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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Morphological Transformation From Galaxy Harassment, B Moore, G Lake, N Katz
Morphological Transformation From Galaxy Harassment, B Moore, G Lake, N Katz
Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series
Galaxy morphologies in clusters have undergone a remarkable transition over the past several billion yr. Distant clusters at z ~ 0.4 are filled with small spiral galaxies, many of which are disturbed and show evidence of multiple bursts of star formation. This population is absent from nearby clusters, where spheroidals comprise the faint end of the luminosity function. Our numerical simulations follow the evolution of disk galaxies in a rich cluster resulting from encounters with brighter galaxies and the cluster's tidal field, or "galaxy harassment." After a bursting transient phase, they undergo a complete morphological transformation from "disks" to "spheroidals." …
Recovery Of The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations From Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, L Hernquist
Recovery Of The Power Spectrum Of Mass Fluctuations From Observations Of The Ly Alpha Forest, Rac Croft, Dh Weinberg, N Katz, L Hernquist
Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series
We present a method to recover the shape and amplitude of the power spectrum of mass fluctuations, P(k), from observations of the high-redshift Lyα forest. The method is motivated by the physical picture that has emerged from hydrodynamic cosmological simulations and related semianalytic models, in which typical Lyα forest lines arise in a diffuse, continuous, fluctuating intergalactic medium. The thermal state of this low-density gas (δρ/ρ 10) is governed by simple physical processes, which lead to a tight correlation between the Lyα optical depth and the underlying matter density. To recover the mass power spectrum, we (1) …
Effects Of Interaction Induced Activities In Hickson Compact Groups: Co And Fir Study, L Verdes-Montenegro, Min S. Yun, J Perea, A Del Olmo, P T P Ho
Effects Of Interaction Induced Activities In Hickson Compact Groups: Co And Fir Study, L Verdes-Montenegro, Min S. Yun, J Perea, A Del Olmo, P T P Ho
Min S. Yun
A study of 2.6 mm CO J = 1 → 0 and far-infrared (FIR) emission in a distance-limited (z < 0.03) complete sample of Hickson compact group (HCG) galaxies was conducted in order to examine the effects of their unique environment on the interstellar medium of component galaxies and to search for a possible enhancement of star formation and nuclear activity. Ubiquitous tidal interactions in these dense groups would predict enhanced activities among the HCG galaxies compared to isolated galaxies. Instead, their CO and FIR properties (thus, "star formation efficiency") are surprisingly similar to isolated spirals. The CO data for 80 HCG galaxies presented here (including 10 obtained from the literature) indicate that the spirals globally show the same H2 content as the isolated comparison sample, although 20% are deficient in CO emission. Because of their large optical luminosity, low metallicity is not likely the main cause for the low CO luminosity. The CO deficiency appears linked with the group evolution, and gas exhaustion through past star formation and removal of the external gas reserve by tidal stripping of the outer H I disk offer a possible explanation. The IRAS data for the entire redshift-limited complete sample of 161 HCG galaxies were reanalyzed using ADDSCAN/SCANPI, improving the sensitivity by a factor of 3-5 over the existing Point Source Catalog (PSC) and resolving better the contribution from individual galaxies. The new analysis of the IRAS data confirms the previous suggestion that FIR emission in HCG galaxies is similar to isolated, Virgo Cluster, and weakly interacting galaxies. Their H2 and FIR characteristics yield a star formation efficiency that is similar to that of these comparison samples. A factor 2 enhancement in the 25-100 μm flux ratio among the HCG spirals is found, which suggests intense localized nuclear starburst activity similar to that of H II galaxies. A number of early-type galaxies in HCGs are detected in CO and FIR, lending further support to the idea that tidal interactions and tidally induced evolution of the groups and member galaxies are important in our sample.
The Observability Of Metal Lines Associated With The Ly Alpha Forest, U Hellsten, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg
The Observability Of Metal Lines Associated With The Ly Alpha Forest, U Hellsten, L Hernquist, N Katz, Dh Weinberg
Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series
We develop a prescription for characterizing the strengths of metal lines associated with Lyα forest absorbers (LYFAs) of a given neutral hydrogen column density NH I and metallicity [O/H]. This line observability index (LOX) is line specific and translates, for weak lines, into a measure of the equivalent width. It can be evaluated quickly for thousands of transitions within the framework of a given model of the Lyα forest, providing a ranking of the absorption lines in terms of their strengths and enabling model builders to select the lines that deserve more detailed consideration, i.e., those that should be …
The Formation Of Quasars In Low-Luminosity Hosts Via Galaxy Harassment, G Lake, N Katz, B Moore
The Formation Of Quasars In Low-Luminosity Hosts Via Galaxy Harassment, G Lake, N Katz, B Moore
Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series
We have simulated disk galaxies undergoing continual bombardment by other galaxies in a rich cluster. "Galaxy harassment" leads to dramatic evolution of smaller disk galaxies and provides an extremely effective mechanism for fueling a central quasar. Within a few billion years after a small disk galaxy enters the cluster environment, up to 90% of its gas can be driven into the inner 500 pc. Up to half of the mass can be transferred in a burst lasting just 100-200 Myr. This transport of gas to the center of galaxy is far more efficient than any mechanism proposed before. Galaxy harassment …