Restframe UV extinction laws at z~1

In this paper (http://arxiv.org/abs/0905.4073v4), Conroy plots the observed B-R colors for DEEP2 galaxies as a function of redshift, and overplots the predicted colors for a constant star formation stellar population model using different attenuation curves. The left panel shows that a Milky-Way like curve without the 2175A "UV bump" seems to give the best result.

Multiple populations in MW globular clusters

In http://uk.arxiv.org/abs/0911.4798, which also came out in Nature this week, Lee et al presents the results of an study of the Calcium abundance in a sample of 8 globular clusters. Why do we care? Well, traditionally globulars are thought to mostly be single stellar populations where all stars formed in a very short time; as Ca is produced by SN II you would expect no variation in Ca abundance in this scenario. But that is not what Lee et al found, indeed they found that in 7 out of their clusters there was clearl evidence for a broadened, or in some cases, double red giant branch. This argues for a more complex formation history for globular clusters and might argue that many of them are the remnant nucleus of accreted dwarf galaxies (this is open to argument though).

The evolving stellar-to-halo mass ratio

In this paper (not really new one; it was posted to astro-ph in
March), Moster et al. use (something like) an abundance-matching
technique to match galaxies to halos. The paper focuses mostly on
z=0, but they also show results for higher redshifts, where they use
stellar mass functions from Drory and from Fontana.

This figure shows the average stellar mass as a function of halo mass
at different redshifts. I've drawn a line that shows the what a
constant ratio would look like. The highest ratio (which means the
highest efficiency for putting baryons in stars) for the z=0 curve
appears at a stellar mass of log(M)~10.5, and increases with
redshift. Another thing to notice is that the curves evolve strongly
at lower masses, and cross at higher masses. This means that, at
lower masses, galaxies grow in mass much faster than their halos. But
at higher masses halos grow faster than galaxies.

Formation of late-type spiral galaxies: Gas return from stellar populations regulates disk destruction and bulge growth.

In astro-ph/0911.0891, Marie Martig and Frederic Bournaud report on the growth of bulges in disk like galaxies in a cosmological environment. The zoom in on a Milky-Way like halo in cosmological box that had a quiet merger history, to make it prone to disk formation. They include baryonic physics, including star formation, but excluding supernova feedback. In one simulation they add the mass loss of older stellar populations in a relatively simple way. They let the stars loose an amount of mass that is typical for a Salpeter IMF (~45% of the SSP mass is returned in total). This lost gas mass adds to the disk and makes disk survival (and a smaller bulge fraction) a lot easier. The disk becomes more stable to both internal instabilities and to minor mergers.