1,474 research outputs found
Central Star Formation in Pseudobulges and Classical Bulges
I use Spitzer 3.6-8.0 \mu m color profiles to compare the radial structure of
star formation in pseudobulges and classical bulges. Pseudobulges are
``bulges'' which form through secular evolution, rather than mergers. In this
study, pseudobulges are identified using the presence of disk-like structure in
the center of the galaxy (nuclear spiral, nuclear bar, and/or high ellipticity
in bulge); classical bulges are those galaxy bulges with smooth isophotes which
are round compared to the outer disk, and show no disky structure in their
bulge. I show that galaxies structurally identified as having pseudobulges have
higher central star formation rates than those of classical bulges. Further, I
also show that galaxies identified as having classical bulges have remarkably
regular star formation profiles. The color profiles of galaxies with classical
bulges show a star forming outer disk with a sharp change, consistent with a
decline in star formation rates, toward the center of the galaxy. Classical
bulges have a nearly constant inner profile (r < 1.5 kpc) that is similar to
elliptical galaxies. Pseudobulges in general show no such transition in star
formation properties from the outer disk to the central pseudobulge. Thus I
conclude that pseudobulges and classical bulges do in fact form their stars via
different mechanisms. Further, this adds to the evidence that classical bulges
form most of their stars in fast episodic bursts, in a similar fashion to
elliptical galaxies; whereas, pseudobulges form stars from longer lasting
secular processes.Comment: accepted to ApJ Letter
WFPC2 Observations of Compact Star Cluster Nuclei in Low Luminosity Spiral Galaxies
We have used the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 aboard the Hubble Space
Telescope to image the compact star cluster nuclei of the nearby, late-type,
low-luminosity spiral galaxies NGC 4395, NGC 4242, and ESO 359-029. We also
analyze archival WFPC2 observations of the compact star cluster nucleus of M33.
A comparative analysis of the structural and photometric properties of these
four nuclei is presented. All of the nuclei are very compact, with luminosity
densities increasing at small radii to the resolution limit of our data. NGC
4395 contains a Seyfert 1 nucleus with a distinct bipolar structure and bright
associated filaments which are likely due to [OIII] emission. The M33 nucleus
has a complex structure, with elongated isophotes and possible signatures of
weak activity, including a jet-like component. The other two nuclei are not
known to be active, but share similar physical size scales and luminosities to
the M33 and NGC 4395 nuclei. The circumnuclear environments of all four of our
program galaxies are extremely diffuse, have only low-to-moderate star
formation, and appear to be devoid of large quantities of dust. The central
gravitational potentials of the galaxies are also quite shallow, making the
origin of these types of `naked' nuclei problematic.Comment: to appear in the July 1999 Astronomical Journal; 38 pages (Latex), 5
tables (postscript), 21 figures (gif); postscript versions of the figures may
be obtained via anonymous ftp at
ftp://ftp.cv.nrao.edu/NRAO-staff/lmatthew/lanl-nucle
How Barred is the NIR Nearby Universe? An analysis using 2MASS
We determine a firm lower limit to the bar fraction of 0.58 in the nearby
universe using J+H+Ks-band images for 134 spirals from 2MASS. With a mean
deprojected semi-major axis of 5.1 kpc, and a mean deprojected ellipticity of
0.45 this local bar sample lays the ground work for studies on bar formation
and evolution at high redshift.Comment: In the proceedings "Penetrating Bars through Masks of Cosmic Dust:
The Hubble Tuning Fork strikes a New Note
Large Misalignment between Stellar Bar and Dust Pattern in NGC 3488 Revealed by Spitzer and SDSS
A large position angle misalignment between the stellar bar and the
distribution of dust in the late-type barred spiral NGC 3488 was discovered,
using mid-infrared images from the Spitzer Space Telescope and optical images
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The angle between the bar and dust
patterns was measured to be 25+-2deg, larger than most of the misalignments
found previously in barred systems based on Ha or HI/CO observations. The
stellar bar is bright at optical and 3.6um, while the dust pattern is more
prominent in the 8um band but also shows up in the SDSS u and g-band images,
suggesting a rich interstellar medium environment harboring ongoing star
formation. This angular misalignment is unlikely to have been caused by
spontaneous bar formation. We suggest that the stellar bar and the dust pattern
may have different formation histories, and that the large misalignment was
triggered by a tidal interaction with a small companion. A statistical analysis
of a large sample of nearby galaxies with archival Spitzer data indicates that
bar structure such as that seen in NGC 3488 is quite rare in the local
Universe.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in New
Astronom
The Radial Distribution of the Interstellar Medium in Disk Galaxies: Evidence for Secular Evolution
One possible way for spiral galaxies to internally evolve would be for gas to flow to the center and form stars in a central disk (pseudo-bulge). If the inflow rate is faster than the rate of star formation, a central concentration of gas will form. In this paper we present radial profiles of stellar and 8 ÎĽm emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for 11 spiral galaxies to investigate whether the interstellar medium in these galaxies contains a central concentration above that expected from the exponential disk. In general, we find that the two-dimensional CO and PAH emission morphologies are similar, and that they exhibit similar radial profiles. We find that in 6 of the 11 galaxies there is a central excess in the 8 ÎĽm and CO emission above the inward extrapolation of an exponential disk. In particular, all four barred galaxies in the sample have strong central excesses in both 8 ÎĽm and CO emission. These correlations suggest that the excess seen in the CO profiles is, in general, not simply due to a radial increase in the CO emissivity. In the inner disk, the ratio of the stellar to the 8 ÎĽm radial surface brightness is similar for 9 of the 11 galaxies, suggesting a physical connection between the average stellar surface brightness and the average gas surface brightness at a given radius. We also find that the ratio of the CO to 8 ÎĽm PAH surface brightness is consistent over the sample, implying that the 8 ÎĽm PAH surface brightness can be used as an approximate tracer of the interstellar medium
Gaps in the cloud cover? Comparing extinction measures in spiral disks
Dust in galaxies can be mapped by either the FIR/sub-mm emission, the optical
or infrared reddening of starlight, or the extinction of a known background
source. We compare two dust extinction measurements for a set of fifteen
sections in thirteen nearby galaxies, to determine the scale of the dusty ISM
responsible for disk opacity: one using stellar reddening and the other a known
background source. In our earlier papers, we presented extinction measurements
of 29 galaxies, based on calibrated counts of distant background objects
identified though foreground disks in HST/WFPC2 images. For the 13 galaxies
that overlap with the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS), we now
compare these results with those obtained from an I-L color map. Our goal is to
determine whether or not a detected distant galaxy indicates a gap in the dusty
ISM, and hence to better understand the nature and geometry of the disk
extinction.
We find that distant galaxies are predominantly in low-extinction sections
marked by the color maps, indicating that their number depends both on the
cloud cover of {\it Spitzer}-resolved dust structures --mostly the spiral
arms--and a diffuse, unresolved underlying disk. We note that our infrared
color map (E[I-L]) underestimates the overall dust presence in these disks
severely, because it implicitly assumes the presence of a dust screen in front
of the stellar distribution.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A
Inner Molecular Rings in Barred Galaxies: BIMA SONG CO Observations
Although inner star-forming rings are common in optical images of barred
spiral galaxies, observational evidence for the accompanying molecular gas has
been scarce. In this paper we present images of molecular inner rings, traced
using the CO (1-0) emission line, from the
Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association Survey of Nearby Galaxies (BIMA SONG).
We detect inner ring CO emission from all five SONG barred galaxies classified
as inner ring (type (r)). We also examine the seven SONG barred galaxies
classified as inner spiral (type (s)); in one of these, NGC 3627, we find
morphological and kinematic evidence for a molecular inner ring. Inner ring
galaxies have been classified as such based on optical images, which emphasize
recent star formation. We consider the possibility that there may exist inner
rings in which star formation efficiency is not enhanced. However, we find that
in NGC 3627 the inner ring star formation efficiency is enhanced relative to
most other regions in that galaxy. We note that the SONG (r) galaxies have a
paucity of CO and H alpha emission interior to the inner ring (except near the
nucleus), while NGC 3627 has relatively bright bar CO and H alpha emission; we
suggest that galaxies with inner rings such as NGC 3627 may be misclassified if
there are significant amounts of gas and star formation in the bar.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal, July 2002 A version of
the paper with full resolution figures is available at:
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~mregan/ms.ps.g
Galaxy Zoo: Are Bars Responsible for the Feeding of Active Galactic Nuclei at 0.2 < z < 1.0?
We present a new study investigating whether active galactic nuclei (AGN)
beyond the local universe are preferentially fed via large-scale bars. Our
investigation combines data from Chandra and Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (GZH) in the
AEGIS, COSMOS, and GOODS-S surveys to create samples of face-on, disc galaxies
at 0.2 < z < 1.0. We use a novel method to robustly compare a sample of 120 AGN
host galaxies, defined to have 10^42 erg/s < L_X < 10^44 erg/s, with inactive
control galaxies matched in stellar mass, rest-frame colour, size, Sersic
index, and redshift. Using the GZH bar classifications of each sample, we
demonstrate that AGN hosts show no statistically significant enhancement in bar
fraction or average bar likelihood compared to closely-matched inactive
galaxies. In detail, we find that the AGN bar fraction cannot be enhanced above
the control bar fraction by more than a factor of two, at 99.7% confidence. We
similarly find no significant difference in the AGN fraction among barred and
non-barred galaxies. Thus we find no compelling evidence that large-scale bars
directly fuel AGN at 0.2<z<1.0. This result, coupled with previous results at
z=0, implies that moderate-luminosity AGN have not been preferentially fed by
large-scale bars since z=1. Furthermore, given the low bar fractions at z>1,
our findings suggest that large-scale bars have likely never directly been a
dominant fueling mechanism for supermassive black hole growth.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by MNRA
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