208 research outputs found
Constraining the solutions of an inverse method of stellar population synthesis
In three previous papers (Pelat 1997, 1998 and Moultaka & Pelat 2000), we set
out an inverse stellar population synthesis method which uses a database of
stellar spectra. Unlike other methods, this one provides a full knowledge of
all possible solutions as well as a good estimation of their stability;
moreover, it provides the unique approximate solution, when the problem is
overdetermined, using a rigorous minimization procedure. In Boisson et al.
(2000), this method has been applied to 10 active and 2 normal galaxies. In
this paper we analyse the results of the method after constraining the
solutions. Adding {\it a priori} physical conditions on the solutions
constitutes a good way to regularize the synthesis problem. As an illustration
we introduce physical constraints on the relative number of stars taking into
account our present knowledge of the initial mass function in galaxies. In
order to avoid biases on the solutions due to such constraints, we use
constraints involving only inequalities between the number of stars, after
dividing the H-R diagram into various groups of stellar masses. We discuss the
results for a well-known globular cluster of the galaxy M31 and discuss some of
the galaxies studied in Boisson et al. (2000). We find that, given the spectral
resolution and the spectral domain, the method is very stable according to such
constraints (i.e. the constrained solutions are almost the same as the
unconstrained one). However, an additional information can be derived about the
evolutionary stage of the last burst of star formation, but the precise age of
this particular burst seems to be questionable.Comment: Accepted in A&A. 15 pages, 5 figures and 6 table
Subaru High-Dispersion Spectroscopy of Narrow-Line Region in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4151
We report on a study of forbidden emission-line spectrum of nearby Seyfert
1.5 galaxy NGC 4151 based on the high-resolution (R ~ 45,000) optical spectrum
obtained by using the High Dispersion Spectrograph boarded on the Subaru
Telescope. The profile parameters such as the emission-line widths, the
velocity shifts from the recession velocity of the host galaxy, and the
asymmetry indices, for emission lines including very faint ones such as [Ar
IV]4712,4740 and [Fe VI]5631,5677 are investigated. Statistically significant
correlations between the measured profile parameters and the critical densities
of transitions are found while there are no meaningful correlations between the
profile parameters and the ionization potentials of ions. By comparing the
results with photoionization model calculations, we remark that a simple
power-law distribution of the gas density which is independent of the radius
from the nucleus cannot explain the observed correlation between the
emission-line widths and the critical densities of the transitions. Taking the
additional dense gas component expected to exist at the innermost of the
narrow-line region into account, the observed correlations between the
emission-line width and the critical density of the transitions can be
understood since high-critical-density emission lines can arise at such
relatively inner regions even if their ionization potentials are low. The
observed correlation between the blueshift amounts of emission lines and the
critical densities of the ions is also explained if such dense gas clouds
located closer to the nucleus have larger outflowing velocities.Comment: 19 pages and 1 separate jpeg figure. Accepted for publication in A
Generation of potential/surface density pairs in flat disks Power law distributions
We report a simple method to generate potential/surface density pairs in flat
axially symmetric finite size disks. Potential/surface density pairs consist of
a ``homogeneous'' pair (a closed form expression) corresponding to a uniform
disk, and a ``residual'' pair. This residual component is converted into an
infinite series of integrals over the radial extent of the disk. For a certain
class of surface density distributions (like power laws of the radius), this
series is fully analytical. The extraction of the homogeneous pair is
equivalent to a convergence acceleration technique, in a matematical sense. In
the case of power law distributions, the convergence rate of the residual
series is shown to be cubic inside the source. As a consequence, very accurate
potential values are obtained by low order truncation of the series. At zero
order, relative errors on potential values do not exceed a few percent
typically, and scale with the order N of truncation as 1/N**3. This method is
superior to the classical multipole expansion whose very slow convergence is
often critical for most practical applications.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics 7 pages, 8
figures, F90-code available at
http://www.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr/radio/JMHure/intro2applawd.htm
ISO-SWS spectroscopy of NGC 1068
We present ISO-SWS spectroscopy of NGC 1068 for the wavelength range 2.4 to
45um, detecting a total of 36 emission lines. Most of the observed transitions
are fine structure and recombination lines originating in the narrow line
region. We compare the line profiles of optical lines and reddening-insensitive
infrared lines to constrain the dynamical structure and extinction properties
of the NLR. The considerable differences found are most likely explained by two
effects. (1) The spatial structure of the NLR is a combination of a highly
ionized outflow cone and lower excitation extended emission. (2) Parts of the
NLR, mainly in the receding part at velocities above systemic, are subject to
extinction that is significantly suppressing optical emission. Line asymmetries
and net blueshifts remain, however, even for infrared fine structure lines
suffering very little obscuration. This may be either due to an intrinsic
asymmetry of the NLR, or due to a very high column density obscuring component
which is hiding part of the NLR even from infrared view. Mid-infrared emission
of molecular hydrogen in NGC 1068 arises in a dense molecular medium at
temperatures of a few hundred Kelvin that is most likely closely related to the
warm and dense components seen in the near-infrared H2 transitions, and in
millimeter wave tracers of molecular gas. Any emission of the putative pc-scale
molecular torus is likely overwhelmed by this larger scale emission.Comment: aastex (V4), 9 eps figures. Accepted by Ap
Active Galactic Nuclei with Candidate Intermediate-Mass Black Holes
We present an initial sample of 19 intermediate-mass black hole candidates in
active galactic nuclei culled from the First Data Release of the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey. Using the linewidth-luminosity-mass scaling relation established
for broad-line active nuclei, we estimate black hole masses in the range of 8 x
10^4 - 10^6 solar masses, a regime in which only two objects are currently
known. The absolute magnitudes are faint for active galactic nuclei, ranging
from M_g of -15 to -18 mag, while the bolometric luminosities are all close to
the Eddington limit. The entire sample formally satisfies the linewidth
criterion for so-called narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies; however, they display a
wider range of FeII and [OIII] (5007) line strengths than is typically observed
in this class of objects. Although the available imaging data are of
insufficient quality to ascertain the detailed morphologies of the host
galaxies, it is likely that the majority of the hosts are relatively late-type
systems. The host galaxies have estimated g-band luminosities ~ 1 mag fainter
than M* for the general galaxy population at z of 0.1. Beyond simply extending
the known mass range of central black holes in galactic nuclei, these objects
provide unique observational constraints on the progenitors of supermassive
black holes. They are also expected to contribute significantly to the
integrated signal for future gravitational wave experiments.Comment: ApJ Accepted, 13 pages, 9 figures, uses emulateapj.cl
Polarized Narrow-Line Emission from the Nucleus of NGC 4258
The detection of polarized continuum and line emission from the nucleus of
NGC 4258 by Wilkes et al. (1995) provides an intriguing application of the
unified model of Seyfert nuclei to a galaxy in which there is known to be an
edge-on, rotating disk of molecular gas surrounding the nucleus. Unlike most
Seyfert nuclei, however, NGC 4258 has strongly polarized narrow emission lines.
To further investigate the origin of the polarized emission, we have obtained
spectropolarimetric observations of the NGC 4258 nucleus at the Keck-II
telescope. The narrow-line polarizations range from 1.0% for [S II] 6716 to
13.9% for the [O II] 7319,7331 blend, and the position angle of polarization is
oriented nearly parallel to the projected plane of the masing disk. A
correlation between critical density and degree of polarization is detected for
the forbidden lines, indicating that the polarized emission arises from
relatively dense (n_e > 10^4 cm^-3) gas. An archival Hubble Space Telescope
narrow-band [O III] image shows that the narrow-line region has a compact,
nearly unresolved core, implying a FWHM size of <2.5 pc. We discuss the
possibility that the polarized emission might arise from the accretion disk
itself and become polarized by scattering within the disk atmosphere. A more
likely scenario is an obscuring torus or strongly warped disk surrounding the
inner portion of a narrow-line region which is strongly stratified in density.
The compact size of the narrow-line region implies that the obscuring structure
must be smaller than ~2.5 pc in diameter.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal. 13 pages, including 1 table
and 4 figures. Uses emulateapj.st
Internet Queries and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Surveillance
The Internet is a common source of medical information and has created novel surveillance opportunities. We assessed the potential for Internet-based surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and examined the extent to which it reflects trends in hospitalizations and news coverage. Google queries were a useful predictor of hospitalizations for methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections
A robust morphological classification of high-redshift galaxies using support vector machines on seeing limited images. II. Quantifying morphological k-correction in the COSMOS field at 1<z<2: Ks band vs. I band
We quantify the effects of \emph{morphological k-correction} at by
comparing morphologies measured in the K and I-bands in the COSMOS area.
Ks-band data have indeed the advantage of probing old stellar populations for
, enabling a determination of galaxy morphological types unaffected by
recent star formation. In paper I we presented a new non-parametric method to
quantify morphologies of galaxies on seeing limited images based on support
vector machines. Here we use this method to classify
selected galaxies in the COSMOS area observed with WIRCam at CFHT. The obtained
classification is used to investigate the redshift distributions and number
counts per morphological type up to and to compare to the results
obtained with HST/ACS in the I-band on the same objects from other works. We
associate to every galaxy with and a probability between 0 and
1 of being late-type or early-type. The classification is found to be reliable
up to . The mean probability is . It decreases with redshift
and with size, especially for the early-type population but remains above
. The classification is globally in good agreement with the one
obtained using HST/ACS for . Above , the I-band classification
tends to find less early-type galaxies than the Ks-band one by a factor
1.5 which might be a consequence of morphological k-correction effects.
We argue therefore that studies based on I-band HST/ACS classifications at
could be underestimating the elliptical population. [abridged]Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, updated with referee comments, 12
pages, 10 figure
The Ionized Gas and Nuclear Environment in NGC 3783. I. Time-Averaged 900 ks Chandra Grating Spectroscopy
We present results from a 900 ks exposure of NGC 3783 with the High-Energy
Transmission Grating Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The
resulting X-ray spectrum has the best combination of signal-to-noise and
resolution ever obtained for an AGN. This spectrum reveals absorption lines
from H-like and He-like ions of N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, and S. There are also
possible absorption lines from H-like and He-like Ar and Ca. We also identify
inner-shell absorption from lower-ionization ions such as Si_VII-Si_XII and
S_XII-S_XIV. The iron absorption spectrum is very rich; L-shell lines of
Fe_XVII-Fe_XXIV are detected, strong complex of M-shell lines, and probable
resonance lines from Fe_XXV. The absorption lines are blueshifted relative to
the systemic velocity by a mean velocity of -590+-150 km/s. We resolve many of
the absorption lines, and their mean FWHM is 820+-280 km/s. We do not find
correlations between the velocity shifts or the FWHMs with the ionization
potentials of the ions. Most absorption lines show asymmetry, having more
extended blue wings than red wings. In O_VII we have resolved this asymmetry to
be from an additional absorption system at ~ -1300 km/s. The two X-ray
absorption systems are consistent in velocity shift and FWHM with the ones
identified in the UV lines of C IV, N V, and H I. Equivalent width measurements
for all lines are given and column densities are calculated for several ions.
We resolve the narrow Fe_K\alpha line at 6398.2+-3.3 eV to have a FWHM of
1720+-360 km/s, which suggests that this narrow line may be emitted from the
outer part of the broad line region or the inner part of the torus. We also
detect a `Compton shoulder' redward of the narrow Fe_K\alpha line which
indicates that it arises in cold, Compton-thick gas.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures (2 in color), emulateapj5, accepted for
publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement
- âŠ