516 research outputs found
Isolated elliptical galaxies in the local Universe
We have studied a sample of 89 very isolated, elliptical galaxies at z < 0.08
and compared their properties with elliptical galaxies located in a
high-density environment such as the Coma supercluster. Our aim is to probe the
role of environment on the morphological transformation and quenching of
elliptical galaxies as a function of mass. In addition, we elucidate the nature
of a particular set of blue and star-forming isolated ellipticals identified
here. We study physical properties of ellipticals such as color, specific star
formation rate, galaxy size, and stellar age, as a function of stellar mass and
environment based on SDSS data. We analyze the blue star-forming isolated
ellipticals in more detail, through photometric characterization using GALFIT,
and infer their star formation history using STARLIGHT. Among the isolated
ellipticals ~ 20% are blue, 8% are star forming, and ~ 10% are recently
quenched, while among the Coma ellipticals ~ 8% are blue and just <= 1% are
star forming or recently quenched. There are four isolated galaxies (~ 4.5%)
that are blue and star forming at the same time. These galaxies, with masses
between 7 x 10^9 and 2 x 10^10 h-2 M_sun, are also the youngest galaxies with
light-weighted stellar ages <= 1 Gyr and exhibit bluer colors toward the galaxy
center. Around 30-60% of their present-day luminosity, but only < 5% of their
present-day mass, is due to star formation in the last 1 Gyr. The processes of
morphological transformation and quenching seem to be in general independent of
environment since most of elliptical galaxies are 'red and dead', although the
transition to the red sequence should be faster for isolated ellipticals. In
some cases, the isolated environment seems to propitiate the rejuvenation of
ellipticals by recent (< 1 Gyr) cold gas accretion.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures (16 pages and 9 figures without appendices).
A&A, in pres
Occurrence of antibiotics and bacterial resistance in wastewater and sea water from the Antarctic
The potential presence of introduced antibiotics in the aquatic environment is a hot topic of concern, particularly in the Antarctic, a highly vulnerable area protected under the Madrid protocol. The increasing presence of human population, especially during summer, might led to the appearance of pharmaceuticals in wastewater. The previous discovery of Escherichia coli strains resistant to antibiotics in sea water and wastewater collected in King George Island motivated our investigation on antibiotics occurrence in these samples. The application of a multi-residue LCMS/MS method for 20 antibiotics, revealed the presence of 8 compounds in treated wastewater, mainly the quinolones ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin (92% and 54% of the samples analyzed, average concentrations 0.89 μg/L and 0.75 μg/L, respectively) and the macrolides azithromycin and clarithromycin (15% positive samples, and average concentrations near 0.4 μg/L), and erythromycin (38% positive samples, average concentration 0.003 μg/L). Metronidazole and clindamycin were found in one sample, at 0.17 and 0.1 μg/L, respectively; and trimethoprim in two samples, at 0.001 μg/L. Analysis of sea water collected near the outfall of the wastewater discharges also showed the sporadic presence of 3 antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, trimethoprim) at low ng/L level, illustrating the impact of pharmaceuticals consumption and the poor removal of these compounds in conventional WWTPs. The most widespread antibiotic in sea water was ciprofloxacin, which was found in 15 out of 34 sea water samples analyzed, at concentrations ranging from 4 to 218 ng/L. Bacteria resistance was observed for some antibiotics identified in the samples (e.g. trimetropim and nalidixic acid –a first generation quinolone). However, resistance to some groups of antibiotics could not be correlated to their presence in the water samples due to analytical limitations (penicillins, tetraciclines). On the contrary, for some groups of antibiotics detected in samples (macrolides), the antibacterial activity against E. Coli was not investigated because these antibiotics do not include this bacterial species in their spectrum of activity.
Our preliminary data demonstrate that antibiotics occurrence in the Antarctic aquatic environment is an issue that needs to be properly addressed. Periodical monitoring of water samples and the implementation of additional treatments in the WWTPs are recommended as a first step to prevent potential problems related to the presence of antibiotics and other emerging contaminants in the near future in Antarctica
SSDSS IV MaNGA - Properties of AGN host galaxies
We present here the characterization of the main properties of a sample of 98
AGN host galaxies, both type-II and type-I, in comparison with those of about
2700 non-active galaxies observed by the MaNGA survey. We found that AGN hosts
are morphologically early-type or early-spirals. For a given morphology AGN
hosts are, in average, more massive, more compact, more central peaked and
rather pressurethan rotational-supported systems. We confirm previous results
indicating that AGN hosts are located in the intermediate/transition region
between star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies (i.e., the so-called green
valley), both in the ColorMagnitude and the star formation main sequence
diagrams. Taking into account their relative distribution in terms of the
stellar metallicity and oxygen gas abundance and a rough estimation of their
molecular gas content, we consider that these galaxies are in the process of
halting/quenching the star formation, in an actual transition between both
groups. The analysis of the radial distributions of the starformation rate,
specific star-formation rate, and molecular gas density shows that the
quenching happens from inside-out involving both a decrease of the efficiency
of the star formation and a deficit of molecular gas. All the intermediate
data-products used to derive the results of our analysis are distributed in a
database including the spatial distribution and average properties of the
stellar populations and ionized gas, published as a Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Value Added Catalog being part of the 14th Data Release:
http://www.sdss.org/dr14/manga/manga-data/manga-pipe3d-value-added-catalog/Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, in press in RMxA
The History of Galaxy Formation in Groups: An Observational Perspective
We present a pedagogical review on the formation and evolution of galaxies in
groups, utilizing observational information from the Local Group to galaxies at
z~6. The majority of galaxies in the nearby universe are found in groups, and
galaxies at all redshifts up to z~6 tend to cluster on the scale of nearby
groups (~1 Mpc). This suggests that the group environment may play a role in
the formation of most galaxies. The Local Group, and other nearby groups,
display a diversity in star formation and morphological properties that puts
limits on how, and when, galaxies in groups formed. Effects that depend on an
intragroup medium, such as ram-pressure and strangulation, are likely not major
mechanisms driving group galaxy evolution. Simple dynamical friction arguments
however show that galaxy mergers should be common, and a dominant process for
driving evolution. While mergers between L_* galaxies are observed to be rare
at z < 1, they are much more common at earlier times. This is due to the
increased density of the universe, and to the fact that high mass galaxies are
highly clustered on the scale of groups. We furthermore discus why the local
number density environment of galaxies strongly correlates with galaxy
properties, and why the group environment may be the preferred method for
establishing the relationship between properties of galaxies and their local
density.Comment: Invited review, 16 pages, to be published in ESO Astrophysics
Symposia: "Groups of Galaxies in the Nearby Universe", eds. I. Saviane, V.
Ivanov, J. Borissov
Mixed Morphology Pairs as a Breeding Ground for Active Nuclei
Mixed morphology pairs offer a simplification of the interaction equation
that involves a gas-rich fast rotator paired with a gas-poor slow rotator. In
past low resolution IRAS studies it was assumed that the bulk of the far
infrared emission originated in the spiral component. However our ISO studies
revealed a surprising number of early-type components with significant IR
emission some of which turned out to show active nuclei. This motivated us to
look at the current statistics of active nuclei in mixed pairs using the
FIR-radio continuum correlation as a diagnostic. We find a clear excess of
early-type components with radio continuum emission and an active nucleus. We
suggest that they arise more often in mixed pairs via cross fueling of gas from
the spiral companion. This fuel is more efficiently channeled into the nucleus
of the slow rotating receptor. In a sample of 112 mixed-morphology pairs from
the Karachentsev catalog we find that about 25-30% of detected mixed pairs show
a displacement from the radio-FIR relation defined by normal star forming
galaxies. The latter objects show excess radio continuum emission while others
extend the relation to unusually high radio and FIR flux levels. Many of the
outliers/extreme emitters involve an early-type component with an active
nucleus. The paired E/S0 galaxies in the sample exhibit a significant excess
detection fraction and a marginal excess luminosity distribution compared to
isolated unpaired E/S0 galaxies.Comment: 3 figure
The unprecedented optical outburst of the quasar 3C 454.3. The WEBT campaign of 2004-2005
The radio quasar 3C 454.3 underwent an exceptional optical outburst lasting
more than 1 year and culminating in spring 2005. The maximum brightness
detected was R = 12.0, which represents the most luminous quasar state thus far
observed (M_B ~ -31.4). In order to follow the emission behaviour of the source
in detail, a large multiwavelength campaign was organized by the Whole Earth
Blazar Telescope (WEBT). Continuous optical, near-IR and radio monitoring was
performed in several bands. ToO pointings by the Chandra and INTEGRAL
satellites provided additional information at high energies in May 2005. The
historical radio and optical light curves show different behaviours. Until
about 2001.0 only moderate variability was present in the optical regime, while
prominent and long-lasting radio outbursts were visible at the various radio
frequencies, with higher-frequency variations preceding the lower-frequency
ones. After that date, the optical activity increased and the radio flux is
less variable. This suggests that the optical and radio emissions come from two
separate and misaligned jet regions, with the inner optical one acquiring a
smaller viewing angle during the 2004-2005 outburst. Moreover, the colour-index
behaviour (generally redder-when-brighter) during the outburst suggests the
presence of a luminous accretion disc. A huge mm outburst followed the optical
one, peaking in June-July 2005. The high-frequency (37-43 GHz) radio flux
started to increase in early 2005 and reached a maximum at the end of our
observing period (end of September 2005). VLBA observations at 43 GHz during
the summer confirm theComment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to be published in A&
Euclid Collaboration IV: Impact of Undetected Galaxies on Weak-Lensing Shear Measurements
In modern weak-lensing surveys, the common approach to correct for residual
systematic biases in the shear is to calibrate shape measurement algorithms
using simulations. These simulations must fully capture the complexity of the
observations to avoid introducing any additional bias. In this paper we study
the importance of faint galaxies below the observational detection limit of a
survey. We simulate simplified Euclid VIS images including and excluding this
faint population, and measure the shift in the multiplicative shear bias
between the two sets of simulations. We measure the shear with three different
algorithms: a moment-based approach, model fitting, and machine learning. We
find that for all methods, a spatially uniform random distribution of faint
galaxies introduces a shear multiplicative bias of the order of a few times
. This value increases to the order of when including the
clustering of the faint galaxies, as measured in the Hubble Space Telescope
Ultra-Deep Field. The magnification of the faint background galaxies due to the
brighter galaxies along the line of sight is found to have a negligible impact
on the multiplicative bias. We conclude that the undetected galaxies must be
included in the calibration simulations with proper clustering properties down
to magnitude 28 in order to reach a residual uncertainty on the multiplicative
shear bias calibration of a few times , in line with the
total accuracy budget required by the scientific objectives of
the Euclid survey. We propose two complementary methods for including faint
galaxy clustering in the calibration simulations.Comment: Version published in A&
Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean - Part 2: Applications in support of science priorities and societal needs
The Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate-change hot spot, with many socioeconomically vital coastal areas being the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, high-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in coastal ocean observing systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-user and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: (i) maritime safety, (ii) extreme hazards and (iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean coastal areas required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to provide a set of recommendations for future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution to extending science-based HFR products into societally relevant downstream services to support blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU's Green Deal goals
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