| 1. |
- Marconi, A., et al.
(författare)
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ANDES, the high resolution spectrograph for the ELT : science case, baseline design and path to construction
- 2022
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY IX. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9781510653504 - 9781510653498
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first generation of ELT instruments includes an optical-infrared high resolution spectrograph, indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). ANDES consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs (UBV, RIZ, YJH) providing a spectral resolution of similar to 100,000 with a minimum simultaneous wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mu m with the goal of extending it to 0.35-2.4 mu m with the addition of a K band spectrograph. It operates both in seeing- and diffraction-limited conditions and the fibre-feeding allows several, interchangeable observing modes including a single conjugated adaptive optics module and a small diffraction-limited integral field unit in the NIR. Its modularity will ensure that ANDES can be placed entirely on the ELT Nasmyth platform, if enough mass and volume is available, or partly in the Coude room. ANDES has a wide range of groundbreaking science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Among the top science cases there are the detection of biosignatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars, tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The ANDES project is carried forward by a large international consortium, composed of 35 Institutes from 13 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers which represent the majority of the scientific and technical expertise in the field among ESO member states.
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| 2. |
- Garcia-Benito, R., et al.
(författare)
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CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey III. Second public data release
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 576:A135
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper describes the Second Public Data Release (DR2) of the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. The data for 200 objects are made public, including the 100 galaxies of the First Public Data Release (DR1). Data were obtained with the integral-field spectrograph PMAS /PPak mounted on the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto observatory. Two different spectral setups are available for each galaxy, (i) a low-resolution V500 setup covering the wavelength range 3745-7500 angstrom with a spectral resolution of 6.0 angstrom (FWHM); and (ii) a medium-resolution V1200 setup covering the wavelength range 3650-4840 angstrom with a spectral resolution of 2.3 angstrom (FWHM). The sample covers a redshift range between 0.005 and 0.03, with a wide range of properties in the color-magnitude diagram, stellar mass, ionization conditions, and morphological types. All the cubes in the data release were reduced with the latest pipeline, which includes improved spectrophotometric calibration, spatial registration, and spatial resolution. The spectrophotometric calibration is better than 6% and the median spatial resolution is 2 4. In total, the second data release contains over 1.5 million spectra.
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| 3. |
- Adamo, Angela, et al.
(författare)
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Star cluster formation and evolution in Mrk 930 : properties of a metal-poor starburst
- 2011
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 415:3, s. 2388-2406
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the analysis of the large population of star clusters in the blue compact galaxy (BCG) Mrk 930. The study has been conducted by means of a photometric analysis of multiband data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We have reconstructed the spectral energy distributions of the star clusters and estimated the age, mass and extinction for a representative sample. Similar to previous studies of star clusters in BCGs, we observe a very young cluster population with 70 per cent of the systems formed less than 10 Myr ago. In Mrk 930, the peak in the star cluster age distribution at 4 Myr is corroborated by the presence of Wolf-Rayet spectral features, and by the observed optical and infrared (IR) line ratios [OIII]/H beta and [Ne III]/[Ne II]. The recovered extinction in these very young clusters shows large variations, with a decrease at older ages. It is likely that our analysis is limited to the optically brightest objects (i.e. systems only partially embedded in their natal cocoons; the deeply embedded clusters being undetected). We map the extinction across the galaxy using low-resolution spectra and the H alpha-to-H beta ratio, as obtained from ground-based narrow band imaging. These results are compared with the extinction distribution recovered from the clusters. We find that the mean optical extinction derived in the starburst regions is close to the averaged value observed in the clusters [more than 80 per cent of the systems have E(B - V) <= 0.2mag], but locally, do not trace the more extinguished clusters. Previous HST studies of BCGs have revealed a population of young and extremely red super star clusters. We detect a considerable fraction of clusters affected by a red excess also in Mrk 930. The nature of the red excess, which turns up at near-IR wavelengths (I band and longwards), remains unknown. We compare the cluster formation history and the star formation history, the latter derived from the fit of spectral population synthesis models to the spectra. We find a general agreement between the two independently estimated quantities. Using the cluster properties, we perform a study of the host environmental properties. We find that the cluster formation efficiency (the fraction of star formation happening in clusters) is significantly higher, suggesting a key role of the environment for the formation of these massive objects.
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| 4. |
- Guseva, N. G., et al.
(författare)
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An investigation of the luminosity-metallicity relation for a large sample of low-metallicity emission-line galaxies
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 505:1, s. 63-U98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. We present 8.2m VLT spectroscopic observations of 28 H II regions in 16 emission-line galaxies and 3.6m ESO telescope spectroscopic observations of 38 H II regions in 28 emission-line galaxies. These emission-line galaxies were selected mainly from the data release 6 (DR6) of the Sloan digital sky survey (SDSS) as metal-deficient galaxy candidates. Aims. We collect photometric and high-quality spectroscopic data for a large uniform sample of star forming galaxies including new observations. Our aim is to study the luminosity-metallicity (L-Z) relation for nearby galaxies, especially at its low-metallicity end and compare it with that for higher-redshift galaxies. Methods. Physical conditions and element abundances in the new sample are derived with the T-e-method, excluding six H II regions from the VLT observations and nearly two third of the H II regions from the 3.6m observations. Element abundances for the latter galaxies were derived with the semiempirical strong-line method. Results. From our new observations we find that the oxygen abundance in 61 out of the 66 H II regions of our sample ranges from 12 + log O/H = 7.05 to 8.22. Our sample includes 27 new galaxies with 12 + log O/H < 7.6 which qualify as extremely metal-poor star-forming galaxies (XBCDs). Among them are 10 H II regions with 12 + log O/H < 7.3. The new sample is combined with a further 93 low-metallicity galaxies with accurate oxygen abundance determinations from our previous studies, yielding in total a high-quality spectroscopic data set of 154 H II regions. 9000 more galaxies with oxygen abundances, based mainly on the T-e-method, are compiled from the SDSS. Photometric data for all galaxies of our combined sample are taken from the SDSS database while distances are from the NED. Our data set spans a range of 8 mag with respect to its absolute magnitude in SDSS g (-12 greater than or similar to M-g greater than or similar to -20) and nearly 2 dex in its oxygen abundance (7.0 less than or similar to 12 + log O/H less than or similar to 8.8), allowing us to probe the L-Z relation in the nearby universe down to the lowest currently studied metallicity level. The L-Z relation established on the basis of the present sample is consistent with previous ones obtained for emission-line galaxies.
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| 5. |
- Guseva, N. G., et al.
(författare)
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VLT spectroscopy of low-metallicity emission-line galaxies : abundance patterns and abundance discrepancies
- 2011
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 529, s. A149-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. We present deep spectroscopy of a large sample of low-metallicity emission-line galaxies. Aims. The main goal of this study is to derive element abundances in these low-metallicity galaxies. Methods. We analyze 121 VLT spectra of H II regions in 46 low-metallicity emission-line galaxies. Of these spectra 83 are archival VLT/FORS1 + UVES spectra of H II regions in 31 low-metallicity emission-line galaxies that are studied for the first time with standard direct methods to determine the electron temperatures, the electron number densities, and the chemical abundances. Results. The oxygen abundance of the sample lies in the range 12 + log O/H = 7.2-8.4. We confirm previous findings that Ne/O increases with increasing oxygen abundance, likely because of a higher depletion of oxygen in higher-metallicity galaxies. The Fe/O ratio decreases from roughly solar at the lowest metallicities to about one tenth of solar, indicating that the degree of depletion of iron into dust grains depends on metallicity. The N/O ratio in extremely low-metallicity galaxies with 12 + log O/H < 7.5 shows a slight increase with decreasing oxygen abundance, which could be the signature of enhanced production of primary nitrogen by rapidly rotating stars at low metallicity. We present the first empirical relation between the electron temperature derived from [S III]lambda 6312/lambda 9069 or [N II]lambda 5755/lambda 6583 and the one derived from [O III]lambda 4363/lambda(4959 + 5007) in low-metallicity galaxies. We also present an empirical relation between t(e) derived from [O II]lambda 3727/(lambda 7320 + lambda 7330) or [S II]lambda 4068/(lambda 6717 + lambda 6730) and [O III]lambda 4363/lambda(4959 + 5007). The electron number densities N(e)(Cl III) and N(e)(Ar IV) were derived in a number of objects and are found to be higher than N(e)(O II) and N(e)(S II). This has potential implications for the derivation of the pregalactic helium abundance. In a number of objects, the abundances of C(++) and O(++) could be derived from recombination lines. Our study confirms the discrepancy between abundances found from recombination lines (RLs) and collisionally excited lines (CELs) and that C/O increases with O/H.
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| 6. |
- Herenz, E. C., et al.
(författare)
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A ∼15 kpc outflow cone piercing through the halo of the blue compact metal-poor galaxy SBS 0335–052E
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Outflows from low-mass star-forming galaxies are a fundamental ingredient for models of galaxy evolution and cosmology. Despite seemingly favourable conditions for outflow formation in compact starbursting galaxies, convincing observational evidence for kiloparsec-scale outflows in such systems is scarce.Aims. The onset of kiloparsec-scale ionised filaments in the halo of the metal-poor compact dwarf SBS 0335−052E was previously not linked to an outflow. In this paper we investigate whether these filaments provide evidence for an outflow.Methods. We obtained new VLT/MUSE WFM and deep NRAO/VLA B-configuration 21 cm data of the galaxy. The MUSE data provide morphology, kinematics, and emission line ratios of Hβ/Hα and [O III]λ5007/Hα of the low surface-brightness filaments, while the VLA data deliver morphology and kinematics of the neutral gas in and around the system. Both datasets are used in concert for comparisons between the ionised and the neutral phase.Results. We report the prolongation of a lacy filamentary ionised structure up to a projected distance of 16 kpc at SBHα = 1.5 × 10−18 erg s cm−2 arcsec−2. The filaments exhibit unusual low Hα/Hβ ≈ 2.4 and low [O III]/Hα ∼ 0.4 − 0.6 typical of diffuse ionised gas. They are spectrally narrow (∼20 km s−1) and exhibit no velocity sub-structure. The filaments extend outwards from the elongated H I halo. On small scales, the NHI peak is offset from the main star-forming sites. The morphology and kinematics of H I and H II reveal how star-formation-driven feedback interacts differently with the ionised and the neutral phase.Conclusions. We reason that the filaments are a large-scale manifestation of star-formation- driven feedback, namely limb-brightened edges of a giant outflow cone that protrudes through the halo of this gas-rich system. A simple toy model of such a conical structure is found to be commensurable with the observations.
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| 7. |
- Herenz, Edmund Christian, et al.
(författare)
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VLT/MUSE illuminates possible channels for Lyman continuum escape in the halo of SBS 0335-52E
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 606
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the discovery of ionised gas filaments in the circum-galactic halo of the extremely metal-poor compact starburst SBS 0335-052E in a 1.5 h integration with the MUSE integral-field spectrograph. We detect these features in H alpha and [O III] emission down to a limiting surface-brightness of 5 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2). The filaments have projected diameters of 2.1 kpc and extend more than 9 kpc to the north and north-west from the main stellar body. We also detect extended nebular He II lambda 4686 emission that brightens towards the north-west at the rim of a starburst driven super-shell. We also present a velocity field of the ionised gas. The filaments appear to connect seamlessly in velocity space to the kinematical disturbances caused by the shell. Similar to high-z starforming galaxies, the ionised gas in this galaxy is dispersion dominated. We argue that the filaments were created via feedback from the starburst and that these ionised structures in the halo may act as escape channels for Lyman continuum radiation in this gas-rich system.
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| 8. |
- Izotov, Y. I., et al.
(författare)
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SBS 0335-052E+W : deep VLT/FORS plus UVES spectroscopy of the pair of the lowest-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 503:1, s. 61-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. We present deep archival VLT/FORS1+UVES spectroscopic observations of the system of two blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies SBS 0335-052E and SBS 0335-052W. Aims. Our aim is to derive element abundances in different H II regions of this unique system of galaxies and to study spatial abundance variations. Methods. The electron temperature T-e (O III) in all H II regions, except for one, is derived from the [O III] lambda 4363/(lambda 4959+lambda 5007) flux ratio. We determine ionic abundances of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, sulfur, chlorine, argon and iron. The empirical relations for ionization correction factors are used to derive total abundances of these elements. Results. The oxygen abundance in the brighter eastern galaxy varies in the range 7.11 to 7.32 in different H II regions supporting previous findings and suggesting the presence of oxygen abundance variations on spatial scales of similar to 1-2 kpc. Good seeing during FORS observations allowed us to extract spectra of four H II regions in SBS 0335-052W. The oxygen abundance in the brightest region No. 1 of SBS 0335-052W is 7.22 +/- 0.07, consistent with previous determinations. Three other H II regions are much more metal-poor with an unprecedently low oxygen abundance of 12 + log O/H = 7.01 +/- 0.07 (region No. 2), 6.98 +/- 0.06 (region No. 3), and 6.86 +/- 0.14 (region No. 4). These are the lowest oxygen abundances ever derived in emission-line galaxies, supporting earlier conclusions that SBS 0335-052W is the lowest-metallicity emission-line galaxy known. Helium abundances derived for the brightest H II regions of both galaxies are mutually consistent. We derive weighted mean He mass fractions of 0.2485 +/- 0.0012 and 0.2514 +/- 0.0012 for two different sets of He I emissivities. The ratios of neon and sulfur to oxygen abundance are similar to the respective ratios obtained for other emission-line galaxies. On the other hand, the chlorine-to-oxygen abundance ratio in SBS 0335-052E is lower, while the argon-to-oxygen abundance ratio is higher than those in other low-metallicity galaxies. The Fe/O abundance ratios in different regions of SBS 0335-052E are among the highest for emission-line galaxies implying that iron is almost entirely not depleted onto dust grains despite dust being detected in this galaxy in earlier ISO and Spitzer observations. The N/O abundance ratio in both galaxies is slightly higher than that derived for other BCDs with 12 + logO/H < 7.6. This implies that the N/O in extremely metal-deficient galaxies could increase with decreasing metallicity.
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| 9. |
- Izotov, Y. I., et al.
(författare)
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Tol 2240-384-a new low-metallicity AGN candidate
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 517, s. A90-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have typically been discovered in massive galaxies of high metallicity. Aims. We attempt to increase the number of AGN candidates in low metallicity galaxies. We present VLT/UVES and archival VLT/FORS1 spectroscopic and NTT/SUSI2 photometric observations of the low-metallicity emission-line galaxy Tol 2240-384 and perform a detailed study of its morphology, chemical composition, and emission-line profiles. Methods. The profiles of emission lines in the UVES and FORS1 spectra are decomposed into several components with different kinematical properties by performing multicomponent fitting with Gaussians. We determine abundances of nitrogen, oxygen, neon, sulfur, chlorine, argon, and iron by analyzing the fluxes of narrow components of the emission lines using empirical methods. We verify with a photoionisation model that the physics of the narrow-line component gas is similar to that in common metal-poor galaxies. Results. Image deconvolution reveals two high-surface brightness regions in Tol 2240-384 separated by 2.4 kpc. The brightest southwestern region is surrounded by intense ionised gas emission that strongly affects the observed B - R colour on a spatial scale of similar to 5 kpc. The profiles of the strong emission lines in the UVES spectrum are asymmetric and all these lines apart from H alpha and H beta can be fitted by two Gaussians of FWHM similar to 75-92 km s(-1) separated by similar to 80 km s(-1) implying that there are two regions of ionised gas emitting narrow lines. The oxygen abundances in both regions are equal within the errors and in the range 12 + log O/H = 7.83-7.89. The shapes of the H alpha and H beta lines are more complex. In particular, the H alpha emission line consists of two broad components of FWHM similar to 700 km s(-1) and 2300 km s(-1), in addition to narrow components of two regions revealed from profiles of other lines. This broad emission in H alpha and H beta associated with the high-excitation, brighter southwestern H II region of the galaxy is also present in the archival low-and medium-resolution VLT/FORS1 spectra. The extraordinarily high luminosity of the broad H alpha line of 3x10(41) erg s(-1) cannot be accounted for by massive stars at different stages of their evolution. The broad Ha emission persists over a period of 7 years, which excludes supernovae as a powering mechanism of this emission. This emission most likely arises from an accretion disc around a black hole of mass similar to 10(7) M-circle dot.
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