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Galaxy NGC (galaxy + ngc)
Kinds of Galaxy NGC Selected AbstractsA comprehensive study of reported high-metallicity giant H ii regions , I. Detailed abundance analysisMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2002Marcelo Castellanos We present long-slit observations in the optical and near-infrared of 14 H ii regions in the spiral galaxies NGC 628, 925, 1232 and 1637, all of them reported to have solar or oversolar abundances according to empirical calibrations. For seven of the observed regions, ion-weighted temperatures from optical forbidden auroral to nebular line ratios are obtained and, for six of them, the oxygen abundances derived by standard methods turn out to be significantly lower than solar. The other one, named CDT1 in NGC 1232, shows an oxygen abundance of , and constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first high-metallicity H ii region for which accurate line temperatures, and hence elemental abundances, have been derived. For the rest of the regions no line temperature measurements could be made, and the metallicity has been determined by means of both detailed photoionization modelling and the sulphur abundance parameter S23. Only one of these regions shows values of O23 and S23 implying a solar or oversolar metallicity. According to our analysis, only two of the observed regions can therefore be considered as of high metallicity. These two fit the trends previously found in other high-metallicity H ii regions, i.e., N/O and S/O abundance ratios seem to be higher and lower than solar respectively. [source] Spectroscopy of globular cluster candidates in the Sculptor group galaxies NGC 253 and 55MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2000M. A. Beasley We have obtained spectra for 103 published globular cluster candidates in the Sculptor group galaxies NGC 253 and 55. On the basis of radial velocities and digitized plate images, 14 globular clusters are identified in NGC 253 and one probable globular cluster is identified in NGC 55. The majority of the objects in the sample appear to be background galaxies. We have obtained and analysed COSMOS plate scans of NGC 253 and 55 and use these along with the spectroscopically identified clusters to define new samples of globular cluster candidates in the two galaxies which should have reduced contamination. [source] Gas dynamics of the central few parsec region of NGC 1068 fuelled by the evolving nuclear star clusterMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2010M. Schartmann ABSTRACT Recently, high-resolution observations with the help of the near-infrared adaptive optics integral field spectrograph Spectrograph for INtegral Field Observations in the Near Infrared (SINFONI) at the Very Large Telescope proved the existence of massive and young nuclear star clusters in the centres of a sample of Seyfert galaxies. With the help of three-dimensional high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations with the Pluto code, we follow the evolution of such clusters, especially focusing on stellar mass loss feeding gas into the ambient interstellar medium and driving turbulence. This leads to a vertically wide distributed clumpy or filamentary inflow of gas on large scales (tens of parsec), whereas a turbulent and very dense disc builds up on the parsec scale. In order to capture the relevant physics in the inner region, we treat this disc separately by viscously evolving the radial surface density distribution. This enables us to link the tens of parsec-scale region (accessible via SINFONI observations) to the (sub-)parsec-scale region (observable with the mid-infrared interferometer instrument and via water maser emission). Thereby, this procedure provides us with an ideal testbed for data comparison. In this work, we concentrate on the effects of a parametrized turbulent viscosity to generate angular momentum and mass transfer in the disc and additionally take star formation into account. Most of the input parameters are constrained by available observations of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, and we discuss parameter studies for the free parameters. At the current age of its nuclear starburst of 250 Myr, our simulations yield disc sizes of the order of 0.8,0.9 pc, gas masses of 106 M, and mass transfer rates of 0.025 M, yr,1 through the inner rim of the disc. This shows that our large-scale torus model is able to approximately account for the disc size as inferred from interferometric observations in the mid-infrared and compares well to the extent and mass of a rotating disc structure as inferred from water maser observations. Several other observational constraints are discussed as well. [source] The stellar population content of the thick disc and halo of the Milky Way analogue NGC 891MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009M. Rejkuba ABSTRACT We present deep VI images obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope, covering three fields in the north-east side of the edge-on disc galaxy NGC 891. The observed fields span a wide range of galactocentric distances along the eastern minor axis, extending from the plane of the disc to 12 kpc, and out to ,25 kpc along the major axis. The photometry of individual stars reaches ,2.5 mag below the tip of the red giant branch. We use the astrophotometric catalogue to probe the stellar content and metallicity distribution across the thick disc and spheroid of NGC 891. The colour,magnitude diagrams of thick disc and spheroid population are dominated by old red giant branch stars with a wide range of metallicities, from the sparsely populated metal-poor tail at [Fe/H],,2.4 dex, up to about half-solar metallicity. The peak of the metallicity distribution function of the thick disc is at ,0.9 dex. The inner parts of the thick disc, within ,14 kpc along the major axis show no vertical colour/metallicity gradient. In the outer parts, a mild vertical gradient of ,(V,I)0/,|Z| = 0.1 ± 0.05 kpc,1 or less than 0.1 dex kpc,1 is detected, with bluer colours or more metal-poor stars at larger distances from the plane. This gradient is, however, accounted for by the mixing with the metal-poor halo stars. No metallicity gradient along the major axis is present for thick-disc stars, but strong variations of about 0.35 dex around the mean of [Fe/H]=,1.13 dex are found. The properties of the asymmetric metallicity distribution functions of the thick-disc stars show no significant changes in both the radial and the vertical directions. The stellar populations situated within the solar-cylinder-like distances show strikingly different properties from those of the Galaxy populating similar distances. This suggests that the accretion histories of both galaxies have been different. The spheroid population, composed of the inner spheroid and the halo, shows remarkably uniform stellar population properties. The median metallicity of the halo stellar population shows a shallow gradient from about ,1.15 dex in the inner parts to ,1.27 dex at 24 kpc distance from the centre, corresponding to ,13reff. Similar to the thick-disc stars, large variations around the mean relation are present. [source] X-ray active galactic nuclei in the core of the Perseus clusterMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007S. Santra ABSTRACT We present a study of the X-ray emission from the nuclei of galaxies observed in the core of the Perseus cluster in a deep exposure with Chandra. Point sources are found coincident with the nuclei of 13 early-type galaxies, as well as the central galaxy NGC 1275. This corresponds to all galaxies brighter than MB > ,18 in the Chandra field. All of these sources have a steep power-law spectral component and four have an additional thermal component. The unabsorbed power-law luminosities in the 0.5,7.0 keV band range from 8 × 1038 to 5 × 1040 erg s,1. We find no simple correlations between the K -band luminosity, or the FUV and NUV AB magnitudes of these galaxies and their X-ray properties. We have estimated the black hole masses of the nuclei using the K -band MBH,LKbol relation and again find no correlation between black hole mass and the X-ray luminosity. Bondi accretion on to the black holes in the galaxies with minihaloes should make them much more luminous than observed. [source] Anomalous extinction behaviour towards the Type Ia SN 2003cgMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006N. Elias-Rosa ABSTRACT We present optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of the Type Ia SN 2003cg, which exploded in the nearby galaxy NGC 3169. The observations cover a period between ,8.5 and +414 d post-maximum. SN 2003cg is a normal but highly reddened Type Ia event. Its B magnitude at maximum Bmax= 15.94 ± 0.04 and ,m15(B)obs= 1.12 ± 0.04 [,m15(B)intrinsic= 1.25 ± 0.05]. Allowing RV to become a free parameter within the Cardelli et al. extinction law, simultaneous matches to a range of colour curves of normal SNe Ia yielded E(B,V) = 1.33 ± 0.11, and RV= 1.80 ± 0.19. While the value obtained for RV is small, such values have been invoked in the past, and may imply a grain size which is small compared with the average value for the local interstellar medium. [source] Gas and stellar dynamics in NGC 1068: probing the galactic gravitational potentialMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2006Eric Emsellem ABSTRACT We present SAURON integral field spectrography of the central 1.5 kpc of the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, encompassing the well-known near-infrared (NIR) inner bar observed in the K band. We have successively disentangled the respective contributions of the ionized gas and stars, thus deriving their two-dimensional distribution and kinematics. The [O iii] and H, emission lines exhibit a very different spatial distribution and kinematics, the latter following inner spiral arms with clumps associated with star formation. Strong inward streaming motions are observed in both the H, and [O iii] kinematics. The stellar kinematics also exhibit clear signatures of a non-axisymmetric tumbling potential, with a twist in both the velocity and Gauss,Hermite h3 fields. We re-examined the long-slit data of Shapiro, Gerssen & van der Marel using a pPXF: a strong decoupling of the Gauss,Hermite term h3 is revealed, and the central decrease of Gauss,Hermite term h4 hinted in the SAURON data is confirmed. These data also suggest that NGC 1068 is a good candidate for a so-called , drop. We confirm the possible presence of two separate pattern speeds applying the Tremaine,Weinberg method to the Fabry,Perot H, map. We also examine the stellar kinematics of bars formed in N -body + smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations built from axisymmetric initial conditions approximating the luminosity distribution of NGC 1068. The resulting velocity, dispersion and higher order Gauss,Hermite moments successfully reproduce a number of properties observed in the two-dimensional kinematics of NGC 1068 and the long-slit data, showing that the kinematic signature of the NIR bar is imprinted in the stellar kinematics. The remaining differences between the models and the observed properties are likely mostly due to the exclusion of star formation and the lack of the primary large-scale oval/bar in the simulations. These models nevertheless suggest that the inner bar could drive a significant amount of gas down to a scale of , 300 pc. This would be consistent with the interpretation of the , drop in NGC 1068 being the result of central gas accretion followed by an episode of star formation. [source] A bar signature and central disc in the gaseous and stellar velocity fields of NGC 5448MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2005Kambiz Fathi ABSTRACT We analyse Spectrographic Areal Unit for Research on Optical Nebulae (SAURON) kinematic maps of the inner kiloparsec of the early-type (Sa) barred spiral galaxy NGC 5448. The observed morphology and kinematics of the emission-line gas is patchy and perturbed, indicating clear departures from circular motion. The kinematics of the stars is more regular, and display a small inner disc-like system embedded in a large-scale rotating structure. We focus on the [O iii] gas, and use a harmonic decomposition formalism to analyse the gas velocity field. The higher order harmonic terms and the main kinematic features of the observed data are consistent with an analytically constructed simple bar model. The bar model is derived using linear theory, considering an m= 2 perturbation mode, and with bar parameters that are consistent with the large-scale bar detected via imaging. We also study optical and near infrared images to reveal the asymmetric extinction in NGC 5448, and we recognize that some of the deviations between the data and the analytical bar model may be due to these complex dust features. Our study illustrates how the harmonic decomposition formalism can be used as a powerful tool to quantify non-circular motions in observed gas velocity fields. [source] High-resolution observations of SN 2001gd in NGC 5033MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2005M. A. Pérez-Torres ABSTRACT We report on 8.4-GHz very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of SN 2001gd in the spiral galaxy NGC 5033 made on 2002 June 26 (2002.48) and 2003 April 8 (2003.27). We used the interferometric visibility data to estimate angular diameter sizes for the supernova by model fitting. Our data nominally suggest a relatively strong deceleration for the expansion of SN 2001gd, but we cannot dismiss the possibility of a free supernova expansion. From our VLBI observations on 2003 April 8, we inferred a minimum total energy in relativistic particles and magnetic fields in the supernova shell of Emin= (0.3,14) × 1047 erg, and a corresponding equipartition average magnetic field of Bmin= 50,350 mG. We also present multiwavelength Very Large Array (VLA) measurements of SN 2001gd made at our second VLBI epoch at frequencies of 1.4, 4.9, 8.4, 15.0, 22.5 and 43.3 GHz. The VLA data are well fitted by an optically thin, synchrotron spectrum (,=,1.0 ± 0.1; S,,,,), partially absorbed by thermal plasma. We obtain a supernova flux density of 1.02 ± 0.05 mJy at the observing frequency of 8.4 GHz for the second epoch, which results in an isotropic radio luminosity of (6.0 ± 0.3) × 1036 erg s,1 between 1.4 and 43.3 GHz, at an adopted distance of 13.1 Mpc. Finally, we report on an XMM,Newton X-ray detection of SN 2001gd on 2002 December 18. The supernova X-ray spectrum is consistent with optically thin emission from a soft component (associated with emission from the reverse shock) at a temperature of around 1 keV. The observed flux corresponds to an isotropic X-ray luminosity of LX= (1.4 ± 0.4) × 1039 erg s,1 in the 0.3,5 keV band. We suggest that both radio and X-ray observations of SN 2001gd indicate that a circumstellar interaction similar to that displayed by SN 1993J in M 81 is taking place. [source] Gemini/GMOS imaging of globular clusters in the Virgo galaxy NGC 4649 (M60)MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2004Duncan A. Forbes ABSTRACT We present Sloan g and i imaging from the Gemini Multi-object Spectrograph (GMOS) instrument on the Gemini North telescope for the globular cluster (GC) system around the Virgo galaxy NGC 4649 (M60). Our three pointings, taken in good seeing conditions, cover an area of about 90 square arcmin. We detect 2151 unresolved sources. Applying colour and magnitude selection criteria to this source list gives 995 candidate GCs. Our source list is greater than 90 per cent complete to a magnitude of i= 23.6, and has little contamination from background galaxies. We find fewer than half a dozen potential ultracompact dwarf galaxies around NGC 4649. Foreground extinction from the nearby spiral NGC 4647 is limited to be AV < 0.1. We confirm the bimodality in the GC colour distribution found by earlier work using Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 imaging. As is commonly seen in other galaxies, the red GCs are concentrated towards the centre of the galaxy, having a steeper number density profile than the blue GC subpopulation. The varying ratio of red-to-blue GCs with radius can largely explain the overall GC system colour gradient. The underlying galaxy starlight has a similar density profile slope and colour to the red GCs. This suggests a direct connection between the galaxy field stars and the red GC subpopulation. We estimate a total GC population of 3700 ± 900, with the uncertainty dominated by the extrapolation to larger radii than observed. This total number corresponds to a specific frequency SN= 4.1 ± 1.0. Future work will present properties derived from GMOS spectra of the NGC 4649 GCs. [source] A high-resolution radio study of neutral gas in the starburst galaxy NGC 520MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2003R. J. Beswick ABSTRACT We present subarcsec angular resolution observations of the neutral gas in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 520. The central kpc region of NGC 520 contains an area of significantly enhanced star formation. The radio continuum structure of this region resolves into ,10 continuum components. By comparing the flux densities of the brightest of these components at 1.4 GHz with published 15-GHz data we infer that these components detected at 1.4 and 1.6 GHz are related to the starburst and are most likely to be collections of several supernova remnants within the beam. None of these components is consistent with emission from an active galactic nuclei. Both neutral hydrogen (H i) and hydroxyl (OH) absorption lines are observed against the continuum emission, along with a weak OH maser feature probably related to the star formation activity in this galaxy. Strong H i absorption (NH, 1022 atoms cm,2) traces a velocity gradient of 0.5 km s,1 pc,1 across the central kpc of NGC 520. The H i absorption velocity structure is consistent with the velocity gradients observed in both the OH absorption and in CO emission observations. The neutral gas velocity structure observed within the central kpc of NGC 520 is attributed to a kpc-scale ring or disc. It is also noted that the velocity gradients observed for these neutral gas components appear to differ with the velocity gradients observed from optical ionized emission lines. This apparent disagreement is discussed and attributed to the extinction of the optical emission from the actual centre of this source hence implying that optical ionized emission lines are only detected from regions with significantly different radii to those sampled by the observations presented here. [source] Stationary models for fast and slow logarithmic spiral patterns in disc galaxiesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2002Yu-Qing Lou A recent wavelet analysis on multiwavelength image data of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 revealed a multi-arm spiral structure that persists well into the outer differentially rotating disc region. The extended spiral arms in polarized radio-continuum emission and in red light appear interlaced with each other, while the spiral arms in emissions of total radio continuum, of H, from H ii regions, and of neutral hydrogen all trace the red-light spiral arms, although to a somewhat lesser extent. The key issue now becomes how to sustain extended slow magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) density wave features in a thin magnetized disc with a flat rotation curve. We describe here a theoretical model to examine stationary non-axisymmetric logarithmic spiral configurations constructed from a background equilibrium of a magnetized singular isothermal disc (MSID) with a flat rotation curve and with a non-force-free azimuthal magnetic field. It is found analytically that two types of stationary spiral MSID configurations may exist, physically corresponding to the two possibilities of fast and slow spiral MHD density waves. Such stationary MHD density waves are possible only at proper MSID rotation speeds. For the fast MSID configuration, logarithmic spiral enhancements of magnetic field and gas density are either in phase in the tight-winding regime or shifted with a spatial phase difference ,,/2 for open spiral structures. For the slow MSID configuration, logarithmic spiral enhancements of magnetic field and gas density are either out of phase in the tight-winding regime or shifted with a spatial phase difference for open spiral structures and persist in a flat rotation curve. For NGC 6946, several pertinent aspects of the slow MSID scenario with stationary logarithmic spiral arms are discussed. The two exact solutions can be also utilized to test relevant numerical MHD codes. [source] Scaling and correlation analysis of galactic imagesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2001P. Frick Different scaling and autocorrelation characteristics and their application to astronomical images are discussed: the structure function, the autocorrelation function, Fourier spectra and wavelet spectra. The choice of the mathematical tool is of great importance for the scaling analysis of images. The structure function, for example, cannot resolve scales that are close to the dominating large-scale structures, and can lead to the wrong interpretation that a continuous range of scales with a power law exists. The traditional Fourier technique, applied to real data, gives very spiky spectra, in which the separation of real maxima and high harmonics can be difficult. We recommend as the optimal tool the wavelet spectrum with a suitable choice of the analysing wavelet. We introduce the wavelet cross-correlation function, which enables us to study the correlation between images as a function of scale. The cross-correlation coefficient strongly depends on the scale. The classical cross-correlation coefficient can be misleading if a bright, extended central region or an extended disc exists in the galactic images. An analysis of the scaling and cross-correlation characteristics of nine optical and radio maps of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is presented. The wavelet spectra allow us to separate structures on different scales like spiral arms and diffuse extended emission. Only the images of thermal radio emission and H, emission give indications of three-dimensional Kolmogorov-type turbulence on the smallest resolved scales . The cross-correlations between the images of NGC 6946 show strong similarities between the images of total radio emission, red light and mid-infrared dust emission on all scales. The best correlation is found between total radio emission and dust emission. Thermal radio continuum and H, emission are best correlated on a scale of about , the typical width of a spiral arm. On a similar scale, the images of polarized radio and H, emission are anticorrelated, a fact that remains undetected with classical cross-correlation analysis. [source] Constraining the star formation histories of spiral bulgesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2000R. N. Proctor Stellar populations in spiral bulges are investigated using the Lick system of spectral indices. Long-slit spectroscopic observations of line strengths and kinematics made along the minor axes of four spiral bulges are reported. Comparisons are made between central line strengths in spiral bulges and those in other morphological types [elliptical, spheroidal (Sph) and S0]. The bulges investigated are found to have central line strengths comparable to those of single stellar populations of approximately solar abundance or above. Negative radial gradients are observed in line strengths, similar to those exhibited by elliptical galaxies. The bulge data are also consistent with correlations between Mg2, Mg2 gradient and central velocity dispersion observed in elliptical galaxies. In contrast to elliptical galaxies, central line strengths lie within the loci defining the range of ,Fe, and Mg2 achieved by Worthey's solar abundance ratio, single stellar populations (SSPs). The implication of solar abundance ratios indicates significant differences in the star formation histories of spiral bulges and elliptical galaxies. A ,single zone with infall' model of galactic chemical evolution, using Worthey's SSPs, is used to constrain the possible star formation histories of our sample. We show that the ,Fe,, Mg2 and H, line strengths observed in these bulges cannot be reproduced using primordial collapse models of formation but can be reproduced by models with extended infall of gas and star formation (2,17 Gyr) in the region modelled. One galaxy (NGC 5689) shows a central population with a luminosity-weighted average age of ,5 Gyr, supporting the idea of extended star formation. Kinematic substructure, possibly associated with a central spike in metallicity, is observed at the centre of the Sa galaxy NGC 3623. [source] On the anomalous silicate absorption feature of the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2010M. Köhler ABSTRACT The first detection of the silicate absorption feature in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) was made at 9.7 ,m for the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 35 yr ago, indicating the presence of a large column of silicate dust in the line of sight to the nucleus. It is now well recognized that type 2 AGNs exhibit prominent silicate absorption bands, while the silicate bands of type 1 AGNs appear in emission. More recently, using the Mid-Infrared Interferometric Instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, Jaffe et al. for the first time spatially resolved the parsec-sized dust torus around NGC 1068 and found that the 10 ,m silicate absorption feature of the innermost hot component exhibits an anomalous profile differing from that of the interstellar medium and that of common olivine-type silicate dust. While they ascribed the anomalous absorption profile to gehlenite (Ca2Al2SiO7, a calcium aluminium silicate species), we propose a physical dust model and argue that, although the presence of gehlenite is not ruled out, the anomalous absorption feature mainly arises from silicon carbide. [source] The scaleheight of NGC 1058 measured from its H i power spectrumMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009Prasun Dutta ABSTRACT We have measured the H i power spectrum of the nearly face-on spiral galaxy NGC 1058 from radio-interferometric observations using a visibility based estimator. The power spectrum is well fitted by two different power laws P(U) =AU,, one with ,=,2.5 ± 0.6 at small length-scales (600 pc to 1.5 kpc) and another with ,=,1.0 ± 0.2 at large length-scales (1.5,10.0 kpc). We interpret this change in the slope of the power spectrum as a transition from 3D turbulence at small length-scales to 2D turbulence in the plane of the galaxy's disc at large length-scales. We use the observed break in the power spectrum to estimate the galaxy's scaleheight, which we find to be 490 ± 90 pc. [source] Metal enrichment of the intracluster medium: SN-driven galactic windsASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009V. Baumgartner Abstract We investigate the role of supernova (SN)-driven galactic winds in the chemical enrichment of the intracluster medium (ICM). Such outflows on galactic scales have their origin in huge star forming regions and expel metal enriched material out ofthe galaxies into their surroundings as observed, for example, in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253. As massive stars in OB-associations explode sequentially, shock waves are driven into the interstellar medium (ISM) of a galaxy and merge, forming a superbubble (SB). These SBs expand in a direction perpendicular to the disk plane following the density gradient of the ISM. We use the 2D analytical approximation by Kompaneets (1960) to model the expansion of SBs in an exponentially stratified ISM. This is modified in order to describe the sequence of SN-explosions as a time-dependent process taking into account the main-sequence life-time of the SN-progenitors and using an initial mass function to get the number of massive stars per mass interval. The evolution of the bubble in space and time is calculated analytically, from which the onset of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in the shell can be determined. In its further evolution, the shell will break up and high-metallicity gas will be ejected into the halo ofthe galaxy and even into the ICM. We derive the number of stars needed for blow-out depending on the scale height and density ofthe ambient medium, as well as the fraction of alpha- and iron peak elements contained in the hot gas. Finally, the amount of metals injected by Milky Way-type galaxies to the ICM is calculated confirming the importance ofthis enrichment process (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Transport of cosmic rays in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253,ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009V. Heesen Abstract Radio halos require the coexistence of extra-planar cosmic rays and magnetic fields. Because cosmic rays are injected and accelerated by processes related to star formation in the disk, they have to be transported from the disk into the halo. A vertical large-scale magnetic field can significantly enhance this transport. We observed NGC 253 using radio continuum polarimetry with the Effelsberg and VLA telescopes. The radio halo of NGC 253 has a dumbbell shape with the smallest vertical extension near the center. With an estimate for the electron lifetime, we measured the cosmic-ray bulk speed as 300 ± 30 km s,1 which is constant over the extent of the disk. This shows the presence of a "disk wind" in NGC 253. We propose that the large-scale magnetic field is the superposition of a disk (r, ,) and halo (r, z) component. The disk field is an inward-pointing spiral with even parity. The conical (even) halo field appears in projection as an X-shaped structure, as observed in other edge-on galaxies. Interaction by compression in the walls of the superbubbles may explain the observed alignment between the halo field and the lobes of hot H, and soft X-ray emitting gas. The disk wind is a good candidate for the transport of small-scale helical fields, required for efficient dynamo action, and as a source for the neutral hydrogen observed in the halo (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] H2O maser and a plasma obscuring torus in the radio galaxy NGC 1052ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2-3 2009S. Sawada-Satoh Abstract We present multi-frequency simultaneous VLBA observations at 15, 22 and 43 GHz towards the nucleus of the nearby radio galaxy NGC 1052. These three continuum images reveal a double-sided jet structure, whose relative intensity ratios imply that the jet axis is oriented close to the sky plane. The steeply rising spectra at 15,43 GHz at the inner edges of the jets strongly suggest that synchrotron emission is absorbed by foreground thermal plasma. We detected H2O maser emission in the velocity range of 1550,1850 km s,1, which is redshifted by 50,350 km s,1 with respect to the systemic velocity of NGC 1052. The redshifted maser gas appears projected against both sides of the jet, similar to the H I seen in absorption. The H2O maser gas is located where the free-free absorption opacity is large. This probably implies that the masers in NGC 1052 are associated with a circumnuclear torus or disk as in the nucleus of NGC 4258. Such circumnuclear structure can be the sense of accreting onto the central engine (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Extragalactic integral field spectroscopy on the Gemini telescopesASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2004A. Bunker Abstract We have been undertaking a programme on the Gemini 8-m telescopes to demonstrate the power of integral field spectroscopy, using the optical GMOS spectrograph, and the new CIRPASS instrument in the near-infrared. Here we present some preliminary results from 3D spectroscopy of extra-galactic objects, mapping the emission lines in a 3CR radio galaxy and in a gravitationally lensed arc, exploring dark matter sub-structure through observations of an Einstein Cross gravitational lens, and the star formation time-scales of young massive clusters in the starburst galaxy NGC 1140. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | ||||||||||