303 research outputs found
Dynamics of blue compact galaxies, as revealed by their H-alpha velocity fields I. The data, velocity fields and rotation curves
Observations of six luminous blue compact galaxies (BCGs) and two star
forming companion galaxies were carried out with the CIGALE scanning
Fabry-Perot interferometer attached to the ESO 3.6m telescope on La Silla. The
observations were made in the H-alpha emission line which is prominent in BCGs.
A velocity sampling of 5 km/s and a pixel size of 0.9 arcseconds were used. In
this paper we present the observations and the data together with the velocity
fields and the derived rotation curves. In addition we provide rough estimates
of the total dynamical mass and of the ionised gas mass for each galaxy. All
galaxies display rotation, but while the companion galaxies have regular
velocity fields, those of the BCGs are complex and appear perturbed. This is
the most extensive study to date of the optical velocity fields of BCGs. The
interpretation of these results will be presented in a forthcoming paper (Paper
II).Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in A&AS. The paper
(with figures in slightly higher resolution) and an electronic table is also
available at ftp://ftp.iap.fr/pub/from_users/ostlin/Articles/ . Replaced
version, figure captions fixe
X-ray spectral variability of LINERs selected from the Palomar sample
Variability is a general property of active galactic nuclei (AGN). At X-rays,
the way in which these changes occur is not yet clear. In the particular case
of low ionisation nuclear emission line region (LINER) nuclei, variations on
months/years timescales have been found for some objects, but the main driver
of these changes is still an open question. The main purpose of this work is to
investigate the X-ray variability in LINERs, including the main driver of such
variations, and to search for eventual differences between type 1 and 2
objects. We use the 18 LINERs in the Palomar sample with data retrieved from
Chandra and/or XMM-Newton archives corresponding to observations gathered at
different epochs. All the spectra for the same object are simultaneously fitted
in order to study long term variations. The nature of the variability patterns
are studied allowing different parameters to vary during the spectral fit.
Whenever possible, short term variations from the analysis of the light curves
and UV variability are studied.Comment: 49 pages, accepted. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1305.222
Rotation curves and metallicity gradients from HII regions in spiral galaxies
In this paper we study long slit spectra in the region of H emission
line of a sample of 111 spiral galaxies with recognizable and well defined
spiral morphology and with a well determined environmental status, ranging from
isolation to non-disruptive interaction with satellites or companions. The form
and properties of the rotation curves are considered as a function of the
isolation degree, morphological type and luminosity. The line ratios are used
to estimate the metallicity of all the detected HII regions, thus producing a
composite metallicity profile for different types of spirals. We have found
that isolated galaxies tend to be of later types and lower luminosity than the
interacting galaxies. The outer parts of the rotation curves of isolated
galaxies tend to be flatter than in interacting galaxies, but they show similar
relations between global parameters. The scatter of the Tully-Fisher relation
defined by isolated galaxies is significantly lower than that of interacting
galaxies. The [NII]/H ratios, used as metallicity indicator, show a
clear trend between Z and morphological type, t, with earlier spirals showing
larger ratios; this trend is tighter when instead of t the gradient of the
inner rotation curve, G, is used; no trend is found with the interaction
status. The Z-gradient of the disks depends on the type, being almost flat for
early spirals, and increasing for later types. The [NII]/H ratios
measured for disk HII regions of interacting galaxies are higher than for
normal/isolated objects, even if all the galaxy families present similar
distributions of H Equivalent Width.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A (tables for HII region parameters
incomplete, contact [email protected] for the whole set of tables
X-ray spectral variability of seven LINER nuclei with XMM-Newton and Chandra data
One of the most important features in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is the
variability of their emission. Variability has been discovered at X-ray, UV,
and radio frequencies on time scales from hours to years. Among the AGN family
and according to theoretical studies, Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission Line
Region (LINER) nuclei would be variable objects on long time scales. Our
purpose is to investigate spectral X-ray variability in LINERs and to
understand the nature of these kinds of objects, as well as their accretion
mechanism. Chandra and XMM-Newton public archives were used to compile X-ray
spectra of seven LINER nuclei at different epochs with time scales of years. To
search for variability we fit all the spectra from the same object with a set
of models, in order to identify the parameters responsible for the variability
pattern. We also analyzed the light curves in order to search for short time
scale (from hours to days) variability. Whenever possible, UV variability was
also studied. We found spectral variability in four objects, with variations
mostly related to hard energies (2-10 keV). These variations are due to changes
in the soft excess, and/or changes in the absorber, and/or intrinsic variations
of the source. Another two galaxies seem not to vary. Short time scale
variations during individual observations were not found. Our analysis confirms
the previously reported anticorrelation between the X-ray spectral index and
the Eddington ratio, and also the correlation between the X-ray to UV flux
ratio and the Eddington ratio. These results support an Advection Dominated
Accretion Flow (ADAF) as the accretion mechanism in LINERs.Comment: 35 pages, 53 figures, recently accepted pape
X-ray spectral variability of Seyfert 2 galaxies
Variability across the electromagnetic spectrum is a property of AGN that can
help constraining the physical properties of these galaxies. This is the third
of a serie of papers with the aim of studying the X-ray variability of
different families of AGN. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the
variability pattern in a sample of optically selected type 2 Seyfert galaxies.
We use the 26 Seyferts in the Veron-Cetty and Veron catalogue with data
available from Chandra and/or XMM-Newton public archives at different epochs,
with timescales ranging from a few hours to years. All the spectra of the same
source are simultaneously fitted and we let different parameters to vary in the
model. Whenever possible, short-term variations and/or long-term UV flux
variations are studied. We divide the sample in Compton-thick, Compton-thin,
and changing-look candidates. Short-term variability at X-rays is not found.
From the 25 analyzed sources, 11 show long-term variations; eight (out of 11)
are Compton-thin, one (out of 12) is Compton-thick, and the two changing-look
candidates are also variable. The main driver for the X-ray changes is related
to the nuclear power (nine cases), while variations at soft energies or related
with absorbers at hard X-rays are less common, and in many cases these
variations are accompained with variations of the nuclear continuum. At UV
frequencies nuclear variations are nor found. We report for the first time two
changing-look candidates, MARK273 and NGC7319. A constant reflection component
located far away from the nucleus plus a variable nuclear continuum are able to
explain most of our results; the Compton-thick candidates are dominated by
reflection, which supresses their continuum making them seem fainter, and not
showing variations, while the Compton-thin and changing-look candidates show
variations.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Near-infrared photometry of isolated spirals with and without an AGN. I: The Data
We present infrared imaging data in the J and K' bands obtained for 18 active
spiral galaxies, together with 11 non active galaxies taken as a control
sample. All of them were chosen to satisfy well defined isolation criteria so
that the observed properties are not related to gravitational interaction. For
each object we give: the image in the K' band, the sharp-divided image
(obtained by dividing the observed image by a filtered one), the difference
image (obtained by subtracting a model to the observed one), the color J-K'
image, the ellipticity and position angle profiles, the surface brightness
profiles in J and K', their fits by bulge+disk models and the color gradient.
We have found that four (one) active (control) galaxies previously classified
as non-barred turn out to have bars when observed in the near-infrared. One of
these four galaxies (UGC 1395) also harbours a secondary bar. For 15 (9 active,
6 control) out of 24 (14 active, 10 control) of the optically classified barred
galaxies (SB or SX) we find that a secondary bar (or a disk, a lense or an
elongated ring) is present. The work presented here is part of a large program
(DEGAS) aimed at finding whether there are differences between active and non
active galaxies in the properties of their central regions that could be
connected with the onset of nuclear activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement
Serie
Active galactic nuclei synapses: X-ray versus optical classifications using artificial neural networks
(Abridged) Many classes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been defined
entirely throughout optical wavelengths while the X-ray spectra have been very
useful to investigate their inner regions. However, optical and X-ray results
show many discrepancies that have not been fully understood yet. The aim of
this paper is to study the "synapses" between the X-ray and optical
classifications.
For the first time, the new EFLUXER task allowed us to analyse broad band
X-ray spectra of emission line nuclei (ELN) without any prior spectral fitting
using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Our sample comprises 162 XMM-Newton/pn
spectra of 90 local ELN in the Palomar sample. It includes starbursts (SB),
transition objects (T2), LINERs (L1.8 and L2), and Seyferts (S1, S1.8, and S2).
The ANNs are 90% efficient at classifying the trained classes S1, S1.8, and
SB. The S1 and S1.8 classes show a wide range of S1- and S1.8-like components.
We suggest that this is related to a large degree of obscuration at X-rays. The
S1, S1.8, S2, L1.8, L2/T2/SB-AGN (SB with indications of AGN), and SB classes
have similar average X-ray spectra within each class, but these average spectra
can be distinguished from class to class. The S2 (L1.8) class is linked to the
S1.8 (S1) class with larger SB-like component than the S1.8 (S1) class. The L2,
T2, and SB-AGN classes conform a class in the X-rays similar to the S2 class
albeit with larger fractions of SB-like component. This SB-like component is
the contribution of the star-formation in the host galaxy, which is large when
the AGN is weak. An AGN-like component seems to be present in the vast majority
of the ELN, attending to the non-negligible fraction of S1-like or S1.8-like
component. This trained ANN could be used to infer optical properties from
X-ray spectra in surveys like eRosita.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Appendix B only
in the full version of the paper here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3484086/AGNSynapsis_OGM_online.pd
About the initial mass function and HeII emission in young starbursts
We demonstrate that it is crucial to account for the evolution of the
starburst population in order to derive reliable numbers of O stars from
integrated spectra for burst ages t > 2 - 3 Myr. In these cases the method of
Vacca & Conti (1992) and Vacca (1994) systematically underestimates the number
of O stars. Therefore the current WR/O number ratios in Wolf-Rayet (WR)
galaxies are overestimated. This questions recent claims about flat IMF slopes
(alpha ~ 1-2) in these objects. If the evolution of the burst is properly
treated we find that the observations are indeed compatible with a Salpeter
IMF, in agreement with earlier studies.
Including recent predictions from non-LTE, line blanketed model atmospheres
which account for stellar winds, we synthesize the nebular and WR HeII 4686
emission in young starbursts. For metallicities 1/5 <= Z/Z_sun <= 1 we predict
a strong nebular HeII emission due to a significant fraction of WC stars in
early WR phases of the burst. For other metallicities broad WR emission will
always dominate the HeII emission. Our predictions of the nebular HeII
intensity agree well with the observations in WR galaxies and an important
fraction of the giant HII regions where nebular HeII is detected. We propose
further observational tests of our result.Comment: ApJ Letters, accepted. 8 pages LaTeX including 3 PostScript figures,
uses AASTeX and psfig macros. PostScript file also available at
ftp://ftp.stsci.edu/outside-access/out.going/schaerer/imf.p
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