1,684 research outputs found
Cold Molecular Gas Along the Merger Sequence in Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies
We present an initial result from the 12CO (J=1-0) survey of 79 galaxies in
62 local luminous and ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG and ULIRG) systems
obtained using the 45 m telescope at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. This is
the systematic 12CO (J=1-0) survey of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRGs
Survey (GOALS) sample. The molecular gas mass of the sample ranges 2.2 x 10^8 -
7.0 x 10^9 Msun within the central several kiloparsecs subtending 15" beam. A
method to estimate a size of a CO gas distribution is introduced, which is
combined with the total CO flux in the literature. The method is applied to a
part of our sample and we find that the median CO radius is 1-4 kpc. From the
early stage to the late stage of mergers, we find that the CO size decreases
while the median value of the molecular gas mass in the central several kpc
region is constant. Our results statistically support a scenario where
molecular gas inflows towards the central region from the outer disk, to
replenish gas consumed by starburst, and that such a process is common in
merging LIRGs.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Evidence of sub-MeV EMIC-driven electron precipitation
Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are potentially important drivers of the loss of energetic electrons from the radiation belts. Numerous theoretical calculations exist with conflicting predictions of one of the key parameters: the minimum resonance energy of electrons precipitated into the atmosphere by EMIC waves. In this study we initially analyze an EMIC electron precipitation event using data from two different spacecraft instruments to investigate the energies involved. Combining observations from these satellites, we find that the electron precipitation has a peak flux at ∼250 keV. Extending the analysis technique to a previously published database of similar scattering events, we find that the peak electron precipitation flux occurs predominantly around 300 keV, with only ∼11% of events peaking in the 1–4 MeV range. Such a significant population of low-energy EMIC-driven electron precipitation events highlights the possibility for EMIC waves to be significant drivers of radiation belt electron losses
Complex Radio Spectral Energy Distributions in Luminous and Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies
We use the Expanded Very Large Array to image radio continuum emission from
local luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs) in 1 GHz
windows centered at 4.7, 7.2, 29, and 36 GHz. This allows us to probe the
integrated radio spectral energy distribution (SED) of the most energetic
galaxies in the local universe. The 4-8 GHz flux densities agree well with
previous measurements. They yield spectral indices \alpha \approx -0.67 (where
F_\nu \propto \nu^\alpha) with \pm 0.15 (1\sigma) scatter, typical of
nonthermal (synchrotron) emission from star-forming galaxies. The contrast of
our 4-8 GHz data with literature 1.5 and 8.4 GHz flux densities gives further
evidence for curvature of the radio SED of U/LIRGs. The SED appears flatter
near \sim 1 GHz than near \sim 6 GHz, suggesting significant optical depth
effects at the lower frequencies. The high frequency (28-37 GHz) flux densities
are low compared to extrapolations from the 4-8 GHz data. We confirm and extend
to higher frequency a previously observed deficit of high frequency radio
emission for luminous starburst galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in the EVLA
Special Issue of ApJ Letter
The FUV to Near-IR Morphologies of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the GOALS Sample
We compare the morphologies of a sample of 20 LIRGs from the Great
Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) in the FUV, B, I and H bands, using
the Gini (G) and M20 parameters to quantitatively estimate the distribution and
concentration of flux as a function of wavelength. HST images provide an
average spatial resolution of ~80 pc. While our LIRGs can be reliably
classified as mergers across the entire range of wavelengths studied here,
there is a clear shift toward more negative M20 (more bulge-dominated) and a
less significant decrease in G values at longer wavelengths. We find no
correlation between the derived FUV G-M20 parameters and the global measures of
the IR to FUV flux ratio, IRX. Given the fine resolution in our HST data, this
suggests either that the UV morphology and IRX are correlated on very small
scales, or that the regions emitting the bulk of the IR emission emit almost no
FUV light. We use our multi-wavelength data to simulate how merging LIRGs would
appear from z~0.5-3 in deep optical and near-infrared images such as the HUDF,
and use these simulations to measure the G-M20 at these redshifts. Our
simulations indicate a noticeable decrease in G, which flattens at z >= 2 by as
much as 40%, resulting in mis-classifying our LIRGs as disk-like, even in the
rest-frame FUV. The higher redshift values of M20 for the GOALS sources do not
appear to change more than about 10% from the values at z~0. The change in
G-M20 is caused by the surface brightness dimming of extended tidal features
and asymmetries, and also the decreased spatial resolution which reduced the
number of individual clumps identified. This effect, seen as early as z~0.5,
could easily lead to an underestimate of the number of merging galaxies at
high-redshift in the rest-frame FUV.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. The total page
count is 15 pages with 13 figures and 1 Tabl
The Spatial Extent of (U)LIRGs in the Mid-Infrared. II. Feature Emission
We present results from the second part of our analysis of the extended
mid-infrared (MIR) emission of the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey
(GOALS) sample based on 5-14 micron low-resolution spectra obtained with the
IRS on Spitzer. We calculate the fraction of extended emission as a function of
wavelength for all galaxies in the sample, FEE_lambda, and spatially separate
the MIR spectrum of galaxies into their nuclear and extended components.
We find that the [NeII] emission line is as compact as the hot dust MIR
continuum, while the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission is more
extended. The 6.2 and 7.7 micron PAH emission is more compact than that of the
11.3 micron PAH, which is consistent with the formers being enhanced in a more
ionized medium. The presence of an AGN or a powerful nuclear starburst
increases the compactness of the hot dust MIR continuum, but has a negligible
effect on the spatial extent of the PAH emission on kpc-scales. Globally, the
spectra of the extended emission component are homogeneous for all galaxies in
GOALS. This suggests that the physical properties of star formation taking
place at distances farther than 1.5 kpc from the nuclei of (U)LIRGs are very
similar, resembling local star-forming galaxies with L_IR < 10^11 Lsun, as well
as star formation-dominated ULIRGs at z~2. In contrast, the MIR spectra of the
nuclear component of local (U)LIRGs are very diverse. This implies that the
observed variety of their integrated MIR properties arise, on average, only
from the processes that are taking place in their cores.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
A format for phylogenetic placements
We have developed a unified format for phylogenetic placements, that is,
mappings of environmental sequence data (e.g. short reads) into a phylogenetic
tree. We are motivated to do so by the growing number of tools for computing
and post-processing phylogenetic placements, and the lack of an established
standard for storing them. The format is lightweight, versatile, extensible,
and is based on the JSON format which can be parsed by most modern programming
languages. Our format is already implemented in several tools for computing and
post-processing parsimony- and likelihood-based phylogenetic placements, and
has worked well in practice. We believe that establishing a standard format for
analyzing read placements at this early stage will lead to a more efficient
development of powerful and portable post-analysis tools for the growing
applications of phylogenetic placement.Comment: Documents version 3 of the forma
New Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the High Redshift Quasar B 1422+231 at z=3.62
We present new near-infrared (rest-frame UV-to-optical) spectra of the high
redshift, gravitationally lensed quasar B 1422+231 (z=3.62). Diagnostic
emission lines of FeII, [OIII]5007, and Hb, commonly used to determine the
excitation, ionization, and chemical abundances of radio-quiet and radio-loud
quasars, were detected. Our new data show that the ratio FeII(UV)/Hb=18.1+-4.6
and FeII(optical)/Hb=2.3+-0.6 are higher than those reported by Kawara et al.
(1996) by factors of 1.6 and 3.3, respectively, although the ration
[OIII]5007/Hb=0.19+-0.02 is nearly the same between the two measurements. The
discrepancy of the line flux ratios between the measurements is likely due to
improved data and fitting procedures rather that to intrinsic variability.
While approximately half of the high-z quasars observed to date have much more
extreme FeII(optical)/Hb ratios, the line ratio measured for B 422+231 are
consistent with the observed range of FeII(optical) ratios of low-z quasars.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 4 figures. To appear in The Astronomical Journa
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