Sample records for andromeda spiral galaxy

  1. Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2003-01-01

    [figure removed for brevity, see original site]

    This image is a Galaxy Evolution Explorer observation of the large galaxy in Andromeda, Messier 31. The Andromeda galaxy is the most massive in the local group of galaxies that includes our Milky Way. Andromeda is the nearest large galaxy to our own. The image is a mosaic of 10 separate Galaxy Evolution Explorer images taken in September, 2003. The color image (with near ultraviolet shown by red and far ultraviolet shown by blue) shows blue regions of young, hot, high mass stars tracing out the spiral arms where star formation is occurring, and the central orange-white 'bulge' of old, cooler stars formed long ago. The star forming arms of Messier 31 are unusual in being quite circular rather than the usual spiral shape. Several companion galaxies can also be seen. These include Messier 32, a dwarf elliptical galaxy directly below the central bulge and just outside the spiral arms, and Messier 110 (M110), which is above and to the right of the center. M110 has an unusual far ultraviolet bright core in an otherwise 'red,' old star halo. Many other regions of star formation can be seen far outside the main body of the galaxy.

  2. Amazing Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2006-01-01

    The many 'personalities' of our great galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are exposed in this new composite image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

    The wide, ultraviolet eyes of Galaxy Evolution Explorer reveal Andromeda's 'fiery' nature -- hotter regions brimming with young and old stars. In contrast, Spitzer's super-sensitive infrared eyes show Andromeda's relatively 'cool' side, which includes embryonic stars hidden in their dusty cocoons.

    Galaxy Evolution Explorer detected young, hot, high-mass stars, which are represented in blue, while populations of relatively older stars are shown as green dots. The bright yellow spot at the galaxy's center depicts a particularly dense population of old stars.

    Swaths of red in the galaxy's disk indicate areas where Spitzer found cool, dusty regions where stars are forming. These stars are still shrouded by the cosmic clouds of dust and gas that collapsed to form them.

    Together, Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Spitzer complete the picture of Andromeda's swirling spiral arms. Hints of pinkish purple depict regions where the galaxy's populations of hot, high-mass stars and cooler, dust-enshrouded stars co-exist.

    Located 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda is our largest nearby galactic neighbor. The galaxy's entire disk spans about 260,000 light-years, which means that a light beam would take 260,000 years to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy's disk is about 100,000 light-years across.

    This image is a false color composite comprised of data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer's far-ultraviolet detector (blue), near-ultraviolet detector (green), and Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer at 24 microns (red).

  3. Neutral hydrogen survey of andromeda galaxy.

    PubMed

    Brundage, W D; Kraus, J D

    1966-07-22

    A neutral hydrogen survey of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) has been conducted with the 260-foot (80m) Ohio State University radio telescope. The neutral hydrogen is concentrated in the spiral arm regions, with but relatively small amounts near the center of the galaxy. Similar deficiencies have been found near the center of M33 and our galaxy, suggesting similar evolutionary processes in the three galaxies.

  4. Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-12-10

    This image is from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer is an observation of the large galaxy in Andromeda, Messier 31. The Andromeda galaxy is the most massive in the local group of galaxies that includes our Milky Way.

  5. Hubble's High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Zoom into the Andromeda galaxy. The largest NASA Hubble Space Telescope image ever assembled, this sweeping view of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is the sharpest large composite image ever taken of our galactic neighbor. Though the galaxy is over 2 million light-years away, the Hubble telescope is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in a 61,000-light-year-long section of the galaxy's pancake-shaped disk. It's like photographing a beach and resolving individual grains of sand. And, there are lots of stars in this sweeping view — over 100 million, with some of them in thousands of star clusters seen embedded in the disk. This ambitious photographic cartography of the Andromeda galaxy represents a new benchmark for precision studies of large spiral galaxies which dominate the universe's population of over 100 billion galaxies. Never before have astronomers been able to see individual stars over a major portion of an external spiral galaxy. Most of the stars in the universe live inside such majestic star cities, and this is the first data that reveal populations of stars in context to their home galaxy. Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  6. Tidal interaction of small satellite galaxies with spiral primaries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Byrd, Gene G.

    1988-01-01

    The interaction of the disks of spiral galaxies and small companions is discussed. The gravitational drag effects of the disk on small satellites are of particular interest. Studies of the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellites, M32 and NGC 205, reveal the usefulness of few-body test-particle simulations in explaining many features of spiral galaxies and their satellites.

  7. Chandra X-Ray Observatory Image of Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1999-01-01

    Chandra X-Ray Observatory took this first x-ray picture of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) on October 13, 1999. The blue dot in the center of the image is a 'cool' million-degree x-ray source where a supermassive black hole with the mass of 30-million suns is located. The x-rays are produced by matter furneling toward the black hole. Numerous other hotter x-ray sources are also apparent. Most of these are probably due to x-ray binary systems, in which a neutron star or black hole is in close orbit around a normal star. While the gas falling into the central black hole is cool, it is only cool by comparison to the 100 other x-ray sources in the Andromeda Galaxy. To be detected by an x-ray telescope, the gas must have a temperature of more than a million degrees. The Andromeda Galaxy is our nearest neighbor spiral galaxy at a distance of two million light years. It is similar to our own Milky Way in size, shape, and also contains a supermassive black hole at the center. (Photo Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/S. Murray, M. Garcia)

  8. Pulsar Candidate in Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-03-23

    NASA's Nuclear Spectroscope Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has identified a candidate pulsar in Andromeda -- the nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way. This likely pulsar is brighter at high energies than the Andromeda galaxy's entire black hole population. The inset image shows the pulsar candidate in blue, as seen in X-ray light by NuSTAR. The background image of Andromeda was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer in ultraviolet light. Andromeda is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way but larger in size. It lies 2.5 million light-years away in the Andromeda constellation. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20970

  9. Warped Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2010-02-17

    This image from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer highlights the Andromeda galaxy older stellar population in blue. A pronounced warp in the disk of the galaxy, the aftermath of a collision with another galaxy, can be seen in the spiral arm.

  10. The PHAT and SPLASH Surveys: Rigorous Structural Decomposition of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorman, Claire; Guhathakurta, P.; Widrow, L.; Foreman-Mackey, D.; Seth, A.; Dalcanton, J.; Gilbert, K.; Lang, D.; Williams, B. F.; SPLASH Team; PHAT Team

    2013-01-01

    Traditional surface brightness profile (SBP) based structural decompositions of late-type galaxies into Sersic bulge, exponential disk, and power-law halo are often degenerate in the best-fit profiles. The Andromeda galaxy (M31) is the only large spiral close enough that the relative contributions of the subcomponents can be further constrained via their distinct signatures in resolved stellar population surveys. We make use of two such surveys. The SPLASH program has used the Keck/DEIMOS multiobject spectrograph to measure radial velocities of over 10,000 individual red giant branch stars in the inner 20kpc of M31. The PHAT survey, an ongoing Hubble Space Telescope Multicycle Treasury program, has so far obtained six-filter photometry of over 90 million stars in the same region. We use an MCMC algorithm to simultaneously fit a simple bulge/disk/halo structural model to the SBP, the disk fraction as measured from kinematics, and the PHAT luminosity function. We find that the additional constraints favor a larger bulge than expected from a pure SBP fit. Comparison to galaxy formation models will constrain the formation histories of large spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way and Andromeda.

  11. The Dirt on Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2010-02-17

    This image from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer highlights the dust that speckles the Andromeda galaxy spiral arms. The hot dust, which is being heated by newborn stars, traces the spidery arms all the way to the center of the galaxy.

  12. Spiral arms and disc stability in the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tenjes, P.; Tuvikene, T.; Tamm, A.; Kipper, R.; Tempel, E.

    2017-04-01

    Aims: Density waves are often considered as the triggering mechanism of star formation in spiral galaxies. Our aim is to study relations between different star formation tracers (stellar UV and near-IR radiation and emission from H I, CO, and cold dust) in the spiral arms of M 31, to calculate stability conditions in the galaxy disc, and to draw conclusions about possible star formation triggering mechanisms. Methods: We selected fourteen spiral arm segments from the de-projected data maps and compared emission distributions along the cross sections of the segments in different datasets to each other, in order to detect spatial offsets between young stellar populations and the star-forming medium. By using the disc stability condition as a function of perturbation wavelength and distance from the galaxy centre, we calculated the effective disc stability parameters and the least stable wavelengths at different distances. For this we used a mass distribution model of M 31 with four disc components (old and young stellar discs, cold and warm gaseous discs) embedded within the external potential of the bulge, the stellar halo, and the dark matter halo. Each component is considered to have a realistic finite thickness. Results: No systematic offsets between the observed UV and CO/far-IR emission across the spiral segments are detected. The calculated effective stability parameter has a lowest value of Qeff ≃ 1.8 at galactocentric distances of 12-13 kpc. The least stable wavelengths are rather long, with the lowest values starting from ≃ 3 kpc at distances R > 11 kpc. Conclusions: The classical density wave theory is not a realistic explanation for the spiral structure of M 31. Instead, external causes should be considered, such as interactions with massive gas clouds or dwarf companions of M 31.

  13. Rebuilding Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2005-01-01

    Major Observing Programme Leads to New Theory of Galaxy Formation Summary Most present-day large galaxies are spirals, presenting a disc surrounding a central bulge. Famous examples are our own Milky Way or the Andromeda Galaxy. When and how did these spiral galaxies form? Why do a great majority of them present a massive central bulge? An international team of astronomers [1] presents new convincing answers to these fundamental questions. For this, they rely on an extensive dataset of observations of galaxies taken with several space- and ground-based telescopes. In particular, they used over a two-year period, several instruments on ESO's Very Large Telescope. Among others, their observations reveal that roughly half of the present-day stars were formed in the period between 8,000 million and 4,000 million years ago, mostly in episodic burst of intense star formation occurring in Luminous Infrared Galaxies. From this and other evidence, the astronomers devised an innovative scenario, dubbed the "spiral rebuilding". They claim that most present-day spiral galaxies are the results of one or several merger events. If confirmed, this new scenario could revolutionise the way astronomers think galaxies formed. PR Photo 02a/05: Luminosity - Oxygen Abundance Relation for Galaxies (VLT) PR Photo 02b/05: The Spiral Rebuilding Scenario A fleet of instruments How and when did galaxies form? How and when did stars form in these island universes? These questions are still posing a considerable challenge to present-day astronomers. Front-line observational results obtained with a fleet of ground- and space-based telescopes by an international team of astronomers [1] provide new insights into these fundamental issues. For this, they embarked on an ambitious long-term study at various wavelengths of 195 galaxies with a redshift [2] greater than 0.4, i.e. located more than 4000 million light-years away. These galaxies were studied using ESO's Very Large Telescope, as well as the

  14. ANDROMEDA XXVIII: A DWARF GALAXY MORE THAN 350 kpc FROM ANDROMEDA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.; Martin, Nicolas F.

    We report the discovery of a new dwarf galaxy, Andromeda XXVIII, using data from the recently released Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8. The galaxy is a likely satellite of Andromeda, and, at a separation of 365{sup +17}{sub -1} kpc, would be one of the most distant of Andromeda's satellites. Its heliocentric distance is 650{sup +150}{sub -80} kpc, and analysis of its structure and luminosity shows that it has an absolute magnitude of M{sub V} = -8.5{sup +0.4}{sub -1.0} and half-light radius of r{sub h} = 210{sup +60}{sub -50} pc, similar to many other faint Local Group dwarfs. Withmore » presently available imaging we are unable to determine whether there is ongoing or recent star formation, which prevents us from classifying it as a dwarf spheroidal or a dwarf irregular.« less

  15. Collision Tomography: Physical Properties of Possible Progenitors of the Andromeda Stellar Stream

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miki, Yohei; Mori, Masao; Rich, R. Michael

    2016-08-01

    To unveil a progenitor of the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream, we investigate the interaction between an accreting satellite galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy using an N-body simulation. We perform a comprehensive exploration of the properties of the progenitor dwarf galaxy, using 247 models of varying mass, mass distribution, and size. We show that the binding energy of the progenitor is the crucial parameter in reproducing the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream and the shell-like structures surrounding the Andromeda Galaxy. As a result of the simulations, the progenitor must satisfy a simple scaling relation between the core radius, the total mass and the tidal radius. Using this relation, we successfully constrain the physical properties of the progenitors to have masses ranging from 5× {10}8{M}⊙ to 5× {10}9{M}⊙ and central surface densities around {10}3 {M}⊙ {{pc}}-2. A detailed comparison between our result and the nearby observed galaxies indicates that possible progenitors of the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream include a dwarf elliptical galaxy, a dwarf irregular galaxy, and a small spiral galaxy.

  16. Andromeda is So Hot n Cold

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-01-05

    This mosaic of the Andromeda spiral galaxy highlights explosive stars in its interior, and cooler, dusty stars forming in its many rings. This is a combination of observations from the Herschel Space Observatory and the XMM-Newton telescope.

  17. Galactic Building Blocks Seen Swarming Around Andromeda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2004-02-01

    Green Bank, WV - A team of astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) has made the first conclusive detection of what appear to be the leftover building blocks of galaxy formation -- neutral hydrogen clouds -- swarming around the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. This discovery may help scientists understand the structure and evolution of the Milky Way and all spiral galaxies. It also may help explain why certain young stars in mature galaxies are surprisingly bereft of the heavy elements that their contemporaries contain. Andromeda Galaxy This image depicts several long-sought galactic "building blocks" in orbit of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The newfound hydrogen clouds are depicted in a shade of orange (GBT), while gas that comprises the massive hydrogen disk of Andromeda is shown at high-resolution in blue (Westerbork Sythesis Radio Telescope). CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF, WSRT (Click on Image for Larger Version) "Giant galaxies, like Andromeda and our own Milky Way, are thought to form through repeated mergers with smaller galaxies and through the accretion of vast numbers of even lower mass 'clouds' -- dark objects that lack stars and even are too small to call galaxies," said David A. Thilker of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. "Theoretical studies predict that this process of galactic growth continues today, but astronomers have been unable to detect the expected low mass 'building blocks' falling into nearby galaxies, until now." Thilker's research is published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Other contributors include: Robert Braun of the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy; Rene A.M. Walterbos of New Mexico State University; Edvige Corbelli of the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri in Italy; Felix J. Lockman and Ronald Maddalena of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia; and Edward Murphy of the

  18. Hubble’s High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    The largest NASA Hubble Space Telescope image ever assembled, this sweeping bird’s-eye view of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is the sharpest large composite image ever taken of our galactic next-door neighbor. Though the galaxy is over 2 million light-years away, The Hubble Space Telescope is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in a 61,000-light-year-long stretch of the galaxy’s pancake-shaped disk. It's like photographing a beach and resolving individual grains of sand. And there are lots of stars in this sweeping view -- over 100 million, with some of them in thousands of star clusters seen embedded in the disk. This ambitious photographic cartography of the Andromeda galaxy represents a new benchmark for precision studies of large spiral galaxies that dominate the universe's population of over 100 billion galaxies. Never before have astronomers been able to see individual stars inside an external spiral galaxy over such a large contiguous area. Most of the stars in the universe live inside such majestic star cities, and this is the first data that reveal populations of stars in context to their home galaxy. Hubble traces densely packed stars extending from the innermost hub of the galaxy seen at the left. Moving out from this central galactic bulge, the panorama sweeps from the galaxy's central bulge across lanes of stars and dust to the sparser outer disk. Large groups of young blue stars indicate the locations of star clusters and star-forming regions. The stars bunch up in the blue ring-like feature toward the right side of the image. The dark silhouettes trace out complex dust structures. Underlying the entire galaxy is a smooth distribution of cooler red stars that trace Andromeda’s evolution over billions of years. Because the galaxy is only 2.5 million light-years from Earth, it is a much bigger target in the sky than the myriad galaxies Hubble routinely photographs that are billions of light-years away. This means that the Hubble

  19. The Andromeda galaxy in gamma-rays

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oezel, M. E.; Berkhuijsen, E. M.

    1987-01-01

    Implications of high-energy gamma-ray observations of the Andromeda galaxy with the next generation of satellites Gamma-1 and GRO are discussed in the context of the origin of cosmic rays and gamma-ray processes. The present estimate of the total gamma-ray flux of this galaxy at energies above 100 MeV is a factor of about three less than previous estimates.

  20. The Prolate Dark Matter Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi

    2014-07-01

    We present new limits on the global shape of the dark matter halo in the Andromeda galaxy using and generalizing non-spherical mass models developed by Hayashi & Chiba and compare our results with theoretical predictions of cold dark matter (CDM) models. This is motivated by the fact that CDM models predict non-spherical virialized dark halos, which reflect the process of mass assembly in the galactic scale. Applying our models to the latest kinematic data of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Andromeda halo, we find that the most plausible cases for Andromeda yield a prolate shape for its dark halo, irrespective of assumed density profiles. We also find that this prolate dark halo in Andromeda is consistent with theoretical predictions in which the satellites are distributed anisotropically and preferentially located along major axes of their host halos. It is a reflection of the intimate connection between galactic dark matter halos and the cosmic web. Therefore, our result is profound in understanding internal dynamics of halo tracers in Andromeda, such as orbital evolutions of tidal stellar streams, which play important roles in extracting the abundance of CDM subhalos through their dynamical effects on stream structures.

  1. The dynamics of Andromeda's dwarf galaxies and stellar streams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Michelle L. M.; Rich, R. Michael; Ibata, Rodrigo; Martin, Nicolas; Preston, Janet; PAndAS Collaboration

    2017-03-01

    As part of the Z-PAndAS Keck II DEIMOS survey of resolved stars in our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda (M31), we have built up a unique data set of measured velocities and chemistries for thousands of stars in the Andromeda stellar halo, particularly probing its rich and complex substructure. In this contribution, we will discuss the structural, dynamical and chemical properties of Andromeda's dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and how there is no observational evidence for a difference in the evolutionary histories of those found on and off M31's vast plane of satellites. We will also discuss a possible extension to the most significant merger event in M31 - the Giant Southern Stream - and how we can use this feature to refine our understanding of M31's mass profile, and its complex evolution.

  2. Stellar complexes in spiral arms of galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Efremov, Yu. N.

    The history of the introduction and development of the star complexes conception is briefly described. These large groups of stars were picked out and named as such ones in our Galaxy with argumentation and evidence for their physical unity (using the Cepheid variables the distances and ages of which are easy determined from their periods); anyway earlier the complexes were noted along the spiral arms of the Andromeda galaxy, but were not recognized as a new kind of star group. The chains of complexes along the spiral arms are observed quite rarely; their origin is explained by magneto- gravitational or purely gravitational instability developing along the arm. It is not clear why these chains are quite a rare phenomenon - and more so why sometimes the regular chain of complexes are observed in one arm only. Probably intergalactic magnetic field participated in formation of such chains. Apart from the complexes located along the arms, there are isolated giant complexes known (up to 700 pc in diameter) which look like super-gigantic but rather rarefied globular clusters. Until now only two of these formations are studied, in NGC 6946 and M51.

  3. Superluminous Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogle, Patrick M.; Lanz, Lauranne; Nader, Cyril; Helou, George

    2016-02-01

    We report the discovery of spiral galaxies that are as optically luminous as elliptical brightest cluster galaxies, with r-band monochromatic luminosity Lr = 8-14L* (4.3-7.5 × 1044 erg s-1). These super spiral galaxies are also giant and massive, with diameter D = 57-134 kpc and stellar mass Mstars = 0.3-3.4 × 1011M⊙. We find 53 super spirals out of a complete sample of 1616 SDSS galaxies with redshift z < 0.3 and Lr > 8L*. The closest example is found at z = 0.089. We use existing photometry to estimate their stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs). The SDSS and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors are consistent with normal star-forming spirals on the blue sequence. However, the extreme masses and rapid SFRs of 5-65 M⊙ yr-1 place super spirals in a sparsely populated region of parameter space, above the star-forming main sequence of disk galaxies. Super spirals occupy a diverse range of environments, from isolation to cluster centers. We find four super spiral galaxy systems that are late-stage major mergers—a possible clue to their formation. We suggest that super spirals are a remnant population of unquenched, massive disk galaxies. They may eventually become massive lenticular galaxies after they are cut off from their gas supply and their disks fade.

  4. PAndAS' CUBS: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW DWARF GALAXIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Irwin, Mike

    We present the discovery of two new dwarf galaxies, Andromeda XXI and Andromeda XXII, located in the surroundings of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies (M31 and M33). These discoveries stem from the first year data of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey, a photometric survey of the M31/M33 group conducted with the Megaprime/MegaCam Wide-Field Camera mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Both satellites appear as spatial overdensities of stars which, when plotted in a color-magnitude diagram, follow metal-poor, [Fe/H] = -1.8, red giant branches at the distance of M31/M33. Andromeda XXI is a moderately bright dwarf galaxy (M{sub V} = -9.9 +- 0.6),more » albeit with low surface brightness, emphasizing again that many relatively luminous M31 satellites still remain to be discovered. It is also a large satellite, with a half-light radius close to 1 kpc, making it the fourth largest Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxy after the recently discovered Andromeda XIX, Andromeda II, and Sagittarius around the Milky Way, and supports the trend that M31 satellites are larger than their Milky Way counterparts. Andromeda XXII is much fainter (M{sub V} = -6.5 +- 0.8) and lies a lot closer in projection to M33 than it does to M31 (42 versus 224 kpc), suggesting that it could be the first Triangulum satellite to be discovered. Although this is a very exciting possibility in the context of a past interaction of M33 with M31 and the fate of its satellite system, a confirmation will have to await a good distance estimate to confirm its physical proximity to M33. Along with the dwarf galaxies found in previous surveys of the M31 surroundings, these two new satellites bring the number of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in this region to 20.« less

  5. MOLECULAR GAS VELOCITY DISPERSIONS IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Caldú-Primo, Anahi; Schruba, Andreas, E-mail: caldu@mpia.de, E-mail: schruba@mpe.mpg.de

    In order to characterize the distribution of molecular gas in spiral galaxies, we study the line profiles of CO (1 – 0) emission in Andromeda, our nearest massive spiral galaxy. We compare observations performed with the IRAM 30 m single-dish telescope and with the CARMA interferometer at a common resolution of 23 arcsec ≈ 85 pc × 350 pc and 2.5 km s{sup −1}. When fitting a single Gaussian component to individual spectra, the line profile of the single dish data is a factor of 1.5 ± 0.4 larger than the interferometric data one. This ratio in line widths ismore » surprisingly similar to the ratios previously observed in two other nearby spirals, NGC 4736 and NGC 5055, but measured at ∼0.5–1 kpc spatial scale. In order to study the origin of the different line widths, we stack the individual spectra in five bins of increasing peak intensity and fit two Gaussian components to the stacked spectra. We find a unique narrow component of FWHM = 7.5 ± 0.4 km s{sup −1} visible in both the single dish and the interferometric data. In addition, a broad component with FWHM = 14.4 ± 1.5 km s{sup −1} is present in the single-dish data, but cannot be identified in the interferometric data. We interpret this additional broad line width component detected by the single dish as a low brightness molecular gas component that is extended on spatial scales >0.5 kpc, and thus filtered out by the interferometer. We search for evidence of line broadening by stellar feedback across a range of star formation rates but find no such evidence on ∼100 pc spatial scale when characterizing the line profile by a single Gaussian component.« less

  6. Chandra Finds a "Cool" Black Hole at the Heart of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2000-01-01

    In its first look at the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found that the gas funneling into a supermassive black hole in the heart of this galaxy is a "cool" million degrees Celsius. This unexpected result adds one more quirk to the strange behavior previously observed at the center of M31. A team of scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass., reported on this observation at the 195th national meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Atlanta, Ga. The team is led by Drs. Stephen Murray and Michael Garcia, and includes Drs. Frank Primini, William Forman, Christine Jones, and Ralph Kraft. Chandra took its first X-ray picture of the Andromeda Galaxy with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on October 13, 1999. More than100 individual X-ray sources were seen. One of these sources was at the previously determined position of the central supermassive black hole, which has the mass of 30 million suns. With many X-ray emitting stars in the center of M31 there was a slight chance that one of them might be at this position just by coincidence. The low temperature of the suspected central source, as compared to the other sources, gave the team the clue they needed. "When we found that what we suspected was the central object was also anomalously cool, we KNEW we had it- one coincidence might be believable, but two was too much to ignore!" said Garcia. While the gas falling into the central black hole is cool, it is only cool by comparison to the 100 other X-ray sources in the Andromeda Galaxy. To be detected by an X-ray telescope, the gas must have a temperature of more than a million degrees Celsius. The typical X-ray star in the Andromeda Galaxy has a temperature of several tens of millions of degrees. In contrast, the temperature of the supermassive black hole source is a few million degrees Celsius. The Andromeda Galaxy is our nearest neighbor spiral galaxy at a distance of two million light years

  7. The prolate dark matter halo of the Andromeda galaxy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi, E-mail: k.hayasi@astr.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: chiba@astr.tohoku.ac.jp

    We present new limits on the global shape of the dark matter halo in the Andromeda galaxy using and generalizing non-spherical mass models developed by Hayashi and Chiba and compare our results with theoretical predictions of cold dark matter (CDM) models. This is motivated by the fact that CDM models predict non-spherical virialized dark halos, which reflect the process of mass assembly in the galactic scale. Applying our models to the latest kinematic data of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Andromeda halo, we find that the most plausible cases for Andromeda yield a prolate shape for itsmore » dark halo, irrespective of assumed density profiles. We also find that this prolate dark halo in Andromeda is consistent with theoretical predictions in which the satellites are distributed anisotropically and preferentially located along major axes of their host halos. It is a reflection of the intimate connection between galactic dark matter halos and the cosmic web. Therefore, our result is profound in understanding internal dynamics of halo tracers in Andromeda, such as orbital evolutions of tidal stellar streams, which play important roles in extracting the abundance of CDM subhalos through their dynamical effects on stream structures.« less

  8. The global dark halo structure of the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi

    2014-01-01

    We set new limits on the global shape of the dark halo in the Andromeda galaxy based on axisymmetric mass models constructed by Hayashi & Chiba (2012). This is motivated by the fact that CDM models predict non-spherical virialized dark halos, which reflect the process of mass assembly in the galactic scale. Based on the application of our models to latest kinematical data of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Andromeda halo, we find that the most plausible cases for Andromeda yield not a spherical but a prolate shape for its dark halo. We also find that the prolate dark halo is consistent with theoretical predictions in which the satellites are distributed anisotropically and preferentially located along major axes of their galactic host halos. It is a reflection of the intimate connection between galactic dark matter halos and the cosmic web.

  9. PAndAS' CUBS: Discovery of Two New Dwarf Galaxies in the Surroundings of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Irwin, Mike; Widrow, Lawrence M.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Dubinski, John; Babul, Arif; Chapman, Scott; Fardal, Mark; Lewis, Geraint F.; Navarro, Julio; Rich, R. Michael

    2009-11-01

    We present the discovery of two new dwarf galaxies, Andromeda XXI and Andromeda XXII, located in the surroundings of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies (M31 and M33). These discoveries stem from the first year data of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey, a photometric survey of the M31/M33 group conducted with the Megaprime/MegaCam Wide-Field Camera mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Both satellites appear as spatial overdensities of stars which, when plotted in a color-magnitude diagram, follow metal-poor, [Fe/H] = -1.8, red giant branches at the distance of M31/M33. Andromeda XXI is a moderately bright dwarf galaxy (MV = -9.9 ± 0.6), albeit with low surface brightness, emphasizing again that many relatively luminous M31 satellites still remain to be discovered. It is also a large satellite, with a half-light radius close to 1 kpc, making it the fourth largest Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxy after the recently discovered Andromeda XIX, Andromeda II, and Sagittarius around the Milky Way, and supports the trend that M31 satellites are larger than their Milky Way counterparts. Andromeda XXII is much fainter (MV = -6.5 ± 0.8) and lies a lot closer in projection to M33 than it does to M31 (42 versus 224 kpc), suggesting that it could be the first Triangulum satellite to be discovered. Although this is a very exciting possibility in the context of a past interaction of M33 with M31 and the fate of its satellite system, a confirmation will have to await a good distance estimate to confirm its physical proximity to M33. Along with the dwarf galaxies found in previous surveys of the M31 surroundings, these two new satellites bring the number of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in this region to 20. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institute National des Sciences de l'Univers of

  10. A vast, thin plane of corotating dwarf galaxies orbiting the Andromeda galaxy.

    PubMed

    Ibata, Rodrigo A; Lewis, Geraint F; Conn, Anthony R; Irwin, Michael J; McConnachie, Alan W; Chapman, Scott C; Collins, Michelle L; Fardal, Mark; Ferguson, Annette M N; Ibata, Neil G; Mackey, A Dougal; Martin, Nicolas F; Navarro, Julio; Rich, R Michael; Valls-Gabaud, David; Widrow, Lawrence M

    2013-01-03

    Dwarf satellite galaxies are thought to be the remnants of the population of primordial structures that coalesced to form giant galaxies like the Milky Way. It has previously been suspected that dwarf galaxies may not be isotropically distributed around our Galaxy, because several are correlated with streams of H I emission, and may form coplanar groups. These suspicions are supported by recent analyses. It has been claimed that the apparently planar distribution of satellites is not predicted within standard cosmology, and cannot simply represent a memory of past coherent accretion. However, other studies dispute this conclusion. Here we report the existence of a planar subgroup of satellites in the Andromeda galaxy (M 31), comprising about half of the population. The structure is at least 400 kiloparsecs in diameter, but also extremely thin, with a perpendicular scatter of less than 14.1 kiloparsecs. Radial velocity measurements reveal that the satellites in this structure have the same sense of rotation about their host. This shows conclusively that substantial numbers of dwarf satellite galaxies share the same dynamical orbital properties and direction of angular momentum. Intriguingly, the plane we identify is approximately aligned with the pole of the Milky Way's disk and with the vector between the Milky Way and Andromeda.

  11. Limits on the Emission of Gamma Rays from M31 (The Andromeda Galaxy) with HAWC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rubenzahl, Ryan; BenZvi, Segev; Wood, Joshua; HAWC Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    The detection of the Fermi Bubbles suggests that spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way can undergo active periods. Using gamma-ray observations, we can investigate the possibility that such structures are present in other nearby galaxies. We have analyzed the region around the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier Catalog M31) for signs of bubble-like emission using TeV gamma-ray data recorded by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory. We fit a model consisting of two 6 kpc bubbles symmetric about and perpendicular to the M31 galactic plane and assume a power-law distribution for the gamma-ray flux. We compare the emission from these bubble regions to that expected from structures similar to the Fermi Bubbles found in the Milky Way. No significant emission was observed. We report upper limits on the TeV flux from Fermi Bubble structures in M31.

  12. Observations of the andromeda galaxy at 11-centimeter wavelength.

    PubMed

    Cooley, R C; Roberts, M S; Swenson, G W

    1967-05-26

    Observations of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) at 2695 megahertz reveal more detail than do earlier measurements at lower frequency. The region is highly confused but there is apparently a more dense clustering of sources within the optical outline of the galaxy than without. One source (OA33) near M31 has an interesting. flat spectrum.

  13. Hubble Spots a Barred Lynx Spiral

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Discovered by British astronomer William Herschel over 200 years ago, NGC 2500 lies about 30 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Lynx. As this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows, NGC 2500 is a particular kind of spiral galaxy known as a barred spiral, its wispy arms swirling out from a bright, elongated core. Barred spirals are actually more common than was once thought. Around two-thirds of all spiral galaxies — including the Milky Way — exhibit these straight bars cutting through their centers. These cosmic structures act as glowing nurseries for newborn stars, and funnel material towards the active core of a galaxy. NGC 2500 is still actively forming new stars, although this process appears to be occurring very unevenly. The upper half of the galaxy — where the spiral arms are slightly better defined — hosts many more star-forming regions than the lower half, as indicated by the bright, dotted islands of light. There is another similarity between NGC 2500 and our home galaxy. Together with Andromeda, Triangulum and many smaller natural satellites, the Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies, a gathering of over 50 galaxies all loosely held together by gravity. NGC 2500 forms a similar group with some of its nearby neighbors, including NGC 2541, NGC 2552, NGC 2537 and the bright, Andromeda-like spiral NGC 2481 (known collectively as the NGC 2841 group). Image Credit: ESA/Hubble/NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  14. Our Neighbor Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2010-02-17

    The immense Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31, is captured in full in this image from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Andromeda is the closest large galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy, and is located 2.5 million light-years from our sun.

  15. Andromeda Galaxy: Extension of the 610.5-Megacyle-per-Second Map.

    PubMed

    Dickel, J R; Macleod, J M; Swenson, G W

    1965-11-12

    A radio map of the Andromeda galaxy, M 31, made with the 400-foot (122 m) radio telescope at the University of Illinois has been extended northward to cover the full optical extent of the galaxy. Several condensations of radio emission appear along the major axis of the galaxy, and other radio features are resolved.

  16. COMPARING THE OBSERVABLE PROPERTIES OF DWARF GALAXIES ON AND OFF THE ANDROMEDA PLANE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Collins, Michelle L. M.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Rich, R. M.

    The thin, extended planes of satellite galaxies detected around both the Milky Way and Andromeda are not a natural prediction of the Λ-cold dark matter paradigm. Galaxies in these distinct planes may have formed and evolved in a different way (e.g., tidally) from their off-plane neighbors. If this were the case, one would expect the on- and off-plane dwarf galaxies in Andromeda to have experienced different evolutionary histories, which should be reflected by the chemistries, dynamics, and star formation histories of the two populations. In this work, we present new, robust kinematic observations for two on-plane M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxiesmore » (And XVI and XVII) and compile and compare all available observational metrics for the on- and off-plane dwarfs to search for a signal that would corroborate such a hypothesis. We find that, barring their spatial alignment, the on- and off-plane Andromeda dwarf galaxies are indistinguishable from one another, arguing against vastly different formative and evolutionary histories for these two populations.« less

  17. Multiple mechanisms quench passive spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia; Brown, Michael J. I.; Pimbblet, Kevin; Dolley, Tim; Bonne, Nicolas J.

    2018-02-01

    We examine the properties of a sample of 35 nearby passive spiral galaxies in order to determine their dominant quenching mechanism(s). All five low-mass (M⋆ < 1 × 1010 M⊙) passive spiral galaxies are located in the rich Virgo cluster. This is in contrast to low-mass spiral galaxies with star formation, which inhabit a range of environments. We postulate that cluster-scale gas stripping and heating mechanisms operating only in rich clusters are required to quench low-mass passive spirals, and ram-pressure stripping and strangulation are obvious candidates. For higher mass passive spirals, while trends are present, the story is less clear. The passive spiral bar fraction is high: 74 ± 15 per cent, compared with 36 ± 5 per cent for a mass, redshift and T-type matched comparison sample of star-forming spiral galaxies. The high mass passive spirals occur mostly, but not exclusively, in groups, and can be central or satellite galaxies. The passive spiral group fraction of 74 ± 15 per cent is similar to that of the comparison sample of star-forming galaxies at 61 ± 7 per cent. We find evidence for both quenching via internal structure and environment in our passive spiral sample, though some galaxies have evidence of neither. From this, we conclude no one mechanism is responsible for quenching star formation in passive spiral galaxies - rather, a mixture of mechanisms is required to produce the passive spiral distribution we see today.

  18. An almost head-on collision as the origin of two off-centre rings in the Andromeda galaxy.

    PubMed

    Block, D L; Bournaud, F; Combes, F; Groess, R; Barmby, P; Ashby, M L N; Fazio, G G; Pahre, M A; Willner, S P

    2006-10-19

    The unusual morphology of the Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31, the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way) has long been an enigma. Although regarded for decades as showing little evidence of a violent history, M31 has a well-known outer ring of star formation at a radius of ten kiloparsecs whose centre is offset from the galaxy nucleus. In addition, the outer galaxy disk is warped, as seen at both optical and radio wavelengths. The halo contains numerous loops and ripples. Here we report the presence of a second, inner dust ring with projected dimensions of 1.5 x 1 kiloparsecs and offset by about half a kiloparsec from the centre of the galaxy (based upon an analysis of previously-obtained data). The two rings appear to be density waves propagating in the disk. Numerical simulations indicate that both rings result from a companion galaxy plunging through the centre of the disk of M31. The most likely interloper is M32. Head-on collisions between galaxies are rare, but it appears nonetheless that one took place 210 million years ago in our Local Group of galaxies.

  19. Spiral Galaxies Stripped Bare

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2010-10-01

    Six spectacular spiral galaxies are seen in a clear new light in images from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The pictures were taken in infrared light, using the impressive power of the HAWK-I camera, and will help astronomers understand how the remarkable spiral patterns in galaxies form and evolve. HAWK-I [1] is one of the newest and most powerful cameras on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is sensitive to infrared light, which means that much of the obscuring dust in the galaxies' spiral arms becomes transparent to its detectors. Compared to the earlier, and still much-used, VLT infrared camera ISAAC, HAWK-I has sixteen times as many pixels to cover a much larger area of sky in one shot and, by using newer technology than ISAAC, it has a greater sensitivity to faint infrared radiation [2]. Because HAWK-I can study galaxies stripped bare of the confusing effects of dust and glowing gas it is ideal for studying the vast numbers of stars that make up spiral arms. The six galaxies are part of a study of spiral structure led by Preben Grosbøl at ESO. These data were acquired to help understand the complex and subtle ways in which the stars in these systems form into such perfect spiral patterns. The first image shows NGC 5247, a spiral galaxy dominated by two huge arms, located 60-70 million light-years away. The galaxy lies face-on towards Earth, thus providing an excellent view of its pinwheel structure. It lies in the zodiacal constellation of Virgo (the Maiden). The galaxy in the second image is Messier 100, also known as NGC 4321, which was discovered in the 18th century. It is a fine example of a "grand design" spiral galaxy - a class of galaxies with very prominent and well-defined spiral arms. About 55 million light-years from Earth, Messier 100 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and lies in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair, named after the ancient Egyptian queen Berenice II). The third

  20. THE HERSCHEL EXPLOITATION OF LOCAL GALAXY ANDROMEDA (HELGA). VI. THE DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTIES OF MOLECULAR CLOUD ASSOCIATIONS IN M31

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kirk, J. M.; Gear, W. K.; Smith, M. W. L.

    In this paper we present a catalog of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the Andromeda (M31) galaxy extracted from the Herschel Exploitation of Local Galaxy Andromeda (HELGA) data set. GMCs are identified from the Herschel maps using a hierarchical source extraction algorithm. We present the results of this new catalog and characterize the spatial distribution and spectral energy properties of its clouds based on the radial dust/gas properties found by Smith et al. A total of 326 GMCs in the mass range 10{sup 4}-10{sup 7} M {sub ☉} are identified; their cumulative mass distribution is found to be proportional to Mmore » {sup –2.34}, in agreement with earlier studies. The GMCs appear to follow the same correlation of cloud mass to L {sub CO} observed in the Milky Way. However, comparison between this catalog and interferometry studies also shows that the GMCs are substructured below the Herschel resolution limit, suggesting that we are observing associations of GMCs. Following Gordon et al., we study the spatial structure of M31 by splitting the observed structure into a set of spiral arms and offset rings. We fit radii of 10.3 and 15.5 kpc to the two most prominent rings. We then fit a logarithmic spiral with a pitch angle of 8.°9 to the GMCs not associated with either ring. Last, we comment on the effects of deprojection on our results and investigate the effect different models for M31's inclination will have on the projection of an unperturbed spiral arm system.« less

  1. Spiral Arm Morphology of Nearby Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ann, Hong Bae; Lee, Hyun-Rok

    2013-06-01

    We analyze the spiral structure of 1725 nearby spiral galaxies with redshift less than 0.02. We use the color images provided by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We determine the arm classes (grand design, multiple-arm, flocculent) and the broad Hubble types (early, intermediate, late) as well as the bar types (SA, SAB, SB) by visual inspection. We find that flocculent galaxies are mostly of late Hubble type while multiple-arm galaxies are likely to be of early Hubble type. The fractional distribution of grand design galaxies is nearly constant along the Hubble type. The dependence of arm class on bar type is not as strong as that of the Hubble type. However, there is about a three times larger fraction of grand design spirals in SB galaxies than in SA galaxies, with nearly constant fractions of multiple-arm galaxies. However, if we consider the Hubble type and bar type together, grand design spirals are more frequent in early types than in late types for SA and SAB galaxies, while they are almost constant along the Hubble type for SB galaxies. There are clear correlations between spiral structures and the local background density: strongly barred, early-type, grand design spirals favor high-density regions, while non-barred, late-type, flocculent galaxies are likely to be found in low-density regions.

  2. CCD photometry of Andromeda IV - Dwarf irregular galaxy or M31 open cluster?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Joseph H.

    1993-01-01

    CCD photometry of Andromeda IV was obtained during discretionary time in August of 1989 at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea and the data were reduced at CFHT during the summer of 1991. And IV has been catalogued both as a dwarf galaxy and as an open star cluster in M31. The color-magnitude diagrams presented indicate that this object has a young population of stars with a narrow age range, consistent with the characteristics of an open star cluster or stellar association. A radial velocity measurement taken from the literature and analyzed with respect to the rotation curve of M31 indicates this object resides in the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy, strengthening the conclusion that it is indeed a very large open star cluster or a densely populated stellar association rather than a dwarf irregular galaxy.

  3. Radio Map of the Andromeda Galaxy.

    PubMed

    Macleod, J M

    1964-07-24

    The University of Illinois radio telescope has resolved the 610.5 Mcy/sec disk component of radio emission from the large galaxy M 31 into several discrete concentrations. In two cases, these correspond to the crossing of the optical major axis by spiral arms. A spur of emission extends southeast from the galaxy near the minor axis.

  4. Galaxy NGC 55

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2003-01-01

    This image of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 55 was taken by Galaxy Evolution Explorer on September 14, 2003, during 2 orbits. This galaxy lies 5.4 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy and is a member of the 'local group' of galaxies that also includes the Andromeda galaxy (M31), the Magellanic clouds, and 40 other galaxies. The spiral disk of NGC 55 is inclined to our line of sight by approximately 80 degrees and so this galaxy looks cigar-shaped. This picture is a combination of Galaxy Evolution Explorer images taken with the far ultraviolet (colored blue) and near ultraviolet detectors, (colored red). The bright blue regions in this image are areas of active star formation detected in the ultraviolet by Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The red stars in this image are foreground stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.

  5. The Nature of Red-Sequence Cluster Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kashur, Lane; Barkhouse, Wayne; Sultanova, Madina; Kalawila Vithanage, Sandanuwa; Archer, Haylee; Foote, Gregory; Mathew, Elijah; Rude, Cody; Lopez-Cruz, Omar

    2017-01-01

    Preliminary analysis of the red-sequence galaxy population from a sample of 57 low-redshift galaxy clusters observed using the KPNO 0.9m telescope and 74 clusters from the WINGS dataset, indicates that a small fraction of red-sequence galaxies have a morphology consistent with spiral systems. For spiral galaxies to acquire the color of elliptical/S0s at a similar luminosity, they must either have been stripped of their star-forming gas at an earlier epoch, or contain a larger than normal fraction of dust. To test these ideas we have compiled a sample of red-sequence spiral galaxies and examined their infrared properties as measured by 2MASS, WISE, Spitzer, and Herschel. These IR data allows us to estimate the amount of dust in each of our red-sequence spiral galaxies. We compare the estimated dust mass in each of these red-sequence late-type galaxies with spiral galaxies located in the same cluster field but having colors inconsistent with the red-sequence. We thus provide a statistical measure to discriminate between purely passive spiral galaxy evolution and dusty spirals to explain the presence of these late-type systems in cluster red-sequences.

  6. Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-05-16

    Hot stars burn brightly in this new image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer, showing the ultraviolet side of a familiar face. Approximately 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way largest galactic neighbor.

  7. The Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sick, Jonathan

    The spectral energy distributions of galaxies inform us about a galaxy's stellar populations and interstellar medium, revealing stories of galaxy formation and evolution. How we interpret this light depends in part on our proximity to the galaxy. For nearby galaxies, detailed star formation histories can be extracted from the resolved stellar populations, while more distant galaxies feature the contributions of entire stellar populations within their integrated spectral energy distribution (SED). This thesis aims to resolve whether the techniques used to investigate stellar populations in distant galaxies are consistent with those available for nearby galaxies. As the nearest spiral galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the ideal testbed for the joint study of resolved stellar populations and panchromatic SEDs. We present the Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey (ANDROIDS), which adds new near-UV to near-IR (u*g'r'i'JKs) imaging using the MegaCam and WIRCam cameras at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope to the available M31 panchromatic dataset. To accurately subtract photometric background from our extremely wide-field (14 square degree) mosaics, we present observing and data reduction techniques with sky-target nodding, optimization of image-to-image surface brightness, and a novel hierarchical Bayesian model to trace the background signal while modelling the astrophysical SED. We model the spectral energy distributions of M31 pixels with MAGPHYS (da Cunha et al. 2008) and compare those results to resolved stellar population models of the same pixels from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey (Williams et al. 2017). We find substantial (0.3 dex) differences in stellar mass estimates despite a common use of the Chabrier (2003) initial mass function. Stellar mass estimated from the resolved stellar population is larger than any mass estimate from SED models or colour-M/L relations (CMLRs). There is also considerable diversity among CMLR

  8. Galaxy NGC 55

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-12-10

    This image of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 55 was taken by Galaxy Evolution Explorer on September 14, 2003, during 2 orbits. This galaxy lies 5.4 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy and is a member of the "local group" of galaxies that also includes the Andromeda galaxy (M31), the Magellanic clouds, and 40 other galaxies. The spiral disk of NGC 55 is inclined to our line of sight by approximately 80 degrees and so this galaxy looks cigar-shaped. This picture is a combination of Galaxy Evolution Explorer images taken with the far ultraviolet (colored blue) and near ultraviolet detectors, (colored red). The bright blue regions in this image are areas of active star formation detected in the ultraviolet by Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The red stars in this image are foreground stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04923

  9. Why are classical bulges more common in S0 galaxies than in spiral galaxies?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Preetish K.; Wadadekar, Yogesh; Barway, Sudhanshu

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we try to understand why the classical bulge fraction observed in S0 galaxies is significantly higher than that in spiral galaxies. We carry out a comparative study of the bulge and global properties of a sample of spiral and S0 galaxies in a fixed environment. Our sample is flux limited and contains 262 spiral and 155 S0 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We have classified bulges into classical and pseudobulge categories based on their position on the Kormendy diagram. Dividing our sample into bins of galaxy stellar mass, we find that the fraction of S0 galaxies hosting a classical bulge is significantly higher than the classical bulge fraction seen in spirals even at fixed stellar mass. We have compared the bulge and the global properties of spirals and S0 galaxies in our sample and find indications that spiral galaxies which host a classical bulge, preferentially get converted into S0 population as compared to pseudobulge hosting spirals. By studying the star formation properties of our galaxies in the NUV - r color-mass diagram, we find that the pseudobulge hosting spirals are mostly star forming while the majority of classical bulge host spirals are in the green valley or in the passive sequence. We suggest that some internal process, such as AGN feedback or morphological quenching due to the massive bulge, quenches these classical bulge hosting spirals and transforms them into S0 galaxies, thus resulting in the observed predominance of the classical bulge in S0 galaxies.

  10. Why are classical bulges more common in S0 galaxies than in spiral galaxies?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Preetish K.; Wadadekar, Yogesh; Barway, Sudhanshu

    2018-07-01

    In this paper, we try to understand why the classical bulge fraction observed in S0 galaxies is significantly higher than that in spiral galaxies. We carry out a comparative study of the bulge and global properties of a sample of spiral and S0 galaxies in a fixed environment. Our sample is flux limited and contains 262 spiral and 155 S0 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We have classified bulges into classical and pseudo-bulge categories based on their position on the Kormendy diagram. Dividing our sample into bins of galaxy stellar mass, we find that the fraction of S0 galaxies hosting a classical bulge is significantly higher than the classical bulge fraction seen in spirals even at fixed stellar mass. We have compared the bulge and the global properties of spirals and S0 galaxies in our sample and find indications that spiral galaxies which host a classical bulge, preferentially get converted into S0 population as compared to pseudo-bulge hosting spirals. By studying the star formation properties of our galaxies in the NUV-r colour-mass diagram, we find that the pseudo-bulge hosting spirals are mostly star forming while the majority of classical bulge host spirals are in the green valley or in the passive sequence. We suggest that some internal process, such as AGN feedback or morphological quenching due to the massive bulge, quenches these classical bulge hosting spirals and transforms them into S0 galaxies, thus resulting in the observed predominance of the classical bulge in S0 galaxies.

  11. Magnetic fields in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiba, Masashi

    The magnetic-field characteristics in spiral galaxies are investigated, with emphasis on the Milky Way. The dynamo theory is considered, and axisymmetric spiral (ASS) and bisymmetric spiral (BSS) magnetic fields are analyzed. Toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields are discussed.

  12. Detecting Reddening by Dust for Star Clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cohn, Amy; Dorman, C.; Guhathakurta, P.; PHAT Collaboration

    2014-01-01

    We have developed a technique to detect reddening by interstellar dust of star clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy, using Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC imaging in B and I and spectroscopic data from Keck II DEIMOS spectrograph. These data are from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) and Spectroscopic and Panchromatic Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) surveys. We compared the observed color indices from the PHAT data to the intrinsic color indices quantitatively inferred from a chi-squared goodness of fit comparison between the SPLASH data and a library of template spectra, to detect reddening. The spectral comparison utilizes the strength of the titanium oxide bands. This technique will be applied to an additional 150 star clusters, in Andromeda, to determine the amount of reddening they have experienced. It will also be used as part of the process of correcting for the reddening, developing a reddening law, and learning more about the physical properties of the dust. This research was carried out under the auspices of UCSC's Science Internship Program. We thank the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation for funding support.

  13. Hubble peeks at a spiral galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-07-10

    This little-known galaxy, officially named J04542829-6625280, but most often referred to as LEDA 89996, is a classic example of a spiral galaxy. The galaxy is much like our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The disk-shaped galaxy is seen face on, revealing the winding structure of the spiral arms. Dark patches in these spiral arms are in fact dust and gas — the raw materials for new stars. The many young stars that form in these regions make the spiral arms appear bright and bluish. The galaxy sits in a vibrant area of the night sky within the constellation of Dorado (The Swordfish), and appears very close to the Large Magellanic Cloud — one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. The observations were carried out with the high resolution channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Flickr user C. Claude NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  14. High chemical abundances in stripped Virgo spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Skillman, E. D.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Shields, G. A.

    1993-01-01

    Based on a comparison of the oxygen abundances in H 2 regions in field and Virgo cluster late type spiral galaxies, Shields, Skillman, & Kennicutt (1991) suggested that the highly stripped spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster have systematically higher abundances than comparable field galaxies. In April 1991 and May 1992 we used the blue channel spectrograph on the MMT to obtain new observations of 30 H 2 regions in Virgo spiral galaxies. These spectra cover the wavelength range from (O II) lambda 3727 to (S II) lambda 6731. We now have observed at least 4 H II regions in 9 spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster. Combining (O II) and (O III) line strengths, we calculate the H II region oxygen abundances based on the empirical calibration of Edmunds & Pagel (1984). These observations show: (1) The stripped, low luminosity Virgo spirals (N4689, N4571) truly have abundances characteristic of much more luminous field spirals; (2) Virgo spirals which show no evidence of stripping (N4651, N4713) have abundances comparable to field galaxies; and (3) Evidence for transition galaxies (e.g., N4254, N4321), with marginally stripped disks and marginal abundance enhancements. The new observations presented here confirm the validity of the oxygen over-abundances in the stripped Virgo spirals. Shields et al. (1991) discussed two different mechanisms for producing the higher abundances in the disks of stripped galaxies in Virgo. The first is the supression of infall of near-primordial material, the second is the suppression of radial inflow of metal-poor gas. Distinguishing between the two cases will require more observations of the Virgo cluster spirals and a better understanding of which parameters determine the variation of abundance with radius in field spirals (cf., Garnett & Shields 1987).

  15. Hubble Sees Galaxies Spiraling around Leo

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-04-18

    Shown here is a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3455, which lies some 65 million light-years away from us in the constellation of Leo (the Lion). Galaxies are classified into different types according to their structure and appearance. This classification system is known as the Hubble Sequence, named after its creator Edwin Hubble. In this image released 14, April, 2014, NGC 3455 is known as a type SB galaxy — a barred spiral. Barred spiral galaxies account for approximately two thirds of all spirals. Galaxies of this type appear to have a bar of stars slicing through the bulge of stars at their center. The SB classification is further sub-divided by the appearance of a galaxy's pinwheeling spiral arms; SBa types have more tightly wound arms, whereas SBc types have looser ones. SBb types, such as NGC 3455, lie in between. NGC 3455 is part of a pair of galaxies — its partner, NGC 3454, lies out of frame. This cosmic duo belong to a group known as the NGC 3370 group, which is in turn one of the Leo II groups, a large collection of galaxies scattered some 30 million light-years to the right of the Virgo cluster. This image is from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Nick Rose NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  16. Cinematique et dynamique des galaxies spirales barrees

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernandez, Olivier

    The total mass (luminous and dark) of galaxies is derived from their circular velocities. Spectroscopic Fabry-Perot observations of the ionized gas component of spiral galaxies allow one to derive their kinematics. In the case of purely axisymmetric velocity fields--as in non-active and unbarred spirals galaxies-- the circular velocities can be derived directly. However, the velocity fields of barred galaxies (which constitute two thirds of the spirals) exhibit strong non-circular motions and need a careful analysis to retrieve the circular component. This thesis proposes the necessary steps to recover the axisymmetric component of barred spiral galaxies. The first step was to develop the best instrumentation possible for this work. [Special characters omitted.] , which is the most sensitive photon counting camera ever developed, was coupled to a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The observations of a sample of barred spiral galaxies--the BH a BAR sample--was assembled in order to obtain the most rigourous velocity fields. Then, the Tremaine-Weinberg method, which can determine the bar pattern speed and is usually used with the observations of stellar component, has been tested on the ionised gas and gave satisfactory results. Finally, all the above techniques have been applied to the BH a BAR sample in order to study the key parameters of the galaxies' evolution--bar pattern speeds, multiple stationary waves, resonances etc.--which will allow one to use N-body+SPH simulations to model properly the non-circular motions and determine the true total mass of barred spiral galaxies.

  17. Galaxy Zoo and SPARCFIRE: constraints on spiral arm formation mechanisms from spiral arm number and pitch angles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Hayes, Wayne B.; Cardamone, Carolin N.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Lintott, Chris J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, we study the morphological properties of spiral galaxies, including measurements of spiral arm number and pitch angle. Using Galaxy Zoo 2, a stellar mass-complete sample of 6222 SDSS spiral galaxies is selected. We use the machine vision algorithm SPARCFIRE to identify spiral arm features and measure their associated geometries. A support vector machine classifier is employed to identify reliable spiral features, with which we are able to estimate pitch angles for half of our sample. We use these machine measurements to calibrate visual estimates of arm tightness, and hence estimate pitch angles for our entire sample. The properties of spiral arms are compared with respect to various galaxy properties. The star formation properties of galaxies vary significantly with arm number, but not pitch angle. We find that galaxies hosting strong bars have spiral arms substantially (4°-6°) looser than unbarred galaxies. Accounting for this, spiral arms associated with many-armed structures are looser (by 2°) than those in two-armed galaxies. In contrast to this average trend, galaxies with greater bulge-to-total stellar mass ratios display both fewer and looser spiral arms. This effect is primarily driven by the galaxy disc, such that galaxies with more massive discs contain more spiral arms with tighter pitch angles. This implies that galaxy central mass concentration is not the dominant cause of pitch angle and arm number variations between galaxies, which in turn suggests that not all spiral arms are governed by classical density waves or modal theories.

  18. Ultraviolet Spectra of Normal Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kinney, Anne

    1997-01-01

    The data related to this grant on the Ultraviolet Spectra of Normal Spiral Galaxies have been entirely reduced and analyzed. It is incorporated into templates of Spiral galaxies used in the calculation of K corrections towards the understanding of high redshift galaxies. The main paper was published in the Astrophysical Journal, August 1996, Volume 467, page 38. The data was also used in another publication, The Spectral Energy Distribution of Normal Starburst and Active Galaxies, June 1997, preprint series No. 1158. Copies of both have been attached.

  19. Galaxy Zoo: constraining the origin of spiral arms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

    2018-07-01

    Since the discovery that the majority of low-redshift galaxies exhibit some level of spiral structure, a number of theories have been proposed as to why these patterns exist. A popular explanation is a process known as swing amplification, yet there is no observational evidence to prove that such a mechanism is at play. By using a number of measured properties of galaxies, and scaling relations where there are no direct measurements, we model samples of SDSS and S4G spiral galaxies in terms of their relative halo, bulge, and disc mass and size. Using these models, we test predictions of swing amplification theory with respect to directly measured spiral arm numbers from Galaxy Zoo 2. We find that neither a universal cored nor cuspy inner dark matter profile can correctly predict observed numbers of arms in galaxies. However, by invoking a halo contraction/expansion model, a clear bimodality in the spiral galaxy population emerges. Approximately 40 per cent of unbarred spiral galaxies at z ≲ 0.1 and M* ≳ 1010 M⊙ have spiral arms that can be modelled by swing amplification. This population display a significant correlation between predicted and observed spiral arm numbers, evidence that they are swing amplified modes. The remainder are dominated by two-arm systems for which the model predicts significantly higher arm numbers. These are likely driven by tidal interactions or other mechanisms.

  20. Galaxy Zoo: constraining the origin of spiral arms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Keel, William C.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Masters, Karen L.; Simmons, Brooke D.; Smethurst, Rebecca J.

    2018-05-01

    Since the discovery that the majority of low-redshift galaxies exhibit some level of spiral structure, a number of theories have been proposed as to why these patterns exist. A popular explanation is a process known as swing amplification, yet there is no observational evidence to prove that such a mechanism is at play. By using a number of measured properties of galaxies, and scaling relations where there are no direct measurements, we model samples of SDSS and S4G spiral galaxies in terms of their relative halo, bulge and disc mass and size. Using these models, we test predictions of swing amplification theory with respect to directly measured spiral arm numbers from Galaxy Zoo 2. We find that neither a universal cored or cuspy inner dark matter profile can correctly predict observed numbers of arms in galaxies. However, by invoking a halo contraction/expansion model, a clear bimodality in the spiral galaxy population emerges. Approximately 40 per cent of unbarred spiral galaxies at z ≲ 0.1 and M* ≳ 1010M⊙ have spiral arms that can be modelled by swing amplification. This population display a significant correlation between predicted and observed spiral arm numbers, evidence that they are swing amplified modes. The remainder are dominated by two-arm systems for which the model predicts significantly higher arm numbers. These are likely driven by tidal interactions or other mechanisms.

  1. Planck intermediate results: XXV. The Andromeda galaxy as seen by Planck

    DOE PAGES

    Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.; ...

    2015-09-30

    The Andromeda galaxy (M 31) is one of a few galaxies that has sufficient angular size on the sky to be resolved by the Planck satellite. Planck has detected M 31 in all of its frequency bands, and has mapped out the dust emission with the High Frequency Instrument, clearly resolving multiple spiralarms and sub-features. In this paper, we examine the morphology of this long-wavelength dust emission as seen by Planck, including a study of its outermost spiral arms, and investigate the dust heating mechanism across M 31. We find that dust dominating the longer wavelength emission (≳0.3 mm) ismore » heated by the diffuse stellar population (as traced by 3.6 μm emission), with the dust dominating the shorter wavelength emission heated by a mix of the old stellar population and star-forming regions (as traced by 24 μm emission). We also fit spectral energy distributions for individual 5' pixels and quantify the dust properties across the galaxy, taking into account these different heating mechanisms, finding that there is a linear decrease in temperature with galactocentric distance for dust heated by the old stellar population, as would be expected, with temperatures ranging from around 22 K in the nucleus to 14 K outside of the 10 kpc ring. Finally, we measure the integrated spectrum of the whole galaxy, which we find to be well-fitted with a global dust temperature of (18.2 ± 1.0) K with a spectral index of 1.62 ± 0.11 (assuming a single modified blackbody), and a significant amount of free-free emission at intermediate frequencies of 20–60 GHz, which corresponds to a star formation rate of around 0.12 M ⊙ yr -1. Finally, we find a 2.3σ detection of the presence of spinning dust emission, with a 30 GHz amplitude of 0.7 ± 0.3 Jy, which is in line with expectations from our Galaxy.« less

  2. Planck intermediate results: XXV. The Andromeda galaxy as seen by Planck

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.

    The Andromeda galaxy (M 31) is one of a few galaxies that has sufficient angular size on the sky to be resolved by the Planck satellite. Planck has detected M 31 in all of its frequency bands, and has mapped out the dust emission with the High Frequency Instrument, clearly resolving multiple spiralarms and sub-features. In this paper, we examine the morphology of this long-wavelength dust emission as seen by Planck, including a study of its outermost spiral arms, and investigate the dust heating mechanism across M 31. We find that dust dominating the longer wavelength emission (≳0.3 mm) ismore » heated by the diffuse stellar population (as traced by 3.6 μm emission), with the dust dominating the shorter wavelength emission heated by a mix of the old stellar population and star-forming regions (as traced by 24 μm emission). We also fit spectral energy distributions for individual 5' pixels and quantify the dust properties across the galaxy, taking into account these different heating mechanisms, finding that there is a linear decrease in temperature with galactocentric distance for dust heated by the old stellar population, as would be expected, with temperatures ranging from around 22 K in the nucleus to 14 K outside of the 10 kpc ring. Finally, we measure the integrated spectrum of the whole galaxy, which we find to be well-fitted with a global dust temperature of (18.2 ± 1.0) K with a spectral index of 1.62 ± 0.11 (assuming a single modified blackbody), and a significant amount of free-free emission at intermediate frequencies of 20–60 GHz, which corresponds to a star formation rate of around 0.12 M ⊙ yr -1. Finally, we find a 2.3σ detection of the presence of spinning dust emission, with a 30 GHz amplitude of 0.7 ± 0.3 Jy, which is in line with expectations from our Galaxy.« less

  3. Gargantuan Super Spiral Galaxies Loom Large in the Cosmos

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-03-17

    In archived NASA data, researchers have discovered "super spiral" galaxies that dwarf our own spiral galaxy, the Milky Way, and compete in size and brightness with the largest galaxies in the universe. The unprecedented galaxies have long hidden in plain sight by mimicking the appearance of typical spirals. Three examples of super spirals are presented here in images taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The super spiral on the left (Figure 1), catalogued as 2MASX J08542169+0449308, contains two galactic nuclei, instead of just the usual one, and thus looks like two eggs frying in a pan. The central image (Figure 2) shows a super spiral designated 2MASX J16014061+2718161, and it also contains the double nuclei. On the right (Figure 3), a huge galaxy with the moniker SDSS J094700.08+254045.7 stands as one of the biggest and brightest super spirals. The mega-galaxy's starry disk and spiral arms stretch about 320,000 light-years across, or more than three times the breadth of the Milky Way. These double nuclei, which are known to result from the recent merger of two galaxies, could offer a vital hint about the potential origin of super spirals. Researchers speculate that a special merger involving two, gas-rich spiral galaxies could see their pooled gases settle down into a new, larger stellar disk -- presto, a super spiral. The super spirals were discovered using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, or NED, an online repository containing information on over 100 million galaxies. NED brings together a wealth of data from many different projects, including ultraviolet light observations from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, visible light from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, infrared light from the 2-Micron All-Sky Survey, and links to data from other missions such as NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20064

  4. Galaxy Zoo: star formation versus spiral arm number

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, Ross E.; Bamford, Steven P.; Casteels, Kevin R. V.; Kruk, Sandor J.; Lintott, Chris J.; Masters, Karen L.

    2017-06-01

    Spiral arms are common features in low-redshift disc galaxies, and are prominent sites of star formation and dust obscuration. However, spiral structure can take many forms: from galaxies displaying two strong 'grand design' arms to those with many 'flocculent' arms. We investigate how these different arm types are related to a galaxy's star formation and gas properties by making use of visual spiral arm number measurements from Galaxy Zoo 2. We combine ultraviolet and mid-infrared (MIR) photometry from GALEX and WISE to measure the rates and relative fractions of obscured and unobscured star formation in a sample of low-redshift SDSS spirals. Total star formation rate has little dependence on spiral arm multiplicity, but two-armed spirals convert their gas to stars more efficiently. We find significant differences in the fraction of obscured star formation: an additional ˜10 per cent of star formation in two-armed galaxies is identified via MIR dust emission, compared to that in many-armed galaxies. The latter are also significantly offset below the IRX-β relation for low-redshift star-forming galaxies. We present several explanations for these differences versus arm number: variations in the spatial distribution, sizes or clearing time-scales of star-forming regions (I.e. molecular clouds), or contrasting recent star formation histories.

  5. Clusters of Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huchtmeier, W. K.; Richter, O. G.; Materne, J.

    1981-09-01

    The large-scale structure of the universe is dominated by clustering. Most galaxies seem to be members of pairs, groups, clusters, and superclusters. To that degree we are able to recognize a hierarchical structure of the universe. Our local group of galaxies (LG) is centred on two large spiral galaxies: the Andromeda nebula and our own galaxy. Three sr:naller galaxies - like M 33 - and at least 23 dwarf galaxies (KraanKorteweg and Tammann, 1979, Astronomische Nachrichten, 300, 181) can be found in the evironment of these two large galaxies. Neighbouring groups have comparable sizes (about 1 Mpc in extent) and comparable numbers of bright members. Small dwarf galaxies cannot at present be observed at great distances.

  6. Automated Quantification of Arbitrary Arm-Segment Structure in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Darren Robert

    This thesis describes a system that, given approximately-centered images of spiral galaxies, produces quantitative descriptions of spiral galaxy structure without the need for per-image human input. This structure information consists of a list of spiral arm segments, each associated with a fitted logarithmic spiral arc and a pixel region. This list-of-arcs representation allows description of arbitrary spiral galaxy structure: the arms do not need to be symmetric, may have forks or bends, and, more generally, may be arranged in any manner with a consistent spiral-pattern center (non-merging galaxies have a sufficiently well-defined center). Such flexibility is important in order to accommodate the myriad structure variations observed in spiral galaxies. From the arcs produced from our method it is possible to calculate measures of spiral galaxy structure such as winding direction, winding tightness, arm counts, asymmetry, or other values of interest (including user-defined measures). In addition to providing information about the spiral arm "skeleton" of each galaxy, our method can enable analyses of brightness within individual spiral arms, since we provide the pixel regions associated with each spiral arm segment. For winding direction, arm tightness, and arm count, comparable information is available (to various extents) from previous efforts; to the extent that such information is available, we find strong correspondence with our output. We also characterize the changes to (and invariances in) our output as a function of modifications to important algorithm parameters. By enabling generation of extensive data about spiral galaxy structure from large-scale sky surveys, our method will enable new discoveries and tests regarding the nature of galaxies and the universe, and will facilitate subsequent work to automatically fit detailed brightness models of spiral galaxies.

  7. The PAndAS View of the Andromeda Satellite System. I. A Bayesian Search for Dwarf Galaxies Using Spatial and Color-Magnitude Information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Mackey, A. Dougal; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Irwin, Michael J.; Lewis, Geraint F.; Fardal, Mark A.

    2013-10-01

    We present a generic algorithm to search for dwarf galaxies in photometric catalogs and apply it to the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). The algorithm is developed in a Bayesian framework and, contrary to most dwarf galaxy search codes, makes use of both the spatial and color-magnitude information of sources in a probabilistic approach. Accounting for the significant contamination from the Milky Way foreground and from the structured stellar halo of the Andromeda galaxy, we recover all known dwarf galaxies in the PAndAS footprint with high significance, even for the least luminous ones. Some Andromeda globular clusters are also recovered and, in one case, discovered. We publish a list of the 143 most significant detections yielded by the algorithm. The combined properties of the 39 most significant isolated detections show hints that at least some of these trace genuine dwarf galaxies, too faint to be individually detected. Follow-up observations by the community are mandatory to establish which are real members of the Andromeda satellite system. The search technique presented here will be used in an upcoming contribution to determine the PAndAS completeness limits for dwarf galaxies. Although here tuned to the search of dwarf galaxies in the PAndAS data, the algorithm can easily be adapted to the search for any localized overdensity whose properties can be modeled reliably in the parameter space of any catalog.

  8. Large Face on Spiral Galaxy NGC 3344

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2005-05-05

    This ultraviolet image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer is of the large face on spiral galaxy NGC 3344. The inner spiral arms are wrapped so tightly that they are difficult to distinguish. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07904

  9. PERSEUS I: A DISTANT SATELLITE DWARF GALAXY OF ANDROMEDA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Laevens, Benjamin P. M.; Schlafly, Edward F.

    We present the discovery of a new dwarf galaxy, Perseus I/Andromeda XXXIII, found in the vicinity of Andromeda (M31) in stacked imaging data from the Pan-STARRS1 3π survey. Located 27.°9 away from M31, Perseus I has a heliocentric distance of 785 ± 65 kpc, compatible with it being a satellite of M31 at 374{sub −10}{sup +14} kpc from its host. The properties of Perseus I are typical for a reasonably bright dwarf galaxy (M{sub V} = –10.3 ± 0.7), with an exponential half-light radius of r{sub h} = 1.7 ± 0.4 arcmin or r{sub h}=400{sub −85}{sup +105} pc at thismore » distance, and a moderate ellipticity (ϵ=0.43{sub −0.17}{sup +0.15}). The late discovery of Perseus I is due to its fairly low surface brightness (μ{sub 0}=25.7{sub −0.9}{sup +1.0} mag arcsec{sup –2}), and to the previous lack of deep, high quality photometric data in this region. If confirmed to be a companion of M31, the location of Perseus I, far east from its host, could place interesting constraints on the bulk motion of the satellite system of M31.« less

  10. Rotation curves of spiral galaxies in clusters

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Whitmore, B.C.

    1990-06-01

    Recent observations of rotation curves of spiral galaxies in clusters made by Rubin et al. (1988), Whitmore et al. (1988) and Forbes and Whitmore (1988) are analyzed. It is found that spiral galaxies in the inner region of clusters appear to have falling rotation curves and M/L gradients which are flatter than for galaxies in the outer regions of clusters. Problems encountered in attempts to construct mass models for cluster galaxies are briefly discussed. 18 refs.

  11. ANDROMEDA XXIX: A NEW DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY 200 kpc FROM ANDROMEDA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bell, Eric F.; Slater, Colin T.; Martin, Nicolas F.

    We report the discovery of a new dwarf galaxy, Andromeda XXIX (And XXIX), using data from the recently released Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8, and confirmed by Gemini North telescope Multi-Object Spectrograph imaging data. And XXIX appears to be a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, separated on the sky by a little more than 15 Degree-Sign from M31, with a distance inferred from the tip of the red giant branch of 730 {+-} 75 kpc, corresponding to a three-dimensional separation from M31 of 207{sup +20}{sub -2} kpc (close to M31's virial radius). Its absolute magnitude, as determined by comparison tomore » the red giant branch luminosity function of the Draco dwarf spheroidal, is M{sub V} = -8.3 {+-} 0.4. And XXIX's stellar populations appear very similar to Draco's; consequently, we estimate a metallicity for And XXIX of [Fe/H] {approx}-1.8. The half-light radius of And XXIX is 360 {+-} 60 pc and its ellipticity is 0.35 {+-} 0.06, typical of dwarf satellites of the Milky Way and M31 at this absolute magnitude range.« less

  12. A General Field Theory for Vortex Structure and Interaction,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-10-03

    up,* * from the far reaches of space we examine the behavior of the spiral galaxy in the Andromeda Nebula, M31. *in a spiral sort of way, naturally...lines were determined with accuracy of 10 km/sec in the spiral galaxy in Andromeda , M31. The gas in the galaxy is assumed to move with the speed of...the spiral galaxy in the Andromeda Nebula there is no "bottom" boundary layer. Needless to say this data collection has been taken from a variety of

  13. THE PAndAS VIEW OF THE ANDROMEDA SATELLITE SYSTEM. I. A BAYESIAN SEARCH FOR DWARF GALAXIES USING SPATIAL AND COLOR-MAGNITUDE INFORMATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; McConnachie, Alan W.

    We present a generic algorithm to search for dwarf galaxies in photometric catalogs and apply it to the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). The algorithm is developed in a Bayesian framework and, contrary to most dwarf galaxy search codes, makes use of both the spatial and color-magnitude information of sources in a probabilistic approach. Accounting for the significant contamination from the Milky Way foreground and from the structured stellar halo of the Andromeda galaxy, we recover all known dwarf galaxies in the PAndAS footprint with high significance, even for the least luminous ones. Some Andromeda globular clusters are also recovered and,more » in one case, discovered. We publish a list of the 143 most significant detections yielded by the algorithm. The combined properties of the 39 most significant isolated detections show hints that at least some of these trace genuine dwarf galaxies, too faint to be individually detected. Follow-up observations by the community are mandatory to establish which are real members of the Andromeda satellite system. The search technique presented here will be used in an upcoming contribution to determine the PAndAS completeness limits for dwarf galaxies. Although here tuned to the search of dwarf galaxies in the PAndAS data, the algorithm can easily be adapted to the search for any localized overdensity whose properties can be modeled reliably in the parameter space of any catalog.« less

  14. Unidentified line in x-ray spectra of the Andromeda galaxy and Perseus galaxy cluster.

    PubMed

    Boyarsky, A; Ruchayskiy, O; Iakubovskyi, D; Franse, J

    2014-12-19

    We report a weak line at 3.52±0.02  keV in x-ray spectra of the Andromeda galaxy and the Perseus galaxy cluster observed by the metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) and p-n (PN) CCD cameras of the XMM-Newton telescope. This line is not known as an atomic line in the spectra of galaxies or clusters. It becomes stronger towards the centers of the objects; is stronger for Perseus than for M31; is absent in the spectrum of a deep "blank sky" data set. Although for each object it is hard to exclude that the feature is due to an instrumental effect or an atomic line, it is consistent with the behavior of a dark matter decay line. Future (non-)detections of this line in multiple objects may help to reveal its nature.

  15. HUBBLE SPIES GLOBULAR CLUSTER IN NEIGHBORING GALAXY

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Hubble Space Telescope has captured a view of a globular cluster called G1, a large, bright ball of light in the center of the photograph consisting of at least 300,000 old stars. G1, also known as Mayall II, orbits the Andromeda galaxy (M31), the nearest major spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. Located 130,000 light-years from Andromeda's nucleus, G1 is the brightest globular cluster in the Local Group of galaxies. The Local Group consists of about 20 nearby galaxies, including the Milky Way. The crisp image is comparable to ground-based telescope views of similar clusters orbiting the Milky Way. The Andromeda cluster, however, is nearly 100 times farther away. A glimpse into the cluster's finer details allow astronomers to see its fainter helium-burning stars whose temperatures and brightnesses show that this cluster in Andromeda and the oldest Milky Way clusters have approximately the same age. These clusters probably were formed shortly after the beginning of the universe, providing astronomers with a record of the earliest era of galaxy formation. During the next two years, astronomers will use Hubble to study about 20 more globular clusters in Andromeda. The color picture was assembled from separate images taken in visible and near-infrared wavelengths taken in July of 1994. CREDIT: Michael Rich, Kenneth Mighell, and James D. Neill (Columbia University), and Wendy Freedman (Carnegie Observatories), and NASA Image files in GIF and JPEG format and captions may be accessed on Internet via anonymous ftp from oposite.stsci.edu in /pubinfo.

  16. A photometrically and spectroscopically confirmed population of passive spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia; Brown, Michael J. I.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.; Dolley, Tim; Crossett, Jacob P.; Bonne, Nicolas J.

    2016-10-01

    We have identified a population of passive spiral galaxies from photometry and integral field spectroscopy. We selected z < 0.035 spiral galaxies that have WISE colours consistent with little mid-infrared emission from warm dust. Matched aperture photometry of 51 spiral galaxies in ultraviolet, optical and mid-infrared show these galaxies have colours consistent with passive galaxies. Six galaxies form a spectroscopic pilot study and were observed using the Wide-Field Spectrograph to check for signs of nebular emission from star formation. We see no evidence of substantial nebular emission found in previous red spiral samples. These six galaxies possess absorption-line spectra with 4000 Å breaks consistent with an average luminosity-weighted age of 2.3 Gyr. Our photometric and integral field spectroscopic observations confirm the existence of a population of local passive spiral galaxies, implying that transformation into early-type morphologies is not required for the quenching of star formation.

  17. Cool Andromeda

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-01-28

    In this new view of the Andromeda, also known as M31, galaxy from the Herschel space observatory, cool lanes of forming stars are revealed in the finest detail yet. M31 is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way at a distance of 2.5 million light-ye

  18. Environment Dependence of Disk Morphology of Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ann, Hong Bae

    2014-02-01

    We analyze the dependence of disk morphology (arm class, Hubble type, bar type) of nearby spiral galaxies on the galaxy environment by using local background density (Σ_{n}), project distance (r_{p}), and tidal index (TI) as measures of the environment. There is a strong dependence of arm class and Hubble type on the galaxy environment, while the bar type exhibits a weak dependence with a high frequency of SB galaxies in high density regions. Grand design fractions and early-type fractions increase with increasing Σ_{n}, 1/r_{p}, and TI, while fractions of flocculent spirals and late-type spirals decrease. Multiple-arm and intermediate-type spirals exhibit nearly constant fractions with weak trends similar to grand design and early-type spirals. While bar types show only a marginal dependence on Σ_{n}, they show a fairly clear dependence on r_{p} with a high frequency of SB galaxies at small r_{p}. The arm class also exhibits a stronger correlation with r_{p} than Σ_{n} and TI, whereas the Hubble type exhibits similar correlations with Σ_{n} and r_{p}. This suggests that the arm class is mostly affected by the nearest neighbor while the Hubble type is affected by the local densities contributed by neighboring galaxies as well as the nearest neighbor.

  19. Andromeda and its Satellites: A Kinematic Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, M. L. M.; Rich, R. M.; Chapman, S. C.

    2012-08-01

    Using spectroscopic data taken with Keck II DEIMOS by the Z-PAndAS team in the Andromeda-Triangulum region, I present a comparison of the disc and satellite systems of Andromeda with those of our own Galaxy. I discuss the observed discrepancies between the masses and scale radii of Andromeda dwarf spheroidal galaxies of a given luminosity with those of the Milky Way. I also present an analysis of the newly discovered M31 thick disc, which is measured to be hotter, more extended and thicker than that seen in the Milky Way.

  20. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPIRAL ARMS IN LATE-TYPE GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Honig, Z. N.; Reid, M. J., E-mail: mreid@cfa.harvard.edu

    2015-02-10

    We have measured the positions of large numbers of H II regions in four nearly face-on, late-type, spiral galaxies: NGC 628 (M74), NGC 1232, NGC 3184, and NGC 5194 (M51). Fitting log-periodic spiral models to segments of each arm yields local estimates of spiral pitch angle and arm width. While pitch angles vary considerably along individual arms, among arms within a galaxy, and among galaxies, we find no systematic trend with galactocentric distance. We estimate the widths of the arm segments from the scatter in the distances of the H II regions from the spiral model. All major arms in these galaxies show spiralmore » arm width increasing with distance from the galactic center, similar to the trend seen in the Milky Way. However, in the outermost parts of the galaxies, where massive star formation declines, some arms reverse this trend and narrow. We find that spiral arms often appear to be composed of segments of ∼5 kpc length, which join to form kinks and abrupt changes in pitch angle and arm width; these characteristics are consistent with properties seen in the large N-body simulations of D'Onghia et al. and others.« less

  1. Strengthening the Connection Between Space and Society: A Comparative Analysis of Supernovae Distribution in the Andromeda Galaxy for Secondary School Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borders, Kareen; Mendez, B.; Borders, K.; Thaller, M.; Plecki, M.; Usuda, K.

    2011-05-01

    In order to prepare students in grades 4-12 for a global workforce, NASA supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) immersion education for secondary students. Secondary schools, through the NASA Explorer School program, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the WISE (Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer) Telescope Teacher Ambassador program, offer authentic research opportunities for students. Spitzer and WISE studied the sky in infrared light. Among the objects WISE studied are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies. The lessons learned from the NASA Explorer School program and Spitzer and WISE teacher and student programs can be applied to other programs, engaging students in authentic research experiences by using data from space-borne and earth-based observatories such Kitt Peak Observatory. Several ground based telescopes at Kitt Peak Observatory study visible light from objects such as supernovae. Utilizing a student research immersion philosophy along with data analysis skills learned from the Spitzer and WISE student research programs, an analysis of supernovae distribution with respect to location in the Andromeda galaxy was conducted using images of the Andromeda galaxy taken from the WIYN 0.9 meter telescope on Kitt Peak. A comparison was made between the 12 outer fields (spiral arms) and the 4 inner fields (central bulge). Novae were found by "blinking” images of each field throughout 100 epochs of data. Blinking is a technique used to compare images of fields and noting brightness (via x,y coordinates) in one field that is not visible in the same field during a different epoch. Although the central bulge was expected to contain more supernovae due to stellar density and proximity of stars to each other, analysis of data indicates that the there is also a concentration of supernovae that appeared in outer regions. WISE Telescope funding is gratefully acknowledged.

  2. Lacerta I and Cassiopeia III. Two Luminous and Distant Andromeda Satellite Dwarf Galaxies Found in the 3π Pan-STARRS1 Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Slater, Colin T.; Schlafly, Edward F.; Morganson, Eric; Rix, Hans-Walter; Bell, Eric F.; Laevens, Benjamin P. M.; Bernard, Edouard J.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Finkbeiner, Douglas P.; Burgett, William S.; Chambers, Kenneth C.; Hodapp, Klaus W.; Kaiser, Nicholas; Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Magnier, Eugene A.; Morgan, Jeffrey S.; Price, Paul A.; Tonry, John L.; Wainscoat, Richard J.

    2013-07-01

    We report the discovery of two new dwarf galaxies, Lacerta I/Andromeda XXXI (Lac I/And XXXI) and Cassiopeia III/Andromeda XXXII (Cas III/And XXXII), in stacked Pan-STARRS1 r P1- and i P1-band imaging data. Both are luminous systems (MV ~ -12) located at projected distances of 20.°3 and 10.°5 from M31. Lac I and Cas III are likely satellites of the Andromeda galaxy with heliocentric distances of 756^{+44}_{-28}\\,kpc and 772^{+61}_{-56}\\,kpc, respectively, and corresponding M31-centric distances of 275 ± 7 kpc and 144^{+6}_{-4}\\,kpc. The brightest of recent Local Group member discoveries, these two new dwarf galaxies owe their late discovery to their large sizes (r_h = 4.2^{+0.4}_{-0.5} arcmin or 912^{+124}_{-93}\\,pc for Lac I r_h = 6.5^{+1.2}_{-1.0} arcmin or 1456 ± 267 pc for Cas III) and consequently low surface brightness (μ0 ~ 26.0 mag arcsec-2), as well as to the lack of a systematic survey of regions at large radii from M31, close to the Galactic plane. This latter limitation is now alleviated by the 3π Pan-STARRS1 survey, which could lead to the discovery of other distant Andromeda satellite dwarf galaxies.

  3. Can cluster environment modify the dynamical evolution of spiral galaxies?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Amram, P.; Balkowski, C.; Cayatte, V.; Marcelin, M.; Sullivan, W. T., III

    1993-01-01

    Over the past decade many effects of the cluster environment on member galaxies have been established. These effects are manifest in the amount and distribution of gas in cluster spirals, the luminosity and light distributions within galaxies, and the segregation of morphological types. All these effects could indicate a specific dynamical evolution for galaxies in clusters. Nevertheless, a more direct evidence, such as a different mass distribution for spiral galaxies in clusters and in the field, is not yet clearly established. Indeed, Rubin, Whitmore, and Ford (1988) and Whitmore, Forbes, and Rubin (1988) (referred to as RWF) presented evidence that inner cluster spirals have falling rotation curves, unlike those of outer cluster spirals or the great majority of field spirals. If falling rotation curves exist in centers of clusters, as argued by RWF, it would suggest that dark matter halos were absent from cluster spirals, either because the halos had become stripped by interactions with other galaxies or with an intracluster medium, or because the halos had never formed in the first place. Even if they didn't disagree with RWF, other researchers pointed out that the behaviour of the slope of the rotation curves of spiral galaxies (in Virgo) is not so clear. Amram, using a different sample of spiral galaxies in clusters, found only 10% of declining rotation curves (2 declining vs 17 flat or rising) in opposition to RWF who find about 40% of declining rotation curves in their sample (6 declining vs 10 flat or rising), we will hereafter briefly discuss the Amram data paper and compare it to the results of RWF. We have measured the rotation curves for a sample of 21 spiral galaxies in 5 nearby clusters. These rotation curves have been constructed from detailed two-dimensional maps of each galaxy's velocity field as traced by emission from the Ha line. This complete mapping, combined with the sensitivity of our CFHT 3.60 m. + Perot-Fabry + CCD observations, allows

  4. Novel Relationship among Spiral Arm Pitch Angles (p) and momentum parameter of the host spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Al-Baidhany, Ismaeel; Rashid, Hayfa G.; Chiad, Sami S.; Habubi, Nadir F.; Jandow, Nidhal N.; Jabbar, Wasmaa A.; Abass, khalid H.

    2018-05-01

    In this study, we have found a novel relationship among spiral arm pitch angles (p) and momentum parameter of the host spiral galaxies. In this study, we measured the momentum parameter for specimen of Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm images of 41 spiral galaxies evaluated employing a relation(Mbulge σ*/c)where Mbulge is mass of the bulge and σ* is the stellar velocity dispersion. We have taken velocity dispersions (σ*) from the literature. In order to determine the spiral arm pitch angles. The selection of specimen of nearly face-on spiral galaxies and employ IRAF ellipse to indicate the ellipticity and major-axis position angle so as to deproject the images to face-on, employing 2D Fast Fourier Transform decomposition mehtod. The specified bulge mass (Mbulge) using the virial theorem was include.

  5. Terrestrial and Celestial Cartography,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-05-01

    39 ANDROMEDA GALAXY.................................................. 39 DISCUSSION...boundary of the most visible region in each photograph. ANDROMEDA GALAXY The nearest spiral galaxy is in the Andromeda constellation. It is designated...Astrophysical Journal, 131, 265 (1960) 51 167. Photoelectmc Photometry of the Andromeda Nebula in the U, B, V System. G. de Vaucouleurs

  6. LACERTA I AND CASSIOPEIA III. TWO LUMINOUS AND DISTANT ANDROMEDA SATELLITE DWARF GALAXIES FOUND IN THE 3{pi} PAN-STARRS1 SURVEY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Laevens, Benjamin P. M.; Slater, Colin T.

    We report the discovery of two new dwarf galaxies, Lacerta I/Andromeda XXXI (Lac I/And XXXI) and Cassiopeia III/Andromeda XXXII (Cas III/And XXXII), in stacked Pan-STARRS1 r{sub P1}- and i{sub P1}-band imaging data. Both are luminous systems (M{sub V} {approx} -12) located at projected distances of 20. Degree-Sign 3 and 10. Degree-Sign 5 from M31. Lac I and Cas III are likely satellites of the Andromeda galaxy with heliocentric distances of 756{sup +44}{sub -28} kpc and 772{sup +61}{sub -56} kpc, respectively, and corresponding M31-centric distances of 275 {+-} 7 kpc and 144{sup +6}{sub -4} kpc. The brightest of recent Local Groupmore » member discoveries, these two new dwarf galaxies owe their late discovery to their large sizes (r{sub h} = 4.2{sup +0.4}{sub -0.5} arcmin or 912{sup +124}{sub -93} pc for Lac I; r{sub h} = 6.5{sup +1.2}{sub -1.0} arcmin or 1456 {+-} 267 pc for Cas III) and consequently low surface brightness ({mu}{sub 0} {approx} 26.0 mag arcsec{sup -2}), as well as to the lack of a systematic survey of regions at large radii from M31, close to the Galactic plane. This latter limitation is now alleviated by the 3{pi} Pan-STARRS1 survey, which could lead to the discovery of other distant Andromeda satellite dwarf galaxies.« less

  7. The Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey: Galaxy Formation In The Near-Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McConnachie, Alan W.

    2009-01-01

    The Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) is a Large Program on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Over the next three years, it will map the entire haloes of M31 and M33 out to projected radii of 150kpc and 50kpc respectively, over an area of more than 320 square degrees, probing a volume of more than 15 million cubic kiloparsecs around M31 and M33, reaching to surface brightness limits of order 32 mags/sq.arcsec. PAndAS will provide the deepest and most complete panorama of galaxy haloes available, and will be used to compare to and constrain cosmological models of galaxy formation over an order of magnitude in halo mass. In this talk I will review the project, discuss its main science goals, and present first results.

  8. Model for Spiral Galaxys Rotation Curves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hodge, John

    2003-11-01

    A model of spiral galaxy dynamics is proposed. An expression describing the rotation velocity of particles v in a galaxy as a function of the distance from the center r (RC) is developed. The resulting, intrinsic RC of a galaxy is Keplerian in the inner bulge and rising in the disk region without modifying the Newtonian gravitational potential (MOND) and without unknown dark matter. The v^2 is linearly related to r of the galaxy in part of the rapidly rising region of the HI RC (RRRC) and to r^2 in another part of the RRRC. The r to discontinuities in the surface brightness versus r curve is related to the 21 cm line width, the measured mass of the central supermassive black hole (SBH), and the maximum v^2 in the RRRC. The distance to spiral galaxies can be calculated from these relationships that tightly correlates with the distance calculated using Cepheid variables. Differing results in measuring the mass of the SBH from differing measurement procedures are explained. This model is consistent with previously unexplained data, has predicted new relationships, and suggests a new model of the universe. Full text: http://web.infoave.net/ ˜scjh.

  9. OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE AGAINST LONG-LIVED SPIRAL ARMS IN GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Foyle, K.; Rix, H.-W.; Walter, F.

    2011-07-10

    We test whether the spiral patterns apparent in many large disk galaxies should be thought of as dynamical features that are stationary in a corotating frame for {approx}> t{sub dyn}, as implied by the density wave approach for explaining spiral arms. If such spiral arms have enhanced star formation (SF), observational tracers for different stages of the SF sequence should show a spatial ordering, from upstream to downstream in the corotating frame: dense H I, CO, tracing molecular hydrogen gas, 24 {mu}m emission tracing enshrouded SF, and UV emission tracing unobscured young stars. We argue that such a spatial orderingmore » should be reflected in the angular cross-correlation (CC, in polar coordinates) using all azimuthal positions among pairs of these tracers; the peak of the CC should be offset from zero, in different directions inside and outside the corotation radius. Recent spiral SF simulations by Dobbs and Pringle show explicitly that for the case of a stationary spiral arm potential such angular offsets between gas and young stars of differing ages should be observable as cross-correlation offsets. We calculate the angular cross-correlations for different observational SF sequence tracers in 12 nearby spiral galaxies, drawing on a data set with high-quality maps of the neutral gas (H I, THINGS) and molecular gas (CO, HERACLES), along with 24 {mu}m emission (Spitzer, SINGS); we include FUV images (GALEX) and 3.6 {mu}m emission (Spitzer, IRAC) for some galaxies, tracing aging stars and longer timescales. In none of the resulting tracer cross-correlations for this sample do we find systematic angular offsets, which would be expected for a stationary dynamical spiral pattern of well-defined pattern speed. This result indicates that spiral density waves in their simplest form are not an important aspect of explaining spirals in large disk galaxies.« less

  10. Infrared emission and tidal interactions of spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Byrd, Gene G.

    1987-01-01

    Computer simulations of tidal interactions of spiral galaxies are used to attempt to understand recent discoveries about infrared (IR) emitting galaxies. It is found that the stronger tidal perturbation by a companion the more disk gas clouds are thrown into nucleus crossing orbits and the greater the velocity jumps crossing spiral arms. Both these tidally created characteristics would create more IR emission by high speed cloud collisions and more IR via effects of recently formed stars. This expectation at greater tidal perturbation matches the observation of greater IR emission for spiral galaxies with closer and/or more massive companions. The greater collision velocities found at stronger perturbations on the models will also result in higher dust temperature in the colliding clouds. In the IR pairs examined, most have only one member, the larger, detected and when both are detected, the larger is always the more luminous. In simulations and in a simple analytic description of the strong distance dependence of the tidal force, it is found that the big galaxy of a pair is more strongly affected than the small.

  11. The Primordial Origin Model of Magnetic Fields in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sofue, Yoshiaki; Machida, Mami; Kudoh, Takahiro

    2010-10-01

    We propose a primordial-origin model for composite configurations of global magnetic fields in spiral galaxies. We show that a uniform tilted magnetic field wound up into a rotating disk galaxy can evolve into composite magnetic configurations comprising bisymmetric spiral (S = BSS), axisymmetric spiral (A = ASS), plane-reversed spiral (PR), and/or ring (R) fields in the disk, and vertical (V) fields in the center. By MHD simulations we show that these composite galactic fields are indeed created from a weak primordial uniform field, and that different configurations can co-exist in the same galaxy. We show that spiral fields trigger the growth of two-armed gaseous arms. The centrally accumulated vertical fields are twisted and produce a jet toward the halo. We found that the more vertical was the initial uniform field, the stronger was the formed magnetic field in the galactic disk.

  12. The distribution of alpha elements in Andromeda dwarf galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vargas, Luis C.; Geha, Marla C.; Tollerud, Erik J., E-mail: luis.vargas@yale.edu

    We present alpha to iron abundance ratios for 226 individual red giant branch stars in nine dwarf galaxies of the Andromeda (M31) satellite system. The abundances are measured from the combined signal of Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti lines in Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolution spectra. This constitutes the first large sample of alpha abundance ratios measured in the M31 satellite system. The dwarf galaxies in our sample exhibit a variety of alpha abundance ratios, with the average values in each galaxy ranging from approximately solar ([α/Fe] ∼ + 0.0) to alpha-enhanced ([α/Fe] ∼ + 0.5). These variations do not show a correlationmore » with internal kinematics, environment, or stellar density. We confirm radial gradients in the iron abundance of two galaxies out of the five with sufficient data (NGC 185 and And II). There is only tentative evidence for an alpha abundance radial gradient in NGC 185. We homogeneously compare our results to the Milky Way classical dwarf spheroidals, finding evidence for wider variation in average alpha abundance. In the absence of chemical abundances for the M31 stellar halo, we compare to the Milky Way stellar halo. A stellar halo comprised of disrupted M31 satellites is too metal-rich and inconsistent with the Milky Way halo alpha abundance distribution even if considering only satellites with predominantly old stellar populations. The M31 satellite population provides a second system in which to study chemical abundances of dwarf galaxies and reveals a wider variety of abundance patterns than the Milky Way.« less

  13. Structure and dynamics of Andromeda's stellar disk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorman, Claire Elise

    2015-10-01

    Lambda cold dark matter (LambdaCDM) cosmology predicts that the disks of Milky Way-mass galaxies should have undergone at least one merger with a large (mass ratio 1:10) satellite in the last several Gyr. However, the stellar disk in the solar neighborhood of the Milky Way is too thin and dynamically cold to have experienced such an impact. The dynamics of the nearby Andromeda galaxy can serve as a second data point, and help us understand whether the Milky Way may simply have had an unusually quiescent merger history, or whether LambdaCDM theory needs to be revisited. Over the last few years, we have carried out a detailed study of the resolved stellar populations in the disk of the Andromeda galaxy using data from two surveys: six-filter Hubble Space Telescope photometry from the recently-completed Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey, and radial velocities derived from Keck/DEIMOS optical spectra obtained as part of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar 0Halo (SPLASH) program. These detailed, multidimensional data sets allow us to decouple the structural subcomponents and characterize them individually. We find that an old, dynamically hot (velocity dispersion 150 km/s) RGB population extends out to 20 kpc (the edge of the visible disk) but has a disk-like surface brightness profile and luminosity function. This population may have originated in the disk but been kicked out subsequently in impacts with satellite galaxies. We also study the kinematics of the disk as a function of the age of stellar tracers, and find a direct correlation between age and velocity dispersion, indicating that Andromeda has undergone a continuous heating or disk settling process throughout its lifetime. Overall, both the velocity dispersion of Andromeda's disk and the slope of the velocity dispersion vs. stellar age curve are several times those of the Milky Way's, suggesting a more active merger history more in line with Lambda

  14. Enhanced Abundances in Spiral Galaxies of the Pegasus I Cluster

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robertson, Paul; Shields, Gregory A.; Blanc, Guillermo A.

    2012-03-01

    We study the influence of cluster environment on the chemical evolution of spiral galaxies in the Pegasus I cluster. We determine the gas-phase heavy element abundances of six galaxies in Pegasus derived from H II region spectra obtained from integral-field spectroscopy. These abundances are analyzed in the context of Virgo, whose spirals are known to show increasing interstellar metallicity as a function of H I deficiency. The galaxies in the Pegasus cluster, despite its lower density and velocity dispersion, also display gas loss due to interstellar-medium-intracluster-medium interaction, albeit to a lesser degree. Based on the abundances of three H I deficient spirals and two H I normal spirals, we observe a heavy element abundance offset of +0.13 ± 0.07 dex for the H I deficient galaxies. This abundance differential is consistent with the differential observed in Virgo for galaxies with a similar H I deficiency, and we observe a correlation between log (O/H) and the H I deficiency parameter DEF for the two clusters analyzed together. Our results suggest that similar environmental mechanisms are driving the heavy element enhancement in both clusters.

  15. SpArcFiRe: Scalable automated detection of spiral galaxy arm segments

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Davis, Darren R.; Hayes, Wayne B., E-mail: drdavis@uci.edu, E-mail: whayes@uci.edu

    Given an approximately centered image of a spiral galaxy, we describe an entirely automated method that finds, centers, and sizes the galaxy (possibly masking nearby stars and other objects if necessary in order to isolate the galaxy itself) and then automatically extracts structural information about the spiral arms. For each arm segment found, we list the pixels in that segment, allowing image analysis on a per-arm-segment basis. We also perform a least-squares fit of a logarithmic spiral arc to the pixels in that segment, giving per-arc parameters, such as the pitch angle, arm segment length, location, etc. The algorithm takesmore » about one minute per galaxies, and can easily be scaled using parallelism. We have run it on all ∼644,000 Sloan objects that are larger than 40 pixels across and classified as 'galaxies'. We find a very good correlation between our quantitative description of a spiral structure and the qualitative description provided by Galaxy Zoo humans. Our objective, quantitative measures of structure demonstrate the difficulty in defining exactly what constitutes a spiral 'arm', leading us to prefer the term 'arm segment'. We find that pitch angle often varies significantly segment-to-segment in a single spiral galaxy, making it difficult to define the pitch angle for a single galaxy. We demonstrate how our new database of arm segments can be queried to find galaxies satisfying specific quantitative visual criteria. For example, even though our code does not explicitly find rings, a good surrogate is to look for galaxies having one long, low-pitch-angle arm—which is how our code views ring galaxies. SpArcFiRe is available at http://sparcfire.ics.uci.edu.« less

  16. Getting to Know the Neighbors: Deep Imaging of the Andromeda Satellite Dwarf Galaxy Cassiopeia III with WIYN pODI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Madison; Rhode, Katherine L.; Janowiecki, Steven

    2016-01-01

    We present results from WIYN pODI imaging of Cassiopeia III/Andromeda XXXII (Cas III/And XXXII), an Andromeda satellite dwarf galaxy recently discovered by Martin et al. (2013) in Pan-STARRS1 survey data. Detailed studies of satellite dwarf galaxies in the Local Group and its environs provide important insight into how low-mass galaxies form and evolve as well as how more massive galaxies are assembled in a hierarchical universe. The goal of this project is to obtain deep, wide-field photometry of Cas III in order to study its stellar population in more detail. The images used for this analysis were taken in October 2013 with the 24' x 24' pODI camera on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope in the SDSS g and i filters. Calibrated photometry was performed on all point sources in the g and i images and then used to quantify the radial distribution of stars in Cas III and to construct a color-magnitude diagram (CMD). We present this CMD along with a map of the resolved stellar population and measurements of the galaxy magnitude and structural properties. This research was supported by the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program (grant number AST-1358980).

  17. Results from the Splash Survey: Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guhathakurta, Puragra; SPLASH Collaboration

    2009-01-01

    Detailed studies of nearby galaxies provide vital clues about their formation and evolutionary history. This "fossil record" approach is complementary to direct look-back studies of distant galaxies. Our Galaxy and the Andromeda spiral galaxy (M31) have long been cornerstones in the former category. M31 provides an external perspective on a large galaxy similar to our own and yet is close enough to allow detailed studies of individual stars. In my talk, I will present results from the SPLASH collaboration: Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo. The collective data set from this large international team includes thousands of Keck/DEIMOS spectra of individual red giant branch stars, ground-based deep wide-field imaging and photometry with KPNO/Mosaic, CFHT/MegaCam, and Subaru/Suprime-Cam, and ultra-deep pencil-beam probes with HST/ACS imaging reaching below the main-sequence turnoff. Our recent discovery of an extended stellar halo in M31 (R > 150 kpc) shows that most previous studies of its spheroid have been sampling its inner bulge-like spheroidal component, not its halo. In my talk I will touch upon several related topics related to the general theme of hierarchical galaxy formation including: M31's global structure and subcomponents (halo, bulge/central bar, and disk), stellar dynamics, statistical properties of substructure, detailed chemical abundance measurements, detailed forensic reconstruction of recent collision events, dwarf satellites as tracers and building blocks of larger galaxies, and empirical constraints on the tangential motion of the M31 system. I will also discuss recent results on the chemical abundance of the lowest luminosity Galactic satellites (recently discovered by SDSS) and implications for the formation of the Milky Way halo. This research was supported by funds from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

  18. spiral galaxy M83

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    JANUARY 9, 2014: The vibrant magentas and blues in this Hubble image of the barred spiral galaxy M83 reveal that the galaxy is ablaze with star formation. The galactic panorama unveils a tapestry of the drama of stellar birth and death. The galaxy, also known as the Southern Pinwheel, lies 15 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgement: W. Blair (STScI/Johns Hopkins University) and R. O'Connell (University of Virginia) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  19. Numerical modeling of barred spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, Elizabeth Mary

    1992-08-01

    A two-component, self-consistent computer code to model spiral galaxies was written and tested and a method of inducing and controlling bar formation is developed. This work presents a departure from former modeling work done at the University of Florida, which depended on the beam scheme, a hydrodynamical code with a number of limitations. In particular, only the gas component could be modeled, no self-gravitational forces were included, and the viscosity inherent to the code could not be controlled easily. These shortcomings are overcome in the new algorithm. Most importantly, an attempt has been made to keep the models self-consistent. No perturbing potentials are imposed or required to excite bar and spiral structure. The code can model both the stellar and the gaseous component of a spiral galaxy. The stellar component feels only gravitational forces, while the gas component feels both gravitational and viscous forces. In addition, a halo force can be imposed for the purpose of stabilizing the disk. The code is a hybrid grid/smooth particle code. The gravitational forces are calculated on a Cartesian grid using a Fast Fourier Transform, while the gas viscous forces are calculated in a smooth particle manner. A mechanism for creating warm, featureless, stable disks is developed by taking moments of the collision less Boltzmann equation. In order to induce and control bar and spiral arm formation, the stabilizing stellar velocity dispersions are reduced in the center of the disk, but maintained in the outer regions. A bar forms naturally in the interior and the rotation of this bar helps maintain spiral structure in the outer gas disk. Realistic-looking spiral features are maintained in the gas component for as long as the models are calculated. A wide variety of bar and spiral structure can be formed by varying the size of the unstable central region, the rate of 'turn on', of the heating and the halo mass. We would like to test the model results by comparing

  20. The Circumgalactic Medium of Andromeda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lehner, Nicolas; Project AMIGA Team

    2017-03-01

    Our view of galaxies has been transformed in recent years with diffuse halo gas surrounding galaxies that contains at least as many metals and baryons as their disks. While single sight lines through galaxy halos seen in absorption have provided key new constraints, they provide only average properties. Our massive neighbor, the Andromeda (M31) galaxy, provides an unique way to study its circumgalactic medium whereby we can study it using not one or two, but ~36 sightlines thanks to its proximity. With our Large HST program - Project AMIGA (Absorption Maps In the Gas of Andromeda), our goals are to determine the spatial distribution of the halo properties of a L* galaxy using 36 background targets at different radii and azimuths. In this brief paper, I discuss briefly the scientific rationale of Project AMIGA and some early science results. In particular, for the first time we have demonstrated that M31 has a gaseous halo that extends to R vir with as much as metal and baryonic masses than in its disk and has substantial change in its ionization properties with more highly ionized gas found at R ~ R vir than cooler gas found near the disk.

  1. The IRAS galaxy 0421+040P06: An active spiral (?) galaxy with extended radio lobes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beichman, C. A.; Wynn-Williams, C. G.; Lonsdale, C. J.; Persson, S. E.; Heasley, J. N.; Miley, G. K.; Soifer, B. T.; Neugebauer, G.; Becklin, E. E.; Houck, J. R.

    1984-01-01

    The infrared bright galaxy 0421+040P06 detected by IRAS at 25 and 60 microns was studied at optical, infrared, and radio wavelength. It is a luminous galaxy with apparent spiral structure emitting 4 x 10 to the 37th power from far-infrared to optical wavelengths. Optical spectroscopy reveals a Seyfert 2 emission line spectrum, making 0421+040P06 the first active galaxy selected from an unbiased infrared survey of galaxies. The fact that this galaxy shows a flatter energy distribution with more 25 micron emission than other galaxies in the infrared sample may be related to the presence of an intense active nucleus. The radio observations reveal the presence of a non-thermal source that, at 6 cm, shows a prominent double lobed structure 20 to 30 kpc in size extending beyond the optical confines of the galaxy. The radio source is three to ten times larger than structures previously seen in spiral galaxies.

  2. Young and Old X-ray Binary and IXO Populations in Spiral and Elliptical Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colbert, E.; Heckman, T.; Ptak, A.; Strickland, D.; Weaver, K.

    2003-03-01

    We have analyzed Chandra ACIS observations of 32 nearby spiral and elliptical galaxies and present the results of 1441 X-ray point sources, which are presumed to be mostly X-ray binaries (XRBs) and Intermediate-luminosity X-ray Objects (IXOs, a.k.a. ULXs). The X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) of the point sources show that the slope of the elliptical galaxy XLFs are significantly steeper than the spiral galaxy XLFs, indicating grossly different types of point sources, or different stages in their evolution. Since the spiral galaxy XLF is so shallow, the most luminous points sources (usually the IXOs) dominate the total X-ray point source luminosity LXP. We show that the galaxy total B-band and K-band light (proxies for the stellar mass) are well correlated with LXP for both spirals and ellipticals, but the FIR and UV emission is only correlated for the spirals. We deconvolve LXP into two components, one that is proportional to the galaxy stellar mass (pop II), and another that is proportional to the galaxy SFR (pop I). We also note that IXOs (and nearly all of the other point sources) in both spirals and ellipticals have X-ray colors that are most consistent with power-law slopes of Gamma ˜ 1.5--3.0, which is inconsistent with high-mass XRBS (HMXBs). Thus, HMXBs are not important contributors to LXP. We have also found that IXOs in spiral galaxies may have a slightly harder X-ray spectrum than those in elliptical galaxies. The implications of these findings will be discussed.

  3. Spiral Galaxy Lensing: A Model with Twist

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, Steven R.; Ernst, Brett; Fancher, Sean; Keeton, Charles R.; Komanduru, Abi; Lundberg, Erik

    2014-12-01

    We propose a single galaxy gravitational lensing model with a mass density that has a spiral structure. Namely, we extend the arcsine gravitational lens (a truncated singular isothermal elliptical model), adding an additional parameter that controls the amount of spiraling in the structure of the mass density. An important feature of our model is that, even though the mass density is sophisticated, we succeed in integrating the deflection term in closed form using a Gauss hypergeometric function. When the spiraling parameter is set to zero, this reduces to the arcsine lens.

  4. Stellar Population Synthesis of Star-forming Clumps in Galaxy Pairs and Non-interacting Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaragoza-Cardiel, Javier; Smith, Beverly J.; Rosado, Margarita; Beckman, John E.; Bitsakis, Theodoros; Camps-Fariña, Artemi; Font, Joan; Cox, Isaiah S.

    2018-02-01

    We have identified 1027 star-forming complexes in a sample of 46 galaxies from the Spirals, Bridges, and Tails (SB&T) sample of interacting galaxies, and 693 star-forming complexes in a sample of 38 non-interacting spiral (NIS) galaxies in 8 μm observations from the Spitzer Infrared Array Camera. We have used archival multi-wavelength UV-to IR observations to fit the observed spectral energy distribution of our clumps with the Code Investigating GALaxy Emission using a double exponentially declined star formation history. We derive the star formation rates (SFRs), stellar masses, ages and fractions of the most recent burst, dust attenuation, and fractional emission due to an active galactic nucleus for these clumps. The resolved star formation main sequence holds on 2.5 kpc scales, although it does not hold on 1 kpc scales. We analyzed the relation between SFR, stellar mass, and age of the recent burst in the SB&T and NIS samples, and we found that the SFR per stellar mass is higher in the SB&T galaxies, and the clumps are younger in the galaxy pairs. We analyzed the SFR radial profile and found that the SFR is enhanced through the disk and in the tidal features relative to normal spirals.

  5. Barred Spiral Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300 Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

  6. On wave dark matter in spiral and barred galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martinez-Medina, Luis A.; Matos, Tonatiuh; Bray, Hubert L., E-mail: lmedina@fis.cinvestav.mx, E-mail: bray@math.duke.edu, E-mail: tmatos@fis.cinvestav.mx

    2015-12-01

    We recover spiral and barred spiral patterns in disk galaxy simulations with a Wave Dark Matter (WDM) background (also known as Scalar Field Dark Matter (SFDM), Ultra-Light Axion (ULA) dark matter, and Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) dark matter). Here we show how the interaction between a baryonic disk and its Dark Matter Halo triggers the formation of spiral structures when the halo is allowed to have a triaxial shape and angular momentum. This is a more realistic picture within the WDM model since a non-spherical rotating halo seems to be more natural. By performing hydrodynamic simulations, along with earlier test particlesmore » simulations, we demonstrate another important way in which wave dark matter is consistent with observations. The common existence of bars in these simulations is particularly noteworthy. This may have consequences when trying to obtain information about the dark matter distribution in a galaxy, the mere presence of spiral arms or a bar usually indicates that baryonic matter dominates the central region and therefore observations, like rotation curves, may not tell us what the DM distribution is at the halo center. But here we show that spiral arms and bars can develop in DM dominated galaxies with a central density core without supposing its origin on mechanisms intrinsic to the baryonic matter.« less

  7. Self-perpetuating Spiral Arms in Disk Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Onghia, Elena; Vogelsberger, Mark; Hernquist, Lars

    2013-03-01

    The causes of spiral structure in galaxies remain uncertain. Leaving aside the grand bisymmetric spirals with their own well-known complications, here we consider the possibility that multi-armed spiral features originate from density inhomogeneities orbiting within disks. Using high-resolution N-body simulations, we follow the motions of stars under the influence of gravity, and show that mass concentrations with properties similar to those of giant molecular clouds can induce the development of spiral arms through a process termed swing amplification. However, unlike in earlier work, we demonstrate that the eventual response of the disk can be highly non-linear, significantly modifying the formation and longevity of the resulting patterns. Contrary to expectations, ragged spiral structures can thus survive at least in a statistical sense long after the original perturbing influence has been removed.

  8. Discovery of Super-Thin Disks in Nearby Edge-on Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schechtman-Rook, A.; Bershady, M. A.

    2014-03-01

    We report the identification of a super-thin disk (hz˜ 60 pc) in the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891. This component is only apparent after we perform a physically motivated attenuation correction, based on detailed radiation transfer models, to our sub-arcsecond resolution near-infrared imaging. In addition to the super-thin disk, we also find several structural features near the center of NGC 891, including an inner disk truncation at ˜3 kpc. Inner disk truncations may be commonplace among massive spiral galaxies, possibly due to the effects of instabilities, such as bars. Having successfully demonstrated our methods, we are poised to apply them to a small sample of nearby edge-on galaxies, consisting both of massive and low-mass spirals.

  9. Hubble Spies Spiral Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Spiral galaxy NGC 3274 is a relatively faint galaxy located over 20 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image comes courtesy of Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), whose multi-color vision allows astronomers to study a wide range of targets, from nearby star formation to galaxies in the most remote regions of the cosmos. This image combines observations gathered in five different filters, bringing together ultraviolet, visible and infrared light to show off NGC 3274 in all its glory. NGC 3274 was discovered by Wilhelm Herschel in 1783. The galaxy PGC 213714 is also visible on the upper right of the frame, located much farther away from Earth. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  10. A DEEP STUDY OF THE DWARF SATELLITES ANDROMEDA XXVIII AND ANDROMEDA XXIX

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.; Martin, Nicolas F.

    We present the results of a deep study of the isolated dwarf galaxies Andromeda XXVIII and Andromeda XXIX with Gemini/GMOS and Keck/DEIMOS. Both galaxies are shown to host old, metal-poor stellar populations with no detectable recent star formation, conclusively identifying both of them as dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). And XXVIII exhibits a complex horizontal branch morphology, which is suggestive of metallicity enrichment and thus an extended period of star formation in the past. Decomposing the horizontal branch into blue (metal-poor, assumed to be older) and red (relatively more metal-rich, assumed to be younger) populations shows that the metal-rich are alsomore » more spatially concentrated in the center of the galaxy. We use spectroscopic measurements of the calcium triplet, combined with the improved precision of the Gemini photometry, to measure the metallicity of the galaxies, confirming the metallicity spread and showing that they both lie on the luminosity–metallicity relation for dwarf satellites. Taken together, the galaxies exhibit largely typical properties for dSphs despite their significant distances from M31. These dwarfs thus place particularly significant constraints on models of dSph formation involving environmental processes such as tidal or ram pressure stripping. Such models must be able to completely transform the two galaxies into dSphs in no more than two pericentric passages around M31, while maintaining a significant stellar population gradient. Reproducing these features is a prime requirement for models of dSph formation to demonstrate not just the plausibility of environmental transformation but the capability of accurately recreating real dSphs.« less

  11. Numerical simulation of the formation of a spiral galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, P. R.; Nelson, A. H.

    2001-08-01

    A simulation is described in which the numerical galaxy formed compares favourably in every measurable respect with contemporary bright spiral galaxies, including the formation of a distinct stellar bulge and large scale spiral arm shocks in the gas component. This is achieved in spite of the fact that only idealized proto-galactic initial conditions were used, and only simple phenomenological prescriptions for the physics of the interstellar medium (ISM) and star formation were implemented. In light of the emphasis in recent literature on the importance of the link between galaxy formation and models of the universe on cosmological scales, on the details of the physics of the ISM and star formation, and on apparent problems therein, the implications of this result are discussed.

  12. Circumnuclear Regions In Barred Spiral Galaxies. 1; Near-Infrared Imaging

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perez-Ramirez, D.; Knapen, J. H.; Peletier, R. F.; Laine, S.; Doyon, R.; Nadeau, D.

    2000-01-01

    We present sub-arcsecond resolution ground-based near-infrared images of the central regions of a sample of twelve barred galaxies with circumnuclear star formation activity, which is organized in ring-like regions typically one kiloparsec in diameter. We also present Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared images of ten of our sample galaxies, and compare them with our ground-based data. Although our sample galaxies were selected for the presence of circumnuclear star formation activity, our broad-band near-infrared images are heterogeneous, showing a substantial amount of small-scale structure in some galaxies, and practically none in others. We argue that, where it exists, this structure is caused by young stars, which also cause the characteristic bumps or changes in slope in the radial profiles of ellipticity, major axis position angle, surface brightness and colour at the radius of the circumnuclear ring in most of our sample galaxies. In 7 out of 10 HST images, star formation in the nuclear ring is clearly visible as a large number of small emitting regions, organised into spiral arm fragments, which are accompanied by dust lanes. NIR colour index maps show much more clearly the location of dust lanes and, in certain cases, regions of star formation than single broad-band images. Circumnuclear spiral structure thus outlined appears to be common in barred spiral galaxies with circumnuclear star formation.

  13. Stellar populations in spiral galaxies: Broadband versus spectroscopic viewpoints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MacArthur, Lauren Anne

    This thesis addresses the stellar population content in the bulges and disks of spiral galaxies using broad-band and spectroscopic data. The results can be used to constrain models of galaxy formation in addition to establishing a comprehensive, model-independent, picture of colour and line-index gradients in spiral galaxies. Building upon my Masters study of structural parameters in spiral galaxies, I use the largest collection of multi-band (optical and IR) surface brightness profiles for face-on and moderately-tilted galaxies to extract radial colour profiles. The colour gradients are then translated into age and metallicity gradients by comparison with stellar population synthesis (SPS) models considering a range of star formation histories, including recent bursts. Based on their integrated light, we find that high surface brightness (SB) regions of galaxies formed their stars earlier than lower SB ones, or at a similar epoch but on shorter timescale. At a given SB level, the star formation histories are modulated by the overall potential of the galaxy such that brighter/higher rotational velocity galaxies formed earlier. This formation "down-sizing" implied by our results is inconsistent with current implementations of semi-analytic structure formation models. In order to alleviate concerns that our colour gradients could be affected by dust reddening, we designed a similar spectroscopic investigation and explored the dust sensitivity of absorption-line indices. The latter test makes use of the latest SPS, models incorporating a multi-component model for the line and continuum attenuation due to dust. For quiescent stellar populations (e.g. spheroids and globular clusters), dust extinction effects are small for most indices with the exception of the 4000 Å break. For models with current star formation, many indices may suffer from dust reddening and any departures depend on age, dust distribution, and the effective optical depth. However, a number of useful

  14. Stellar populations in spiral galaxies: broadband versus spectroscopic viewpoints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MacArthur, Lauren Anne

    2006-06-01

    This thesis addresses the stellar population content in the bulges and disks of spiral galaxies using broad-band and spectroscopic data. The results can be used to constrain models of galaxy formation in addition to establishing a comprehensive, model-independent, picture of colour and line-index gradients in spiral galaxies. Building upon my Masters study of structural parameters in spiral galaxies, I use the largest collection of multi-band (optical and IR) surface brightness profiles for face-on and moderately-tilted galaxies to extract radial colour profiles. The colour gradients are then translated into age and metallicity gradients by comparison with stellar population synthesis (SPS) models considering a range of star formation histories, including recent bursts. Based on their integrated light, we find that high surface brightness (SB) regions of galaxies formed their stars earlier than lower SB ones, or at a similar epoch but on shorter timescale. At a given SB level, the star formation histories are modulated by the overall potential of the galaxy such that brighter/higher rotational velocity galaxies formed earlier. This formation "down-sizing" implied by our results is inconsistent with current implementations of semi-analytic structure formation models. In order to alleviate concerns that our colour gradients could be affected by dust reddening, we designed a similar spectroscopic investigation and explored the dust sensitivity of absorption-line indices. The latter test makes use of the latest SPS, models incorporating a multi-component model for the line and continuum attenuation due to dust. For quiescent stellar populations (e.g. spheroids and globular clusters), dust extinction effects are small for most indices with the exception of the 4000 Å break. For models with current star formation, many indices may suffer from dust reddening and any departures depend on age, dust distribution, and the effective optical depth. However, a number of useful

  15. Mapping the tidally disrupting Andromeda XXVII and its stellar stream

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Preston, Janet; Collins, Michelle; Bonaca, Ana; Ibata, Rodrigo; Tollerud, Erik; Geha, Marla; PAndAS Collaboration

    2017-03-01

    Andromeda XXVII is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). It appears to be dissolving in to the Northern arc of M31, and could be the remnant of a strong tidal disruption. In the upcoming months, our spectroscopic program, which has measured velocities for multiple stars within both the dwarf galaxy progenitor and its stream (using the Keck II DEIMOS telescope, as part of the PAndAS survey), will determine velocity dispersions, scale radii and metallicities of both the dwarf and the stream. This in turn may enable us to ascertain the progenitor mass profile and determine whether it is cusped or cored.

  16. Magnetic field evolution and reversals in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dobbs, C. L.; Price, D. J.; Pettitt, A. R.; Bate, M. R.; Tricco, T. S.

    2016-10-01

    We study the evolution of galactic magnetic fields using 3D smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics (SPMHD) simulations of galaxies with an imposed spiral potential. We consider the appearance of reversals of the field, and amplification of the field. We find that magnetic field reversals occur when the velocity jump across the spiral shock is above ≈20 km s-1, occurring where the velocity change is highest, typically at the inner Lindblad resonance in our models. Reversals also occur at corotation, where the direction of the velocity field reverses in the corotating frame of a spiral arm. They occur earlier with a stronger amplitude spiral potential, and later or not at all with weaker or no spiral arms. The presence of a reversal at radii of around 4-6 kpc in our fiducial model is consistent with a reversal identified in the Milky Way, though we caution that alternative Galaxy models could give a similar reversal. We find that relatively high resolution, a few million particles in SPMHD, is required to produce consistent behaviour of the magnetic field. Amplification of the magnetic field occurs in the models, and while some may be genuinely attributable to differential rotation or spiral arms, some may be a numerical artefact. We check our results using ATHENA, finding reversals but less amplification of the field, suggesting that some of the amplification of the field with SPMHD is numerical.

  17. A Survey of nearby, nearly face-on spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garmire, Gordon

    2014-09-01

    This is a continuation of a survey of nearby, nearly face-on spiral galaxies. The main purpose is to search for evidence of collisions with small galaxies that show up in X-rays by the generation of hot shocked gas from the collision. Secondary objectives include study of the spatial distribution point sources in the galaxy and to detect evidence for a central massive blackhole.

  18. A new model for gravitational potential perturbations in disks of spiral galaxies. An application to our Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Junqueira, T. C.; Lépine, J. R. D.; Braga, C. A. S.; Barros, D. A.

    2013-02-01

    Aims: We propose a new, more realistic description of the perturbed gravitational potential of spiral galaxies, with spiral arms having Gaussian-shaped groove profiles. The aim is to reach a self-consistent description of the spiral structure, that is, one in which an initial potential perturbation generates, by means of the stellar orbits, spiral arms with a profile similar to that of the imposed perturbation. Self-consistency is a condition for having long-lived structures. Methods: Using the new perturbed potential, we investigate the stable stellar orbits in galactic disks for galaxies with no bar or with only a weak bar. The model is applied to our Galaxy by making use of the axisymmetric component of the potential computed from the Galactic rotation curve, in addition to other input parameters similar to those of our Galaxy. The influence of the bulge mass on the stellar orbits in the inner regions of a disk is also investigated. Results: The new description offers the advantage of easy control of the parameters of the Gaussian profile of its potential. We compute the density contrast between arm and inter-arm regions. We find a range of values for the perturbation amplitude from 400 to 800 km2 s-2 kpc-1, which implies an approximate maximum ratio of the tangential force to the axisymmetric force between 3% and 6%. Good self-consistency of arm shapes is obtained between the Inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) and the 4:1 resonance. Near the 4:1 resonance the response density starts to deviate from the imposed logarithmic spiral form. This creates bifurcations that appear as short arms. Therefore the deviation from a perfect logarithmic spiral in galaxies can be understood as a natural effect of the 4:1 resonance. Beyond the 4:1 resonance we find closed orbits that have similarities with the arms observed in our Galaxy. In regions near the center, elongated stellar orbits appear naturally, in the presence of a massive bulge, without imposing any bar

  19. A Unified Scaling Law in Spiral Galaxies.

    PubMed

    Koda; Sofue; Wada

    2000-03-01

    We investigate the origin of a unified scaling relation in spiral galaxies. Observed spiral galaxies are spread on a plane in the three-dimensional logarithmic space of luminosity L, radius R, and rotation velocity V. The plane is expressed as L~&parl0;VR&parr0;alpha in the I passband, where alpha is a constant. On the plane, observed galaxies are distributed in an elongated region which looks like the shape of a surfboard. The well-known scaling relations L-V (Tully-Fisher [TF] relation), V-R (also the TF relation), and R-L (Freeman's law) can be understood as oblique projections of the surfboard-like plane into two-dimensional spaces. This unified interpretation of the known scaling relations should be a clue to understand the physical origin of all the relations consistently. Furthermore, this interpretation can also explain why previous studies could not find any correlation between TF residuals and radius. In order to clarify the origin of this plane, we simulate formation and evolution of spiral galaxies with the N-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics method, including cooling, star formation, and stellar feedback. Initial conditions are set to 14 isolated spheres with two free parameters, such as mass and angular momentum. The cold dark matter (h=0.5, Omega0=1) cosmology is considered as a test case. The simulations provide the following two conclusions: (1) The slope of the plane is well reproduced but the zero point is not. This zero-point discrepancy could be solved in a low-density (Omega0<1) and high-expansion (h>0.5) cosmology. (2) The surfboard-shaped plane can be explained by the control of galactic mass and angular momentum.

  20. Spectroscopic and Photometric Properties of Carbon Stars in the Disk of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guhathakurta, Puragra; Toloba, E.; Guha, S.; Rushing, C.; Dorman, C.; PHAT Collaboration; SPLASH Collaboration

    2013-01-01

    We explore the spectroscopic properties of a couple hundred carbon stars discovered in the disk of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) in the course of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey. The spectra were obtained using the DEIMOS spectrograph on the Keck II 10-meter telescope. About 5000 stars were targeted for spectroscopy during observing runs in 2010 and 2011 using DEIMOS's 1200 lines/mm grating with a spectral resolving power of R ~ 5000 to 6000 and spectral coverage from 6500-9000 Angstrom. In September 2012, another 5000 stars were observed this time with the 600 lines/mm grating and R ~ 2500 and spectral coverage from 4500-9000 Angstrom. For both types of spectroscopic observations, targets were selected from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) multi-cycle treasury program with the Hubble Space Telescope. Six-filter photometry in the ultraviolet (F275W, F336W), optical (F439W, F814W), and near infrared (F110W, F160W) is available for most targets. These carbon star samples are used to constrain the intermediage-age population in M31's disk. They are also compared to spectra of previously known carbon samples in the dwarf elliptical satellites of M31, NGC 147, NGC 185, and NGC 205. The authors thank the National Science Foundation, NASA/STScI, and UCSC's Summer Internship Program for support.

  1. Gas and stellar spiral arms and their offsets in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Egusa, Fumi; Mentuch Cooper, Erin; Koda, Jin; Baba, Junichi

    2017-02-01

    Theoretical studies on the response of interstellar gas to a gravitational potential disc with a quasi-stationary spiral arm pattern suggest that the gas experiences a sudden compression due to standing shock waves at spiral arms. This mechanism, called a galactic shock wave, predicts that gas spiral arms move from downstream to upstream of stellar arms with increasing radius inside a corotation radius. In order to investigate if this mechanism is at work in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51, we have measured azimuthal offsets between the peaks of stellar mass and gas mass distributions in its two spiral arms. The stellar mass distribution is created by the spatially resolved spectral energy distribution fitting to optical and near-infrared images, while the gas mass distribution is obtained by high-resolution CO and H I data. For the inner region (r ≤ 150 arcsec), we find that one arm is consistent with the galactic shock while the other is not. For the outer region, results are less certain due to the narrower range of offset values, the weakness of stellar arms, and the smaller number of successful offset measurements. The results suggest that the nature of two inner spiral arms is different, which is likely due to an interaction with the companion galaxy.

  2. A Survey of nearby, nearly face-on spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garmire, Gordon

    2014-09-01

    This is a continuation of a survey of nearby, nearly face-on spiral galaxies. The main purpose is to search for evidence of collisions with small galaxies that show up in X-rays by the generation of hot shocked gas from the collision. Secondary objectives include study of the spatial distribution point sources in the galaxy and to detect evidence for a central massive blackhole. These are alternate targets.

  3. Search For Star Cluster Age Gradients Across Spiral Arms of Three LEGUS Disk Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shabani, F.; Grebel, E. K.; Pasquali, A.; D'Onghia, E.; Gallagher, J. S.; Adamo, A.; Messa, M.; Elmegreen, B. G.; Dobbs, C.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Calzetti, D.; Grasha, K.; Elmegreen, D. M.; Cignoni, M.; Dale, D. A.; Aloisi, A.; Smith, L. J.; Tosi, M.; Thilker, D. A.; Lee, J. C.; Sabbi, E.; Kim, H.; Pellerin, A.

    2018-05-01

    One of the main theories for explaining the formation of spiral arms in galaxies is the stationary density wave theory. This theory predicts the existence of an age gradient across the arms. We use the stellar cluster catalogues of the galaxies NGC 1566, M51a, and NGC 628 from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) program. In order to test for the possible existence of an age sequence across the spiral arms, we quantified the azimuthal offset between star clusters of different ages in our target galaxies. We found that NGC 1566, a grand-design spiral galaxy with bisymmetric arms and a strong bar, shows a significant age gradient across the spiral arms that appears to be consistent with the prediction of the stationary density wave theory. In contrast, M51a with its two well-defined spiral arms and a weaker bar does not show an age gradient across the arms. In addition, a comparison with non-LEGUS star cluster catalogues for M51a yields similar results. We believe that the spiral structure of M51a is not the result of a stationary density wave with a fixed pattern speed. Instead, tidal interactions could be the dominant mechanism for the formation of spiral arms. We also found no offset in the azimuthal distribution of star clusters with different ages across the weak spiral arms of NGC 628.

  4. The Most Ancient Spiral Galaxy: A 2.6-Gyr-old Disk with a Tranquil Velocity Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Tiantian; Richard, Johan; Gupta, Anshu; Federrath, Christoph; Sharma, Soniya; Groves, Brent A.; Kewley, Lisa J.; Cen, Renyue; Birnboim, Yuval; Fisher, David B.

    2017-11-01

    We report an integral-field spectroscopic (IFS) observation of a gravitationally lensed spiral galaxy A1689B11 at redshift z = 2.54. It is the most ancient spiral galaxy discovered to date and the second kinematically confirmed spiral at z≳ 2. Thanks to gravitational lensing, this is also by far the deepest IFS observation with the highest spatial resolution (˜400 pc) on a spiral galaxy at a cosmic time when the Hubble sequence is about to emerge. After correcting for a lensing magnification of 7.2 ± 0.8, this primitive spiral disk has an intrinsic star formation rate of 22 ± 2 M ⊙ yr-1, a stellar mass of {10}9.8+/- 0.3 M ⊙, and a half-light radius of {r}1/2=2.6+/- 0.7 {kpc}, typical of a main-sequence star-forming galaxy at z˜ 2. However, the Hα kinematics show a surprisingly tranquil velocity field with an ordered rotation ({V}{{c}}=200+/- 12 km s-1) and uniformly small velocity dispersions ({V}σ ,{mean}=23 +/- 4 km s-1 and {V}σ ,{outer - {disk}}=15+/- 2 km s-1). The low gas velocity dispersion is similar to local spiral galaxies and is consistent with the classic density wave theory where spiral arms form in dynamically cold and thin disks. We speculate that A1689B11 belongs to a population of rare spiral galaxies at z≳ 2 that mark the formation epoch of thin disks. Future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope will greatly increase the sample of these rare galaxies and unveil the earliest onset of spiral arms.

  5. A close nuclear black-hole pair in the spiral galaxy NGC 3393.

    PubMed

    Fabbiano, G; Wang, Junfeng; Elvis, M; Risaliti, G

    2011-08-31

    The current picture of galaxy evolution advocates co-evolution of galaxies and their nuclear massive black holes, through accretion and galactic merging. Pairs of quasars, each with a massive black hole at the centre of its galaxy, have separations of 6,000 to 300,000 light years (refs 2 and 3; 1 parsec = 3.26 light years) and exemplify the first stages of this gravitational interaction. The final stages of the black-hole merging process, through binary black holes and final collapse into a single black hole with gravitational wave emission, are consistent with the sub-light-year separation inferred from the optical spectra and light-variability of two such quasars. The double active nuclei of a few nearby galaxies with disrupted morphology and intense star formation (such as NGC 6240 with a separation of about 2,600 light years and Mrk 463 with a separation of about 13,000 light years between the nuclei) demonstrate the importance of major mergers of equal-mass spiral galaxies in this evolution; such mergers lead to an elliptical galaxy, as in the case of the double-radio-nucleus elliptical galaxy 0402+379 (with a separation of about 24 light years between the nuclei). Minor mergers of a spiral galaxy with a smaller companion should be a more common occurrence, evolving into spiral galaxies with active massive black-hole pairs, but have hitherto not been seen. Here we report the presence of two active massive black holes, separated by about 490 light years, in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3393 (50 Mpc, about 160 million light years). The regular spiral morphology and predominantly old circum-nuclear stellar population of this galaxy, and the closeness of the black holes embedded in the bulge, provide a hitherto missing observational point to the study of galaxy/black hole evolution. Comparison of our observations with current theoretical models of mergers suggests that they are the result of minor merger evolution. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights

  6. Nuclear starburst activity induced by elongated bulges in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Eunbin; Kim, Sungsoo S.; Choi, Yun-Young; Lee, Gwang-Ho; de Grijs, Richard; Lee, Myung Gyoon; Hwang, Ho Seong

    2018-06-01

    We study the effects of bulge elongation on the star formation activity in the centres of spiral galaxies using the data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. We construct a volume-limited sample of face-on spiral galaxies with Mr < -19.5 mag at 0.02 ≤z< 0.055 by excluding barred galaxies, where the aperture of the SDSS spectroscopic fibre covers the bulges of the galaxies. We adopt the ellipticity of bulges measured by Simard et al. (2011) who performed two-dimensional bulge+disc decompositions using the SDSS images of galaxies, and identify nuclear starbursts using the fibre specific star formation rates derived from the SDSS spectra. We find a statistically significant correlation between bulge elongation and nuclear starbursts in the sense that the fraction of nuclear starbursts increases with bulge elongation. This correlation is more prominent for fainter and redder galaxies, which exhibit higher ratios of elongated bulges. We find no significant environmental dependence of the correlation between bulge elongation and nuclear starbursts. These results suggest that non-axisymmetric bulges can efficiently feed the gas into the centre of galaxies to trigger nuclear starburst activity.

  7. SpArcFiRe: morphological selection effects due to reduced visibility of tightly winding arms in distant spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Tianrui Rae; Edward English, John; Silva, Pedro; Davis, Darren R.; Hayes, Wayne B.

    2018-03-01

    The Galaxy Zoo project has provided a plethora of valuable morphological data on a large number of galaxies from various surveys, and their team have identified and/or corrected for many biases. Here we study a new bias related to spiral arm pitch angles, which first requires selecting a sample of spiral galaxies that show observable structure. One obvious way is to select galaxies using a threshold in spirality, which we define as the fraction of Galaxy Zoo humans who have reported seeing spiral structure. Using such a threshold, we use the automated tool SpArcFiRe (SPiral ARC FInder and REporter) to measure spiral arm pitch angles. We observe that the mean pitch angle of spiral arms increases linearly with redshift for 0.05 < z < 0.085. We hypothesize that this is a selection effect due to tightly-wound arms becoming less visible as image quality degrades, leading to fewer such galaxies being above the spirality threshold as redshift increases. We corroborate this hypothesis by first artificially degrading images of nearby galaxies, and then using a machine learning algorithm trained on Galaxy Zoo data to provide a spirality for each artificially degraded image. We find that SpARcFiRe's ability to accurately measure pitch angles decreases as the image degrades, but that spirality decreases more quickly in galaxies with tightly wound arms, leading to the selection effect. This new bias means one must be careful in selecting a sample on which to measure spiral structure. Finally, we also include a sensitivity analysis of SpArcFiRe's internal parameters.

  8. Gas Clouds in Whirlpool Galaxy Yield Important Clues Supporting Theory on Spiral Arms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2004-06-01

    Astronomers studying gas clouds in the famous Whirlpool Galaxy have found important clues supporting a theory that seeks to explain how the spectacular spiral arms of galaxies can persist for billions of years. The astronomers applied techniques used to study similar gas clouds in our own Milky Way to those in the spiral arms of a neighbor galaxy for the first time, and their results bolster a theory first proposed in 1964. M51 The spiral galaxy M51: Left, as seen with the Hubble Space Telescope; Right, radio image showing location of Carbon Monoxide gas. CREDIT: STScI, OVRO, IRAM (Click on image for larger version) Image Files Optical and Radio (CO) Views (above image) HST Optical Image with CO Contours Overlaid Radio/Optical Composite Image of M51 VLA/Effelsberg Radio Image of M51, With Panel Showing Magnetic Field Lines The Whirlpool Galaxy, about 31 million light-years distant, is a beautiful spiral in the constellation Canes Venatici. Also known as M51, it is seen nearly face-on from Earth and is familiar to amateur astronomers and has been featured in countless posters, books and magazine articles. "This galaxy made a great target for our study of spiral arms and how star formation works along them," said Eva Schinnerer, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, NM. "It was ideal for us because it's one of the closest face-on spirals in the sky," she added. Schinnerer worked with Axel Weiss of the Institute for Millimeter Radio Astronomy (IRAM) in Spain, Susanne Aalto of the Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden, and Nick Scoville of Caltech. The astronomers presented their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Denver, Colorado. The scientists analyzed radio emission from Carbon Monoxide (CO) molecules in giant gas clouds along M51's spiral arms. Using telescopes at Caltech's Owens Valley Radio Observatory and the 30-meter radio telescope of IRAM, they were able to determine the temperatures and amounts of turbulence within the

  9. Hubble Spies Charming Spiral Galaxy Bursting with Stars

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observes some of the most beautiful galaxies in our skies — spirals sparkling with bright stellar nurseries, violent duos ripping gas and stars away from one another as they tangle together, and ethereal irregular galaxies that hang like flocks of birds suspended in the blackness of space. However, galaxies, like humans, are not all supermodels. This little spiral, known as NGC 4102, has a different kind of appeal, with its tightly-wound spiral arms and understated, but charming, appearance. NGC 4102 lies in the northern constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear). It contains what is known as a LINER, or low-ionization nuclear emission-line region, meaning that its nucleus emits particular types of radiation — specifically, emission from weakly-ionized or neutral atoms of certain elements. Even in this sense, NGC 4102 is not special; around one third of all nearby galaxies are thought to be LINER galaxies. Many LINER galaxies also contain intense regions of star formation. This is thought to be intrinsically linked to their centers but just why, is still a mystery for astronomers — either the starbursts pour fuel inwards to fuel the LINERs, or this active central region triggers the starbursts. NGC 4102 does indeed contain a starburst region towards its center, where stars are being created at a rate much more furious than in a normal galaxy. This star formation is taking place within a small rotating disk, around 1000 light-years in diameter and with a mass some three billion times the mass of the sun. This image uses infrared and visible observations taken using Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA and S. Smartt (Queen's University Belfast) Acknowledgement: Renaud Houdinet NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in

  10. Mapping the gas-to-dust ratio in the edge-on spiral galaxy IC2531

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baes, Maarten; Gentile, Gianfranco; Allaert, Flor; Kuno, Nario; Verstappen, Joris

    2012-04-01

    The gas-to-dust ratio is an important diagnostic of the chemical evolution of galaxies, but unfortunately, there are only a few unbiased studies of the gas-to-dust ratio within galaxies and among different galaxies. We want to take advantage of the revolutionary capabilities of the Herschel Space Observatory and the special geometry of edge-on spiral galaxies to derive accurate gas and dust mass profiles in the edge-on spiral galaxy IC2531, the only southern galaxy from a sample of large edge-on spirals observed with Herschel. We already have a wealth of ancillary data and detailed radiative transfer modelling at our disposal for this galaxy, and now request CO observations to map the molecular gas distribution. With our combined dataset, we will investigate the radial behaviour of the gas-to-dust ratio, compare it with the properties of the stellar population and the dark matter distribution, and test the possibility to use the far-infrared emission from dust to determine the total ISM mass in galaxies.

  11. Uncovering the Detailed Structure and Dynamics of Andromeda's Complex Stellar Disk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorman, Claire; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Seth, Anil; Dalcanton, Julianne; Widrow, Larry; Splash Team, Phat Team

    2015-01-01

    Lambda cold dark matter (LCDM) cosmology predicts that the disks of Milky Way-mass galaxies should have undergone at least one merger with a large (mass ratio 1:10) satellite in the last several Gyr. However, the stellar disk in the solar neighborhood of the Milky Way is too thin and dynamically cold to have experienced such an impact. The dynamics of the nearby Andromeda galaxy can serve as a second data point, and help us understand whether the Milky Way may simply have had an unusually quiescent merger history, or whether LCDM theory needs to be revisited. Over the last few years, we have carried out a detailed study of the resolved stellar populations in the disk of the Andromeda galaxy using data from two surveys: six-filter Hubble Space Telescope photometry from the recently-completed Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey, and radial velocities derived from Keck/DEIMOS optical spectra obtained as part of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) program. These detailed, multidimensional data sets allow us to decouple the structural subcomponents and characterize them individually. We find that an old, dynamically hot (velocity dispersion ~150 km/s) RGB population extends out to 20 kpc (the edge of the visible disk) but has a disk-like surface brightness profile and luminosity function. This population may have originated in the disk but been kicked out subsequently in impacts with satellite galaxies. We also study the kinematics of the disk as a function of the age of stellar tracers, and find a direct correlation between age and velocity dispersion, indicating that Andromeda has undergone a continuous heating or disk settling process throughout its lifetime. Overall, both the velocity dispersion of Andromeda's disk and the slope of the velocity dispersion vs. stellar age curve are several times those of the Milky Way's, suggesting a more active merger history more in line with LCDM cosmological

  12. Search for TeV gamma ray emission from the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aharonian, F. A.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Beilicke, M.; Bernlöhr, K.; Bojahr, H.; Bolz, O.; Börst, H.; Coarasa, T.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Denninghoff, S.; Fonseca, V.; Girma, M.; Götting, N.; Heinzelmann, G.; Hermann, G.; Heusler, A.; Hofmann, W.; Horns, D.; Jung, I.; Kankanyan, R.; Kestel, M.; Kettler, J.; Kohnle, A.; Konopelko, A.; Kornmeyer, H.; Kranich, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Lampeitl, H.; Lopez, M.; Lorenz, E.; Lucarelli, F.; Mang, O.; Meyer, H.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Ona, E.; Panter, M.; Plyasheshnikov, A.; Pühlhofer, G.; Rauterberg, G.; Reyes, R.; Rhode, W.; Ripken, J.; Röhring, A.; Rowell, G. P.; Sahakian, V.; Samorski, M.; Schilling, M.; Siems, M.; Sobzynska, D.; Stamm, W.; Tluczykont, M.; Völk, H. J.; Wiedner, C. A.; Wittek, W.

    2003-03-01

    Using the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, the Andromeda galaxy (M 31) was surveyed for TeV gamma ray emission. Given the large field of view of the HEGRA telescopes, three pointings were sufficient to cover all of M 31, including also M 32 and NGC 205. No indications for point sources of TeV gamma rays were found. Upper limits are given at a level of a few percent of the Crab flux. A specific search for monoenergetic gamma-ray lines from annihilation of supersymmetric dark matter particles accumulating near the center of M 31 resulted in flux limits in the 10-13 cm-2 s-1 range, well above the predicted MSSM flux levels except for models with pronounced dark-matter spikes or strongly enhanced annihilation rates.

  13. On the nature and correction of the spurious S-wise spiral galaxy winding bias in Galaxy Zoo 1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayes, Wayne B.; Davis, Darren; Silva, Pedro

    2017-04-01

    The Galaxy Zoo 1 catalogue displays a bias towards the S-wise winding direction in spiral galaxies, which has yet to be explained. The lack of an explanation confounds our attempts to verify the Cosmological Principle, and has spurred some debate as to whether a bias exists in the real Universe. The bias manifests not only in the obvious case of trying to decide if the universe as a whole has a winding bias, but also in the more insidious case of selecting which Galaxies to include in a winding direction survey. While the former bias has been accounted for in a previous image-mirroring study, the latter has not. Furthermore, the bias has never been corrected in the GZ1 catalogue, as only a small sample of the GZ1 catalogue was reexamined during the mirror study. We show that the existing bias is a human selection effect rather than a human chirality bias. In effect, the excess S-wise votes are spuriously 'stolen' from the elliptical and edge-on-disc categories, not the Z-wise category. Thus, when selecting a set of spiral galaxies by imposing a threshold T so that max (PS, PZ) > T or PS + PZ > T, we spuriously select more S-wise than Z-wise galaxies. We show that when a provably unbiased machine selects which galaxies are spirals independent of their chirality, the S-wise surplus vanishes, even if humans still determine the chirality. Thus, when viewed across the entire GZ1 sample (and by implication, the Sloan catalogue), the winding direction of arms in spiral galaxies as viewed from Earth is consistent with the flip of a fair coin.

  14. Variations in Metallicity and Gas Content in Spiral Galaxies: Accidents of Infall

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shields, Gregory A.; Robertson, P.; Dave, R.; Blanc, G. A.; Wright, A.

    2013-01-01

    Oxygen abundances are elevated in hydrogen deficient spirals in the Virgo and Pegasus clusters (Robertson et al. 2012, ApJ 748:48, and references therein). We confirm the relationship between O/H and H I deficiency "DEF" for an additional set of cluster spirals. In addition, we find that field spirals show a similar increase in O/H with DEF. Thus, the relationship is not uniquely the result of environmental processes in clusters. Cosmological simulations of galaxy formation predict a qualitatively similar trend of O/H with DEF for field spirals. This reflects excursions of gas content and metallicity above and below the mean mass-metallicity relationship as galaxies evolve. These excursions result from the stochastic effects of mergers and merger-free periods during the evolution.

  15. Gaseous spiral structure and mass drift in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Yonghwi; Kim, Woong-Tae

    2014-05-01

    We use hydrodynamic simulations to investigate non-linear gas responses to an imposed stellar spiral potential in disc galaxies. The gaseous medium is assumed to be infinitesimally thin, isothermal, and unmagnetized. We consider various spiral-arm models with differing strength and pattern speed. We find that the extent and shapes of gaseous arms as well as the related mass drift rate depend rather sensitively on the arm pattern speed. In models where the arm pattern is rotating slow, the gaseous arms extend across the corotation resonance (CR) all the way to the outer boundary, with a pitch angle slightly smaller than that of the stellar counterpart. In models with a fast rotating pattern, on the other hand, spiral shocks are much more tightly wound than the stellar arms, and cease to exist in the regions near and outside the CR where mathcal {M}_perp /sin p_* gtrsim 25-40, with mathcal {M}_perp denoting the perpendicular Mach number of a rotating gas relative to the arms with pitch angle p*. Inside the CR, the arms drive mass inflows at a rate of ˜0.05-3.0 M⊙ yr-1 to the central region, with larger values corresponding to stronger and slower arms. The contribution of the shock dissipation, external torque, and self-gravitational torque to the mass inflow is roughly 50, 40, and 10 per cent, respectively. We demonstrate that the distributions of line-of-sight velocities and spiral-arm densities can be a useful diagnostic tool to distinguish if the spiral pattern is rotating fast or slow.

  16. Dynamics of ultraharmonic resonances in spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Artymowicz, Pawel; Lubow, Stephen H.

    1992-01-01

    The mildly nonlinear response of a fluid disk with pressure, viscosity, and self-gravity to spiral stellar forcing is considered as a model of the interstellar medium in spiral galaxies. Nonlinear effects are analyzed through a quasi-linear flow analysis ordered by successive powers of a dimensionless spiral perturbing force, which is the ratio of imposed nonaxisymmetric gravitational to axisymmetric gravitational forces. Waves with mn arms are launched from a position where the wavenumber of a free wave matches n times the wavenumber of the spiral forcing. The launched short wave in the gas is an interarm feature that is more tightly wrapped than the stellar wave. The gas wave extracts energy and angular momentum from the stellar wave, causing it to damp. The application of the results to the stellar disk alone reveals even stronger damping, as stars undergo Landau damping of the short wave. For parameters in M81, damping times are less than 10 exp 9 yr.

  17. Model of outgrowths in the spiral galaxies NGC 4921 and NGC 7049 and the origin of spiral arms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlqvist, Per

    2013-02-01

    NGC 4921 and 7049 are two spiral galaxies presenting narrow, distinct dust features. A detailed study of the morphology of those features has been carried out using Hubble Space Telescope archival images. NGC 4921 shows a few but well-defined dust arms midway to its centre while NGC 7049 displays many more dusty features, mainly collected within a ring-shaped formation. Numerous dark and filamentary structures, called outgrowths, are found to protrude from the dusty arms in both galaxies. The outgrowths point both outwards and inwards in the galaxies. Mostly they are found to be V-shaped or Y-shaped with the branches connected to dark arm filaments. Often the stem of the Y appears to consist of intertwined filaments. Remarkably, the outgrowths show considerable similarities to elephant trunks in H ii regions. A model of the outgrowths, based on magnetized filaments, is proposed. The model provides explanations of both the shapes and orientations of the outgrowths. Most important, it can also give an account for their intertwined structures. It is found that the longest outgrowths are confusingly similar to dusty spiral arms. This suggests that some of the outgrowths can develop into such arms. The time-scale of the development is estimated to be on the order of the rotation period of the arms or shorter. Similar processes may also take place in other spiral galaxies. If so, the model of the outgrowths can offer a new approach to the old winding problem of spiral arms.

  18. Far-infrared emission and star formation in spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trinchieri, G.; Fabbiano, G.; Bandiera, R.

    1989-01-01

    The correlations between the emission in the far-IR, H-alpha, and blue in a sample of normal spiral galaxies are investigated. It is found that the luminosities in these three bands are all tightly correlated, although both the strength of the correlations and their functional dependencies are a function of the galaxies' morphological types. The best-fit power laws to these correlations are different for the comparison of different quantities and deviate significantly from linearity in some cases, implying the presence of additional emission mechanisms not related to the general increase of luminosity with galactic mass. Clear evidence is found of two independent effects in the incidence of warm far-IR emission in late-type spirals. One is a luminosity effect shown by the presence of excess far-IR relative to H-alpha or optical emission in the more luminous galaxies. The other is a dependence on widespread star-formation activity.

  19. Arm classification and velocity gradients in spiral galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Biviano, A.; Girardi, M.; Giuricin, G.

    1991-08-01

    On the basis of published rotation curves, velocity gradients are compiled for 94 galaxies. A significant correlation is found in this sample of galaxies between their gradients and arm classes (as given by Elmegreen and Elmegreen, 1982); galaxies with steeper curves tend to have a flocculent arm structure, and galaxies with flatter curves tend to have a grand design morphology. The correlation is true, since it is not induced by other correlations. The present result is in agreement with previous suggestions by Whitmore (1984) and with the recent result by Elmegreen and Elmegreen; it is also consistent with the predictionsmore » of density wave theory for the formation of the spiral structure. 89 refs.« less

  20. THE INFLUENCE OF RED SPIRAL GALAXIES ON THE SHAPE OF THE LOCAL K-BAND LUMINOSITY FUNCTION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bonne, Nicolas J.; Brown, Michael J. I.; Jones, Heath

    2015-02-01

    We have determined K-band luminosity functions for 13,325 local universe galaxies as a function of morphology and color (for K {sub tot} ≤ 10.75). Our sample is drawn from the Two Micron All Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog, with all sample galaxies having measured morphologies and distances (including 4219 archival redshift-independent distances). The luminosity function for our total sample is in good agreement with previous works, but is relatively smooth at faint magnitudes (due to bulk flow distance corrections). We investigated the differences due to morphological and color selection using 5417 sample galaxies with NASA Sloan Atlas optical colors and find thatmore » red spirals comprise 20%-50% of all spirals with –25 ≤ M{sub K}  < –20. Fainter than M{sub K} = –24, red spirals are as common as early types, explaining the different faint end slopes (α = –0.87 and –1.00 for red and early-types, respectively). While we find red spirals comprise more than 50% of all M{sub K}  < –25 spiral galaxies, they do not dominate the bright end of the overall red galaxy luminosity function, which is dominated by early-type galaxies. The brightest red spirals have ongoing star formation and those without are frequently misclassified as early-types. The faintest ones have an appearance and Sérsic indices consistent with faded disks, rather than true bulge-dominated galaxies.« less

  1. The nature of arms in spiral galaxies. III. Azimuthal profiles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    del Rio, M. S.; Cepa, J.

    1998-12-01

    In this paper we analyse the structure of a small sample of galaxies using a set of CCD images in standard photometric bands presented in a previous paper (del Rio & Cepa 1998a, hereafter \\cite{p2}). The galaxies are NGC 157, 753, 895, 4321, 6764, 6814, 6951, 7479 and 7723, and the selected bands were B and I. Seven galaxies are grand design, i.e. they have two long and symmetric arms, second in the classification of \\cite{ee87} (1987), and are the best laboratories for testing the predictions of the spiral density wave (SDW) theory. Two of the galaxies have intermediate arms, i.e., they are not so well defined. They are selected to compare the results with those found in the grand design spirals. Using the method of analyse the azimuthal flux profiles presented by \\cite{c88} (1988) and Beckman & Cepa (1990) (hereafter \\cite{bc90}) and assuming that star formation is triggered by a spiral density wave, we look for evidence of the existence of a corotation radius, as predicted by the SDW theory. We have determined the corotation radius in all but two grand design galaxies, and, tentatively, in the other four. Galaxies with very weak arms (such as NGC 753 and NGC 6951) or arms which are not well defined (such as NGC 6764 and NGC 7723) present difficulties when employing the azimuthal profile method, but even in these cases, the method is powerful enough to give a good estimate of the value of corotation, which must then be confirmed (or discarded) by other independent methods (del Rio & Cepa 1998b, hereafter \\cite{p4}).

  2. Arm structure in normal spiral galaxies, 1: Multivariate data for 492 galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Magri, Christopher

    1994-01-01

    Multivariate data have been collected as part of an effort to develop a new classification system for spiral galaxies, one which is not necessarily based on subjective morphological properties. A sample of 492 moderately bright northern Sa and Sc spirals was chosen for future statistical analysis. New observations were made at 20 and 21 cm; the latter data are described in detail here. Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) fluxes were obtained from archival data. Finally, new estimates of arm pattern radomness and of local environmental harshness were compiled for most sample objects.

  3. The CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor Within GMCs in Nearby Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Donovan Meyer, Jennifer; Koda, J.

    2012-01-01

    Much of what is known about the evolution of the interstellar medium in spiral galaxies has been learned by analyzing the properties of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). However, these clouds are composed primarily of molecular hydrogen, which is difficult to observe directly since the temperature of the gas in GMCs is too low to excite H2 line emission. As a result, molecular tracers - the most common of which being the lower rotational transitions of the CO molecule - are typically observed instead, requiring a well-calibrated conversion factor between CO flux and H2 mass (Xco). To investigate GMC evolution within galactic disks, I have created high fidelity images of nearby spiral galaxies with a variety of morphologies by combining CO (J=1-0) observations from the Nobeyama 45-meter single dish telescope and the CARMA interferometer in the uv-plane. These images, created as part of the CO Survey of Nearby Galaxies being completed at Stony Brook, utilize the new rms-weighting technique described in Koda et al. (2011). In Donovan Meyer et al. (2011), we deconvolve the CO emission of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 into the largest sample to date of resolved GMCs in a substantial spiral galaxy other than the Milky Way and derive virial masses and Xco within individual GMCs. Extending this work to three other nearby galaxies from the survey for which we can achieve the most resolved measurements (beam sizes less than 65 pc), we find that the sizes and velocity dispersions of GMCs continue to be largely consistent from galaxy to galaxy. However, while the conversion factor remains within a factor of two compared to the Galactic value, there is an indication that it varies systematically between galaxies.

  4. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF KNOTS OF STAR FORMATION IN INTERACTING VERSUS SPIRAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smith, Beverly J.; Olmsted, Susan; Jones, Keith

    2016-03-15

    Interacting galaxies are known to have higher global rates of star formation on average than normal galaxies, relative to their stellar masses. Using UV and IR photometry combined with new and published Hα images, we have compared the star formation rates (SFRs) of ∼700 star forming complexes in 46 nearby interacting galaxy pairs with those of regions in 39 normal spiral galaxies. The interacting galaxies have proportionally more regions with high SFRs than the spirals. The most extreme regions in the interacting systems lie at the intersections of spiral/tidal structures, where gas is expected to pile up and trigger starmore » formation. Published Hubble Space Telescope images show unusually large and luminous star clusters in the highest luminosity regions. The SFRs of the clumps correlate with measures of the dust attenuation, consistent with the idea that regions with more interstellar gas have more star formation. For the clumps with the highest SFRs, the apparent dust attenuation is consistent with the Calzetti starburst dust attenuation law. This suggests that the high luminosity regions are dominated by a central group of young stars surrounded by a shell of clumpy interstellar gas. In contrast, the lower luminosity clumps are bright in the UV relative to Hα, suggesting either a high differential attenuation between the ionized gas and the stars, or a post-starburst population bright in the UV but faded in Hα. The fraction of the global light of the galaxies in the clumps is higher on average for the interacting galaxies than for the spirals. Thus either star formation in interacting galaxies is “clumpier” on average, or the star forming regions in interacting galaxies are more luminous, dustier, or younger on average.« less

  5. Large and small-scale structures and the dust energy balance problem in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saftly, W.; Baes, M.; De Geyter, G.; Camps, P.; Renaud, F.; Guedes, J.; De Looze, I.

    2015-04-01

    The interstellar dust content in galaxies can be traced in extinction at optical wavelengths, or in emission in the far-infrared. Several studies have found that radiative transfer models that successfully explain the optical extinction in edge-on spiral galaxies generally underestimate the observed FIR/submm fluxes by a factor of about three. In order to investigate this so-called dust energy balance problem, we use two Milky Way-like galaxies produced by high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations. We create mock optical edge-on views of these simulated galaxies (using the radiative transfer code SKIRT), and we then fit the parameters of a basic spiral galaxy model to these images (using the fitting code FitSKIRT). The basic model includes smooth axisymmetric distributions along a Sérsic bulge and exponential disc for the stars, and a second exponential disc for the dust. We find that the dust mass recovered by the fitted models is about three times smaller than the known dust mass of the hydrodynamical input models. This factor is in agreement with previous energy balance studies of real edge-on spiral galaxies. On the other hand, fitting the same basic model to less complex input models (e.g. a smooth exponential disc with a spiral perturbation or with random clumps), does recover the dust mass of the input model almost perfectly. Thus it seems that the complex asymmetries and the inhomogeneous structure of real and hydrodynamically simulated galaxies are a lot more efficient at hiding dust than the rather contrived geometries in typical quasi-analytical models. This effect may help explain the discrepancy between the dust emission predicted by radiative transfer models and the observed emission in energy balance studies for edge-on spiral galaxies.

  6. Most Massive Spiral Galaxy Known in the Universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2000-12-01

    The VLT Observes Rapid Motion in Distant Object Summary The most massive spiral galaxy known so far in the Universe has been discovered by a team of astronomers from Garching, Padova, Leiden, ESO and London [1]. They base their conclusion on recent observations with ISAAC , an infrared-sensitive, multi-mode instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory. This galaxy has been designated ISOHDFS 27 and is located at a distance of approx. 6 billion light-years (the redshift is 0.58). Its measured mass is more than 1000 billion times that of the Sun [2]. It is thus about four times more massive than our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and twice as heavy as the heaviest spiral galaxy known so far. The determination of the mass of ISOHDFS 27 is based on a unique measurement of the motions of its stars and nebulae around the center. The faster the motion is, the greater is the mass. It is, in essence, the same method that allows determining the mass of the Earth from the orbital speed and distance of the Moon. This is the first time a "rotation curve" has been observed in such a distant galaxy by means of infrared observations, allowing a very detailed dynamical study. Other observations by the team concern a pair of distant, interacting galaxies that were also found to possess comparably high masses. They also have observations of a third galaxy at a distance of about 10 billion light-years, with a mass that approaches that of ISOHDFS 27 . The new result has important cosmological implications, as it demonstrates that very heavy structures had already been formed in the Universe at a comparatively early epoch . PR Photo 33a/00 : ISOHDFS 27 , the heaviest spiral galaxy known. PR Photo 33b/00 : The "raw" ISAAC spectrum of ISOHDFS 27 . PR Photo 33c/00 : H-alpha profile of ISOHDFS 27 . Star formation in young galaxies It is of fundamental importance to current cosmological studies to understand how stars evolve within galaxies and how the galaxies themselves

  7. Stellar metallicity variations across spiral arms in disk galaxies with multiple populations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khoperskov, S.; Di Matteo, P.; Haywood, M.; Combes, F.

    2018-03-01

    This Letter studies the formation of azimuthal metallicity variations in the disks of spiral galaxies in the absence of initial radial metallicity gradients. Using high-resolution N-body simulations, we model composite stellar discs, made of kinematically cold and hot stellar populations, and study their response to spiral arm perturbations. We find that, as expected, disk populations with different kinematics respond differently to a spiral perturbation, with the tendency for dynamically cooler populations to show a larger fractional contribution to spiral arms than dynamically hotter populations. By assuming a relation between kinematics and metallicity, namely the hotter the population, the more metal-poor it is, this differential response to the spiral arm perturbations naturally leads to azimuthal variations in the mean metallicity of stars in the simulated disk. Thus, azimuthal variations in the mean metallicity of stars across a spiral galaxy are not necessarily a consequence of the reshaping, by radial migration, of an initial radial metallicity gradient. They indeed arise naturally also in stellar disks which have initially only a negative vertical metallicity gradient.

  8. Dependence of Nebular Heavy-element Abundance on H I Content for Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robertson, Paul; Shields, Gregory A.; Davé, Romeel; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Wright, Audrey

    2013-08-01

    We analyze the galactic H I content and nebular log (O/H) for 60 spiral galaxies in the Moustakas et al. (2006a) spectral catalog. After correcting for the mass-metallicity relationship, we show that the spirals in cluster environments show a positive correlation for log (O/H) on DEF, the galactic H I deficiency parameter, extending the results of previous analyses of the Virgo and Pegasus I clusters. Additionally, we show for the first time that galaxies in the field obey a similar dependence. The observed relationship between H I deficiency and galactic metallicity resembles similar trends shown by cosmological simulations of galaxy formation including inflows and outflows. These results indicate the previously observed metallicity-DEF correlation has a more universal interpretation than simply a cluster's effects on its member galaxies. Rather, we observe in all environments the stochastic effects of metal-poor infall as minor mergers and accretion help to build giant spirals.

  9. Spiral stellar density waves and the flattening of abundance gradients in the warm gas component of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vorobyov, E. I.

    2006-08-01

    Motivated by recent observations of plateaus and minima in the radial abundance distributions of heavy elements in the Milky Way and some other spiral galaxies, we propose a dynamical mechanism for the formation of such features around corotation. Our numerical simulations show that the non-axisymmetric gravitational field of spiral density waves generates cyclone and anticylone gas flows in the vicinity of corotation. The anticyclones flatten the pre-existing negative abundance gradients by exporting many more atoms of heavy elements outside corotation than importing inside it. This process is very efficient and forms plateaus of several kiloparsec in size around corotation after two revolution periods of a galaxy. The strength of anticyclones and, consequently, the sizes of plateaus depend on the pitch angle of spiral arms and are expected to increase along the Hubble sequence.

  10. Andromeda's SMBH Projected Accretion Rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, John

    2014-03-01

    A formula for calculating the half-life of galaxy clusters is proposed. A galactic half-life is the estimated amount of time that the most massive supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the galaxy cluster will have accreted one half of the mass in the cluster. The calculation is based on a projection of the SMBH continuing its exponentially decreasing rate of accretion that it had in its first 13 billion years. The calculated half-life for the Andromeda SMBH is approximately 1.4327e14 years from the Big Bang. Several proposals have suggested that black holes could be significant factors in the formation of new universes. Part of the verification or falsification of this hypothesis could be done by an N-body simulation. These simulations require an enormous amount of computer power and time. Some plausible projection of the growth of the supermassive black hole is needed to prepare an N-body simulation budget proposal. For now, this method provides an estimate for the growth rate of the Andromeda SMBH and deposition of the outcome of most of the galaxy cluster's mass which is either accreted by the SMBH, lost by ejection from the cluster, or lost in the form of energy.

  11. Global Modeling of Spur Formation in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shetty, Rahul; Ostriker, Eve C.

    2006-08-01

    We investigate the formation of substructure in spiral galaxies using global MHD simulations, including gas self-gravity. Local modeling by Kim & Ostriker previously showed that self-gravity and magnetic fields cause rapid growth of overdensities in spiral arms; differential compression of gas flowing through the arms then results in the formation of sheared structures in the interarms. These sheared structures resemble features described as spurs or feathers in optical and IR observations of many spiral galaxies. Global modeling extends previous local models by including the full effects of curvilinear coordinates, a realistic log-spiral perturbation, self-gravitational contribution from five radial wavelengths of the spiral shock, and variation of density and epicyclic frequency with radius. We show that with realistic Toomre Q-values self-gravity and galactic differential rotation produce filamentary gaseous structures with kiloparsec-scale separations, regardless of the strength-or even presence-of a stellar spiral potential. However, a sufficiently strong spiral potential is required to produce true spurs, consisting of interarm structures emerging from gas concentrations in the main spiral arms. In models where Q is initially constant, filaments due to interarm self-gravity grow mainly in the outer regions, whereas true arm spurs grow only in the inner regions. For models with Q~R, outer regions are intrinsically more stable, so background interarm filaments do not grow, but arm spurs can develop if the spiral potential is strong. Unlike independently growing background filaments, the orientation of arm spurs depends on galactic location. Inside corotation, spurs emanate outward, on the convex side of the arm; outside corotation, spurs grow inward, on the concave side of the arm. Based on orientation and the relation to arm clumps, it is possible to distinguish true spurs that originate as instabilities in the arms from independently growing background

  12. A Comparative Analysis of Chemical Abundances in Andromeda's Stellar Halo and Dwarf Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gilbert, Karoline; Kirby, Evan N.; Escala, Ivanna; Wojno, Jennifer

    2018-06-01

    Stellar halos provide a record of the earliest stages of a galaxy’s formation as well as the mass growth of later epochs. All stages of accretion are represented in the halo: (1) fully phase-mixed stars accreted at early times, (2) stars in distinct tidal streams, and (3) stars in satellite galaxies that will eventually be tidally incorporated into the halo. Chemical abundances encode information about the environment in which a star formed: specifically, the relative abundances of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] provide an indication of the amount and duration of star formation. While these abundances have been measured for statistically significant samples of halo and dwarf galaxy stars in the Milky Way, they remain largely unknown in Andromeda. We have undertaken a systematic survey to measure [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] in fields throughout the M31 system, including the halo, tidal streams, satellite galaxies, and the disk. I will provide an overview of the survey and its goals and present first results, including the abundance distributions for five M31 dSphs, measurements of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] of stars in M31's halo, and comparisons to existing measurements of Milky Way dSph and halo stars.

  13. The ultraviolet attenuation law in backlit spiral galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Keel, William C.; Manning, Anna M.; Holwerda, Benne W.

    The effective extinction law (attenuation behavior) in galaxies in the emitted ultraviolet (UV) regime is well known only for actively star-forming objects and combines effects of the grain properties, fine structure in the dust distribution, and relative distributions of stars and dust. We use Galaxy Evolution Explorer, XMM Optical Monitor, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data to explore the UV attenuation in the outer parts of spiral disks which are backlit by other UV-bright galaxies, starting with the candidate list of pairs provided by Galaxy Zoo participants. New optical images help to constrain the geometry and structure of the targetmore » galaxies. Our analysis incorporates galaxy symmetry, using non-overlapping regions of each galaxy to derive error estimates on the attenuation measurements. The entire sample has an attenuation law across the optical and UV that is close to the Calzetti et al. form; the UV slope for the overall sample is substantially shallower than found by Wild et al., which is a reasonable match to the more distant galaxies in our sample but not to the weighted combination including NGC 2207. The nearby, bright spiral NGC 2207 alone gives an accuracy almost equal to the rest of our sample, and its outer arms have a very low level of foreground starlight. Thus, this widespread, fairly 'gray' law can be produced from the distribution of dust alone, without a necessary contribution from differential escape of stars from dense clouds. Our results indicate that the extrapolation needed to compare attenuation between backlit galaxies at moderate redshifts from HST data, and local systems from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and similar data, is mild enough to allow the use of galaxy overlaps to trace the cosmic history of dust in galaxies. For NGC 2207, HST data in the near-UV F336W band show that the covering factor of clouds with small optical attenuation becomes a dominant factor farther into the UV, which opens the possibility that

  14. Multiarm spirals on the periphery of disc galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lubov, Spiegel; Evgeny, Polyachenko

    2018-04-01

    Spiral patterns in some disc galaxies have two arms in the centre, and three or more arms on the periphery. The same result is also obtained in numerical simulations of stellar and gaseous discs.We argue that such patterns may occur due to fast cooling of the gas, resulting in formation of giant molecular clouds. The timescale of this process is 50 Myr, the factor of 10 shorter than of ordinary secular instability. The giant molecular clouds give rise to multiarm spirals through the mechanism of swing amplification.

  15. Spiral Flows in Cool-core Galaxy Clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keshet, Uri

    2012-07-01

    We argue that bulk spiral flows are ubiquitous in the cool cores (CCs) of clusters and groups of galaxies. Such flows are gauged by spiral features in the thermal and chemical properties of the intracluster medium, by the multiphase properties of CCs, and by X-ray edges known as cold fronts. We analytically show that observations of piecewise-spiral fronts impose strong constraints on the CC, implying the presence of a cold, fast flow, which propagates below a hot, slow inflow, separated by a slowly rotating, trailing, quasi-spiral, tangential discontinuity surface. This leads to the nearly logarithmic spiral pattern, two-phase plasma, ρ ~ r -1 density (or T ~ r 0.4 temperature) radial profile, and ~100 kpc size, characteristic of CCs. By advecting heat and mixing the gas, such flows can eliminate the cooling problem, provided that a feedback mechanism regulates the flow. In particular, we present a quasi-steady-state model for an accretion-quenched, composite flow, in which the fast phase is an outflow, regulated by active galactic nucleus bubbles, reproducing the observed low star formation rates and explaining some features of bubbles such as their Rb vpropr size. The simplest two-component model reproduces several key properties of CCs, so we propose that all such cores harbor a spiral flow. Our results can be tested directly in the next few years, for example by ASTRO-H.

  16. LIFTING THE VEIL OF DUST TO REVEAL THE SECRETS OF SPIRAL GALAXIES

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Astronomers have combined information from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope's visible- and infrared-light cameras to show the hearts of four spiral galaxies peppered with ancient populations of stars. The top row of pictures, taken by a ground-based telescope, represents complete views of each galaxy. The blue boxes outline the regions observed by the Hubble telescope. The bottom row represents composite pictures from Hubble's visible- and infrared-light cameras, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Astronomers combined views from both cameras to obtain the true ages of the stars surrounding each galaxy's bulge. The Hubble telescope's sharper resolution allows astronomers to study the intricate structure of a galaxy's core. The galaxies are ordered by the size of their bulges. NGC 5838, an 'S0' galaxy, is dominated by a large bulge and has no visible spiral arms; NGC 7537, an 'Sbc' galaxy, has a small bulge and loosely wound spiral arms. Astronomers think that the structure of NGC 7537 is very similar to our Milky Way. The galaxy images are composites made from WFPC2 images taken with blue (4445 Angstroms) and red (8269 Angstroms) filters, and NICMOS images taken in the infrared (16,000 Angstroms). They were taken in June, July, and August of 1997. Credits for the ground-based images: Allan Sandage (The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington) and John Bedke (Computer Sciences Corporation and the Space Telescope Science Institute) Credits for WFPC2 and NICMOS composites: NASA, ESA, and Reynier Peletier (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)

  17. Rare Ultra-blue Stars Found in Neighboring Galaxy's Hub

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Image release January 11, 2012 A new Hubble Space Telescope image centers on the 100-million-solar-mass black hole at the hub of the neighboring spiral galaxy M31, or the Andromeda galaxy, one of the few galaxies outside the Milky Way visible to the naked eye and the only other giant galaxy in the Local Group. This is the sharpest visible-light image ever made of the nucleus of an external galaxy. The Hubble image is being presented today at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. To read more go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/ultra-blue.html NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  18. GAMA/H-ATLAS: The Dust Opacity-Stellar Mass Surface Density Relation for Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grootes, M. W.; Tuffs, R. J.; Popescu, C. C.; Pastrav, B.; Andrae, E.; Gunawardhana, M.; Kelvin, L. S.; Liske, J.; Seibert, M.; Taylor, E. N.; Graham, Alister W.; Baes, M.; Baldry, I. K.; Bourne, N.; Brough, S.; Cooray, A.; Dariush, A.; De Zotti, G.; Driver, S. P.; Dunne, L.; Gomez, H.; Hopkins, A. M.; Hopwood, R.; Jarvis, M.; Loveday, J.; Maddox, S.; Madore, B. F.; Michałowski, M. J.; Norberg, P.; Parkinson, H. R.; Prescott, M.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Smith, D. J. B.; Thomas, D.; Valiante, E.

    2013-03-01

    We report the discovery of a well-defined correlation between B-band face-on central optical depth due to dust, τ ^f_B, and the stellar mass surface density, μ*, of nearby (z <= 0.13) spiral galaxies: {log}(τ ^{f}_{B}) = 1.12(+/- 0.11) \\cdot {log}({μ _{*}}/{{M}_{⊙ } {kpc}^{-2}}) - 8.6(+/- 0.8). This relation was derived from a sample of spiral galaxies taken from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, which were detected in the FIR/submillimeter (submm) in the Herschel-ATLAS science demonstration phase field. Using a quantitative analysis of the NUV attenuation-inclination relation for complete samples of GAMA spirals categorized according to stellar mass surface density, we demonstrate that this correlation can be used to statistically correct for dust attenuation purely on the basis of optical photometry and Sérsic-profile morphological fits. Considered together with previously established empirical relationships of stellar mass to metallicity and gas mass, the near linearity and high constant of proportionality of the τ ^f_B - μ_{*} relation disfavors a stellar origin for the bulk of refractory grains in spiral galaxies, instead being consistent with the existence of a ubiquitous and very rapid mechanism for the growth of dust in the interstellar medium. We use the τ ^f_B - μ_{*} relation in conjunction with the radiation transfer model for spiral galaxies of Popescu & Tuffs to derive intrinsic scaling relations between specific star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, and stellar surface density, in which attenuation of the UV light used for the measurement of SFR is corrected on an object-to-object basis. A marked reduction in scatter in these relations is achieved which we demonstrate is due to correction of both the inclination-dependent and face-on components of attenuation. Our results are consistent with a general picture of spiral galaxies in which most of the submm emission originates from grains residing in translucent structures

  19. Unstable spiral modes in disk-shaped galaxies

    PubMed Central

    Lau, Y. Y.; Lin, C. C.; Mark, James W.-K.

    1976-01-01

    The mechanisms for the maintenance and the excitation of trailing spiral modes of density waves in diskshaped galaxies, as proposed by Lin in 1969 and by Mark recently, are substantiated by an analysis of the gas-dynamical model of the galaxy. The self-excitation of the unstable mode in caused by waves propagating outwards from the corotation circle, which carry away angular momentum of a sign opposite to that contained in the wave system inside that circle. Specifically, a simple dispersion relationship is given as a definite integral, which allows the immediate determination of the pattern frequency and the amplification rate, once the basic galactic model is known. PMID:16592313

  20. GHASP: an H α kinematical survey of spiral galaxies - XI. Distribution of luminous and dark matter in spiral and irregular nearby galaxies using WISE photometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korsaga, M.; Carignan, C.; Amram, P.; Epinat, B.; Jarrett, T. H.

    2018-07-01

    We present the mass distribution of a sample of 121 nearby galaxies with high-quality optical velocity fields and available infrared Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer(WISE) 3.4 μm data. Contrary to previous studies, this sample covers all morphological types and is not biased towards late-type galaxies. These galaxies are part of the Fabry-Perot kinematical Gassendi HAlpha survey of SPirals survey of spirals and irregular nearby galaxies. Combining the kinematical data to the WISE surface brightness data probing the emission from the old stellar population, we derive mass models allowing us to compare the luminous to the dark matter (DM) halo mass distribution in the optical regions of those galaxies. DM models are constructed using the isothermal core profile and the Navarro-Frenk-White cuspy profile. We allow the mass-to-light ratio (M/L) of the baryonic disc to vary or we keep it fixed, constrained by stellar evolutionary models (WISE W1-W2 colour) and we carry out best fit (BFM) and pseudo-isothermal maximum disc (MDM) models. We found that the MDM provides M/L values four times higher than the BFM, suggesting that disc components, on average, tend to be maximal. The main results are: (i) the rotation curves of most galaxies are better fitted with core rather than cuspy profiles; and (ii) the relation between the parameters of the DM and of the luminous matter components mostly depends on morphological types. More precisely, the distribution of the DM inside galaxies depends on whether or not the galaxy has a bulge.

  1. Hubble Explores the Hidden Dark Side of a Spiral Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This shining disk of a spiral galaxy sits approximately 25 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Sculptor. Named NGC 24, the galaxy was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1785, and measures some 40,000 light-years across. This picture was taken using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, known as ACS for short. It shows NGC 24 in detail, highlighting the blue bursts (young stars), dark lanes (cosmic dust), and red bubbles (hydrogen gas) of material peppered throughout the galaxy’s spiral arms. Numerous distant galaxies can also been seen hovering around NGC 24’s perimeter. However, there may be more to this picture than first meets the eye. Astronomers suspect that spiral galaxies like NGC 24 and the Milky Way are surrounded by, and contained within, extended haloes of dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance that cannot be seen; instead, it reveals itself via its gravitational interactions with surrounding material. Its existence was originally proposed to explain why the outer parts of galaxies, including our own, rotate unexpectedly fast, but it is thought to also play an essential role in a galaxy’s formation and evolution. Most of NGC 24’s mass — a whopping 80 percent — is thought to be held within such a dark halo. Image Credit: NASA/ESA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  2. S0 galaxies are faded spirals: clues from their angular momentum content

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rizzo, Francesca; Fraternali, Filippo; Iorio, Giuliano

    2018-05-01

    The distribution of galaxies in the stellar specific angular momentum versus stellar mass plane (j⋆ - M⋆) provides key insights into their formation mechanisms. In this paper, we determine the location in this plane of a sample of 10 field/group unbarred lenticular (S0) galaxies from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey. We performed a bulge-disc decomposition both photometrically and kinematically to study the stellar specific angular momentum of the disc components alone and understand the evolutionary links between S0s and other Hubble types. We found that eight of our S0 discs have a distribution in the j⋆ - M⋆ plane that is fully compatible with that of spiral discs, while only two have values of j⋆ lower than the spirals. These two outliers show signs of recent merging. Our results suggest that merger and interaction processes are not the dominant mechanisms in S0 formation in low-density environments. Instead, S0s appear to be the result of secular processes and the fading of spiral galaxies after the shutdown of star formation.

  3. Predicting the Velocity Dispersions of the Dwarf Satellite Galaxies of Andromeda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGaugh, Stacy S.

    2016-05-01

    Dwarf Spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group are the faintest and most diffuse stellar systems known. They exhibit large mass discrepancies, making them popular laboratories for studying the missing mass problem. The PANDAS survey of M31 revealed dozens of new examples of such dwarfs. As these systems were discovered, it was possible to use the observed photometric properties to predict their stellar velocity dispersions with the modified gravity theory MOND. These predictions, made in advance of the observations, have since been largely confirmed. A unique feature of MOND is that a structurally identical dwarf will behave differently when it is or is not subject to the external field of a massive host like Andromeda. The role of this "external field effect" is critical in correctly predicting the velocity dispersions of dwarfs that deviate from empirical scaling relations. With continued improvement in the observational data, these systems could provide a test of the strong equivalence principle.

  4. Hubble Peers at the Heart of a Spiral Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-03-21

    This new Hubble image is centered on NGC 5793, a spiral galaxy over 150 million light-years away in the constellation of Libra. This galaxy has two particularly striking features: a beautiful dust lane and an intensely bright center — much brighter than that of our own galaxy, or indeed those of most spiral galaxies we observe. NGC 5793 is a Seyfert galaxy. These galaxies have incredibly luminous centers that are thought to be caused by hungry supermassive black holes — black holes that can be billions of times the size of the sun — that pull in and devour gas and dust from their surroundings. This galaxy is of great interest to astronomers for many reasons. For one, it appears to house objects known as masers. Whereas lasers emit visible light, masers emit microwave radiation. The term "masers" comes from the acronym Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Maser emission is caused by particles that absorb energy from their surroundings and then re-emit this in the microwave part of the spectrum. Naturally occurring masers, like those observed in NGC 5793, can tell us a lot about their environment; we see these kinds of masers in areas where stars are forming. In NGC 5793 there are also intense mega-masers, which are thousands of times more luminous than the sun. Credit: NASA, ESA, and E. Perlman (Florida Institute of Technology) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  5. A Rogues’ Gallery of Andromeda's Dwarf Galaxies. I. A Predominance of Red Horizontal Branches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Weisz, Daniel R.; Albers, Saundra M.; Bernard, Edouard; Collins, Michelle L. M.; Dolphin, Andrew E.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Laevens, Benjamin; Lewis, Geraint F.; Mackey, A. Dougal; McConnachie, Alan; Rich, R. Michael; Skillman, Evan D.

    2017-11-01

    We present homogeneous, sub-horizontal branch photometry of 20 dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies of M31 observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Combining our new data for 16 systems with archival data in the same filters for another four, we show that Andromeda dwarf spheroidal galaxies favor strikingly red horizontal branches or red clumps down to ˜104.2 L ⊙ (M V ˜ -5.8). The age-sensitivity of horizontal branch stars implies that a large fraction of the M31 dwarf galaxies have extended star formation histories (SFHs), and appear inconsistent with early star formation episodes that were rapidly shutdown. Systems fainter than ˜105.5 L ⊙ show the widest range in the ratios and morphologies of red and blue horizontal branches, indicative of both complex SFHs and a diversity in quenching timescales and/or mechanisms, which is qualitatively different from what is currently known for faint Milky Way (MW) satellites of comparable luminosities. Our findings bolster similar conclusions from recent deeper data for a handful of M31 dwarf galaxies. We discuss several sources for diversity of our data such as varying halo masses, patchy reionization, mergers/accretion, and the environmental influence of M31 and the Milky Way on the early evolution of their satellite populations. A detailed comparison between the histories of M31 and MW satellites would shed signifiant insight into the processes that drive the evolution of low-mass galaxies. Such a study will require imaging that reaches the oldest main-sequence turnoffs for a significant number of M31 companions.

  6. The massive halos of spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zaritsky, Dennis; White, Simon D. M.

    1994-01-01

    We use a sample of satellite galaxies to demonstrate the existence of extended massive dark halos around spiral galaxies. Isolated spirals with rotation velocities near 250 km/s have a typical halo mass within 200 kpc of 1.5-2.6 x 10(exp 12) solar mass (90% confidence range for H(sub 0) = 75 km/s/Mpc). This result is most easily derived using standard mass estimator techniques, but such techniques do not account for the strong observational selection effects in the sample, nor for the extended mass distributions that the data imply. These complications can be addressed using scale-free models similar to those previously employed to study binary galaxies. When satellite velocities are assumed isotropic, both methods imply massive and extended halos. However, the derived masses depend sensitively on the assumed shape of satellite orbits. Furthermore, both methods ignore the fact that many of the satellites in the sample have orbital periods comparable to the Hubble time. The orbital phases of such satellites cannot be random, and their distribution in radius cannot be freely adjusted; rather these properties reflect ongoing infall onto the outer halos of their primaries. We use detailed dynamical models for halo formation to evaluate these problems, and we devise a maximum likelihood technique for estimating the parameters of such models from the data. The most strongly constrained parameter is the mass within 200-300 kpc, giving the confidence limits quoted above. The eccentricity, e, of satellite orbits is also strongly constrained, 0.50 less than e less than 0.88 at 90% confidence, implying a near-isotropic distribution of satellite velocities. The cosmic density parameter in the vicinity of our isolated halos exceeds 0.13 at 90% confidence, with preferred values exceeding 0.3.

  7. A new method to estimate local pitch angles in spiral galaxies: Application to spiral arms and feathers in M81 and M51

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Puerari, Ivânio; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Block, David L., E-mail: puerari@inaoep.mx

    2014-12-01

    We examine 8 μm IRAC images of the grand design two-arm spiral galaxies M81 and M51 using a new method whereby pitch angles are locally determined as a function of scale and position, in contrast to traditional Fourier transform spectral analyses which fit to average pitch angles for whole galaxies. The new analysis is based on a correlation between pieces of a galaxy in circular windows of (lnR,θ) space and logarithmic spirals with various pitch angles. The diameter of the windows is varied to study different scales. The result is a best-fit pitch angle to the spiral structure as amore » function of position and scale, or a distribution function of pitch angles as a function of scale for a given galactic region or area. We apply the method to determine the distribution of pitch angles in the arm and interarm regions of these two galaxies. In the arms, the method reproduces the known pitch angles for the main spirals on a large scale, but also shows higher pitch angles on smaller scales resulting from dust feathers. For the interarms, there is a broad distribution of pitch angles representing the continuation and evolution of the spiral arm feathers as the flow moves into the interarm regions. Our method shows a multiplicity of spiral structures on different scales, as expected from gas flow processes in a gravitating, turbulent and shearing interstellar medium. We also present results for M81 using classical 1D and 2D Fourier transforms, together with a new correlation method, which shows good agreement with conventional 2D Fourier transforms.« less

  8. Dynamics of the interstellar matter in galaxies : isolated barred spiral galaxies : cloud formation processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Helmuth, Kristen

    1998-12-01

    The dynamical components of six isolated barred spiral (SB) galaxies are investigated. No evidence is found supporting the hypothesis of a low amount of dark matter being characteristic of SB galaxies. The presence of companion galaxies is found to correlate with an increased statistical spread in the neutral hydrogen (HI) extent. It is concluded that the selection of galaxies with large HI extent may introduce a bias towards tidally interacting systems. The circumnuclear region of the SB galaxy NGC 1365 is studied with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Numerous bright "super star clusters" (SSCs) are detected, surrounding the active nucleus. The bright compact radio source NGC 1365:A is found to coincide spatially with one of the SSCs. We conclude that the source is a "radio supernova". In the [OIII] l 5007 line, the HST resolves individual clouds within the conical outflow from the nucleus, some of which gather in larger agglomerations. An in-depth study of the dynamics of the SB galaxy NGC 1300 is presented. Multi-wavelength data yield an estimate of the velocity field and gravitational potential. Subsequent hydrodynamical simulations are able to reproduce the morphology and kinematics in the bar region using a pure bar perturbing potential. To reproduce the spiral structure a weak spiral component has to be added, indicative of stellar spiral response to the bar and/or self-gravitating gas in the arms. Two separate models, differing mainly with respect to pattern speed and associated resonance structure, are found to reproduce the observations. We study numerically the linear polarization and extinction of light from background stars passing through molecular clouds, illuminating the intricacies of the derivation of the magnetic-field-line pattern in a cloud from the observed polarization pattern: Due to a higher gas-grain collision frequency within the cloud, the polarization caused by the cloud may well be dominated by background/foreground polarization

  9. Effect of Central Mass Concentration on the Formation of Nuclear Spirals in Barred Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thakur, Parijat; Ann, H. B.; Jiang, Ing-Guey

    2009-03-01

    We have performed smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to study the response of the central kiloparsec region of a gaseous disk to the imposition of nonaxisymmetric bar potentials. The model galaxies are composed of three axisymmetric components (halo, disk, and bulge) and a nonaxisymmetric bar. These components are assumed to be invariant in time in the frame corotating with the bar. The potential of spherical γ-models of Dehnen is adopted for the bulge component whose density varies as r -γ near the center and r -4 at larger radii and, hence, possesses a central density core for γ = 0 and cusps for γ>0. Since the central mass concentration of the model galaxies increases with the cusp parameter γ, we have examined here the effect of the central mass concentration by varying the cusp parameter γ on the mechanism responsible for the formation of the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in barred galaxies. Our simulations show that the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals are formed by hydrodynamic spiral shocks driven by the gravitational torque of the bar for the models with γ = 0 and 0.5. On the other hand, the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in the models with γ = 1 and 1.5 are explained by gas density waves. Thus, we conclude that the mechanism responsible for the formation of symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in barred galaxies changes from hydrodynamic shocks to gas density waves as the central mass concentration increases from γ = 0 to 1.5.

  10. RELATIVE ORIENTATION OF PAIRS OF SPIRAL GALAXIES IN THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buxton, Jesse; Ryden, Barbara S., E-mail: buxton.45@osu.edu, E-mail: ryden@astronomy.ohio-state.edu

    2012-09-10

    From our study of binary spiral galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6, we find that the relative orientation of disks in binary spiral galaxies is consistent with their being drawn from a random distribution of orientations. For 747 isolated pairs of luminous disk galaxies, the distribution of {phi}, the angle between the major axes of the galaxy images, is consistent with a uniform distribution on the interval [0 Degree-Sign , 90 Degree-Sign ]. With the assumption that the disk galaxies are oblate spheroids, we can compute cos {beta}, where {beta} is the angle between the rotationmore » axes of the disks. In the case that one galaxy in the binary is face-on or edge-on, the tilt ambiguity is resolved, and cos {beta} can be computed unambiguously. For 94 isolated pairs with at least one face-on member, and for 171 isolated pairs with at least one edge-on member, the distribution of cos {beta} is statistically consistent with the distribution of cos i for isolated disk galaxies. This result is consistent with random orientations of the disks within pairs.« less

  11. Bars and spirals in tidal interactions with an ensemble of galaxy mass models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pettitt, Alex R.; Wadsley, J. W.

    2018-03-01

    We present simulations of the gaseous and stellar material in several different galaxy mass models under the influence of different tidal fly-bys to assess the changes in their bar and spiral morphology. Five different mass models are chosen to represent the variety of rotation curves seen in nature. We find a multitude of different spiral and bar structures can be created, with their properties dependent on the strength of the interaction. We calculate pattern speeds, spiral wind-up rates, bar lengths, and angular momentum exchange to quantify the changes in disc morphology in each scenario. The wind-up rates of the tidal spirals follow the 2:1 resonance very closely for the flat and dark matter-dominated rotation curves, whereas the more baryon-dominated curves tend to wind-up faster, influenced by their inner bars. Clear spurs are seen in most of the tidal spirals, most noticeable in the flat rotation curve models. Bars formed both in isolation and interactions agree well with those seen in real galaxies, with a mixture of `fast' and `slow' rotators. We find no strong correlation between bar length or pattern speed and the interaction strength. Bar formation is, however, accelerated/induced in four out of five of our models. We close by briefly comparing the morphology of our models to real galaxies, easily finding analogues for nearly all simulations presenter here, showing passages of small companions can easily reproduce an ensemble of observed morphologies.

  12. Is the cluster environment quenching the Seyfert activity in elliptical and spiral galaxies?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Souza, R. S.; Dantas, M. L. L.; Krone-Martins, A.; Cameron, E.; Coelho, P.; Hattab, M. W.; de Val-Borro, M.; Hilbe, J. M.; Elliott, J.; Hagen, A.; COIN Collaboration

    2016-09-01

    We developed a hierarchical Bayesian model (HBM) to investigate how the presence of Seyfert activity relates to their environment, herein represented by the galaxy cluster mass, M200, and the normalized cluster centric distance, r/r200. We achieved this by constructing an unbiased sample of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, with morphological classifications provided by the Galaxy Zoo Project. A propensity score matching approach is introduced to control the effects of confounding variables: stellar mass, galaxy colour, and star formation rate. The connection between Seyfert-activity and environmental properties in the de-biased sample is modelled within an HBM framework using the so-called logistic regression technique, suitable for the analysis of binary data (e.g. whether or not a galaxy hosts an AGN). Unlike standard ordinary least square fitting methods, our methodology naturally allows modelling the probability of Seyfert-AGN activity in galaxies on their natural scale, I.e. as a binary variable. Furthermore, we demonstrate how an HBM can incorporate information of each particular galaxy morphological type in an unified framework. In elliptical galaxies our analysis indicates a strong correlation of Seyfert-AGN activity with r/r200, and a weaker correlation with the mass of the host cluster. In spiral galaxies these trends do not appear, suggesting that the link between Seyfert activity and the properties of spiral galaxies are independent of the environment.

  13. Molecular gas mass and star formation of 12 Virgo spiral galaxies along the ram pressure time sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chung, Eun Jung; Kim, S.

    2014-01-01

    The ram pressure stripping is known as one of the most efficient mechanisms to deplete the ISM of a galaxy in the clusters of galaxies. As being affected continuously by ICM pressure, a galaxy may lose their gas that is the fuel of star formation, and consequently star formation rate would be changed. We select twelve Virgo spiral galaxies according to their stage of the ram pressure stripping event to probe possible consequences of star formation of spiral galaxies in the ram pressure and thus the evolution of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. We investigate the molecular gas properties, star formation activity, and gas depletion time along the time from the ram pressure peak. We also discussed the evolution of galaxies in the cluster.

  14. H II Regions in the Disks of Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rozas, M.

    1997-06-01

    The objective of the research presented in the thesis is to use photometrically calibrated high quality images in \\ha\\ of the disks of spiral galaxies to study their global star forming properties. In the first part of the study we catalog and study statistically the \\hii\\ regions in a set of spirals, imaged in \\ha\\ . The observed parameters of each region are its fluxes and diameters, from which we can also derive the mean surface brightness and its internal radial gradient (the latter for the largest most luminous regions). Plotting the luminosity function (LF) for a given galaxy (the number of regions versus \\ha\\ flux) we find a characteristic discontinuity: a peak accompanied by a change in gradient of the function, at a luminosity of 10$^{38.6}$ erg s$^{-1}$ per region. We attribute this to the change from ionization-bounded \\hii\\ regions, at luminosities below the transition, to density-bounded regions above the transition, and explain with a quantitative model based on this assumption why the transition takes place at a well-defined luminosity, and one which varies very little from galaxy to galaxy. In the six galaxies observed and analyzed in this way, the variance is 0.07 mag., making the transition a good prima facie candidate to be a powerful standard candle for accurate extragalactic distance measurements. Confirmation of the nature of the transition is provided by measurements of the internal brightness gradients, which show a jump from a constant value (predicted for ionization bounded regions) below the transition to a larger and increasing value above the transition. The theoretical model which can account for the transition was used to show how the gradients of the LF in the ionization bounded and the density bounded regimes can be used to derive the mass function of the ionizing stars in regions close to the transition luminosity, yielding a mean value for the slope of the MF in the galaxies observed of -2.4; the brightest stars in these

  15. The nature of arms in spiral galaxies. IV. Symmetries and asymmetries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    del Río, M. S.; Cepa, J.

    1999-01-01

    A Fourier analysis of the intensity distribution in the planes of nine spiral galaxies is performed. In terms of the arm classification scheme of \\cite[Elmegreen & Elmegreen (1987)]{ee87} seven of the galaxies have well-defined arms (classes 12 and 9) and two have intermediate-type arms (class 5). The galaxies studied are NGC 157, 753, 895, 4321, 6764, 6814, 6951, 7479 and 7723. For each object Johnson B-band images are available which are decomposed into angular components, for different angular periodicities. No a priori assumption is made concerning the form of the arms. The base function used in the analysis is a logarithmic spiral. The main result obtained with this method is that the dominant component (or mode) usually changes at corotation. In some cases, this change to a different mode persists only for a short range about corotation, but in other cases the change is permanent. The agreement between pitch angles found with this method and by fitting logarithmic spirals to mean arm positions (del Río & Cepa 1998b, hereafter \\cite[Paper III]{p3}) is good, except for those cases where bars are strong and dominant. Finally, a comparison is made with the ``symmetrization'' method introduced by Elmegreen, Elmegreen & Montenegro (1992, hereafter EEM), which also shows the different symmetric components.

  16. The distribution of mass for spiral galaxies in clusters and in the field

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Forbes, D.A.; Whitmore, B.C.

    1989-04-01

    A comparison is made between the mass distributions of spiral galaxies in clusters and in the field using Burstein's mass-type methodology. Both the H-alpha emission-line rotation curves and more extended H I rotation curves are used. The fitting technique for determining mass types used by Burstein and coworkers has been replaced by an objective chi-sq method. Mass types are shown to be a function of both the Hubble type and luminosity, contrary to earlier results. The present data show a difference in the distribution of mass types for spiral galaxies in the field and in clusters, in the sense thatmore » mass type I galaxies, where the inner and outer velocity gradients are similar, are generally found in the field rather than in clusters. This can be understood in terms of the results of Whitmore, Forbes, and Rubin (1988), who find that the rotation curves of galaxies in the central region of clusters are generally failing, while the outer galaxies in a cluster and field galaxies tend to have flat or rising rotation curves. 15 refs.« less

  17. The Near-Infrared Ca II Triplet-σ Relation for Bulges of Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Peletier, Reynier F.; Vazdekis, Alexandre; Balcells, Marc

    2003-05-01

    We present measurements of the near-infrared Ca II triplet (CaT, CaT*), Paschen (PaT), and magnesium (Mg I) indices for a well-studied sample of 19 bulges of early to intermediate spiral galaxies. We find that both the CaT* and CaT indices decrease with central velocity dispersion σ with small scatter. This dependence is similar to that recently found by Cenarro for elliptical galaxies, implying a uniform CaT*-σ relation that applies to galaxies from ellipticals to intermediate-type spirals. The decrease of CaT and CaT* with σ contrasts with the well-known increase of another α-element index, Mg2, with σ. We discuss the role of Ca underabundance ([Ca/Fe]<0) and initial mass function variations in the onset of the observed relations.

  18. The star formation history in the Andromeda halo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Thomas M.

    I present the preliminary results of a program to measure the star formation history in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy. Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope, we obtained the deepest optical images of the sky to date, in a field on the southeast minor axis of Andromeda, 51' (11 kpc) from the nucleus. The resulting color-magnitude diagram (CMD) contains approximately 300,000 stars and extends more than 1.5 mag below the main sequence turnoff, with 50% completeness at V = 30.7 mag. We interpret this CMD using comparisons to ACS observations of five Galactic globular clusters through the same filters, and through χ2-fitting to a finely-spaced grid of calibrated stellar population models. We find evidence for a major (~30%) intermediate-age (6-8 Gyr) metal-rich ([Fe/H])>-0.5) population in the Andromeda halo, along with a significant old metal-poor population akin to that in the Milky Way halo. The large spread in ages suggests that the Andromeda halo formed as a result of a more violent merging history than that in our own Milky Way.

  19. Gaseous Vortices in Barred Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    England, Martin N.; Hunter, James H., Jr.

    1995-01-01

    During the course of examining many two-dimensional, as well as a smaller sample of three-dimensional, models of gas flows in barred spiral galaxies, we have been impressed by the ubiquitous presence fo vortex pairs, oriented roughly perpendicular to their bars, with one vortex on each side. The vortices are obvious only when viewed in the bar frame, and the centers of their velocity fields usually are near Lagrangian points L(sub 4,5). In all models that we have studied, the vortices form on essentially the same time scale as that for the development of gaseous spiral arms, typically two bar rotations. Usually the corotation radius, r(sub c), lies slightly beyond the end of the bar. Depending upon the mass distributions of the various components, gas spirals either into, or out of, the vortices: In the former case, the vortices become regions of high density, whereas the opposite is true if the gas spirals out of a vortex. The models described in this paper have low-density vortices, as do most of the models we have studied. Moreover, usually the vortex centers lie approximately within +/- 15 deg of L(sub 4,5). In the stellar dynamic limit, when pressure and viscous forces are absent, short-period orbits exist, centered on L(sub 4,5). These orbits need not cross and therefore their morphology is that of gas streamlines, that is, vortices. We believe that the gas vortices in our models are hydrodynamic analogues of closed, short-period, libration orbits centered on L(sub 4,5).

  20. A Comparison of Galaxy Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Measurements Using Manual and Automated Techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hewitt, Ian; Treuthardt, Patrick

    2018-01-01

    Disk galaxy evolution is dominated by secular processes in the nearby universe. Revealing the morphological characteristics and underlying dynamics of these galaxies is key to understanding their evolution. The arm structure of disk galaxies can generally be described with logarithmic spirals, thereby giving measurements of pitch angle. These measurements are valuable for probing the dynamics and less apparent characteristics of these galaxies (i.e. supermassive black hole mass). Pitch angle measurements are powerful because they can be derived from a single, uncalibrated, broadband image with sufficient contrast, as opposed to more intensive observations. Accurate determination of these measurements can be challenging, however, since pitch angle can vary with radius.There are currently several semi-automated and manual techniques used to determine pitch angle. These are, or will be, used in at least two Zooniverse citizen science projects. The goal of this work is to determine if different, specific techniques return similar pitch angles for the same set of galaxies. We compare the results from a machine vision technique using SPARCFIRE, a non-Euclidean based hand selection of pitch angle, and two methods using 2D Fourier decomposition (i.e. selecting stable regions from the results of direct application to broadband images and application to traced versions of the observed spiral pattern). Each technique is applied to our sample of galaxies and the resulting pitch angles are compared to generated logarithmic spirals to evaluate the match quality.

  1. Kinematic classification of non-interacting spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiegert, Theresa; English, Jayanne

    2014-01-01

    Using neutral hydrogen (HI) rotation curves of 79 galaxies, culled from the literature, as well as measured from HI data, we present a method for classifying disk galaxies by their kinematics. In order to investigate fundamental kinematic properties we concentrate on non-interacting spiral galaxies. We employ a simple parameterized form for the rotation curve in order to derive the three parameters: the maximum rotational velocity, the turnover radius and a measure of the slope of the rotation curve beyond the turnover radius. Our approach uses the statistical Hierarchical Clustering method to guide our division of the resultant 3D distribution of galaxies into five classes. Comparing the kinematic classes in this preliminary classification scheme to a number of galaxy properties, we find that our class containing galaxies with the largest rotational velocities has a mean morphological type of Sb/Sbc while the other classes tend to later types. Other trends also generally agree with those described by previous researchers. In particular we confirm correlations between increasing maximum rotational velocity and the following observed properties: increasing brightness in B-band, increasing size of the optical disk (D25) and increasing star formation rate (as derived using radio continuum data). Our analysis also suggests that lower velocities are associated with a higher ratio of the HI mass over the dynamical mass. Additionally, three galaxies exhibit a drop in rotational velocity amplitude of ≳20% after the turnover radius. However recent investigations suggest that they have interacted with minor companions which is a common cause for declining rotation curves.

  2. Galaxy interactions and star formation: Results of a survey of global H-alpha emission in spiral galaxies in 8 clusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moss, C.

    1990-01-01

    Kennicutt and Kent (1983) have shown that the global H alpha emission from a spiral galaxy is an indicator of the formation rate of massive stars. Moss, Whittle and Irwin (1988) have surveyed two clusters (Abell 347 and 1367) for galaxies with H alpha emission using a high dispersion objective prism technique. The purpose of the survey is to investigate environmental effects on star formation in spiral galaxies, and in particular to ascertain whether star formation is enhanced in cluster spirals. Approximately 20 percent of CGCG galaxies were detected in emission. Two plates of excellent quality were obtained for each of the two clusters, and galaxies were only identified to have emission if this was detected on both plates of a plate pair. In this way, plate flaws and other spurious identifications of emission could be rejected, and weak emission confirmed. The results of this survey have been discussed by Moss (1987). The detected galaxies are of types SO-a and later. The frequency with which galaxies are detected in emission increases towards later morphological type as expected (cf. Kennicutt and Kent 1983). There is no evidence of any dependence of the frequency of detected emission on the absolute magnitude of the galaxy (cf. Moss and Whittle 1990), but there is a strong correlation between a disturbed morphological appearance of the galaxy and the detection of emission. Furthermore it is found that the emission is more centrally concentrated in those galaxies which show a disturbed morphology. It may be noted that the objective prism plate gives a spectrum of a 400 A region around rest wavelength H alpha, but superposed on this is the H alpha emission from the galaxy which, because the light is essentially monochromatic, results in a true two-dimensional image of the H alpha distribution. The visual appearance of the emission on the prism plates was classified according to its diffuseness on a 5 point scale (very diffuse, diffuse, intermediate, compact, and

  3. XMM-NEWTON DETECTS A HOT GASEOUS HALO IN THE FASTEST ROTATING SPIRAL GALAXY UGC 12591

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dai Xinyu; Anderson, Michael E.; Bregman, Joel N.

    2012-08-20

    We present our XMM-Newton observation of the fastest rotating spiral galaxy UGC 12591. We detect hot gas halo emission out to 80 kpc from the galaxy center, and constrain the halo gas mass to be smaller than 4.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} M{sub Sun }. We also measure the temperature of the hot gas as T = 0.64 {+-} 0.03 keV. Combining our x-ray constraints and the near-infrared and radio measurements in the literature, we find a baryon mass fraction of 0.03-0.05 in UGC 12591, suggesting a missing baryon mass of 70% compared with the cosmological mean value. Combined with anothermore » recent measurement in NGC 1961, the result strongly argues that the majority of missing baryons in spiral galaxies do not reside in their hot halos. We also find that UGC 12591 lies significantly below the baryonic Tully-Fisher relationship. Finally, we find that the baryon fractions of massive spiral galaxies are similar to those of galaxy groups with similar masses, indicating that the baryon loss is ultimately controlled by the gravitational potential well. The cooling radius of this gas halo is small, similar to NGC 1961, which argues that the majority of the stellar mass of this galaxy is not assembled as a result of cooling of this gas halo.« less

  4. DOES THE MILKY WAY OBEY SPIRAL GALAXY SCALING RELATIONS?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Licquia, Timothy C.; Newman, Jeffrey A.; Bershady, Matthew A., E-mail: tcl15@pitt.edu, E-mail: janewman@pitt.edu, E-mail: mab@astro.wisc.edu

    2016-12-20

    It is crucial to understand how the Milky Way (MW), the galaxy we can study in the most intimate detail, fits in among other galaxies. Key considerations include the Tully–Fisher relation (TFR)—i.e., the tight correlation between luminosity ( L ) and rotational velocity ( V {sub rot})—and the three-dimensional luminosity–velocity–radius ( LVR ) scaling relation. Several past studies have characterized the MW as a 1–1.5 σ outlier to the TFR. This study re-examines such comparisons using new estimates of MW properties that are robust to many of the systematic uncertainties that have been a problem in the past and aremore » based on assumptions consistent with those used for other spiral galaxies. Comparing to scaling relations derived from modern extragalactic data, we find that our Galaxy’s properties are in excellent agreement with TFRs defined using any Sloan Digital Sky Survey-filter absolute magnitude, stellar mass, or baryonic mass as the L proxy. We next utilize disk scale length ( R {sub d}) measurements to extend this investigation to the LVR relation. Here we find that our Galaxy lies farther from the relation than ∼90% of other spiral galaxies, yielding ∼9.5 σ evidence that it is unusually compact for its L and V {sub rot} (based on MW errors alone), a result that holds for all of the L proxies considered. The expected R {sub d} for the MW from the LVR relation is ∼5 kpc, nearly twice as large as the observed value, with error estimates placing the two in tension at the ∼1.4 σ level. The compact scale length of the Galactic disk could be related to other ways in which the MW has been found to be anomalous.« less

  5. Does the Milky Way Obey Spiral Galaxy Scaling Relations?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Licquia, Timothy C.; Newman, Jeffrey A.; Bershady, Matthew A.

    2016-12-01

    It is crucial to understand how the Milky Way (MW), the galaxy we can study in the most intimate detail, fits in among other galaxies. Key considerations include the Tully-Fisher relation (TFR)—I.e., the tight correlation between luminosity (L) and rotational velocity (V rot)—and the three-dimensional luminosity-velocity-radius (LVR) scaling relation. Several past studies have characterized the MW as a 1-1.5σ outlier to the TFR. This study re-examines such comparisons using new estimates of MW properties that are robust to many of the systematic uncertainties that have been a problem in the past and are based on assumptions consistent with those used for other spiral galaxies. Comparing to scaling relations derived from modern extragalactic data, we find that our Galaxy’s properties are in excellent agreement with TFRs defined using any Sloan Digital Sky Survey-filter absolute magnitude, stellar mass, or baryonic mass as the L proxy. We next utilize disk scale length (R d) measurements to extend this investigation to the LVR relation. Here we find that our Galaxy lies farther from the relation than ˜90% of other spiral galaxies, yielding ˜9.5σ evidence that it is unusually compact for its L and V rot (based on MW errors alone), a result that holds for all of the L proxies considered. The expected R d for the MW from the LVR relation is ˜5 kpc, nearly twice as large as the observed value, with error estimates placing the two in tension at the ˜1.4σ level. The compact scale length of the Galactic disk could be related to other ways in which the MW has been found to be anomalous.

  6. The Chemical Evolution Carousel of Spiral Galaxies: Azimuthal Variations of Oxygen Abundance in NGC1365

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ho, I.-Ting; Seibert, Mark; Meidt, Sharon E.; Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Kobayashi, Chiaki; Groves, Brent A.; Kewley, Lisa J.; Madore, Barry F.; Rich, Jeffrey A.; Schinnerer, Eva; D’Agostino, Joshua; Poetrodjojo, Henry

    2017-09-01

    The spatial distribution of oxygen in the interstellar medium of galaxies is the key to understanding how efficiently metals that are synthesized in massive stars can be redistributed across a galaxy. We present here a case study in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1365 using 3D optical data obtained in the TYPHOON Program. We find systematic azimuthal variations of the H II region oxygen abundance imprinted on a negative radial gradient. The 0.2 dex azimuthal variations occur over a wide radial range of 0.3–0.7 R 25 and peak at the two spiral arms in NGC 1365. We show that the azimuthal variations can be explained by two physical processes: gas undergoes localized, sub-kiloparsec-scale self-enrichment when orbiting in the inter-arm region, and experiences efficient, kiloparsec-scale mixing-induced dilution when spiral density waves pass through. We construct a simple chemical evolution model to quantitatively test this picture and find that our toy model can reproduce the observations. This result suggests that the observed abundance variations in NGC 1365 are a snapshot of the dynamical local enrichment of oxygen modulated by spiral-driven, periodic mixing and dilution.

  7. Chemical evolution in spiral and irregular galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Torres-Peimbert, S.

    1986-01-01

    A brief review of models of chemical evolution of the interstellar medium in our galaxy and other galaxies is presented. These models predict the time variation and radial dependence of chemical composition in the gas as function of the input parameters; initial mass function, stellar birth rate, chemical composition of mass lost by stars during their evolution (yields), and the existence of large scale mass flows, like infall from the halo, outflow to the intergalactic medium or radial flows within a galaxy. At present there is a considerable wealth of observational data on the composition of HII regions in spiral and irregular galaxies to constrain the models. Comparisons are made between theory and the observed physical conditions. In particular, studies of helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen abundances are reviewed. In many molecular clouds the information we have on the amount of H2 is derived from the observed CO column density, and a standard CO/H2 ratio derived for the solar neighborhood. Chemical evolution models and the observed variations in O/H and N/O values, point out the need to include these results in a CO/H2 relation that should be, at least, a function of the O/H ratio. This aspect is also discussed.

  8. Rocket ultraviolet imagery of the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carruthers, G. R.; Opal, C. B.; Heckathorn, H. M.

    1978-01-01

    Far-UV electrographic imagery of M31 is presented which was obtained during a sounding-rocket flight with an electrographic Schmidt camera sensitive in the wavelength range from 1230 to 2000 A. The resolution in the imagery is such that 50% of the energy from a point source is confined within a circle 40 arcsec in radius. Two conspicuous features are observed in the UV image of M31: one corresponding to a bright association (NGC 206) in the SW region of the disk and one centered on the galactic nucleus. Indications of the general spiral-arm structure are also evident. Absolute photometry and brightness distributions are obtained for the observed features, and both the central region and NGC 206 are shown to be diffuse sources. It is found that the brightness distribution of the central region is a flat ellipse with its major axis closely aligned with the major axis of the galaxy, which favors a source model consisting of young early-type stars close to the galactic plane and constitutes strong evidence against a nonthermal point source at the galactic center.

  9. Rediscovering the Giant Low Surface Brightness Spiral Galaxy Malin 1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galaz, Gaspar

    2018-01-01

    I summarize the latest discoveries regarding this ramarkable diffuse and giant galaxy, the largest single spiral in the universe so far. I describe how the latest discoveries could have been done easily 20 years ago, but an incredible summation of facts and some astronomical sociology, keeped many of them undisclosed. I present the most conspicuous features of the giant spiral arms of Malin 1, including stellar density, colors, stellar populations and some modeling describing their past evolution to the current state. I conclude with pending issues regarding stellar formation in Malin 1, and the efforts to detect its elusive molecular gas.

  10. A Study of Interstellar Medium Components of the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butner, Melissa; Deustua, S. E.; Conti, A.; Smtih, J.

    2011-01-01

    Multi-wavelength data can be used to provide information on the interstellar medium of galaxies, as well as on their stellar populations. We use the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey (OSBSGS) to investigate the distribution and properties of the interstellar medium in a set of nearby galaxies. The OSBSGS consists of B, V, R, J, H and K band images for a over 200 nearby spiral galaxies. These data allow us to probe the dust temperatures and distribution using color maps. When combined with a pixel based analysis, it may be possible to tease out, perhaps better constraining, the heating mechanism for the ISM, as well as constrain dust models. In this paper we will discuss our progress in understanding, in particular, the properties of dust in nearby galaxies. Melissa Butner was a participant in the STScI Summer Student Program supported by the STScI Director's Discretionary Research Fund. MB also acknowledges support and computer cluster access via NSF grant 07-22890.

  11. A study of the H I and optical properties of Low Surface Brightness galaxies: spirals, dwarfs, and irregulars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Honey, M.; van Driel, W.; Das, M.; Martin, J.-M.

    2018-06-01

    We present a study of the H I and optical properties of nearby (z ≤ 0.1) Low Surface Brightness galaxies (LSBGs). We started with a literature sample of ˜900 LSBGs and divided them into three morphological classes: spirals, irregulars, and dwarfs. Of these, we could use ˜490 LSBGs to study their H I and stellar masses, colours, and colour-magnitude diagrams, and local environment, compare them with normal, High Surface Brightness (HSB) galaxies and determine the differences between the three morphological classes. We found that LSB and HSB galaxies span a similar range in H I and stellar masses, and have a similar M_{H I}/M⋆-M⋆ relationship. Among the LSBGs, as expected, the spirals have the highest average H I and stellar masses, both of about 109.8 M⊙. The LSGBs' (g - r) integrated colour is nearly constant as function of H I mass for all classes. In the colour-magnitude diagram, the spirals are spread over the red and blue regions whereas the irregulars and dwarfs are confined to the blue region. The spirals also exhibit a steeper slope in the M_{H I}/M⋆-M⋆ plane. Within their local environment, we confirmed that LSBGs are more isolated than HSB galaxies, and LSB spirals more isolated than irregulars and dwarfs. Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests on the H I mass, stellar mass, and number of neighbours indicate that the spirals are a statistically different population from the dwarfs and irregulars. This suggests that the spirals may have different formation and H I evolution than the dwarfs and irregulars.

  12. SPIN ALIGNMENTS OF SPIRAL GALAXIES WITHIN THE LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURE FROM SDSS DR7

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Youcai; Yang, Xiaohu; Luo, Wentao

    Using a sample of spiral galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and Galaxy Zoo 2, we investigate the alignment of spin axes of spiral galaxies with their surrounding large-scale structure, which is characterized by the large-scale tidal field reconstructed from the data using galaxy groups above a certain mass threshold. We find that the spin axes only have weak tendencies to be aligned with (or perpendicular to) the intermediate (or minor) axis of the local tidal tensor. The signal is the strongest in a cluster environment where all three eigenvalues of the local tidal tensor aremore » positive. Compared to the alignments between halo spins and the local tidal field obtained in N-body simulations, the above observational results are in best agreement with those for the spins of inner regions of halos, suggesting that the disk material traces the angular momentum of dark matter halos in the inner regions.« less

  13. Photometric Properties of Face-on Isolated Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bahr, Alexander; Epstein, P.; Durbala, A.

    2011-05-01

    We want to quantify the relative role of nature versus nurture in defining the observed properties of galaxies. In simpler terms we would like to disentangle the ``genetic'’ and the environmental influences in shaping the morphology of galaxies. In order to do that one needs to firstly define a zero-order baseline, i.e., a sample of galaxies that have been minimally perturbed by neighbors in the last few billion years of their existence. Such a sample has been produced and refined in different stages in the context of the AMIGA international project (www.iaa.es/AMIGA.html). The recent catalogue ``The All-Sky Catalog of Isolated Galaxies Selected from 2MASS'’ (Karachentseva, V. E. et al. 2010) allows us to complete and enrich the initial sample constructed within AMIGA with new objects, thus enhancing the statistical relevance of our study. Our focus is to define a subset of isolated disk spiral galaxies. We constrain the sample selection by: 1) orientation, restricting to almost face-on galaxies and 2) availability of good photometric images in SDSS. The goal is to ``dissect'’ (decompose) these galaxies in major components (disk, bulge, bars, etc.) and to study the properties of the components in a statistical context. Having a reasonable representation of all morphological types, we aim to test the bimodality of bulges and bars. We present a progress report of our work.

  14. Environmental Variations in the Atomic and Molecular Gas Radial Profiles of Nearby Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mok, Angus; Wilson, Christine; JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey

    2017-01-01

    We present an analysis of the radial profiles of a sample of 43 HI-flux selected spiral galaxies from the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey (NGLS) with resolved James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) CO J= 3-2 and/or Very Large Array (VLA) HI maps. Comparing the Virgo and non-Virgo populations, we confirm that the HI disks are truncated in the Virgo sample, even for these relatively HI-rich galaxies. On the other hand, the H2 distribution is enhanced for Virgo galaxies near their centres, resulting in higher H2 to HI ratios and steeper H2 and total gas radial profiles. This is likely due to the effects of moderate ram pressure stripping in the cluster environment, which would preferentially remove low density gas in the outskirts while enhancing higher density gas near the centre. Combined with Hα star formation rate data, we find that the star formation efficiency (SFR/H2) is relatively constant with radius for both samples, but Virgo galaxies have a ˜40% lower star formation efficiency than non-Virgo galaxies. These results suggest that the environment of spiral galaxies can play an important role in the formation of molecular gas and the star formation process.

  15. The interstellar halo of spiral galaxies: NGC 891

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Rand, R. J.; Hester, J. Jeff

    1990-01-01

    Researchers have detected the Warm Ionized Medium (WIM) phase in the galaxy NGC 891. They found that the radial distribution of the WIM follows the molecular or young star distribution - an expected dependence. The amount of the WIM in this galaxy exceeds that in our Galaxy. The major surprize is the large thickness of the WIM phase - about 9 kpc instead 3 kpc as in our Galaxy. Clearly, this is the most significant result of the observations. The presence of low ionization gas at high z as well as at large galactocentric radii (where young stars are rare) is an important clue to the origin of the halo and observations such as the one reported here provide important data on this crucial question. In particular, the ionization of gas at high absolute z implies that either the UV photons manage to escape from the disk of the galaxy or that the extragalactic UV background plays an important role. The bulk of the WIM in spiral galaxies is a result of star-formation activity and thus these results can be understood by invoking a high star formation rate in NGC 891. Only the concerted action of supernovae can get the gas to the large z-heights as is observed in this galaxy. Support for this view comes from our detection of many worms i.e., bits and pieces of supershells in the form of kilo-parsec long vertical filaments. Researchers also saw a 600-pc size supershell located nearly one kpc above the plane of the galaxy.

  16. Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Circumnuclear Environments of the CfA Seyfert Galaxies: Nuclear Spirals and Fueling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pogge, Richard W.; Martini, Paul

    2002-01-01

    We present archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of the nuclear regions of 43 of the 46 Seyfert galaxies found in the volume limited,spectroscopically complete CfA Redshift Survey sample. Using an improved method of image contrast enhancement, we created detailed high-quality " structure maps " that allow us to study the distributions of dust, star clusters, and emission-line gas in the circumnuclear regions (100-1000 pc scales) and in the associated host galaxy. Essentially all of these Seyfert galaxies have circumnuclear dust structures with morphologies ranging from grand-design two-armed spirals to chaotic dusty disks. In most Seyfert galaxies there is a clear physical connection between the nuclear dust spirals on hundreds of parsec scales and large-scale bars and spiral arms in the host galaxies proper. These connections are particularly striking in the interacting and barred galaxies. Such structures are predicted by numerical simulations of gas flows in barred and interacting galaxies and may be related to the fueling of active galactic nuclei by matter inflow from the host galaxy disks. We see no significant differences in the circumnuclear dust morphologies of Seyfert 1s and 2s, and very few Seyfert 2 nuclei are obscured by large-scale dust structures in the host galaxies. If Sevfert 2s are obscured Sevfert Is, then the obscuration must occur on smaller scales than those probed by HST.

  17. Normal Spiral Galaxies Really Do Have Hot Gas in Their Halos: Chandra Observations of NGC 4013 and NGC 4217.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strickland, D. K.; Colbert, E. J. M.; Heckman, T. M.; Hoopes, C. G.; Howk, J. C.; Rand, R. J.

    2004-08-01

    Although soft X-ray emission from million degree plasma has long been observed in the halos of starburst galaxies known to have supernova-driven galactic superwinds, X-ray observations have generally failed to detect hot halos around normal spiral galaxies. Indeed, the Milky Way and NGC 891 have historically been the only genuinely "normal" spiral galaxies with unambiguous X-ray halo detections, until now. Here we report on deep observations of NGC 4013 and NGC 4217, two Milky-Way-mass spiral galaxies with star formation rates per unit area similar to the Milky Way and NGC 891, using the Chandra X-ray observatory. Preliminary investigation of the observations clearly show extra-planar diffuse X-ray emission extending several kpc into the halo of NGC 4013. We will present the results of these observations, compare them to the non-detections of hot gas around normal spirals, and relate them to galactic fountain and IGM accretion based models for hot halos. DKS acknowledges funding from NASA through the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. grant G045095X.

  18. The effect of host cluster gravitational tidal forces on the internal dynamics of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mayer, Alexander

    2013-04-01

    New empirical observation by Bidin, Carraro, Mendez & Smith finds ``a lack of dark matter in the Solar neighborhood" (2012 ApJ 751, 30). This, and the discovery of a vast polar structure of Milky Way satellites by Pawlowski, Pflamm-Altenburg & Kroupa (2012 MNRAS 423, 1109), conflict with the prevailing interpretation of the measured Galactic rotation curve. Simulating the dynamical effects of host cluster tidal forces on galaxy disks reveals radial migration in a spiral structure and an orbital velocity that accelerates with increasing galactocentric radial coordinate. A virtual ``toy model,'' which is based on an Earth-orbiting system of particles and is physically realizable in principle, is available at GravitySim.net. Given the perturbing gravitational effect of the host cluster on a spiral galaxy disk and that a similar effect does not exist for the Solar System, the two systems represent distinct classes of gravitational dynamical systems. The observed `flat' and accelerating rotation curves of spiral galaxies can be attributed to gravitational interaction with the host cluster; no `dark matter halo' is required to explain the observable.

  19. Galaxy Zoo: the dependence of the star formation-stellar mass relation on spiral disc morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Willett, Kyle W.; Schawinski, Kevin; Simmons, Brooke D.; Masters, Karen L.; Skibba, Ramin A.; Kaviraj, Sugata; Melvin, Thomas; Wong, O. Ivy; Nichol, Robert C.; Cheung, Edmond; Lintott, Chris J.; Fortson, Lucy

    2015-05-01

    We measure the stellar mass-star formation rate (SFR) relation in star-forming disc galaxies at z ≤ 0.085, using Galaxy Zoo morphologies to examine different populations of spirals as classified by their kiloparsec-scale structure. We examine the number of spiral arms, their relative pitch angle, and the presence of a galactic bar in the disc, and show that both the slope and dispersion of the M⋆-SFR relation is constant when varying all the above parameters. We also show that mergers (both major and minor), which represent the strongest conditions for increases in star formation at a constant mass, only boost the SFR above the main relation by ˜0.3 dex; this is significantly smaller than the increase seen in merging systems at z > 1. Of the galaxies lying significantly above the M⋆-SFR relation in the local Universe, more than 50 per cent are mergers. We interpret this as evidence that the spiral arms, which are imperfect reflections of the galaxy's current gravitational potential, are either fully independent of the various quenching mechanisms or are completely overwhelmed by the combination of outflows and feedback. The arrangement of the star formation can be changed, but the system as a whole regulates itself even in the presence of strong dynamical forcing.

  20. DETECTION OF A HOT GASEOUS HALO AROUND THE GIANT SPIRAL GALAXY NGC 1961

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, Michael E.; Bregman, Joel N., E-mail: michevan@umich.edu, E-mail: jbregman@umich.edu

    2011-08-10

    Hot gaseous halos are predicted around all large galaxies and are critically important for our understanding of galaxy formation, but they have never been detected at distances beyond a few kpc around a spiral galaxy. We used the ACIS-I instrument on board Chandra to search for diffuse X-ray emission around an ideal candidate galaxy: the isolated giant spiral NGC 1961. We observed four quadrants around the galaxy for 30 ks each, carefully subtracting background and point-source emission, and found diffuse emission that appears to extend to 40-50 kpc. We fit {beta}-models to the emission and estimate a hot halo massmore » within 50 kpc of 5 x 10{sup 9} M{sub sun}. When this profile is extrapolated to 500 kpc (the approximate virial radius), the implied hot halo mass is 1-3 x 10{sup 11} M{sub sun}. These mass estimates assume a gas metallicity of Z = 0.5 Z{sub sun}. This galaxy's hot halo is a large reservoir of gas, but falls significantly below observational upper limits set by pervious searches, and suggests that NGC 1961 is missing 75% of its baryons relative to the cosmic mean, which would tentatively place it below an extrapolation of the baryon Tully-Fisher relationship of less massive galaxies. The cooling rate of the gas is no more than 0.4 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}, more than an order of magnitude below the gas consumption rate through star formation. We discuss the implications of this halo for galaxy formation models.« less

  1. THE SPLASH SURVEY: KINEMATICS OF ANDROMEDA's INNER SPHEROID

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dorman, Claire E.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Fardal, Mark A., E-mail: cdorman@ucolick.org, E-mail: raja@ucolick.org, E-mail: fardal@astro.umass.edu

    2012-06-20

    The combination of large size, high stellar density, high metallicity, and Sersic surface brightness profile of the spheroidal component of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) within R{sub proj} {approx} 20 kpc suggests that it is unlike any subcomponent of the Milky Way. In this work we capitalize on our proximity to and external view of M31 to probe the kinematical properties of this 'inner spheroid'. We employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis of resolved stellar kinematics from Keck/DEIMOS spectra of 5651 red giant branch stars to disentangle M31's inner spheroid from its stellar disk. We measure the mean velocitymore » and dispersion of the spheroid in each of five spatial bins after accounting for a locally cold stellar disk as well as the Giant Southern Stream and associated tidal debris. For the first time, we detect significant spheroid rotation (v{sub rot} {approx} 50 km s{sup -1}) beyond R{sub proj} {approx} 5 kpc. The velocity dispersion decreases from about 140 km s{sup -1} at R{sub proj} = 7 kpc to 120 km s{sup -1} at R{sub proj} = 14 kpc, consistent to 2{sigma} with existing measurements and models. We calculate the probability that a given star is a member of the spheroid and find that the spheroid has a significant presence throughout the spatial extent of our sample. Lastly, we show that the flattening of the spheroid is due to velocity anisotropy in addition to rotation. Though this suggests that the inner spheroid of M31 more closely resembles an elliptical galaxy than a typical spiral galaxy bulge, it should be cautioned that our measurements are much farther out (2-14r{sub eff}) than for the comparison samples.« less

  2. Effects of spiral arms on star formation in nuclear rings of barred-spiral galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seo, Woo-Young; Kim, Woong-Tae, E-mail: seowy@astro.snu.ac.kr, E-mail: wkim@astro.snu.ac.kr

    2014-09-01

    We use hydrodynamic simulations to study the effect of spiral arms on the star formation rate (SFR) in nuclear rings of barred-spiral galaxies. We find that spiral arms can be an efficient means of gas transport from the outskirts to the central parts, provided that the arms are rotating slower than the bar. While the ring star formation in models with no arms or corotating arms is active only during around the bar growth phase, arm-driven gas accretion both significantly enhances and prolongs the ring star formation in models with slow-rotating arms. The arm-enhanced SFR is larger by a factormore » of ∼3-20 than in the no-arm model, with larger values corresponding to stronger and slower arms. Arm-induced mass inflows also make dust lanes stronger. Nuclear rings in slow-arm models are ∼45% larger than in the no-arm counterparts. Star clusters that form in a nuclear ring exhibit an age gradient in the azimuthal direction only when the SFR is small, whereas no notable age gradient is found in the radial direction for models with arm-induced star formation.« less

  3. REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: Prediction and discovery of new structures in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fridman, Aleksei M.

    2007-02-01

    A review is given of the last 20 years of published research into the nature, origin mechanisms, and observed features of spiral-vortex structures found in galaxies. The so-called rotating shallow water experiments are briefly discussed, carried out with a facility designed by the present author and built at the Russian Scientific Center 'Kurchatov Institute' to model the origin of galactic spiral structures. The discovery of new vortex-anticyclone structures in these experiments stimulated searching for them astronomically using the RAS Special Astrophysical Observatory's 6-meter BTA optical telescope, formerly the world's and now Europe's largest. Seven years after the pioneering experiments, Afanasyev and the present author discovered the predicted giant anticyclones in the galaxy Mrk 1040 by using BTA. Somewhat later, the theoretical prediction of giant cyclones in spiral galaxies was made, also to be verified by BTA afterwards. To use the observed line-of-sight velocity field for reconstructing the 3D velocity vector distribution in a galactic disk, a method for solving a problem from the class of ill-posed astrophysical problems was developed by the present author and colleagues. In addition to the vortex structure, other new features were discovered — in particular, slow bars (another theoretical prediction), for whose discovery an observational test capable of distinguishing them from their earlier-studied normal (fast) counterparts was designed.

  4. SUSTAINING STAR FORMATION RATES IN SPIRAL GALAXIES: SUPERNOVA-DRIVEN TURBULENT ACCRETION DISK MODELS APPLIED TO THINGS GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vollmer, Bernd; Leroy, Adam K., E-mail: bvollmer@astro.u-strasbg.fr

    2011-01-15

    Gas disks of spiral galaxies can be described as clumpy accretion disks without a coupling of viscosity to the actual thermal state of the gas. The model description of a turbulent disk consisting of emerging and spreading clumps contains free parameters, which can be constrained by observations of molecular gas, atomic gas, and the star formation rate for individual galaxies. Radial profiles of 18 nearby spiral galaxies from THINGS, HERACLES, SINGS, and GALEX data are used to compare the observed star formation efficiency, molecular fraction, and velocity dispersion to the model. The observed radially decreasing velocity dispersion can be reproducedmore » by the model. In the framework of this model, the decrease in the inner disk is due to the stellar mass distribution which dominates the gravitational potential. Introducing a radial break in the star formation efficiency into the model improves the fits significantly. This change in the star formation regime is realized by replacing the free-fall time in the prescription of the star formation rate with the molecule formation timescale. Depending on the star formation prescription, the break radius is located near the transition region between the molecular-gas-dominated and atomic-gas-dominated parts of the galactic disk or closer to the optical radius. It is found that only less massive galaxies (log M(M{sub sun}) {approx}< 10) can balance gas loss via star formation by radial gas accretion within the disk. These galaxies can thus access their gas reservoirs with large angular momentum. On the other hand, the star formation of massive galaxies is determined by the external gas mass accretion rate from a putative spherical halo of ionized gas or from satellite accretion. In the absence of this external accretion, star formation slowly exhausts the gas within the optical disk within the star formation timescale.« less

  5. Sustaining Star Formation Rates in Spiral Galaxies Supernova-driven Turbulent Accretion Disk Models Applied to THINGS Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vollmer, Bernd; Leroy, Adam K.

    2011-01-01

    Gas disks of spiral galaxies can be described as clumpy accretion disks without a coupling of viscosity to the actual thermal state of the gas. The model description of a turbulent disk consisting of emerging and spreading clumps contains free parameters, which can be constrained by observations of molecular gas, atomic gas, and the star formation rate for individual galaxies. Radial profiles of 18 nearby spiral galaxies from THINGS, HERACLES, SINGS, and GALEX data are used to compare the observed star formation efficiency, molecular fraction, and velocity dispersion to the model. The observed radially decreasing velocity dispersion can be reproduced by the model. In the framework of this model, the decrease in the inner disk is due to the stellar mass distribution which dominates the gravitational potential. Introducing a radial break in the star formation efficiency into the model improves the fits significantly. This change in the star formation regime is realized by replacing the free-fall time in the prescription of the star formation rate with the molecule formation timescale. Depending on the star formation prescription, the break radius is located near the transition region between the molecular-gas-dominated and atomic-gas-dominated parts of the galactic disk or closer to the optical radius. It is found that only less massive galaxies (log M(M ⊙) <~ 10) can balance gas loss via star formation by radial gas accretion within the disk. These galaxies can thus access their gas reservoirs with large angular momentum. On the other hand, the star formation of massive galaxies is determined by the external gas mass accretion rate from a putative spherical halo of ionized gas or from satellite accretion. In the absence of this external accretion, star formation slowly exhausts the gas within the optical disk within the star formation timescale.

  6. Dust energy balance study of two edge-on spiral galaxies in the Herschel-ATLAS survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Geyter, Gert; Baes, Maarten; De Looze, Ilse; Bendo, George J.; Bourne, Nathan; Camps, Peter; Cooray, Asantha; De Zotti, Gianfranco; Dunne, Loretta; Dye, Simon; Eales, Steve A.; Fritz, Jacopo; Furlanetto, Cristina; Gentile, Gianfranco; Hughes, Thomas M.; Ivison, Rob J.; Maddox, Steve J.; Michałowski, Michał J.; Smith, Matthew W. L.; Valiante, Elisabetta; Viaene, Sébastien

    2015-08-01

    Interstellar dust in galaxies can be traced either through its extinction effects on the star light or through its thermal emission at infrared wavelengths. Recent radiative transfer studies of several nearby edge-on galaxies have found an apparent inconsistency in the dust energy balance: the radiative transfer models that successfully explain the optical extinction underestimate the observed fluxes by an average factor of 3. We investigate the dust energy balance for IC 4225 and NGC 5166, two edge-on spiral galaxies observed by the Herschel Space Observatory in the frame of the H-ATLAS survey. We start from models which were constrained from optical data and extend them to construct the entire spectral energy distribution of our galaxies. These predicted values are subsequently compared to the observed far-infrared fluxes. We find that including a young stellar population in the modelling is necessary as it plays a non-negligible part in the heating of the dust grains. While the modelling approach for both galaxies is nearly identical, we find two very different results. As is often seen in other edge-on spiral galaxies, the far-infrared emission of our radiative transfer model of IC 4225 underestimates the observed fluxes by a factor of about 3. For NGC 5166 on the other hand, we find that both the predicted spectral energy distribution as well as the simulated images match the observations particularly well. We explore possible reasons for this difference and conclude that it is unlikely that one single mechanism is the cause of the dust energy balance problem in spiral galaxies. We discuss the different approaches that can be considered in order to get a conclusive answer on the origin this discrepancy.

  7. ScienceCast 64: Andromeda vs. the Milky Way: Astronomers Predict a Titanic Collision

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-06-08

    Astronomers no longer have any doubt: Our Milky Way Galaxy will have a head-on collision with Andromeda. Fortunately, they say, Earth will survive when the two great star systems meet 4 billions years from now.

  8. Andromeda's dwarf spheroidals and the universal mass profile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Michelle; Rich, R. M.; Martin, N.; Ibata, R.; Chapman, S. C.; McConnachie, A. W.; PAndAS

    2014-01-01

    As the faintest, least massive galaxies we are able to observe, dwarf spheroidal galaxies represent the fundamental galactic unit. Their study in the Milky Way has led to several interesting findings and are helping us to better understand the behaviour of dark matter on the smallest scales. In this talk, I will present work from the ongoing PAndAS spectroscopic follow up survey of Andromeda, focusing on our results for its dwarf galaxy population. I will show that by including the masses measured for these objects in our analysis of the mass profiles of all dwarf galaxies, we are able to demonstrate that the notion of a universal mass profile for these most minute of galaxies is false. I will also identify several interesting objects whose properties defy our expectations, and discuss what these mean for our understanding of the physics governing galactic evolution.

  9. Two-component gravitational instability in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marchuk, A. A.; Sotnikova, N. Y.

    2018-04-01

    We applied a criterion of gravitational instability, valid for two-component and infinitesimally thin discs, to observational data along the major axis for seven spiral galaxies of early types. Unlike most papers, the dispersion equation corresponding to the criterion was solved directly without using any approximation. The velocity dispersion of stars in the radial direction σR was limited by the range of possible values instead of a fixed value. For all galaxies, the outer regions of the disc were analysed up to R ≤ 130 arcsec. The maximal and sub-maximal disc models were used to translate surface brightness into surface density. The largest destabilizing disturbance stars can exert on a gaseous disc was estimated. It was shown that the two-component criterion differs a little from the one-fluid criterion for galaxies with a large surface gas density, but it allows to explain large-scale star formation in those regions where the gaseous disc is stable. In the galaxy NGC 1167 star formation is entirely driven by the self-gravity of the stars. A comparison is made with the conventional approximations which also include the thickness effect and with models for different sound speed cg. It is shown that values of the effective Toomre parameter correspond to the instability criterion of a two-component disc Qeff < 1.5-2.5. This result is consistent with previous theoretical and observational studies.

  10. MOND Calculations of Bulk Dispersions and Radial Dispersion Profiles of Milky Way and Andromeda Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alexander, S. G.; Walentosky, M. J.; Messinger, Justin

    We present a new computational method for calculating the motion of stars in a dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) that can use either Newtonian gravity or Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). In our model, we explicitly calculate the motion of several thousand stars in a spherically symmetric gravitational potential, and we statistically obtain both the line-of-sight bulk velocity dispersion and dispersion profile. Our results for MOND calculated bulk dispersions for Local Group dSph’s agree well with previous calculations and observations. Our MOND calculated dispersion profiles are compared with the observations of Walker et al. for Milky Way dSph’s, and we present calculatedmore » dispersion profiles for a selection of Andromeda dSph’s.« less

  11. Spirality: A Noval Way to Measure Spiral Arm Pitch Angle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shields, Douglas W.; Boe, Benjamin; Henderson, Casey L.; Hartley, Matthew; Davis, Benjamin L.; Pour Imani, Hamed; Kennefick, Daniel; Kennefick, Julia D.

    2015-01-01

    We present the MATLAB code Spirality, a novel method for measuring spiral arm pitch angles by fitting galaxy images to spiral templates of known pitch. For a given pitch angle template, the mean pixel value is found along each of typically 1000 spiral axes. The fitting function, which shows a local maximum at the best-fit pitch angle, is the variance of these means. Error bars are found by varying the inner radius of the measurement annulus and finding the standard deviation of the best-fit pitches. Computation time is typically on the order of 2 minutes per galaxy, assuming at least 8 GB of working memory. We tested the code using 128 synthetic spiral images of known pitch. These spirals varied in the number of spiral arms, pitch angle, degree of logarithmicity, radius, SNR, inclination angle, bar length, and bulge radius. A correct result is defined as a result that matches the true pitch within the error bars, with error bars no greater than ±7°. For the non-logarithmic spiral sample, the correct answer is similarly defined, with the mean pitch as function of radius in place of the true pitch. For all synthetic spirals, correct results were obtained so long as SNR > 0.25, the bar length was no more than 60% of the spiral's diameter (when the bar was included in the measurement), the input center of the spiral was no more than 6% of the spiral radius away from the true center, and the inclination angle was no more than 30°. The synthetic spirals were not deprojected prior to measurement. The code produced the correct result for all barred spirals when the measurement annulus was placed outside the bar. Additionally, we compared the code's results against 2DFFT results for 203 visually selected spiral galaxies in GOODS North and South. Among the entire sample, Spirality's error bars overlapped 2DFFT's error bars 64% of the time. For those galaxies in which Source code is available by email request from the primary author.

  12. Investigating the Nuclear Activity of Barred Spiral Galaxies: The Case of NGC 1672

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jenkins, L. P.; Brandt, W. N.; Colbert, E. J. M.; Koribalski, B.; Kuntz, K. D.; Levan, A. J.; Ojha, R.; Roberts, T. P.; Ward, M. J.; Zezas, A.

    2011-06-01

    We have performed an X-ray study of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, primarily to ascertain the effect of the bar on its nuclear activity. We use both Chandra and XMM-Newton observations to investigate its X-ray properties, together with supporting high-resolution optical imaging data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), infrared imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and Australia Telescope Compact Array ground-based radio data. We detect 28 X-ray sources within the D 25 area of the galaxy; many are spatially correlated with star formation in the bar and spiral arms, and two are identified as background galaxies in the HST images. Nine of the X-ray sources are ultraluminous X-ray sources, with the three brightest (LX > 5 × 1039 erg s-1) located at the ends of the bar. With the spatial resolution of Chandra, we are able to show for the first time that NGC 1672 possesses a hard (Γ ~ 1.5) nuclear X-ray source with a 2-10 keV luminosity of 4 × 1038 erg s-1. This is surrounded by an X-ray-bright circumnuclear star-forming ring, comprised of point sources and hot gas, which dominates the 2-10 keV emission in the central region of the galaxy. The spatially resolved multiwavelength photometry indicates that the nuclear source is a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN), but with star formation activity close to the central black hole. A high-resolution multiwavelength survey is required to fully assess the impact of both large-scale bars and smaller-scale phenomena such as nuclear bars, rings, and nuclear spirals on the fueling of LLAGN.

  13. Individual QSOs, Groups, & Clusters of High Redshift QSOs Associated with Low Redshift Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burbidge, Geoffrey; Napier, W.

    2009-01-01

    Starting more than forty years ago it was found by Arp and others that many high redshift QSOs lie very close to comparatively nearby spiral galaxies. As time has gone on the implication of these results have been ignored. Implicitly they have been assumed to be accidental configurations. By now there are so many data, sometimes involving clusters of high z QSOs, that the data requires re-examination. We have done this using conservative statistical methods. We have concluded that the physical associations are real and thus it appears that QSOs are being ejected from spiral galaxies which often show other aspects of activity. Some examples of these phenomena will be described. Thus despite the fact that most investigators continue to use QSOs for cosmological investigations, the results are doomed to failure. Even more important the nature of the high redshifts of QSOs (but not the redshifts of normal galaxies) remains a puzzle yet to be solved.

  14. Embedded spiral patterns in the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1835

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ueda, S.; Kitayama, T.; Dotani, T.

    2017-10-01

    We report on the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the central region of the massive galaxy cluster, Abell 1835, obtained with the data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We find distinctive spiral patterns in the cool core in the residual image of the X-ray surface brightness after its nominal profile is subtracted. The spiral patterns consist of two arms. One of them appears as positive, and the other appears as negative excesses in the residual image. Their sizes are ˜ 70 kpc and their morphologies are consistent with each other. We find that the spiral patterns extend from the cool core out to the hotter surrounding ICM. We analyze the X-ray spectra extracted from both regions. We obtain that the ICM properties are similar to those expected by gas sloshing. We also find that the ICM in the two regions of spiral patterns is near or is in pressure equilibrium. Abell 1835 may now be experiencing gas sloshing induced by an off-axis minor merger. These results have been already published (Ueda, Kitayama, & Dotani 2017, ApJ, 837, 34).

  15. The need for speed: escape velocity and dynamical mass measurements of the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kafle, Prajwal R.; Sharma, Sanjib; Lewis, Geraint F.; Robotham, Aaron S. G.; Driver, Simon P.

    2018-04-01

    Our nearest large cosmological neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy (M31), is a dynamical system, and an accurate measurement of its total mass is central to our understanding of its assembly history, the life-cycles of its satellite galaxies, and its role in shaping the Local Group environment. Here, we apply a novel approach to determine the dynamical mass of M31 using high-velocity Planetary Nebulae, establishing a hierarchical Bayesian model united with a scheme to capture potential outliers and marginalize over tracers unknown distances. With this, we derive the escape velocity run of M31 as a function of galactocentric distance, with both parametric and non-parametric approaches. We determine the escape velocity of M31 to be 470 ± 40 km s-1 at a galactocentric distance of 15 kpc, and also, derive the total potential of M31, estimating the virial mass and radius of the galaxy to be 0.8 ± 0.1 × 1012 M⊙ and 240 ± 10 kpc, respectively. Our M31 mass is on the low side of the measured range, this supports the lower expected mass of the M31-Milky Way system from the timing and momentum arguments, satisfying the H I constraint on circular velocity between 10 ≲ R/ kpc < 35, and agreeing with the stellar mass Tully-Fisher relation. To place these results in a broader context, we compare them to the key predictions of the ΛCDM cosmological paradigm, including the stellar-mass-halo-mass and the dark matter halo concentration-virial mass correlation, and finding it to be an outlier to this relation.

  16. The relationship between the carbon monoxide intensity and the radio continuum emission in spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Adler, David S.; Lo, K. Y.; Allen, Ronald J.

    1991-01-01

    The relationship between the velocity-integrated CO emission and the nonthermal radio continuum brightness in the disks of normal spiral galaxies is examined on a variety of length scales. On a global scale, the total CO intensity correlates strongly with the total radio continuum flux density for a sample of 31 galaxies. On scales of about 2 kpc or more in the disk of individual galaxies, it is found that the ratio I(CO)/T(20) remains fairly constant over the entire disk as well as from galaxy to galaxy. For the eight spirals in the sample, the disk-averaged values of I(CO)/T(20) range from 0.6-2.4, with the average over all eight galaxies being 1.3 +/- 0.6. It is concluded that what these various length scales actually trace are differences in the primary heating mechanism of the gas in the beam. The observed relationship between CO and nonthermal radio continuum emission can be explained by assuming that molecular gas in galactic disks is heated primarily by cosmic rays. The observed relationship is used to show that the brightness of synchrotron emission is proportional to n(cr) exp 0.4 - 0.9 in galactic disks.

  17. Diagnostics of dust content in spiral galaxies: Numerical simulations of radiative transfer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Byun, Y. I.; Freeman, K. C.; Kylafis, N. D.

    1994-01-01

    In order to find the best observable diagnostics for the amount of internal extinction within spiral galaxies, we have constructed realistic models for disk galaxies with immersed dust layers. The radiative transfer including both scattering and absorption has been computed for a range of model galaxies in various orientations. Standard galaxy surface photometry techniques were then applied to the numerical data to illustrate how different observables such as total magnitude, color and luminosity distribution behave under given conditions of dust distribution. This work reveals a set of superior diagnostics for the dust in the disk. These include not only the integrated parameters, but also the apparent disk structural parameters, the amplitude of the asymmetry between the near and far sides of the galaxy as divided by the apparent major axis and their dependence on the orientation of the galaxy with respect to the observer. Combining the above diagnostics with our impressions of real galaxies, we arrive at the qualitative conclusion that galaxy disks are generally optically thin. Quantitative conclusions will appear in subsequent work.

  18. SDSS-IV MaNGA: Variation of the Stellar Initial Mass Function in Spiral and Early-type Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Hongyu; Ge, Junqiang; Mao, Shude; Cappellari, Michele; Long, R. J.; Li, Ran; Emsellem, Eric; Dutton, Aaron A.; Li, Cheng; Bundy, Kevin; Thomas, Daniel; Drory, Niv; Lopes, Alexandre Roman

    2017-04-01

    We perform Jeans anisotropic modeling (JAM) on elliptical and spiral galaxies from the MaNGA DR13 sample. By comparing the stellar mass-to-light ratios estimated from stellar population synthesis and from JAM, we find a systematic variation of the initial mass function (IMF) similar to that in the earlier {{ATLAS}}3{{D}} results. Early-type galaxies (elliptical and lenticular) with lower velocity dispersions within one effective radius are consistent with a Chabrier-like IMF, while galaxies with higher velocity dispersions are consistent with a more bottom-heavy IMF such as the Salpeter IMF. Spiral galaxies have similar systematic IMF variations, but with slightly different slopes and larger scatters, due to the uncertainties caused by the higher gas fractions and extinctions for these galaxies. Furthermore, we examine the effects of stellar mass-to-light ratio gradients on our JAM modeling, and we find that the trends become stronger after considering the gradients.

  19. Carbon Stars In Andromeda. II. Demographics and Photometric Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guhathakurta, Puragra; Hamren, K.; Dorman, C.; Toloba, E.; Seth, A.; Dalcanton, J.; Nayak, A.; PHAT Collaboration; SPLASH Collaboration

    2014-01-01

    This is the second of two talks about a sample of newly-discovered carbon stars in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). As explained in the first talk, these stars were identified on the basis of their spectroscopic characteristics using Keck/DEIMOS spectra obtained as part of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey. We explore the physical properties of strong and weak carbon stars using photometric data from a Hubble Space Telescope Multi-Cycle Treasury program: Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT). The PHAT data set includes deep photometry in six filters: two in the ultraviolet, two in the optical, and two in the near infrared. The carbon stars appear to be in the asymptotic giant branch stage of their evolution as evidenced by the fact that they lie above the tip of the red giant branch and are cleanly separated from normal (i.e., oxygen-rich) giants in color-magnitude diagrams. We study the spatial distribution of carbon stars in M31 and use kinematics to determine whether they belong to M31's thin disk, thick disk, or spheroid. These carbon stars serve as highly visible tracers of the intermediate-mass, intermediate-age stellar population in M31; they are important markers in the study of the star-formation history of the galaxy. This research was part of the SPLASH and PHAT collaboration. We are grateful to the National Science Foundation and NASA for funding support. AN's participation was under the auspices of UCSC's Science Internship Program.

  20. STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF NON-SPHERICAL DARK HALOS IN MILKY WAY AND ANDROMEDA DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi, E-mail: kohei.hayashi@ipmu.jp, E-mail: chiba@astr.tohoku.ac.jp

    We investigate the non-spherical density structure of dark halos of the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies in the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies based on revised axisymmetric mass models from our previous work. The models we adopt here fully take into account velocity anisotropy of tracer stars confined within a flattened dark halo. Applying our models to the available kinematic data of the 12 bright dSphs, we find that these galaxies associate with, in general, elongated dark halos, even considering the effect of this velocity anisotropy of stars. We also find that the best-fit parameters, especially for the shapes of darkmore » halos and velocity anisotropy, are susceptible to both the availability of velocity data in the outer regions and the effect of the lack of sample stars in each spatial bin. Thus, to obtain more realistic limits on dark halo structures, we require photometric and kinematic data over much larger areas in the dSphs than previously explored. The results obtained from the currently available data suggest that the shapes of dark halos in the dSphs are more elongated than those of ΛCDM subhalos. This mismatch needs to be solved by theory including baryon components and the associated feedback to dark halos as well as by further observational limits in larger areas of dSphs. It is also found that more diffuse dark halos may have undergone consecutive star formation history, thereby implying that dark-halo structure plays an important role in star formation activity.« less

  1. X-ray Point Source Populations in Spiral and Elliptical Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colbert, E.; Heckman, T.; Weaver, K.; Ptak, A.; Strickland, D.

    2001-12-01

    In the years of the Einstein and ASCA satellites, it was known that the total hard X-ray luminosity from non-AGN galaxies was fairly well correlated with the total blue luminosity. However, the origin of this hard component was not well understood. Some possibilities that were considered included X-ray binaries, extended upscattered far-infrared light via the inverse-Compton process, extended hot 107 K gas (especially in ellipitical galaxies), or even an active nucleus. Now, for the first time, we know from Chandra images that a significant amount of the total hard X-ray emission comes from individual X-ray point sources. We present here spatial and spectral analyses of Chandra data for X-ray point sources in a sample of ~40 galaxies, including both spiral galaxies (starbursts and non-starbursts) and elliptical galaxies. We shall discuss the relationship between the X-ray point source population and the properties of the host galaxies. We show that the slopes of the point-source X-ray luminosity functions are different for different host galaxy types and discuss possible reasons why. We also present detailed X-ray spectral analyses of several of the most luminous X-ray point sources (i.e., IXOs, a.k.a. ULXs), and discuss various scenarios for the origin of the X-ray point sources.

  2. Evolution in the Dust Lane Fraction of Edge-on L* V Spiral Galaxies Since z = 0.8

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holwerda, B. W.; Dalcanton, J. J.; Radburn-Smith, D.; de Jong, R. S.; Guhathakurta, P.; Koekemoer, A.; Allen, R. J.; Böker, T.

    2012-07-01

    The presence of a well-defined and narrow dust lane in an edge-on spiral galaxy is the observational signature of a thin and dense molecular disk, in which gravitational collapse has overcome turbulence. Using a sample of galaxies out to z ~ 1 extracted from the COSMOS survey, we identify the fraction of massive (L* V ) disks that display a dust lane. Our goal is to explore the evolution in the stability of the molecular interstellar medium (ISM) disks in spiral galaxies over a cosmic timescale. We check the reliability of our morphological classifications against changes in rest-frame wavelength, resolution, and cosmic dimming with (artificially redshifted) images of local galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that the fraction of L* V disks with dust lanes in COSMOS is consistent with the local fraction (≈80%) out to z ~ 0.7. At z = 0.8, the dust lane fraction is only slightly lower. A somewhat lower dust lane fraction in starbursting galaxies tentatively supports the notion that a high specific star formation rate can efficiently destroy or inhibit a dense molecular disk. A small subsample of higher redshift COSMOS galaxies display low internal reddening (E[B - V]), as well as a low incidence of dust lanes. These may be disks in which the growth of the dusty ISM disk lags behind that of the stellar disk. We note that at z = 0.8, the most massive galaxies display a lower dust lane fraction than lower mass galaxies. A small contribution of recent mergers or starbursts to this most massive population may be responsible. The fact that the fraction of galaxies with dust lanes in COSMOS is consistent with little or no evolution implies that models to explain the spectral energy distribution or the host galaxy dust extinction of supernovae based on local galaxies are still applicable to higher redshift spirals. It also suggests that dust lanes are long-lived phenomena or can be reformed over very short timescales.

  3. Investigating the Nuclear Activity of Barred Spiral Galaxies: The Case of NGC 1672

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jenkins, L. P.; Brandt, W. N.; Colbert, E. J.; Koribalski, B.; Kuntz, K. D.; Levan, A. J.; Ojha, R.; Roberts, T. P.; Ward, M. J.; Zezas, A.

    2011-01-01

    We have performed an X-ray study of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, primarily to ascertain the effect of the bar on its nuclear activity. We use both Chandra and XMM-Newton observations to investigate its X-ray properties, together with supporting high-resolution optical imaging data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) infrared imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and Australia Telescope Compact Array ground-based radio data. We detect 28 X-ray sources within the D25 area of the galaxy; many are spatially correlated with star formation in the bar and spiral arms, and two are identified as background galaxies in the HST images. Nine of the X-ray sources are ultraluminous X-ray sources, with the three brightest (LX 5 * 10(exp 39) erg s(exp -1)) located at the ends of the bar. With the spatial resolution of Chandra, we are able to show for the first time that NGC 1672 possesses a hard (1.5) nuclear X-ray source with a 2-10 keV luminosity of 4 * 10(exp 38) erg s(exp -1). This is surrounded by an X-ray-bright circumnuclear star-forming ring, comprised of point sources and hot gas, which dominates the 2-10 keV emission in the central region of the galaxy. The spatially resolved multiwavelength photometry indicates that the nuclear source is a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN), but with star formation activity close to the central black hole. A high-resolution multiwavelength survey is required to fully assess the impact of both large-scale bars and smaller-scale phenomena such as nuclear bars, rings, and nuclear spirals on the fueling of LLAGN.

  4. Tilted-ring models of the prolate spiral galaxies NGC 5033 and 5055

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Christodoulou, Dimitris M.; Tohline, Joel E.; Steiman-Cameron, Thomas Y.

    1988-01-01

    Observations of the kinematics of H I in the disks of spiral galaxies have shown that isovelocity contours often exhibit a twisted pattern. The shape of a galaxy's gravitational potential well (whether due to luminous matter or dark matter) can be determined from the direction of the twist. If this twist is a manifestation of the precession of a nonsteady-state disk, it is shown that the twists of NGC 5033 and 5055 imply an overall prolate shape, with the major axis of the potential well aligned along the rotation axis of the disk. Therefore, the luminous disks of these galaxies must be embedded in dark halos that are prolate spheroids or prolatelike triaxial figures.

  5. The Haunted Halos of Andromeda and Triangulum: A Panorama of Galaxy Formation in Action

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ibata, R.; Martin, N. F.; Irwin, M.; Chapman, S.; Ferguson, A. M. N.; Lewis, G. F.; McConnachie, A. W.

    2007-12-01

    We present a deep photometric survey of the Andromeda galaxy, conducted with the wide-field cameras of CFHT and INT, that covers the inner 50 kpc of the galaxy and the southern quadrant out to ~150 kpc and includes an extension to M33 at >200 kpc. This is the first systematic panoramic study of this very outermost region of galaxies. We detect a multitude of large-scale structures of low surface brightness, including several streams, and two new relatively luminous (MV~-9) dwarf galaxies: And XV and And XVI. Significant variations in stellar populations due to intervening stream-like structures are detected in the inner halo, which is particularly important in shedding light on the mixed and sometimes conflicting results reported in previous studies. Underlying the many substructures lies a faint, smooth, and extremely extended halo component, reaching out to 150 kpc, whose stellar populations are predominantly metal-poor. We find that the smooth halo component in M31 has a radially decreasing profile that can be fitted with a Hernquist model of immense scale radius ~55 kpc, almost 4 times larger than theoretical predictions. Alternatively a power law with ΣV~R-1.91+/-0.11 can be fitted to the projected profile, similar to the density profile in the Milky Way. If it is symmetric, the total luminosity of this structure is ~109 Lsolar, again similar to the stellar halo of the Milky Way. This vast, smooth, underlying halo is reminiscent of a classical ``monolithic'' model and completely unexpected from modern galaxy formation models. M33 is also found to have an extended metal-poor halo component, which can be fitted with a Hernquist model also of scale radius ~55 kpc. These extended slowly decreasing halos will provide a challenge and strong constraints for further modeling. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council

  6. The relation between the gas, dust and total mass in edge-on spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allaert, Flor

    2015-02-01

    Each component of a galaxy plays its own unique role in regulating the galaxy's evolution. In order to understand how galaxies form and evolve, it is therefore crucial to study the distribution and properties of each of the various components, and the links between them, both radially and vertically. The latter is only possible in edge-on systems. We present the HEROES project, which aims to investigate the 3D structure of the interstellar gas, dust, stars and dark matter in a sample of 7 massive early-type spiral galaxies based on a multi-wavelength data set including optical, NIR, FIR and radio data.

  7. GHASP: an Hα kinematical survey of spiral galaxies - XI. Distribution of luminous and dark matter in spiral and irregular nearby galaxies using WISE photometry.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korsaga, M.; Carignan, C.; Amram, P.; Epinat, B.; Jarrett, T. H.

    2018-04-01

    We present the mass distribution of a sample of 121 nearby galaxies with high quality optical velocity fields and available infra-red WISE 3.4 μm data. Contrary to previous studies, this sample covers all morphological types and is not biased toward late-type galaxies. These galaxies are part of the Fabry-Perot kinematical GHASP survey of spirals and irregular nearby galaxies. Combining the kinematical data to the WISE surface brightness data probing the emission from the old stellar population, we derive mass models allowing us to compare the luminous to the dark matter halo mass distribution in the optical regions of those galaxies. Dark matter (DM) models are constructed using the isothermal core profile and the Navarro-Frenk-White cuspy profile. We allow the M/L of the baryonic disc to vary or we keep it fixed, constrained by stellar evolutionary models (WISE W1-W2 color) and we carry out best fit (BFM) and pseudo-isothermal maximum disc (MDM) models. We found that the MDM provides M/L values four times higher than the BFM, suggesting that disc components, on average, tend to be maximal. The main results are: (i) the rotation curves of most galaxies are better fitted with core rather than cuspy profiles; (ii) the relation between the parameters of the DM and of the luminous matter components mostly depends on morphological types. More precisely, the distribution of the DM inside galaxies depends on whether or not the galaxy has a bulge.

  8. A Multi-Frequency Study of the Milky Way-Like Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yew, Miranda; Filipović, Miroslav D.; Roper, Quentin; Collier, Jordan D.; Crawford, Evan J.; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Tothill, Nicholas F. H.; O'Brien, Andrew N.; Pavlović, Marko Z.; Pannuti, Thomas G.; Galvin, Timothy J.; Kapińska, Anna D.; Cluver, Michelle E.; Banfield, Julie K.; Schlegel, Eric M.; Maxted, Nigel; Grieve, Kevin R.

    2018-03-01

    We present a multi-frequency study of the intermediate spiral SAB(r)bc type galaxy NGC 6744, using available data from the Chandra X-Ray telescope, radio continuum data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Murchison Widefield Array, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared observations. We identify 117 X-ray sources and 280 radio sources. Of these, we find nine sources in common between the X-ray and radio catalogues, one of which is a faint central black hole with a bolometric radio luminosity similar to the Milky Way's central black hole. We classify 5 objects as supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, 2 objects as likely SNRs, 17 as H ii regions, 1 source as an AGN; the remaining 255 radio sources are categorised as background objects and one X-ray source is classified as a foreground star. We find the star-formation rate (SFR) of NGC 6744 to be in the range 2.8-4.7 M⊙ yr - 1 signifying the galaxy is still actively forming stars. The specific SFR of NGC 6744 is greater than that of late-type spirals such as the Milky Way, but considerably less that that of a typical starburst galaxy.

  9. Constraints on the Efficiency of Radial Migration in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daniel, Kathryne J.; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

    2015-01-01

    A transient spiral arm can permanently rearrange the orbital angular momentum of the stellar disk without inducing kinematic heating. This phenomenon is called radial migration because a star's orbital angular momentum determines its mean orbital radius. Should radial migration be an efficient process it could cause a large fraction of disk stars to experience significant changes in their individual orbital angular momenta on dynamically short timescales. Such scenarios have strong implications for the chemical, structural and kinematic evolution of disk galaxies. We have undertaken an investigation into the physical dependencies of the efficiency of radial migration on stellar kinematics and spiral structure. In order for a disk star to migrate radially, it must first be 'trapped' in a particular family of orbits, called horseshoe orbits, that occur near the radius of corotation with a spiral pattern. Thus far, the only analytic criterion for horseshoe orbits has been for stars with zero random orbital energy. We present our analytically derived 'capture criterion' for stars with some finite random orbital energy in a disk with a given rotation curve. Our capture criterion predict that trapping in a horseshoe orbit is primarily determined by whether or not the position of a star's mean orbital radius (determined by its orbital angular momentum) is within the 'capture region', the location and shape of which can be derived from the capture criterion. We visualize and confirm this prediction via numerically integrated orbits. We then apply our capture criterion to snap shot models of disk galaxies to determine (1) the radial distribution of the fraction of stars initially trapped in horseshoe orbits, and (2) the dependence of the total fraction of captured stars in the disk on the radial component of the stellar velocity dispersion (σR) and the amplitude of the spiral perturbation to the underlying potential at corotation. We here present a model of an exponential

  10. Non-parametric cell-based photometric proxies for galaxy morphology: methodology and application to the morphologically defined star formation-stellar mass relation of spiral galaxies in the local universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grootes, M. W.; Tuffs, R. J.; Popescu, C. C.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Seibert, M.; Kelvin, L. S.

    2014-02-01

    We present a non-parametric cell-based method of selecting highly pure and largely complete samples of spiral galaxies using photometric and structural parameters as provided by standard photometric pipelines and simple shape fitting algorithms. The performance of the method is quantified for different parameter combinations, using purely human-based classifications as a benchmark. The discretization of the parameter space allows a markedly superior selection than commonly used proxies relying on a fixed curve or surface of separation. Moreover, we find structural parameters derived using passbands longwards of the g band and linked to older stellar populations, especially the stellar mass surface density μ* and the r-band effective radius re, to perform at least equally well as parameters more traditionally linked to the identification of spirals by means of their young stellar populations, e.g. UV/optical colours. In particular, the distinct bimodality in the parameter μ*, consistent with expectations of different evolutionary paths for spirals and ellipticals, represents an often overlooked yet powerful parameter in differentiating between spiral and non-spiral/elliptical galaxies. We use the cell-based method for the optical parameter set including re in combination with the Sérsic index n and the i-band magnitude to investigate the intrinsic specific star formation rate-stellar mass relation (ψ*-M*) for a morphologically defined volume-limited sample of local Universe spiral galaxies. The relation is found to be well described by ψ _* ∝ M_*^{-0.5} over the range of 109.5 ≤ M* ≤ 1011 M⊙ with a mean interquartile range of 0.4 dex. This is somewhat steeper than previous determinations based on colour-selected samples of star-forming galaxies, primarily due to the inclusion in the sample of red quiescent discs.

  11. EVOLUTION IN THE DUST LANE FRACTION OF EDGE-ON L*{sub V} SPIRAL GALAXIES SINCE z = 0.8

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Holwerda, B. W.; Boeker, T.; Dalcanton, J. J.

    2012-07-01

    The presence of a well-defined and narrow dust lane in an edge-on spiral galaxy is the observational signature of a thin and dense molecular disk, in which gravitational collapse has overcome turbulence. Using a sample of galaxies out to z {approx} 1 extracted from the COSMOS survey, we identify the fraction of massive (L*{sub V}) disks that display a dust lane. Our goal is to explore the evolution in the stability of the molecular interstellar medium (ISM) disks in spiral galaxies over a cosmic timescale. We check the reliability of our morphological classifications against changes in rest-frame wavelength, resolution, andmore » cosmic dimming with (artificially redshifted) images of local galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that the fraction of L*{sub V} disks with dust lanes in COSMOS is consistent with the local fraction ( Almost-Equal-To 80%) out to z {approx} 0.7. At z = 0.8, the dust lane fraction is only slightly lower. A somewhat lower dust lane fraction in starbursting galaxies tentatively supports the notion that a high specific star formation rate can efficiently destroy or inhibit a dense molecular disk. A small subsample of higher redshift COSMOS galaxies display low internal reddening (E[B - V]), as well as a low incidence of dust lanes. These may be disks in which the growth of the dusty ISM disk lags behind that of the stellar disk. We note that at z = 0.8, the most massive galaxies display a lower dust lane fraction than lower mass galaxies. A small contribution of recent mergers or starbursts to this most massive population may be responsible. The fact that the fraction of galaxies with dust lanes in COSMOS is consistent with little or no evolution implies that models to explain the spectral energy distribution or the host galaxy dust extinction of supernovae based on local galaxies are still applicable to higher redshift spirals. It also suggests that dust lanes are long-lived phenomena or can be reformed over very short

  12. M/L, Hα Rotation Curves, and H I Gas Measurements for 329 Nearby Cluster and Field Spirals. III. Evolution in Fundamental Galaxy Parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogt, Nicole P.; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo; Herter, Terry

    2004-06-01

    We have conducted a study of optical and H I properties of spiral galaxies (size, luminosity, Hα flux distribution, circular velocity, H I gas mass) to investigate causes (e.g., nature vs. nurture) for variation within the cluster environment. We find H I-deficient cluster galaxies to be offset in fundamental plane space, with disk scale lengths decreased by a factor of 25%. This may be a relic of early galaxy formation, caused by the disk coalescing out of a smaller, denser halo (e.g., higher concentration index) or by truncation of the hot gas envelope due to the enhanced local density of neighbors, although we cannot completely rule out the effect of the gas stripping process. The spatial extent of Hα flux and the B-band radius also decreases, but only in early-type spirals, suggesting that gas removal is less efficient within steeper potential wells (or that stripped late-type spirals are quickly rendered unrecognizable). We find no significant trend in stellar mass-to-light ratios or circular velocities with H I gas content, morphological type, or clustercentric radius, for star-forming spiral galaxies throughout the clusters. These data support the findings of a companion paper that gas stripping promotes a rapid truncation of star formation across the disk and could be interpreted as weak support for dark matter domination over baryons in the inner regions of spiral galaxies.

  13. The 60 micron to 20 centimeter infrared-to-radio ratio within spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bicay, M. D.; Helou, G.

    1990-01-01

    A detailed comparison is presented of the distribution of 60 micron IR and 20 cm radio continuum emission within 25 galaxies, mostly disk spirals. Local maxima in the thermal IR and nonthermal radio emission are found to be spatially coincident on scales of less than about 0.4 kpc in the nearest sample galaxies. The IR-red disk in normal spirals appears to be characterized by a shorter scale length than that of the radio continuum disk, suggesting that the IR-to-radio ratio should decrease as a function of radius. A model that successfully accounts for the observations is introduced which is based on the assumptions of steady-state star formation activity within the disk on kpc scales and a tight coupling between the origins of the dust-heating radiation and the radio-emitting cosmic-ray electrons. The underlying source is described as an exponential disk. The results also suggest that a random walk process cannot by itself describe the temporal evolution of cosmic rays.

  14. A misbehaving spiral

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-01-29

    Despite its unassuming appearance, the edge-on spiral galaxy captured in the left half of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is actually quite remarkable. Located about one billion light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus, this striking galaxy — known as LO95 0313-192 — has a spiral shape similar to that of the Milky Way. It has a large central bulge, and arms speckled with brightly glowing gas mottled by thick lanes of dark dust. Its companion, sitting pretty in the right of the frame, is known rather unpoetically as [LOY2001] J031549.8-190623. Jets, outbursts of superheated gas moving at close to the speed of light, have long been associated with the cores of giant elliptical galaxies, and galaxies in the process of merging. However, in an unexpected discovery, astronomers found LO95 0313-192 to have intense radio jets spewing out from its centre! The galaxy appears to have two more regions that are also strongly emitting in the radio part of the spectrum, making it even rarer still. The discovery of these giant jets in 2003 — not visible in this image, but indicated in this earlier Hubble composite — has been followed by the unearthing of a further three spiral galaxies containing radio-emitting jets in recent years. This growing class of unusual spirals continues to raise significant questions about how jets are produced within galaxies, and how they are thrown out into the cosmos.

  15. Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of the Wiggle Instability in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanaka, Minoru; Wada, Keiichi; Machida, Mami; Matsumoto, Ryoji; Miyaji, Shigeki

    2005-09-01

    We studied the stability of galactic spiral shocks through two dimensional global magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Recently, Wada & Koda (2003) showed, using global hydrodynamic simulations, that galactic gas flows behind a spiral shock becomes unstable against a perturbation parallel to the shock front and form spur-like density structures. They attributed the origin of this wiggle instability to the Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability triggered by the acceleration of the gas behind the shock. We carried out global simulations including galactic magnetic fields. The initial magnetic field is assumed to be either uniform or purely toroidal. We found that although the magnetic field reduces the growth rate of the K-H instability, wiggle instability develops even in galaxies with μG magnetic fields. We also present the results of local simulations to demonstrate the dependence of the growth rate of the instability with the wavelength. The interval of spurs is determined by the most unstable wavelength of the wiggle instability.

  16. Hubble Sees Spiral Bridge of Young Stars Between Two Ancient Galaxies

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-07-11

    NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the dense galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 in the northern constellation Corona Borealis. Made up primarily of giant elliptical galaxies with a few spirals and irregular galaxies thrown in for good measure, the cluster's powerful gravity warps the image of background galaxies into blue streaks and arcs. At the center of the bull's-eye of blue, gravitationally lensed filaments lies a pair of elliptical galaxies that are also exhibiting some interesting features. A 100,000-light-year-long structure that looks like a string of pearls twisted into a corkscrew shape winds around the cores of the two massive galaxies. The "pearls" are superclusters of blazing, blue-white, newly born stars. These super star clusters are evenly spaced along the chain at separations of 3,000 light-years from one another. Read more: 1.usa.gov/1ztQvL9 Credit: NASA/ESA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  17. A comparison of UV surface brightness and HI surface densities for spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Federman, S. R.; Strom, C.

    1990-01-01

    Shaya and Federman (1987) suggested that the ambient ultraviolet flux at 1000 A permeating a spiral galaxy controls the neutral hydrogen (HI) surface density in the galaxy. They found that the atomic envelopes surrounding small molecular clouds, because of their great number, provide the major contribution to the HI surface density over the stellar disk. The increase in HI surface density with later Hubble types was ascribed to the stronger UV fields from more high-mass stars in later Hubble types. These hypotheses are based on the observations of nearby diffuse interstellar clouds, which show a sharp atomic-to-molecular transition (Savage et al. 1977), and on the theoretical framework introduced by Federman, Glassgold, and Kwan (1979). Atomic envelopes around interstellar clouds in the solar neighborhood arise when a steady state is reached between photodissociation of H2 and the formation of H2 on grains. The photodissociation process involves photons with wavelengths between 912 A and 1108 A. Shaya and Federman used H-alpha flux as an approximate measure for the far UV flux and made their comparisons based on averages over Hubble type. Here, researchers compare, on an individual basis, UV data obtained with space-borne and balloon-borne instruments for galaxies with measurements of HI surface density (Warmels 1988a, b). The comparisons substantiate the conclusion of Shaya and Federman that the far UV field controls the HI content of spiral galaxies.

  18. On the far-IR and sub-mm spectra of spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stark, A. A.; Davidson, J. A.; Harper, D. A.; Pernic, R.; Loewenstein, R.

    1989-01-01

    Photometric measurements of three Virgo cluster spirals (NGC4254, NGC4501, and NGC4654) at 160-microns (far-infrared) and 360-microns (submillimeter) wavelengths are compared with theoretical models and observations at other wavelengths. It is shown that the data at the observed wavelengths do not fit any of interstellar dust grain models very well; four possibilities are given in order to explain discrepancies: the observed wavelength points are incorrect; previously observed data is incorrect; both data are incorrect; and the premise of the analysis is incorrect - a composite far-infrared spectrum of normal spiral galaxies is meaningless because they vary considerably in their far-infrared properties. It is also noted that the observed data are inconsistent with models having large cold grains.

  19. The soft x ray halo of the spiral galaxy NGC4631

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walterbos, Rene A. M.; Steakley, Michael F.; Wang, Q. Daniel; Norman, Colin A.; Braun, Robert

    1994-01-01

    ROSAT PSPC observations of the close to edge-on spiral galaxy NGC4631 are presented. This vigorously star forming galaxy shows extented x ray emission perpendicular to the plane, out to about 6 to 8 kpc. The spatial extent is largest at soft x ray energies. The total x ray luminosity of hot gas can be easily supplied by star formation in the disk, and it is likely that the halo is due to outflow of hot gas from the inner disk. Spectral analysis of the x ray data shows that part of the halo emission may be quite cool, well below 10(exp 6)K. Implications of these results are briefly discussed.

  20. Spiral galaxy HI models, rotation curves and kinematic classifications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiegert, Theresa B. V.

    Although galaxy interactions cause dramatic changes, galaxies also continue to form stars and evolve when they are isolated. The dark matter (DM) halo may influence this evolution since it generates the rotational behaviour of galactic disks which could affect local conditions in the gas. Therefore we study neutral hydrogen kinematics of non-interacting, nearby spiral galaxies, characterising their rotation curves (RC) which probe the DM halo; delineating kinematic classes of galaxies; and investigating relations between these classes and galaxy properties such as disk size and star formation rate (SFR). To generate the RCs, we use GalAPAGOS (by J. Fiege). My role was to test and help drive the development of this software, which employs a powerful genetic algorithm, constraining 23 parameters while using the full 3D data cube as input. The RC is here simply described by a tanh-based function which adequately traces the global RC behaviour. Extensive testing on artificial galaxies show that the kinematic properties of galaxies with inclination >40 degrees, including edge-on galaxies, are found reliably. Using a hierarchical clustering algorithm on parametrised RCs from 79 galaxies culled from literature generates a preliminary scheme consisting of five classes. These are based on three parameters: maximum rotational velocity, turnover radius and outer slope of the RC. To assess the relationship between DM content and the kinematic classes, we generate mass models for 10 galaxies from the THINGS and WHISP surveys, and J. Irwin's sample. In most cases mass models using GalAPAGOS RCs were similar to those using traditional "tilted-ring'' method RCs. The kinematic classes are mainly distinguished by their rotational velocity. We confirm correlations between increasing velocity and B-magnitude, optical disk size, and find earlier type galaxies among the strong rotators. SFR also increases with maximum rotational velocity. Given our limited subsample, we cannot discern a

  1. The influence of the cluster environment on the star formation efficiency of 12 Virgo spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vollmer, B.; Wong, O. I.; Braine, J.; Chung, A.; Kenney, J. D. P.

    2012-07-01

    The influence of the environment on gas surface density and star formation efficiency of cluster spiral galaxies is investigated. We extend previous work on radial profiles by a pixel-to pixel analysis looking for asymmetries due to environmental interactions. The star formation rate is derived from GALEX UV and Spitzer total infrared data based on the 8, 24, 70, and 160 μm data. As in field galaxies, the star formation rate for most Virgo galaxies is approximately proportional to the molecular gas mass. Except for NGC 4438, the cluster environment does not affect the star formation efficiency with respect to the molecular gas. Gas truncation is not associated with major changes in the total gas surface density distribution of the inner disk of Virgo spiral galaxies. In three galaxies (NGC 4430, NGC 4501, and NGC 4522), possible increases in the molecular fraction and the star formation efficiency with respect to the total gas, of factors of 1.5 to 2, are observed on the windward side of the galactic disk. A significant increase of the star formation efficiency with respect to the molecular gas content on the windward side of ram pressure-stripped galaxies is not observed. The ram-pressure stripped extraplanar gas of 3 highly inclined spiral galaxies (NGC 4330, NGC 4438, and NGC 4522) shows a depressed star formation efficiency with respect to the total gas, and one of them (NGC 4438) shows a depressed rate even with respect to the molecular gas. The interpretation is that stripped gas loses the gravitational confinement and associated pressure of the galactic disk, and the gas flow is diverging, so the gas density decreases and the star formation rate drops. We found two such regions of low star formation efficiency in the more face-on galaxies NGC 4501 and NGC 4654 which are both undergoing ram pressure stripping. These regions show low radio continuum emission or unusually steep radio spectral index. However, the stripped extraplanar gas in one highly inclined

  2. Using a Weak CN Spectral Feature as a Marker for Massive AGB Stars in the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guhathakurta, Puragra; Kamath, Anika; Sales, Alyssa; Sarukkai, Atmika; Hays, Jon; PHAT Collaboration; SPLASH Collaboration

    2017-01-01

    The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey has produced six-filter photometry at near-ultraviolet, optical and nearly infrared wavelengths (F275W, F336W, F475W, F814W, F110W and F160W) for over 100 million stars in the disk of the of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). As part of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey, medium resolution (R ~ 2000) spectra covering the wavelength range 4500-9500A were obtained for over 5000 relatively bright stars from the PHAT source catalog using the Keck II 10-meter telescope and DEIMOS spectrograph. While searching for carbon stars in the spectroscopic data set, we discovered a rare population of stars that show a weak CN spectral absorption feature at ~7900A (much weaker than the CN feature in typical carbon stars) along with other spectral absorption features like TiO and the Ca triplet that are generally not present/visible in carbon star spectra but that are typical for normal stars with oxygen rich atmospheres. These 150 or so "weak CN" stars appear to be fairly localized in six-filter space (i.e., in various color-color and color-magnitude diagrams) but are generally offset from carbon stars. Comparison to PARSEC model stellar tracks indicates that these weak CN stars are probably massive (5-10 Msun) asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in a relatively short-lived core helium burning phase of their evolution. Careful spectroscopic analysis indicates that the details of the CN spectral feature are about 3-4x weaker in weak CN stars than in carbon stars. The kinematics of weak CN stars are similar to those of other young stars (e.g., massive main sequence stars) and reflect the well ordered rotation of M31's disk.This research project is funded in part by NASA/STScI and the National Science Foundation. Much of this work was carried out by high school students and undergraduates under the auspices of the Science Internship Program and LAMAT program at the University of

  3. WATER MASERS IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY. II. WHERE DO MASERS ARISE?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Amiri, Nikta; Darling, Jeremy

    We present a comparative multiwavelength analysis of water-maser-emitting regions and non-maser-emitting luminous 24 μ m star-forming regions in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) to identify the sites most likely to produce luminous water masers useful for astrometry and proper motion studies. Included in the analysis are Spitzer 24 μ m photometry, Herschel 70 and 160 μ m photometry, H α emission, dust temperature, and star-formation rate. We find significant differences between the maser-emitting and non-maser-emitting regions: water-maser-emitting regions tend to be more infrared-luminous and show higher star-formation rates. The five water masers in M31 are consistent with being analogs of watermore » masers in Galactic star-forming regions and represent the high-luminosity tail of a larger (and as yet undetected) population. Most regions likely to produce water masers bright enough for proper motion measurements using current facilities have already been surveyed, but we suggest three ways to detect additional water masers in M31: (1) reobserve the most luminous mid- or far-infrared sources with higher sensitivity than was used in the Green Bank Telescope survey; (2) observe early-stage star-forming regions selected by millimeter continuum that have not already been selected by their 24 μ m emission, and (3) reobserve the most luminous mid- or far-infrared sources and rely on maser variability for new detections.« less

  4. The void in the Sculptor group spiral galaxy NGC 247

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wagner-Kaiser, R.; De Maio, T.; Sarajedini, A.; Chakrabarti, S.

    2014-10-01

    The dwarf galaxy NGC 247, located in the Sculptor Filament, displays an apparent void on the north side of its spiral disc. The existence of the void in the disc of this dwarf galaxy has been known for some time, but the exact nature and cause of this strange feature has remained unclear. We investigate the properties of the void in the disc of NGC 247 using photometry of archival Hubble Space Telescope data to analyse the stars in and around this region. Based on a grid of isochrones from log(t) = 6.8 to 10.0, we assign ages using nearest-neighbour interpolation. Examination of the spatial variation of these ages across the galaxy reveals an age difference between stars located inside the void region and stars located outside this region. We speculate that the void in NGC 247 's stellar disc may be due to a recent interaction with a nearly dark subhalo that collided with the disc and could account for the long-lived nature of the void.

  5. Chandra and Hubble Composite Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 4631

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2001-01-01

    This image shows the central region of the spiral galaxy NGC 4631 as seen edge-on from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The Chandra data, shown in blue and purple, provide the first unambiguous evidence for a halo of hot gas surrounding a galaxy that is very similar to our Milky Way. The structure across the middle of the image and the extended faint filaments, shown in orange, represent the observation from the HST that reveals giant bursting bubbles created by clusters of massive stars. Scientists have debated for more than 40 years whether the Milky Way has an extended corona, or halo, of hot gas. Observations of NGC 4631 and similar galaxies provide astronomers with an important tool in the understanding our own galactic environment. A team of astronomers, led by Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, observed NGC 4631 with CXO's Advanced Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS). The observation took place on April 15, 2000, and its duration was approximately 60,000 seconds.

  6. STRONG EVIDENCE FOR THE DENSITY-WAVE THEORY OF SPIRAL STRUCTURE IN DISK GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pour-Imani, Hamed; Kennefick, Daniel; Kennefick, Julia

    2016-08-10

    The density-wave theory of galactic spiral-arm structure makes a striking prediction that the pitch angle of spiral arms should vary with the wavelength of the galaxy’s image. The reason is that stars are born in the density wave but move out of it as they age. They move ahead of the density wave inside the co-rotation radius, and fall behind outside of it, resulting in a tighter pitch angle at wavelengths that image stars (optical and near-infrared) than those that are associated with star formation (far-infrared and ultraviolet). In this study we combined large sample size with wide range ofmore » wavelengths, from the ultraviolet to the infrared to investigate this issue. For each galaxy we used an optical wavelength image ( B -band: 445 nm) and images from the Spitzer Space Telescope at two infrared wavelengths (infrared: 3.6 and 8.0 μ m) and we measured the pitch angle with the 2DFFT and Spirality codes. We find that the B -band and 3.6 μ m images have smaller pitch angles than the infrared 8.0 μ m image in all cases, in agreement with the prediction of density-wave theory. We also used images in the ultraviolet from Galaxy Evolution Explorer , whose pitch angles agreed with the measurements made at 8 μ m.« less

  7. A 2-3 billion year old major merger paradigm for the Andromeda galaxy and its outskirts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hammer, F.; Yang, Y. B.; Wang, J. L.; Ibata, R.; Flores, H.; Puech, M.

    2018-04-01

    Recent observations of our neighbouring galaxy M31 have revealed that its disc was shaped by widespread events. The evidence for this includes the high dispersion (V/σ ≤ 3) of stars older than 2 Gyr, and a global star formation episode, 2-4 Gyr ago. Using the modern hydrodynamical code, GIZMO, we have performed 300 high-resolution simulations to explore the extent to which these observed properties can be explained by a single merger. We find that the observed M31 disc resembles models having experienced a 4:1 merger, in which the nuclei coalesced 1.8-3 Gyr ago, and where the first passage took place 7-10 Gyr ago at a large pericentre distance (32 kpc). We also show that within a family of orbital parameters, the Giant Stream (GS) can be formed with various merger mass ratios, from 2:1 to 300:1. A recent major merger may be the only way to create the very unusual age-dispersion relation in the disc. It reproduces and explains the long-lived 10 kpc ring, the widespread and recent star formation event, the absence of a remnant of the GS progenitor, the apparent complexity of the 3D spatial distribution of the GS, the NE and G Clumps and their formation process, and the observed slope of the halo profile. These modelling successes lead us to propose that the bulk of the substructure in the M31 halo, as well as the complexity of the inner galaxy, may be attributable to a single major interaction with a galaxy that has now fully coalesced with Andromeda.

  8. DISTANT CLUSTER OF GALAXIES [left

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    One of the deepest images to date of the universe, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST), reveals thousands of faint galaxies at the detection limit of present day telescopes. Peering across a large volume of the observable cosmos, Hubble resolves thousands of galaxies from five to twelve billion light-years away. The light from these remote objects has taken billions of years to cross the expanding universe, making these distant galaxies fossil evidence' of events that happened when the universe was one-third its present age. A fraction of the galaxies in this image belong to a cluster located nine billion light-years away. Though the field of view (at the cluster's distance) is only two million light-years across, it contains a multitude of fragmentary objects. (By comparison, the two million light-years between our Milky Way galaxy and its nearest large companion galaxy, in the constellation Andromeda, is essentially empty space!) Very few of the cluster's members are recognizable as normal spiral galaxies (like our Milky Way), although some elongated members might be edge-on disks. Among this zoo of odd galaxies are ``tadpole-like'' objects, disturbed and apparently merging systems dubbed 'train-wrecks,' and a multitude of faint, tiny shards and fragments, dwarf galaxies or possibly an unknown population of objects. However, the cluster also contains red galaxies that resemble mature examples of today's elliptical galaxies. Their red color comes from older stars that must have formed shortly after the Big Bang. The image is the full field view of the Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2. The picture was taken in intervals between May 11 and June 15, 1994 and required an 18-hour long exposure, over 32 orbits of HST, to reveal objects down to 29th magnitude. [bottom right] A close up view of the peculiar radio galaxy 3C324 used to locate the cluster. The galaxy is nine billion light-years away as measured by its spectral redshift (z=1.2), and located in the

  9. DOES THE OOSTERHOFF DICHOTOMY EXIST IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY? I. THE CASE OF G11

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Contreras Ramos, Rodrigo; Clementini, Gisella; Federici, Luciana, E-mail: rodrigo.contreras@oabo.inaf.it, E-mail: gisella.clementini@oabo.inaf.it, E-mail: luciana.federici@oabo.inaf.it

    We present the first evidence that Oosterhoff type II globular clusters exist in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). On the basis of time-series photometry of the moderately metal-poor ([Fe/H] {approx}-1.6 dex) M31 globular cluster G11, obtained with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope, we detected and derived periods for 14 RR Lyrae stars, of which five are found to lie inside the cluster tidal radius. They include three fundamental-mode (RRab) and two first-overtone (RRc) pulsators, with average periods (P{sub ab} ) = 0.70 days, and (P{sub c} ) = 0.40 days, respectively. These mean periodsmore » and the position of the cluster variable stars in the period-amplitude and period-metallicity diagrams all suggest that G11 is likely to be an Oosterhoff type II globular cluster. This appears to be in agreement with the general behavior of Milky Way globular clusters with similar metallicity and horizontal branch morphology.« less

  10. A new approach to detailed structural decomposition from the splash and phat surveys: Kicked-up disk stars in the Andromeda galaxy?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dorman, Claire E.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Widrow, Lawrence M., E-mail: cdorman@ucolick.org, E-mail: raja@ucolick.org, E-mail: widrow@astro.queensu.ca

    We characterize the bulge, disk, and halo subcomponents in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) over the radial range 4 kpc < R {sub proj} < 225 kpc. The cospatial nature of these subcomponents renders them difficult to disentangle using surface brightness (SB) information alone, especially interior to ∼20 kpc. Our new decomposition technique combines information from the luminosity function (LF) of over 1.5 million bright (20 < m {sub 814W} < 22) stars from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury survey, radial velocities of over 5000 red giant branch stars in the same magnitude range from the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape ofmore » Andromeda's Stellar Halo survey, and integrated I-band SB profiles from various sources. We use an affine-invariant Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to fit an appropriate toy model to these three data sets. The bulge, disk, and halo SB profiles are modeled as a Sérsic, exponential, and cored power law, respectively, and the LFs are modeled as broken power laws. We present probability distributions for each of 32 parameters describing the SB profiles and LFs of the three subcomponents. We find that the number of stars with a disk-like LF is 5.2% ± 2.1% larger than the number with disk-like (dynamically cold) kinematics, suggesting that some stars born in the disk have been dynamically heated to the point that they are kinematically indistinguishable from halo members. This is the first kinematical evidence for a 'kicked-up disk' halo population in M31. The fraction of kicked-up disk stars is consistent with that found in simulations. We also find evidence for a radially varying disk LF, consistent with a negative metallicity gradient in the stellar disk.« less

  11. HCN Survey of Normal Spiral, Infrared-luminous, and Ultraluminous Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Yu; Solomon, Philip M.

    2004-05-01

    We report systematic HCN J=1-0 (and CO) observations of a sample of 53 infrared (IR) and/or CO-bright and/or luminous galaxies, including seven ultraluminous infrared galaxies, nearly 20 luminous infrared galaxies, and more than a dozen of the nearest normal spiral galaxies. This is the largest and most sensitive HCN survey of galaxies to date. All galaxies observed so far follow the tight correlation between the IR luminosity LIR and the HCN luminosity LHCN initially proposed by Solomon, Downes, & Radford, which is detailed in a companion paper. We also address here the issue of HCN excitation. There is no particularly strong correlation between LHCN and the 12 μm luminosity; in fact, of all the four IRAS bands, the 12 μm luminosity has the weakest correlation with the HCN luminosity. There is also no evidence of stronger HCN emission or a higher ratio of HCN and CO luminosities LHCN/LCO for galaxies with excess 12 μm emission. This result implies that mid-IR radiative pumping, or populating, of the J=1 level of HCN by a mid-IR vibrational transition is not important compared with the collisional excitation by dense molecular hydrogen. Furthermore, large velocity gradient calculations justify the use of HCN J=1-0 emission as a tracer of high-density molecular gas (>~3×104/τcm-3) and give an estimate of the mass of dense molecular gas from HCN observations. Therefore, LHCN may be used as a measure of the total mass of dense molecular gas, and the luminosity ratio LHCN/LCO may indicate the fraction of molecular gas that is dense.

  12. The spatial variation of the infrared-to-radio ratio in spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marsh, K. A.; Helou, G.

    1995-01-01

    We have produced two-dimensional maps of the intensity ratio, Q(sub 60), of 60 micron infrared to 20 cm radio continuum emission, for a set of 25 nearby galaxies, mostly spirals. The ratio maps were obtained from infrared images made using IRAS data with the maximum correlation method, and radio images made using VLA data. Before taking the ratio, the radio images were processed so as to have the same resolution properties as the infrared images; the final spatial resolution in all cases is approximately 1 min, corresponding to 1 - 2 kpc for most galaxies. This resolution represents a significant improvement over previous studies. Our new high-resolution maps confirm the slow decrease of Q(sub 60) with increasing radial distance from the nucleus, but show additional structure which is probably associated with separate sites of active star formation in the spiral arms. The maps show Q(sub 60) to be more closely related to infrared surface brightness than to the radial distance r in the galaxy disk. We note also that the Q(sub 60) gradients are absent (or at least reduced) for the edge-on galaxies, a property which can be attributed to the dilution of contrast due to the averaging of the additional structure along the line of sight. The results are all in qualitative agreement with the suggestion that the radio image represents a smeared version of the infrared image, as would be expected on the basis of current models in which the infrared-radio correlation is driven by the formation of massive stars, and the intensity distribution of radio emission is smeared as a result of the propagation of energetic electrons accelerated during the supernova phase.

  13. The Red Spiral Galaxy UGC11680: Clues for the Inside-Out Quenching.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bárcenas, J.; Sanchez, S. F.

    2016-06-01

    Broadly, galaxies can be divided in two groups, thanks to the Color-Magnitude Diagram: the lively star formation ones, ``The blue Cloud'' and galaxies which halted their star formation, ``The Red Sequence''. It is a currently accepted that the galaxies start their lifespan as a blue objects, turning red when they stop to assembly more mass and thus more stars. Nevertheless, This change need to be quick (˜ 1 Gyr), due to the dearth of galaxies between this two populations (the so called ``green valley'').Previous works have found two distinct stellar mass assembly modes, they are termed as ``the inside-out'' and ``the outside-in'' growth scenarios in the literature. In the ``inside-out'' scenario, mass assembly is finished in the galactic central region. In some cases, the inflow gas can fuel the central SuperMassive BlackHole. The subsequent AGN feedback will then shut-off the central star formation. One possible case of this scenario is the galaxy UGC11680, an unusual face-on red spiral galaxy with an AGN type 2, at the red sequence belonging to the CALIFA survey. We used the so called fossil method to study its star formation history and try to understand what happened to its stellar populations.

  14. High-Resolution Imaging of the Multiphase Interstellar Thick Disk in Two Edge-On Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howk, J. Christopher; Rueff, K.

    2009-01-01

    We present broadband and narrow-band images, acquired from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and WIYN 3.5 m telescope respectively, of two edge-on spiral galaxies, NGC 4302 and NGC 4013. These high-resolution images (BVI + H-alpha) provide a detailed view of the thick disk interstellar medium (ISM) in these galaxies. Both galaxies show prominent extraplanar dust-bearing clouds viewed in absorption against the background stellar light. Individual clouds are found to z 2 kpc in each galaxy. These clouds each contain >10^4 to >10^5 solar masses of gas. Both galaxies have extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (DIG), as seen in our H-alpha images and earlier work. In addition to the DIG, discrete H II regions are found at heights up to 1 kpc from both galaxies. We compare the morphologies of the dusty clouds with the DIG in these galaxies and discuss the relationship between these components of the thick disk ISM.

  15. Spiral-arm instability: giant clump formation via fragmentation of a galactic spiral arm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inoue, Shigeki; Yoshida, Naoki

    2018-03-01

    Fragmentation of a spiral arm is thought to drive the formation of giant clumps in galaxies. Using linear perturbation analysis for self-gravitating spiral arms, we derive an instability parameter and define the conditions for clump formation. We extend our analysis to multicomponent systems that consist of gas and stars in an external potential. We then perform numerical simulations of isolated disc galaxies with isothermal gas, and compare the results with the prediction of our analytic model. Our model describes accurately the evolution of the spiral arms in our simulations, even when spiral arms dynamically interact with one another. We show that most of the giant clumps formed in the simulated disc galaxies satisfy the instability condition. The clump masses predicted by our model are in agreement with the simulation results, but the growth time-scale of unstable perturbations is overestimated by a factor of a few. We also apply our instability analysis to derive scaling relations of clump properties. The expected scaling relation between the clump size, velocity dispersion, and circular velocity is slightly different from that given by the Toomre instability analyses, but neither is inconsistent with currently available observations. We argue that the spiral-arm instability is a viable formation mechanism of giant clumps in gas-rich disc galaxies.

  16. An optical study of stars and dust in the Andromeda galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walterbos, R. A. M.; Kennicutt, R. C., Jr.

    1988-01-01

    The distribution of light in M 31 is characterized on the basis of the UBVR surface photometry reported by Walterbos and Kennicutt (1987). The results of the data analysis are presented in extensive graphs, maps, and tables and discussed in detail, considering the outer disk regions, the decomposition into bulge and disk, the global disk and bulge colors, and dust and gas in two spiral arms. Principal findings examined include: (1) position-angle changes at radial distances beyond about 18 kpc (consistent with SW disk warping); (2) a bulge profile well described by an r exp 1/4 power law; (3) a bulge contribution to total light of about 40 percent; (4) increasing blueness in the outer disk (color gradient 0.02 mag/kpc in B-R); (5) an extinction law similar to that for the Galaxy; and (6) a significant correlation between dust and H I distributions.

  17. Discovery of a low-luminosity spiral DRAGN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mulcahy, D. D.; Mao, M. Y.; Mitsuishi, I.; Scaife, A. M. M.; Clarke, A. O.; Babazaki, Y.; Kobayashi, H.; Suganuma, R.; Matsumoto, H.; Tawara, Y.

    2016-11-01

    Standard galaxy formation models predict that large-scale double-lobed radio sources, known as DRAGNs, will always be hosted by elliptical galaxies. In spite of this, in recent years a small number of spiral galaxies have also been found to host such sources. These so-called spiral DRAGNs are still extremely rare, with only 5 cases being widely accepted. Here we report on the serendipitous discovery of a new spiral DRAGN in data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 322 MHz. The host galaxy, MCG+07-47-10, is a face-on late-type Sbc galaxy with distinctive spiral arms and prominent bulge suggesting a high black hole mass. Using WISE infra-red and GALEX UV data we show that this galaxy has a star formation rate of 0.16-0.75 M⊙ yr-1, and that the radio luminosity is dominated by star-formation. We demonstrate that this spiral DRAGN has similar environmental properties to others of this class, but has a comparatively low radio luminosity of L1.4 GHz = 1.12 × 1022 W Hz-1, two orders of magnitude smaller than other known spiral DRAGNs. We suggest that this may indicate the existence of a previously unknown low-luminosity population of spiral DRAGNS. FITS cutout image of the observed spiral DRAGN MCG+07-47- 10 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/595/L8

  18. The PAndAS View of the Andromeda Satellite System. II. Detailed Properties of 23 M31 Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Lewis, Geraint F.; McConnachie, Alan; Babul, Arif; Bate, Nicholas F.; Bernard, Edouard; Chapman, Scott C.; Collins, Michelle M. L.; Conn, Anthony R.; Crnojević, Denija; Fardal, Mark A.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Irwin, Michael; Mackey, A. Dougal; McMonigal, Brendan; Navarro, Julio F.; Rich, R. Michael

    2016-12-01

    We present a comprehensive analysis of the structural properties and luminosities of the 23 dwarf spheroidal galaxies that fall within the footprint of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). These dwarf galaxies represent the large majority of Andromeda’s known satellite dwarf galaxies and cover a wide range in luminosity (-11.6≲ {M}V≲ -5.8 or {10}4.2≲ L≲ {10}6.5 {L}⊙ ) and surface brightness (25.1≲ {μ }0≲ 29.3 mag arcsec-2). We confirm most previous measurements, but we find And XIX to be significantly larger than before ({r}h={3065}-935+1065 {pc}, {M}V=-{10.1}-0.4+0.8) and cannot derive parameters for And XXVII as it is likely not a bound stellar system. We also significantly revise downward the luminosities of And XV and And XVI, which are now {M}V˜ -7.5 or L˜ {10}5 {L}⊙ . Finally, we provide the first detailed analysis of Cas II/And XXX, a fairly faint system ({M}V=-{8.0}-0.3+0.4) of typical size ({r}h=270+/- 50 {pc}), located in close proximity to the two bright elliptical dwarf galaxies NGC 147 and NGC 185. Combined with the set of homogeneous distances published in an earlier contribution, our analysis dutifully tracks all relevant sources of uncertainty in the determination of the properties of the dwarf galaxies from the PAndAS photometric catalog. We further publish the posterior probability distribution functions of all the parameters we fit for in the form of MCMC chains available online; these inputs should be used in any analysis that aims to remain truthful to the data and properly account for covariance between parameters.

  19. Hubble Sees Galaxy Hiding in the Night Sky

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This striking NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the galaxy UGC 477, located just over 110 million light-years away in the constellation of Pisces (The Fish). UGC 477 is a low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy. First proposed in 1976 by Mike Disney, the existence of LSB galaxies was confirmed only in 1986 with the discovery of Malin 1. LSB galaxies like UGC 477 are more diffusely distributed than galaxies such as Andromeda and the Milky Way. With surface brightnesses up to 250 times fainter than the night sky, these galaxies can be incredibly difficult to detect. Most of the matter present in LSB galaxies is in the form of hydrogen gas, rather than stars. Unlike the bulges of normal spiral galaxies, the centers of LSB galaxies do not contain large numbers of stars. Astronomers suspect that this is because LSB galaxies are mainly found in regions devoid of other galaxies, and have therefore experienced fewer galactic interactions and mergers capable of triggering high rates of star formation. LSB galaxies such as UGC 477 instead appear to be dominated by dark matter, making them excellent objects to study to further our understanding of this elusive substance. However, due to an underrepresentation in galactic surveys — caused by their characteristic low brightness — their importance has only been realized relatively recently. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  20. Featured Image: The Birth of Spiral Arms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2017-01-01

    In this figure, the top panels show three spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster, imaged with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The bottom panels provide a comparison with three morphologically similar galaxies generated insimulations. The simulations run by Marcin Semczuk, Ewa okas, and Andrs del Pino (Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Poland) were designed to examine how the spiral arms of galaxies like the Milky Way may have formed. In particular, the group exploredthe possibility that so-called grand-design spiral arms are caused by tidal effects as a Milky-Way-like galaxy orbits a cluster of galaxies. The authors show that the gravitational potential of the cluster can trigger the formation of two spiral arms each time the galaxy passes through the pericenter of its orbit around the cluster. Check out the original paper below for more information!CitationMarcin Semczuk et al 2017 ApJ 834 7. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/834/1/7

  1. The Relation between Globular Cluster Systems and Supermassive Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies: The Case Study of NGC 4258

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    González-Lópezlira, Rosa A.; Lomelí-Núñez, Luis; Álamo-Martínez, Karla; Órdenes-Briceño, Yasna; Loinard, Laurent; Georgiev, Iskren Y.; Muñoz, Roberto P.; Puzia, Thomas H.; Bruzual A., Gustavo; Gwyn, Stephen

    2017-02-01

    We aim to explore the relationship between globular cluster total number, {N}{GC}, and central black hole mass, M •, in spiral galaxies, and compare it with that recently reported for ellipticals. We present results for the Sbc galaxy NGC 4258, from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope data. Thanks to water masers with Keplerian rotation in a circumnuclear disk, NGC 4258 has the most precisely measured extragalactic distance and supermassive black hole mass to date. The globular cluster (GC) candidate selection is based on the ({u}* -{I}\\prime ) versus ({I}\\prime -{K}s) diagram, which is a superb tool to distinguish GCs from foreground stars, background galaxies, and young stellar clusters, and hence can provide the best number counts of GCs from photometry alone, virtually free of contamination, even if the galaxy is not completely edge-on. The mean optical and optical-near-infrared colors of the clusters are consistent with those of the Milky Way and M 31, after extinction is taken into account. We directly identify 39 GC candidates; after completeness correction, GC luminosity function extrapolation, and correction for spatial coverage, we calculate a total {N}{GC}=144+/- {31}-36+38 (random and systematic uncertainties, respectively). We have thus increased to six the sample of spiral galaxies with measurements of both M • and {N}{GC}. NGC 4258 has a specific frequency {S}{{N}}=0.4+/- 0.1 (random uncertainty), and is consistent within 2σ with the {N}{GC} versus M • correlation followed by elliptical galaxies. The Milky Way continues to be the only spiral that deviates significantly from the relation.

  2. UIT: Ultraviolet surface photometry of the spiral galaxy M74 (NGC 628)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cornett, Robert H.; O'Connell, Robert W.; Greason, Michael R.; Offenberg, Joel D.; Angione, Ronald J.; Bohlin, Ralph C.; Cheng, K. P.; Roberts, Morton S.; Smith, Andrew M.; Smith, Eric P.

    1994-01-01

    Ultraviolet photometry, obtained from Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) images at 1520 A (far-UV; magnitudes m(152)) and 2490 A (near-UV; magnitudes m(249)), of the spiral galaxy M74 (NGC 628) is compared with H-alpha, R, V, and B surface photometry and with models. M74's surface brightness profiles have a central peak with an exponential falloff; the exponential scale lengths of the profiles increase with decreasing wavelength for the broad-band images. The slope of the continuum-subtracted H-alpha profile is intermediate between those of far-UV and near-UV profiles, consistent with the related origins of H-alpha and UV emission in extreme Population I material. M74's color profiles all become bluer with increasing radius. The (m(152) - m(249)) color as measured by UIT averages near 0.0 (the color of an A0 star) over the central 20 sec radius and decreases from approximately -0.2 to approximately -0.4 from 20 sec to 200 sec. The spiral arms are the dominant component of the surface photometry colors; interarm regions are slightly redder. In the UV, M74's nuclear region resembles its disk/spiral arm material in colors and morphology, unlike galaxies such as M81. No UV 'bulge' is apparent. The m(152) - m(249) colors and models of M74's central region clearly demonstrate that there is no significant population of O or B stars present in the central 10 sec. M74's UV morphology and (m(152) - m(249)) color profiles are similar to those of M33, although M74 is approximately 0.5 mag redder. M81 has a smooth UV bulge which is much redder than the nuclear regions of M74 and M33. M74 is approximately 0.4 mag bluer than M81 in its outer disk, although M81 has bright UV sources only in spiral arms more than 5 kpc from its center. We investigate possible explanations for the color profiles of the galaxies and the differences among the galaxies: abundances; reddening due to internal dust; interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) variations, and the history of formation of the

  3. Hubble Eyes Galaxy as it Gets a Cosmic Hair Ruffling

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-08-01

    From objects as small as Newton's apple to those as large as a galaxy, no physical body is free from the stern bonds of gravity, as evidenced in this stunning picture captured by the Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Here we see two spiral galaxies engaged in a cosmic tug-of-war — but in this contest, there will be no winner. The structures of both objects are slowly distorted to resemble new forms, and in some cases, merge together to form new, super galaxies. This particular fate is similar to that of the Milky Way Galaxy, when it will ultimately merge with our closest galactic partner, the Andromeda Galaxy. There is no need to panic however, as this process takes several hundreds of millions of years. Not all interacting galaxies result in mergers though. The merger is dependent on the mass of each galaxy, as well as the relative velocities of each body. It is quite possible that the event pictured here, romantically named 2MASX J06094582-2140234, will avoid a merger event altogether, and will merely distort the arms of each spiral without colliding — the cosmic equivalent of a hair ruffling! These galactic interactions also trigger new regions of star formation in the galaxies involved, causing them to be extremely luminous in the infrared part of the spectrum. For this reason, these types of galaxies are referred to as LIRGs, or Luminous Infrared Galaxies. This image was taken as part of as part of a Hubble survey of the central regions of LIRGs in the local Universe, which also used the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) instrument. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific

  4. Polarized radio emission from the edge-on spiral galaxies NGC 891 and NGC 4565

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sukumar, S.; Allen, R. J.

    1991-01-01

    Results are presented, at a resolution of 20 arcsec, of observations of the distribution of radio continuum intensity and linear polarization with the VLA in two nearby edge-on spiral galaxies, NGC 891 and NGC 4565, at 6 and 20 cm, respectively. A unified model is presented to account for the main features of the radio polarization in these two galaxies. The model geometry is determined from recent observations of face-on galaxies where the polarized emission is found to be strongest in the dark inter-arm and outer parts of the disks. A substantial Z-thickness is ascribed to this polarized emission. It is shown that the exceptionally strong wavelength dependence of this type of Faraday depolarization can result in edge-on galaxies becoming rapidly 'Faraday thick' at decimeter wavelengths, thereby obliterating the polarization from regions on the dark side of the disk. The degree of polarization observed in both galaxies increases strongly with increasing Z-distance from the plane.

  5. Dissipative dark matter and the Andromeda plane of satellites

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Randall, Lisa; Scholtz, Jakub, E-mail: randall@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: jscholtz@physics.harvard.edu

    We show that dissipative dark matter can potentially explain the large observed mass to light ratio of the dwarf satellite galaxies that have been observed in the recently identified planar structure around Andromeda, which are thought to result from tidal forces during a galaxy merger. Whereas dwarf galaxies created from ordinary disks would be dark matter poor, dark matter inside the galactic plane not only provides a source of dark matter, but one that is more readily bound due to the dark matter's lower velocity. This initial N-body study shows that with a thin disk of dark matter inside themore » baryonic disk, mass-to-light ratios as high as O(90) can be generated when tidal forces pull out patches of sizes similar to the scales of Toomre instabilities of the dark disk. A full simulation will be needed to confirm this result.« less

  6. Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Gas Fueling of Spiral Galaxies in the Local Universe. I. The Effect of the Group Environment on Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grootes, M. W.; Tuffs, R. J.; Popescu, C. C.; Norberg, P.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Liske, J.; Andrae, E.; Baldry, I. K.; Gunawardhana, M.; Kelvin, L. S.; Madore, B. F.; Seibert, M.; Taylor, E. N.; Alpaslan, M.; Brown, M. J. I.; Cluver, M. E.; Driver, S. P.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Holwerda, B. W.; Hopkins, A. M.; Lopez-Sanchez, A. R.; Loveday, J.; Rushton, M.

    2017-03-01

    We quantify the effect of the galaxy group environment (for group masses of 1012.5-1014.0 M ⊙) on the current star formation rate (SFR) of a pure, morphologically selected sample of disk-dominated (I.e., late-type spiral) galaxies with redshift ≤0.13. The sample embraces a full representation of quiescent and star-forming disks with stellar mass M * ≥ 109.5 M ⊙. We focus on the effects on SFR of interactions between grouped galaxies and the putative intrahalo medium (IHM) of their host group dark matter halos, isolating these effects from those induced through galaxy-galaxy interactions, and utilizing a radiation transfer analysis to remove the inclination dependence of derived SFRs. The dependence of SFR on M * is controlled for by measuring offsets Δlog(ψ *) of grouped galaxies about a single power-law relation in specific SFR, {\\psi }* \\propto {M}* -0.45+/- 0.01, exhibited by non-grouped “field” galaxies in the sample. While a small minority of the group satellites are strongly quenched, the group centrals and a large majority of satellites exhibit levels of ψ * statistically indistinguishable from their field counterparts, for all M *, albeit with a higher scatter of 0.44 dex about the field reference relation (versus 0.27 dex for the field). Modeling the distributions in Δlog(ψ *), we find that (I) after infall into groups, disk-dominated galaxies continue to be characterized by a similar rapid cycling of gas into and out of their interstellar medium shown prior to infall, with inflows and outflows of ˜1.5-5 x SFR and ˜1-4 x SFR, respectively; and (II) the independence of the continuity of these gas flow cycles on M * appears inconsistent with the required fueling being sourced from gas in the circumgalactic medium on scales of ˜100 kpc. Instead, our data favor ongoing fueling of satellites from the IHM of the host group halo on ˜Mpc scales, I.e., from gas not initially associated with the galaxies upon infall. Consequently, the color

  7. THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Merritt, Allison; Van Dokkum, Pieter; Abraham, Roberto, E-mail: allison.merritt@yale.edu

    2014-06-01

    Dwarf satellite galaxies are a key probe of dark matter and of galaxy formation on small scales and of the dark matter halo masses of their central galaxies. They have very low surface brightness, which makes it difficult to identify and study them outside of the Local Group. We used a low surface brightness-optimized telescope, the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, to search for dwarf galaxies in the field of the massive spiral galaxy M101. We identify seven large, low surface brightness objects in this field, with effective radii of 10-30 arcseconds and central surface brightnesses of μ {sub g} ∼ 25.5-27.5 magmore » arcsec{sup –2}. Given their large apparent sizes and low surface brightnesses, these objects would likely be missed by standard galaxy searches in deep fields. Assuming the galaxies are dwarf satellites of M101, their absolute magnitudes are in the range –11.6 ≲ M{sub V} ≲ –9.3 and their effective radii are 350 pc-1.3 kpc. Their radial surface brightness profiles are well fit by Sersic profiles with a very low Sersic index (n ∼ 0.3-0.7). The properties of the sample are similar to those of well-studied dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, such as Sextans I and Phoenix. Distance measurements are required to determine whether these galaxies are in fact associated with M101 or are in its foreground or background.« less

  8. Galaxy NGC 300

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-12-10

    This image of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 300 was taken by Galaxy Evolution Explorer in a single orbit exposure of 27 minutes on October 10, 2003. NGC 300 lies 7 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy and is one of a group of galaxies in the constellation Sculptor. NGC 300 is often used as a prototype of a spiral galaxy because in optical images it displays flowing spiral arms and a bright central region of older (and thus redder) stars. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer image taken in ultraviolet light shows us that NGC 300 is an efficient star-forming galaxy. The bright blue regions in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer image reveal new stars forming all the way into the nucleus of NGC 300. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04924

  9. Hubble Finds Misbehaving Spiral

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-01-29

    Despite its unassuming appearance, the edge-on spiral galaxy captured in the left half of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is actually quite remarkable. Located about one billion light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus, this striking galaxy — known as LO95 0313-192 — has a spiral shape similar to that of the Milky Way. It has a large central bulge, and arms speckled with brightly glowing gas mottled by thick lanes of dark dust. Its companion, sitting in the right of the frame, is known rather unpoetically as [LOY2001] J031549.8-190623. Jets, outbursts of superheated gas moving at close to the speed of light, have long been associated with the cores of giant elliptical galaxies, and galaxies in the process of merging. However, in an unexpected discovery, astronomers found LO95 0313-192, even though it is a spiral galaxy, to have intense radio jets spewing out from its center. The galaxy appears to have two more regions that are also strongly emitting in the radio part of the spectrum, making it even rarer still. The discovery of these giant jets in 2003 — not visible in this image, but indicated in this earlier Hubble composite — has been followed by the unearthing of a further three spiral galaxies containing radio-emitting jets in recent years. This growing class of unusual spirals continues to raise significant questions about how jets are produced within galaxies, and how they are thrown out into the cosmos. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; acknowledgement, Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  10. The structure and evolution of galacto-detonation waves - Some analytic results in sequential star formation models of spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cowie, L. L.; Rybicki, G. B.

    1982-01-01

    Waves of star formation in a uniform, differentially rotating disk galaxy are treated analytically as a propagating detonation wave front. It is shown, that if single solitary waves could be excited, they would evolve asymptotically to one of two stable spiral forms, each of which rotates with a fixed pattern speed. Simple numerical solutions confirm these results. However, the pattern of waves that develop naturally from an initially localized disturbance is more complex and dies out within a few rotation periods. These results suggest a conclusive observational test for deciding whether sequential star formation is an important determinant of spiral structure in some class of galaxies.

  11. The relation between magnetic and material arms in models for spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moss, D.; Beck, R.; Sokoloff, D.; Stepanov, R.; Krause, M.; Arshakian, T. G.

    2013-08-01

    Context. Observations of polarized radio emission show that large-scale (regular) magnetic fields in spiral galaxies are not fully axisymmetric, but generally stronger in interarm regions. In some nearby galaxies such as NGC 6946 they are organized in narrow magnetic arms situated between the material spiral arms. Aims: The phenomenon of magnetic arms and their relation to the optical spiral arms (the material arms) calls for an explanation in the framework of galactic dynamo theory. Several possibilities have been suggested but are not completely satisfactory; here we attempt a consistent investigation. Methods: We use a 2D mean-field dynamo model in the no-z approximation and add injections of small-scale magnetic field, taken to result from supernova explosions, to represent the effects of dynamo action on smaller scales. This injection of small scale field is situated along the spiral arms, where star-formation mostly occurs. Results: A straightforward explanation of magnetic arms as a result of modulation of the dynamo mechanism by material arms struggles to produce pronounced magnetic arms, at least with realistic parameters, without introducing new effects such as a time lag between Coriolis force and α-effect. In contrast, by taking into account explicitly the small-scale magnetic field that is injected into the arms by the action of the star forming regions that are concentrated there, we can obtain dynamo models with magnetic structures of various forms that can be compared with magnetic arms. These are rather variable entities and their shape changes significantly on timescales of a few 100 Myr. Properties of magnetic arms can be controlled by changing the model parameters. In particular, a lower injection rate of small-scale field makes the magnetic configuration smoother and eliminates distinct magnetic arms. Conclusions: We conclude that magnetic arms can be considered as coherent magnetic structures generated by large-scale dynamo action, and

  12. A Dwarf Dissolving? - A Kinematic Analysis of Andromeda XXVII and the Northern Arc

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Michelle; Rich, R. M.; Chapman, S. C.; Ibata, R.; Irwin, M.; McConnachie, A. W.

    2013-01-01

    We report internal kinematics for an unusual M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxy, And XXVII, which is superposed against the Northern Arc Stream feature, isolated in the PandAS (Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey). In contrast to the coherent, cold velocity fields of most Andromeda dwarf spheroidals, And XXVII has a trimodal velocity distribution spanning 100 km/sec, with a relatively cold central peak at -530 km/sec , and a velocity dispersion of sigma= 8 km/sec. While all of the candidate members are < 2' (or approximately one half light radii, ~600 pc) from the core, the full velocity range is not consistent with a system of luminosity Mv=-7.9. We propose that And XXVII may be in the process of dissolving into the Northern Arc.

  13. SDSS-IV MaNGA: global stellar population and gradients for about 2000 early-type and spiral galaxies on the mass-size plane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Hongyu; Mao, Shude; Cappellari, Michele; Ge, Junqiang; Long, R. J.; Li, Ran; Mo, H. J.; Li, Cheng; Zheng, Zheng; Bundy, Kevin; Thomas, Daniel; Brownstein, Joel R.; Roman Lopes, Alexandre; Law, David R.; Drory, Niv

    2018-05-01

    We perform full spectrum fitting stellar population analysis and Jeans Anisotropic modelling of the stellar kinematics for about 2000 early-type galaxies (ETGs) and spiral galaxies from the MaNGA DR14 sample. Galaxies with different morphologies are found to be located on a remarkably tight mass plane which is close to the prediction of the virial theorem, extending previous results for ETGs. By examining an inclined projection (`the mass-size' plane), we find that spiral and early-type galaxies occupy different regions on the plane, and their stellar population properties (i.e. age, metallicity, and stellar mass-to-light ratio) vary systematically along roughly the direction of velocity dispersion, which is a proxy for the bulge fraction. Galaxies with higher velocity dispersions have typically older ages, larger stellar mass-to-light ratios and are more metal rich, which indicates that galaxies increase their bulge fractions as their stellar populations age and become enriched chemically. The age and stellar mass-to-light ratio gradients for low-mass galaxies in our sample tend to be positive (centre < outer), while the gradients for most massive galaxies are negative. The metallicity gradients show a clear peak around velocity dispersion log10 σe ≈ 2.0, which corresponds to the critical mass ˜3 × 1010 M⊙ of the break in the mass-size relation. Spiral galaxies with large mass and size have the steepest gradients, while the most massive ETGs, especially above the critical mass Mcrit ≳ 2 × 1011 M⊙, where slow rotator ETGs start dominating, have much flatter gradients. This may be due to differences in their evolution histories, e.g. mergers.

  14. Generation and maintenance of bisymmetric spiral magnetic fields in disk galaxies in differential rotation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sawa, Takeyasu; Fujimoto, M.

    1993-05-01

    The approximate dynamo equation, which yields asymptotic solutions for the large scale bisymmetric spiral (BSS) magnetic fields rotating rigidly over a large area of the galactic disk, is derived. The vertical thickness and the dynamo strength of the gaseous disk which are necessary to generate and sustain the BSS magnetic fields is determined. The globally BSS magnetic fields which propagate over the disk as a wave without being twisted more tightly are reproduced. A poloidal field configuration is theoretically predicted in the halo around the disk, and is observed in the edge-on galaxy NGC4631. Mathematical methods for the galactic dynamo are shown to be equivalent. Those methods give different growth rates between the BSS and the axisymmetric spiral (ASS) magnetic fields in the disk. Magnetohydrodynamical excitation is discussed between the BSS magnetic fields and the two armed spiral density waves.

  15. Comparing M31 and Milky Way satellites: The extended star formation histories of Andromeda II and Andromeda XVI

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Weisz, Daniel R.; Skillman, Evan D.; McQuinn, Kristen B. W.

    We present the first comparison between the lifetime star formation histories (SFHs) of M31 and Milky Way (MW) satellites. Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope, we obtained deep optical imaging of Andromeda II (And II; M{sub V} = –12.0; log(M {sub *}/M {sub ☉}) ∼ 6.7) and Andromeda XVI (And XVI; M{sub V} = –7.5; log(M {sub *}/M {sub ☉}) ∼ 4.9) yielding color-magnitude diagrams that extend at least 1 mag below the oldest main-sequence turnoff, and are similar in quality to those available for the MW companions. And II and And XVI showmore » strikingly similar SFHs: both formed 50%-70% of their total stellar mass between 12.5 and 5 Gyr ago (z ∼ 5-0.5) and both were abruptly quenched ∼5 Gyr ago (z ∼ 0.5). The predominance of intermediate age populations in And XVI makes it qualitatively different from faint companions of the MW and clearly not a pre-reionization fossil. Neither And II nor And XVI appears to have a clear analog among MW companions, and the degree of similarity in the SFHs of And II and And XVI is not seen among comparably faint-luminous pairs of MW satellites. These findings provide hints that satellite galaxy evolution may vary substantially among hosts of similar stellar mass. Although comparably deep observations of more M31 satellites are needed to further explore this hypothesis, our results underline the need for caution when interpreting satellite galaxies of an individual system in a broader cosmological context.« less

  16. Galaxy disruption in a halo of dark matter.

    PubMed

    Forbes, Duncan A; Beasley, Michael A; Bekki, Kenji; Brodie, Jean P; Strader, Jay

    2003-08-29

    The relics of disrupted satellite galaxies have been found around the Milky Way and Andromeda, but direct evidence of a satellite galaxy in the early stages of disruption has remained elusive. We have discovered a dwarf satellite galaxy in the process of being torn apart by gravitational tidal forces as it merges with a larger galaxy's dark matter halo. Our results illustrate the morphological transformation of dwarf galaxies by tidal interaction and the continued buildup of galaxy halos.

  17. The JCMT nearby galaxies legacy survey - X. Environmental effects on the molecular gas and star formation properties of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mok, Angus; Wilson, C. D.; Golding, J.; Warren, B. E.; Israel, F. P.; Serjeant, S.; Knapen, J. H.; Sánchez-Gallego, J. R.; Barmby, P.; Bendo, G. J.; Rosolowsky, E.; van der Werf, P.

    2016-03-01

    We present a study of the molecular gas properties in a sample of 98 H I - flux selected spiral galaxies within ˜25 Mpc, using the CO J = 3 - 2 line observed with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. We use the technique of survival analysis to incorporate galaxies with CO upper limits into our results. Comparing the group and Virgo samples, we find a larger mean H2 mass in the Virgo galaxies, despite their lower mean H I mass. This leads to a significantly higher H2 to H I ratio for Virgo galaxies. Combining our data with complementary Hα star formation rate measurements, Virgo galaxies have longer molecular gas depletion times compared to group galaxies, due to their higher H2 masses and lower star formation rates. We suggest that the longer depletion times may be a result of heating processes in the cluster environment or differences in the turbulent pressure. From the full sample, we find that the molecular gas depletion time has a positive correlation with the stellar mass, indicative of differences in the star formation process between low- and high-mass galaxies, and a negative correlation between the molecular gas depletion time and the specific star formation rate.

  18. Dynamics of Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bertin, Giuseppe

    2000-08-01

    Part I. Basic Phenomenology: 1. Scales; 2. Observational windows; 3. Classifications; 4. Photometry, kinematics, dark matter; 5. Basic questions, semi-empirical approach, dynamical window; Part II. Physical Models: 6. Self-gravity and relation with plasma physics; 7. Relaxation times, absence of thermodynamical equilibrium; 8. Models; 9. Equilibrium and stability: symmetry and symmetry breaking; 10. Classical ellipsoids; 11. Introduction to dispersive waves; 12. Jeans instability; Part III. Spiral Galaxies: 13. Orbits; 14. The basic state: vertical and horizontal equilibrium in the disk; 15. Density waves; 16. Role of gas; 17. Global spiral modes; 18. Spiral structure in galaxies; 19. Bending waves; 20. Dark matter in spiral galaxies; Part IV. Elliptical Galaxies: 21. Orbits; 22. Stellar dynamical approach; 23. Stability; 24. Dark matter in elliptical galaxies; Part V. In Perspective: 25. Selected aspects of formation and evolution; Notes; Index.

  19. Angular ellipticity correlations in a composite alignment model for elliptical and spiral galaxies and inference from weak lensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tugendhat, Tim M.; Schäfer, Björn Malte

    2018-05-01

    We investigate a physical, composite alignment model for both spiral and elliptical galaxies and its impact on cosmological parameter estimation from weak lensing for a tomographic survey. Ellipticity correlation functions and angular ellipticity spectra for spiral and elliptical galaxies are derived on the basis of tidal interactions with the cosmic large-scale structure and compared to the tomographic weak-lensing signal. We find that elliptical galaxies cause a contribution to the weak-lensing dominated ellipticity correlation on intermediate angular scales between ℓ ≃ 40 and ℓ ≃ 400 before that of spiral galaxies dominates on higher multipoles. The predominant term on intermediate scales is the negative cross-correlation between intrinsic alignments and weak gravitational lensing (GI-alignment). We simulate parameter inference from weak gravitational lensing with intrinsic alignments unaccounted; the bias induced by ignoring intrinsic alignments in a survey like Euclid is shown to be several times larger than the statistical error and can lead to faulty conclusions when comparing to other observations. The biases generally point into different directions in parameter space, such that in some cases one can observe a partial cancellation effect. Furthermore, it is shown that the biases increase with the number of tomographic bins used for the parameter estimation process. We quantify this parameter estimation bias in units of the statistical error and compute the loss of Bayesian evidence for a model due to the presence of systematic errors as well as the Kullback-Leibler divergence to quantify the distance between the true model and the wrongly inferred one.

  20. SETI among galaxies by virtue of black holes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maccone, Claudio

    2012-09-01

    Black Hole radio bridge, having the distance of 2.5 million light years. The P2 Andromeda black hole is estimated to have a mass of about 40 million solar masses.The SgrA*-M32 (a dwarf elliptical galaxy satellite of Andromeda-M31) radio bridge, with a 2.65 million light year distance. The M32 black hole is estimated to have a mass of about 3 million solar masses.The SgrA*-M106 (also called NGC 4258, a spiral galaxy with anomalous arms) radio bridge, at about 24 million light years. The M106 black hole is estimated to have a mass of about 40 million solar masses.The SgrA*-Sombrero Galaxy (also called M104 or NGC 4594, an unbarred spiral galaxy) at a distance of 29.3 million light years. Its black hole is estimated to have a mass of 1 billion solar masses.The SgrA*-M87 radio bridge. M87 is the supergiant elliptical galaxy located at the center of the super-cluster of galaxies to which we belong, i.e. the Local Super Cluster, at the edge of which we are located. The distance between M87 and us is 53.5 million light years in the direction of the constellation of Virgo, which is why M87 and its surrounding clusters of galaxies are sometimes referred to as the Virgo Super Cluster. At the center of M87 is a supermassive black hole estimated to have a mass of 6.4 billion solar masses. M87 is also well known as “the jet galaxy” since a jet of energetic plasma originates at the core and extends out at least 5000 light-years.The conclusion that we draw from the mathematics describing these radio bridges across huge inter-galactic distances is surprising: they all perform better that the simple Sun-Alpha Cen A radio bridge, first studied in detail by this author in Ref. [1]. In other words, the powers necessary to keep the radio link between SgrA* and all of the above big black holes located in other nearby galaxies are smaller than the powers requested to keep the radio bridge between the Sun and Alpha Cen A. In other words still, despite inter-galactic distances are huge with

  1. The large-scale structure of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy. I. Global stellar density, morphology and metallicity properties

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Lewis, Geraint F.

    We present an analysis of the large-scale structure of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy, based on the Pan-Andromeda Archeological Survey (PAndAS), currently the most complete map of resolved stellar populations in any galactic halo. Despite the presence of copious substructures, the global halo populations follow closely power-law profiles that become steeper with increasing metallicity. We divide the sample into stream-like populations and a smooth halo component (defined as the population that cannot be resolved into spatially distinct substructures with PAndAS). Fitting a three-dimensional halo model reveals that the most metal-poor populations ([Fe/H]<−1.7) are distributed approximately spherically (slightly prolate withmore » ellipticity c/a = 1.09 ± 0.03), with only a relatively small fraction residing in discernible stream-like structures (f {sub stream} = 42%). The sphericity of the ancient smooth component strongly hints that the dark matter halo is also approximately spherical. More metal-rich populations contain higher fractions of stars in streams, with f {sub stream} becoming as high as 86% for [Fe/H]>−0.6. The space density of the smooth metal-poor component has a global power-law slope of γ = –3.08 ± 0.07, and a non-parametric fit shows that the slope remains nearly constant from 30 kpc to ∼300 kpc. The total stellar mass in the halo at distances beyond 2° is ∼1.1 × 10{sup 10} M {sub ☉}, while that of the smooth component is ∼3 × 10{sup 9} M {sub ☉}. Extrapolating into the inner galaxy, the total stellar mass of the smooth halo is plausibly ∼8 × 10{sup 9} M {sub ☉}. We detect a substantial metallicity gradient, which declines from ([Fe/H]) = –0.7 at R = 30 kpc to ([Fe/H]) = –1.5 at R = 150 kpc for the full sample, with the smooth halo being ∼0.2 dex more metal poor than the full sample at each radius. While qualitatively in line with expectations from cosmological simulations, these observations are of great

  2. A THOUSAND SHADOWS OF ANDROMEDA: ROTATING PLANES OF SATELLITES IN THE MILLENNIUM-II COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Ibata, Neil G.

    In a recent contribution, Bahl and Baumgardt investigated the incidence of planar alignments of satellite galaxies in the Millennium-II simulation and concluded that vast, thin planes of dwarf galaxies, similar to that observed in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), occur frequently by chance in Λ-cold dark matter cosmology. However, their analysis did not capture the essential fact that the observed alignment is simultaneously radially extended, yet thin, and kinematically unusual. With the caveat that the Millennium-II simulation may not have sufficient mass resolution to identify confidently simulacra of low-luminosity dwarf galaxies, we re-examine that simulation for planar structures, using the samemore » method as employed by Ibata et al. on the real M31 satellites. We find that 0.04% of host galaxies display satellite alignments that are at least as extreme as the observations, when we consider their extent, thickness, and number of members rotating in the same sense. We further investigate the angular momentum properties of the co-planar satellites, and find that the median of the specific angular momentum derived from the line-of-sight velocities in the real M31 structure (1.3 × 10{sup 4} km s{sup –1} kpc) is very high compared to systems drawn from the simulations. This analysis confirms that it is highly unlikely that the observed structure around the Andromeda galaxy is due to a chance occurrence. Interestingly, the few extreme systems that are similar to M31 arise from the accretion of a massive sub-halo with its own spatially concentrated entourage of orphan satellites.« less

  3. ON THE STAR FORMATION LAW FOR SPIRAL AND IRREGULAR GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elmegreen, Bruce G., E-mail: bge@us.ibm.com

    2015-12-01

    A dynamical model for star formation on a galactic scale is proposed in which the interstellar medium is constantly condensing to star-forming clouds on the dynamical time of the average midplane density, and the clouds are constantly being disrupted on the dynamical timescale appropriate for their higher density. In this model, the areal star formation rate scales with the 1.5 power of the total gas column density throughout the main regions of spiral galaxies, and with a steeper power, 2, in the far outer regions and in dwarf irregular galaxies because of the flaring disks. At the same time, theremore » is a molecular star formation law that is linear in the main and outer parts of disks and in dIrrs because the duration of individual structures in the molecular phase is also the dynamical timescale, canceling the additional 0.5 power of surface density. The total gas consumption time scales directly with the midplane dynamical time, quenching star formation in the inner regions if there is no accretion, and sustaining star formation for ∼100 Gyr or more in the outer regions with no qualitative change in gas stability or molecular cloud properties. The ULIRG track follows from high densities in galaxy collisions.« less

  4. Evidence for azimuthal variations of the oxygen-abundance gradient tracing the spiral structure of the galaxy HCG 91c

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogt, F. P. A.; Pérez, E.; Dopita, M. A.; Verdes-Montenegro, L.; Borthakur, S.

    2017-05-01

    Context. The distribution of elements in galaxies forms an important diagnostic tool to characterize these systems' formation and evolution. This tool is, however, complex to use in practice, as galaxies are subject to a range of simultaneous physical processes active from pc to kpc scales. This renders observations of the full optical extent of galaxies down to sub-kpc scales essential. Aims: Using the WiFeS integral field spectrograph, we previously detected abrupt and localized variations in the gas-phase oxygen abundance of the spiral galaxy HCG 91c. Here, we follow-up on these observations to map HCG 91c's disk out to 2 Re at a resolution of 600 pc, and characterize the non-radial variations of the gas-phase oxygen abundance in the system. Methods: We obtained deep MUSE observations of the target under 0.6 arcsec seeing conditions. We perform both a spaxel-based and aperture-based analysis of the data to map the spatial variations of 12 +log (O/H) across the disk of the galaxy. Results: We confirm the presence of rapid variations of the oxygen abundance across the entire extent of the galaxy previously detected with WiFeS, for all azimuths and radii. The variations can be separated in two categories: a) localized and associated with individual H II regions; and b) extended over kpc scales, and occurring at the boundaries of the spiral structures in the galaxy. Conclusions: Our MUSE observations suggest that the enrichment of the interstellar medium in HGC 91c has proceeded preferentially along spiral structures, and less efficiently across them. Our dataset highlights the importance of distinguishing individual star-forming regions down to scales of a few 100 pc when using integral field spectrographs to spatially resolve the distribution of oxygen abundances in a given system, and accurately characterize azimuthal variations and intrinsic scatter. The movie associated to Fig. 8 is available at http://www.aanda.org

  5. The JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey - XI. Environmental variations in the atomic and molecular gas radial profiles of nearby spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mok, Angus; Wilson, C. D.; Knapen, J. H.; Sánchez-Gallego, J. R.; Brinks, E.; Rosolowsky, E.

    2017-06-01

    We present an analysis of the radial profiles of a sample of 43 H I-flux selected spiral galaxies from the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey (NGLS) with resolved James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) CO J = 3 - 2 and/or Very Large Array (VLA) H I maps. Comparing the Virgo and non-Virgo populations, we confirm that the H I discs are truncated in the Virgo sample, even for these relatively H I-rich galaxies. On the other hand, the H2 distribution is enhanced for the Virgo galaxies near their centres, resulting in higher H2 to H I ratios and steeper H2 and total gas radial profiles. This is likely due to the effects of moderate ram pressure stripping in the cluster environment, which would preferentially remove low-density gas in the outskirts while enhancing higher density gas near the centre. Combined with Hα star formation rate data, we find that the star formation efficiency (SFR/H2) is relatively constant with radius for both samples, but the Virgo galaxies have an ˜40 per cent lower star formation efficiency than the non-Virgo galaxies.

  6. Two views of the Andromeda Galaxy H-alpha and far infrared

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Devereux, Nicholas A.; Price, Rob; Wells, Lisa A.; Duric, Neb

    1994-01-01

    A complete H-alpha image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is presented allowing the first direct measurement of the total H-alpha luminosity which is (7.3 +/- 2.4) x 10(exp 6) solar luminosity. The H-alpha emission is associated with three morphologically distinct components; a large scale star-forming ring, approximately 1.65 deg in diameter, contributing 66% of the total H-alpha emission, a bright nucleus contributing 6% of the total H-alpha emission with the remaining 28% contributed by a previously unidentified component of extended and filamentary H-alpha emission interior to the star forming ring. The correspondence between the H-alpha image and the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) far-infrared high resolution image is striking when both are convolved to a common resolution of 105 arcsec. The close correspondence between the far-infrared and H-alpha images suggests a common origin for the two emissions. The star-forming ring contributes 70% of the far-infrared luminosity of M31. Evidence that the ring emission is energized by high mass stars includes the fact that peaks in the far-infrared emission coincide identically with H II regions in the H-alpha image. In addition, the far-infrared to H-alpha luminosity ratio within the star-forming ring is similar to what one would expect for H II regions powered by stars of spectral types ranging between O9 and B0. The origin of the filamentary H-alpha and far-infrared luminosity interior to the star-forming ring is less clear, but it is almost certainly not produced by high mass stars.

  7. The radio-far infrared correlation: Spiral and blue compact dwarf galaxies opposed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Klein, U.; Wunderlich, E.

    1987-01-01

    The recently established correlation between radio continuum and far infrared emission in galaxies was further investigated by comparing normal spiral and blue compact dwarf galaxies. The puzzling result is that the ratio of radio to far infrared luminosity and its dispersion is the same for both samples, although their ratios of blue to far infrared luminosity, their radio spectral indices and their dust temperatures exhibit markedly different mean values and dispersions. This suggests that the amount of energy radiated in the two regimes is enhanced in the same way although the mechanisms responsible for the two components are rather different and complex. The fact that the blue light does not increase at the same proportion shows that both the radio and the far infrared emission are connected with the recent star formation history.

  8. Hα kinematics of S4G spiral galaxies - III. Inner rotation curves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erroz-Ferrer, Santiago; Knapen, Johan H.; Leaman, Ryan; Díaz-García, Simón; Salo, Heikki; Laurikainen, Eija; Querejeta, Miguel; Muñoz-Mateos, Juan Carlos; Athanassoula, E.; Bosma, Albert; Comerón, Sebastien; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Martínez-Valpuesta, Inma

    2016-05-01

    We present a detailed study of the shape of the innermost part of the rotation curves of a sample of 29 nearby spiral galaxies, based on high angular and spectral resolution kinematic Hα Fabry-Perot observations. In particular, we quantify the steepness of the rotation curve by measuring its slope dRvc(0). We explore the relationship between the inner slope and several galaxy parameters, such as stellar mass, maximum rotational velocity, central surface brightness (μ0), bar strength and bulge-to-total ratio. Even with our limited dynamical range, we find a trend for low-mass galaxies to exhibit shallower rotation curve inner slopes than high-mass galaxies, whereas steep inner slopes are found exclusively in high-mass galaxies. This trend may arise from the relationship between the total stellar mass and the mass of the bulge, which are correlated among them. We find a correlation between the inner slope of the rotation curve and the morphological T-type, complementary to the scaling relation between dRvc(0) and μ0 previously reported in the literature. Although we find that the inner slope increases with the Fourier amplitude A2 and decreases with the bar torque Qb, this may arise from the presence of the bulge implicit in both A2 and Qb. As previously noted in the literature, the more compact the mass in the central parts of a galaxy (more concretely, the presence of a bulge), the steeper the inner slopes. We conclude that the baryonic matter dominates the dynamics in the central parts of our sample galaxies.

  9. Redshift--Independent Distances of Spiral Galaxies: II. Internal Extinction at I Band

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giovanelli, R.; Haynes, M. P.; Salzer, J. J.; Wegner, G.; Dacosta, L. N.; Freudling, W.; Chamaraux, P.

    1993-12-01

    We analyze the photometric properties of a sample of 1450 Sbc--Sc galaxies with known redshifts, single--dish HI profiles and CCD I band images to derive laws that relate the measured isophotal radius at mu_I =23.5, magnitude, scale length and HI flux to the face--on aspect. Our results show that the central regions of spiral galaxies are substantially less transparent than most previous determinations suggest, but not as opaque as claimed by Valentijn (1990). Regions in the disk farther than two or three scale lengths from the center are close to completely transparent. In addition to statistically derived relations for the inclination dependence of photometric parameters, we present the results of a modelling exercise that utilizes the ``triplex'' model of Disney et al. (1989). Within the framework of that model, late spiral disks at I band have central optical depths on the order of tau_I ~ 5 and dust absorbing layers with scale heights on the order of half that of the stellar component. We discuss our results in light of previous determinations of internal extinction relations and point out the substantial impact of internal extinction on the scatter of the Tully--Fisher relation. We also find that the visual diameters by which large catalogs are constructed (UGC, ESO--Uppsala) are nearly proportional to face--on isophotal diameters.

  10. New Images Show Unprecedented Detail of Neighbor Galaxy's Gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2001-01-01

    also includes our own Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. With a diameter of about 60,000 light-years, it is roughly half the size of the Milky Way. Under vary dark skies, people with excellent vision can see M33 with the unaided eye. With common amateur telescopes, its spiral arms can be seen. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

  11. A reevaluation of the infrared-radio correlation for spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Devereux, Nicholas A.; Eales, Stephen A.

    1989-01-01

    The infrared radio correlation has been reexamined for a sample of 237 optically bright spiral galaxies which range from 10 to the 8th to 10 to the 11th solar luminosities in far-infrared luminosity. The slope of the correlation is not unity. A simple model in which dust heating by both star formation and the interstellar radiation field contribute to the far-infrared luminosity can account for the nonunity slope. The model differs from previous two component models, however, in that the relative contribution of the two components is independent of far-infrared color temperature, but is dependent on the far-infrared luminosity.

  12. Pitch angle of galactic spiral arms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Michikoshi, Shugo; Kokubo, Eiichiro, E-mail: michiko@mail.doshisha.ac.jp, E-mail: kokubo@th.nao.ac.jp

    2014-06-01

    One of the key parameters that characterizes spiral arms in disk galaxies is a pitch angle that measures the inclination of a spiral arm to the direction of galactic rotation. The pitch angle differs from galaxy to galaxy, which suggests that the rotation law of galactic disks determines it. In order to investigate the relation between the pitch angle of spiral arms and the shear rate of galactic differential rotation, we perform local N-body simulations of pure stellar disks. We find that the pitch angle increases with the epicycle frequency and decreases with the shear rate and obtain the fittingmore » formula. This dependence is explained by the swing amplification mechanism.« less

  13. Pressure from dark matter annihilation and the rotation curve of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wechakama, M.; Ascasibar, Y.

    2011-05-01

    The rotation curves of spiral galaxies are one of the basic predictions of the cold dark matter paradigm, and their shape in the innermost regions has been hotly debated over the last decades. The present work shows that dark matter annihilation into electron-positron pairs may affect the observed rotation curve by a significant amount. We adopt a model-independent approach, where all the electrons and positrons are injected with the same initial energy E0˜mdmc2 in the range from 1 MeV to 1 TeV and the injection rate is constrained by INTEGRAL, Fermi and HESS data. The pressure of the relativistic electron-positron gas is determined by solving the diffusion-loss equation, considering inverse Compton scattering, synchrotron radiation, Coulomb collisions, bremsstrahlung and ionization. For values of the gas density and magnetic field that are representative of the Milky Way, it is estimated that pressure gradients are strong enough to balance gravity in the central parts if E0 < 1 GeV. The exact value depends somewhat on the astrophysical parameters, and it changes dramatically with the slope of the dark matter density profile. For very steep slopes, as those expected from adiabatic contraction, the rotation curves of spiral galaxies would be affected on ˜kpc scales for most values of E0. By comparing the predicted rotation curves with observations of dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies, we show that the pressure from dark matter annihilation may improve the agreement between theory and observations in some cases, but it also imposes severe constraints on the model parameters (most notably, the inner slope of halo density profile, as well as the mass and the annihilation cross-section of dark matter particles into electron-positron pairs).

  14. The First VLBI Detection of a Spiral DRAGN Core

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Minnie Y.; Blanchard, Jay M.; Owen, Frazer; Sjouwerman, Loránt O.; Singh, Vikram; Scaife, Anna; Paragi, Zsolt; Norris, Ray P.; Momjian, Emmanuel; Johnson, Gia; Browne, Ian

    2018-05-01

    We present the first observation of 0313-192, the archetypal spiral DRAGN, at VLBI resolutions. Spiral DRAGNs are Double Radio Sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei (DRAGNs) that are hosted by spiral galaxies. 0313-192 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that appears to host a 360 kpc double-lobed radio source. The core of this galaxy is clearly detected at L, S, and X-bands using the VLBA, signifying an ongoing active nucleus in the galaxy. This rules out the possibility that the spiral DRAGN is merely a chance alignment. The radio core has L1.4 GHz ˜ 3.0 × 1023 W Hz-1. Radio components are detected to the South-West of the core, but there are no detections of a counterjet. Assuming a symmetric, relativistic jet, we estimate an upper limit to the inclination angle of θ ≲ 72 degrees. The VLBI-detected radio jet components are extremely well-aligned with the larger-scale radio source suggested little to no jet disruption or interaction with the ISM of the host galaxy.

  15. Properties of the giant H II regions and bar in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5430

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brière, É.; Cantin, S.; Spekkens, K.

    2012-09-01

    In order to better understand the impact of the bar on the evolution of spiral galaxies, we measure the properties of giant H II regions and the bar in the SB(s)b galaxy NGC 5430. We use two complementary data sets, both obtained at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic: a hyperspectral data cube from the imaging Fourier transform spectrograph SpIOMM (Spectromètre-Imageur à transformée de Fourier de l-Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic) and high-resolution spectra across the bar from a long-slit spectrograph. We flux-calibrate SpIOMM spectra for the first time, and produce Hα and [N II]λ6584 Å intensity maps from which we identify 51 giant H II regions in the spiral arms and bar. We evaluate the type of activity, the oxygen abundance and the age of the young populations contained in these giant H II regions and in the bar. Thus, we confirm that NGC 5430 does not harbour a strong active galactic nucleus, and that its Wolf-Rayet knot shows a pure H II region nature. We find no variation in abundance or age between the bar and spiral arms, nor as a function of galactocentric radius. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a chemical mixing mechanism is at work in the galaxy's disc to flatten the oxygen abundance gradient. Using the STARBURST99 model, we estimate the ages of the young populations, and again find no variations in age between the bar and the arms or as a function of radius. Instead, we find evidence for two galaxy-wide waves of star formation, about 7.1 and 10.5 Myr ago. While the bar in NGC 5430 is an obvious candidate to trigger these two episodes, it is not clear how the bar could induce widespread star formation on such a short time-scale.

  16. The ratio of molecular to atomic gas in spiral galaxies as a function of morphological type

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knezek, Patricia M.; Young, Judith S.

    1990-01-01

    In order to gain an understanding of the global processes which influence cloud and star formation in disk galaxies, it is necessary to determine the relative amounts of atomic, molecular, and ionized gas both as a function of position in galaxies and from galaxy to galaxy. With observations of the CO distributions in over 200 galaxies now completed as part of the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO) Extragalactic CO Survey (Young et al. 1989), researchers are finally in a position to determine the type dependence of the molecular content of spiral galaxies, along with the ratio of molecular to atomic gas as a function of type. Do late type spirals really have more gas than early types when the molecular gas content is included. Researchers conclude that there is more than an order of magnitude decrease in the ratio of molecular to atomic gas mass as a function of morphological type from Sa-Sd; an average Sa galaxy has more molecular than atomic gas, and an average Sc has less. Therefore, the total interstellar gas mass to blue luminosity ratio, M sub gas/L sub B, increases by less than a factor of two as a function of type from Sa-Sd. The dominant effect found is that the phase of the gas in the cool interstellar medium (ISM) varies along the Hubble sequence. Researchers suggest that the more massive and centrally concentrated galaxies are able to achieve a molecular-dominated ISM through the collection of more gas in the potential. That gas may then form molecular clouds when a critical density is exceeded. The picture which these observations support is one in which the conversion of atomic gas to molecular gas is a global process which depends on large scale dynamics (cf Wyse 1986). Among interacting and merging systems, researchers find considerable scatter in the M(H2)/M(HI) ratio, with the mean ratio similar to that in the early type galaxies. The high global ratio of molecular to atomic gas could result from the removal of HI gas, the enhanced

  17. IRAS observations of Shapley-Ames galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    De Jong, T.; Clegg, P. E.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Soifer, B. T.; Habing, H. J.; Houck, J. R.; Aumann, H. H.; Raimond, E.

    1984-01-01

    A preliminary discussion of the infrared properties of a representative subsample of galaxies in the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog (B less than about 13 mag) is presented. Of the 165 galaxies in the sample, 108 predominantly spiral galaxies, are detected in the infrared by IRAS. None of the elliptical galaxies and only about 25 percent of the lenticular galaxies scanned were detected. The range of infrared-to-blue luminosity ratios, a measure of the infrared excess of galaxies, is large, varying from roughly 0.1 to roughly 5. The data suggest that weakly infrared emitting galaxies are cool (100-60 micron color temperatures of about 25 K), while the more infrared luminous ones tend to be warmer (about 50 K). The rate of star formation in barred spiral galaxies is apparently higher than in normal spirals. About 1 solar mass/year of interstellar matter is converted into massive stars in the typical spiral galaxy.

  18. Project AMIGA: A Minimal Covering Factor for Optically Thick Circumgalactic Gas around the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howk, J. Christopher; Wotta, Christopher B.; Berg, Michelle A.; Lehner, Nicolas; Lockman, Felix J.; Hafen, Zachary; Pisano, D. J.; Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André; Wakker, Bart P.; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Wolfe, Spencer A.; Ribaudo, Joseph; Barger, Kathleen A.; Corlies, Lauren; Fox, Andrew J.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Jenkins, Edward B.; Kalirai, Jason; O'Meara, John M.; Peeples, Molly S.; Stewart, Kyle R.; Strader, Jay

    2017-09-01

    We present a deep search for {{H}} {{I}} 21 cm emission from the gaseous halo of Messier 31 as part of Project AMIGA, a large Hubble Space Telescope program to study the circumgalactic medium of the Andromeda galaxy. Our observations with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope target sight lines to 48 background AGNs, more than half of which have been observed in the ultraviolet with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, with impact parameters 25≲ ρ ≲ 340 {kpc} (0.1≲ ρ /{R}{vir}≲ 1.1). We do not detect any 21 cm emission toward these AGNs to limits of N({{H}} {{I}})≈ 4× {10}17 cm-2 (5σ ; per 2 kpc-diameter beam). This column density corresponds to an optical depth of ˜2.5 at the Lyman limit; thus, our observations overlap with absorption line studies of Lyman limit systems at higher redshift. Our non-detections place a limit on the covering factor of such optically thick gas around M31 to {f}c< 0.051 (at 90% confidence) for ρ ≤slant {R}{vir}. Although individual clouds have previously been found in the region between M31 and M33, the covering factor of strongly optically thick gas is quite small. Our upper limits on the covering factor are consistent with expectations from recent cosmological “zoom” simulations. Recent COS-Halos ultraviolet measurements of {{H}} {{I}} absorption about an ensemble of galaxies at z≈ 0.2 show significantly higher covering factors within ρ ≲ 0.5{R}{vir} at the same N({{H}} {{I}}), although the metal ion-to-{{H}} {{I}} ratios appear to be consistent with those seen in M31.

  19. Measurement of Galactic Logarithmic Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Using Two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform Decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, Joel C.; Shields, Douglas W.; Kennefick, Julia; Kennefick, Daniel; Seigar, Marc S.; Lacy, Claud H. S.; Puerari, Ivânio

    2012-04-01

    A logarithmic spiral is a prominent feature appearing in a majority of observed galaxies. This feature has long been associated with the traditional Hubble classification scheme, but historical quotes of pitch angle of spiral galaxies have been almost exclusively qualitative. We have developed a methodology, utilizing two-dimensional fast Fourier transformations of images of spiral galaxies, in order to isolate and measure the pitch angles of their spiral arms. Our technique provides a quantitative way to measure this morphological feature. This will allow comparison of spiral galaxy pitch angle to other galactic parameters and test spiral arm genesis theories. In this work, we detail our image processing and analysis of spiral galaxy images and discuss the robustness of our analysis techniques.

  20. The ALMA and HST Views of the Molecular Gas and Star Formation in the Prototypical Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1097

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sheth, Kartik; Regan, Michael W.; Kim, Taehyun; Kohno, Kotaro; Martin, Sergio; Villard, Eric; Onishi, Kyoko

    2016-01-01

    We mapped the entire inner disk of NGC 1097 (the circumnuclear ring, bar ends, the bar and inner spiral arms) using ALMA in the CO J=1-0 line at resolution of 1" (~65 pc). We also mapped the northern half of the bar in every other common molecular gas tracer at 3mm (HCN, HCO+, C18O, 13CO, C34S). Together these data provide the most detailed and highest resolution map of the molecular gas distribution and kinematics in a nearby barred spiral, rivalling the incredible maps seen for galaxies like M51 in the northern hemisphere. The data show the impact of the different environments in the galaxy as well as evidence for a multi-phased molecular medium. The data also evidence how the shear induced by the bar shock completely inhibits the star formation activity in the inner ends of the bar (clearly showing an anti-correlation between the strength of the CO line emission and Halpha emission). We will also present multiwavelength HST observations of the galaxy which are used to identify and map star clusters across the inner disk of the galaxy. We use these data to understand how star formation proceeds from one environment to the next across the galaxy.

  1. The remnant of a merger between two dwarf galaxies in Andromeda II.

    PubMed

    Amorisco, N C; Evans, N W; van de Ven, G

    2014-03-20

    Driven by gravity, massive structures like galaxies and clusters of galaxies are believed to grow continuously through hierarchical merging and accretion of smaller systems. Observational evidence of accretion events is provided by the coherent stellar streams crossing the outer haloes of massive galaxies, such as the Milky Way or Andromeda. At similar mass scales, around 10(11) solar masses in stars, further evidence of merging activity is also ample. Mergers of lower-mass galaxies are expected within the hierarchical process of galaxy formation, but have hitherto not been seen for galaxies with less than about 10(9) solar masses in stars. Here we report the kinematic detection of a stellar stream in one of the satellite galaxies of Andromeda, the dwarf spheroidal Andromeda II, which has a mass of only 10(7) solar masses in stars. The properties of the stream show that we are observing the remnant of a merger between two dwarf galaxies. This had a drastic influence on the dynamics of the remnant, which is now rotating around its projected major axis. The stellar stream in Andromeda II illustrates the scale-free character of the formation of galaxies, down to the lowest galactic mass scales.

  2. THE JAMES CLERK MAXWELL TELESCOPE NEARBY GALAXIES LEGACY SURVEY. II. WARM MOLECULAR GAS AND STAR FORMATION IN THREE FIELD SPIRAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Warren, B. E.; Wilson, C. D.; Sinukoff, E.

    2010-05-01

    We present the results of large-area {sup 12}CO J = 3-2 emission mapping of three nearby field galaxies, NGC 628, NGC 3521, and NGC 3627, completed at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope as part of the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey. These galaxies all have moderate to strong {sup 12}CO J = 3-2 detections over large areas of the fields observed by the survey, showing resolved structure and dynamics in their warm/dense molecular gas disks. All three galaxies were part of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey sample, and as such have excellent published multiwavelength ancillary data. These data sets allowmore » us to examine the star formation properties, gas content, and dynamics of these galaxies on sub-kiloparsec scales. We find that the global gas depletion time for dense/warm molecular gas in these galaxies is consistent with other results for nearby spiral galaxies, indicating this may be independent of galaxy properties such as structures, gas compositions, and environments. Similar to the results from The H I Nearby Galaxy Survey, we do not see a correlation of the star formation efficiency with the gas surface density consistent with the Schmidt-Kennicutt law. Finally, we find that the star formation efficiency of the dense molecular gas traced by {sup 12}CO J = 3-2 is potentially flat or slightly declining as a function of molecular gas density, the {sup 12}CO J = 3-2/J = 1-0 ratio (in contrast to the correlation found in a previous study into the starburst galaxy M83), and the fraction of total gas in molecular form.« less

  3. Azimuthally averaged radial S(sub 100 microns)/S(sub 60 microns) dust color temperatures in spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Devereux, Nick A.

    1994-01-01

    The IRAS S(sub 100 micron)/S(sub 60 micron) dust color temperature profiles are presented for two nearby spiral galaxies M 101 and M 81. The radial dust temperature profiles provided an important constraint on the origin of the far-infrared luminosity. The observed dust temperature is compared with that expected for diffuse interstellar dust heated by the general interstellar radiation field within each galaxy. The implications for the contribution of cirrus to the far-infrared luminosity of M 101 and M 81 are discussed.

  4. STAR FORMATION ON SUBKILOPARSEC SCALE TRIGGERED BY NON-LINEAR PROCESSES IN NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Momose, Rieko; Koda, Jin; Donovan Meyer, Jennifer

    We report a super-linear correlation for the star formation law based on new CO(J = 1-0) data from the CARMA and NOBEYAMA Nearby-galaxies (CANON) CO survey. The sample includes 10 nearby spiral galaxies, in which structures at sub-kpc scales are spatially resolved. Combined with the star formation rate surface density traced by H{alpha} and 24 {mu}m images, CO(J = 1-0) data provide a super-linear slope of N = 1.3. The slope becomes even steeper (N = 1.8) when the diffuse stellar and dust background emission is subtracted from the H{alpha} and 24 {mu}m images. In contrast to the recent resultsmore » with CO(J = 2-1) that found a constant star formation efficiency (SFE) in many spiral galaxies, these results suggest that the SFE is not independent of environment, but increases with molecular gas surface density. We suggest that the excitation of CO(J = 2-1) is likely enhanced in the regions with higher star formation and does not linearly trace the molecular gas mass. In addition, the diffuse emission contaminates the SFE measurement most in regions where the star formation rate is law. These two effects can flatten the power-law correlation and produce the apparent linear slope. The super-linear slope from the CO(J = 1-0) analysis indicates that star formation is enhanced by non-linear processes in regions of high gas density, e.g., gravitational collapse and cloud-cloud collisions.« less

  5. Catalog of Observed Tangents to the Spiral Arms in the Milky Way Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vallée, Jacques P.

    2014-11-01

    From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, one can use different arm tracers (CO, H I, thermal or ionized or relativistic electrons, masers, cold and hot dust, etc.) to locate a tangent to each spiral arm in the disk of the Milky Way. We present a master catalog of the astronomically observed tangents to the Galaxy's spiral arms, using different arm tracers from the literature. Some arm tracers can have slightly divergent results from several papers, so a mean value is taken—see the Appendix for CO, H II, and masers. The catalog of means currently consists of 63 mean tracer entries, spread over many arms (Carina, Crux-Centaurus, Norma, Perseus origin, near 3 kpc, Scutum, Sagittarius), stemming from 107 original arm tracer entries. Additionally, we updated and revised a previous statistical analysis of the angular offset and linear separation from the mid-arm for each different mean arm tracer. Given enough arm tracers, and summing and averaging over all four spiral arms, one could determine if arm tracers have separate and parallel lanes in the Milky Way. This statistical analysis allows a cross-cut of a Galactic spiral arm to be made, confirming a recent discovery of a linear separation between arm tracers. Here, from the mid-arm's CO to the inner edge's hot dust, the arm halfwidth is about 340 pc doubling would yield a full arm width of 680 pc. We briefly compare these observations with the predictions of many spiral arm theories, notably the density wave theory.

  6. CATALOG OF OBSERVED TANGENTS TO THE SPIRAL ARMS IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vallée, Jacques P., E-mail: jacques.vallee@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

    2014-11-01

    From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, one can use different arm tracers (CO, H I, thermal or ionized or relativistic electrons, masers, cold and hot dust, etc.) to locate a tangent to each spiral arm in the disk of the Milky Way. We present a master catalog of the astronomically observed tangents to the Galaxy's spiral arms, using different arm tracers from the literature. Some arm tracers can have slightly divergent results from several papers, so a mean value is taken—see the Appendix for CO, H II, and masers. The catalog of means currently consists of 63 meanmore » tracer entries, spread over many arms (Carina, Crux-Centaurus, Norma, Perseus origin, near 3 kpc, Scutum, Sagittarius), stemming from 107 original arm tracer entries. Additionally, we updated and revised a previous statistical analysis of the angular offset and linear separation from the mid-arm for each different mean arm tracer. Given enough arm tracers, and summing and averaging over all four spiral arms, one could determine if arm tracers have separate and parallel lanes in the Milky Way. This statistical analysis allows a cross-cut of a Galactic spiral arm to be made, confirming a recent discovery of a linear separation between arm tracers. Here, from the mid-arm's CO to the inner edge's hot dust, the arm halfwidth is about 340 pc; doubling would yield a full arm width of 680 pc. We briefly compare these observations with the predictions of many spiral arm theories, notably the density wave theory.« less

  7. Tidal Effects on the Oort Cloud Comets and Dynamics of the Sun in the Spiral Arms of the Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Biasi, Alice

    2014-01-01

    The Solar System presents a complex dynamical structure and is not isolated from the Galaxy. In particular the comet reservoir of our planetary system, the Oort cloud, is extremely sensitive to the the galactic environment due to its peripheral collocation inside the Solar System. In this framework, the growing evidences about a possible migration of the Sun open new research scenarios relative to the effects that such kind of migration might induce on the cometary motion. Following several previous studied, we identified the spiral arm structure as the main perturbation that is able to produce an efficient solar migration through the disk. Widening the classical model for the spiral arms, provided by Lin& Shu to a 3D formalism, we verified the compatibility between the presence of the spiral perturbation and a significant solar motion for an inner Galactic position to the current one, in agreement with the constrains in position, velocity and metallicity due to the present conditions of our star. The main perturbers of the Oort cloud, the close stellar passages and the tidal field of the Galaxy, might be both affected by the variation of Galactic environment that the solar migration entails. Despite that, in order to isolate the effects to the two different perturbators, we decided to focus our attention only on the Galactic tide. The perturbation due to the spiral structure was included in the study on the cometary motion, introducing the solar migration and adding the direct presence of the non-axisymmetric component in the Galactic potential of the tidal field. The results show a significant influence of the spiral arm in particular on cometary objects belonged to the outer shell of the Oort cloud, for which provides an injection rate three times bigger than the integration performed without the spiral arms. The introduction of the spiral perturbation seems to bolster the planar component of the tide, indeed it produces the most significant variation of the

  8. The Galaxy Menagerie from WISE

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-05-25

    A colorful collection of galaxy specimens from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission showcases galaxies of several types, from elegant grand design spirals to more patchy flocculent spirals.

  9. The first VLBI detection of a spiral DRAGN core

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Minnie Y.; Blanchard, Jay M.; Owen, Frazer; Sjouwerman, Loránt O.; Singh, Vikram; Scaife, Anna; Paragi, Zsolt; Norris, Ray P.; Momjian, Emmanuel; Johnson, Gia; Browne, Ian

    2018-07-01

    We present the first observation of 0313-192, the archetypal spiral DRAGN, at very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) resolutions. Spiral DRAGNs are Double-lobed Radio sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei (DRAGNs) that are hosted by spiral galaxies. 0313-192 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that appears to host a 360 kpc double-lobed radio source. The core of this galaxy is clearly detected at L, S, and X bands using the Very Long Baseline Array, signifying an ongoing active nucleus in the galaxy. This rules out the possibility that the spiral DRAGN is merely a chance alignment. The radio core has L1.4 GHz ˜ 3.0 × 1023 W Hz-1. Radio components are detected to the south-west of the core, but there are no detections of a counterjet. Assuming a symmetric, relativistic jet, we estimate an upper limit to the inclination angle of θ ≲ 72 deg. The VLBI-detected radio jet components are extremely well aligned with the larger scale radio source suggesting little to no jet disruption or interaction with the interstellar medium of the host galaxy.

  10. Hubble Catches a Spiral in the Air Pump

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Lying more than 110 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Antlia (The Air Pump) is the spiral galaxy IC 2560, shown here in an image from NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. At this distance it is a relatively nearby spiral galaxy, and is part of the Antlia cluster — a group of over 200 galaxies held together by gravity. This cluster is unusual; unlike most other galaxy clusters, it appears to have no dominant galaxy within it. In this image, it is easy to spot IC 2560's spiral arms and barred structure. This spiral is what astronomers call a Seyfert-2 galaxy, a kind of spiral galaxy characterized by an extremely bright nucleus and very strong emission lines from certain elements — hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, and oxygen. The bright center of the galaxy is thought to be caused by the ejection of huge amounts of super-hot gas from the region around a central black hole. There is a story behind the naming of this quirky constellation — Antlia was originally named antlia pneumatica by French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, in honor of the invention of the air pump in the 17th century. Credit: Hubble/European Space Agency and NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  11. History of Chandra X-Ray Observatory

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1999-10-13

    Chandra X-Ray Observatory took this first x-ray picture of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) on October 13, 1999. The blue dot in the center of the image is a "cool" million-degree x-ray source where a supermassive black hole with the mass of 30-million suns is located. The x-rays are produced by matter furneling toward the black hole. Numerous other hotter x-ray sources are also apparent. Most of these are probably due to x-ray binary systems, in which a neutron star or black hole is in close orbit around a normal star. While the gas falling into the central black hole is cool, it is only cool by comparison to the 100 other x-ray sources in the Andromeda Galaxy. To be detected by an x-ray telescope, the gas must have a temperature of more than a million degrees. The Andromeda Galaxy is our nearest neighbor spiral galaxy at a distance of two million light years. It is similar to our own Milky Way in size, shape, and also contains a supermassive black hole at the center. (Photo Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/S. Murray, M. Garcia)

  12. PANCHROMATIC HUBBLE ANDROMEDA TREASURY. XII. MAPPING STELLAR METALLICITY DISTRIBUTIONS IN M31

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gregersen, Dylan; Seth, Anil C.; Williams, Benjamin F.

    We present a study of spatial variations in the metallicity of old red giant branch stars in the Andromeda galaxy. Photometric metallicity estimates are derived by interpolating isochrones for over seven million stars in the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey. This is the first systematic study of stellar metallicities over the inner 20 kpc of Andromeda’s galactic disk. We see a clear metallicity gradient of −0.020 ± 0.004 dex kpc{sup −1} from ∼4–20 kpc assuming a constant red giant branch age. This metallicity gradient is derived after correcting for the effects of photometric bias and completeness and dust extinction, and ismore » quite insensitive to these effects. The unknown age gradient in M31's disk creates the dominant systematic uncertainty in our derived metallicity gradient. However, spectroscopic analyses of galaxies similar to M31 show that they typically have small age gradients that make this systematic error comparable to the 1σ error on our metallicity gradient measurement. In addition to the metallicity gradient, we observe an asymmetric local enhancement in metallicity at radii of 3–6 kpc that appears to be associated with Andromeda’s elongated bar. This same region also appears to have an enhanced stellar density and velocity dispersion.« less

  13. CLUES to the past: Local Group progenitors amongst high-redshift Lyman break galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dayal, Pratika; Libeskind, Noam I.; Dunlop, James S.

    2013-06-01

    We use state-of-the-art numerical simulations to explore the observability and the expected physical properties of the progenitors of the Local Group galaxies at z ≃ 6-8, within 1 billion years of the big bang. We find that the most massive progenitors of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) at z ≃ 6 and 7 are predicted to have absolute ultraviolet (UV) continuum magnitudes MUV ≃ -17 to -18, suggesting that their analogues lie close to the detection limits of the deepest near-infrared (IR) surveys conducted to date [i.e. Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3/IR Ultra Deep Field (UDF)12]. This in turn confirms that the majority of currently known z ≃ 6-8 galaxies are expected to be the seeds of present-day galaxies which are more massive than L* spirals. We also discuss the properties of the Local Group progenitors at these early epochs, extending down to absolute magnitudes MUV ≃ -13. The most massive MW/M31 progenitors at z ≃ 7 have stellar masses M* ≃ 107.5-8 M⊙, stellar metallicities Z* ˜ 3-6 per cent Z⊙, and predicted observed UV continuum slopes β ≃ -2.4 to -2.5.

  14. Measurement of Galactic Logarithmic Spiral Arm Pitch Angle Using Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform Decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, J. C.; Shields, D. W.; Kennefick, J.; Kennefick, D.; Seigar, M. S.; Lacy, C. H. S.; Puerari, I.

    2012-01-01

    A logarithmic spiral is a prominent feature appearing in a majority of observed galaxies. This feature has long been associated with the traditional Hubble classification scheme, but historical quotes of pitch angle of spiral galaxies have been almost exclusively qualitative. We have developed a methodology, utilizing Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transformations of images of spiral galaxies, in order to isolate and measure the pitch angles of their spiral arms. Our technique provides a quantitative way to measure this morphological feature. This will allow the precise comparison of spiral galaxy evolution to other galactic parameters and test spiral arm genesis theories. In this work, we detail our image processing and analysis of spiral galaxy images and discuss the robustness of our analysis techniques. The authors gratefully acknowledge support for this work from NASA Grant NNX08AW03A.

  15. Development of a hot intergalactic medium in spiral-rich galaxy groups: the example of HCG 16

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vrtilek, Jan M.; O'Sullivan, Ewan; David, Laurence P.; Giacintucci, Simona; Zezas, Andreas; Mamon, Gary; Ponman, Trevor J; Raychaudhury, Somak

    2014-08-01

    Galaxy groups provide the environment in which the majority of galaxies evolve, with low velocity dispersions and small galaxy separations that are conducive to tidal interactions and mergers between group members. X-ray observations reveal the frequent presence of hot gas in groups, with larger quantities linked to early-type galaxies, whereas cold gas is common in spiral-dominated groups. Clarification of the origin and role of the hot medium is central to the understanding of the evolution of the galaxy population and of all phases of the IGM.We here report on the nuclear activity, star formation and the high luminosity X-ray binary populations of the spiral-dominated, likely not yet virialized, group HCG 16, as well as on its intra-group medium, based principally on deep (150 ks) Chandra X-ray observations of the group, as well as new Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) 610 MHz radio data. We confirm the presence of obscured active nuclei in NGC 833 and NGC 835, and identify what may be a previously unrecognized nuclear source in NGC 838; all are variable. NGC 838 and NGC 839 are both starburst-dominated systems, with galactic superwinds that show X-ray and radio evidence of IGM interaction, but only weak nuclear activity; NGC 848 is also dominated by emission from its starburst.We confirm the existence of a faint, extended low-temperature (0.3 keV) intra-group medium, a subject of some uncertainty in earlier studies. The diffuse emission is strongest in a ridge linking the four principal galaxies, and is at least partly coincident with a large-scale HI tidal filament, indicating that the IGM in the inner part of the group is highly multi-phase. We conclude that starburst winds and shock-heating of stripped HI may play an important role in the early stages of IGM formation, with galactic winds contributing 20-40% of the observed hot gas in the system.

  16. Dark matter and MOND dynamical models of the massive spiral galaxy NGC 2841

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samurović, S.; Vudragović, A.; Jovanović, M.

    2015-08-01

    We study dynamical models of the massive spiral galaxy NGC 2841 using both the Newtonian models with Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) and isothermal dark haloes, as well as various MOND (MOdified Newtonian Dynamics) models. We use the observations coming from several publicly available data bases: we use radio data, near-infrared photometry as well as spectroscopic observations. In our models, we find that both tested Newtonian dark matter approaches can successfully fit the observed rotational curve of NGC 2841. The three tested MOND models (standard, simple and, for the first time applied to another spiral galaxy than the Milky Way, Bekenstein's toy model) provide fits of the observed rotational curve with various degrees of success: the best result was obtained with the standard MOND model. For both approaches, Newtonian and MOND, the values of the mass-to-light ratios of the bulge are consistent with the predictions from the stellar population synthesis (SPS) based on the Salpeter initial mass function (IMF). Also, for Newtonian and simple and standard MOND models, the estimated stellar mass-to-light ratios of the disc agree with the predictions from the SPS models based on the Kroupa IMF, whereas the toy MOND model provides too low a value of the stellar mass-to-light ratio, incompatible with the predictions of the tested SPS models. In all our MOND models, we vary the distance to NGC 2841, and our best-fitting standard and toy models use the values higher than the Cepheid-based distance to the galaxy NGC 2841, and the best-fitting simple MOND model is based on the lower value of the distance. The best-fitting NFW model is inconsistent with the predictions of the Λ cold dark matter cosmology, because the inferred concentration index is too high for the established virial mass.

  17. WATER MASERS IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY. I. A SURVEY FOR WATER MASERS, AMMONIA, AND HYDROGEN RECOMBINATION LINES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Darling, Jeremy; Gerard, Benjamin; Amiri, Nikta

    We report the results of a Green Bank Telescope survey for water masers, ammonia (1, 1) and (2, 2), and the H66 α recombination line toward 506 luminous compact 24 μ m emitting regions in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). We include the 206 sources observed in the Darling water maser survey for completeness. The survey was sensitive enough to detect any maser useful for ∼10 μ as yr{sup 1} astrometry. No new water masers, ammonia lines, or H66 α recombination lines were detected individually or in spectral stacks reaching rms noise levels of ∼3 mJy and ∼0.2 mJy, respectively, inmore » 3.1–3.3 km s{sup 1} channels. The lack of detections in individual spectra and in the spectral stacks is consistent with Galactic extrapolations. Contrary to previous assertions, there do not seem to be any additional bright water masers to be found in M31. The strong variability of water masers may enable new maser detections in the future, but variability may also limit the astrometric utility of known (or future) masers because flaring masers must also fade.« less

  18. Creating lenticular galaxies with mergers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Querejeta, Miguel; Eliche-Moral, M. Carmen; Tapia, Trinidad; Borlaff, Alejandro; van de Ven, Glenn; Lyubenova, Mariya; Martig, Marie; Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Méndez-Abreu, Jairo; Zamorano, Jaime; Gallego, Jesús

    2017-03-01

    Lenticular galaxies (S0s) represent the majority of early-type galaxies in the local Universe, but their formation channels are still poorly understood. While galaxy mergers are obvious pathways to suppress star formation and increase bulge sizes, the marked parallelism between spiral and lenticular galaxies (e.g. photometric bulge-disc coupling) seemed to rule out a potential merger origin. Here, we summarise our recent work in which we have shown, through N-body numerical simulations, that disc-dominated lenticulars can emerge from major mergers of spiral galaxies, in good agreement with observational photometric scaling relations. Moreover, we show that mergers simultaneously increase the light concentration and reduce the angular momentum relative to their spiral progenitors. This explains the mismatch in angular momentum and concentration between spirals and lenticulars recently revealed by CALIFA observations, which is hard to reconcile with simple fading mechanisms (e.g. ram-pressure stripping).

  19. The Wolf-Rayet Content of the Andromeda Galaxy: What Do Massive Stars Really Do When the Metallicity is Above Solar?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Massey, Philip

    2000-08-01

    We are proposing to survey M 31 for Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) and red supergiants (RSGs), providing much needed information about how massive stars evolve at greater-than-solar metallicities. Our understanding of massive star evolution is hampered by the effects of mass-loss on these stars; at higher metallicities mass-loss effects become ever more pronounced. Our previous work on other Local Group galaxies (Massey & Johnson 1998) has shown that the number of RSGs to WRs correlates well with metallicity, changing by a factor of 6 from NGC 6822 (log O/H+12=8.3) to the inner parts of M 33 (8.7). Our study of five small regions in M 31 suggests that above this value the ratio of RSGs to WRs doesn't change: does this mean that no massive star that becomes a WR spends any time as a RSG at above solar metallicities? We fear instead that our sample (selected, afterall, for containing WR stars) was not sufficiently well-mixed in age to provide useful global values; the study we propose here will survey all of M 31. Detection of WRs will provide fundamental data not only on massive star evolution, but also act as tracers of the most massive stars, and improve our knowledge of recent star-formation in the Andromeda Galaxy.

  20. {sup 13}CO/C{sup 18}O Gradients across the Disks of Nearby Spiral Galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jiménez-Donaire, María J.; Cormier, Diane; Bigiel, Frank

    We use the IRAM Large Program EMPIRE and new high-resolution ALMA data to measure {sup 13}CO(1-0)/C{sup 18}O(1-0) intensity ratios across nine nearby spiral galaxies. These isotopologues of {sup 12}CO are typically optically thin across most of the area in galaxy disks, and this ratio allows us to gauge their relative abundance due to chemistry or stellar nucleosynthesis effects. Resolved {sup 13}CO/C{sup 18}O gradients across normal galaxies have been rare due to the faintness of these lines. We find a mean {sup 13}CO/C{sup 18}O ratio of 6.0 ± 0.9 for the central regions of our galaxies. This agrees well with resultsmore » in the Milky Way, but differs from results for starburst galaxies (3.4 ± 0.9) and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (1.1 ± 0.4). In our sample, the {sup 13}CO/C{sup 18}O ratio consistently increases with increasing galactocentric radius and decreases with increasing star formation rate surface density. These trends could be explained if the isotopic abundances are altered by fractionation; the sense of the trends also agrees with those expected for carbon and oxygen isotopic abundance variations due to selective enrichment by massive stars.« less

  1. Galaxy with a view

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-07-06

    This little-known galaxy, officially named J04542829-6625280, but most often referred to as LEDA 89996, is a classic example of a spiral galaxy. The galaxy is much like our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The disc-shaped galaxy is seen face on, revealing the winding structure of the spiral arms. Dark patches in these spiral arms are in fact dust and gas — the raw materials for new stars. The many young stars that form in these regions make the spiral arms appear bright and bluish. The galaxy sits in a vibrant area of the night sky within the constellation of Dorado (The Swordfish), and appears very close to the Large Magellanic Cloud  — one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. The observations were carried out with the high resolution channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. This instrument has delivered some of the sharpest views of the Universe so far achieved by mankind. This image covers only a tiny patch of sky — about the size of a one cent euro coin held 100 metres away! A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by flickr user c.claude.

  2. Baryon Budget of the Hot Circumgalactic Medium of Massive Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiang-Tao; Bregman, Joel N.; Wang, Q. Daniel; Crain, Robert A.; Anderson, Michael E.

    2018-03-01

    The baryon content around local galaxies is observed to be much less than is needed in Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Simulations indicate that a significant fraction of these “missing baryons” may be stored in a hot tenuous circumgalactic medium (CGM) around massive galaxies extending to or even beyond the virial radius of their dark matter halos. Previous observations in X-ray and Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) signals claimed that ∼(1–50)% of the expected baryons are stored in a hot CGM within the virial radius. The large scatter is mainly caused by the very uncertain extrapolation of the hot gas density profile based on the detection in a small radial range (typically within 10%–20% of the virial radius). Here, we report stacking X-ray observations of six local isolated massive spiral galaxies from the CGM-MASS sample. We find that the mean density profile can be characterized by a single power law out to a galactocentric radius of ≈200 kpc (or ≈130 kpc above the 1σ background uncertainty), about half the virial radius of the dark matter halo. We can now estimate that the hot CGM within the virial radius accounts for (8 ± 4)% of the baryonic mass expected for the halos. Including the stars, the baryon fraction is (27 ± 16)%, or (39 ± 20)% by assuming a flattened density profile at r ≳ 130 kpc. We conclude that the hot baryons within the virial radius of massive galaxy halos are insufficient to explain the “missing baryons.”

  3. Hydrodynamical simulations of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. Dynamical interpretation of observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindblad, P. A. B.; Kristen, H.

    1996-09-01

    We perform two-dimensional time dependent hydrodynamical simulations of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. The input potential is divided into an axisymmetric part mainly derived from the observed rotation curve, and a perturbing part obtained from near infrared surface photometry of the bar and spiral structure. Self-gravitation of the gas is not taken into account in our modeling. A pure bar perturbed model is unable to reproduce the observations. It was found necessary to add a weak spiral potential to the perturbation, thus suggesting the presence of massive spiral arms in NGC 1300. We find two models, differing mainly in pattern speed, which are able to reproduce the essentials of NGC 1300. The high pattern speed model has {OMEGA}_p_=20km/s/kpc, corresponding to a corotation radius at R_CR_~104"=1.3R_bar_. Furthermore, the adopted rotation curve for this model supports one ILR at R_ILR_~26" and an OLR at R_OLR_~188". The low pattern speed model has {OMEGA}_p_=12km/s/kpc, corresponding to a corotation radius at R_ CR_~190"=2.4R_bar_. The adopted rotation curve for this model, which differs from the fast pattern speed model, supports one ILR at R_ILR_~25" and an OLR at R_OLR_~305". Morphological features, like spiral arms and offset dust lanes, are basically reproduced by both models. They are driven by orbit crowding effects across various resonances, leading to density enhancements. The general velocity structure, as described by HI data and optical long slit measurements, is fairly consistent with the model velocities.

  4. Spiral-like star-forming patterns in CALIFA early-type galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gomes, J. M.; Papaderos, P.; Vílchez, J. M.; Kehrig, C.; Iglesias-Páramo, J.; Breda, I.; Lehnert, M. D.; Sánchez, S. F.; Ziegler, B.; Dos Reis, S. N.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Galbany, L.; Bomans, D. J.; Rosales-Ortega, F. F.; Walcher, C. J.; García-Benito, R.; Márquez, I.; Del Olmo, A.; Mollá, M.; Marino, R. A.; Catalán-Torrecilla, C.; González Delgado, R. M.; López-Sánchez, Á. R.; Califa Collaboration

    2016-01-01

    Based on a combined analysis of SDSS imaging and CALIFA integral field spectroscopy data, we report on the detection of faint (24 <μr mag/□″< 26) star-forming spiral-arm-like features in the periphery of three nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs). These features are of considerable interest because they document the still ongoing inside-out growth of some local ETGs and may add valuable observational insight into the origin and evolution of spiral structure in triaxial stellar systems. A characteristic property of the nebular component in the studied ETGs, classified I+, is a two-radial-zone structure, with the inner zone that displays faint (EW(Hα) ≃ 1 Å) low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) properties, and the outer one (3 Å

  5. Early gas stripping as the origin of the darkest galaxies in the Universe.

    PubMed

    Mayer, L; Kazantzidis, S; Mastropietro, C; Wadsley, J

    2007-02-15

    The known galaxies most dominated by dark matter (Draco, Ursa Minor and Andromeda IX) are satellites of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies. They are members of a class of faint galaxies, devoid of gas, known as dwarf spheroidals, and have by far the highest ratio of dark to luminous matter. None of the models proposed to unravel their origin can simultaneously explain their exceptional dark matter content and their proximity to a much larger galaxy. Here we report simulations showing that the progenitors of these galaxies were probably gas-dominated dwarf galaxies that became satellites of a larger galaxy earlier than the other dwarf spheroidals. We find that a combination of tidal shocks and ram pressure swept away the entire gas content of such progenitors about ten billion years ago because heating by the cosmic ultraviolet background kept the gas loosely bound: a tiny stellar component embedded in a relatively massive dark halo survived until today. All luminous galaxies should be surrounded by a few extremely dark-matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal satellites, and these should have the shortest orbital periods among dwarf spheroidals because they were accreted early.

  6. STAR Formation Histories Across the Interacting Galaxy NGC 6872, the Largest-Known Spiral

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eufrasio, Rafael T.; Dwek, E.; Arendt, RIchard G.; deMello, Duilia F.; Gadotti, DImitri A.; Urrutia-Viscarra, Fernanda; deOliveira, CLaudia Mendes; Benford, Dominic J.

    2014-01-01

    NGC6872, hereafter the Condor, is a large spiral galaxy that is interacting with its closest companion, the S0 galaxy IC 4970. The extent of the Condor provides an opportunity for detailed investigation of the impact of the interaction on the current star formation rate and its history across the galaxy, on the age and spatial distribution of its stellar population, and on the mechanism that drives the star formation activity. To address these issues we analyzed the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to near-infrared (near-IR) spectral energy distribution of seventeen 10 kpc diameter regions across the galaxy, and derived their star formation history, current star formation rate, and stellar population and mass. We find that most of the star formation takes place in the extended arms, with very little star formation in the central 5 kpc of the galaxy, in contrast to what was predicted from previous numerical simulations. There is a trend of increasing star formation activity with distance from the nucleus of the galaxy, and no evidence for a recent increase in the current star formation rate due to the interaction. The nucleus itself shows no significant current star formation activity. The extent of the Condor also provides an opportunity to test the applicability of a single standard prescription for conversion of the FUV + IR (22 micrometer) intensities to a star formation rate for all regions. We find that the conversion factor differs from region to region, arising from regional differences in the stellar populations.

  7. The onset of spiral structure in the universe

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elmegreen, Debra Meloy; Elmegreen, Bruce G.

    2014-01-20

    The onset of spiral structure in galaxies appears to occur between redshifts 1.4 and 1.8 when disks have developed a cool stellar component, rotation dominates over turbulent motions in the gas, and massive clumps become less frequent. During the transition from clumpy to spiral disks, two unusual types of spirals are found in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field that are massive, clumpy, and irregular like their predecessor clumpy disks, yet spiral-like or sheared like their descendants. One type is 'woolly' with massive clumpy arms all over the disk and is brighter than other disk galaxies at the same redshift, whilemore » another type has irregular multiple arms with high pitch angles, star formation knots, and no inner symmetry like today's multiple-arm galaxies. The common types of spirals seen locally are also present in a redshift range around z ∼ 1, namely grand design with two symmetric arms, multiple arm with symmetry in the inner parts and several long, thin arms in the outer parts, and flocculent, with short, irregular, and patchy arms that are mostly from star formation. Normal multiple-arm galaxies are found only closer than z ∼ 0.6 in the Ultra Deep Field. Grand design galaxies extend furthest to z ∼ 1.8, presumably because interactions can drive a two-arm spiral in a disk that would otherwise have a more irregular structure. The difference between these types is understandable in terms of the usual stability parameters for gas and stars, and the ratio of the velocity dispersion to rotation speed.« less

  8. Formation des etoiles massives dans les galaxies spirales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lelievre, Mario

    Le but de cette thèse est de décrire la formation des étoiles massives dans les galaxies spirales appartenant à divers types morphologiques. L'imagerie Hα profonde combinée à une robuste méthode d'identification des régions HII ont permis de détecter et de mesurer les propriétés (position, taille, luminosité, taux de formation d'étoiles) de plusieurs régions HII situées dans le disque interne (R < R25) de dix galaxies mais aussi à leur périphérie (R ≥ R 25). De façon générale, la répartition des régions HII ne montre aucune évidence de structure morphologique à R < R25 (bras spiraux, anneau, barre) à moins de limiter l'analyse aux régions HII les plus grosses ou les plus lumineuses. La répartition des régions HII, de même que leur taille et leur luminosité, sont toutefois sujettes à de forts effets de sélection qui dépendent de la distance des galaxies et qu'il faut corriger en ramenant l'échantillon à une résolution spatiale commune. Les fonctions de luminosité montrent que les régions HII les plus brillantes ont tendance à se former dans la portion interne du disque. De plus, l'analyse des pentes révèle une forte corrélation linéaire par rapport au type morphologique. Aucun pic n'est observé dans les fonctions de luminosité à log L-37 qui révèlerait la transition entre les régions HII bornées par l'ionisation et par la densité. Une relation cubique est obtenue entre la taille et la luminosité des régions HII, cette relation variant toutefois de façon significative entre le disque interne et la périphérie d'une même galaxie. La densité et la dynamique du gaz et des étoiles pourraient influencer de façon significative la stabilité des nuages moléculaires face à l'effondrement gravitationnel. D'une part, l'étendue du disque de régions HII pour cinq galaxies de l'échantillon coïncide avec celle de l'hydrogène atomique. D'autre part, en analysant la stabilité des disques galactiques, on conclue

  9. A Study of Galaxies and Quasars in the Background of the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dhara, Atirath; McConnell, Kaela; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Roy, Namrata; Waite, Jurij

    2018-01-01

    The SPLASH (Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda’s Stellar Halo) survey is based on wide-field ground-based optical images (KPNO 4-m/Mosaic, CFHT 3.6-m/MegaCam imager, and Subaru 8-m/Suprime-Cam), deep Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet/optical/near infrared images (ACS and WFC3), and medium resolution spectra (Keck II 10-m/DEIMOS). The SPLASH survey data set contains two main categories of (non-M31) contaminants (SPLASH trash, if you will): foreground Milky Way stars and compact background galaxies/quasars. In this poster, we present the discovery and characterization of galaxies and quasars behind M31. Such objects were identified based on the presence of redshifted emission lines and other galaxy/quasar spectral features (e.g., Ca H+K absorption and IGM absorption). The redshift of each galaxy was measured by cross-correlating its spectrum against an emission line galaxy spectral template. The cross-correlation results (spectrum and best-fit template) were visually inspected to identify cases of incorrect matching of emission lines. Many of these incorrect redshift estimates were corrected by using the second or third highest cross-correlation peak. Quasar redshifts were determined based on cross-correlation against a quasar spectral template. Most of the galaxies in our sample are star forming galaxies with strong emission lines. We analyze their emission line flux ratios in a BPT diagram to learn more about the ionization source and metallicity. Finally, the properties of these compact galaxies behind M31 are compared to those of galaxies selected in a more standard way in the DEEP2 redshift survey to explore the effects of morphological pre-selection (compact vs. extended) on the properties of the resulting galaxy sample.This research was supported by NASA/STScI and the National Science Foundation. Most of this work was carried out by high school students working under the auspices of the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz.

  10. Spiral Arm Morphology in Cluster Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Isaac Yeoun-Gyu; Ann, Hong Bae

    2011-10-01

    We examine the dependence of the morphology of spiral galaxies on the environment using the KIAS Value Added Galaxy Catalog (VAGC) which is derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7. Our goal is to understand whether the local environment or global conditions dominate in determining the morphology of spiral galaxies. For the analysis, we conduct a morphological classification of galaxies in 20 X-ray selected Abell clusters up to z˜0.06, using SDSS color images and the X-ray data from the Northern ROSAT All-Sky (NORAS) catalog. We analyze the distribution of arm classes along the clustercentric radius as well as that of Hubble types. To segregate the effect of local environment from the global environment, we compare the morphological distribution of galaxies in two X-lay luminosity groups, the low-Lx clusters (Lx < 0.15×1044erg/s) and high-Lx clusters (Lx > 1.8×1044erg/s). We find that the morphology-clustercentric relation prevails in the cluster envirnment although there is a brake near the cluster virial radius. The grand design arms comprise about 40% of the cluster spiral galaxies with a weak morphology-clustercentric radius relation for the arm classes, in the sense that flocculent galaxies tend to increase outward, regardless of the X-ray luminosity. From the cumulative radial distribution of cluster galaxies, we found that the low-Lx clusters are fully virialized while the high-Lx clusters are not.

  11. Elegant spiral hides a hungry monster

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-10-12

    NGC 4639 is a beautiful example of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. It lies over 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo and is one of about 1500 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. In this image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, one can clearly see the bar running through the bright, round core of the galaxy. Bars are found in around two thirds of spiral galaxies, and are thought to be a natural phase in their evolution. The galaxy’s spiral arms are sprinkled with bright regions of active star formation. Each of these tiny jewels is actually several hundred light-years across and contains hundreds or thousands of newly formed stars. But NGC 4639 also conceals a dark secret in its core — a massive black hole that is consuming the surrounding gas. This is known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and is revealed by characteristic features in the spectrum of light from the galaxy and by X-rays produced close to the black hole as the hot gas plunges towards it. Most galaxies are thought to contain a black hole at the centre. NGC 4639 is in fact a very weak example of an AGN, demonstrating that AGNs exist over a large range of activity, from galaxies like NGC 4639 to distant quasars, where the parent galaxy is almost completely dominated by the emissions from the AGN.

  12. On the unity of activity in galaxies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rowan-Robinson, M.

    1977-05-01

    A scheme is presented which unites quasars, radio galaxies, N galaxies, and Seyfert galaxies into a single picture of activity in galaxies. Probability functions are given for optical and radio cores, and extended radio sources (in the case of ellipticals), for both spirals and ellipticals. Activity occurs in galaxies of all luminosities, but the strength of it is made proportional to galaxy luminosity. It is assumed that there is dust surrounding the optical cores, to explain the strong infrared emission in Seyferts.Quasars may, in this picture, occur in both spirals and ellipticals, and in fact most optically selected QSOs aremore » predicted to be in spirals.« less

  13. The role of host galaxy for the environmental dependence of active nuclei in local galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davies, Richard I.; Hicks, E. K. S.; Erwin, P.; Burtscher, L.; Contursi, A.; Genzel, R.; Janssen, A.; Koss, M.; Lin, M.-Y.; Lutz, D.; Maciejewski, W.; Müller-Sánchez, F.; Orban de Xivry, G.; Ricci, C.; Riffel, R.; Riffel, R. A.; Rosario, D.; Schartmann, M.; Schnorr-Müller, A.; Shimizu, T.; Sternberg, A.; Sturm, E.; Storchi-Bergmann, T.; Tacconi, L.; Veilleux, S.

    2017-04-01

    We discuss the environment of local hard X-ray selected active galaxies, with reference to two independent group catalogues. We find that the fraction of these AGN in S0 host galaxies decreases strongly as a function of galaxy group size (halo mass) - which contrasts with the increasing fraction of galaxies of S0 type in denser environments. However, there is no evidence for an environmental dependence of AGN in spiral galaxies. Because most AGN are found in spiral galaxies, this dilutes the signature of environmental dependence for the population as a whole. We argue that the differing results for AGN in disc-dominated and bulge-dominated galaxies are related to the source of the gas fuelling the AGN, and so may also impact the luminosity function, duty cycle and obscuration. We find that there is a significant difference in the luminosity function for AGN in spiral and S0 galaxies, and tentative evidence for some difference in the fraction of obscured AGN.

  14. Nuclear Spiral Shocks and Induced Gas Inflows in Weak Oval Potentials

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kim, Woong-Tae; Elmegreen, Bruce G., E-mail: wkim@astro.snu.ac.kr, E-mail: bge@us.ibm.com

    Nuclear spirals are ubiquitous in galaxy centers. They exist not only in strong barred galaxies but also in galaxies without noticeable bars. We use high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations to study the properties of nuclear gas spirals driven by weak bar-like and oval potentials. The amplitude of the spirals increases toward the center by a geometric effect, readily developing into shocks at small radii even for very weak potentials. The shape of the spirals and shocks depends rather sensitively on the background shear. When shear is low, the nuclear spirals are loosely wound and the shocks are almost straight, resulting in largemore » mass inflows toward the center. When shear is high, on the other hand, the spirals are tightly wound and the shocks are oblique, forming a circumnuclear disk through which gas flows inward at a relatively lower rate. The induced mass inflow rates are enough to power black hole accretion in various types of Seyfert galaxies as well as to drive supersonic turbulence at small radii.« less

  15. Radial distributions of surface mass density and mass-to-luminosity ratio in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sofue, Yoshiaki

    2018-03-01

    We present radial profiles of the surface mass density (SMD) in spiral galaxies directly calculated using rotation curves of two approximations of flat-disk (SMD-F) and spherical mass distribution (SMD-S). The SMDs are combined with surface brightness using photometric data to derive radial variations of the mass-to-luminosity ratio (ML). It is found that the ML generally has a central peak or a plateau, and decreases to a local minimum at R ˜ 0.1-0.2 h, where R is the radius and h is the scale radius of optical disk. The ML, then, increases rapidly until ˜0.5 h, and is followed by gradual rise till ˜2 h, remaining at around ˜2 [M_{⊙} L^{-1}_{⊙}] in the w1 band (infrared λ3.4 μm) and ˜ 10 [M_⊙ L_⊙ ^{-1}] in the r band (λ6200-7500 Å). Beyond this radius, the ML increases steeply with approaching the observed edges at R ˜ 5 h, attaining to as high values as ˜20 in w1 and ˜ 10^2 [M_⊙ L_⊙ ^{-1}] in the r band, which are indicative of dominant dark matter. The general properties of the ML distributions will be useful for constraining cosmological formation models of spiral galaxies.

  16. Star Formation Driven Outflows In Edge-On Spiral Galaxies Based on HST/ACS Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rossa, Joern; Dahlem, M.; Dettmar, R.; van der Marel, R. P.

    2007-12-01

    We present new results on extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (eDIG) in four late-type, actively star-forming edge-on spirals. The high spatial resolution narrowband imaging observations were obtained with ACS on-board HST. Our H-alpha observations reveal a multitude of structures on both small and large scales. Whereas all four galaxies have been studied with ground-based telescopes before, here the small scale structure of the extended emission line gas is presented for the very first time at a spatial resolution of 0.05", corresponding to 5 pc at the mean distance to our galaxies. The eDIG morphology is very different for all four targets, as a result of their different star formation activity and galaxy mass. There is a very smooth DIG morphology observed in two of the galaxies (NGC4634 and NGC5775), whereas the other two (NGC4700 and NGC7090) show a much more complex morphology with intricate filaments, bubbles and supershells. We discuss how the morphology of the eDIG, in particular the break-up of diffuse emission into filaments in galaxy halos, depends on physical parameters such as galaxy mass and SF activity and other tracers as well as the galactic environment. Support for proposal 10416 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

  17. On the local standard of rest. [comoving with young objects in gravitational field of spiral galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yuan, C.

    1983-01-01

    Under the influence of a spiral gravitational field, there should be differences among the mean motions of different types of objects with different dispersion velocities in a spiral galaxy. The old stars with high dispersion velocity should have essentially no mean motion normal to the galactic rotation. On the other hand, young objects and interstellar gas may be moving relative to the old stars at a velocity of a few kilometer per second in both the radial (galacto-centric), and circular directions, depending on the spiral model adopted. Such a velocity is usually referred as the systematic motion or the streaming motion. The conventionally adopted local standard of rest is indeed co-moving with the young objects of the solar vicinity. Therefore, it has a net systematic motion with respect to the circular motion of an equilibrium galactic model, defined by the old stars. Previously announced in STAR as N83-24443

  18. Modelling resonances and orbital chaos in disk galaxies. Application to a Milky Way spiral model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michtchenko, T. A.; Vieira, R. S. S.; Barros, D. A.; Lépine, J. R. D.

    2017-01-01

    Context. Resonances in the stellar orbital motion under perturbations from the spiral arm structure can play an important role in the evolution of the disks of spiral galaxies. The epicyclic approximation allows the determination of the corresponding resonant radii on the equatorial plane (in the context of nearly circular orbits), but is not suitable in general. Aims: We expand the study of resonant orbits by analysing stellar motions perturbed by spiral arms with Gaussian-shaped groove profiles without any restriction on the stellar orbital configurations, and we expand the concept of Lindblad (epicyclic) resonances for orbits with large radial excursions. Methods: We define a representative plane of initial conditions, which covers the whole phase space of the system. Dynamical maps on representative planes of initial conditions are constructed numerically in order to characterize the phase-space structure and identify the precise location of the co-rotation and Lindblad resonances. The study is complemented by the construction of dynamical power spectra, which provide the identification of fundamental oscillatory patterns in the stellar motion. Results: Our approach allows a precise description of the resonance chains in the whole phase space, giving a broader view of the dynamics of the system when compared to the classical epicyclic approach. We generalize the concept of Lindblad resonances and extend it to cases of resonant orbits with large radial excursions, even for objects in retrograde motion. The analysis of the solar neighbourhood shows that, depending on the current azimuthal phase of the Sun with respect to the spiral arms, a star with solar kinematic parameters (SSP) may evolve in dynamically distinct regions, either inside the stable co-rotation resonance or in a chaotic zone. Conclusions: Our approach contributes to quantifying the domains of resonant orbits and the degree of chaos in the whole Galactic phase-space structure. It may serve as a

  19. Understanding the physical processes driving galaxy evolution in clusters : a case study of two z~0.5 galaxy clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moran, Sean M.

    Clusters of galaxies represent the largest laboratories in the universe for testing the incredibly chaotic physics governing the collapse of baryons into the stars, galaxies, groups, and diffuse clouds that we see today. Within the cluster environment, there are a wide variety of physical processes that may be acting to transform galaxies.In this thesis, we combine extensive Keck spectroscopy with wide-field HST imaging to perform a detailed case study of two intermediate redshift galaxy clusters, Cl 0024+1654 (z=0.395) and MS 0451-03 (z=0.540). Leveraging a comprehensive multiwavelength data set that spans the X-ray to infrared, and with spectral-line measurements serving as the key to revealing both the recent star-formation histories and kinematics of infalling galaxies, we aim to shed light on the environmental processes that could be acting to transform galaxies in clusters.We adopt a strategy to make maximal use of our HST-based morphologies by splitting our sample of cluster galaxies according to morphological type, characterizing signs of recent evolution in spirals and early types separately. This approach proves to be powerful in identifying galaxies that are currently being altered by an environmental interaction: early-type galaxies that have either been newly transformed or prodded back into an active phase, and spiral galaxies where star formation is being suppressed or enhanced all stand out in our sample.We begin by using variations in the early-type galaxy population as indicators of recent activity. Because ellipticals and S0s form such a homogeneous class in the local universe, we are sensitive to even very subtle signatures of recent and current environmental interactions. This study has yielded two key results: By constructing the Fundamental Plane (FP) of Cl 0024, we observe that elliptical and S0 galaxies exhibit a high scatter in their FP residuals, which occurs only among galaxies in the cluster core, suggesting a turbulent assembly history

  20. Global enhancement and structure formation of the magnetic field in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khoperskov, Sergey A.; Khrapov, Sergey S.

    2018-01-01

    In this paper we study numerically large-scale magnetic field evolution and its enhancement in gaseous disks of spiral galaxies. We consider a set of models with the various spiral pattern parameters and the initial magnetic field strength with taking into account gas self-gravity and cooling and heating processes. In agreement with previous studies we find out that galactic magnetic field is mostly aligned with gaseous structures, however small-scale gaseous structures (spurs and clumps) are more chaotic than the magnetic field structure. In spiral arms magnetic field often coexists with the gas distribution, in the inter-arm region we see filamentary magnetic field structure. These filaments connect several isolated gaseous clumps. Simulations reveal the presence of the small-scale irregularities of the magnetic field as well as the reversal of magnetic field at the outer edge of the large-scale spurs. We provide evidences that the magnetic field in the spiral arms has a stronger mean-field component, and there is a clear inverse correlation between gas density and plasma-beta parameter, compared to the rest of the disk with a more turbulent component of the field and an absence of correlation between gas density and plasma-beta. We show the mean field growth up to >3-10 μG in the cold gas during several rotation periods (>500-800 Myr), whereas ratio between azimuthal and radial field is equal to >4/1. We find an enhancement of random and ordered components of the magnetic field. Mean field strength increases by a factor of >1.5-2.5 for models with various spiral pattern parameters. Random magnetic field component can reach up to 25% from the total strength. By making an analysis of the time-dependent evolution of the radial Poynting flux, we point out that the magnetic field strength is enhanced more strongly at the galactic outskirts which is due to the radial transfer of magnetic energy by the spiral arms pushing the magnetic field outward. Our results also

  1. GLOBULAR CLUSTER SYSTEMS OF SPIRAL AND S0 GALAXIES: RESULTS FROM WIYN IMAGING OF NGC 1023, NGC 1055, NGC 7332, AND NGC 7339

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Young, Michael D.; Dowell, Jessica L.; Rhode, Katherine L., E-mail: youngmd@indiana.edu, E-mail: jlwind@astro.indiana.edu, E-mail: rhode@astro.indiana.edu

    We present results from a study of the globular cluster (GC) systems of four spiral and S0 galaxies imaged as part of an ongoing wide-field survey of the GC systems of giant galaxies. The target galaxies-the SB0 galaxy NGC 1023, the SBb galaxy NGC 1055, and an isolated pair comprised of the Sbc galaxy NGC 7339 and the S0 galaxy NGC 7332-were observed in BVR filters with the WIYN 3.5 m telescope and Minimosaic camera. For two of the galaxies, we combined the WIYN imaging with previously published data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory to helpmore » characterize the GC distribution in the central few kiloparsecs. We determine the radial distribution (surface density of GCs versus projected radius) of each galaxy's GC system and use it to calculate the total number of GCs (N{sub GC}). We find N{sub GC} = 490 {+-} 30, 210 {+-} 40, 175 {+-} 15, and 75 {+-} 10 for NGC 1023, NGC 1055, NGC 7332, and NGC 7339, respectively. We also calculate the GC specific frequency (N{sub GC} normalized by host galaxy luminosity or mass) and find values typical of those of the other spiral and E/S0 galaxies in the survey. The two lenticular galaxies have sufficient numbers of GC candidates for us to perform statistical tests for bimodality in the GC color distributions. We find evidence at a high confidence level (>95%) for two populations in the B - R distribution of the GC system of NGC 1023. We find weaker evidence for bimodality (>81% confidence) in the GC color distribution of NGC 7332. Finally, we identify eight GC candidates that may be associated with the Magellanic dwarf galaxy NGC 1023A, which is a satellite of NGC 1023.« less

  2. The Large-scale Structure of the Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy. I. Global Stellar Density, Morphology and Metallicity Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Lewis, Geraint F.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Irwin, Michael J.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Babul, Arif; Bernard, Edouard J.; Chapman, Scott C.; Collins, Michelle; Fardal, Mark; Mackey, A. D.; Navarro, Julio; Peñarrubia, Jorge; Rich, R. Michael; Tanvir, Nial; Widrow, Lawrence

    2014-01-01

    We present an analysis of the large-scale structure of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy, based on the Pan-Andromeda Archeological Survey (PAndAS), currently the most complete map of resolved stellar populations in any galactic halo. Despite the presence of copious substructures, the global halo populations follow closely power-law profiles that become steeper with increasing metallicity. We divide the sample into stream-like populations and a smooth halo component (defined as the population that cannot be resolved into spatially distinct substructures with PAndAS). Fitting a three-dimensional halo model reveals that the most metal-poor populations ([{{Fe/H}] \\lt -1.7}) are distributed approximately spherically (slightly prolate with ellipticity c/a = 1.09 ± 0.03), with only a relatively small fraction residing in discernible stream-like structures (f stream = 42%). The sphericity of the ancient smooth component strongly hints that the dark matter halo is also approximately spherical. More metal-rich populations contain higher fractions of stars in streams, with f stream becoming as high as 86% for [{Fe/H] \\gt -0.6}. The space density of the smooth metal-poor component has a global power-law slope of γ = -3.08 ± 0.07, and a non-parametric fit shows that the slope remains nearly constant from 30 kpc to ~300 kpc. The total stellar mass in the halo at distances beyond 2° is ~1.1 × 1010 M ⊙, while that of the smooth component is ~3 × 109 M ⊙. Extrapolating into the inner galaxy, the total stellar mass of the smooth halo is plausibly ~8 × 109 M ⊙. We detect a substantial metallicity gradient, which declines from lang[Fe/H]rang = -0.7 at R = 30 kpc to lang[Fe/H]rang = -1.5 at R = 150 kpc for the full sample, with the smooth halo being ~0.2 dex more metal poor than the full sample at each radius. While qualitatively in line with expectations from cosmological simulations, these observations are of great importance as they provide a prototype template that

  3. The Evolution of the Interstellar Medium in the Mildly Disturbed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4647

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Young, L. M.; Rosolowsky, E.; van Gorkom, J. H.; Lamb, S. A.

    2006-10-01

    We present matched-resolution maps of H I and CO emission in the Virgo Cluster spiral NGC 4647. The galaxy shows a mild kinematic disturbance in which one side of the rotation curve flattens but the other side continues to rise. This kinematic asymmetry is coupled with a dramatic asymmetry in the molecular gas distribution but not in the atomic gas. An analysis of the gas column densities and the interstellar pressure suggests that the H2/H I surface density ratio on the east side of the galaxy is 3 times higher than expected from the hydrostatic pressure contributed by the mass of the stellar disk. We discuss the probable effects of ram pressure, gravitational interactions, and asymmetric potentials on the interstellar medium and suggest it is likely that a m=1 perturbation in the gravitational potential could be responsible for all of the galaxy's features. Kinematic disturbances of the type seen here are common, but the curious thing about NGC 4647 is that the molecular distribution appears more disturbed than the H I distribution. Thus, it is the combination of the two gas phases that provides such interesting insight into the galaxy's history and into models of the interstellar medium.

  4. An Elegant Galaxy in an Unusual Light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2010-09-01

    A new image taken with the powerful HAWK-I camera on ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile shows the beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 in infrared light. NGC 1365 is a member of the Fornax cluster of galaxies, and lies about 60 million light-years from Earth. NGC 1365 is one of the best known and most studied barred spiral galaxies and is sometimes nicknamed the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy because of its strikingly perfect form, with the straight bar and two very prominent outer spiral arms. Closer to the centre there is also a second spiral structure and the whole galaxy is laced with delicate dust lanes. This galaxy is an excellent laboratory for astronomers to study how spiral galaxies form and evolve. The new infrared images from HAWK-I are less affected by the dust that obscures parts of the galaxy than images in visible light (potw1037a) and they reveal very clearly the glow from vast numbers of stars in both the bar and the spiral arms. These data were acquired to help astronomers understand the complex flow of material within the galaxy and how it affects the reservoirs of gas from which new stars can form. The huge bar disturbs the shape of the gravitational field of the galaxy and this leads to regions where gas is compressed and star formation is triggered. Many huge young star clusters trace out the main spiral arms and each contains hundreds or thousands of bright young stars that are less than ten million years old. The galaxy is too remote for single stars to be seen in this image and most of the tiny clumps visible in the picture are really star clusters. Over the whole galaxy, stars are forming at a rate of about three times the mass of our Sun per year. While the bar of the galaxy consists mainly of older stars long past their prime, many new stars are born in stellar nurseries of gas and dust in the inner spiral close to the nucleus. The bar also funnels gas and dust gravitationally into the very centre of the galaxy

  5. Kinematics of the SN Refsdal host revealed by MUSE: a regularly rotating spiral galaxy at z ≃ 1.5

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Di Teodoro, E. M.; Grillo, C.; Fraternali, F.; Gobat, R.; Karman, W.; Mercurio, A.; Rosati, P.; Balestra, I.; Caminha, G. B.; Caputi, K. I.; Lombardi, M.; Suyu, S. H.; Treu, T.; Vanzella, E.

    2018-05-01

    We use Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 to explore the kinematics of the grand-design spiral galaxy (Sp1149) hosting the supernova `Refsdal'. Sp1149 lies at z ≃ 1.49, has a stellar mass M* ≃ 5 × 109 M⊙, has a star formation rate (SFR) ˜eq 1-6 M_{⊙} yr^{-1}, and represents a likely progenitor of a Milky Way-like galaxy. All the four multiple images of Sp1149 in our data show strong [O II}-line emissions pointing to a clear rotation pattern. We take advantage of the gravitational lensing magnification effect (≃4×) on the [O II} emission of the least distorted image to fit three-dimensional kinematic models to the MUSE data cube and derive the rotation curve and the velocity dispersion profile of Sp1149. We find that the rotation curve steeply rises, peaks at R ≃ 1 kpc, and then (initially) declines and flattens to an average {V_flat}= 128^{+29}_{-19} km s-1. The shape of the rotation curve is well determined, but the actual value of Vflat is quite uncertain because of the nearly face-on configuration of the galaxy. The intrinsic velocity dispersion due to gas turbulence is almost constant across the entire disc with an average of 27 ± 5 km s-1. This value is consistent with z = 0 measurements in the ionized gas component and a factor of 2-4 lower than other estimates in different galaxies at similar redshifts. The average stellar-to-total mass fraction is of the order of one-fifth. Our kinematic analysis returns the picture of a regular star-forming, mildly turbulent, rotation-dominated (V/σ ≃ 5) spiral galaxy in a 4-Gyr-old Universe.

  6. Simulations of the flocculent spiral M33: what drives the spiral structure?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dobbs, C. L.; Pettitt, A. R.; Corbelli, E.; Pringle, J. E.

    2018-05-01

    We perform simulations of isolated galaxies in order to investigate the likely origin of the spiral structure in M33. In our models, we find that gravitational instabilities in the stars and gas are able to reproduce the observed spiral pattern and velocity field of M33, as seen in HI, and no interaction is required. We also find that the optimum models have high levels of stellar feedback which create large holes similar to those observed in M33, whilst lower levels of feedback tend to produce a large amount of small scale structure, and undisturbed long filaments of high surface density gas, hardly detected in the M33 disc. The gas component appears to have a significant role in producing the structure, so if there is little feedback, both the gas and stars organise into clear spiral arms, likely due to a lower combined Q (using gas and stars), and the ready ability of cold gas to undergo spiral shocks. By contrast models with higher feedback have weaker spiral structure, especially in the stellar component, compared to grand design galaxies. We did not see a large difference in the behaviour of Qstars with most of these models, however, because Qstars stayed relatively constant unless the disc was more strongly unstable. Our models suggest that although the stars produce some underlying spiral structure, this is relatively weak, and the gas physics has a considerable role in producing the large scale structure of the ISM in flocculent spirals.

  7. Detection of CO emission in Hydra 1 cluster galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huchtmeier, W. K.

    1990-01-01

    A survey of bright Hydra cluster spiral galaxies for the CO(1-0) transition at 115 GHz was performed with the 15m Swedish-ESO submillimeter telescope (SEST). Five out of 15 galaxies observed have been detected in the CO(1-0) line. The largest spiral galaxy in the cluster, NGC 3312, got more CO than any spiral of the Virgo cluster. This Sa-type galaxy is optically largely distorted and disrupted on one side. It is a good candidate for ram pressure stripping while passing through the cluster's central region. A comparison with global CO properties of Virgo cluster spirals shows a relatively good agreement with the detected Hydra cluster galaxies.

  8. Theory of spiral structure.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lin, C. C.

    1971-01-01

    The question whether the galactic spiral arms are material objects or wave patterns is discussed. A semiempirical approach is adopted in presenting the concept of density waves. The theory of density waves is considered, giving attention to a survey of theoretical developments by analytical methods, the implication of a spiral pattern of density waves, spirals with moderately small pitch angle, and the origin and permanence of galactic spirals. The theoretical aspects discussed are tested against more detailed observations in the Milky Way system. It is pointed out that the density wave concept introduced by Lindblad, including the material concentration of both gas and stars, is the essential basis for the spiral structure of disk-shaped galaxies.

  9. Understanding the scatter in the spatially resolved star formation main sequence of local massive spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdurro'uf; Akiyama, Masayuki

    2017-08-01

    We investigate the relation between star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass (M*) at the sub-galactic scale (˜1 kpc) of 93 local (0.01 < z < 0.02) massive (M* > 1010.5 M⊙) spiral galaxies. To derive a spatially resolved SFR and stellar mass, we perform the so-called pixel-to-pixel spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, which fits an observed spatially resolved multiband SED with a library of model SEDs using Bayesian statistics. We use two bands (far-ultraviolet or FUV and near-ultraviolet or NUV) and five bands (u, g, r, I and z) of imaging data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), respectively. We find a tight nearly linear relation between the local surface density of SFR (ΣSFR) and stellar mass (Σ*), which is flattened at high Σ*. The near linear relation between Σ* and ΣSFR suggests a constant specific SFR (sSFR) throughout the galaxies, and the scatter of the relation is directly related to that of the sSFR. Therefore, we analyse the variation of the sSFR in various scales. More massive galaxies on average have lower sSFR throughout them than less massive galaxies. We also find that barred galaxies have a lower sSFR in the core region than non-barred galaxies. However, in the outer region, the sSFRs of barred and non-barred galaxies are similar and lead to a similar total sSFR.

  10. The angular momentum of cosmological coronae and the inside-out growth of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pezzulli, Gabriele; Fraternali, Filippo; Binney, James

    2017-05-01

    Massive and diffuse haloes of hot gas (coronae) are important intermediaries between cosmology and galaxy evolution, storing mass and angular momentum acquired from the cosmic web until eventual accretion on to star-forming discs. We introduce a method to reconstruct the rotation of a galactic corona, based on its angular momentum distribution (AMD). This allows us to investigate in what conditions the angular momentum acquired from tidal torques can be transferred to star-forming discs and explain observed galaxy-scale processes, such as inside-out growth and the build-up of abundance gradients. We find that a simple model of an isothermal corona with a temperature slightly smaller than virial and a cosmologically motivated AMD is in good agreement with galaxy evolution requirements, supporting hot-mode accretion as a viable driver for the evolution of spiral galaxies in a cosmological context. We predict moderately sub-centrifugal rotation close to the disc and slow rotation close to the virial radius. Motivated by the observation that the Milky Way has a relatively hot corona (T ≃ 2 × 106 K), we also explore models with a temperature larger than virial. To be able to drive inside-out growth, these models must be significantly affected by feedback, either mechanical (ejection of low angular momentum material) or thermal (heating of the central regions). However, the agreement with galaxy evolution constraints becomes, in these cases, only marginal, suggesting that our first and simpler model may apply to a larger fraction of galaxy evolution history.

  11. The VIRUS-P Exploration of Nearby Galaxies (VENGA): spatially resolved gas-phase metallicity distributions in barred and unbarred spirals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaplan, Kyle F.; Jogee, Shardha; Kewley, Lisa; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Weinzirl, Tim; Song, Mimi; Drory, Niv; Luo, Rongxin; van den Bosch, Remco C. E.

    2016-10-01

    We present a study of the excitation conditions and metallicity of ionized gas (Zgas) in eight nearby barred and unbarred spiral galaxies from the VIRUS-P Exploration of Nearby Galaxies (VENGA) survey, which provides high spatial sampling and resolution (median ˜387 pc), large coverage from the bulge to outer disc, broad wavelength range (3600-6800 Å), and medium spectral resolution (˜120 km s-1 at 5000 Å). Our results are: (1) We present high resolution gas excitation maps to differentiate between regions with excitation typical of Seyfert, LINER, or recent star formation. We find LINER-type excitation at large distances (3-10 kpc) from the centre, and associate this excitation with diffuse ionized gas (DIG). (2) After excluding spaxels dominated by Seyfert, LINER, or DIG, we produce maps with the best spatial resolution and sampling to date of the ionization parameter q, star formation rate, and Zgas using common strong line diagnostics. We find that isolated barred and unbarred spirals exhibit similarly shallow Zgas profiles from the inner kpc out to large radii (7-10 kpc or 0.5-1.0 R25). This implies that if profiles had steeper gradients at earlier epochs, then the present-day bar is not the primary driver flattening gradients over time. This result contradicts earlier claims, but agrees with recent IFU studies. (3) The Zgas gradients in our z ˜ 0 massive spirals are markedly shallower, by ˜0.2 dex kpc-1, than published gradients for lensed lower mass galaxies at z ˜ 1.5-2.0. Cosmologically motivated hydrodynamical simulations best match this inferred evolution, but the match is sensitive to adopted stellar feedback prescriptions.

  12. Quasar Host Galaxies/Neptune Rotation/Galaxy Building Blocks/Hubble Deep Field/Saturn Storm

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2001-01-01

    Computerized animations simulate a quasar erupting in the core of a normal spiral galaxy, the collision of two interacting galaxies, and the evolution of the universe. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images show six quasars' host galaxies (including spirals, ellipticals, and colliding galaxies) and six clumps of galaxies approximately 11 billion light years away. A false color time lapse movie of Neptune displays the planet's 16-hour rotation, and the evolution of a storm on Saturn is seen though a video of the planet's rotation. A zoom sequence starts with a ground-based image of the constellation Ursa major and ends with the Hubble Deep Field through progressively narrower and deeper views.

  13. Galaxy NGC5962

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5962 on June 7, 2003. This spiral galaxy is located 90 million light-years from Earth. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04635

  14. Comparison between two scalar field models using rotation curves of spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernández-Hernández, Lizbeth M.; Rodríguez-Meza, Mario A.; Matos, Tonatiuh

    2018-04-01

    Scalar fields have been used as candidates for dark matter in the universe, from axions with masses ∼ 10-5eV until ultra-light scalar fields with masses ∼ Axions behave as cold dark matter while the ultra-light scalar fields galaxies are Bose-Einstein condensate drops. The ultra-light scalar fields are also called scalar field dark matter model. In this work we study rotation curves for low surface brightness spiral galaxies using two scalar field models: the Gross-Pitaevskii Bose-Einstein condensate in the Thomas-Fermi approximation and a scalar field solution of the Klein-Gordon equation. We also used the zero disk approximation galaxy model where photometric data is not considered, only the scalar field dark matter model contribution to rotation curve is taken into account. From the best-fitting analysis of the galaxy catalog we use, we found the range of values of the fitting parameters: the length scale and the central density. The worst fitting results (values of χ red2 much greater than 1, on the average) were for the Thomas-Fermi models, i.e., the scalar field dark matter is better than the Thomas- Fermi approximation model to fit the rotation curves of the analysed galaxies. To complete our analysis we compute from the fitting parameters the mass of the scalar field models and two astrophysical quantities of interest, the dynamical dark matter mass within 300 pc and the characteristic central surface density of the dark matter models. We found that the value of the central mass within 300 pc is in agreement with previous reported results, that this mass is ≈ 107 M ⊙/pc2, independent of the dark matter model. And, on the contrary, the value of the characteristic central surface density do depend on the dark matter model.

  15. The structure and environment of young stellar clusters in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, S. S.

    2004-03-01

    A search for stellar clusters has been carried out in 18 nearby spiral galaxies, using archive images from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. All of the galaxies have previously been imaged from the ground in UBVI. A catalogue of structural parameters, photometry and comments based on visual inspection of the clusters is compiled and used to investigate correlations between cluster structure, environment, age and mass. Least-squares fits to the data suggest correlations between both the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) and half-light radius (Reff) of the clusters and their masses (M) at about the 3σ level. Although both relations show a large scatter, the fits have substantially shallower slopes than for a constant-density relation (size ∝ M1/3). However, many of the youngest clusters have extended halos which make the Reff determinations uncertain. There is no evidence for galaxy-to-galaxy variations in the mean cluster sizes. In particular, the mean sizes do not appear to depend on the host galaxy star formation rate surface density. Many of the youngest objects (age < 107 years) are located in strongly crowded regions, and about 1/3-1/2 of them are double or multiple sources. The HST images are also used to check the nature of cluster candidates identified in a previous ground-based survey. The contamination rate in the ground-based sample is generally less than about 20%, but some cluster identifications remain ambiguous because of crowding even with HST imaging, especially for the youngest objects. Full Tables \\ref{tab:all}-\\ref{tab:hstphot}, and \\ref{tab:gb} are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/537 Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in

  16. HUBBLE OBSERVES SPIRAL GAS DISK IN ACTIVE GALAXY

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    A NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of a spiral-shaped disk of hot gas in the core of active galaxy M87. HST measurements show the disk is rotating so rapidly it contains a massive black hole at its hub. A black hole is an object that is so massive yet compact nothing can escape its gravitational pull, not even light. The object at the center of M87 fits that description. It weights as much as three billion suns, but is concentrated into a space no larger than our solar system. Now that astronomers have seen the signature of the tremendous gravitational field at the center of M87, it is clear that the region contains only a fraction of the number of stars that would be necessary to create such a powerful attraction. The giant elliptical galaxy M87 is located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Earlier observations suggested the black hole was present, but were not decisive. A brilliant jet of high- speed electrons that emits from the nucleus (diagonal line across image) is believed to be produced by the black hole 'engine.' The image was taken with HST's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Credit: Holland Ford, Space Telescope Science Institute/Johns Hopkins University; Richard Harms, Applied Research Corp.; Zlatan Tsvetanov, Arthur Davidsen, and Gerard Kriss at Johns Hopkins; Ralph Bohlin and George Hartig at Space Telescope Science Institute; Linda Dressel and Ajay K. Kochhar at Applied Research Corp. in Landover, Md.; and Bruce Margon from the University of Washington in Seattle. NASA PHOTO CAPTION STScI-PR94-23a

  17. Molecular clouds and galactic spiral structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dame, T. M.

    1984-01-01

    Galactic CO line emission at 115 GHz was surveyed in order to study the distribution of molecular clouds in the inner galaxy. Comparison of this survey with similar H1 data reveals a detailed correlation with the most intense 21 cm features. To each of the classical 21 cm H1 spiral arms of the inner galaxy there corresponds a CO molecular arm which is generally more clearly defined and of higher contrast. A simple model is devised for the galactic distribution of molecular clouds. The modeling results suggest that molecular clouds are essentially transient objects, existing for 15 to 40 million years after their formation in a spiral arm, and are largely confined to spiral features about 300 pc wide.

  18. Simulating the UV escape fractions from molecular cloud populations in star-forming dwarf and spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howard, Corey S.; Pudritz, Ralph E.; Harris, William E.; Klessen, Ralf S.

    2018-04-01

    The escape of ultraviolet photons from the densest regions of the interstellar medium (ISM) - giant molecular clouds (GMCs) - is a poorly constrained parameter which is vital to understanding the ionization of the ISM and the intergalactic medium. We characterize the escape fraction, fesc,GMC, from a suite of individual GMC simulations with masses in the range 104-6 M⊙ using the adaptive-mesh refinement code FLASH. We find significantly different fesc,GMC depending on the GMC mass that can reach >90 per cent in the evolution of 5 × 104 and 105 M⊙ clouds or remain low at ˜5 per cent for most of the lifetime of more massive GMCs. All clouds show fluctuations over short, sub-Myr time-scales produced by flickering H II regions. We combine our results to calculate the total escape fraction (fesc,tot) from GMC populations in dwarf starburst and spiral galaxies by randomly drawing clouds from a GMC mass distribution (dN/dM ∝ Mα, where α is either -1.5 or -2.5) over fixed time intervals. We find typical fesc,tot values of 8 per cent for both the dwarf and spiral models. The fluctuations of fesc,tot, however, are much larger for the dwarf models with values as high as 90 per cent. The photons escaping from the 5 × 104 and 105 M⊙ GMCs are the dominant contributors to fesc,tot in all cases. We also show that the accompanying star formation rates (SFRs) of our model (˜2 × 10-2 and 0.73 M⊙yr-1) are consistent with observations of SFRs in dwarf starburst and spiral galaxies, respectively.

  19. THE SPLASH SURVEY: INTERNAL KINEMATICS, CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES, AND MASSES OF THE ANDROMEDA I, II, III, VII, X, AND XIV DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXIES {sup ,}

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kalirai, Jason S.; Beaton, Rachael L.; Majewski, Steven R.

    2010-03-10

    We present new Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic observations of hundreds of individual stars along the sightline to the first three of the Andromeda (M31) dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies to be discovered, And I, II, and III, and combine them with recent spectroscopic studies by our team of three additional M31 dSphs, And VII, X, and XIV, as a part of the SPLASH Survey (Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo). Member stars of each dSph are isolated from foreground Milky Way dwarf stars and M31 field contamination using a variety of photometric and spectroscopic diagnostics. Our final spectroscopic sample of membermore » stars in each dSph, for which we measure accurate radial velocities with a median uncertainty (random plus systematic errors) of 4-5 km s{sup -1}, includes 80 red giants in And I, 95 in And II, 43 in And III, 18 in And VII, 22 in And X, and 38 in And XIV. The sample of confirmed members in the six dSphs is used to derive each system's mean radial velocity, intrinsic central velocity dispersion, mean abundance, abundance spread, and dynamical mass. This combined data set presents us with a unique opportunity to perform the first systematic comparison of the global properties (e.g., metallicities, sizes, and dark matter masses) of one-third of Andromeda's total known dSph population with Milky Way counterparts of the same luminosity. Our overall comparisons indicate that the family of dSphs in these two hosts have both similarities and differences. For example, we find that the luminosity-metallicity relation is very similar between L {approx} 10{sup 5} and 10{sup 7} L{sub sun}, suggesting that the chemical evolution histories of each group of dSphs are similar. The lowest luminosity M31 dSphs appear to deviate from the relation, possibly suggesting tidal stripping. Previous observations have noted that the sizes of M31's brightest dSphs are systematically larger than Milky Way satellites of similar luminosity. At lower

  20. The spiral-compact galaxy pair AM 2208-251: Computer simulations versus observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Klaric, Mario; Byrd, Gene G.

    1990-01-01

    The system AM2208-251 is a roughly edge-on spiral extending east-west with a smaller round compact E system about 60 arcsec east of the spiral nucleus along the major axis of the spiral. Bertola, Huchtmeier, and Zeilinger (1990) have presented optical spectroscopic as well as single dish 21 cm observations of this system. Their spectroscopic data show, via emission lines lambda lambda 3727-29A, a rising rotation curve near the nucleus. These spectroscopic observations may indicate a tidal interaction in the system. In order to learn more about such pairs, the authors simulated the interaction using the computer model developed by Miller (1976 a,b, 1978) and modified by the authors (Byrd 1986, 1987, 1988). To do the simulation they need an idea of the mutual orbits of the two galaxies. Their computer model is a two-dimensional polar N-body program. It consists of a self-gravitating disk of particles, within an inert axially symmetric stabilizing halo potential. The particles are distributed in a 24(radial) by 36(azimuthal) polar grid. Self consistent calculations can be done only within the grid area. The disk is modeled with a finite Mestel disk, where all the particles initially move in circular orbits with constant tangential velocities (Mestel 1963), resulting in a flat rotation curve. The gas particles in the spiral's disk, which make up 30 percent of its mass, collide in the following manner. The number of particles in each bin of the polar grid is counted every time step. If it is greater than a given critical density, all the particles in the bin collide, obtaining in the result the same velocities, equal to the average for the bin. This process produces clumps of gas particles-the star formation sites. The authors suppress the collision in the inner part of the disk (within the circle r = 6) to represent the hole seen in the gas in the nuclear bulge of spirals. They thus avoid spurious effects due to collisions in that region. They also varied the size of

  1. Whirlpool Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1999-12-04

    The image from NASA Hubble Telescope shows spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy. Visible starlight and light from the emission of glowing hydrogen is seen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms.

  2. Star Formation in Irregular Galaxies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, Deidre; Wolff, Sidney

    1985-01-01

    Examines mechanisms of how stars are formed in irregular galaxies. Formation in giant irregular galaxies, formation in dwarf irregular galaxies, and comparisons with larger star-forming regions found in spiral galaxies are considered separately. (JN)

  3. Velocity anti-correlation of diametrically opposed galaxy satellites in the low-redshift Universe.

    PubMed

    Ibata, Neil G; Ibata, Rodrigo A; Famaey, Benoit; Lewis, Geraint F

    2014-07-31

    Recent work has shown that the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies both possess the unexpected property that their dwarf satellite galaxies are aligned in thin and kinematically coherent planar structures. It is interesting to evaluate the incidence of such planar structures in the larger galactic population, because the Local Group may not be a representative environment. Here we report measurements of the velocities of pairs of diametrically opposed satellite galaxies. In the local Universe (redshift z < 0.05), we find that satellite pairs out to a distance of 150 kiloparsecs from the galactic centre are preferentially anti-correlated in their velocities (99.994 per cent confidence level), and that the distribution of galaxies in the larger-scale environment (out to distances of about 2 megaparsecs) is strongly clumped along the axis joining the inner satellite pair (>7σ confidence). This may indicate that planes of co-rotating satellites, similar to those seen around the Andromeda galaxy, are ubiquitous, and their coherent motion suggests that they represent a substantial repository of angular momentum on scales of about 100 kiloparsecs.

  4. Star formation and ISM morphology in tidally induced spiral structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pettitt, Alex R.; Tasker, Elizabeth J.; Wadsley, James W.; Keller, Ben W.; Benincasa, Samantha M.

    2017-07-01

    Tidal encounters are believed to be one of the key drivers of galactic spiral structure in the Universe. Such spirals are expected to produce different morphological and kinematic features compared to density wave and dynamic spiral arms. In this work, we present high-resolution simulations of a tidal encounter of a small mass companion with a disc galaxy. Included are the effects of gas cooling and heating, star formation and stellar feedback. The structure of the perturbed disc differs greatly from the isolated galaxy, showing clear spiral features that act as sites of new star formation, and displaying interarm spurs. The two arms of the galaxy, the bridge and tail, appear to behave differently; with different star formation histories and structure. Specific attention is focused on offsets between gas and stellar spiral features which can be directly compared to observations. We find that some offsets do exist between different media, with gaseous arms appearing mostly on the convex side of the stellar arms, though the exact locations appear highly time dependent. These results further highlight the differences between tidal spirals and other theories of arm structure.

  5. Galaxy UGC10445

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    This ultraviolet color image of the galaxy UGC10445 was taken by NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7 and June 14, 2003. UGC10445 is a spiral galaxy located 40 million light-years from Earth. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04623

  6. An accreting white dwarf near the Chandrasekhar limit in the Andromeda galaxy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tang, Sumin; Bildsten, Lars; Wolf, William M.

    The intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) detection of the most recent outburst of the recurrent nova (RN) system RX J0045.4+4154 in the Andromeda galaxy has enabled the unprecedented study of a massive (M > 1.3 M {sub ☉}) accreting white dwarf (WD). We detected this nova as part of the near-daily iPTF monitoring of M31 to a depth of R ≈ 21 mag and triggered optical photometry, spectroscopy and soft X-ray monitoring of the outburst. Peaking at an absolute magnitude of M{sub R} = –6.6 mag, and with a decay time of 1 mag per day, it is a faintmore » and very fast nova. It shows optical emission lines of He/N and expansion velocities of 1900-2600 km s{sup –1} 1-4 days after the optical peak. The Swift monitoring of the X-ray evolution revealed a supersoft source (SSS) with kT {sub eff} ≈ 90-110 eV that appeared within 5 days after the optical peak, and lasted only 12 days. Most remarkably, this is not the first event from this system, rather it is an RN with a time between outbursts of approximately 1 yr, the shortest known. Recurrent X-ray emission from this binary was detected by ROSAT in 1992 and 1993, and the source was well characterized as a M > 1.3 M {sub ☉} WD SSS. Based on the observed recurrence time between different outbursts, the duration and effective temperature of the SS phase, MESA models of accreting WDs allow us to constrain the accretion rate to M-dot >1.7×10{sup −7} M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1} and WD mass >1.30 M {sub ☉}. If the WD keeps 30% of the accreted material, it will take less than a Myr to reach core densities high enough for carbon ignition (if made of C/O) or electron capture (if made of O/Ne) to end the binary evolution.« less

  7. THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPIRAL ARMS TO THE THICK DISK ALONG THE HUBBLE SEQUENCE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martinez-Medina, L. A.; Pichardo, B.; Moreno, E.

    2015-04-01

    The first mechanism invoked to explain the existence of the thick disk in the Milky Way Galaxy was the spiral arms. Up-to-date work summons several other possibilities that together seem to better explain this component of our Galaxy. All these processes must affect distinct types of galaxies differently, but the contribution of each one has not been straightforward to quantify. In this work, we present the first comprehensive study of the effect of the spiral arms on the formation of thick disks, looking at early- to late-type disk galaxies in an attempt to characterize and quantify this specific mechanism in galactic potentials. To this purpose,more » we perform test particle numerical simulations in a three-dimensional spiral galactic potential (for early- to late-types spiral galaxies). By varying the parameters of the spiral arms we found that the vertical heating of the stellar disk becomes very important in some cases and strongly depends on the galactic morphology, pitch angle, arm mass, and the arm pattern speed. The later the galaxy type, the larger is the effect on the disk heating. This study shows that the physical mechanism causing the vertical heating is different from simple resonant excitation. The spiral pattern induces chaotic behavior not linked necessarily to resonances but to direct scattering of disk stars, which leads to an increase of the velocity dispersion. We applied this study to the specific example of the Milky Way Galaxy, for which we have also added an experiment that includes the Galactic bar. From this study we deduce that the effect of spiral arms of a Milky-Way-like potential on the dynamical vertical heating of the disk is negligible, unlike later galactic potentials for disks.« less

  8. ANDROMEDA DWARFS IN LIGHT OF MOND. II. TESTING PRIOR PREDICTIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McGaugh, Stacy; Milgrom, Mordehai

    We employ recently published measurements of the velocity dispersions in the newly discovered dwarf satellite galaxies of Andromeda to test our previously published predictions of this quantity. The data are in good agreement with our specific predictions for each dwarf made a priori with modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), with reasonable stellar mass-to-light ratios, and no dark matter, while Newtonian dynamics point to quite large mass discrepancies in these systems. MOND distinguishes between regimes where the internal field of the dwarf, or the external field of the host, dominates. The data appear to recognize this distinction, which is a unique featuremore » of MOND not explicable in ΛCDM.« less

  9. THE ISLANDS PROJECT. I. ANDROMEDA XVI, AN EXTREMELY LOW MASS GALAXY NOT QUENCHED BY REIONIZATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Monelli, Matteo; Martínez-Vázquez, Clara E.; Gallart, Carme

    Based on data aquired in 13 orbits of Hubble Space Telescope time, we present a detailed evolutionary history of the M31 dSph satellite Andromeda XVI, including its lifetime star formation history (SFH), the spatial distribution of its stellar populations, and the properties of its variable stars. And XVI is characterized by prolonged star formation activity from the oldest epochs until star formation was quenched ∼6 Gyr ago, and, notably, only half of the mass in stars of And XVI was in place 10 Gyr ago. And XVI appears to be a low-mass galaxy for which the early quenching by eithermore » reionization or starburst feedback seems highly unlikely, and thus it is most likely due to an environmental effect (e.g., an interaction), possibly connected to a late infall in the densest regions of the Local Group. Studying the SFH as a function of galactocentric radius, we detect a mild gradient in the SFH: the star formation activity between 6 and 8 Gyr ago is significantly stronger in the central regions than in the external regions, although the quenching age appears to be the same, within 1 Gyr. We also report the discovery of nine RR Lyrae (RRL) stars, eight of which belong to And XVI. The RRL stars allow a new estimate of the distance, (m − M){sub 0} = 23.72 ± 0.09 mag, which is marginally larger than previous estimates based on the tip of the red giant branch.« less

  10. Hubble's Glittering Frisbee Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This image from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a section of NGC 1448, a spiral galaxy located about 50 million light-years from Earth in the little-known constellation of Horologium (The Pendulum Clock). We tend to think of spiral galaxies as massive and roughly circular celestial bodies, so this glittering oval does not immediately appear to fit the visual bill. What’s going on? Imagine a spiral galaxy as a circular frisbee spinning gently in space. When we see it face on, our observations reveal a spectacular amount of detail and structure — a great example from Hubble is the telescope’s view of Messier 51, otherwise known as the Whirlpool Galaxy. However, the NGC 1448 frisbee is very nearly edge-on with respect to Earth, giving it an appearance that is more oval than circular. The spiral arms, which curve out from NGC 1448’s dense core, can just about be seen. Although spiral galaxies might appear static with their picturesque shapes frozen in space, this is very far from the truth. The stars in these dramatic spiral configurations are constantly moving as they orbit around the galaxy’s core, with those on the inside making the orbit faster than those sitting further out. This makes the formation and continued existence of a spiral galaxy’s arms something of a cosmic puzzle, because the arms wrapped around the spinning core should become wound tighter and tighter as time goes on — but this is not what we see. This is known as the winding problem. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #nasagoddard #space #science #Hubble #star NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  11. Andromeda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murdin, P.

    2000-11-01

    (abbrev. And, gen. Andromedae; area 722 sq. deg.) A northern constellation that lies between Perseus and Pegasus, and culminates at midnight in early October. It is named after the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who was rescued by Perseus from being sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus, and is usually shown on early celestial charts as a chained maiden. Its brigh...

  12. Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): blue spheroids within 87 Mpc

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahajan, Smriti; Drinkwater, Michael J.; Driver, S.; Hopkins, A. M.; Graham, Alister W.; Brough, S.; Brown, Michael J. I.; Holwerda, B. W.; Owers, Matt S.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we test if nearby blue spheroid (BSph) galaxies may become the progenitors of star-forming spiral galaxies or passively evolving elliptical galaxies. Our sample comprises 428 galaxies of various morphologies in the redshift range 0.002 < z < 0.02 (8-87 Mpc) with panchromatic data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey. We find that BSph galaxies are structurally (mean effective surface brightness, effective radius) very similar to their passively evolving red counterparts. However, their star formation and other properties such as colour, age, and metallicity are more like star-forming spirals than spheroids (ellipticals and lenticulars). We show that BSph galaxies are statistically distinguishable from other spheroids as well as spirals in the multidimensional space mapped by luminosity-weighted age, metallicity, dust mass, and specific star formation rate. We use H I data to reveal that some of the BSphs are (further) developing their discs, hence their blue colours. They may eventually become spiral galaxies - if sufficient gas accretion occurs - or more likely fade into low-mass red galaxies.

  13. Accurate Distances to Important Spiral Galaxies: M63, M74, NGC 1291, NGC 4559, NGC 4625, and NGC 5398

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McQuinn, Kristen B. W.; Skillman, Evan D.; Dolphin, Andrew E.

    Accurate distances are fundamental for interpreting various measured properties of galaxies. Surprisingly, many of the best-studied spiral galaxies in the Local Volume have distance uncertainties that are much larger than can be achieved with modern observation techniques. Using Hubble Space Telescope optical imaging, we use the tip of the red giant branch method to measure the distances to six galaxies that are included in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey program and its offspring surveys. The sample includes M63, M74, NGC 1291, NGC 4559, NGC 4625, and NGC 5398. We compare our results with distances reported to these galaxies basedmore » on a variety of methods. Depending on the technique, there can be a wide range in published distances, particularly from the Tully–Fisher relation. In addition, differences between the planetary nebular luminosity function and surface brightness fluctuation techniques can vary between galaxies, suggesting inaccuracies that cannot be explained by systematics in the calibrations. Our distances improve upon previous results, as we use a well-calibrated, stable distance indicator, precision photometry in an optimally selected field of view, and a Bayesian maximum likelihood technique that reduces measurement uncertainties.« less

  14. Interacting Group of Galaxies Known as Stephan Quintet

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2005-05-05

    This ultraviolet image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer is of the interacting group of galaxies known as Stephan Quintet NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC 7319, NGC 7320, lower left. Of the five galaxies in this tightly packed group, NGC 7320 (the large spiral in the group) is probably a foreground galaxy and not associated with the other four. The spiral galaxy in the upper right is NGC 7331. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07905

  15. Spirals, Bridges and Tails: Star Formation and the Disturbed ISM in Colliding Galaxies before Merger.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Struck, Curtis; Appleton, Philip; Charmandaris, Vassilis; Reach, William; Smith, Beverly

    2004-09-01

    We propose to use Spitzer's unprecedented sensitivity and wide spatial and spectral evolution to study the distribution of star formation in a sample of colliding galaxies with a wide range of tidal and splash structures. Star forming environments like those in strong tidal spirals, and in extra-disk structures like tails were probably far more common in the early stages of galaxy evolution, and important contributors to the net star formation. Using the Spitzer data and data from other wavebands, we will compare the pattern of SF to maps of gas and dust density and phase distribution. With the help of dynamical modeling, we will relate these in turn to dynamical triggers, to better understand the trigger mechanisms. We expect our observations to complement both the SINGS archive and the archives produced by other GO programs, such as those looking at merger remnants or tidal dwarf formation.

  16. FAR-FLUNG GALAXY CLUSTERS MAY REVEAL FATE OF UNIVERSE

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    A selection of NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshots of huge galaxy clusters that lie far away and far back in time. These are selected from a catalog of 92 new clusters uncovered during a six-year Hubble observing program known as the Medium Deep Survey. If the distances and masses of the clusters are confirmed by ground based telescopes, the survey may hold clues to how galaxies quickly formed into massive large-scale structures after the big bang, and what that may mean for the eventual fate of the expanding universe. The images are each a combination of two exposures in yellow and deep red taken with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Each cluster's distance is inferred from the reddening of the starlight, which is due to the expansion of space. Astronomers assume these clusters all formed early in the history of the universe. HST133617-00529 (left) This collection of spiral and elliptical galaxies lies an estimated 4 to 6 billion light-years away. It is in the constellation of Virgo not far from the 3rd magnitude star Zeta Virginis. The brighter galaxies in this cluster have red magnitudes between 20 and 22 near the limit of the Palomar Sky Survey. The bright blue galaxy (upper left) is probably a foreground galaxy, and not a cluster member. The larger of the galaxies in the cluster are probably about the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. The diagonal line at lower right is an artificial satellite trail. HST002013+28366 (upper right) This cluster of galaxies lies in the constellation of Andromeda a few degrees from the star Alpheratz in the northeast corner of the constellation Pegasus. It is at an estimated distance of 4 billion light-years, which means the light we are seeing from the cluster is as it appeared when the universe was roughly 2/3 of its present age. HST035528+09435 (lower right) At an estimated distance of about 7 to 10 billion light-years (z=1), this is one of the farthest clusters in the Hubble sample. The cluster lies in the

  17. Hubble Views 'Third Kind' of Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    The subject of this image is NGC 6861, a galaxy discovered in 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. Almost two centuries later we now know that NGC 6861 is the second brightest member of a group of at least a dozen galaxies called the Telescopium Group — otherwise known as the NGC 6868 Group — in the small constellation of Telescopium (The Telescope). This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope view shows some important details of NGC 6861. One of the most prominent features is the disk of dark bands circling the centre of the galaxy. These dust lanes are a result of large clouds of dust particles obscuring the light emitted by the stars behind them. Dust lanes are very useful for working out whether we are seeing the galaxy disk edge-on, face-on or, as is the case for NGC 6861, somewhat in the middle. Dust lanes like these are typical of a spiral galaxy. The dust lanes are embedded in a white oval shape, which is made up of huge numbers of stars orbiting the center of the galaxy. This oval is, rather puzzlingly, typical of an elliptical galaxy. So which is it — spiral or elliptical? The answer is neither! NGC 6861 does not belong to either the spiral or the elliptical family of galaxies. It is a lenticular galaxy, a family which has features of both spirals and ellipticals. The relationships between these three kinds of galaxies are not yet well understood. A lenticular galaxy could be a faded spiral that has run out of gas and lost its arms, or the result of two galaxies merging. Being part of a group increases the chances for galactic mergers, so this could be the case for NGC 6861. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; acknowledgement: J. Barrington NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency

  18. Magnetic fields in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krause, Marita

    2015-03-01

    The magnetic field structure in edge-on galaxies observed so far shows a plane-parallel magnetic field component in the disk of the galaxy and an X-shaped field in its halo. The plane-parallel field is thought to be the projected axisymmetric (ASS) disk field as observed in face-on galaxies. Some galaxies addionionally exhibit strong vertical magnetic fields in the halo right above and below the central region of the disk. The mean-field dynamo theory in the disk cannot explain these observed fields without the action of a wind, which also probably plays an important role to keep the vertical scale heights constant in galaxies of different Hubble types and star formation activities, as has been observed in the radio continuum: At λ6 cm the vertical scale heights of the thin disk and the thick disk/halo in a sample of five edge-on galaxies are similar with a mean value of 300 +/- 50 pc for the thin disk and 1.8 +/- 0.2 kpc for the thick disk (a table and references are given in Krause 2011) with our sample including the brightest halo observed so far, NGC 253, with strong star formation, as well as one of the weakest halos, NGC 4565, with weak star formation. If synchrotron emission is the dominant loss process of the relativistic electrons the outer shape of the radio emission should be dumbbell-like as has been observed in several edge-on galaxies like e.g. NGC 253 (Heesen et al. 2009) and NGC 4565. As the synchrotron lifetime t syn at a single frequency is proportional to the total magnetic field strength B t -1.5, a cosmic ray bulk speed (velocity of a galactic wind) can be defined as v CR = h CR /t syn = 2 h z /t syn , where h CR and h z are the scale heights of the cosmic rays and the observed radio emission at this freqnency. Similar observed radio scale heights imply a self regulation mechanism between the galactic wind velocity, the total magnetic field strength and the star formation rate SFR in the disk: v CR ~ B t 1.5 ~ SFR ~ 0.5 (Niklas & Beck 1997).

  19. The Stellar Mass of M31 as inferred by the Andromeda Optical & Infrared Disk Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sick, Jonathan; Courteau, Stephane; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Dalcanton, Julianne; de Jong, Roelof; McDonald, Michael; Simard, Dana; Tully, R. Brent

    2015-04-01

    Our proximity and external vantage point make M31 an ideal testbed for understanding the structure of spiral galaxies. The Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey (ANDROIDS) has mapped M31's bulge and disk out to R=40 kpc in ugriJKs bands with CFHT using a careful sky calibration. We use Bayesian modelling of the optical-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) to estimate profiles of M31's stellar populations and mass along the major axis. This analysis provides evidence for inside-out disk formation and a declining metallicity gradient. M31's i-band mass-to-light ratio (M/Li *) decreases from 0.5 dex in the bulge to ~ 0.2 dex at 40 kpc. The best-constrained stellar population models use the full ugriJKs SED but are also consistent with optical-only fits. Therefore, while NIR data can be successfully modelled with modern stellar population synthesis, NIR data do not provide additional constraints in this application. Fits to the gi-SED alone yield M/Li * that are systematically lower than the full SED fit by 0.1 dex. This is still smaller than the 0.3 dex scatter amongst different relations for M/Li via g - i colour found in the literature. We advocate a stellar mass of M *(30 kpc) = 10.3+2.3 -1.7 × 1010 M⊙ for the M31 bulge and disk.

  20. Spatially-resolved star formation histories of CALIFA galaxies. Implications for galaxy formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    González Delgado, R. M.; Pérez, E.; Cid Fernandes, R.; García-Benito, R.; López Fernández, R.; Vale Asari, N.; Cortijo-Ferrero, C.; de Amorim, A. L.; Lacerda, E. A. D.; Sánchez, S. F.; Lehnert, M. D.; Walcher, C. J.

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents the spatially resolved star formation history (SFH) of nearby galaxies with the aim of furthering our understanding of the different processes involved in the formation and evolution of galaxies. To this end, we apply the fossil record method of stellar population synthesis to a rich and diverse data set of 436 galaxies observed with integral field spectroscopy in the CALIFA survey. The sample covers a wide range of Hubble types, with stellar masses ranging from M⋆ 109 to 7 × 1011 M⊙. Spectral synthesis techniques are applied to the datacubes to retrieve the spatially resolved time evolution of the star formation rate (SFR), its intensity (ΣSFR), and other descriptors of the 2D SFH in seven bins of galaxy morphology (E, S0, Sa, Sb, Sbc, Sc, and Sd) and five bins of stellar mass. Our main results are that (a) galaxies form very fast independently of their current stellar mass, with the peak of star formation at high redshift (z > 2). Subsequent star formation is driven by M⋆ and morphology, with less massive and later type spirals showing more prolonged periods of star formation. (b) At any epoch in the past, the SFR is proportional to M⋆, with most massive galaxies having the highest absolute (but lowest specific) SFRs. (c) While today, the ΣSFR is similar for all spirals and significantly lower in early-type galaxies (ETG), in the past, the ΣSFR scales well with morphology. The central regions of today's ETGs are where the ΣSFR reached the highest values (> 103 M⊙ Gyr-1 pc-2), similar to those measured in high-redshift star-forming galaxies. (d) The evolution of ΣSFR in Sbc systems matches that of models for Milky Way-like galaxies, suggesting that the formation of a thick disk may be a common phase in spirals at early epochs. (e) The SFR and ΣSFR in outer regions of E and S0 galaxies show that they have undergone an extended phase of growth in mass between z = 2 and 0.4. The mass assembled in this phase is in agreement with

  1. ARM AND INTERARM STAR FORMATION IN SPIRAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Foyle, K.; Rix, H.-W.; Walter, F.

    2010-12-10

    We investigate the relationship between spiral arms and star formation in the grand-design spirals NGC 5194 and NGC 628 and in the flocculent spiral NGC 6946. Filtered maps of near-IR (3.6 {mu}m) emission allow us to identify 'arm regions' that should correspond to regions of stellar mass density enhancements. The two grand-design spirals show a clear two-armed structure, while NGC 6946 is more complex. We examine these arm and interarm regions, looking at maps that trace recent star formation-far-ultraviolet (GALEX NGS) and 24 {mu}m emission (Spitzer SINGS)-and cold gas-CO (HERACLES) and H I (THINGS). We find the star formation tracersmore » and CO more concentrated in the spiral arms than the stellar 3.6 {mu}m flux. If we define the spiral arms as the 25% highest pixels in the filtered 3.6 {mu}m images, we find that the majority (60%) of star formation tracers occur in the interarm regions; this result persists qualitatively even when considering the potential impact of finite data resolution and diffuse interarm 24 {mu}m emission. Even with a generous definition of the arms (45% highest pixels), interarm regions still contribute at least 30% to the integrated star formation rate (SFR) tracers. We look for evidence that spiral arms trigger star or cloud formation using the ratios of SFR (traced by a combination of FUV and 24 {mu}m emission) to H{sub 2} (traced by CO) and H{sub 2} to H I. Any enhancement of SFR/M(H{sub 2}) in the arm region is very small (less than 10%) and the grand-design spirals show no enhancement compared to the flocculent target. Arm regions do show a weak enhancement in H{sub 2}/H I compared to the interarm regions, but at a fixed gas surface density there is little clear enhancement in the H{sub 2}/H I ratio in the arm regions. Thus, it seems that spiral arms may only act to concentrate the gas to higher densities in the arms.« less

  2. Life in the Outer Limits: Insight into Hierarchical Merging from the Outermost Structure of the Andromeda Stellar Halo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beaton, Rachael; Majewski, S. R.; Patterson, R. J.; Guhathakurta, P.; Gilbert, K.; Kalirai, J. S.; Tollerud, E. J.; SPLASH Team

    2014-01-01

    Owing to their large dynamical timescales, the stellar haloes of Milky Way (MW) sized galaxies represent ideal environments to test modern theories of galaxy formation in the Lambda-CDM paradigm. Only in stellar haloes can the remnants of hierarchical accretion be preserved over long timescales as in-tact dwarf satellites or as tidal debris and can be easily distinguished from the underlying smooth structure. Stellar haloes, however, remain some of the most difficult galactic structures to constrain due to their large angular extent and extremely low surface brightness. Thus, the basic properties of stellar haloes -- the overall stellar distribution, substructure fraction, global kinematics and detailed stellar content -- remained relatively unconstrained. In this thesis, we present several projects designed to understand the current structure and the the formation of the Andromeda (M31) stellar halo, the only stellar halo -- besides our own -- that is within reach of current ground based facilities on the large scale required to constrain the basic properties of stellar haloes. First, we describe a seven season imaging campaign comprising the backbone of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of the Andromeda Stellar Halo (SPLASH) program. This survey is unique in its application of the Washington + DDO51 filter system to select individual M31 RGB stars without spectroscopic follow up. Second, we use the SPLASH photometric survey to identify sample of halo stars at projected radii of 120 kpc, for which we have obtained spectroscopic follow-up. Third, we add this large radius sample to the existing spectroscopic results from SPLASH, and use this unique sample to explore the stellar kinematics of the halo at large radii with full azimuthal coverage. Lastly, we preview on-going work to constrain the formation of the Andromeda stellar halo, using both in-tact satellites and resolved M31 halo members as tracers of its accretion history.

  3. Galaxy NGC5474

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5474 on June 7, 2003. NGC5474 is located 20 million light-years from Earth and is within a group of galaxies dominated by the Messier 101 galaxy. Star formation in this galaxy shows some evidence of a disturbed spiral pattern, which may have been induced by tidal interactions with Messier 101. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04634

  4. Environmental Dependence of Warps in Spiral Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ann, Hong Bae; Bae, Hyun Jeong

    2016-12-01

    We determined the warp parameters of 192 warped galaxies which are selected from 340 edge-on galaxies using color images as well as r-band isophotal maps. We derive the local background density (Σ_{n}) to examine the dependence of the warp amplitudes on the galaxy environment. We find a clear trend that strongly warped galaxies are likely to be found in high density regions where tidal interactions are supposed to be frequent. However, the correlation between α_{w} and Σ_{n} is too weak for weakly warped galaxies (α_{w} < 4°) and the cumulative distributions of weakly warped galaxies are not significantly different from those of galaxies with no detectable warps. This suggests that tidal interactions do not play a decisive role in the formation of weak warps.}

  5. CHANG-ES. IX. Radio scale heights and scale lengths of a consistent sample of 13 spiral galaxies seen edge-on and their correlations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krause, Marita; Irwin, Judith; Wiegert, Theresa; Miskolczi, Arpad; Damas-Segovia, Ancor; Beck, Rainer; Li, Jiang-Tao; Heald, George; Müller, Peter; Stein, Yelena; Rand, Richard J.; Heesen, Volker; Walterbos, Rene A. M.; Dettmar, Ralf-Jürgen; Vargas, Carlos J.; English, Jayanne; Murphy, Eric J.

    2018-03-01

    Aim. The vertical halo scale height is a crucial parameter to understand the transport of cosmic-ray electrons (CRE) and their energy loss mechanisms in spiral galaxies. Until now, the radio scale height could only be determined for a few edge-on galaxies because of missing sensitivity at high resolution. Methods: We developed a sophisticated method for the scale height determination of edge-on galaxies. With this we determined the scale heights and radial scale lengths for a sample of 13 galaxies from the CHANG-ES radio continuum survey in two frequency bands. Results: The sample average values for the radio scale heights of the halo are 1.1 ± 0.3 kpc in C-band and 1.4 ± 0.7 kpc in L-band. From the frequency dependence analysis of the halo scale heights we found that the wind velocities (estimated using the adiabatic loss time) are above the escape velocity. We found that the halo scale heights increase linearly with the radio diameters. In order to exclude the diameter dependence, we defined a normalized scale height h˜ which is quite similar for all sample galaxies at both frequency bands and does not depend on the star formation rate or the magnetic field strength. However, h˜ shows a tight anticorrelation with the mass surface density. Conclusions: The sample galaxies with smaller scale lengths are more spherical in the radio emission, while those with larger scale lengths are flatter. The radio scale height depends mainly on the radio diameter of the galaxy. The sample galaxies are consistent with an escape-dominated radio halo with convective cosmic ray propagation, indicating that galactic winds are a widespread phenomenon in spiral galaxies. While a higher star formation rate or star formation surface density does not lead to a higher wind velocity, we found for the first time observational evidence of a gravitational deceleration of CRE outflow, e.g. a lowering of the wind velocity from the galactic disk.

  6. A SINFONI view of circum-nuclear star-forming rings in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Böker, Torsten; Schinnerer, Eva; Knapen, Johan H.; Ryder, Stuart

    2008-07-01

    We present near-infrared (H- and K-band) SINFONI integral-field observations of the circumnuclear star formation rings in five nearby spiral galaxies. We made use of the relative intensities of different emission lines (i.e. [FeII], HeI, Brγ) to age date the stellar clusters present along the rings. This qualitative, yet robust, method allows us to discriminate between two distinct scenarios that describe how star formation progresses along the rings. Our findings favour a model where star formation is triggered predominantly at the intersection between the bar major axis and the inner Lindblad resonance and then passively evolves as the clusters rotate around the ring (‘Pearls on a string’ scenario), although models of stochastically distributed star formation (‘Popcorn’ model) cannot be completely ruled out.

  7. Effects of Cluster Environment on Chemical Abundances in Virgo Cluster Spirals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kennicutt, R. C.; Skillman, E. D.; Shields, G. A.; Zaritsky, D.

    1995-12-01

    We have obtained new chemical abundance measurements of HII regions in Virgo cluster spiral galaxies, in order to test whether the cluster environment has significantly influenced the gas-phase abundances and chemical evolution of spiral disks. The sample of 9 Virgo spirals covers a narrow range of morphological type (Sbc - Sc) but shows broad ranges in HI deficiencies and radii in the cluster. This allows us to compare the Virgo sample as a whole to field spirals, using a large sample from Zaritsky, Kennicutt, & Huchra, and to test for systematic trends with HI content and location within the cluster. The Virgo spirals show a wide dispersion in mean disk abundances and abundance gradients. Strongly HI deficient spirals closest to the cluster core show anomalously high oxygen abundances (by 0.3 to 0.5 dex), while outlying spirals with normal HI content show abundances similar to those of field spirals. The most HI depleted spirals also show weaker abundance gradients on average, but the formal significance of this trend is marginal. We find a strong correlation between mean abundance and HI/optical diameter ratio that is quite distinct from the behavior seen in field galaxies. This suggests that dynamical processes associated with the cluster environment are more important than cluster membership in determining the evolution of chemical abundances and stellar populations in spiral galaxies. Simple chemical evolution models are calculated to predict the magnitude of the abundance enhancement expected if ram-pressure stripping or curtailment of infall is responsible for the gas deficiencies. The increased abundances of the spirals in the cluster core may have significant effects on their use as cosmological standard candles.

  8. Chemical enrichment in isolated barred spiral galaxies.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martel, Hugo; Carles, Christian; Robichaud, Fidéle; Ellison, Sara L.; Williamson, David J.

    2018-04-01

    To investigate the role of bars in the chemical evolution of isolated disc galaxies, we performed a series of 39 gas dynamical simulations of isolated barred and unbarred galaxies with various masses, initial gas fractions, and AGN feedback models. The presence of a bar drives a substantial amount of gas toward the central region of the galaxy. In the most massive galaxies, this results in a violent starburst, followed by a drop in star formation resulting from gas exhaustion. The time delay between Type Ia and Type II supernovae explosions means that barred galaxies experience a rapid increase in [O/H] in the central region, and a much more gradual increase in [Fe/H]. In unbarred galaxies, star formation proceeds at a slow and steady rate, and oxygen and iron are produced at steady rates which are similar except for a time offset. Comparing the abundance ratios in barred and unbarred galaxies with the same central stellar mass M*, we find in barred galaxies an enhancement of 0.07 dex in [O/H], 0.05 dex in [Fe/H], and 0.05 dex in [O/Fe]. The [O/H] enhancement is in excellent agreement with observations from the SDSS. The initial gas fraction has very little effect on the abundance ratios in barred and unbarred galaxies, unless the galaxies experience a starburst. We considered AGN-host galaxies located near the bottom of the AGN regime, M* ≳ 3 × 1010M⊙, where AGN feedback dominates over supernovae feedback. We found that the impact of AGN feedback on the central abundances is marginal.

  9. HOT X-RAY CORONAE AROUND MASSIVE SPIRAL GALAXIES: A UNIQUE PROBE OF STRUCTURE FORMATION MODELS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bogdan, Akos; Forman, William R.; Vogelsberger, Mark

    2013-08-01

    Luminous X-ray gas coronae in the dark matter halos of massive spiral galaxies are a fundamental prediction of structure formation models, yet only a few such coronae have been detected so far. In this paper, we study the hot X-ray coronae beyond the optical disks of two 'normal' massive spirals, NGC 1961 and NGC 6753. Based on XMM-Newton X-ray observations, hot gaseous emission is detected to {approx}60 kpc-well beyond their optical radii. The hot gas has a best-fit temperature of kT {approx} 0.6 keV and an abundance of {approx}0.1 Solar, and exhibits a fairly uniform distribution, suggesting that the quasi-staticmore » gas resides in hydrostatic equilibrium in the potential well of the galaxies. The bolometric luminosity of the gas in the (0.05-0.15)r{sub 200} region (r{sub 200} is the virial radius) is {approx}6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 40} erg s{sup -1} for both galaxies. The baryon mass fractions of NGC 1961 and NGC 6753 are f{sub b,NGC1961} {approx} 0.11 and f{sub b,NGC6753} {approx} 0.09, which values fall short of the cosmic baryon fraction. The hot coronae around NGC 1961 and NGC 6753 offer an excellent basis to probe structure formation simulations. To this end, the observations are confronted with the moving mesh code AREPO and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code GADGET. Although neither model gives a perfect description, the observed luminosities, gas masses, and abundances favor the AREPO code. Moreover, the shape and the normalization of the observed density profiles are better reproduced by AREPO within {approx}0.5r{sub 200}. However, neither model incorporates efficient feedback from supermassive black holes or supernovae, which could alter the simulated properties of the X-ray coronae. With the further advance of numerical models, the present observations will be essential in constraining the feedback effects in structure formation simulations.« less

  10. Star Formation Rates of dS galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hidalgo-Gámez, A. M.; Vega-Acevedo, I.; Magaña-Serrano, M. A.

    2014-10-01

    The Star Formation Rate of a sample of nine dwarf spiral galaxies and ten late-type Sm is determined from the Hα luminosity. The main interest was to check if these two kind of late-type galaxies have similar SFR or not. The images were acquired at the 1.5m telescope of the SPM-OAN and they were reduced with the software MIDAS. The values of the SFR are very similar for both type of galaxies and also similar to other Sm galaxies. The main result is that the dwarf spiral galaxies are more efficient when forming stars than the Sm galaxies because the SFR per are are lower for the latter with the same gas density than for dwarf spirals. However, the SFRs are larger in the Sm galaxies. In addition, the SFR per area were compared with global properties of the galaxies. There is only a relationship between the SFR and the surface brightness as well as with the absolute blue magnitude, but no relationship with the optical radius. A larger sample is needed in order to obtain a more conclusive answer.

  11. Feathering instability of spiral arms. II. Parameter study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Wing-Kit, E-mail: wklee@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw; Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan

    2014-09-10

    We report the results of a parameter study of the feathering stability in the galactic spiral arms. A two-dimensional, razor-thin magnetized self-gravitating gas disk with an imposed two-armed stellar spiral structure is considered. Using the formulation developed previously by Lee and Shu, a linear stability analysis of the spiral shock is performed in a localized Cartesian geometry. Results of the parameter study of the base state with a spiral shock are also presented. The single-mode feathering instability that leads to growing perturbations may explain the feathering phenomenon found in nearby spiral galaxies. The self-gravity of the gas, characterized by itsmore » average surface density, is an important parameter that (1) shifts the spiral shock farther downstream and (2) increases the growth rate and decreases the characteristic spacing of the feathering structure due to the instability. On the other hand, while the magnetic field suppresses the velocity fluctuation associated with the feathers, it does not strongly affect their growth rate. Using a set of typical parameters of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 at 2 kpc from the center, the spacing of the feathers with the maximum growth rate is found to be 530 pc, which agrees with the previous observational studies.« less

  12. On the interdependence of galaxy morphology, star formation and environment in massive galaxies in the nearby Universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bait, Omkar; Barway, Sudhanshu; Wadadekar, Yogesh

    2017-11-01

    Using multiwavelength data, from ultraviolet to optical to near-infrared to mid-infrared, for ˜6000 galaxies in the local Universe, we study the dependence of star formation on the morphological T-types for massive galaxies (log M*/M⊙ ≥ 10). We find that, early-type spirals (Sa-Sbc) and S0s predominate in the green valley, which is a transition zone between the star forming and quenched regions. Within the early-type spirals, as we move from Sa to Sbc spirals the fraction of green valley and quenched galaxies decreases, indicating the important role of the bulge in the quenching of galaxies. The fraction of early-type spirals decreases as we enter the green valley from the blue cloud, which coincides with the increase in the fraction of S0s. These points towards the morphological transformation of early-type spiral galaxies into S0s, which can happen due to environmental effects such as ram-pressure stripping, galaxy harassment or tidal interactions. We also find a second population of S0s that are actively star forming and are present in all environments. Since morphological T-type, specific star formation rate (sSFR), and environmental density are all correlated with each other, we compute the partial correlation coefficient for each pair of parameters while keeping the third parameter as a control variable. We find that morphology most strongly correlates with sSFR, independent of the environment, while the other two correlations (morphology-density and sSFR-environment) are weaker. Thus, we conclude that, for massive galaxies in the local Universe, the physical processes that shape their morphology are also the ones that determine their star-forming state.

  13. W.W. Morgan and the Discovery of the Spiral Arm Structure of our Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sheehan, William

    2008-03-01

    William Wilson Morgan was one of the great astronomers of the twentieth century. He considered himself a morphologist, and was preoccupied throughout his career with matters of classification. Though, his early life was difficult, and his pursuit of astronomy as a career was opposed by his father, he took a position at Yerkes Observatory in 1926 and remained there for the rest of his working life. Thematically, his work was also a unified whole. Beginning with spectroscopic studies under Otto Struve at Yerkes Observatory, by the late 1930s he concentrated particularly on the young O and B stars. His work an stellar classification led to the Morgan-Keenan-Kellman [MKK] system of classification of stars, and later - as he grappled with the question of the intrinsic color and brightness of stars at great distances - to the Johnson-Morgan UBV system for measuring stellar colors. Eventually these concerns with classification and method led to his greatest single achievement - the recognition of the nearby spiral arms of our Galaxy by tracing the OB associations and HII regions that outline them. After years of intensive work on the problem of galactic structure, the discovery came in a blinding flash of Archimedean insight as he walked under the night sky between his office and his house in the autumn of 1951. His optical discovery of the spiral arms preceded the radio-mapping of the spiral arms by more than a year. Morgan suffered a nervous breakdown soon after he announced his discovery, however, and so was prevented from publishing a complete account of his work. As a result of that, and the announcement soon afterward of the first radio maps of the spiral arms, the uniqueness of his achievement was not fully appreciated at the time.

  14. Cartography of Triangulum-Andromeda using SDSS stars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perottoni, H. D.; Rocha-Pinto, H. J.; Girardi, L.; Balbinot, E.; Santiago, B. X.; Majewski, S. R.; Anders, F.; Da Costa, L.; Maia, M. A. G.

    2018-01-01

    The outer Galactic halo is home to a number of substructures which still have an uncertain origin, but most likely are remnants of former interactions between the Galaxy and its former satellites. Triangulum-Andromeda (TriAnd) is one of these halo substructures, found as an overdensity of Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) M giants. We analysed the region of TriAnd using photometric data from the Ninth Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey. By comparing the observations with simulations from the TRILEGAL Galactic model, we were able to identify and map several scattered overdensities of main-sequence stars that seem to be associated with TriAnd over a large area covering ∼500 deg2. One of these excesses may represent a new stellar overdensity. We also briefly discuss an alternative hypothesis, according to which TriAnd is one of the troughs of oscillation rings in the Galactic disc.

  15. Galaxy NGC5398

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    This is an ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5398 taken by NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7, 2003. NGC5398 is a barred spiral galaxy located 60 million light-years from Earth. The star formation is concentrated in the two bright regions of the image. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04633

  16. The GALEX/S4G UV-IR Color-Color Diagram: Catching Spiral Galaxies Away from the Blue Sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bouquin, Alexandre Y. K.; Gil de Paz, Armando; Boissier, Samuel; Muñoz-Mateos, Juan-Carlos; Sheth, Kartik; Zaritsky, Dennis; Laine, Jarkko; Gallego, Jesús; Peletier, Reynier F.; Röck, Benjamin R.; Knapen, Johan H.

    2015-02-01

    We obtained GALEX FUV, NUV, and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm photometry for \\gt 2000 galaxies, available for 90% of the S4G sample. We find a very tight GALEX blue sequence (GBS) in the (FUV-NUV) versus (NUV-[3.6]) color-color diagram, which is populated by irregular and spiral galaxies, and is mainly driven by changes in the formation timescale (τ) and a degeneracy between τ and dust reddening. The tightness of the GBS provides an unprecedented way of identifying star-forming galaxies and objects that are just evolving to (or from) what we call the GALEX green valley (GGV). At the red end of the GBS, at (NUV-[3.6]) \\gt 5, we find a wider GALEX red sequence (GRS) mostly populated by E/S0 galaxies that has a perpendicular slope to that of the GBS and of the optical red sequence. We find no such dichotomy in terms of stellar mass (measured by {{M}[3.6]}) since both massive ({{M}\\star }\\gt {{10}11}{{M}⊙ }) blue- and red-sequence galaxies are identified. The type that is proportionally more often found in the GGV is the S0-Sa’s, and most of these are located in high-density environments. We discuss evolutionary models of galaxies that show a rapid transition from the blue to the red sequence on a timescale of 108 yr.

  17. Chemical enrichment in isolated barred spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martel, Hugo; Carles, Christian; Robichaud, Fidèle; Ellison, Sara L.; Williamson, David J.

    2018-07-01

    To investigate the role of bars in the chemical evolution of isolated disc galaxies, we performed a series of 39 gas dynamical simulations of isolated barred and unbarred galaxies with various masses, initial gas fractions, and active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback models. The presence of a bar drives a substantial amount of gas towards the central region of the galaxy. In the most massive galaxies, this results in a violent starburst, followed by a drop in star formation resulting from gas exhaustion. The time delay between Type Ia and Type II supernovae explosions means that barred galaxies experience a rapid increase in [O/H] in the central region, and a much more gradual increase in [Fe/H]. In unbarred galaxies, star formation proceeds at a slow and steady rate, and oxygen and iron are produced at steady rates which are similar except for a time offset. Comparing the abundance ratios in barred and unbarred galaxies with the same central stellar mass M*, we find in barred galaxies an enhancement of 0.07 dex in [O/H], 0.05 dex in [Fe/H], and 0.05 dex in [O/Fe]. The [O/H] enhancement is in excellent agreement with observations from the SDSS. The initial gas fraction has very little effect on the abundance ratios in barred and unbarred galaxies, unless the galaxies experience a starburst. We considered AGN-host galaxies located near the bottom of the AGN regime, M* ≳ 3 × 1010M⊙, where AGN feedback dominates over supernovae feedback. We found that the impact of AGN feedback on the central abundances is marginal.

  18. Hubble Spotlight on Irregular Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This delicate blue group of stars — actually an irregular galaxy named IC 3583 — sits some 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). It may seem to have no discernable structure, but IC 3583 has been found to have a bar of stars running through its center. These structures are common throughout the Universe, and are found within the majority of spiral, many irregular, and some lenticular galaxies. Two of our closest cosmic neighbors, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, are barred, indicating that they may have once been barred spiral galaxies that were disrupted or torn apart by the gravitational pull of the Milky Way. Researchers at the University of Leicester, England note there are two types of irregular galaxy. Type I's are usually single galaxies of peculiar appearance. They contain a large fraction of young stars, and show the luminous nebulae that are also visible in spiral galaxies. Type II irregulars include the group known as interacting or disrupting galaxies, in which the strange appearance is due to two or more galaxies colliding, merging or otherwise interacting gravitationally. Something similar might be happening with IC 3583. This small galaxy is thought to be gravitationally interacting with one of its neighbors, the spiral Messier 90. Together, the duo form a pairing known as Arp 76. It’s still unclear whether these flirtations are the cause of IC 3583’s irregular appearance — but whatever the cause, the galaxy makes for a strikingly delicate sight in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, glimmering in the blackness of space. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on

  19. The host of the Type I SLSN 2017egm. A young, sub-solar metallicity environment in a massive spiral galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Izzo, L.; Thöne, C. C.; García-Benito, R.; de Ugarte Postigo, A.; Cano, Z.; Kann, D. A.; Bensch, K.; Della Valle, M.; Galadí-Enríquez, D.; Hedrosa, R. P.

    2018-02-01

    Context. Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN) host galaxies are predominantly low-metallicity, highly star-forming (SF) dwarfs. One of the current key questions is whether Type I SLSNe can only occur in such environments and hosts. Aims: Here we present an integral-field study of the massive, high-metallicity spiral NGC 3191, the host of SN 2017egm, the closest Type I SLSN known to date. We use data from PMAS/CAHA and the public MaNGA survey to shed light on the properties of the SLSN site and the origin of star formation in this non-starburst spiral galaxy. Methods: We map the physical properties of different H II regions throughout the galaxy and characterise their stellar populations using the STARLIGHT fitting code. Kinematical information allows us to study a possible interaction with its neighbouring galaxy as the origin of recent star formation activity which could have caused the SLSN. Results: NGC 3191 shows intense star formation in the western part with three large SF regions of low metallicity. Taking only the properties of emitting gas, the central regions of the host have a higher metallicity, a lower specific star formation rate, and lower ionisation. Modelling the stellar populations gives a different picture: the SLSN region has two dominant stellar populations with different ages, the younger one with an age of 2-10 Myr and lower metallicity, likely the population from which the SN progenitor originated. Emission line kinematics of NGC 3191 show indications of interaction with its neighbour MCG+08-19-017 at 45 kpc, which might be responsible for the recent starburst. In fact, this galaxy pair has hosted a total of four SNe, 1988B (Type Ia), SN 2003ds (Type Ic in MCG+08-19-017), PTF10bgl (Type II), and 2017egm, underlying the enhanced SF in both galaxies due to interaction. Conclusions: Our study shows that care should be taken when interpreting global host and even gas properties without looking at the stellar population history of the region

  20. Effect of dark matter halo on global spiral modes in a collisionless galactic disk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghosh, Soumavo; Saini, Tarun Deep; Jog, Chanda J.

    2017-07-01

    Low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies are dominated by dark matter halo from the innermost radii; hence they are ideal candidates to investigate the influence of dark matter on different dynamical aspects of spiral galaxies. Here, we study the effect of dark matter halo on grand-design, m = 2 , spiral modes in a galactic disk, treated as a collisionless system, by carrying out a global modal analysis within the WKB approximation. First, we study a superthin, LSB galaxy UGC 7321 and show that it does not support discrete global spiral modes when modeled as a disk-alone system or as a disk plus dark matter system. Even a moderate increase in the stellar central surface density does not yield any global spiral modes. This naturally explains the observed lack of strong large-scale spiral structure in LSBs. An earlier work (Ghosh et al., 2016) where the galactic disk was treated as a fluid system for simplicity had shown that the dominant halo could not arrest global modes. We found that this difference arises due to the different dispersion relation used in the two cases and which plays a crucial role in the search for global spiral modes. Thus the correct treatment of stars as a collisionless system as done here results in the suppression of global spiral modes, in agreement with the observations. We performed a similar modal analysis for the Galaxy, and found that the dark matter halo has a negligible effect on large-scale spiral structure.

  1. M 101: The Pinwheel Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-07-21

    A large spiral galaxy dominates this view from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. The galaxy, often called the Pinwheel galaxy, was designated object 101 in astronomer Charles Messier catalog of fuzzy things in the sky that are not comets.

  2. Triple Scoop from Galaxy Hunter

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2006-07-28

    Located 10 million light-years away in the southern constellation Sculptor, the Silver Dollar galaxy, or NGC 253, is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky as seen in this edge-on view from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

  3. Giant Radio Jet Coming From Wrong Kind of Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2003-01-01

    Giant jets of subatomic particles moving at nearly the speed of light have been found coming from thousands of galaxies across the Universe, but always from elliptical galaxies or galaxies in the process of merging -- until now. Using the combined power of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Array (VLA) and the 8-meter Gemini-South Telescope, astronomers have discovered a huge jet coming from a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way. Radio-optical view of galaxy Combined HST and VLA image of the galaxy 0313-192. Optical HST image shows the galaxy edge-on; VLA image, shown in red, reveals giant jet of speeding particles. For more images, see this link below. CREDIT: Keel, Ledlow & Owen; STScI,NRAO/AUI/NSF, NASA "We've always thought spirals were the wrong kind of galaxy to generate these huge jets, but now we're going to have to re-think some of our ideas on what produces these jets," said William Keel, a University of Alabama astronomer who led the research team. Keel worked with Michael Ledlow of Gemini Observatory and Frazer Owen of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The scientists reported their findings at the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Seattle, Washington. "Further study of this galaxy may provide unique insights on just what needs to happen in a galaxy to produce these powerful jets of particles," Keel said. In addition, Owen said, "The loose-knit nature of the cluster of galaxies in which this galaxy resides may play a part in allowing this particular spiral to produce jets." Astronomers believe such jets originate at the cores of galaxies, where supermassive black holes provide the tremendous gravitational energy to accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light. Magnetic fields twisted tightly by spinning disks of material being sucked into the black hole are presumed to narrow the speeding particles into thin jets, like a nozzle on a garden hose. Both elliptical and spiral galaxies are believed to harbor supermassive

  4. On the dynamical basis of the classification of normal galaxies

    PubMed Central

    Haass, J.; Bertin, G.; Lin, C. C.

    1982-01-01

    Some realistic galaxy models have been found to support discrete unstable spiral modes. Here, through the study of the relevant physical mechanisms and an extensive numerical investigation of the properties of the dominant modes in a wide class of galactic equilibria, we show how spiral structures are excited with different morphological features, depending on the properties of the equilibrium model. We identify the basic dynamical parameters and mechanisms and compare the resulting morphology of spiral modes with the actual classification of galaxies. The present study suggests a dynamical basis for the transition among various types and subclasses of normal and barred spiral galaxies. Images PMID:16593200

  5. An Accreting White Dwarf near the Chandrasekhar Limit in the Andromeda Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tang, Sumin; Bildsten, Lars; Wolf, William M.; Li, K. L.; Kong, Albert K. H.; Cao, Yi; Cenko, S. Bradley; De Cia, Annalisa; Kasliwal, Mansi M.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; hide

    2014-01-01

    The iPTF (Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory) detection of the most recent outburst of the recurrent nova system RX J0045.4+4154 in the Andromeda Galaxy has enabled the unprecedented study of a massive (mass is greater than 1.3 solar masses) accreting white dwarf (WD). We detected this nova as part of the near daily iPTF monitoring of M31 to a depth of R (red band-pass filter) approximately equal to magnitude 21 and triggered optical photometry, spectroscopy and soft X-ray monitoring of the outburst. Peaking at an absolute magnitude of MR (red, mid-infrared band-pass filter) equals magnitude -6.6, and with a decay time of 1 magnitude per day, it is a faint and very fast nova. It shows optical emission lines of He/N and expansion velocities of 1900 to 2600 kilometers per second 1-4 days after the optical peak. The Swift monitoring of the X-ray evolution revealed a supersoft source (SSS) with kT (energy: Boltzmann constant times temperature) (sub eff (effective)) approximately equal to 90-110 electronvolts that appeared within 5 days after the optical peak, and lasted only 12 days. Most remarkably, this is not the first event from this system, rather it is a recurrent nova with a time between outbursts of approximately 1 year, the shortest known. Recurrent X-ray emission from this binary was detected by ROSAT in 1992 and 1993, and the source was well characterized as a mass greater than 1.3 solar masses WD SSS. Based on the observed recurrence time between different outbursts, the duration and effective temperature of the SS phase, MESA models of accreting WDs allow us to constrain the accretion rate to mass greater than 1.7x10 (sup -7) solar masses per year and WD mass greater than 1.30 solar masses. If the WD keeps 30 percent of the accreted material, it will take less than a million years to reach core densities high enough for carbon ignition (if made of C/O) or electron capture (if made of O/Ne) to end the binary evolution.

  6. Galaxy NGC 4013

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1999-12-15

    An amazing edge-on view of a spiral galaxy 55 million light years from Earth has been captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image reveals in great detail huge clouds of dust and gas extending along and above the galaxy main disk.

  7. An atlas of ultraviolet spectra of star-forming galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kinney, A. L.; Bohlin, R. C.; Calzetti, D.; Panagia, N.; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

    1993-01-01

    A systematic study is presented of the UV spectra of star-forming galaxies of different morphological type and activity class using a sample drawn from a uniformly reduced IUE data set. The spectra for a wide variety of galaxies, including normal spiral, LINER, starburst, blue compact, blue compact dwarf, and Seyfert 2 galaxies, are presented in the form of spectral energy distributions to demonstrate the overall characteristics according to morphology and activity class and in the form of absolute flux distributions to better show the absorption and emission features of individual objects. The data support the picture based on UV spectra of the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory and of the Astronautical Netherlands Satellite that spiral galaxies of later Hubble class have more flux at the shortest UV wavelengths than do spiral galaxies of earlier Hubble class.

  8. GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND SPUR CLUSTERS IN NGC 4921, THE BRIGHTEST SPIRAL GALAXY IN THE COMA CLUSTER

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Myung Gyoon; Jang, In Sung, E-mail: mglee@astro.snu.ac.kr, E-mail: isjang@astro.snu.ac.kr

    2016-03-01

    We resolve a significant fraction of globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 4921, the brightest spiral galaxy in the Coma cluster. We also find a number of extended bright star clusters (star complexes) in the spur region of the arms. The latter are much brighter and bluer than those in the normal star-forming region, being as massive as 3 × 10{sup 5} M{sub ⊙}. The color distribution of the GCs in this galaxy is found to be bimodal. The turnover magnitudes of the luminosity functions of the blue (metal-poor) GCs (0.70 < (V − I) ≤ 1.05) in the halo are estimated V(max) = 27.11 ± 0.09 mag and I(max) = 26.21 ± 0.11 mag.more » We obtain similar values for NGC 4923, a companion S0 galaxy, and two Coma cD galaxies (NGC 4874 and NGC 4889). The mean value for the turnover magnitudes of these four galaxies is I(max) = 26.25 ± 0.03 mag. Adopting M{sub I} (max) = −8.56 ± 0.09 mag for the metal-poor GCs, we determine the mean distance to the four Coma galaxies to be 91 ± 4 Mpc. Combining this with the Coma radial velocity, we derive a value of the Hubble constant, H{sub 0} = 77.9 ± 3.6 km s{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}. We estimate the GC specific frequency of NGC 4921 to be S{sub N} = 1.29 ± 0.25, close to the values for early-type galaxies. This indicates that NGC 4921 is in the transition phase to S0s.« less

  9. Classic Galaxy with Glamour

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2005-04-11

    Young hot blue stars dominate the outer spiral arms of nearby galaxy NGC 300, while the older stars congregate in the nuclear regions which appear yellow-green in this image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

  10. Extraplanar H II Regions in Spiral Galaxies. I. Low-metallicity Gas Accreting through the Disk-halo Interface of NGC 4013

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howk, J. Christopher; Rueff, Katherine M.; Lehner, Nicolas; Wotta, Christopher B.; Croxall, Kevin; Savage, Blair D.

    2018-04-01

    The interstellar thick disks of galaxies serve as the interface between the thin star-forming disk, where feedback-driven outflows originate, and the distant halo, the repository for accreted gas. We present optical emission line spectroscopy of a luminous, thick disk H II region located at z = 860 pc above the plane of the spiral galaxy NGC 4013 taken with the Multi-Object Double Spectrograph on the Large Binocular Telescope. This nebula, with an Hα luminosity ∼4–7 times that of the Orion nebula, surrounds a luminous cluster of young, hot stars that ionize the surrounding interstellar gas of the thick disk, providing a measure of the properties of that gas. We demonstrate that strong emission line methods can provide accurate measures of relative abundances between pairs of H II regions. From our emission line spectroscopy, we show that the metal content of the thick disk H II region is a factor of ≈2 lower than gas in H II regions at the midplane of this galaxy (with the relative abundance of O in the thick disk lower by ‑0.32 ± 0.09 dex). This implies incomplete mixing of material in the thick disk on small scales (hundreds of parsecs) and that there is accretion of low-metallicity gas through the thick disks of spirals. The inclusion of low-metallicity gas this close to the plane of NGC 4013 is reminiscent of the recently proposed “fountain-driven” accretion models.

  11. Pitch Angles Of Artificially Redshifted Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shields, Douglas W.; Davis, B.; Johns, L.; Berrier, J. C.; Kennefick, D.; Kennefick, J.; Seigar, M.

    2012-05-01

    We present the pitch angles of several galaxies that have been artificially redshifted using Barden et al’s FERENGI software. The (central black hole mass)-(spiral arm pitch angle) relation has been used on a statistically complete sample of local galaxies to determine the black hole mass function of local spiral galaxies. We now measure the pitch angles at increasing redshifts by operating on the images pixel-by-pixel. The results will be compared to the pitch angle function as measured in the GOODS field. This research was funded in part by NASA / EPScOR.

  12. Hubble Sees Elegant Spiral Hiding a Hungry Monster

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    NGC 4639 is a beautiful example of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. It lies over 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo and is one of about 1,500 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. In this image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, one can clearly see the bar running through the bright, round core of the galaxy. Bars are found in around two-thirds of spiral galaxies, and are thought to be a natural phase in their evolution. The galaxy’s spiral arms are sprinkled with bright regions of active star formation. Each of these tiny jewels is actually several hundred light-years across and contains hundreds or thousands of newly formed stars. But NGC 4639 also conceals a dark secret in its core — a massive black hole that is consuming the surrounding gas. This is known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and is revealed by characteristic features in the spectrum of light from the galaxy and by X-rays produced close to the black hole as the hot gas plunges towards it. Most galaxies are thought to contain a black hole at the center. NGC 4639 is in fact a very weak example of an AGN, demonstrating that AGNs exist over a large range of activity, from galaxies like NGC 4639 to distant quasars, where the parent galaxy is almost completely dominated by the emissions from the AGN. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  13. Galaxy Messier 51

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this image of the spiral galaxy Messier 51 on June 19 and 20, 2003. Messier 51 is located 27 million light-years from Earth. Due to a lack of star formation, the companion galaxy in the top of the picture is barely visible as a near ultraviolet object. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04628

  14. The Spiral Arm Segments of the Galaxy within 3 kpc from the Sun: A Statistical Approach

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Griv, Evgeny; Jiang, Ing-Guey; Hou, Li-Gang, E-mail: griv@bgu.ac.il

    As can be reasonably expected, upcoming large-scale APOGEE, GAIA, GALAH, LAMOST, and WEAVE stellar spectroscopic surveys will yield rather noisy Galactic distributions of stars. In view of the possibility of employing these surveys, our aim is to present a statistical method to extract information about the spiral structure of the Galaxy from currently available data, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method. The model differs from previous works studying how objects are distributed in space in its calculation of the statistical significance of the hypothesis that some of the objects are actually concentrated in a spiral. A statistical analysismore » of the distribution of cold dust clumps within molecular clouds, H ii regions, Cepheid stars, and open clusters in the nearby Galactic disk within 3 kpc from the Sun is carried out. As an application of the method, we obtain distances between the Sun and the centers of the neighboring Sagittarius arm segment, the Orion arm segment in which the Sun is located, and the Perseus arm segment. Pitch angles of the logarithmic spiral segments and their widths are also estimated. The hypothesis that the collected objects accidentally form spirals is refuted with almost 100% statistical confidence. We show that these four independent distributions of young objects lead to essentially the same results. We also demonstrate that our newly deduced values of the mean distances and pitch angles for the segments are not too far from those found recently by Reid et al. using VLBI-based trigonometric parallaxes of massive star-forming regions.« less

  15. J1649+2635: A Grand-Design Spiral with a Large Double-Lobed Radio Source

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mao, Minnie Y.; Owen, Frazer; Duffin, Ryan; Keel, Bill; Lacy, Mark; Momjian, Emmanuel; Morrison, Glenn; Mroczkowski, Tony; Neff, Susan; Norris, Ray P.; hide

    2014-01-01

    We report the discovery of a grand-design spiral galaxy associated with a double-lobed radio source. J1649+2635 (z = 0.0545) is a red spiral galaxy with a prominent bulge that it is associated with a L(1.4GHz) is approximately 10(exp24) W Hz(exp-1) double-lobed radio source that spans almost 100 kpc. J1649+2635 has a black hole mass of M(BH) is approximately 3-7 × 10(exp8) Solar mass and SFR is approximately 0.26 - 2.6 solar mass year(exp-1). The galaxy hosts a approximately 96 kpc diffuse optical halo, which is unprecedented for spiral galaxies. We find that J1649+2635 resides in an overdense environment with a mass of M(dyn) = 7.7(+7.9/-4.3) × 10(exp13) Solar mass, likely a galaxy group below the detection threshold of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. We suggest one possible scenario for the association of double-lobed radio emission from J1649+2635 is that the source may be similar to a Seyfert galaxy, located in a denser-than-normal environment. The study of spiral galaxies that host large-scale radio emission is important because although rare in the local Universe, these sources may be more common at high-redshifts.

  16. Gemini Spectra of Star Clusters in the Spiral Galaxy M101

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simanton-Coogan, Lesley A.; Chandar, Rupali; Miller, Bryan; Whitmore, Bradley C.

    2017-12-01

    We present low resolution, visible light spectra of 41 star clusters in the spiral galaxy M101, taken with the Gemini/GMOS instrument. We measure Lick indices for each cluster and compare with BaSTI models to estimate their ages and metallicities. We also measure the line-of-sight velocities. We find that 25 of the clusters are fairly young massive clusters (YMCs) with ages of hundreds of millions of years, and 16 appear to be older, globular clusters (GCs). There are at least four GCs with best-fit ages of ≈1–3 Gyr and eight with best-fit ages of ≈5–10 Gyr. The mean metallicity of the YMCs is [Fe/H] ≈ ‑0.1 and for the GCs is [Fe/H] ≈ ‑0.9. We find a near-continuous spread in both age and metallicity for our sample, which may indicate that M101 had a more-or-less continuous history of cluster and star formation. From the kinematics, we find that the YMCs rotate with the H I gas fairly well, while the GCs do not. We cannot definitively say whether the GCs sampled here lie in an inner halo, thick disk, or bulge/psuedobulge component, although given the very small bulge in M101, the last seems unlikely. The kinematics and ages of the YMCs suggest that M101 may have undergone heating of its disk or possibly a continuous merger/accretion history for the galaxy.

  17. Neutrino flux from cosmic ray accelerators in the Cygnus spiral arm of the Galaxy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anchordoqui, Luis; Halzen, Francis; O'Murchadha, Aongus

    2007-09-15

    Intriguing evidence has been accumulating for the production of cosmic rays in the Cygnus region of the galactic plane. We here show that the IceCube experiment can produce incontrovertible evidence for cosmic ray acceleration by observing the neutrinos from the decay of charged pions accompanying the TeV photon flux observed in the HEGRA, Whipple, Tibet, and Milagro experiments. Our assumption is that the TeV photons observed are the decay products of neutral pions produced by cosmic ray accelerators in the nearby spiral arm of the galaxy. Because of the proximity of the sources, IceCube will obtain evidence at the 5{sigma}more » level in 15 years of observation.« less

  18. Star Formation in Galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Topics addressed include: star formation; galactic infrared emission; molecular clouds; OB star luminosity; dust grains; IRAS observations; galactic disks; stellar formation in Magellanic clouds; irregular galaxies; spiral galaxies; starbursts; morphology of galactic centers; and far-infrared observations.

  19. Kinematics of Hα Emitting Stars in Andromeda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilango, Megha; Ilango, Anita; Damon, Gabriel; Prichard, Laura; Guhathakurta, Puragra; PHAT Collaboration; SPLASH Collaboration

    2017-01-01

    Studying emission line stars helps improve our understanding of stellar evolution, types of stars, and their environments. In this study, we analyzed stars exhibiting Hα emission (Hα stars) in the Andromeda Galaxy. We used a combination of spectroscopic and photometric diagnostic methods to remove a population of foreground Milky Way (MW) star contaminants from our data set. The Hα stars were selected from a sample of 5295 spectra from the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda’s Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey and accompanying photometric data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey. Velocities of two classes of Hα stars, main sequence (MS) stars and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, were analyzed through a novel Age-Velocity Difference Correlation (AVDC) method, which utilizes line-of-sight velocity differences (LOSVDs) in order to estimate the age of a rare stellar population. Histograms, weighted means, and weighted standard deviations of the LOSVDs were used to conclude that MS stars are more kinematically coherent than AGB stars, and that Hα stars are kinematically comparable and thus close in age to their non-Hα counterparts. With these results, it can definitively be inferred that mass loss is important in two stages of stellar evolution: massive MS and intermediate mass AGB. We hypothesized that this mass loss could either occur as a normal part of MS and AGB evolution, or that it could be emitted by only a subpopulation of MS and AGB stars throughout their life cycle. Our use of the novel AVDC method sets a precedent for the use of similar methods in predicting the ages of rare stellar subgroups.This research was supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Most of this work was carried out by high school students working under the auspices of the Science Internship Program at UC Santa Cruz.

  20. The Nature of Accreting Black Holes in Nearby Galaxy Nuclei

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colbert, E. J. M.; Mushotzky, R. F.

    1999-04-01

    We have found compact X-ray sources in the center of 21 (54%) of 39 nearby face-on spiral and elliptical galaxies with available ROSAT HRI data. ROSAT X-ray luminosities (0.2 - 2.4 keV) of these compact X-ray sources are ~ 10(37) -10(40) erg s(-1) (with a mean of 3 x 10(39) erg s(-1) ). The mean displacement between the location of the compact X-ray source and the optical photometric center of the galaxy is ~ 390 pc. The fact that compact nuclear sources were found in nearly all (five of six) galaxies with previous evidence for a black hole or an AGN indicates that at least some of the X-ray sources are accreting supermassive black holes. ASCA spectra of six of the 21 galaxies show the presence of a hard component with relatively steep (Gamma ~ 2.5) spectral slope. A multicolor disk blackbody model fits the data from the spiral galaxies well, suggesting that the X-ray object in these galaxies may be similar to a Black Hole Candidate in its soft (high) state. ASCA data from the elliptical galaxies indicate that hot (kT ~ 0.7 keV) gas dominates the emission. The fact that (for both spiral and elliptical galaxies) the spectral slope is steeper than in normal type 1 AGNs and that relatively low absorbing columns (N_H ~ 10(21) cm(-2) ) were found to the power-law component indicates that these objects are somehow geometrically and/or physically different from AGNs in normal active galaxies. The X-ray sources in the spiral and elliptical galaxies may be black hole X-ray binaries, low-luminosity AGNs, or possibly young X-ray luminous supernovae. Assuming the sources in the spiral galaxies are accreting black holes in their soft state, we estimate black hole masses ~ 10(2) -10(4) M_sun.

  1. The Nature of Accreting Black Holes in Nearby Galaxy Nuclei

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colbert, E. J. M.; Mushotzky, R. F.

    1999-05-01

    We have found compact X-ray sources in the center of 21 (54%) of 39 nearby face-on spiral and elliptical galaxies with available ROSAT HRI data. ROSAT X-ray luminosities (0.2 - 2.4 keV) of these compact X-ray sources are ~ 10(37) -10(40) erg s(-1) (with a mean of 3 x 10(39) erg s(-1) ). The mean displacement between the location of the compact X-ray source and the optical photometric center of the galaxy is ~ 390 pc. The fact that compact nuclear sources were found in nearly all (five of six) galaxies with previous evidence for a black hole or an AGN indicates that at least some of the X-ray sources are accreting supermassive black holes. ASCA spectra of six of the 21 galaxies show the presence of a hard component with relatively steep (Gamma ~ 2.5) spectral slope. A multicolor disk blackbody model fits the data from the spiral galaxies well, suggesting that the X-ray object in these galaxies may be similar to a Black Hole Candidate in its soft (high) state. ASCA data from the elliptical galaxies indicate that hot (kT ~ 0.7 keV) gas dominates the emission. The fact that (for both spiral and elliptical galaxies) the spectral slope is steeper than in normal type 1 AGNs and that relatively low absorbing columns (N_H ~ 10(21) cm(-2) ) were found to the power-law component indicates that these objects are somehow geometrically and/or physically different from AGNs in normal active galaxies. The X-ray sources in the spiral and elliptical galaxies may be black hole X-ray binaries, low-luminosity AGNs, or possibly young X-ray luminous supernovae. Assuming the sources in the spiral galaxies are accreting black holes in their soft state, we estimate black hole masses ~ 10(2) -10(4) M_sun.

  2. ULTRAVIOLET HALOS AROUND SPIRAL GALAXIES. I. MORPHOLOGY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hodges-Kluck, Edmund; Cafmeyer, Julian; Bregman, Joel N., E-mail: hodgeskl@umich.edu

    2016-12-10

    We examine ultraviolet halos around a sample of highly inclined galaxies within 25 Mpc to measure their morphology and luminosity. Despite contamination from galactic light scattered into the wings of the point-spread function, we find that ultraviolet (UV) halos occur around each galaxy in our sample. Around most galaxies the halos form a thick, diffuse disk-like structure, but starburst galaxies with galactic superwinds have qualitatively different halos that are more extensive and have filamentary structure. The spatial coincidence of the UV halos above star-forming regions, the lack of consistent association with outflows or extraplanar ionized gas, and the strong correlationmore » between the halo and galaxy UV luminosity suggest that the UV light is an extragalactic reflection nebula. UV halos may thus represent 10{sup 6}–10{sup 7} M {sub ⊙} of dust within 2–10 kpc of the disk, whose properties may change with height in starburst galaxies.« less

  3. Wobbling The Galactic Disk with Bombardment of Satellite Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Onghia, Elena

    We propose to assess the effect of impacts of large visible satellite galaxies on a disk, as well as the relevance of the continuing bombardment of the Galactic disk by dark matter clumps as predicted by the current cosmological framework that can wobble the disk, heating it and eventually exciting ragged spiral structures. In particular, we make detailed predictions for observable features such as spiral arms, rings and their associated stars in galactic disks and relate them to the physical processes that drive their formation and evolution in our Milky Way galaxy and nearby spirals. To do this, we will combine analytic methods and numerical simulations that allow us to calculate observables, which we will compare to present and forthcoming observations. Our methodology utilizes a combination of state of the art hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy evolution and multi- wavelength radiative transfer simulations. Our primary goals are: (1) To identify the physical processes that are responsible for spiral structure formation observed in our Milky Way and nearby disk galaxies, from the flocculent to grand- designed spiral galaxies and to provide observable signatures to be compared with data on nearby galaxies combining maps of 24 micron emission (Spitzer) and cold gas, CO (Heracles) and HI (THINGS). (2) To explore different morphologies of spiral galaxies: from the multi-armed galaxies to the Milky Way sized galaxies with few arms. (3) For a Milky Way disk we will assess the effect of impacts of substructures passing through the disk to origin the asymmetry in the number density of stars recently discovered from SDSS and SEGUE data and confirmed from RAVE data. We will also investigate the disk heating in the vertical plane due to the formation of vertical oscillations that are produced by the impact and migration of stars in the disk as consequence of the heating as compared to the classical stellar migration mechanism. (4) We will measure the spiral pattern speed

  4. The wind of EG Andromedae is not dust driven

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Van Buren, Dave; Dgani, Ruth; Noriega-Crespo, Alberto

    1994-01-01

    The symbiotic star EG Andromedae has recently been the subject of several studies investigating its wind properties. Late-type giants are usually considered to have winds driven by radiation pressure on dust. Indeed, the derived wind velocity for EG Andromedae is consistent with this model. We point out here that there is no appreciable dust opacity in the wind of EG Andromedae using constraints on extinction limits from International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and far infrared fluxes from Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS). An alternate mechanism must operate in this star. We suggest that the wind can be driven by radiation pressure on molecular lines.

  5. Andromeda (M31) optical and infrared disk survey. I. Insights in wide-field near-IR surface photometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sick, Jonathan; Courteau, Stéphane; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles

    We present wide-field near-infrared J and K{sub s} images of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) taken with WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope as part of the Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey. This data set allows simultaneous observations of resolved stars and near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness across M31's entire bulge and disk (within R = 22 kpc), permitting a direct test of the stellar composition of near-infrared light in a nearby galaxy. Here we develop NIR observation and reduction methods to recover a uniform surface brightness map across the 3° × 1° disk of M31 with 27 WIRCam fields. Two sky-targetmore » nodding strategies are tested, and we find that strictly minimizing sky sampling latency cannot improve background subtraction accuracy to better than 2% of the background level due to spatio-temporal variations in the NIR skyglow. We fully describe our WIRCam reduction pipeline and advocate using flats built from night-sky images over a single night, rather than dome flats that do not capture the WIRCam illumination field. Contamination from scattered light and thermal background in sky flats has a negligible effect on the surface brightness shape compared to the stochastic differences in background shape between sky and galaxy disk fields, which are ∼0.3% of the background level. The most dramatic calibration step is the introduction of scalar sky offsets to each image that optimizes surface brightness continuity. Sky offsets reduce the mean surface brightness difference between observation blocks from 1% to <0.1% of the background level, though the absolute background level remains statistically uncertain to 0.15% of the background level. We present our WIRCam reduction pipeline and performance analysis to give specific recommendations for the improvement of NIR wide-field imaging methods.« less

  6. High resolution infrared astronomy satellite observations of a selected spiral galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kulkarni, S. R.

    1991-01-01

    The H I, infrared, CO, H alpha and H beta band observations of M51, the prototypical grand-design spiral galaxy, are used to study the consequences of star formation for the distribution of H I and dust. Using the new Very Large Array (VLA) map of 21 cm emission, the Owens Valley Radio Observatory CO mosaic map, and an H alpha imate, new tests were performed with the idea of Tilanus and Allen that the H I is largely a photodissociation product in star-forming regions. It is confirmed that the H I spiral arms are generally coincident with the H II region arms, and offset downstream from the CO arms. The radial distributions of total gas, H alpha and H I surface density have a simple explanation in the dissociation picture. The distributions also demonstrate how the surface density of H I might be related to the star formation efficiency in molecule-rich galaxies. The large width of the H I regions along the arms compared to that of the giant H II regions can be understood in terms of a simple calculation of the expected size of an H I region associated with a typical giant H II region. The longer lifetime of the stars producing dissociating radiation vs. those producing ionizing radiation and the relatively long molecular formation timescale will also contribute to the greater width of the H I arms if stars are continuously forming on the arms. The lack of detailed coincidence of the H I and H II regions along the inner arms has a variety of possible explanations. Two simple tests were performed to probe the origins of the IRAS emission in M51. First, it was found that the infrared excess (IFE) of M51 is 24, suggesting that a substantial fraction of the infrared emission arises from dust heated by photons which do not originate in massive star-formaing regions. Second, radial cuts through the IRAS bands show that at 12, 25, and 60 microns, the arm-interarm contrast of the IRAS emission is substantially less than that of the H alpha emission, providing further

  7. Space Science

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1978-12-01

    The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31 since it is the 31st object on Messier's list of diffuse sky objects, is the nearest large galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. Our galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda, but it is about four times as massive as the Milky Way. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The diffused light from Andromeda is caused by hundreds of billions of stars that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround Andromeda's image are actually stars in our galaxy that are well in front of the background object. Andromeda is so distant that it takes approximately two millions years for light to reach us from there.

  8. Mapping IR Enhancements in Closely Interacting Spiral-Spiral Pairs: I. ISO CAM and ISO SWS Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Xu, C.; Gao, Y.; Mazzarella, J.; Lu, N.; Sulentic, J.; Domingue, D.

    2000-01-01

    Mid-infrared (MIR) imaging and spectroscopic observations are presented for a well defined sample of eight closely interacting (CLO) pairs of spiral galaxies that have overlapping disks and show enhanced far-infrared (FIR) emission.

  9. Important Nearby Galaxies without Accurate Distances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McQuinn, Kristen

    2014-10-01

    The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) and its offspring programs (e.g., THINGS, HERACLES, KINGFISH) have resulted in a fundamental change in our view of star formation and the ISM in galaxies, and together they represent the most complete multi-wavelength data set yet assembled for a large sample of nearby galaxies. These great investments of observing time have been dedicated to the goal of understanding the interstellar medium, the star formation process, and, more generally, galactic evolution at the present epoch. Nearby galaxies provide the basis for which we interpret the distant universe, and the SINGS sample represents the best studied nearby galaxies.Accurate distances are fundamental to interpreting observations of galaxies. Surprisingly, many of the SINGS spiral galaxies have numerous distance estimates resulting in confusion. We can rectify this situation for 8 of the SINGS spiral galaxies within 10 Mpc at a very low cost through measurements of the tip of the red giant branch. The proposed observations will provide an accuracy of better than 0.1 in distance modulus. Our sample includes such well known galaxies as M51 (the Whirlpool), M63 (the Sunflower), M104 (the Sombrero), and M74 (the archetypal grand design spiral).We are also proposing coordinated parallel WFC3 UV observations of the central regions of the galaxies, rich with high-mass UV-bright stars. As a secondary science goal we will compare the resolved UV stellar populations with integrated UV emission measurements used in calibrating star formation rates. Our observations will complement the growing HST UV atlas of high resolution images of nearby galaxies.

  10. KPNO 0.9m H(alpha) Imaging Survey of ``Transforming Galaxies" in Local Galaxy Groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines, Christopher; O'Sullivan, Ewan; Raychaudhury, Somak; Gargiulo, Adriana; Campusano, Luis

    2012-02-01

    We propose to use the KPNO 0.9-m telescope to obtain panoramic H(alpha) imaging of ~200 galaxies in two nearby (32, 35 Mpc) galaxy groups NGC 4261 and NGC 5353 from the CLoGS local group survey. In rich clusters ram-pressure stripping has been shown to be very effective at removing the gas contents and quenching star formation in infalling spiral galaxies. It is much less clear how galaxies are affected by the much lower ram pressures found in galaxy groups, or if other environmental processes begin to dominate. Given that >50% of galaxies in the local volume reside in groups, it is vital we gain new insights into which mechanisms drive the SFR-density relation in groups. The proposed H(alpha) imaging will allow us to resolve where star-formation is occuring in each galaxy. This can effectively discriminate between ram-pressure stripping characterized by truncated H(alpha) disks, the much gentler starvation mechanism which produces anemic spirals, and nuclear star-bursts triggered by low-velocity encounters which should be most frequent in groups.

  11. KPNO 0.9m H(alpha) Imaging Survey of ``Transforming Galaxies'' in Local Galaxy Groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines, Christopher; O'Sullivan, Ewan; Raychaudhury, Somak; Egami, Eiichi; Campusano, Luis

    2012-08-01

    We propose to use the KPNO 0.9-m telescope to obtain panoramic H(alpha) imaging of ~135 galaxies in ten nearby galaxy groups (60- 80 Mpc) from the Complete Local-Volume Groups Sample (CLoGS). In rich clusters ram-pressure stripping has been shown to be very effective at removing the gas contents and quenching star formation in infalling spiral galaxies. It is much less clear how galaxies are affected by the much lower ram pressures found in galaxy groups, or if other environmental processes begin to dominate. Given that >50% of galaxies in the local volume reside in groups, it is vital that we gain new insights into which mechanisms drive the SFR-density relation in groups. The proposed H(alpha) imaging will allow us to resolve where star-formation is occurring in each galaxy. This can effectively discriminate between ram-pressure stripping characterized by truncated H(alpha) disks, the much gentler starvation mechanism which produces anemic spirals, and nuclear starbursts triggered by low-velocity encounters and mergers which should be most frequent in groups.

  12. Andromeda IV: A new local volume very metal-poor galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pustilnik, S. A.; Tepliakova, A. L.; Kniazev, A. Y.; Burenkov, A. N.

    2008-06-01

    And IV is a low surface brightness (LSB) dwarf galaxy at a distance of 6.1 Mpc, projecting close to M 31. In this paper the results of spectroscopy of the And IV two brightest HII regions with the SAO 6-m telescope (BTA) are presented. In spectra of both of them the faint line [OIII] λ4363 Å was detected and this allowed us to determine their O/H by the classical Te method. Their values for 12+log(O/H) are equal to 7.49±0.06 and 7.55±0.23, respectively. The comparison of the direct O/H calculations with the two most reliable semi-empirical and empirical methods shows the good consistency between these methods. For And IV absolute blue magnitude, MB = -12.6, our value for O/H corresponds to the ‘standard’ relation between O/H and LB for dwarf irregular galaxies (DIGs). And IV appears to be a new representative of the extremely metal-deficient gas-rich galaxies in the Local Volume. The very large range of M(HI) for LSB galaxies with close metallicities and luminosities indicates that simple models of LSBG chemical evolution are too limited to predict such striking diversity.

  13. New insights into the X-ray properties of nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jenkins, L. P.; Brnadt, W. N.; Colbert, E. J. M.; Levan, A. J.; Roberts, T. P.; Ward, M. J.; Zezas, A.

    2008-02-01

    We present some preliminary results from new Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC1672. It shows dramatic nuclear and extra-nuclear star formation activity, including starburst regions located near each end of its strong bar, both of which host ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). With the new high-spatial-resolution Chandra imaging, we show for the first time that NGC1672 possesses a faint ($L(X)~10^39 erg/s), hard central X-ray source surrounded by an X-ray bright circumnuclear starburst ring that dominates the X-ray emission in the region. The central source may represent low-level AGN activity, or alternatively the emission from X-ray binaries associated with star-formation in the nucleus.

  14. Dissection of a Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    Sometimes, the best way to understand how something works is to take it apart. The same is true for galaxies like NGC 300, which NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has divided into its various parts. NGC 300 is a face-on spiral galaxy located 7.5 million light-years away in the southern constellation Sculptor.

    This false-color image taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer readily distinguishes the main star component of the galaxy (blue) from its dusty spiral arms (red). The star distribution peaks strongly in the central bulge where older stars congregate, and tapers off along the arms where younger stars reside.

    Thanks to Spitzer's unique ability to sense the heat or infrared emission from dust, astronomers can now clearly trace the embedded dust structures within NGC 300's arms. When viewed at visible wavelengths, the galaxy's dust appears as dark lanes, largely overwhelmed by bright starlight. With Spitzer, the dust - in particular organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - can be seen in vivid detail (red). These organic molecules are produced, along with heavy elements, by the stellar nurseries that pepper the arms.

    The findings provide a better understanding of spiral galaxy mechanics and, in the future, will help decipher more distant galaxies, whose individual components cannot be resolved.

    This image was taken on Nov. 21, 2003 and is composed of photographs obtained at four wavelengths: 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red).

  15. Dissection of a Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2004-05-11

    Sometimes, the best way to understand how something works is to take it apart. The same is true for galaxies like NGC 300, which NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has divided into its various parts. NGC 300 is a face-on spiral galaxy located 7.5 million light-years away in the southern constellation Sculptor. This false-color image taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer readily distinguishes the main star component of the galaxy (blue) from its dusty spiral arms (red). The star distribution peaks strongly in the central bulge where older stars congregate, and tapers off along the arms where younger stars reside. Thanks to Spitzer's unique ability to sense the heat or infrared emission from dust, astronomers can now clearly trace the embedded dust structures within NGC 300's arms. When viewed at visible wavelengths, the galaxy's dust appears as dark lanes, largely overwhelmed by bright starlight. With Spitzer, the dust - in particular organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - can be seen in vivid detail (red). These organic molecules are produced, along with heavy elements, by the stellar nurseries that pepper the arms. The findings provide a better understanding of spiral galaxy mechanics and, in the future, will help decipher more distant galaxies, whose individual components cannot be resolved. This image was taken on Nov. 21, 2003 and is composed of photographs obtained at four wavelengths: 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05879

  16. Resolved Giant Molecular Clouds in Nearby Spiral Galaxies: Insights from the CANON CO (1-0) Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Donovan Meyer, Jennifer; Koda, Jin; Momose, Rieko; Mooney, Thomas; Egusa, Fumi; Carty, Misty; Kennicutt, Robert; Kuno, Nario; Rebolledo, David; Sawada, Tsuyoshi; Scoville, Nick; Wong, Tony

    2013-08-01

    We resolve 182 individual giant molecular clouds (GMCs) larger than 2.5 × 105 M ⊙ in the inner disks of 5 large nearby spiral galaxies (NGC 2403, NGC 3031, NGC 4736, NGC 4826, and NGC 6946) to create the largest such sample of extragalactic GMCs within galaxies analogous to the Milky Way. Using a conservatively chosen sample of GMCs most likely to adhere to the virial assumption, we measure cloud sizes, velocity dispersions, and 12CO (J = 1-0) luminosities and calculate cloud virial masses. The average conversion factor from CO flux to H2 mass (or X CO) for each galaxy is 1-2 × 1020 cm-2 (K km s-1)-1, all within a factor of two of the Milky Way disk value (~2 × 1020 cm-2 (K km s-1)-1). We find GMCs to be generally consistent within our errors between the galaxies and with Milky Way disk GMCs; the intrinsic scatter between clouds is of order a factor of two. Consistent with previous studies in the Local Group, we find a linear relationship between cloud virial mass and CO luminosity, supporting the assumption that the clouds in this GMC sample are gravitationally bound. We do not detect a significant population of GMCs with elevated velocity dispersions for their sizes, as has been detected in the Galactic center. Though the range of metallicities probed in this study is narrow, the average conversion factors of these galaxies will serve to anchor the high metallicity end of metallicity-X CO trends measured using conversion factors in resolved clouds; this has been previously possible primarily with Milky Way measurements.

  17. Automatic morphological classification of galaxy images

    PubMed Central

    Shamir, Lior

    2009-01-01

    We describe an image analysis supervised learning algorithm that can automatically classify galaxy images. The algorithm is first trained using a manually classified images of elliptical, spiral, and edge-on galaxies. A large set of image features is extracted from each image, and the most informative features are selected using Fisher scores. Test images can then be classified using a simple Weighted Nearest Neighbor rule such that the Fisher scores are used as the feature weights. Experimental results show that galaxy images from Galaxy Zoo can be classified automatically to spiral, elliptical and edge-on galaxies with accuracy of ~90% compared to classifications carried out by the author. Full compilable source code of the algorithm is available for free download, and its general-purpose nature makes it suitable for other uses that involve automatic image analysis of celestial objects. PMID:20161594

  18. Exploring the Surface Brightness Breaks and Star Formation in Disk Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malko, Bradley Ann; Hunter, Deidre Ann

    2018-06-01

    Stellar surface brightness profiles of both spirals and dwarf irregular galaxies often show breaks in which the exponential fall-off abruptly changes slope. Most often the profile is down-bending (Type II) in the outer disk, but sometimes it is up-bending (Type III). Stellar disks extend a long ways beyond the profile breaks, but we do not understand what happens physically at the breaks. To explore this we are examining the star formation activity, as traced with FUV emission, interior to the break compared to that exterior to the break in both dwarf irregulars and spiral galaxies. We present the results for the spiral galaxy NGC 2500 and compare it to the LITTLE THINGS dwarf irregular galaxies.

  19. Galaxy And Mass Assembly: automatic morphological classification of galaxies using statistical learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sreejith, Sreevarsha; Pereverzyev, Sergiy, Jr.; Kelvin, Lee S.; Marleau, Francine R.; Haltmeier, Markus; Ebner, Judith; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Driver, Simon P.; Graham, Alister W.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Hopkins, Andrew M.; Liske, Jochen; Loveday, Jon; Moffett, Amanda J.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.; Taylor, Edward N.; Wang, Lingyu; Wright, Angus H.

    2018-03-01

    We apply four statistical learning methods to a sample of 7941 galaxies (z < 0.06) from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey to test the feasibility of using automated algorithms to classify galaxies. Using 10 features measured for each galaxy (sizes, colours, shape parameters, and stellar mass), we apply the techniques of Support Vector Machines, Classification Trees, Classification Trees with Random Forest (CTRF) and Neural Networks, and returning True Prediction Ratios (TPRs) of 75.8 per cent, 69.0 per cent, 76.2 per cent, and 76.0 per cent, respectively. Those occasions whereby all four algorithms agree with each other yet disagree with the visual classification (`unanimous disagreement') serves as a potential indicator of human error in classification, occurring in ˜ 9 per cent of ellipticals, ˜ 9 per cent of little blue spheroids, ˜ 14 per cent of early-type spirals, ˜ 21 per cent of intermediate-type spirals, and ˜ 4 per cent of late-type spirals and irregulars. We observe that the choice of parameters rather than that of algorithms is more crucial in determining classification accuracy. Due to its simplicity in formulation and implementation, we recommend the CTRF algorithm for classifying future galaxy data sets. Adopting the CTRF algorithm, the TPRs of the five galaxy types are : E, 70.1 per cent; LBS, 75.6 per cent; S0-Sa, 63.6 per cent; Sab-Scd, 56.4 per cent, and Sd-Irr, 88.9 per cent. Further, we train a binary classifier using this CTRF algorithm that divides galaxies into spheroid-dominated (E, LBS, and S0-Sa) and disc-dominated (Sab-Scd and Sd-Irr), achieving an overall accuracy of 89.8 per cent. This translates into an accuracy of 84.9 per cent for spheroid-dominated systems and 92.5 per cent for disc-dominated systems.

  20. THE GALEX/S{sup 4}G UV–IR COLOR–COLOR DIAGRAM: CATCHING SPIRAL GALAXIES AWAY FROM THE BLUE SEQUENCE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bouquin, Alexandre Y. K.; Gil de Paz, Armando; Gallego, Jesús

    We obtained GALEX FUV, NUV, and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm photometry for >2000 galaxies, available for 90% of the S{sup 4}G sample. We find a very tight GALEX blue sequence (GBS) in the (FUV–NUV) versus (NUV–[3.6]) color–color diagram, which is populated by irregular and spiral galaxies, and is mainly driven by changes in the formation timescale (τ) and a degeneracy between τ and dust reddening. The tightness of the GBS provides an unprecedented way of identifying star-forming galaxies and objects that are just evolving to (or from) what we call the GALEX green valley (GGV). At the red end of the GBS, atmore » (NUV–[3.6]) > 5, we find a wider GALEX red sequence (GRS) mostly populated by E/S0 galaxies that has a perpendicular slope to that of the GBS and of the optical red sequence. We find no such dichotomy in terms of stellar mass (measured by M{sub [3.6]}) since both massive (M{sub ⋆}>10{sup 11}M{sub ⊙}) blue- and red-sequence galaxies are identified. The type that is proportionally more often found in the GGV is the S0-Sa’s, and most of these are located in high-density environments. We discuss evolutionary models of galaxies that show a rapid transition from the blue to the red sequence on a timescale of 10{sup 8} yr.« less

  1. The Illustris simulation: supermassive black hole-galaxy connection beyond the bulge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mutlu-Pakdil, Burçin; Seigar, Marc S.; Hewitt, Ian B.; Treuthardt, Patrick; Berrier, Joel C.; Koval, Lauren E.

    2018-02-01

    We study the spiral arm morphology of a sample of the local spiral galaxies in the Illustris simulation and explore the supermassive black hole-galaxy connection beyond the bulge (e.g. spiral arm pitch angle, total stellar mass, dark matter mass, and total halo mass), finding good agreement with other theoretical studies and observational constraints. It is important to study the properties of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies through both observations and simulations and compare their results in order to understand their physics and formative histories. We find that Illustris prediction for supermassive black hole mass relative to pitch angle is in rather good agreement with observations and that barred and non-barred galaxies follow similar scaling relations. Our work shows that Illustris presents very tight correlations between supermassive black hole mass and large-scale properties of the host galaxy, not only for early-type galaxies but also for low-mass, blue and star-forming galaxies. These tight relations beyond the bulge suggest that halo properties determine those of a disc galaxy and its supermassive black hole.

  2. Andromeda: a peptide search engine integrated into the MaxQuant environment.

    PubMed

    Cox, Jürgen; Neuhauser, Nadin; Michalski, Annette; Scheltema, Richard A; Olsen, Jesper V; Mann, Matthias

    2011-04-01

    A key step in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics is the identification of peptides in sequence databases by their fragmentation spectra. Here we describe Andromeda, a novel peptide search engine using a probabilistic scoring model. On proteome data, Andromeda performs as well as Mascot, a widely used commercial search engine, as judged by sensitivity and specificity analysis based on target decoy searches. Furthermore, it can handle data with arbitrarily high fragment mass accuracy, is able to assign and score complex patterns of post-translational modifications, such as highly phosphorylated peptides, and accommodates extremely large databases. The algorithms of Andromeda are provided. Andromeda can function independently or as an integrated search engine of the widely used MaxQuant computational proteomics platform and both are freely available at www.maxquant.org. The combination enables analysis of large data sets in a simple analysis workflow on a desktop computer. For searching individual spectra Andromeda is also accessible via a web server. We demonstrate the flexibility of the system by implementing the capability to identify cofragmented peptides, significantly improving the total number of identified peptides.

  3. A wide-field survey of satellite galaxies around the spiral galaxy M106

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, E.; Kim, M.; Hwang, N.; Lee, M. G.; Chun, M.-Y.; Ann, H. B.

    2011-04-01

    We present a wide-field survey of satellite galaxies in M106 (NGC 4258) covering a ?× 2° field around M106 using Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/MegaCam. We find 16 satellite galaxy candidates of M106. Eight of these galaxies are found to be dwarf galaxies that are much smaller and fainter than the remaining galaxies. Three of these galaxies are new findings. Surface brightness profiles of 15 out of 16 satellite galaxies can be represented well by an exponential disc profile with varying scalelength. We derive the surface number density distribution of these satellite galaxies. The central number density profile (d < 100 kpc) is well fitted by a power law with a power index of -2.1 ± 0.5, similar to the expected power index of isothermal distribution. The luminosity function of these satellites is represented well by the Schechter function with a faint-end slope of -1.19+0.03-0.06. Integrated photometric properties (total luminosity, total colour and disc scalelength) and the spatial distribution of these satellite galaxies are found to be roughly similar to those of the Milky Way and M31.

  4. Constituents of Andromeda polifolia.

    PubMed

    Pachaly, P; Klein, M

    1987-10-01

    A reinvestigation of the aerial parts of ANDROMEDA POLIFOLIA afforded in addition to the known compounds gardenoside ( 1), guaijaverine ( 2) and avicularine ( 3), a new flavonol-dipentoside named polifolioside ( 4). the compounds were isolated employing DCCC and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

  5. Stellar Stream and Halo Structure in the Andromeda Galaxy from a Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Komiyama, Yutaka; Chiba, Masashi; Tanaka, Mikito; Tanaka, Masayuki; Kirihara, Takanobu; Miki, Yohei; Mori, Masao; Lupton, Robert H.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Kalirai, Jason S.; Gilbert, Karoline; Kirby, Evan; Lee, Myun Gyoon; Jang, In Sung; Sharma, Sanjib; Hayashi, Kohei

    2018-01-01

    We present wide and deep photometry of the northwestern part of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) using Hyper Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. The survey covers a 9.2 deg2 field in the g, i, and NB515 bands and shows a clear red giant branch (RGB) of M31's halo stars and a pronounced red clump (RC) feature. The spatial distribution of RC stars shows a prominent stream feature, the Northwestern (NW) Stream, and a diffuse substructure in the southern part of our survey field. We estimate the distances based on the RC method and obtain (m{--}M) = 24.63 ± 0.191 (random) ± 0.057 (systematic) and 24.29 ± 0.211 (random) ± 0.057 (systematic) mag for the NW Stream and diffuse substructure, respectively, implying that the NW Stream is located behind M31, whereas the diffuse substructure is located in front of it. We also estimate line-of-sight distances along the NW Stream and find that the southern part of the stream is ∼20 kpc closer to us relative to the northern part. The distance to the NW Stream inferred from the isochrone fitting to the color–magnitude diagram favors the RC-based distance, but the tip of the RGB (TRGB)-based distance estimated for NB515-selected RGB stars does not agree with it. The surface number density distribution of RC stars across the NW Stream is found to be approximately Gaussian with an FWHM of ∼25 arcmin (5.7 kpc), with a slight skew to the southwest side. That along the NW Stream shows a complicated structure, including variations in number density and a significant gap in the stream. Based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

  6. Detailed Quantitative Classifications of Galaxy Morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nair, Preethi

    2018-01-01

    Understanding the physical processes responsible for the growth of galaxies is one of the key challenges in extragalactic astronomy. The assembly history of a galaxy is imprinted in a galaxy’s detailed morphology. The bulge-to-total ratio of galaxies, the presence or absence of bars, rings, spiral arms, tidal tails etc, all have implications for the past merger, star formation, and feedback history of a galaxy. However, current quantitative galaxy classification schemes are only useful for broad binning. They cannot classify or exploit the wide variety of galaxy structures seen in nature. Therefore, comparisons of observations with theoretical predictions of secular structure formation have only been conducted on small samples of visually classified galaxies. However large samples are needed to disentangle the complex physical processes of galaxy formation. With the advent of large surveys, like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and WFIRST, the problem of statistics will be resolved. However, the need for a robust quantitative classification scheme will still remain. Here I will present early results on promising machine learning algorithms that are providing detailed classifications, identifying bars, rings, multi-armed spiral galaxies, and Hubble type.

  7. Galaxy Messier 83

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 83 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7, 2003. Located 15 million light years from Earth and known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 83 displays significant amounts of ultraviolet emissions far from the optically bright portion of the galaxy. It is also known to have an extended hydrogen disc that appears to radiate a faint ultraviolet emission. The red stars in the foreground of the image are Milky Way stars. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04629

  8. On the Holmberg asymmetry of the satellites of disk galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Byrd, Gene G.; Valtonen, Mauri J.

    1987-01-01

    A tidal explanation for the observation by Holmberg that the satellites of edge-on disk galaxies tend to avoid the sector within + or - 30 deg of the major axes of the disk galaxies is considered. It is shown that satellites with small orbit-to-disk inclinations are likely to become compact and consequently be left out in Holmberg's survey due to the resemblance to stars. The explanation is supported by the observation of an excess of compact galaxies near the major-axis direction of edge-on disk galaxies. The disk tidal explanation also predicts that the asymmetry should be weaker with larger satellites. It is found that the Karachentsev (1972, 1980) binary galaxy sample, where the typical companion is comparable to the primary galaxy, shows no Holmberg effect. The case of M32 as a compact satellite of the Andromeda galaxy is discussed as a nearby observationally supported example of the above processes.

  9. A Galaxy for Science and Research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2007-11-01

    During his visit to ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal, the European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik, participated in an observing sequence and took images of a beautiful spiral galaxy. ESO PR Photo 43/07 ESO PR Photo 49/07 Twisted Spiral Galaxy NGC 134 The visit took place on 27 October and the Commissioner observed with one of the FORS instruments on Antu, the first 8.2-m Unit Telescope of the VLT. "Two hours bus ride from the nearest town, Antofagasta, in the middle of nowhere and at 2 600 m altitude, rises a state of the art astronomical observatory at which scientists from across Europe venture to exploit some of the most advanced technologies and sophisticated techniques available within astronomy. One of the facilities is the VLT, the Very Large Telescope, with which, together with the other telescopes, scientists can study objects at the far edge of the Universe," wrote Potočnik on his blog. Known until now as a simple number in a catalogue, NGC 134, the 'Island in the Universe' that was observed by the Commissioner is replete with remarkable attributes, and the VLT has clapped its eyes on them. Just like our own Galaxy, NGC 134 is a barred spiral with its spiral arms loosely wrapped around a bright, bar-shaped central region. One feature that stands out is its warped disc. While a galaxy's disc is often pictured as a flat structure of gas and stars surrounding the galaxy's centre, a warped disc is a structure that, when viewed sideways, resembles a bent record album left out too long in the burning Sun. Warps are actually not atypical. More than half of the spiral galaxies do show warps one way or another, and our own Milky Way also has a small warp. Many theories exist to explain warps. One possibility is that warps are the aftermath of interactions or collisions between galaxies. These can also produce tails of material being pulled out from the galaxy. The VLT image reveals that NGC 134 also appears to have a tail of gas

  10. Relationships between HI Gas Mass, Stellar Mass and Star Formation Rate of HICAT+WISE Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parkash, Vaishali; Brown, Michael J. I.

    2018-01-01

    Galaxies grow via a combination of star formation and mergers. In this thesis, I have studied what drives star formation in nearby galaxies. Using archival WISE, Galex, 21-cm data and new IFU observations, I examine the HI content, Hα emission, stellar kinematics, and gas kinematics of three sub-classes of galaxies: spiral galaxies, shell galaxies and HI galaxies with unusually low star formation rates (SFR). In this dissertation talk, I will focus on the scaling relations between atomic (HI) gas, stellar mass and SFR of spiral galaxies. Star formation is fuelled by HI and molecular hydrogen, therefore we expect correlations between HI mass, stellar mass and SFR. However, the measured scaling relationships vary in the prior literature due to sample selection or low completeness. I will discuss new scaling relationships determined using HI Parkes All Sky-Survey Catalogue (HICAT) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The combination of the local HICAT survey with sensitive WISE mid-infrared imaging improves the stellar masses, SFRs and completeness relative to previous literature. Of the 3,513 HICAT sources, we find 3.4 μm counterparts for 2,824 sources (80%), and provide new WISE matched aperture photometry for these galaxies. For a stellar mass selected sample of z ≤ 0.01 spiral galaxies, we find HI detections for 94% of the galaxies, enabling us to accurately measure HI mass as a function of stellar mass. In contrast to HI-selected galaxy samples, we find that star formation efficiency of spiral galaxies is constant at 10-9.5 yr‑1 with a scatter of 0.5 dex for stellar masses above 109.5 solar masses. We find HI mass increases with stellar mass for spiral galaxies, but the scatter is 1.7 dex for all spiral galaxies and 0.6 dex for galaxies with the T-type 5 to 7. We find an upper limit on HI mass that depends on stellar mass, which is consistent with this limit being dictated by the halo spin parameter.

  11. A new model of spiral galaxies based on propagating star formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sleath, John

    1996-01-01

    -lived two-armed grand-design spirals, which have not resulted from any of the previous propagating star formation models. The spiral density wave orders the star formation, but does not simply result in the star formation tracing directly the potential minima - it is found that the pitch angles of the imposed and observed spiral patterns differ significantly. Moreover, the pitch angle of the observed pattern exhibits a maximum value equal to the maximum pitch angle observed in late-type spirals. To compare the results of this, and other, models of galactic structure with observed galaxies, we require some way of classifying the appearance of the data sets. There already exist a number of schemes, but they are all somewhat subjective, and a reliable, quantitative approach would form a valuable addition. I have investigated a number of schemes, namely Fourier transforms, minimal spanning tree edge-length spectra and multifractal dimensions, and considered their application to both simulated and observed data. The results of the analysis are encouraging, particularly for the multifractals, although it is not as yet possible to calculate a single, unique number which fully characterises the morphology.

  12. Automatic Detection of Galaxy Type From Datasets of Galaxies Image Based on Image Retrieval Approach.

    PubMed

    Abd El Aziz, Mohamed; Selim, I M; Xiong, Shengwu

    2017-06-30

    This paper presents a new approach for the automatic detection of galaxy morphology from datasets based on an image-retrieval approach. Currently, there are several classification methods proposed to detect galaxy types within an image. However, in some situations, the aim is not only to determine the type of galaxy within the queried image, but also to determine the most similar images for query image. Therefore, this paper proposes an image-retrieval method to detect the type of galaxies within an image and return with the most similar image. The proposed method consists of two stages, in the first stage, a set of features is extracted based on shape, color and texture descriptors, then a binary sine cosine algorithm selects the most relevant features. In the second stage, the similarity between the features of the queried galaxy image and the features of other galaxy images is computed. Our experiments were performed using the EFIGI catalogue, which contains about 5000 galaxies images with different types (edge-on spiral, spiral, elliptical and irregular). We demonstrate that our proposed approach has better performance compared with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) methods.

  13. Galaxy M101

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-07-25

    This three-color image of galaxy M101 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 20, 2003. The far ultraviolet emissions are shown in blue, the near ultraviolet emissions are green, and the red emissions, which were taken from NASA's Digital Sky Survey, represent visible light. This image combines short, medium, and long "exposure" pictures to best display the evolution of star formation in a spiral galaxy. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04630

  14. RESOLVED GIANT MOLECULAR CLOUDS IN NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXIES: INSIGHTS FROM THE CANON CO (1-0) SURVEY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Donovan Meyer, Jennifer; Koda, Jin; Mooney, Thomas

    We resolve 182 individual giant molecular clouds (GMCs) larger than 2.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} M{sub Sun} in the inner disks of 5 large nearby spiral galaxies (NGC 2403, NGC 3031, NGC 4736, NGC 4826, and NGC 6946) to create the largest such sample of extragalactic GMCs within galaxies analogous to the Milky Way. Using a conservatively chosen sample of GMCs most likely to adhere to the virial assumption, we measure cloud sizes, velocity dispersions, and {sup 12}CO (J = 1-0) luminosities and calculate cloud virial masses. The average conversion factor from CO flux to H{sub 2} mass (or X{sub CO})more » for each galaxy is 1-2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 20} cm{sup -2} (K km s{sup -1}){sup -1}, all within a factor of two of the Milky Way disk value ({approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 20} cm{sup -2} (K km s{sup -1}){sup -1}). We find GMCs to be generally consistent within our errors between the galaxies and with Milky Way disk GMCs; the intrinsic scatter between clouds is of order a factor of two. Consistent with previous studies in the Local Group, we find a linear relationship between cloud virial mass and CO luminosity, supporting the assumption that the clouds in this GMC sample are gravitationally bound. We do not detect a significant population of GMCs with elevated velocity dispersions for their sizes, as has been detected in the Galactic center. Though the range of metallicities probed in this study is narrow, the average conversion factors of these galaxies will serve to anchor the high metallicity end of metallicity-X{sub CO} trends measured using conversion factors in resolved clouds; this has been previously possible primarily with Milky Way measurements.« less

  15. The role of baryons in creating statistically significant planes of satellites around Milky Way-mass galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmed, Sheehan H.; Brooks, Alyson M.; Christensen, Charlotte R.

    2017-04-01

    We investigate whether the inclusion of baryonic physics influences the formation of thin, coherently rotating planes of satellites such as those seen around the Milky Way and Andromeda. For four Milky Way-mass simulations, each run both as dark matter-only and with baryons included, we are able to identify a planar configuration that significantly maximizes the number of plane satellite members. The maximum plane member satellites are consistently different between the dark matter-only and baryonic versions of the same run due to the fact that satellites are both more likely to be destroyed and to infall later in the baryonic runs. Hence, studying satellite planes in dark matter-only simulations is misleading, because they will be composed of different satellite members than those that would exist if baryons were included. Additionally, the destruction of satellites in the baryonic runs leads to less radially concentrated satellite distributions, a result that is critical to making planes that are statistically significant compared to a random distribution. Since all planes pass through the centre of the galaxy, it is much harder to create a plane of a given height from a random distribution if the satellites have a low radial concentration. We identify Andromeda's low radial satellite concentration as a key reason why the plane in Andromeda is highly significant. Despite this, when corotation is considered, none of the satellite planes identified for the simulated galaxies are as statistically significant as the observed planes around the Milky Way and Andromeda, even in the baryonic runs.

  16. The first detection of neutral hydrogen in emission in a strong spiral lens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lipnicky, Andrew; Chakrabarti, Sukanya; Wright, Melvyn C. H.; Blitz, Leo; Heiles, Carl; Cotton, William; Frayer, David; Blandford, Roger; Shu, Yiping; Bolton, Adam S.

    2018-05-01

    We report H I observations of eight spiral galaxies that are strongly lensing background sources. Our targets were selected from the Sloan WFC (Wide Field Camera) Edge-on Late-type Lens Survey (SWELLS) using the Arecibo, Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, and Green Bank telescopes. We securely detect J1703+2451 at z = 0.063 with a signal-to-noise ratio of 6.7 and W50 = 79 ± 13 km s-1, obtaining the first detection of H I emission in a strong spiral lens. We measure a mass of M_{H I} = (1.77± 0.06^{+0.35}_{-0.75})× 10^9 M_{⊙} for this source. We find that this lens is a normal spiral, with observable properties that are fairly typical of spiral galaxies. For three other sources, we did not secure a detection; however, we are able to place strong constraints on the H I masses of those galaxies. The observations for four of our sources were rendered unusable due to strong radio frequency interference.

  17. The DiskMass Survey. VII. The distribution of luminous and dark matter in spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martinsson, Thomas P. K.; Verheijen, Marc A. W.; Westfall, Kyle B.; Bershady, Matthew A.; Andersen, David R.; Swaters, Rob A.

    2013-09-01

    We present dynamically-determined rotation-curve mass decompositions of 30 spiral galaxies, which were carried out to test the maximum-disk hypothesis and to quantify properties of their dark-matter halos. We used measured vertical velocity dispersions of the disk stars to calculate dynamical mass surface densities (Σdyn). By subtracting our observed atomic and inferred molecular gas mass surface densities from Σdyn, we derived the stellar mass surface densities (Σ∗), and thus have absolute measurements of all dominant baryonic components of the galaxies. Using K-band surface brightness profiles (IK), we calculated the K-band mass-to-light ratio of the stellar disks (Υ∗ = Σ∗/IK) and adopted the radial mean (overline{mls}) for each galaxy to extrapolate Σ∗ beyond the outermost kinematic measurement. The derived overline{mls} of individual galaxies are consistent with all galaxies in the sample having equal Υ∗. We find a sample average and scatter of mlab overline{mls}mrab = 0.31 ± 0.07. Rotation curves of the baryonic components were calculated from their deprojected mass surface densities. These were used with circular-speed measurements to derive the structural parameters of the dark-matter halos, modeled as either a pseudo-isothermal sphere (pISO) or a Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) halo. In addition to our dynamically determined mass decompositions, we also performed alternative rotation-curve decompositions by adopting the traditional maximum-disk hypothesis. However, the galaxies in our sample are submaximal, such that at 2.2 disk scale lengths (hR) the ratios between the baryonic and total rotation curves (Fb2.2hR) are less than 0.75. We find this ratio to be nearly constant between 1-6hR within individual galaxies. We find a sample average and scatter of mlab Fb2.2hRmrab = 0.57 ± 0.07, with trends of larger Fb2.2hR for more luminous and higher-surface-brightness galaxies. To enforce these being maximal, we need to scale Υ∗ by a factor 3.6 on

  18. Color Profile Trends of Dwarf Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrmann, Kimberly A.; LITTLE THINGS Team

    2012-01-01

    Radial stellar surface brightness profiles of spiral galaxies can be classified into three types: (I) single exponential, (II) truncated: the light falls off with one exponential out to a break radius and then falls off more steeply, and (III) anti-truncated: the light falls off with one exponential out to a break radius and then falls off less steeply. Stellar surface brightness profile breaks are also found in dwarf disk galaxies, but with an additional category: (FI) flat-inside: the light is roughly constant or increasing and then falls off beyond a break. Additionally, Bakos, Trujillo, & Pohlen (2008) showed that for spirals, each profile type has a characteristic color trend with respect to the break location. Furthermore, color trends reveal information about possible stellar population changes at the breaks. Here we show color trends for the four profile types from a large multi-wavelength photometric study of dwarf disk galaxies (the 141 dwarf parent sample of the LITTLE THINGS galaxies). We explore the similarities and differences between spirals and dwarfs and also between different colors. We gratefully acknowledge funding for this research from the National Science Foundation (AST-0707563).

  19. Spiral Galaxy Central Bulge Tangential Speed of Revolution Curves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taff, Laurence

    2013-03-01

    The objective was to, for the first time in a century, scientifically analyze the ``rotation curves'' (sic) of the central bulges of scores of spiral galaxies. I commenced with a methodological, rational, geometrical, arithmetic, and statistical examination--none of them carried through before--of the radial velocity data. The requirement for such a thorough treatment is the paucity of data typically available for the central bulge: fewer than 10 observations and frequently only five. The most must be made of these. A consequence of this logical handling is the discovery of a unique model for the central bulge volume mass density resting on the positive slope, linear, rise of its tangential speed of revolution curve and hence--for the first time--a reliable mass estimate. The deduction comes from a known physics-based, mathematically valid, derivation (not assertion). It rests on the full (not partial) equations of motion plus Poisson's equation. Following that is a prediction for the gravitational potential energy and thence the gravitational force. From this comes a forecast for the tangential speed of revolution curve. It was analyzed in a fashion identical to that of the data thereby closing the circle and demonstrating internal self-consistency. This is a hallmark of a scientific method-informed approach to an experimental problem. Multiple plots of the relevant quantities and measures of goodness of fit will be shown. Astronomy related

  20. Two Galaxies for a Unique Event

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2009-04-01

    To celebrate the 100 Hours of Astronomy, ESO is sharing two stunning images of unusual galaxies, both belonging to the Sculptor group of galaxies. The images, obtained at two of ESO's observatories at La Silla and Paranal in Chile, illustrate the beauty of astronomy. ESO PR Photo 14a/09 Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 ESO PR Photo 14b/09 Spiral Galaxy NGC 7793 As part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone project, 100 Hours of Astronomy, the ambitious "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" event is a unique live webcast over 24 hours, following night and day around the globe to some of the most advanced observatories on and off the planet. To provide a long-lasting memory of this amazing world tour, observatories worldwide are revealing wonderful, and previously unseen, astronomical images. For its part, ESO is releasing outstanding pictures of two galaxies, observed with telescopes at the La Silla and Paranal observatories. The first of these depicts the irregular galaxy NGC 55, a member of the prominent Sculptor group of galaxies in the southern constellation of Sculptor. The galaxy is about 70 000 light-years across, that is, a little bit smaller than our own Milky Way. NGC 55 actually resembles more our galactic neighbour, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), although the LMC is seen face-on, whilst NGC 55 is edge-on. By studying about 20 planetary nebulae in this image, a team of astronomers found that NGC 55 is located about 7.5 million light-years away. They also found that the galaxy might be forming a bound pair with the gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 300 . Planetary nebulae are the final blooming of Sun-like stars before their retirement as white dwarfs. This striking image of NGC 55, obtained with the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla, is dusted with a flurry of reddish nebulae, created by young, hot massive stars. Some of the more extended ones are not unlike those seen in the LMC, such as the Tarantula Nebula. The quality

  1. Southern Pinwheel Galaxy M83

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2005-05-05

    Ultraviolet images such as this one from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer suggest the M83 has unusual pockets of star formation separated by large distances from the spiral arms in the main disk of the galaxy. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07903

  2. Collisionless relaxation in spiral galaxy models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hohl, F.

    1974-01-01

    The increase in random kinetic energy of stars by rapidly fluctuating gravitational fields (collisionless or violent relaxation) in disk galaxy models is investigated for three interaction potentials of the stars corresponding to (1) point stars, (2) rod stars of length 2 kpc, and (3) uniform density spherical stars of radius 2 kpc. To stabilize the galaxy against the large scale bar forming instability, a fixed field corresponding to a central core or halo component of stars was added with the stars containing at most 20 percent of the total mass of the galaxy. Considerable heating occurred for both the point stars and the rod stars, whereas the use of spherical stars resulted in a very low heating rate. The use of spherical stars with the resulting low heating rate will be desirable for the study of large scale galactic stability or density wave propagation, since collective heating effects will no longer mask the phenomena under study.

  3. Galaxies Near and Far Artist Concept

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-06-30

    This artist concept shows how a normal spiral galaxy around our local universe left might have looked back in the distant universe, when astronomers think galaxies would have been filled with larger populations of hot, bright stars right.

  4. Inner and outer star forming regions over the disks of spiral galaxies. I. Sample characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodríguez-Baras, M.; Díaz, A. I.; Rosales-Ortega, F. F.; Sánchez, S. F.

    2018-01-01

    Context. The knowledge of abundance distributions is central to understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. Most of the relations employed for the derivation of gas abundances have so far been derived from observations of outer disk H ii regions, despite the known differences between inner and outer regions. Aims: Using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations we aim to perform a systematic study and comparison of two inner and outer H ii regions samples. The spatial resolution of the IFS, the number of objects and the homogeneity and coherence of the observations allow a complete characterization of the main observational properties and differences of the regions. Methods: We analyzed a sample of 725 inner H ii regions and a sample of 671 outer H ii regions, all of them detected and extracted from the observations of a sample of 263 nearby, isolated, spiral galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey. Results: We find that inner H ii regions show smaller equivalent widths, greater extinction and luminosities, along with greater values of [N ii] λ6583/Hα and [O ii] λ3727/[O iii] λ5007 emission-line ratios, indicating higher metallicities and lower ionization parameters. Inner regions have also redder colors and higher photometric and ionizing masses, although MionMphot is slighty higher for the outer regions. Conclusions: This work shows important observational differences between inner and outer H ii regions in star forming galaxies not previously studied in detail. These differences indicate that inner regions have more evolved stellar populations and are in a later evolution state with respect to outer regions, which goes in line with the inside-out galaxy formation paradigm. Table 4 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A102

  5. A Galaxy at the Center of the Hubble Tuning Fork

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    This galaxy is known as Mrk 820 and is classified as a lenticular galaxy — type S0 on the Hubble Tuning Fork. The Hubble Tuning Fork is used to classify galaxies according to their morphology. Elliptical galaxies look like smooth blobs in the sky and lie on the handle of the fork. They are arranged along the handle based on how elliptical they are, with the more spherical galaxies furthest from the tines of the fork, and the more egg-shaped ones closest to the end of the handle where it divides. The two prongs of the tuning fork represent types of unbarred and barred spiral galaxies. Lenticular galaxies like Mrk 820 are in the transition zone between ellipticals and spirals and lie right where the fork divides. A closer look at the appearance of Mrk 820 reveals hints of a spiral structure embedded in a circular halo of stars. Surrounding Mrk 820 in this image is a good sampling of other galaxy types, covering almost every type found on the Hubble Tuning Fork, both elliptical and spiral. Most of the smears and specks are distant galaxies, but the prominent bright object at the bottom is a foreground star called TYC 4386-787-1. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA and N. Gorin (STScI), Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  6. Hubble Views a Young Elliptical Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    At the center of this amazing Hubble image is the elliptical galaxy NGC 3610. Surrounding the galaxy are a wealth of other galaxies of all shapes. There are spiral galaxies, galaxies with a bar in their central regions, distorted galaxies and elliptical galaxies, all visible in the background. In fact, almost every bright dot in this image is a galaxy — the few foreground stars are clearly distinguishable due to the diffraction spikes (lines radiating from bright light sources in reflecting telescope images) that overlay their images. NGC 3610 is of course the most prominent object in this image — and a very interesting one at that! Discovered in 1793 by William Herschel, it was later found that this elliptical galaxy contains a disk. This is very unusual, as disks are one of the main distinguishing features of a spiral galaxy. And the disk in NGC 3610 is remarkably bright. The reason for the peculiar shape of NGC 3610 stems from its formation history. When galaxies form, they usually resemble our galaxy, the Milky Way, with flat disks and spiral arms where star formation rates are high and which are therefore very bright. An elliptical galaxy is a much more disordered object which results from the merging of two or more disk galaxies. During these violent mergers most of the internal structure of the original galaxies is destroyed. The fact that NGC 3610 still shows some structure in the form of a bright disk implies that it formed only a short time ago. The galaxy’s age has been put at around four billion years and it is an important object for studying the early stages of evolution in elliptical galaxies. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge

  7. A RECIPE TO PROBE ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF GRAVITATION VIA N-BODY NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS. I. SPIRAL GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brandao, C. S. S.; De Araujo, J. C. N., E-mail: claudiosoriano.uesc@gmail.com, E-mail: jcarlos.dearaujo@inpe.br

    2012-05-01

    A way to probe alternative theories of gravitation is to study if they could account for the structures of the universe. We therefore modified the well-known Gadget-2 code to probe alternative theories of gravitation through galactic dynamics. As an application, we simulate the evolution of spiral galaxies to probe alternative theories of gravitation whose weak field limits have a Yukawa-like gravitational potential. These simulations show that galactic dynamics can be used to constrain the parameters associated with alternative theories of gravitation. It is worth stressing that the recipe given in this study can be applied to any other alternative theorymore » of gravitation in which the superposition principle is valid.« less

  8. Orbital decomposition of CALIFA spiral galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Ling; van den Bosch, Remco; van de Ven, Glenn; Lyubenova, Mariya; Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Meidt, Sharon E.; Martig, Marie; Shen, Juntai; Li, Zhao-Yu; Yildirim, Akin; Walcher, C. Jakob; Sanchez, Sebastian F.

    2018-01-01

    Schwarzschild orbit-based dynamical models are widely used to uncover the internal dynamics of early-type galaxies and globular clusters. Here we present for the first time the Schwarzschild models of late-type galaxies: an SBb galaxy NGC 4210 and an S0 galaxy NGC 6278 from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. The mass profiles within 2Re are constrained well with 1σ statistical error of ∼ 10 per cent. The luminous and dark mass can be disentangled with uncertainties of ∼20 and ∼ 50 per cent, respectively. From Re to 2Re, the dark matter fraction increases from 14 ± 10 to 18 ± 10 per cent for NGC 4210 and from 15 ± 10 to 30 ± 20 per cent for NGC 6278. The velocity anisotropy profiles of both σr/σt and σz/σR are well constrained. The inferred internal orbital distributions reveal clear substructures. The orbits are naturally separated into three components: a cold component with near circular orbits; a hot component with near radial orbits and a warm component in between. The photometrically identified exponential discs are predominantly made up of cold orbits only beyond ∼1Re, while they are constructed mainly with the warm orbits inside. Our dynamical hot components are concentrated in the inner regions, similar to the photometrically identified bulges. The reliability of the results, especially the orbit distribution, is verified by applying the model to mock data.

  9. X-ray-emitting gas surrounding the spiral galaxy NGC 891

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bregman, Joel N.; Pidis, Rachel A.

    1994-01-01

    We observed the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 with the Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) on Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) to search for how extraplanar gas expected in the galactic fountain model. Diffuse X-ray emission surrounds the disk with a Half Width at Half Maximum (HWHM) for the surface brightness perpendicular to the disk of 50 sec (2.4 kpc) and a radial extent of approximately 6.5 kpc, both of which are similar in extent to the extended H(alpha) and radio halo component; the implied density scale height for the hot gas is 7 kpc. The spectrum is best fitted with a hard stellar component and a soft diffuse gas component of temperature 3.6 x 10(exp 6) K. The density of this gas is 2 x 10(exp -3)/cu cm, the luminosity is 4.4 x 10(exp 39) ergs/s, the mass is 1 x 10(exp 8) solar mass, and the pressure (P/k) is 1.4 10(exp 4) K/cu cm. These data are consistent with this gas participating in a galactic fountain, where the material approaches hydrostatic equilibrium before cooling at a rate of 0.12 solar mass/yr. The cooled material may be responsible for some of the H(alpha) emission.

  10. X-ray-emitting gas surrounding the spiral galaxy NGC 891

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bregman, Joel N.; Pildis, Rachel A.

    1994-01-01

    We observed the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 with the Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) on Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) to search for how extraplanar gas expected in the galactic fountain model. Diffuse X-ray emission surrounds the disk with a Half Width at Half Maximum (HWHM) for the surface brightness perpendicular to the disk of 50 sec (2.4 kpc) and a radial extent of approximately 6.5 kpc, both of which are similar in extent to the extended H(alpha) and radio halo component; the implied density scale height for the hot gas is 7 kpc. The spectrum is best fitted with a hard stellar component and a soft diffuse gas component of temperature 3.6 x 106 K. The density of this gas is 2 x 10-3/cu cm, the luminosity is 4.4 x 1039 ergs/s, the mass is 1 x 108 solar mass, and the pressure (P/k) is 1.4 104 K/cu cm. These data are consistent with this gas participating in a galactic fountain, where the material approaches hydrostatic equilibrium before cooling at a rate of 0.12 solar mass/yr. The cooled material may be responsible for some of the H(alpha) emission.

  11. Anatomy of a Triangulum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, is a perennial favorite of amateur and professional astronomers alike, due to its orientation and relative proximity to us. It is the second nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way (after M31, the Andromeda Galaxy) and a prominent member of the 'local group' of galaxies. From our Milky Way perspective, M33's stellar disk appears at moderate inclination, allowing us to see its internal structure clearly, whereas M31 is oriented nearly edge-on.

    The Galaxy Evolution Explorer imaged M33 as it appears in ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet imaging primarily traces emission from the atmospheres of hot stars, most of which formed in the past few hundred million years. These data provide a reference point as to the internal composition of a typical star-forming galaxy and will help scientists understand the origin of ultraviolet emission in more distant galaxies.

    These observations of M33 allow astronomers to compare the population of young, massive stars with other components of the galaxy, such as interstellar dust and gas, on the scale of individual giant molecular clouds. The clouds contain the raw material from which stars form. This presents direct insight into the star formation process as it occurs throughout an entire spiral galaxy and constitutes a unique resource for broader studies of galaxy evolution.

  12. Blazing Black Holes Spotted in Spiral Beauty

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-01-07

    This new view of spiral galaxy IC 342, also known as Caldwell 5, includes data from NASA Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. IC 342 lies 7 million light-years away in the Camelopardalis constellation.

  13. HUBBLE'S INFRARED GALAXY GALLERY

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Astronomers have used the NASA Hubble Space Telescope to produce an infrared 'photo essay' of spiral galaxies. By penetrating the dust clouds swirling around the centers of these galaxies, the telescope's infrared vision is offering fresh views of star birth. These six images, taken with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, showcase different views of spiral galaxies, from a face-on image of an entire galaxy to a close-up of a core. The top row shows spirals at diverse angles, from face-on, (left); to slightly tilted, (center); to edge-on, (right). The bottom row shows close-ups of the hubs of three galaxies. In these images, red corresponds to glowing hydrogen, the raw material for star birth. The red knots outlining the curving spiral arms in NGC 5653 and NGC 3593, for example, pinpoint rich star-forming regions where the surrounding hydrogen gas is heated by intense ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars. In visible light, many of these regions can be hidden from view by the clouds of gas and dust in which they were born. The glowing hydrogen found inside the cores of these galaxies, as in NGC 6946, may be due to star birth; radiation from active galactic nuclei (AGN), which are powered by massive black holes; or a combination of both. White is light from middle-age stars. Clusters of stars appear as white dots, as in NGC 2903. The galaxy cores are mostly white because of their dense concentration of stars. The dark material seen in these images is dust. These galaxies are part of a Hubble census of about 100 spiral galaxies. Astronomers at Space Telescope Science Institute took these images to fill gaps in the scheduling of a campaign using the NICMOS-3 camera. The data were non-proprietary, and were made available to the entire astronomical community. Filters: Three filters were used: red, blue, and green. Red represents emission at the Paschen Alpha line (light from glowing hydrogen) at a wavelength of 1.87 microns. Blue shows the

  14. Star Formation in the Central Regions of Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsai, Mengchun

    2015-08-01

    Seyfert galaxy with inner structure as an example. In this thesis, we present CO(3-2) interferometric observations of the central region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC1068 using the Submillimeter Array, together with CO(1-0) data taken with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Millimeter Array. Both the CO(3-2) and CO(1-0) emission lines are mainly distributed within ~5 arcsec of the nucleus and along the spiral arms, but the intensity distributions show differences; the CO(3-2) map peaks in the nucleus, while the CO(1-0) emission is mainly located along the spiral arms. The CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) ratio is about 3.1 in the nucleus, which is four times as large as the average line ratio in the spiral arms, suggesting that the molecular gas there must be affected by the radiation arising from the AGN. On the other hand, the line ratios in the spiral arms vary over a wide range from 0.24 to 2.34 with a average value around 0.75, which is similar to the line ratios of star-formation regions, indicating that the molecular gas is affected by star formation. Besides, we see a tight correlation between CO(3-2)/(1-0) ratios in the spiral arms and star formation rate surface densities derived from Spitzer 8 micron dust flux densities. We also compare the CO(3-2)/(1-0) ratio and the star formation rate at different positions within the spiral arms; both are found to decrease as the radius from the nucleus increases.

  15. BUILDING LATE-TYPE SPIRAL GALAXIES BY IN-SITU AND EX-SITU STAR FORMATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pillepich, Annalisa; Madau, Piero; Mayer, Lucio

    We analyze the formation and evolution of the stellar components in ''Eris'', a 120 pc resolution cosmological hydrodynamic simulation of a late-type spiral galaxy. The simulation includes the effects of a uniform UV background, a delayed-radiative-cooling scheme for supernova feedback, and a star formation recipe based on a high gas density threshold. It allows a detailed study of the relative contributions of ''in-situ'' (within the main host) and ''ex-situ'' (within satellite galaxies) star formation to each major Galactic component in a close Milky Way analog. We investigate these two star-formation channels as a function of galactocentric distance, along different lines ofmore » sight above and along the disk plane, and as a function of cosmic time. We find that: (1) approximately 70% of today's stars formed in-situ; (2) more than two thirds of the ex-situ stars formed within satellites after infall; (3) the majority of ex-situ stars are found today in the disk and in the bulge; (4) the stellar halo is dominated by ex-situ stars, whereas in-situ stars dominate the mass profile at distances ≲ 5 kpc from the center at high latitudes; and (5) approximately 25% of the inner, r ≲ 20 kpc, halo is composed of in-situ stars that have been displaced from their original birth sites during Eris' early assembly history.« less

  16. Angular Momentum and Galaxy Formation Revisited

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Fall, S. Michael

    2012-12-01

    Motivated by a new wave of kinematical tracers in the outer regions of early-type galaxies (ellipticals and lenticulars), we re-examine the role of angular momentum in galaxies of all types. We present new methods for quantifying the specific angular momentum j, focusing mainly on the more challenging case of early-type galaxies, in order to derive firm empirical relations between stellar j sstarf and mass M sstarf (thus extending earlier work by Fall). We carry out detailed analyses of eight galaxies with kinematical data extending as far out as 10 effective radii, and find that data at two effective radii are generally sufficient to estimate total j sstarf reliably. Our results contravene suggestions that ellipticals could harbor large reservoirs of hidden j sstarf in their outer regions owing to angular momentum transport in major mergers. We then carry out a comprehensive analysis of extended kinematic data from the literature for a sample of ~100 nearby bright galaxies of all types, placing them on a diagram of j sstarf versus M sstarf. The ellipticals and spirals form two parallel j sstarf-M sstarf tracks, with log-slopes of ~0.6, which for the spirals are closely related to the Tully-Fisher relation, but for the ellipticals derives from a remarkable conspiracy between masses, sizes, and rotation velocities. The ellipticals contain less angular momentum on average than spirals of equal mass, with the quantitative disparity depending on the adopted K-band stellar mass-to-light ratios of the galaxies: it is a factor of ~3-4 if mass-to-light ratio variations are neglected for simplicity, and ~7 if they are included. We decompose the spirals into disks and bulges and find that these subcomponents follow j sstarf-M sstarf trends similar to the overall ones for spirals and ellipticals. The lenticulars have an intermediate trend, and we propose that the morphological types of galaxies reflect disk and bulge subcomponents that follow separate, fundamental j sstarf

  17. ANGULAR MOMENTUM AND GALAXY FORMATION REVISITED

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Fall, S. Michael

    2012-12-15

    Motivated by a new wave of kinematical tracers in the outer regions of early-type galaxies (ellipticals and lenticulars), we re-examine the role of angular momentum in galaxies of all types. We present new methods for quantifying the specific angular momentum j, focusing mainly on the more challenging case of early-type galaxies, in order to derive firm empirical relations between stellar j{sub *} and mass M{sub *} (thus extending earlier work by Fall). We carry out detailed analyses of eight galaxies with kinematical data extending as far out as 10 effective radii, and find that data at two effective radii aremore » generally sufficient to estimate total j{sub *} reliably. Our results contravene suggestions that ellipticals could harbor large reservoirs of hidden j{sub *} in their outer regions owing to angular momentum transport in major mergers. We then carry out a comprehensive analysis of extended kinematic data from the literature for a sample of {approx}100 nearby bright galaxies of all types, placing them on a diagram of j{sub *} versus M{sub *}. The ellipticals and spirals form two parallel j{sub *}-M{sub *} tracks, with log-slopes of {approx}0.6, which for the spirals are closely related to the Tully-Fisher relation, but for the ellipticals derives from a remarkable conspiracy between masses, sizes, and rotation velocities. The ellipticals contain less angular momentum on average than spirals of equal mass, with the quantitative disparity depending on the adopted K-band stellar mass-to-light ratios of the galaxies: it is a factor of {approx}3-4 if mass-to-light ratio variations are neglected for simplicity, and {approx}7 if they are included. We decompose the spirals into disks and bulges and find that these subcomponents follow j{sub *}-M{sub *} trends similar to the overall ones for spirals and ellipticals. The lenticulars have an intermediate trend, and we propose that the morphological types of galaxies reflect disk and bulge subcomponents that

  18. A catalog of galaxy morphology and photometric redshift

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paul, Nicholas; Shamir, Lior

    2018-01-01

    Morphology carries important information about the physical characteristics of a galaxy. Here we used machine learning to produce a catalog of ~3,000,000 SDSS galaxies classified by their broad morphology into spiral and elliptical galaxies. Comparison of the catalog to Galaxy Zooshows that the catalog contains a subset of 1.7*10^6 galaxies classified with the same level of consistency as the debiased “superclean” sub-sample. In addition to the morphology, we also computed the photometric redshifts of the galaxies. Several pattern recognition algorithms and variable selection strategies were tested, and the best accuracy of mean absolute error of ~0.0062 was achieved by using random forest with a combination of manually and automatically selected variables. The catalog shows that for redshift lower than 0.085 galaxies that visually look spiral become more prevalent as the redshift gets higher. For redshift greater than 0.085 galaxies thatvisually look elliptical become more prevalent. The catalog as well as the source code used to produce it is publicly available athttps://figshare.com/articles/Morphology_and_photometric_redshift_catalog/4833593 .

  19. UGC 4703 Interacting Pair Near the Isolated Spiral Galaxy NGC 2718: A Milky Way Magellanic Cloud Analog

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paudel, Sanjaya; Sengupta, C.

    2017-11-01

    We present an analysis of physical and morphological properties of an interacting pair of dwarf galaxies, UGC 4703, located in the vicinity of an isolated Milky Way (MW) type spiral galaxy NGC 2718. Based on the comparison of physical and morphological properties with that of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), we report that the UGC 4703 pair-NGC 2718 system is probably an LMC-SMC-MW analog. Located at a sky-projected distance of 81 kpc from NGC 2718, we find that UGC 4703 is clearly interacting with its nearby lower-mass companion UGC 4703B, forming a bridge of stellar stream between them. Total B-band luminosity of UGC 4703 and its companion is -17.75 and -16.25 mag, respectively. We obtained H I 21 cm line data of UGC 4703 using the GMRT to get a more detailed view of neutral hydrogen (H I) emission. The H I image revealed evidence of interaction between the dwarf galaxy pair but no extended emission, such as the Magellanic Stream. We also detected star-forming regions along the UGC 4703/4703B bridge with stellar mass exceeding 107 M ⊙. While comparing the optical and H I morphology of the interacting dwarf pairs (UGC 4703-4703B and LMC-SMC), we discuss possible differences in interaction histories of these systems.

  20. Giant Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Alka; Kantharia, Nimisha G.; Das, Mousumi

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we present radio observations of the giant low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies made using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). LSB galaxies are generally large, dark matter dominated spirals that have low star formation efficiencies and large HI gas disks. Their properties suggest that they are less evolved compared to high surface brightness galaxies. We present GMRT emission maps of LSB galaxies with an optically-identified active nucleus. Using our radio data and archival near-infrared (2MASS) and near-ultraviolet (GALEX) data, we studied morphology and star formation efficiencies in these galaxies. All the galaxies show radio continuum emission mostly associated with the centre of the galaxy.

  1. LOW CO LUMINOSITIES IN DWARF GALAXIES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schruba, Andreas; Walter, Fabian; Sandstrom, Karin

    2012-06-15

    We present maps of {sup 12}COJ = 2-1 emission covering the entire star-forming disks of 16 nearby dwarf galaxies observed by the IRAM HERACLES survey. The data have 13'' angular resolution, {approx}250 pc at our average distance of D = 4 Mpc, and sample the galaxies by 10-1000 resolution elements. We apply stacking techniques to perform the first sensitive search for CO emission in dwarf galaxies outside the Local Group ranging from individual lines of sight, stacking over IR-bright regions of embedded star formation, and stacking over the entire galaxy. We detect five galaxies in CO with total CO luminositiesmore » of L{sub CO2-1} = (3-28) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 6} K km s{sup -1} pc{sup 2}. The other 11 galaxies remain undetected in CO even in the stacked images and have L{sub CO2-1} {approx}< (0.4-8) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 6} K km s{sup -1} pc{sup 2}. We combine our sample of dwarf galaxies with a large sample of spiral galaxies from the literature to study scaling relations of L{sub CO} with M{sub B} and metallicity. We find that dwarf galaxies with metallicities of Z Almost-Equal-To 1/2-1/10 Z{sub Sun} have L{sub CO} of 2-4 orders of magnitude smaller than massive spiral galaxies and that their L{sub CO} per unit L{sub B} is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller. A comparison with tracers of star formation (FUV and 24 {mu}m) shows that L{sub CO} per unit star formation rate (SFR) is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller in dwarf galaxies. One possible interpretation is that dwarf galaxies form stars much more efficiently: we argue that the low L{sub CO}/SFR ratio is due to the fact that the CO-to-H{sub 2} conversion factor, {alpha}{sub CO}, changes significantly in low-metallicity environments. Assuming that a constant H{sub 2} depletion time of {tau}{sub dep} = 1.8 Gyr holds in dwarf galaxies (as found for a large sample of nearby spirals) implies {alpha}{sub CO} values for dwarf galaxies with Z Almost-Equal-To 1/2-1/10 Z{sub Sun} that are more than one order of

  2. The galaxy NGC 1566 - Distribution and kinematics of the ionized gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comte, G.; Duquennoy, A.

    1982-10-01

    H-alpha narrowband observations are the basis of a study of ionized hydrogen in the large spiral galaxy NGC 1566 which has yielded a catalog of 418 H II regions covering the main body of the galaxy, supplemented by 59 positions and estimated H-alpha luminosities for regions located in the pseudo-outer ring where no H-alpha plate is available. A discussion of luminosity function, diameter distribution and spiral structure notes evidence for a double two-armed spiral pattern. The plane of the galaxy appears warped, and the efficiency of the two different spiral patterns in star formation is different. A preliminary radial velocity field is determined from three interferograms in H-alpha light, and is found to be acceptably fitted by a simple bulge-plus-disk dynamical model in which the apparent disk mass-to-light ratio sharply increases from center to edge.

  3. The Smallest Galaxies in the Universe: Investigating the Origins of Ultra-faint Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Yuewen; Graus, Andrew; Bullock, James

    2018-01-01

    One outstanding question in cosmology is, what are the smallest galaxies that can form? The answer to this question can tell us much about galaxy formation, and even of the properties of dark matter itself. A candidate for the smallest galaxies that can form are the ultrafaint galaxies. The star formation of ultrafaints appears to have been shut off during the epoch of reionization, when radiation from the first stars ionized all the free hydrogen in the universe. This would imply ultrafaints should exist everywhere in the universe. However, we can only observe ultrafaints as satellites of the Milky Way, due to their low brightness. This will change with the next generation of telescopes such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The focus of this work is to predict the number of ultrafaints that should be seen with future surveys. To that end, we use the ELVIS suite, which contains 14 dark matter only simulations of Local Group like systems containing a Milky Way and Andromeda-like galaxy and the substructure out to around 1 Mpc of the barycenter. We mock observe the simulations in order to mimic current surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and use the population of galaxies found by those surveys to project the population of dwarf galaxies out beyond the virial radius of either galaxy. This number will depend sensitively on the formation mechanism of ultrafaint dwarfs, and comparisons of future surveys to this work could help rule out certain formation scenarios.

  4. Galaxy NGC 247

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2003-01-01

    This image of the dwarf spiral galaxy NGC 247 was taken by Galaxy Evolution Explorer on October 13, 2003, in a single orbit exposure of 1600 seconds. The region that looks like a 'hole' in the upper part of the galaxy is a location with a deficit of gas and therefore a lower star formation rate and ultraviolet brightness. Optical images of this galaxy show a bright star on the southern edge. This star is faint and red in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer ultraviolet image, revealing that it is a foreground star in our Milky Way galaxy. The string of background galaxies to the North-East (upper left) of NGC 247 is 355 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy whereas NGC 247 is a mere 9 million light years away. The faint blue light that can be seen in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer image of the upper two of these background galaxies may indicate that they are in the process of merging together.

  5. The Impact of Bars and Spiral Density Waves on the Relative Frequencies of Supernovae

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aramyan, L. S.; Hakobyan, A. A.; Petrosian, A. R.; Barkhudaryan, L. V.; Karapetyan, A. G.; Adibekyan, V.; Turatto, M.

    2017-07-01

    We present the results of the analysis of the impact of bars and spiral density waves on the relative frequencies of supernovae (SNe). We find that for early -type Grand-Design (GD) and non-Grand-Design (NGD) galaxies, the NIa/NCC ratios, i.e., one of the tracers of specific star formation rate (sSFR), are not significantly different between barred and unbarred hosts. At the same time, for both barred and unbarred early-type galaxies, the NIa /NCC ratio in NGD hosts is significantly higher than that in GD, and for late-type galaxies no any significant difference exists between the N Ia/NCC ratios. Thus, in contrast to bars, the spiral density waves significantly enhance the relative frequencies of SNe in early-type GD galaxies, while not in late-type hosts. This result is actual also for galaxies when barred and unbarred categories are separated. Hence, the sSFR might be enhanced by density waves in early-type galaxies only.

  6. A BRIGHT RING OF STAR BIRTH AROUND A GALAXY'S CORE

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    n image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals clusters of infant stars that formed in a ring around the core of the barred-spiral galaxy NGC 4314. This stellar nursery, whose inhabitants were created within the past 5 million years, is the only place in the entire galaxy where new stars are being born. The Hubble image is being presented today (June 11) at the American Astronomical Society meeting in San Diego, Calif. This close-up view by Hubble also shows other interesting details in the galaxy's core: dust lanes, a smaller bar of stars, dust and gas embedded in the stellar ring, and an extra pair of spiral arms packed with young stars. These details make the center resemble a miniature version of a spiral galaxy. While it is not unusual to have dust lanes and rings of gas in the centers of galaxies, it is uncommon to have spiral arms full of young stars in the cores. NGC 4314 is one of the nearest (only 40 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices) examples of a galaxy with a ring of infant stars close to the core. This stellar ring - whose radius is 1,000 light-years - is a great laboratory to study star formation in galaxies. The left-hand image, taken in February 1996 by the 30-inch telescope Prime Focus Camera at the McDonald Observatory in Texas, shows the entire galaxy, including the bar of stars bisecting the core and the outer spiral arms, which begin near the ends of this bar. The box around the galaxy's core pinpoints the focus of the Hubble image. The right-hand image shows Hubble's close-up view of the galaxy's core, taken in December 1995 by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The bluish-purple clumps that form the ring are the clusters of infant stars. Two dark, wispy lanes of dust and a pair of blue spiral arms are just outside the star-forming ring. The lanes of dust are being shepherded into the ring by the longer, primary stellar bar seen in the ground-based (left-hand) image. The gas is trapped inside the ring

  7. A whirling plane of satellite galaxies around Centaurus A challenges cold dark matter cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Müller, Oliver; Pawlowski, Marcel S.; Jerjen, Helmut; Lelli, Federico

    2018-02-01

    The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are each surrounded by a thin plane of satellite dwarf galaxies that may be corotating. Cosmological simulations predict that most satellite galaxy systems are close to isotropic with random motions, so those two well-studied systems are often interpreted as rare statistical outliers. We test this assumption using the kinematics of satellite galaxies around the Centaurus A galaxy. Our statistical analysis reveals evidence for corotation in a narrow plane: Of the 16 Centaurus A satellites with kinematic data, 14 follow a coherent velocity pattern aligned with the long axis of their spatial distribution. In standard cosmological simulations, <0.5% of Centaurus A–like systems show such behavior. Corotating satellite systems may be common in the universe, challenging small-scale structure formation in the prevailing cosmological paradigm.

  8. Ganalyzer: A tool for automatic galaxy image analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shamir, Lior

    2011-05-01

    Ganalyzer is a model-based tool that automatically analyzes and classifies galaxy images. Ganalyzer works by separating the galaxy pixels from the background pixels, finding the center and radius of the galaxy, generating the radial intensity plot, and then computing the slopes of the peaks detected in the radial intensity plot to measure the spirality of the galaxy and determine its morphological class. Unlike algorithms that are based on machine learning, Ganalyzer is based on measuring the spirality of the galaxy, a task that is difficult to perform manually, and in many cases can provide a more accurate analysis compared to manual observation. Ganalyzer is simple to use, and can be easily embedded into other image analysis applications. Another advantage is its speed, which allows it to analyze ~10,000,000 galaxy images in five days using a standard modern desktop computer. These capabilities can make Ganalyzer a useful tool in analyzing large datasets of galaxy images collected by autonomous sky surveys such as SDSS, LSST or DES.

  9. Dusty Dwarfs Galaxies Occulting A Bright Background Spiral

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holwerda, Benne

    2017-08-01

    The role of dust in shaping the spectral energy distributions of low mass disk galaxies remains poorly understood. Recent results from the Herschel Space Observatory imply that dwarf galaxies contain large amounts of cool (T 20K) dust, coupled with very modest optical extinctions. These seemingly contradictory conclusions may be resolved if dwarfs harbor a variety of dust geometries, e.g., dust at larger galactocentric radii or in quiescent dark clumps. We propose HST observations of six truly occulting dwarf galaxies drawn from the Galaxy Zoo catalog of silhouetted galaxy pairs. Confirmed, true occulting dwarfs are rare as most low-mass disks in overlap are either close satellites or do not have a confirmed redshift. Dwarf occulters are the key to determining the spatial extent of dust, the small scale structure introduced by turbulence, and the prevailing dust attenuation law. The recent spectroscopic confirmation of bona-fide low mass occulting dwarfs offers an opportunity to map dust in these with HST. What is the role of dust in the SED of these dwarf disk galaxies? With shorter feedback scales, how does star-formation affect their morphology and dust composition, as revealed from their attenuation curve? The resolution of HST allows us to map the dust disks down to the fine scale structure of molecular clouds and multi-wavelength imaging maps the attenuation curve and hence dust composition in these disks. We therefore ask for 2 orbits on each of 6 dwarf galaxies in F275W, F475W, F606W, F814W and F125W to map dust from UV to NIR to constrain the attenuation curve.

  10. Uncovering the origins of spiral structure through the measurement of pattern speeds and their radial variation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meidt, Sharon E.

    At the intersection of galactic dynamics, evolution and global structure, unresolved issues in the nature and origin of spirals can be addressed through the characterization of the angular speeds of the patterns and their possible radial variation. In this thesis I describe the development, testing, and application of the Radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) Method, a generalized version of the continuity-based TW method wherein the pattern speed is allowed to vary arbitrarily with radius. I will address the utility of, and caveats in applying, the TWR calculation together with a standard regularization technique in a series of tests on N- body simulations. The regularization, which smooths otherwise intrinsically noisy solutions based on a priori assumptions for the radial dependence of the pattern speed, proves to be essential for achieving the radial precision necessary for accurate measurement. I also present results from applications of the TWR method to observations of real galaxies, where the possible sources and sinks in the continuity equation are well understood. Using CO observations of the grand design galaxy M51, the TWR method reveals a heretofore un-measured inner spiral pattern speed for the bright two-armed spiral structure, with a value significantly higher than conventional estimates. In addition, the radial dependence implied in the TWR solution suggests a possible resonant link between the inner and outer regions of the bright spiral arms. These findings signify an advance in observational investigations into the nature and origin of grand-design spiral structure. By analyzing high-quality HI and CO data cubes available for four other spiral galaxies, the characteristic signatures of the processes that drive spiral structure are likewise identifiable; within this small sample, the first direct evidence for the presence of resonant coupling of multiple distinct patterns is found in some galaxies, while a simple single pattern speed is measured in

  11. Edge-on Galaxy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1999-01-01

    NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged an unusual edge-on galaxy, revealing remarkable details of its warped dusty disc and showing how colliding galaxies trigger the birth of new stars.

    The image, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), is online at http://heritage.stsci.edu and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc. The camera was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. During observations of the galaxy, the camera passed a milestone, taking its 100,000th image since shuttle astronauts installed it in Hubble in 1993.

    The dust and spiral arms of normal spiral galaxies, like our Milky Way, look flat when seen edge- on. The new image of the galaxy ESO 510-G13 shows an unusual twisted disc structure, first seen in ground-based photographs taken at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. ESO 510-G13 lies in the southern constellation Hydra, some 150 million light-years from Earth. Details of the galaxy's structure are visible because interstellar dust clouds that trace its disc are silhouetted from behind by light from the galaxy's bright, smooth central bulge.

    The strong warping of the disc indicates that ESO 510-G13 has recently collided with a nearby galaxy and is in the process of swallowing it. Gravitational forces distort galaxies as their stars, gas, and dust merge over millions of years. When the disturbances die out, ESO 510-G13 will be a single galaxy.

    The galaxy's outer regions, especially on the right side of the image, show dark dust and bright clouds of blue stars. This indicates that hot, young stars are forming in the twisted disc. Astronomers believe star formation may be triggered when galaxies collide and their interstellar clouds are compressed.

    The Hubble Heritage Team used WFPC2 to observe ESO 510-G13 in April 2001. Pictures obtained through blue, green, and red filters were combined to make this color-composite image, which emphasizes the contrast between the dusty

  12. Dynamics of Galaxies in Compact Groups II.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amram, P.; Mendes de Oliveira, C.

    We show partial results of a program based on Fabry-Perot Hα velocity field data of compact groups taken at the ESO and the CFH 3.6m telescopes in order to analyze the kinematics of compact group galaxies. This project has three main goals: 1. determine the evolutionary stages of the groups; 2. search for tidal dwarf galaxies and 3. determine the Tully-Fisher relation for the group galaxies. We classify the compact groups studied so far into the following subclasses : (1) merging groups, (2) strongly interacting, (3) mildly interacting, (4) kinematically undisturbed and (5) false groups/single galaxy (details are given in the companion paper Mendes de Oliveira and Amram, 2000). We present examples of velocity fields of galaxies in compact groups that are in different evolutionary stages as classified from the kinematic disturbances. Spiral-only groups have often been considered chance alignments or groups in the very early stages of dynamical evolution. However, we find that the kinematics of the member galaxies for spiral-only groups in classes (1), (2) and (3) above display peculiarities which suggest that the galaxies know of the presence of their neighbors.

  13. 12CO(J = 1 \\to 0) On-the-fly Mapping Survey of the Virgo Cluster Spirals. II. Molecular Gas Properties in Different Density Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chung, Eun Jung; Yun, Min S.; Verheijen, Marc A. W.; Chung, Aeree

    2017-07-01

    This study investigated the properties of the molecular gas content and star formation activity of 17 Virgo spirals, 21 Ursa Major (UMa) spirals, 13 Pisces spiral galaxies, and a comparison sample of 11 field spiral galaxies with a spatially resolved gas and stellar distribution. The H I-deficient galaxies with a defH I > 0.4 have a similar range of CO luminosity normalized by the K-band luminosity (L CO/L K) like the field spirals, although their CO content can be smaller by up to a factor of 2. The CO, H I, and stellar disk diameters are closely related to each other for both cluster and field galaxies, and the relative diameters of the CO and H I disks grow monotonically and smoothly as the H I-to-stellar disk diameter ratio decreases. Cluster galaxies have a molecular gas consumption time up to 10 times shorter than that of the field comparison sample, suggesting a significant change in the molecular gas content and star formation activity among all the cluster galaxies, even when they do not show any sign of H I stripping. The strongly H I-stripped Virgo cluster galaxies show only a modestly reduced total gas consumption time, indicating that the star formation activity and gas consumption are a highly local (rather than global) phenomenon. Our finding is that the depletion of cold gas by ram-pressure stripping and/or starvation caused by preprocessing in each cluster environment makes galaxies evolve passively.

  14. Hot and Cold in the M100 Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-08-15

    The galaxy Messier 100, or M100, shows its swirling spiral in this infrared image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. The arcing spiral arms of dust and gas that harbor star forming regions glow vividly when seen in the infrared.

  15. Age bimodality in the central region of pseudo-bulges in S0 galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Preetish K.; Barway, Sudhanshu; Wadadekar, Yogesh

    2017-11-01

    We present evidence for bimodal stellar age distribution of pseudo-bulges of S0 galaxies as probed by the Dn(4000) index. We do not observe any bimodality in age distribution for pseudo-bulges in spiral galaxies. Our sample is flux limited and contains 2067 S0 and 2630 spiral galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We identify pseudo-bulges in S0 and spiral galaxies, based on the position of the bulge on the Kormendy diagram and their central velocity dispersion. Dividing the pseudo-bulges of S0 galaxies into those containing old and young stellar populations, we study the connection between global star formation and pseudo-bulge age on the u - r colour-mass diagram. We find that most old pseudo-bulges are hosted by passive galaxies while majority of young bulges are hosted by galaxies that are star forming. Dividing our sample of S0 galaxies into early-type S0s and S0/a galaxies, we find that old pseudo-bulges are mainly hosted by early-type S0 galaxies while most of the pseudo-bulges in S0/a galaxies are young. We speculate that morphology plays a strong role in quenching of star formation in the disc of these S0 galaxies, which stops the growth of pseudo-bulges, giving rise to old pseudo-bulges and the observed age bimodality.

  16. KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR SPIRALS: FEEDING THE BLACK HOLE IN NGC 1097

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Van de Ven, Glenn; Fathi, Kambiz, E-mail: glenn@mpia.d, E-mail: kambiz@astro.su.s

    2010-11-01

    We present a harmonic expansion of the observed line-of-sight velocity field as a method to recover and investigate spiral structures in the nuclear regions of galaxies. We apply it to the emission-line velocity field within the circumnuclear star-forming ring of NGC 1097, obtained with the GMOS-IFU spectrograph. The radial variation of the third harmonic terms is well described by a logarithmic spiral, from which we interpret that the gravitational potential is weakly perturbed by a two-arm spiral density wave with an inferred pitch angle of 52{sup 0} {+-} 4{sup 0}. This interpretation predicts a two-arm spiral distortion in the surfacemore » brightness, as hinted by the dust structures in central images of NGC 1097, and predicts a combined one-arm and three-arm spiral structure in the velocity field, as revealed in the non-circular motions of the ionized gas. Next, we use a simple spiral perturbation model to constrain the fraction of the measured non-circular motions that is due to radial inflow. We combine the resulting inflow velocity with the gas density in the spiral arms, inferred from emission-line ratios, to estimate the mass inflow rate as a function of radius, which reaches about 0.011 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1} at a distance of 70 pc from the center. This value corresponds to a fraction of about 4.2 x 10{sup -3} of the Eddington mass accretion rate onto the central black hole in this LINER/Seyfert1 galaxy. We conclude that the line-of-sight velocity can not only provide a cleaner view of nuclear spirals than the associated dust, but that the presented method also allows the quantitative study of these possibly important links in fueling the centers of galaxies, including providing a constraint on the mass inflow rate as a function of radius.« less

  17. The Story of UGC 11919: An Unusual Spiral Galaxy Possibly Having a Warp and Peculiarly Low Mass-to-Light Ratio

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saburova, A. S.; Józsa, G. I. G.; Zasov, A. V.; Bizyaev, D. V.; Uklein, R. I.

    2014-05-01

    We present the results of a multi-wavelength study of the spiral galaxy UGC 11919 to verify that the galaxy has a peculiarly low dynamical mass-to-light ratio (M/LB) and to study its kinematical structure in general. We obtained an H I data cube of UGC 11919 with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope parallel with photometric observations with the Apache Point 0.5-m telescope. Two complementary models of the H I data cube provide a reasonable fit to the data: a model representing a symmetric S-shaped warp and a flat disc model with the deviations from axial symmetry caused by noncircular or bar streaming motions. In both cases UGC 11919 appears to have a disk of unusually low dynamical mass-to-light ratio in spite of its red color and a dark halo of moderate mass. A bottom-light stellar initial mass function could explain the results. Stellar kinematic profiles derived from long-slit observations, with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, show a signature of kinematically decoupled nuclear disk in the galaxy.

  18. Hubble Peers at a Distinctly Disorganized Dwarf Galaxy

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Despite being less famous than their elliptical and spiral galactic cousins, irregular dwarf galaxies, such as the one captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, are actually one of the most common types of galaxy in the universe. Known as UGC 4459, this dwarf galaxy is located approximately 11 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear), a constellation that is also home to the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), the Owl Nebula (M97), Messier 81, Messier 82 and several other galaxies all part of the M81 group. UGC 4459’s diffused and disorganized appearance is characteristic of an irregular dwarf galaxy. Lacking a distinctive structure or shape, irregular dwarf galaxies are often chaotic in appearance, with neither a nuclear bulge — a huge, tightly packed central group of stars — nor any trace of spiral arms — regions of stars extending from the center of the galaxy. Astronomers suspect that some irregular dwarf galaxies were once spiral or elliptical galaxies, but were later deformed by the gravitational pull of nearby objects. Rich with young blue stars and older red stars, UGC 4459 has a stellar population of several billion. Though seemingly impressive, this is small when compared to the 200 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way! Observations with Hubble have shown that because of their low masses of dwarf galaxies like UGC 4459, star formation is very low compared to larger galaxies. Only very little of their original gas has been turned into stars. Thus, these small galaxies are interesting to study to better understand primordial environments and the star formation process. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA; Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific

  19. A cloud/particle model of the interstellar medium - Galactic spiral structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levinson, F. H.; Roberts, W. W., Jr.

    1981-01-01

    A cloud/particle model for gas flow in galaxies is developed that incorporates cloud-cloud collisions and supernovae as dominant local processes. Cloud-cloud collisions are the main means of dissipation. To counter this dissipation and maintain local dispersion, supernova explosions in the medium administer radial snowplow pushes to all nearby clouds. The causal link between these processes is that cloud-cloud collisions will form stars and that these stars will rapidly become supernovae. The cloud/particle model is tested and used to investigate the gas dynamics and spiral structures in galaxies where these assumptions may be reasonable. Particular attention is given to whether large-scale galactic shock waves, which are thought to underlie the regular well-delineated spiral structure in some galaxies, form and persist in a cloud-supernova dominated interstellar medium; this question is answered in the affirmative.

  20. Do Disk Galaxies Have Different Central Velocity Dispersions At A Given Rotation Velocity?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Danilovich, Taissa; Jones, H.; Mould, J.; Taylor, E.; Tonini, C.; Webster, R.

    2011-05-01

    Hubble's classification of spiral galaxies was one dimensional. Actually it was 1.5 dimensional, as he distinguished barred spirals. Van den Bergh's was two dimensional: spirals had luminosity classes too. Other schemes are summarized at http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/galaxyclassification.html A more quantitative approach is to classify spiral galaxies by rotation velocity. Their central velocity dispersion (bulge) tends to be roughly one half of their rotation velocity (disk). There is a trend from σ/W = 0.8 to σ/W = 0.2 as one goes from W = 100 to 500 km/s, where W is twice the rotation velocity. But some fraction of spirals have a velocity dispersion up to a factor of two larger than that. In hierarchical galaxy formation models, the relative contributions of σ and W depend on the mass accretion history of the galaxy, which determines the mass distribution of the dynamical components such as disk, bulge and dark matter halo. The wide variety of histories that originate in the hierarchical mass assembly produce at any value of W a wide range of σ/W, that reaches high values in more bulge- dominated systems. In a sense the two classifiers were both right: spirals are mostly one dimensional, but σ/W (bulge to disk ratio) is often larger than average. Is this a signature of merger history?