515 research outputs found
Seyfert Galaxies in the Local Universe: Analysis of Spitzer Spectra of a Complete Sample
The Spitzer high resolution spectra of 72 Seyfert galaxies from the 12m
Galaxy Sample are presented and discussed. The presence of starburst components
in these galaxies can be quantified by powerful mid-IR diagnostics tools (i.e.
11.25m PAH feature equivalent width and the H emission line
intensity), as well as the AGN dominance can be measured by specific fine
structure line ratios (e.g. [NeV]/[NeII], [NeV]/[SiII], etc.). The two types of
Seyfert galaxies do not show any statistical difference in our diagnostic
tools. However, the Seyfert 2's showing hidden Broad Line Regions in
spectro-polarimetric observations have on average an higher AGN dominance, a
weaker star formation component and a warmer [60 - 25] spectral index than
those without broad emission lines.Comment: Proceedings of the Conference "The central kiloparsec. Active
Galactic Nuclei and their hosts, 4-6 June 2008, Ierapetra, Crete, Greec
The Earliest Phases Of High-Mass Star Formation, As Seen In Ngc 6334 By Herschel -Hobys
Aims. To constrain models of high-mass star formation, the Herschel-HOBYS key program aims at discovering massive dense cores (MDCs) able to host the high-mass analogs of low-mass prestellar cores, which have been searched for over the past decade. We here focus on NGC 6334, one of the best-studied HOBYS molecular cloud complexes
The Herschel exploitation of local galaxy Andromeda (HELGA) V: Strengthening the case for substantial interstellar grain growth
In this paper we consider the implications of the distributions of dust and
metals in the disc of M31. We derive mean radial dust distributions using a
dust map created from Herschel images of M31 sampling the entire far-infrared
(FIR) peak. Modified blackbodies are fit to approximately 4000 pixels with a
varying, as well as a fixed, dust emissivity index (beta). An overall metal
distribution is also derived using data collected from the literature. We use a
simple analytical model of the evolution of the dust in a galaxy with dust
contributed by stellar sources and interstellar grain growth, and fit this
model to the radial dust-to-metals distribution across the galaxy. Our analysis
shows that the dust-to-gas gradient in M31 is steeper than the metallicity
gradient, suggesting interstellar dust growth is (or has been) important in
M31. We argue that M31 helps build a case for cosmic dust in galaxies being the
result of substantial interstellar grain growth, while the net dust production
from stars may be limited. We note, however, that the efficiency of dust
production in stars, e.g., in supernovae (SNe) ejecta and/or stellar
atmospheres, and grain destruction in the interstellar medium (ISM) may be
degenerate in our simple model. We can conclude that interstellar grain growth
by accretion is likely at least as important as stellar dust production
channels in building the cosmic dust component in M31.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Published in MNRAS 444, 797. This version is
updated to match the published versio
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High-J CO line emission from young stellar objects: from ISO to FIRST
we present the CO pure rotational spectrum at high J (Jup14) obtained with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) on board of the ISO satellite towards molecular outflows exciting sources in nearby star formation regions. The physical conditions, derived using an LVG model for the line emission, indicate the presence of warm and dense gas, probably shock excited. The model fits show that often the bulk of this CO emission is expected in the spectral range that will be covered by FIRST, indicating the potentiality of this satellite to trace the warm component of gas emission in young stellar objects
Far-infrared line spectra of active galaxies from the Herschel/PACS Spectrometer: the complete database
We present a coherent database of spectroscopic observations of far-IR
fine-structure lines from the Herschel/PACS archive for a sample of 170 local
AGN, plus a comparison sample of 20 starburst galaxies and 43 dwarf galaxies.
Published Spitzer/IRS and Herschel/SPIRE line fluxes are included to extend our
database to the full 10-600 spectral range. The observations are
compared to a set of CLOUDY photoionisation models to estimate the above
physical quantities through different diagnostic diagrams. We confirm the
presence of a stratification of gas density in the emission regions of the
galaxies, which increases with the ionisation potential of the emission lines.
The new [OIV]25.9/[OIII]88 vs [NeIII]15.6/[NeII]12.8 diagram is proposed as the best diagnostic to separate: AGN activity
from any kind of star formation; and low-metallicity dwarf galaxies from
starburst galaxies. Current stellar atmosphere models fail to reproduce the
observed [OIV]25.9/[OIII]88 ratios, which are much higher when
compared to the predicted values. Finally, the ([NeIII]15.6 +
[NeII]12.8)/([SIV]10.5 + [SIII]18.7) ratio is proposed as
a promising metallicity tracer to be used in obscured objects, where optical
lines fail to accurately measure the metallicity. The diagnostic power of mid-
to far-infrared spectroscopy shown here for local galaxies will be of crucial
importance to study galaxy evolution during the dust-obscured phase at the peak
of the star formation and black-hole accretion activity (). This
study will be addressed by future deep spectroscopic surveys with present and
forthcoming facilities such as JWST, ALMA, and SPICA.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ
Heating of the molecular gas in the massive outflow of the local ultraluminous-infrared and radio-loud galaxy 4C12.50
We present a comparison of the molecular gas properties in the outflow vs. in
the ambient medium of the local prototype radio-loud and ultraluminous-infrared
galaxy 4C12.50 (IRAS13451+1232), using new data from the IRAM Plateau de Bure
interferometer and 30m telescope, and the Herschel space telescope. Previous
H_2 (0-0) S(1) and S(2) observations with the Spitzer space telescope had
indicated that the warm (~400K) molecular gas in 4C12.50 is made up of a
1.4(+-0.2)x10^8 M_sun ambient reservoir and a 5.2(+-1.7)x10^7 M_sun outflow.
The new CO(1-0) data cube indicates that the corresponding cold (25K) H_2 gas
mass is 1.0(+-0.1)x10^10 M_sun for the ambient medium and <1.3x10^8 M_sun for
the outflow, when using a CO-intensity-to-H_2-mass conversion factor alpha of
0.8 M_sun /(K km/s pc^2). The combined mass outflow rate is high, 230-800
M_sun/yr, but the amount of gas that could escape the galaxy is low. A
potential inflow of gas from a 3.3(+-0.3)x10^8 M_sun tidal tail could moderate
any mass loss. The mass ratio of warm-to-cold molecular gas is >= 30 times
higher in the outflow than in the ambient medium, indicating that a
non-negligible fraction of the accelerated gas is heated to temperatures at
which star formation is inefficient. This conclusion is robust against the use
of different alpha factor values, and/or different warm gas tracers (H_2 vs.
H_2 plus CO): with the CO-probed gas mass being at least 40 times lower at 400K
than at 25K, the total warm-to-cold mass ratio is always lower in the ambient
gas than in the entrained gas. Heating of the molecular gas could facilitate
the detection of new outflows in distant galaxies by enhancing their emission
in intermediate rotational number CO lines.Comment: A&A, in pres
The bolometric and UV attenuation in normal spiral galaxies of the Herschel Reference Survey
The dust in nearby galaxies absorbs a fraction of the
UV-optical-near-infrared radiation produced by stars. This energy is
consequently re-emitted in the infrared. We investigate the portion of the
stellar radiation absorbed by spiral galaxies from the HRS by modelling their
UV-to-submillimetre spectral energy distributions. Our models provide an
attenuated and intrinsic SED from which we find that on average 32 % of all
starlight is absorbed by dust. We define the UV heating fraction as the
percentage of dust luminosity that comes from absorbed UV photons and find that
this is 56 %, on average. This percentage varies with morphological type, with
later types having significantly higher UV heating fractions. We find a strong
correlation between the UV heating fraction and specific star formation rate
and provide a power-law fit. Our models allow us to revisit the IRX-AFUV
relations, and derive these quantities directly within a self-consistent
framework. We calibrate this relation for different bins of NUV-r colour and
provide simple relations to relate these parameters. We investigated the
robustness of our method and we conclude that the derived parameters are
reliable within the uncertainties which are inherent to the adopted SED model.
This calls for a deeper investigation on how well extinction and attenuation
can be determined through panchromatic SED modelling.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
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