2,465 research outputs found
The Discovery of 1000 km/s Outflows in Massive Post-starburst Galaxies at z=0.6
Numerical simulations suggest that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) play an
important role in the formation of early-type galaxies by expelling gas and
dust in powerful galactic winds and quenching star formation. However, the
existence of AGN feedback capable of halting galaxy-wide star formation has yet
to be observationally confirmed. To investigate this question, we have obtained
spectra of 14 post-starburst galaxies at z~0.6 to search for evidence of
galactic winds. In 10/14 galaxies we detect Mg II 2796,2803 absorption lines
which are blueshifted by 490 - 2020 km/s with respect to the stars. The median
blueshift is 1140 km/s. We hypothesize that the outflowing gas represents a
fossil galactic wind launched near the peak of the galaxy's activity, a few 100
Myr ago. The velocities we measure are intermediate between those of luminous
starbursts and broad absorption line quasars, which suggests that feedback from
an AGN may have played a role in expelling cool gas and shutting down star
formation.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter
Crossover from Conserving to Lossy Transport in Circular Random Matrix Ensembles
In a quantum dot with three leads the transmission matrix t_{12} between two
of these leads is a truncation of a unitary scattering matrix S, which we treat
as random. As the number of channels in the third lead is increased, the
constraints from the symmetry of S become less stringent and t_{12} becomes
closer to a matrix of complex Gaussian random numbers with no constraints. We
consider the distribution of the singular values of t_{12}, which is related to
a number of physical quantities. Changing the number of channels in the third
lead corresponds to increasing the amount of loss in the system (and is
distinct from prior uses of a third lead to model dephasing)
Colors and K-Band Counts of Extremely Faint Field Galaxies
We combine deep K-band (Keck) with V- and I-band (NTT) observations of two
high-Galactic latitude fields, surveying a total of ~2 sq. arcmin. The K-band
galaxy counts continue to rise above K=22, reaching surface densities of few x
10^5 per sq. degree. The slope for the counts is (d log(N) per mag per sq.
degree) = 0.23 +/- 0.02 between K=18-23, consistent with other deep K surveys.
The numbers of galaxies in each mag bin is about two times greater than the
galaxy counts of Djorgovski et al. (1995).
The optical and near infrared magnitudes of all objects detected in the V+I+K
image are discussed in the context of grids of isochrone synthesis galaxy
evolutionary models (Bruzual & Charlot 1993, 1995). The colors of most of the
observed galaxies are consistent with a population drawn from a broad redshift
distribution. A few galaxies at K=19-20 are red in both colors (V-I>3; I-K>2),
consistent with being early-type galaxies having undergone a burst of star
formation at z>5 and viewed at z~1. At K>20, we find ~8 ``red outlier''
galaxies with I-K>4 and V-I<2.5, whose colors are difficult to mimic by a
single evolving or non-evolving stellar population at any redshift. They are
likely either low-metallicity, dusty dwarf galaxies, or old galaxies at high
redshift (z>1.2). Their surface density is several per square arcminute, which
is so high that they are probably common objects of low luminosity .Comment: 28 pages, 9 Figures (2 Plates), uses aaspp4.sty. The complete paper
(including large figures and the plates) are available via anonymous ftp at
ftp://coma.berkeley.edu/pub/lmoustakas/ . To appear in the Astrophysical
Journal, Feb 1 1997, vol. 47
Galaxies Probing Galaxies in PRIMUS - I. Sample, Spectroscopy, and Characteristics of the z~0.5 MgII-Absorbing Circumgalactic Medium
Spectroscopy of background QSO sightlines passing close to foreground
galaxies is a potent technique for studying the circumgalactic medium (CGM).
QSOs are effectively point sources, however, limiting their potential to
constrain the size of circumgalactic gaseous structures. Here we present the
first large Keck/LRIS and VLT/FORS2 spectroscopic survey of bright (B_AB <
22.3) background galaxies whose lines of sight probe MgII 2796, 2803 absorption
from the CGM around close projected foreground galaxies at transverse distances
10 kpc < R_perp < 150 kpc. Our sample of 72 projected pairs, drawn from the
PRIsm MUlti-object Survey (PRIMUS), includes 48 background galaxies which do
not host bright AGN, and both star-forming and quiescent foreground galaxies
with stellar masses 9.0 < log M_*/M_sun < 11.2 at redshifts 0.35 < z_f/g < 0.8.
We detect MgII absorption associated with these foreground galaxies with
equivalent widths 0.25 Ang 2sigma significance in 20
individual background sightlines passing within R_perp < 50 kpc, and place
2sigma upper limits on W_2796 of <0.5 Ang in an additional 11 close sightlines.
Within R_perp < 50 kpc, W_2796 is anticorrelated with R_perp, consistent with
analyses of MgII absorption detected along background QSO sightlines.
Subsamples of these foreground hosts divided at log M_*/M_sun = 9.9 exhibit
statistically inconsistent W_2796 distributions at 30 kpc < R_perp < 50 kpc,
with the higher-M_* galaxies yielding a larger median W_2796 by 0.9 Ang.
Finally, we demonstrate that foreground galaxies with similar stellar masses
exhibit the same median W_2796 at a given R_perp to within <0.2 Ang toward both
background galaxies and toward QSO sightlines drawn from the literature.
Analysis of these datasets constraining the spatial coherence scale of
circumgalactic MgII absorption is presented in a companion paper.Comment: 36 pages, 18 figures, 5 tables. Accepted to Ap
CLASH: The enhanced lensing efficiency of the highly elongated merging cluster MACS J0416.1-2403
We perform a strong-lensing analysis of the merging galaxy cluster MACS
J0416.1-2403 (M0416; z=0.42) in recent CLASH/HST observations. We identify 70
new multiple images and candidates of 23 background sources in the range
0.7<z_{phot}<6.14 including two probable high-redshift dropouts, revealing a
highly elongated lens with axis ratio ~5:1, and a major axis of ~100\arcsec
(z_{s}~2). Compared to other well-studied clusters, M0416 shows an enhanced
lensing efficiency. Although the critical area is not particularly large (~0.6
\square\arcmin; z_{s}~2), the number of multiple images, per critical area, is
anomalously high. We calculate that the observed elongation boosts the number
of multiple images, \emph{per critical area}, by a factor of ~2.5\times, due to
the increased ratio of the caustic area relative to the critical area.
Additionally, we find that the observed separation between the two main mass
components enlarges the critical area by a factor of ~2. These geometrical
effects can account for the high number (density) of multiple images observed.
We find in numerical simulations, that only ~4% of the clusters (with M_{vir}>6
x 10^{14} h^{-1}M_{\odot}) exhibit as elongated critical curves as M0416.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. V2: accepted to ApJ Letters; minor
changes and updates; in Fig.3 labeling error corrected. Mass models available
online: ftp://wise-ftp.tau.ac.il/pub/adiz/M0416
Chemical regulators of epithelial plasticity reveal a nuclear receptor pathway controlling myofibroblast differentiation
Plasticity in epithelial tissues relates to processes of embryonic development, tissue fibrosis and cancer progression. Pharmacological modulation of epithelial transitions during disease progression may thus be clinically useful. Using human keratinocytes and a robotic high-content imaging platform, we screened for chemical compounds that reverse transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In addition to TGF-β receptor kinase inhibitors, we identified small molecule epithelial plasticity modulators including a naturally occurring hydroxysterol agonist of the liver X receptors (LXRs), members of the nuclear receptor transcription factor family. Endogenous and synthetic LXR agonists tested in diverse cell models blocked α-smooth muscle actin expression, myofibroblast differentiation and function. Agonist-dependent LXR activity or LXR overexpression in the absence of ligand counteracted TGF-β-mediated myofibroblast terminal differentiation and collagen contraction. The protective effect of LXR agonists against TGF-β-induced pro-fibrotic activity raises the possibility that anti-lipidogenic therapy may be relevant in fibrotic disorders and advanced cancer
Total Infrared Luminosity Estimation of Resolved and Unresolved Galaxies
The total infrared (TIR) luminosity from galaxies can be used to examine both
star formation and dust physics. We provide here new relations to estimate the
TIR luminosity from various Spitzer bands, in particular from the 8 micron and
24 micron bands. To do so, we use 45" subregions within a subsample of nearby
face-on spiral galaxies from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey
(SINGS) that have known oxygen abundances as well as integrated galaxy data
from the SINGS, the Local Volume Legacy Survey (LVL) and Engelbracht et al.
(2008) samples. Taking into account the oxygen abundances of the subregions,
the star formation rate intensity, and the relative emission of the polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons at 8 micron, the warm dust at 24 micron and the cold dust
at 70 micron and 160 micron we derive new relations to estimate the TIR
luminosity from just one or two of the Spitzer bands. We also show that the
metallicity and the star formation intensity must be taken into account when
estimating the TIR luminosity from two wave bands, especially when data
longward of 24 micron are not available.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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