Resolved Multi-element Stellar Chemical Abundances in the Brightest Quiescent Galaxy at z ∼ 2

Measuring the chemical composition of galaxies is crucial to our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution models. However, such measurements are extremely challenging for quiescent galaxies at high redshifts, which have faint stellar continua and compact sizes, making it difficult to detect absorption lines and nearly impossible to spatially resolve them. Gravitational lensing offers the opportunity to study these galaxies with detailed spectroscopy that can be spatially resolved. In this work, we analyze deep spectra of MRG-M0138, a lensed quiescent galaxy at z = 1.98, which is the brightest of its kind, with an H-band magnitude of 17.1. Taking advantage of full spectral fitting, we measure [Mg/Fe] = 0.51 ± 0.05, [Fe/H] = 0.26 ± 0.04, and, for the first time, the stellar abundances of six other elements in this galaxy. We further constrained, also for the first time in a z ~ 2 galaxy, radial gradients in stellar age, [Fe/H], and [Mg/Fe]. We detect no gradient in age or [Mg/Fe] and a slightly negative gradient in [Fe/H], which has a slope comparable to that seen in local early-type galaxies. Our measurements show that not only is MRG-M0138 very Mg-enhanced compared to the centers of local massive early-type galaxies, it is also very iron rich. These dissimilar abundances suggest that even the inner regions of massive galaxies have experienced significant mixing of stars in mergers, in contrast to a purely inside-out growth model. The abundance pattern observed in MRG-M0138 challenges simple galactic chemical evolution models that vary only the star formation timescale and shows the need for more elaborate models

Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination : MRCS Part A

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Targett at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project. Funding Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Award/Grant number is not applicable).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination : MRCS part B

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Target at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project. Funding Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Award/Grant number is not applicable).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Resolving Quiescent Galaxies at z≳2: I. Search for Gravitationally Lensed Sources and Characterization of their Structure, Stellar Populations, and Line Emission

Quiescent galaxies at z ≳ 2 are compact and have weak or absent emission lines, making it difficult to spatially resolve their kinematics and stellar populations using ground-based spectroscopy. Gravitationally lensed examples provide a promising route forward, but such objects are very rare. We describe a search in the fields of 232 galaxy clusters that has uncovered five bright (H AB < 20) lensed galaxies with red near-infrared colors. These include MRG-M0138, which is the brightest lensed galaxy known in the near-infrared. Analysis of near-infrared spectra and multiband photometry confirms that all are quiescent galaxies at z = 1.95–2.64 with stellar ages of 0.5–1.4 Gyr (corresponding to formation epochs z form ≃ 3–4) and stellar masses of 10^11.6-12.8 µ^-1 Mʘ, where μ is the magnification. In three cases, we derive lens models and reconstruct the source structure; these galaxies are massive (M ≳ 10^11.10 Mʘ) and follow the mass–size relation defined by unlensed samples. In two of these three galaxies, the main structural component is an inclined disk. Weak emission lines are detected in four of five galaxies with high ratios [NII]/Hα ≃ 2–6 that are inconsistent with a star formation origin. Based on the line ratios, the Hα equivalent widths, and the distribution and kinematics of the gas, we infer that shocks are likely to be present in at least two galaxies and could be present in all of the line emitters. We speculate that these could be analogs of local galaxies in which AGN jet-driven outflows are thought to heat the interstellar medium and suppress star formation. In further papers, we will present spatially resolved measurements of the stellar populations and kinematics of this unique sample

Resolving Quiescent Galaxies at z≳2: II. Direct Measures of Rotational Support

Stellar kinematics provide insights into the masses and formation histories of galaxies. At high redshifts, spatially resolving the stellar kinematics of quiescent galaxies is challenging due to their compact sizes. Using deep near-infrared spectroscopy, we have measured the resolved stellar kinematics of four quiescent galaxies at z = 1.95–2.64, introduced in Paper I, that are gravitationally lensed by galaxy clusters. Analyses of two of these have previously been reported individually by Newman et al. and Toft et al., and for the latter, we present new observations. All four galaxies show significant rotation and can be classified as "fast rotators." In the three systems for which the lensing constraints permit a reconstruction of the source, we find that all are likely to be highly flattened (intrinsic ellipticities of ≈0.75–0.85) disk-dominated galaxies with rapid rotation speeds of V max = 290–352 km s−1 and predominantly rotational support, as indicated by the ratio (V/σ)Re = 1.7-2.3. Compared to coeval star-forming galaxies of similar mass, the quiescent galaxies have smaller V/σ. Given their high masses, Mdyn ≳ 2 x 10^11 Mⵙ, we argue that these galaxies are likely to evolve into "slow rotator" elliptical galaxies whose specific angular momentum is reduced by a factor of 5–10. This provides strong evidence for merger-driven evolution of massive galaxies after quenching. Consistent with indirect evidence from earlier morphological studies, our small but unique sample suggests that the kinematic transformations that produced round, dispersion-supported elliptical galaxies were not generally coincident with quenching. Such galaxies probably emerged later via mergers that increased their masses and sizes while also eroding their rotational support

Dwarf Galaxy Formation Was Suppressed By Cosmic Reionization

A large number of faint galaxies, born less than a billion years after the big bang, have recently been discovered. The fluctuations in the distribution of these galaxies contributed to a scatter in the ionization fraction of cosmic hydrogen on scales of tens of Mpc, as observed along the lines of sight to the earliest known quasars. Theoretical simulations predict that the formation of dwarf galaxies should have been suppressed after cosmic hydrogen was reionized, leading to a drop in the cosmic star formation rate. Here we present evidence for this suppression. We show that the post-reionization galaxies which produced most of the ionizing radiation at a redshift z~5.5, must have had a mass in excess of ~10^{10.6+/-0.4} solar masses or else the aforementioned scatter would have been smaller than observed. This limiting mass is two orders of magnitude larger than the galaxy mass that is thought to have dominated the reionization of cosmic hydrogen (~10^8 solar masses). We predict that future surveys with space-based infrared telescopes will detect a population of smaller galaxies that reionized the Universe at an earlier time, prior to the epoch of dwarf galaxy suppression.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Nature; press embargo until publishe

Cardiovascular disease in a cohort exposed to the 1940-45 Channel Islands occupation

BACKGROUND To clarify the nature of the relationship between food deprivation/undernutrition during pre- and postnatal development and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life, this study examined the relationship between birth weight (as a marker of prenatal nutrition) and the incidence of hospital admissions for CVD from 1997–2005 amongst 873 Guernsey islanders (born in 1923–1937), 225 of whom had been exposed to food deprivation as children, adolescents or young adults (i.e. postnatal undernutrition) during the 1940–45 German occupation of the Channel Islands, and 648 of whom had left or been evacuated from the islands before the occupation began. METHODS Three sets of Cox regression models were used to investigate (A) the relationship between birth weight and CVD, (B) the relationship between postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD and (C) any interaction between birth weight, postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD. These models also tested for any interactions between birth weight and sex, and postnatal exposure to the occupation and parish of residence at birth (as a marker of parish residence during the occupation and related variation in the severity of food deprivation). RESULTS The first set of models (A) found no relationship between birth weight and CVD even after adjustment for potential confounders (hazard ratio (HR) per kg increase in birth weight: 1.12; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.70 – 1.78), and there was no significant interaction between birth weight and sex (p = 0.60). The second set of models (B) found a significant relationship between postnatal exposure to the occupation and CVD after adjustment for potential confounders (HR for exposed vs. unexposed group: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.54 – 4.13), as well as a significant interaction between postnatal exposure to the occupation and parish of residence at birth (p = 0.01), such that those born in urban parishes (where food deprivation was worst) had a greater HR for CVD than those born in rural parishes. The third model (C) found no interaction between birth weight and exposure to the occupation (p = 0.43). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the levels of postnatal undernutrition experienced by children, adolescents and young adults exposed to food deprivation during the 1940–45 occupation of the Channel Islands were a more important determinant of CVD in later life than the levels of prenatal undernutrition experienced in utero prior to the occupatio

Supersymmetric Higgs Yukawa Couplings to Bottom Quarks at next-to-next-to-leading Order

The effective bottom Yukawa couplings are analyzed for the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model at two-loop accuracy within SUSY-QCD. They include the resummation of the dominant corrections for large values of tg(beta). In particular the two-loop SUSY-QCD corrections to the leading SUSY-QCD and top-induced SUSY-electroweak contributions are addressed. The residual theoretical uncertainties range at the per-cent level.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, added comments and references, typos corrected, results unchanged, published versio