Found 219 talks archived in Galaxies

In order to understand galaxy formation it is crucial to obtain sensitive observations of the emission of dust and molecular gas both of which constrain the on-going star formation or AGN activity and the future potential of the galaxy to grow. Constraining the growth of ensemble of galaxies in the distant universe and not simply the most active ones, is one of the primary goals of current and planned (sub)mm facilities such as ALMA or SPICA. I will discuss two major questions in galaxy formation and assembly: 1) are dusty galaxies vigorously forming stars embedded within large scale structures at z>1.5; and 2) do dusty starbursts exist at the highest redshift. To shed light on these obscure topics, I will present our on-going observations of dust and molecular gas with a number of different (sub)mm facilities such as Herschel, APEX, IRAM or ALMA of one important star forming galaxy population in the distant universe: submillimeter selected galaxies (SMGs). My presentation will be complemented by our recently initiated census of the molecular gas reservoirs of nearby galaxies with optical IFU coverage. The local analogs serve as a reference sample for current and future studies of high-z galaxy populations.

What can the shape and size of a galaxy tell us about how it has evolved across cosmic time? Which evolutionary mechanisms are important, or relevant, and which not? How do galaxies form in the early Universe? As we enter a new era of big-data astronomy, our capacity to further pursue answers to these questions is increasingly limited not by Human ingenuity but by our use of 20th century data analysis techniques. In this talk, I will summarise my work with the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) Survey in measuring the multi-wavelength light profile and stellar mass properties of ~200,000 galaxies in the local Universe. I will show how the stellar mass function may be broken down by morphology and structural component, and the implications this has for our understanding on which evolutionary mechanisms are important in shaping the galaxies around us over the course of the last 1 billion years. 

Dwarf galaxies are the most common type of galaxy in the Universe andinclude the most dark-matter-dominated objects known. They offerintriguing insights into evolutionary processes at low halo masses and low metallicities. Moreover, as survivors of a once much more numerous population of building blocks of larger galaxies, they are key to understanding very early star formation processes. The Local Group and particularly the Milky Way's dwarf galaxy entourage offer us the unique possibility to compare in detail dwarf and Galactic populations. This is an important step towards quantifying the magnitude and time scales of dwarf contributions to the build-up of the Milky Way and allows us to test predictions of cosmological theories and hierarchical structure formation.

Modern imaging surveys provide a fundamental tool in order to study the morphological
properties of galaxy populations in the nearby and the distant Universe. In order to
process a complete set of survey images, we designed GALAPAGOS-C. GALAPAGOS-C
unifies the detection of sources (via source extractor), postage stamp cutting, object
mask preparation, sky background estimation and complex two-dimensional light profile
Sérsic modeling (via GALFIT) in one automatic program. GALAPAGOS-C is designed
around the concept of MPI-parallelization, allowing the processing of large data sets
in a quick and efficient manner. Further, GALAPAGOS-C is capable of fitting multiple-
Sérsic profiles to each galaxy, each representing distinct galaxy components (e.g. bulge,
disc, bar), in addition to the option to fit asymmetric distortions with a Fourier mode
expansion to the axis-symmetric single-Sérsic isophotes. The modeling reliability of our
core single-Sérsic fitting capability and the optional Fourier mode expansion are tested
thoroughly using image simulations.
GALAPAGOS-C is applied to a sample of 2063 galaxies in the A901/902 galaxy cluster
(z ∼ 0.165) from the Space Telescope A901/902 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES) and
an additional sample of 2876 field galaxies from the Galaxy Evolution From Morphology
And SEDs Survey (GEMS). We measure the distribution of Sérsic indices as a function of
local object density in the A901/902 cluster sample to provide one of the first measures
of the Sérsic index–density relation. In addition, we measure the distribution of lopsided
galaxies in the A901/902 cluster sample and quantify the intensity of lopsidedness in
the galaxies in the field since z ∼ 0.9 in order to study the evolution of lopsidedness as
a function of redshift. In each application, we study the correlations of the measured
parameters with other intrinsic and structural variables, e.g. the stellar mass, the color
or the presence or absence of a disk. Our results provide further clues on the evolution
of galaxy structure with cosmic time and the dependence on environment.

Microvariations probe the physics and internal structure of quasars. Unpredictability and small flux variations make this phenomenon elusive and difficult to detect. Variance based probes such as the C and F tests, or a combination of both, are popular methods to compare the light-curves of the quasar and a comparison star. Recently, detection claims in some studies depend on the agreement of the results of the C and F tests, or of two instances of the F-test, in rejecting the non-variation null hypothesis. However, the C-test is a non-reliable statistical procedure, the F-test is not robust, and the combination of tests with concurrent results is anything but a straightforward methodology. A priori Power Analysis calculations and post hoc analysis of Monte-Carlo simulations show excellent agreement for the Analysis of Variance test to detect microvariations, as well as the limitations of the F-test. Additionally, combined tests yield correlated probabilities that make the assessment of statistical significance unworkable. However, it is possible to include data from several field stars to enhance the power in a single F - test or ANOVA nested designs, increasing the reliability of the statistical analysis. These would be the preferred methodology when several comparison stars are available. These results show the importance of using adequate methodologies, and avoid inappropriate procedures that can jeopardize microvariability detections. Power analysis and Monte-Carlo simulations are useful tools for research planning, as they can reveal the robustness and reliability of different research approaches.

The ultra-deep multiwavelength HST Frontier Fields coverage of the Abell Cluster 2744 is used to derive the stellar population properties of its intra-cluster light (ICL). The restframe colors of the ICL of this intermediate redshift (z=0.3064) massive cluster are bluer (g-r=0.68 ±0.04; i-J=0.56±0.01) than those found in the stellar populations of its main galaxy members (g-r=0.83±0.01; i-J=0.75±0.01). Based on these colors, we derive the following mean metallicity Z=0.018±0.007 for the ICL. The ICL age is 6±3 Gyr younger than the average age of the most massive galaxies of the cluster. The fraction of stellar mass in the ICL component comprises at least 6% of the total stellar mass of the galaxy cluster. Our data is consistent with a scenario where the bulk of the ICL of Abell 2744 has been formed relatively recently (z<1). The stellar population properties of the ICL suggest that this diffuse component is mainly the result of the disruption of infalling galaxies with similar characteristics in mass (M*~ 3x10^10 Msolar) and metallicity than our own Milky Way. The amount of ICL mass in the central part of the cluster (<400 kpc) is equivalent to the disruption of 4-6 Milky Way-type galaxies.

The active galactic nuclei is conformed by a number of classes. Optically they are defined using diagnostics based on optical emission lines. At X-rays they are classified by the power of the AGN continuum and the shape of the X-ray spectra. Therefore, optical and X-ray classes are independent classifications. However, optical and X-ray classes show many discrepancies not fully understood yet. Some AGN at X-rays do not show any AGN signature at optical wavelengths (called optical elusive). Classical obscured AGN are ’sometimes’ not obscured at X-rays.

We have studied the ‘synapses’ between them using artificial neural networks (Gonzalez-Martin+14). To do so, we used flux-calibrated X-ray spectra of a sample of 90 emission line nuclei (ELN) observed with XMM-Newton. It includes starbursts (SB), transition objects (T2), LINERs (L1.8 and L2), and Seyferts (S1, S1.8, and S2).

The ELN can be classified into six classes, based on the shape of their X-ray spectra. These classes are associated with most of the optical classes. The key parameters to explain them at X-rays are three. The first parameter is an AGN-like component, which is present in all of them (even non-AGN at optical wavelengths!). The second one is obscuration, which almost certainly drives the Type-1/Type-2 dichotomy, but may also explain why L1.8 are more similar to S1s while L2/T2 are more similar to S1.8s. The third component is star-forming activity happening at the host galaxy and contributing at X-rays. The AGN strength, relative to the host-galaxy component, determines the average X-ray spectrum for these classes as follows: S1 -> S1.8 -> L1.8/S2 -> L2/T2/ -> SB.

There is increasing speculation that quasars are intimately linked to the evolution of their host galaxies. Not only are they triggered as galaxies build up mass through gas accretion, but they also have the potential to drive massive outflows that can directly affect galaxy evolution by heating the gas and expelling it from galaxy bulges. However, there remain considerable uncertainties about how, when and where quasars are triggered as galaxies evolve, and the true energetic significance for the quasar-induced outflows and their acceleration mechanism have yet to be established. In this talk I will present new Gemini, VLT, Spitzer and Herschel results on samples of luminous AGN in the local Universe which provide key information on the triggering mechanisms for quasars and physics of their outflows.

The Magellanic Clouds are the closest star forming galaxies, and their star formation histories can be derived in great details from color-magnitude diagrams reaching the oldest main sequence turnoffs. In the last several years, we have been conducting a wide research program on the Magellanic Clouds, including both photometry and spectroscopy, and have analysed the star formation history across both the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds. This has revealed the nature of the stellar population gradients of these galaxies, as well as signatures that can possibly be related to their interaction history, among them and with the Milky Way.

This paper discusses how cosmic gas accretion controls star formation, and summarizes the physical properties expected for the cosmic gas accreted by galaxies. The paper also collects observational evidence for gas accretion sustaining star formation. It reviews evidence inferred from neutral and ionized hydrogen, as well as from stars. A number of properties characterizing large samples of star-forming galaxies can be explained by metal-poor gas accretion, in particular, the relationship between stellar mass, metallicity, and star formation rate (the so-called fundamental metallicity relationship). They are put forward and analyzed. Theory predicts gas accretion to be particularly important at high redshift, so indications based on distant objects are reviewed, including the global star formation history of the universe, and the gas around galaxies as inferred from absorption features in the spectra of background sources.