8,136 research outputs found
[C II] emission and star formation in late-type galaxies. II A model
We study the relationship between gas cooling via the [C II] (158 micron)
line emission and dust cooling via the far-IR continuum emission on the global
scale of a galaxy in normal (i.e. non-AGN dominated and non-starburst)
late-type systems. It is known that the luminosity ratio of total gas and dust
cooling, L(C II)/L(FIR), shows a non-linear behaviour with the equivalent width
of the Halpha line emission, the ratio decreasing in galaxies of lower massive
star-formation activity. This result holds despite the fact that known
individual Galactic and extragalactic sources of the [C II] line emission show
different [C II] line-to-far-IR continuum emission ratios. This non-linear
behaviour is reproduced by a simple quantitative model of gas and dust heating
from different stellar populations, assuming that the photoelectric effect on
dust, induced by far-UV photons, is the dominant mechanism of gas heating in
the general diffuse interstellar medium of the galaxies under investigation.
According to the model, the global L(C II)/L(FIR) provides a direct measure of
the fractional amount of non-ionizing UV light in the interstellar radiation
field and not of the efficiency of the photoelectric heating. The model also
defines a method to constrain the stellar initial mass function from
measurements of L(C II) and L(FIR). A sample of 20 Virgo cluster galaxies
observed in the [C II] line with the LWS on board ISO is used to illustrate the
model. The limited statistics and the necessary assumptions behind the
determination of the global [C II] luminosities from the spatially limited data
do not allow us to establish definitive conclusions but data-sets available in
the future will allow tests of both the reliability of the assumptions of our
model and the statistical significance of our results.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures (included), accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
The nature of the red disk-like galaxies at high redshift: dust attenuation and intrinsically red stellar populations
We investigate which conditions of dust attenuation and stellar populations
allow models of dusty, continuously star-forming, bulge-less disk galaxies at
0.8<z<3.2 to meet the different colour selection criteria of high-z ``red''
galaxies (e.g. Rc-K>5.3, Ic-K>4, J-K>2.3). As a main novelty, we use stellar
population models that include the thermally pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch
(TP-AGB) phase of stellar evolution. The star formation rate of the models
declines exponentially as a function of time, the e-folding time being longer
than 3 Gyr. In addition, we use calculations of radiative transfer of the
stellar and scattered radiation through different dusty interstellar media in
order to explore the wide parameter space of dust attenuation. We find that
synthetic disks can exhibit red optical/near-infrared colours because of
reddening by dust, but only if they have been forming stars for at least about
1 Gyr. Extremely few models barely exhibit Rc-K>5.3, if the inclination i=90
deg and if the opacity 2*tauV>6. Hence, Rc-K-selected galaxies at 1<z<2 most
probably are either systems with an old, passively evolving bulge or
starbursts. Synthetic disks at 1<z<2 exhibit 4<Ic-K<4.8, if they are seen edge
on (i.e. at i about 90 deg) and if 2*tauV>0.5. This explains the large fraction
of observed, edge-on disk-like galaxies with Ks4. Finally,
models with 2<z<3.2 exhibit 2.3<J-K<3, with no bias towards i about 90 deg and
for a large range in opacity (e.g. 2*tauV>1 for i about 70 deg). In conclusion,
red disk-like galaxies at 0.8<z<3.2 may not necessarily be dustier than nearby
disk galaxies (with 0.5<2*tauV<2) and/or much older than about 1 Gyr. This
result is due both to a realistic description of dust attenuation and to the
emission contribution by TP-AGB stars... (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 8 ps figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The tilt of the Fundamental Plane of Early-type galaxies: wavelength dependence
The photometric parameters R_e and mu_e of 74 early-type (E+S0+S0a) galaxies
in the Coma cluster are derived for the first time in the near IR H band. These
are used, coupled with measurements of the central velocity dispersion found in
the literature, to determine the H band Fundamental Plane (FP) relation of this
cluster. The same procedure is applied to previously available photometric data
in the B, V, r, I, and K bands, to perform a multi-wavelength study of the FP.
Because systematic uncertainties in the value of the FP parameters are
introduced both by the choice of the fitting algorithm, and by the presence of
statistical biases connected with the sample selection procedure, we emphasize
the importance of deriving the FP parameters in the six photometric bands using
an identical fitting algorithm, and appropriate corrections to eliminate the
effects of sample incompleteness. We find that the FP mu_e coefficient is
stable with wavelength, while the sigma coefficient increases significantly
with increasing wavelength, in agreement with an earlier result presented by
Pahre & Djorgovski. The slope of the FP relation, although changing with
wavelength, never approaches the virial theorem expectation. We also find that
the magnitude of the slope change can be entirely explained by the presence of
the well known relation between color and magnitude among early-type galaxies.
We conclude that the tilt of the Fundamental Plane is significant, and must be
due to some form of broken homology among early-type galaxies, while its
wavelength dependence derives from whatever mechanism (currently the preferred
one is the existence of a mass-metal content sequence) produces the
color-magnitude relation in those galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables; table 3 should be printed in landscape
mode, and inserted into the text. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Physical Sources of Scatter in the Tully-Fisher Relation
We analyze residuals from the Tully-Fisher relation for the emission-line
galaxies in the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey, a broadly representative survey
designed to fairly sample the variety of galaxy morphologies and environments
in the local universe. For spirals brighter than M_R^i=-18, we find strong
correlations between Tully-Fisher residuals and both B-R color and EW(Halpha).
The extremes of the correlations are populated by Sa galaxies, which show
consistently red colors, and spirals with morphological peculiarities, which
are often blue. If we apply an EW(Halpha)-dependent or B-R color-dependent
correction term to the Tully-Fisher relation, the scatter in the relation no
longer increases from R to B to U but instead drops to a nearly constant level
close to the scatter we expect from measurement errors. We argue that these
results probably reflect correlated offsets in luminosity and color as a
function of star formation history. Broadening the sample in morphology and
luminosity, we find that most non-spirals brighter than M_R^i=-18 follow the
same correlations as do spirals, albeit with greater scatter. However, the
color and EW(Halpha) correlations do not apply to galaxies fainter than
M_R^i=-18 or to emission-line S0 galaxies with anomalous gas kinematics. For
the dwarf galaxy population, the parameters controlling Tully-Fisher residuals
are instead related to the degree of recent disturbance: overluminous dwarfs
have higher rotation curve asymmetries, brighter U-band effective surface
brightnesses, and shorter gas consumption timescales than their underluminous
counterparts. As a result, sample selection strongly affects the measured
faint-end slope of the Tully-Fisher relation. Passively evolving, rotationally
supported galaxies display a break toward steeper slope at low luminosities.Comment: 58 pages including 21 figures, AJ, accepte
Entangled memories: how to study Europe’s cultural heritage
A fruitful direction for research on the European cultural heritage is to adopt a transnational approach. Rather than see cultural heritage as predominantly expressed in national contexts, it could be seen as primarily transnational and as plural. Such a view would also suggest a conception of national histories as themselves products of transnational encounters. In this perspective, the European dimension is not then necessarily something over and above nations, but part of their heritage. Moreover, as fundamentally transnational, the European heritage is not exclusively confined to Europe. Cultural heritage is not something that is fixed or based on an essence; it is produced and reinterpreted by social actors in different but overlapping contexts. This is also an interpretative approach that draws attention to the entangled nature of memories and especially the cultural logic by which new conceptions and narratives of heritage emerge from the encounter and entanglement of different memories. Such an approach offers new opportunities for comparative research on the European heritage as an entangled mosaic of histories and memories. This approach thus rejects not only particularistic but also universalistic ones such as alternative Eurocentric accounts
Dust Attenuation in Late-Type Galaxies. I. Effects on Bulge and Disk Components
We present results of new Monte Carlo calculations made with the DIRTY code
of radiative transfer of stellar and scattered radiation for a dusty giant
late-type galaxy like the Milky Way, which illustrate the effect of the
attenuation of stellar light by internal dust on the integrated photometry of
the individual bulge and disk components. Here we focus on the behavior of the
attenuation function, the color excess, and the fraction of light scattered or
directly transmitted towards the outside observer as a function of the total
amount of dust and the inclination of the galaxy, and the structure of the
dusty interstellar medium (ISM) of the disk. We confirm that dust attenuation
produces qualitatively and quantitatively different effects on the integrated
photometry of bulge and disk, whatever the wavelength. In addition, we find
that the structure of the dusty ISM affects more sensitively the observed
magnitudes than the observed colors of both bulge and disk. Finally, we show
that the contribution of the scattered radiation to the total monochromatic
light received by the outside observer is significant, particularly at UV
wavelengths, even for a two-phase, clumpy, dusty ISM. Thus understanding dust
scattering properties is fundamental for the interpretation of extragalactic
observations in the rest-frame UV.Comment: 62 pages, 28 eps-figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ
Main Journa
1.65 micrometers (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. III: observations of 558 galaxies with the TIRGO 1.5m telescope
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 micron) surface photometry of 558
galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and in the Virgo cluster. This data set,
obtained with the Arcetri NICMOS3 camera ARNICA mounted on the Gornergrat
Infrared Telescope, is aimed at complementing, with observations of mostly
early-type objects, our NIR survey of spiral galaxies in these regions,
presented in previous papers of this series. Magnitudes at the optical radius,
total magnitudes, isophotal radii and light concentration indices are derived.
We confirm the existence of a positive correlation between the near-infrared
concentration index and the galaxy H-band luminosity. (Tables 1 and 2 are only
available in electronic form upon request to [email protected])Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A
Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Core Gas Density in REXCESS Clusters
We investigate the relationship between brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and
their host clusters using a sample of nearby galaxy clusters from the
Representative XMM Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS). The sample was imaged
with the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR) in R band to
investigate the mass of the old stellar population. Using a metric radius of
12h^-1 kpc, we found that the BCG luminosity depends weakly on overall cluster
mass as L_BCG \propto M_cl^0.18+-0.07, consistent with previous work. We found
that 90% of the BCGs are located within 0.035 r_500 of the peak of the X-ray
emission, including all of the cool core (CC) clusters. We also found an
unexpected correlation between the BCG metric luminosity and the core gas
density for non-cool core (non-CC) clusters, following a power law of n_e
\propto L_BCG^2.7+-0.4 (where n_e is measured at 0.008 r_500). The correlation
is not easily explained by star formation (which is weak in non-CC clusters) or
overall cluster mass (which is not correlated with core gas density). The trend
persists even when the BCG is not located near the peak of the X-ray emission,
so proximity is not necessary. We suggest that, for non-CC clusters, this
correlation implies that the same process that sets the central entropy of the
cluster gas also determines the central stellar density of the BCG, and that
this underlying physical process is likely to be mergers.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted Astrophysical Journa
Recent star formation in clusters of galaxies: extreme compact starbursts in A539 and A634
We report on the detection of two Halpha-emitting extreme compact objects
from deep images of the Abell 634 and Abell 539 clusters of galaxies at z ~
0.03. Follow up long slit spectroscopy of these two unresolved sources revealed
that they are members of their respective clusters showing HII type spectra.
The luminosity and the extreme equivalent width of Halpha+[NII] measured for
these sources, together with their very compact appearance, has raised the
question about the origin of these intense starbursts in the cluster
environment. We propose the compact starburst in Abell 539 resulted from the
compression of the interstellar gas of a dwarf galaxy when entering the cluster
core; while the starburst galaxy in Abell 634 is likely to be the result of a
galaxy-galaxy interaction, illustrating the preprocessing of galaxies during
their infall towards the central regions of clusters. The contribution of these
compact star-forming dwarf galaxies to the star formation history of galaxy
clusters is discussed, as well as a possible link with the recently discovered
early-type ultra-compact dwarf galaxies. We note that these extreme objects
will be rarely detected in normal magnitude-limited optical or NIR surveys,
mainly due to their low stellar masses (of the order of 10^6 solar masses),
whereas they will easily show up in dedicated Halpha surveys given the high
equivalent width of their emission lines.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. 31 pages, 10
fig
Multi-wavelength characterisation of z~2 clustered, dusty star forming galaxies discovered by Planck
(abridged) We report the discovery of PHz G95.5-61.6, a complex structure
detected in emission in the Planck all-sky survey that corresponds to two
over-densities of high-redshift galaxies. This is the first source from the
Planck catalogue of high-z candidates that has been completely characterised
with follow-up observations from the optical to the sub-millimetre domain.
Herschel/SPIRE observations at 250, 350 and 500 microns reveal the existence of
five sources producing a 500 microns emission excess that spatially corresponds
to the candidate proto-clusters discovered by Planck. Further observations at
CFHT in the optical bands (g and i) and in the near infrared (J, H and K_s),
plus mid infrared observations with IRAC/Spitzer (at 3.6 and 4.5 microns)
confirm that the sub-mm red excess is associated with an over-density of
colour-selected galaxies. Follow-up spectroscopy of 13 galaxies with
VLT/X-Shooter establishes the existence of two high-z structures: one at z~1.7
(three confirmed member galaxies), the other at z~2.0 (six confirmed members).
This double structure is also seen in the photometric redshift analysis of a
sample of 127 galaxies located inside a circular region of 1'-radius containing
the five Herschel/SPIRE sources, where we found a double-peaked excess of
galaxies at z~1.7 and z~2.0 with respect to the surrounding region. These
results suggest that PHz G95.5-61.6 corresponds to two accreting nodes, not
physically linked to one another, embedded in the large scale structure of the
Universe at z~2 and along the same line-of-sight. In conclusion, the data,
methods and results illustrated in this pilot project confirm that Planck data
can be used to detect the emission from clustered, dusty star forming galaxies
at high-z, and, thus, to pierce through the early growth of cluster-scale
structures.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
- …