970 research outputs found
The nature of the ISM in galaxies during the star-formation activity peak of the Universe
We combine a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, tracking atomic and
molecular phases of cold gas, with a three-dimensional radiative-transfer and
line tracing code to study the sub-mm emission from atomic and molecular
species (CO, HCN, [CI], [CII], [OI]) in galaxies. We compare the physics that
drives the formation of stars at the epoch of peak star formation (SF) in the
Universe (z = 2.0) with that in local galaxies. We find that normal
star-forming galaxies at high redshift have much higher CO-excitation peaks
than their local counterparts and that CO cooling takes place at higher
excitation levels. CO line ratios increase with redshift as a function of
galaxy star-formation rate, but are well correlated with H2 surface density
independent of redshift. We find an increase in the [OI]/[CII] line ratio in
typical star-forming galaxies at z = 1.2 and z = 2.0 with respect to
counterparts at z = 0. Our model results suggest that typical star-forming
galaxies at high redshift consist of much denser and warmer star-forming clouds
than their local counterparts. Galaxies belonging to the tail of the SF
activity peak at z = 1.2 are already less dense and cooler than counterparts
during the actual peak of SF activity (z = 2.0). We use our results to discuss
how future ALMA surveys can best confront our predictions and constrain models
of galaxy formation.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Hierarchical Bayesian inference of the Initial Mass Function in Composite Stellar Populations
The initial mass function (IMF) is a key ingredient in many studies of galaxy
formation and evolution. Although the IMF is often assumed to be universal,
there is continuing evidence that it is not universal. Spectroscopic studies
that derive the IMF of the unresolved stellar populations of a galaxy often
assume that this spectrum can be described by a single stellar population
(SSP). To alleviate these limitations, in this paper we have developed a unique
hierarchical Bayesian framework for modelling composite stellar populations
(CSPs). Within this framework we use a parameterized IMF prior to regulate a
direct inference of the IMF. We use this new framework to determine the number
of SSPs that is required to fit a set of realistic CSP mock spectra. The CSP
mock spectra that we use are based on semi-analytic models and have an IMF that
varies as a function of stellar velocity dispersion of the galaxy. Our results
suggest that using a single SSP biases the determination of the IMF slope to a
higher value than the true slope, although the trend with stellar velocity
dispersion is overall recovered. If we include more SSPs in the fit, the
Bayesian evidence increases significantly and the inferred IMF slopes of our
mock spectra converge, within the errors, to their true values. Most of the
bias is already removed by using two SSPs instead of one. We show that we can
reconstruct the variable IMF of our mock spectra for signal-to-noise ratios
exceeding 75.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 16 pages, 8 figure
The stellar population histories of early-type galaxies. III. The Coma Cluster
We present stellar population parameters of twelve early-type galaxies (ETGs)
in the Coma Cluster based on spectra obtained using the Low Resolution Imaging
Spectrograph on the Keck II Telescope. Our data allow us to examine in detail
the zero-point and scatter in their stellar population properties. Our ETGs
have SSP-equivalent ages of on average 5-8 Gyr with the models used here, with
the oldest galaxies having ages of ~10 Gyr old. This average age is identical
to the mean age of field ETGs. Our ETGs span a large range in velocity
dispersion but are consistent with being drawn from a population with a single
age. Specifically, ten of the twelve ETGs are consistent within their formal
errors of having the same age, 5.2+/-0.2 Gyr, over a factor of more than 750 in
mass. We therefore find no evidence for downsizing of the stellar populations
of ETGs in the core of the Coma Cluster. We suggest that Coma Cluster ETGs may
have formed the majority of their mass at high redshifts but suffered small but
detectable star formation events at z~0.1-0.3. Previous detections of
'downsizing' from stellar populations of local ETGs may not reflect the same
downsizing seen in lookback studies of RSGs, as the young ages of the local
ETGs represent only a small fraction of their total masses. (abridged)Comment: 49 pages, 20 figures (19 EPS, 1 JPEG). MNRAS, in press. For version
with full resolution of Fig. 1 see
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~sctrager/coma.pdf; for Table 2, see
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~sctrager/coma_table2.pdf; for Table B3, see
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~sctrager/coma_tableB3.pd
On the Age and Metallicity Estimation of Spiral Galaxies Using Optical and Near-Infrared Photometry
In integrated-light, some color-color diagrams that use optical and
near-infrared photometry show surprisingly orthogonal grids as age and
metallicity are varied, and they are coming into common usage for estimating
the average age and metallicity of spiral galaxies. In this paper we
reconstruct these composite grids using simple stellar population models from
several different groups convolved with some plausible functional forms of star
formation histories at fixed metallicity. We find that the youngest populations
present (t<2 Gyr) dominate the light, and because of their presence the
age-metallicity degeneracy can be partially broken with broad-band colors,
unlike older populations. The scatter among simple stellar population models by
different authors is, however, large at ages t<2 Gyr. The dominant
uncertainties in stellar population models arise from convective core overshoot
assumptions and the treatment of the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch
phase and helium abundance may play a significant role at higher metallicities.
Real spiral galaxies are unlikely to have smooth, exponential star formation
histories, and burstiness will cause a partial reversion to the single-burst
case, which has even larger model-to-model scatter. Finally, it is emphasized
that the current composite stellar population models need some implementation
of chemical enrichment histories for the proper analysis of the observational
data.Comment: 33 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to ApJ (Apr 2007). The major surgery
was Fig. 1
Coincident electron channeling and cathodoluminescence studies of threading dislocations in GaN
We combine two scanning electron microscopy techniques to investigate the influence of dislocations on the light emission from nitride semiconductors. Combining electron channeling contrast imaging and cathodoluminescence imaging enables both the structural and luminescence properties of a sample to be investigated without structural damage to the sample. The electron channeling contrast image is very sensitive to distortions of the crystal lattice, resulting in individual threading dislocations appearing as spots with black–white contrast. Dislocations giving rise to nonradiative recombination are observed as black spots in the cathodoluminescence image. Comparison of the images from exactly the same micron-scale region of a sample demonstrates a one-to-one correlation between the presence of single threading dislocations and resolved dark spots in the cathodoluminescence image. In addition, we have also obtained an atomic force microscopy image from the same region of the sample, which confirms that both pure edge dislocations and those with a screw component (i.e., screw and mixed dislocations) act as nonradiative recombination centers for the Si-doped c-plane GaN thin film investigated
Line strengths of early-type galaxies
In this paper we present measurements of velocity dispersions and Lick
indices for 509 galaxies in the local Universe, based on high signal-to-noise,
long slit spectra obtained with the 1.52 m ESO telescope at La Silla. The
conversion of our measurements into the Lick/IDS system was carried out
following the general prescription of Worthey and Ottaviani 1997. Comparisons
of our measurements with those of other authors show, in general, good
agreement. We also examine the dependence between these indices (e.g., Hbeta,
Mg_2, Fe5270 and NaD) and the central velocity dispersion (sigma), and we find
that they are consistent with those previously reported in the literature.
Benefiting from the relatively large size of the sample, we are able to
investigate the dependence of these relations on morphology and environment,
here represented by the local galaxy density. We find that for metallic lines
these relations show no significant dependence on environment or morphology,
except in the case of NaD, which shows distinct behavior for E and S0. On the
other hand, the Hbeta-logsigma shows a significant difference as a function of
the local density of galaxies, which we interpret as being caused by the
truncation of star formation in high density environments. Comparing our
results with those obtained by other authors we find a few discrepancies,
adding to the ongoing debate about the nature of these relations. Finally, we
report that the scatter of the Mg indices versus sigma relations correlate with
Hbeta, suggesting that age may contribute to the scatter. Furthermore, this
scatter shows no significant dependence on morphology or environment. Our
results are consistent with the current downsizing model, where low mass
galaxies have an extended star formation history (abridged).Comment: 88 pages, 24 figures, to be published in AJ, for further information
see http://staff.on.br/ogand
Diffractive triangulation of radiative point sources
We describe a general method to determine the location of a point source of waves relative to a twodimensional
single-crystalline active pixel detector. Based on the inherent structural sensitivity of
crystalline sensor materials, characteristic detector diffraction patterns can be used to triangulate the
location of a wave emitter. The principle described here can be applied to various types of waves,
provided that the detector elements are suitably structured. As a prototypical practical application of
the general detection principle, a digital hybrid pixel detector is used to localize a source of electrons
for Kikuchi diffraction pattern measurements in the scanning electron microscope. This approach
provides a promising alternative method to calibrate Kikuchi patterns for accurate measurements of
microstructural crystal orientations, strains, and phase distributions
New synchronization method for <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>
<b>Background</b>: Plasmodium falciparum is usually asynchronous during in vitro culture. Although various synchronization methods are available, they are not able to narrow the range of ages of parasites. A newly developed method is described that allows synchronization of parasites to produce cultures with an age range as low as 30 minutes.
<b>Methods</b>: Trophozoites and schizonts are enriched using Plasmion. The enriched late stage parasites are immobilized as a monolayer onto plastic Petri dishes using concanavalin A. Uninfected erythrocytes are placed onto the monolayer for a limited time period, during which time schizonts on the monolayer rupture and the released merozoites invade the fresh erythrocytes. The overlay is then taken off into a culture flask, resulting in a highly synchronized population of parasites.
<b>Results</b>: Plasmion treatment results in a 10- to 13-fold enrichment of late stage parasites. The monolayer method results in highly synchronized cultures of parasites where invasion has occurred within a very limited time window, which can be as low as 30 minutes. The method is simple, requiring no specialized equipment and relatively cheap reagents.
<b>Conclusions</b>: The new method for parasite synchronization results in highly synchronized populations of parasites, which will be useful for studies of the parasite asexual cell cycle
- …