WHAM Observations of H-Alpha, [S II], and [N II] toward the Orion and Perseus Arms: Probing the Physical Conditions of the Warm Ionized Medium

A large portion of the Galaxy (l = 123 deg to 164 deg, b = -6 deg to -35 deg), which samples regions of the Local (Orion) spiral arm and the more distant Perseus arm, has been mapped with the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM) in the H-Alpha, [S II] 6716, and [N II] 6583 lines. Several trends noticed in emission-line investigations of diffuse gas in other galaxies are confirmed in the Milky Way and extended to much fainter emission. We find that the [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha ratios increase as absolute H-Alpha intensities decrease. For the more distant Perseus arm emission, the increase in these ratios is a strong function of Galactic latitude and thus, of height above the Galactic plane. The [S II]/[N II] ratio is relatively independent of H-Alpha intensity. Scatter in this ratio appears to be physically significant, and maps of it suggest regions with similar ratios are spatially correlated. The Perseus arm [S II]/[N II] ratio is systematically lower than Local emission by 10%-20%. With [S II]/[N II] fairly constant over a large range of H-Alpha intensities, the increase of [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha with |z| seems to reflect an increase in temperature. Such an interpretation allows us to estimate the temperature and ionization conditions in our large sample of observations. We find that WIM temperatures range from 6,000 K to 9,000 K with temperature increasing from bright to faint H-Alpha emission (low to high [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha) respectively. Changes in [S II]/[N II] appear to reflect changes in the local ionization conditions (e.g. the S+/S++ ratio). We also measure the electron scale height in the Perseus arm to be 1.0+/-0.1 kpc, confirming earlier, less accurate determinations.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures. Figures 2 and 3 are full color--GIFs provided here, original PS figures at link below. Accepted for publication in ApJ. More information about the WHAM project can be found at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/wham/ . REVISION: Figure 6, bottom panel now contains the proper points. No other changes have been mad

Evidence for an Additional Heat Source in the Warm Ionized Medium of Galaxies

Spatial variations of the [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha line intensity ratios observed in the gaseous halo of the Milky Way and other galaxies are inconsistent with pure photoionization models. They appear to require a supplemental heating mechanism that increases the electron temperature at low densities n_e. This would imply that in addition to photoionization, which has a heating rate per unit volume proportional to n_e^2, there is another source of heat with a rate per unit volume proportional to a lower power of n_e. One possible mechanism is the dissipation of interstellar plasma turbulence, which according to Minter & Spangler (1997) heats the ionized interstellar medium in the Milky Way at a rate ~ 1x10^-25 n_e ergs cm^-3 s^-1. If such a source were present, it would dominate over photoionization heating in regions where n_e < 0.1 cm^-3, producing the observed increases in the [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha intensity ratios at large distances from the galactic midplane, as well as accounting for the constancy of [S II]/[N II], which is not explained by pure photoionization. Other supplemental heating sources, such as magnetic reconnection, cosmic rays, or photoelectric emission from small grains, could also account for these observations, provided they supply to the warm ionized medium ~ 10^-5 ergs s^-1 per cm^2 of Galactic disk.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Antitubercular activity assessment of fluorinated chalcones, 2-aminopyridine-3-carbonitrile and 2-amino-4H-pyran-3-carbonitrile derivatives: In vitro, molecular docking and in-silico drug likeliness studies

A series of newer previously synthesized fluorinated chalcones and their 2-amino-pyridine-3-carbonitrile and 2-amino-4H-pyran-3-carbonitrile derivatives were screened for their in vitro antitubercular activity and in silico methods. Compound 40 (MIC~ 8 μM) was the most potent among all 60 compounds, whose potency is comparable with broad spectrum antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and streptomycin and three times more potent than pyrazinamide. Additionally, compound 40 was also less selective and hence non-toxic towards the human live cell lines-LO2 in its MTT assay. Compounds 30, 27, 50, 41, 51, and 60 have exhibited streptomycin like activity (MIC~16–18 μM). Fluorinated chalcones, pyridine and pyran derivatives were found to occupy prime position in thymidylate kinase enzymatic pockets in molecular docking studies. The molecule 40 being most potent had shown a binding energy of -9.67 Kcal/mol, while docking against thymidylate kinase, which was compared with its in vitro MIC value (~8 μM). These findings suggest that 2-aminopyridine-3-carbonitrile and 2-amino-4H-pyran-3-carbonitrile derivatives are prospective lead molecules for the development of novel antitubercular drugs

NGC 5775: Anatomy of a disk-halo interface

We present the first high-resolution study of the disk-halo interface in an edge-on galaxy (NGC 5775) in which every component of the interstellar medium is represented and resolved (though not all to the same resolution). New single-dish CO J=2-1 and CO J=1-0 data, ROSAT X-ray data, and HIRES IRAS data are presented along with HI data which emphasizes the high latitude features. In conjunction with previously published radio continuum (6 and 20 cm) and H data, we find spatial correlations between various ISM components in that all components of the ISM are present in the disk-halo features (except for CO for which there is insufficient spatial coverage). The HI features extend to ~7 kpc above the plane, form loops in position-position space, in one case, form a loop in position-velocity space, and are also observed over a large velocity range. This implies that the disk-halo features represent expanding supershells. However, the shells may be incomplete and partially open-topped, suggesting that we are observing the breakup of the supershells as they traverse the disk-halo interface. There is some evidence for acceleration with z and both redshifted and blueshifted velocities are present, although the gas which is lagging with respect to galactic rotation dominates. The radio continuum spectral index is flatter around the shell rims and we show that this cannot be due to a contribution from thermal gas but rather is due to intrinsic flattening of the non-thermal spectral index, suggesting that shocks may be important in these regions. The H emission is located interior to the HI. For feature F3, the H emission forms the interior skin of the HI shell, yet there appears to be a minimum of in-disk star formation immediately below the feature. We present a picture of a typical HI supershell which accelerates and breaks up through the disk-halo interface. Such a feature is likely internally generated via an energetic event in the disk

A Search for Extraplanar Dust in Nearby Edge-On Spirals

We present high resolution BV images of 12 edge-on spiral galaxies observed with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. These images were obtained to search for extraplanar (|z| > 0.4 kpc) absorbing dust structures similar to those previously found in NGC 891 (Howk & Savage 1997). Our imaged galaxies include a sample of seven massive L_*-like spiral galaxies within D<25 Mpc that have inclinations i > 87 deg from the plane of the sky. We find that five of these seven systems show extraplanar dust, visible as highly-structured absorbing clouds against the background stellar light of the galaxies. The more prominent structures are estimated to have associated gas masses >10^5 M_sun; the implied potential energies are > 10^(52) ergs. All of the galaxies in our sample that show detectable halpha emission at large z also show extraplanar dust structures. None of those galaxies for which extraplanar halpha searches were negative show evidence for extensive high-z dust. The existence of extraplanar dust is a common property of massive spiral galaxies. We discuss several mechanisms for shaping the observed dust features, emphasizing the possibility that these dusty clouds represent the dense phase of a multiphase medium at high-z in spiral galaxies. The correlation between high-z dust and extraplanar Halpha emission may simply suggest that both trace the high-z interstellar medium in its various forms (or phases), the existence of which may ultimately be driven by vigorous star formation in the underlying disk. (Abstract abridged)Comment: 26 pages; 15 jpeg figures. To appear in The Astronomical Journal, May 1999. Gzipped tar files of high-resolution figures in postscript and jpeg formats are available at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~howk/Papers/papers.html#surve

Comparative study of echocardiography and electrocardiography criteria for detecting left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients

Background: The study aimed to compare seven different electrocardiogram (LVH) criteria for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with echocardiogram as diagnostic standard in hypertensive patients.Methods: This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study conducted in out-patient department and at medical wards of a tertiary care hospital at Bangalore. The study was carried out for a total duration of 12 months. All hypertensive patients underwent examination for prevalence of LVH using echocardiogram and ECG. Seven different ECG criteria were applied to diagnose the presence of LVH. Then the specificity, sensitivity, kappa measurement value, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for all criteria was calculated subsequently.Results: Out of the 100 patients studied, 34 had LVH as diagnosed by echocardiography. Sokolow-Lyon criteria had a sensitivity of 35% and specificity of 94%. Cornell voltage had a sensitivity of 26% and specificity of 95%. Modified Cornell voltage had a sensitivity of32% and specificity of 94%. Framingham adjusted Cornell voltage, Minnesota code and Cornell product had a sensitivity of 23.5% and specificity of 98.4%. Framingham score had a sensitivity of 38% and specificity of 95.4%.Conclusions: It can be concluded that among all the different criteria used in the study, Framingham score showed better sensitivity compared to others. In the evaluation of hypertensive patients for LVH, the role of ECG with all the commonly used criteria is of limited value and echocardiography is the method of choice

An ultraluminous supersoft source with a 4 hour modulation in NGC 4631

Context. Supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) are characterised by very low temperatures (< 100 eV). Classical SSSs have bolometric luminosities in the range of 10^36-10^38 erg/s and are modelled with steady nuclear burning of hydrogen on the surfaces of white dwarfs. However, several SSSs have been discovered with much higher luminosities. Their nature is still unclear. Aims. We report the discovery of a 4h modulation for an ultraluminous SSS in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4631, observed with XMM-Newton in 2002 June. Temporal and spectral analysis of the source is performed. Methods. We use a Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis for the period search and evaluate the confidence level using Monte-Carlo simulations. We measure the source temperature, flux and luminosity through spectral fitting. Results. A modulation of 4.2+-0.4 h (3 sigma error) was found for the SSS with a confidence level >99%. Besides dips observed in the light curve, the flux decreased by a factor of 3 within ~10h. The spectrum can be described with an absorbed blackbody model with kT~67eV. The absorbed luminosity in the 0.2-2 kev energy band was 2.7x10^38 erg/sec while the bolometric luminosity was a hundred time higher (3.2x10^40 erg/s), making the source one of the most luminous of its class, assuming the best fit model is correct. Conclusions. This source is another very luminous SSS for which the standard white dwarf interpretation cannot be applied, unless a strong beaming factor is considered. A stellar-mass black hole accreting at a super Eddington rate is a more likely interpretation, where the excess of accreted matter is ejected through a strong optically-thick outflow. The 4 h modulation could either be an eclipse from the companion star or the consequence of a warped accretion disk.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted as a Letter in Astronomy & Astrophysic

High Latitude Radio Emission in a Sample of Edge-On Spiral Galaxies

We have mapped 16 edge-on galaxies at 20 cm using the VLA. For 5 galaxies, we could form spectral index, energy and magnetic field maps. We find that all but one galaxy show evidence for non-thermal high latitude radio continuum emission, suggesting that cosmic ray halos are common in star forming galaxies. The high latitude emission is seen over a variety of spatial scales and in discrete and/or smooth features. In general, the discrete features emanate from the disk, but estimates of CR diffusion lengths suggest that diffusion alone is insufficient to transport the particles to the high latitudes seen (> 15 kpc in one case). Thus CRs likely diffuse through low density regions and/or are assisted by other mechanisms (e.g. winds). We searched for correlations between the prevalence of high latitude radio emission and a number of other properties, including the global SFR, supernova input rate per unit star forming, and do not find clear correlations with any of these properties.Comment: 40 pages of text, 3 figures, 6 tables, and an appendix of 21 jpeg figures (which is a radio continuum catalogue of 17 galaxies). to appear in A. J. (around January 1999

Characterisation of nanoparticles by means of high-resolution SEM/EDS in transmission mode

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A high spatial resolution X-ray and H-alpha study of hot gas in the halos of star-forming disk galaxies. I. Spatial and spectral properties of the diffuse X-ray emission

We present arcsecond resolution Chandra X-ray and ground-based optical H-alpha imaging of a sample of ten edge-on star-forming disk galaxies (seven starburst and three ``normal'' spiral galaxies), a sample which covers the full range of star-formation intensity found in disk galaxies. We use the unprecedented spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray observatory to robustly remove point sources, and hence obtain the X-ray properties of the diffuse thermal emission alone. The X-ray observations are combined with comparable-resolution H-alpha and R-band imaging, and presented as a mini-atlas of images on a common spatial and surface brightness scale. The vertical distribution of the halo-region X-ray surface brightness is best described as an exponential, with the observed scale heights lying in the range H_eff = 2 -- 4 kpc. The ACIS X-ray spectra of extra-planar emission from all these galaxies can be fit with a common two-temperature spectral model with an enhanced alpha-to-iron element ratio. This is consistent with the origin of the X-ray emitting gas being either metal-enriched merged SN ejecta or shock-heated ambient halo or disk material with moderate levels of metal depletion onto dust. The thermal X-ray emission observed in the halos of the starburst galaxies is either this pre-existing halo medium, which has been swept-up and shock heated by the starburst-driven wind, or wind material compressed near the walls of the outflow by reverse shocks within the wind. In either case the X-ray emission provides us with a powerful probe of the properties of gaseous halos around star-forming disk galaxies.Comment: To appear in April 2004 edition of ApJS. For high resolution version, see http://proteus.pha.jhu.edu/~dks/ Accepted version, now has nuclear and total diffuse emission fluxes and luminosities, a few other minor change