1,760 research outputs found
Demography of SDSS early-type galaxies from the perspective of radial color gradients
We have investigated the radial g-r color gradients of early-type galaxies in
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR6 in the redshift range 0.00<z<0.06. The
majority of massive early-type galaxies show a negative color gradient
(red-cored) as generally expected for early-type galaxies. On the other hand,
roughly 30 per cent of the galaxies in this sample show a positive color
gradient (blue-cored). These "blue-cored" galaxies often show strong H beta
absorption line strengths and/or emission line ratios that are indicative of
the presence of young stellar populations. Combining the optical data with
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) UV photometry, we find that all blue-cored
galaxies show UV-optical colors that can only be explained by young stellar
populations. This implies that most of the residual star formation in
early-type galaxies is centrally concentrated. Blue-cored galaxies are
predominantly low velocity dispersion systems. A simple model shows that the
observed positive color gradients (blue-cored) are visible only for a billion
years after a star formation episode for the typical strength of recent star
formation. The observed effective radius decreases and the mean surface
brightness increases due to this centrally-concentrated star formation episode.
As a result, the majority of blue-cored galaxies may lie on different regions
in the Fundamental Plane from red-cored ellipticals. However, the position of
the blue-cored galaxies on the Fundamental Plane cannot be solely attributed to
recent star formation but require substantially lower velocity dispersion. We
conclude that a low-level of residual star formation persists at the centers of
most of low-mass early-type galaxies, whereas massive ones are mostly quiescent
systems with metallicity-driven red cores.Comment: 15 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Uncertain natural frequency analysis of composite plates including effect of noise â A polynomial neural network approach
Acknowledgement SN and SS gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Lloydâs Register Foundation Centre during this work.Peer reviewedPostprin
Gas and Star Formation in the Circinus Galaxy
We present a detailed study of the Circinus Galaxy, investigating its star
formation, dust and gas properties both in the inner and outer disk. To achieve
this, we obtained high-resolution Spitzer mid-infrared images with the IRAC
(3.6, 5.8, 4.5, 8.0 micron) and MIPS (24 and 70 micron) instruments and
sensitive HI data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the
64-m Parkes telescope. These were supplemented by CO maps from the Swedish-ESO
Submillimetre Telescope (SEST). Because Circinus is hidden behind the Galactic
Plane, we demonstrate the careful removal of foreground stars as well as large-
and small-scale Galactic emission from the Spitzer images. We derive a visual
extinction of Av = 2.1 mag from the Spectral Energy Distribution of the
Circinus Galaxy and total stellar and gas masses of 9.5 x 10^{10} Msun and 9 x
10^9 Msun, respectively. Using various wavelength calibrations, we find
obscured global star formation rates between 3 and 8 Msun yr^{-1}. Star forming
regions in the inner spiral arms of Circinus, which are rich in HI, are
beautifully unveiled in the Spitzer 8 micron image. The latter is dominated by
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission from heated interstellar dust.
We find a good correlation between the 8 micron emission in the arms and
regions of dense HI gas. The (PAH 8 micron) / 24 micron surface brightness
ratio shows significant variations across the disk of Circinus.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures. All figures have been compressed. Contact
authors for original figures. Accepted by MNRA
Signatures of minor mergers in the Milky Way disc I: The SEGUE stellar sample
It is now known that minor mergers are capable of creating structure in the
phase-space distribution of their host galaxy's disc. In order to search for
such imprints in the Milky Way, we analyse the SEGUE F/G-dwarf and the Schuster
et al. (2006) stellar samples. We find similar features in these two completely
independent stellar samples, consistent with the predictions of a Milky Way
minor-merger event. We next apply the same analyses to high-resolution,
idealised N-body simulations of the interaction between the Sagittarius dwarf
galaxy and the Milky Way. The energy distributions of stellar particle samples
in small spatial regions in the host disc reveal strong variations of structure
with position. We find good matches to the observations for models with a mass
of Sagittarius' dark matter halo progenitor M.
Thus, we show that this kind of analysis could be used to provide
unprecedentedly tight constraints on Sagittarius' orbital parameters, as well
as place a lower limit on its mass.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Revised to reflect accepted versio
Interpreting the Evolution of the Size - Luminosity Relation for Disk Galaxies from Redshift 1 to the Present
A sample of very high resolution cosmological disk galaxy simulations is used
to investigate the evolution of galaxy disk sizes back to redshift 1 within the
Lambda CDM cosmology. Artificial images in the rest frame B band are generated,
allowing for a measurement of disk scale lengths using surface brightness
profiles as observations would, and avoiding any assumption that light must
follow mass as previous models have assumed. We demonstrate that these
simulated disks are an excellent match to the observed magnitude - size
relation for both local disks, and for disks at z=1 in the magnitude/mass range
of overlap. We disentangle the evolution seen in the population as a whole from
the evolution of individual disk galaxies. In agreement with observations, our
simulated disks undergo roughly 1.5 magnitudes/arcsec^2 of surface brightness
dimming since z=1. We find evidence that evolution in the magnitude - size
plane varies by mass, such that galaxies with M* > 10^9 M_sun undergo more
evolution in size than luminosity, while dwarf galaxies tend to evolve
potentially more in luminosity. The disks grow in such a way as to stay on
roughly the same stellar mass - size relation with time. Finally, due to an
evolving stellar mass - SFR relation, a galaxy at a given stellar mass (or
size) at z=1 will reside in a more massive halo and have a higher SFR, and thus
a higher luminosity, than a counterpart of the same stellar mass at z=0.Comment: Version resubmitted to ApJ, after referee's comment
The green valley is a red herring : Galaxy Zoo reveals two evolutionary pathways towards quenching of star formation in early-and late-type galaxies
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record [Kevin Schawinski, et al, 'The green valley is a red herring: Galaxy Zoo reveals two evolutionary pathways towards quenching of star formation in early- and late-type galaxies' MNRAS, Vol. 440(1): 889-907, May 2014] is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu327.We use SDSS+GALEX+Galaxy Zoo data to study the quenching of star formation in lowredshift galaxies. We show that the green valley between the blue cloud of star-forming galaxies and the red sequence of quiescent galaxies in the colour-mass diagram is not a single transitional state through which most blue galaxies evolve into red galaxies. Rather, an analysis that takes morphology into account makes clear that only a small population of blue early-type galaxies move rapidly across the green valley after the morphologies are transformed from disc to spheroid and star formation is quenched rapidly. In contrast, the majority of blue star-forming galaxies have significant discs, and they retain their late-type morphologies as their star formation rates decline very slowly. We summarize a range of observations that lead to these conclusions, including UV-optical colours and halo masses, which both show a striking dependence on morphological type. We interpret these results in terms of the evolution of cosmic gas supply and gas reservoirs. We conclude that late-type galaxies are consistent with a scenario where the cosmic supply of gas is shut off, perhaps at a critical halo mass, followed by a slow exhaustion of the remaining gas over several Gyr, driven by secular and/or environmental processes. In contrast, early-type galaxies require a scenario where the gas supply and gas reservoir are destroyed virtually instantaneously, with rapid quenching accompanied by a morphological transformation from disc to spheroid. This gas reservoir destruction could be the consequence of a major merger, which in most cases transforms galaxies from disc to elliptical morphology, and mergers could play a role in inducing black hole accretion and possibly active galactic nuclei feedback.Peer reviewe
The mosaic genome of indigenous African cattle as a unique genetic resource for African pastoralism
© 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. Cattle pastoralism plays a central role in human livelihood in Africa. However, the genetic history of its success remains unknown. Here, through whole-genome sequence analysis of 172 indigenous African cattle from 16 breeds representative of the main cattle groups, we identify a major taurine Ă indicine cattle admixture event dated to circa 750â1,050 yr ago, which has shaped the genome of todayâs cattle in the Horn of Africa. We identify 16 loci linked to African environmental adaptations across crossbred animals showing an excess of taurine or indicine ancestry. These include immune-, heat-tolerance- and reproduction-related genes. Moreover, we identify one highly divergent locus in African taurine cattle, which is putatively linked to trypanotolerance and present in crossbred cattle living in trypanosomosis-infested areas. Our findings indicate that a combination of past taurine and recent indicine admixture-derived genetic resources is at the root of the present success of African pastoralism
Institutional and behaviour-change interventions to support COVID-19 public health measures: a review by the Lancet Commission Task Force on public health measures to suppress the pandemic
The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Task Force for Public Health Measures to Suppress the Pandemic was launched to identify critical points for consideration by governments on public health interventions to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Drawing on our review of published studies of data analytics and modelling, evidence synthesis and contextualisation, and behavioural science evidence and theory on public health interventions from a range of sources, we outline evidence for a range of institutional measures and behaviour-change measures. We cite examples of measures adopted by a range of countries, but especially jurisdictions that have, thus far, achieved low numbers of COVID-19 deaths and limited community transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Finally, we highlight gaps in knowledge where research should be undertaken. As countries consider long-term measures, there is an opportunity to learn, improve the response and prepare for future pandemics.publishedVersio
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