The WiFeS S7 AGN survey: Current status and recent results on NGC 6300

The Siding Spring Southern Seyfert Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey (S7) is a targeted survey probing the narrow-line regions (NLRs) of a representative sample of ~140 nearby (z<0.02) Seyfert galaxies by means of optical integral field spectroscopy. The survey is based on a homogeneous data set observed using the Wide Field Spectrograph WiFeS. The data provide a 25x38 arcsec$^2$ field-of-view around the galaxy centre at typically ~1.5 arcsec spatial resolution and cover a wavelength range between ~3400 - 7100 $\AA$ at spectral resolutions of ~100 km s$^{-1}$ and ~50 km s$^{-1}$ in the blue and red parts, respectively. The survey is primarily designed to study gas excitation and star formation around AGN, with a special focus on the shape of the AGN ionising continuum, the interaction between radio jets and the NLR gas, and the nature of nuclear LINER emission. We provide an overview of the current status of S7-based results and present new results for NGC 6300.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, Refereed Proceeding of the "The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys" conference held at the INAF - Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, on 25th-28th november 2014, to be published on Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, edited by Longo, Napolitano, Marconi, Paolillo, Iodic

Testing Diagnostics of Nuclear Activity and Star Formation in Galaxies at z>1

We present some of the first science data with the new Keck/MOSFIRE instrument to test the effectiveness of different AGN/SF diagnostics at z~1.5. MOSFIRE spectra were obtained in three H-band multi-slit masks in the GOODS-S field, resulting in two hour exposures of 36 emission-line galaxies. We compare X-ray data with the traditional emission-line ratio diagnostics and the alternative mass-excitation and color-excitation diagrams, combining new MOSFIRE infrared data with previous HST/WFC3 infrared spectra (from the 3D-HST survey) and multiwavelength photometry. We demonstrate that a high [OIII]/Hb ratio is insufficient as an AGN indicator at z>1. For the four X-ray detected galaxies, the classic diagnostics ([OIII]/Hb vs. [NII]/Ha and [SII]/Ha) remain consistent with X-ray AGN/SF classification. The X-ray data also suggest that "composite" galaxies (with intermediate AGN/SF classification) host bona-fide AGNs. Nearly 2/3 of the z~1.5 emission-line galaxies have nuclear activity detected by either X-rays or the classic diagnostics. Compared to the X-ray and line ratio classifications, the mass-excitation method remains effective at z>1, but we show that the color-excitation method requires a new calibration to successfully identify AGNs at these redshifts.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Accepted to ApJ Letter

A Survey of Atomic Carbon [C I] in High-redshift Main-Sequence Galaxies

We present the first results of an ALMA survey of the lower fine structure line of atomic carbon [C I](^3P_1\,-\,^{3}P_0) in far infrared-selected galaxies on the main sequence at $z\sim1.2$ in the COSMOS field. We compare our sample with a comprehensive compilation of data available in the literature for local and high-redshift starbursting systems and quasars. We show that the [C I]($^3P_1$$\rightarrow$$^3P_0$) luminosity correlates on global scales with the infrared luminosity $L_{\rm IR}$ similarly to low-$J$ CO transitions. We report a systematic variation of L'_{\rm [C\,I]^3P_1\,-\, ^3P_0}/$L_{\rm IR}$ as a function of the galaxy type, with the ratio being larger for main-sequence galaxies than for starbursts and sub-millimeter galaxies at fixed $L_{\rm IR}$. The L'_{\rm [C\,I]^3P_1\,-\, ^3P_0}/$L'_{\rm CO(2-1)}$ and $M_{\rm{[C I]}}$/$M_{\rm dust}$ mass ratios are similar for main-sequence galaxies and for local and high-redshift starbursts within a 0.2 dex intrinsic scatter, suggesting that [C I] is a good tracer of molecular gas mass as CO and dust. We derive a fraction of $f_{\rm{[C\,I]}} = M_{\rm{[C\,I]}} / M_{\rm{C}}\sim3-13$% of the total carbon mass in the atomic neutral phase. Moreover, we estimate the neutral atomic carbon abundance, the fundamental ingredient to calibrate [C I] as a gas tracer, by comparing L'_{\rm [C\,I]^3P_1\,-\, ^3P_0} and available gas masses from CO lines and dust emission. We find lower [C I] abundances in main-sequence galaxies than in starbursting systems and sub-millimeter galaxies, as a consequence of the canonical $\alpha_{\rm CO}$ and gas-to-dust conversion factors. This argues against the application to different galaxy populations of a universal standard [C I] abundance derived from highly biased samples.Comment: 14 pages + Appendix. Accepted for publication in ApJ. All the data tables in Appendix will be also released in electronic forma

GOODS-HerschelHerschel: identification of the individual galaxies responsible for the 80-290μ\mum cosmic infrared background

We propose a new method of pushing $Herschel$ to its faintest detection limits using universal trends in the redshift evolution of the far infrared over 24$\mu$m colours in the well-sampled GOODS-North field. An extension to other fields with less multi-wavelength information is presented. This method is applied here to raise the contribution of individually detected $Herschel$ sources to the cosmic infrared background (CIRB) by a factor 5 close to its peak at 250$\mu$m and more than 3 in the 350$\mu$m and 500$\mu$m bands. We produce realistic mock $Herschel$ images of the deep PACS and SPIRE images of the GOODS-North field from the GOODS-$Herschel$ Key Program and use them to quantify the confusion noise at the position of individual sources, i.e., estimate a "local confusion noise". Two methods are used to identify sources with reliable photometric accuracy extracted using 24$\mu$m prior positions. The clean index (CI), previously defined but validated here with simulations, which measures the presence of bright 24$\mu$m neighbours and the photometric accuracy index (PAI) directly extracted from the mock $Herschel$ images. After correction for completeness, thanks to our mock $Herschel$ images, individually detected sources make up as much as 54% and 60% of the CIRB in the PACS bands down to 1.1 mJy at 100$\mu$m and 2.2 mJy at 160$\mu$m and 55, 33, and 13% of the CIRB in the SPIRE bands down to 2.5, 5, and 9 mJy at 250$\mu$m, 350$\mu$m, and 500$\mu$m, respectively. The latter depths improve the detection limits of $Herschel$ by factors of 5 at 250$\mu$m, and 3 at 350$\mu$m and 500$\mu$m as compared to the standard confusion limit. Interestingly, the dominant contributors to the CIRB in all $Herschel$ bands appear to be distant siblings of the Milky Way ($z$$\sim$0.96 for $\lambda$$<$300$\mu$m) with a stellar mass of $M_{\star}$$\sim$9$\times$10$^{10}$M$_{\odot}$.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysic

The parallel lives of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies

We compare all the available observational data on the redshift evolution of the total stellar mass and star formation rate density in the Universe with the mass and accretion rate density evolution of supermassive black holes, estimated from the hard X-ray selected luminosity function of quasars and active galactic nuclei. We find that on average black hole mass must have been higher at higher redshift for given spheroid stellar mass. Moreover, we find negative redshift evolution of the disk/irregulars to spheroid mass ratio. The total accretion efficiency is constrained to be between 0.06 and 0.12, depending on the exact value of the local SMBH mass density, and on the critical accretion rate below which radiatively inefficient accretion may take place.Comment: 5 pages, 2 color figures. To appear in the proceedings of "Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology - Einstein's Legacy" (Eds.: B. Aschenbach, V. Burwitz, G. Hasinger, and B. Leibundgut), 7 - 11 November 2005, Munich, German

New Phase Induced by Pressure in the Iron-Arsenide Superconductor K-Ba122

The electrical resistivity rho of the iron-arsenide superconductor Ba1-xKxFe2As2 was measured in applied pressures up to 2.6 GPa for four underdoped samples, with x = 0.16, 0.18, 0.19 and 0.21. The antiferromagnetic ordering temperature T_N, detected as a sharp anomaly in rho(T), decreases linearly with pressure. At pressures above around 1.0 GPa, a second sharp anomaly is detected at a lower temperature T_0, which rises with pressure. We attribute this second anomaly to the onset of a phase that causes a reconstruction of the Fermi surface. This new phase expands with increasing x and it competes with superconductivity. We discuss the possibility that a second spin-density wave orders at T_0, with a Q vector distinct from that of the spin-density wave that sets in at T_N.Comment: Two higher K concentrations were added, revealing a steady expansion of the new phase in the T-P phase diagra