A Stellar Mass Threshold for Quenching of Field Galaxies

We demonstrate that dwarf galaxies (10^7 < M_stellar < 10^9 Msun) with no active star formation are extremely rare (<0.06%) in the field. Our sample is based on the NASA-Sloan Atlas which is a re-analysis of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8. We examine the relative number of quenched versus star forming dwarf galaxies, defining quenched galaxies as having no Halpha emission (EW_Halpha < 2 AA) and a strong 4000AA-break. The fraction of quenched dwarf galaxies decreases rapidly with increasing distance from a massive host, leveling off for distances beyond 1.5 Mpc. We define galaxies beyond 1.5 Mpc of a massive host galaxy to be in the field. We demonstrate that there is a stellar mass threshold of M_stellar < 1.0x10^9 Msun below which quenched galaxies do not exist in the field. Below this threshold, we find that none of the 2951 field dwarf galaxies are quenched; all field dwarf galaxies show evidence for recent star formation. Correcting for volume effects, this corresponds to a 1-sigma upper limit on the quenched fraction of 0.06%. In more dense environments, quenched galaxies account for 23% of the dwarf population over the same stellar mass range. The majority of quenched dwarf galaxies (often classified as dwarf elliptical galaxies) are within 2 virial radii of a massive galaxy, and only a few percent of quenched dwarf galaxies exist beyond 4 virial radii. Thus, for galaxies with stellar mass less than 1.0x10^9 Msun, ending star-formation requires the presence of a more massive neighbor, providing a stringent constraint on models of star formation feedback.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Ap

Ultraviolet images of the gravitationally lensed quadruple quasar Q2237+0305 with the HST

We analyze observations of the quadruple lensed quasar Q2237+0305, taken with the WFPC2 camera in the F336W and F300W bands. 25 exposures were performed within 15 hours real time on 3 November 1995. On a timescale of 3--4 hours, we observe no variation in component A of greater than 0.02 mag. The other components are constant over a period of 10 hours to within about 0.05 mag. In the final 5 hours there is some evidence (not conclusive) for variation of component D by about 0.1 mag. Component A was brighter than component B by about 0.3 mag. Components C and D were fainter than component A by about 1.3 and 1.4 mag. Any fifth (central) component was at least 6.5 mag fainter than component A. Using the PC chip, we measure the relative distances of the four components with high accuracy. Our values are systematically larger than other investigators' (by 0.1% to 2.0%). The F336W filter had been chosen for the observations because it could have allowed us to see extended Ly-alpha emission from the Broad-Line Region (BLR). However, the quasar components are consistent with a point source. We conclude that there cannot be a Ly-alpha feature in the image plane brighter than about 23.5 mag in F336W and further from the quasar core than 100 mas. According to a lensing model by Rix, Scheider & Bahcall (1992), this would preclude any such features in the source plane further than 20 mas (~ 100 h^{-1} pc, assuming q_0 = 0.5) from the quasar core and brighter than 25 mag before magnification.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, 9 figures, accepted by MNRAS, 3 tables adde

Efficacy and Methodology of Urban Pigeon Control with DRC-1339

During 1990 and 1991, feral pigeon (Columbia livia) baiting programs using compound DRC-1339 were conducted in 6 cities in Kentucky and Tennessee. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control (ADC) personnel evaluated each problem site, selected bait sites, supervised prebaiting, mixed, and applied toxic bait In most cases, local personnel conducted the prebaiting and disposed of dead birds. Seven pigeon flocks containing 95-735 birds were reduced by up to 100% with 1 or 2 baitings with 0.37% DRC-1339-treated bait Most birds died at their roosting areas or on rooftops where they were not visible to the public. Use of the bait sites by non target birds was minimal, and no non target kills were found during carcass pickup. DRC-1339 appears to be a very effective, selective, and safe means of urban pigeon population reduction

The Baryon Content of Extremely Low Mass Dwarf Galaxies

We investigate the gas content and baryonic Tully-Fisher relationship for extremely low luminosity dwarf galaxies in the absolute magnitude range -13.5 > Mr > -16. The sample is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and consists of 101 galaxies for which we have obtained follow-up HI observations using the Arecibo Observatory and Green Bank Telescope. This represents the largest homogeneous sample of dwarfs at low luminosities with well-measured HI and optical properties. The sample spans a range of environments, from dense groups to truly isolated galaxies. The average neutral gas fraction is f_gas=0.6, significantly exceeding that of typical gas-rich galaxies at higher luminosities. Dwarf galaxies are therefore less efficient at turning gas into stars over their lifetimes. The strong environmental dependence of the gas fraction distribution demonstrates that while internal processes can reduce the gas fractions to roughly f_gas=0.4, external processes are required to fully remove gas from a dwarf galaxy. The average rotational velocity of our sample is vrot=50 km/s. Including more massive galaxies from the literature, we fit a baryonic Tully-Fisher slope of M_baryon \propto vrot^(3.70+/- 0.15). This slope compares well with CDM models that assume an equal baryon to dark matter ratio at all masses. While gas stripping or other processes may modify the baryon to dark matter ratio for dwarfs in the densest environments, the majority of dwarf galaxies in our sample have not preferentially lost significant baryonic mass relative to more massive galaxies.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures. Accepted to ApJ. Data available at http://www.ociw.edu/~mgeha/researc