The Evolution of the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation over the past 6 Gyr

Scaling relations are salient ingredients of galaxy evolution and formation models. I summarize results from the IMAGES survey, which combines spatially-resolved kinematics from FLAMES/GIRAFFE with imaging from HST/ACS and other facilities. Specifically, I will focus on the evolution of the stellar mass and baryonic Tully-Fisher Relations (TFR) from z=0.6 down to z=0. We found a significant evolution in zero point and scatter of the stellar mass TFR compared to the local Universe. Combined with gas fractions derived by inverting the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation, we derived for the first time a baryonic TFR at high redshift. Conversely to the stellar mass TFR, the baryonic relation does not appear to evolve in zero point, which suggests that most of the reservoir of gas converted into stars over the past 6 Gyr was already gravitationally bound to galaxies at z=0.6.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the IAU Symposium 277 "Tracing the Ancestry of Galaxies"; 4 pages, 1 figur

Extraction of ellagitannins from oak wood of model casks

Eight experimental model casks were constructed using wood from four oak trees and filled with a 12 % ethanol solution for 200 days. The concentration of ellagitannins was subsequently measured in the solutions and in the inner and outer faces of the cask wood. Only a low proportion of the total ellagitannins was extracted from the wood, and this proportion varied significantly between both different casks and between the eight ellagitannins measured. The two most abundant ellagitannins, castalagin and vescalagin, were the least easily extracted. The concentration of ellagitannins was much lower in the solutions than expected from calculations based on the difference between the inner and outer faces of the wood. This degradation of ellagitannins occurs subsequent to their extraction into solution

How was the Hubble sequence 6 Gyrs ago?

The way galaxies assemble their mass to form the well-defined Hubble sequence is amongst the most debated topic in modern cosmology. One difficulty is to link distant galaxies to those at present epoch. We aim at establishing how were the galaxies of the Hubble sequence, 6 Gyrs ago. We intend to derive a past Hubble sequence that can be causally linked to the present-day one. We selected samples of nearby galaxies from the SDSS and of distant galaxies from the GOODS survey. We verified that each sample is representative of galaxies. We further showed that the observational conditions necessary to retrieve their morphological classification are similar in an unbiased way. Morphological analysis has been done in an identical way for all galaxies in the two samples. We found an absence of number evolution for elliptical and lenticular galaxies, which strikingly contrasts with the strong evolution of spiral and peculiar galaxies. Spiral galaxies were 2.3 times less abundant in the past, that is exactly compensated by the strong decrease by a factor 5 of peculiar galaxies. It strongly suggests that more than half of the present-day spirals had peculiar morphologies, 6 Gyrs ago, and this has to be accounted by any scenario of galactic disk evolution and formation. The past Hubble sequence can be used to test these scenarios as well as to test evolution of fundamental planes for spirals and bulges.Comment: Version accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, October 21 2009. Including low resolution images. 11 pages, 8 figure

The baryonic content and Tully-Fisher relation at z~0.6

[abr.] Using the multi-integral-field spectrograph GIRAFFE at VLT, we previsouly derived the stellar-mass Tully-Fisher Relation (smTFR) at z~0.6, and found that the distant relation is systematically offset by roughly a factor of two toward lower masses. We extend the study of the evolution of the TFR by establishing the first distant baryonic TFR. To derive gas masses in distant galaxies, we estimate a gas radius and invert the Schmidt-Kennicutt law between star formation rate and gas surface densities. We find that gas extends farther out than the UV light from young stars, a median of ~30%. We present the first baryonic TFR (bTFR) ever established at intermediate redshift and show that, within an uncertainty of +/-0.08 dex, the zeropoint of the bTFR does not appear to evolve between z~0.6 and z=0. The absence of evolution in the bTFR over the past 6 Gyr implies that no external gas accretion is required for distant rotating disks to sustain star formation until z=0 and convert most of their gas into stars. Finally, we confirm that the larger scatter found in the distant smTFR, and hence in the bTFR, is caused entirely by major mergers. This scatter results from a transfer of energy from bulk motions in the progenitors, to random motions in the remnants, generated by shocks during the merging. Shocks occurring during these events naturally explain the large extent of ionized gas found out to the UV radius in z~0.6 galaxies. All the results presented in this paper support the ``spiral rebuilding scenario'' of Hammer and collaborators, i.e., that a large fraction of local spiral disks have been reprocessed during major mergers in the past 8 Gyr.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, v3 addressing comments from the refere

Update on the ICUD-SIU consultation on multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging in localised prostate cancer

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) imaging is a rapidly evolving field. Dramatic improvements in prostate MRI during the last decade will probably change the accuracy of diagnosis. This chapter reviews recent current evidence about MRI diagnostic performance and impact on PCa management. Materials and methods: The International Consultation on Urological Diseases nominated a committee to review the literature on prostate MRI. A search of the PubMed database was conducted to identify articles focussed on MP-MRI detection and staging protocols, reporting and scoring systems, the role of MP-MRI in diagnosing PCa prior to biopsy, in active surveillance, in focal therapy and in detecting local recurrence after treatment. Results: Differences in opinion were reported in the use of the strength of magnets [1.5 Tesla (T) vs. 3T] and coils. More agreement was found regarding the choice of pulse sequences; diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI), dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE MRI), and/or MR spectroscopy imaging (MRSI) are recommended in addition to conventional T2-weighted anatomical sequences. In 2015, the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS version 2) was described to standardize image acquisition and interpretation. MP-MRI improves detection of clinically significant PCa (csPCa) in the repeat biopsy setting or before the confirmatory biopsy in patients considering active surveillance. It is useful to guide focal treatment and to detect local recurrences after treatment. Its role in biopsy-naive patients or during the course of active surveillance remains debated. Conclusion: MP-MRI is increasingly used to improve detection of csPCa and for the selection of a suitable therapeutic approach

The Hubble sequence: just a vestige of merger events?

Abr: We investigate whether the Hubble sequence can be reproduced by the relics of merger events. We verify that, at zmed=0.65, the abundant population of anomalous starbursts is mainly linked to the local spirals. Their morphologies are dominated by young stars and are related to their ionised-gas kinematics. We show that both morphologies and kinematics can be reproduced by using gas modelling from Barnes' (2002) study of major mergers. Using our modelling to estimate the gas-to-stars transformation during a merger, we identify the gas fraction in the progenitors to be generally above 50%. All distant and massive starbursts can be distributed along a temporal sequence from the first passage to the nuclei fusion and then to the disk rebuilding phase. It confirms that the rebuilding spiral disk scenario is possibly an important channel for the formation of present-day disks in spirals. Because half of the present-day spirals had peculiar morphologies and anomalous kinematics at zmed=0.65, they could indeed be in major mergers phases 6 Gyrs ago, and almost all at z~1. It is time now to study in detail the formation of spiral disks and of their substructures, including bulge, disks, arms, bars, rings that may mainly originate from instabilities created during the last major merger.Comment: Version accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, September 2nd 2009. Including low resolution image

Performance study of ground-based infrared Bracewell interferometers - Application to the detection of exozodiacal dust disks with GENIE

Nulling interferometry, a powerful technique for high-resolution imaging of the close neighbourhood of bright astrophysical objets, is currently considered for future space missions such as Darwin or the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I), both aiming at Earth-like planet detection and characterization. Ground-based nulling interferometers are being studied for both technology demonstration and scientific preparation of the Darwin/TPF-I missions through a systematic survey of circumstellar dust disks around nearby stars. In this paper, we investigate the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the performance of ground-based nulling instruments, and deduce the major design guidelines for such instruments. End-to-end numerical simulations allow us to estimate the performance of the main subsystems and thereby the actual sensitivity of the nuller to faint exozodiacal disks. Particular attention is also given to the important question of stellar leakage calibration. This study is illustrated in the context of GENIE, the Ground-based European Nulling Interferometer Experiment, to be installed at the VLTI and working in the L' band. We estimate that this instrument will detect exozodiacal clouds as faint as about 50 times the Solar zodiacal cloud, thereby placing strong constraints on the acceptable targets for Darwin/TPF-I.Comment: A&A, accepte

Oxford SWIFT IFS and multi-wavelength observations of the Eagle galaxy at z=0.77

The `Eagle' galaxy at a redshift of 0.77 is studied with the Oxford Short Wavelength Integral Field Spectrograph (SWIFT) and multi-wavelength data from the All-wavelength Extended Groth strip International Survey (AEGIS). It was chosen from AEGIS because of the bright and extended emission in its slit spectrum. Three dimensional kinematic maps of the Eagle reveal a gradient in velocity dispersion which spans 35-75 +/- 10 km/s and a rotation velocity of 25 +/- 5 km/s uncorrected for inclination. Hubble Space Telescope images suggest it is close to face-on. In comparison with galaxies from AEGIS at similar redshifts, the Eagle is extremely bright and blue in the rest-frame optical, highly star-forming, dominated by unobscured star-formation, and has a low metallicity for its size. This is consistent with its selection. The Eagle is likely undergoing a major merger and is caught in the early stage of a star-burst when it has not yet experienced metal enrichment or formed the mass of dust typically found in star-forming galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Thermohydraulic Behaviour of HeII in Stratified Co-Current Two-Phase Flow at High Vapor Velocities

Recent experiments conducted with a co-current flow of saturated superfluid helium at CEA-Grenoble have shown a transition from stratified two phase flow to droplet mist flow at high vapor velocities. The two phase co-current stratified flow was circulated through a 40 mm inner diameter, 10 m long tube, with a slope ranging between 0 and 1.4%. Mass flow rates and temperatures ranged between 1 and 7 g/s, 1.8 and 2 K respectively. These various conditions allowed a comparison of the flow behavior for same void fraction but different vapor mass flows. Some evidences of atomization without any transition from stratified to annular flow are given