3,325 research outputs found
The Apparent Morphology of Peculiar Galaxies at Intermediate to High Redshifts
We use rest frame ultraviolet (UV), B, and V band images of five nearby
(z<0.02) interacting and/or starbursting galaxies to simulate deep HST
observations of peculiar galaxies at medium to high redshifts. In particular,
we simulate Hubble Deep Field (HDF) observations in the F606W and F814W filters
of starburst galaxies in the redshift range z~0.5---2.5 by explicitly account
for the combined effects of band-shifting and surface brightness dimming. We
find that extended morphological features remain readily visible in the long
exposures typical of the HDF out to redshifts of ~ 1. For systems above z~1.5,
the simulated morphologies look remarkably similar to those of the faint
objects found in the HDF and other deep HST fields. Peculiar starburst galaxies
therefore appear to be the best local analogs to the highest redshift galaxies
in terms of morphology, star formation rates, and spectral energy
distributions. Nevertheless, photometric measurements of the z>1.5 images fail
to recover the true global properties of the underlying systems. This is
because the high-z observations are sensitive to the rest-frame UV emission,
which is dominated by the most active star forming regions. The extended
distribution of starlight from more evolved populations would not be detected.
We conclude that imaging observations in the restframe UV alone cannot reveal
whether high-z systems (z>1.5) are proto-galaxies, proto-bulges, or starbursts
within a pre-existing population. Definitive statements regarding the global
properties and dynamical states of these objects require deep imaging
observations at longer wavelengths.Comment: 15 pages, AAS LaTex macros v4.0, 6 Figs. To appear in The
Astronomical Journal. 1200 kB gzipped encapsulated postscript file of paper
and high-resolution figures is available at
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~hibbard/highZ/ or
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~vacca/highz.htm
The Neutral Hydrogen Distribution in Merging Galaxies: Differences between Stellar and Gaseous Tidal Morphologies
We have mapped the neutral atomic gas (HI) in the three disk-disk merger
systems NGC 520, Arp 220, and Arp 299. These systems differ from the majority
of the mergers mapped in HI, in that their stellar and gaseous tidal features
do not coincide. In particular, they exhibit large stellar tidal features with
little if any accompanying neutral gas and large gas-rich tidal features with
little if any accompanying starlight. On smaller scales, there are striking
anti-correlations where the gaseous and stellar tidal features appear to cross.
We explore several possible causes for these differences, including dust
obscuration, ram pressure stripping, and ionization effects. No single
explanation can account for all of the observed differences. The fact that each
of these systems shows evidence for a starburst driven superwind expanding in
the direction of the most striking anti-correlations leads us to suggest that
the superwind is primarily responsible for the observed differences, either by
sweeping the features clear of gas via ram pressure, or by excavating a clear
sightline towards the starburst and allowing UV photons to ionize regions of
the tails.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, uses emulateapj.sty. To appear in the March 2000
issue of AJ. Version with full resolution figures is available via
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~jhibbard/HIdisp/HIdisp.htm
C^+ distribution around S1 in rho Ophiuchi
We analyze a [C II] 158 micron map obtained with the L2 GREAT receiver on
SOFIA of the emission/reflection nebula illuminated by the early B star S1 in
the rho-OphA cloud core. This data set has been complemented with maps of
CO(3-2), 13CO(3-2) and C18O(3-2), observed as a part of the JCMT Gould Belt
Survey, with archival HCO^+(4-3) JCMT data, as well as with [O I] 63 and 145
micron imaging with Herschel/PACS. The [C II] emission is completely dominated
by the strong PDR emission from the nebula surrounding S1 expanding into the
dense Oph A molecular cloud west and south of S1. The [C II] emission is
significantly blue shifted relative to the CO spectra and also relative to the
systemic velocity, particularly in the northwestern part of the nebula. The [C
II] lines are broader towards the center of the S1 nebula and narrower towards
the PDR shell. The [C II] lines are strongly self-absorbed over an extended
region in the S1 PDR. Based on the strength of the [13C II] F = 2-1 hyperfine
component, [C II] is significantly optically thick over most of the nebula. CO
and 13CO(3-2) spectra are strongly self-absorbed, while C18O(3-2) is single
peaked and centered in the middle of the self-absorption. We have used a simple
two-layer LTE model to characterize the background and foreground cloud
contributing to the [C II] emission. From this analysis we estimate the
extinction due to the foreground cloud to be ~9.9 mag, which is slightly less
than the reddening estimated towards S1. Since some of the hot gas in the PDR
is not traced by low J CO emission, this result appears quite plausible. Using
a plane parallel PDR model with the observed [OI(145)]/[C II] brightness ratio
and an estimated FUV intensity of 3100-5000 G0 suggests that the density of the
[C II] emitting gas is ~3-4x10^3 cm^-3.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The intracluster magnetic field power spectrum in Abell 665
The goal of this work is to investigate the power spectrum of the magnetic
field associated with the giant radio halo in the galaxy cluster A665. For
this, we present new deep Very Large Array total intensity and polarization
observations at 1.4 GHz. We simulated Gaussian random three-dimensional
turbulent magnetic field models to reproduce the observed radio halo emission.
By comparing observed and synthetic radio halo images we constrained the
strength and structure of the intracluster magnetic field. We assumed that the
magnetic field power spectrum is a power law with a Kolmogorov index and we
imposed a local equipartition of energy density between relativistic particles
and field. Under these assumptions, we find that the radio halo emission in
A665 is consistent with a central magnetic field strength of about 1.3 micro-G.
To explain the azimuthally averaged radio brightness profile, the magnetic
field energy density should decrease following the thermal gas density, leading
to an averaged magnetic field strength over the central 1 Mpc^3 of about 0.75
micro-G. From the observed brightness fluctuations of the radio halo, we infer
that the outer scale of the magnetic field power spectrum is ~450 kpc, and the
corresponding magnetic field auto-correlation length is ~100 kpc.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication on A&A, language
editing. For a high quality version see
http://erg.ca.astro.it/preprints/a665_halo
The spectral index image of the radio halo in the cluster Abell 520 hosting a famous bow shock
Synchrotron radio emission is being detected from an increasing number of
galaxy clusters. Spectral index images are a powerful tool to investigate the
origin, nature, and connection of these sources with the dynamical state of the
cluster. The aim of this work is to investigate the spectral index distribution
of the radio halo in the galaxy cluster A520, a complex system from an optical,
radio, and X-ray point of view. We present deep Very Large Array observations
in total intensity at 325 and 1400 MHz. We produced and analyzed spectral index
images of the radio halo in this frequency range at a resolution of 39" and 60"
and looked for possible correlations with the thermal properties of the
cluster. We find an integrated radio halo spectral index alpha(325-1400) ~
1.12. No strong radial steepening is present and the spectral index
distribution is intrinsically complex with fluctuations only partially due to
measurement errors. The radio halo integrated spectral index and the cluster
temperature follow the global trend observed in other galaxy clusters although
a strong point-to-point correlation between the spectral index and the thermal
gas temperature has not been observed. The complex morphology in the spectral
index image of the radio halo in A520 is in agreement with the primary models
for radio halo formation. The flatness of the radial profile suggests that the
merger is still ongoing and is uniformly and continuously (re-) accelerating
the population of relativistic electrons responsible of the radio emission even
at large (~ 1 Mpc) distances from the cluster center.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, A&A accepte
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Ultracompact Blue Dwarf Galaxy HS 0822+3542: An Assembling Galaxy in a Local Void?
We present deep U, narrow-V, and I-band images of the ultracompact blue dwarf
galaxy HS 0822+3542, obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys / High
Resolution Channel of the Hubble Space Telescope. This object is extremely
metal-poor (12 + log(O/H) = 7.45) and resides in a nearby void. The images
resolve it into two physically separate components that were previously
described as star clusters in a single galaxy. The primary component is only
\~100 pc in maximum extent, and consists of starburst region surrounded by a
ring-like structure of relatively redder stars. The secondary component is ~50
pc in size and lies at a projected distance of ~80 pc away from the primary,
and is also actively star-forming. We estimate masses ~10^7 M(sol) and ~10^6
M(sol) for the two components, based on their luminosities, with an associated
dynamical timescale for the system of a few Myr. This timescale and the
structure of the components suggests that a collision between them triggered
their starbursts. The spectral energy distributions of both components can be
fitted by the combination of recent (few Myr old) starburst and an evolved
(several Gyr old) underlying stellar population, similar to larger blue compact
dwarf galaxies. This indicates that despite its metal deficiency the object is
not forming its first generation of stars. However, the small sizes and masses
of the two components suggests that HS 0822+3542 represents a dwarf galaxy in
the process of assembling from clumps of stars intermediate in size between
globular clusters and objects previously classified as galaxies. Its relatively
high ratio of neutral gas mass to stellar mass (~1) and high specific star
formation rate, log(SFR/M(sol) = -9.2, suggests that it is still converting
much of its gas to stars.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
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