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NASA NTRS2013

The Science of Gravitational Waves with Space Observatories

After decades of effort, direct detection of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources is on the horizon. Aside from teaching us about gravity itself, gravitational waves hold immense promise as a tool for general astrophysics. In this talk I will provide an overview of the science enabled by a space-based gravitational wave observatory sensitive in the milli-Hertz frequency band including the nature and evolution of massive black holes and their host galaxies, the demographics of stellar remnant compact objects in the Milky Way, and the behavior of gravity in the strong-field regime. I will also summarize the current status of efforts in the US and Europe to implement a space-based gravitational wave observatory.

Thorpe, James Ira↗
NASA NTRS2014

Wide Field X-Ray Telescope Mission Concept Study Results

The Wide Field X-Ray Telescope (WFXT) is an astrophysics mission concept for detecting and studying extra-galactic x-ray sources, including active galactic nuclei and clusters of galaxies, in an effort to further understand cosmic evolution and structure. This Technical Memorandum details the results of a mission concept study completed by the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in 2012. The design team analyzed the mission and instrument requirements, and designed a spacecraft that enables the WFXT mission while using high heritage components. Design work included selecting components and sizing subsystems for power, avionics, guidance, navigation and control, propulsion, structures, command and data handling, communications, and thermal control.

Hopkins, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Astrophysics from the moon; Proceedings of the Workshop, Annapolis, MD, Feb. 5-7, 1990

The present conference on astrophysics from the moon encompasses the study of the Galaxy, external planetary systems, solar physics, stars and stellar evolution, the frontiers of Galactic, extragalactic, and cosmological astronomy, an introduction to lunar-based astronomy, concepts for lunar observatories including high-energy observatories, solar observatories, and observatories for particle astrophysics and gravitational studies. Specific issues addressed include the dynamics of Jovian atmospheres, planetary magnetospheres, flare physics, exobiology and SETI from the lunar farside, and the study of interactive stars, star formation, H II regions in absorption at low frequencies, and normal galaxies. Also addressed are the potential lunar investigation of quasars, the formation epoch, and the large-scale structure of the universe, and observational issues related to X-ray large arrays, optical interferometers, VLF radio astronomy, a UV-solar reflecting coronagraph, and a heavy-nucleus detector.

Mumma, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Morphology of galaxy mergers at intermediate redshift

Using a combination of numerical simulation and synthesized Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 2 (HST WFC2) images, we follow the detectability of morphological signatures of disk galaxy mergers at intermediate redshifts z = 0.4 and z = 1.0. Rapid evolution in the surface brightness of tidal tails makes their use as an interaction signature limited; long tidal tails will only be detectable relatively early in the encounter, before the galaxies actually merge. Violent relaxation rapidly smooths isophotal irregularities after the galaxies merge, leaving the very low surface brightness tidal debris surrounding the remnant as the only sign of peculiarity after a few hundred Myr. This debris becomes indistinguishable from the main body of the remnant after less than or approximately equal to 0.2 (z = 1.0) to 1 (z = 0.4) Gyr, leaving a morphologically normal elliptical galaxy behind. Using WFC1, all signatures become undetectable almost immediately once the galaxies merge, due to the aberrated Point Speed Function (PSF). We interpret these results in light of recent HST programs investigating the nature of starburst and E + A galaxies in moderate redshift clusters.

Mihos, J. Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1990

Dumb-bell galaxies in southern clusters: Catalog and preliminary statistical results

The dominant galaxy of a rich cluster is often an object whose formation and evolution is closely connected to the dynamics of the cluster itself. Hoessel (1980) and Schneider et al. (1983) estimate that 50 percent of the dominant galaxies are either of the dumb-bell type or have companions at projected distances less than 20 kpc, which is far in excess of the number expected from chance projection (see also Rood and Leir 1979). Presently there is no complete sample of these objects, with the exception of the listing of dumb-bell galaxies in BM type I and I-II clusters in the Abell statistical sample of Rood and Leir (1979). Recent dynamical studies of dumb-bell galaxies in clusters (Valentijn and Casertano, 1988) still suffer from inhomogeneity of the sample. The fact that it is a mixture of optically and radio selected objects may have introduced an unknown biases, for instance if the probability of radio emission is enhanced by the presence of close companions (Stocke, 1978, Heckman et al. 1985, Vettolani and Gregorini 1988) a bias could be present in their velocity distribution. However, this situation is bound to improve: a new sample of Abell clusters in the Southern Hemisphere has been constructed (Abell et al., 1988 hereafter ACO), which has several advantages over the original northern catalog. The plate material (IIIaJ plates) is of better quality and reaches fainter magnitudes. This makes it possible to classify the cluster types with a higher degree of accuracy, as well as to fainter magnitudes. The authors therefore decided to reconsider the whole problem constructing a new sample of dumb-bell galaxies homogeneously selected from the ACO survey. Details of the classification criteria are given.

Vettolani, G.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Clusters of galaxies

Observational properties of clusters of galaxies and some theoretical interpretations are reviewed. The major subjects of the review include catalogs of clusters, the static properties of rich clusters, cluster dynamics, X-ray emission from clusters of galaxies, and cluster radio emission. Observed static properties discussed are: richness, classification schemes, galactic content, cD galaxies, density profiles, sizes, and the optical luminosity function. Several characteristic time scales of clusters of galaxies are examined along with mass segregation, the dynamical evolution of clusters, cluster masses, mass-to-light ratios, the missing-mass problem, and the mean galactic and cluster mass densities in the universe. The main characteristics of clusters that contain X-ray emission are summarized, emphasizing the relation of the X-ray emission to optical properties. The most important properties of cluster radio emission are outlined, the relation of this emission to the other cluster properties studied is indicated, and evidence suggesting the influence of an intracluster gas on the radio galaxies and their relativistic electrons is noted.

Bahcall, N. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ballistic Models for Radio Jets in Colliding Galaxies: 3C 278 (NGC 4782/4783)

We present here a general numerical simulation algorithm for ballistic radio jets. The evolution of the jets is determined by their response to mechanical forces (i.e., gravity and ram pressure). Using a previously derived collision model for the interacting pair of elliptical galaxies NGC 4782/4783, we have used this algorithm to simulate the specific two-sided jet morphology seen in the radio source associated with NGC 4782 (3C 278). This is the first time such simulations have been attempted for a galaxy pair whose relative orbit was determined independently from the jet modeling. The general morphological features of the jets in 3C 278 (e.g., position angles, lengths, curvature, and deflection angles) are well matched by the simulations, indicating that our model of the mechanical forces acting on the jets can indeed reproduce most of the basic details of the jet morphology and thereby provide an opportunity to model a combination of detailed optical, radio, and X-ray data for a wide variety of interacting radio-jet galaxies. Our models constrain the initial jet parameters (i.e., the ejection speed, direction, and starting time), the properties of the gaseous medium into which the jets are ejected, and the relative importance of gravitational deflection versus ram pressure bending in influencing the jet morphology. For 3C 278, we find that the effects of ram pressure dominate the structural evolution of the jets. In our best-fit simulation the jet ejection speed is of order 10(exp 4) km/s, to within 50%, suggesting that similar low-luminosity radio jets are also significantly subluminal. We also find that the jets are ejected within approximately 5 deg of the line of sight, the ISM in the nonjet galaxy has a much larger effect on the jet deflection than does the host galaxy, and the jet activity began just over 70 million years ago, roughly 50 million years before the pericenter passage of the two galaxies. Therefore, the onset of nuclear activity appears in 3C 278 to be related to the kinematically observed tidal shock that has been induced in the core of NGC 4782 as a result of its deeply penetrating collision with NGC 4783.

Borne, Kirk D.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Stellar Photon Archaeology with Gamma-Rays

Ongoing deep surveys of galaxy luminosity distribution functions, spectral energy distributions and backwards evolution models of star formation rates can be used to calculate the past history of intergalactic photon densities and, from them, the present and past optical depth of the Universe to gamma-rays from pair production interactions with these photons. The energy-redshift dependence of the optical depth of the Universe to gamma-rays has become known as the Fazio-Stecker relation (Fazio & Stecker 1970). Stecker, Malkan & Scully have calculated the densities of intergalactic background light (IBL) photons of energies from 0.03 eV to the Lyman limit at 13.6 eV and for 0$ < z < $6, using deep survey galaxy observations from Spitzer, Hubble and GALEX and have consequently predicted spectral absorption features for extragalactic gamma-ray sources. This procedure can also be reversed. Determining the cutoff energies of gamma-ray sources with known redshifts using the recently launched Fermi gamma-ray space telescope may enable a more precise determination of the IBL photon densities in the past, i.e., the "archaeo-IBL.", and therefore allow a better measure of the past history of the total star formation rate, including that from galaxies too faint to be observed.

Stecker, Floyd W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Evolution of Metals and Dust in the High-Redshift Universe (z greater than 6)

Dusty hyperluminous galaxies in the early universe provide unique environments for studying the role of massive stars in the formation and destruction of dust. At redshifts above approx. 6, when the universe was less than approx. 1 Gyr old, dust could have only condensed in the explosive ejecta of Type-II supernovae (SNe), since most of the progenitors of the AGB stars, the major alternative source of interstellar dust, did not have time to evolve off the main sequence. I will present analytical models for the evolution of the gas, dust, and metals in high redshift galaxies, with a special application to SDSS J1148+5251, a hyperluminous quasar at $z = 6.4$. I will also discuss possible star formation scenarios consistent with observational constraints on the dust and gas content of this object.

Dwek, Eliahu↗
NASA NTRS2012

Chandra Observations of Dying Radio Sources in Galaxy Clusters

Context. The dying radio sources represent a very interesting and largely unexplored stage of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) evolution. They are considered to be very rare, and almost all of the few known ones were found in galaxy clusters. However, considering the small number detected so far, it has not been possible to draw any firm conclusions about their X-ray environment. Aims. We present X-ray observations performed with the Chandra satellite of the three galaxy clusters Abell 2276, ZwCl 1829.3+6912, and RX J1852.1+5711, which harbor at their center a dying radio source with an ultra-steep spectrum that we recently discovered. Methods. We analyzed the physical properties of the X-ray emitting gas surrounding these elusive radio sources. We determined the global X-ray properties of the clusters, derived the azimuthally averaged profiles of metal abundance, gas temperature, density, and pressure. Furthermore, we estimated the total mass profiles. Results. The large-scale X-ray emission is regular and spherical, suggesting a relaxed state for these systems. Indeed, we found that the three clusters are also characterized by significant enhancements in the metal abundance and declining temperature profiles toward the central region. For all these reasons, we classified RX J1852.1+5711, Abell 2276, and ZwCl 1829.3+6912 as cool-core galaxy clusters. Conclusions. We calculated the non-thermal pressure of the radio lobes assuming that the radio sources are in the minimum energy condition. For all dying sources we found that this is on average about one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of the external gas, as found for many other radio sources at the center of galaxy groups and clusters. We found marginal evidence for the presence of X-ray surface brightness depressions coincident with the fossil radio lobes of the dying sources in A2276 and ZwCl 1829.3+691. We estimated the outburst age and energy output for these two dying sources. The energy power from the AGN outburst is significantly higher than the X-ray luminosity in both clusters. Indeed, it is sufficient that a small fraction of this power is dissipated in the intra-cluster medium to reheat the cool cores.

Murgia, M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The optical and near-infrared colors of galaxies, 1: The photometric data

We present optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopic redshifts of a well defined sample of 171 field galaxies selected from three high galactic latitude fields. This data set forms the basis for subsequent studies to characterize the trends, dispersion, and evolution of rest-frame colors and image structure. A subset of 143 galaxies constitutes a magnitude-limited sample to B approx. 19.9-20.75 (depending on field), with a median redshift of 0.14, and a maximum redshift of 0.54. This subset is statistically representative in its sampling of the apparent color distribution of galaxies. Thirty six galaxies were selected to have the reddest red-optical colors in two redshift intervals between 0.2 less than z less than 0.3. Photometric passbands are similar to U, B, V, I, and K, and sample galaxy spectral energy distributions between 0.37 and 2.2 micrometers in the observed frame, or down to 0.26 micrometers in the rest frame for the most distant galaxies. B and K images of the entire sample are assembled to form the first optical and near-infrared atlas of a statistically-representative sample of field galaxies. We discuss techniques for faint field-galaxy photometry, including a working definition of a total magnitude, and a method for matching magnitudes in different passbands and different seeing conditions to ensure reliable, integrated colors. Photographic saturation, which substantially affects the brightest 12% of our sample in the optical bands, is corrected with a model employing measured plate-density distributions for each galaxy, calibrated via similar measurements for stars as a function of known saturation level. Both the relative and absolute calibration of our photometry are demonstrated.

Bershady, Matthew A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Hawaii K-band galaxy survey. 1: Deep K-band imaging

We present the results of a very deep K-band survey with a 5 sigma total galaxy magnitude limit of K = 21.9 in the deepest field. A 5 sigma K-band-selected sample of 123 galaxies is presented, together with their optical colors. Only three galaxies in this sample are not detected at the 1 sigma level in Kron-Cousins I band. At K less than or = 20 the reddest (I-K) color is 5.1 +/- 0.4, and 15 of the 123 objects in the deep field sample have (I-K) greater than 4. In the blue, the galaxies show a rapid blueward trend at magnitudes beyond K = 19, dropping from a median (B-K) = 6 at K = 18 to a median (B-K) of only 4.2 at K = 21.5. The surface density of (I-K) greater than 4 objects is interpreted to imply either that there is a significant evolution toward later types in the colors of the normal galaxy population beyond z = 11 or that galaxies have faded by that redshift.

Cowie, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The imaging of extra-galactic low-energy gamma-ray sources prospects, techniques, and instrumentation

Improved understanding of the nature of active galaxies will require detailed observations of 10 to 20 sources, while understanding of their gamma ray luminosity function and its evolution will require the detection of approximately 100 sources. Instruments capable of detecting 100 active galaxies at low-energy, gamma ray energies are achievable. The angular resolution of an instrument, as well as its sensitivity, can limit the number of sources it can observe. An investigation of the angular resolution requirements for future low-energy gamma ray instruments is presented. It was found that the strictest requirements arise not from the need to resolve detectable sources, but from the need to control the level of direction-to-direction fluctuations in the diffuse background level. It was concluded that gamma-ray instruments capable of detecting 100 active galaxies must have sub-degree angular resolution. The use of the coded aperture imaging technique is proposed as a method of achieving accurate control of systematic errors and fine angular resolution without unduly increasing the time needed to conduct full sky surveys. An analysis of coded aperture imaging is presented for instruments that employ masks based on hexagonal uniformly redundant arrays. An instrument, the gamma-ray imaging payload, was built that employs these imaging techniques. The design and testing of the instrument is described in detail. Preliminary results from a balloon flight of the instruments are shown, demonstrating its imaging performance.

Finger, Mark Harold↗
NASA NTRS1990

The intergalactic medium - Initial and boundary conditions for galaxy and primeval star formation

New detailed numerical calculations are presented of the evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in a post recombination Friedmann universe, including a solution of the nonequilibrium rate equations for the ionization and recombination of H and He, the energy equation, and the equation of radiative transfer. The implications of this study for the characteristic mass scale and the epoch of gravitational collapse for the average 'first' star-forming clouds are discussed. The star-formation rate and associated metallicity generation implied if the IGM is fully ionized by starlight by redshift greater than 4 as suggested by recent interpretations of the Gunn-Peterson effect are examined. It is shown that the relative strengths of metal lines from a quasar absorption-line Lyman limit system cloud at z = 3 photoionized by the present intergalactic UV radiation background are compatible with the observations, at least for background sources of either AGN-type or star-forming galaxy spectra.

Giroux, Mark L.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Low Masses and High Redshifts: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation

We present the first robust measurement of the high redshift mass-metallicity (MZ) relation at 10(exp 8) < M/Stellar Mass < or approx. 10(exp 10), obtained by stacking spectra of 83 emission-line galaxies with secure redshifts between 1.3 < or approx. z < or approx. 2.3. For these redshifts, infrared grism spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 is sensitive to the R23 metallicity diagnostic: ([O II] (lambda)(lambda)3726, 3729 + [OIII] (lambda)(lambda)4959, 5007)/H(beta). Using spectra stacked in four mass quartiles, we find a MZ relation that declines significantly with decreasing mass, extending from 12+log(O/H) = 8.8 at M = 10(exp 9.8) Stellar Mass to 12+log(O/H)= 8.2 at M = 10(exp 8.2) Stellar Mass. After correcting for systematic offsets between metallicity indicators, we compare our MZ relation to measurements from the stacked spectra of galaxies with M > or approx. 10(exp 9.5) Stellar Mass and z approx. 2.3. Within the statistical uncertainties, our MZ relation agrees with the z approx. 2.3 result, particularly since our somewhat higher metallicities (by around 0.1 dex) are qualitatively consistent with the lower mean redshift (z = 1.76) of our sample. For the masses probed by our data, the MZ relation shows a steep slope which is suggestive of feedback from energy-driven winds, and a cosmological downsizing evolution where high mass galaxies reach the local MZ relation at earlier times. In addition, we show that our sample falls on an extrapolation of the star-forming main sequence (the SFR-M∗ relation) at this redshift. This result indicates that grism emission-line selected samples do not have preferentially high star formation rates (SFRs). Finally, we report no evidence for evolution of the mass-metallicity-SFR plane; our stack-averaged measurements show excellent agreement with the local relation.

Hgih Redshifts↗
NASA NTRS1982

The carbon abundance in the Magellanic Clouds from IUE observations of H II regions

Results are given of observations of the UV spectra of several H II regions in the Magellanic Clouds, with emphasis on obtaining the carbon abundance from the UV lines of C II, C III, and C IV. The observations and results are described, and theoretical model calculations are presented of the H II regions and the relative abundances of H, He, C, N, O, S, Cl, and Ar computed from the UV and visual spectra. In addition, the abundance results for the Magellanic Clouds are compared with the sun, the Orion Nebula, and galactic planetary nebulae. In comparison with solar abundances, carbon is found to be depleted relative to hydrogen in the Magellanic Clouds by an amount larger than that of nitrogen and oxygen in the SMC and by an amount between that of nitrogen and oxygen in the LMC. It is noted that the results are consistent with a scenario that nitrogen and oxygen have greater primary yields in massive stars than carbon, which may be produced predominantly in less massive stars (such that C/N and C/O in galaxies are initially very low and subsequently increase with evolution). Subsequently, the C/N ratio may decrease as secondary production of nitrogen in less massive stars becomes significant.

Dufour, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) - A concept for an orbiting submillimeter-infrared telescope for the 1990s

The history and background of the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) are reviewed. The results of the June 1982 Asilomar (CA) workshop are incorporated into the LDR science objectives and telescope concept. The areas where the LDR may have the greatest scientific impact are in the study of star formation and planetary systems in the own and nearby galaxies and in cosmological studies of the structure and evolution of the early universe. The observational requirements for these and other scientific studies give rise to a set of telescope functional requirements. These, in turn, are satisfied by an LDR configuration which is a Cassegrain design with a 20 m diameter, actively controlled, segmented, primary reflector, diffraction limited at a wavelength of 30 to 50 microns. Technical challenges in the LDR development include construction of high tolerance mirror segments, surface figure measurement, figure control, vibration control, pointing, cryogenics, and coherent detectors. Project status and future plans for the LDR are discussed.

Swanson, P. N.↗