The Stellar Population of Stripped Cluster Spiral NGC 4522: A Local Analog to K+A Galaxies?

We present observations of the stripped Virgo Cluster spiral NGC 4522, a clear, nearby example of a galaxy currently undergoing ISM-ICM stripping. Utilizing SparsePak integral field spectroscopy on the WIYN 3.5m telescope and GALEX UV photometry, we present an analysis of the outer disk (r > 3 kpc) stellar population of this galaxy, beyond the HI and Halpha truncation radius. We find that the star formation in the gas-stripped outer disk ceased very recently, ~100 Myr ago, in agreement with previous claims that this galaxy is currently being stripped. At the time of this stripping, data and models suggest that the galaxy experienced a modest starburst. The stripping is occurring in a region of the cluster well outside the cluster core, likely because this galaxy is experiencing extreme conditions from a dynamic ICM due to an ongoing sub-cluster merger. The outer disk has a spectrum of a K+A galaxy, traditionally observed in high-redshift cluster galaxies. In the case of NGC 4522, a K+A spectrum is formed by simple stripping of the interstellar gas by the hot intracluster medium. These data show K+A spectra can be created by cluster processes and that these processes likely extend beyond the cluster core.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

VIVA, VLA Imaging of Virgo spirals in Atomic gas: I. The Atlas & The HI Properties

We present the result of a new VLA HI Imaging survey of Virgo galaxies, VIVA (the VLA Imaging survey of Virgo galaxies in Atomic gas). The survey includes high resolution HI data of 53 carefully selected late type galaxies (48 spirals and 5 irregular systems). The goal is to study environmental effects on HI gas properties of cluster galaxies to understand which physical mechanisms affect galaxy evolution in different density regions, and to establish how far out the impact of the cluster reaches. As a dynamically young cluster, Virgo contains examples of galaxies experiencing a variety of environmental effects. Its nearness allows us to study each galaxy in great detail. We have selected Virgo galaxies with a range of star formation properties in low to high density regions (at the projected distance from M87, d_87=0.3-3.3 Mpc). Contrary to pr evious studies, more than half of the galaxies in the sample (~60%) are fainter than 12 mag in B_T. Overall, the selected galaxies represent the late type Virgo galaxies (S0/a to Sd/Irr) down to m_p<~14.6 fairly well in morphological type, systemic velocity, subcluster membership, HI mass and deficiency. In this paper (VIVA I: the atlas and the HI properties), we present HI maps and properties, and describe the HI morphology and kinematics of individual galaxies in detail (abbreviated).Comment: K band magnitudes for 6 galaxies in Table 3 have been corrected. One of the labels in Figure 8 is corrected and an omission in the acknowledgments has been added. The latter two were correct in the previous astro-ph version but are wrong in the journal version. A full resolution with the complete HI atlas can be downloaded at http://www.astro.yale.edu/viva/pub.htm

A Bit-String Model for Biological Aging

We present a simple model for biological aging. We studied it through computer simulations and we have found this model to reflect some features of real populations.Comment: LaTeX file, 4 PS figures include

Environmental Effects in Clusters: Modified Far-Infrared--Radio Relations within Virgo Cluster Galaxies

(abridged) We present a study on the effects of the intracluster medium (ICM) on the interstellar medium (ISM) of 10 Virgo cluster spiral galaxies using {\it Spitzer} far-infrared (FIR) and VLA radio continuum imaging. Relying on the FIR-radio correlation within normal galaxies, we use our infrared data to create model radio maps which we compare to the observed radio images. For 6 of our sample galaxies we find regions along their outer edges that are highly deficient in the radio compared with our models. We believe these observations are the signatures of ICM ram pressure. For NGC 4522 we find the radio deficit region to lie just exterior to a region of high radio polarization and flat radio spectral index, although the total 20 cm radio continuum in this region does not appear strongly enhanced. These characteristics seem consistent for other galaxies with radio polarization data in the literature. The strength of the radio deficit is inversely correlated with the time since peak pressure as inferred from stellar population studies and gas stripping simulations, suggesting the strength of the radio deficit is good indicator of the strength of the current ram pressure. We also find that galaxies having {\it local} radio {\it deficits} appear to have {\it enhanced global} radio fluxes. Our preferred physical picture is that the observed radio deficit regions arise from the ICM wind sweeping away cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and the associated magnetic field, thereby creating synchrotron tails as observed for some of our galaxies. We propose that CR particles are also re-accelerated by ICM-driven shocklets behind the observed radio deficit regions which in turn enhances the remaining radio disk brightness.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures; Astrophysical Journa

The Stellar Populations of Stripped Spiral Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster

(Abridged) We present an analysis of the stellar populations of the gas-stripped outer disks of ten Virgo Cluster spiral galaxies, utilizing SparsePak integral field spectroscopy on the WIYN 3.5m telescope and GALEX UV photometry. The galaxies in our sample show evidence for being gas-stripped spiral galaxies, with star formation within a truncation radius, and a passive population beyond the truncation radius. We find that all of the galaxies with spatially truncated star formation have outer disk stellar populations consistent with star formation ending within the last 500 Myr. The synthesis of optical spectroscopy and GALEX observations demonstrate that star formation was relatively constant until the quenching time, after which the galaxies passively evolved. Large starbursts at the time of quenching are excluded for all galaxies. For approximately half of our galaxies, timescales derived from our observations are consistent with galaxies being stripped in or near the cluster core, where simple ram-pressure estimates can explain the stripping. However, the other half of our sample galaxies were clearly stripped outside the cluster core. Such galaxies provide evidence that the intra-cluster medium is not static and smooth. For three of our sample galaxies, our stripping timescales agree with those from the gas stripping simulations, suggesting that star formation is quenched near the time of peak pressure. While the stripping of star-forming gas in the outer disk creates a passive population in our galaxies, there is still normal star formation in the center of our sample galaxies. It may be that Virgo is not massive enough to completely strip these spiral galaxies and, in a more dynamically active cluster or a cluster with a higher density ICM, such a process would lead to passive spirals and/or S0s.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ. Replaced submission corrects Table names and matches figure style of Journal articl

Dense Cloud Ablation and Ram Pressure Stripping of the Virgo Spiral NGC 4402

We present optical, HI and radio continuum observations of the highly inclined Virgo Cluster Sc galaxy NGC 4402, which show evidence for ram-pressure stripping and dense cloud ablation. VLA HI and radio continuum maps show a truncated gas disk and emission to the northwest of the main disk emission. In particular, the radio continuum emission is asymmetrically extended to the north and skewed to the west. The Halpha image shows numerous HII complexes along the southern edge of the gas disk, possibly indicating star formation triggered by the ICM pressure. BVR images at 0.5" resolution obtained with the WIYN Tip-Tilt Imager show a remarkable dust lane morphology: at half the optical radius, the dust lane of the galaxy curves up and out of the disk, matching the HI morphology. Large dust plumes extend upward for ~1.5 kpc from luminous young star clusters at the SE edge of the truncated gas disk. These star clusters are very blue, indicating very little dust reddening, which suggests dust blown away by an ICM wind at the leading edge of the interaction. To the south of the main ridge of interstellar material, where the galaxy is relatively clean of gas and dust, we have discovered 1 kpc long linear dust filaments with a position angle that matches the extraplanar radio continuum tail; we interpret this angle as the projected ICM wind direction. One of the observed dust filaments has an HII region at its head. We interpret these dust filaments as large, dense clouds which were initially left behind as the low-density ISM is stripped, but are then ablated by the ICM wind. These results provide striking new evidence on the fate of molecular clouds in stripped cluster galaxies.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in AJ. See ftp://ftp.astro.yale.edu/pub/hugh/papers/crowl_n4402.ps.gz for a version with high-resolution figure

Fabrication of One-Dimensional Programmable-Height Nanostructures via Dynamic Stencil Deposition

Dynamic stencil deposition (DSD) techniques offer a variety of fabrication advantages not possible with traditional lithographic processing, such as the the ability to directly deposit nanostructures with programmable height profiles. However, DSD systems have not enjoyed widespread usage due to their complexity. We demonstrate a simple, low-profile, portable, one-dimensional nanotranslation system that facilitates access to nanoscale DSD abilities. Furthermore we show a variety of fabricated programmable-height nanostructures, including parallel arrays of such structures, and suggest other applications that exploit the unique capabilities of DSD fabrication methods.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Galaxies undergoing ram-pressure stripping: the influence of the bulge on morphology and star formation rate

We investigate the influence of stellar bulges on the star formation and morphology of disc galaxies that suffer from ram pressure. Several tree-SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) simulations have been carried out to study the dependence of the star formation rate on the mass and size of a stellar bulge. In addition, different strengths of ram pressure and different alignments of the disc with respect to the intra-cluster medium (ICM) are applied. As claimed in previous works, when ram pressure is acting on a galaxy, the star formation rate (SFR) is enhanced and rises up to four times with increasing ICM density compared to galaxies that evolve in isolation. However, a bulge suppresses the SFR when the same ram pressure is applied. Consequently, fewer new stars are formed because the SFR can be lowered by up to 2 M_sun/yr. Furthermore, the denser the surrounding gas, the more inter-stellar medium (ISM) is stripped. While at an ICM density of 10^-28 g/cm^3 about 30% of the ISM is stripped, the galaxy is almost completely (more than 90%) stripped when an ICM density of 10^-27 g/cm^3 is applied. But again, a bulge prevents the stripping of the ISM and reduces the amount being stripped by up to 10%. Thereby, fewer stars are formed in the wake if the galaxy contains a bulge. The dependence of the SFR on the disc tilt angle is not very pronounced. Hereby a slight trend of decreasing star formation with increasing inclination angle can be determined. Furthermore, with increasing disc tilt angles, less gas is stripped and therefore fewer stars are formed in the wake. Reducing the disc gas mass fraction results in a lower SFR when the galaxies evolve in vacuum. On the other hand, the enhancement of the SFR in case of acting ram pressure is less pronounced with increasing gas mass fraction. Moreover, the fractional amount of stripped gas does not depend on the gas mass fraction.Comment: 11 pages, 18 figure