326 research outputs found
The Anisotropic Distribution of M 31 Satellite Galaxies: A Polar Great Plane of Early-Type Companions
The highly anisotropic distribution and apparent alignment of the Galactic
satellites in polar great planes begs the question how common such
distributions are. The satellite system of M31 is the only nearby system for
which we currently have sufficiently accurate distances to study the
three-dimensional satellite distribution. We present the spatial distribution
of the 15 presently known M31 companions in a coordinate system centered on M31
and aligned with its disk. Through a detailed statistical analysis we show that
the full satellite sample describes a plane that is inclined by -56 deg with
respect to the poles of M31 and that has an r.m.s. height of 100 kpc. With 88%
the statistical significance of this plane is low and it is unlikely to have a
physical meaning. The great stellar stream found near Andromeda is inclined to
this plane by 7 deg. There is little evidence for a Holmberg effect. If we
confine our analysis to early-type dwarfs, we find a best-fit polar plane
within 5 deg to 7 deg from the pole of M31. This polar great plane has a
statistical significance of 99.3% and includes all dSphs (except for And II),
M32, NGC 147, and PegDIG. The r.m.s. distance of these galaxies from the polar
plane is 16 kpc. The nearby spiral M33 has a distance of only about 3 kpc from
this plane, which points toward the M81 group. We discuss the anisotropic
distribution of M31's early-type companions in the framework of three
scenarios, namely as remnants of the break-up of a larger progenitor, as tracer
of a prolate dark matter halo, and as tracer of collapse along large-scale
filaments. (Abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
Out of Equilibrium Solutions in the -Hamiltonian Mean Field model
Out of equilibrium magnetised solutions of the -Hamiltonian Mean Field
(-HMF) model are build using an ensemble of integrable uncoupled pendula.
Using these solutions we display an out-of equilibrium phase transition using a
specific reduced set of the magnetised solutions
Collective relaxation of stellar systems revisited
The chaos in stellar systems is studied using the theory of dynamical systems
and the Van Kampen stochastic differential equation approach. The exponential
instability (chaos) of spherical N-body gravitating systems, already known
previously, is confirmed. The characteristic timescale of that instability is
estimated confirming the collective relaxation time obtained by means of the
Maupertuis principle.Comment: A & A (in press), 3 pages, to match the published versio
Masses for the Local Group and the Milky Way
We use the very large Millennium Simulation of the concordance CDM
cosmogony to calibrate the bias and error distribution of Timing Argument
estimators of the masses of the Local Group and of the Milky Way. From a large
number of isolated spiral-spiral pairs similar to the Milky Way/Andromeda
system, we find the interquartile range of the ratio of timing mass to true
mass to be a factor of 1.8, while the 5% and 95% points of the distribution of
this ratio are separated by a factor of 5.7. Here we define true mass as the
sum of the ``virial'' masses of the two dominant galaxies. For
current best values of the distance and approach velocity of Andromeda this
leads to a median likelihood estimate of the true mass of the Local Group of
5.27\times 10^{12}\msun, or , with an
interquartile range of and a 5% to 95% range of . Thus a 95% lower confidence limit on the true mass of the Local Group
is 1.81\times 10^{12}\msun. A timing estimate of the Milky Way's mass based
on the large recession velocity observed for the distant satellite Leo I works
equally well, although with larger systematic uncertainties. It gives an
estimated virial mass for the Milky Way of 2.43 \times 10^{12}\msun with a
95% lower confidence limit of 0.80 \times 10^{12}\msun.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepted. Added a new discussion paragraph
and a new figure regarding the relative transverse velocity but conclusions
unchange
The internal structure and formation of early-type galaxies: the gravitational--lens system MG2016+112 at z=1.004
[Abridged] We combine our measurements of the velocity dispersion and the
surface brightness profile of the lens galaxy D in the system MG2016+112
(z=1.004) with constraints from gravitational lensing to study its internal
mass distribution. We find that: (i) dark matter accounts for >50% of the total
mass within the Einstein radius (99% CL), excluding at the 8-sigma level that
mass follows light inside the Einstein radius with a constant mass-to-light
ratio (M/L). (ii) the total mass distribution inside the Einstein radius is
well-described by a density profile ~r^-gamma' with an effective slope
gamma'=2.0+-0.1+-0.1, including random and systematic uncertainties. (iii) The
offset of galaxy D from the local Fundamental Plane independently constrains
the stellar M/L, and matches the range derived from our models, leading to a
more stringent lower limit of >60% on the fraction of dark matter within the
Einstein radius (99%CL).
Under the assumption of adiabatic contraction, the inner slope of the dark
matter halo before the baryons collapsed is gamma_i<1.4 (68 CL), marginally
consistent with the highest-resolution cold dark matter simulations that
indicate gamma_i~1.5. This might indicate that either adiabatic contraction is
a poor description of E/S0 formation or that additional processes play a role
as well. Indeed, the apparently isothermal density distribution inside the
Einstein radius, is not a natural outcome of adiabatic contraction models,
where it appears to be a mere coincidence. By contrast, we argue that
isothermality might be the result of a stronger coupling between luminous and
dark-matter, possibly the result of (incomplete) violent relaxation processes.
Hence, we conclude that galaxy D appears already relaxed 8 Gyr ago.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, ApJ, in press, minor change
Systemic Proper Motions of Milky Way Satellites from Stellar Redshifts: the Carina, Fornax, Sculptor and Sextans Dwarf Spheroidals
The transverse motions of nearby dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies contribute
line-of-sight components that increase with angular distance from the dSph
centers, inducing detectable gradients in stellar redshift. In the absence of
an intrinsic velocity gradient (e.g., due to rotation or streaming), an
observed gradient in the heliocentric rest frame (HRF) relates simply to a
dSph's systemic proper motion (PM). Kinematic samples for the Milky Way's
brightest dSph satellites are now sufficiently large that we can use stellar
redshifts to constrain systemic PMs independently of astrometric data. Data
from our Michigan/MIKE Fiber System (MMFS) Survey reveal significant HRF
velocity gradients in Carina, Fornax and Sculptor, and no significant gradient
in Sextans. Assuming there are no intrinsic gradients, the data provide a
relatively tight constraint on the PM of Fornax,
(mu_{alpha}^{HRF},mu_{delta}^{HRF})=(+48 +/- 15,-25 +/- 14) mas/century, that
agrees with published HST astrometric measurements. Smaller data sets yield
weaker constraints in the remaining galaxies, but our Carina measurement,
(mu_{alpha}^{HRF},mu_{delta}^{HRF})=(+25 +/- 36,+16 +/- 43) mas/century, agrees
with the published astrometric value. The disagreement of our Sculptor
measurement, (mu_{alpha}^{HRF},mu_{delta}^{HRF})= (-40 +/- 29, -69 +/- 47)
mas/century, with astrometric measurements is expected if Sculptor has a
rotational component as reported by Battaglia et al. (2008). For Sextans, which
at present lacks an astrometric measurement, we measure
(mu_{alpha}^{HRF},mu_{delta}^{HRF})=(-26 +/- 41, +10 +/- 44) mas/century.Comment: Accepted for Publication by ApJ Letter
Recare - Preventing and remediating degradation of soils in Europe through land care
Much knowledge is available on soil threats in Europe, but this is fragmented and incomplete, in particular regarding the complexity and functioning of soil systems and their interaction with human activities. The main aim of the new RECARE project is to develop effective prevention, remediation and restoration (or Sustainable Land management – SLM) measures using an innovative trans-disciplinary approach in 17 case study areas across Europe, covering a range of soil threats in different bio-physical and socio-economic environments. Within these Case Study sites, i) the current state of degradation and conservation will be assessed ii) impacts of degradation and conservation on soil functions and ecosystem services will be quantified, iii) SLM measures will be selected, implemented and evaluated in a participatory process, and iv) the applicability and impact of these measures at the European level will be assessed. Existing national and EU policies will be reviewed and compared to identify potential contradictions and synergies. A comprehensive dissemination and communication strategy will serve a variety of stakeholders to stimulate renewed care for European soil
Post-collapse dynamics of self-gravitating Brownian particles in D dimensions
We address the post-collapse dynamics of a self-gravitating gas of Brownian
particles in D dimensions, in both canonical and microcanonical ensembles. In
the canonical ensemble, the post-collapse evolution is marked by the formation
of a Dirac peak with increasing mass. The density profile outside the peak
evolves self-similarly with decreasing central density and increasing core
radius. In the microcanonical ensemble, the post-collapse regime is marked by
the formation of a ``binary''-like structure surrounded by an almost uniform
halo with high temperature. These results are consistent with thermodynamical
predictions
Precision constrained simulation of the Local Universe
We use the formalism of constrained Gaussian random field to compute a
precise large scale simulation of the 60 Mpc/h volume of our Local Universe. We
derive the constraints from the reconstructed peculiar velocities of the 2MASS
Redshift Survey. We obtain a correlation of 0.97 between the log-density field
of the dark matter distribution of the simulation and the log-density of
observed galaxies of the Local Universe. We achieve a good comparison of the
simulated velocity field to the observed velocity field obtained from the
galaxy distances of the NBG-3k. At the end, we compare the two-point
correlation function of both the 2MRS galaxies and of the dark matter particles
of the simulation. We conclude that this method is a very promising technique
of exploring the dynamics and the particularities the Universe in our
neighbourhood.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted by MNRA
Radio Continuum Emission at 1.4 GHz from KISS Emission-Line Galaxies
We have searched the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters
(FIRST) and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) 1.4 GHz radio surveys for sources
that are coincident with emission-line galaxy (ELG) candidates from the KPNO
International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). A total of 207 of the 2157 KISS ELGs
(~10%) in the first two H-alpha-selected survey lists were found to possess
radio detections in FIRST and/or NVSS. Follow-up spectra exist for all of the
radio detections, allowing us to determine the activity type (star-forming vs.
AGN) for the entire sample. We explore the properties of the radio-detected
KISS galaxies in order to gain a better insight into the nature of
radio-emitting galaxies in the local universe (z < 0.1). No dwarf galaxies were
detected, despite the large numbers of low-luminosity galaxies present in KISS,
suggesting that lower mass, lower luminosity objects do not possess strong
galaxian-scale magnetic fields. Due to the selection technique used for KISS,
our radio ELGs represent a quasi-volume-limited sample, which allows us to
develop a clearer picture of the radio galaxy population at low redshift.
Nearly 2/3rds of the KISS radio galaxies are starburst/star-forming galaxies,
which is in stark contrast to the results of flux-limited radio surveys that
are dominated by AGNs and elliptical galaxies (i.e., classic radio galaxies).
While there are many AGNs among the KISS radio galaxies, there are no objects
with large radio powers in our local volume. We derive a radio luminosity
function (RLF) for the KISS ELGs that agrees very well with previous RLFs that
adequately sample the lower-luminosity radio population.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (April 2004); 23
pages, 16 figure
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