523 research outputs found
Optical off-nuclear spectra of quasar hosts and radio galaxies
We present optical (~3200A to ~9000A) off-nuclear spectra of 26 powerful
active galaxies in the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.3, obtained with the Mayall
and William Herschel 4-meter class telescopes. The sample consists of
radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars (all with -23 > M_V > -26) and radio
galaxies of Fanaroff & Riley Type II (with extended radio luminosities and
spectral indices comparable to those of the radio-loud quasars). The spectra
were all taken approximately 5 arcseconds off-nucleus, with offsets carefully
selected so as to maximise the amount of galaxy light falling into the slit,
whilst simultaneously minimising the amount of scattered nuclear light. The
majority of the resulting spectra appear to be dominated by the integrated
stellar continuum of the underlying galaxies rather than by light from the
non-stellar processes occurring in the active nuclei, and in many cases a 4000A
break feature can be identified. The individual spectra are described in
detail, and the importance of the various spectral components is discussed.
Stellar population synthesis modelling of the spectra will follow in a
subsequent paper (Nolan et al. 2000).Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, uses MNRAS style file, incorporates 71 postscript
figures, to be published in MNRAS. Contact author: [email protected]
The ages of quasar host galaxies
We present the results of fitting deep off-nuclear optical spectroscopy of
radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars and radio galaxies at z ~ 0.2 with
evolutionary synthesis models of galaxy evolution. Our aim was to determine the
age of the dynamically dominant stellar populations in the hos t galaxies of
these three classes of powerful AGN. Some of our spectra display residual
nuclear contamination at the shortest wavelengths, but the detailed quality of
the fits longward of the 4000A break provide unequivocal proof, if further
proof were needed, that quasars lie in massive galaxies with (at least at z ~
0.2) evolved stellar populations. By fitting a two-component model we have
separated the very blue (starburst and/or AGN contamination) from the redder
underlying spectral energy distribution, and find that the hosts of all three
classes of AGN are dominated by old stars of age 8 - 14 Gyr. If the blue
component is attributed to young stars, we find that, at most, 1% of the
baryonic mass of these galaxies is involved in star-formation activity at the
epoch of observation. These results strongly support the conclusion reached by
McLure et al. (1999) that the host galaxies of luminous quasars are massive
ellipticals which formed prior to the peak epoch of quasar activity at z ~ 2.5.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, uses MNRAS style file, incorporates 19 postscript
figures, final version, to be published in MNRA
Confirmation of the effectiveness of sub-mm source redshift estimation based on rest-frame radio to FIR photometry
We present a comparison between the published optical, IR and CO
spectroscopic redshifts of 15 (sub-)mm galaxies and their photometric redshifts
as derived from long-wavelength (radio-mm-FIR) photometric data. The redshift
accuracy measured for 12 sub-mm galaxies with at least one robustly-determined
colour in the radio-mm-FIR regime is dz=0.30 (r.m.s.). Despite the wide range
of spectral energy distributions in the local galaxies that are used in an
un-biased manner as templates, this analysis demonstrates that photometric
redshifts can be efficiently derived for sub-mm galaxies with a precision of dz
< 0.5 using only the rest-frame FIR to radio wavelength data.Comment: submitted to MNRAS (1 object removed from analysis, shortening of
paper
Evolution of growth in Gulf of St Lawrence cod?
Fishing is often size selective such that the likelihood of capture increases with body size. It has therefore been postulated that fishing could favour evolution of slower growth because smaller size would reduce exposure to fishing gear (e.g. Ricker 1981). A recent study by Swain et al. (2007; hereafter referred to as SSH) makes a valuable attempt to demonstrate such an effect on length-at-age of southern Gulf of St Lawrence cod (Gadus morhua). The strength of their study lies in an innovative combination of three elements. First, as the evolving trait, they used length-at-age 4 years, an age at which cod are representatively sampled but have experienced little fishing mortality. Confounding demographic effects of size-selective fishing were therefore avoided. Second, they had time series of temperature and population density, both possibly affecting length-at-age through phenotypic plasticity. Finally, and as the most innovative element, they linked their approach to quantitative genetics theory. Using a modified breeder's equation, they modelled changes in length-at-age 4 as a function of genetic and environmental components: ΔL4=h2S+βΔE+ϵ. Here ΔL4 and ΔE are differences in length-at-age 4 and environment, respectively, between the focal cohort and its parent generation. S is the selection differential (difference in mean length-at-age 4 between fish observed at age 4 and those observed at reproducing ages). Estimated heritability h2 and parameter β are regression coefficients, and ϵ is a normally distributed error term with zero mean. SSH assumed that the environment can be described by changes in population density Δd and temperature Δt. The key point is that a significant effect of S on ΔL4 would indicate an evolutionary response in length-at-age 4.
SSH's statistically favoured regression model was one including both S and Δd; they concluded that the data suggested an evolutionary response to fishing. Of course, as SSH readily pointed out, one cannot rule out the existence of alternative and untested factors. Here, we comment on some caveats in the analysis by SSH. We do not challenge their novel approach, but question some key assumptions and the strength of their conclusions
Very compact millimeter sizes for composite star-forming/AGN submillimeter galaxies
We report the study of far-IR sizes of submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in
relation to their dust-obscured star formation rate (SFR) and active galactic
nuclei (AGN) presence, determined using mid-IR photometry. We determined the
millimeter-wave (m) sizes of 69 ALMA-identified
SMGs, selected with confidence on ALMA images (--7.4 mJy). We found that all the SMGs are located above an
avoidance region in the millimeter size-flux plane, as expected by the
Eddington limit for star formation. In order to understand what drives the
different millimeter-wave sizes in SMGs, we investigated the relation between
millimeter-wave size and AGN fraction for 25 of our SMGs at --3. We found
that the SMGs for which the mid-IR emission is dominated by star formation or
AGN have extended millimeter-sizes, with respective median and 1.5 kpc. Instead, the SMGs for which
the mid-IR emission corresponds to star-forming/AGN composites have more
compact millimeter-wave sizes, with median
kpc. The relation between millimeter-wave size and AGN fraction suggests that
this size may be related to the evolutionary stage of the SMG. The very compact
sizes for composite star-forming/AGN systems could be explained by supermassive
black holes growing rapidly during the SMG coalescing, star-formation phase.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ Lette
Dimerization of cAMP phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) in living cells requires interfaces located in both the UCR1 and catalytic unit domains
PDE4 family cAMP phosphodiesterases play a pivotal role in determining compartmentalised cAMP signalling through targeted cAMP breakdown. Expressing the widely found PDE4D5 isoform, as both bait and prey in a yeast 2-hybrid system, we demonstrated interaction consistent with the notion that long PDE4 isoforms form dimers. Four potential dimerization sites were uncovered using a scanning peptide array approach, where a recombinant purified PDE4D5 fusion protein was used to probe a 25-mer library of overlapping peptides covering the entire PDE4D5 sequence. Key residues involved in PDE4D5 dimerization were defined using a site-directed mutagenesis programme directed by an alanine scanning peptide array approach. Critical residues stabilising PDE4D5 dimerization were defined within the regulatory UCR1 region found in long, but not short, PDE4 isoforms, namely the Arg173, Asn174 and Asn175 (DD1) cluster. Disruption of the DD1 cluster was not sufficient, in itself, to destabilise PDE4D5 homodimers. Instead, disruption of an additional interface, located on the PDE4 catalytic unit, was also required to convert PDE4D5 into a monomeric form. This second dimerization site on the conserved PDE4 catalytic unit is dependent upon a critical ion pair interaction. This involves Asp463 and Arg499 in PDE4D5, which interact in a trans fashion involving the two PDE4D5 molecules participating in the homodimer. PDE4 long isoforms adopt a dimeric state in living cells that is underpinned by two key contributory interactions, one involving the UCR modules and one involving an interface on the core catalytic domain. We propose that short forms do not adopt a dimeric configuration because, in the absence of the UCR1 module, residual engagement of the remaining core catalytic domain interface provides insufficient free energy to drive dimerization. The functioning of PDE4 long and short forms is thus poised to be inherently distinct due to this difference in quaternary structure
Massive post-starburst galaxies at z > 1 are compact proto-spheroids
We investigate the relationship between the quenching of star formation and the structural transformation of massive galaxies, using a large sample of photometrically-selected poststarburst galaxies in the UKIDSS UDS field. We find that post-starburst galaxies at highredshift (z > 1) show high Sérsic indices, significantly higher than those of active star-forming galaxies, but with a distribution that is indistinguishable from the old quiescent population. We conclude that the morphological transformation occurs before (or during) the quenching of star formation. Recently quenched galaxies are also the most compact; we find evidence that massive post-starburst galaxies (M_ > 1010:5 M_) at high redshift (z > 1) are on average smaller than comparable quiescent galaxies at the same epoch. Our findings are consistent with a scenario in which massive passive galaxies are formed from three distinct phases: (1) gas-rich dissipative collapse to very high densities, forming the proto-spheroid; (2) rapid quenching of star formation, to create the “red nugget” with post-starburst features; (3) a gradual growth in size as the population ages, perhaps as a result of minor mergers
SXDF-ALMA 2 Arcmin^2 Deep Survey: Resolving and Characterizing the Infrared Extragalactic Background Light Down to 0.5 mJy
We present a multi-wavelength analysis of five submillimeter sources (S_1.1mm
= 0.54-2.02 mJy) that were detected during our 1.1-mm-deep continuum survey in
the SXDF-UDS-CANDELS field (2 arcmin^2, 1sigma = 0.055 mJy beam^-1) using the
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The two brightest sources
correspond to a known single-dish (AzTEC) selected bright submillimeter galaxy
(SMG), whereas the remaining three are faint SMGs newly uncovered by ALMA. If
we exclude the two brightest sources, the contribution of the ALMA-detected
faint SMGs to the infrared extragalactic background light is estimated to be ~
4.1^{+5.4}_{-3.0} Jy deg^{-2}, which corresponds to ~ 16^{+22}_{-12}% of the
infrared extragalactic background light. This suggests that their contribution
to the infrared extragalactic background light is as large as that of bright
SMGs. We identified multi-wavelength counterparts of the five ALMA sources. One
of the sources (SXDF-ALMA3) is extremely faint in the optical to near-infrared
region despite its infrared luminosity (L_IR ~ 1e12 L_sun or SFR ~ 100 M_sun
yr^{-1}). By fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) at the
optical-to-near-infrared wavelengths of the remaining four ALMA sources, we
obtained the photometric redshifts (z_photo) and stellar masses (M_*): z_photo
~ 1.3-2.5, M_* ~ (3.5-9.5)e10 M_sun. We also derived their star formation rates
(SFRs) and specific SFRs (sSFRs) as ~ 30-200 M_sun yr^{-1} and ~ 0.8-2
Gyr^{-1}, respectively. These values imply that they are main-sequence
star-forming galaxies.Comment: PASJ accepted, 15 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
SXDF-ALMA 1.5 arcmin^2 deep survey. A compact dusty star-forming galaxy at z=2.5
We present first results from the SXDF-ALMA 1.5 arcmin^2 deep survey at 1.1
mm using Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). The map reaches a 1sigma depth
of 55 uJy/beam and covers 12 Halpha-selected star-forming galaxies at z = 2.19
or z=2.53. We have detected continuum emission from three of our
Halpha-selected sample, including one compact star-forming galaxy with high
stellar surface density, NB2315-07. They are all red in the rest-frame optical
and have stellar masses of log (M*/Msun)>10.9 whereas the other blue,
main-sequence galaxies with log(M*/Msun)=10.0-10.8 are exceedingly faint, <290
uJy (2sigma upper limit). We also find the 1.1 mm-brightest galaxy, NB2315-02,
to be associated with a compact (R_e=0.7+-0.1 kpc), dusty star-forming
component. Given high gas fraction (44^{+20}_{-8}% or 37^{+25}_{-3}%) and high
star formation rate surface density (126^{+27}_{-30} Msun yr^{-1}kpc^{-2}), the
concentrated starburst can within less than 50^{+12}_{-11} Myr build up a
stellar surface density matching that of massive compact galaxies at z~2,
provided at least 19+-3% of the total gas is converted into stars in the galaxy
centre. On the other hand, NB2315-07, which already has such a high stellar
surface density core, shows a gas fraction (23+-8%) and is located in the lower
envelope of the star formation main-sequence. This compact less star-forming
galaxy is likely to be in an intermediate phase between compact dusty
star-forming and quiescent galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ
The host galaxies of luminous quasars
We present results of a deep HST/WFPC2 imaging study of 17 quasars at z~0.4,
designed to determine the properties of their host galaxies. The sample
consists of quasars with absolute magnitudes in the range -24>M_V>-28, allowing
us to investigate host galaxy properties across a decade in quasar luminosity,
but at a single redshift. We find that the hosts of all the RLQs, and all the
RQQs with nuclear luminosities M_V<-24, are massive bulge-dominated galaxies,
confirming and extending the trends deduced from our previous studies. From the
best-fitting model host galaxies we have estimated spheroid and black-hole
masses, and the efficiency (with respect to Eddington luminosity) with which
each quasar is radiating. The largest inferred black-hole mass in our sample is
\~3.10^9 M_sun, comparable to those at the centres of M87 and Cygnus A. We find
no evidence for super-Eddington accretion in even the most luminous objects. We
investigate the role of scatter in the black-hole:spheroid mass relation in
determining the ratio of quasar to host-galaxy luminosity, by generating
simulated populations of quasars lying in hosts with a Schechter mass function.
Within the subsample of the highest luminosity quasars, the observed variation
in nuclear-host luminosity ratio is consistent with being the result of the
scatter in the black-hole:spheroid relation. Quasars with high nuclear-host
ratios can be explained by sub-Eddington accretion onto black holes in the
high-mass tail of the black-hole:spheroid relation. Our results imply that,
owing to the Schechter cutoff, host mass should not continue to increase
linearly with quasar luminosity, at the very highest luminosities. Any quasars
more luminous than M_V=-27 should be found in massive elliptical hosts which at
the present day would have M_V ~ -24.5.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 18 pages; 7 figures and 17
greyscale images are reproduced here at low quality due to space limitations.
High-resolution figures are available from
ftp://ftp.roe.ac.uk/pub/djef/preprints/floyd2004
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