5,297 research outputs found
Dust and ionized gas in active radio elliptical galaxies
The authors present broad and narrow bandwidth imaging of three southern elliptical galaxies which have flat-spectrum active radio cores (NGC 1052, IC 1459 and NGC 6958). All three contain dust and extended low excitation optical line emission, particularly extensive in the case of NGC 1052 which has a large H alpha + (NII) luminosity. Both NGC 1052 and IC 1459 have a spiral morphology in emission-line images. All three display independent strong evidence that a merger or infall event has recently occurred, i.e., extensive and infalling HI gas in NGC 1052, a counter-rotating core in IC 1459 and Malin-Carter shells in NGC 6958. This infall event is the most likely origin for the emission-line gas and dust, and the authors are currently investigating possible excitation mechanisms (Sparks et al. 1990)
Diamonds on the Hat: Globular Clusters in The Sombrero Galaxy (M104)
Images from the HST ACS are used to carry out a new photometric study of the
globular clusters (GCs) in M104, the Sombrero galaxy. The primary focus of our
study is the characteristic distribution function of linear sizes (SDF) of the
GCs. We measure the effective radii for 652 clusters with PSF-convolved King
and Wilson dynamical model fits. The SDF is remarkably similar to those
measured for other large galaxies of all types, adding strong support to the
view that it is a "universal" feature of globular cluster systems.
We develop a more general interpretation of the size distribution function
for globular clusters, proposing that the shape of the SDF that we see today
for GCs is strongly influenced by the early rapid mass loss during their star
forming stage, coupled with stochastic differences from cluster to cluster in
the star formation efficiency (SFE) and their initial sizes. We find that the
observed SDF shape can be accurately predicted by a simple model in which the
protocluster clouds had characteristic sizes of pc and SFEs of
. The colors and luminosities of the M104 clusters show the
clearly defined classic bimodal form. The blue sequence exhibits a
mass/metallicity relation (MMR), following a scaling of heavy-element abundance
with luminosity of very similar to what has been found in most
giant elliptical galaxies. A quantitative self-enrichment model provides a good
first-order match to the data for the same initial SFE and protocluster size
that were required to explain the SDF. We also discuss various forms of the
globular cluster Fundamental Plane (FP) of structural parameters, and show that
useful tests of it can be extended to galaxies beyond the Local Group.Comment: In press for MNRA
Structural parameters for globular clusters in M31 and generalizations for the fundamental plane
The structures of globular clusters (GCs) reflect their dynamical states and
past histories. High-resolution imaging allows the exploration of morphologies
of clusters in other galaxies. Surface brightness profiles from new Hubble
Space Telescope observations of 34 globular clusters in M31 are presented,
together with fits of several different structural models to each cluster. M31
clusters appear to be adequately fit by standard King models, and do not
obviously require alternate descriptions with relatively stronger halos, such
as are needed to fit many GCs in other nearby galaxies. The derived structural
parameters are combined with corrected versions of those measured in an earlier
survey to construct a comprehensive catalog of structural and dynamical
parameters for M31 GCs with a sample size similar to that for the Milky Way.
Clusters in M31, the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, Fornax dwarf spheroidal and
NGC 5128 define a very tight fundamental plane with identical slopes. The
combined evidence for these widely different galaxies strongly reinforces the
view that old globular clusters have near-universal structural properties
regardless of host environment.Comment: AJ in press; 59 pages including 16 figure
The Electrosphere of Macroscopic "Quark Nuclei": A Source for Diffuse MeV Emissions from Dark Matter
Using a Thomas-Fermi model, we calculate the structure of the electrosphere
of the quark antimatter nuggets postulated to comprise much of the dark matter.
This provides a single self-consistent density profile from ultrarelativistic
densities to the nonrelativistic Boltzmann regime that use to present
microscopically justified calculations of several properties of the nuggets,
including their net charge, and the ratio of MeV to 511 keV emissions from
electron annihilation. We find that the calculated parameters agree with
previous phenomenological estimates based on the observational supposition that
the nuggets are a source of several unexplained diffuse emissions from the
Galaxy. As no phenomenological parameters are required to describe these
observations, the calculation provides another nontrivial verification of the
dark-matter proposal. The structure of the electrosphere is quite general and
will also be valid at the surface of strange-quark stars, should they exist.Comment: 20 Pages, REVTeX4.
WMAP Haze: Directly Observing Dark Matter?
In this paper we show that dark matter in the form of dense matter/antimatter
nuggets could provide a natural and unified explanation for several distinct
bands of diffuse radiation from the core of the Galaxy spanning over 12 orders
of magnitude in frequency. We fix all of the phenomenological properties of
this model by matching to x-ray observations in the keV band, and then
calculate the unambiguously predicted thermal emission in the microwave band,
at frequencies smaller by 10 orders of magnitude. Remarkably, the intensity and
spectrum of the emitted thermal radiation are consistent with--and could
entirely explain--the so-called "WMAP haze": a diffuse microwave excess
observed from the core of our Galaxy by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy
Probe (WMAP). This provides another strong constraint of our proposal, and a
remarkable nontrivial validation. If correct, our proposal identifies the
nature of the dark matter, explains baryogenesis, and provides a means to
directly probe the matter distribution in our Galaxy by analyzing several
different types of diffuse emissions.Comment: 16 pages, REVTeX4. Updated to correspond with published version:
includes additional appendices discussing finite-size effect
Exercise interventions for preventing dementia or delaying cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of exercise interventions for preventing dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment. We refer to Forbes 2015b and Forbes 2015c for the review protocols on exercise interventions for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in mid and late life
Eridanus - A Supergroup in the Local Universe?
We examine a possible supergroup in the direction of the Eridanus
constellation using 6dF Galaxy Survey second data release (6dFGS DR2) positions
and velocities together with 2MASS and HyperLEDA photometry. We perform a
friends-of-friends analysis to determine which galaxies are associated with
each substructure before examining the properties of the constituent galaxies.
The structure is made up of three individual groups that are likely to merge to
form a cluster of mass 7x10^13 Msolar. We conclude that this structure is a
supergroup. We also examine the colours, morphologies and luminosities of the
galaxies in the region with respect to their local projected surface density.
We find that the colours of the galaxies redden with increasing density, the
median luminosities are brighter with increasing environmental density and the
morphologies of the galaxies show a strong morphology-density relation. The
colours and luminosities of the galaxies in the supergroup are already similar
to those of galaxies in clusters, however the supergroup contains more
late-type galaxies, consistent with its lower projected surface density. Due to
the velocity dispersion of the groups in the supergroup, which are lower than
those of clusters, we conclude that the properties of the constituent galaxies
are likely to be a result of merging or strangulation processes in groups
outlying this structure.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Far-Infrared Emission From E and E/S0 Galaxies
Studies of cold material through IRAS 60um and 100um observations indicated
that half of ordinary E and E/S0 galaxies were detected above the 3 sigma
level, indicating that cold gas is common, although no correlation was found
between the optical and far- infrared fluxes. Most detections were near the
instrumental threshold, and given an improved understanding of detection
confidence, we reconsider the 60um and 100um detection rate. After excluding
active galactic nuclei, peculiar systems, and background contamination, only 15
non-peculiar E and E/S0 galaxies from the RSA catalog are detected above the
98% confidence level, about 12% of the sample. An unusually high percentage of
these 15 galaxies possess cold gas (HI, CO) and optical emission lines
(Halpha), supporting the presence of gas cooler than 10E4 K. The 60um to 100um
flux ratios imply a median dust temperature for the sample of 30 K, with a
range of 23-38 K.
These detections define the upper envelope of the optical to far-infrared
relationship, F_fir propto F_B^0.24+/-0.08, showing that optically bright
objects are also brighter in the infrared, although with considerable
dispersion. A luminosity correlation is present with L_fir propto
L_B^1.65+/-0.28, but the dust temperature is uncorrelated with luminosity.
Models that contain large dust grains composed of amorphous carbon plus
silicates come close to reproducing the typical 60um to 100um flux ratios, the
far-infrared luminosity, and the L_fir - L_B relationship.Comment: 10 postscript pages, 2 tables, and 2 figure
Exercise interventions for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in mid life
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects ofexercise interventions on cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in mid life. We refer to Forbes 2015b for the review protocol on Exercise interventions for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life and to Forbes 2015c for the review protocol on Exercise interventions for prevention of dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment
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