The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com. Copyright Blackwell PublishingA major amendment in recent models of hierarchical galaxy formation is the inclusion of so-called active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. The energy input from an active central massive black hole is invoked to suppress star formation in early-type galaxies at later epochs. A major problem is that this process is poorly understood, and compelling observational evidence for its mere existence is still missing. In search for signatures of AGN feedback, we have compiled a sample of 16 000 early-type galaxies in the redshift range 0.05 200 km s ) and roughly evenly distributed between star formation and AGN at intermediate and low (?? <100 km s ) masses. The objects with emission (???20 per cent) are offset from the red sequence and form a well-defined pattern in the colour-mass diagram. Star-forming early-types inhabit the blue cloud, while early-types with AGN are located considerably closer to and almost on the red sequence. Star formation-AGN composites are found right between these two extremes. We further derive galaxy star formation histories using a novel method that combines multiwavelength photometry from near-ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (IR) and stellar absorption indices. We find that in those objects deviating from the red sequence star formation occurred several 100 Myr in the past involving 1-10 per cent of the total stellar mass. We identify an evolutionary sequence from star formation via nuclear activity to quiescence. This transition process lasts about 1 Gyr, and the peak AGN phase occurs roughly half a Gyr after the starburst. The most likely interpretation is that star formation is suppressed by nuclear activity in these objects before they settle on the red sequence. This is empirical evidence for the occurrence of AGN feedback in early-type galaxies at recent epochs. ?? 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation ?? 2007 RAS

There is increasing evidence that some massive globular clusters (GCs) host multiple stellar populations having different heavy element abundances enriched by supernovae. They usually accompany multiple red giant branches (RGBs) in the color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), and are distinguished from most of the other GCs which display variations only in light element abundances. In order to investigate the star formation histories of these peculiar GCs, we have constructed synthetic CMDs for ω Cen, M22, and NGC 1851. Our models are based on the updated versions of Yonsei-Yale (Y 2 ) isochrones and horizontal branch (HB) evolutionary tracks which include the cases of enhancements in both helium and the total CNO abundances. To estimate ages and helium abundances of subpopulations in each GC, we have compared our models with the observations on the Hess diagram by employing a χ 2 minimization technique. We find that metal-rich subpopulations in each of these GCs are also enhanced in helium abundance, and the age differences between the metal-rich and metal-poor subpopulations are fairly small (∼0.3−1.7 Gyr), even in the models with the observed variations in the total CNO content. These are required to simultaneously reproduce the observed extended HB and the splits on the main sequence, subgiant branch, and RGB. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that these GCs are the relics of more massive primeval dwarf galaxies that merged and disrupted to form the proto-Galaxy.

Residual star formation at late times in early-type galaxies and their progenitors must be suppressed in order to explain the population of red, passively evolving systems we see today. Likewise, residual or newly accreted reservoirs of molecular gas that are fueling star formation must be destroyed. This suppression of star formation in early-type galaxies is now commonly attributed to active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback wherein the reservoir of gas is heated and expelled during a phase of accretion onto the central supermassive black hole. However, direct observational evidence for a link between the destruction of this molecular gas and an AGN phase has been missing so far. We present new mm-wavelength observations from the IRAM 30 m telescope of a sample of lowredshift SDSS early-type galaxies currently undergoing this process of quenching of late-time star formation. Our observations show that the disappearance of the molecular gas coincides within less than 100 Myr with the onset of accretion onto the black hole and is too rapid to be due to star formation alone. Since our sample galaxies are not associated to powerful quasar activity or radio jets, we conclude that low-luminosity AGN episodes are sufficient to suppress residual star formation in early-type galaxies. This "suppression mode" of AGN feedback is very different from the "truncation mode" linked to powerful quasar activity during early phases of galaxy formation.

The presence of multiple populations is now well established in most globular clusters in the Milky Way. In light of this, here we propose a new model to explain the origin of the Sandage period-shift and the difference in mean period of type ab RR Lyrae variables between the two Oosterhoff groups. In our model, the instability strip in the metal-poor group II clusters, such as M15, is populated by second-generation stars (G2) with enhanced helium and CNO abundances, while the RR Lyraes in the relatively metal-rich group I clusters such as M3 are produced mostly by first-generation stars (G1) without these enhancements. This population shift within the instability strip with metallicity can create the observed period-shift between the two groups, as both helium and CNO abundances play a role in increasing the period of RR Lyraes. The presence of more metal-rich clusters having Oosterhoff-intermediate characteristics, such as NGC 1851, as well as of most metal-rich clusters having RR Lyraes with the longest periods (group III) can also be reproduced, as more helium-rich third and later generations of stars (G3) penetrate into the instability strip with a further increase in metallicity. Therefore, although there are systems in which the suggested population shift cannot be a viable explanation, for the most general cases our models predict that the RR Lyraes are produced mostly by G1, G2 and G3 for the Oosterhoff groups I, II and III, respectively.

We report the presence of two distinct red giant branches (RGBs) in the globular cluster NGC 288 from the narrow-band calcium and Strömgren b & y photometry obtained at the CTIO 4m Blanco telescope. The RGB of NGC 288 is clearly split into two in the hk [=(Ca − b) − (b − y)] index, while the split is not shown in the b−y color. Unlike other globular clusters with multiple populations reported thus far, the horizontal branch of NGC 288 is only mildly extended. Our stellar population models show that this and the presence of two distinct RGBs in NGC 288 can be reproduced if slightly metal-rich (∆[m/H] ≈ 0.16) second generation stars are also enhanced in helium by small amount (∆Y ≈ 0.03) and younger by ∼ 1.5 Gyrs. The RGB split in hk index is most likely indicating that the second generation stars were affected by supernovae enrichment, together with the pollutions of lighter elements by intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars or fast-rotating massive stars. In order to confirm this, however, spectroscopy of stars in the two distinct RGB groups is urgently required.