Abstract
We describe a
Herschel Space Observatory
194–671
μ
m spectroscopic survey of a sample of 121 local luminous infrared galaxies and report the fluxes of the CO
J
to
J
–1 rotational transitions ...for
, the N
ii
205
μ
m line, the C
i
lines at 609 and 370
μ
m, as well as additional and usually fainter lines. The CO spectral line energy distributions (SLEDs) presented here are consistent with our earlier work, which was based on a smaller sample, that calls for two distinct molecular gas components in general: (i) a cold component, which emits CO lines primarily at
J
≲ 4 and likely represents the same gas phase traced by CO (1−0), and (ii) a warm component, which dominates over the mid-
J
regime (4 <
J
≲ 10) and is intimately related to current star formation. We present evidence that the CO line emission associated with an active galactic nucleus is significant only at
J
> 10. The flux ratios of the two C
i
lines imply modest excitation temperatures of 15–30 K; the C
i
370
μ
m line scales more linearly in flux with CO (4−3) than with CO (7−6). These findings suggest that the C
i
emission is predominantly associated with the gas component defined in (i) above. Our analysis of the stacked spectra in different far-infrared (FIR) color bins reveals an evolution of the SLED of the rotational transitions of
vapor as a function of the FIR color in a direction consistent with infrared photon pumping.
The Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) consists of a complete sample of 202 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) selected from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS). The galaxies ...span the full range of interaction stages, from isolated galaxies to interacting pairs to late stage mergers. We present a comparison of the UV and infrared properties of 135 galaxies in GOALS observed by GALEX and Spitzer. For interacting galaxies with separations greater than the resolution of GALEX and Spitzer (~2''-6''), we assess the UV and IR properties of each galaxy individually. The contribution of the FUV to the measured star formation rate (SFR) ranges from 0.2% to 17.9%, with a median of 2.8% and a mean of 4.0% ± 0.4%. The specific star formation rate (SSFR) of the GOALS sample is extremely high, with a median value (3.9 × 10-10 yr-1) that is comparable to the highest SSFRs seen in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey sample. We examine the position of each galaxy on the IR excess-UV slope (IRX-beta) diagram as a function of galaxy properties, including IR luminosity and interaction stage. The LIRGs on average have greater IR excesses than would be expected based on their UV colors if they obeyed the same relations as starbursts with L IR < 1011 L sun or normal late-type galaxies. The ratio of L IR to the value one would estimate from the IRX-beta relation published for lower luminosity starburst galaxies ranges from 0.2 to 68, with a median value of 2.7. A minimum of 19% of the total IR luminosity in the RBGS is produced in LIRGs and ultraluminous infrared galaxies with red UV colors (beta>0). Among resolved interacting systems, 32% contain one galaxy which dominates the IR emission while the companion dominates the UV emission. Only 21% of the resolved systems contain a single galaxy which dominates both wavelengths.
Abstract
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) imaging of NGC 7469 with the Near-Infrared Camera and the Mid-InfraRed Instrument. NGC 7469 is a nearby,
z
= 0.01627, luminous infrared galaxy ...that hosts both a Seyfert Type-1.5 nucleus and a circumnuclear starburst ring with a radius of ∼0.5 kpc. The new near-infrared (NIR) JWST imaging reveals 66 star-forming regions, 37 of which were not detected by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. Twenty-eight of the 37 sources have very red NIR colors that indicate obscurations up to
A
v
∼ 7 and a contribution of at least 25% from hot dust emission to the 4.4
μ
m band. Their NIR colors are also consistent with young (<5 Myr) stellar populations and more than half of them are coincident with the mid-infrared (MIR) emission peaks. These younger, dusty star-forming regions account for ∼6% and ∼17% of the total 1.5 and 4.4
μ
m luminosity of the starburst ring, respectively. Thanks to JWST, we find a significant number of young dusty sources that were previously unseen due to dust extinction. The newly identified 28 young sources are a significant increase compared to the number of HST-detected young sources (4–5). This makes the total percentage of the young population rise from ∼15% to 48%. These results illustrate the effectiveness of JWST in identifying and characterizing previously hidden star formation in the densest star-forming environments around active galactic nuclei (AGN).
We aim to develop a floor-cleaning design by exploiting oscillating bubbles combined with ambient pressure waves to clean various surfaces. Previous studies of this method in lab settings have proven ...its efficacy, but practical applications, especially concerning real-world conditions like dirt surfaces, remain largely unprobed. Our findings indicate that, excluding a configuration with a heavy mass bottom transducer, all tested configurations achieved approximately 60–70% cleaning performance. A slight improvement in cleaning performance was observed with the introduction of microbubbles, although it was within the error margin. Particularly noteworthy is the substantial reduction in water consumption in configurations with a water pocket, decreasing from 280 mL to a mere 3 mL, marking a significant step toward more environmentally sustainable cleaning practices, such as reduced water usage. This research provides implications for real-world cleaning applications, promising an eco-friendly and efficient cleaning alternative that reduces water usage and handles a variety of materials without causing damage.
Abstract
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) images of the luminous infrared (IR) galaxy VV 114 are presented. This redshift ∼0.020 merger has a western component (VV ...114W) rich in optical star clusters and an eastern component (VV 114E) hosting a luminous mid-IR nucleus hidden at UV and optical wavelengths by dust lanes. With MIRI, the VV 114E nucleus resolves primarily into bright NE and SW cores separated by 630 pc. This nucleus comprises 45% of the 15
μ
m light of VV 114, with the NE and SW cores having IR luminosities,
L
IR
(8 − 1000
μ
m) ∼ 8 ± 0.8 × 10
10
L
⊙
and ∼ 5 ± 0.5 × 10
10
L
⊙
, respectively, and IR densities, Σ
IR
≳ 2 ± 0.2 × 10
13
L
⊙
kpc
−2
and ≳ 7 ± 0.7 × 10
12
L
⊙
kpc
−2
, respectively—in the range of Σ
IR
for the Orion star-forming core and the nuclei of Arp 220. The NE core, previously speculated to have an active galactic nucleus (AGN), has starburst-like mid-IR colors. In contrast, the VV 114E SW core has AGN-like colors. Approximately 40 star-forming knots with
L
IR
∼ 0.02–5 × 10
10
L
⊙
are identified, 28% of which have no optical counterpart. Finally, diffuse emission accounts for 40%–60% of the mid-IR emission. Mostly notably, filamentary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission stochastically excited by UV and optical photons accounts for half of the 7.7
μ
m light of VV 114. This study illustrates the ability of JWST to detect obscured compact activity and distributed PAH emission in the most extreme starburst galaxies in the local universe.
Abstract
We have used the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to obtain the first spatially resolved, mid-infrared images of
IIZw096
, a merging luminous infrared ...galaxy (LIRG) at
z
= 0.036. Previous observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope suggested that the vast majority of the total IR luminosity (
L
IR
) of the system originated from a small region outside of the two merging nuclei. New observations with JWST/MIRI now allow an accurate measurement of the location and luminosity density of the source that is responsible for the bulk of the IR emission. We estimate that 40%–70% of the IR bolometric luminosity, or 3–5 × 10
11
L
⊙
, arises from a source no larger than 175 pc in radius, suggesting a luminosity density of at least 3–5 × 10
12
L
⊙
kpc
−2
. In addition, we detect 11 other star-forming sources, five of which were previously unknown. The MIRI F1500W/F560W colors of most of these sources, including the source responsible for the bulk of the far-IR emission, are much redder than the nuclei of local LIRGs. These observations reveal the power of JWST to disentangle the complex regions at the hearts of merging, dusty galaxies.
In the quest for producing an effective, clinically relevant therapeutic agent, scalability, repeatability, and stability are paramount. In this paper, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with precisely ...controlled near-infrared (NIR) absorption are synthesized by a single-step reaction of HAuCl
4
and Na
2
S
2
O
3
without assistance of additional templates, capping reagents, or seeds. The anisotropy in the shape of gold nanoparticles offers high NIR absorption, making it therapeutically relevant. The synthesized products consist of GNPs with different shapes and sizes, including small spherical colloid gold particles and non-spherical gold crystals. The NIR absorption wavelengths and particle size increase with increasing molar ratio of HAuCl
4
/Na
2
S
2
O
3
. Non-spherical gold particles can be further purified and separated by centrifugation to improve the NIR-absorbing fraction of particles. In-depth studies reveal that GNPs with good structural and optical stability only form in a certain range of the HAuCl
4
/Na
2
S
2
O
3
molar ratio, whereas higher molar ratios result in unstable GNPs, which lose their NIR absorption peak due to decomposition and reassembly via Ostwald ripening. Tuning the optical absorption of the gold nanoparticles in the NIR regime via a robust and repeatable method will improve many applications requiring large quantities of desired NIR-absorbing nanoparticles.
Abstract
We present the results of a James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam investigation into the young massive star cluster (YMC) population in the luminous infrared galaxy VV 114. We identify 374 ...compact YMC candidates with signal-to-noise ratios ≥ 3, 5, and 5 at F150W, F200W, and F356W, respectively. A direct comparison with our HST cluster catalog reveals that ∼20% of these sources are undetected at optical wavelengths. Based on
yggdrasil
stellar population models, we identify 17 YMC candidates in our JWST imaging alone with F150W – F200W and F200W – F356W colors suggesting they are all very young, dusty (
A
V
= 5–15), and massive (10
5.8
<
M
⊙
< 10
6.1
). The discovery of these “hidden” sources, many of which are found in the “overlap” region between the two nuclei, quadruples the number of
t
< 3 Myr clusters and nearly doubles the number of
t
< 6 Myr clusters detected in VV 114. Now extending the cluster age distribution (
dN
/
d
τ
∝
τ
γ
) to the youngest ages, we find a slope of
γ
= −1.30 ± 0.39 for 10
6
<
τ
(yr) < 10
7
, which is consistent with the previously determined value from 10
7
<
τ
(yr) < 10
8.5
, and confirms that VV 114 has a steep age distribution slope for all massive star clusters across the entire range of cluster ages observed. Finally, the consistency between our JWST- and HST-derived age distribution slopes indicates that the balance between cluster formation and destruction has not been significantly altered in VV 114 over the last 0.5 Gyr.
Abstract
We explore how the fraction of quenched galaxies changes in groups of galaxies with respect to the distance to the center of the group, redshift, and stellar mass to determine the dominant ...process of environmental quenching in 0.2 <
z
< 0.8 groups. We use new UV data from the UVCANDELS project in addition to existing multiband photometry to derive new galaxy physical properties of the group galaxies from the zCOSMOS 20 k group catalog. Limiting our analysis to a complete sample of log (
M
*
/
M
⊙
) > 10.56 group galaxies, we find that the probability of being quenched increases slowly with decreasing redshift, diverging from the stagnant field galaxy population. A corresponding analysis on how the probability of being quenched increases with time within groups suggests that the dominant environmental quenching process is characterized by slow (∼Gyr) timescales. We find a quenching time of approximately
4.91
−
1.47
+
0.91
Gyr, consistent with the slow processes of strangulation and delayed-then-rapid quenching although more data are needed to confirm this result.
The role of feedback in triggering or quenching star formation and hence driving galaxy evolution can be directly studied with high-resolution integral field observations. The manifestation of ...feedback in shocks is particularly important to examine in galaxy mergers, where violent interactions of gas take place in the interstellar medium during the course of the galactic collision. As part of our effort to systematically study the local population of luminous infrared galaxies within the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey, we undertook the Keck OSIRIS AO LIRG Analysis observing campaign to study the gas dynamics in the inner kiloparsec regions of these systems at spatial scales of a few tens of pc. With high-resolution near-infrared adaptive optics-assisted integral field observations taken with OSIRIS on the Keck Telescopes, we employ near-infrared diagnostics such as Brγ and the rovibrationally excited H2 lines to quantify the nuclear star formation rate and identify feedback associated with shocked molecular gas seen in 21 nearby luminous infrared galaxies. Shocked molecular gas is preferentially found in the ultraluminous infrared systems but may also be triggered at a lower-luminosity, earlier merging stage. On circumnuclear scales, AGNs have a strong effect on heating the surrounding molecular gas, though their coupling is not simply driven by AGN strength but rather is complicated by orientation, dust shielding, density, and other factors. We find that nuclear star formation correlates with merger class and diminishing projected nuclear separations. These trends are largely consistent with the picture of merger-induced starbursts in the center of galaxy mergers.