AINUR: Atlas of Images of NUclear Rings Comerón, S.; Knapen, J. H.; Beckman, J. E. ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
March 2010, Letnik:
402, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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We present the most complete atlas of nuclear rings to date. We include 113 rings found in 107 galaxies, six of which are elliptical galaxies, five are highly inclined disc galaxies, 18 are unbarred ...disc galaxies and 78 are barred disc galaxies. Star-forming nuclear rings occur in 20 ± 2 per cent of disc galaxies with types between T=−3 and T= 7. We aim to explore possible relationships between the size and morphology of the rings and various galactic parameters. We also aim to establish whether ultra-compact nuclear rings are a distinct population of nuclear rings or if they are merely the low-end tail of the nuclear ring size distribution. We produce colour index and structure maps, as well as Hα and Paα continuum-subtracted images from Hubble Space Telescope archival data. We derive ellipticity profiles from H-band Two-Micron All-Sky Survey images in order to detect bars and find their metric parameters. We measure the non-axisymmetric torque parameter, Qg, and search for correlations between bar and ring metric parameters, and Qg. Our atlas of nuclear rings includes star-forming and dust rings. Nuclear rings span a range from a few tens of parsecs to a few kiloparsecs in radius. Star-forming nuclear rings can be found in a wide range of morphological types, from S0 to Sd, with a peak in the distribution between Sab and Sb and without strong preference for barred galaxies. The ellipticities of rings found in disc galaxies range from εr= 0 to εr= 0.4, assuming that nuclear rings lie in the galactic plane. Dust nuclear rings are found in elliptical and S0 galaxies. For barred galaxies, the maximum radius that a nuclear ring can reach is a quarter of the bar radius. We found a nearly random distribution of position angle offsets between nuclear rings and bars. There is some evidence that nuclear ring ellipticity is limited by bar ellipticity. We confirm that the maximum relative size of a star-forming nuclear ring is inversely proportional to the non-axisymmetric torque parameter, Qg (‘stronger bars host smaller rings’) and that the origin of nuclear rings, even the ones in non-barred hosts, is closely linked to the existence of dynamical resonances. Ultra-compact nuclear rings constitute the low-radius portion of the nuclear ring size distribution. We discuss implications for the lifetimes of nuclear rings and for their origin and evolution.
Carbon dioxide is a green yet feeble solvent whose full potential won't be realized until we develop a more thorough understanding of its solvent behavior at the molecular level. Fortunately, ...advances in molecular modeling coupled with experiments are rapidly improving our understanding of CO(2)'s behavior, permitting design of new, more sustainable "CO(2)-philes".
We have used Spitzer images of a sample of 68 barred spiral galaxies in the local universe to make systematic measurements of bar length and bar strength. We combine these with precise determinations ...of the corotation radii associated with the bars, taken from our previous study, which used the phase change from radial inflow to radial outflow of gas at corotation, based on high-resolution two-dimensional velocity fields in H taken with a Fabry-Pérot spectrometer. After presenting the histograms of the derived bar parameters, we study their dependence on the galaxy morphological type and on the total stellar mass of the host galaxy, and then produce a set of parametric plots. These include the bar pattern speed versus bar length, the pattern speed normalized with the characteristic pattern speed of the outer disk versus the bar strength, and the normalized pattern speed versus , the ratio of corotation radius to bar length. To provide guidelines for our interpretation, we used recently published simulations, including disk and dark matter halo components. Our most striking conclusion is that bars with values of < 1.4, previously considered dynamically fast rotators, can be among the slowest rotators both in absolute terms and when their pattern speeds are normalized. The simulations confirm that this is because as the bars are braked, they can grow longer more quickly than the outward drift of the corotation radius. We conclude that dark matter halos have indeed slowed down the rotation of bars on Gyr timescales.
High molecular weight associating random copolymers, such as poly(fluoroacrylate-styrene) (polyFAST), are direct CO2 thickeners that can dissolve readily in CO2 and significantly increase viscosity. ...Although polyfluoroacrylate (PFA) is more CO2-soluble than polyFAST, PFA induces less thickening because it is non-associating. High molecular weight poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) can increase CO2 viscosity if toluene cosolvent is introduced. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) can thicken CO2 modestly if ethanol cosolvent is added. Little CO2 thickening has been reported for low molecular weight polymers, including poly(vinyl ethyl ether) (PVEE) and poly-1-decene (P1D). Associating oligomers of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) with pendant aromatic groups showed modest CO2 viscosity enhancement. Cross-linked phosphate esters can increase the viscosity of CO2 if a very substantial concentration of a light alkane cosolvent is added. Indirect thickening of CO2 involves the generation of high apparent viscosity, completely waterless CO2-in-oil (C/O) emulsions that can be attained when CO2 is mixed with mineral oil containing a silicone-alkyl copolymeric surfactant; similar behavior was observed with a proprietary blend of oil and surfactants. Only one nanoparticle-based thickening of CO2 involving the dispersal of dilute concentrations of nanoparticles that are surface-functionalized with highly CO2-philic groups was reported (however, no explanation was provided to explain how the high molecular weight polymer used in this study could be CO2-soluble). New experimental results were obtained for some readily available or easily synthesized CO2-thickening candidates. PolyFAST yielded very substantial viscosity increases. PFA, PDMS-toluene, and PVAC-toluene could appreciably thicken CO2. Very little detectable viscosity enhancement was achieved with low molecular weight PVEE or P1D. CO2 was thickened slightly with AOT-ethanol. Regarding future studies, novel, nonfluorous associating CO2-philic oligomers, and highly CO2-philic phosphate esters that remain dissolved in CO2 after cross-linking are the most obvious candidates for CO2 direct thickeners.
We present here a theoretical model which can at least contribute to the observed relation between the specific angular momenta of galaxies and their masses. This study offers prima facie evidence ...that the origin of an angular momentum of galaxies could be somewhat more complex than previously proposed. The most recent observations point to a scenario in which, after recombination, matter was organized around bubbles (commonly termed voids), which acquired rotation by tidal torque interaction. Subsequently, a combination of the effects of the gravitational collapse of gas in protogalaxies and the Coriolis force due to the rotation of the voids could produce the rotation of spiral galaxies. Thereafter, the tidal interaction between the objects populating the quasi-spherical voids, in which the galaxies far away from the rotation axes (populating the sheet forming the surface of a void) interact with higher probability with others similarly situated in a neighbouring void, offers a mechanism for transforming some of the galaxies into ellipticals, breaking their spin and yielding galaxies with low net angular momentum, as observed. This model gives an explanation for those observations which suggest a tendency of galactic spins to align along the radius vectors pointing towards the centres of the voids for ellipticals/SO and parallel to filaments and sheets for the spirals. Furthermore, while in simple tidal torque theory the angular momentum supplied to galaxies diminishes drastically with the cosmic expansion, in our approximation for which the Coriolis force acts in addition to tidal torques, the Coriolis force due to void rotation ensures almost continuous angular momentum supply.
We have conducted the largest systematic search so far for stellar disk truncations in disklike galaxies at intermediate redshift, using the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) ...data from the Hubble Space Telescope ACS. Focusing on type II galaxies (i.e., downbending profiles), we explore whether the position of the break in the rest-frame B-band radial surface brightness profile (a direct estimator of the extent of the disk where most of the massive star formation is taking place) evolves with time. The number of galaxies under analysis (238 of a total of 505) is an order of magnitude larger than in previous studies. For the first time, we probe the evolution of the break radius for a given stellar mass (a parameter well suited to address evolutionary studies). Our results suggest that, for a given stellar mass, the radial position of the break has increased with cosmic time by a factor of image between image and image0. This is in agreement with a moderate inside-out growth of the disk galaxies in the last image8 Gyr. In the same period of time, the surface brightness level in the rest-frame B band at which the break takes place has increased by image mag arcsec super(-2) (a decrease in brightness by a factor of image). We have explored the distribution of the scale lengths of the disks in the region inside the break and how this parameter relates to the break radius. We also present results of the statistical analysis of profiles of artificial galaxies, to assess the reliability of our results.
Polymers with elastomeric mechanical properties, tunable biodegradation properties and cytocompatibility would be desirable for numerous biomedical applications. Toward this end a series of ...biodegradable poly(ether ester urethane)urea elastomers (PEEUUs) based on poly(ether ester) triblock copolymers were synthesized and characterized. Poly(ether ester) triblock copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of
ε-caprolactone with polyethylene glycol (PEG). PEEUUs were synthesized from these triblock copolymers and butyl diisocyanate, with putrescine as a chain extender. PEEUUs exhibited low glass transition temperatures and possessed tensile strengths ranging from 8 to 20
MPa and breaking strains from 325% to 560%. Increasing PEG length or decreasing poly(caprolactone) length in the triblock segment increased PEEUU water absorption and biodegradation rate. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured in a medium supplemented with PEEUU biodegradation solution suggested a lack of degradation product cytotoxicity. Endothelial cell adhesion to PEEUUs was less than 60% of tissue culture polystyrene and was inversely related to PEEUU hydrophilicity. Surface modification of PEEUUs with ammonia gas radio-frequency glow discharge and subsequent immobilization of the cell adhesion peptide Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser increased endothelial adhesion to a level equivalent to tissue culture polystyrene. These biodegradable PEEUUs thus possessed properties that would be amenable to applications where high strength and flexibility would be desirable and exhibited the potential for tuning with appropriate triblock segment selection and surface modification.
Liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide have attracted much interest as environmentally benign solvents, but their practical use has been limited by the need for high CO2 pressures to dissolve even ...small amounts of polar, amphiphilic, organometallic, or high-molecular-mass compounds. So-called 'CO2-philes' efficiently transport insoluble or poorly soluble materials into CO2 solvent, resulting in the development of a broad range of CO2-based processes, including homogeneous and heterogeneous polymerization, extraction of proteins and metals, and homogeneous catalysis. But as the most effective CO2-philes are expensive fluorocarbons, such as poly(perfluoroether), the commercialization of otherwise promising CO2-based processes has met with only limited success. Here we show that copolymers can act as efficient, non-fluorous CO2-philes if their constituent monomers are chosen to optimize the balance between the enthalpy and entropy of solute-copolymer and copolymer-copolymer interactions. Guided by heuristic rules regarding these interactions, we have used inexpensive propylene and CO2 to synthesize a series of poly(ether-carbonate) copolymers that readily dissolve in CO2 at low pressures. Even though non-fluorous polymers are generally assumed to be CO2-phobic, we expect that our design principles can be used to create a wide range of non-fluorous CO2-philes from low-cost raw materials, thus rendering a variety of CO2-based processes economically favourable, particularly in cases where recycling of CO2-philes is difficult.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Context. Asymmetries in atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies are often caused by the interaction with close companions, making isolated galaxies an ideal framework to study secular evolution. The AMIGA ...project has demonstrated that isolated galaxies show the lowest level of asymmetry in their HI integrated profiles compared to even field galaxies, yet some present significant asymmetries. CIG 96 (NGC 864) is a representative case reaching a 16% level. Aims. Our aim is to investigate the HI asymmetries of the spiral galaxy CIG 96 and what processes have triggered the star-forming regions observed in the XUV pseudo-ring. Methods. We performed deep optical observations at CAHA1.23m, CAHA2.2m and VST (OmegaCAM wide-field camera) telescopes. We reach surface brightness (SB) limits of μCAHA2.2m = 27.5 mag arcsec−2 (Cousins R) and μVST = 28.7 mag arcsec−2 (SDSS r) that show the XUV pseudo-ring of the galaxy in detail. Additionally, a wavelet filtering of the HI data cube from our deep observations with VLA/EVLA telescope allowed us to reach a column density of NHI = 8.9 × 1018 cm−2 (5σ) (28″ × 28″ beam), lower than in any isolated galaxy. Results. We confirm that the HI of CIG 96 extends farther than 4 × r25 in all directions. Furthermore, we detect for the first time two gaseous structures (∼106 M⊙) in the outskirts. The SDSS g - r colour index image from CAHA1.23m shows extremely blue colours in certain regions of the pseudo-ring where NHI > 8.5 × 1020 cm−2, whereas the rest show red colours. Galactic cirrus contaminate the field, setting an unavoidable detection limit at 28.5 mag arcsec−2 (SDSS r). Conclusions. At the current SB and NHI levels, we detect no stellar link within 1° × 1° or gaseous link within 40′ × 40′ between CIG 96 and any companion. The isolation criteria rule out interactions with other similar-sized galaxies for at least ∼2.7 Gyr. Using existing stellar evolution models, the age of the pseudo-ring is estimated at 1 Gyr or older. Undetected previously accreted companions and cold gas accretion remain as the main hypothesis to explain the optical pseudo-ring and HI features of CIG 96.
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