142 research outputs found
Detection of Intergalactic Red-Giant-Branch Stars in the Virgo Cluster
It has been suspected for nearly 50 years that clusters of galaxies contain a population of intergalactic stars, ripped from galaxies during cluster formation or when the galaxies’ orbits take them through the cluster center. Support for the existence of such a population of free-floating stars comes from measurements of the diffuse light in clusters and from recent detections of planetary nebulae with positions and/or velocities far removed from any observed cluster galaxy. 10 , 11 But estimates for the mass of the diffuse population and its distribution relative to the galaxies are still highly uncertain. Here we report the direct detection of intergalactic stars in deep images of a blank field in the Virgo Cluster. The data suggest that approximately 10% of the stellar mass of the cluster is in intergalactic stars. We observe a relatively homogeneous distribution of stars, with evidence of a slight gradient toward M87
Intergalactic Globular Clusters
We confirm and extend our previous detection of a population of intergalactic
globular clusters in Abell 1185, and report the first discovery of an
intergalactic globular cluster in the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies. The
numbers, colors and luminosities of these objects can place constraints on
their origin, which in turn may yield new insights to the evolution of galaxies
in dense environments.Comment: 2 pages, no figures. Talk presented at JD6, IAU General Assembly XXV,
Sydney, Australia, July 2003, to appear in Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 1
Seminal plasma and prostaglandin E2 up-regulate fibroblast growth factor 2 expression in endometrial adenocarcinoma cells via E-series prostanoid-2 receptor-mediated transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor and extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway
We report a multiwavelength (X-ray, ultraviolet/optical/infrared, radio)
analysis of the relativistic tidal disruption event candidate Sw J2058+05 from
3 months to 3 yr post-discovery in order to study its properties and compare
its behavior with that of Sw J1644+57. Our main results are as follows. (1) The
long-term X-ray light curve of Sw J2058+05 shows a remarkably similar trend to
that of Sw J1644+57. After a prolonged power-law decay, the X-ray flux drops
off rapidly by a factor of within a span of /
0.95. Associating this sudden decline with the transition from super-Eddington
to sub-Eddington accretion, we estimate the black hole mass to be in the range
of M. (2) We detect rapid ( s) X-ray
variability before the dropoff, suggesting that, even at late times, the X-rays
originate from close to the black hole (ruling out a forward-shock origin). (3)
We confirm using HST and VLBA astrometry that the location of the source
coincides with the galaxy's center to within pc (in projection).
(4) We modeled Sw J2058+05's ultraviolet/optical/infrared spectral energy
distribution with a single-temperature blackbody and find that while the radius
remains more or less constant at a value of AU (
cm) at all times during the outburst, the blackbody temperature drops
significantly from 30,000 K at early times to a value of 15,000 K
at late times (before the X-ray dropoff). Our results strengthen Sw J2058+05's
interpretation as a tidal disruption event similar to Sw J1644+57.Comment: Replaced with the published version of the manuscrip
SN 2007uy - metamorphosis of an aspheric Type Ib explosion
The supernovae of Type Ibc are rare and the detailed characteristics of these
explosions have been studied only for a few events. Unlike Type II SNe, the
progenitors of Type Ibc have never been detected in pre-explosion images. So,
to understand the nature of their progenitors and the characteristics of the
explosions, investigation of proximate events are necessary. Here we present
the results of multi-wavelength observations of Type Ib SN 2007uy in the nearby
( 29.5 Mpc) galaxy NGC 2770. Analysis of the photometric observations
revealed this explosion as an energetic event with peak absolute R band
magnitude , which is about one mag brighter than the mean value
() derived for well observed Type Ibc events. The SN is highly
extinguished, E(B-V) = 0.630.15 mag, mainly due to foreground material
present in the host galaxy. From optical light curve modeling we determine that
about 0.3 M radioactive Ni is produced and roughly 4.4
M material is ejected during this explosion with liberated energy
erg, indicating the event to be an energetic one.
Through optical spectroscopy, we have noticed a clear aspheric evolution of
several line forming regions, but no dependency of asymmetry is seen on the
distribution of Ni inside the ejecta. The SN shock interaction with the
circumburst material is clearly noticeable in radio follow-up, presenting a
Synchrotron Self Absorption (SSA) dominated light curve with a contribution of
Free Free Absorption (FFA) during the early phases. Assuming a WR star, with
wind velocity \ga 10^3 {\rm km s}^{-1}, as a progenitor, we derive a lower
limit to the mass loss rate inferred from the radio data as \dot{M} \ga
2.4\times10^{-5} M, yr, which is consistent with the results
obtained for other Type Ibc SNe bright at radio frequencies.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
PAndAS in the mist: The stellar and gaseous mass within the halos of M31 and M33
Large scale surveys of the prominent members of the Local Group have provided
compelling evidence for the hierarchical formation of massive galaxies,
revealing a wealth of substructure that is thought to be the debris from
ancient and on-going accretion events. In this paper, we compare two extant
surveys of the M31-M33 subgroup of galaxies; the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological
Survey (PAndAS) of the stellar structure, and a combination of observations of
the HI gaseous content, detected at 21cm. Our key finding is a marked lack of
spatial correlation between these two components on all scales, with only a few
potential overlaps between stars and gas.The paucity of spatial correlation
significantly restricts the analysis of kinematic correlations, although there
does appear to the HI kinematically associated with the Giant Stellar Stream
where it passes the disk of M31. These results demonstrate that that different
processes must significantly influence the dynamical evolution of the stellar
and HI components of substructures, such as ram pressure driving gas away from
a purely gravitational path. Detailed modelling of the offset between the
stellar and gaseous substructure will provide a determination of the properties
of the gaseous halo of M31 and M33.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal. Figure quality reduced. High quality version available at
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~gfl/Arxiv_Papers/PAndAS_Mist
The masses of Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies: The death of the universal mass profile
We investigate the claim that all dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) reside
within halos that share a common, universal mass profile as has been derived
for dSphs of the Galaxy. By folding in kinematic information for 25 Andromeda
dSphs, more than doubling the previous sample size, we find that a singular
mass profile can not be found to fit all the observations well. Further, the
best-fit dark matter density profile measured for solely the Milky Way dSphs is
marginally discrepant (at just beyond the 1 sigma level) with that of the
Andromeda dSphs, where a profile with lower maximum circular velocity, and
hence mass, is preferred. The agreement is significantly better when three
extreme Andromeda outliers, And XIX, XXI and XXV, all of which have large
half-light radii (>600pc) and low velocity dispersions (sigma_v < 5km/s) are
omitted from the sample. We argue that the unusual properties of these outliers
are likely caused by tidal interactions with the host galaxy.Comment: ApJ in press, 16 pages, 7 figures. Updated to address referee
comment
A kinematic study of the Andromeda dwarf spheroidal system
We present a homogeneous kinematic analysis of red giant branch stars within
18 of the 28 Andromeda dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies, obtained using the
Keck I LRIS and Keck II DEIMOS spectrographs. Based on their g-i colors (taken
with the CFHT MegaCam imager), physical positions on the sky, and radial
velocities, we assign probabilities of dSph membership to each observed star.
Using this information, the velocity dispersions, central masses and central
densities of the dark matter halos are calculated for these objects, and
compared with the properties of the Milky Way dSph population. We also measure
the average metallicity ([Fe/H]) from the co-added spectra of member stars for
each M31 dSph and find that they are consistent with the trend of decreasing
[Fe/H] with luminosity observed in the Milky Way population. We find that three
of our studied M31 dSphs appear as significant outliers in terms of their
central velocity dispersion, And XIX, XXI and XXV, all of which have large
half-light radii (>700 pc) and low velocity dispersions (sigma_v<5 km/s). In
addition, And XXV has a mass-to-light ratio within its half-light radius of
just [M/L]_{half}=10.3^{+7.0}_{-6.7}, making it consistent with a simple
stellar system with no appreciable dark matter component within its 1 sigma
uncertainties. We suggest that the structure of the dark matter halos of these
outliers have been significantly altered by tides.Comment: 41 pages, 23 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
A trio of new Local Group galaxies with extreme properties
We report on the discovery of three new dwarf galaxies in the Local Group.
These galaxies are found in new CFHT/MegaPrime g,i imaging of the south-western
quadrant of M31, extending our extant survey area to include the majority of
the southern hemisphere of M31's halo out to 150 kpc. All these galaxies have
stellar populations which appear typical of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) systems.
The first of these galaxies, Andromeda XVIII, is the most distant Local Group
dwarf discovered in recent years, at ~1.4 Mpc from the Milky Way (~ 600 kpc
from M31). The second galaxy, Andromeda XIX, a satellite of M31, is the most
extended dwarf galaxy known in the Local Group, with a half-light radius of r_h
~ 1.7 kpc. This is approximately an order of magnitude larger than the typical
half-light radius of many Milky Way dSphs, and reinforces the difference in
scale sizes seen between the Milky Way and M31 dSphs (such that the M31 dwarfs
are generally more extended than their Milky Way counterparts). The third
galaxy, Andromeda XX, is one of the faintest galaxies so far discovered in the
vicinity of M31, with an absolute magnitude of order M_V ~ -6.3. Andromeda
XVIII, XIX and XX highlight different aspects of, and raise important questions
regarding, the formation and evolution of galaxies at the extreme faint-end of
the luminosity function. These findings indicate that we have not yet sampled
the full parameter space occupied by dwarf galaxies, although this is an
essential pre-requisite for successfully and consistently linking these systems
to the predicted cosmological dark matter sub-structure.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures (ApJ preprint format). Accepted for publication
in Ap
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