51 research outputs found
Unobscured Type 2 Active Galactic Nuclei
Type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with intrinsically weak broad emission lines (BELs) would be exceptions to the unified model. After examining a number of proposed candidates critically, we find that the sample is contaminated significantly by objects with BELs of strengths indicating that they actually contain intermediate-type AGNs, plus a few Compton-thick sources as revealed by extremely low ratios of X-ray to nuclear IR luminosities. We develop quantitative metrics that show two (NGC 3147 and NGC 4594) of the remaining candidates to have BELs 2-3 orders of magnitude weaker than those of typical type 1 AGNs. Several more galaxies remain as candidates to have anomalously weak BELs, but this status cannot be confirmed with the existing information. Although the parent sample is poorly defined, the two confirmed objects are well under 1% of its total number of members, showing that the absence of a BEL is possible, but very uncommon in AGN. We evaluate these two objects in detail using multi-wavelength measurements including new IR data obtained with Spitzer and ground-based optical spectropolarimeteric observations. They have little X-ray extinction with N_H < ~10^(21) cm^(â2). Their IR spectra show strong silicate emission (NGC 4594) or weak aromatic features on a generally power-law continuum with a suggestion of silicates in emission (NGC 3147). No polarized BEL is detected in NGC 3147. These results indicate that the two unobscured type 2 objects have circumnuclear tori that are approximately face-on. Combined with their X-ray and optical/UV properties, this behavior implies that we have an unobscured view of the nuclei and thus that they have intrinsically weak BELs. We compare their properties with those of the other less-extreme candidates. We then compare the distributions of bolometric luminosities and accretion rates of these objects with theoretical models that predict weak BELs
Unobscured Type 2 AGNs
Type 2 AGNs with intrinsically weak broad emission lines (BELs) would be
exceptions to the unified model. After examining a number of proposed
candidates critically, we find that the sample is contaminated significantly by
objects with BELs of strengths indicating that they actually contain
intermediate-type AGNs, plus a few Compton-thick sources as revealed by
extremely low ratios of X-ray to nuclear IR luminosities. We develop
quantitative metrics that show two (NGC 3147 and NGC 4594) of the remaining
candidates to have BELs 2-3 orders of magnitude weaker than those of typical
type-1 AGNs. Several more galaxies remain as candidates to have anomalously
weak BELs, but this status cannot be confirmed with the existing information.
Although the parent sample is poorly defined, the two confirmed objects are
well under 1% of its total number of members, showing that the absence of a BEL
is possible, but very uncommon in AGN. We evaluate these two objects in detail
using multi-wavelength measurements. They have little X-ray extinction with N_H
< 10^21 cm^{-2}. Their IR spectra show strong silicate emission (NGC 4594) or
weak aromatic features on a generally power law continuum with a suggestion of
silicates in emission (NGC 3147). No polarized BEL is detected in NGC 3147.
These results indicate that the two unobscured type-2 objects have
circumnuclear tori that are approximately face-on. Combined with their X-ray
and optical/UV properties, this behavior implies that we have an unobscured
view of the nuclei and thus that they have intrinsically weak BELs. We compare
their properties with those of the other less-extreme candidates. We then
compare the distributions of bolometric luminosities and accretion rates of
these objects with theoretical models that predict weak BELs.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 17 pages, 13 figure
CD1d-expressing Dendritic Cells but Not Thymic Epithelial Cells Can Mediate Negative Selection of NKT Cells
Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a unique immunoregulatory T cell population that is positively selected by CD1d-expressing thymocytes. Previous studies have shown that NKT cells exhibit autoreactivity, which raises the question of whether they are subject to negative selection. Here, we report that the addition of agonist glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) to a fetal thymic organ culture (FTOC) induces a dose-dependent disappearance of NKT cells, suggesting that NKT cells are susceptible to negative selection. Overexpression of CD1d in transgenic (Tg) mice results in reduced numbers of NKT cells, and the residual NKT cells in CD1d-Tg mice exhibit both an altered VÎČ usage and a reduced sensitivity to antigen. Furthermore, bone marrow (BM) chimeras between Tg and WT mice reveal that CD1d-expressing BM-derived dendritic cells, but not thymic epithelial cells, mediate the efficient negative selection of NKT cells. Thus, our data suggest that NKT cells developmentally undergo negative selection when engaged by high-avidity antigen or abundant self-antigen
SDSS-IV from 2014 to 2016: A Detailed Demographic Comparison over Three Years
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is one of the largest international
astronomy organizations. We present demographic data based on surveys of its
members from 2014, 2015 and 2016, during the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV). We
find about half of SDSS-IV collaboration members were based in North America, a
quarter in Europe, and the remainder in Asia and Central and South America.
Overall, 26-36% are women (from 2014 to 2016), up to 2% report non-binary
genders. 11-14% report that they are racial or ethnic minorities where they
live. The fraction of women drops with seniority, and is also lower among
collaboration leadership. Men in SDSS-IV were more likely to report being in a
leadership role, and for the role to be funded and formally recognized. SDSS-IV
collaboration members are twice as likely to have a parent with a college
degree, than the general population, and are ten times more likely to have a
parent with a PhD. This trend is slightly enhanced for female collaboration
members. Despite this, the fraction of first generation college students (FGCS)
is significant (31%). This fraction increased among collaboration members who
are racial or ethnic minorities (40-50%), and decreased among women (15-25%).
SDSS-IV implemented many inclusive policies and established a dedicated
committee, the Committee on INclusiveness in SDSS (COINS). More than 60% of the
collaboration agree that the collaboration is inclusive; however, collaboration
leadership more strongly agree with this than the general membership. In this
paper, we explain these results in full, including the history of inclusive
efforts in SDSS-IV. We conclude with a list of suggested recommendations based
on our findings, which can be used to improve equity and inclusion in large
astronomical collaborations, which we argue is not only moral, but will also
optimize their scientific output.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, accepted in PAS
The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in
operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from
this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release
Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first
two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14
is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all
data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14
is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the
Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2),
including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine
learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes
from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous
release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of
the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the
important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both
targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS
website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to
data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is
planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be
followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14
happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov
2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections
only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected
A Survey of z>5.7 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Discovery of Seven Additional Quasars
We present the discovery of seven quasars at z>5.7, selected from ~2000 deg^2
of multicolor imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The new
quasars have redshifts z from 5.79 to 6.13. Five are selected as part of a
complete flux-limited sample in the SDSS Northern Galactic Cap; two have larger
photometric errors and are not part of the complete sample. One of the new
quasars, SDSS J1335+3533 (z=5.93), exhibits no emission lines; the 3-sigma
limit on the rest-frame equivalent width of Ly alpha+NV line is 5 A. It is the
highest redshift lineless quasar known, and could be a gravitational lensed
galaxy, a BL Lac object or a new type of quasar. Two new z>6 quasars, SDSS
1250+3130 (z=6.13) and SDSS J1137+3549 (z=6.01), show deep Gunn-Peterson
absorption gaps in Ly alpha. These gaps are narrower the complete Gunn-Peterson
absorption troughs observed among quasars at z>6.2 and do not have complete Ly
beta absorption.Comment: AJ in press, 16 pages, 3 figure
Understanding the circumgalactic medium is critical for understanding galaxy evolution
Galaxies evolve under the influence of gas flows between their interstellar
medium and their surrounding gaseous halos known as the circumgalactic medium
(CGM). The CGM is a major reservoir of galactic baryons and metals, and plays a
key role in the long cycles of accretion, feedback, and recycling of gas that
drive star formation. In order to fully understand the physical processes at
work within galaxies, it is therefore essential to have a firm understanding of
the composition, structure, kinematics, thermodynamics, and evolution of the
CGM. In this white paper we outline connections between the CGM and galactic
star formation histories, internal kinematics, chemical evolution, quenching,
satellite evolution, dark matter halo occupation, and the reionization of the
larger-scale intergalactic medium in light of the advances that will be made on
these topics in the 2020s. We argue that, in the next decade, fundamental
progress on all of these major issues depends critically on improved empirical
characterization and theoretical understanding of the CGM. In particular, we
discuss how future advances in spatially-resolved CGM observations at high
spectral resolution, broader characterization of the CGM across galaxy mass and
redshift, and expected breakthroughs in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
will help resolve these major problems in galaxy evolution.Comment: Astro2020 Decadal Science White Pape
Recommended from our members
The Fifteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release of MaNGA-derived Quantities, Data Visualization Tools, and Stellar Library
Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its first three years of operation (2014 Julyâ2017 July). This is the third data release for SDSS-IV, and the 15th from SDSS (Data Release Fifteen; DR15). New data come from MaNGAâwe release 4824 data cubes, as well as the first stellar spectra in the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), the first set of survey-supported analysis products (e.g., stellar and gas kinematics, emission-line and other maps) from the MaNGA Data Analysis Pipeline, and a new data visualization and access tool we call "Marvin." The next data release, DR16, will include new data from both APOGEE-2 and eBOSS; those surveys release no new data here, but we document updates and corrections to their data processing pipelines. The release is cumulative; it also includes the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since first light. In this paper, we describe the location and format of the data and tools and cite technical references describing how it was obtained and processed. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has also been updated, providing links to data downloads, tutorials, and examples of data use. Although SDSS-IV will continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V (2020â2025), we end this paper by describing plans to ensure the sustainability of the SDSS data archive for many years beyond the collection of data
The 13th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-IV Survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in July 2014. It pursues three core programs: APOGEE-2,MaNGA, and eBOSS. In addition, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: TDSS and SPIDERS. This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13), which contains new data, reanalysis of existing data sets and, like all SDSS data releases, is inclusive of previously released data. DR13 makes publicly available 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA,the first data released from this survey. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing SEQUELS. In addition to targeting galaxies and quasars, SEQUELS also targeted variability-selected objects from TDSS and X-ray selected objects from SPIDERS. DR13 includes new reductions ofthe SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification. DR13 releases new reductions of the APOGEE-1data from SDSS-III, with abundances of elements not previously included and improved stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. For the SDSS imaging data, DR13 provides new, more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Several value-added catalogs are being released in tandem with DR13, in particular target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS, and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE.This paper describes the location and format of the data now publicly available, as well as providing references to the important technical papers that describe the targeting, observing, and data reduction. The SDSS website, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials and examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ~6-year operations of SDSS-IV.PostprintPeer reviewe
Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe
We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July
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