318 research outputs found
The Disk and Dark Halo Mass of the Barred Galaxy NGC 4123. I. Observations
The non-circular streaming motions in barred galaxies are sensitive to the
mass of the bar and can be used to lift the degeneracy between disk and dark
matter halo encountered when fitting axisymmetric rotation curves of disk
galaxies. In this paper, we present photometric and kinematic observations of
NGC 4123, a barred galaxy of modest size (V_rot = 130 km/sec, L = 0.7 L_*),
which reveal strong non-circular motions. The bar has straight dust lanes and
an inner Lindblad resonance. The disk of NGC 4123 has no sign of truncation out
to 10 scale lengths, and star-forming regions are found well outside R_25. A
Fabry-Perot H-alpha velocity field shows velocity jumps of >100 km/sec at the
location of the dust lanes within the bar, indicating shocks in the gas flow.
VLA observations yield the velocity field of the H I disk. Axisymmetric mass
models yield good fits to the rotation curve outside the bar regionfor disk
I-band M/L of 2.25 or less, and dark halos with either isothermal or power-law
profiles can fit the data well. In a companion paper, we model the full 2-D
velocity field, including non-circular motions, to determine the stellar M/L
and the mass of the dark halo.Comment: accepted by ApJ, 16 pages, 9 figures (1 color), uses emulateapj.sty,
onecolfloat.st
The Structure of Active Merger Remnant NGC 6240 from IRAC Observations
NGC 6240 is a rare object in the local universe: an active merger remnant
viewed at the point of merging where two active galactic nuclei are visible. We
present IRAC data of this object, providing high sensitivity maps of the
stellar and PAH distribution in this complicated system. We use photometry to
analyze the variation in these distributions with radius and provide an SED in
the four IRAC bands: 3.6 microns, 4.5 microns, 5.8 microns and 8.0 microns. We
fit the radial profiles of the 3.6 micron band to r^.25 and exponential
profiles to evaluate the structure of the remnant. Finally, we compare the IRAC
images with multi-wavelength data and examine how outflows in the X-ray, Halpha
and CO correlate with 8 micron emission. The results support the general
picture of NGC 6240 as a system experiencing a major merger and transitioning
from a disk galaxy to a spheroid. The sensitivity of IRAC to low surface
brightness mid-infrared features provides detailed information on the extended
distributions of stars and dust in this rare system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Galaxies with Spiral Structure up to z = 0.87 --Limits on M/L and the Stellar Velocity Dispersion
We consider seven distant galaxies with clearly evident spiral structure from
HST images. Three of these were chosen from Vogt et al. (1996) (VFP) and have
measured rotational velocities. Five were chosen from the Medium Deep Survey
and are studied in Sarajedini et al. 1996 (SGGR), and one galaxy is found in
both papers. We place upper limits on their mass-to-light ratios (M/L) by
computing M/L_B for a maximal disk. We find that these galaxies have maximal
disk mass-to-light ratios M/L_B = 1.5 - 3.5 M_sol/L_Bsol at the low end, but
within the range seen in nearby galaxies. The mass-to-light ratios are low
enough to suggest that the galaxies contain a young, rapidly formed stellar
population.
By using a Toomre stability criterion for formation of spiral structure, we
place constraints on the ratio of M/L to the stellar velocity dispersion. If
these galaxies have maximal disks they would have to be nearly unstable so as
to have small enough velocity dispersions that their disks are not
unrealistically thick. This suggests that there is a substantial amount of dark
matter present in the luminous regions of the galaxy.Comment: AAS Latex + PS Figure, accepted for publication in A
The Role of Pressure in GMC Formation II: The H_2 - Pressure Relation
We show that the ratio of molecular to atomic gas in galaxies is determined
by hydrostatic pressure and that the relation between the two is nearly linear.
The pressure relation is shown to be good over three orders of magnitude for 14
galaxies including dwarfs, HI-rich, and H_2-rich galaxies as well as the Milky
Way. The sample spans a factor of five in mean metallicity. The rms scatter of
individual points of the relation is only about a factor of two for all the
galaxies, though some show much more scatter than others. Using these results,
we propose a modified star formation prescription based on pressure determining
the degree to which the ISM is molecular. The formulation is different in high
and low pressure regimes defined by whether the gas is primarily atomic or
primarily molecular. This formulation can be implemented in simulations and
provides a more appropriate treatment of the outer regions of spiral galaxies
and molecule-poor systems such as dwarf irregulars and damped Lyman-alpha
systems.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Star Formation Thresholds in Galactic Disks
We report the first results of a detailed study of the star formation law in
a sample of 32 nearby spiral galaxies with well-measured rotation curves, HI
and H (as traced by CO) surface density profiles, and new \Ha CCD
photometry. Our results strongly support the view that the formation of
gravitationally bound interstellar clouds regulates the onset of widespread
star formation -- at least in the outer regions of galactic disks.Comment: Will appear in July 1 ApJ. Abbreviated abstract. Postscript version
available at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~clm
The Outer Disks of Early-Type Galaxies. I. Surface-Brightness Profiles of Barred Galaxies
We present a study of 66 barred, early-type (S0-Sb) disk galaxies, focused on
the disk surface brightness profile outside the bar region and the nature of
Freeman Type I and II profiles, their origins, and their possible relation to
disk truncations. This paper discusses the data and their reduction, outlines
our classification system, and presents -band profiles and classifications
for all galaxies in the sample.
The profiles are derived from a variety of different sources, including the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 5). For about half of the galaxies, we
have profiles derived from more than one telescope; this allows us to check the
stability and repeatability of our profile extraction and classification. The
vast majority of the profiles are reliable down to levels of mu_R ~ 27 mag
arcsec^-2; in exceptional cases, we can trace profiles down to mu_R > 28. We
can typically follow disk profiles out to at least 1.5 times the traditional
optical radius R_25; for some galaxies, we find light extending to ~ 3 R_25.
We classify the profiles into three main groups: Type I (single-exponential),
Type II (down-bending), and Type III (up-bending). The frequencies of these
types are approximately 27%, 42%, and 24%, respectively, plus another 6% which
are combinations of Types II and III. We further classify Type II profiles by
where the break falls in relation to the bar length, and in terms of the
postulated mechanisms for breaks at large radii ("classical trunction" of star
formation versus the influence of the Outer Lindblad Resonance of the bar). We
also classify the Type III profiles by the probable morphology of the outer
light (disk or spheroid). Illustrations are given for all cases. (Abridged)Comment: 41 pages, 26 PDF figures. To appear in the Astronomical Journal.
Version with full-resolution figures available at
http://www.mpe.mpg.de/~erwin/research
Docetaxel (Taxotere): an active agent in metastatic urothelial cancer; results of a phase II study in non-chemotherapy-pretreated patients.
The semisynthetic taxoid docetaxel was investigated in a phase II study in non-chemotherapy pretreated patients with metastatic urothelial cell cancer. Thirty patients (median age 61, range 45-72) were treated with docetaxel 100 mg m(-2) administered as a 1-h infusion every 3 weeks. Of 29 evaluable patients, four achieved a complete response and five a partial response, for an overall response rate of 31%. The median duration of response was 6 months (range 4-51+). A total of 104 cycles were administered. The median number of cycles given was three (range 1-9). Toxic effects of docetaxel mainly consisted of neutropenia, which, however, rarely caused infectious complications (5%). Fluid retention or neuropathy necessitated treatment cessation in two patients. We conclude that docetaxel is an effective agent in urothelial cell cancer, and should be further tested in combination chemotherapy
Stellar populations across the NGC4244 truncated galactic disk
We use HST/ACS to study the resolved stellar populations of the nearby,
nearly edge-on galaxy NGC4244 across its outer disk surface density break. The
stellar photometry allows us to study the distribution of different stellar
populations and reach very low equivalent surface brightnesses. We find that
the break occurs at the same radius for young, intermediate age, and old stars.
The stellar density beyond the break drops sharply by a factor of at least 600
in 5 kpc. The break occurs at the same radius independent of height above the
disk, but is sharpest in the midplane and nearly disappears at large heights.
These results make it unlikely that truncations are caused by a star formation
threshold alone: the threshold would have to keep the same radial position from
less than 100 Myr to 10 Gyr ago, in spite of potential disturbances such as
infall and redistribution of gas by internal processes. A dynamical
interpretation of truncation formation is more likely such as due to angular
momentum redistribution by bars or density waves, or heating and stripping of
stars caused by the bombardment of dark matter sub-halos. The latter
explanation is also in quantitative agreement with the small diffuse component
we see around the galaxy.Comment: ApJ Letters, in press. Five pages, 2 figure
The Role of Pressure in GMC Formation
We examine the hypothesis that hydrostatic pressure alone determines the
ratio of atomic to molecular gas averaged over a particular radius in disk
galaxies. The hypothesis implies that the transition radius, the location where
the ratio is unity, should always occur at the same value of stellar surface
density in all galaxies. We examine data for 28 galaxies and find that the
stellar surface density at the transition radius is indeed constant to 40% at a
value of 120 M_sun/pc^2. If the hypothesis can be confirmed at all radii within
a large range of galaxy types and metallicities, combining it with the observed
constancy of the star formation rate with H_2 surface density may enable a
physically motivated star formation prescription with wide applicability.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Figure, Accepted to ApJ Letter
Embedded disks in Fornax dwarf ellipticals
We present photometric and kinematic evidence for the presence of stellar
disks, seen practically edge-on, in two Fornax dwarf galaxies, FCC204 (dS0(6))
and FCC288 (dS0(7)). This is the first time such structures have been
identified in Fornax dwarfs. FCC2088 has only a small bulge and a bright
flaring and slightly warped disk that can be traced out to 23" from the center
(2.05 kpc for H_0=75 km/s/Mpc). FCC204's disk can be traced out to 20" (1.78
kpc). This galaxy possesses a large bulge. These results can be compared to the
findings of Jerjen et al. (2000) and Barazza et al. (2002) who discovered
nucleated dEs with spiral and bar features in the Virgo Cluster.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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