1,067 research outputs found
Distances to Galactic high-velocity clouds. Complex C
We report the first determination of a distance bracket for the high-velocity
cloud (HVC) complex C. Combined with previous measurements showing that this
cloud has a metallicity of 0.15 times solar, these results provide ample
evidence that complex C traces the continuing accretion of intergalactic gas
falling onto the Milky Way. Accounting for both neutral and ionized hydrogen as
well as He, the distance bracket implies a mass of 3-14x10^6 M_sun, and the
complex represents a mass inflow of 0.1-0.25 M_sun/yr. We base our distance
bracket on the detection of CaII absorption in the spectrum of the blue
horizontal branch star SDSS J120404.78+623345.6, in combination with a
significant non-detection toward the BHB star BS 16034-0114. These results set
a strong distance bracket of 3.7-11.2 kpc on the distance to complex C. A more
weakly supported lower limit of 6.7 kpc may be derived from the spectrum of the
BHB star BS 16079-0017.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Kinematics of Interstellar Gas in Nearby UV-Selected Galaxies Measured with HST/STIS Spectroscopy
We measure Doppler shifts of interstellar absorption lines in HST/STIS
spectra of individual star clusters in nearby UV-selected galaxies. Values for
systemic velocities, which are needed to quantify outflow speeds, are taken
from the literature, and verified with stellar lines. We detect outflowing gas
in eight of 17 galaxies via low-ionization lines (e.g., CII, SiII, AlII), which
trace cold and/or warm gas. The starbursts in our sample are intermediate in
luminosity (and mass) to dwarf galaxies and luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs),
and we confirm that their outflow speeds (ranging from -100 km/s to nearly -520
km/s with an accuracy of ~80 km/s) are intermediate to those previously
measured in dwarf starbursts and LIRGs. We do not detect the outflow in
high-ionization lines (such as CIV or SiIV); higher quality data will be needed
to empirically establish how velocities vary with the ionization state of the
outflow. We do verify that the low-ionization UV lines and optical NaI doublet
give roughly consistent outflow velocities solidifying an important link
between studies of galactic winds at low and high redshift. To obtain higher
signal-to-noise, we create a local average composite spectrum, and compare it
to the high-z Lyman Break composite spectrum. Surprisingly, the low-ionization
lines show similar outflow velocities in the two samples. We attribute this to
a combination of weighting towards higher luminosities in the local composite,
as well as both samples being on average brighter than the ``turnover''
luminosity in the v-SFR relation.Comment: 41 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Invasive Hemodynamics in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction
Objectives: This study examined associations between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), invasive hemodynamics, and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Background: EAT is increased in patients with HFpEF and may play a role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Methods: Patients with heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction >45% who underwent right and left heart catheterization with simultaneous echocardiography were included. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), right ventricular end-diastolic pressure (RVEDP), and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) were invasively measured. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) â„30 kg/m2. EAT thickness alongside the right ventricle was measured on echocardiographic long- and short-axis views. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed to obtain maximal oxygen uptake (VO2-max). Results: This study examined 75 patients, mean age 74 ± 9 years; 68% were women, mean BMI was 29 ± 6 kg/m2, and 36% were obese. Higher BMI was strongly associated with increased EAT (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). Increased EAT was associated with higher RVEDP, independent of PVR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02 to 1.34; p = 0.03), but not independent of obesity (p = 0.10). Increased EAT and higher RVEDP were both associated with lower VO2-max (r = â0.43; p < 0.001 and r = â0.43; p = 0.001, respectively). Increased EAT remained associated with lower VO2-max after adjustment for PVR (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.49 to 0.84; p = 0.002) and obesity (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.92; p = 0.01). EAT thickness was not associated with left-sided filling pressures (i.e., PCWP and LVEDP). Conclusions: In HFpEF, obesity and increased EAT were associated with higher right-sided filling pressures and with reduced exercise capacity
Preoperative cardiac screening using NT-proBNP in obese patients 50 years and older undergoing bariatric surgery:a study of 310 consecutive patients
Background: Obesity is associated with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and diseases. Because bariatric surgery is increasingly performed in relatively elderly patients, a risk for pre- and postoperative CV complications exists. Objectives: We aimed to assess the value of plasma N-terminal-probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a CV screening tool. Setting: High-volume bariatric center. Methods: Between June 2019 and January 2020, all consecutive bariatric patients 50 years and older underwent preoperative NT-proBNP assessment in this cohort study to screen for CV disease. Patients with elevated NT-proBNP (â„125 pg/mL) were referred for further cardiac evaluation, including electrocardiography and echocardiography. Results: We included 310 consecutive patients (median age, 56 years; 79% female; body mass index = 43±6.5 kg/m2). A history of CV disease was present in 21% of patients, mainly atrial fibrillation (7%) and coronary artery disease (10%). A total of 72 patients (23%) had elevated NT-proBNP levels, and 67 of them underwent further cardiac workup. Of these 67 patients, electrocardiography (ECG) showed atrial fibrillation in 7 patients (10%). On echocardiography, 3 patients had left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40%, 9 patients had LVEF 40%â49%, and 13 patients had LVEF â„50% with structural and/or functional remodeling. In 2 patients, elevated NT-proBNP prompted workup leading to a diagnosis of coronary artery disease and consequent percutaneous coronary intervention in 1 patient. Conclusions: Elevated NT-proBNP levels are present in 23% of patients 50 years and older undergoing bariatric surgery. In 37% of them, there was echocardiographic evidence for structural and/or functional remodeling. Further studies are needed to assess if these preliminary results warrant routine application of NT-proBNP to identify patients at risk for CV complications after bariatric surgery
Low-Velocity Halo Clouds
Models that reproduce the observed high-velocity clouds (HVCs) also predict
clouds at lower radial velocities that may easily be confused with Galactic
disk (|z| < 1 kpc) gas. We describe the first search for these low-velocity
halo clouds (LVHCs) using IRAS data and the initial data from the Galactic
Arecibo L-band Feed Array survey in HI (GALFA-HI). The technique is based upon
the expectation that such clouds should, like HVCs, have very limited infrared
thermal dust emission as compared to their HI column density. We describe our
'displacement-map' technique for robustly determining the dust-to-gas ratio of
clouds and the associated errors that takes into account the significant
scatter in the infrared flux from the Galactic disk gas. We find that there
exist lower-velocity clouds that have extremely low dust-to-gas ratios,
consistent with being in the Galactic halo - candidate LVHCs. We also confirm
the lack of dust in many HVCs with the notable exception of complex M, which we
consider to be the first detection of warm dust in HVCs. We do not confirm the
previously reported detection of dust in complex C. In addition, we find that
most Intermediate- and Low-Velocity clouds that are part of the Galactic disk
have a higher 60 micron/100 micron flux ratio than is typically seen in
Galactic HI, which is consistent with a previously proposed picture in which
fast-moving Galactic clouds have smaller, hotter dust grains.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures. Accepted to the Ap
Accurate Galactic 21-cm H I measurements with the NRAO Green Bank Telescope
Aims: We devise a data reduction and calibration system for producing
highly-accurate 21-cm H I spectra from the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) of the
NRAO.
Methods: A theoretical analysis of the all-sky response of the GBT at 21 cm
is made, augmented by extensive maps of the far sidelobes. Observations of
radio sources and the Moon are made to check the resulting aperture and main
beam efficiencies.
Results: The all-sky model made for the response of the GBT at 21 cm is used
to correct for "stray" 21-cm radiation reaching the receiver through the
sidelobes rather than the main beam. This reduces systematic errors in 21-cm
measurements by about an order of magnitude, allowing accurate 21-cm H I
spectra to be made at about 9' angular resolution with the GBT. At this
resolution the procedures discussed here allow for measurement of total
integrated Galactic H I line emission, W, with errors of 3 K km s^-1,
equivalent to errors in optically thin N_HI of 5 x 10^18 cm^-2.Comment: 49 pages, 25 figures; A&A, in pres
Neutral Hydrogen and Star Formation in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 2366
We present UBVJHKHalpha and HI data of the irregular galaxy NGC 2366. It is a
normal boxy-shaped disk seen at high inclination angle. We do not see any
unambiguous observational signature of a bar. There is an asymmetrical
extension of stars along one end of the major axis of the galaxy, and this is
where the furthest star-forming regions are found, at 1.3R_Holmberg. The HI is
normal in many respects but shows some anomalies: 1) The integrated HI shows
two ridges running parallel to the major axis that deproject to a large ring.
2) The velocity field exhibits several large-scale anomalies superposed on a
rotating disk. 3) The inclination and position angles derived from the
kinematics differ from those dervied from the optical and HI mor- phology. 4)
There are regions in the HI of unusually high velocity dispersion that
correlate with deficits of HI emission in a manner suggestive of long-range,
turbulent pressure equilibrium. Star-forming regions are found where the gas
densities locally exceed 6 Msolar/pc^2. NGC 2366, like other irregulars, has
low gas densities relative to the critical gas densities of gravitational
instability models. Because of the lack of shear in the optical galaxy, there
is little competition to the slow gravitational contraction that follows energy
dissipation. However, the peak gas densities in the star-forming regions are
equal to the local tidal densities for gravitational self-binding of a rotating
cloud. Evidently the large scale gas concentrations are marginally bound
against background galactic tidal forces. This condition for self-binding may
be more fundamental than the instability condition because it is local,
three-dimensional, and does not involve spiral arm generation as an
intermediate step toward star formation.Comment: To be published in ApJ; better figures available ftp.lowell.edu, cd
pub/dah/n2366pape
The Contribution of HI-Rich Galaxies to the Damped Absorber Population at z=0
We present a study of HI-rich galaxies in the local universe selected from
blind emission-line surveys. These galaxies represent the emission-line
counterparts of local damped Lyman-alpha systems. We find that the HI
cross-section of galaxies is drawn from a large range of galaxy masses below
M_star, 66% of the area comes from galaxies in the range 8.5 < Log M_star <
9.7. Both because of the low mass galaxy contribution, and because of the range
of galaxy types and luminosities at any given HI mass, the galaxies
contributing to the HI cross-section are not exclusively L_star spirals, as is
often expected. The optical and near infrared counterparts of these galaxies
cover a range of types (from spirals to irregulars), luminosities (from L_star
to <0.01 L_star), and surface brightnesses. The range of optical and near
infrared properties as well as the kinematics for this population are
consistent with the properties for the low-z damped Lyman-alpha absorbers. We
also show that the number of HI-rich galaxies in the local universe does not
preclude evolution of the low-z damped absorber population, but it is
consistent with no evolution.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. To appear in "Extragalactic Gas at Low Redshift"
(ASP Conf. Series, Weymann Conf.
Hot and Diffuse Clouds near the Galactic Center Probed by Metastable H3+
Using an absorption line from the metastable (J, K) = (3, 3) level of H3+
together with other lines of H3+ and CO observed along several sightlines, we
have discovered a vast amount of high temperature (T ~ 250 K) and low density
(n ~ 100 cm-3) gas with a large velocity dispersion in the Central Molecular
Zone (CMZ) of the Galaxy, i.e., within 200 pc of the center. Approximately
three fourths of the H3+ along the line of sight to the brightest source we
observed, the Quintuplet object GCS 3-2, is inferred to be in the CMZ, with the
remaining H3+ located in intervening spiral arms. About half of H3+ in the CMZ
has velocities near ~ - 100 km s-1 indicating that it is associated with the
180 pc radius Expanding Molecular Ring which approximately forms outer boundary
of the CMZ. The other half, with velocities of ~ - 50 km s-1 and ~ 0 km s-1, is
probably closer to the center. CO is not very abundant in those clouds. Hot and
diffuse gas in which the (3, 3) level is populated was not detected toward
several dense clouds and diffuse clouds in the Galactic disk where large column
densities of colder H3+ have been reported previously. Thus the newly
discovered environment appears to be unique to the CMZ. The large observed H3+
column densities in the CMZ suggests an ionization rate much higher than in the
diffuse interstellar medium in the Galactic disk. Our finding that the H3+ in
the CMZ is almost entirely in diffuse clouds indicates that the reported volume
filling factor (f ≥ 0.1) for n ≥ 104 cm-3 clouds in the CMZ is an
overestimate by at least an order of magnitude.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures, 3 table
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