90 research outputs found
The Arecibo L-band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance Survey I: Precursor Observations through the Inner and Outer Galaxy
The Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) is being used to conduct a low-Galactic
latitude survey, to map the distribution of galaxies and large-scale structures
behind the Milky Way through detection of galaxies' neutral hydrogen (HI) 21-cm
emission. This Zone of Avoidance (ZOA) survey finds new HI galaxies which lie
hidden behind the Milky Way, and also provides redshifts for partially-obscured
galaxies known at other wavelengths. Before the commencement of the full
survey, two low-latitude precursor regions were observed, totalling 138 square
degrees, with 72 HI galaxies detected. Detections through the inner Galaxy
generally have no cataloged counterparts in any other waveband, due to the
heavy extinction and stellar confusion. Detections through the outer Galaxy are
more likely to have 2MASS counterparts. We present the results of these
precursor observations, including a catalog of the detected galaxies, with
their HI parameters. The survey sensitivity is well described by a flux- and
linewidth-dependent signal-to-noise ratio of 6.5. ALFA ZOA galaxies which also
have HI measurements in the literature show good agreement between our
measurements and previous work. The inner Galaxy precursor region was chosen to
overlap the HI Parkes Zone of Avoidance Survey so ALFA performance could be
quickly assessed. The outer Galaxy precursor region lies north of the Parkes
sky. Low-latitude large-scale structure in this region is revealed, including
an overdensity of galaxies near l = 183 deg and between 5000 - 6000 km/s in the
ZOA. The full ALFA ZOA survey will be conducted in two phases: a shallow survey
using the observing techniques of the precursor observations, and also a deep
phase with much longer integration time, with thousands of galaxies predicted
for the final catalog.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, Astronomical Journal accepte
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
Molecular hydrogen in IllustrisTNG galaxies: Carefully comparing signatures of environment with local CO and SFR data
We examine how the post-processed content of molecular hydrogen (H2) in galaxies from the TNG100 cosmological, hydrodynamic simulation changes with environment at z = 0, assessing central/satellite status and host halo mass. We make close comparisons with the carbon monoxide (CO) emission survey xCOLD GASS where possible, having mock-observed TNG100 galaxies to match the survey's specifications. For a representative sample of host haloes across 1011 ≲ M200c/M· < 1014.6, TNG100 predicts that satellites with $m∗ ≥ 109, M⊙ should have a median deficit in their H2 fractions of ∼0.6 dex relative to centrals of the same stellar mass. Once observational and group-finding uncertainties are accounted for, the signature of this deficit decreases to ∼0.2 dex. Remarkably, we calculate a deficit in xCOLD GASS satellites' H2 content relative to centrals of 0.2-0.3 dex, in line with our prediction. We further show that TNG100 and SDSS data exhibit continuous declines in the average star formation rates of galaxies at fixed stellar mass in denser environments, in quantitative agreement with each other. By tracking satellites from their moment of infall in TNG100, we directly show that atomic hydrogen (H i) is depleted at fractionally higher rates than H2 on average. Supporting this picture, we find that the H2/H i mass ratios of satellites are elevated relative to centrals in xCOLD GASS. We provide additional predictions for the effect of environment on H2-both absolute and relative to H i-that can be tested with spectral stacking in future CO surveys
The GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey. I. Gas Fraction Scaling Relations of Massive Galaxies and First Data Release
We introduce the GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey (GASS), an on-going large program
that is gathering high quality HI-line spectra using the Arecibo radio
telescope for an unbiased sample of ~1000 galaxies with stellar masses greater
than 10^10 Msun and redshifts 0.025<z<0.05, selected from the SDSS
spectroscopic and GALEX imaging surveys. The galaxies are observed until
detected or until a low gas mass fraction limit (1.5-5%) is reached. This paper
presents the first Data Release, consisting of ~20% of the final GASS sample.
We use this data set to explore the main scaling relations of HI gas fraction
with galaxy structure and NUV-r colour. A large fraction (~60%) of the galaxies
in our sample are detected in HI. We find that the atomic gas fraction
decreases strongly with stellar mass, stellar surface mass density and NUV-r
colour, but is only weakly correlated with galaxy bulge-to-disk ratio (as
measured by the concentration index of the r-band light). We also find that the
fraction of galaxies with significant (more than a few percent) HI decreases
sharply above a characteristic stellar surface mass density of 10^8.5 Msun
kpc^-2. The fraction of gas-rich galaxies decreases much more smoothly with
stellar mass. One of the key goals of GASS is to identify and quantify the
incidence of galaxies that are transitioning between the blue, star-forming
cloud and the red sequence of passively-evolving galaxies. Likely transition
candidates can be identified as outliers from the mean scaling relations
between gas fraction and other galaxy properties. [abridged]Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Version with
high resolution figures available at
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/GASS/pubs.ph
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Gas Streaming and Dynamical M/L in Rotationally Supported Systems
Line-of-sight velocities of gas and stars can constrain dark matter (DM)
within rotationally supported galaxies if they trace circular orbits
extensively. Photometric asymmetries may signify non-circular motions,
requiring spectra with dense spatial coverage. Our integral-field spectroscopy
of 178 galaxies spanned the mass range of the SAMI Galaxy Survey. We derived
circular speed curves (CSCs) of gas and stars from non-parametric Diskfit fits
out to . For 12/14 with measured H I profiles, ionized gas and H I
maximum velocities agreed. We fitted mass-follows-light models to 163 galaxies
by approximating the radial starlight profile as nested, very flattened mass
homeoids viewed as a S\'ersic form. Fitting broad-band SEDs to SDSS images gave
median stellar mass/light 1.7 assuming a Kroupa IMF vs. 2.6 dynamically.
Two-thirds of the dynamical mass/light measures were consistent with
star+remnant IMFs. One-fifth required upscaled starlight to fit, hence
comparable mass of unobserved baryons and/or DM distributed similarly across
the SAMI aperture that came to dominate motions as the starlight CSC declined
rapidly. The rest had mass distributed differently from starlight. Subtracting
fits of S\'ersic profiles to 13 VIKING Z-band images revealed residual weak
bars. Near the bar PA, we assessed m = 2 streaming velocities, and found
deviations usually <30 km/s from the CSC; three showed no deviation. Thus,
asymmetries rarely influenced our CSCs despite co-located shock-indicating,
emission-line flux ratios in more than 2/3.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to MNRA
The GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey II: The Star Formation Efficiency of Massive Galaxies
We use measurements of the HI content, stellar mass and star formation rates
in ~190 massive galaxies with stellar masses greater than 10^10 Msun, obtained
from the Galex Arecibo SDSS Survey (GASS) described in Paper I (Catinella et
al. 2010) to explore the global scaling relations associated with the
bin-averaged ratio of the star formation rate over the HI mass, which we call
the HI-based star formation efficiency (SFE). Unlike the mean specific star
formation rate, which decreases with stellar mass and stellar mass surface
density, the star formation efficiency remains relatively constant across the
sample with a value close to SFE = 10^-9.5 yr^-1 (or an equivalent gas
consumption timescale of ~3 Gyr). Specifically, we find little variation in SFE
with stellar mass, stellar mass surface density, NUV-r color and concentration.
We interpret these results as an indication that external processes or feedback
mechanisms that control the gas supply are important for regulating star
formation in massive galaxies. An investigation into the detailed distribution
of SFEs reveals that approximately 5% of the sample shows high efficiencies
with SFE > 10^-9 yr^-1, and we suggest that this is very likely due to a
deficiency of cold gas rather than an excess star formation rate. Conversely,
we also find a similar fraction of galaxies that appear to be gas-rich for
their given specific star-formation rate, although these galaxies show both a
higher than average gas fraction and lower than average specific star formation
rate. Both of these populations are plausible candidates for "transition"
galaxies, showing potential for a change (either decrease or increase) in their
specific star formation rate in the near future. We also find that 36+/-5% of
the total HI mass density and 47+/-5% of the total SFR density is found in
galaxies with stellar mass greater than 10^10 Msun. [abridged]Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. GASS
publications and released data can be found at
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/GASS/index.ph
The ALFA Zone of Avoidance Survey: Results from the Precursor Observations
The Arecibo L-band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance Survey (ALFA ZOA) will map
1350-1800 square degrees at low Galactic latitude, providing HI spectra for
galaxies in regions of the sky where our knowledge of local large scale
structure remains incomplete, owing to obscuration from dust and high stellar
confusion near the Galactic plane. Because of these effects, a substantial
fraction of the galaxies detected in the survey will have no optical or
infrared counterparts. However, near infrared follow up observations of ALFA
ZOA sources found in regions of lowest obscuration could reveal whether some of
these sources could be objects in which little or no star formation has taken
place ("dark galaxies"). We present here the results of ALFA ZOA precursor
observations on two patches of sky totaling 140 square degrees (near l=40
degrees, and l=192 degrees). We have measured HI parameters for detections from
these observations, and cross-correlated with the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic
Database (NED). A significant fraction of the objects have never been detected
at any wavelength. For those galaxies that have been previously detected, a
significant fraction have no previously known redshift, and no previous HI
detection.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of IAU Symp #244, "Dark Galaxies and Lost
Baryons", June 2007, 2 pages, including 1 figur
A blind ATCA HI survey of the Fornax galaxy cluster:Properties of the HI detections
We present the first interferometric blind HI survey of the Fornax galaxy cluster, which covers an area of 15 deg2 out to the cluster virial radius. The survey has a spatial and velocity resolution of 67″ × 95″(∼6 × 9 kpc at the Fornax cluster distance of 20 Mpc) and 6.6 km s−1 and a 3σ sensitivity of NHI ∼ 2 × 1019 cm−2 and MHI ∼ 2 × 107 M⊙, respectively. We detect 16 galaxies out of roughly 200 spectroscopically confirmed Fornax cluster members. The detections cover about three orders of magnitude in HI mass, from 8 × 106 to 1.5 × 1010 M⊙. They avoid the central, virialised region of the cluster both on the sky and in projected phase-space, showing that they are recent arrivals and that, in Fornax, HI is lost within a crossing time, ∼2 Gyr. Half of these galaxies exhibit a disturbed HI morphology, including several cases of asymmetries, tails, offsets between HI and optical centres, and a case of a truncated HI disc. This suggests that these recent arrivals have been interacting with other galaxies, the large-scale potential or the intergalactic medium, within or on their way to Fornax. As a whole, our Fornax HI detections are HI-poorer and form stars at a lower rate than non-cluster galaxies in the same M⋆ range. This is particularly evident at M⋆ ≲ 109 M⊙, indicating that low mass galaxies are more strongly affected throughout their infall towards the cluster. The MHI/M⋆ ratio of Fornax galaxies is comparable to that in the Virgo cluster. At fixed M⋆, our HI detections follow the non-cluster relation between MHI and the star formation rate, and we argue that this implies that thus far they have lost their HI on a timescale ≳1−2 Gyr. Deeper inside the cluster HI removal is likely to proceed faster, as confirmed by a population of HI-undetected but H2-detected star-forming galaxies. Overall, based on ALMA data, we find a large scatter in H2-to-HI mass ratio, with several galaxies showing an unusually high ratio that is probably caused by faster HI removal. Finally, we identify an HI-rich subgroup of possible interacting galaxies dominated by NGC 1365, where pre-processing is likely to have taken place
From bench to bedside: in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a neonate-focused nebulized surfactant delivery strategy.
BACKGROUND:
Non-invasive delivery of nebulized surfactant has been a neonatology long-pursued goal. Nevertheless, the clinical efficacy of nebulized surfactant remains inconclusive, in part, due to the great technical challenges of depositing nebulized drugs in the lungs of preterm infants. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of delivering nebulized surfactant (poractant alfa) in vitro and in vivo with an adapted, neonate-tailored aerosol delivery strategy.
METHODS:
Particle size distribution of undiluted poractant alfa aerosols generated by a customized eFlow-Neos nebulizer system was determined by laser diffraction. The theoretical nebulized surfactant lung dose was estimated in vitro in a clinical setting replica including a neonatal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) circuit, a cast of the upper airways of a preterm neonate, and a breath simulator programmed with the tidal breathing pattern of an infant with mild respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A dose-response study with nebulized surfactant covering the 100-600\u2009mg/kg nominal dose-range was conducted in RDS-modelling, lung-lavaged spontaneously-breathing rabbits managed with nasal CPAP. The effects of nebulized poractant alfa on arterial gas exchange and lung mechanics were assessed. Exogenous alveolar disaturated-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) in the lungs was measured as a proxy of surfactant deposition efficacy.
RESULTS:
Laser diffraction studies demonstrated suitable aerosol characteristics for inhalation (mass median diameter, MMD\u2009=\u20093\u2009\u3bcm). The mean surfactant lung dose determined in vitro was 13.7%\u2009\ub1\u20094.0 of the 200\u2009mg/kg nominal dose. Nebulized surfactant delivered to spontaneously-breathing rabbits during nasal CPAP significantly improved arterial oxygenation compared to animals receiving CPAP only. Particularly, the groups of animals treated with 200\u2009mg/kg and 400\u2009mg/kg of nebulized poractant alfa achieved an equivalent pulmonary response in terms of oxygenation and lung mechanics as the group of animals treated with instilled surfactant (200\u2009mg/kg).
CONCLUSIONS:
The customized eFlow-Neos vibrating-membrane nebulizer system efficiently generated respirable aerosols of undiluted poractant alfa. Nebulized surfactant delivered at doses of 200\u2009mg/kg and 400\u2009mg/kg elicited a pulmonary response equivalent to that observed after treatment with an intratracheal surfactant bolus of 200\u2009mg/kg. This bench-characterized nebulized surfactant delivery strategy is now under evaluation in Phase II clinical trial (EUDRACT No.:2016-004547-36)
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