322 research outputs found
Physical properties and morphology of a newly identified compact z=4.04 lensed submillimeter galaxy in Abell 2218
We present the identification of a bright submm source, SMMJ163555.5+661300,
detected in the lensing cluster Abell2218, for which we have accurately
determined the position using observations from the Submillimeter Array (SMA).
The identified optical counterpart has a spectroscopic redshift of
z=4.044+-0.001 if we attribute the single emission line detected at
lambda=6140AA to Lyman-alpha. This redshift identification is in good agreement
with the optical/near-infrared photometric redshift as well as the submm flux
ratio S_450/S_850~1.6, the radio-submm flux ratio S_1.4/S_850 < 0.004, and the
24um to 850um flux ratio S_24/S_850 < 0.005. Correcting for the gravitational
lensing amplification of ~5.5, we find that the source has a far-infrared
luminosity of 1.3x10^12 Lsun, which implies a star formation rate of 230
Msun/yr. This makes it the lowest-luminosity SMG known at z>4 to date. Previous
CO(4-3) emission line obserations yielded a non-detection, for which we derived
an upper limit of the CO line luminosity of L'_CO = 0.3x10^10 K km/s/pc^2,
which is not inconsistent with the L'_CO - L_FIR relation for starburst
galaxies. The best fit model to the optical and near-infrared photometry give a
stellar population with an age of 1.4 Gyr and a stellar mass of 1.6x10^10 Msun.
The optical morphology is compact and in the source plane the galaxy has an
extent of ~6kpc x 3kpc with individual star forming knots of <500 pc in size.
J163556 is not resolved in the SMA data and we place a strict upper limit on
the size of the starburst region of 8kpc x 3kpc, which implies a lower limit on
the star formation rate surface density of 12 Msun/yr/kpc^2. The redshift of
J163556 extends the redshift distribution of faint, lensed SMGs, and we find no
evidence that these have a different redshift distribution than bright SMGs.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 11 pages, 7 figure
Unveiling Palomar 2: The Most Obscure Globular Cluster in the Outer Halo
We present the first color-magnitude study for Palomar 2, a distant and
heavily obscured globular cluster near the Galactic anticenter. Our (V,V-I)
color-magnitude diagram (CMD), obtained with the UH8K camera at the CFHT,
reaches V(lim) = 24 and clearly shows the principal sequences of the cluster,
though with substantial overall foreground absorption and differential
reddening. The CMD morphology shows a well populated red horizontal branch with
a sparser extension to the blue, similar to clusters such as NGC 1261, 1851, or
6229 with metallicities near [Fe/H] = -1.3, placing it about 34 kpc
from the Galactic center. We use starcounts of the bright stars to measure the
core radius, half-mass radius, and central concentration of the cluster. Its
integrated luminosity is M_V = -7.9, making it clearly brighter and more
massive than most other clusters in the outer halo.Comment: 25 pages, aastex, with 8 postscript figures; accepted for publication
in AJ, September 1997. Also available by e-mail from
[email protected]. Please consult Harris directly for (big)
postscript files of Figures 1a,b (the images of the cluster
Molecular tendrils feeding star formation in the Eye of the Medusa - The Medusa merger in high resolution 12CO 2-1 maps
Studying molecular gas properties in merging galaxies gives us important
clues to the onset and evolution of interaction-triggered starbursts. NGC4194
is particularly interesting to study since its FIR-to-CO luminosity ratio
rivals that of ULIRGs,despite its lower luminosity compared to ULIRGs, which
indicates a high star formation efficiency that is relative to even most
spirals and ULIRGs.We study the molecular medium at an angular resolution of
0.65"x .52" through our observations of CO2-1 emission using the SMA. We
compare our CO2-1 maps with optical HST and high angular resolution radio
continuum images to study the relationship between molecular gas and other
components of the starburst region. The molecular gas is tracing the
complicated dust lane structure of NGC4194 with the brightest emission being
located in an off-nuclear ring-like structure with ~320pc radius, the Eye of
the Medusa. The bulk CO emission of the ring is found south of the kinematical
center of NGC4194. The northern tip of the ring is associated with the galaxy
nucleus, where the radio continuum has its peak. A prominent, secondary
emission maximum in the radio continuum is located inside the molecular ring.
This suggests that the morphology of the ring is partially influenced by
massive supernova explosions. From the combined evidence, we propose that the
Eye of the Medusa contains a shell of swept up material where we identify a
number of giant molecular associations. We propose that the Eye may be the site
of an efficient starburst of 5-7M_sun/yr, but it would still constitute only a
fraction of the 30-50M_sun/yr SFR of NGC4194. Furthermore, we find that ~50% of
the molecular mass of NGC4194 is found in extended filamentary-like structures
tracing the minor and major axis dust lanes. We suggest that molecular gas is
transported along these lanes providing the central starburst region with fuel.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, 12 pages, 9 figure
Recommended from our members
MODELING OF SUDDEN HYDROGEN EXPANSION FROM CRYOGENIC PRESSURE VESSEL FAILURE
(Sub)-millimetre Observations of MAXI J1820+070 (ASASSN-18ey) Suggest Jet Quenching on July 6
The Physical Conditions and Dynamics of the Interstellar Medium in the Nucleus of M83: Observations of CO and CI
This paper presents CI, CO J=4-3, and CO J=3-2 maps of the barred spiral
galaxy M83 taken at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Observations indicate a
double peaked structure which is consistent with gas inflow along the bar
collecting at the inner Lindblad resonance. This structure suggests that
nuclear starbursts can occur even in galaxies where this inflow/collection
occurs, in contrast to previous studies of barred spiral galaxies. However, the
observations also suggest that the double peaked emission may be the result of
a rotating molecular ring oriented nearly perpendicular to the main disk of the
galaxy. The CO J=4-3 data indicate the presence of warm gas in the nucleus that
is not apparent in the lower-J CO observations, which suggests that CO J=1-0
emission may not be a reliable tracer of molecular gas in starburst galaxies.
The twelve CI/CO J=4-3 line ratios in the inner 24'' x 24'' are uniform at the
2 sigma level, which indicates that the CO J=4-3 emission is originating in the
same hot photon-dominated regions as the CI emission. The CO J=4-3/J=3-2 line
ratios vary significantly within the nucleus with the higher line ratios
occurring away from peaks of emission along an arc of active star forming
regions. These high line ratios (>1) likely indicate optically thin gas created
by the high temperatures caused by star forming regions in the nucleus of this
starburst galaxy.Comment: 15 pages with 10 figures. To appear in the August 10 1998 issue of
The Astrophysical Journa
The Effect of Star Formation on Molecular Clouds in Dwarf Irregular Galaxies: IC 10 and NGC 6822
We have observed the 13CO J=2-1, 12CO J=2-1 and 12CO J=3-2 lines at a few
locations in the dwarf irregular galaxies IC 10 and NGC 6822 using the James
Clerk Maxwell Telescope. In addition, we report the first detection of the 13CO
J=3-2 transition in a Local Group galaxy. These low metallicity environments
appear to be porous to UV radiation and allow for more efficient heating of
molecular gas by nearby HII regions. The high 12CO J=3-2/J=2-1 ratio in NGC
6822 suggests that the 12CO emission is optically thin in this region. This
high line ratio is likely the result of its location inside a large HII region
with low metallicity and low gas content. In IC 10 we observe structures on a
variety of size scales that all appear to be gravitationally bound. This effect
may help explain the rather high star formation rate in IC 10.Comment: 20 pages with 6 ps figures, accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
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