4,093 research outputs found
Retired galaxies: not to be forgotten in the quest of the star formation -- AGN connection
We propose a fresh look at the Main Galaxy Sample of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey by packing the galaxies in stellar mass and redshift bins. We show how
important it is to consider the emission-line equivalent widths, in addition to
the commonly used emission-line ratios, to properly identify retired galaxies
(i.e. galaxies that have stopped forming stars and are ionized by their old
stellar populations) and not mistake them for galaxies with low-level nuclear
activity. We find that the proportion of star-forming galaxies decreases with
decreasing redshift in each mass bin, while that of retired galaxies increases.
Galaxies with have formed all their stars at
redshift larger than 0.4. The population of AGN hosts is never dominant for
galaxy masses larger than . We warn about the effects of
stacking galaxy spectra to discuss galaxy properties. We estimate the lifetimes
of active galactic nuclei (AGN) relying entirely on demographic arguments ---
i.e. without any assumption on the AGN radiative properties. We find
upper-limit lifetimes of about 1--5 Gyr for detectable AGN in galaxies with
masses between --. The lifetimes of the AGN-dominated
phases are a few yr. Finally, we compare the star-formation histories of
star-forming, AGN and retired galaxies as obtained by the spectral synthesis
code STARLIGHT. Once the AGN is turned on it inhibits star formation for the
next 0.1 Gyr in galaxies with masses around , 1
Gyr in galaxies with masses around .Comment: accepted for MNRAS figure resolution has been degraded with respect
to what will be published in MNRA
On the nature of the near-UV extended light in Seyfert galaxies
We study the nature of the extended near-UV emission in the inner kiloparsec
of a sample of 15 Seyfert galaxies which have both near-UV (F330W) and narrow
band [OIII] high resolution Hubble images. For the majority of the objects we
find a very similar morphology in both bands. From the [OIII] images we
construct synthetic images of the nebular continuum plus the emission line
contribution expected through the F330W filter, which can be subtracted from
the F330W images. We find that the emission of the ionised gas dominates the
near-UV extended emission in half of the objects. A further broad band
photometric study, in the bands F330W (U), F547M (V) and F160W (H), shows that
the remaining emission is dominated by the underlying galactic bulge
contribution. We also find a blue component whose nature is not clear in 4 out
of 15 objects. This component may be attributed to scattered light from the
AGN, to a young stellar population in unresolved star clusters, or to
early-disrupted clusters. Star forming regions and/or bright off-nuclear star
clusters are observed in 4/15 galaxies of the sample.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in MNRA
Control of fluorescence in quantum emitter and metallic nanoshell hybrids for medical applications
We study the light emission from quantum emitter and double metallic
nanoshell hybrid systems. Quantum emitters act as local sources which transmit
their light efficiently due to a double nanoshell near field. The double
nanoshell consists a dielectric core and two outer nanoshells
Stellar population gradients in Seyfert 2 galaxies. Northern sample
We use high signal-to-noise ratio long-slit spectra in the 3600-4700A range
of the twenty brightest northern Seyfert 2 galaxies to study the variation of
the stellar population properties as a function of distance from the nucleus.
In order to characterize the stellar population and other continuum sources
(e.g. featureless continuum FC) we have measured equivalent widths Ws of six
absorption features, four continuum colours and their radial variations, and
performed spectral population synthesis as a function of distance from the
nucleus. About half the sample has CaIIK and G-band W values smaller at the
nucleus than at 1 kpc from it, due to a younger population and/or FC. The
stellar population synthesis shows that, while at the nucleus, 75% of the
galaxies present contribution > 20% of ages younger or equal than 100Myr and/or
of a FC, this proportion decreases to 45% at 3 kpc. In particular, 55% of the
galaxies have contribution > 10% of the 3 Myr/FC component (a degenerate
component in which one cannot separate what is due to a FC or to a 3 Myr
stellar population) at the nucleus, but only 25% of them have this contribution
at 3 kpc. As reference, the stellar population of 10 non-Seyfert galaxies,
spanning the Hubble types of the Seyfert (from S0 to Sc) was also studied. A
comparison between the stellar population of the Seyferts and that of the
non-Seyferts shows systematic differences: the contribution of ages younger
than 1 Gyr is in most cases larger in the Seyfert galaxies than in
non-Seyferts, not only at the nucleus but up to 1 kpc from it.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, MNRAS in pres
An atlas of Calcium triplet spectra of active galaxies
We present a spectroscopic atlas of active galactic nuclei covering the
region around the 8498, 8542, 8662 Calcium triplet (CaT) lines. The sample
comprises 78 objects, divided into 43 Seyfert 2s, 26 Seyfert 1s, 3 Starburst
and 6 normal galaxies. The spectra pertain to the inner ~300 pc in radius, and
thus sample the central kinematics and stellar populations of active galaxies.
The data are used to measure stellar velocity dispersions (sigma_star) both
with cross-correlation and direct fitting methods. These measurements are found
to be in good agreement with each-other and with those in previous studies for
objects in common. The CaT equivalent width is also measured. We find average
values and sample dispersions of W_CaT of 4.6+/-2.0, 7.0 and 7.7+/-1.0
angstrons for Seyfert 1s, Seyfert 2s and normal galaxies, respectively. We
further present an atlas of [SIII]\lambda 9069 emission line profiles for a
subset of 40 galaxies. These data are analyzed in a companion paper which
addresses the connection between stellar and Narrow Line Region kinematics, the
behaviour of the CaT equivalent width as a function of sigma_star, activity
type and stellar population properties.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Topological defects and misfit strain in magnetic stripe domains of lateral multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
Stripe domains are studied in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy films
nanostructured with a periodic thickness modulation that induces the lateral
modulation of both stripe periods and inplane magnetization. The resulting
system is the 2D equivalent of a strained superlattice with properties
controlled by interfacial misfit strain within the magnetic stripe structure
and shape anisotropy. This allows us to observe, experimentally for the first
time, the continuous structural transformation of a grain boundary in this 2D
magnetic crystal in the whole angular range. The magnetization reversal process
can be tailored through the effect of misfit strain due to the coupling between
disclinations in the magnetic stripe pattern and domain walls in the in-plane
magnetization configuration
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