CO excitation in the Seyfert galaxy NGC7130

We present a coherent multi-band modelling of the CO Spectral Energy Distribution of the local Seyfert Galaxy NGC7130 to assess the impact of the AGN activity on the molecular gas. We take advantage of all the available data from X-ray to the sub-mm, including ALMA data. The high-resolution (~0.2") ALMA CO(6-5) data constrain the spatial extension of the CO emission down to ~70 pc scale. From the analysis of the archival CHANDRA and NuSTAR data, we infer the presence of a buried, Compton-thick AGN of moderate luminosity, L_2-10keV ~ 1.6x10^{43} ergs-1. We explore photodissociation and X-ray-dominated regions (PDRs and XDRs) models to reproduce the CO emission. We find that PDRs can reproduce the CO lines up to J~6, however, the higher rotational ladder requires the presence of a separate source of excitation. We consider X-ray heating by the AGN as a source of excitation, and find that it can reproduce the observed CO Spectral Energy Distribution. By adopting a composite PDR+XDR model, we derive molecular cloud properties. Our study clearly indicates the capabilities offered by current-generation of instruments to shed light on the properties of nearby galaxies adopting state-of-the art physical modelling.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

CO excitation in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 34: stars, shock or AGN driven?

We present a detailed analysis of the X-ray and molecular gas emission in the nearby galaxy NGC 34, to constrain the properties of molecular gas, and assess whether, and to what extent, the radiation produced by the accretion onto the central black hole affects the CO line emission. We analyse the CO Spectral Line Energy Distribution (SLED) as resulting mainly from Herschel and ALMA data, along with X-ray data from NuSTAR and XMM-Newton. The X-ray data analysis suggests the presence of a heavily obscured AGN with an intrinsic luminosity of L$_{\rm{1-100\,keV}} \simeq 4.0\times10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$. ALMA high resolution data ($\theta \simeq 0.2''$) allows us to scan the nuclear region down to a spatial scale of $\approx 100$ pc for the CO(6-5) transition. We model the observed SLED using Photo-Dissociation Region (PDR), X-ray-Dominated Region (XDR), and shock models, finding that a combination of a PDR and an XDR provides the best fit to the observations. The PDR component, characterized by gas density ${\rm log}(n/{\rm cm^{-3}})=2.5$ and temperature $T=30$ K, reproduces the low-J CO line luminosities. The XDR is instead characterised by a denser and warmer gas (${\rm log}(n/{\rm cm^{-3}})=4.5$, $T =65$ K), and is necessary to fit the high-J transitions. The addition of a third component to account for the presence of shocks has been also tested but does not improve the fit of the CO SLED. We conclude that the AGN contribution is significant in heating the molecular gas in NGC 34.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 10 pages, 6 figure

AGN impact on the molecular gas in galactic centres as probed by CO lines

We present a detailed analysis of the X-ray, infrared, and carbon monoxide (CO) emission for a sample of 35 local (z ≤ 0.15), active (LX ≥ 1042 erg s-1) galaxies. Our goal is to infer the contribution of far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation from star formation (SF), and X-ray radiation from the active galactic nuclei (AGNs), respectively, producing photodissociation regions (PDRs) and X-ray-dominated regions (XDRs), to the molecular gas heating. To this aim, we exploit the CO spectral line energy distribution (CO SLED) as traced by Herschel, complemented with data from single-dish telescopes for the low-J lines, and high-resolution ALMA images of the mid-J CO emitting region. By comparing our results to the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation, we find no evidence for AGN influence on the cold and low-density gas on kpc-scales. On nuclear (r = 250 pc) scales, we find weak correlations between the CO line ratios and either the FUV or X-ray fluxes: this may indicate that neither SF nor AGN radiation dominates the gas excitation, at least at r = 250 pc. From a comparison of the CO line ratios with PDR and XDR models, we find that PDRs can reproduce observations only in presence of extremely high gas densities (n > 105 cm-3). In the XDR case, instead, the models suggest moderate densities (n ≈ 102-4 cm-3). We conclude that a mix of the two mechanisms (PDR for the mid-J, XDR, or possibly shocks for the high-J) is necessary to explain the observed CO excitation in active galaxies

CO excitation in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7130

We present a coherent multiband modelling of the carbon monoxide (CO) spectral energy distribution of the local Seyfert galaxy NGC 7130 to assess the impact of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity on the molecular gas. We take advantage of all the available data from X-ray to the submillimetre, including ALMA data. The high-resolution (~0.2 arcsec) ALMA CO(6-5) data constrain the spatial extension of the CO emission down to an ~70 pc scale. From the analysis of the archival Chandra and NuSTAR data, we infer the presence of a buried, Compton-thick AGN of moderate luminosity, L2-10 keV ~1.6 × 1043 erg s-1. We explore photodissociation and X-ray-dominated-region (PDR and XDR) models to reproduce the CO emission. We find that PDRs can reproduce the CO lines up to J ~ 6; however, the higher rotational ladder requires the presence of a separate source of excitation. We consider X-ray heating by the AGNs as a source of excitation, and find that it can reproduce the observed CO spectral energy distribution. By adopting a composite PDR+XDR model, we derivemolecular cloud properties. Our study clearly indicates the capabilities offered by the current generation of instruments to shed light on the properties of nearby galaxies by adopting state-of-the-art physical modelling

Cyclic RGD peptidomimetics containing bifunctional diketopiperazine scaffolds as new potent integrin ligands

The synthesis of eight bifunctional diketopiperazine (DKP) scaffolds is described; these were formally derived from 2,3-diaminopropionic acid and aspartic acid (DKP-1-DKP-7) or glutamic acid (DKP-8) and feature an amine and a carboxylic acid functional group. The scaffolds differ in the configuration at the two stereocenters and the substitution at the diketopiperazinic nitrogen atoms. The bifunctional diketopiperazines were introduced into eight cyclic peptidomimetics containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence. The resulting RGD peptidomimetics were screened for their ability to inhibit biotinylated vitronectin binding to the purified integrins \u3b1 v\u3b2 3 and \u3b1 v\u3b2 5, which are involved in tumor angiogenesis. Nanomolar IC 50 values were obtained for the RGD peptidomimetics derived from trans DKP scaffolds (DKP-2-DKP-8). Conformational studies of the cyclic RGD peptidomimetics by 1H NMR spectroscopy experiments (VT-NMR and NOESY spectroscopy) in aqueous solution and Monte Carlo/Stochastic Dynamics (MC/SD) simulations revealed that the highest affinity ligands display well-defined preferred conformations featuring intramolecular hydrogen-bonded turn motifs and an extended arrangement of the RGD sequence [C\u3b2(Arg)-C\u3b2(Asp) average distance 658.8 \uc5]. Docking studies were performed, starting from the representative conformations obtained from the MC/SD simulations and taking as a reference model the crystal structure of the extracellular segment of integrin \u3b1 v\u3b2 3 complexed with the cyclic pentapeptide, Cilengitide. The highest affinity ligands produced top-ranked poses conserving all the important interactions of the X-ray complex. Copyright \ua9 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Joint Power Control and Structural Health Monitoring in Industry 4.0 Scenarios using Eclipse Arrowhead and Web of Things

The integration of legacy IoT ecosystems in Industry 4.0 scenarios requires human effort to adapt single devices. This process would highly benefit from features like device lookup, loose coupling and late binding. In this paper, we tackle the issue of integrating legacy monitoring systems and actuation systems in an industrial scenario, by looking into the Web of Things (WoT) as a communication standard and the Eclipse Arrowhead Framework (AHF) as a service orchestrator. More specifically, we propose a general architectural approach to enable closed-loop automation between the above mentioned legacy systems by leveraging the adaptation of the WoT to the AHF. Then, we develop a rule-based engine that enables the control of the actuation based on sensor values. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept use case where we integrate a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) scenario with a power control actuation subsystem using the developed component

CO excitation in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 34: Stars, shock or AGN driven?

We present a detailed analysis of the X-ray and molecular gas emission in the nearby galaxy NGC 34, to constrain the properties of molecular gas, and assess whether, and to what extent, the radiation produced by the accretion on to the central black hole affects the CO line emission. We analyse the CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED) as resulting mainly from Herschel and ALMA data, along with X-ray data from NuSTAR and XMM-Newton. The X-ray data analysis suggests the presence of a heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) with an intrinsic luminosity of L1-100 keV ≃ 4.0 × 1042 erg s-1. ALMA high-resolution data (θ ≃ 0.2 arcsec) allow us to scan the nuclear region down to a spatial scale of ≈100 pc for the CO(6-5) transition. We model the observed SLED using photodissociation region (PDR), X-ray-dominated region (XDR), and shock models, finding that a combination of a PDR and an XDR provides the best fit to the observations. The PDR component, characterized by gas density log(n/cm-3) = 2.5 and temperature T = 30 K, reproduces the low-J CO line luminosities. The XDR is instead characterized by a denser and warmer gas (log(n/cm-3) = 4.5, T = 65 K), and is necessary to fit the high-J transitions. The addition of a third component to account for the presence of shocks has been also tested but does not improve the fit of the CO SLED. We conclude that the AGN contribution is significant in heating the molecular gas in NGC 34

Shaken, not blown: the gentle baryonic feedback of nearby starburst dwarf galaxies

Baryonic feedback is expected to play a key role in regulating the star formation of low-mass galaxies by producing galaxy-scale winds associated with mass-loading factors $\beta\!\sim\!1\!-\!50$. We have tested this prediction using a sample of 19 nearby systems with stellar masses $10^7\!<\!M_\star/{\rm M}_{\odot}\!<\!10^{10}$, mostly lying above the main sequence of star-forming galaxies. We used MUSE@VLT optical integral field spectroscopy to study the warm ionised gas kinematics of these galaxies via a detailed modelling of their H$\alpha$ emission line. The ionised gas is characterised by irregular velocity fields, indicating the presence of non-circular motions of a few tens of km/s within galaxy discs, but with intrinsic velocity dispersion of $40$-$60$ km/s that are only marginally larger than those measured in main-sequence galaxies. Galactic winds, defined as gas at velocities larger than the galaxy escape speed, encompass only a few percent of the observed fluxes. Mass outflow rates and loading factors are strongly dependent on $M_\star$, star formation rate (SFR), SFR surface density and specific SFR. For $M_\star$ of $10^8$ M$_\odot$ we find $\beta\simeq0.02$, which is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the values predicted by theoretical models of galaxy evolution. In our galaxy sample, baryonic feedback stimulates a gentle gas cycle rather than causing a large-scale blow out.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, submitted to A&A. Comments are welcome

Author Correction: μMAPPS: a novel phasor approach to second harmonic analysis for in vitro-in vivo investigation of collagen microstructure

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper