3,263 research outputs found
A log-quadratic relation for predicting supermassive black hole masses from the host bulge Sersic index
We reinvestigate the correlation between black hole mass and bulge
concentration. With an increased galaxy sample, updated estimates of galaxy
distances, black hole masses, and Sersic indices `n' - a measure of
concentration - we perform a least-squares regression analysis to obtain a
relation suitable for the purpose of predicting black hole masses in other
galaxies. In addition to the linear relation, log(M_bh) = 7.81(+/-0.08) +
2.69(+/-0.28)[log(n/3)] with epsilon_(intrin)=0.31 dex, we investigated the
possibility of a higher order M_bh-n relation, finding the second order term in
the best-fitting quadratic relation to be inconsistent with a value of zero at
greater than the 99.99% confidence level. The optimal relation is given by
log(M_bh) = 7.98(+/-0.09) + 3.70(+/-0.46)[log(n/3)] -
3.10(+/-0.84)[log(n/3)]^2, with epsilon_(intrin)=0.18 dex and a total absolute
scatter of 0.31 dex. Extrapolating the quadratic relation, it predicts black
holes with masses of ~10^3 M_sun in n=0.5 dwarf elliptical galaxies, compared
to ~10^5 M_sun from the linear relation, and an upper bound on the largest
black hole masses in the local universe, equal to 1.2^{+2.6}_{-0.4}x10^9
M_sun}. In addition, we show that the nuclear star clusters at the centers of
low-luminosity elliptical galaxies follow an extrapolation of the same
quadratic relation. Moreover, we speculate that the merger of two such
nucleated galaxies, accompanied by the merger and runaway collision of their
central star clusters, may result in the late-time formation of some
supermassive black holes. Finally, we predict the existence of, and provide
equations for, a relation between M_bh and the central surface brightness of
the host bulge
Evolution of Cluster Ellipticals at 0.2 < z < 1.2 from Hubble Space Telescope Imaging
Two-dimensional surface photometry derived from Hubble Space Telescope
imaging is presented for a sample of 225 early-type galaxies (assumed to be
cluster members) in the fields of 9 clusters at redshifts .
The 94 luminous ellipticals (; selected by morphology alone with
no reference to color) form tight sequences in the size-luminosity plane. The
position of these sequences shifts, on average, with redshift so that an object
of a given size at z=0.55 is brighter by mag than
its counterpart (measured with the same techniques) in nearby clusters. At
z=0.9 the shift is mag. If the relation between
size and luminosity is universal so that the local cluster galaxies represent
the evolutionary endpoints of those at high redshift, and if the
size-luminosity relation is not modified by dynamical processes then this
population of galaxies has undergone significant luminosity evolution since z=1
consistent with expectations based on models of passively evolving, old stellar
populations.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, and 1 Tabl
A scanning tunnelling microscopy study of C and N adsorption phases on the vicinal Ni(100) surfaces Ni(810) and Ni(911)
The influence of N and C chemisorption on the morphology and local structure of nominal Ni(810) and Ni(911) surfaces, both vicinal to (100) but with [001] and 011¯ step directions, respectively, has been investigated using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and low energy electron diffraction. Ni(911) undergoes substantial step bunching in the presence of both adsorbates, with the (911)/N surface showing (411) facets, whereas for Ni(810), multiple steps 2–4 layers high are more typical. STM atomic-scale images show the (2×2)pg ‘clock’ reconstruction on the (100) terraces of the (810) surfaces with both C and N, although a second c(2×2) structure, most readily reconciled with a ‘rumpling’ reconstruction, is also seen on Ni(810)/N. On Ni(911), the clock reconstruction is not seen on the (100) terraces with either adsorbate, and these images are typified by protrusions on a (1×1) mesh. This absence of clock reconstruction is attributed to the different constraints imposed on the lateral movements of the surface Ni atoms adjacent to the up-step edge of the terraces with a [011] step direction
Tracking Down a Critical Halo Mass for Killing Galaxies through the Growth of the Red-Sequence
Red-sequence galaxies record the history of terminated star-formation in the
Universe and can thus provide important clues to the mechanisms responsible for
this termination. We construct composite samples of published cluster and field
galaxy photometry in order to study the build-up of galaxies on the
red-sequence, as parameterised by the dwarf-to-giant ratio (DGR). We find that
the DGR in clusters is higher than that of the field at all redshifts, implying
that the faint end of the red-sequence was established first in clusters. We
find that the DGR evolves with redshift for both samples, consistent with the
``down-sizing'' picture of star formation. We examine the predictions of
semi-analytic models for the DGR and find that neither the magnitude of its
environmental dependence nor its evolution is correctly predicted in the
models. Red-sequence DGRs are consistently too high in the models, the most
likely explanation being that the strangulation mechanism used to remove hot
gas from satellite galaxies is too efficient. Finally we present a simple toy
model including a threshold mass, below which galaxies are not strangled, and
show that this can predict the observed evolution of the field DGR.Comment: MNRAS letters accepted. 5 pages, 1 figur
Time separation as a hidden variable to the Copenhagen school of quantum mechanics
The Bohr radius is a space-like separation between the proton and electron in
the hydrogen atom. According to the Copenhagen school of quantum mechanics, the
proton is sitting in the absolute Lorentz frame. If this hydrogen atom is
observed from a different Lorentz frame, there is a time-like separation
linearly mixed with the Bohr radius. Indeed, the time-separation is one of the
essential variables in high-energy hadronic physics where the hadron is a bound
state of the quarks, while thoroughly hidden in the present form of quantum
mechanics. It will be concluded that this variable is hidden in Feynman's rest
of the universe. It is noted first that Feynman's Lorentz-invariant
differential equation for the bound-state quarks has a set of solutions which
describe all essential features of hadronic physics. These solutions explicitly
depend on the time separation between the quarks. This set also forms the
mathematical basis for two-mode squeezed states in quantum optics, where both
photons are observable, but one of them can be treated a variable hidden in the
rest of the universe. The physics of this two-mode state can then be translated
into the time-separation variable in the quark model. As in the case of the
un-observed photon, the hidden time-separation variable manifests itself as an
increase in entropy and uncertainty.Comment: LaTex 10 pages with 5 figure. Invited paper presented at the
Conference on Advances in Quantum Theory (Vaxjo, Sweden, June 2010), to be
published in one of the AIP Conference Proceedings serie
The Statistical Approach to Quantifying Galaxy Evolution
Studies of the distribution and evolution of galaxies are of fundamental
importance to modern cosmology; these studies, however, are hampered by the
complexity of the competing effects of spectral and density evolution.
Constructing a spectroscopic sample that is able to unambiguously disentangle
these processes is currently excessively prohibitive due to the observational
requirements. This paper extends and applies an alternative approach that
relies on statistical estimates for both distance (z) and spectral type to a
deep multi-band dataset that was obtained for this exact purpose.
These statistical estimates are extracted directly from the photometric data
by capitalizing on the inherent relationships between flux, redshift, and
spectral type. These relationships are encapsulated in the empirical
photometric redshift relation which we extend to z ~ 1.2, with an intrinsic
dispersion of dz = 0.06. We also develop realistic estimates for the
photometric redshift error for individual objects, and introduce the
utilization of the galaxy ensemble as a tool for quantifying both a
cosmological parameter and its measured error. We present deep, multi-band,
optical number counts as a demonstration of the integrity of our sample. Using
the photometric redshift and the corresponding redshift error, we can divide
our data into different redshift intervals and spectral types. As an example
application, we present the number redshift distribution as a function of
spectral type.Comment: 40 pages (LaTex), 21 Figures, requires aasms4.sty; Accepted by the
Astrophysical Journa
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) : The mechanisms for quiescent galaxy formation at z<1
© 2016 The Authors. One key problem in astrophysics is understanding how and why galaxies switch off their star formation, building the quiescent population that we observe in the local Universe. From the Galaxy And Mass Assembly and VIsible MultiObject Spectrograph Public Extragalactic Redshift surveys, we use spectroscopic indices to select quiescent and candidate transition galaxies.We identify potentially rapidly transitioning post-starburst (PSB) galaxies and slower transitioning green-valley galaxies. Over the last 8Gyr, the quiescent population has grown more slowly in number density at high masses (M * > 10 11 M ⊙ ) than at intermediate masses (M * > 10 10.6 M ⊙ ). There is evolution in both the PSB and green-valley stellar mass functions, consistent with higher mass galaxies quenching at earlier cosmic times.At intermediatemasses (M * > 10 10.6 M ⊙ ), we find a green-valley transition time-scale of 2.6 Gyr. Alternatively, at z ~ 0.7, the entire growth rate could be explained by fast-quenching PSB galaxies, with a visibility time-scale of 0.5 Gyr. At lower redshift, the number density of PSBs is so low that an unphysically short visibility window would be required for them to contribute significantly to the quiescent population growth. The importance of the fast-quenching route may rapidly diminish at z 10 11 M ⊙ ), there is tension between the large number of candidate transition galaxies compared to the slow growth of the quiescent population. This could be resolved if not all high-mass PSB and green-valley galaxies are transitioning from star forming to quiescent, for example if they rejuvenate out of the quiescent population following the accretion of gas and triggering of star formation, or if they fail to completely quench their star formation
ProFound : source extraction and application to modern survey data
Parts of this research were conducted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), through project number CE110001020.We introduce ProFound, a source finding and image analysis package. ProFound provides methods to detect sources in noisy images, generate segmentation maps identifying the pixels belonging to each source, and measure statistics like flux, size and ellipticity. These inputs are key requirements of ProFit, our recently released galaxy profiling package, where the design aim is that these two software packages will be used in unison to semi-automatically profile large samples of galaxies. The key novel feature introduced in ProFound is that all photometry is executed on dilated segmentation maps that fully contain the identifiable flux, rather than using more traditional circular or ellipse based photometry. Also, to be less sensitive to pathological segmentation issues, the de-blending is made across saddle points in flux. We apply ProFound in a number of simulated and real world cases, and demonstrate that it behaves reasonably given its stated design goals. In particular, it offers good initial parameter estimation for ProFit, and also segmentation maps that follow the sometimes complex geometry of resolved sources, whilst capturing nearly all of the flux. A number of bulge-disc decomposition projects are already making use of the ProFound and ProFit pipeline, and adoption is being encouraged by publicly releasing the software for the open source R data analysis platform under an LGPL-3 license on GitHub (github.com/asgr/ProFound).PostprintPeer reviewe
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