Does the far-infrared/radio correlation in spiral galaxies extend to the spatial domain

A comparison is made between the spatial distribution of the thermal far-infrared and non-thermal radio emission of nearby spiral galaxies. This is done in an attempt to improve our understanding of the well known correlation between the integrated Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) far-infrared and radio emission of spiral galaxies, e.g., de Jong et al., 1985, Helou et al., 1986. A physical explanation for this correlation is not straight forward due to the ambiguous nature of the origin of the far-infrared and radio, and the dependence of the non-thermal radio on each galaxies' magnetic field. It is now widely believed that the infrared emission detected in the longer wavelength IRAS wavebands (less than 50 microns) arises from at least two distinct sources, e.g., Cox et al., 1986, Persson and Helou, 1987: (1) a warm (T approx. 40 K) component associated with dense dust clouds heated by embedded O and B type stars; and (2) a cooler (T approx. 20 K) component associated with diffuse dust distributed throughout the interstellar matter (ISM) heated by the interstellar radiation field. A link between the warm component and the radio via electrons originating in Type II supernovae (the ultimate fate of many of the O and B type stars responsible for the warm component) has been suggested by numerous authors. The supporting evidence is scarce and inconclusive. Researchers have attempted to provide some insight into the problem by looking at the spatial distribution of the different components in some nearby spiral galaxies, starting with the face-on spiral M51. The source of the far-infrared data is the IRAS chopped photometric channel (CPC) instrument. Warm and cold far-infrared fluxes integrated over all wavelengths and the radio intensity at two frequencies are plotted against radius. All plots are to a common resolution of 100 arcsec, the radio data originating from the Cambridge Low Frequency Synthesis Telescope (151 MHz) and the VLA (1490 MHz, from Condon, 1987). The warm and cold regions are assumed to be representedby a single galactic wide temperatures of 50 K and 20 K respectively. A dust emissivity of 1 has been assumed. The form of the plots is little effected by varying these assumptions. The radio and cold component curves appear to follow each other most closely, in contradiction to the simple OB star/type II supernovae hypothesis

Inertial levitation

We consider the steady levitation of a rigid plate on a thin air cushion with prescribed injection velocity. This injection velocity is assumed to be much larger than that in a conventional Prandtl boundary layer, so that inertial effects dominate. After applying the classical ‘blowhard’ theory of Cole & Aroesty (1968) to the two-dimensional version of the problem, it is shown that in three dimensions the flow may be foliated into streamline surfaces using Lagrangian variables. An example is given of how this may be exploited to solve the three-dimensional problem when the injection pressure distribution is known

Galaxy Formation by Galactic Magnetic Fields

Galaxies exhibit a sequence of various morphological types, i.e., the Hubble sequence, and they are basically composed of spheroidal components (elliptical galaxies and bulges in spiral galaxies) and disks. It is known that spheroidal components are found only in relatively massive galaxies with M=10^{10-12} M_sun, and all stellar populations in them are very old, but there is no clear explanation for these facts. Here we present a speculative scenario for the origin of the Hubble sequence, in which magnetic fields ubiquitously seen in galaxies have played a crucial role. We first start from a strange observational fact that magnetic field strengths observed in spiral galaxies sharply concentrate at a few microgauss, for a wide range of galaxy luminosity and types. We then argue that this fact and the observed correlation between star formation activity and magnetic field strength in spiral galaxies suggest that spheroidal galaxies have formed by starbursts induced by strong magnetic fields. Then we show that this idea naturally leads to the formation of spheroidal systems only in massive and high-redshift objects in hierarchically clustering universe, giving a simple explanation for various observations.Comment: 7 pages including 2 figures. Accepted by ApJ Letter

The halting of contact lines in slender viscous films driven by gravity and surface tension gradients

The evolution of thin layers of viscous fluid with compact support is consideredin a case where the driving forces are gravity and surface tension gradients (whichwe initially take to be locally constant). In particular, we examine cases wherethe contact line may initially advance, but then halts at a finite time. Although this phenomenon of halting contact lines is well known, it appears that there was previously little analytical insight into how this occurs. The approach taken here is to seek self-similar solutions local to both the contact line and the halting time. The analysis is split into two parts, namely before and after the halting time. By invoking continuity across t = 0 (the halting time) it is possible to give a complete asymptotic description of both the advancing and halting processes. It is further shown that the analysis may be extended to encompass various cases where the surface tension gradient is not constant at the contact line. Finally, details are given of some numerical experiments that act as plausibility tests for the results that have been obtained

The slow spreading of several viscous films over a deep viscous pool

In this study, a previously derived two-dimensional model is used to describe the slow spreading of viscous films on the surface of a quiescent deep viscous pool due to gravity. It is assumed that the densities and viscosities of the fluids in the films and pool are comparable, but may be different. It is also assumed that surface tension effects are negligible. The fluid in the films and in the pool are both modelled using the Stokes flow equations. By exploiting the slenderness of the spreading films, asymptotic techniques are used to analyse the flow. It is shown that the dominant forces controlling the spreading are gravity and the tangential stress induced in the films by the underlying pool. As a consequence, the rate of spreading of the films is independent of their viscosity. For the case special of a symmetric configuration of films on the surface of the pool, the flow is studied by assuming that the solution becomes self-similar and hence the problem is recast in a self-similar coordinate system. Stokeslet analysis is then used to derive a singular integral equation for the stresses on the interfaces between the films and the pool. The form of this integral equation depends on the configuration of spreading films that are to be considered. A number of different cases are then studied, namely, a single film, two films, and an infinite periodic array of films. Finally, some results are derived that apply to a general symmetric configuration of films. It is shown that the profile of a spreading film close to its front (where the film thickness becomes zero) is proportional to x1/4. It is also shown that fronts move, and hence, the distance between adjacent fronts increases proportional to t1/3

Radio Continuum and Star Formation in CO-rich Early Type Galaxies

In this paper we present new high resolution VLA 1.4 GHz radio continuum observations of five FIR bright CO-rich early-type galaxies and two dwarf early-type galaxies. The position on the radio-FIR correlation combined with striking agreements in morphology between high resolution CO and radio maps show that the radio continuum is associated with star formation in at least four of the eight galaxies. The average star formation rate for the sample galaxies detected in radio is approximately 2 solar masses per year. There is no evidence of a luminous AGN in any of our sample galaxies. We estimate Toomre Q values and find that the gas disks may well be gravitationally unstable, consistent with the above evidence for star formation activity. The radio continuum emission thus corroborates other recent suggestions that star formation in early type galaxies may not be uncommon.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, to be published in the Astronomical Journa

The reversing of interfaces in slow diffusion procsses with strong absorption

This paper considers a family of one-dimensional nonlinear diffusion equations with absorption. In particular, the solutions that have interfaces that change their direction of propagation are examined. Although this phenomenon of reversing interfaces has been seen numerically, and some special exact solutions have been obtained, there was previously no analytical insight into how this occurs in the general case. The approach taken here is to seek self-similar solutions local to the interface and local to the reversing time. The analysis is split into two parts, one for the solution prior to the reversing time and the other for the solution after the reversing time. In each case the governing PDE is reduced to an ODE by introducing a self-similar coordinate system. These ODEs do not readily admit any nontrivial exact solutions and so the asymptotic behavior of solutions is studied. By doing this the adjustable parameters, or degrees of freedom, which may be used in a numerical shooting scheme are determined. A numerical algorithm is then proposed to furnish solutions to the ODEs and hence the PDE in the limit of interest. As examples of physical problems in which a PDE of this type may be used as a model the authors study the spreading of a viscous film under gravity and subject to evaporation, the dispersion of a population, and a nonlinear heat conduction problem. The numerical algorithm is demonstrated using these examples. Results are also given on the possible existence of self-similar solutions and types of reversing behavior that can be exhibited by PDEs in the family of interest

HI in four star-forming low-luminosity E/S0 and S0 galaxies

We present HI data cubes of four low-luminosity early-type galaxies which are currently forming stars. These galaxies have absolute magnitudes in the range M_B=-17.9 to -19.9 (H_o=50 km/s/Mpc). Their HI masses range between a few times 10^8 and a few times 10^9 M_sun and the corresponding values for M_HI/L_B are between 0.07 and 0.42, so these systems are HI rich for their morphological type. In all four galaxies, the HI is strongly centrally concentrated with high central HI surface densities, in contrast to what is typically observed in more luminous early-type galaxies. In two galaxies (NGC 802 and ESO 118-G34), the kinematics of the HI suggests that the gas is in a strongly warped disk, which we take as evidence for recent accretion of HI. In the other two galaxies (NGC 2328 and ESO 027-G21) the HI must have been part of the systems for a considerable time. The HI properties of low-luminosity early-type galaxies appear to be systematically different from those of many more luminous early-type galaxies, and we suggest that these differences are due to a different evolution of the two classes. The star formation history of these galaxies remains unclear. Their UBV colours and Halpha emission-line strengths are consistent with having formed stars at a slowly-declining rate for most of the past 10^10 years. However, the current data do not rule out a small burst of recent star formation overlaid on an older stellar population.Comment: To appear in AJ, LateX, figures in gif format, paper also available at http://www.nfra.nl/~morganti/LowLu

Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Shock Interactions with Radiative Clouds

We present results from two-dimensional numerical simulations of the interactions between magnetized shocks and radiative clouds. Our primary goal is to characterize the dynamical evolution of the shocked clouds. We perform runs in both the strong and weak magnetic field limits and consider three different field orientations. For the geometries considered, we generally find that magnetic fields external to, but concentrated near, the surface of the cloud suppress the growth of destructive hydrodynamic instabilities. External fields also increase the compression of the cloud by effectively acting as a confinement mechanism driven by the interstellar flow and local field stretching. This can have a dramatic effect on both the efficiency of radiative cooling, which tends to increase with increasing magnetic field strength, and on the size and distribution of condensed cooled fragments. In contrast, fields acting predominately internally to the cloud tend to resist compression, thereby inhibiting cooling. We observe that, even at modest strengths, internal fields can completely suppress low-temperature cooling.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa

Morphological and geographical traits of the British Odonata

Trait data are fundamental for many aspects of ecological research, particularly for modeling species response to environmental change. We synthesised information from the literature (mainly field guides) and direct measurements from museum specimens, providing a comprehensive dataset of 26 attributes, covering the 43 resident species of Odonata in Britain. Traits included in this database range from morphological traits (e.g. body length) to attributes based on the distribution of the species (e.g. climatic restriction). We measured 11 morphometric traits from five adult males and five adult females per species. Using digital callipers, these measurements were taken from dry museum specimens, all of which were wild caught individuals. Repeated measures were also taken to estimate measurement error. The trait data are stored in an online repository (https://github.com/BiologicalRecordsCentre/Odonata_traits), alongside R code designed to give an overview of the morphometric data, and to combine the morphometric data to the single value per trait per species data