| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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State of the Climate in 2016
- 2017
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 98:8, s. S1-S280
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2016, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-continued to increase and reach new record highs. The 3.5 +/- 0.1 ppm rise in global annual mean carbon dioxide from 2015 to 2016 was the largest annual increase observed in the 58-year measurement record. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface surpassed 400 ppm (402.9 +/- 0.1 ppm) for the first time in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800000 years. One of the strongest El Nino events since at least 1950 dissipated in spring, and a weak La Nina evolved later in the year. Owing at least in part to the combination of El Nino conditions early in the year and a long-term upward trend, Earth's surface observed record warmth for a third consecutive year, albeit by a much slimmer margin than by which that record was set in 2015. Above Earth's surface, the annual lower troposphere temperature was record high according to all datasets analyzed, while the lower stratospheric temperature was record low according to most of the in situ and satellite datasets. Several countries, including Mexico and India, reported record high annual temperatures while many others observed near-record highs. A week-long heat wave at the end of April over the northern and eastern Indian peninsula, with temperatures surpassing 44 degrees C, contributed to a water crisis for 330 million people and to 300 fatalities. In the Arctic the 2016 land surface temperature was 2.0 degrees C above the 1981-2010 average, breaking the previous record of 2007, 2011, and 2015 by 0.8 degrees C, representing a 3.5 degrees C increase since the record began in 1900. The increasing temperatures have led to decreasing Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. On 24 March, the sea ice extent at the end of the growth season saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record, tying with 2015 at 7.2% below the 1981-2010 average. The September 2016 Arctic sea ice minimum extent tied with 2007 for the second lowest value on record, 33% lower than the 1981-2010 average. Arctic sea ice cover remains relatively young and thin, making it vulnerable to continued extensive melt. The mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which has the capacity to contribute similar to 7 m to sea level rise, reached a record low value. The onset of its surface melt was the second earliest, after 2012, in the 37-year satellite record. Sea surface temperature was record high at the global scale, surpassing the previous record of 2015 by about 0.01 degrees C. The global sea surface temperature trend for the 21st century-to-date of +0.162 degrees C decade(-1) is much higher than the longer term 1950-2016 trend of +0.100 degrees C decade(-1). Global annual mean sea level also reached a new record high, marking the sixth consecutive year of increase. Global annual ocean heat content saw a slight drop compared to the record high in 2015. Alpine glacier retreat continued around the globe, and preliminary data indicate that 2016 is the 37th consecutive year of negative annual mass balance. Across the Northern Hemisphere, snow cover for each month from February to June was among its four least extensive in the 47-year satellite record. Continuing a pattern below the surface, record high temperatures at 20-m depth were measured at all permafrost observatories on the North Slope of Alaska and at the Canadian observatory on northernmost Ellesmere Island. In the Antarctic, record low monthly surface pressures were broken at many stations, with the southern annular mode setting record high index values in March and June. Monthly high surface pressure records for August and November were set at several stations. During this period, record low daily and monthly sea ice extents were observed, with the November mean sea ice extent more than 5 standard deviations below the 1981-2010 average. These record low sea ice values contrast sharply with the record high values observed during 2012-14. Over the region, springtime Antarctic stratospheric ozone depletion was less severe relative to the 1991-2006 average, but ozone levels were still low compared to pre-1990 levels. Closer to the equator, 93 named tropical storms were observed during 2016, above the 1981-2010 average of 82, but fewer than the 101 storms recorded in 2015. Three basins-the North Atlantic, and eastern and western North Pacific-experienced above-normal activity in 2016. The Australian basin recorded its least active season since the beginning of the satellite era in 1970. Overall, four tropical cyclones reached the Saffir-Simpson category 5 intensity level. The strong El Nino at the beginning of the year that transitioned to a weak La Nina contributed to enhanced precipitation variability around the world. Wet conditions were observed throughout the year across southern South America, causing repeated heavy flooding in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Wetter-than-usual conditions were also observed for eastern Europe and central Asia, alleviating the drought conditions of 2014 and 2015 in southern Russia. In the United States, California had its first wetter-than-average year since 2012, after being plagued by drought for several years. Even so, the area covered by drought in 2016 at the global scale was among the largest in the post-1950 record. For each month, at least 12% of land surfaces experienced severe drought conditions or worse, the longest such stretch in the record. In northeastern Brazil, drought conditions were observed for the fifth consecutive year, making this the longest drought on record in the region. Dry conditions were also observed in western Bolivia and Peru; it was Bolivia's worst drought in the past 25 years. In May, with abnormally warm and dry conditions already prevailing over western Canada for about a year, the human-induced Fort McMurray wildfire burned nearly 590000 hectares and became the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with $3 billion (U.S. dollars) in insured losses.
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| 3. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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STATE OF THE CLIMATE IN 2017
- 2018
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - : American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 99:8, s. S1-S310
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Research review (peer-reviewed)
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Saunois, M., et al.
(author)
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The global methane budget 2000–2012
- 2016
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In: Earth System Science Data. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1866-3508 .- 1866-3516. ; 8:2, s. 697-751
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The global methane (CH4) budget is becoming an increasingly important component for managing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. This relevance, due to a shorter atmospheric lifetime and a stronger warming potential than carbon dioxide, is challenged by the still unexplained changes of atmospheric CH4 over the past decade. Emissions and concentrations of CH4 are continuing to increase, making CH4 the second most important human-induced greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Two major difficulties in reducing uncertainties come from the large variety of diffusive CH4 sources that overlap geographically, and from the destruction of CH4 by the very short-lived hydroxyl radical (OH). To address these difficulties, we have established a consortium of multi-disciplinary scientists under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project to synthesize and stimulate research on the methane cycle, and producing regular (∼ biennial) updates of the global methane budget. This consortium includes atmospheric physicists and chemists, biogeochemists of surface and marine emissions, and socio-economists who study anthropogenic emissions. Following Kirschke et al. (2013), we propose here the first version of a living review paper that integrates results of top-down studies (exploiting atmospheric observations within an atmospheric inverse-modelling framework) and bottom-up models, inventories and data-driven approaches (including process-based models for estimating land surface emissions and atmospheric chemistry, and inventories for anthropogenic emissions, data-driven extrapolations). For the 2003–2012 decade, global methane emissions are estimated by top-down inversions at 558 Tg CH4 yr−1, range 540–568. About 60 % of global emissions are anthropogenic (range 50–65 %). Since 2010, the bottom-up global emission inventories have been closer to methane emissions in the most carbon-intensive Representative Concentrations Pathway (RCP8.5) and higher than all other RCP scenarios. Bottom-up approaches suggest larger global emissions (736 Tg CH4 yr−1, range 596–884) mostly because of larger natural emissions from individual sources such as inland waters, natural wetlands and geological sources. Considering the atmospheric constraints on the top-down budget, it is likely that some of the individual emissions reported by the bottom-up approaches are overestimated, leading to too large global emissions. Latitudinal data from top-down emissions indicate a predominance of tropical emissions (∼ 64 % of the global budget, < 30° N) as compared to mid (∼ 32 %, 30–60° N) and high northern latitudes (∼ 4 %, 60–90° N). Top-down inversions consistently infer lower emissions in China (∼ 58 Tg CH4 yr−1, range 51–72, −14 %) and higher emissions in Africa (86 Tg CH4 yr−1, range 73–108, +19 %) than bottom-up values used as prior estimates. Overall, uncertainties for anthropogenic emissions appear smaller than those from natural sources, and the uncertainties on source categories appear larger for top-down inversions than for bottom-up inventories and models. The most important source of uncertainty on the methane budget is attributable to emissions from wetland and other inland waters. We show that the wetland extent could contribute 30–40 % on the estimated range for wetland emissions. Other priorities for improving the methane budget include the following: (i) the development of process-based models for inland-water emissions, (ii) the intensification of methane observations at local scale (flux measurements) to constrain bottom-up land surface models, and at regional scale (surface networks and satellites) to constrain top-down inversions, (iii) improvements in the estimation of atmospheric loss by OH, and (iv) improvements of the transport models integrated in top-down inversions. The data presented here can be downloaded from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (http://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/GLOBAL_METHANE_BUDGET_2016_V1.1) and the Global Carbon Project.
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| 6. |
- Shimwell, T. W., et al.
(author)
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The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey: I. Survey description and preliminary data release
- 2017
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 598, s. Art no A104-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a deep 120-168 MHz imaging survey that will eventually cover the entire northern sky. Each of the 3170 pointings will be observed for 8 h, which, at most declinations, is sufficient to produce ~5? resolution images with a sensitivity of ~100 ?Jy/beam and accomplish the main scientific aims of the survey, which are to explore the formation and evolution of massive black holes, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. Owing to the compact core and long baselines of LOFAR, the images provide excellent sensitivity to both highly extended and compact emission. For legacy value, the data are archived at high spectral and time resolution to facilitate subarcsecond imaging and spectral line studies. In this paper we provide an overview of the LoTSS. We outline the survey strategy, the observational status, the current calibration techniques, a preliminary data release, and the anticipated scientific impact. The preliminary images that we have released were created using a fully automated but direction-independent calibration strategy and are significantly more sensitive than those produced by any existing large-Area low-frequency survey. In excess of 44 000 sources are detected in the images that have a resolution of 25?, typical noise levels of less than 0.5 mJy/beam, and cover an area of over 350 square degrees in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45°00?00? to 57°00?00?).
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| 7. |
- Geach, J.E., et al.
(author)
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The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: 850 μm maps, catalogues and number counts
- 2017
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 465:2, s. 1789-1806
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a catalogue of similar to 3000 submillimetre sources detected (>= 3.5 sigma) at 850 mu m over similar to 5 deg(2) surveyed as part of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey (S2CLS). This is the largest survey of its kind at 850 mu m, increasing the sample size of 850 mu m selected submillimetre galaxies by an order of magnitude. The wide 850 mu m survey component of S2CLS covers the extragalactic fields: UKIDSS-UDS, COSMOS, Akari-NEP, Extended Groth Strip, Lockman Hole North, SSA22 and GOODS-North. The average 1s depth of S2CLS is 1.2 mJy beam(-1), approaching the SCUBA-2 850 mu m confusion limit, which we determine to be sigma(c) approximate to 0.8 mJy beam(-1). We measure the 850 mu m number counts, reducing the Poisson errors on the differential counts to approximately 4 per cent at S-850 approximate to 3 mJy. With several independent fields, we investigate field-to-field variance, finding that the number counts on 0.5 degrees-1 degrees scales are generally within 50 per cent of the S2CLS mean for S-850 > 3 mJy, with scatter consistent with the Poisson and estimated cosmic variance uncertainties, although there is a marginal (2 sigma) density enhancement in GOODS-North. The observed counts are in reasonable agreement with recent phenomenological and semi-analytic models, although determining the shape of the faint-end slope (S-850 < 3 mJy) remains a key test. The large solid angle of S2CLS allows us to measure the bright-end counts: at S-850 > 10 mJy there are approximately 10 sources per square degree, and we detect the distinctive up-turn in the number counts indicative of the detection of local sources of 850 mu m emission
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| 8. |
- 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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| 9. |
- 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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| 10. |
- Lonnroth, K, et al.
(author)
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Towards tuberculosis elimination: an action framework for low-incidence countries
- 2015
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In: The European respiratory journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 1399-3003 .- 0903-1936. ; 45:4, s. 928-952
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes an action framework for countries with low tuberculosis (TB) incidence (<100 TB cases per million population) that are striving for TB elimination. The framework sets out priority interventions required for these countries to progress first towards “pre-elimination” (<10 cases per million) and eventually the elimination of TB as a public health problem (less than one case per million). TB epidemiology in most low-incidence countries is characterised by a low rate of transmission in the general population, occasional outbreaks, a majority of TB cases generated from progression of latent TB infection (LTBI) rather than local transmission, concentration to certain vulnerable and hard-to-reach risk groups, and challenges posed by cross-border migration. Common health system challenges are that political commitment, funding, clinical expertise and general awareness of TB diminishes as TB incidence falls. The framework presents a tailored response to these challenges, grouped into eight priority action areas: 1) ensure political commitment, funding and stewardship for planning and essential services; 2) address the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups; 3) address special needs of migrants and cross-border issues; 4) undertake screening for active TB and LTBI in TB contacts and selected high-risk groups, and provide appropriate treatment; 5) optimise the prevention and care of drug-resistant TB; 6) ensure continued surveillance, programme monitoring and evaluation and case-based data management; 7) invest in research and new tools; and 8) support global TB prevention, care and control. The overall approach needs to be multisectorial, focusing on equitable access to high-quality diagnosis and care, and on addressing the social determinants of TB. Because of increasing globalisation and population mobility, the response needs to have both national and global dimensions.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Perez, P., et al.
(author)
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The GBAR antimatter gravity experiment
- 2015
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In: Hyperfine Interactions. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0304-3843 .- 1572-9540. ; , s. 21-27
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The GBAR project (Gravitational Behaviour of Anti hydrogen at Rest) at CERN, aims to measure the free fall acceleration of ultracold neutral anti hydrogen atoms in the terrestrial gravitational field. The experiment consists preparing anti hydrogen ions (one antiproton and two positrons) and sympathetically cooling them with Be (+) ions to less than 10 mu K. The ultracold ions will then be photo-ionized just above threshold, and the free fall time over a known distance measured. We will describe the project, the accuracy that can be reached by standard techniques, and discuss a possible improvement to reduce the vertical velocity spread.
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| 15. |
- Banerjee, D., et al.
(author)
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Towards a test of the Weak Equivalence Principle of gravity using anti-hydrogen at CERN
- 2016
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In: 2016 Conference On Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM 2016). - 9781467391344
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the GBAR (Gravitational Behavior of Antimatter at Rest) experiment is to measure the free fall acceleration of an antihydrogen atom, in the terrestrial gravitational field at CERN and therefore test the Weak Equivalence Principle with antimatter. The aim is to measure the local gravity with a 1% uncertainty which can be reduced to few parts of 10(-3).
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| 16. |
- Bonaca, M. P., et al.
(author)
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Reduction in subtypes and sizes of myocardial infarction with ticagrelor in PEGASUS-TIMI 54
- 2018
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In: Journal of the American Heart Association. - 2047-9980. ; 7:22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background-—Ticagrelor reduced cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke in patients with prior MI in PEGASUSTIMI 54 (Prevention of Cardiovascular Events [eg, Death From Heart or Vascular Disease, Heart Attack, or Stroke] in Patients With Prior Heart Attack Using Ticagrelor Compared to Placebo on a Background of Aspirin). MI can occur in diverse settings and with varying severity; therefore, understanding the types and sizes of MI events prevented is of clinical importance. Methods and Results-—MIs were adjudicated by a blinded clinical events committee and categorized by subtype and fold elevation of peak cardiac troponin over the upper limit of normal. A total of 1042 MIs occurred in 898 of the 21 162 randomized patients over a median follow-up of 33 months. The majority of the MIs (76%) were spontaneous (Type 1), with demand MI (Type 2) and stent thrombosis (Type 4b) accounting for 13% and 9%, respectively; sudden death (Type 3), percutaneous coronary intervention–related (Type 4a) and coronary artery bypass graft–related (Type 5) each accounted for <1%. Half of MIs (520, 50%) had a peak troponin ≥10x upper limit of normal and 21% of MIs (220) had a peak troponin ≥1009 upper limit of normal. A total of 21% (224) were ST-segment–elevation MI STEMI. Overall ticagrelor reduced MI (4.47% versus 5.25%, hazard ratio 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.72–0.95, P=0.0055). The benefit was consistent among the subtypes, including a 31% reduction in MIs with a peak troponin ≥1009 upper limit of normal (hazard ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.92, P=0.0096) and a 40% reduction in ST-segment elevation MI (hazard ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.46–0.78, P=0.0002). Conclusions-—In stable outpatients with prior MI, the majority of recurrent MIs are spontaneous and associated with a high biomarker elevation. Ticagrelor reduces the MI consistently among subtypes and sizes including large MIs and ST-segment elevation MI. Clinical Trial Registration-URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01225562. © 2018 The Authors.
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| 17. |
- Boquien, M., et al.
(author)
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Measuring star formation with resolved observations: the test case of M 33
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 578
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Measuring star formation on a local scale is important to constrain star formation laws. It is not clear yet, however, whether and how the measure of star formation is affected by the spatial scale at which a galaxy is observed. Aims. We wish to understand the impact of the resolution on the determination of the spatially resolved star formation rate (SFR) and other directly associated physical parameters such as the attenuation. Methods. We carried out a multi-scale, pixel-by-pixel study of the nearby galaxy M33. Assembling FUV, H alpha, 8 mu m, 24 mu m, 70 mu m, and 100 mu m maps, we have systematically compared the emission in individual bands with various SFR estimators from a resolution of 33 pc to 2084 pc. Results. There are strong, scale-dependent, discrepancies of up to a factor 3 between monochromatic SFR estimators and H alpha + 24 mu m. The scaling factors between individual IR bands and the SFR show a strong dependence on the spatial scale and on the intensity of star formation. Finally, strong variations of the differential reddening between the nebular emission and the stellar continuum are seen, depending on the specific SFR (sSFR) and on the resolution. At the finest spatial scales, there is little differential reddening at high sSFR. The differential reddening increases with decreasing sSFR. At the coarsest spatial scales the differential reddening is compatible with the canonical value found for starburst galaxies. Conclusions. Our results confirm that monochromatic estimators of the SFR are unreliable at scales smaller than 1 kpc. Furthermore, the extension of local calibrations to high-redshift galaxies presents non-trivial challenges because the properties of these systems may be poorly known.
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| 18. |
- Rosenberg, M. J. F., et al.
(author)
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The Herschel Comprehensive (U)lirg Emission Survey (Hercules): Co Ladders, Fine Structure Lines, and Neutral Gas Cooling
- 2015
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 801:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- (Ultra) luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) are objects characterized by their extreme infrared (8-1000 mu m) luminosities (L-LIRG > 10(11) L-circle dot and L-ULIRG > 10(12) L-circle dot). The Herschel Comprehensive ULIRG Emission Survey (PI: van derWerf) presents a representative flux-limited sample of 29 (U)LIRGs that spans the full luminosity range of these objects (10(11)L(circle dot)
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Henkel, C., et al.
(author)
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Molecular line emission in NGC 4945, imaged with ALMA
- 2018
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 615
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- NGC 4945 is one of the nearest (D ≈ 3.8 Mpc; 1 00 ≈ 19 pc) starburst galaxies. To investigate the structure, dynamics, and composition of the dense nuclear gas of this galaxy, ALMA band 3 (λ ≈ 3−4 mm) observations were carried out with ≈2 00 resolution. Three HCN and two HC + isotopologues, CS, C 3 H 2 , SiO, HCO, and CH 3 C 2 H were measured. Spectral line imaging demonstrates the presence of a rotating nuclear disk of projected size 10 00 × 2 00 reaching out to a galactocentric radius of r ≈ 100 pc with position angle PA = 45 ◦ ± 2 ◦ , inclination i = 75 ◦ ± 2 ◦ and an unresolved bright central core of size <∼ 2 00 . The continuum source, representing mostly free-free radiation from star forming regions, is more compact than the nuclear disk by a linear factor of two but shows the same position angle and is centered 0 00 . 39 ± 0 00 . 14 northeast of the nuclear accretion disk defined by H 2 O maser emission. Near the systemic velocity but outside the nuclear disk, both HCN J = 1 → 0 and CS J = 2 → 1 delineate molecular arms of length >∼ 15 00 ( >∼ 285 pc) on opposite sides of the dynamical center. These are connected by a (deprojected) ≈ 0.6 kpc sized molecular bridge, likely a dense gaseous bar seen almost ends-on, shifting gas from the front and back side into the nuclear disk. Modeling this nuclear disk located farther inside (r <∼ 100 pc) with tilted rings provides a good fit by inferring a coplanar outflow reaching a characteristic deprojected velocity of ≈50 km s −1 . All our molecular lines, with the notable exception of CH 3 C 2 H, show significant absorption near the systemic velocity (≈571 km s −1 ), within the range ≈500-660 km s −1 . Apparently, only molecular transitions with low critical H 2 density (n crit<∼ 10 4 cm −3 ) do not show absorption. The velocity field of the nuclear disk, derived from CH 3 C 2 H, provides evidence for rigid rotation in the inner few arcseconds and a dynamical mass of M tot = (2.1 ± 0.2) × 10 8 M inside a galactocentric radius of 2 00 . 45 (≈45 pc), with a significantly flattened rotation curve farther out. Velocity integrated line intensity maps with most pronounced absorption show molecular peak positions up to ≈1 00 . 5 (≈30 pc) southwest of the continuum peak, presumably due to absorption, which appears to be most severe slightly northeast of the nuclear maser disk. A nitrogen isotope ratio of 14 N/ 15 N ≈ 200-450 is estimated. This range of values is much higher then previously reported on a tentative basis. Therefore, because 15 N is less abundant than expected, the question for strong 15 N enrichment by massive star ejecta in starbursts still remains to be settled.
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| 22. |
- McCoy, M., et al.
(author)
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ALMA Observations of the Physical and Chemical Conditions in Centaurus A
- 2017
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 851:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Centaurus A, with its gas-rich elliptical host galaxy, NGC 5128, is the nearest radio galaxy at a distance of 3.8 Mpc. Its proximity allows us to study the interaction among an active galactic nucleus, radio jets, and molecular gas in great detail. We present ALMA observations of low-J transitions of three CO isotopologues, HCN, HCO+, HNC, CN, and CCH toward the inner projected 500 pc of NGC 5128. Our observations resolve physical sizes down to 40 pc. By observing multiple chemical probes, we determine the physical and chemical conditions of the nuclear interstellar medium of NGC 5128. This region contains molecular arms associated with the dust lanes and a circumnuclear disk (CND) interior to the molecular arms. The CND is approximately 400 pc by 200 pc and appears to be chemically distinct from the molecular arms. It is dominated by dense gas tracers while the molecular arms are dominated by (CO)-C-12 and its rare isotopologues. The CND has a higher temperature, elevated CN/HCN and HCN/HNC intensity ratios, and much weaker (CO)-C-13 and (CO)-O-18 emission than the molecular arms. This suggests an influence from the AGN on the CND molecular gas. There is also absorption against the AGN with a low velocity complex near the systemic velocity and a high velocity complex shifted by about 60 km s(-1). We find similar chemical properties between the CND in emission and both the low and high velocity absorption complexes, implying that both likely originate from the CND. If the HV complex does originate in the CND, then that gas would correspond to gas falling toward the supermassive black hole.
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| 23. |
- Álvarez-Márquez, J., et al.
(author)
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Investigating the physical properties of galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization with MIRI/JWST spectroscopy
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 629
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide deep imaging and spectroscopy for sources at redshifts above 6, covering the entire Epoch of Reionization (EoR, 6 < z < 10), and enabling the detailed exploration of the nature of the different sources during the first 1 Gyr of the history of the Universe. The Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) of the mid-IR Instrument (MIRI) will be the only instrument on board JWST able to observe the brightest optical emission lines H alpha and [OII]0.5007 mu m at redshifts above 7 and 9, respectively, providing key insights into the physical properties of sources during the early phases of the EoR. This paper presents a study of the Ha fluxes predicted by state-of-the-art FIRSTLIGHT cosmological simulations for galaxies at redshifts of 6.5-10.5, and its detectability with MIRI. Deep (40 ks) spectroscopic integrations with MRS will be able to detect (signal-to-noise ratio > 5) EoR sources at redshifts above 7 with intrinsic star formation rates (SFR) of more than 2M(circle dot) yr(-1), and stellar masses above 4-9 x 10(7) M-circle dot. These limits cover the upper end of the SFR and stellar mass distribution at those redshifts, representing similar to 6% and similar to 1% of the predicted FIRSTLIGHT population at the 6.5-7.5 and 7.5-8.5 redshift ranges, respectively. In addition, the paper presents realistic MRS simulated observations of the expected rest-frame optical and near-infrared spectra for some spectroscopically confirmed EoR sources recently detected by ALMA as [OIII]88 mu m emitters. The MRS simulated spectra cover a wide range of low metallicities from about 0.2-0.02Z(circle dot) and different [OIII]88 mu m/[OIII]0.5007 mu m line ratios. The simulated 10 ks MRS spectra show S/N in the range of 5-90 for H beta, [OIII]0.4959,0.5007 mu m, H alpha and HeI1.083 mu m emission lines of the currently highest spectroscopically confirmed EoR (lensed) source MACS1149-JD1 at a redshift of 9.11, independent of metallicity. In addition, deep 40 ksec simulated spectra of the luminous merger candidate B14-65666 at 7.15 shows the MRS capabilities of detecting, or putting strong upper limits on, the weak [NII]0.6584 mu m. [SII]0.6717,0.6731 mu m, and [SIII] 0.9069,0.9532 mu m emission lines. These observations will provide the opportunity of deriving accurate metallicities in bright EoR sources using the full range of rest-frame optical emission lines up to 1 mu m. In summary, MRS will enable the detailed study of key physical properties such as internal extinction, instantaneous star formation, hardness of the ionizing continuum, and metallicity in bright (intrinsic or lensed) EoR sources.
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| 24. |
- Xu, C. K., et al.
(author)
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ALMA observationsof warm dense gas in NGC 1614-breaking of the star formation law in the central kiloparsec
- 2015
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 799:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present ALMA Cycle-0 observations of the CO (6-5) line emission and of the 435 mu m dust continuum emission in the central kiloparsec of NGC 1614, a local luminous infrared galaxy at a distance of 67.8 Mpc (1 '' = 329 pc). The CO emission is well resolved by the ALMA beam (0.'' 26x0.'' 20) into a circumnuclear ring, with an integrated flux of f(C O(6-5)) = 898 (+/- 153) Jy km s(-1), which is 63(+/- 12)% of the total CO (6-5) flux measured by Herschel. The molecular ring, located between 100 pc
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