4,192 research outputs found
Molecular gas and star formation in M81
We present IRAM 30m observations of the central 1.6 kpc of the spiral M81
galaxy. The molecular gas appears weak and with an unusual excitation physics.
We discuss a possible link between low CO emission and weak FUV surface
brightness.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in "Pathways through an eclectic
Universe", J. H. Knapen, T. J. Mahoney, and A. Vazdekis (Eds.), ASP Conf.
Ser., 200
Hidden interaction in SBO galaxies
Galaxies, like plants, show a large variety of grafts: an individual of some type connects physically with a neighborhood of same or different type. The effects of these interactions between galaxies have a broad range of morphologies depending, among other quantities, on the distance of the closest approach between systems and the relative size of the two galaxies. A sketch of the possible situations is shown in tabular form. This botanical classification is just indicative, because the effects of interactions can be notable also at relatively large separations, when additional conditions are met, as for example low density of the interacting systems or the presence of intra-cluster gas. In spite of the large variety of encounters and effects, in the literature the same terms are often used to refer to different types of interactions. Analysis indicates that only few of the situations show evident signs of interaction. They appear to be most relevant when the size of the two galaxies is comparable. Bridges and tails, like the well known case of NGC 4038/39, the Antennae, are only observed for a very low percentage of all galaxies (approx. 0.38 percent, Arp and Madore 1977). In most cases of gravitational bond between two galaxies, the effects of interactions are not relevant or evident. For instance, the detection of stellar shells (Malin and Carter 1983), which have been attributed to the accretion of gas stripped from another galaxy or to the capture and disruption of a small stellar system (Quinn 1984), requires particular observing and reduction techniques. Besides these difficulties of detection, time plays an important role in erasing, within a massive galaxy, the effects of interactions with smaller objects. This can happen on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, so the number of systems now showing signs of interaction suggests lower limits to the true frequency of interactions in the life-time of a stellar system
Low redshift quasars in the SDSS Stripe 82. The local environments
We study the environments of low redshift (z < 0.5) quasars based on a large
and homogeneous dataset from the Stripe 82 region of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey (SDSS). We have compared the < 1 Mpc scale envi- ronments of 302 quasars
that were resolved in our recent study to those of 288 inactive galaxies with
closely matched redshifts. Crucially, the lu- minosities of the inactive
galaxies and the quasar host galaxies are also closely matched, unlike in most
previous studies. The environmental overdensities were studied by measuring the
num- ber density of galaxies within a projected distance of 200 kpc to 1 Mpc.
The galaxy number density of the quasar environments is comparable to that of
the inactive galaxies with similar luminosities, both classes of ob- jects
showing significant excess compared to the background galaxy density for
distances < 400 kpc. There is no significant dependence of the galaxy number
density on redshift, quasar or host galaxy luminosity, black hole mass or radio
loudness. This suggests that the fueling and triggering of the nuclear activity
is only weakly dependent on the local environment of quasars, and the quasar
phase may be a short-lived common phase in the life cycle of all massive
galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 16 page
Study of ISM tracers in galaxies
We collected data for two samples of normal and interacting galaxies for a
total of 2953 galaxies having fluxes in one or more of the following wavebands:
FIR, 21 cm line, CO(1-0) lines and soft X-ray. The large set of data obtained
allowed us to revisit some of the already known relations between the different
tracers of the interstellar medium (ISM), such as the link between the FIR flux
and the CO line emission, the relation between X-ray emission and the blue or
FIR luminosity. The relation lacking from observations for early-type galaxies
has been discussed and explained in detail in the frame of a suitable
theoretical model, obtained by coupling chemo-dynamical N-body simulations with
a dusty spectrophotometric code of population synthesis.Comment: 2 pages, o appear in the Proceedings of the Conf. "From Stars to
Galaxies: Building the Pieces to Build Up the Universe", Vallenari et al.
eds., ASP Conf. Serie
Catching Spiral - S0 transition in groups. Insights from SPH simulations with chemo-photometric implementation
We are investigating the co-evolution of galaxies within groups combining
multi-wavelength photometric and 2D kinematical observations. Here we focus on
S0s showing star formation in ring/arm-like structures. We use smooth particle
hydrodynamical simulations (SPH) with chemo-photometric implementation which
provide dynamical and morphological information together with the spectral
energy distribution (SED) at each evolutionary stage. As test cases, we
simulate the evolution of two such S0s: NGC 1533 and NGC 3626. The merging of
two halos with mass ratio 2:1, initially just composed of dark matter (DM) and
gas, well match their observed SEDs, their surface brightness profiles and
their overall kinematics. The residual star formation today "rejuvenating" the
ring/arm like structures in these S0s is then a mere consequence of a major
merger, i.e. this is a phase during the merger episode. The peculiar
kinematical features, e.g. gas-stars counter rotation in NGC 3626, depends on
the halos initial impact parameters. Furthermore, our simulations allow to
follow, in a fully consistent way, the transition of these S0s through the
green valley in the NUV-r vs. Mr colour magnitude diagram, which they cross in
about 3-5 Gyr, before reaching their current position in the red sequence. We
conclude that a viable mechanism driving the evolution of S0s in groups is of
gravitational origin.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in Advances in Space
Research, Special Issue: Ultraviolet Astrophysic
Galaxy Evolution in Local Group Analogs. I. A GALEX study of nearby groups
Understanding the astrophysical processes acting within galaxy groups and
their effects on the evolution of the galaxy population is one of the crucial
topic of modern cosmology, as almost 60% of galaxies in the Local Universe are
found in groups. We imaged in the far (FUV 1539 A) and near ultraviolet (NUV
2316 A) with GALEX three nearby groups, namely LGG93, LGG127 and LGG225. We
obtained the UV galaxy surface photometry and, for LGG225, the only group
covered by the SDSS, the photometry in u, g, r, i, z bands. We discuss galaxy
morphologies looking for interaction signatures and we analyze the SED of
galaxies to infer their luminosity-weighted ages. The UV and optical photometry
was also used to perform a kinematical and dynamical analysis of each group and
to evaluate the stellar mass. A few member galaxies in LGG225 show a distorted
UV morphology due to ongoing interactions. (FUV-NUV) colors suggest that
spirals in LGG93 and LGG225 host stellar populations in their outskirts younger
than that of M31 and M33 in the LG or with less extinction. The irregular
interacting galaxy NGC3447A has a significantly younger stellar population (few
Myr old) than the average of the other irregular galaxies in LGG225 suggesting
that the encounter triggered star formation. The early-type members of LGG225,
NGC3457 and NGC3522, have masses of the order of a few 10^9 Mo, comparable to
the Local Group ellipticals. For the most massive spiral in LGG225, we estimate
a stellar mass of ~4x10 Mo, comparable to M33 in the LG. Ages of stellar
populations range from a few to ~7 Gyr for the galaxies in LGG225. The
kinematical and dynamical analysis indicates that LGG127 and LGG225 are in a
pre-virial collapse phase, i.e. still undergoing dynamical relaxation, while
LGG93 is likely virialized. (Abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Low redshift quasars in the SDSS Stripe 82. Host galaxy colors and close environment
We present a photometrical and morphological multicolor study of the
properties of low redshift (z<0.3) quasar hosts based on a large and
homogeneous dataset of quasars derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (DR7).
We used quasars that were imaged in the SDSS Stripe82 that is up to 2 mag
deeper than standard Sloan images. This sample is part of a larger dataset of
~400 quasars at z<0.5 for which both the host galaxies and their galaxy
environments were studied (Falomo et al. 2014,Karhunen et al. 2014). For 52
quasars we undertake a study of the color of the host galaxies and of their
close environments in u,g,r,i and z bands. We are able to resolve almost all
the quasars in the sample in the filters g,r,i and z and also in for about
50% of the targets. We found that the mean colors of the QSO host galaxy
(g-i=0.82+-0.26; r-i=0.26+-0.16 and u-g=1.32+-0.25) are very similar to the
values of a sample of inactive galaxies matched in terms of redshift and galaxy
luminosity with the quasar sample. There is a suggestion that the most massive
QSO hosts have bluer colors.Both quasar hosts and the comparison sample of
inactive galaxies have candidates of close ( 50 kpc) companion galaxies for
~30% of the sources with no significant difference between active and inactive
galaxies. We do not find significant correlation between the central black hole
(BH) mass and the quasar host luminosity that appears to be extra luminous at a
given BH mass with respect to the local relation (M_BH -- M_host) for inactive
galaxies. This confirms previous suggestion that a substantial disc component,
not correlated to the BH mass, is present in the galaxies hosting low z
quasars. These results support a scenario where the activation of the nucleus
has negligible effects on the global structural and photometrical properties of
the hosting galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 page
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