Feedback regulated star formation in cool core clusters of galaxies

The classical cooling flow model historically associated with cool core clusters of galaxies fails in the absence of an external, non-gravitational heating mechanism needed to offset catastrophic radiative losses of the X-ray bright intracluster medium (ICM). Numerous proposed solutions exist, including feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN), which may elegantly calibrate fundamental relationships such as the coupled co-evolution of black holes and the stellar component of their host galaxies. AGN feedback cannot completely offset cooling at all times, however, as the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in cool core clusters harbor extensive warm (∼104 K) and cold (10 \u3c T \u3c 104 K) gas reservoirs whose physical properties are regulated by ongoing star formation and an unknown, non-stellar heating mechanism. We present a doctoral thesis broadly related to these issues, particularly as they pertain to cooling flows, the triggering of AGN activity, and the associated energetic feedback that may play a critical role in heating the ambient environment on tens to hundreds of kiloparsec scales. We begin with a summary of the relevant background material, and in Chapter 2 we present a multiwavelength study of effervescent AGN heating in the cool core cluster Abell 2597. Previously unpublished Chandra X-ray data show the central regions of the hot intracluster medium (ICM) to be highly anisotropic on the scale of the BCG, permeated by a network of kpc-scale X-ray cavities, the largest of which is cospatial in projection with extended 330 MHz radio emission. We present spectral maps of projected, modeled gas properties fit to the X-ray data. The X-ray temperature map reveals two discrete, ``hard-edged\u27\u27 structures, including a ∼15 kpc ``cold filament\u27\u27 and an arc of hot gas which in projection borders the inner edge of the large X-ray cavity. We interpret the latter in the context of the effervescent AGN heating model, in which cavity enthalpy is thermalized as the ambient keV gas rushes to refill the wake of the buoyant bubble. The hot arc revealed in the temperature map may be one of the first instances in which ICM/ISM heating by AGN feedback is directly observed. The ∼15 kpc soft excess filament, part of which is cospatial with extended 1.3 GHz radio emission, may be associated with dredge-up of low entropy gas by the propagating radio source. Results from our study of the hot X-ray gas are framed in the context of inferred young stellar component ages associated with the central emission line nebula in the BCG. We find that inferred ages of the young stellar component are both younger and older than the inferred ages of the X-ray cavities, suggesting that low levels of star formation have managed to persist amid the AGN feedback-driven excavation of the X-ray cavity network. In Chapter 3 we present Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet imaging of seven BCGs in cool core clusters selected on the basis of elevated star formation rates. We find that even at low levels, star formation provides a dominant contribution to the ionizing photon reservoir required to power the observed luminosities of the emission line nebula. Weak, compact radio sources are observed in each of these seven BCGs. The combination of higher SFR and lower radio power is consistent with a scenario wherein a low state of AGN feedback allows for increased residual condensation from the ambient X-ray atmosphere, accounting for the elevated star formation rates. In Chapter 4 we present a comparison study of episodic star formation and AGN activity in the giant radio galaxy 3C 236, which is not associated with a cluster. We find that an episodic AGN/starburst connection can be fostered by a non-steady transport of gas to the nucleus. These results are then compared with Abell 2597, enabling a better understanding of the roles that may be played by cooling flows vs. mergers and hot vs. cold accretion modes in depositing the gaseous reservoirs that fuel both star formation and AGN activity. In Chapter 5 we broaden the context of the thesis with a search for high redshift Fanaroff-Riley class I radio galaxies, which may act as observable beacons for assembling protoclusters. Probing the epoch of cluster assembly will be critical to a better understanding of the evolution of the cool core phenomenon and the history of cluster entropy regulation in general. The relative inability of X-ray cluster selection techniques to extend to these redshifts necessitates alternative detection methods, one of which we describe in this thesis. Finally, in Chapter 6 we discuss the main conclusions of this thesis, which can be summarized as follows: (1) AGN feedback is real, and likely plays a dominant role in regulating the pathway of entropy loss from hot ambient medium to cold gas to star formation; (2) AGN feedback does not establish an impassable entropy floor below which gas cannot cool; and (3) star formation plays an important role in determining the temperature and ionization of the warm (∼104 K) and cold (10 \u3c T \u3c 104 K) gas phases in brightest cluster galaxies

Lynx X-Ray Observatory: Response to the First Astro 2020 Decadal Survey Request for Information

This document serves as the Lynx Teams response to the first Request For Information (RFI) from the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Detailed answers to all of the questions asked in this RFI can be found in the Lynx Concept Study Report, Supplementary Technology Roadmaps, and the Lynx Cost Book

Constraining planet formation around 6M⊙-8M⊙ stars

Identifying planets around O-type and B-type stars is inherently difficult; the most massive known planet host has a mass of only about 3M⊙. However, planetary systems which survive the transformation of their host stars into white dwarfs can be detected via photospheric trace metals, circumstellar dusty and gaseous discs, and transits of planetary debris crossing our line-of-sight. These signatures offer the potential to explore the efficiency of planet formation for host stars with masses up to the core-collapse boundary at ≈8M⊙, a mass regime rarely investigated in planet formation theory. Here, we establish limits on where both major and minor planets must reside around ≈6M⊙ − 8M⊙ stars in order to survive into the white dwarf phase. For this mass range, we find that intact terrestrial or giant planets need to leave the main sequence beyond approximate minimum star-planet separations of respectively about 3 and 6 au. In these systems, rubble pile minor planets of radii 10, 1.0, and 0.1 km would have been shorn apart by giant branch radiative YORP spin-up if they formed and remained within, respectively, tens, hundreds and thousands of au. These boundary values would help distinguish the nature of the progenitor of metal-pollution in white dwarf atmospheres. We find that planet formation around the highest mass white dwarf progenitors may be feasible, and hence encourage both dedicated planet formation investigations for these systems and spectroscopic analyses of the highest mass white dwarfs

International variability in 20 m shuttle run performance in children and youth: who are the fittest from a 50-country comparison? A systematic literature review with pooling of aggregate results

Objectives To describe and compare 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) performance among children and youth across 50 countries; to explore broad socioeconomic indicators that correlate with 20mSRT performance in children and youth across countries and to evaluate the utility of the 20mSRT as an international population health indicator for children and youth. Methods A systematic review was undertaken to identify papers that explicitly reported descriptive 20mSRT (with 1-min stages) data on apparently healthy 9–17 year-olds. Descriptive data were standardised to running speed (km/h) at the last completed stage. Country-specific 20mSRT performance indices were calculated as population-weighted mean z-scores relative to all children of the same age and sex from all countries. Countries were categorised into developed and developing groups based on the Human Development Index, and a correlational analysis was performed to describe the association between country-specific performance indices and broad socioeconomic indicators using Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficient. Results Performance indices were calculated for 50 countries using collated data on 1 142 026 children and youth aged 9–17 years. The best performing countries were from Africa and Central-Northern Europe. Countries from South America were consistently among the worst performing countries. Country-specific income inequality (Gini index) was a strong negative correlate of the performance index across all 50 countries. Conclusions The pattern of variability in the performance index broadly supports the theory of a physical activity transition and income inequality as the strongest structural determinant of health in children and youth. This simple and cost-effective assessment would be a powerful tool for international population health surveillance

Peut-on utiliser des algues marines pour améliorer la qualité de l'eau des bassins d'exposition du Biodôme de Montréal?

Affiche présentée dans le cadre du Colloque de l'ARC, «La relève scientifique et la recherche collégiale : pratiques inspirantes au regard des chercheuses et chercheurs, et enjeux spécifiques à la formation des étudiantes et étudiants», dans le cadre du 84e Congrès de l'Acfas, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, le 10 mai 2016.Dans les bassins d’eau recyclée du Biodôme de Montréal, le contrôle de l’azote et du phosphore dissous est essentiel, car leur accumulation peut dégrader la qualité de l’eau et devenir une source de stress pour les organismes aquatiques. Or, certaines algues marines ont la capacité d’absorber ces polluants tout en produisant de l’oxygène. L’objectif de notre  projet mené à l’École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec était de développer un prototype de filtre biologique à base d’algues cultivées, efficace en termes d’absorption et de séquestration du nitrate et du phosphate dissous. Pour ce faire, les performances de deux espèces d’algues marines du golfe du Saint-Laurent, Palmaria palmata et Ulva lactuca, ont été évaluées dans des conditions similaires à celles des bassins du Biodôme de Montréal, soit deux températures (5 °C et 10 °C) et trois combinaisons de nutriments N-NO3- : P-PO43- (40:6, 50:7,5, 60:9 mg/L). Les résultats indiquent qu’aux densités testées (7 et 3 g AF/L; AF = algues fraîches), au bout de six jours, 10,2 ± 1,5 % du nitrate et 13,83 ± 9,0 % du phosphate présents dans l’eau ont été enlevés par P. palmata tandis que U. lactuca a enlevé 12,7 ± 3,3 % du nitrate et 13,01 ± 9,8 % du phosphate. La vitesse moyenne d’absorption journalière de l’azote par P. palmata était de 0,12 mg N/g AF  vs 0,34 mg N/g AF pour U. lactuca. Si les deux espèces montrent une bonne capacité d’épuration de l’eau, c’est U. lactuca qui absorbe l’azote le plus efficacement

Review of criterion-referenced standards for cardiorespiratory fitness: what percentage of 1 142 026 international children and youth are apparently healthy?

Purpose To identify criterion-referenced standards for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF); to estimate the percentage of children and youth that met each standard; and to discuss strategies to help improve the utility of criterion-referenced standards for population health research. Methods A search of four databases was undertaken to identify papers that reported criterion-referenced CRF standards for children and youth generated using the receiver operating characteristic curve technique. A pseudo-dataset representing the 20-m shuttle run test performance of 1 142 026 children and youth aged 9–17 years from 50 countries was generated using Monte Carlo simulation. Pseudo-data were used to estimate the international percentage of children and youth that met published criterion-referenced standards for CRF. Results Ten studies reported criterion-referenced standards for healthy CRF in children and youth. The mean percentage (±95% CI) of children and youth that met the standards varied substantially across age groups from 36%±13% to 95%±4% among girls, and from 51%±7% to 96%±16% among boys. There was an age gradient across all criterion-referenced standards where younger children were more likely to meet the standards compared with older children, regardless of sex. Within age groups, mean percentages were more precise (smaller CI) for younger girls and older boys. Conclusion There are several CRF criterion-referenced standards for children and youth producing widely varying results. This study encourages using the interim international criterion-referenced standards of 35 and 42 mL/kg/min for girls and boys, respectively, to identify children and youth at risk of poor health—raising a clinical red flag