461 research outputs found
A cosmic-ray dominated ISM in Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies: new initial conditions for star formation
The high-density star formation typical of the merger/starburst events that
power the large IR luminosities of Ultra Luminous
Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) (L_{IR}>10^{12}Lsol) throughout the Universe
results to extraordinarily high cosmic ray (CR) energy densities of
U_CR~(few)x(10^3--10^4)U_{CR,Gal} permeating their interstellar medium (ISM), a
direct consequence of the large supernovae remnants (SNRs) number densities in
such systems. Unlike far-UV photons emanating from their numerous star forming
sites, these large CR energy densities in ULIRGs will volumetrically heat and
raise the ionization fraction of dense (n>10^4 cm^{-3}) UV-shielded gas cores
throughout their compact star-forming volumes. Such conditions can turn most of
the large molecular gas masses found in such systems and their high redshift
counterparts (M(H2)~10^9-10^10 M_{sol}) into giant CR-dominated Regions (CRDRs)
rather than ensembles of Photon-dominated Regions (PDRs) which dominate in less
IR-luminous systems where star formation and molecular gas distributions are
much more extended. The molecular gas in CRDRs will have a {\it minimum}
temperature of T_{kin}~(80--160)K, and very high ionization fractions of
x(e)>10^{-6} throughout its UV-shielded dense cores, which in turn will {\it
fundamentally alter the initial conditions for star formation in such
systems.}. Observational tests of CRDRs can be provided by ......Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal on June 23, published August 9
(ApJ, 720, 226), 2010. This version for the ADD-A
Velocity Segregation and Systematic Biases In Velocity Dispersion Estimates With the SPT-GMOS Spectroscopic Survey
The velocity distribution of galaxies in clusters is not universal; rather,
galaxies are segregated according to their spectral type and relative
luminosity. We examine the velocity distributions of different populations of
galaxies within 89 Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy clusters spanning . Our sample is primarily draw from the SPT-GMOS spectroscopic
survey, supplemented by additional published spectroscopy, resulting in a final
spectroscopic sample of 4148 galaxy spectra---2868 cluster members. The
velocity dispersion of star-forming cluster galaxies is % greater than
that of passive cluster galaxies, and the velocity dispersion of bright () cluster galaxies is % lower than the velocity dispersion of
our total member population. We find good agreement with simulations regarding
the shape of the relationship between the measured velocity dispersion and the
fraction of passive vs. star-forming galaxies used to measure it, but we find a
small offset between this relationship as measured in data and simulations in
which suggests that our dispersions are systematically low by as much as 3\%
relative to simulations. We argue that this offset could be interpreted as a
measurement of the effective velocity bias that describes the ratio of our
observed velocity dispersions and the intrinsic velocity dispersion of dark
matter particles in a published simulation result. Measuring velocity bias in
this way suggests that large spectroscopic surveys can improve dispersion-based
mass-observable scaling relations for cosmology even in the face of velocity
biases, by quantifying and ultimately calibrating them out.Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 21 pages, 11 figures, 5 table
The Spectral Energy Distribution of CO lines in M82
We present an analysis of the excitation conditions of the molecular gas in
the streamers and the outflow of M82 based on observations obtained at the IRAM
30m telescope. Our analysis of J=1-0 and J=2-1 transitions of CO and 13CO and
the CO(3-2) line in 13 regions outside the central starburst disk shows that
the gas density within the streamer/outflow system is about an orderof
magnitude lower (n(H2) ~ 10^3 cm^-3) than in the central molecular disk. We
have used an LVG model and data from the literature to constrain the flux
density in each CO transition (the `CO line SED') arising from the
streamer/outflow system and the central starburst disk itself. Globally, we
find that the CO flux density up to the J=3-2 line is dominated by the diffuse
outer regions while lines above the J=5-4 transition are almost exclusively
emitted by the central starburst disk. We compare the CO line SED of M82 to CO
observations of galaxies at high redshift and suggest that small high-J/low-J
CO flux density ratios (observed in some of these sources) are not necessarily
caused by a different excitation of the central molecular gas concentration,
but may result from an additional, more extended and diffuse gas reservoir
around these systems, reminiscent of the situation in M82.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&
The Rest-Frame Submillimeter Spectrum of High-Redshift, Dusty, Star-Forming Galaxies
We present the average rest-frame spectrum of high-redshift dusty,
star-forming galaxies from 250-770GHz. This spectrum was constructed by
stacking ALMA 3mm spectra of 22 such sources discovered by the South Pole
Telescope and spanning z=2.0-5.7. In addition to multiple bright spectral
features of 12CO, [CI], and H2O, we also detect several faint transitions of
13CO, HCN, HNC, HCO+, and CN, and use the observed line strengths to
characterize the typical properties of the interstellar medium of these
high-redshift starburst galaxies. We find that the 13CO brightness in these
objects is comparable to that of the only other z>2 star-forming galaxy in
which 13CO has been observed. We show that the emission from the high-critical
density molecules HCN, HNC, HCO+, and CN is consistent with a warm, dense
medium with T_kin ~ 55K and n_H2 >~ 10^5.5 cm^-3. High molecular hydrogen
densities are required to reproduce the observed line ratios, and we
demonstrate that alternatives to purely collisional excitation are unlikely to
be significant for the bulk of these systems. We quantify the average emission
from several species with no individually detected transitions, and find
emission from the hydride CH and the linear molecule CCH for the first time at
high redshift, indicating that these molecules may be powerful probes of
interstellar chemistry in high-redshift systems. These observations represent
the first constraints on many molecular species with rest-frame transitions
from 0.4-1.2mm in star-forming systems at high redshift, and will be invaluable
in making effective use of ALMA in full science operations.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures (2 in appendices); accepted for publication in
Ap
The redshift distribution of dusty star forming galaxies from the SPT survey
We use the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Cycle 1 to
determine spectroscopic redshifts of high-redshift dusty star-forming galaxies
(DSFGs) selected by their 1.4mm continuum emission in the South Pole Telescope
(SPT) survey. We present ALMA 3mm spectral scans between 84-114GHz for 15
galaxies and targeted ALMA 1mm observations for an additional eight sources.
Our observations yield 30 new line detections from CO, [CI] , [NII] , H_2O and
NH_3. We further present APEX [CII] and CO mid-J observations for seven sources
for which only a single line was detected in spectral-scan data from ALMA Cycle
0 or Cycle 1. We combine the new observations with previously published and new
mm/submm line and photometric data of the SPT-selected DSFGs to study their
redshift distribution. The combined data yield 39 spectroscopic redshifts from
molecular lines, a success rate of >85%. Our sample represents the largest data
set of its kind today and has the highest spectroscopic completeness among all
redshift surveys of high-z DSFGs. The median of the redshift distribution is
z=3.9+/-0.4, and the highest-redshift source in our sample is at z=5.8. We
discuss how the selection of our sources affects the redshift distribution,
focusing on source brightness, selection wavelength, and strong gravitational
lensing. We correct for the effect of gravitational lensing and find the
redshift distribution for 1.4mm-selected sources with a median redshift of
z=3.1+/-0.3. Comparing to redshift distributions selected at shorter
wavelengths from the literature, we show that selection wavelength affects the
shape of the redshift distribution
Detection of the 205 um [NII] Line from the Carina Nebula
We report the first detection of the 205 um 3P1 - 3P0 [NII] line from a
ground-based observatory using a direct detection spectrometer. The line was
detected from the Carina star formation region using the South Pole Imaging
Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) on the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and
Remote Observatory (AST/RO) at South Pole. The [NII] 205 um line strength
indicates a low-density (n ~ 32 cm^-3 ionized medium, similar to the
low-density ionized halo reported previously in its [OIII] 52 and 88 um line
emission. When compared with the ISO [CII] observations of this region, we find
that ~27% of the [CII] line emission arises from this low-density ionized gas,
but the large majority ~ 73% of the observed [CII] line emission arises from
the neutral interstellar medium. This result supports and underpins prior
conclusions that most of the observed [CII] 158 um line emission from Galactic
and extragalactic sources arises from the warm, dense photodissociated surfaces
of molecular clouds. The detection of the [NII] line demonstrates the utility
of Antarctic sites for THz spectroscopy.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
Estimated Ultraviolet Radiation Doses in Wetlands in Six National Parks
Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–320-nm wavelengths) doses were estimated for 1024 wetlands in six national parks: Acadia (Acadia), Glacier (Glacier), Great Smoky Mountains (Smoky), Olympic (Olympic), Rocky Mountain (Rocky), and Sequoia/ Kings Canyon (Sequoia). Estimates were made using ground-based UV-B data (Brewer spectrophotometers), solar radiation models, GIS tools, field characterization of vegetative features, and quantification of DOC concentration and spectral absorbance. UV-B dose estimates were made for the summer solstice, at a depth of 1 cm in each wetland. The mean dose across all wetlands and parks was 19.3 W-h m-2 (range of 3.4–32.1 W-h m-2). The mean dose was lowest in Acadia (13.7 W-h m-2) and highest in Rocky (24.4 W-h m-2). Doses were significantly different among all parks. These wetland doses correspond to UV-B flux of 125.0 µW cm-2 (range 21.4–194.7 µW cm)2) based on a day length, averaged among all parks, of 15.5 h. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), a key determinant of water-column UV-B flux, ranged from 0.6 (analytical detection limit) to 36.7 mg C L-1 over all wetlands and parks, and reduced potential maximal UV-B doses at 1-cm depth by 1%–87 %. DOC concentration, as well as its effect on dose, was lowest in Sequoia and highest in Acadia (DOC was equivalent in Acadia, Glacier, and Rocky). Landscape reduction of potential maximal UV-B doses ranged from zero to 77% and was lowest in Sequoia. These regional differences in UV-B wetland dose illustrate the importance of considering all aspects of exposure in evaluating the potential impact of UV-B on aquatic organisms
A 1D fluid model of the Centaurus A jet
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Final published version available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz348.We implement a steady, one-dimensional flow model for the X-ray jet of Centaurus A in which entrainment of stellar mass loss is the primary cause of dissipation. Using over 260 ks of new and archival Chandra/ACIS data, we have constrained the temperature, density and pressure distributions of gas in the central regions of the host galaxy of Centaurus A, and so the pressure throughout the length of its jet. The model is constrained by the observed profiles of pressure and jet width, and conserves matter and energy, enabling us to estimate jet velocities, and hence all the other flow properties. Invoking realistic stellar populations within the jet, we find that the increase in its momentum flux exceeds the net pressure force on the jet unless only about one half of the total stellar mass loss is entrained. For self-consistent models, the bulk speed only falls modestly, from ~0.67c to ~0.52c over the range of 0.25-5.94 kpc from the nucleus. The sonic Mach number varies between ~5.3 and 3.6 over this range.Peer reviewe
SPT 0538-50: Physical conditions in the ISM of a strongly lensed dusty star-forming galaxy at z=2.8
We present observations of SPT-S J053816-5030.8, a gravitationally-lensed
dusty star forming galaxy (DSFG) at z = 2.7817, first discovered at millimeter
wavelengths by the South Pole Telescope. SPT 0538-50 is typical of the
brightest sources found by wide-field millimeter-wavelength surveys, being
lensed by an intervening galaxy at moderate redshift (in this instance, at z =
0.441). We present a wide array of multi-wavelength spectroscopic and
photometric data on SPT 0538-50, including data from ALMA, Herschel PACS and
SPIRE, Hubble, Spitzer, VLT, ATCA, APEX, and the SMA. We use high resolution
imaging from HST to de-blend SPT 0538-50, separating DSFG emission from that of
the foreground lens. Combined with a source model derived from ALMA imaging
(which suggests a magnification factor of 21 +/- 4), we derive the intrinsic
properties of SPT 0538-50, including the stellar mass, far-IR luminosity, star
formation rate, molecular gas mass, and - using molecular line fluxes - the
excitation conditions within the ISM. The derived physical properties argue
that we are witnessing compact, merger-driven star formation in SPT 0538-50,
similar to local starburst galaxies, and unlike that seen in some other DSFGs
at this epoch.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
The Galactic Centre in the Far Infrared
We analyse the far infrared dust emission from the Galactic Centre region,
including the Circumnuclear Disk (CND) and other structures, using Herschel
PACS and SPIRE photometric observations. These Herschel data are complemented
by unpublished observations by the Infrared Space Observatory Long Wavelength
Spectrometer (ISO LWS), which used parallel mode scans to obtain photometric
images of the region with a larger beam than Herschel but with a complementary
wavelength coverage and more frequent sampling with ten detectors observing at
ten different wavelengths in the range from 46 to 180 \mum, where the emission
peaks. We also include data from the MSX at 21.3 \mum for completeness. We
model the combined ISO LWS continuum plus Herschel PACS and SPIRE photometric
data toward the central 2 pc in Sgr A*, a region that includes the CND. We find
that the FIR spectral energy distribution is best represented by a continuum
that is the sum of three greybody curves from dust at temperatures of 90, 44.5,
and 23 K. We obtain temperature and molecular hydrogen column density maps of
the region. We estimate the mass of the inner part of the CND to be ~5.0x10e+4
Msum, with luminosities: Lcavity ~2.2x10e+6 Lsun and Lcnd ~1.5x10e+6 Lsun in
the central 2 pc radius around SgrA* . We find from the Herschel and ISO data
that the cold component of the dust dominates the total dust mass, with a
contribution of ~3.2x10E+4 Msun; this important cold material had escaped the
notice of earlier studies that relied on shorter wavelength observations. The
hotter component disagrees with some earlier estimates, but is consistent with
measured gas temperatures and with models that imply shock heating or turbulent
effects are at work. We find that the dust grain sizes apparently change widely
across the region, perhaps in response to the temperature variations, and we
map that distribution.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
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