583 research outputs found
Star Formation Laws: the Effects of Gas Cloud Sampling
Recent observational results indicate that the functional shape of the
spatially-resolved star formation-molecular gas density relation depends on the
spatial scale considered. These results may indicate a fundamental role of
sampling effects on scales that are typically only a few times larger than
those of the largest molecular clouds. To investigate the impact of this
effect, we construct simple models for the distribution of molecular clouds in
a typical star-forming spiral galaxy, and, assuming a power-law relation
between SFR and cloud mass, explore a range of input parameters. We confirm
that the slope and the scatter of the simulated SFR-molecular gas surface
density relation depend on the size of the sub-galactic region considered, due
to stochastic sampling of the molecular cloud mass function, and the effect is
larger for steeper relations between SFR and molecular gas. There is a general
trend for all slope values to tend to ~unity for region sizes larger than 1-2
kpc, irrespective of the input SFR-cloud relation. The region size of 1-2 kpc
corresponds to the area where the cloud mass function becomes fully sampled. We
quantify the effects of selection biases in data tracing the SFR, either as
thresholds (i.e., clouds smaller than a given mass value do not form stars) or
backgrounds (e.g., diffuse emission unrelated to current star formation is
counted towards the SFR). Apparently discordant observational results are
brought into agreement via this simple model, and the comparison of our
simulations with data for a few galaxies supports a steep (>1) power law index
between SFR and molecular gas.Comment: 54 pages, 16 figures; accepted for publication on the Astrophysical
Journa
Similarity of ionized gas nebulae around unobscured and obscured quasars
Quasar feedback is suspected to play a key role in the evolution of massive
galaxies, by removing or reheating gas in quasar host galaxies and thus
limiting the amount of star formation. In this paper we continue our
investigation of quasar-driven winds on galaxy-wide scales. We conduct Gemini
Integral Field Unit spectroscopy of a sample of luminous unobscured (type 1)
quasars, to determine the morphology and kinematics of ionized gas around these
objects, predominantly via observations of the [O III]5007 emission line. We
find that ionized gas nebulae extend out to ~13 kpc from the quasar, that they
are smooth and round, and that their kinematics are inconsistent with gas in
dynamical equilibrium with the host galaxy. The observed morphological and
kinematic properties are strikingly similar to those of ionized gas around
obscured (type 2) quasars with matched [O III] luminosity, with marginal
evidence that nebulae around unobscured quasars are slightly more compact.
Therefore in samples of obscured and unobscured quasars carefully matched in [O
III] luminosity we find support for the standard geometry-based unification
model of active galactic nuclei, in that the intrinsic properties of quasars,
of their hosts and of their ionized gas appear to be very similar. Given the
apparent ubiquity of extended ionized regions, we are forced to conclude that
either the quasar is at least partially illuminating pre-existing gas or that
both samples of quasars are seen during advanced stages of quasar feedback. In
the latter case, we may be biased by our [O III]-based selection against
quasars in the early "blow-out" phase, for example due to dust obscuration.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables. Published in MNRAS, 201
Observations of Feedback from Radio-Quiet Quasars: I. Extents and Morphologies of Ionized Gas Nebulae
Black hole feedback -- the strong interaction between the energy output of
supermassive black holes and their surrounding environments -- is routinely
invoked to explain the absence of overly luminous galaxies, the black hole vs.
bulge correlations and the similarity of black hole accretion and star
formation histories. Yet direct probes of this process in action are scarce and
limited to small samples of active nuclei. We present Gemini IFU observations
of the distribution of ionized gas around luminous, obscured, radio-quiet (RQ)
quasars at z~0.5. We detect extended ionized gas nebulae via [O III]5007
emission in every case, with a mean diameter of 28 kpc. These nebulae are
nearly perfectly round. The regular morphologies of nebulae around RQ quasars
are in striking contrast with lumpy or elongated nebulae seen around radio
galaxies at low and high redshifts. We present the uniformly measured
size-luminosity relationship of [O III] nebulae around Seyfert 2 galaxies and
type 2 quasars spanning 6 orders of magnitude in luminosity and confirm the
flat slope of the correlation (R ~ L^{0.25+/-0.02}). We find a universal
behavior of the [O III]/H-beta ratio in our entire RQ quasar sample: it
persists at a constant value (~10) in the central regions, until reaching a
"break" isophotal radius ranging from 4 to 11 kpc where it starts to decrease.
We propose a model of clumpy nebulae in which clouds that produce line emission
transition from being ionization-bounded at small distances from the quasar to
being matter-bounded in the outer parts of the nebula, which qualitatively
explains the observed line ratio and surface brightness profiles. It is
striking that we see such smooth and round large-scale gas nebulosities in this
sample, which are inconsistent with illuminated merger debris and which we
suggest may be the signature of accretion energy from the nucleus reaching gas
at large scales.Comment: 44 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Observations of Feedback from Radio-Quiet Quasars - II. Kinematics of Ionized Gas Nebulae
The prevalence and energetics of quasar feedback is a major unresolved
problem in galaxy formation theory. In this paper, we present Gemini Integral
Field Unit observations of ionized gas around eleven luminous, obscured,
radio-quiet quasars at z~0.5 out to ~15 kpc from the quasar; specifically, we
measure the kinematics and morphology of [O III]5007 emission. The round
morphologies of the nebulae and the large line-of-sight velocity widths (with
velocities containing 80% of the emission as high as 1000 km/s combined with
relatively small velocity difference across them (from 90 to 520 km/s) point
toward wide-angle quasi-spherical outflows. We use the observed velocity widths
to estimate a median outflow velocity of 760 km/s, similar to or above the
escape velocities from the host galaxies. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion
declines slightly toward outer parts of the nebulae (by 3% per kpc on average).
The majority of nebulae show blueshifted excesses in their line profiles across
most of their extents, signifying gas outflows. For the median outflow
velocity, we find a kinetic energy flow between 4x10^{44} and 3x10^{45} erg/s
and mass outflow rate between 2000 and 20000 Msun/yr. These values are large
enough for the observed quasar winds to have a significant impact on their host
galaxies. The median rate of converting bolometric luminosity to kinetic energy
of ionized gas clouds is ~2%. We report four new candidates for "super-bubbles"
-- outflows that may have broken out of the denser regions of the host galaxy.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
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