ($`Z_{}`$/15, Dolphin 2000b), Pegasus ($`Z_{}`$/10, Gallagher et al. 1998), Sextans A ($`Z_{}`$/27, Dohm-Palmer et al. 1997a, 1997b) and Leo A ($`Z_{}`$/26, Tolstoy et al. 1998).

In Fig. 14, we show the CMDs for UGC 4483 separately for the PC and WF frames, along with those for the other 10 dwarf galaxies. The CMD of I Zw 18 was based only on PC data, and that for Leo A based on WF3 and WF4 data. The CMDs for the other galaxies are based on all four frames of the WFPC2. We adopt distance moduli $`(mM)`$ = 27.63 for UGC 4483, 28.25 for VII Zw 403 (Lynds et al. 1998), 29.1 for UGCA 290 (Crone et al. 2000), 27.6 for NGC 2366 (Thuan & Izotov 2001), 24.27 for IC 1613 (Cole et al. 1999), 23.69 for NGC 6822 (Wyder et al. 2000) 24.88 for WLM (Dolphin 2000b), 24.4 for Pegasus (Gallagher et al. 1998), 25.8 for Sextans A (Dohm-Palmer et al. 1997a) and 24.2 for Leo A (Tolstoy et al. 1998). All CMDs have been corrected for extinction as quoted in the above mentioned papers. The only galaxy in Fig. 14 where the RGB population is not detected and hence the distance not constrained, is I Zw 18, the BCD with the lowest metallicity known. We adopt for it a distance modulus $`(mM)`$ = 31.0 and correct its magnitudes and colors for a small Galactic extinction with $`E(BV)`$ = 0.032 mag (Schlegel et al. 1998). The adopted distance modulus for I Zw 18 corresponds to a distance of 15.8 Mpc, larger than the redshift distance of 10.8 Mpc adopted by Hunter & Thronson (1995) and Aloisi et al. (1999), and that of 12.6 Mpc used by Östlin (2000). The larger distance adopted by us is based on the plausible assumption that the brightest stars in the CMD of I Zw 18 have absolute $`I`$ magnitudes in the same range as those of the brightest stars in the CMDs of UGC 4483, VII Zw 403, UGCA 290 and NGC 2366 which are also undergoing active star formation, i.e. between –8 mag and –9 mag. For distances of 10.8 Mpc and 12.6 Mpc, the absolute magnitudes of the brightest stars in the I Zw 18 CMD would be 0.83 mag to 0.5 mag fainter, which is hard to understand. For comparison, we also show in Fig. 14 the observed isochrones for the two Galactic globular clusters M15 and NGC 1851 with respective metallicities \[Fe/H\] = –2.17 and –1.29 (Da Costa & Armandroff 1990).

It is evident from Fig. 14a – 14b that the RGB stars in UGC 4483 are the bluest as compared to those in other galaxies, supporting the conclusion that UGC 4483 may be the youngest among the considered galaxies, except for I Zw 18 where the RGB stellar population is not seen. A very similar age of 1 – 2 Gyr has been derived by Tolstoy et al. (1998) for the oldest stars of Leo A. They also concluded that this galaxy is relatively young. We note however that the AGB stars in Leo A (Fig. 14l) are fainter than those in UGC 4483, implying that they have a larger age or alternatively, a larger metallicity. In other Local Group galaxies (Fig. 14g – 14k), red giant clump and/or horizontal-branch stars and RR Lyr variables imply the presence of a several Gyr old stellar population. The detection of such stars is not possible with HST for galaxies beyond the Local Group. However, comparing the CMD of UGC 4483 (Fig. 14a – 14b) with those of the dwarf galaxies VII Zw 403, UGCA 290 and NGC 2366 (Fig. 14c – 14e), we conclude that the RGB and AGB stars in the latter galaxies are likely to be older, the RGB stars because their mean color is redder and the AGB stars because their mean luminosity is lower. We have shown in detail the CMDs of VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290 respectively in Figures 6c and 6d. It can be clearly seen that the RGB tip in UGC 4483 is bluer by $``$ 0.2 mag and its AGB stars are brighter by $``$ 0.3 mag than their counterparts in VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290. According to Bertelli et al. (1994), this would mean that the AGB stars in UGC 4483 are about 2 times younger than those in VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290. We cannot exclude however the possibility that some of these differences are also caused by metallicity effects. Among this group, VII Zw 403 has the largest age and/or stellar metallicity because its AGB stars are the least luminous.

With our adopted larger distance of 15.8 Mpc, an appreciable number of red stars, most likely AGB stars, with absolute $`I`$ magnitude of $``$ –6 mag or brigher can be seen in the CMD of I Zw 18. They are $``$ 1 mag brighter than in UGC 4483. These stars are also bluer than in other galaxies, as expected from the low metallicity of I Zw 18. They were first detected and analyzed by Aloisi et al. (1999) who concluded that they have ages of at least 1 Gyr. They are also present in the HST NICMOS near-infrared CMD of I Zw 18 by Östlin (2000) who derived ages of up to 5 Gyr using Padua theoretical isochrones with $`Z`$ = 0.0004 (Bertelli et al. 1994). Given the uncertainties of these isochrones as discussed in section 3, these ages are probably overestimates and are not likely to exceed 1 Gyr. Support for a relatively small age of the AGB stars in I Zw 18 comes from their spatial distribution shown in Fig. 15. Filled circles denote red stars with $`(VI)`$ $``$ 1.0 mag and open circles all other stars detected in the PC image of I Zw 18. The locations of the bright star-forming NW and SE regions are shown by crosses. Aloisi et al. (1999) first noted that the red AGB stars are located in the south-eastern part of the galaxy. We confirm this result. We also note that these AGB stars are detected in the same crowded regions where bluer and younger stars are present. Such a distribution is very different from that seen in UGC 4483, VII Zw 403 (Lynds et al. 1998; Schulte-Ladbeck et al. 1998), UGCA 290 (Crone et al. 2000) and NGC 2366 (Thuan & Izotov 2001) where the RGB and AGB stars are spread out over significantly larger areas as compared to the younger stars. This difference in spatial distribution may be an indication that AGB stars in I Zw 18 have had no time to diffuse far away from their origin and hence may be significantly younger than 1 Gyr. The compact distribution of the AGB stars and their conspicuous absence at larger distances in non-crowded regions where they can be more easily detected, also argue against the idea that I Zw 18 possesses an extended low-surface-brightness disk of red stars (Legrand 2000; Kunth & Östlin 2000). Deeper images (by 1–2 mag) of I Zw 18 are required to check for the presence or absence of RGB stars in this BCD and settle the controversy on its age. This will be possible with the future Advanced Camera for Surveys (ADS) to be installed on HST.

In conclusion, HST observations of nearby galaxies with resolved stellar populations have not revealed ones as young as $``$ 100 Myr as suggested by Izotov & Thuan (1999) from chemical arguments. However, there is evidence that suggests that some nearby dwarf galaxies, like I Zw 18, SBS 0335–052 and UGC 4483 have ages which are significantly smaller than the age of the Universe ($``$ 2 Gyr), and in that sense, can be considered as young galaxies.

## 6 Summary

We present a photometric study of the resolved stellar populations in the nearby cometary blue compact dwarf galaxy UGC 4483 based on Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 $`V`$ and $`I`$ images. The analysis of the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) for this galaxy have led us to the following conclusions:

1. The CMD of UGC 4483 is populated by the stars with different ages including the youngest hydrogen-burning main-sequence stars, evolved massive stars with core helium burning (blue-loop stars and red supergiants), and older red giants and asymptotic giant helium-shell burning stars. Hence, there was continuous star formation in UGC 4483 during a long period, for at least the last 2 Gyr.

2. From the observed $`I`$ magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) of 23.65 $`\pm `$ 0.10 mag, we derive a distance modulus $`(mM)`$ = 27.63 $`\pm `$ 0.11 corresponding to a distance of 3.4 $`\pm `$ 0.2 Mpc and suggesting that UGC 4483 is a member of the M81 group of galaxies.

3. The $`(VI)`$ color of the red giant stars in UGC 4483 is comparatively very blue, with a TRGB $`(VI)`$ = 1.3 mag implying a very low metallicity (\[Fe/H\] $``$ –2.4) and/or a young age of the RGB stars. We argue for a young age of $``$ 2 Gyr.

4. The AGB stars in UGC 4483 are significantly brighter than those observed in other dwarf galaxies with similar metallicities. They are, for example, $``$ 0.3 mag brighter than those seen in the BCDs VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290. Assuming the stars have the same metallicity as the ionized gas, the higher luminosities suggest that the AGB stars in UGC 4483 are about a factor of 2 younger than those in VII Zw 403 and UGCA 290.

5. We do not find evidence for stellar populations older than 2 Gyr in UGC 4483, although our data is not deep enough to detect the indicators of older stellar populations such as red giant clump and horizontal-branch stars. Comparison of the stellar populations of UGC 4483 with those in other nearby dwarf galaxies suggests that it is likely to be one of the youngest among the BCDs and dwarf irregular galaxies with detected RGB and AGB stars. Alternatively, the differences in the CMD of UGC 4483 can also be explained by an abnormally low metallicity of the stars in the BCD, \[Fe/H\] = –2.4, comparable to the most metal-deficient globular cluster stars.

Y.I.I. and T.X.T. are grateful for the partial financial support of NSF grant AST-96-16863. T.X.T. has also been supported by HST-GO-08769.01-A grant. Y.I.I. thanks the hospitality of the Astronomy Department of the University of Virginia. We thank Márcio Catelan and Robert Rood for useful discussions.


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# Length scales coupling for nonlinear dynamical problems in magnetism

## Abstract

The dynamics of real magnets is often governed by several interacting processes taking place simultaneously at different length scales. For dynamical simulations the relevant length scales should be coupled, and the energy transfer accurately described. We show that in this case the micromagnetic theory is not always reliable. We present a coarse-graining approach applicable to nonlinear problems, which provides a unified description of all relevant length scales, allowing a smooth, seamless coupling. The simulations performed on model systems show that the coarse-graining approach achieves nearly the precision of all-atom simulations.

The dynamics of magnetization in real magnets is often governed by defects: impurities, vacancies, grain boundaries, etc. They serve as nucleation centers for magnetization reversal or as pinning centers for domain walls (DW), due to very localized (several lattice constants) but significant changes in the magnetic interactions. As a result, the torques acting on individual atomic spins in the vicinity of the defect are strongly non-uniform at the atomic scale. These small-scale inhomogenieties can result, however, in large-scale (hundreds or thousands of angstroms) changes of the magnetization distribution (e.g. nucleation of a domain). At larger length scales (microns), the magnons propagate into the bulk of the sample carrying away significant energy. Such multiscale phenomena are encountered in the depinning of DW torredw ; taras ; kron ; schafer , the influence of surfaces and interfaces on the spins in the bulk kodama ; jamet ; amils ; deak , etc. These phenomena determine basic magnetic properties such as the coercive field and the dynamics of magnetization reversal.

Accurate simulations of such phenomena might be possible if all the interactions and dynamics could be treated at the atomic scale landau , but for a sample of the size of few tens of microns, the number of spins becomes much too large for modern supercomputers. Atomistic modeling can be used, however, for the regions close to the defects. For the large-scale processes occuring far from the defects a collective description should be used, e.g. micromagnetic (MM) theory. To simulate accurately the multiscale processes, all the relevant scales should be modeled simultaneously, and seamlessly coupled to describe correctly the energy transfer. The simplest solution would be to use the standard MM approach with gradually increasing resolution (reducing the size of the computational cell) near the defect, until every micromagnetic cell contains a single atomic spin. At this ultimate resolution, the micromagnetic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation coincides with the equation of precession of an individual atomic spin.

In this paper, using simulations performed on model 1-D chain systems, we show that such an approach is often inadequate for length scale coupling, giving results which differ drastically from the exact solutions obtained by all-atom simulations. Thus, for an important class of dynamical problems in magnetism, a new approach is needed. Here, we present a theoretical framework along with a computational scheme, which allows treatment of all length scales in exactly the same manner, enabling a truly seamless linking of different scales. The proposed approach is applicable to essentially nonlinear problems, and yields reliable results which are in excellent agreement with exact atomic simulations.

Length scale coupling has been extensively discussed in the context of lattice dynamics modeling kohlhoff ; philips ; rudd ; cai  and successfully applied for the study of crack propagation and nanoindentation rudd1 ; smith ; elefteri . Analogous schemes can be constructed for linear magnetic problems dkh , but most of the interesting problems in magnetism are essentially nonlinear due to the constraint $`S_x^2+S_y^2+S_z^2=S^2`$ ($`S_{x,y,z}`$ are the components of the spin and $`S`$ is its length; everywhere below we assume $`S=1`$). Moreover, the lattice constant $`a`$ is the relevant length scale for a typical problem of lattice dynamics, while magnetic problems have one more intrinsic length scale, the DW width $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. Therefore, magnetic multiscale simulations present some unique problems.

Our approach to linking length scales in dynamical magnetic simulations is based on statistical coarse graining (CG), which has been successfully used before rudd ; dkh  to define suitable collective variables (“gross variables”). For simplicity, we consider only the case of zero temperature, thus restricting the analysis to purely dynamical problems, with dissipation and thermal noise effects absent. We assume that the system under consideration is a ferromagnet made of identical classical spins $`𝐒_\mu `$ ($`|𝐒_\mu |=1`$), located at the $`\mu `$-th site of the crystalline lattice (greek indices enumerate the atomic lattice sites). The system is described by a rather general spin Hamiltonian

$$=^0+𝒱,^0=\underset{\mu }{}_\mu ^0=\underset{\mu ,\nu }{}J_{\mu \nu }𝐒_\mu 𝐒_\nu ,$$
(1)
where $`^0`$ describes the isotropic exchange interaction, while $`𝒱^0`$ represents all the other, much weaker interactions, and $`J_{\mu \nu }`$ is the exchange interaction between the atomic spins at the sites $`\mu `$ and $`\nu `$. We will need a Hamiltonian formulation of the magnetization dynamics, therefore below we describe spin by conjugate canonical variables $`\alpha _{1\mu }=2\mathrm{sin}(\theta _\mu /2)\mathrm{cos}\varphi _\mu `$ and $`\alpha _{2\mu }=2\mathrm{sin}(\theta _\mu /2)\mathrm{sin}\varphi _\mu `$, where $`\theta _\mu `$ and $`\varphi _\mu `$ are the azimuthal and the polar angles of the spin vector correspondingly. We assume that for the simulations of the large-scale regions located far from the defects, the finite-element method (FEM) is used. Thus, we define the gross variables, which describe the state of the system at a given length scale, by averaging the atomic degrees of freedom: $`\alpha _{1j}=_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{1\mu },`$ and $`\alpha _{2j}=_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{2\mu },`$ where the index $`j`$ corresponds already to the computational FEM nodes. The weight function $`f_{\mu ,j}`$ localized near the node $`j`$ must satisfy the normalization condition $`_\mu f_{\mu ,j}=1`$. The choice of this function was discussed dkh  for linear magnetic multiscale problems; our experience shows that the following piecewise-linear choice is sufficient: $`f_{\mu ,j}=f_0|\mu \mu _j|/|\mu _j\mu _{j1}|`$ for $`\mu [\mu _{j1},\mu _j]`$, where $`\mu _j`$ is the atomic position of the $`j`$-th computational node and $`f_0`$ is the normalization.

The main assumption of the approaches based on the coarse graining ideology (such as the non-equilibrium statistical operator nso  or projection operator mori  methods) is that the atomic degrees of freedom are in local equilibrium, and the equilibrium conditions are determined by the gross variables chant . This means that all atomic spins located near the node $`j`$ are nearly parallel to the direction defined by the the variables $`\alpha _{1,2j}`$; the exchange part $`_0`$ of the Hamiltonian (1) is responsible for that (thus, the coarse-graining approach can be used also for finite temperature if it is small in comparison with the Curie temperature). Then, the distribution function for the atomic variables is

$`\rho `$ $`=`$ $`Q^1\mathrm{exp}(\beta ^{}),`$ (2)
$`^{}`$ $`=`$ $`^0+{\displaystyle \underset{\mu ,j}{}}F_jf_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{1\mu }+{\displaystyle \underset{\mu ,j}{}}G_jf_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{2\mu },`$
where $`Q`$ is the statistical integral, and the torques $`F_j`$ and $`G_j`$ are determined from the conditions of local equilibrium: $`_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{1\mu }=\alpha _{1j},`$ and $`_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{2\mu }=\alpha _{2j},`$ where the angular brackets mean the statistical averaging with the distribution function (2).

However, the exchange Hamiltonian $`_0`$ is rotationally invariant, and a zero-frequency mode is present in the statistical integral $`Q`$ in Eq. 2. In the linear approximation, this leads to a divergence, and the account of nonlinear effects becomes possible. Such a situation has been studied e.g. by Bogoliubov in the work on the small polaron problem, see e.g. Ref. polaron . The general ideas of that work can be applied here.

We need to separate the (nonlinear) motion of gross variables from the (quasilinear) motion of the atomic-scale variables to exclude the secular terms causing divergence of $`Q`$. To do this, we note that the characteritic scale of nonlinear magnetic structures, the DW width $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, is much bigger than the interatomic distance $`a`$, and the separation of the slow and the fast variables can be done in the spirit of the modified adiabatic theory polaron . Instead of using the parameters $`\alpha _{1,2j}`$, we define a local coordinate frame, rotated with respect to the ”laboratory” frame by the angles $`\theta _j`$ and $`\varphi _j`$ such that $`\alpha _{1j}=2\mathrm{sin}(\theta _j/2)\mathrm{cos}\varphi _j`$ and $`\alpha _{2j}=2\mathrm{sin}(\theta _j/2)\mathrm{sin}\varphi _j`$. To exclude the secular terms, we use the condition $`_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{1\mu }^{(j)}=_\mu f_{\mu ,j}\alpha _{2\mu }^{(j)}=0,`$ where $`\alpha _{1,2\mu }^{(j)}`$ are defined already in the local coordinate frame associated with $`j`$-th node. These conditions are local, since the weighting function $`f_{\mu ,j}`$ is local, and the statistical integral $`Q`$ is also calculated in the local coordinate frame. As a result, the equations of motion for the gross variables $`\theta _j`$ and $`\varphi _j`$ can be obtained in closed form:

$`\dot{\theta }_j`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\mu }{}}f_{\mu ,j}𝒱/\alpha _{2,\mu }+{\displaystyle \underset{kn}{}}M_{jk}D_{kn}\alpha _{2n}^{(j)},`$
$`\mathrm{sin}\theta _j\dot{\varphi }_j`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\mu }{}}f_{\mu ,j}𝒱/\alpha _{1,\mu }{\displaystyle \underset{kn}{}}M_{jk}D_{kn}\alpha _{1n}^{(j)},`$ (3)
where $`M_{jk}=_\mu f_{\mu ,j}f_{\mu ,k}`$, and $`D_{jk}=D_{jk}^0d_jS_k/S_0d_kS_j/S_0+d_0S_jS_k/S_0^2`$, where $`D_{jk}^0=\left(_{\mu \nu }f_{\mu ,j}𝒥_{\mu \nu }^1f_{\nu ,k}\right)^1`$, $`𝒥_{\mu \nu }`$ is the Hessian matrix of the exchange Hamiltonian, $`S_k`$ is the eigenvector of $`D_{jk}^0`$ corresponding to the zero eigenvalue, and $`d_j=_lD_{jl}^0`$, $`d_0=_ld_l`$, $`S_0=_lS_l`$. Note that the matrices $`M`$ and $`D`$ should be calculated only once and used later during simulations.

Now, let us focus on the numerical results obtained using the procedure described above. The first case tests the ability of our CG scheme to handle the dynamics of an essentially nonlinear object, e.g. a domain wall. We consider a 1-D chain of $`N=465`$ spins with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling $`J=25`$, and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling $`J^{}=\gamma J=2.5`$. The spins possess single-ion anisotropy of easy-axis type, $`K=0.01`$ (the easy axis is directed along the $`y`$-direction); the dipole-dipole interactions are neglected for simplicity. The ends of the chain are different from the bulk; this represents e.g. a nanowire which has the growth defects at the ends causing the spin Hamiltonian parameters $`J`$, $`J^{}`$ and $`K`$ to be different from their bulk values. Thus, six spins at one end of the chain are chosen to have the following parameters: $`J_{01}=0.5J`$, $`J_{12}=0.6J`$, $`J_{23}=0.7J`$, $`J_{34}=0.8J`$, $`J_{45}=J_{56}=J`$, $`K_0=0.4K`$, $`K_1=0.2K`$, $`K_2=0`$, $`K_3=0.2K`$, $`K_4=0.4K`$, $`K_5=0.8K`$. At the other end of the chain, the last six spins have the same parameters in reverse order. Initially, the chain contains a Neel DW, with spins rotating in the $`x`$$`y`$ plane from the direction along the $`y`$-axis to the opposite direction. At $`t=0`$, the external field $`H=0.01`$ is applied in the $`x`$$`y`$ plane, at the angle $`\varphi =0.4\pi `$ with the $`x`$-axis. As a result, the wall starts moving. After hitting one end of the chain, it deforms, and reflects, moving to the other end of the chain. Note that, since we omit dissipation and fluctuations, the energy of the system is conserved, and the dynamics of the system is quasi-periodic.

To compare the performance of different computational schemes, we have modeled the system’s dynamics by (1) atomic simulations which give the exact solution, (2) by micromagnetic simulations using the method suggested in Ref. fredkin , with the number of spins in the cell varying from five (in the middle of the chain) to one (at the ends), and (3) by the CG scheme described above, with the same grid as used in the MM simulations. The computational time step, along with all other relevant parameters, has been kept the same for all schemes. The temporal dependence of the chain’s total magnetization $`S_{\text{tot}}(t)=\sqrt{S_x^2(t)+S_y^2(t)+S_z^2(t)}`$ is shown in Fig. 1, where the time is measured in units of $`\tau =0.4\pi /|H\mathrm{sin}\varphi |132`$. As one can see, the MM simulations (black circles) differ considerably from the exact atomistic solution, while the CG scheme gives results practically coinciding with the atomistic simulations. The same conclusion can be drawn from Fig. 2, where the magnetization profile in the chain is shown at $`t=60\tau `$; the magnetization direction at every atomic site $`𝐒_\mu `$ is characterized by the two angles, $`\omega _\mu `$ and $`\psi _\mu `$ such that $`S_\mu ^x=\mathrm{sin}\omega _\mu \mathrm{cos}\psi _\mu `$, $`S_\mu ^y=\mathrm{cos}\omega _\mu `$ (since the easy axis coincides with the $`y`$-axis), and $`S_\mu ^z=\mathrm{sin}\omega _\mu \mathrm{sin}\psi _\mu `$.

A similar set of simulations has also been performed to study the magnetization reversal in the chain. The system, along with all simulation parameters, has been kept the same as described above, but the initial condition represents a chain magnetized to saturation, $`S_\mu ^y=1`$ for all $`\mu `$. At $`t=0`$, again, the external field $`H=0.02`$ has been applied, at the angle $`\varphi =0.4\pi `$ to the $`x`$-axis.

Since we are studying an energy-conserving case, in the absence of the defects at the ends of the chain, all the spins would rotate in unison. However, in the presence of the perturbation caused by the defects, different spins rotate with slightly different rates, and the system’s motion becomes stochastic. Therefore, after some time, the Zeeman energy is transferred to the energy of short-wavelength magnons, leading to a gradual decrease of the system’s total magnetization bert ; bert1 .

The chain’s total magnetization as functions of time is shown in Fig. 3, with the time unit $`\tau =0.4\pi /|H\mathrm{sin}\varphi |66`$. Magnetization profiles at $`t=60\tau `$ are presented in Fig. 4. Again, one can see that the MM approach does not describe the behavior of the system correctly even at a qualitative level. The CG scheme performs much better, giving the results very close to the exact atomistic solution.

Such a drastic difference in the two schemes, CG and MM, is caused by the essential nonlinearity of magnetization dynamics. Due to the presence of atomic-scale inhomogenieties, in the course of the system’s motion, a considerable number of short-wavelength excitations are generated near the defect. Wavelengths of these magnons are smaller than the size of the computational cell, and the micromagnetic theory neglects them completely, although the collective effect of a large number of such modes is significant. In contrast, the coarse-graining approach does take the atomic-scale modes into account, and describes very well the collective properties of an ensemble of these short-wavelength excitations.

In summary, we have shown that the standard micromagnetic theory does not handle correctly the dynamics of nonlinear multiscale magnetic processes. We have suggested another approach, based on statistical coarse graining, which is applicable to nonlinear problems. Numerical tests on 1-D systems show that the CG scheme, in contrast with the MM approach, gives almost exact results for rather large time spans. It is worthwhile to note that the only essential ingredient of the coarse graining approach is the standard theory of local equilibrium. Therefore, the CG scheme can be applied to a large set of 2-D and 3-D problems, including dissipation, thermal noise, interaction with other degrees of freedom (spin-phonon interactions) etc.

The authors would like to thank J. Morris, R. Sabiryanov, and R. Rudd for helpful discussions. This work was partially carried out at the Ames Laboratory, which is operated for the U. S. Department of Energy by Iowa State University under Contract No. W-7405-82 and was supported by the Director of the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Research of the U. S. Department of Energy. This work was partially supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant 00-02-16086.


text:
# Prospects for Searching for Excited Leptons during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron

## Abstract

This letter presents a study of prospects of searching for excited leptons during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron. We concentrate on single and pair production of excited electrons in the photonic decay channel in one CDF/D$`Ø`$ detector equivalent for 2 fb-1. By the end of Run IIa, the limits should be easily extended beyond those set by LEP and HERA for excited leptons with mass above about 190 GeV.

E. Boos1, A. Vologdin1, D. Toback2, and J. Gaspard2
1Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, 119899, Moscow, Russia
2Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 USA

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics is known to give results that match the current experimental data with a high precision. However, because of well known theoretical problems and disadvantages, it is widely believed it can not be a complete theory of elementary particles, but rather, likely a kind of effective theory at energies below some scale of the order of a TeV. While many models of “new physics” beyond the SM have been suggested over the years, one of the most straight-forward ideas proposes that quarks and leptons are composite particles. Such a scenario is a recurring theme in nature; molecules are composed of atoms, which are in turn composed of nuclei, which are in turn composed of nucleons and so on. Furthermore, composite models can explain, in principle, family replication, mixing in the quark and lepton sectors, and even make the fermion masses and weak mixing angles calculable.

In most composite models fermions possess an underlying substructure which is characterized by a scale $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$  with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ about 1 TeV or higher . While there is no unified model of compositeness, a model-independent effective Lagrangian for excited leptons, originally proposed in , can be used to model single and pair production in experiments. The Lagrangian:

$`L_{l^{}l^{}}`$ $`=`$ $`\overline{l}^{}\gamma ^\mu ({\displaystyle \frac{\tau }{2}}W_\mu +g^{^{}}{\displaystyle \frac{Y}{2}}B_\mu )l^{}`$ (1)
$`L_{l^{}l}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}}\overline{l}_R^{}\sigma ^{\mu \nu }(fg{\displaystyle \frac{\tau }{2}}W_{\mu \nu }+f^{^{}}g^{^{}}{\displaystyle \frac{Y}{2}}B_{\mu \nu })l_L+h.c.`$ (2)
where $`f`$ and $`f^{}`$ are coupling constants, has been used extensively in a number of phenomenological papers which presents ideas on searching for excited fermion production and decay to final state gauge bosons in $`e^+e^{}`$, $`p\overline{p}`$, $`ep`$, and $`e\gamma `$ collisions . Direct searches for lepton compositeness has been done extensively at LEP  and HERA , each with no discovery, but with ever more sensitive limits. Unfortunately, only direct searches for quark compositeness have been done at the Fermilab Tevatron .

In this Letter we present a study for searching for excited lepton production and decay for the upcoming Run II of CDF and D$`Ø`$ detectors. We begin with an updated simulation of excited lepton production, and optimize the sensitivity by studying the kinematics of excited lepton production and decay. With these results we estimate the mass reach and compare to the recent results from LEP and HERA.

To study the mass reach of the Tevatron, we simulated single and pair production and decay of excited leptons using the upgraded Fermilab accelerator (1.8 $``$ 2.0 TeV), and CDF and D$`Ø`$ detectors for Run II. The Feynman rules from the effective Lagrangian (Eqn. 1) are implemented into CompHEP  using the LanHEP  software package. We have included into this simulation a complete tree-level calculation which takes into account all the spin correlations between excited states production, subsequent decays, and incorporate the known NLO corrections. All the partial width and known 2$``$ 2 cross-section have been cross-checked at the symbolic level. Events on parton level generated by means of CompHEP have been used as an external process for pythia with the help of the CompHEP-pythia interface . The underlying event, jet fragmentation, ISR and FSR are modeled using the pythia  Monte Carlo with the cteq4l  structure functions. Since Drell-Yan production of excited leptons production is similar to that of Supersymmetric leptons, we take the K-factors given in , which only depend on the masses of final particles, and vary between 1.23 and 1.24 in the mass range of the search.

While excited leptons can come in three flavors: $`e^{}`$, $`\mu ^{}`$ and $`\tau ^{}`$, we chose to concentrate on the electron since the result of $`\mu ^{}`$ expected to be similar to $`e^{}`$, and $`\tau `$’s at the Tevatron are still difficult to trigger on and identify. Excited electrons can decay via: $`e^{}e\gamma `$, $`e^{}eZ`$, and $`e^{}W\nu `$ channels with the branching ratios shown in Fig. 1. The backgrounds to the $`W`$ and $`Z`$ decay channels in the hadronic channels are fairly large and the leptonic branching fractions needed to identify the $`W`$ and $`Z`$ channels are small; however, the backgrounds to the photonic final states are relatively small in comparison making them a gold-plated signature.

In the case of the single excited electron production mode, there are two possible signal $`p\overline{p}e^{}ee^+e^{}\gamma `$ and $`p\overline{p}e^{}\nu e\nu \gamma `$. Similarly, pair production gives $`p\overline{p}e^+e^{}e^+e^{}\gamma \gamma `$ and $`p\overline{p}e^{}\nu ^{}e\nu \gamma \gamma `$. For simplicity we concentrate on inclusive $`ee\gamma `$ final state for both single and pair production as it covers most of the production in both single and pair production cases. Before taking into account the branching ratio to photons, the total production cross section is shown in Fig. 2 for the case $`f/\mathrm{\Lambda }=10^2\mathrm{GeV}^1`$ and $`f=f^{^{}}`$.

There are a number of backgrounds to the $`ee\gamma `$ channel. The dominant backgrounds are $`W\gamma `$+jets and $`Z\gamma `$+jets production. Others include $`W`$+jets and $`Z`$+jets, and multijets, where jets can fake leptons and/or photons. Studies have shown  that the fake backgrounds can be modeled by the kinematics of the irreducible backgrounds. The backgrounds are modeled using the same CompHEP simulation structure described above. Since there is an infrared singularity at $`p_T^\gamma =0`$, we require $`P_T^\gamma >10`$ GeV and $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{ij}>0.1`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{ij}\sqrt{(\mathrm{\Delta }\eta )^2+(\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )^2}`$, and at the generator level, $`i`$ and $`j`$ are any lepton-photon combination. We take the K-factor, which has a value of about 1.36 depending on $`p_T^\gamma `$, for the background processes from the literature .

For both signal and backgrounds, we use a parametric simulation to model the detector response. The SHW detector simulation  has been shown to be an effective averaging between the CDF  and DØ  detectors for Run II. After detector simulation the kinematic distributions for both the signal and estimated backgrounds are shown in Figs 3 and 4. We find acceptances at about the 0.3 level for signal.

To maximize our sensitivity we assume, for simplicity, that taking a set of cuts which minimizes the expected cross section limit also maximizes our sensitivity to calculate these limits. To calculate these limits, we use the signal acceptance and background estimates from the simulations above. We add in a single detector with 2 fb-1 of luminosity and we assume the experimental parameters of Table 1 for systematic uncertainties. We use a frequentist method  to incorporate the errors and assume that all errors on acceptance, background and luminosity are uncorrelated. To determine the expected limit as a function of a given cut using Run II data, under the assumption of no observed signal, the 95% confidence level (C.L.) cross section upper limit, for a given cut, is uniquely determined by number of events observed in the data. With no signal, the number of events observed in the data, $`N`$, fluctuates around the mean number of expected events, $`M`$, according to Poisson statistics. Thus, an average expected cross section limit is given by:

$$\sigma _{95}^{cut}=\underset{N=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\sigma _{95}(N,cut)\frac{e^MM^N}{N!}$$
(3)
In this way we get an average expected cross section limits as a function of each cut. We can then optimize for each mass point as a function of the cuts.

After a study of multi-dimensional distributions for background and signal, we determined that the $`e^+e^{}\gamma `$ final state has the best signal to background ratio and kinematical distributions. Furthermore, we find that applying a single cut on the kinematical variable $`M_{e\gamma }`$ (where $`e`$ is the electron with highest $`p_T`$) gives the best relation between acceptance and $`N`$ to find minimal value of $`\sigma _{95}`$ for a given mass of the excited electron. This is readily apparent using Figs. 3 and 4 which shows that the best separation between signal and background is the $`M_{e\gamma }`$ variable.

Figure 5 shows the expected 95% C.L. cross section upper limit, $`\sigma _{95}`$, as a function of the $`M_{e\gamma }`$ cut for different masses of $`e^{}`$ for $`\frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ = $`\frac{1}{100}`$ GeV-1. Placing our cut at the minimum of the curve gives our optimization, and final expected cross section limit. These results are shown in Fig. 6. Using the Feynman rules for the Lagrangian in Eqn. 1 leads to a simple relation between cross-section and $`\frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ for signal:

$`(\mathrm{\Lambda }_1)^2\sigma ({\displaystyle \frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }_1}},M_e^{})=(\mathrm{\Lambda }_2)^2\sigma ({\displaystyle \frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }_2}},M_e^{})`$ (4)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}={\displaystyle \frac{\sigma _{95}}{10^4\sigma (10^2,M_e^{})}}`$ (5)
Taking into account this equation, numerical values of signal cross-sections (where $`\frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}=10^2`$ GeV-1) and results for $`\sigma _{95}`$ we can make an exclusion plot in the $`\frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ vs. $`M_e^{}`$ plane. This result is shown in Fig. 7. We compare our results to those of LEP and HERA in Fig. 8 which would give the most stringent limits, to date, for masses above 190 GeV.

The prospects for searching for excited electrons at the upgraded Fermilab Tevatron are excellent. We expect that with a single detector and 2 fb-1 of data should significantly extend the mass reach, especially in the low $`\frac{f}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ region and large masses. We also point out that similar results are obtained for excited muons which significantly improve on the current limits which are not producible at HERA.

The authors would like to thank John Hobbs for the use of his limit calculator, Bruce Knuteson for his relation in Eqn. 3, and Bhaskar Dutta for helpful discussions. We would also like to thank the D$`Ø`$ collaboration for the use of their computers to do the simulation work. We also would like to thanks the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University, the University of Maryland and Texas A&M University for their support. Finally we would like to thank the US DOE and Russian Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology for their support during this project. The work of E.B. and A.V. was partly supported by the RFBR-DFG 99-02-04011, RFBR 00-01-00704, CERN-INTAS 99-377, and Universities of Russia 990588 grants.