M82 - A radio continuum and polarisation study II. Polarisation and rotation measures

The composition and morphology of the interstellar medium in starburst galaxies has been well investigated, but the magnetic field properties are still uncertain. The nearby starburst galaxy M82 provides a unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms leading to the amplification and reduction of turbulent and regular magnetic fields. Possible scenarios of the contribution of the magnetic field to the star-formation rate are evaluated. Archival data from the VLA and WSRT were combined and re-reduced to cover the wavelength regime between 3cm and 22cm. All observations revealed polarised emission in the inner part of the galaxy, while extended polarised emission up to a distance of 2kpc from the disk was only detected at 18cm and 22cm. The observations hint at a magnetised bar in the inner part of the galaxy. We calculate the mass inflow rate due to magnetic stress of the bar to 7.1 solar masses per year, which can be a significant contribution to the star-formation rate of M82 of approximately 13 solar masses per year. The halo shows polarised emission, which might be the remnant of a regular disk field. Indications for a helical field in the inner part of the outflow cone are provided. The coherence length of the magnetic field in the centre is similar to the size of giant molecular clouds. Using polarisation spectra more evidence for a close coupling of the ionised gas and the magnetic field as well as a two-phase magnetic field topology were found. Electron densities in the halo are similar to the ones found in the Milky Way. The magnetic field morphology is similar to the one in other nearby starburst galaxies with possible large-scale magnetic loops in the halo and a helical magnetic field inside the outflow cones. The special combination of a magnetic bar and a circumnuclear ring are able to significantly raise the star-formation rate in this galaxy by magnetic braking

Aerosol loading in the Southeastern United States: reconciling surface and satellite observations

We investigate the seasonality in aerosols over the Southeastern United States using observations from several satellite instruments (MODIS, MISR, CALIOP) and surface network sites (IMPROVE, SEARCH, AERONET). We find that the strong summertime enhancement in satellite-observed aerosol optical depth (AOD) (factor 2–3 enhancement over wintertime AOD) is not present in surface mass concentrations (25–55% summertime enhancement). Goldstein et al. (2009) previously attributed this seasonality in AOD to biogenic organic aerosol; however, surface observations show that organic aerosol only accounts for ∼35% of fine particulate matter (smaller than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter, PM[subscript 2.5]) and exhibits similar seasonality to total surface PM[subscript 2.5]. The GEOS-Chem model generally reproduces these surface aerosol measurements, but underrepresents the AOD seasonality observed by satellites. We show that seasonal differences in water uptake cannot sufficiently explain the magnitude of AOD increase. As CALIOP profiles indicate the presence of additional aerosol in the lower troposphere (below 700 hPa), which cannot be explained by vertical mixing, we conclude that the discrepancy is due to a missing source of aerosols above the surface layer in summer.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (ATM-0929282

The Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey

A blind HI survey of the extragalactic sky behind the southern Milky Way has been conducted with the multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. The survey covers the Galactic longitude range 212 < l < 36 and Galactic latitudes |b| < 5, and yields 883 galaxies to a recessional velocity of 12,000 km/s. The survey covers the sky within the HIPASS area to greater sensitivity, finding lower HI-mass galaxies at all distances, and probing more completely the large-scale structures at and beyond the distance of the Great Attractor. Fifty-one percent of the HI detections have an optical/NIR counterpart in the literature. A further 27% have new counterparts found in existing, or newly obtained, optical/NIR images. The counterpart rate drops in regions of high foreground stellar crowding and extinction, and for low-HI mass objects. Only 8% of all counterparts have a previous optical redshift measurement. A notable new galaxy is HIZOA J1353-58, a possible companion to the Circinus galaxy. Merging this catalog with the similarly-conducted northern extension (Donley et al. 2005), large-scale structures are delineated, including those within the Puppis and Great Attractor regions, and the Local Void. Several newly-identified structures are revealed here for the first time. Three new galaxy concentrations (NW1, NW2 and NW3) are key in confirming the diagonal crossing of the Great Attractor Wall between the Norma cluster and the CIZA J1324.7-5736 cluster. Further contributors to the general mass overdensity in that area are two new clusters (CW1 and CW2) in the nearer Centaurus Wall, one of which forms part of the striking 180 deg (100/h Mpc) long filament that dominates the southern sky at velocities of ~3000 km/s, and the suggestion of a further Wall at the Great Attractor distance at slightly higher longitudes.Comment: Published in Astronomical Journal 9 February 2016 (accepted 26 September 2015); 42 pages, 7 tables, 18 figures, main figures data tables only available in the on-line version of journa

Investigating the observed sensitivities of air-quality extremes to meteorological drivers via quantile regression

Air pollution variability is strongly dependent on meteorology. However, quantifying the impacts of changes in regional climatology on pollution extremes can be difficult due to the many non-linear and competing meteorological influences on the production, transport, and removal of pollutant species. Furthermore, observed pollutant levels at many sites show sensitivities at the extremes that differ from those of the overall mean, indicating relationships that would be poorly characterized by simple linear regressions. To address this challenge, we apply quantile regression to observed daily ozone (O[subscript 3]) and fine particulate matter (PM[subscript 2.5]) levels and reanalysis meteorological fields in the USA over the past decade to specifically identify the meteorological sensitivities of higher pollutant levels. From an initial set of over 1700 possible meteorological indicators (including 28 meteorological variables with 63 different temporal options), we generate reduced sets of O[subscript 3] and PM[subscript 2.5] indicators for both summer and winter months, analyzing pollutant sensitivities to each for response quantiles ranging from 2 to 98 %. Primary covariates connected to high-quantile O[subscript 3] levels include temperature and relative humidity in the summer, while winter O[subscript 3] levels are most commonly associated with incoming radiation flux. Covariates associated with summer PM[subscript 2.5] include temperature, wind speed, and tropospheric stability at many locations, while stability, humidity, and planetary boundary layer height are the key covariates most frequently associated with winter PM[subscript 2.5]. We find key differences in covariate sensitivities across regions and quantiles. For example, we find nationally averaged sensitivities of 95th percentile summer O[subscript 3] to changes in maximum daily temperature of approximately 0.9 ppb °C[superscript −1], while the sensitivity of 50th percentile summer O[subscript 3] (the annual median) is only 0.6 ppb °C[superscript −1]. This gap points to differing sensitivities within various percentiles of the pollutant distribution, highlighting the need for statistical tools capable of identifying meteorological impacts across the entire response spectrum.United States. Environmental Protection Agency (Grant/Cooperative Agreement RD-83522801

Gravitation as a Casimir interaction

Gravitation is considered to be one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. However, one has so far failed to observe the graviton, the quantum particle that is believed to transmit the gravitational force at a distance - the analogue to the photon in electromagnetism. Maybe it is now time to re-evaluate the status of the gravitation as a fundamental interaction. Here, we propose a completely new interpretation of gravitation. In this description the gravitational force is no longer a fundamental force. It is an induced force, a dispersion force, and the analogue to the Casimir force in electromagnetism. The fundamental force is in our description a force between particles with a parabolic interaction potential. In our model the nucleons are made up from these particles. We find the retarded dispersion force between these composite particles has the correct distance dependence, 1/r. If this interpretation is correct it has a broad range of implications. Our view on the fundamental concept mass is altered; our view on the expansion of the Universe may change

The SKA view of the Neutral Interstellar Medium in Galaxies

Two major questions in galaxy evolution are how star-formation on small scales leads to global scaling laws and how galaxies acquire sufficient gas to sustain their star formation rates. HI observations with high angular resolution and with sensitivity to very low column densities are some of the important observational ingredients that are currently still missing. Answers to these questions are necessary for a correct interpretation of observations of galaxy evolution in the high-redshift universe and will provide crucial input for the sub-grid physics in hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy evolutions. In this chapter we discuss the progress that will be made with the SKA using targeted observations of nearby individual disk and dwarf galaxies.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, to appear as part of 'Neutral Hydrogen' in Proceedings 'Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA (AASKA14)', PoS(AASKA14)12