Diffuse interstellar bands {\lambda}5780 and {\lambda}5797 in the Antennae Galaxy as seen by MUSE

ABRIDGED: Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are faint spectral absorption features of unknown origin. Research on DIBs beyond the Local Group (LG) will surely blossom in the era of the ELTs. A possibility that needs to be explored is the use of integral field spectrographs. We do so by using MUSE data for the Antennae Galaxy, the closest major galaxy merger. High S-to-N spectra were created by co-adding the signal of many spatial elements. The emission of the underlying stellar population was modeled using STARLIGHT. To our knowledge, we have derived the first maps for the DIBs at l5780 and l5797 in galaxies outside the LG. The l5780 DIB was detected in an area of ~0.6 arcmin2, corresponding to a linear scale of ~25 kpc2. This region was sampled using >200 independent lines of sight. The DIB l5797 was detected in >100 independent lines of sight. Both DIBs are associated with a region with high emission in the HI 21 cm line, implying a connection between atomic gas and DIBs, as the correlations for the Milky Way also suggest. Conversely, there is mild spatial association between the two DIBs and the molecular gas, in agreement with results for our Galaxy that indicate a lack of correlation between DIBs and molecular gas. The overall structure for the DIB strength distribution and extinction are comparable. Within the system, the l5780 DIB clearly correlates with the extinction. Both DIBs follow the relationship between equivalent width and reddening when data for several galaxies are considered. Unidentified Infrared emission Bands (UIBs, likely caused by PAHs) and the l5780 and l5797 DIBs show similar but not identical spatial distributions. We attribute the differences to extinction effects without necessarily implying a radically different nature of the respective carriers. The results illustrate the enormous potential of integral field spectrographs for extragalactic DIB research.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; version corrected by English edito

HeI in the central Giant HII Region of NGC 5253. A 2D observational approach to collisional and radiative transfer effects

ABRIDGED: NGC5253 is an ideal laboratory for detailed studies of starburst galaxies. We present for the first time in a starburst galaxy a 2D study of the spatial behavior of collisional and radiative transfer effects in He^+. The HeI lines are analysed based on data obtained with FLAMES and GMOS. Collisional effects are negligible for transitions in the singlet cascade while relatively important for those in the triplet cascade. In particular, they can contribute up to 20% of the flux in the HeIl7065 line. Radiative transfer effects are important over an extended and circular area of 30pc in diameter centered at the Super Star Clusters. HeI abundance, y^+, has been mapped using extinction corrected fluxes of six HeI lines, realistic assumptions for T_e, n_e, and the stellar absorption equivalent width as well as the most recent emissivities. We found a mean of 10^3 y^+ ~80.3 over the mapped area. The relation between the excitation and the total helium abundance, y_tot, is consistent with no abundance gradient. Uncertainties in the derivation of He abundances are dominated by the adopted assumptions. We illustrated the difficulty of detecting a putative He enrichment due to the presence of Wolf-Rayet stars in the main GHIIR. Data are marginally consistent with an excess in the N/He ratio in the N enriched area of the order of both, the atmospheric N/He ratios in WR stars and the uncertainties estimated for the N/He ratios.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics; the emissivities presented in the Corrigendum, Porter et al. 2013, arXiv:1303.5115, have been include

p3d: a general data-reduction tool for fiber-fed integral-field spectrographs

The reduction of integral-field spectrograph (IFS) data is demanding work. Many repetitive operations are required in order to convert raw data into, typically a large number of, spectra. This effort can be markedly simplified through the use of a tool or pipeline, which is designed to complete many of the repetitive operations without human interaction. Here we present our semi-automatic data-reduction tool p3d that is designed to be used with fiber-fed IFSs. Important components of p3d include a novel algorithm for automatic finding and tracing of spectra on the detector, and two methods of optimal spectrum extraction in addition to standard aperture extraction. p3d also provides tools to combine several images, perform wavelength calibration and flat field data. p3d is at the moment configured for four IFSs. In order to evaluate its performance we have tested the different components of the tool. For these tests we used both simulated and observational data. We demonstrate that for three of the IFSs a correction for so-called cross-talk due to overlapping spectra on the detector is required. Without such a correction spectra will be inaccurate, in particular if there is a significant intensity gradient across the object. Our tests showed that p3d is able to produce accurate results. p3d is a highly general and freely available tool. It is easily extended to include improved algorithms, new visualization tools and support for additional instruments. The program code can be downloaded from the p3d-project web site http://p3d.sourceforge.netComment: 18 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Unconventional methods of fertilizer placement to reduce losses of fall applied nitrogen

Non-Peer ReviewedIn two field experiments conducted in 1978-79, fall application of incorporated urea, or banded aqua ammonia, produced much less increase in yield and N-uptake than did spring application for barley grain. However, when the fall-applied fertilizers were placed in constricted nests (one nest per each 45 x 45 cm area) the yield and N-uptake were nearly as great as with spring application. The mechanism by which nests avert losses from fall-applied N is through slowing of nitrification, and possibly through lessening of immobilization of fertilizer N by straw. Indirect evidence suggests that placement in nests is more effective than inhibitors of nitrification in reducing losses from fall-applied N fertilizers. The two field experiments in 1978-79, and three experiments in 1977-78 with fall-applied . urea showed that band placement improved yield in comparison to incorporation, but the banding was inferior to nesting. More specifically, yields with incorporation, banding, nesting, and spring incorporation were 960, 1240, 1560, and 1830 kg/ha, respectively. In the same order, values for % uptake of fertilizer N, were 31, 38, 53, and 66 %. Taking all of the eight experiments which have been conducted with nesting during the past four years, average yield increases were 1030, 1750, and 1980 kg/ha for fall incorporation, fall nesting, and spring incorporation, respectively. This work has been restricted to northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan, and the feasibility of practical field-scale techniques of nesting, or application of large pellets, has not yet been investigated, but nevertheless the benefit of fall nesting is large enough to suggest work on this topic by other researchers in other areas of the prairie provinces

The extinction and dust-to-gas structure of the planetary nebula NGC 7009 observed with MUSE

The large field and wavelength range of MUSE is well suited to mapping Galactic planetary nebulae (PN). The bright PN NGC 7009 was observed with MUSE on the VLT during the Science Verification of the instrument in seeing of 0.6". Emission line maps in hydrogen Balmer and Paschen lines were formed from analysis of the MUSE cubes. The measured electron temperature and density from the MUSE cube were employed to predict the theoretical hydrogen line ratios and map the extinction distribution across the nebula. After correction for the interstellar extinction to NGC 7009, the internal dust-to-gas ratio (A_V/N_H) has been mapped for the first time in a PN. The extinction map of NGC 7009 has considerable structure, broadly corresponding to the morphological features of the nebula. A large-scale feature in the extinction map, consisting of a crest and trough, occurs at the rim of the inner shell. The nature of this feature was investigated and instrumental and physical causes considered; no convincing mechanisms were identified to produce this feature, other than mass loss variations in the earlier asymptotic giant branch phase. The dust-to-gas ratio A_V/N_H increases from 0.7 times the interstellar value to >5 times from the centre towards the periphery of the ionized nebula. The integrated A_V/N_H is about 2 times the mean ISM value. It is demonstrated that extinction mapping with MUSE provides a powerful tool for studying the distribution of PN internal dust and the dust-to-gas ratio. (Abridged.)Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Accepted by A&

Synthesis and Characterization of Three-Coordinate Ni(III)-Imide Complexes

A new family of low-coordinate nickel imides supported by 1,2-bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)ethane was synthesized. Oxidation of nickel(II) complexes led to the formation of both aryl- and alkyl-substituted nickel(III)-imides, and examples of both types have been isolated and fully characterized. The aryl substituent that proved most useful in stabilizing the Ni(III)-imide moiety was the bulky 2,6-dimesitylphenyl. The two Ni(III)-imide compounds showed different variable-temperature magnetic properties but analogous EPR spectra at low temperatures. To account for this discrepancy, a low-spin/high-spin equilibrium was proposed to take place for the alkyl-substituted Ni(III)-imide complex. This proposal was supported by DFT calculations. DFT calculations also indicated that the unpaired electron is mostly localized on the imide nitrogen for the Ni(III) complexes. The results of reactions carried out in the presence of hydrogen donors supported the findings from DFT calculations that the adamantyl substituent was a significantly more reactive hydrogen-atom abstractor. Interestingly, the steric properties of the 2,6-dimesitylphenyl substituent are important not only in protecting the Ni═N core but also in favoring one rotamer of the resulting Ni(III)-imide, by locking the phenyl ring in a perpendicular orientation with respect to the NiPP plane

Towards DIB mapping in galaxies beyond 100 Mpc. A radial profile of the λ\lambda5780.5 diffuse interstellar band in AM 1353-272 B

Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) are non-stellar weak absorption features of unknown origin found in the spectra of stars viewed through one or several clouds of Interstellar Medium (ISM). Research of DIBs outside the Milky Way is currently very limited. Specifically spatially resolved investigations of DIBs outside of the Local Group is, to our knowledge, inexistent. Here, we explore the capability of the high sensitivity Integral Field Spectrograph, MUSE, as a tool to map diffuse interstellar bands at distances larger than 100 Mpc. We use MUSE commissioning data for AM 1353-272 B, the member with highest extinction of the "The Dentist's Chair", an interacting system of two spiral galaxies. High signal-to-noise spectra were created by co-adding the signal of many spatial elements distributed in a geometry of concentric elliptical half-rings. We derived decreasing radial profiles for the equivalent width of the $\lambda$5780.5 DIB both in the receding and approaching side of the companion galaxy up to distances of $\sim$4.6 kpc from the center of the galaxy. Likewise, interstellar extinction, as derived from the Halpha/Hbeta line ratio displays a similar trend, with decreasing values towards the external parts. This translates into an intrinsic correlation between the strength of the DIB and the extinction within AM 1353-272 B consistent with the current existing global trend between these quantities when using measurements for both Galactic and extragalactic sight lines. Mapping of DIB strength in the Local Universe as up to now only done for the Milky Way seems feasible. This offers a new approach to study the relationship between DIBs and other characteristics and species of the ISM in different conditions as those found in our Galaxy to the use of galaxies in the Local Group and/or single sightlines towards supernovae, quasars and galaxies outside the Local Group.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication as a Letter in Astronomy and Astrophysics; Received 10 February 2015 / Accepted 20 February 2015 ; English corrections include

The effect of organic structures on the water stability of macro-aggregates.

Non-Peer ReviewedA study was conducted to identify the chemical structures of soil organic matter and examine their effect on the water stability of macro-aggregates (>250 um) in a SiL Brown Chernozem under wheat-fallow (WF) and continuous wheat (CW) . The proportion of water stable macro-aggregates were determined by wet sieving. Chemical structures of soil organic matter were characterized by pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS), and grouped into seven classes: carbohydrates, phenolic and lignin monomers, lignin dimers, lipids + alkanes and alkenes, sterols, alkyl aromatic and N-compounds. In comparison with CW, there was a reduction in the proportion of macro-aggregates and an increase of micro-aggregates in the WF crop rotation. Sixty-five percent of all the soil organic matter (SOM) was identified by Py-FIMS. The average concentration of each class of compound in whole soil and macro-aggregate samples ranged between 0.1 and 15% of the total identified SOM. Carbohydrates, phenolic, and lignin monomers were the most abundant compounds (>10%). Linear regression models (r2 ~ 0.96, p=0.05) showed that the stability of macro-aggregates was highly correlated with the concentration of the least abundant (<3. 5%) structures of sterols, lipids and lignin dimers. These compounds are metabolic products of plants and soil organisms