We use the first data release from the SINGG Ha survey of H i-selected galaxies to study the quantitative behavior of the diffuse, warm ionized medium (WIM) across the range of properties represented ...by these 109 galaxies. The mean fraction fwim of diffuse ionized gas in this sample is 0.59 plus or minus 0. 19, slightly higher than found in previous samples. Since lower surface brightness galaxies tend to have higher fwim, we believe that most of this difference is due to selection effects favoring large, optically bright, nearby galaxies with high star formation rates. As found in previous studies, there is no appreciable correlation with Hubble type or total star formation rate. However, we find that starburst galaxies, defined here by an Ha surface brightness > 2.5 x 10 super(39) erg super(-) sub(8) super(1) kpe super(-2) within the H alpha half-light radius, do show much lower fractions of diffuse Ha emission. The cause apparently is not dominated by a lower fraction of field OB stars. However, it is qualitatively consistent with an expected escape of ionizing radiation above a threshold star formation rate, predicted from our model in which the ISM is shredded by pressure-driven supernova feedback. The H i gas fractions in the starburst galaxies are also lower, suggesting that the starbursts are consuming and ionizing all the gas, and thus promoting regions of density-bounded ionization. If true, these effects Imply that some amount of Lyman continuum radiation is escaping from most starburst galaxies, and that WIM properties and outflows from mechanical feedback are likely to be pressure-driven. However, in view of previous studies showing that the escape fraction of ionizing radiation Is generally low, it is likely that other factors also drive the low fractions of diffuse ionized gas in starbursts.
In this paper, we describe integral field spectroscopic observations of four southern Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), M3-4, M3-6, Hen2-29 and Hen2-37 covering the spectral range 3400–7000 Å. We ...derive the ionization structure, the physical conditions, the chemical compositions and the kinematical characteristics of these PNe and find good agreement with previous studies that relied upon the long-slit technique in their co-spatial area. From their chemical compositions as well as their spatial and kinematic characteristics, we determined that Hen2-29 is of the Peimbert type I (He- and N-rich), while the other three are of type II. The strength of the nebular He ii line reveals that M3-3, Hen2-29 and Hen2-37 are of mid to high excitation classes while M3-6 is a low-excitation PN. A series of emission-line maps extracted from the data cubes were constructed for each PN to describe its overall structure. These show remarkable morphological diversity. Spatially resolved spectroscopy of M3-6 shows that the recombination lines of C ii, C iii, C iv and N iii are of nebular origin, rather than arising from the central star as had been previously proposed. This result increases doubts regarding the weak emission-line star (WELS) classification raised by Basurah et al. In addition, they reinforce the probability that most genuine cases of WELS arise from irradiation effects in close binary central stars.
We study the case of a bright (L > L
) barred spiral galaxy from the rich cluster A3558 in the Shapley supercluster core (z = 0.05) undergoing ram-pressure stripping. Integral-field spectroscopy with ...Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) at the 2.3-m Australian National University telescope, complemented by imaging in ultraviolet (GALEX), B and R European Southern Observatory (ESO) 2.2-m WFI, Hα (Magellan), K (United Kingdom Infrared Telescope), 24 and 70 μm (Spitzer), allows us to reveal the impact of ram pressure on the interstellar medium. With these data we study in detail the kinematics and the physical conditions of the ionized gas and the properties of the stellar populations. We observe one-sided extraplanar ionized gas along the full extent of the galaxy disc, extending ∼13 kpc in projection from it. Narrow-band Hα imaging resolves this outflow into a complex of knots and filaments, similar to those seen in other cluster galaxies undergoing ram-pressure stripping. The gas velocity field is complex with the extraplanar gas showing signature of rotation, while the stellar velocity field is regular and the K-band image shows a symmetric stellar distribution. We use line-ratio diagnostics to ascertain the origin of the observed emission. In all parts of the galaxy, we find a significant contribution from shock excitation, as well as emission powered by star formation. Shock-ionized gas is associated with the turbulent gas outflow and highly attenuated by dust (A
v
= 1.5-2.3 mag). All these findings cover the whole phenomenology of early-stage ram-pressure stripping. Intense, highly obscured star formation is taking place in the nucleus, probably related to the bar, and in a region 12 kpc south-west (SW) from the centre. These two regions account for half of the total star formation in the galaxy, which overall amounts to 7.2 ± 2.2 M yr−1. In the SW region we identify a starburst characterized by a ∼5× increase in the star formation rate over the last ∼100 Myr, possibly related to the compression of the interstellar gas by the ram pressure. The scenario suggested by the observations is supported and refined by ad hoc N-body/hydrodynamical simulations which identify a rather narrow temporal range for the onset of ram-pressure stripping around t ∼ 60 Myr ago, and an angle between the galaxy rotation axis and the intracluster medium wind of ∼45°. The ram pressure is therefore acting at an intermediate angle between face-on and edge-on. Taking into account that the galaxy is found ∼1 Mpc from the cluster centre in a relatively low density region, this study shows that ram-pressure stripping still acts efficiently on massive galaxies well outside the cluster cores, as also recently observed in the Virgo cluster.
ABSTRACT
We present integral field unit spectroscopic observations of southern Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) IC 2501, Hen 2-7, and PB 4. The goal of studying these objects together is that, ...although they have roughly similar intermediate excitation and evolution of central stars (CSs), they display very different evolution in their nebular structure that needs to be understood. The morphologies and ionization structures of the objects are investigated using a set of emission-line maps representative of the different ionization zones. We use those in order to construct two-zone self-consistent photoionization models for each nebula to determine new model-dependent distances, progenitor luminosities, effective temperatures, and CS masses. The physical conditions, chemical compositions, and expansion velocities and ages of these nebulae are derived. In Hen 2-7 we discover a strong poleward-directed jet from the presumed binary CS. Oxygen and nitrogen abundances derived from both collisionally excited and recombination lines reveal that PB 4 displays an extreme abundance discrepancy factor, and we present evidence that this is caused by fluorescent pumping of the O ii ion by the EUV continuum of an interacting binary CS, rather than by recombination of the O iii ion. Both IC 2501 and PB 4 were classified by others as Weak Emission Line Stars (WELS). However, our emission-line maps show that their recombination lines are spatially extended in both objects, and are therefore of nebular rather than CS origin. Given that we have found this result in a number of other PNe, this result casts further doubt on the reliability, or even the reality, of the WELS classification.
Many of the results in modern astrophysics rest on the notion that the initial mass function (IMF) is universal. Our observations of a sample of H I selected galaxies in the light of Ha and the ...far-ultraviolet (FUV) challenge this result. The extinction-corrected flux ratio F Ha/f FUV from these two tracers of star formation shows strong correlations with the surface brightness in Ha and the R band: low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies have lower F Ha/f FUV ratios compared to high surface brightness galaxies as well as compared to expectations from equilibrium models of constant star formation rate (SFR) using commonly favored IMF parameters. Weaker but significant correlations of F Ha/f FUV with luminosity, rotational velocity, and dynamical mass as well as a systematic trend with morphology, are found. The correlated variations of F Ha/f FUV with other global parameters are thus part of the larger family of galaxy scaling relations. The F Ha/f FUV correlations cannot be due to residual extinction correction errors, while systematic variations in the star formation history (SFH) cannot explain the trends with both Ha and R surface brightness nor with other global properties. The possibility that LSB galaxies have a higher escape fraction of ionizing photons seems inconsistent with their high gas fraction, and observations of color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of a few systems which indicate a real deficit of O stars. The most plausible explanation for the correlations is the systematic variations of the upper mass limit and/or the slope g which define the upper end of the IMF. We outline a scenario of pressure driving the correlations by setting the efficiency of the formation of the dense star clusters where the highest mass stars preferentially form. Our results imply that the SFR measured in a galaxy is highly sensitive to the tracer used in the measurement. A nonuniversal IMF would also call into question the interpretation of metal abundance patterns in dwarf galaxies as well as SFHs derived from CMDs.
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.
We report the results of high spatial and spectral resolution integral-field spectroscopy of the central ∼3 × 3 arcsec2 of the active galaxy NGC 1275 (Perseus A), based on observations with the ...Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) and the ALTitude conjugate Adaptive optics for the InfraRed (ALTAIR) adaptive-optics system on the Gemini North telescope. The circum-nuclear disc in the inner R ∼ 50 pc of NGC 1275 is seen in both the H2 and Fe ii lines. The disc is interpreted as the outer part of a collisionally excited turbulent accretion disc. The kinematic major axis of the disc at a position angle of 68° is oriented perpendicular to the radio jet. A streamer-like feature to the south-west of the disc, detected in H2 but not in Fe ii, is discussed as one of possibly several molecular streamers, presumably falling into the nuclear region. Indications of an ionization structure within the disc are deduced from the He i and Brγ emission lines, which may partially originate from the inner portions of the accretion disc. The kinematics of these two lines agrees with the signature of the circum-nuclear disc, but both lines display a larger central velocity dispersion than the H2 line. The ro-vibrational H2 transitions from the core of NGC 1275 are indicative of thermal excitation caused by shocks and agree with excitation temperatures of ∼1360 and ∼4290 K for the lower and higher energy H2 transitions, respectively. The data suggest X-ray heating as the dominant excitation mechanism of Fe ii emission in the core, while fast shocks are a possible alternative. The Fe ii lines indicate an electron density of ∼4000 cm−3. The H2 disc is modelled using simulated NIFS data cubes of H2 emission from inclined discs in Keplerian rotation around a central mass. Assuming a disc inclination of 45° ± 10°, the best-fitting models imply a central mass of (8 + 7
− 2) × 108 M. Taken as a black hole mass estimate, this value is larger than previous estimates for the black hole mass in NGC 1275, but is in agreement with the M-σ relation within the rms scatter. However, the molecular gas mass in the core region is tentatively estimated to be non-negligible, which suggests that the central mass may rather represent an upper limit for the black hole mass. In comparison to other H2-luminous radio galaxies, we discuss the relative role of jet feedback and accretion in driving shocks and turbulence in the molecular gas component.
Theoretical Modeling of Starburst Galaxies Kewley, L. J; Dopita, M. A; Sutherland, R. S ...
The Astrophysical journal,
07/2001, Letnik:
556, Številka:
1
Journal Article
We present an integral field spectroscopic study of two nearby luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), IC 1623 and NGC 3256, which exhibit evidence of widespread shock excitation induced by ongoing ...merger activity. We show the importance of carefully separating excitation due to shocks versus excitation by H II regions and the usefulness of integral field unit data in interpreting the complex processes in LIRGs. Our analysis focuses primarily on the emission line gas, which is extensive in both systems and is a result of the abundant ongoing star formation as well as widespread LINER-like excitation from shocks. We use emission line ratio maps, line kinematics, line-ratio diagnostics, and new models as methods for distinguishing and analyzing shocked gas in these systems. We discuss how our results inform the merger sequence associated with local U/LIRGs and the impact that widespread shock excitation has on the interpretation of emission line spectra and derived quantities of both local and high-redshift galaxies.
Abstract
In an attempt to remove the systematic errors which have plagued the calibration of the H ii region abundance sequence, we have theoretically modelled the extragalactic H ii region sequence. ...We then used the theoretical spectra so generated in a double-blind experiment to recover the chemical abundances using both the classical electron temperature + ionization correction factor technique and the technique which depends on the use of strong emission lines (SELs) in the nebular spectrum to estimate the abundance of oxygen. We find a number of systematic trends, and we provide correction formulae which should remove systematic errors in the electron temperature + ionization correction factor technique. We also provide a critical evaluation of the various semi-empirical SEL techniques. Finally, we offer a scheme which should help to eliminate systematic errors in the SEL-derived chemical abundance scale for extragalactic H ii regions.
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