738 research outputs found
The effect of the environment on the HI scaling relations
We use a volume-, magnitude-limited sample of nearby galaxies to investigate
the effect of the environment on the HI scaling relations. We confirm that the
HI-to-stellar mass ratio anti correlates with stellar mass, stellar mass
surface density and NUV-r colour across the whole range of parameters covered
by our sample (10^9 <M*<10^11 Msol, 7.5 <mu*<9.5 Msol kpc^-2, 2<NUV-r<6 mag).
These scaling relations are also followed by galaxies in the Virgo cluster,
although they are significantly offset towards lower gas content.
Interestingly, the difference between field and cluster galaxies gradually
decreases moving towards massive, bulge-dominated systems. By comparing our
data with the predictions of chemo-spectrophotometric models of galaxy
evolution, we show that starvation alone cannot explain the low gas content of
Virgo spirals and that only ram-pressure stripping is able to reproduce our
findings. Finally, motivated by previous studies, we investigate the use of a
plane obtained from the relations between the HI-to-stellar mass ratio, stellar
mass surface density and NUV-r colour as a proxy for the HI deficiency
parameter. We show that the distance from the `HI gas fraction plane' can be
used as an alternative estimate for the HI deficiency, but only if carefully
calibrated on pre-defined samples of `unperturbed' systems.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS main journal. 11 pages, 6 figures,
1 tabl
1.65mic (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. VI: The history of star formation in normal late-type galaxies
We have collected a large body of NIR (H band), UV (2000 A) and Halpha
measurements of late-type galaxies. These are used, jointly with spectral
evolutionary synthesis models, to study the initial mass function (IMF) in the
mass range m > 2 Mo. For spirals (Sa-Sd), Magellanic irregulars (Im) and blue
compact dwarfs (BCD), our determination is consistent with a Salpeter IMF with
an upper mass cutoff M_up = 80 Mo. The history of star formation and the amount
of total gas (per unit mass) of galaxies are found to depend primarily on their
total masses (as traced by the H band luminosities) and only secondarily on
morphological type. The present star formation activity of massive spirals is
up to 100 times smaller than that average over their lifetime, while in low
mass galaxies it is comparable to or higher than that at earlier epochs. Dwarf
galaxies have presently larger gas reservoirs per unit mass than massive
spirals. The efficiency in transforming gas into stars and the time scale for
gas depletion (10 Gyrs) are independent of the luminosity and/or of the
morphological type. These evidences are consistent with the idea that galaxies
are coeval systems,that they evolved as closed-boxes forming stars following a
simple, universal star formation law whose characteristic time scale is small
(1 Gyr) in massive spirals and large (10 Gyr) in low mass galaxies. A similar
conclusion was drawn by Gavazzi and Scodeggio (1996) to explain the
colour-magnitude relation of late-type galaxies. The consequences of this
interpretation on the evolution of the star formation rate and of the gas
density per comoving volume of the Universe with look-back time are discussed.Comment: LaTex, 24 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on Astronomical
Journa
Magneto-transport study of top- and back-gated LaAlO/SrTiO heterostructures
We report a detailed analysis of magneto-transport properties of top- and
back-gated LaAlO/SrTiO heterostructures. Efficient modulation in
magneto-resistance, carrier density, and mobility of the two-dimensional
electron liquid present at the interface is achieved by sweeping top and back
gate voltages. Analyzing those changes with respect to the carrier density
tuning, we observe that the back gate strongly modifies the electron mobility
while the top gate mainly varies the carrier density. The evolution of the
spin-orbit interaction is also followed as a function of top and back gating.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
The fate of spiral galaxies in clusters: The star formation history of the anemic Virgo cluster galaxy NGC 4569
We present a new method for studying the star formation history of late-type cluster galaxies undergoing gas starvation or a ram pressure stripping event by combining bidimensional multifrequency observations with multizone models of galactic chemical and spectrophotometric evolution. This method is applied to the Virgo Cluster anemic galaxy NGC 4569. We extract radial profiles from recently obtained UV GALEX images at 1530 and 2310 Å, from visible and near-IR narrow (Hα) and broadband images at different wavelengths (u, B, g, V, r, i, z, J, H, and K), from Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images, and from atomic and molecular gas maps. The model in the absence of interaction (characterized by its rotation velocity and spin parameter) is constrained by the unperturbed H-band light profile and by the Hα rotation curve. We can reconstruct the observed total gas radial density profile and the light surface brightness profiles at all wavelengths in a ram pressure stripping scenario by making simple assumptions about the gas removal process and the orbit of NGC 4569 inside the cluster. The observed profiles cannot be reproduced by simply stopping gas infall, thus mimicking starvation. Gas removal is required, which is more efficient in the outer disk, inducing radial quenching in the star formation activity, as observed and reproduced by the model. This observational result, consistent with theoretical predictions that a galaxy cluster-IGM interaction is able to modify structural disk parameters without gravitational perturbations, is discussed in the framework of the origin of lenticular galaxies in cluster
The origin of dwarf ellipticals in the Virgo cluster
We study the evolution of dwarf (L_H < 10^{9.6} L_Ho) star forming and
quiescent galaxies in the Virgo cluster by comparing their UV to radio
centimetric properties to the predictions of multizone chemo-spectrophotometric
models of galaxy evolution especially tuned to take into account the
perturbations induced by the interaction with the cluster intergalactic medium.
Our models simulate one or multiple ram pressure stripping events and galaxy
starvation. Models predict that all star forming dwarf galaxies entering the
cluster for the first time loose most, if not all, of their atomic gas content,
quenching on short time scales (< 150 Myr) their activity of star formation.
These dwarf galaxies soon become red and quiescent, gas metal-rich objects with
spectrophotometric and structural properties similar to those of dwarf
ellipticals. Young, low luminosity, high surface brightness star forming
galaxies such as late-type spirals and BCDs are probably the progenitors of
relatively massive dwarf ellipticals, while it is likely that low surface
brightness magellanic irregulars evolve into very low surface brightness
quiescent objects hardly detectable in ground based imaging surveys. The small
number of dwarf galaxies with physical properties intermediate between those of
star forming and quiescent systems is consistent with a rapid (< 1 Gyr)
transitional phase between the two dwarf galaxies populations. These results,
combined with statistical considerations, are consistent with the idea that
most of the dwarf ellipticals dominating the faint end of the Virgo luminosity
function were initially star forming systems, accreted by the cluster and
stripped of their gas by one or subsequent ram pressure stripping events.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
Ram pressure stripping of the multiphase ISM in the Virgo cluster spiral galaxy NGC 4438
Ram pressure stripping of the multiphase ISM is studied in the perturbed
Virgo cluster spiral galaxy NGC 4438. This galaxy underwent a tidal interaction
~100 Myr ago and is now strongly affected by ram pressure stripping. Deep VLA
radio continuum observations at 6 and 20 cm are presented. We detect prominent
extraplanar emission to the west of the galactic center, which extends twice as
far as the other tracers of extraplanar material. The spectral index of the
extraplanar emission does not steepen with increasing distance from the galaxy.
This implies in situ re-acceleration of relativistic electrons. The comparison
with multiwavelength observations shows that the magnetic field and the warm
ionized interstellar medium traced by Halpha emission are closely linked. The
kinematics of the northern extraplanar Halpha emission, which is ascribed to
star formation, follow those of the extraplanar CO emission. In the western and
southern extraplanar regions, the Halpha measured velocities are greater than
those of the CO lines. We suggest that the ionized gas of this region is
excited by ram pressure. The spatial and velocity offsets are consistent with a
scenario where the diffuse ionized gas is more efficiently pushed by ram
pressure stripping than the neutral gas. We suggest that the recently found
radio-deficient regions compared to 24 mum emission are due to this difference
in stripping efficiency.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, A&A, accepted for publicatio
High sensitivity variable-temperature infrared nanoscopy of conducting oxide interfaces
Probing the local transport properties of two-dimensional electron systems
(2DES) confined at buried interfaces requires a non-invasive technique with a
high spatial resolution operating in a broad temperature range. In this paper,
we investigate the scattering-type scanning near field optical microscopy as a
tool for studying the conducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface from room temperature
down to 6 K. We show that the near-field optical signal, in particular its
phase component, is highly sensitive to the transport properties of the
electron system present at the interface. Our modelling reveals that such
sensitivity originates from the interaction of the AFM tip with coupled
plasmon-phonon modes with a small penetration depth. The model allows us to
quantitatively correlate changes in the optical signal with the variation of
the 2DES transport properties induced by cooling and by electrostatic gating.
To probe the spatial resolution of the technique, we image conducting
nano-channels written in insulating heterostructures with a voltage-biased tip
of an atomic force microscope.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Ongoing Gas Stripping in the Virgo Cluster Spiral NGC 4522
The Virgo cluster galaxy NGC 4522 is one of the best spiral candidates for
ICM-ISM stripping in action. Optical broadband and H-alpha images from the WIYN
telescope of the highly inclined galaxy reveal a relatively undisturbed stellar
disk and a peculiar distribution of H-alpha emission. Ten percent of the
H-alpha emission arises from extraplanar HII regions which appear to lie within
filamentary structures >3 kpc long above one side of the disk. The filaments
emerge from the outer edge of a disk of bright H-alpha emission which is
abruptly truncated beyond 0.35R(25). Together the truncated H-alpha disk and
extraplanar H-alpha filaments are reminiscent of a bow shock morphology, which
strongly suggests that the interstellar medium (ISM) of NGC 4522 is being
stripped by the gas pressure of the intracluster medium (ICM). The galaxy has a
line-of-sight velocity of 1300 km/sec with respect to the mean Virgo cluster
velocity, and thus is expected to experience a strong interaction with the
intracluster gas. The existence of HII regions apparently located above the
disk plane suggests that star formation is occuring in the stripped gas, and
that newly formed stars will enter the galaxy halo and/or intracluster space.
The absence of HII regions in the disk beyond 0.35R(25), and the existence of
HII regions in the stripped gas suggest that even molecular gas has been
effectively removed from the disk of the galaxy.Comment: to appear in The Astronomical Journal, 16 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
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