155 research outputs found
Extranuclear Halpha-emitting complexes in low-z (U)LIRGs: Precursors of tidal dwarf galaxies?
(Abridged)This paper characterizes the physical and kinematic properties of
external massive star-forming regions in a sample of (U)LIRGs. We use high
angular resolution ACS images from the HST B and I bands, as well as
Halpha-line emission maps obtained with IFS. We find 31 external
Halpha-emitting (young star-forming) complexes in 11 (U)LIRGs. These complexes
have in general similar sizes, luminosities, and metallicities to extragalactic
giant HII regions and TDG candidates found in less luminous mergers and compact
groups of galaxies. We assess the mass content and the likelihood of survival
as TDGs of the 22 complexes with simple structures in the HST images based on
their photometric, structural, and kinematic properties. The dynamical tracers
used (radius-sigma and luminosity-sigma diagrams) indicate that most of the
complexes might be self-gravitating entities. The resistance to forces from the
parent galaxy is studied by considering the tidal mass of the candidate and its
relative velocity with respect to the parent galaxy. After combining the
results of previous studies of TDG searches in ULIRGs a total of 9 complexes
satisfy most of the applied criteria and thus show a high-medium or high
likelihood of survival, their total mass likely being compatible with that of
dwarf galaxies. They are defined as TDG candidates. We propose that they
probably formed more often during the early phases of the interaction.
Combining all data for complexes with IFS data where a significant fraction of
the system is covered, we infer a TDG production rate of 0.3 candidates with
the highest probabilities of survival per system for the (U)LIRGs class. This
rate, though, might decrease to 0.1 after the systems in (U)LIRGs have evolved
for 10 Gyr, for long-lived TDGs, which would imply that no more than 5-10 % of
the overall dwarf population could be of tidal origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 21 pages, 8 figures. Typo corrected
(article 1111.0468
Statistical properties of ultraluminous IRAS galaxies from an HST imaging survey
We perform photometric measurements on a large HST snapshot imaging survey
sample of 97 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). We select putative
nuclei from bright clumps in all the sample targets, mainly based on a
quantitative criterion of I-band luminosity as well as the global and local
morphological information. All the sources are then classified into three
categories with multiple, double and single nucleus/nuclei. The resultant
fractions of multiple, double and single nucleus/nuclei ULIRGs are 18%, 39% and
43%, respectively. This supports the multiple merger scenario as a possible
origin of ULIRGs, in addition to the commonly-accepted pair merger model.
Further statistical studies indicate that the AGN fraction increases from
multiple (36%) to double (65%) and then to single (80%) nucleus/nuclei ULIRGs.
For the single nucleus category, there is a high luminosity tail in the
luminosity distribution, which corresponds to a Seyfert 1/QSO excess. This
indicates that active galactic nuclei tend to appear at final merging stage.
For multiple/double nuclei galaxies, we also find a high fraction of very close
nucleus pairs (e.g., 3/4 for those separated by less than 5 kpc). This
strengthens the conclusion that systems at late merging phase preferentially
host ULIRGs.Comment: 38 pages, 21 figures, to be published in A
The MUSE-Wide Survey: Survey Description and First Data Release
We present the MUSE-Wide survey, a blind, 3D spectroscopic survey in the
CANDELS/GOODS-S and CANDELS/COSMOS regions. Each MUSE-Wide pointing has a depth
of 1 hour and hence targets more extreme and more luminous objects over 10
times the area of the MUSE-Deep fields (Bacon et al. 2017). The legacy value of
MUSE-Wide lies in providing "spectroscopy of everything" without photometric
pre-selection. We describe the data reduction, post-processing and PSF
characterization of the first 44 CANDELS/GOODS-S MUSE-Wide pointings released
with this publication. Using a 3D matched filtering approach we detected 1,602
emission line sources, including 479 Lyman- (Lya) emitting galaxies
with redshifts . We cross-match the emission line
sources to existing photometric catalogs, finding almost complete agreement in
redshifts and stellar masses for our low redshift (z < 1.5) emitters. At high
redshift, we only find ~55% matches to photometric catalogs. We encounter a
higher outlier rate and a systematic offset of z0.2 when
comparing our MUSE redshifts with photometric redshifts. Cross-matching the
emission line sources with X-ray catalogs from the Chandra Deep Field South, we
find 127 matches, including 10 objects with no prior spectroscopic
identification. Stacking X-ray images centered on our Lya emitters yielded no
signal; the Lya population is not dominated by even low luminosity AGN. A total
of 9,205 photometrically selected objects from the CANDELS survey lie in the
MUSE-Wide footprint, which we provide optimally extracted 1D spectra of. We are
able to determine the spectroscopic redshift of 98% of 772 photometrically
selected galaxies brighter than 24th F775W magnitude. All the data in the first
data release - datacubes, catalogs, extracted spectra, maps - are available on
the website https://musewide.aip.de. [abridged]Comment: 25 pages 15+1 figures. Accepted, A&A. Comments welcom
A blind HI survey of the M81 group
Results are presented of the first blind HI survey of the M81 group of
galaxies. The data were taken as part of the HI Jodrell All Sky Survey
(HIJASS). The survey reveals several new aspects to the complex morphology of
the HI distribution in the group. All four of the known dwarf irregular (dIrr)
galaxies close to M81 can be unambiguously seen in the HIJASS data. Each forms
part of the complex tidal structure in the area. We suggest that at least three
of these galaxies may have formed recently from the tidal debris in which they
are embedded. The structure connecting M81 to NGC2976 is revealed as a single
tidal bridge of mass approx. 2.1 x 10^8 Msol and projected spatial extent
approx. 80 kpc. Two `spurs' of HI projecting from the M81 complex to lower
declinations are traced over a considerably larger spatial and velocity extent
than by previous surveys. The dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies BK5N and Kar 64
lie at the spatial extremity of one of these features and appear to be
associated with it. We suggest that these may be the remnants of dIrrs which
has been stripped of gas and transmuted into dEs by close gravitational
encounters with NGC3077. The nucleated dE galaxy Kar 61 is unambiguously
detected in HI for the first time and has an HI mass of approx.10^8 Msol,
further confirming it as a dE/dIrr transitional object. HIJASS has revealed one
new possible group member, HIJASS J1021+6842. This object contains approx. 2 x
10^7 Msol of HI and lies approx.105arcmin from IC2574. It has no optical
counterpart on the Digital Sky Survey.Comment: To be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters 9 pages, including 3
figure
POX 186: A Dwarf Galaxy in the Process of Formation?
We present deep U, V and I band images of the "ultracompact" blue dwarf
galaxy POX 186 obtained with the Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space
Telescope. We have also obtained a near-ultraviolet spectrum of the object with
the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and combine this with a new
ground-based optical spectrum. The images confirm the galaxy to be extremely
small, with a maximum extent of only 300 pc, a luminosity ~ 10^-4 L*, and an
estimated mass ~ 10^7 M(sun). Its morphology is highly asymmetric, with a tail
of material on its western side that may be tidal in origin. The U-band image
shows this tail to be part of a stream of material in which stars have recently
formed. Most of the star formation in the galaxy is however concentrated in a
central, compact (d ~ 10 - 15 pc) star cluster. The outer regions of the galaxy
are significantly redder than the cluster, with V - I colors consistent with a
population dominated by K and M stars. While these results rule out earlier
speculation that POX 186 is a protogalaxy, its morphology, mass and active star
formation suggest that it represents a recent (within ~ 10^8 yr) collision
between two clumps of stars of sub-galactic size (~ 100 pc). POX 186 may thus
be a very small dwarf galaxy that, dynamically speaking, is still in the
process of formation. This interpretation is supported by the fact that it
resides in a void, so its morphology cannot be explained as the result of an
encounter with a more massive galaxy. Clumps of stars this small may represent
the building blocks required by hierarchical models of galaxy formation, and
these results also support the recent "downsizing" picture of galaxy formation
in which the least massive objects are the last to form.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 23 pages, 5 figure
Spectrophotometric investigations of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies: Markarian 35
We present results from a detailed spectrophotometric analysis of the blue
compact dwarf galaxy Mrk 35 (Haro 3), based on deep optical (B,V,R,I) and
near-IR (J,H,K) imaging, Halpha narrow-band observations and long-slit
spectroscopy. The optical emission of the galaxy is dominated by a central
young starburst, with a bar-like shape, while an underlying component of stars,
with elliptical isophotes and red colors, extends more than 4 kpc from the
galaxy center. High resolution Halpha and color maps allow us to identify the
star-forming regions, to spatially discriminate them from the older stars, and
to recognize several dust patches. We derive colors and Halpha parameters for
all the identified star-forming knots. Observables derived for each knot are
corrected for the contribution of the underlying older stellar population, the
contribution by emission lines, and from interstellar extinction, and compared
with evolutionary synthesis models. We find that the contributions of these
three factors are by no means negligible and that they significantly vary
across the galaxy. Therefore, careful quantification and subtraction of
emission lines, galaxy host contribution, and interstellar reddening at every
galaxy position, are essential to derive the properties of the young stars in
BCDs. We find that we can reproduce the colors of all the knots with an
instantaneous burst of star formation and the Salpeter initial mass function
with an upper mass limit of 100 M_solar. In all cases the knots are just a few
Myr old. The underlying population of stars has colors consistent with being
several Gyr old.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ, tentatively
scheduled for the ApJ November 1, 2007 v669n1 issu
From Globular Clusters to Tidal Dwarfs: Structure Formation in the Tidal Tails of Merging Galaxies
Using V and I images obtained with WFPC2/HST, we investigate compact stellar
structures within tidal tails. Six regions of tidal debris in the four classic
``Toomre Sequence'' mergers: NGC 4038/39 (``Antennae''), NGC 3256, NGC 3921,
and NGC 7252 (``Atoms for Peace'') have been studied in order to explore how
the star formation depends upon the local and global physical conditions. These
mergers sample a range of stages in the evolutionary sequence and tails with
and without embedded tidal dwarf galaxies. The six tails are found to contain a
variety of stellar structures, with sizes ranging from those of globular
clusters up to those of dwarf galaxies. From V and I WFPC2 images, we measure
the luminosities and colors of the star clusters. NGC 3256 is found to have a
large population of blue clusters (0.2 < V-I < 0.9), particularly in its
Western tail, similar to those found in the inner region of the merger. In
contrast, NGC 4038/39 has no clusters in the observed region of the tail, only
less luminous point sources likely to be individual stars. A significant
cluster population is clearly associated with the prominent tidal dwarf
candidates in the eastern and western tails of NGC 7252. The cluster-rich
Western tail of NGC 3256 is not distinguished from the others by its dynamical
age or by its total HI mass. However, the mergers that have few clusters in the
tail all have tidal dwarf galaxies, while NGC 3256 does not have prominent
tidal dwarfs. We speculate that star formation in tidal tails may manifest
itself either in small structures like clusters along the tail or in large
structures such as dwarf galaxies, but not in both. Also, NGC 3256 has the
highest star formation rate of the four mergers studied, which may contribute
to the high number of star clusters in its tidal tails.Comment: Accepted to Astronomical Journal. 34 pages including 15 figures and 4
table
Thermodynamic properties and structural stability of thorium dioxide
Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have systematically
investigated the thermodynamic properties and structural stabilities of thorium
dioxide (ThO). Based on the calculated phonon dispersion curves, we
calculate the thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, and heat capacities
at different temperatures for ThO under the quasi-harmonic approximation.
All the results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments proving
the validity of our methods. Our theoretical studies can help people more
clearly understand the thermodynamic behaviors of ThO at different
temperatures. In addition, we have also studied possible defect formations and
diffusion behaviors of helium in ThO, to discuss its structural stability.
It is found that in intrinsic ThO without any Fermi energy shifts, the
interstitial Th defect other than oxygen or thorium vacancies,
interstitial oxygen, and any kinds of Frenkel pairs, is most probable to form
with an energy release of 1.74 eV. However, after upshifting the Fermi energy,
the formation of the other defects also becomes possible. For helium diffusion,
we find that only through the thorium vacancy can it happen with the small
energy barrier of 0.52 eV. Otherwise, helium atoms can hardly incorporate or
diffuse in ThO. Our results indicate that people should prevent upshifts of
the Fermi energy of ThO to avoid the formation of thorium vacancies and so
as to prevent helium caused damages.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
A stellar census in globular clusters with MUSE: The contribution of rotation to cluster dynamics studied with 200 000 stars
This is the first of a series of papers presenting the results from our survey of 25 Galactic globular clusters with the MUSE integral-field spectrograph. In combination with our dedicated algorithm for source deblending, MUSE provides unique multiplex capabilities in crowded stellar fields and allows us to acquire samples of up to 20 000 stars within the half-light radius of each cluster. The present paper focuses on the analysis of the internal dynamics of 22 out of the 25 clusters, using about 500 000 spectra of 200 000 individual stars. Thanks to the large stellar samples per cluster, we are able to perform a detailed analysis of the central rotation and dispersion fields using both radial profiles and two-dimensional maps. The velocity dispersion profiles we derive show a good general agreement with existing radial velocity studies but typically reach closer to the cluster centres. By comparison with proper motion data we derive or update the dynamical distance estimates to 14 clusters. Compared to previous dynamical distance estimates for 47 Tuc, our value is in much better agreement with other methods. We further find significant (>3sigma) rotation in the majority (13/22) of our clusters. Our analysis seems to confirm earlier findings of a link between rotation and the ellipticities of globular clusters. In addition, we find a correlation between the strengths of internal rotation and the relaxation times of the clusters, suggesting that the central rotation fields are relics of the cluster formation that are gradually dissipated via two-body relaxation
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