313 research outputs found
A Wide-field High Resolution HI Mosaic of Messier 31: I. Opaque Atomic Gas and Star Formation Rate Density
We have undertaken a deep, wide-field HI imaging survey of M31, reaching a
maximum resolution of about 50 pc and 2 km/s across a 95x48 kpc region. The HI
mass and brightness sensitivity at 100 pc resolution for a 25 km/s wide
spectral feature is 1500 M_Sun and 0.28 K. Our study reveals ubiquitous HI
self-opacity features, discernible in the first instance as filamentary local
minima in images of the peak HI brightness temperature. Local minima are
organized into complexes of more than kpc length and are particularly
associated with the leading edge of spiral arm features. Just as in the Galaxy,
there is only patchy correspondence of self-opaque features with CO(1-0)
emission. Localized opacity corrections to the column density exceed an order
of magnitude in many cases and add globally to a 30% increase in the atomic gas
mass over that inferred from the integrated brightness under the usual
assumption of negligible self-opacity. Opaque atomic gas first increases from
20 to 60 K in spin temperature with radius to 12 kpc but then declines again to
20 K beyond 25 kpc. We have extended the resolved star formation law down to
physical scales more than an order of magnitude smaller in area and mass than
has been possible previously. The relation between total-gas-mass- and
star-formation-rate-density is significantly tighter than that with
molecular-mass and is fully consistent in both slope and normalization with the
power law index of 1.56 found in the molecule-dominated disk of M51 at 500 pc
resolution. Below a gas-mass-density of about 5 M_Sun/pc^2, there is a
down-turn in star-formation-rate-density which may represent a real local
threshold for massive star formation at a cloud mass of about 5x10^4 M_Sun.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 34 pages, 20 figure
HIIphot: Automated Photometry of HII Regions Applied to M51
We have developed a robust, automated method, hereafter designated HIIphot,
which enables accurate photometric characterization of HII regions while
permitting genuine adaptivity to irregular source morphology. HIIphot utilizes
object-recognition techniques to make a first guess at the shapes of all
sources then allows for departure from such idealized ``seeds'' through an
iterative growing procedure. Photometric corrections for spatially coincident
diffuse emission are derived from a low-order surface fit to the background
after exclusion of all detected sources. We present results for the
well-studied, nearby spiral M51 in which 1229 HII regions are detected above
the 5-sigma level. A simple, weighted power-law fit to the measured H-alpha
luminosity function (HII LF) above log L_H-alpha = 37.6 gives alpha =
-1.75+/-0.06, despite a conspicuous break in the HII LF observed near L_H-alpha
= 10^38.9. Our best- fit slope is marginally steeper than measured by Rand
(1992), perhaps reflecting our increased sensitivity at low luminosities and to
notably diffuse objects. HII regions located in interarm gaps are
preferentially less luminous than counterparts which constitute M51's
grand-design spiral arms and are best fit with a power-law slope of alpha =
-1.96+/-0.15. We assign arm/interarm status for HII regions based upon the
varying surface brightness of diffuse emission as a function of position
throughout the image. Using our measurement of the integrated flux contributed
by resolved HII regions in M51, we estimate the diffuse fraction to be
approximately 0.45 -- in agreement with the determination of Greenawalt et al.
(1998). Automated processing of degraded datasets is undertaken to gauge
systematic effects associated with limiting spatial resolution and sensitivity.Comment: 41 pages, 14 figures, Postscript version with high-resolution figures
at ftp://ftp.aoc.nrao.edu/staff/dthilker/preprint
Properties of Resolved Star Clusters in M51
We present a study of compact star clusters in the nearby pair of interacting
galaxies NGC 5194/95 (M51), based on multifilter Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2
archival images. We have detected ~400 isolated clusters. Our requirement that
clusters be detected based only on their morphology results in the selection of
relatively isolated objects, and we estimate that we are missing the majority
(by a factor 4-6) of <10 Myr clusters due to crowding. Hence we focus on the
cluster population older than 10 Myr. An age distribution shows a broad peak
between 100-500 Myr, which is consistent with the crossing times of NGC 5195
through the NGC 5194 disk estimated in both single and multiple-passage
dynamical models. We estimate that the peak contains approximately 2.2-2.5
times more clusters than expected from a constant rate of cluster formation
over this time interval. We estimate the effective radii of our sample clusters
and find a median value of 3-4 pc. Additionally, we see correlations of
increasing cluster size with cluster mass (with a best fit slope of
0.14\pm0.03) at the 4sigma level, and with cluster age (0.06\pm0.02) at the
3sigma level. Finally, we report for the first time the discovery of faint,
extended star clusters in the companion, NGC 5195, an SB0 galaxy. These have
red [(V-I)>1.0] colors, effective radii >7 pc, and are scattered over the disk
of NGC 5195. Our results indicate that NGC 5195 is therefore currently the
third known barred lenticular galaxy to have formed so-called "faint fuzzy"
star clusters. (abridged)Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 1 table; to appear in A
HII Shells Surrounding Wolf-Rayet stars in M31
We present the results of an ongoing investigation to provide a detailed view
of the processes by which massive stars shape the surrounding interstellar
medium (ISM), from pc to kpc scales. In this paper we have focused on studying
the environments of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in M31 to find evidence for WR
wind-ISM interactions, through imaging ionized hydrogen nebulae surrounding
these stars.
We have conducted a systematic survey for HII shells surrounding 48 of the 49
known WR stars in M31. There are 17 WR stars surrounded by single shells, or
shell fragments, 7 stars surrounded by concentric limb brightened shells, 20
stars where there is no clear physical association of the star with nearby
H-alpha emission, and 4 stars which lack nearby H-alpha emission. For the 17+7
shells above, there are 12 which contain one or two massive stars (including a
WR star) and that are <=40 pc in radius. These 12 shells may be classical WR
ejecta or wind-blown shells. Further, there may be excess H-alpha point source
emission associated with one of the 12 WR stars surrounded by putative ejecta
or wind-blown shells. There is also evidence for excess point source emission
associated with 11 other WR stars. The excess emission may arise from
unresolved circumstellar shells, or within the extended outer envelopes of the
stars themselves.
In a few cases we find clear morphological evidence for WR shells interacting
with each other. In several H-alpha images we see WR winds disrupting, or
punching through, the walls of limb-brightened HII shells.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures (in several parts: some .jpg and others .ps),
accepted to AJ (appearing Oct, 1999
Tightly Correlated HI and FUV Emission in the Outskirts of M83
We compare sensitive HI data from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS) and
deep far UV (FUV) data from GALEX in the outer disk of M83. The FUV and HI maps
show a stunning spatial correlation out to almost 4 optical radii (r25),
roughly the extent of our maps. This underscores that HI traces the gas
reservoir for outer disk star formation and it implies that massive (at least
low level) star formation proceeds almost everywhere HI is observed. Whereas
the average FUV intensity decreases steadily with increasing radius before
leveling off at ~1.7 r25, the decline in HI surface density is more subtle. Low
HI columns (<2 M_solar/pc^2) contribute most of the mass in the outer disk,
which is not the case within r25. The time for star formation to consume the
available HI, inferred from the ratio of HI to FUV intensity, rises with
increasing radius before leveling off at ~100 Gyr, i.e., many Hubble times,
near ~1.7 r25. Assuming the relatively short H2 depletion times observed in the
inner parts of galaxies hold in outer disks, the conversion of HI into bound,
molecular clouds seems to limit star formation in outer galaxy disks. The long
consumption times suggest that most of the extended HI observed in M83 will not
be consumed by in situ star formation. However, even these low star formation
rates are enough to expect moderate chemical enrichment in a closed outer disk.Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ
Are HI Supershells the Remnants of Gamma-Ray Bursts?
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are thought to originate at cosmological distances
from the most powerful explosions in the Universe. If GRBs are not beamed then
the distribution of their number as a function of Gamma-ray flux implies that
they occur once per (0.3-40) million years per bright galaxy and that they
deposit >10^{53} ergs into their surrounding interstellar medium. The blast
wave generated by a GRB explosion would be washed out by interstellar
turbulence only after tens of millions of years when it finally slows down to a
velocity of 10 km/s. This rather long lifetime implies that there could be up
to several tens of active GRB remnants in each galaxy at any given time. For
many years, radio observations have revealed the enigmatic presence of
expanding neutral-hydrogen (HI) supershells of kpc radius in the Milky Way and
in other nearby galaxies. The properties of some supershells cannot be easily
explained in terms of conventional sources such as stellar winds or supernova
explosions. However, the inferred energy and frequency of the explosions
required to produce most of the observed supershells agree with the above GRB
parameters. More careful observations and analysis might reveal which fraction
of these supershells are GRB remnants. We show that if this link is
established, the data on HI supershells can be used to constrain the energy
output, the rate per galaxy, the beaming factor, and the environment of GRB
sources in the Universe.Comment: 8 pages, final version, ApJ Letters, in pres
Simple Models for Turbulent Self-Regulation in Galaxy Disks
We propose that turbulent heating, wave pressure and gas exchanges between
different regions of disks play a dominant role in determining the preferred,
quasi-equilibrium, self-similar states of gas disks on large-scales. We present
simple families of analytic, thermohydrodynamic models for these global states,
which include terms for turbulent pressure and Reynolds stresses. Star
formation rates, phase balances, and hydrodynamic forces are all tightly
coupled and balanced. The models have stratified radial flows, with the cold
gas slowly flowing inward in the midplane of the disk, and with the warm/hot
phases that surround the midplane flowing outward.
The models suggest a number of results that are in accord with observation,
as well as some novel predictions, including the following. 1) The large-scale
gas density and thermal phase distributions in galaxy disks can be explained as
the result of turbulent heating and spatial couplings. 2) The turbulent
pressures and stresses that drive radial outflows in the warm gas also allow a
reduced circular velocity there. This effect was observed by Swaters, Sancisi
and van der Hulst in NGC 891, a particularly turbulent edge-on disk. The models
predict that the effect should be universal in such disks. 3) They suggest that
a star formation rate like the phenomenological Schmidt Law is the natural
result of global thermohydrodynamical balance, and may not obtain in disks far
from equilibrium. (Abridged)Comment: 37 pages, 1 gif figure, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
The Northern Middle Lobe of Centaurus A: Circumgalactic Gas in a Starburst Wind
We present deep ultraviolet (GALEX), radio continuum (VLA) and H-alpha (Magellan) images of the circumgalactic medium around Centaurus A (NGC5128). We focus on the Northern Middle Lobe (NML), a region extending more than 50kpc beyond the galaxy and known to host a collection of striking phenomena: emission line filaments, recent star formation, disrupted HI/molecular gas streams, and short-lived X-ray clouds. Far UV emission is tightly correlated with H-alpha emission for more than 50kpc, and loosely associated with a filament of X-ray clouds and with the radio continuum emission. The radio emission in the NML region does not appear to be an extension of the inner radio jet (10kpc) or a typical radio lobe. We speculate that the "weather" seen in the NML region is a short-lived phenomenon, caused by an outflow encountering cool gas deposited by one of the recent merger/encounter events which have characterized the history of NGC5128
Lenticular galaxies with UV-rings
By using the public UV imaging data obtained by the GALEX (Galaxy Ultraviolet
Explorer) for nearby galaxies, we have compiled a list of lenticular galaxies
possessing ultraviolet rings - starforming regions tightly confined to
particular radial distances from galactic centers. We have studied large-scale
structure of these galaxies in the optical bands by using the data of the SDSS
(Sloan Digital Sky Survey): we have decomposed the galactic images into
large-scale disks and bulges, have measured the ring optical colours from the
residual images after subtracting model disks and bulges, and have compared the
sizes of the rings in the optical light and in the UV-band. The probable origin
of the outer starforming ring appearances in unbarred galaxies demonstrating
otherwise the regular structure and homogeneously old stellar population beyond
the rings is discussed.Comment: 9 pages plus one big colour figure in the Appendix; the slightly
expanded version of the paper accepted to Astronomy Letter
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