214 research outputs found
The ESO UVES Advanced Data Products Quasar Sample - VI. Sub-Damped Lyman- Metallicity Measurements and the Circum-Galactic Medium
The Circum-Galactic Medium (CGM) can be probed through the analysis of
absorbing systems in the line-of-sight to bright background quasars. We present
measurements of the metallicity of a new sample of 15 sub-damped Lyman-
absorbers (sub-DLAs, defined as absorbers with 19.0 < log N(H I) < 20.3) with
redshift 0.584 < < 3.104 from the ESO Ultra-Violet Echelle
Spectrograph (UVES) Advanced Data Products Quasar Sample (EUADP). We combine
these results with other measurements from the literature to produce a
compilation of metallicity measurements for 92 sub-DLAs as well as a sample of
362 DLAs. We apply a multi-element analysis to quantify the amount of dust in
these two classes of systems. We find that either the element depletion
patterns in these systems differ from the Galactic depletion patterns or they
have a different nucleosynthetic history than our own Galaxy. We propose a new
method to derive the velocity width of absorption profiles, using the modeled
Voigt profile features. The correlation between the velocity width delta_V90 of
the absorption profile and the metallicity is found to be tighter for DLAs than
for sub-DLAs. We report hints of a bimodal distribution in the [Fe/H]
metallicity of low redshift (z < 1.25) sub-DLAs, which is unseen at higher
redshifts. This feature can be interpreted as a signature from the metal-poor,
accreting gas and the metal-rich, outflowing gas, both being traced by sub-DLAs
at low redshifts.Comment: 64 pages, 31 figures, 27 tables. Submitted to MNRA
Automated mining of the ALMA archive in the COSMOS field (A3COSMOS): II. Cold molecular gas evolution out to Redshift 6
We present new measurements of the cosmic cold molecular gas evolution out to redshift 6 based on systematic mining of the ALMA public archive in the COSMOS deep field (A3COSMOS). Our A3COSMOS dataset contains ~700 galaxies (0.3 < z < 6) with high-confidence ALMA detections in the (sub-)millimeter continuum and multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Multiple gas mass calibration methods are compared and biases in band conversions (from observed ALMA wavelength to rest-frame Rayleigh-Jeans(RJ)-tail continuum) have been tested. Combining our A3COSMOS sample with ~1,000 CO-observed galaxies at 0 < z < 4 (75% at z < 0.1), we parameterize galaxies' molecular gas depletion time and molecular gas to stellar mass ratio (gas fraction) each as a function of the stellar mass, offset from the star-forming main sequence (Delta MS) and cosmic age (or redshift). Our proposed functional form provides a statistically better fit to current data (than functional forms in the literature), and implies a "downsizing" effect (i.e., more-massive galaxies evolve earlier than less-massive ones) and "mass-quenching" (gas consumption slows down with cosmic time for massive galaxies but speeds up for low-mass ones). Adopting galaxy stellar mass functions and applying our function for gas mass calculation, we for the first time infer the cosmic cold molecular gas density evolution out to redshift 6 and find agreement with CO blind surveys as well as semi-analytic modeling. These together provide a coherent picture of cold molecular gas, SFR and stellar mass evolution in galaxies across cosmic time
Exploring Neutral Hydrogen and Galaxy Evolution with the SKA
One of the key science drivers for the development of the SKA is to observe
the neutral hydrogen, HI, in galaxies as a means to probe galaxy evolution
across a range of environments over cosmic time. Over the past decade, much
progress has been made in theoretical simulations and observations of HI in
galaxies. However, recent HI surveys on both single dish radio telescopes and
interferometers, while providing detailed information on global HI properties,
the dark matter distribution in galaxies, as well as insight into the
relationship between star formation and the interstellar medium, have been
limited to the local universe. Ongoing and upcoming HI surveys on SKA
pathfinder instruments will extend these measurements beyond the local universe
to intermediate redshifts with long observing programmes. We present here an
overview of the HI science which will be possible with the increased
capabilities of the SKA and which will build upon the expected increase in
knowledge of HI in and around galaxies obtained with the SKA pathfinder
surveys. With the SKA1 the greatest improvement over our current measurements
is the capability to image galaxies at reasonable linear resolution and good
column density sensitivity to much higher redshifts (0.2 < z < 1.7). So one
will not only be able to increase the number of detections to study the
evolution of the HI mass function, but also have the sensitivity and resolution
to study inflows and outflows to and from galaxies and the kinematics of the
gas within and around galaxies as a function of environment and cosmic time out
to previously unexplored depths. The increased sensitivity of SKA2 will allow
us to image Milky Way-size galaxies out to redshifts of z=1 and will provide
the data required for a comprehensive picture of the HI content of galaxies
back to z~2 when the cosmic star formation rate density was at its peak.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Contribution to the conference
'Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array', June 8-13, 2014,
Giardini Naxos, Ital
Overview on spectral line source finding and visualisation
Here I will outline successes and challenges for finding spectral line
sources in large data cubes that are dominated by noise. This is a 3D challenge
as the sources we wish to catalog are spread over several spatial pixels and
spectral channels. While 2D searches can be applied, e.g., channel by channel,
optimal searches take into account the 3-dimensional nature of the sources. In
this overview I will focus on HI 21-cm spectral line source detection in
extragalactic surveys, in particular HIPASS, the "HI Parkes All-Sky Survey" and
WALLABY, the "ASKAP HI All-Sky Survey". I use the original HIPASS data to
highlight the diversity of spectral signatures of galaxies and gaseous clouds,
both in emission and absorption. Among others, I report the discovery of a 680
km/s wide HI absorption trough in the megamaser galaxy NGC 5793. Issues such as
source confusion and baseline ripples, typically encountered in single-dish HI
surveys, are much reduced in interferometric HI surveys. Several large HI
emission and absorption surveys are planned for the Australian Square Kilometre
Array Pathfinder (ASKAP): here we focus on WALLABY, the 21-cm survey of the sky
(Dec < +30 degr; z < 0.26) which will take about one year of observing time
with ASKAP. Novel phased array feeds ("radio cameras") will provide 30 square
degrees instantaneous field-of-view. WALLABY is expected to detect more than
500 000 galaxies, unveil their large-scale structures and cosmological
parameters, detect their extended, low-surface brightness disks as well as gas
streams and filaments between galaxies. It is a precursor for future HI surveys
with SKA Phase I and II, exploring galaxy formation and evolution. The
compilation of highly reliable and complete source catalogs will require
sophisticated source-finding algorithms as well as accurate source
parametrisation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, PASA Special Issue on "Source Finding &
Visualisation", submitte
Observable Signatures of the low-z Circum-Galactic and Inter-Galactic Medium : UV Line Emission in Simulations
We present for the first time predictions for UV line emission of
intergalactic and circumgalactic gas from Adaptive Mesh Resolution (AMR) Large
Scale Structure (LSS) simulations at redshifts 0.3<z<1.2, with specific
emphasis on observability with current and near-future UV instrumentation. In
three transitions of interest (Lya, OVI and CIV) there is a clear bimodality in
the type of objects : the overwhelming majority of flux stems from discrete,
compact sources, while a much larger volume fraction is filled by more tenuous
gas. We characterise both object types with regard to number density, physical
size and shape, brightness, luminosity, velocity structure, mass, temperature,
ionisation state, and metal content. Degrading AMR grids to characteristic
resolutions of available (such as FIREBall) or foreseeable instrumentation,
allows to assess which inferences can be drawn from currently possible
observations, and set foundations to prepare observing strategies for future
missions. In general, the faint emission of the IGM and filamentary structure
remains beyond capabilities of instruments with only short duration exposure
potential (stratospheric balloons), even for optimistic assumptions for Lya,
while the yet fainter metal line transitions for these structures will remain
challenging for long duration exposures (space-based telescopes), mostly due to
low metallicity pushing them more than three orders of magnitudes in brightness
below Lya radiation. For the circum-galactic medium (CGM) the situation is more
promising, and it is foreseeable that in the near future we will not only just
dectect such sources, but the combination of all three lines in addition to
velocity information will yield valuable insight into the physical processes at
hand, illuminating important mechanisms during the formation of galaxies and
their backreaction onto the IGM from whence they formed. (abrigded)Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (2011 November 08, received in
original form 2011 September 14). 27 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables. Some of the
figures have degraded resolution due to file size limitations. For
high-resolution version, please contact the first autho
WALLABY Early Science – II. The NGC 7232 galaxy group
We report on neutral hydrogen (H I) observations of the NGC 7232 group with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). These observations were conducted as part of the Wide-field ASKAP L-Band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) Early Science program with an array of 12 ASKAP antennas equipped with Phased Array Feeds, which were used to form 36 beams to map a field of view of 30 deg2. Analysing a subregion of the central beams, we detect 17 H I sources. Eleven of these detections are identified as galaxies and have stellar counterparts, of which five are newly resolved H I galaxy sources. The other six detections appear to be tidal debris in the form of H I clouds that are associated with the central triplet, NGC 7232/3, comprising the spiral galaxies NGC 7232, NGC 7232B, and NGC 7233. One of these H I clouds has a mass of MH I ∼ 3 × 108 M⊙ and could be the progenitor of a long-lived tidal dwarf galaxy. The remaining H I clouds are likely transient tidal knots that are possibly part of a diffuse tidal bridge between NGC 7232/3 and another group member, the lenticular galaxy IC 5181
Medium Effects on Binary Collisions with the Delta Resonance
To facilitate the relativistic heavy-ion calculations based on transport
equations, the binary collisions involving a resonance in either the
entrance channel or the exit channel are investigated within a Hamiltonian
formulation of interactions. An averaging procedure is developed to
define a quasi-particle and to express the experimentally measured
cross section in terms of an effective cross section. In contrast to previous works, the main feature of
the present approach is that the mass and the momentum of the produced
's are calculated dynamically from the bare vertex interaction of the model Hamiltonian and are constrained by the
unitarity condition. The procedure is then extended to define the effective
cross sections for the experimentally inaccessible and reactions. The predicted cross
sections are significantly different from what are commonly assumed in
relativistic heavy-ion calculations. The potential in nuclear matter
has been calculated by using a Bruckner-Hartree-Fock approximation. By
including the mean-field effects on the propagation, the effective
cross sections of the , and reactions in nuclear matter are
predicted. It is demonstrated that the density dependence is most dramatic in
the energy region close to the pion production threshold.Comment: 20 pages, RevTe
Semi-analytic forecasts for JWST -- VI. Simulated lightcones and galaxy clustering predictions
The Simulated HI Sky at low redshift
Observations of intergalactic neutral hydrogen can provide a wealth of
information about structure and galaxy formation, potentially tracing accretion
and feedback processes on Mpc scales. Below a column density of NHI ~ 10^19
cm-2, the "edge" or typical observational limit for HI emission from galaxies,
simulations predict a cosmic web of extended emission and filamentary
structures. We study the distribution of neutral hydrogen and its 21cm emission
properties in a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, to gain more insights
into the distribution of HI below NHI ~ 10^19 cm-2. Such Lyman Limit systems
are expected to trace out the cosmic web, and are relatively unexplored.
Beginning with a 32 h^-1 Mpc simulation, we extract the neutral hydrogen
component by determining the neutral fraction, including a post-processed
correction for self-shielding based on the thermal pressure. We take into
account molecular hydrogen, assuming an average density ratio Omega_H2 /
Omega_HI = 0.3 at z = 0. The statistical properties of the HI emission are
compared with observations, to assess the reliability of the simulation. The
simulated HI distribution robustly describes the full column density range
between NHI ~ 10^14 and NHI ~ 10^21 cm-2 and agrees very well with available
measurements from observations. Furthermore there is good correspondence in the
statistics when looking at the two-point correlation function and the HI mass
function. The reconstructed maps are used to simulate observations of existing
and future telescopes by adding noise and taking account of the sensitivity of
the telescopes. The general agreement in statistical properties of HI suggests
that neutral hydrogen as modeled in this hydrodynamic simulation is a fair
representation of that in the Universe. (abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, figures
compressed to low resolution; high-resolution version available at:
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~popping/simulated_HI_sky.pd
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