Browsing by Title
A CO funnel in the Galactic centre: Molecular counterpart of the northern Galactic chimney
(ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2023-06-27) Veena, V. S.; Riquelme, D.; Kim, W. J.; Menten, K. M.; Schilke, P.; Sormani, M. C.; Banda-Barragán, W. E.; Wyrowski, F.; Fuller, G. A.; Cheema, A.
We report the discovery of a velocity coherent, funnel-shaped (CO)-C-13 emission feature in the Galactic centre (GC) using data from the SEDIGISM survey. The molecular cloud appears as a low-velocity structure (V-LSR = [ - 3.5, + 3.5] km s(-1)) with an angular extent of 0.95 & DEG; x1 & DEG;, extending towards positive Galactic latitudes. The structure is offset from Sgr A* towards negative Galactic longitudes; it spatially and morphologically correlates well with the northern lobe of the 430 pc radio bubble, believed to be the radio counterpart of the multiwavelength GC chimney. Spectral line observations in the frequency range of 85-116 GHz have been carried out using the IRAM 30-m telescope towards 12 positions along the funnel-shaped emission. We examine the C-12/C-13 isotopic ratios using various molecules and their isotopologues. The mean C-12/C-13 isotope ratio (30.6 & PLUSMN; 2.9) is consistent with the structure located within inner 3 kpc of the Galaxy and possibly in the GC. The velocity of the molecular funnel is consistent with previous radio recombination line measurements of the northern lobe of radio bubble. Our multiwavelength analysis suggests that the funnel-shaped structure extending over 100 pc above the Galactic plane is the molecular counterpart of the northern GC chimney.
A MUSE view of the multiple interacting system HCG 31
(Oxford academic, 2023-04-14) Diego A Gómez-Espinoza; S Torres-Flores; V Firpo; Philippe Amram; Benoit Epinat; Thierry Contini; Claudia Mendes de Oliveira
We present, for the first time, spatially resolved spectroscopy for the entire Hickson Compact Group 31 obtained with the MUSE instrument at the VLT and an in-depth analysis of this compact group. To obtain a complete understanding of the system, we derived radial velocity and dispersion velocity maps, maps of the ionization mechanism of the system, chemical abundances and their distribution over the whole system, star formation rates and ages of the different star-forming regions, and the spatial distribution of the Wolf–Rayet stellar population. We also reconstructed the star formation history of the galaxies HCG 31 A, C, B, and F, measured the emission-line fluxes, and performed a stellar population synthesis. Our main findings are: (i) that there is clearly disturbed kinematics due to the merger event that the system is experiencing; (ii) that the ionization is produced exclusively via star formation except for the nucleus of the galaxy HCG 31 A, where there is a small contribution of shocks; (iii) that there is low oxygen abundance distributed homogeneously through the system; (iv) that there is a prominent population of carbon Wolf–Rayet stars in the central zone of the group; and (v) that there are clear evidences of the tidal origin of the galaxies HCG 31 E, HCG 31 H, and HCG 31 F because they show quite high oxygen abundances for their stellar mass. All these findings are clear evidence that HCG 31 is currently in an early merging phase and manifesting a starburst in its central region.
A MUSE/VLT spatially resolved study of the emission structure of Green Pea galaxies
(Edp Sciences, 2023-02-20) Arroyo-Polonio; J. Iglesias-Páramo; C. Kehrig; J. M. Vílchez; R. Amorín; I. Breda; E. Pérez-Montero; B. Pérez-Díaz; M. Hayes
Green Pea galaxies (GPs) present among the most intense starbursts known in the nearby Universe. These galaxies are regarded as local analogs of high-redshift galaxies, making them a benchmark in the understanding of the star formation processes and the galactic evolution in the early Universe. In this work, we performed an integral field spectroscopic (IFS) study for a set of 24 GPs to investigate the interplay between its ionized interstellar medium (ISM) and the massive star formation that these galaxies present. Observations were taken in the optical spectral range (λ4750 Å–λ9350 Å) with the MUSE spectrograph attached to the 8.2 m telescope VLT. Spatial extension criteria were employed to verify which GPs are spatially resolved in the MUSE data cubes. We created and analyzed maps of spatially distributed emission lines (at different stages of excitation), continuum emission, and properties of the ionized ISM (e.g., ionization structure indicators, physical-chemical conditions, dust extinction). We also took advantage of our IFS data to produce integrated spectra of selected galactic regions in order to study their physical-chemical conditions. Maps of relevant emission lines and emission line ratios show that higher-excitation gas is preferentially located in the center of the galaxy, where the starburst is present. The continuum maps, with an average angular extent of 4″, exhibit more complex structures than the emission line maps. However, the [O III]λ5007 Å emission line maps tend to extend beyond the continuum images (the average angular extent is 5.5″), indicating the presence of low surface brightness ionized gas in the outer parts of the galaxies. Hα/Hβ, [S II]/Hα, and [O I]/Hα maps trace low-extinction, optically thin regions. The line ratios [O III]/Hβ and [N II]/Hα span extensive ranges, with values varying from 0.5 dex to 0.9 dex and from −1.7 dex to −0.8 dex, respectively. Regarding the integrated spectra, the line ratios were fit to derive physical properties including the electron densities ne = 30 − 530 cm−3, and, in six GPs with a measurable [O III]λ4363 Å line, electron temperatures of Te = 11 500 K–15 500 K, so the direct method was applied in these objects to retrieve metallicities 12 + log(O/H)≃8. We found the presence of the high-ionizing nebular He IIλ4686 Å line in three GPs, where two of them present among the highest sSFR values (> 8 × 108 yr−1) in this sample. Non-Wolf-Rayet (WR) features are detected in these galaxy spectra.
A reproduction of the Milky Way’s Faraday rotation measure map in galaxy simulations from global to local scales
(Nature Research, 2023-08-21) Stefan Reissl; Ralf S. Klessen; Eric W. Pellegrini; Daniel Rahner; Rüdiger Pakmor; Robert Grand; Facundo Gómez; Federico Marinacci; Volker Springel
Magnetic fields are of critical importance for our understanding of the origin and long-term evolution of the Milky Way. This is due to their decisive role in the dynamical evolution of the interstellar medium and their influence on the star-formation process1,2,3. Faraday rotation measures along many different sightlines across the Galaxy are a primary means to infer the magnetic field topology and strength from observations4,5,6,7. However, the interpretation of the data has been hampered by the failure of previous attempts to explain the observations in theoretical models and to synthesize a realistic multiscale all-sky rotation measures map8,9,10. We here utilize a cosmological magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the formation of the Milky Way, augment it with a new star-cluster population-synthesis model for a more realistic structure of the local interstellar medium11,12, and perform detailed polarized radiative transfer calculations on the resulting model13. This yields an accurate first-principles prediction of the Faraday sky as observed on Earth. The results reproduce the observations of the Galaxy not only on global scales but also on local scales of individual star-forming clouds. They also indicate that the Local Bubble14 containing our Sun dominates the rotation measures signal over large regions of the sky. Modern cosmological magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Milky Way’s formation, combined with a plausible model for star formation, stellar feedback and the distribution of free electrons in the interstellar medium, explain the rotation measures observations remarkably well, and thus contribute to a better understanding of the origin of magnetic fields in our Galaxy.
A trail of the invisible: blue globular clusters trace the radial density distribution of the dark matter – case study of NGC 4278
(Oxford Academic, 2023-03-22) Matthias Kluge; Rhea-Silvia Remus; Iurii V Babyk; Duncan A Forbes; Arianna Dolfi
We present new, deep optical observations of the early-type galaxy NGC 4278, which is located in a small loose group. We find that the galaxy lacks fine substructure, that is, it appears relaxed, out to a radius of ∼70 kpc. Our g- and i-band surface brightness profiles are uniform down to our deepest levels of ∼28 mag arcsec−2. This spans an extremely large radial range of more than 14 half-mass radii. Combined with archival globular cluster (GC) number density maps and a new analysis of the total mass distribution obtained from archival Chandra X-ray data, we find that the red GC subpopulation traces well the stellar mass density profile from 2.4 out to even 14 half-mass radii, while the blue GC subpopulation traces the total mass density profile of the galaxy over a large radial range. Our results reinforce the scenario that red GCs form mostly in situ along with the stellar component of the galaxy, while the blue GCs are more closely aligned with the total mass distribution in the halo and were accreted along with halo matter. We conclude that for galaxies where the X-ray emission from the hot halo is too faint to be properly observable and as such is not available to measure the dark matter profile, the blue GC population can be used to trace this dark matter component out to large radii.
ABYSS. I. Targeting Strategy for the APOGEE and BOSS Young Star Survey in SDSS-V
(ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT SERIES, 2023-05-01) Kounkel, M; Zari, E; Covey, K; Tkachenko, A; [et al.]
The fifth iteration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey is set to obtain optical and near-infrared spectra of similar to 5 million stars of all ages and masses throughout the Milky Way. As a part of these efforts, APOGEE and BOSS Young Star Survey (ABYSS) will observe similar to 10(5) stars with ages <30 Myr that have been selected using a set of homogeneous selection functions that make use of different tracers of youth. The ABYSS targeting strategy we describe in this paper is aimed to provide the largest spectroscopic census of young stars to date. It consists of eight different types of selection criteria that take the position on the H-R diagram, infrared excess, variability, as well as the position in phase space in consideration. The resulting catalog of similar to 200,000 sources (of which a half are expected to be observed) provides representative coverage of the young Galaxy, including both nearby diffuse associations as well as more distant massive complexes, reaching toward the inner Galaxy and the Galactic center.
Álgebras y fibrados de Clifford con aplicaciones
(Universidad de La Serena, 2012) Notte-Cuello, Eduardo
An ever-present Gaia snail shell triggered by a dark matter wake
(MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2023-07-04) Grand, R. J. J.; Pakmor, R.; Fragkoudi, F.; Gómez, F. A.; Trick, W.; Simpson, C. M.; van de Voort, F.; Bieri, R.
We utilize a novel numerical technique to model star formation in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation - called SUPERSTARS - to simulate a Milky Way-like galaxy with greater than or similar to 10(8) star particles to study the formation and evolution of out-of-equilibrium stellar disc structures in a full cosmological setting. In the plane defined by the coordinate and velocity perpendicular to the mid-plane [vertical phase space, (Z, V-Z)], stars in solar- like volumes at late times exhibit clear spirals qualitatively similar in shape and amplitude to the Gaia 'snail shell' phase spiral. We show that the phase spiral forms at a lookback time of similar to 6 Gyr during the pericentric passage of an similar to 10(10) M-circle dot satellite on a polar orbit. This satellite stimulates the formation of a resonant wake in the dark matter halo while losing mass at a rate of similar to 0.5-1 dex per orbit loop. The peak magnitude of the wake-induced gravitational torque at the solar radius is similar to 8 times that from the satellite, and triggers the formation of a disc warp that wraps up into a vertical phase spiral over time. As the wake decays, the phase spiral propagates several gigayears to present day and can be described as `ever-present' once stable disc evolution is established. These results suggest an alternative scenario to explain the Gaia phase spiral, which does not rely on a perturbation from bar buckling or a recent direct hit from a satellite.
Assessing model-based carbon and oxygen abundance derivation from ultraviolet emission lines in AGNs
(Oxford Academic, 2023-03-02) E Pérez-Montero; R Amorín; B Pérez-Díaz; J M Vílchez; R García-Benito
We present an adapted version of the code HII-CHI-MISTRY-UV to derive chemical abundances from emission lines in the ultraviolet, for use in narrow line regions (NLR) of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We evaluate different ultraviolet emission line ratios and how different assumptions about the models, including the presence of dust grains, the shape of the incident spectral energy distribution, or the thickness of the gas envelope around the central source, may affect the final estimates as a function of the set of emission lines used. We compare our results with other published recipes for deriving abundances using the same emission lines and show that deriving the carbon-to-oxygen abundance ratio using C III] λ 1909 Å and O III] λ 1665 Å emission lines is a robust indicator of the metal content in AGN that is nearly independent of the model assumptions, similar to the case of star-forming regions. Moreover, we show that a prior determination of C/O allows for a much more precise determination of the total oxygen abundance using carbon UV lines, as opposed to assuming an arbitrary relationship between O/H and C/O, which can lead to non-negligible discrepancies.
Backsplash galaxies and their impact on galaxy evolution: a three-stage, four-type perspective
(Oxford Academic, 2023-07-31) Andrés N Ruiz; Héctor J Martínez; Valeria Coenda; Hernán Muriel; Sofía A Cora; Martín de los Rios; Cristian A Vega-Martínez
We study the population of backsplash galaxies at z = 0 in the outskirts of massive, isolated clusters of galaxies taken from the MDPL2-SAG semi-analytical catalogue. We consider four types of backsplash galaxies according to whether they are forming stars or passive at three stages in their lifetimes: before entering the cluster, during their first incursion through the cluster, and after they exit the cluster. We analyse several geometric, dynamic, and astrophysical aspects of the four types at the three stages. Galaxies that form stars at all stages account for the majority of the backsplash population (58 per cent) and have stellar masses typically below
that avoid the innermost cluster’s regions and are only mildly affected by it. In a similar mass range, galaxies that become passive after exiting the cluster (26 per cent) follow orbits characterized by small pericentric distance and a strong deflection by the cluster potential well while suffering a strong loss of both dark matter and gas content. Only a small fraction of our sample (4 per cent) becomes passive while orbiting inside the cluster. These galaxies have experienced heavy pre-processing and the cluster’s tidal stripping and ram pressure provide the final blow to their star formation. Finally, galaxies that are passive before entering the cluster for the first time (12 per cent) are typically massive and are not affected significantly by the cluster. Using the bulge/total mass ratio as a proxy for morphology, we find that a single incursion through a cluster does not result in significant morphological changes in all four types.
Ca triplet metallicities and velocities for 12 globular clusters toward the galactic bulge
(ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2023-01-20) Geisler, D.; Parisi, M. C.; Dias, B.; Villanova, S.; Mauro, F.; Saviane, I.; Cohen, R. E.; Bidin, C. M.; Minniti, D.
Context. Globular clusters (GCs) are excellent tracers of the formation and early evolution of the Milky Way. The bulge GCs (BGCs) are particularly important because they can reveal vital information about the oldest in situ component of the Milky Way.Aims. Our aim is to derive the mean metallicities and radial velocities for 13 GCs that lie toward the bulge and are generally associated with this component. This region is observationally challenging because of high extinction and stellar density, which hampers optical studies of these and similar BGCs, making most previous determinations of these parameters quite uncertain.Methods. We used near-infrared low-resolution spectroscopy with the FORS2 instrument on the VLT to measure the wavelengths and equivalent widths of the CaII triplet (CaT) lines for a number of stars per cluster. We derived radial velocities, ascertained membership, and applied known calibrations to determine metallicities for cluster members, for a mean of 11 members per cluster. Unfortunately, one of our targets, VVV-GC002, which is the closest GC to the Galactic center, turned out not to have any members in our sample.Results. We derive mean cluster RV values to 3 km s(-1), and mean metallicities to 0.05 dex. We find general good agreement with previous determinations for both metallicity and velocity. On average, our metallicities are 0.07 dex more metal-rich than those of Harris (2010, arXiv:1012.3224), with a standard deviation of the difference of 0.25 dex. Our sample has metallicities between -0.21 and -1.64, and the values are distributed between the traditional metal-rich BGC peak near [Fe/H] -0.5 and a more metal-poor peak around [Fe/H] -1.1, which has recently been identified. These latter are candidates for the oldest GCs in the Galaxy, if blue horizontal branches are present, and include BH 261, NGC 6401, NGC 6540, NGC 6642, and Terzan 9. Finally, Terzan 10 is even more metal-poor. However, dynamically, Terzan 10 is likely an intruder from the halo, possibly associated with the Gaia-Enceladus or Kraken accretion events. Terzan 10 is also confirmed as an Oosterhoff type II GC based on our results.Conclusions. The CaT technique is an excellent method for deriving mean metallicities and velocities for heavily obscured GCs. Our sample provides reliable mean values for these two key properties via spectroscopy of a significant number of members per cluster for this important yet previously poorly studied sample of BGCs. We emphasize that the more metal-poor GCs are excellent candidates for being ancient relics of bulge formation. The lone halo intruder in our sample, Terzan 10, is conspicuous for also having by far the lowest metallicity, and casts doubt on the possibility of any bona fide BGCs at metallicities below about -1.5.
CAPOS: the bulge Cluster APOgee Survey IV elemental abundances of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6558
(MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2023-10-20) González-Díaz, D.; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Villanova, S.; Geisler, D.; Barbuy, B.; Minniti, D.; Beers, T. C.; Bidin, C. M.; Mauro, F.; Muñoz, C.; Tang, B. T.; Soto, M.; Monachesi, A.; Lane, R. R.; Frelijj, H.
This study presents the results concerning six red giant stars members of the globular cluster NGC 6558. Our analysis utilized high-resolution near-infrared spectra obtained through the CAPOS initiative (the APOgee Surv e y of Clusters in the Galactic Bulge), which focuses on surv e ying clusters within the Galactic Bulge, as a component of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment II surv e y (APOGEE-2). We employ the Brussels Automatic Code for Characterizing High accUracy Spectra ( BACCHUS ) code to provide line-by-line elemental-abundances for Fe-peak (Fe, Ni), alpha-(O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti), light-(C, N), odd-Z (Al), and the s-process element (Ce) for the four stars with high-signal-to-noise ratios. This is the first reliable measure of the CNO abundances for NGC 6558. Our analysis yields a mean metallicity for NGC 6558 of ([Fe/H]) = -1.15 +/- 0.08, with no evidence for a metallicity spread. We find a Solar Ni abundance, ([Ni/Fe]) similar to + 0.01, and a moderate enhancement of alpha-elements, ranging between + 0.16 and < + 0.42, and a slight enhancement of the s-process element ([Ce/Fe]) similar to + 0.19. We also found low levels of ([Al/Fe]) similar to + 0.09, but with a strong enrichment of nitrogen, [N/Fe] > + 0.99, along with a low level of carbon, [C/Fe] < -0.12. This behaviour of Nitrogen-Carbon is a typical chemical signature for the presence of multiple stellar populations in virtually all GCs; this is the first time that it is reported in NGC 6558. We also observed a remarkable consistency in the behaviour of all the chemical species compared to the other CAPOS bulge GCs of the same metallicity.
Chemo-dynamical tagging in the outskirts: The origins of stellar substructures in the Magellanic Clouds
(ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2023-12-12) Munoz, C.; Monachesi, A.; Nidever, D. L.; Majewski, S. R.; Cheng, X. L.; Olsen, K.; Choi, Y.; Zivick, P.; Geisler, D.; Almeida, A.; Munoz, R. R.; Nitschelm, C.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Lane, R. R.; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.
We present the first detailed chemical analysis from APOGEE-2S observations of stars in six regions of recently discovered substructures in the outskirts of the Magellanic Clouds extending to 20(degrees) from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) center. We also present, for the first time, the metallicity and alpha-abundance radial gradients of the LMC and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) out to 11(degrees) and 6(degrees), respectively. Our chemical tagging includes 13 species including light, alpha-, and Fe-peak elements. We find that the abundances of all of these chemical elements in stars populating two regions in the northern periphery, along the northern "stream-like" feature, show good agreement with the chemical patterns of the LMC, and thus likely have an LMC origin. For substructures located in the southern periphery of the LMC we find more complex chemical and kinematical signatures, indicative of a mix of LMC-like and SMC-like populations. The southern region closest to the LMC shows better agreement with the LMC, whereas that closest to the SMC shows a much better agreement with the SMC chemical pattern. When combining this information with 3D kinematical information for these stars, we conclude that the southern region closest to the LMC likely has an LMC origin, whereas that closest to the SMC has an SMC origin and the other two southern regions have a mix of LMC and SMC origins. Our results add to the evidence that the southern substructures of the LMC periphery are the product of close interactions between the LMC and SMC, and thus likely hold important clues that can constrain models of their detailed dynamical histories.
Clash of Titans: the impact of cluster mergers in the galaxy cluster red sequence
(Oxford Academic, 2023-07-26) Franklin Aldás; Alfredo Zenteno; Facundo A Gómez; Daniel Hernandez-Lang; Eleazar R Carrasco; Cristian A Vega-Martínez; J L Nilo Castellón
Merging of galaxy clusters are some of the most energetic events in the Universe, and they provide a unique environment to study galaxy evolution. We use a sample of 84 merging and relaxed SPT galaxy clusters candidates, observed with the Dark Energy Camera in the 0.11 < z < 0.88 redshift range, to build colour–magnitude diagrams to characterize the impact of cluster mergers on the galaxy population. We divided the sample between relaxed and disturbed, and in two redshifts bin at z = 0.55. When comparing the high-z to low-z clusters we find the high-z sample is richer in blue galaxies, independently of the cluster dynamical state. In the high-z bin, we find that disturbed clusters exhibit a larger scatter in the red sequence, with wider distribution and an excess of bluer galaxies compared to relaxed clusters, while in the low-z bin we find a complete agreement between the relaxed and disturbed clusters. Our results support the scenario in which massive cluster halos at z < 0.55 galaxies are quenched as satellites of another structure, i.e. outside the cluster, while at z ≥ 0.55 the quenching is dominated by in situ processes.
CLASSY VII Lyα Profiles: The Structure and Kinematics of Neutral Gas and Implications for LyC Escape in Reionization-era Analogs
(ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2023-10-01) Hu, WD; Martin, CL; Gronke, M; Gazagnes, S; Hayes, M; Chisholm, J; Heckman, T; Mingozzi, M; [et al.]
Ly alpha line profiles are a powerful probe of interstellar medium (ISM) structure, outflow speed, and Lyman-continuum escape fraction. In this paper, we present the Ly alpha line profiles of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY, a sample rich in spectroscopic analogs of reionization-era galaxies. A large fraction of the spectra show a complex profile, consisting of a double-peaked Ly alpha emission profile in the bottom of a damped, Ly alpha absorption trough. Such profiles reveal an inhomogeneous ISM. We successfully fit the damped Ly alpha absorption and the Ly alpha emission profiles separately, but with complementary covering factors, a surprising result because this approach requires no Ly alpha exchange between high-N-H I and low-N-H I paths. The combined distribution of column densities is qualitatively similar to the bimodal distributions observed in numerical simulations. We find an inverse relation between Ly alpha peak separation and the [O III]/[O II] flux ratio, confirming that the covering fraction of Lyman-continuum-thin sightlines increases as the Ly alpha peak separation decreases. We combine measurements of Ly alpha peak separation and Ly alpha red peak asymmetry in a diagnostic diagram, which identifies six Lyman-continuum leakers in the COS Legacy Archive Spectrocopy SurveY (CLASSY) sample. We find a strong correlation between the Ly alpha trough velocity and the outflow velocity measured from interstellar absorption lines. We argue that greater vignetting of the blueshifted Ly alpha peak, relative to the redshifted peak, is the source of the well-known discrepancy between shell-model parameters and directly measured outflow properties. The CLASSY sample illustrates how scattering of Ly alpha photons outside the spectroscopic aperture reshapes Ly alpha profiles because the distances to these compact starbursts span a large range.
Colour and infall time distributions of satellite galaxies in simulated Milky-Way analogues
(MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2023-01-09) Pan, Y.; Simpson, C. M.; Kravtsov, A.; Gómez, F. A.; Grand, R. J. J.; Marinacci, F.; Pakmor, R.; Manwadkar, V.; Esmerian, C. J.
We use the Auriga simulations to probe different satellite quenching mechanisms operating at different mass scales (10(5) M-theta ? M * < 10(11) M ((R))) in Milky Way-like hosts. Our goal is to understand the origin of the satellite colour distribution and star-forming properties in both observations and simulations. We find that the satellite populations in the Auriga simulations, which was originally designed to model Milky Way-like host galaxies, resemble the populations in the Exploration of Local VolumE Satellites (ELVES) Surv e y and the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) survey in their luminosity function in the luminosity range -12 ? M-V ? -15 and resemble ELVES in their quenched fraction and colour-magnitude distribution in the luminosity range -12 ? M-g ? -15. We find that satellites transition from blue colours to red colours at the luminosity range -15 ? Mg ? -12 in both the simulations and observations and we show that this shift is driven by environmental effects in the simulations. We demonstrate also that the colour distribution in both simulations and observations can be decomposed into two statistically distinct populations based on their morphological type or star-forming status that are statistically distinct. In the simulations, these two populations also have statistically distinct infall time distributions. The comparison presented here seems to indicate that this tension is resolved by the impro v ed target selection of ELVES, but there are still tensions in understanding the colours of faint galaxies, of which ELVES appears to have a significant population of faint blue satellites not reco v ered in Auriga.
Constraining the assembly time of the stellar haloes of nearby Milky Way-mass galaxies through AGB populations
(Oxford Academic, 2023-08-25) Benjamin Harmsen; Eric F Bell; Richard D’Souza; Antonela Monachesi; Roelof S de Jong; Adam Smercina; In Sung Jang; Benne W Holwerda
The star formation histories (SFHs) of galactic stellar haloes offer crucial insights into the merger history of the galaxy and the effects of those mergers on their hosts. Such measurements have revealed that while the Milky Way’s most important merger was 8–10 Gyr ago, M31’s largest merger was more recent, within the last few Gyr. Unfortunately, the required halo SFH measurements are extremely observationally expensive outside of the Local Group. Here, we use asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars brighter than the tip of the red giant branch (RGB) to constrain stellar halo SFHs. Both stellar population models and archival data sets show that the AGB/RGB ratio constrains the time before which 90 per cent of the stars formed, t90. We find AGB stars in the haloes of three highly inclined roughly Milky Way-mass galaxies with resolved star measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope; this population is most prominent in the stellar haloes of NGC 253 and NGC 891, suggesting that their stellar haloes contain stars born at relatively late times, with inferred t90 ∼ 6 ± 1.5 Gyr. This ratio also varies from region to region, tending towards higher values along the major axis and in tidal streams or shells. By combining our measurements with previous constraints, we find a tentative anticorrelation between halo age and stellar halo mass, a trend that exists in models of galaxy formation but has never been elucidated before, i.e. the largest stellar haloes of Milky Way-mass galaxies were assembled more recently.
Dusty Starbursts Masquerading as Ultra-high Redshift Galaxies in JWST CEERS Observations
(IOP, 2023-06-25) Jorge A. Zavala
Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) candidates at z ≳ 10 are rapidly being identified in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRCam observations. Due to the (redshifted) break produced by neutral hydrogen absorption of rest-frame UV photons, these sources are expected to drop out in the bluer filters while being well detected in redder filters. However, here we show that dust-enshrouded star-forming galaxies at lower redshifts (z ≲ 7) may also mimic the near-infrared (near-IR) colors of z > 10 LBGs, representing potential contaminants in LBG candidate samples. First, we analyze CEERS-DSFG-1, a NIRCam dropout undetected in the F115W and F150W filters but detected at longer wavelengths. Combining the JWST data with (sub)millimeter constraints, including deep NOEMA interferometric observations, we show that this source is a dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) at z ≈ 5.1. We also present a tentative 2.6σ SCUBA-2 detection at 850 μm around a recently identified z ≈ 16 LBG candidate in the same field and show that, if the emission is real and associated with this candidate, the available photometry is consistent with a z ∼ 5 dusty galaxy with strong nebular emission lines despite its blue near-IR colors. Further observations on this candidate are imperative to mitigate the low confidence of this tentative submillimeter emission and its positional uncertainty. Our analysis shows that robust (sub)millimeter detections of NIRCam dropout galaxies likely imply z ∼ 4–6 redshift solutions, where the observed near-IR break would be the result of a strong rest-frame optical Balmer break combined with high dust attenuation and strong nebular line emission, rather than the rest-frame UV Lyman break. This provides evidence that DSFGs may contaminate searches for ultra-high redshift LBG candidates from JWST observations.
Environmental effects on associations of dwarf galaxies
(MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2023-08-09) Yaryura, C. Y.; Abadi, M. G.; Gottlöber, S.; Libeskind, N.; Cora, S. A.; Ruiz, A. N.; Vega-Martínez, C. A.; Yepes, G.
We study the properties of associations of dwarf galaxies and their dependence on the environment. Associations of dwarf galaxies are extended systems composed exclusively of dwarf galaxies, considering as dwarf galaxies those galaxies less massive than M-star,M- (max) = 10(9.0) M(circle dot)h(-1) . We identify these particular systems using a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation coupled to a dark matter-only simulation in the A Cold Dark Matter cosmological model. To classify the environment, we estimate eigenvalues from the tidal field of the dark matter particle distribution of the simulation. We find that the majority, two thirds, of associations are located in filaments (similar to 67 per cent), followed by walls (similar to 26 per cent), while only a small fraction of them are in knots (similar to 6 per cent) and voids (similar to 1 per cent). Associations located in more dense environments present significantly higher velocity dispersion than those located in less dense environments, evidencing that the environment plays a fundamental role in their dynamical properties. However, this connection between velocity dispersion and the environment depends exclusively on whether the systems are gravitational bound or unbound, given that it disappears when we consider associations of dwarf galaxies that are gravitationally bound. Although less than a dozen observationally detected associations of dwarf galaxies are currently known, our results are predictions on the eve of forthcoming large surveys of galaxies, which will enable these very particular systems to be identified and studied.