| 1. |
- Liu, Daizhong, et al.
(författare)
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PHANGS–JWST First Results : Stellar-feedback-driven Excitation and Dissociation of Molecular Gas in the Starburst Ring of NGC 1365?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We compare embedded young massive star clusters (YMCs) to (sub-)millimeter line observations tracing the excitation and dissociation of molecular gas in the starburst ring of NGC 1365. This galaxy hosts one of the strongest nuclear starbursts and richest populations of YMCs within 20 Mpc. Here we combine near-/mid-IR PHANGS–JWST imaging with new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array multi-J CO (1–0, 2–1 and 4–3) and [C ı] (1–0) mapping, which we use to trace CO excitation via R42 = ICO(4−3)/ICO(2−1) and R21 = ICO(2−1)/ICO(1−0) and dissociation via RCICO = I[CI](1−0)/ICO(2−1) at 330 pc resolution. We find that the gas flowing into the starburst ring from northeast to southwest appears strongly affected by stellar feedback, showing decreased excitation (lower R42) and increased signatures of dissociation (higher RCICO) in the downstream regions. There, radiative-transfer modeling suggests that the molecular gas density decreases and temperature and [CI/CO] abundance ratio increase. We compare R42 and RCICO with local conditions across the regions and find that both correlate with near-IR 2 μm emission tracing the YMCs and with both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (11.3 μm) and dust continuum (21 μm) emission. In general, RCICO exhibits ∼0.1 dex tighter correlations than R42, suggesting C ı to be a more sensitive tracer of changing physical conditions in the NGC 1365 starburst than CO (4–3). Our results are consistent with a scenario where gas flows into the two arm regions along the bar, becomes condensed/shocked, forms YMCs, and then these YMCs heat and dissociate the gas.
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| 2. |
- Gouliermis, Dimitrios A., et al.
(författare)
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Hierarchical star formation across the grand-design spiral NGC 1566
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 468:1, s. 509-530
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate how star formation is spatially organized in the grand-design spiral NGC 1566 from deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. Our contour-based clustering analysis reveals 890 distinct stellar conglomerations at various levels of significance. These star- forming complexes are organized in a hierarchical fashion with the larger congregations consisting of smaller structures, which themselves fragment into even smaller and more compact stellar groupings. Their size distribution, covering a wide range in length-scales, shows a power law as expected from scale-free processes. We explain this shape with a simple 'fragmentation and enrichment' model. The hierarchical morphology of the complexes is confirmed by their mass-size relation that can be represented by a power law with a fractional exponent, analogous to that determined for fractal molecular clouds. The surface stellar density distribution of the complexes shows a lognormal shape similar to that for supersonic non-gravitating turbulent gas. Between 50 and 65 per cent of the recently formed stars, as well as about 90 per cent of the young star clusters, are found inside the stellar complexes, located along the spiral arms. We find an age difference between young stars inside the complexes and those in their direct vicinity in the arms of at least 10 Myr. This time-scale may relate to the minimum time for stellar evaporation, although we cannot exclude the in situ formation of stars. As expected, star formation preferentially occurs in spiral arms. Our findings reveal turbulent-driven hierarchical star formation along the arms of a grand-design galaxy.
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| 3. |
- Rodríguez, M. Jimena, et al.
(författare)
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PHANGS–JWST First Results : Dust-embedded Star Clusters in NGC 7496 Selected via 3.3 μm PAH Emission
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The earliest stages of star formation occur enshrouded in dust and are not observable in the optical. Here we leverage the extraordinary new high-resolution infrared imaging from JWST to begin the study of dust-embedded star clusters in nearby galaxies throughout the Local Volume. We present a technique for identifying dust-embedded clusters in NGC 7496 (18.7 Mpc), the first galaxy to be observed by the PHANGS–JWST Cycle 1 Treasury Survey. We select sources that have strong 3.3 μm PAH emission based on a F300M − F335M color excess and identify 67 candidate embedded clusters. Only eight of these are found in the PHANGS-HST optically selected cluster catalog, and all are young (six have SED fit ages of ∼1 Myr). We find that this sample of embedded cluster candidates may significantly increase the census of young clusters in NGC 7496 from the PHANGS-HST catalog; the number of clusters younger than ∼2 Myr could be increased by a factor of 2. Candidates are preferentially located in dust lanes and are coincident with the peaks in the PHANGS-ALMA CO (2–1) maps. We take a first look at concentration indices, luminosity functions, SEDs spanning from 2700 Å to 21 μm, and stellar masses (estimated to be between ∼104 and 105 M⊙). The methods tested here provide a basis for future work to derive accurate constraints on the physical properties of embedded clusters, characterize the completeness of cluster samples, and expand analysis to all 19 galaxies in the PHANGS–JWST sample, which will enable basic unsolved problems in star formation and cluster evolution to be addressed.
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| 4. |
- Thilker, David A., et al.
(författare)
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PHANGS–JWST First Results : The Dust Filament Network of NGC 628 and Its Relation to Star Formation Activity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PHANGS–JWST mid-infrared (MIR) imaging of nearby spiral galaxies has revealed ubiquitous filaments of dust emission in intricate detail. We present a pilot study to systematically map the dust filament network (DFN) at multiple scales between 25 and 400 pc in NGC 628. MIRI images at 7.7, 10, 11.3, and 21 μm of NGC 628 are used to generate maps of the filaments in emission, while PHANGS–HST B-band imaging yields maps of dust attenuation features. We quantify the correspondence between filaments traced by MIR thermal continuum/polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission and filaments detected via extinction/scattering of visible light; the fraction of MIR flux contained in the DFN; and the fraction of H ii regions, young star clusters, and associations within the DFN. We examine the dependence of these quantities on the physical scale at which the DFN is extracted. With our highest-resolution DFN maps (25 pc filament width), we find that filaments in emission and attenuation are cospatial in 40% of sight lines, often exhibiting detailed morphological agreement; that ∼30% of the MIR flux is associated with the DFN; and that 75%–80% of the star formation in H ii regions and 60% of the mass in star clusters younger than 5 Myr are contained within the DFN. However, the DFN at this scale is anticorrelated with looser associations of stars younger than 5 Myr identified using PHANGS–HST near-UV imaging. We discuss the impact of these findings on studies of star formation and the interstellar medium, and the broad range of new investigations enabled by multiscale maps of the DFN.
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| 5. |
- Agarwal, Bhaskar, et al.
(författare)
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An analytic resolution to the competition between Lyman-Werner radiation and metal winds in direct collapse black hole hosts
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 470:4, s. 4034-4038
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A near pristine atomic cooling halo close to a star forming galaxy offers a natural pathway for forming massive direct collapse black hole (DCBH) seeds, which could be the progenitors of the z > 6 redshift quasars. The close proximity of the haloes enables a sufficient Lyman-Werner flux to effectively dissociate H-2 in the core of the atomic cooling halo. A mild background may also be required to delay star formation in the atomic cooling halo, often attributed to distant background galaxies. In this paper, we investigate the impact of metal pollution from both the background galaxies and the close star forming galaxy under extremely unfavourable conditions such as instantaneous metal mixing. We find that within the time window of DCBH formation, the level of pollution never exceeds the critical threshold (Z(cr) similar to 1 x 10(-5) Z(circle dot)) and attains a maximum metallicity of Z similar to 2 x 10(- 6) Z(circle dot). As the system evolves, the metallicity eventually exceeds the critical threshold, long after the DCBH has formed.
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| 6. |
- Ballesteros-Paredes, Javier, et al.
(författare)
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From Diffuse Gas to Dense Molecular Cloud Cores
- 2020
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Ingår i: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 216:5
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Molecular clouds are a fundamental ingredient of galaxies: they are the channels that transform the diffuse gas into stars. The detailed process of how they do it is not completely understood. We review the current knowledge of molecular clouds and their substructure from scales similar to 1kpc down to the filament and core scale. We first review the mechanisms of cloud formation from the warm diffuse interstellar medium down to the cold and dense molecular clouds, the process of molecule formation and the role of the thermal and gravitational instabilities. We also discuss the main physical mechanisms through which clouds gather their mass, and note that all of them may have a role at various stages of the process. In order to understand the dynamics of clouds we then give a critical review of the widely used virial theorem, and its relation to the measurable properties of molecular clouds. Since these properties are the tools we have for understanding the dynamical state of clouds, we critically analyse them. We finally discuss the ubiquitous filamentary structure of molecular clouds and its connection to prestellar cores and star formation.
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| 7. |
- Dominguez, R., et al.
(författare)
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Are hierarchically formed embedded star clusters surviving gas expulsion depending on their initial conditions?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 508:4, s. 5410-5424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate the dissolution process of young embedded star clusters with different primordial mass segregation levels using fractal distributions by means of N-body simulations. We combine several star clusters in virial and subvirial global states with Plummer and uniform density profiles to mimic the gas. The star clusters have masses of M-stars = 500 M-circle dot that follow an initial mass function where the stars have maximum distance from the centre of r = 1.5 pc. The clusters are placed in clouds that at the same radius have masses of M-cloud = 2000 M-circle dot, resulting in star formation efficiency of 0.2. We remove the background potential instantaneously at a very early phase, mimicking the most destructive scenario of gas expulsion. The evolution of the fraction of bound stellar mass is followed for a total of 16 Myr for simulations with stellar evolution and without. We compare our results with previous works using equal-mass particles where an analytical physical model was used to estimate the bound mass fraction after gas expulsion. We find that independent of the initial condition, the fraction of bound stellar mass can be well predicted just right after the gas expulsion but tends to be lower at later stages, as these systems evolve due to the stronger two-body interactions resulting from the inclusion of a realistic initial mass function. This discrepancy is independent of the primordial mass segregation level.
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| 8. |
- Larson, Kirsten L., et al.
(författare)
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Multiscale stellar associations across the star formation hierarchy in PHANGS-HST nearby galaxies : methodology and properties
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 523:4, s. 6061-6081
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We develop a method to identify and determine the physical properties of stellar associations using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NUV−U−B−V−I imaging of nearby galaxies from the Physics at High Angular Resolution in Nearby GalaxieS with the Hubble Space Telescope (PHANGS–HST) survey. We apply a watershed algorithm to density maps constructed from point source catalogues Gaussian smoothed to multiple physical scales from 8 to 64 pc. We develop our method on two galaxies that span the distance range in the PHANGS–HST sample: NGC 3351 (10 Mpc) and NGC 1566 (18 Mpc). We test our algorithm with different parameters such as the choice of detection band for the point source catalogue (NUV or V), source density image filtering methods, and absolute magnitude limits. We characterize the properties of the resulting multiscale associations, including sizes, number of tracer stars, number of associations, and photometry, as well as ages, masses, and reddening from spectral energy distribution fitting. Our method successfully identifies structures that occupy loci in the UBVI colour–colour diagram consistent with previously published catalogues of clusters and associations. The median ages of the associations increase from log(age/yr) = 6.6 to log(age/yr) = 6.9 as the spatial scale increases from 8 to 64 pc for both galaxies. We find that the youngest stellar associations, with ages <3 Myr, indeed closely trace H II regions in H α imaging, and that older associations are increasingly anticorrelated with the H α emission. Owing to our new method, the PHANGS–HST multiscale associations provide a far more complete census of recent star formation activity than found with previous cluster and compact association catalogues.
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| 9. |
- Rydberg, Claes-Erik, et al.
(författare)
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A multiply imaged z similar to 6.3 Lyman a emitter candidate behind Abell 2261
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 467:1, s. 768-777
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the Lyman alpha (Ly alpha) emission line serves as an important tool in the study of galaxies at z less than or similar to 6, finding Ly a emitters (LAE) at significantly higher redshifts has been more challenging, probably because of the increasing neutrality of the intergalactic medium above z similar to 6. Galaxies with extremely high rest-frame Ly alpha equivalent widths, EW(Ly alpha) greater than or similar to 150 A degrees, at z > 6, are good candidates for Ly alpha follow-up observations, and can stand out in multiband imaging surveys because of their unusual colours. We have conducted a photometric search for such objects in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and report here the identification of three likely gravitationally lensed images of a single LAE candidate at z-6.3, behind the galaxy cluster Abell 2261 (z=0.225). In the process, we also measured with Keck/Multi-Object Spectrometer For Infra-Red Exploration the first spectroscopic redshift of a multiply imaged galaxy behind Abell 2261, at z=3.337. This allows us to calibrate the lensing model, which, in turn, is used to study the properties of the candidate LAE. Population III galaxy spectral energy distribution model fits to the CLASH broad-band photometry of the possible LAE provide a slightly better fit than Population I/II models. The best-fitting model suggests intrinsic EW(Ly alpha) approximate to 160 A degrees after absorption in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. Future spectroscopic observations will examine this prediction as well as shed more light on the morphology of this object, which indicates that it may be a merger of two smaller galaxies.
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| 10. |
- Schauer, Anna T. P., et al.
(författare)
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Lyman-Werner escape fractions from the first galaxies
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 467:2, s. 2288-2300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Direct collapse black holes forming in pristine, atomically cooling haloes at z approximate to 10-20 may act as the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs) at high redshifts. In order to create a massive BH seed, the host halo needs to be prevented from forming stars. H-2 therefore needs to be irradiated by a large flux of Lyman-Werner (LW) UV photons in order to suppress H-2 cooling. A key uncertainty in this scenario is the escape fraction of LW radiation from first galaxies, which is the dominant source of UV photons at this epoch. To better constrain this escape fraction, we have performed radiation-hydrodynamical simulations of the growth of H II regions and their associated photodissociation regions in the first galaxies using the ZEUS-MP code. We find that the LWescape fraction crucially depends on the propagation of the ionization front (I-front). For an R-type I-front overrunning the halo, the LW escape fraction is always larger than 95 per cent. If the halo recombines later from the outside-in, due to a softened and weakened spectrum, the LW escape fraction in the rest frame of the halo (the near-field) drops to zero. A detailed and careful analysis is required to analyse slowly moving, D-type I-fronts, where the escape fraction depends on the microphysics and can be as small as 3 per cent in the near-field and 61 per cent in the far-field or as large as 100 per cent in both the near-field and the far-field.
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