We present the PMAS/PPak Integral-field Supernova hosts COmpilation (PISCO), which comprises integral field spectroscopy (IFS) of 232 supernova (SN) host galaxies that hosted 272 SNe, observed over ...several semesters with the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA). PISCO is the largest collection of SN host galaxies observed with wide-field IFS, totaling 466,347 individual spectra covering a typical spatial resolution of ∼380 pc. Focused studies regarding specific SN Ia-related topics will be published elsewhere; this paper aims to present the properties of the SN environments, using stellar population (SP) synthesis, and the gas-phase interstellar medium, providing additional results separating stripped-envelope SNe into their subtypes. With 11,270 H ii regions detected in all galaxies, we present for the first time a statistical analysis of H ii regions, which puts H ii regions that have hosted SNe in context with all other star-forming clumps within their galaxies. SNe Ic are associated with environments that are more metal-rich and have higher EW(H ) and higher star formation rate within their host galaxies than the mean of all H ii regions detected within each host. This in contrast to SNe IIb, which occur in environments that are very different compared to other core-collapse SNe types. We find two clear components of young and old SPs at SNe IIn locations. We find that SNe II fast decliners tend to explode at locations where the SFR is more intense. Finally, we outline how a future dedicated IFS survey of galaxies in parallel to an untargeted SN search would overcome the biases in current environmental studies.
Oxygen abundance maps of CALIFA galaxies Zinchenko, I. A; Pilyugin, L. S; Grebel, E. K ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
11/2016, Letnik:
462, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We construct maps of the oxygen abundance distribution across the discs of 88 galaxies using Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey (CALIFA) Data Release 2 (DR2) spectra. The position of the ...centre of a galaxy (coordinates on the plate) was also taken from the CALIFA DR2. The galaxy inclination, the position angle of the major axis, and the optical radius were determined from the analysis of the surface brightnesses in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) g and r bands of the photometric maps of SDSS Data Release 9. We explore the global azimuthal abundance asymmetry in the discs of the CALIFA galaxies and the presence of a break in the radial oxygen abundance distribution. We found that there is no significant global azimuthal asymmetry for our sample of galaxies, i.e. the asymmetry is small, usually lower than 0.05 dex. The scatter in oxygen abundances around the abundance gradient has a comparable value, ≲0.05 dex. A significant (possibly dominant) fraction of the asymmetry can be attributed to the uncertainties in the geometrical parameters of these galaxies. There is evidence for a flattening of the radial abundance gradient in the central part of 18 galaxies. We also estimated the geometric parameters (coordinates of the centre, the galaxy inclination and the position angle of the major axis) of our galaxies from the analysis of the abundance map. The photometry-map-based and the abundance-map-based geometrical parameters are relatively close to each other for the majority of the galaxies but the discrepancy is large for a few galaxies with a flat radial abundance gradient.
We use deep integral field spectroscopy data from the CALIFA survey to study the warm interstellar medium (wim) over the entire extent and optical spectral range of 32 nearby early-type galaxies ...(ETGs). We find that faint nebular emission is extended in all cases, and its surface brightness decreases roughly as ∝ r−α. The large standard deviation in the derived α (1.09 ± 0.67) argues against a universal power-law index for the radial drop-off of nebular emission in ETGs. Judging from the properties of their extranuclear component, our sample ETGs span a broad, continuous sequence with respect to their α, Hα equivalent width (EW) and Lyman continuum (Lyc) photon leakage fraction (plf). We propose a tentative subdivision into two groups: Type i ETGs are characterized by rather steep Hα profiles (α ≃ 1.4), comparatively large (≳1 Å), nearly radially constant EWs, and plf ≃ 0. Photoionization by post-AGB stars appears to be the main driver of extended nebular emission in these systems, with nonthermal sources being potentially important only in their nuclei. Typical properties of type ii ETGs are shallower Hα profiles (α ≃ 0.8), very low (≲0.5 Å) EWs with positive radial gradients, and a mean plf ≳ 0.7, rising to ≳0.9 in their centers. Such properties point to a low, and inwardly decreasing wim density and/or volume filling factor. We argue that, because of extensive Lyc photon leakage, emission-line luminosities and EWs are reduced in type ii ETG nuclei by at least one order of magnitude. Consequently, the line weakness of these ETGs is by itself no compelling evidence for their containing merely “weak”(sub-Eddington accreting) active galactic nuclei (AGN). In fact, Lyc photon escape, which has heretofore not been considered, may constitute a key element in understanding why many ETGs with prominent signatures of AGN activity in radio continuum and/or X-ray wavelengths show only faint emission lines and weak signatures of AGN activity in their optical spectra. The Lyc photon escape, in conjunction with dilution of nuclear EWs by line-of-sight integration through a triaxial stellar host, can systematically impede detection of AGN in gas-poor galaxy spheroids through optical emission-line spectroscopy, thereby leading to an observational bias. We further find that type i&ii ETGs differ little (≲0.4 dex) in their mean BPT line ratios, which in both cases are characteristic of LINERs and are, within their uncertainties, almost radius-independent. This potentially hints at a degeneracy of the projected, luminosity-weighted BPT ratios in the LINER regime, for the specific 3D properties of the wim and the ionizing photon field in ETGs.
Context.
Finding and elucidating the properties of Lyman-continuum(LyC)-emitting galaxies is an important step in improving our understanding of cosmic reionization.
Aims.
Although the
z
∼ 0.3 − 0.4 ...LyC emitters found recently show strong optical emission lines, no consistent quantitative photoionization model taking into account the escape of ionizing photons and inhomogenous interstellar medium (ISM) geometry of these galaxies has yet been constructed. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent these emission lines can be used to distinguish LyC emitters.
Methods.
To address these questions we construct one- and two-zone photoionization models accounting for the observed LyC escape, which we compare to the observed emission line measurements. The main diagnostics used include lines of O
III
, O
II
, and O
I
plus sulfur lines (S
II
, S
III
) and a nitrogen line (N
II
), which probe regions of different ionization in the ISM.
Results.
We find that single (one-zone) density-bounded photoionization models cannot reproduce the emission lines of the LyC leakers, as pointed out by earlier studies, because they systematically underpredict the lines of species of low ionization potential, such as O
I
and S
II
. Introducing a two-zone model, with differing ionization parameter and a variable covering fraction and where one of the zones is density-bounded, we show that the observed emission line ratios of the LyC emitters are well reproduced. Furthermore, our model yields LyC escape fractions, which are in fair agreement with the observations and independent measurements. The O
I
λ
6300 excess, which is observed in some LyC leakers, can be naturally explained in this model, for example by emission from low-ionization and low-filling-factor gas. LyC emitters with a high escape fraction (
f
esc
≳ 38%) are deficient both in O
I
λ
6300 and in S
II
λ
λ
6716,6731. We also confirm that a S
II
λ
λ
6716,6731 deficiency can be used to select LyC emitter candidates, as suggested earlier. Finally, we find indications for a possible dichotomy in terms of escape mechanisms for LyC photons between galaxies with relatively low (
f
esc
≲ 10%) and higher escape fractions.
Conclusions.
We conclude that two-zone photoionization models are sufficient and required to explain the observed emission line properties of
z
∼ 0.3 − 0.4 LyC emitters. This is in agreement with UV absorption line studies, which also show the co-existence of regions with high hydrogen column density (i.e., no escape of ionizing photons) and density-bounded or very low column density regions responsible for the observed escape of LyC radiation. These simple but consistent models provide a first step towards the use of optical emission lines and their ratios as quantitative diagnostics of LyC escape from galaxies.
ABSTRACT
Using new Very Large Telescope (VLT)/XShooter spectral observations we analyse the physical properties of five z ∼ 0.3–0.4 confirmed Lyman continuum (LyC) leakers. Strong resonant Mg ...ii λλ2796, 2803 Å emission lines (I(λλ2796, 2803)/I(Hβ) ≃ 10–38 per cent) and non-resonant Fe ii* λλ2612, 2626 Å emission lines are observed in spectra of five and three galaxies, respectively. We find high electron densities Ne ∼ 400 cm−3, significantly higher than in typical low-z, but comparable to those measured in z ∼ 2–3 star-forming galaxies (SFGs). The galaxies have a mean value of log N/O = –1.16, close to the maximum values found for SFGs in the metallicity range of 12 + log O/H ≃ 7.7–8.1. All 11 low-z LyC emitting galaxies found by Izotov et al., including the ones considered in this study, are characterized by high equivalent width (EW) (Hβ) ∼ 200–400 Å, high ionization parameter (log(U) = –2.5 to –1.7), high average ionizing photon production efficiency ξ = 1025.54 Hz erg−1, and hard ionizing radiation. On the Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich (BPT) diagram we find the same offset of our leakers from low-z main-sequence SFGs as that for local analogues of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) and extreme SFGs at z ∼ 2–3. We confirm the effectiveness of the He i emission lines diagnostics proposed by Izotov et al. in searching for LyC leaker candidates and find that their intensity ratios correspond to those in a median with low neutral hydrogen column density N(H i) = 1017–5 × 1017 cm−2 that permit leakage of LyC radiation, likely due to their density-bounded H ii regions.
We present a detailed 2D study of the ionized ionized interstellar medium (ISM) of IZw18 using new Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer-integral field unit (PMAS-IFU) optical observations. IZw18 ...is a high-ionization galaxy which is among the most metal-poor starbursts in the local Universe. This makes IZw18 a local benchmark for understanding the properties most closely resembling those prevailing at distant starbursts. Our IFU aperture (∼1.4 × 1.4 kpc2) samples the entire IZw18 main body and an extended region of its ionized gas. Maps of relevant emission lines and emission line ratios show that higher-excitation gas is preferentially located close to the north-west knot and thereabouts. We detect a Wolf–Rayet feature near the north-west knot. We derive spatially resolved and integrated physical–chemical properties for the ionized gas in IZw18. We find no dependence between the metallicity indicator R23 and the ionization parameter (as traced by O iii/O ii) across IZw18. Over ∼0.30 kpc2, using the O iii λ4363 line, we compute T
eO iii values (∼15 000–25 000 K), and oxygen abundances are derived from the direct determinations of T
eO iii. More than 70 per cent of the higher-T
eO iii (≳22 000 K) spaxels are He iiλ4686-emitting spaxels too. From a statistical analysis, we study the presence of variations in the ISM physical–chemical properties. A galaxy-wide homogeneity, across hundreds of parsecs, is seen in O/H. Based on spaxel-by-spaxel measurements, the error-weighted mean of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.11 ± 0.01 is taken as the representative O/H for IZw18. Aperture effects on the derivation of O/H are discussed. Using our IFU data we obtain, for the first time, the IZw18 integrated spectrum.
We present an analysis of the gas-phase oxygen abundances of a sample of 28 galaxies in the local Universe (z < 0.02) hosting Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The data were obtained with the 4.2 m ...William Herschel Telescope. We derive local oxygen abundances for the regions where the SNe Ia exploded by calculating oxygen gradients through each galaxy (when possible) or assuming the oxygen abundance of the closest H ii region. The sample selection only considered galaxies for which distances not based on the SN Ia method are available. Then, we use a principal component analysis to study the dependence of the absolute magnitudes on the colour of the SN Ia, the oxygen abundances of the region where they exploded and the stretch of the SN light curve. We demonstrate that our previous result suggesting a metallicity dependence on the SN Ia luminosity for non-reddened SNe Ia can be extended to our whole sample. These results reinforce the need of including a metallicity proxy, such as the oxygen abundance of the host galaxy, to minimize the systematic effect induced by the metallicity dependence of the SN Ia luminosity in future studies of SNe Ia at cosmological distances.
Abstract
Nebular He
ii
emission implies the presence of energetic photons (
E
≥ 54 eV). Despite the great deal of effort dedicated to understanding He
ii
ionization, its origin has remained ...mysterious, particularly in metal-deficient star-forming (SF) galaxies. Unfolding He
ii
-emitting, metal-poor starbursts at
z
∼ 0 can yield insight into the powerful ionization processes occurring in the primordial universe. Here we present a new study on the effects that X-ray sources have on the He
ii
ionization in the extremely metal-poor galaxy IZw18 (
Z
∼ 3%
Z
⊙
), whose X-ray emission is dominated by a single high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB). This study uses optical integral field spectroscopy, archival Hubble Space Telescope observations, and all of the X-ray data sets publicly available for IZw18. We investigate the time-variability of the IZw18 HMXB for the first time; its emission shows small variations on timescales from days to decades. The best-fit models for the HMXB X-ray spectra cannot reproduce the observed He
ii
ionization budget of IZw18, nor can recent photoionization models that combine the spectra of both very low metallicity massive stars and the emission from HMXB. We also find that the IZw18 HMXB and the He
ii
-emission peak are spatially displaced at a projected distance of ≃200 pc. These results reduce the relevance of X-ray photons as the dominant He
ii
ionizing mode in IZw18, which leaves uncertain what process is responsible for the bulk of its He
ii
ionization. This is in line with recent work discarding X-ray binaries as the main source responsible for He
ii
ionization in SF galaxies.
We present deep broadband imaging and long-slit spectroscopy of three compact, low-mass starburst galaxies at redshift z ~ 0.2-0.3, also referred to as Green Peas (GP). We measure physical properties ...of the ionized gas and derive abundances for several species with high precision. We find that the three GPs display relatively low extinction, low oxygen abundances, and remarkably high nitrogen-to-oxygen ratios. We also report on the detection of clear signatures of Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars in these galaxies. We carry out a pilot spectral synthesis study using a combination of both population and evolutionary synthesis models. Their outputs are in qualitative agreement, strongly suggesting a formation history dominated by starbursts. In agreement with the presence of W-R stars, these models show that these GPs currently undergo a major starburst producing between ~4% and ~20% of their stellar mass. However, as models imply, they are old galaxies that formed most of their stellar mass several Gyr ago. The presence of old stars has been spectroscopically verified in one of the galaxies by the detection of Mg I lambdalambda5167, 5173 absorption lines. Additionally, we perform a surface photometry study based on Hubble Space Telescope data, which indicates that the three galaxies possess an exponential low surface brightness envelope. If due to stellar emission, the latter is structurally compatible with the evolved hosts of luminous blue compact dwarf (BCD)/H II galaxies, suggesting that GPs are identifiable with major episodes in the assembly history of local BCDs. These conclusions highlight the importance of these objects as laboratories for studying galaxy evolution at late cosmic epochs.
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