290 research outputs found
Searching for star-forming dwarf galaxies in the Antlia cluster
The formation and evolution of dwarf galaxies in clusters need to be
understood, and this requires large aperture telescopes. In this sense, we
selected the Antlia cluster to continue our previous work in the Virgo, Fornax,
and Hydra clusters and in the Local Volume (LV). Because of the scarce
available literature data, we selected a small sample of five blue compact
dwarf (BCD) candidates in Antlia for observation. Using the Gemini South and
GMOS camera, we acquired the Halpha imaging needed to detect star-forming
regions in this sample. With the long-slit spectroscopic data of the brightest
seven knots detected in three BCD candidates, we derived their basic chemical
properties. Using archival VISTA VHS survey images, we derived K_S magnitudes
and surface brightness profile fits for the whole sample to assess basic
physical properties. FS90-98, FS90-106, and FS90-147 are confirmed as BCDs and
cluster members, based on their morphology, K_S surface photometry, oxygen
abundance, and velocity redshift. FS90-155 and FS90-319 did not show any
H{\alpha} emission, and they could not be confirmed as dwarf cluster
star-forming galaxies. Based on our data, we studied some fundamental relations
to compare star forming dwarfs (BCDs and dIs) in the LV and in the Virgo,
Fornax, Hydra, and Antlia clusters. Star-forming dwarfs in nearby clusters
appear to follow same fundamental relations in the near infrared with similar
objects in the LV, specifically the size-luminosity and the
metallicity-luminosity, while other more fundamental relations could not be
checked in Antlia due to lack of data.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (early 2014
Low-metallicity massive single stars with rotation. II. Predicting spectra and spectral classes of chemically-homogeneously evolving stars
Context. Metal-poor massive stars are supposed to be progenitors of certain
supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and compact object mergers, potentially
contributing to the early epochs of the Universe with their strong ionizing
radiation. However, they remain mainly theoretical as individual spectroscopic
observations of such objects have rarely been carried out below the metallicity
of the SMC.
Aims. This work aims at exploring what our state-of-the-art theories of
stellar evolution combined with those of stellar atmospheres predict about a
certain type of metal-poor (0.02 Z) hot massive stars, the chemically
homogeneously evolving ones, called TWUIN stars.
Methods. Synthetic spectra corresponding to a broad range in masses (20-130
M) and covering several evolutionary phases from the zero-age
main-sequence up to the core helium-burning stage were computed.
Results. We find that TWUIN stars show almost no emission lines during most
of their {core hydrogen-burning} lifetimes. Most metal lines are completely
absent, including nitrogen. During their core helium-burning stage, lines
switch to emission and even some metal lines (oxygen and carbon, but still
almost no nitrogen) show up. Mass loss and clumping play a significant role in
line-formation in later evolutionary phases, particularly during core
helium-burning. Most of our spectra are classified as an early O type giant or
supergiant, and we find Wolf-Rayet stars of type WO in the core helium-burning
phase.
Conclusions. An extremely hot, early O type star observed in a
low-metallicity galaxy could be the outcome of chemically homogeneous evolution
and therefore the progenitor of a long-duration gamma-ray burst or a type
Ic supernova. TWUIN stars may play an important role in reionizing the Universe
due to their being hot without showing prominent emission lines during the
majority of their lifetimes.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics. In Pres
Aperture-free star formation rate of SDSS star-forming galaxies
Large area surveys with a high number of galaxies observed have undoubtedly
marked a milestone in the understanding of several properties of galaxies, such
as star-formation history, morphology, and metallicity. However, in many cases,
these surveys provide fluxes from fixed small apertures (e.g. fibre), which
cover a scant fraction of the galaxy, compelling us to use aperture corrections
to study the global properties of galaxies. In this work, we derive the current
total star formation rate (SFR) of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) star-forming
galaxies, using an empirically based aperture correction of the measured flux for the first time, thus minimising the uncertainties associated
with reduced apertures. All the fluxes have been
extinction-corrected using the ratio free from aperture
effects. The total SFR for 210,000 SDSS star-forming galaxies has been
derived applying pure empirical and aperture
corrections based on the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey.
We find that, on average, the aperture-corrected SFR is 0.65dex higher
than the SDSS fibre-based SFR. The relation between the SFR and stellar mass
for SDSS star-forming galaxies (SFR--) has been obtained, together
with its dependence on extinction and equivalent width. We
compare our results with those obtained in previous works and examine the
behaviour of the derived SFR in six redshift bins, over the redshift range . The SFR-- sequence derived here is in
agreement with selected observational studies based on integral field
spectroscopy of individual galaxies as well as with the predictions of recent
theoretical models of disc galaxies
The extended HeII4686-emitting region in IZw18 unveiled: clues for peculiar ionizing sources
New integral field spectroscopy has been obtained for IZw18, the nearby
lowest-metallicity galaxy considered our best local analog of systems forming
at high-z. Here we report the spatially resolved spectral map of the nebular
HeII4686 emission in IZw18, from which we derived for the first time its total
HeII-ionizing flux. Nebular HeII emission implies the existence of a hard
radiation field. HeII-emitters are observed to be more frequent among high-z
galaxies than for local objects. So investigating the HeII-ionizing source(s)
in IZw18 may reveal the ionization processes at high-z. HeII emission in
star-forming galaxies, has been suggested to be mainly associated with
Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs), but WRs cannot satisfactorily explain the
HeII-ionization at all times, in particular at lowest metallicities. Shocks
from supernova remnants, or X-ray binaries, have been proposed as additional
potential sources of HeII-ionizing photons. Our data indicate that conventional
HeII-ionizing sources (WRs, shocks, X-ray binaries) are not sufficient to
explain the observed nebular HeII4686 emission in IZw18. We find that the
HeII-ionizing radiation expected from models for either low-metallicity
super-massive O stars or rotating metal-free stars could account for the
HeII-ionization budget measured, while only the latter models could explain the
highest values of HeII4686/Hbeta observed. The presence of such peculiar stars
in IZw18 is suggestive and further investigation in this regard is needed. This
letter highlights that some of the clues of the early Universe can be found
here in our cosmic backyard.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
How much dark matter is there inside early-type galaxies?
We study the luminous mass as a function of the dynamical mass inside the
effective radius (r_e) of early-type galaxies (ETGs) to search for differences
between these masses. We assume Newtonian dynamics and that any difference
between these masses is due to the presence of dark matter. We use several
samples of ETGs -ranging from 19 000 to 98 000 objects- from the ninth data
release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We perform Monte Carlo (MC)
simulations of galaxy samples and compare them with real samples. The main
results are: i) MC simulations show that the distribution of the dynamical vs.
luminous mass depends on the mass range where the ETGs are distributed
(geometric effect). This dependence is caused by selection effects and
intrinsic properties of the ETGs. ii) The amount of dark matter inside r_e is
approximately 7% +- 22%. iii) This amount of dark matter is lower than the
minimum estimate (10%) found in the literature and four times lower than the
average (30%) of literature estimates. However, if we consider the associated
error, our estimate is of the order of the literature average.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures. MNRAS accepte
Spatially resolved integral field spectroscopy of the ionized gas in IZw18
We present a detailed 2D study of the ionized ISM of IZw18 using new PMAS-IFU
optical observations. IZw18 is a high-ionization galaxy which is among the most
metal-poor starbursts in the local Universe. This makes IZw18 a local benchmark
for understanding the properties most closely resembling those prevailing at
distant starbursts. Our IFU-aperture (~ 1.4 kpc x 1.4 kpc) samples the entire
IZw18 main body and an extended region of its ionized gas. Maps of relevant
emission lines and emission line ratios show that higher-excitation gas is
preferentially located close to the NW knot and thereabouts. We detect a
Wolf-Rayet feature near the NW knot. We derive spatially resolved and
integrated physical-chemical properties for the ionized gas in IZw18. We find
no dependence between the metallicity-indicator R23 and the ionization
parameter (as traced by [OIII]/[OII]) across IZw18. Over ~ 0.30 kpc^2, using
the [OIII]4363 line, we compute Te[OIII] values (~ 15000 - 25000 K), and oxygen
abundances are derived from the direct determinations of Te[OIII]. More than
70% of the higher-Te[OIII] (> 22000 K) spaxels are HeII4686-emitting spaxels
too. From a statistical analysis, we study the presence of variations in the
ISM physical-chemical properties. A galaxy-wide homogeneity, across hundreds of
parsecs, is seen in O/H. Based on spaxel-by-spaxel measurements, the
error-weighted mean of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.11 +/- 0.01 is taken as the
representative O/H for IZw18. Aperture effects on the derivation of O/H are
discussed. Using our IFU data we obtain, for the first time, the IZw18
integrated spectrum.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 10 figures, 4 table
Tol 2240-384 - a new low-metallicity AGN candidate
Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have typically been discovered in massive
galaxies of high metallicity. We attempt to increase the number of AGN
candidates in low metallicity galaxies. We present VLT/UVES and archival
VLT/FORS1 spectroscopic and NTT/SUSI2 photometric observations of the
low-metallicity emission-line galaxy Tol 2240-384 and perform a detailed study
of its morphology, chemical composition, and emission-line profiles. We
determine abundances of nitrogen, O, Ne, S, Cl, Ar, and Fe by analyzing the
fluxes of narrow components of the emission lines using empirical methods. We
verify with a photoionisation model that the physics of the narrow-line
component gas is similar to that in common metal-poor galaxies. Image
deconvolution reveals two high-surface brightness regions in Tol 2240-384
separated by 2.4 kpc.The brightest southwestern region is surrounded by intense
ionised gas emission on a spatial scale of ~5 kpc. The profiles of the strong
emission lines in the UVES spectrum are asymmetric and all these lines apart
from Halpha and Hbeta can be fitted by two Gaussians of FWHM ~75-92 km/s
separated by ~80 km/s implying that there are two regions of ionised gas
emitting narrow lines. The shapes of the Halpha and Hbeta lines are more
complex. In particular, the Halpha emission line consists of two broad
components of FWHM ~700 km/s and 2300 km/s, in addition to narrow components of
two regions revealed from profiles of other lines. The extraordinarily high
luminosity of the broad Halpha line of 3x10e41 erg/s cannot be accounted for by
massive stars at different stages of their evolution. The broad Halpha emission
persists over a period of 7 years, which excludes supernovae as a powering
mechanism of this emission. This emission most likely arises from an accretion
disc around a black hole of mass ~10e7 Msun.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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