scholarly journals Long tidal tails in merging galaxies and their implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 3399-3409
Author(s):  
Jian Ren ◽  
X Z Zheng ◽  
David Valls-Gabaud ◽  
Pierre-Alain Duc ◽  
Eric F Bell ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We investigate the properties of long tidal tails using the largest to date sample of 461 merging galaxies with $\log (M_\ast /\rm M_\odot)\ge 9.5$ within 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 1 from the COSMOS survey in combination with Hubble Space Telescope imaging data. Long tidal tails can be briefly divided into three shape types: straight (41 per cent), curved (47 per cent), and plume (12 per cent). Their host galaxies are mostly at late stages of merging, although 31 per cent are galaxy pairs with projected separations d > 20 kpc. The high formation rate of straight tidal tails needs to be understood as the projection of curved tidal tails accounts for only a small fraction of the straight tails. We identify 165 tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs), yielding a TDG production rate of 0.36 per merger. Combined with a galaxy merger fraction and a TDG survival rate from the literature, we estimate that ∼5 per cent of local dwarf galaxies (DGs) are of tidal origin, suggesting the tidal formation is not an important formation channel for the DGs. About half of TDGs are located at the tip of their host tails. These TDGs have stellar masses in the range of $7.5\le \log (M_\ast /\rm M_\odot)\le 9.5$ and appear compact with half-light radii following the M*–Re relation of low-mass elliptical galaxies. However, their surface brightness profiles are generally flatter than those of local disc galaxies. Only 10 out of 165 TDGs have effective radii larger than 1.5 kpc and would qualify as unusually bright ultradiffuse galaxies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Najmeh Emami ◽  
Brian Siana ◽  
Kareem El-Badry ◽  
David Cook ◽  
Xiangcheng Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Stellar feedback in dwarf galaxies plays a critical role in regulating star formation via galaxy-scale winds. Recent hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations of dwarf galaxies predict that the periodic outward flow of gas can change the gravitational potential sufficiently to cause radial migration of stars. To test the effect of bursty star formation on stellar migration, we examine star formation observables and sizes of 86 local dwarf galaxies. We find a correlation between the R-band half-light radius (R e ) and far-UV luminosity (L FUV) for stellar masses below 108 M ⊙ and a weak correlation between the R e and Hα luminosity (L Hα ). We produce mock observations of eight low-mass galaxies from the FIRE-2 cosmological simulations and measure the similarity of the time sequences of R e and a number of star formation indicators with different timescales. Major episodes of R e time sequence align very well with the major episodes of star formation, with a delay of ∼50 Myr. This correlation decreases toward star formation rate indicators of shorter timescales such that R e is weakly correlated with L FUV (10–100 Myr timescale) and is completely uncorrelated with L Hα (a few Myr timescale), in agreement with the observations. Our findings based on FIRE-2 suggest that the R-band size of a galaxy reacts to star formation variations on a ∼50 Myr timescale. With the advent of a new generation of large space telescopes (e.g., JWST), this effect can be examined explicitly in galaxies at higher redshifts, where bursty star formation is more prominent.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (1) ◽  
pp. 719-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Mainali ◽  
Daniel P Stark ◽  
Mengtao Tang ◽  
Jacopo Chevallard ◽  
Stéphane Charlot ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Recent observations have revealed the presence of strong C iii] emission (EW$_{\rm {C\,{\small III}]}}\gt 20$ Å) in z > 6 galaxies, the origin of which remains unclear. In an effort to understand the nature of these line emitters, we have initiated a survey targeting C iii] emission in gravitationally lensed reionization-era analogues identified in Hubble Space Telescope imaging of clusters from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey. Here, we report initial results on four galaxies selected to have low stellar masses (2–8 × 107 M⊙) and J125-band flux excesses indicative of intense [O iii] + H β emission (EW$_{\rm {[O\,{\small III}]+H\,\beta }}$ = 500–2000 Å), similar to what has been observed at z > 6. We detect C iii] emission in three of the four sources, with the C iii] EW reaching values seen in the reionization era (EW$_{\rm {C\,{\small III}]}}\simeq 17\!-\!22$ Å) in the two sources with the strongest optical line emission (EW$_{\rm {[O\,{\small III}]+H\,\beta }}\simeq 2000$ Å). We have obtained a Magellan/FIRE (Folded-port InfraRed Echellette) near-infrared spectrum of the strongest C iii] emitter in our sample, revealing gas that is both metal poor and highly ionized. Using photoionization models, we are able to simultaneously reproduce the intense C iii] and optical line emission for extremely young (2–3 Myr) and metal-poor (0.06–0.08 Z⊙) stellar populations, as would be expected after a substantial upturn in the star formation rate of a low-mass galaxy. The sources in this survey are among the first for which C iii] has been used as the primary means of redshift confirmation. We suggest that it should be possible to extend this approach to z > 6 with current facilities, using C iii] to measure redshifts of objects with IRAC excesses indicating EW$_{\rm {[O\,{\small III}]+H\,\beta }}\simeq 2000$ Å, providing a method of spectroscopic confirmation independent of Ly α.


2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A91
Author(s):  
Oliver Müller ◽  
Helmut Jerjen

The abundance of satellite dwarf galaxies has long been considered a crucial test for the current model of cosmology leading to the well-known missing satellite problem. Recent advances in simulations and observations have allowed the study of dwarf galaxies around host galaxies in more detail. Using the Dark Energy Camera we surveyed a 72 deg2 area of the nearby Sculptor group, also encompassing the two low-mass Local Volume galaxies NGC 24 and NGC 45 residing behind the group, to search for as yet undetected dwarf galaxies. Apart from the previously known dwarf galaxies we found only two new candidates down to a 3σ surface brightness detection limit of 27.4 r mag arcsec−2. Both systems are in projection close to NGC 24. However, one of these candidates could be an ultra-diffuse galaxy associated with a background galaxy. We compared the number of known dwarf galaxy candidates around NGC 24, NGC 45, and five other well-studied low-mass spiral galaxies (NGC 1156, NGC 2403, NGC 5023, M 33, and the LMC) with predictions from cosmological simulations, and found that for the stellar-to-halo mass models considered, the observed satellite numbers tend to be on the lower end of the expected range. This could mean either that there is an overprediction of luminous subhalos in ΛCDM or that we are missing some of the satellite members due to observational biases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S353) ◽  
pp. 286-288
Author(s):  
Dieu D. Nguyen

AbstractThe existence intermediate mass black holes (IMBH, MBH ≲ 106M⊙) at the centers low-mass galaxies with stellar masses between (1–10)×10M⊙ are key to constraining the origin of black hole (BH) seeds and understanding the physics deriving the co-evolution of central BHs and their host galaxies. However, finding and weighing IMBH is challenging. Here, we present the first observational evidence for such IMBHs at the centers of the five nearest early-type galaxies (D < 3.5 Mpc, ETGs) revealed by adaptive optics kinematics from Gemini and VLT and high-resolution HST spectroscopy. We find that all five galaxies appear to host IMBHs with four of the five having masses below 1 million M⊙ and the lowest mass BH being only ∼7,000 M⊙. This work provides a first glimpse of the demographics of IMBHs in this galaxy mass range and at velocity dispersions < 70 km/s, and thus provides an important extension to the bulge mass and galaxy dispersion scaling relations. The ubiquity of central BHs in these galaxies provides a unique constraint on BH seed formation scenarios, favoring a formation mechanism that produces an abundance of low-mass seed BHs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (2) ◽  
pp. 2323-2338
Author(s):  
Thomas M Jackson ◽  
D J Rosario ◽  
D M Alexander ◽  
J Scholtz ◽  
Stuart McAlpine ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present data from 72 low-redshift, hard X-ray selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) taken from the Swift–BAT 58 month catalogue. We utilize spectral energy distribution fitting to the optical to infrared photometry in order to estimate host galaxy properties. We compare this observational sample to a volume- and flux-matched sample of AGN from the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments (EAGLE) hydrodynamical simulations in order to verify how accurately the simulations can reproduce observed AGN host galaxy properties. After correcting for the known +0.2 dex offset in the SFRs between EAGLE and previous observations, we find agreement in the star formation rate (SFR) and X-ray luminosity distributions; however, we find that the stellar masses in EAGLE are 0.2–0.4 dex greater than the observational sample, which consequently leads to lower specific star formation rates (sSFRs). We compare these results to our previous study at high redshift, finding agreement in both the observations and simulations, whereby the widths of sSFR distributions are similar (∼0.4–0.6 dex) and the median of the SFR distributions lie below the star-forming main sequence by ∼0.3–0.5 dex across all samples. We also use EAGLE to select a sample of AGN host galaxies at high and low redshift and follow their characteristic evolution from z = 8 to z = 0. We find similar behaviour between these two samples, whereby star formation is quenched when the black hole goes through its phase of most rapid growth. Utilizing EAGLE we find that 23 per cent of AGN selected at z ∼ 0 are also AGN at high redshift, and that their host galaxies are among the most massive objects in the simulation. Overall, we find EAGLE reproduces the observations well, with some minor inconsistencies (∼0.2 dex in stellar masses and ∼0.4 dex in sSFRs).


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S352) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
Pascal Oesch

AbstractOver the last few years, great progress has been made in understanding the build-up of the first generations of galaxies based on deep optical and near-infrared imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope. However, HST only samples the rest-frame UV light of galaxies at z …4, providing only limited information on the dust obscuration and on stellar masses of these sources. Fortunately, several Spitzer/IRAC programs have complemented the extragalactic HST fields with ultra-deep imaging data, allowing for a rest-frame optical view on early galaxies. Together with first ALMA/ NOEMA (sub)mm observations on distant galaxies, we are starting to gain a more and more complete picture of galaxy star-formation and mass build-up in the early universe. In this talk, I will present an overview of our current understanding of normal star-forming galaxies at z > 3 based the combination of HST+Spitzer+ALMA/NOEMA data. In particular, I will show how HST as already pushed into JWST territory with the discovery and spectroscopic confirmation of a galaxy at z = 11.1 ± 0.1, only : 400 Myr after the Big Bang. I will also highlight some of the exciting possibilities that lie ahead with JWST to push the spectroscopic frontier to the cosmic dawn and to finally probe the physics of early galaxies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S344) ◽  
pp. 292-295
Author(s):  
Tímea O. Kovács ◽  
Denis Burgarella ◽  
L. Viktor Tóth

AbstractWe estimated several parameters of dwarf galaxies, including their star formation rate and dust mass, and compared them with galaxies with larger stellar masses.We have chosen dwarf galaxies in the ELAIS N1 field, and fitted their Spectral Energy Distributions (SED). We used data from the new Herschel SPIRE and PACS Point Source catalogues to constrain the infrared radiation. Data available in VIZIER from multiple surveys have also been used.We determined that the star formation rate (SFR), M* and Mdust is one order of magnitude lower in dwarf galaxies compared to galaxies with larger stellar masses. However, the starburtiness was higher in the dwarf galaxies. They also had lower redshifts than normal galaxies, so we compared them to a subsample of normal galaxies with lower redshifts. The dust masses and SFRs of the dwarf galaxies were slightly lower, but their starburtiness was higher.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S304) ◽  
pp. 343-344
Author(s):  
M. Bonzini ◽  
V. Mainieri ◽  
P. Padovani ◽  
K. I. Kellermann ◽  
N. Miller ◽  
...  

AbstractWith the goal of investigating the link between black hole (BH) and star formation (SF) activity, we study a deep sample of radio selected star forming galaxies (SFGs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Using a multi-wavelength approach we characterize their host galaxies properties (stellar masses, optical colors, and morphology). Moreover, comparing the star formation rate derived from the radio and far-infrared luminosity, we found evidences that the main contribution to the radio emission in the radio-quiet AGNs is star-formation activity in their host galaxy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S244) ◽  
pp. 256-265
Author(s):  
K. Tassis ◽  
A. V. Kravtsov ◽  
N. Y. Gnedin

AbstractNearby dwarf galaxies exhibit tight correlations between their global stellar and dynamical properties, such as circular velocity, mass-to-light ratio, stellar mass, surface brightness, and metallicity. Such correlations have often been attributed to gas or metal-rich outflows driven by supernova energy feedback to the interstellar medium. We use high-resolution cosmological simulations of high-redshift galaxies with and without energy feedback, as well as analytic modeling, to investigate whether the observed correlations can arise without supernova-driven outflows. We find that the simulated dwarf galaxies exhibit correlations similar to those observed as early as z ≈ 10 and the addition of realistic levels of supernova energy feedback has no appreciable effect on these correlations. We also show that the correlations can be well reproduced by our analytic model that accounts for gas inflow but without outflows, and star formation rate obeying the Kennicutt-Schmidt law with a critical density threshold. We argue that correlations in simulated galaxies arise due to the increasingly inefficient conversion of gas into stars in low-mass dwarf galaxies rather than supernova-driven outflows.


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Aaron Stemo ◽  
Julia M. Comerford ◽  
R. Scott Barrows ◽  
Daniel Stern ◽  
Roberto J. Assef ◽  
...  

Abstract During galaxy mergers, gas and dust are driven toward the centers of merging galaxies, triggering enhanced star formation and supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth. Theory predicts that this heightened activity peaks at SMBH separations <20 kpc; if sufficient material accretes onto one or both of the SMBHs for them to become observable as active galactic nuclei (AGNs) during this phase, they are known as offset and dual AGNs, respectively. To better study these systems, we have built the ACS-AGN Merger Catalog, a large catalog (N = 204) of uniformly selected offset and dual AGN observed by the Hubble Space Telescope at 0.2 < z < 2.5 with separations <20 kpc. Using this catalog, we answer many questions regarding SMBH−galaxy coevolution during mergers. First, we confirm predictions that the AGN fraction peaks at SMBH pair separations <10 kpc; specifically, we find that the fraction increases significantly at pair separations of <4 kpc. Second, we find that AGNs in mergers are preferentially found in major mergers and that the fraction of AGNs found in mergers follows a logarithmic relation, decreasing as merger mass ratio increases. Third, we do not find that mergers (nor the major or minor merger subpopulations) trigger the most luminous AGNs. Finally, we find that nuclear column density, AGN luminosity, and host galaxy star formation rate have no dependence on SMBH pair separation or merger mass ratio in these systems, nor do the distributions of these values differ significantly from that of the overall AGN population.


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