The properties of the stellar populations in ULIRGs I: sample, data and spectral synthesis modelling

We present deep long-slit optical spectra for a sample of 36 Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), taken with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma with the aim of investigating the star formation histories and testing evolutionary scenarios for such objects. Here we present the sample, the analysis techniques and a general overview of the properties of the stellar populations. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used in order to estimate the ages of the stellar populations found in the diffuse light sampled by the spectra in both the nuclear and extended regions of the target galaxies. We find that adequate fits can be obtained using combinations of young stellar populations (YSPs,t_YSP<=2 Gyr), with ages divided into two groups: very young stellar populations (VYSPs, t_VYSP <=100 Myr) and intermediate-young stellar populations (IYSPs, 0.1 < t_IYSP <= 2 Gyr). Our results show that YSPs are present at all locations of the galaxies covered by our slit positions, with the exception of the northern nuclear region of the ULIRG IRAS 23327+2913. Furthermore, VYSPs are presents in at least 85% of the 133 extraction apertures used for this study. Old stellar populations (OSPs, t_{OSP} > 2 Gyr) do not make a major contribution to the optical light in the majority of the apertures extracted. In fact they are essential for fitting the spectra in only 5% (7) of the extracted apertures. The estimated total masses for the YSPs (VYSPs+IYSPs) are in the range 0.18 x 10^{10} <= M_YSP <= 50 x 10^{10} Msun. We have also estimated the bolometric luminosities associated with the stellar populations detected at optical wavelengths, finding that they fall in the range 0.07 x 10^{12} < L_bol < 2.2 x 10^{12} Lsun. In addition, we find that reddening is significant at all locations in the galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Starburst radio galaxies: general properties, evolutionary histories and triggering

In this paper we discuss the results of a programme of spectral synthesis modelling of a sample of starburst radio galaxies in the context of scenarios for the triggering of the activity and the evolution of the host galaxies. The starburst radio galaxies -- comprising ~15 - 25% of all powerful extragalactic radio sources -- frequently show disturbed morphologies at optical wavelengths, and unusual radio structures, although their stellar masses are typical of radio galaxies as a class. In terms of the characteristic ages of their young stellar populations (YSP), the objects can be divided into two groups: those with YSP ages t_ysp < 0.1 Gyr, in which the radio source has been triggered quasi-simultaneously with the main starburst episode, and those with older YSP in which the radio source has been triggered or re-triggered a significant period after the starburst episode. Combining the information on the YSP with that on the optical morphologies of the host galaxies, we deduce that the majority of the starburst radio galaxies have been triggered in galaxy mergers in which at least one of the galaxies is gas rich. However, the triggering (or re-triggering) of the radio jets can occur immediately before, around, or a significant period after the final coalescence of the merging nuclei, reflecting the complex gas infall histories of the merger events. Overall, our results provide further evidence that powerful radio jet activity can be triggered via a variety of mechanisms, including different evolutionary stages of major galaxy mergers; clearly radio-loud AGN activity is not solely associated with a particular stage of a unique type of gas accretion event.Comment: 16 pages, 3 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Gas and dust properties in the afterglow spectra of GRB 050730

We present early WHT ISIS optical spectroscopy of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst GRB 050730. The spectrum shows a DLA system with the highest measured hydrogen column to date: N(HI) = 22.1 +/- 0.1 at the third-highest GRB redshift z = 3.968. Our analysis of the Swift XRT X-ray observations of the early afterglow show X-ray flares accompanied by decreasing X-ray absorption. From both the optical and the X-ray spectra we constrain the dust and gas properties of the host galaxy. We find the host to be a low metallicity galaxy, with low dust content. Much of the X-ray absorbing gas is situated close to the GRB, whilst the HI absorption causing the DLA is most likely located further out.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for A&A Letter

Diverse young stellar populations in the intermediate-redshift radio galaxies 3C 213.1 and 3C 459: implications for the evolution of the host galaxies

We present European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (ESO VLT) and William Herschel Telescope (WHT) spectroscopic observations of two powerful radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts (3C 213.1 and 3C 459), obtained with the aim of establishing the nature and evolutionary status of the host galaxies. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used to demonstrate that young stellar populations (YSP) make a major contribution to the integrated optical light in both sources, contributing at least 37 and 80 per cent of the integrated B-band light in 3C 213.1 and 3C 459, respectively. While in the case of 3C 213.1 the YSP has an intermediate age (0.4–0.8 Gyr) and comprises 3–30 per cent of the total stellar mass, adequate fits to the spectra of 3C 459 require a combination of younger (<0.1 Gyr) and intermediate (0.2–1.2 Gyr) age YSP components that together comprise 5–100 per cent of the total stellar mass. Both the optical and far-IR properties of 3C 459 are consistent with its status as an ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG), and a scenario in which the observed radio source has been triggered close to the peak of star formation activity in a major gas-rich merger. On the other hand, in 3C 213.1 it is likely that the radio source has been triggered (or re-triggered) a significant period after the starburst peak, and the far-IR luminosity of the source is substantially lower. Following correction for the contributions of the YSP, the absolute magnitudes of the host galaxies of both sources are relatively modest (≤2L*), thus demonstrating that powerful radio activity is not always associated with the most massive and luminous elliptical galaxies. These results serve to emphasize that the radio source population is diverse, in terms of both the host galaxy properties and the triggering mechanism(s) for the radio source activity

Hubble Space Telescope Hx Imaging of Star-forming Galaxies at z approximately equal to 1-1.5: Evolution in the Size and Luminosity of Giant H II Regions

We present Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 narrow-band imaging of the H emission in a sample of eight gravitationally lensed galaxies at z = 1-1.5. The magnification caused by the foreground clusters enables us to obtain a median source plane spatial resolution of 360 pc, as well as providing magnifications in flux ranging from approximately 10 to approximately 50. This enables us to identify resolved star-forming HII regions at this epoch and therefore study their H luminosity distributions for comparisons with equivalent samples at z approximately 2 and in the local Universe. We find evolution in the both luminosity and surface brightness of HII regions with redshift. The distribution of clump properties can be quantified with an HII region luminosity function, which can be fit by a power law with an exponential break at some cut-off, and we find that the cut-off evolves with redshift. We therefore conclude that 'clumpy' galaxies are seen at high redshift because of the evolution of the cut-off mass; the galaxies themselves follow similar scaling relations to those at z = 0, but their HII regions are larger and brighter and thus appear as clumps which dominate the morphology of the galaxy. A simple theoretical argument based on gas collapsing on scales of the Jeans mass in a marginally unstable disc shows that the clumpy morphologies of high-z galaxies are driven by the competing effects of higher gas fractions causing perturbations on larger scales, partially compensated by higher epicyclic frequencies which stabilize the disc

Extreme Starbursts in the Local Universe

The "Extreme starbursts in the local universe" workshop was held at the Insituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia in Granada, Spain on 21-25 June 2010. Bearing in mind the advent of a new generation of facilities such as JWST, Herschel, ALMA, eVLA and eMerlin, the aim of the workshop was to bring together observers and theorists to review the latest results. The purpose of the workshop was to address the following issues: what are the main modes of triggering extreme starbursts in the local Universe? How efficiently are stars formed in extreme starbursts? What are the star formation histories of local starburst galaxies? How well do the theoretical simulations model the observations? What can we learn about starbursts in the distant Universe through studies of their local counterparts? How important is the role of extreme starbursts in the hierarchical assembly of galaxies? How are extreme starbursts related to the triggering of AGN in the nuclei of galaxies? Overall, 41 talks and 4 posters with their corresponding 10 minutes short talks were presented during the workshop. In addition, the workshop was designed with emphasis on discussions, and therefore, there were 6 discussion sessions of up to one hour during the workshop. Here is presented a summary of the purposes of the workshop as well as a compilation of the abstracts corresponding to each of the presentations. The summary and conclusions of the workshop along with a description of the future prospects by Sylvain Veilleux can be found in the last section of this document. A photo of the assistants is included.Comment: worksho

Extended soft X-ray emission in 3CR radio galaxies at z < 0.3: High Excitation and Broad Line Galaxies

We analyze Chandra observations of diffuse soft X-ray emission associated with a complete sample of 3CR radio galaxies at z < 0.3. In this paper we focus on the properties of the spectroscopic sub-classes of high excitation galaxies (HEGs) and broad line objects (BLOs). Among the 33 HEGs we detect extended (or possibly extended) emission in about 40% of the sources; the fraction is even higher (8/10) restricting the analysis to the objects with exposure times larger than 10 ks. In the 18 BLOs, extended emission is seen only in 2 objects; this lower detection rate can be ascribed to the presence of their bright X-ray nuclei that easily outshine any genuine diffuse emission. A very close correspondence between the soft X-ray and optical line morphology emerges. We also find that the ratio between [O III] and extended soft X-ray luminosity is confined within a factor of 2 around a median value of 5. Both results are similar to what is seen in Seyfert galaxies. We discuss different processes that could explain the soft X-ray emission and conclude that the photoionization of extended gas, coincident with the narrow line region, is the favored mechanism.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication on A&

Emission line gas ionisation in young radio galaxies

This paper is the second in a series in which we present intermediate-resolution spectra for a complete sample of 14 compact radio sources, taken with the aim of investigating the impact of the nuclear activity on the cirumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM) in the early stages of radio source evolution. In the first paper we presented the kinematic results from the line modelling and reported fast outflows in the circumnuclear gas. Here, we use the line fluxes to investigate the physical conditions and dominant ionisation mechanisms of the emission line gas. We find evidence for large electron densities and high reddening in the nuclear regions, particularly in the broader, blueshifted components. These results are consistent with the idea that the young, recently triggered radio sources still reside in dense and dusty cocoons deposited by the recent activity triggering event. In addition, we find that the quiescent nuclear and extended narrow components are consistent with AGN photoionisation. For the nuclear broader and shifted components the results are less clear. Whilst there are suggestions that the broader components may be closer to shock plus precursor models on the diagnostic diagrams (with high electron temperatures and densities), we are unable to unambiguously distinguish the dominant ionisation mechanism using the optical emission line ratios. This is surprising given the strong evidence for jet-cloud interactions (broad emission lines, large outflow velocities and strong radio-optical alignments), which favours the idea that the warm gas has been accelerated in shocks driven by the radio lobes expanding through a dense cocoon of gas deposited during the triggering event.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS - Full paper (including Appendices) available at http://www.astron.nl/~morganti/Papers/Holt_MNRAS2009.p