| 1. |
- Marconi, A., et al.
(author)
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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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In: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY IX. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9781510653504 - 9781510653498
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)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. |
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Marconi, Alessandro, et al.
(author)
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ELT-HIRES, the high resolution spectrograph for the ELT : Phase A study and path to construction
- 2020
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In: Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9781510636828 - 9781510636811
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- HIRES is the high-resolution spectrograph of the European Extremely Large Telescope at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. It consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs providing a wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 µm (goal 0.35-2.4 µm) at a spectral resolution of 100,000. The fibre-feeding allows HIRES to have several, interchangeable observing modes including a SCAO module and a small diffraction-limited IFU in the NIR. Therefore, it will be able to operate both in seeing- and diffraction-limited modes. Its modularity will ensure that HIRES can be placed entirely on the Nasmyth platform, if enough mass and volume is available, or part on the Nasmyth and part in the Coud`e room. ELT-HIRES has a wide range of 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 (PopIII), tests on the stability of Nature’s fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The HIRES consortium is composed of more than 30 institutes from 14 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers.
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| 5. |
- Kakkad, D., et al.
(author)
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SUPER: II. Spatially resolved ionised gas kinematics and scaling relations in z 2 ∼ AGN host galaxies
- 2020
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 642
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) aims to trace and characterise ionised gas outflows and their impact on star formation in a statistical sample of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) at z ∼ 2. We present the first SINFONI results for a sample of 21 Type 1 AGN spanning a wide range in bolometric luminosity (log Lbol = 45.4-47.9 erg s-1). The main aims of this paper are to determine the extension of the ionised gas, characterise the occurrence of AGN-driven outflows, and link the properties of such outflows with those of the AGN. Methods. We used adaptive optics-assisted SINFONI observations to trace ionised gas in the extended narrow line region using the [O» III] λ5007 line. We classified a target as hosting an outflow if its non-parametric velocity of the [O» III] line, w80, was larger than 600 km s-1. We studied the presence of extended emission using dedicated point-spread function (PSF) observations, after modelling the PSF from the Balmer lines originating from the broad line region. Results. We detect outflows in all the Type 1 AGN sample based on the w80 value from the integrated spectrum, which is in the range ∼650-2700 km s-1. There is a clear positive correlation between w80 and the AGN bolometric luminosity (> 99% correlation probability), and the black hole mass (98% correlation probability). A comparison of the PSF and the [O» III] radial profile shows that the [O» III] emission is spatially resolved for ∼35% of the Type 1 sample and the outflows show an extension up to ∼6 kpc. The relation between maximum velocity and the bolometric luminosity is consistent with model predictions for shocks from an AGN-driven outflow. The escape fraction of the outflowing gas increases with the AGN luminosity, although for most galaxies, this fraction is less than 10%.
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| 6. |
- Vietri, G., et al.
(author)
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SUPER - III. Broad line region properties of AGNs at z ∼ 2
- 2020
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 644
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) was designed to conduct a blind search for AGN-driven outflows on X-ray-selected AGNs at redshift z similar to 2 with high (similar to 2 kpc) spatial resolution, and to correlate them with the properties of their host galaxy and central black hole. The main aims of this paper are: (a) to derive reliable estimates for the masses of the black holes and accretion rates for the Type-1 AGNs in this survey; and (b) to characterise the properties of the AGN-driven winds in the broad line region (BLR).Methods. We analysed rest-frame optical and UV spectra of 21 Type-1 AGNs. We used H alpha, H beta, and MgII line profiles to estimate the masses of the black holes. We used the blueshift of the CIV line profile to trace the presence of winds in the BLR.Results. We find that the H alpha and H beta line widths are strongly correlated, as is the line continuum luminosity at 5100 angstrom with H alpha line luminosity, resulting in a well-defined correlation between black hole masses estimated from H alpha and H beta. Using these lines, we estimate that the black hole masses for our objects are in the range Log (M-BH/M-circle dot) = 8.4-10.8 and are accreting at lambda (Edd) = 0.04-1.3. Furthermore, we confirm the well-known finding that the CIV line width does not correlate with the Balmer lines and the peak of the line profile is blueshifted with respect to the [OIII]-based systemic redshift. These findings support the idea that the CIV line is tracing outflowing gas in the BLR for which we estimated velocities up to similar to 4700 km s(-1). We confirm the strong dependence of the BLR wind velocity on the UV-to-X-ray continuum slope, the bolometric luminosity, and Eddington ratio. We infer BLR mass outflow rates in the range 0.005-3 M-circle dot yr(-1), revealing a correlation with the bolometric luminosity consistent with that observed for ionised winds in the narrow line region (NLR), and X-ray winds detected in local AGNs, and kinetic power similar to 10(-7)-10(-4)xL(Bol). The coupling efficiencies predicted by AGN-feedback models are much higher than the values reported for the BLR winds in the SUPER sample; although it should be noted that only a fraction of the energy injected by the AGN into the surrounding medium is expected to become kinetic power in the outflow. Finally, we find an anti-correlation between the equivalent width of the [OIII] line and the CIV velocity shift, and a positive correlation between this latter parameter and [OIII] outflow velocity. These findings, for the first time in an unbiased sample of AGNs at z similar to 2, support a scenario where BLR winds are connected to galaxy-scale detected outflows, and are therefore capable of affecting the gas in the NLR located at kiloparsec scale distances.
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| 7. |
- Cicone, C., et al.
(author)
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SUPER VI. A giant molecular halo around a z similar to 2 quasar
- 2021
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the discovery of copious molecular gas in the halo of cid_346, a z=2.2 quasar studied as part of the SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER). New Atacama Compact Array (ACA) CO(3-2) observations detect a much higher flux (by a factor of 14 +/- 5) than measured on kiloparsec scales (r less than or similar to 8 kpc) using previous snapshot Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data. Such additional CO(3-2) emission traces a structure that extends out to r similar to 200 kpc in projected size, as inferred through direct imaging and confirmed by an analysis of the uv visibilities. This is the most extended molecular circumgalactic medium (CGM) reservoir that has ever been mapped. It shows complex kinematics, with an overall broad line profile (FWHM=1000 km s(-1)) that is skewed towards redshifted velocities up to at least v similar to 1000 km s(-1). Using the optically thin assumption, we estimate a strict lower limit for the total molecular CGM mass observed by ACA of M-mol(CGM) > 10(10) M-circle dot. There is however room for up to M-mol(CGM) similar to 1.7 x 10(12) M-circle dot, once optically thick CO emission with alpha(CO) = 3.6 M-circle dot (K km s(-1) pc(2))(-1) and LCO(3- 2)'/LCO(1-0)' = 0.5 are assumed. Since cid_346 hosts quasar-driven ionised outflows and since there is no evidence of merging companions or an overdensity, we suggest that outflows may have played a crucial rule in seeding metal-enriched, dense gas on halo scales. However, the origin of such an extended molecular CGM remains unclear.
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| 8. |
- Lamperti, I., et al.
(author)
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SUPER: V. ALMA continuum observations of z ∼2 AGN and the elusive evidence of outflows influencing star formation
- 2021
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) ionised outflows on star formation in high-redshift AGN host galaxies, by combining near-infrared integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations, mapping the H emission and [O iii]5007 outflows, with matched-resolution observations of the rest-frame far-infrared (FIR) emission.We present high-resolution ALMA Band 7 observations of eight X-ray selected AGN (L2-10 keV = 1043:81045:2 erg s1) at z 2 from the SUPER (SINFONI Survey for Unveiling the Physics and Eect of Radiative feedback) sample, targeting the observed-frame 870 m (rest-frame 260 m) continuum at 2 kpc (0.200) spatial resolution. The targets were selected among the SUPER AGN with an [O iii] detection in the IFS maps and with a detection in the FIR photometry. We detected six out of eight targets with signal-to-noise ratio S=N & 10 in the ALMA maps, from which we measured continuum flux densities in the range 0:272:58 mJy and FIR half-light radii (Re) in the range 0:8-2:1 kpc. The other two targets were detected with S/N of 3.6 and 5.9, which are insucient for spatially resolved analysis. The FIR Re of our sample are comparable to other AGN and star-forming galaxies at a similar redshift from the literature. However, combining our sample with the literature samples, we find that the mean FIR size in X-ray AGN (Re = 1:16 0:11 kpc) is slightly smaller than in non-AGN (Re = 1:69 0:13 kpc). From spectral energy distribution fitting, we find that the main contribution to the 260 m flux density is dust heated by star formation, with 4% contribution from AGN-heated dust and 1% from synchrotron emission. The majority of our sample show dierent morphologies for the FIR (mostly due to reprocessed stellar emission) and the ionised gas emission (H and [O iii], mostly due to AGN emission). This could be due to the dierent locations of dust and ionised gas, the dierent sources of the emission (stars and AGN), or the eect of dust obscuration.We are unable to identify any residual H emission, above that dominated by AGN, that could be attributed to star formation. Under the assumption that the FIR emission is a reliable tracer of obscured star formation, we find that the obscured star formation activity in these AGN host galaxies is not clearly aected by the ionised outflows. However, we cannot rule out that star formation suppression is happening on smaller spatial scales than the ones we probe with our observations (<2 kpc) or on dierent timescales.
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| 9. |
- Andrienko, G., et al.
(author)
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(So) Big Data and the transformation of the city
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Data Science and Analytics. - : Springer. - 2364-415X .- 2364-4168.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The exponential increase in the availability of large-scale mobility data has fueled the vision of smart cities that will transform our lives. The truth is that we have just scratched the surface of the research challenges that should be tackled in order to make this vision a reality. Consequently, there is an increasing interest among different research communities (ranging from civil engineering to computer science) and industrial stakeholders in building knowledge discovery pipelines over such data sources. At the same time, this widespread data availability also raises privacy issues that must be considered by both industrial and academic stakeholders. In this paper, we provide a wide perspective on the role that big data have in reshaping cities. The paper covers the main aspects of urban data analytics, focusing on privacy issues, algorithms, applications and services, and georeferenced data from social media. In discussing these aspects, we leverage, as concrete examples and case studies of urban data science tools, the results obtained in the “City of Citizens” thematic area of the Horizon 2020 SoBigData initiative, which includes a virtual research environment with mobility datasets and urban analytics methods developed by several institutions around Europe. We conclude the paper outlining the main research challenges that urban data science has yet to address in order to help make the smart city vision a reality.
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| 10. |
- Patel, Riyaz S., et al.
(author)
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Association of Chromosome 9p21 With Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease Events : A GENIUS-CHD Study of Individual Participant Data
- 2019
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In: Circulation. - 2574-8300. ; 12:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Genetic variation at chromosome 9p21 is a recognized risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, its effect on disease progression and subsequent events is unclear, raising questions about its value for stratification of residual risk.METHODS: A variant at chromosome 9p21 (rs1333049) was tested for association with subsequent events during follow-up in 103 357 Europeans with established CHD at baseline from the GENIUS-CHD (Genetics of Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease) Consortium (73.1% male, mean age 62.9 years). The primary outcome, subsequent CHD death or myocardial infarction (CHD death/myocardial infarction), occurred in 13 040 of the 93 115 participants with available outcome data. Effect estimates were compared with case/control risk obtained from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D consortium (Coronary Artery Disease Genome-wide Replication and Meta-analysis [CARDIoGRAM] plus The Coronary Artery Disease [C4D] Genetics) including 47 222 CHD cases and 122 264 controls free of CHD.RESULTS: Meta-analyses revealed no significant association between chromosome 9p21 and the primary outcome of CHD death/myocardial infarction among those with established CHD at baseline (GENIUSCHD odds ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.99-1.05). This contrasted with a strong association in CARDIoGRAMPlusC4D odds ratio 1.20; 95% CI, 1.18-1.22; P for interaction < 0.001 compared with the GENIUS-CHD estimate. Similarly, no clear associations were identified for additional subsequent outcomes, including all-cause death, although we found a modest positive association between chromosome 9p21 and subsequent revascularization (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.09).CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to studies comparing individuals with CHD to disease-free controls, we found no clear association between genetic variation at chromosome 9p21 and risk of subsequent acute CHD events when all individuals had CHD at baseline. However, the association with subsequent revascularization may support the postulated mechanism of chromosome 9p21 for promoting atheroma development.
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| 11. |
- Patel, Riyaz S., et al.
(author)
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Subsequent Event Risk in Individuals With Established Coronary Heart Disease : Design and Rationale of the GENIUS-CHD Consortium
- 2019
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In: Circulation. - 2574-8300. ; 12:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The Genetics of Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease (GENIUS-CHD) consortium was established to facilitate discovery and validation of genetic variants and biomarkers for risk of subsequent CHD events, in individuals with established CHD.METHODS: The consortium currently includes 57 studies from 18 countries, recruiting 185 614 participants with either acute coronary syndrome, stable CHD, or a mixture of both at baseline. All studies collected biological samples and followed-up study participants prospectively for subsequent events.RESULTS: Enrollment into the individual studies took place between 1985 to present day with a duration of follow-up ranging from 9 months to 15 years. Within each study, participants with CHD are predominantly of self-reported European descent (38%-100%), mostly male (44%-91%) with mean ages at recruitment ranging from 40 to 75 years. Initial feasibility analyses, using a federated analysis approach, yielded expected associations between age (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.14-1.16) per 5-year increase, male sex (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.13-1.21) and smoking (hazard ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.35-1.51) with risk of subsequent CHD death or myocardial infarction and differing associations with other individual and composite cardiovascular endpoints.CONCLUSIONS: GENIUS-CHD is a global collaboration seeking to elucidate genetic and nongenetic determinants of subsequent event risk in individuals with established CHD, to improve residual risk prediction and identify novel drug targets for secondary prevention. Initial analyses demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of a federated analysis approach. The consortium now plans to initiate and test novel hypotheses as well as supporting replication and validation analyses for other investigators.
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| 13. |
- Mahmoodi, Bakhtawar K., et al.
(author)
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Association of Factor V Leiden With Subsequent Atherothrombotic Events A GENIUS-CHD Study of Individual Participant Data
- 2020
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In: Circulation. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 142:6, s. 546-555
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Studies examining the role of factor V Leiden among patients at higher risk of atherothrombotic events, such as those with established coronary heart disease (CHD), are lacking. Given that coagulation is involved in the thrombus formation stage on atherosclerotic plaque rupture, we hypothesized that factor V Leiden may be a stronger risk factor for atherothrombotic events in patients with established CHD.Methods: We performed an individual-level meta-analysis including 25 prospective studies (18 cohorts, 3 case-cohorts, 4 randomized trials) from the GENIUS-CHD (Genetics of Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease) consortium involving patients with established CHD at baseline. Participating studies genotyped factor V Leiden status and shared risk estimates for the outcomes of interest using a centrally developed statistical code with harmonized definitions across studies. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to obtain age- and sex-adjusted estimates. The obtained estimates were pooled using fixed-effect meta-analysis. The primary outcome was composite of myocardial infarction and CHD death. Secondary outcomes included any stroke, ischemic stroke, coronary revascularization, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality.Results: The studies included 69 681 individuals of whom 3190 (4.6%) were either heterozygous or homozygous (n=47) carriers of factor V Leiden. Median follow-up per study ranged from 1.0 to 10.6 years. A total of 20 studies with 61 147 participants and 6849 events contributed to analyses of the primary outcome. Factor V Leiden was not associated with the combined outcome of myocardial infarction and CHD death (hazard ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.92-1.16];I-2=28%;P-heterogeneity=0.12). Subgroup analysis according to baseline characteristics or strata of traditional cardiovascular risk factors did not show relevant differences. Similarly, risk estimates for the secondary outcomes including stroke, coronary revascularization, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality were also close to identity.Conclusions: Factor V Leiden was not associated with increased risk of subsequent atherothrombotic events and mortality in high-risk participants with established and treated CHD. Routine assessment of factor V Leiden status is unlikely to improve atherothrombotic events risk stratification in this population.
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| 14. |
- Mingozzi, M., et al.
(author)
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CO excitation in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 34 : stars, shock or AGN driven?
- 2018
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 474:3, s. 3640-3648
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a detailed analysis of the X-ray and molecular gas emission in the nearby galaxy NGC 34, to constrain the properties of molecular gas, and assess whether, and to what extent, the radiation produced by the accretion on to the central black hole affects the CO line emission. We analyse the CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED) as resulting mainly from Herschel and ALMA data, along with X-ray data from NuSTAR and XMM-Newton. The X-ray data analysis suggests the presence of a heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) with an intrinsic luminosity of L1-100 (keV) similar or equal to 4.0 x 10(42) erg s(-1). ALMA high-resolution data (theta similar or equal to 0.2 arcsec) allow us to scan the nuclear region down to a spatial scale of approximate to 100 pc for the CO(6-5) transition. We model the observed SLED using photodissociation region (PDR), X-ray-dominated region (XDR), and shock models, finding that a combination of a PDR and an XDR provides the best fit to the observations. The PDR component, characterized by gas density log(n/cm(-3)) = 2.5 and temperature T = 30 K, reproduces the low-J CO line luminosities. The XDR is instead characterized by a denser and warmer gas (log(n/cm(-3)) = 4.5, T = 65 K), and is necessary to fit the high-J transitions. The addition of a third component to account for the presence of shocks has been also tested but does not improve the fit of the CO SLED. We conclude that the AGN contribution is significant in heating the molecular gas in NGC 34.
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