438 research outputs found
Optical detection of the radio supernova SN 2000ft in the circumnuclear region of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469
SN 2000ft is detected in two independent Planetary Camera images (F547W and
F814W) taken May 13, 2000, about two months before the predicted date of the
explosion (July 19, 2000), based on the analysis of its radio light evolution
by Alberdi and collaborators. The apparent optical magnitudes and red color of
SN 2000ft indicate that it is observed through an extinction of at least A=
3.0 magnitudes. The extinction corrected lower limit to the absolute visual
magnitude (M 18.0), identifies SN 2000ft as a luminous supernova
in the optical, as other luminous radio supernovae before. SN 2000ft exploded
in a region located at only 0.1 arcsec (i.e. 34 +/- 3 pc) west of a faint
cluster (C24). No parent cluster is identified within the detection limits of
the HST short exposures. The unambiguous detection of SN 2000ft in the visual
shows that multi-epoch sub-arcsecond (FWHM less than 0.1 arcsec) optical
imaging is also a valid tool that should be explored further to detect
supernovae in the dusty (circum)nuclear regions of (U)LIRGs
Mid-Infrared T-ReCS Spectroscopy of Local LIRGs
We present T-ReCS high spatial resolution N-band (8-13 micron) spectroscopy of the central regions (a few kpc) of 3 local LIRGs. The nuclear spectra show deep 9.7 micron silicate absorption feature and the high ionization [SIV]10.5 micron emission line, consistent with their optical classification as AGN. The two LIRGs with unresolved mid-IR emission do not show PAH emission at 11.3 micron in their nuclear spectra. The spatially resolved mid-IR spectroscopy of NGC 5135 allows us to separate out the spectra of the Seyfert nucleus, an HII region, and the diffuse region between them on scales of less than 2.5 arcsec ~ 600 pc. The diffuse region spectrum is characterized by strong PAH emission with almost no continuum, whereas the HII region shows PAH emission with a smaller equivalent width as well as [NeII]12.8 micron line
Understanding the 8 micron vs. Pa-alpha relationship on sub-arcsecond scales in Luminous Infrared Galaxies
This work explores in detail the relation between the 8 micron and the
Pa-alpha emissions for 122 HII regions identified in a sample of 10 low-z LIRGs
with nearly constant metallicity (12 + log (O/H) ~ 8.8). We use Gemini/T-ReCS
high-spatial resolution (<~ 0.4" ~ 120 pc for the average distance of 60 Mpc of
our sample) mid-infrared imaging (at 8.7 micron or 10.3 micron) together with
HST/NICMOS continuum and Pa-alpha images. The LIRG HII regions extend the
L_8micron vs. L_Pa-alpha relation found for HII knots in the high-metallicity
SINGS galaxies by about two orders of magnitude to higher luminosities. Since
the metallicity of the LIRG sample is nearly constant, we can rule out this
effect as a cause for the scatter seen in the relationship. In turn, it is
attributed to two effects: age and PAH features. The L_8micron/L_Pa-alpha
ratio, which varies by a factor of ten for the LIRG HII regions, is reproduced
by a model with instantaneous star formation and ages ranging from ~ 4 to 7.5
Myr. The remaining dispersion around the model predictions for a given age is
probably due to differential contributions of the PAH features (the 8.6 micron,
in our case) to the 8 micron emission from galaxy to galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ; paper with
full-resolution figures can be found at:
http://damir.iem.csic.es/extragalactic
First detection of the 448 GHz H2O transition in space
We present the first detection of the ortho-H2O 4_23-3_30 transition at 448
GHz in space. We observed this transition in the local (z = 0.010) luminous
infrared (IR) galaxy ESO 320-G030 (IRAS F11506-3851) using the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The water 4_23-3_30 emission, which
originates in the highly obscured nucleus of this galaxy, is spatially resolved
over a region of ~65 pc in diameter and shows a regular rotation pattern
compatible with the global molecular and ionized gas kinematics. The line
profile is symmetric and well fitted by a Gaussian with an integrated flux of
37.0 +- 0.7 Jy km s-1 . Models predict this water transition as a potential
collisionally excited maser transition. On the contrary, in this galaxy, we
find that the 4_23-3_30 emission is primarily excited by the intense far-IR
radiation field present in its nucleus. According to our modeling, this
transition is a probe of deeply buried galaxy nuclei thanks to the high dust
optical depths (tau_100{\mu}m > 1, N_H > 1e24 cm-2) required to efficiently
excite it.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters; 4 pages, 5 figure
Spatially Resolved Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Seyfert 2 Galaxies Mk 1066, NGC 2110, NGC 4388, and Mk 3
We present near-infrared spectra with resolutions of lambda/dlambda~1200 in
the emission lines of Pa-beta, [FeII] (1.2567um), Br-gamma, and H2 v=1-0S(1) of
the nuclei and circumnuclear regions of the four Seyfert 2 galaxies Mk 1066,
NGC 2110, NGC 4388, and Mk 3. All of these galaxies show strong near-infrared
line emission that is detected at radii several times the spatial resolution,
corresponding to projected physical scales of 0.07 to 0.7 kpc. Velocity
gradients are detected in these nuclei, as are spatial variations in line
profiles and flux ratios. We compare the spatial and velocity distribution of
the line emission to previously observed optical line and radio emission. The
evidence indicates that the [FeII] emission is associated with the Seyfert
activity in the galaxies. Our data are consistent with X-ray heating being
responsible for most of the [FeII] emission, although differences in [FeII] and
Pa-beta line profiles associated with radio emission suggests that the [FeII]
emission is enhanced by fast shocks associated with radio outflows. The H2
emission is not as strongly associated with outflows or ionization cones as is
the emission in other lines, but rather appears to be primarily associated with
the disk of the galaxy.Comment: 35 pages, 24 figure
HST Observations of the Serendipitous X-ray Companion to Mrk 273: Cluster at z=0.46?
We have used HST I-band images to identify Mrk 273X, the very unusual
high-redshift X-ray-luminous Seyfert 2 galaxy found by ROSAT in the same
field-of-view as Mrk 273. We have measured the photometric properties of Mrk
273X and have also analyzed the luminosity distribution of the faint galaxy
population seen in the HST image. The luminosity of the galaxy and the
properties of the surrounding environment suggest that Mrk 273X is the
brightest galaxy in a relatively poor cluster at a redshift near 0.46. Its
off-center location in the cluster and the presence of other galaxy groupings
in the HST image may indicate that this is a dynamically young cluster on the
verge of merging with its neighboring clusters. We find that Mrk 273X is a
bright featureless elliptical galaxy with no evidence for a disk. It follows
the de Vaucouleurs (r^{1/4}) surface brightness law very well over a range of 8
magnitudes. Though the surface brightness profile does not appear to be
dominated by the AGN, the galaxy has very blue colors that do appear to be
produced by the AGN. Mrk 273X is most similar to the IC 5063 class of active
galaxies --- a hybrid Sy 2 / powerful radio galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 8 pages,
including 4 postscript figures. Uses emulateapj.sty and psfig.sty. Higher
quality version of Figure 1 is available at
http://rings.gsfc.nasa.gov/~borne/fig1-markgals.gi
The Asymmetric Wind in M82
We have obtained detailed imaging Fabry-Perot observations of the nearby
galaxy M82, in order to understand the physical association between the
high-velocity outflow and the starburst nucleus. The observed velocities of the
emitting gas in M82 reveal a bipolar outflow of material, originating from the
bright starburst regions in the galaxy's inner disk, but misaligned with
respect to the galaxy spin axis. The deprojected outflow velocity increases
with radius from 525 to 655 km/s. Spectral lines show double components in the
centers of the outflowing lobes, with the H-alpha line split by ~300 km/s over
a region almost a kiloparsec in size. The filaments are not simple surfaces of
revolution, nor is the emission distributed evenly over the surfaces. We model
these lobes as a composite of cylindrical and conical structures, collimated in
the inner ~500 pc but expanding at a larger opening angle of ~25 degrees beyond
that radius. We compare our kinematic model with simulations of
starburst-driven winds in which disk material surrounding the source is
entrained by the wind. The data also reveal a remarkably low [NII]/H-alpha
ratio in the region of the outflow, indicating that photoionization by the
nuclear starburst may play a significant role in the excitation of the optical
filament gas, particularly near the nucleus.Comment: 42 pages AASTeX with 16 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ;
figures reformatted for better printin
The NICMOS Snapshot Survey of nearby Galaxies
We present ``snapshot'' observations with the NearInfrared Camera and
MultiObject Spectrometer (NICMOS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of
94 nearby galaxies from the Revised Shapley Ames Catalog. Images with 0.2 as
resolution were obtained in two filters, a broad-band continuum filter (F160W,
roughly equivalent to the H-band) and a narrow band filter centered on the
Paschen alpha line (F187N or F190N, depending on the galaxy redshift) with the
51x51 as field of view of the NICMOS camera 3. A first-order continuum
subtraction is performed, and the resulting line maps and integrated Paschen
alpha line fluxes are presented. A statistical analysis indicates that the
average Paschen alpha surface brightness {\bf in the central regions} is
highest in early-type (Sa-Sb) spirals.Comment: Original contained error in flux calibration. Table 1 now has correct
Paschen Alpha fluxes. 14 pages LaTeX with JPEG and PS figures. Also available
at http://icarus.stsci.edu/~boeker/publications.htm
Tidal tails in CDM cosmologies
We study the formation of tidal tails in pairs of merging disk galaxies with
structural properties motivated by current theories of cold dark matter (CDM)
cosmologies. In a recent study, Dubinski, Mihos & Hernquist (1996) showed that
the formation of prominent tidal tails can be strongly suppressed by massive
and extended dark haloes. For the large halo-to-disk mass ratio expected in CDM
cosmologies their sequence of models failed to produce strong tails like those
observed in many well-known pairs of interacting galaxies. In order to test
whether this effect can constrain the viability of CDM cosmologies, we
construct N-body models of disk galaxies with structural properties derived in
analogy to the analytical work of Mo, Mao & White (1998). With a series of
self-consistent collisionless simulations of galaxy-galaxy mergers we
demonstrate that even the disks of very massive dark haloes have no problems
developing long tidal tails, provided the halo spin parameter is large enough.
We show that the halo-to-disk mass ratio is a poor indicator for the ability to
produce tails. Instead, the relative size of disk and halo, or alternatively,
the ratio of circular velocity to local escape speed at the half mass radius of
the disk are more useful criteria. This result holds in all CDM cosmologies.
The length of tidal tails is thus unlikely to provide useful constraints on
such models.Comment: 17 pages, mn.sty, 13 included eps-figures, submitted to MNRA
The discovery of the most UV-Lya luminous star-forming galaxy: a young, dust- and metal-poor starburst with QSO-like luminosities
We report the discovery of BOSS-EUVLG1 at z=2.469, by far the most luminous,
almost un-obscured star-forming galaxy known at any redshift. First classified
as a QSO within the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, follow-up
observations with the Gran Telescopio Canarias reveal that its large
luminosity, MUV = -24.40 and log(L_Lya/erg s-1) = 44.0, is due to an intense
burst of star-formation, and not to an AGN or gravitational lensing.
BOSS-EUVLG1 is a compact (reff = 1.2 kpc), young (4-5 Myr) starburst with a
stellar mass log(M*/Msun) = 10.0 +/- 0.1 and a prodigious star formation rate
of ~1000 Msun yr-1. However, it is metal- and dust-poor (12+log(O/H) = 8.13 +/-
0.19, E(B-V) = 0.07, log(LIR/LUV) < -1.2), indicating that we are witnessing
the very early phase of an intense starburst that has had no time to enrich the
ISM. BOSS-EUVLG1 might represent a short-lived (<100 Myrs), yet important phase
of star-forming galaxies at high redshift that has been missed in previous
surveys. Within a galaxy evolutionary scheme, BOSS-EUVLG1 could likely
represent the very initial phases in the evolution of massive quiescent
galaxies, even before the dusty star-forming phase.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letter
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