1,938 research outputs found
VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS): IGM transmission towards galaxies with 2.5 < z < 5.5 and the colour selection of high-redshift galaxies
The observed UV rest-frame spectra of distant galaxies are the result of their intrinsic emission combined with absorption along the line of sight produced by the inter-galactic medium (IGM). Here we analyse the evolution of the mean IGM transmission Tr(Lyα) and its dispersion along the line of sight for 2127 galaxies with 2.5 4 takes a mean value significantly in excess of E(B−V) > 0.15. Most importantly, we found a large dispersion of IGM transmission along the lines of sight towards distant galaxies with 68% of the distribution within 10 to 17% of the median value in δz = 0.5 bins, similar to what is found on the lines of sight towards QSOs. We demonstrate that taking this broad range of IGM transmission into account is important when selecting high-redshift galaxies based on their colour properties (e.g. LBG or photometric redshiftselection) because failing to do so causes a significant incompleteness in selecting high-redshift galaxy populations. We finally discuss the observed IGM properties and speculate that the broad range of observed transmissions might be the result of cosmic variance and clustering along lines of sight. This clearly shows that the sources that cause this extinction need to be more completely modelled
Discovering extremely compact and metal-poor, star-forming dwarf galaxies out to z ∼ 0.9 in the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey
We report the discovery of 31 low-luminosity (−14.5 ≳ M_(AB)(B) ≳ −18.8), extreme emission line galaxies (EELGs) at 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 0.9 identified by their unusually high rest-frame equivalent widths (100 ≤ EW[O iii] ≤ 1700 Å) as part of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). VIMOS optical spectra of unprecedented sensitivity (I_(AB) ~ 25 mag) along with multiwavelength photometry and HST imaging are used to investigate spectrophotometric properties of this unique sample and to explore, for the first time, the very low stellar mass end (M* ≲ 10^8M_⊙) of the luminosity-metallicity (LZR) and mass-metallicity (MZR) relations at z < 1. Characterized by their extreme compactness (R_50 < 1 kpc), low stellar mass and enhanced specific star formation rates (sSFR = SFR/M_* ~ 10^(-9)−10^(-7) yr^(-1)), the VUDS EELGs are blue dwarf galaxies likely experiencing the first stages of a vigorous galaxy-wide starburst. Using T_e-sensitive direct and strong-line methods, we find that VUDS EELGs are low-metallicity (7.5 ≲ 12 + log (O/H) ≲ 8.3) galaxies with high ionization conditions (log (q_(ion)) ≳ 8 cm s^(-1)), including at least three EELGs showing Heiiλ 4686 Å emission and four extremely metal-poor (≲10% solar) galaxies. The LZR and MZR followed by VUDS EELGs show relatively large scatter, being broadly consistent with the extrapolation toward low luminosity and mass from previous studies at similar redshift. However, we find evidence that galaxies with younger and more vigorous star formation – as characterized by their larger EWs, ionization and sSFR – tend to be more metal poor at a given stellar mass
Molecular Gas in the Edge-On Galaxy NGC 4013
Our OVRO observations at 300 pc resolution of the molecular gas disk in the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4013 show no evidence for extraplanar material at our sensitivity limit. The observed molecular gas kinematics are in agreement with gas motion in a barred potential
Counterrotating Nuclear Disks in Arp 220
The ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 has been observed at 0.5"
resolution in CO(2-1) and 1 mm continuum using the newly expanded Owens Valley
Millimeter Array. The CO and continuum peaks at the double nuclei and the
surrounding molecular gas disk are clearly resolved. We find steep velocity
gradients across each nucleus (dV ~ 500 km/s within r= 0.3") whose directions
are not aligned with each other and with that of the outer gas disk. We
conclude that the double nuclei have their own gas disks (r ~ 100 pc). They are
counterrotating with respect to each other and embedded in the outer gas disk
(r ~ 1 kpc) rotating around the dynamical center of the system. The masses of
each nucleus are M_dyn > 2* 10^9 M_sun based on the CO kinematics. Although
there is no evidence of an old stellar population in the optical or near
infrared spectroscopy of the nuclei (probably due to the much brighter young
population), it seems likely that these nuclei were 'seeded' from the
pre-merger nuclei in view of their counterrotating gas kinematics. The gas
disks probably constitute a significant fraction (~ 50 %) of the mass in each
nucleus. The CO and continuum brightness temperatures imply that the nuclear
gas disks have high area filling factors (~ 0.5-1) and have extremely high
visual extinctions (Av ~ 1000 mag). The molecular gas must be hot (>= 40 K) and
dense (>= 10^4-5 cm^-3), given the large mass and small scale-height of the
nuclear disks. The continuum data suggest that the large luminosity (be it
starburst or AGN) must originate within 100 pc of the two nuclear gas disks
which were presumably formed through concentration of gas from the progenitor
outer galaxy disks.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Radiation Pressure Supported Starburst Disks and AGN Fueling
We consider the structure of marginally Toomre-stable starburst disks under
the assumption that radiation pressure on dust grains provides the dominant
vertical support against gravity. This is particularly appropriate when the
disk is optically thick to its own IR radiation, as in the central regions of
ULIRGs. Because the disk radiates at its Eddington limit, the Schmidt-law for
star formation changes in the optically-thick limit, with the star formation
rate per unit area scaling as Sigma_g/kappa, where Sigma_g is the gas surface
density and kappa is the mean opacity. We show that optically thick starburst
disks have a characteristic flux and dust effective temperature of F ~ 10^{13}
L_sun/kpc^2 and T_eff ~ 90K, respectively. We compare our predictions with
observations and find good agreement. We extend our model from many-hundred
parsec scales to sub-parsec scales and address the problem of fueling AGN. We
assume that angular momentum transport proceeds via global torques rather than
a local viscosity. We account for the radial depletion of gas due to star
formation and find a strong bifurcation between two classes of disk models: (1)
solutions with a starburst on large scales that consumes all of the gas with
little fueling of a central AGN and (2) models with an outer large-scale
starburst accompanied by a more compact starburst on 1-10 pc scales and a
bright central AGN. The luminosity of the latter models is in many cases
dominated by the AGN. We show that the vertical thickness of the starburst disk
on pc scales can approach h ~ r, perhaps accounting for the nuclear obscuration
in some Type 2 AGN. We also argue that the disk of young stars in the Galactic
Center may be the remnant of such a compact nuclear starburst.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, emulateapj, accepted to ApJ, minor changes,
discussion tightened, references adde
Kinematics of Gas Near the Galactic Center
The number of similarities between the nuclei of some ordinary galaxies and the quasars, radio galaxies, and Seyfert nuclei has become impressively large. Ambartsumian's recent account of the resemblances makes it hard not to believe that these energetic objects are galaxies passing through a difficult age, or perhaps suffering a not-so-rare galactic malady. And very few would deny that to understand this exceptional behavior it would be well to know how normal galaxies function in their innermost regions
HST Paschen alpha and 1.9 micron imaging of Sgr A West
We present HST/NICMOS images at 0.2" resolution of the HI Paschen Alpha (PaA)
emission line in a 70" x 90" region of the Galactic center centered on the
non-thermal radio source Sgr A*. The majority of the emission arises from
ionized gas in the mini-spiral in the central parsec. PaA emission is also seen
from 26 stellar sources, presumably early-type stars with mass-loss winds. The
new data reveal significant small-scale structure (<1"~0.04pc) in the ionized
gas of the mini-spiral; low surface brightness emission features are also seen
for the first time. Extinction, estimated from the ratio of observed PaA
emission to 6-cm continuum emission, varies from 20 to 50 mag with a median
Av=31.1 mag, in excellent agreement with earlier estimates for the stellar
sources and indepedent measurements derived using H92alpha recombination line
data. Large increases in extinction are seen along the periphery of the ionized
gas, suggesting that the ionized gas is partially extincted by dust in the
molecular clouds at the outside of the ionized regions. The small-scale,
filamentary structures in the ionized gas have a free thermal expansion time of
only ~ 3000 yrs; either magnetic fields or mass-loss winds from the hot
emission line stars may contain the ionized filaments. For both the ionized gas
and the stellar continuum, the centroids of the emission remain within ~+/- 1"
from a radius of 2" out to 40", providing further evidence that Sgr A* is
indeed at or extremely close to the dynamical center of the Galactic nucleus
stellar distribution. The 1.9 micron surface brightness increases inwards to
0.9" and then decreases or levels off closer to Sgr A*, possibly indicating the
core radius of the central stellar distribution or depletion of the late-type
stars by stellar collisions near the central black hole.Comment: 43 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables; Accepted to ApJ (9/1/03 issue
Relation Between Stellar Mass and Star Formation Activity in Galaxies
For a mass-selected sample of 66544 galaxies with photometric redshifts from
the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), we examine the evolution of star
formation activity as a function of stellar mass in galaxies. We estimate the
cosmic star formation rates (SFR) over the range 0.2 < z < 1.2, using the
rest-frame 2800 A flux (corrected for extinction). We find the mean SFR to be a
strong function of the galactic stellar mass at any given redshift, with
massive systems (log (M/M(Sun)) > 10.5) contributing less (by a factor of ~ 5)
to the total star formation rate density (SFRD).
Combining data from the COSMOS and Gemini Deep Deep Survey (GDDS), we extend
the SFRD-z relation as a function of stellar mass to z~2. For massive galaxies,
we find a steep increase in the SFRD-z relation to z~2; for the less massive
systems, the SFRD which also increases from z=0 to 1, levels off at z~1. This
implies that the massive systems have had their major star formation activity
at earlier epochs (z > 2) than the lower mass galaxies.
We study changes in the SFRDs as a function of both redshift and stellar mass
for galaxies of different spectral types. We find that the slope of the SFRD-z
relation for different spectral type of galaxies is a strong function of their
stellar mass. For low and intermediate mass systems, the main contribution to
the cosmic SFRD comes from the star-forming galaxies while, for more massive
systems, the evolved galaxies are the most dominant population.Comment: 34 pages; 8 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
Adjustable microchip ring trap for cold atoms and molecules
We describe the design and function of a circular magnetic waveguide produced
from wires on a microchip for atom interferometry using deBroglie waves. The
guide is a two-dimensional magnetic minimum for trapping weak-field seeking
states of atoms or molecules with a magnetic dipole moment. The design consists
of seven circular wires sharing a common radius. We describe the design, the
time-dependent currents of the wires and show that it is possible to form a
circular waveguide with adjustable height and gradient while minimizing
perturbation resulting from leads or wire crossings. This maximal area geometry
is suited for rotation sensing with atom interferometry via the Sagnac effect
using either cold atoms, molecules and Bose-condensed systems
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