534 research outputs found
IRAC Excess in Distant Star-Forming Galaxies: Tentative Evidence for the 3.3m Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Feature ?
We present evidence for the existence of an IRAC excess in the spectral
energy distribution (SED) of 5 galaxies at 0.6<z<0.9 and 1 galaxy at z=1.7.
These 6 galaxies, located in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey field
(GOODS-N), are star forming since they present strong 6.2, 7.7, and 11.3 um
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) lines in their Spitzer IRS mid-infrared
spectra. We use a library of templates computed with PEGASE.2 to fit their
multiwavelength photometry and derive their stellar continuum. Subtraction of
the stellar continuum enables us to detect in 5 galaxies a significant excess
in the IRAC band pass where the 3.3 um PAH is expected. We then assess if the
physical origin of the IRAC excess is due to an obscured active galactic
nucleus (AGN) or warm dust emission. For one galaxy evidence of an obscured AGN
is found, while the remaining four do not exhibit any significant AGN activity.
Possible contamination by warm dust continuum of unknown origin as found in the
Galactic diffuse emission is discussed. The properties of such a continuum
would have to be different from the local Universe to explain the measured IRAC
excess, but we cannot definitively rule out this possibility until its origin
is understood. Assuming that the IRAC excess is dominated by the 3.3 um PAH
feature, we find good agreement with the observed 11.3 um PAH line flux arising
from the same C-H bending and stretching modes, consistent with model
expectations. Finally, the IRAC excess appears to be correlated with the
star-formation rate in the galaxies. Hence it could provide a powerful
diagnostic for measuring dusty star formation in z>3 galaxies once the
mid-infrared spectroscopic capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope
become available.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Total Molecular Gas Masses of Planck - Herschel Selected Strongly Lensed Hyper Luminous Infrared Galaxies
We report the detection of CO(1 - 0) line emission from seven Planck and
Herschel selected hyper luminous (LIR(8-1000um) > 10^13Lsun) infrared galaxies
with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). CO(1 - 0) measurements are a vital tool to
trace the bulk molecular gas mass across all redshifts. Our results place tight
constraints on the total gas content of these most apparently luminous high-z
star-forming galaxies (apparent IR luminosities of LIR > 10^(13-14) Lsun),
while we confirm their predetermined redshifts measured using the Large
Millimeter Telescope, LMT (zCO = 1.33 - 3.26). The CO(1 - 0) lines show similar
profiles as compared to Jup = 2 -4 transitions previously observed with the
LMT. We report enhanced infrared to CO line luminosity ratios of
= 110 (pm 22) Lsun(K km s^-1 pc^-2)^-1 compared to normal
star-forming galaxies, yet similar to those of well-studied IR-luminous
galaxies at high-z. We find average brightness temperature ratios of =
0.93 (2 sources), = 0.34 (5 sources), and = 0.18 (1 source). The
r31 and r41 values are roughly half the average values for SMGs. We estimate
the total gas mass content as uMH2 = (0.9 - 27.2) x 10^11(alphaCO/0.8)Msun,
where u is the magnification factor and alphaCO is the CO line luminosity to
molecular hydrogen gas mass conversion factor. The rapid gas depletion times
are, on average, tau = 80 Myr, which reveal vigorous starburst activity, and
contrast the Gyr depletion timescales observed in local, normal star-forming
galaxies.Comment: published in MNRAS, 9pages, 5fig
The Far-Infrared, UV and Molecular Gas Relation in Galaxies up to z=2.5
We use the infrared excess (IRX) FIR/UV luminosity ratio to study the
relation between the effective UV attenuation (A_IRX) and the UV spectral slope
(beta) in a sample of 450 1<z<2.5 galaxies. The FIR data is from very deep
Herschel observations in the GOODS fields that allow us to detect galaxies with
SFRs typical of galaxies with log(M)>9.3. Thus, we are able to study galaxies
on and even below the main SFR-stellar mass relation (main sequence). We find
that main sequence galaxies form a tight sequence in the IRX--beta plane, which
has a flatter slope than commonly used relations. This slope favors a SMC-like
UV extinction curve, though the interpretation is model dependent. The scatter
in the IRX-beta plane, correlates with the position of the galaxies in the
SFR-M plane. Using a smaller sample of galaxies with CO gas masses, we study
the relation between the UV attenuation and the molecular gas content. We find
a very tight relation between the scatter in the IRX-beta plane and the
specific attenuation (S_A), a quantity that represents the attenuation
contributed by the molecular gas mass per young star. S_A is sensitive to both
the geometrical arrangement of stars and dust, and to the compactness of the
star forming regions. We use this empirical relation to derive a method for
estimating molecular gas masses using only widely available integrated
rest-frame UV and FIR photometry. The method produces gas masses with an
accuracy between 0.12-0.16 dex in samples of normal galaxies between z~0 and
z~1.5. Major mergers and sub-millimeter galaxies follow a different S_A
relation.Comment: 11 pages, 6 pages appendix, 11 figures, accepted to Ap
Insights into the effects of N-glycosylation on the characteristics of the VC1 domain of the human receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) secreted by Pichia pastoris
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs), resulting from non-enzymatic modifications of proteins, are potentially harmful to human health. They directly act on proteins, affecting structure and function, or through receptor-mediated mechanisms. RAGE, a type I transmembrane glycoprotein, was identified as a receptor for AGEs. RAGE is involved in chronic inflammation, oxidative stress-based diseases and ageing. The majority of RAGE ligands bind to the VC1 domain. This domain was successfully expressed and secreted by Pichia pastoris. Out of two N-glycosylation sites, one (Asn25) was fully occupied while the other (Asn81) was under-glycosylated, generating two VC1 variants, named p36 and p34. Analysis of N-glycans and of their influence on VC1 properties were here investigated. The highly sensitive procainamide labeling method coupled to ES-MS was used for N-glycan profiling. N-glycans released from VC1 ranged from Man9GlcNAc2- to Man15GlcNAc2- with major Man10GlcNAc2- and Man11GlcNAc2- species for p36 and p34, respectively. Circular dichroism spectra indicated that VC1 maintains the same conformation also after removal of N-glycans. Thermal denaturation curves showed that the carbohydrate moiety has a small stabilizing effect on VC1 protein conformation. The removal of the glycan moiety did not affect the binding of VC1 to sugar-derived AGE- or malondialdehyde-derived ALE-human serum albumin. Given the crucial role of RAGE in human pathologies, the features of VC1 from P. pastoris will prove useful in designing strategies for the enrichment of AGEs/ALEs from plasma, urine or tissues, and in characterizing the nature of the interaction
Herschel Far-IR counterparts of SDSS galaxies: Analysis of commonly used Star Formation Rate estimates
We study a hundred of galaxies from the spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky
Survey with individual detections in the Far-Infrared Herschel PACS bands (100
or 160 m) and in the GALEX Far-UltraViolet band up to z0.4 in the
COSMOS and Lockman Hole fields. The galaxies are divided into 4 spectral and 4
morphological types. For the star forming and unclassifiable galaxies we
calculate dust extinctions from the UV slope, the H/H ratio and
the ratio. There is a tight correlation between the
dust extinction and both and metallicity. We calculate
SFR and compare it with other SFR estimates (H, UV, SDSS)
finding a very good agreement between them with smaller dispersions than
typical SFR uncertainties. We study the effect of mass and metallicity, finding
that it is only significant at high masses for SFR. For the AGN and
composite galaxies we find a tight correlation between SFR and L
(0.29), while the dispersion in the SFR - L relation is
larger (0.57). The galaxies follow the prescriptions of the
Fundamental Plane in the M-Z-SFR space.Comment: 24 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
ISM conditions in z~0.2 Lyman-Break Analogs
We present an analysis of far--infrared (FIR) [CII] and [OI] fine structure
line and continuum observations obtained with /PACS, and CO(1-0)
observations obtained with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer, of Lyman
Break Analogs (LBAs) at . The principal aim of this work is to
determine the typical ISM properties of Main Sequence (MS)
galaxies, with stellar masses between and ,
which are currently not easily detectable in all these lines even with ALMA and
NOEMA. We perform PDR modeling and apply different IR diagnostics to derive the
main physical parameters of the FIR emitting gas and dust and we compare the
derived ISM properties to those of galaxies on and above the MS at different
redshifts. We find that the ISM properties of LBAs are quite extreme (low gas
temperature, high density and thermal pressure) with respect to those found in
local normal spirals and more active local galaxies. LBAs have no [CII] deficit
despite having the high specific star formation rates (sSFRs) typical of
starbursts. Although LBAs lie above the local MS, we show that their ISM
properties are more similar to those of high-redshift MS galaxies than of local
galaxies above the main sequence. This data set represents an important
reference for planning future ALMA [CII] observations of relatively low-mass MS
galaxies at the epoch of the peak of the cosmic star formation.Comment: 19 pages, 12 Figures,8 Tables, Accepted for publication in A&
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