367 research outputs found
Modelling galaxy spectra in presence of interstellar dust. I. The model of ISM and the library of dusty SSPs
In this paper, the first of a series of two devoted to modelling the spectra
of galaxies of different morphological type in presence of dust, we present our
description of the dust both in the diffuse ISM and the molecular clouds. Our
model for the dust takes into account three components, i.e. graphite,
silicates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We consider and adapt to our
aims two prescriptions for the size distribution of the dust grains and two
models for the emission of the dusty ISM. We cross-check the emission and
extinction models of the ISM by calculating the extinction curves and the
emission for the typical environments of the Milky Way and the Large and Small
Magellanic Clouds and by comparing the results with the observational data. The
final model we have adopted is an hybrid one which stems from combining the
analysis of Guhathakurta et al (1989) for the emission of graphite and
silicates and Puget et al. (1985) for the PAH emission, and using the
distribution law of Weingartner et al. (2001a) and the ionization model for
PAHs of Weingartner et al. (2001b). We apply the model to calculate the SED of
SSPs of different age and chemical composition, which may be severely affected
by dust in young, massive stars while they are still embedded in their parental
MCs. We use the "Ray Tracing" method to solve the problem of radiative transfer
and to calculate libraries of SSP SEDs. Particular care is paid to model the
contribution from PAHs, introducing different abundances of C in the population
of very small carbonaceous grains (VSGs) and different ionization states in
PAHs. The SEDs of young SSPs are then compared with observational data of star
forming regions of four local galaxies successfully reproducing their SEDs from
the UV-optical regions to the mid and far infrared.Comment: 24 pages, 29 figure
New response functions for absorption-line indices from high-resolution spectra
Basing on the huge library of 1-A resolution spectra calculated by Munari et
al. over a large range of logT, log g, [Fe/H] and both for solar and a-enhanced
abundance ratios [a/Fe], we present theoretical absorption-line indices on the
Lick system. First we derive the so-called response functions (RFs) of Tripicco
& Bell for a wide range of logT, log g, [Fe/H] and [a/Fe]=+0.4 dex. The RFs are
commonly used to correct indices with solar [a/Fe] ratios to indices with
[a/Fe]>0. Not only the RFs vary with the type of star but also with the
metallicity. Secondly, with the aid of this and the fitting functions (FFs) of
Worthey et al., we derive the indices for single stellar populations and
compare them with those obtained by previous authors, e.g. Tantalo & Chiosi.
The new RFs not only supersede the old ones by Tripicco & Bell, but also show
that Hb increases with the degree of enhancement in agreement with the results
by Tantalo & Chiosi. The new indices for single stellar populations are used to
derive with aid of the recursive Minimum Distance method the age, metallicity
and degree of enhancement of a sample of Galactic Globular Clusters for which
these key parameters have been independently derived from the Colour-Magnitude
Diagram and/or spectroscopic studies. The agreement is remarkably good.Comment: 18 pages, to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Formation and Evolution of Early-Type Galaxies: Spectro-Photometry from Cosmo-Chemo-Dynamical Simulations
One of the major challenges in modern astrophysics is to understand the
origin and the evolution of galaxies, the bright, massive early type galaxies
(ETGs) in particular. Therefore, these galaxies are likely to be good probes of
galaxy evolution, star formation and, metal enrichment in the early Universe.
In this context it is very important to set up a diagnostic tool able to
combine results from chemo-dynamical N-Body-TSPH (NB-TSPH) simulations of ETGs
with those of spectro-photometric population synthesis and evolution so that
all key properties of galaxies can be investigated. The main goal of this paper
is to provide a preliminary validation of the software package before applying
it to the analysis of observational data. The galaxy models in use where
calculated by the Padova group in two different cosmological scenarios: the
SCDM, and the Lambda CDM. For these models, we recover their
spectro-photometric evolution through the entire history of the Universe. We
computed magnitudes and colors and their evolution with the redshift along with
the evolutionary and cosmological corrections for the model galaxies at our
disposal, and compared them with data for ETGs taken from the COSMOS and the
GOODS databases. Starting from the dynamical simulations and photometric models
at our disposal, we created synthetic images from which we derived the
structural and morphological parameters. The theoretical results are compared
with observational data of ETGs selected form the SDSS database. The simulated
colors for the different cosmological scenarios follow the general trend shown
by galaxies of the COSMOS and GOODS. Within the redshift range considered, all
the simulated colors reproduce the observational data quite well.Comment: 28 pages, 28 figures, accepted for pubblication by A&
The Opacity of Spiral Galaxy Disks VIII: Structure of the Cold ISM
The quantity of dust in a spiral disk can be estimated using the dust's
typical emission or the extinction of a known source. In this paper, we compare
two techniques, one based on emission and one on absorption, applied on
sections of fourteen disk galaxies. The two measurements reflect, respectively
the average and apparent optical depth of a disk section. Hence, they depend
differently on the average number and optical depth of ISM structures in the
disk. The small scale geometry of the cold ISM is critical for accurate models
of the overall energy budget of spiral disks. ISM geometry, relative
contributions of different stellar populations and dust emissivity are all free
parameters in galaxy Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) models; they are also
sometimes degenerate, depending on wavelength coverage. Our aim is to constrain
typical ISM geometry. The apparent optical depth measurement comes from the
number of distant galaxies seen in HST images through the foreground disk. We
measure the IR flux in images from the {\it Spitzer} Infrared Nearby Galaxy
Survey in the same section of the disk that was covered by HST. A physical
model of the dust is fit to the SED to estimate the dust surface density, mean
temperature, and brightness in these disk sections. The surface density is
subsequently converted into the average optical depth estimate. The two
measurements generally agree. The ratios between the measured average and
apparent optical depths of the disk sections imply optically thin clouds in
these disks. Optically thick disks, are likely to have more than a single cloud
along the line-of-sight.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A
GALEX UV properties of the polar ring galaxy MCG-05-07-001 and the shell galaxies NGC 1210 and NGC 5329
Systems of shells and polar rings in early-type galaxies are considered "bona
fide" tracers of mass accretion and/or mergers. Their high frequency in low
density environments suggests that such episodes could drive the evolution of
at least a fraction of the early-type galaxy population. Their UV emission is
crucial to test whether these galaxies host ongoing/recent star formation. We
used far and near ultraviolet, optical, near infrared images, HI maps, and line
strength indices to investigate the nuclear and outer regions of the galaxies
as well as the regions where fine structures are present. The GALEX Near (NUV)
and Far UV (FUV) images of MCG-05-07-001 and NGC 1210 show complex tidal tails
and debris structures. The UV morphology of both galaxies appears so different
from the optical one that the early-type classification may not apply. In both
GALEX bands the polar ring of MCG-05-07-001 is the dominant feature, whereas an
extended tidal tail dominates the FUV bands of NGC 1210. In MCG-05-07-001 and
NGC 1210 there is a strong correlation between structures detected in the FUV
and NUV bands and in HI. NGC 5329 does not show evidence of shells in the UV.
We try to constrain the age of the accretion episode or merger which gave rise
to the shells and polar rings with the aid of composite stellar populations
that take the presence of dust into account. The presence of HI in both
MCG-05-07-001 and NGC 1210 argues in favour of wet mergers. Models suggest the
presence of very young stellar populations in MCG-05-07-001: the observations
could be explained in the framework of a conspicuous burst of star formation
that occurred <=1 Gyr ago and involved a large fraction of the galaxy mass. Our
models suggest that also the nuclei of NGC 1210 and NGC 5329 could have been
rejuvenated by an accretion episode about 2-4 Gyr ago. (abridged)Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Pleiotropic antitumor effects of the pan-HDAC inhibitor ITF2357 against c-Myc-overexpressing human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas,
Histone deacetylases (HDAC) extensively contribute to the c-Myc oncogenic program, pointing to their inhibition as an effective strategy against c-Myc-overexpressing cancers. We, thus, studied the therapeutic activity of the new-generation pan-HDAC inhibitor ITF2357 (Givinostat®) against c-Myc-overexpressing human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHLs). ITF2357 anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects were analyzed in B-NHL cell lines with c-Myc translocations (Namalwa, Raji and DOHH-2), stabilizing mutations (Raji) or post-transcriptional alterations (SU-DHL-4) in relationship to c-Myc modulation. ITF2357 significantly delayed the in vitro growth of all B-NHL cell lines by inducing G1 cell-cycle arrest, eventually followed by cell death. These events correlated with the extent of c-Myc protein, but not mRNA, downregulation, indicating the involvement of post-transcriptional mechanisms. Accordingly, c-Myc-targeting microRNAs let-7a and miR-26a were induced in all treated lymphomas and the cap-dependent translation machinery components 4E-BP1, eIF4E and eIF4G, as well as their upstream regulators, Akt and PIM kinases, were inhibited in function of the cell sensitivity to ITF2357, and, in turn, c-Myc downregulation. In vivo, ITF2357 significantly hampered the growth of Namalwa and Raji xenografts in immunodeficient mice. Noteworthy, its combination with suboptimal cyclophosphamide, achieved complete remissions in most animals and equaled or even exceeded the activity of optimal cyclophosphamide. Collectively, our findings provide the rationale for testing the clinical advantages of adding ITF2357 to current therapies for the still very ominous c-Myc-overexpressing lymphomas. They equally provide the proof-of-concept for its clinical evaluation in rational combination with the promising inhibitors of B-cell receptor and PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis currently in the process of development
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