2,364 research outputs found
On the robustness of the H Lick index as a cosmic clock in passive early-type galaxies
We examine the H Lick index in a sample of massive () and passive early-type galaxies extracted from SDSS at
z<0.3, in order to assess the reliability of this index to constrain the epoch
of formation and age evolution of these systems. We further investigate the
possibility of exploiting this index as "cosmic chronometer", i.e. to derive
the Hubble parameter from its differential evolution with redshift, hence
constraining cosmological models independently of other probes. We find that
the H strength increases with redshift as expected in passive evolution
models, and shows at each redshift weaker values in more massive galaxies.
However, a detailed comparison of the observed index with the predictions of
stellar population synthesis models highlights a significant tension, with the
observed index being systematically lower than expected. By analyzing the
stacked spectra, we find a weak [NII] emission line (not
detectable in the single spectra) which anti-correlates with the mass, that can
be interpreted as a hint of the presence of ionized gas. We estimated the
correction of the H index by the residual emission component exploiting
different approaches, but find it very uncertain and model-dependent. We
conclude that, while the qualitative trends of the observed H-z
relations are consistent with the expected passive and downsizing scenario, the
possible presence of ionized gas even in the most massive and passive galaxies
prevents to use this index for a quantitative estimate of the age evolution and
for cosmological applications.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Main
Journa
Bulges and disks in the local Universe. Linking the galaxy structure to star formation activity
We use a sample built on the SDSS DR7 catalogue and the bulge-disc
decomposition of Simard et al. (2011) to study how the bulge and disc
components contribute to the parent galaxy's star formation activity, by
determining its position in the star formation rate (SFR) - stellar mass
(M) plane at 0.020.1. We use the bulge and disc colours as proxy
for their SFRs. We study the mean galaxy bulge-total mass ratio (B/T) as a
function of the residual from the MS () and find that the
B/T- relation exhibits a parabola-like shape with the peak of the
MS corresponding to the lowest B/Ts at any stellar mass. The lower and upper
envelop of the MS are populated by galaxies with similar B/T, velocity
dispersion and concentration () values. Bulges above the MS are
characterised by blue colours or, when red, by a high level of dust
obscuration, thus indicating that in both cases they are actively star forming.
When on the MS or below it, bulges are mostly red and dead. At stellar masses
above M, bulges on the MS or in the green valley tend to
be significantly redder than their counterparts in the quiescence region,
despite similar levels of dust obscuration. The disc color anti-correlates at
any mass with the distance from the MS, getting redder when approaching the MS
lower envelope and the quiescence region. We conclude that the position of a
galaxy in the LogSFR-LogM plane depends on the star formation
activity of its components: above the MS both bulge and disk are actively star
forming. The nuclear activity is the first to be suppressed, moving the
galaxies on the MS. Once the disk stops forming stars as well, the galaxy moves
below the MS and eventually to the quiescence region. This is confirmed by a
large fraction () of passive galaxies with a secure two component
morphology.Comment: Version modified after referee comment
Two-Face(s): ionized and neutral gas winds in the local Universe
We present a comprehensive study of the Na I 5890, 5895 (Na I D)
resonant lines in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS, DR7) spectroscopic sample
to look for neutral gas outflows in the local galaxies. Individual galaxy
spectra are stacked in bins of M and SFR to investigate the dependence
of galactic wind occurrence and velocity as a function of the galaxy position
in the SFR- plane. In massive galaxies at the high SFR tail we find
evidence of a significant blue-shifted Na I D absorption, which we interpret as
evidence of neutral outflowing gas. The occurrence of the blue-shifted
absorption is observed at the same significance for purely SF galaxies, AGN and
composite systems at fixed SFR. In all classes of objects the blue-shift is the
largest and the Na I D equivalent width the smallest for face-on galaxies while
the absorption feature is at the systemic velocity for edge-on systems. This
indicates that the neutral outflow is mostly perpendicular or biconical with
respect to the galactic disk. We also compare the kinematics of the neutral gas
with the ionized gas phase as traced by the [OIII]5007, H,
[NII] and [NII] emission lines. Differently for the
neutral gas phase, all the emission lines show evidence of perturbed kinematics
only in galaxies with a significant level of nuclear activity and, they are
independent from the disk inclination. In conclusion, we find that, in the
local Universe, galactic winds show two faces which are related to two
different ejection mechanisms, namely the neutral outflowing gas phase related
to the SF activity along the galaxy disk and the ionized phase related to the
AGN feedback. In both the neutral and ionized gas phases, the observed wind
velocities suggest that the outflowing gas remains bound to the galaxy with no
definitive effect on the gas reservoir.Comment: Accepted to A&A, 13 pages, 9 figure
Identifying the lights position in photometric stereo under unknown lighting
Reconstructing the 3D shape of an object from a set of images is a classical
problem in Computer Vision. Photometric stereo is one of the possible
approaches. It stands on the assumption that the object is observed from a
fixed point of view under different lighting conditions. The traditional
approach requires that the position of the light sources is accurately known.
It has been proved that the lights position can be estimated directly from the
data, when at least 6 images of the observed object are available. In this
paper, we give a Matlab implementation of the algorithm for solving the
photometric stereo problem under unknown lighting, and propose a simple
shooting technique to solve the bas-relief ambiguity.Comment: new versio
Y2O3:Eu and the Mössbauer isomer shift coefficient of Eu compounds from ab-initio simulations
We report on a full potential density functional theory characterization of Y2O3 upon Eu doping on the two inequivalent crystallographic sites 24d and 8b. We analyze local structural relaxation, electronic properties and the relative stability of the two sites. The simulations are used to extract the contact charge density at the Eu nucleus. Then we construct the experimental isomer shift (IS) versus contact charge density calibration curve, by considering an ample set of Eu compounds: EuF3, EuO, EuF2, EuS, EuSe, EuTe, EuPd3 and the Eu metal. The, expected, linear dependence has a slope of α = 0.054 mm s-1 Å-3, which corresponds to nuclear expansion parameter ΔR/R = 6.0 × 10-5. α allows to obtain an unbiased and accurate estimation of the IS for any Eu compound. We test this approach on two mixed-valence compounds Eu3S4 and Eu2SiN3, and use it to predict the Y2O3:Eu IS with the result +1.04 mm s-1 at the 24d site and +1.00 mm s-1 at the 8b site
Y<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>:Eu and the Mössbauer isomer shift coefficient of Eu compounds from ab-initio simulations
We report on a full potential density functional theory characterization of Y2O3 upon Eu doping on the two inequivalent crystallographic sites 24d and 8b. We analyze local structural relaxation, electronic properties and the relative stability of the two sites. The simulations are used to extract the contact charge density at the Eu nucleus. Then we construct the experimental isomer shift (IS) versus contact charge density calibration curve, by considering an ample set of Eu compounds: EuF3, EuO, EuF2, EuS, EuSe, EuTe, EuPd3 and the Eu metal. The, expected, linear dependence has a slope of α = 0.054 mm s−1 Å−3, which corresponds to nuclear expansion parameter ΔR/R = 6.0 × 10−5. α allows to obtain an unbiased and accurate estimation of the IS for any Eu compound. We test this approach on two mixed-valence compounds Eu3S4 and Eu2SiN3, and use it to predict the Y2O3:Eu IS with the result +1.04 mm s−1 at the 24d site and +1.00 mm s−1 at the 8b site
Microalgae Growth in Physically Pre-Treated Wastewater Generated During Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing technique frequently used during gas and oil production generates large amounts of wastewaters (WWs). High cost of the conventional techniques used to treat such waters adversely affect their economic feasibility. Hence, novel technologies that will facilitate remediation and subsequent re-use of these WWs are welcomed. In this study, growth profile of four Oklahoma native microalgae (Geitlerinema carotinosum, Komvophoron sp., Pseudanabaena sp., Picochlorum oklahomensis) cultivated in physically pre-treated flowback and produced water generated during hydraulic fracturing were characterized. A mechanical step based on oil removal by an oil skimmer was introduced during pre-treatment. The experimental results demonstrated that all four strains could grow in pre-treated flowback and produced water. Biomass productivity varied significantly with the microalgae strain and type of the WW used in the growth experiments. The best performing strain, cyanobacterium Komvophoron sp., was able to grow with a specific growth rate ranging from 0.03 to 0.18 day-1 depending on the type of WW. The process was capable of removing ammonium and phosphorus with efficiencies up to 99 and 63%, respectively
Soft x-rays absorption and high-resolution powder x-ray diffraction study of superconducting CaxLa(1-x)Ba(1.75-x)La(0.25+x)Cu3Oy system
We have studied the electronic structure of unoccupied states measured by O
K-edge and Cu L-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), combined with crystal
structure studied by high resolution powder x-ray diffraction (HRPXRD), of
charge-compensated layered superconducting CaxLa(1-x)Ba(1.75-x)La(0.25+x)Cu3Oy
(0<x<0.4, 6.4<y<7.3) cuprate. A detailed analysis shows that, apart from hole
doping, chemical pressure on the electronically active CuO2 plane due to the
lattice mismatch with the spacer layers greatly influences the superconducting
properties of this system. The results suggest chemical pressure to be the most
plausible parameter to control the maximum critical temperatures (Tcmax) in
different cuprate families at optimum hole density.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics
and Chemistry of Solid
The seriation problem in the presence of a double Fiedler value
Seriation is a problem consisting of seeking the best enumeration order of a set of units whose interrelationship is described by a bipartite graph. An algorithm for spectral seriation based on the use of the Fiedler vector of the Laplacian matrix associated to the problem was developed by Atkins et al. under the assumption that the Fiedler value is simple. In this paper, we analyze the case in which the Fiedler value of the Laplacian is not simple, discuss its effect on the set of the admissible solutions, and study possible approaches to actually perform the computation. Examples and numerical experiments illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods
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