428 research outputs found
Application of a Bayesian Method to Absorption Spectral-Line Finding in Simulated ASKAP Data
The large spectral bandwidth and wide field of view of the Australian SKA
Pathfinder radio telescope will open up a completely new parameter space for
large extragalactic HI surveys. Here we focus on identifying and parametrising
HI absorption lines which occur in the line of sight towards strong radio
continuum sources. We have developed a method for simultaneously finding and
fitting HI absorption lines in radio data by using multi-nested sampling, a
Bayesian Monte Carlo algorithm. The method is tested on a simulated ASKAP data
cube, and is shown to be reliable at detecting absorption lines in low
signal-to-noise data without the need to smooth or alter the data. Estimation
of the local Bayesian evidence statistic provides a quantitative criterion for
assigning significance to a detection and selecting between competing
analytical line-profile models.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures and 1 table; accepted for publication in PAS
Genome-wide and Mendelian randomisation studies of liver MRI yield insights into the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis
Background
A non-invasive method to grade the severity of steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based corrected T1 (cT1). We aimed to identify genetic variants influencing liver cT1 and use genetics to understand mechanisms underlying liver fibroinflammatory disease and its link with other metabolic traits and diseases.
Methods
First, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 14,440 Europeans in UK Biobank with liver cT1 measures. Second, we explored the effects of the cT1 variants on liver blood tests, and a range of metabolic traits and diseases. Third, we used Mendelian randomisation to test the causal effects of 24 predominantly metabolic traits on liver cT1 measures.
Results
We identified six independent genetic variants associated with liver cT1 that reached GWAS significance threshold (p<5x10-8). Four of the variants (rs75935921 in SLC30A10, rs13107325 in SLC39A8, rs58542926 in TM6SF2, rs738409 in PNPLA3) were also associated with elevated transaminases and had variable effects on liver fat and other metabolic traits. Insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver and BMI were causally associated with elevated cT1 whilst favourable adiposity (instrumented by variants associated with higher adiposity but lower risk of cardiometabolic disease and lower liver fat) was found to be protective.
Conclusion
The association between two metal ion transporters and cT1 indicates an important new mechanism in steatohepatitis. Future studies are needed to determine whether interventions targeting the identified transporters might prevent liver disease in at risk individuals
The Distribution and Condition of the Warm Molecular Gas in Abell 2597 and Sersic 159-03
We have used the SINFONI integral field spectrograph to map the near-infrared
K-band emission lines of molecular and ionised hydrogen in the central regions
of two cool core galaxy clusters, Abell 2597 and Sersic 159-03. Gas is detected
out to 20 kpc from the nuclei of the brightest cluster galaxies and found to be
distributed in clumps and filaments around it. The ionised and molecular gas
phases trace each other closely in extent and dynamical state. Both gas phases
show signs of interaction with the active nucleus. Within the nuclear regions
the kinetic luminosity of this gas is found to be somewhat smaller than the
current radio luminosity. Outside the nuclear region the gas has a low velocity
dispersion and shows smooth velocity gradients. There is no strong correlation
between the intensity of the molecular and ionised gas emission and either the
radio or X-ray emission. The molecular gas in Abell 2597 and Sersic 159-03 is
well described by a gas in local thermal equilibrium (LTE) with a single
excitation temperature T_exc ~ 2300 K. The emission line ratios do not vary
strongly as function of position, with the exception of the nuclear regions
where the ionised to molecular gas ratio is found decrease. These constant line
ratios imply a single source of heating and excitation for both gas phases.Comment: 44 pages, 32 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Discovery of Atomic and Molecular Mid-Infrared Emission Lines in Off-Nuclear Regions of NGC 1275 and NGC 4696 with the \u3cem\u3eSpitzer Space Telescope\u3c/em\u3e
We present Spitzer high-resolution spectra of off-nuclear regions in the central cluster galaxies NGC 1275 and NGC 4696 in the Perseus and Centaurus clusters, respectively. Both objects are surrounded by extensive optical emission-line filamentary nebulae, bright outer parts of which are the targets of our observations. The 10–37 μm spectra show strong pure-rotational lines from molecular hydrogen revealing a molecular component to the filaments which has an excitation temperature of ∼300−400 K. The flux in the 0−0 S(1) molecular hydrogen line correlates well with the strength of the optical lines, having about 3 per cent of the Hα+[N II] emission. The 11.3-μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon feature is seen in some spectra. Emission is also seen from both low- and high-ionization fine-structure lines. Molecular hydrogen cooler than ∼400 K dominates the mass of the outer filaments; the nebulae are predominantly molecular
The Integrated Polarization of Spiral Galaxy Disks
We present integrated polarization properties of nearby spiral galaxies at
4.8 GHz, and models for the integrated polarization of spiral galaxy disks as a
function of inclination. Spiral galaxies in our sample have observed integrated
fractional polarization in the range < 1% to 17.6%. At inclinations less than
50 degrees, the fractional polarization depends mostly on the ratio of random
to regular magnetic field strength. At higher inclinations, Faraday
depolarization associated with the regular magnetic field becomes more
important. The observed degree of polarization is lower (<4%) for more luminous
galaxies, in particular those with L_{4.8} > 2 x 10^{21} W/Hz. The polarization
angle of the integrated emission is aligned with the apparent minor axis of the
disk for galaxies without a bar. In our axially symmetric models, the
polarization angle of the integrated emission is independent of wavelength.
Simulated distributions of fractional polarization for randomly oriented spiral
galaxies at 4.8 GHz and 1.4 GHz are presented. We conclude that polarization
measurements, e.g. with the SKA, of unresolved spiral galaxies allow
statistical studies of the magnetic field in disk galaxies using large samples
in the local universe and at high redshift. As these galaxies behave as
idealized background sources without internal Faraday rotation, they can be
used to detect large-scale magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Morphological Composition of z~0.4 groups: The site of S0 formation
The low redshift Universe (z<~0.5) is not a dull place. Processes leading to
the suppression of star formation and morphological transformation are
prevalent: this is particularly evident in the dramatic upturn in the fraction
of S0-type galaxies in clusters. However, until now, the process and
environment of formation has remained unidentified. We present a HST-based
morphological analysis of galaxies in the redshift-space selected group and
field environments at z~0.4. Groups contain a much higher fraction of S0s at
fixed luminosity than the lower density field, with >99.999% confidence. Indeed
the S0 fraction in groups is at least as high as in z~0.4 clusters and X-ray
selected groups, which have more luminous Intra Group Medium (IGM). An 97%
confident excess of S0s at >=0.3Mpc from the group centre at fixed luminosity,
tells us that formation is not restricted to, and possibly even avoids, the
group cores. Interactions with a bright X-ray emitting IGM cannot be important
for the formation of the majority of S0s in the Universe. In contrast to S0s,
the fraction of elliptical galaxies in groups at fixed luminosity is similar to
the field, whilst the brightest ellipticals are strongly enhanced towards the
group centres (>99.999% confidence within 0.3Mpc). We conclude that the group
and sub-group environments must be dominant for the formation of S0 galaxies,
and that minor mergers, galaxy harassment and tidal interactions are the most
likely responsible mechanisms. This has implications not only for the inferred
pre-processing of cluster galaxies, but also for the global morphological and
star formation budget of galaxies: as hierarchical clustering progresses, more
galaxies will be subject to these transformations as they enter the group
environment.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
The Strongly Polarized Afterglow of GRB 020405
We report polarization measurements and photometry for the optical afterglow
of the gamma-ray burst GRB 020405. We measured a highly significant 9.9%
polarization (in V band) 1.3 days after the burst and argue that it is
intrinsic to the GRB. The light curve decay is well fitted by a
power-law; we do not see any evidence for a break between 1.24 and 4.3 days
after the burst. We discuss these measurements in the light of several models
of GRB afterglows.Comment: submitted to ApJ
The obscured growth of massive black holes
The mass density of massive black holes observed locally is consistent with
the hard X-ray Background provided that most of the radiation produced during
their growth was absorbed by surrounding gas. A simple model is proposed here
for the formation of galaxy bulges and central black holes in which young
spheroidal galaxies have a significant distributed component of cold dusty
clouds which accounts for the absorption. The central accreting black hole is
assumed to emit both a quasar-like spectrum, which is absorbed by the
surrounding gas, and a slow wind. The power in both is less than the Eddington
limit for the black hole. The wind however exerts the most force on the gas
and, as earlier suggested by Silk & Rees, when the black hole reaches a
critical mass, it is powerful enough to eject the cold gas from the galaxy, so
terminating the growth of both black hole and galaxy. In the present model this
point occurs when the Thomson depth in the surrounding gas has dropped to about
unity and results in the mass of the black hole being proportional to the mass
of the spheroid, with the normalization agreeing with that found for local
galaxies by Magorrian et al. for reasonable wind parameters. The model predicts
a new population of hard X-ray and sub-mm sources at redshifts above one which
are powered by black holes in their main growth phase.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, MN LATEX style, accepted for publication in the
MNRA
Far Ultraviolet Emission in the A2597 and A2204 Brightest Cluster Galaxies
We use the Hubble Space Telescope ACS/SBC and Very Large Telescope FORS
cameras to observe the Brightest Cluster Galaxies in Abell 2597 and Abell 2204
in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) F150LP and optical U, B, V, R, I Bessel filters.
The FUV and U band emission is enhanced in bright, filamentary structures
surrounding the BCG nuclei. These filaments can be traced out to 20 kpc from
the nuclei in the FUV. Excess FUV and U band light is determined by removing
emission due to the underlying old stellar population and mapped with 1 arcsec
spatial resolution over the central 20 kpc regions of both galaxies. We find
the FUV and U excess emission to be spatially coincident and a stellar
interpretation requires the existence of a significant amount of 10000-50000 K
stars. Correcting for nebular continuum emission and dust intrinsic to the BCG
further increases the FUV to U band emission ratio and implies that stars alone
may not suffice to explain the observations. However, lack of detailed
information on the gas and dust distribution and extinction law in these
systems prevents us from ruling out a purely stellar origin. Non-stellar
processes, such as the central AGN, Scattering, Synchrotron and Bremsstrahlung
emission are investigated and found to not be able to explain the FUV and U
band measurements in A2597. Contributions from non-thermal processes not
treated here should be investigated. Comparing the FUV emission to the optical
H-alpha line emitting nebula shows good agreement on kpc-scales in both A2597
and A2204. In concordance with an earlier investigation by O'Dea et al. (2004)
we find that O-stars can account for the ionising photons necessary to explain
the observed H-alpha line emission.Comment: accepted by mnra
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