15,224 research outputs found
Semiclassical and Quantum Black Holes and their Evaporation, de Sitter and Anti-de Sitter Regimes, Gravitational and String Phase Transitions
An effective string theory in physically relevant cosmological and black hole
space times is reviewed. Explicit computations of the quantum string entropy,
partition function and quantum string emission by black holes (Schwarzschild,
rotating, charged, asymptotically flat, de Sitter dS and AdS space times) in
the framework of effective string theory in curved backgrounds provide an
amount of new quantum gravity results as: (i) gravitational phase transitions
appear with a distinctive universal feature: a square root branch point
singularity in any space time dimensions. This is of the type of the de Vega -
Sanchez transition for the thermal self-gravitating gas of point particles.
(ii) There are no phase transitions in AdS alone. (iii) For background,
upper bounds of the Hubble constant H are found, dictated by the quantum string
phase transition.(iv) The Hawking temperature and the Hagedorn temperature are
the same concept but in different (semiclassical and quantum) gravity regimes
respectively. (v) The last stage of black hole evaporation is a microscopic
string state with a finite string critical temperature which decays as usual
quantum strings do in non-thermal pure quantum radiation (no information
loss).(vi) New lower string bounds are given for the Kerr-Newman black hole
angular momentum and charge, which are entirely different from the upper
classical bounds. (vii) Semiclassical gravity states undergo a phase transition
into quantum string states of the same system, these states are duals of each
other in the precise sense of the usual classical-quantum (wave-particle)
duality, which is universal irrespective of any symmetry or isommetry of the
space-time and of the number or the kind of space-time dimensions.Comment: review paper, no figures. to appear in Int Jour Mod Phys
Molecular gas at supernova local environments unveiled by EDGE
CO observations allow estimations of the gas content of molecular clouds,
which trace the reservoir of cold gas fuelling star formation, as well as to
determine extinction via H column density, N(H). Here, we studied
millimetric and optical properties at 26 supernovae (SNe) locations of
different types in a sample of 23 nearby galaxies by combining molecular
CO (J = 1 0) resolved maps from the EDGE survey and
optical Integral Field Spectroscopy from the CALIFA survey. We found an even
clearer separation between type II and type Ibc SNe in terms of molecular gas
than what we found in the optical using H emission as a proxy for
current SF rate, which reinforces the fact that SNe Ibc are more associated
with SF-environments. While A at SN locations is similar for SNe II and SNe
Ibc, and higher compared to SNe Ia, N(H) is significantly higher for SNe
Ibc than for SNe II and SNe Ia. When compared to alternative extinction
estimations directly from SN photometry and spectroscopy, we find that our SNe
Ibc have also redder color excess but showed standard Na I D absorption
pseudo-equivalent widths (1 \AA). In some cases we find no extinction
when estimated from the environment, but high amounts of extinction when
measured from SN observations, which suggests that circumstellar material or
dust sublimation may be playing a role. This work serves as a benchmark for
future studies combining last generation millimeter and optical IFS instruments
to reveal the local environmental properties of extragalactic SNe.Comment: MNRAS accepted, 17 pages, 8 Figures, 4 Table
The spatially resolved star formation history of CALIFA galaxies: Cosmic time scales
This paper presents the mass assembly time scales of nearby galaxies observed
by CALIFA at the 3.5m telescope in Calar Alto. We apply the fossil record
method of the stellar populations to the complete sample of the 3rd CALIFA data
release, with a total of 661 galaxies, covering stellar masses from 10
to 10 M and a wide range of Hubble types. We apply spectral
synthesis techniques to the datacubes and process the results to produce the
mass growth time scales and mass weighted ages, from which we obtain temporal
and spatially resolved information in seven bins of galaxy morphology and six
bins of stellar mass (M) and stellar mass surface density
(). We use three different tracers of the spatially resolved
star formation history (mass assembly curves, ratio of half mass to half light
radii, and mass-weighted age gradients) to test if galaxies grow inside-out,
and its dependence with galaxy stellar mass, , and morphology.
Our main results are as follows: (a) The innermost regions of galaxies assemble
their mass at an earlier time than regions located in the outer parts; this
happens at any given M, , or Hubble type, including
the lowest mass systems. (b) Galaxies present a significant diversity in their
characteristic formation epochs for lower-mass systems. This diversity shows a
strong dependence of the mass assembly time scales on and
Hubble type in the lower-mass range (10 to 10), but a very
mild dependence in higher-mass bins. (c) All galaxies show negative
log age gradients in the inner 1 HLR. The profile
flattens with increasing values of . There is no significant
dependence on M within a particular bin, except for
the lowest bin, where the gradients becomes steeper.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysics. *Abridged abstract
IMF - metallicity: a tight local relation revealed by the CALIFA survey
Variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) have been invoked to
explain the spectroscopic and dynamical properties of early-type galaxies.
However, no observations have yet been able to disentangle the physical driver.
We analyse here a sample of 24 early-type galaxies drawn from the CALIFA
survey, deriving in a homogeneous way their stellar population and kinematic
properties. We find that the local IMF is tightly related to the local
metallicity, becoming more bottom-heavy towards metal-rich populations. Our
result, combined with the galaxy mass-metallicity relation, naturally explains
previous claims of a galaxy mass-IMF relation, derived from non-IFU spectra. If
we assume that - within the star formation environment of early-type galaxies -
metallicity is the main driver of IMF variations, a significant revision of the
interpretation of galaxy evolution observables is necessary.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL. 6 pages, 4 figure
Insights on the stellar mass-metallicity relation from the CALIFA survey
We use spatially and temporally resolved maps of stellar population
properties of 300 galaxies from the CALIFA integral field survey to investigate
how the stellar metallicity (Z*) relates to the total stellar mass (M*) and the
local mass surface density (*) in both spheroidal and disk dominated
galaxies. The galaxies are shown to follow a clear stellar mass-metallicity
relation (MZR) over the whole 10 to 10 M range. This
relation is steeper than the one derived from nebular abundances, which is
similar to the flatter stellar MZR derived when we consider only young stars.
We also find a strong relation between the local values of * and Z* (the
ZR), betraying the influence of local factors in determining Z*. This
shows that both local (*-driven) and global (M*-driven) processes are
important in determining the metallicity in galaxies. We find that the overall
balance between local and global effects varies with the location within a
galaxy. In disks, * regulates Z*, producing a strong ZR whose
amplitude is modulated by M*. In spheroids it is M* who dominates the physics
of star formation and chemical enrichment, with * playing a minor,
secondary role. These findings agree with our previous analysis of the star
formation histories of CALIFA galaxies, which showed that mean stellar ages are
mainly governed by surface density in galaxy disks and by total mass in
spheroids.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
The merging/AGN connection II. Ionization of the circumnuclear regions
We report the first results of a study of a sample of 20 galaxy
mergers/interacting systems, using the VIMOS and PMAS integral field
spectrographs. For each object, we extracted the integrated spectrum of the
central regions and analyzed the ionization state using classical diagnostic
diagrams (Veilleux & Osterbrock 1987). There is evidence of AGN ionization in 4
of the objects, i.e. 20% of the sample, a considerably higher fraction than
found in previous studies ~4%Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publishing in A&A Letter
Observational hints of radial migration in disc galaxies from CALIFA
Context. According to numerical simulations, stars are not always kept at their birth galactocentric distances but they have a tendency to migrate. The importance of this radial migration in shaping galactic light distributions is still unclear. However, if radial migration is indeed important, galaxies with different surface brightness (SB) profiles must display differences in their stellar population properties.
Aims: We investigate the role of radial migration in the light distribution and radial stellar content by comparing the inner colour, age, and metallicity gradients for galaxies with different SB profiles. We define these inner parts, avoiding the bulge and bar regions and up to around three disc scale lengths (type I, pure exponential) or the break radius (type II, downbending; type III, upbending).
Methods: We analysed 214 spiral galaxies from the CALIFA survey covering different SB profiles. We made use of GASP2D and SDSS data to characterise the light distribution and obtain colour profiles of these spiral galaxies. The stellar age and metallicity profiles were computed using a methodology based on full-spectrum fitting techniques (pPXF, GANDALF, and STECKMAP) to the Integral Field Spectroscopic CALIFA data.
Results: The distributions of the colour, stellar age, and stellar metallicity gradients in the inner parts for galaxies displaying different SB profiles are unalike as suggested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Anderson-Darling tests. We find a trend in which type II galaxies show the steepest profiles of all, type III show the shallowest, and type I display an intermediate behaviour.
Conclusions: These results are consistent with a scenario in which radial migration is more efficient for type III galaxies than for type I systems, where type II galaxies present the lowest radial migration efficiency. In such a scenario, radial migration mixes the stellar content, thereby flattening the radial stellar properties and shaping different SB profiles. However, in light of these results we cannot further quantify the importance of radial migration in shaping spiral galaxies, and other processes, such as recent star formation or satellite accretion, might play a role
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