285 research outputs found
Galaxy threshing and the formation of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies
Recent spectroscopic and morphological observational studies of galaxies
around NGC 1399 in the Fornax Cluster (Drinkwater et al. 2000b) have discovered
several `ultra-compact dwarf' galaxies with intrinsic sizes of 100 pc
and absolute band magnitudes ranging from -13 to -11 mag. In order to
elucidate the origin of these enigmatic objects, we perform numerical
simulations on the dynamical evolution of nucleated dwarf galaxies orbiting NGC
1399 and suffering from its strong tidal gravitational field. Adopting a
plausible scaling relation for dwarf galaxies, we find that the outer stellar
components of a nucleated dwarf are totally removed. This is due to them being
tidally stripped over the course of several passages past the central region of
NGC 1399. The nucleus, however, manages to survive. We also find that the size
and luminosity of the remnant are similar to those observed for ultra-compact
dwarf galaxies, if the simulated precursor nucleated dwarf has a mass of
. These results suggest that ultra-compact dwarf galaxies
could have previously been more luminous dwarf spheroidal or elliptical
galaxies with rather compact nuclei.Comment: 9 pages 4 figures,2001, ApJL, 552, 10
The Effect of Local Galaxy Surface Density on Star Formation for HI selected galaxies
We present the result of investigations into two theories to explain the star
formation rate-density relationship. For regions of high galaxy density, either
there are fewer star forming galaxies, or galaxies capable of forming stars are
present but some physical process is suppressing their star formation. We use
HI Parkes All Sky Survey's (HIPASS) HI detected galaxies and infrared and radio
fluxes to investigate star formation rates and efficiencies with respect to
local surface density. For nearby (vel<10000 km\s) HI galaxies we find a strong
correlation between HI mass and star formation rate. The number of HI galaxies
decreases with increasing local surface density. For HI galaxies (1000<vel<6000
km\s) there is no significant change in the star formation rate or the
efficiency of star formation with respect to local surface density. We conclude
the SFR-density relation is due to a decrease in the number of HI star forming
galaxies in regions of high galaxy density and not to the suppression of star
formation.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication by MNRAS 2 August 200
Substructure and Dynamics of the Fornax Cluster
We present the first dynamical analysis of a galaxy cluster to include a large fraction of dwarf galaxies. Our sample of 108 Fornax Cluster members measured with the UK Schmidt Telescope FLAIR-II spectrograph contains 55 dwarf galaxies (15.5>bJ>18.0 or -16>MB>-13.5). Hα emission shows that 36%+/-8% of the dwarfs are star forming, twice the fraction implied by morphological classifications. The total sample has a mean velocity of 1493+/-36 km s-1 and a velocity dispersion of 374+/-26 km s-1. The dwarf galaxies form a distinct population: their velocity dispersion (429+/-41 km s-1) is larger than that of the giants (308+/-30 km s-1) at the 98% confidence level. This suggests that the dwarf population is dominated by infalling objects whereas the giants are virialized. The Fornax system has two components, the main Fornax Cluster centered on NGC 1399 with cz=1478 km s-1 and σcz=370 km s-1 and a subcluster centered 3° to the southwest including NGC 1316 with cz=1583 km s-1 and σcz=377 km s-1. This partition is preferred over a single cluster at the 99% confidence level. The subcluster, a site of intense star formation, is bound to Fornax and probably infalling toward the cluster core for the first time. We discuss the implications of this substructure for distance estimates of the Fornax Cluster. We determine the cluster mass profile using the method of Diaferio, which does not assume a virialized sample. The mass within a projected radius of 1.4 Mpc is (7+/-2)×1013 Msolar, and the mass-to-light ratio is 300+/-100 Msolar/Lsolar. The mass is consistent with values derived from the projected mass virial estimator and X-ray measurements at smaller radii
Substructure and dynamics of the Fornax Cluster
We present the first dynamical analysis of a galaxy cluster to include a
large fraction of dwarf galaxies. Our sample of 108 Fornax Cluster members
measured with the UK Schmidt Telescope FLAIR-II spectrograph contains 55 dwarf
galaxies (15.5>bj>18.0 or -16>Mb>-13.5). Halpha emission shows that 36+/-8 per
cent of the dwarfs are star-forming, twice the fraction implied by
morphological classifications. The total sample has a mean velocity of
1493+/-36 km/s and a velocity dispersion of 374+/-26 km/s. The dwarf galaxies
form a distinct population: their velocity dispersion (429+/-41 km/s) is larger
than that of the giants (308+/-30 km/s) at the 98 per cent confidence level.
This suggests that the dwarf population is dominated by infalling objects
whereas the giants are virialized.
The Fornax system has two components; the main Fornax Cluster centered on NGC
1399 with mean velocity 1478 km/s and velocity dispersion 370 km/s, and a
subcluster centered 3 degrees to the south-west including NGC 1316 with mean
velocity 1583 km/s and velocity dispersion 377 km/s. This partition is
preferred over a single cluster at the 99 per cent confidence level. The
subcluster, a site of intense star formation, is bound to Fornax and probably
infalling towards the cluster core for the first time. We discuss the
implications of this substructure for distance estimates of the Fornax Cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters; 11 pages, uses aastex.cls
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The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: final data release and the metallicity of UV-luminous galaxies
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey measured the redshifts of over 200 000 ultraviolet (UV)-selected (NUV < 22.8 mag) galaxies on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The survey detected the baryon acoustic oscillation signal in the large-scale distribution of galaxies over the redshift range 0.2 < z < 1.0, confirming the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe and measuring the rate of structure growth within it. Here, we present the final data release of the survey: a catalogue of 225 415 galaxies and individual files of the galaxy spectra. We analyse the emission-line properties of these UV-luminous Lyman-break galaxies by stacking the spectra in bins of luminosity, redshift, and stellar mass. The most luminous (−25mag < M_(FUV) < −22mag) galaxies have very broad Hβ emission from active nuclei, as well as a broad second component to the [O III] (495.9 nm, 500.7 nm) doublet lines that is blueshifted by 100 km s^(−1) , indicating the presence of gas outflows in these galaxies. The composite spectra allow us to detect and measure the temperature-sensitive [O III] (436.3 nm) line and obtain metallicities using the direct method. The metallicities of intermediate stellar mass (8.8 < log (M*/M⊙) < 10) WiggleZ galaxies are consistent with normal emission-line galaxies at the same masses. In contrast, the metallicities of high stellar mass (10 < log (M*/M⊙) < 12) WiggleZ galaxies are significantly lower than for normal emission-line galaxies at the same masses. This is not an effect of evolution as the metallicities do not vary with redshift; it is most likely a property specific to the extremely UV-luminous WiggleZ galaxies
Cluster cannibalism and scaling relations of galactic stellar nuclei
Recently, very massive compact stellar systems have been discovered in the intracluster regions of galaxy clusters and in the nuclear regions of late-type disk galaxies. It is unclear how these compact stellar systems - known as ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies or nuclear clusters (NCs) - form and evolve. By adopting a formation scenario in which these stellar systems are the product of multiple merging of star clusters in the central regions of galaxies, we investigate, numerically, their physical properties. We find that physical correlations among velocity dispersion, luminosity, effective radius, and average surface brightness in the stellar merger remnants are quite different from those observed in globular clusters. We also find that the remnants have triaxial shapes with or without figure rotation, and these shapes and their kinematics depend strongly on the initial number and distribution of the progenitor clusters. These specific predictions can be compared with the corresponding results of ongoing and future observations of UCDs and NCs, thereby providing a better understanding of the origin of these enigmatic objects
Using a complete spectroscopic survey to find red quasars and test the KX method
We present an investigation of quasar colour-redshift parameter space in
order to search for radio-quiet red quasars and to test the ability of a
variant of the KX quasar selection method to detect quasars over a full range
of colour without bias. This is achieved by combining IRIS2 imaging with the
complete Fornax Cluster Spectroscopic Survey to probe parameter space
unavailable to other surveys. We construct a new sample of 69 quasars with
measured bJ - K colours. We show that the colour distribution of these quasars
is significantly different from that of the Large Bright Quasar Survey's
quasars at a 99.9% confidence level. We find 11 of our sample of 69 quasars
have signifcantly red colours (bJ - K >= 3.5) and from this, we estimate the
red quasar fraction of the K <= 18.4 quasar population to be 31%, and robustly
constrain it to be at least 22%. We show that the KX method variant used here
is more effective than the UVX selection method, and has less colour bias than
optical colour-colour selection methods.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Redshifts and Velocity Dispersions of Galaxy Clusters in the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster
We present 118 new optical redshifts for galaxies in 12 clusters in the
Horologium-Reticulum supercluster (HRS) of galaxies. For 76 galaxies, the data
were obtained with the Dual Beam Spectrograph on the 2.3m telescope of the
Australian National University at Siding Spring Observatory. After combining 42
previously unpublished redshifts with our new sample, we determine mean
redshifts and velocity dispersions for 13 clusters, in which previous
observational data were sparse. In six of the 13 clusters, the newly determined
mean redshifts differ by more than 750 km/s from the published values. In the
case of three clusters, A3047, A3109, and A3120, the redshift data indicate the
presence of multiple components along the line of sight. The new cluster
redshifts, when combined with other reliable mean redshifts for clusters in the
HRS, are found to be distinctly bi-modal. Furthermore, the two redshift
components are consistent with the bi-modal redshift distribution found for the
inter-cluster galaxies in the HRS by Fleenor et al. (2005).Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to A
A large population of ultra-compact dwarfs and bright intracluster globulars in the Fornax cluster
All the previously cataloged ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo clusters have 17.5 < b(J) < 20. Using the 2dF spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope, we have carried out a search for fainter UCDs in the Fornax Cluster. In the magnitude interval 19.5 < b(J) < 21.5, we have found 54 additional compact cluster members within a projected radius of 0 degrees.9 (320 kpc) of the cluster center, all of which meet our selection and observational criteria to be UCDs. These newly identified objects, however, overlap in luminosity and spatial distribution with objects classified as globular clusters (GCs) belonging to the central cluster galaxy NGC 1399; in fact, about half of the objects in our sample are included in recent catalogs of NGC 1399/Fornax GCs. The numbers, luminosity function, and spatial distributions of our compact object sample are consistent with being the bright tail of the Fornax cluster-wide GC population. Yet, our present larger sample of intergalactic compact objects forms a dynamically distinct population from both the NGC1399 GCs and the nucleated dwarf ellipticals in Fornax. This supports the interpretation that the UCDs, which populate the bright tail of the GC luminosity function, are, in some respects, a separate class of objects, at least to the extent that they have experienced a distinct dynamical history and origin, which differs from the bulk of the NGC1399 GCs. Correcting for our spectroscopic incompleteness, we estimate that there are similar to 105 +/- 13 of these brighter compact cluster objects down to b(J) < 21.5 in the central region of the Fornax, and hence these UCDs/globulars outnumber other galaxy types in this space. The differences in their dynamics and distribution compared to dwarf ellipticals (dEs) may be consistent with a threshing or tidal destruction origin, if they have come from a subpopulation of dE galaxies on initial orbits that rendered them susceptible to such processes
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