We present a systematic study of the extraplanar gas (EPG) in a sample of 15 nearby late-type galaxies at intermediate inclinations using publicly available, deep interferometric H I data from the ...Hydrogen Accretion in LOcal GAlaxieS (HALOGAS) survey. For each system we masked the H I emission coming from the regularly rotating disc and used synthetic datacubes to model the leftover “anomalous” H I flux. Our model consists of a smooth, axisymmetric thick component described by three structural and four kinematical parameters, which are fit to the data via a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) based Bayesian method. We find that extraplanar H I is nearly ubiquitous in disc galaxies as we fail to detect it in only two of the systems with the poorest spatial resolution. The EPG component encloses ∼5−25% of the total H I mass with a mean value of 14%, and has a typical thickness of a few kpc which is incompatible with expectations based on hydrostatic equilibrium models. The EPG kinematics is remarkably similar throughout the sample, and consists of a lagging rotation with typical vertical gradients of ∼ − 10 km s−1 kpc−1, a velocity dispersion of 15−30 km s−1, and, for most galaxies, a global inflow in both the vertical and radial directions with speeds of 20−30 km s−1. The EPG H I masses are in excellent agreement with predictions from simple models of the galactic fountain that are powered by stellar feedback. The combined effect of photo-ionisation and interaction of the fountain material with the circumgalactic medium can qualitatively explain the kinematics of the EPG, but dynamical models of the galactic fountain are required to fully test this framework.
We present an investigation of the relationship between giant molecular cloud (GMC) properties and the associated stellar clusters in the nearby flocculent galaxy NGC 7793. We combine the star ...cluster catalogue from the HST LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey) programme with the 15 pc resolution ALMA CO(2-1) observations. We find a strong spatial correlation between young star clusters and GMCs such that all clusters still associated with a GMC are younger than 11 Myr and display a median age of 2 Myr. The age distribution increases gradually as the cluster-GMC distance increases, with star clusters that are spatially unassociated with molecular gas exhibiting a median age of 7 Myr. Thus, star clusters are able to emerge from their natal clouds long before the time-scale required for clouds to disperse. To investigate if the hierarchy observed in the stellar components is inherited from the GMCs, we quantify the amount of clustering in the spatial distributions of the components and find that the star clusters have a fractal dimension slope of -0.35 +/- 0.03, significantly more clustered than the molecular cloud hierarchy with slope of -0.18 +/- 0.04 over the range 40-800 pc. We find, however, that the spatial clustering becomes comparable in strength for GMCs and star clusters with slopes of -0.44 +/- 0.03 and -0.45 +/- 0.06, respectively, when we compare massive (> 10(5) M-circle dot) GMCs to massive and young star clusters. This shows that massive star clusters trace the same hierarchy as their parent GMCs, under the assumption that the star formation efficiency is a few per cent.
ABSTRACT
The morphology of H ii regions around young star clusters provides insight into the time-scales and physical processes that clear a cluster’s natal gas. We study ∼700 young clusters (≤10 ...Myr) in three nearby spiral galaxies (NGC 7793, NGC 4395, and NGC 1313) using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging from LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic Ultraviolet Survey). Clusters are classified by their H α morphology (concentrated, partially exposed, no-emission) and whether they have neighbouring clusters (which could affect the clearing time-scales). Through visual inspection of the HST images, and analysis of ages, reddenings, and stellar masses from spectral energy distributions fitting, together with the (U− B), (V − I) colours, we find (1) the median ages indicate a progression from concentrated (∼3 Myr), to partially exposed (∼4 Myr), to no H α emission (>5 Myr), consistent with the expected temporal evolution of H ii regions and previous results. However, (2) similarities in the age distributions for clusters with concentrated and partially exposed H α morphologies imply a short time-scale for gas clearing (≲1 Myr). Also, (3) our cluster sample’s median mass is ∼1000 M⊙, and a significant fraction ($\sim 20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) contain one or more bright red sources (presumably supergiants), which can mimic reddening effects. Finally, (4) the median E(B − V) values for clusters with concentrated H α and those without H α emission appear to be more similar than expected (∼0.18 versus ∼0.14, respectively), but when accounting for stochastic effects, clusters without H α emission are less reddened. To mitigate stochastic effects, we experiment with synthesizing more massive clusters by stacking fluxes of clusters within each H α morphological class. Composite isolated clusters also reveal a colour and age progression for H α morphological classes, consistent with analysis of the individual clusters.
We have undertaken a deep, wide-field H I imaging survey of M31, reaching a maximum resolution of about 50 pc and 2 km s-1 across a 95 X 48 kpc region. The H I mass and brightness sensitivity at 100 ...pc resolution for a 25 km s-1 wide spectral feature is 1500 M and 0.28 K. Our study reveals ubiquitous H I self-opacity features, discernible in the first instance as filamentary local minima in images of the peak H I brightness temperature. Local minima are organized into complexes of more than kpc length and are particularly associated with the leading edge of spiral arm features. Just as in the Galaxy, there is only patchy correspondence of self-opaque features with CO(1-0) emission. We have produced images of the best-fit physical parameters: spin temperature, opacity-corrected column density, and nonthermal velocity dispersion, for the brightest spectral feature along each line of sight in the M31 disk. Spectroscopically opaque atomic gas is organized into filamentary complexes and isolated clouds down to 100 pc. Localized opacity corrections to the column density exceed an order of magnitude in many cases and add globally to a 30% increase in the atomic gas mass over that inferred from the integrated brightness under the usual assumption of negligible self-opacity. Opaque atomic gas first increases from 20 to 60 K in spin temperature with radius to 12 kpc but then declines again to 20 K beyond 25 kpc. We have extended the resolved star formation law down to physical scales more than an order of magnitude smaller in area and mass than has been possible previously. The relation between total gas mass and star formation rate density is significantly tighter than that with molecular mass and is fully consistent in both slope and normalization with the power-law index of 1.56 found in the molecule-dominated disk of M51 at 500 pc resolution. Below a gas mass density of about 5 M pc-2, there is a downturn in star formation rate density which may represent a real local threshold for massive star formation at a cloud mass of about 5 X 104 M .
We present a study of the kinematics of the extraplanar ionized gas around several dozen galaxies observed by the Mapping of Nearby Galaxies at the Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey. We ...considered a sample of 67 edge-on galaxies out of more than 1400 extragalactic targets observed by MaNGA, in which we found 25 galaxies (or 37%) with regular lagging of the rotation curve at large distances from the galactic midplane. We model the observed H emission velocity fields in the galaxies, taking projection effects and a simple model for the dust extinction into account. We show that the vertical lag of the rotation curve is necessary in the modeling, and estimate the lag amplitude in the galaxies. We find no correlation between the lag and the star formation rate in the galaxies. At the same time, we report a correlation between the lag and the galactic stellar mass, central stellar velocity dispersion, and axial ratio of the light distribution. These correlations suggest a possible higher ratio of infalling-to-local gas in early-type disk galaxies or a connection between lags and the possible presence of hot gaseous halos, which may be more prevalent in more massive galaxies. These results again demonstrate that observations of extraplanar gas can serve as a potential probe for accretion of gas.
In recent years, it has become clear that the vertical structure of disc galaxies is a key ingredient for understanding galaxy evolution. In particular, the presence and structure of extra-planar gas ...has been a focus of research. The Hydrogen Accretion in LOcal GAlaxieS (HALOGAS) survey aims to provide a census on the rate of cold neutral gas accretion in nearby galaxies as well as a statistically significant set of galaxies that can be investigated for their extra-planar gas properties. In order to better understand the vertical structure of the neutral hydrogen in the two edge-on HALOGAS galaxies NGC 5023 and UGC 2082, we construct detailed tilted ring models. The addition of distortions resembling arcs or spiral arms significantly improves the fit of the models to these galaxies. In the case of UGC 2082, no vertical gradient in rotational velocity is required in either symmetric models nor non-symmetric models to match the observations. The best-fitting model features two arcs of large vertical extent that may be due to accretion. In the case of NGC 5023, a vertical gradient is required in symmetric models (dV/dz = −14.9 ± 3.8 km s−1 kpc−1) and its magnitude is significantly lowered when non-symmetric models are considered (dV/dz = −9.4 ± 3.8 km s−1 kpc−1). Additionally, it is shown that the underlying disc of NGC 5023 can be made symmetric, in all parameters except the warp, in non-symmetric models. In comparison to the 'classical' modelling, these models fit the data significantly better with a limited addition of free parameters.
CHANG-ES Stein, Y.; Dettmar, R.-J.; Irwin, J. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
03/2019, Letnik:
623
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context.
The observation of total and linearly polarized synchrotron radiation of spiral galaxies in the radio continuum reveals the distribution and structure of their magnetic fields. By observing ...these, information about the proposed dynamo processes that preserve the large-scale magnetic fields in spiral galaxies can be gained. Additionally, by analyzing the synchrotron intensity, the transport processes of cosmic rays into the halo of edge-on spiral galaxies can be investigated.
Aims.
We analyze the magnetic field geometry and the transport processes of the cosmic rays of the edge-on spiral starburst galaxy NGC 4666 from CHANG-ES radio data in two frequencies; 6 GHz (
C
-band) and 1.5 GHz (
L
-band). Supplementary X-ray data are used to investigate the hot gas in NGC 4666.
Methods.
We determine the radio scale heights of total power emission at both frequencies for this galaxy. We show the magnetic field orientations derived from the polarization data. Using rotation measure (RM) synthesis we further study the behavior of the RM values along the disk in
C
-band to investigate the large-scale magnetic-field pattern. We use the revised equipartition formula to calculate a map of the magnetic field strength. Furthermore, we model the processes of cosmic-ray transport into the halo with the 1D SPINNAKER model.
Results.
The extended radio halo of NGC 4666 is box-shaped and is probably produced by the previously observed supernova-driven superwind. This is supported by our finding of an advective cosmic-ray transport such as that expected for a galactic wind. The scale-height analysis revealed an asymmetric halo above and below the disk as well as between the two sides of the major axis. A central point source as well as a bubble structure is seen in the radio data for the first time. Our X-ray data show a box-shaped hot halo around NGC 4666 and furthermore confirm the AGN nature of the central source. NGC 4666 has a large-scale X-shaped magnetic field in the halo, as has been observed in other edge-on galaxies. The analysis furthermore revealed that the disk of NGC 4666 shows hints of field reversals along its radius, which is the first detection of this phenomenon in an external galaxy.
Abstract
We report the large effort that is producing comprehensive high-level young star cluster (YSC) catalogs for a significant fraction of galaxies observed with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV ...Survey (LEGUS)
Hubble
treasury program. We present the methodology developed to extract cluster positions, verify their genuine nature, produce multiband photometry (from NUV to NIR), and derive their physical properties via spectral energy distribution fitting analyses. We use the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 628 as a test case for demonstrating the impact that LEGUS will have on our understanding of the formation and evolution of YSCs and compact stellar associations within their host galaxy. Our analysis of the cluster luminosity function from the UV to the NIR finds a steepening at the bright end and at all wavelengths suggesting a dearth of luminous clusters. The cluster mass function of NGC 628 is consistent with a power-law distribution of slopes
and a truncation of a few times 10
5
. After their formation, YSCs and compact associations follow different evolutionary paths. YSCs survive for a longer time frame, confirming their being potentially bound systems. Associations disappear on timescales comparable to hierarchically organized star-forming regions, suggesting that they are expanding systems. We find mass-independent cluster disruption in the inner region of NGC 628, while in the outer part of the galaxy there is little or no disruption. We observe faster disruption rates for low mass (≤10
4
) clusters, suggesting that a mass-dependent component is necessary to fully describe the YSC disruption process in NGC 628.
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