914 research outputs found
The Taurus Tunable Filter Field Galaxy Survey: Sample Selection and Narrowband Number-Counts
Recent evidence suggests a falling volume-averaged star-formation rate (SFR)
over z ~ 1. It is not clear, however, the extent to which the selection of such
samples influences the measurement of this quantity. Using the Taurus Tunable
Filter (TTF) we have obtained an emission-line sample of faint star-forming
galaxies over comparable lookback times: the TTF Field Galaxy Survey. By
selecting through emission-lines, we are screening galaxies through a quantity
that scales directly with star-formation activity for a given choice of initial
mass function. The scanning narrowband technique furnishes a galaxy sample that
differs from traditional broadband-selected surveys in both its volume-limited
nature and selection of galaxies through emission-line flux. Three discrete
wavelength intervals are covered, centered at H-alpha redshifts z = 0.08, 0.24
and 0.39.
Galaxy characteristics are presented and comparisons made with existing
surveys of both broadband and emission-line selection. When the number-counts
of emission-line objects are compared with those expected on the basis of
existing H-alpha surveys, we find an excess of ~ 3 times at the faintest
limits. While these detections are yet to be independently confirmed,
inspection of the stronger subsample of galaxies detected in both the line and
continuum (line-on-continuum subsample; 13 %) is sufficient to support an
excess population. This increase in the emission-line field population implies
higher star-formation densities over z ~ 0.4. However, further study in the
form of multi-object spectroscopic follow-up is necessary to quantify this and
confirm the faintest detections in the sample.Comment: 48 pages, 12 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. An
abridged version of the Abstract is shown her
Pre-galactic metal enrichment - The chemical signatures of the first stars
The emergence of the first sources of light at redshifts of z ~ 10-30
signaled the transition from the simple initial state of the Universe to one of
increasing complexity. We review recent progress in our understanding of the
formation of the first stars and galaxies, starting with cosmological initial
conditions, primordial gas cooling, and subsequent collapse and fragmentation.
We emphasize the important open question of how the pristine gas was enriched
with heavy chemical elements in the wake of the first supernovae. We conclude
by discussing how the chemical abundance patterns conceivably allow us to probe
the properties of the first stars and subsequent stellar generations, and allow
us to test models of early metal enrichment.Comment: 52 pages, 20 figures, clarifications, references added, accepted for
publication in the Reviews of Modern Physic
Suppression of the near-infrared OH night sky lines with fibre Bragg gratings - first results
The background noise between 1 and 1.8 microns in ground-based instruments is
dominated by atmospheric emission from hydroxyl molecules. We have built and
commissioned a new instrument, GNOSIS, which suppresses 103 OH doublets between
1.47 - 1.7 microns by a factor of ~1000 with a resolving power of ~10,000. We
present the first results from the commissioning of GNOSIS using the IRIS2
spectrograph at the AAT. The combined throughput of the GNOSIS fore-optics,
grating unit and relay optics is ~36 per cent, but this could be improved to
~46 per cent with a more optimal design. We measure strong suppression of the
OH lines, confirming that OH suppression with fibre Bragg gratings will be a
powerful technology for low resolution spectroscopy. The integrated OH
suppressed background between 1.5 and 1.7 microns is reduced by a factor of 9
compared to a control spectrum using the same system without suppression. The
potential of low resolution OH suppressed spectroscopy is illustrated with
example observations.
The GNOSIS background is dominated by detector dark current below 1.67
microns and by thermal emission above 1.67 microns. After subtracting these we
detect an unidentified residual interline component of ~ 860 +/ 210
ph/s/m^2/micron/arcsec^2. This component is equally bright in the suppressed
and control spectra. We have investigated the possible source of the interline
component, but were unable to discriminate between a possible instrumental
artifact and intrinsic atmospheric emission. Resolving the source of this
emission is crucial for the design of fully optimised OH suppression
spectrographs. The next generation OH suppression spectrograph will be focussed
on resolving the source of the interline component, taking advantage of better
optimisation for a FBG feed. We quantify the necessary improvements for an
optimal OH suppressing fibre spectrograph design.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 15 pages, 18 figure
Giant Lya nebulae associated with high redshift radio galaxies
We report deep Keck narrow-band Lya images of the luminous z > 3 radio
galaxies 4C 41.17, 4C 60.07, and B2 0902+34. The images show giant, 100-200 kpc
scale emission line nebulae, centered on these galaxies, which exhibit a wealth
of morphological structure, including extended low surface brightness emission
in the outer regions, radially directed filaments, cone-shaped structures and
(indirect) evidence for extended Lya absorption. We discuss these features
within a general scenario where the nebular gas cools gravitationally in large
Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos, forming stars and multiple stellar systems.
Merging of these ``building'' blocks triggers large scale starbursts, forming
the stellar bulges of massive radio galaxy hosts, and feeds super-massive black
holes which produce the powerful radio jets and lobes. The radio sources,
starburst superwinds and AGN radiation then disrupt the accretion process
limiting galaxy and black hole growth, and imprint the observed filamentary and
cone-shaped structures of the Lya nebulae.Comment: 36 Pages, including 8 Postscript figures. Accepted for publication in
the Astrophysical Journa
An X-ray and Optical Investigation of the Starburst-driven Superwind in the Galaxy Merger Arp 299
We present a detailed investigation of the X-ray and optical properties of
the starburst-merger system Arp299 (NGC 3690, Mrk 171), with an emphasis on its
spectacular gaseous nebula. We analyse \rosat and \asca X-ray data and optical
spectra and narrow-band images. We suggest that the on-going galaxy collision
has tidally-redistributed the ISM of the merging galaxies. The optical
emission-line nebula results as this gas is photoionized by radiation that
escapes from the starburst, and is shock-heated, accelerated, and pressurized
by a `superwind' driven by the collective effect of the starburst supernovae
and stellar winds. The X-ray nebula in Arp 299 is is plausibly a mass-loaded
flow of adiabatically-cooling gas that carries out a substantial fraction of
the energy and metals injected by the starburst at close to the escape velocity
from Arp 299. The mass outflow rate likely exceeds the star-formation rate in
this system. We conclude that powerful starbursts are able to heat (and
possibly eject) a significant fraction of the ISM in merging galaxies.Comment: 54 pages, 17 postscript figures, AAS late
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