1,688 research outputs found
3D Spectroscopy of Blue Compact Galaxies. Diagnostic Diagrams
Here we present the analysis of 3D spectroscopic data of three Blue Compact
Galaxies (Mrk324, Mrk370, and IIIZw102). Each of the more than 22500 spectra
obtained for each galaxy has been fitted by a single gaussian from which we
have inferred the velocity dispersion (sigma), the peak intensity (Ipeak), and
the central wavelength (lambda_c). The analysis shows that the sigma vs Ipeak
diagrams look remarkably similar to those obtained for giant extragalactic HII
regions. They all present a supersonic narrow horizontal band that extends
across all the range of intensities and that result from the massive nuclear
star-forming regions of every galaxy. The sigma vs Ipeak diagrams present also
several inclined bands of lower intensity and an even larger sigma, arising
from the large galactic volumes that surround the main central emitting knots.
Here we also show that the sigma vs lambda_c and lambda_c vs Ipeak diagrams,
are powerful tools able to unveil the presence of high and low mass stellar
clusters, and thus allow for the possibility of inferring the star formation
activity of distant galaxies, even if these are not spatially resolved.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical
Journa
Nature of nuclear rings in unbarred galaxies: NGC 7742 and NGC 7217
We have studied the unbarred Sb galaxy with a nuclear star-forming ring, NGC
7742, by means of 2D spectroscopy, long-slit spectroscopy, and imaging, and
have compared the results with the properties of another galaxy of this type,
NGC 7217, which is studied by us earlier. Both galaxies have many peculiar
features in common: each has two global exponential stellar disks with
different scalelengths, each possesses a circumnuclear inclined gaseous disk
with a radius of 300 pc, and each has a global counterrotating subsystem,
gaseous one in NGC 7742 and stellar one in NGC 7217. We suggest that past minor
merger is the probable cause of all these peculiarities, including appearance
of the nuclear star-forming rings without global bars; the rings might be
produced as resonance features by tidally induced oval distortions of the
global stellar disks.Comment: Accepted to AJ, 11 PS/EPS figures (5 figures were added in color
Very High Mach Number Electrostatic Shocks in Collisionless Plasmas
The kinetic theory of collisionless electrostatic shocks resulting from the
collision of plasma slabs with different temperatures and densities is
presented. The theoretical results are confirmed by self-consistent
particle-in-cell simulations, revealing the formation and stable propagation of
electrostatic shocks with very high Mach numbers (), well above the
predictions of the classical theories for electrostatic shocks.Comment: 6 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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