846 research outputs found
Chemical similarities between Galactic bulge and local thick disk red giant stars
The evolution of the Milky Way bulge and its relationship with the other
Galactic populations is still poorly understood. The bulge has been suggested
to be either a merger-driven classical bulge or the product of a dynamical
instability of the inner disk. To probe the star formation history, the initial
mass function and stellar nucleosynthesis of the bulge, we performed an
elemental abundance analysis of bulge red giant stars. We also completed an
identical study of local thin disk, thick disk and halo giants to establish the
chemical differences and similarities between the various populations.
High-resolution infrared spectra of 19 bulge giants and 49 comparison giants in
the solar neighborhood were acquired with Gemini/Phoenix. All stars have
similar stellar parameters but cover a broad range in metallicity. A standard
1D local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis yielded the abundances of C, N, O
and Fe. A homogeneous and differential analysis of the bulge, halo, thin disk
and thick disk stars ensured that systematic errors were minimized. We confirm
the well-established differences for [O/Fe] (at a given metallicity) between
the local thin and thick disks. For the elements investigated, we find no
chemical distinction between the bulge and the local thick disk, which is in
contrast to previous studies relying on literature values for disk dwarf stars
in the solar neighborhood. Our findings suggest that the bulge and local thick
disk experienced similar, but not necessarily shared, chemical evolution
histories. We argue that their formation timescales, star formation rates and
initial mass functions were similar.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 5 page
The age and abundance structure of the stellar populations in the central sub-kpc of the Milky Way
The four main findings about the age and abundance structure of the Milky Way
bulge based on microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars are: (1) a wide metallicity
distribution with distinct peaks at [Fe/H]=-1.09, -0.63, -0.20, +0.12, +0.41;
(2) a high fraction of intermediate-age to young stars where at [Fe/H]>0 more
than 35 % are younger than 8 Gyr, (3) several episodes of significant star
formation in the bulge 3, 6, 8, and 11 Gyr ago; (4) the `knee' in the
alpha-element abundance trends of the sub-solar metallicity bulge appears to be
located at a slightly higher [Fe/H] (about 0.05 to 0.1 dex) than in the local
thick disk.Comment: 4 pages, contributed talk at the IAU Symposium 334 "Rediscovering our
Galaxy" in Potsdam, July 10-14, 201
Exploring the Dust Content of Galactic Winds with Herschel. I. NGC 4631
We present a detailed analysis of deep far-infrared observations of the
nearby edge-on star-forming galaxy NGC 4631 obtained with the Herschel Space
Observatory. Our PACS images at 70 and 160 um show a rich complex of filaments
and chimney-like features that extends up to a projected distance of 6 kpc
above the plane of the galaxy. The PACS features often match extraplanar
Halpha, radio-continuum, and soft X-ray features observed in this galaxy,
pointing to a tight disk-halo connection regulated by star formation. On the
other hand, the morphology of the colder dust component detected on larger
scale in the SPIRE 250, 350, and 500 um data matches the extraplanar H~I
streams previously reported in NGC 4631 and suggests a tidal origin. The PACS
70/160 ratios are elevated in the central ~3.0 kpc region above the nucleus of
this galaxy (the "superbubble"). A pixel-by-pixel analysis shows that dust in
this region has a higher temperature and/or an emissivity with a steeper
spectral index (beta > 2) than the dust in the disk, possibly the result of the
harsher environment in the superbubble. Star formation in the disk seems
energetically insufficient to lift the material out of the disk, unless it was
more active in the past or the dust-to-gas ratio in the superbubble region is
higher than the Galactic value. Some of the dust in the halo may also have been
tidally stripped from nearby companions or lifted from the disk by galaxy
interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
New Indicators for AGN Power: The Correlation Between [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron and Hard X-ray Luminosity for Nearby Seyfert Galaxies
We have studied the relationship between the [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron
emission line luminosities, obtained from Spitzer spectra, the X-ray continua
in the 2-10 keV band, primarily from ASCA, and the 14-195 keV band obtained
with the SWIFT/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), for a sample of nearby (z < 0.08)
Seyfert galaxies. For comparison, we have examined the relationship between the
[O III] 5007, the 2-10 keV and the 14-195 keV luminosities for the same set of
objects. We find that both the [O IV] and [O III] luminosities are
well-correlated with the BAT luminosities. On the other hand, the [O III]
luminosities are better-correlated with 2-10 keV luminosities than are those of
[O IV]. When comparing [O IV] and [O III] luminosities for the different types
of galaxies, we find that the Seyfert 2's have significantly lower [O III] to
[O IV] ratios than the Seyfert 1's. We suggest that this is due to more
reddening of the narrow line region (NLR) of the Seyfert 2's. Assuming Galactic
dust to gas ratios, the average amount of extra reddening corresponds to a
hydrogen column density of ~ few times 10^21 cm^-2, which is a small fraction
of the X-ray absorbing columns in the Seyfert 2's. The combined effects of
reddening and the X-ray absorption are the probable reason why the [O III]
versus 2-10 keV correlation is better than the [O IV] versus 2-10 keV, since
the [O IV] emission line is much less affected by extinction. Overall, we find
the [O IV] to be an accurate and truly isotropic indicator of the power of the
AGN. This suggests that it can be useful in deconvolving the contribution of
the AGN and starburst to the spectrum of Compton-thick and/or X-ray weak
sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages, 6
figures, 4 table
EstratigrafĂa del CretĂĄcico inferior continental de la Cordillera IbĂ©rica Central
Continental sedimentation during early Cretaceous in the Central part of the Iberian basin took place in two sedimentary sub-basins, the Oliete and Aguilón sub-basins. The stratigraphic analysis carried out in these units allows us to define new lithostratigraphical units. The biostratigraphy analysis of these units was based on charophytes. The identification of regional unconformities allows to define three depositional sequences. These sequences span from the Valanginian or Hauterivian to the Early Barremian, and may be correlated to sequences K1.2 or K1.3, K1.4 and K1.5 or K1.6 D.S., previously defined by Salas et al. (1991) and Salas & Casas (1993) in the eastem Maestrazgo basin. These results indicate that the stratigraphic record of the central part of the Iberian basin is as completed as that of the margin of the neighbouring Maestrazgo, Aliaga-Peñagolosa and Cameros basins.El Cretåcico inferior continental de la Cordillera Ibérica Central estå representado en dos subcuencas de sedimentación: las Cubetas de Aguilón y Oliete. Los estudios realizados sobre estos materiales han permitido definir nuevas unidades litoestratigråficas, cuya caracterización bioestratigråfica se realiza a partir de su contenido en carofitas. La identificación de discontinuidades significativas permiten definir tres secuencias de depósito que abarcan el intervalo temporal Valanguniense y/o Hauteriviense-Barremiense inferior y que son correlacionables con las S.D.K1.2 y/o K1.3, K1.4 YK1.5 y/o K1.6 definidas en Salas et al. (1991) y Salas y Casas (1993) para la Cuenca del Maestrazgo. Estos resultados ponen de manifiesto que el registro estratigråfico de la zona central de la Cordillera Ibérica tiene una entidad similar al de los mårgenes de las Cuencas del Maestrazgo, Aliaga- Peñagolosa y Cameros
Cuadernos de teatro clĂĄsico, nÂș 1 (1988), Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, Instituto Nacional de las Artes EscĂ©nicas y de la MĂșsica. [RECENSIĂN]
Estudios sobre CalderĂłn y el Teatro de la Edad de Oro, Homenaje a Kurt y Roswitha Reichenberger, Barcelona, PPU, 1989, 517 pp. [RECENSIĂN]
The radius and mass of the close solar twin 18 Sco derived from asteroseismology and interferometry
The growing interest in solar twins is motivated by the possibility of
comparing them directly to the Sun. To carry on this kind of analysis, we need
to know their physical characteristics with precision. Our first objective is
to use asteroseismology and interferometry on the brightest of them: 18 Sco. We
observed the star during 12 nights with HARPS for seismology and used the PAVO
beam-combiner at CHARA for interferometry. An average large frequency
separation Hz and angular and linear radiuses of mas and R were estimated. We used these
values to derive the mass of the star, M.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
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