23,707 research outputs found
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
How was the Hubble sequence 6 Gyrs ago?
The way galaxies assemble their mass to form the well-defined Hubble sequence
is amongst the most debated topic in modern cosmology. One difficulty is to
link distant galaxies to those at present epoch. We aim at establishing how
were the galaxies of the Hubble sequence, 6 Gyrs ago. We intend to derive a
past Hubble sequence that can be causally linked to the present-day one. We
selected samples of nearby galaxies from the SDSS and of distant galaxies from
the GOODS survey. We verified that each sample is representative of galaxies.
We further showed that the observational conditions necessary to retrieve their
morphological classification are similar in an unbiased way. Morphological
analysis has been done in an identical way for all galaxies in the two samples.
We found an absence of number evolution for elliptical and lenticular galaxies,
which strikingly contrasts with the strong evolution of spiral and peculiar
galaxies. Spiral galaxies were 2.3 times less abundant in the past, that is
exactly compensated by the strong decrease by a factor 5 of peculiar galaxies.
It strongly suggests that more than half of the present-day spirals had
peculiar morphologies, 6 Gyrs ago, and this has to be accounted by any scenario
of galactic disk evolution and formation. The past Hubble sequence can be used
to test these scenarios as well as to test evolution of fundamental planes for
spirals and bulges.Comment: Version accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, October 21 2009.
Including low resolution images. 11 pages, 8 figure
Probability distribution of arrival times in quantum mechanics
In a previous paper [V. Delgado and J. G. Muga, Phys. Rev. A 56, 3425 (1997)]
we introduced a self-adjoint operator whose eigenstates
can be used to define consistently a probability distribution of the time of
arrival at a given spatial point. In the present work we show that the
probability distribution previously proposed can be well understood on
classical grounds in the sense that it is given by the expectation value of a
certain positive definite operator which is nothing but a
straightforward quantum version of the modulus of the classical current. For
quantum states highly localized in momentum space about a certain momentum , the expectation value of becomes indistinguishable
from the quantum probability current. This fact may provide a justification for
the common practice of using the latter quantity as a probability distribution
of arrival times.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, no figures; A Note added; To be published in Phys.
Rev.
The S2N2 metallicity calibrator and the abundance gradient of M 33
We introduce the log(Ha/[SII]6717+6731) vs. log(Ha/[NII]6583) (S2N2)
diagnostic diagram as metallicity and ionisation parameter indicator for HII
regions in external galaxies. The location of HII regions in the S2N2 diagram
was studied both empirically and theoretically. We found that, for a wide range
of metallicities, the S2N2 diagram gives single valued results in the
metallicity-ionisation parameter plane. We demonstrate that the S2N2 diagram is
a powerful tool to estimate metallicities of high-redshift (z ~ 2) HII
galaxies. Finally, we derive the metallicity for 76 HII regions in M33 from the
S2N2 diagram and calculate an O/H abundance gradient for this galaxy of -0.05
(+-0.01) dex kpc^-1.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The Nuclear and Circum-nuclear Stellar Population in Seyfert 2 Galaxies: Implications for the Starburst-AGN Connection
We report the results of a spectroscopic investigation of a sample of 20 of
the brightest type 2 Seyfert nuclei. Our goal is to search for the direct
spectroscopic signature of massive stars, and thereby probe the role of
circumnuclear starbursts in the Seyfert phenomenon. The method used is based on
the detection of the higher order Balmer lines and HeI lines in absorption and
the Wolf-Rayet feature at 4680 \AA in emission. These lines are strong
indicators of the presence of young (a few Myrs) and intermediate-age (a few
100 Myrs) stellar populations. In over half the sample, we have detected HeI
and/or strong stellar absorption features in the high-order (near-UV) Balmer
series together with relatively weak lines from an old stellar population. In
three others we detect a broad emission feature near 4680 \AA that is most
plausibly ascribed to a population of Wolf-Rayet stars (the evolved descendants
of the most massive stars). We therefore conclude that the blue and near-UV
light of over half of the sample is dominated by young and/or intermediate age
stars. The ``young'' Seyfert 2's have have larger far-IR luminosities, cooler
mid/far-IR colors, and smaller [OIII]/H flux ratios than the ``old''
ones. These differences are consistent with a starburst playing a significant
energetic role in the former class. We consider the possibility that there may
be two distinct sub-classes of Seyfert 2 nuclei (``starbursts'' and ``hidden
BLR''). However, the fact that hidden BLRs have been found in three of the
``young'' nuclei argues against this, and suggests that nuclear starbursts may
be a more general part of the Seyfert phenomenon.Comment: To be published in ApJ, 546, Jan 10, 200
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