ABSTRACT We present spectra of 14 A-type supergiants in the metal-rich spiral galaxy M83. We derive stellar parameters and metallicities and measure a spectroscopic distance modulus (4.9 0.2 Mpc), in ...agreement with other methods. We use the stellar characteristic metallicity of M83 and other systems to discuss a version of the galaxy mass-metallicity relation that is independent of the analysis of nebular emission lines and the associated systematic uncertainties. We reproduce the radial metallicity gradient of M83, which flattens at large radii, with a chemical evolution model, constraining gas inflow and outflow processes. We carry out a comparative analysis of the metallicities we derive from the stellar spectra and published H ii region line fluxes, utilizing both the direct, -based method and different strong-line abundance diagnostics. The direct abundances are in relatively good agreement with the stellar metallicities, once we apply a modest correction to the nebular oxygen abundance due to depletion onto dust. Popular empirically calibrated strong-line diagnostics tend to provide nebular abundances that underestimate the stellar metallicities above the solar value by ∼0.2 dex. This result could be related to difficulties in selecting calibration samples at high metallicity. The O3N2 method calibrated by Pettini and Pagel gives the best agreement with our stellar metallicities. We confirm that metal recombination lines yield nebular abundances that agree with the stellar abundances for high-metallicity systems, but find evidence that in more metal-poor environments they tend to underestimate the stellar metallicities by a significant amount, opposite to the behavior of the direct method.
Abstract
The H ii region oxygen abundance is a key observable for studying chemical properties of galaxies. Deriving oxygen abundances using optical spectra often relies on empirical strong-line ...calibrations calibrated to the direct method. Existing calibrations usually adopt linear or polynomial functions to describe the non-linear relationships between strong-line ratios and Te oxygen abundances. Here, I explore the possibility of using an artificial neural network model to construct a non-linear strong-line calibration. Using about 950 literature H ii region spectra with auroral line detections, I build multilayer perceptron models under the machine learning framework of training and testing. I show that complex models, like the neural network, are preferred at the current sample size and can better predict oxygen abundance than simple linear models. I demonstrate that the new calibration can reproduce metallicity gradients in nearby galaxies and the mass–metallicity relationship. Finally, I discuss the prospects of developing new neural network calibrations using forthcoming large samples of H ii region and also the challenges faced.
We analyze the optical continuum of star-forming galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by fitting stacked spectra with stellar population synthesis models to investigate the relation between ...stellar mass, stellar metallicity, dust attenuation, and star formation rate. We fit models calculated with star formation and chemical evolution histories that are derived empirically from multi-epoch observations of the stellar mass-star formation rate and the stellar mass-gas-phase metallicity relations, respectively. We also fit linear combinations of single-burst models with a range of metallicities and ages. Star formation and chemical evolution histories are unconstrained for these models. The stellar mass-stellar metallicity relations obtained from the two methods agree with the relation measured from individual supergiant stars in nearby galaxies. These relations are also consistent with the relation obtained from emission-line analysis of gas-phase metallicity after accounting for systematic offsets in the gas-phase metallicity. We measure dust attenuation of the stellar continuum and show that its dependence on stellar mass and star formation rate is consistent with previously reported results derived from nebular emission lines. However, stellar continuum attenuation is smaller than nebular emission line attenuation. The continuum-to-nebular attenuation ratio depends on stellar mass and is smaller in more massive galaxies. Our consistent analysis of stellar continuum and nebular emission lines paves the way for a comprehensive investigation of stellar metallicities of star-forming and quiescent galaxies.
The spatial distribution of oxygen in the interstellar medium of galaxies is the key to understanding how efficiently metals that are synthesized in massive stars can be redistributed across a ...galaxy. We present here a case study in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1365 using 3D optical data obtained in the TYPHOON Program. We find systematic azimuthal variations of the H ii region oxygen abundance imprinted on a negative radial gradient. The 0.2 dex azimuthal variations occur over a wide radial range of 0.3-0.7 R25 and peak at the two spiral arms in NGC 1365. We show that the azimuthal variations can be explained by two physical processes: gas undergoes localized, sub-kiloparsec-scale self-enrichment when orbiting in the inter-arm region, and experiences efficient, kiloparsec-scale mixing-induced dilution when spiral density waves pass through. We construct a simple chemical evolution model to quantitatively test this picture and find that our toy model can reproduce the observations. This result suggests that the observed abundance variations in NGC 1365 are a snapshot of the dynamical local enrichment of oxygen modulated by spiral-driven, periodic mixing and dilution.
Abstract
We investigate the mass–metallicity relationship of star-forming galaxies by analyzing the absorption line spectra of ∼200,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy spectra ...are stacked in bins of stellar mass, and a population synthesis technique is applied yielding the metallicities, ages, and star formation history of the young and old stellar population together with interstellar reddening and extinction. We adopt different lengths of the initial starbursts and different initial mass functions for the calculation of model spectra of the single stellar populations contributing to the total integrated spectrum. We also allow for deviations of the ratio of extinction to reddening
R
V
from 3.1 and determine the value from the spectral fit. We find that burst length and
R
V
have a significant influence on the determination of metallicities, whereas the effect of the initial mass function is small. The
R
V
values are larger than 3.1. The metallicities of the young stellar population agree with extragalactic spectroscopic studies of individual massive supergiant stars and are significantly higher than those of the older stellar population. This confirms galaxy evolution models where metallicity depends on the ratio of gas to stellar mass and where this ratio decreases with time. Star formation history is found to depend on galaxy stellar mass. Massive galaxies are dominated by stars formed at early times.
We report one of the first extragalactic observations of electron temperature variations across a spiral arm. Using Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer mosaic observations of the nearby galaxy NGC ...1672, we measure the N iiλ5755 auroral line in a sample of 80 H ii regions in the eastern spiral arm of NGC 1672. We discover systematic temperature variations as a function of distance perpendicular to the spiral arm. The electron temperature is lowest on the spiral arm itself and highest on the downstream side. Photoionization models of different metallicity, pressure, and age of the ionizing source are explored to understand what properties of the interstellar medium drive the observed temperature variations. An azimuthally varying metallicity appears to be the most likely cause of the temperature variations. The electron temperature measurements solidify recent discoveries of azimuthal variations of oxygen abundance based on strong lines, and rule out the possibility that the abundance variations are artifacts of the strong-line calibrations.
We use an unprecedented sample of about 23 000 H
II
regions detected at an average physical resolution of 67 pc in the PHANGS–MUSE sample to study the extragalactic H
II
region H
α
luminosity ...function (LF). Our observations probe the star-forming disk of 19 nearby spiral galaxies with low inclination and located close to the star formation main sequence at
z
= 0. The mean LF slope,
α
, in our sample is =1.73 with a
σ
of 0.15. We find that
α
decreases with the galaxy’s star formation rate surface density, Σ
SFR
, and argue that this is driven by an enhanced clustering of young stars at high gas surface densities. Looking at the H
II
regions within single galaxies, we find that no significant variations occur between the LF of the inner and outer part of the star-forming disk, whereas the LF in the spiral arm areas is shallower than in the inter-arm areas for six out of the 13 galaxies with clearly visible spiral arms. We attribute these variations to the spiral arms increasing the molecular clouds’ arm–inter-arm mass contrast and find suggestive evidence that they are more evident for galaxies with stronger spiral arms. Furthermore, we find systematic variations in
α
between samples of H
II
regions with a high and low ionization parameter,
q
, and argue that they are driven by the aging of H
II
regions.
ABSTRACT
It remains a major challenge to derive a theory of cloud-scale ($\lesssim100$ pc) star formation and feedback, describing how galaxies convert gas into stars as a function of the galactic ...environment. Progress has been hampered by a lack of robust empirical constraints on the giant molecular cloud (GMC) lifecycle. We address this problem by systematically applying a new statistical method for measuring the evolutionary timeline of the GMC lifecycle, star formation, and feedback to a sample of nine nearby disc galaxies, observed as part of the PHANGS-ALMA survey. We measure the spatially resolved (∼100 pc) CO-to-H α flux ratio and find a universal de-correlation between molecular gas and young stars on GMC scales, allowing us to quantify the underlying evolutionary timeline. GMC lifetimes are short, typically $10\!-\!30\,{\rm Myr}$, and exhibit environmental variation, between and within galaxies. At kpc-scale molecular gas surface densities $\Sigma _{\rm H_2}\ge 8\,\rm {M_\odot}\,{{\rm pc}}^{-2}$, the GMC lifetime correlates with time-scales for galactic dynamical processes, whereas at $\Sigma _{\rm H_2}\le 8\,\rm {M_\odot}\,{{\rm pc}}^{-2}$ GMCs decouple from galactic dynamics and live for an internal dynamical time-scale. After a long inert phase without massive star formation traced by H α (75–90 per cent of the cloud lifetime), GMCs disperse within just $1\!-\!5\,{\rm Myr}$ once massive stars emerge. The dispersal is most likely due to early stellar feedback, causing GMCs to achieve integrated star formation efficiencies of 4–10 per cent. These results show that galactic star formation is governed by cloud-scale, environmentally dependent, dynamical processes driving rapid evolutionary cycling. GMCs and H ii regions are the fundamental units undergoing these lifecycles, with mean separations of $100\!-\!300\,{{\rm pc}}$ in star-forming discs. Future work should characterize the multiscale physics and mass flows driving these lifecycles.
The SARS-CoV-2 spike employs mobile receptor-binding domains (RBDs) to engage the human ACE2 receptor and to facilitate virus entry, which can occur through low-pH-endosomal pathways. To understand ...how ACE2 binding and low pH affect spike conformation, we determined cryo-electron microscopy structures—at serological and endosomal pH—delineating spike recognition of up to three ACE2 molecules. RBDs freely adopted “up” conformations required for ACE2 interaction, primarily through RBD movement combined with smaller alterations in neighboring domains. In the absence of ACE2, single-RBD-up conformations dominated at pH 5.5, resolving into a solitary all-down conformation at lower pH. Notably, a pH-dependent refolding region (residues 824–858) at the spike-interdomain interface displayed dramatic structural rearrangements and mediated RBD positioning through coordinated movements of the entire trimer apex. These structures provide a foundation for understanding prefusion-spike mechanics governing endosomal entry; we suggest that the low pH all-down conformation potentially facilitates immune evasion from RBD-up binding antibody.
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•Determine cryo-EM structures of SARS-CoV-2 spike along its endosomal entry pathway•Reveal structural basis by which a pH-dependent switch mediates RBD positioning•Show spike to exclusively adopt an all-RBD-down conformation at low pH•Suggest low-pH all-RBD-down conformation to provide a basis for immune evasion
Zhou et al. determine 12 structures of the SARS-CoV-2 spike, bound by ACE2 receptor and ligand free, that reveal a pH-dependent switch to mediate positioning of spike receptor-binding domains (RBDs). At low pH, the spike adopts an all-RBD-down conformation, which provides a potential means of immune evasion from RBD-up-recognizing antibody.
The PHANGS-MUSE survey Emsellem, Eric; Schinnerer, Eva; Santoro, Francesco ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
03/2022, Volume:
659
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We present the PHANGS-MUSE survey, a programme that uses the MUSE integral field spectrograph at the ESO VLT to map 19 massive (9.4 < log(
M
⋆
/
M
⊙
)< 11.0) nearby (
D
≲ 20 Mpc) star-forming disc ...galaxies. The survey consists of 168 MUSE pointings (1′ by 1′ each) and a total of nearly 15 × 10
6
spectra, covering ∼1.5 × 10
6
independent spectra. PHANGS-MUSE provides the first integral field spectrograph view of star formation across different local environments (including galaxy centres, bars, and spiral arms) in external galaxies at a median resolution of 50 pc, better than the mean inter-cloud distance in the ionised interstellar medium. This ‘cloud-scale’ resolution allows detailed demographics and characterisations of H
II
regions and other ionised nebulae. PHANGS-MUSE further delivers a unique view on the associated gas and stellar kinematics and provides constraints on the star-formation history. The PHANGS-MUSE survey is complemented by dedicated ALMA CO(2–1) and multi-band HST observations, therefore allowing us to probe the key stages of the star-formation process from molecular clouds to H
II
regions and star clusters. This paper describes the scientific motivation, sample selection, observational strategy, data reduction, and analysis process of the PHANGS-MUSE survey. We present our bespoke automated data-reduction framework, which is built on the reduction recipes provided by ESO but additionally allows for mosaicking and homogenisation of the point spread function. We further present a detailed quality assessment and a brief illustration of the potential scientific applications of the large set of PHANGS-MUSE data products generated by our data analysis framework. The data cubes and analysis data products described in this paper represent the basis for the first PHANGS-MUSE public data release and are available in the ESO archive and via the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre.
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