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NASA NTRS2001

Studies in the X-Ray Emission of Clusters of Galaxies and Other Topics

The paper discusses the following: (1) X-ray study of groups of galaxies with Chandra and XMM. (2) X-ray properties of point sources in Chandra deep fields. (3) Study of cluster substructure using wavelet techniques. (4) Combined study of galaxy clusters with X-ray and the S-Z effect. Groups of galaxies are the fundamental building blocks of large scale structure in the Universe. X-ray study of the intragroup medium offers a powerful approach to addressing some of the major questions that still remain about almost all aspects of groups: their ages, origins, importance of composition of various galaxy types, relations to clusters, and origin and enrichment of the intragroup gas. Long exposures with Chandra have opened new opportunities for the study of X-ray background. The presence of substructure within clusters of galaxies has substantial implications for our understanding of cluster evolution as well as fundamental questions in cosmology.

Vrtilek, Jan↗

NASA NTRS2002

Multiwavelength Luminosity Functions of Galaxies

I have developed a technique for measuring multi-variate luminosity functions of galaxies. Multivariate or multi-wavelength luminosity functions will reveal the interplay between star formation, chemical evolution, and absorption and re-emission of dust within evolving galaxy populations. By using principle component analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the problem, I optimally extract the relevant photometric information from large galaxy catalogs. As a demonstration of the technique, I derive the multiwavelength luminosity function for the galaxies in the released SDSS catalog, and show that the results are consistent with those obtained by traditional methods. This technique will be applicable to catalogs of galaxies from datasets obtained by the SIRTF and GALEX missions.

Gardner, Jonathan↗

NASA NTRS2003

Environmental Effects on the Metallicities of Early-Type Galaxies

We have completed and published two papers based on research from this grant. Our first paper "SN IA Enrichment in Virgo Early-type Galaxies from ROSAT and ASCA Observations" was published in the Astrophysical Journal (vol 539,603) reported on the properties of nine X-ray bright elliptical galaxies in the Virgo cluster observed by ROSAT and ASCA. We measured iron abundance gradients as a function of radius in three galaxies. We found that the magnesium and silicon abundance gradients were in general flatter than those of iron. We suggest this is due to a metallicity dependence in the metal production rates of SN Ia's. We calculate SN Ia rates in the center of these galaxies that are comparable to those measured optically. Our second paper "ASCA Observations of Groups at Radii of Low Overdensity: Implications for Cosmic Preheating" also was published in the Astrophysical Journal (vol 578, 74). This paper reported on the ASCA spectroscopy of nine groups of galaxies. We found that the entropy profile in groups is driven by nongravitational heating processes, and could be explained by a short period of preheating by galactic winds.

Jones, Christine↗

NASA NTRS2003

Gravitational Lenses and the Structure and Evolution of Galaxies

The grant has supported the completion of 16 papers and 4 conference proceedings to date. During the first year of the project we completed five papers, each of which represents a new direction in the theory and interpretation of gravitational lenses. In the first paper, "The Importance of Einstein Rings", we developed the first theory for the formation and structure of the Einstein rings formed by lensing extended sources like the host galaxies of quasar and radio sources. We applied the theory to three lenses with lensed host galaxies. For the time delay lens PG 1115+080 we found that the structure of the Einstein ring ruled out models of the gravitational potential which permitted a large Hubble constant (70 km/s Mpc). In the second paper, :Cusped Mass Models Of Gravitational Lenses", we introduced a new class of lens models where the central density is characterized by a cusp ( rho proportional to tau(sup -gamma), 1 less than gamma less than 2) as in most modern models and theories of galaxies rather than a finite core radius. In the third paper, "Global Probes of the Impact of Baryons on Dark Matter Halos", we made the first globally consistent models for the separation distribution of gravitational lenses including both galaxy and cluster lenses. We show that the key physics for the origin of the sharp separation cutoff in the separation distribution near 3 arc sec is the effect of the cooling baryons in galaxies on the density structure of the system.

Kochanek, Christopher↗

NASA NTRS2003

Evolution of Galaxies and the Star Formation Rate in the Infrared

A central goal of extragalactic observational astronomy is to understand how normal galaxies evolve with redshift, and particularly when galaxies formed their stars. While optical and rest-frame UV observations have begun to address these issues, the interpretation of such data is particularly challenging because of the sensitivity to dust obscuration (at optical and UV wavelengths). The absorbed light is re-radiated at IR wavelengths, hence the optimal indicators of the star formation rate (SFR) is at a rest-frame wavelength of approx. 60 microns. The SIRTF mission will revolutionize the study of the global evolution of the SFR by providing mass-selected, complete samples of galaxies and far-IR estimators of the SFR. SIRTF will be two orders of magnitude more sensitive than previous IR space missions, and therefore will open up a completely new region of parameter space in sensitivity and angular resolution. This research program will study the SFR using statistical samples of galaxies in the local universe, at intermediate redshifts, and set the stage for continuing studies up to z = 5. The overall research program is divided into three main investigations: a Mid-IR Hubble Atlas and SFR estimators in the local universe, evolution of the SFR at 0 less than z less that 1 using pencil beam redshift surveys, and Galaxy formation and evolution at 1 less than z less than 5.

Pahre, Michael A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Evolution of Galaxies and the Star Formation Rate in the Infrared

A central goal of extragalactic observational astronomy is to understand how normal galaxies evolve with redshift, and particularly when galaxies formed their stars. While optical and rest-frame UV observations have begun to address these issues, the interpretation of such data is particularly challenging because of the sensitivity to dust obscuration (at optical and UV wavelengths). The absorbed light is reradiated at IR wavelengths, hence the optimal indicators of the star-formation rate (SFR) is at a rest-frame wavelength of approx. 60 microns. The Spitzer Space Telescope mission is beginning to revolutionize the study of the global properties and evolution of galaxies. Spitzer reaches nearly two orders of magnitude more sensitivity than previous IR space missions. This research program is to study the SFR using statistical samples of galaxies in the local universe, at intermediate redshifts, and set the stage for continuing studies up to z=5. The overall research program is divided into three main investigations: A Mid-IR Hubble Atlas and SFR estimators in the local universe, Evolution of the SFR at 0 < z < 1 using pencil beam redshift surveys, and Galaxy formation and evolution at 1 < z < 5. The Spitzer Space Telescope launched during the past year and the first papers from it are currently being submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. This is clearly an exciting time for IR astronomy!

Pahre, Michael A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Black Holes Masses in Seyfert Galaxies

There is increasing evidence for the existence of supermassive black holes at the centers of all galaxies, and much work is being devoted to understand the process that lead to their formation, the duty cycle for the active phase of these black holes and the relevant fueling mechanisms. Seyfert galaxies determined by HST high spatial resolution observations of the kinematics of the central regions. The study of the gas kinematics provides a unique tool to probe the gravitational potential of the nuclear regions of Seyfert galaxies down to a limit radius of a few parsecs. This is particularly important to detect and measure the mass associated with any central massive black hole. We have obtained high spatial resolution spectra of a number of Seyfert galaxies, with the STIS G430M and G750M gratings, and we have been able to separate the emission line components associated with different velocity systems. We have derived two-dimensional velocity fields and determined the mass of the central black hole with good precision for each of the galaxies.

Macchetto, F. D.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Kinematics in the Interacting, Star-Forming Galaxies NGC 3395/3396 and NGC 3991/3994/3995

It has been suggested that induced star formation is more sensitive to galaxy dynamics than to local phenomena and that enhanced star formation is found in galaxies with disturbed velocity structures. We are studying the stellar populations of several UV-bright, interacting galaxies to try to understand the detailed star formation process in these systems. We present preliminary results of an investigation of the kinematics of star-forming regions in the interacting systems NGC 3395/3396 and NGC 3991/3994/3995. Regions of powerful star formation are observed throughout these galaxies. The observatation will be used to investigate rotation curves in the galaxies and motion in the tidal tails.

Weistrop, Donna↗

NASA NTRS2004

Over-Luminous Elliptical Galaxies

The first paper from our work has been completed and accepted for publication. Another paper presents a study of the ESO 30601 70 galaxy group, combining Chandra, XMM-Newton, and optical observations. We find that the system is a true fossil galaxy group - a group whose optical light is dominated by a single galaxy. The group X-ray emission is composed of a central, dense, cool core (10 kpc in radius) and an isothermal medium beyond the central 10 kpc. The region between 10 and 50 kpc (the cooling radius) has the same temperature as the gas from 50 to 400 kpc, although the gas cooling time between 10 and 50 kpc (2-6 Gyr) is shorter than the Hubble time. Thus, the ESO 3060170 group does not have a group-sized cooling core. We suggest that the group cooling core may have been heated by a central active galactic nucleus (AGN) outburst in the past and that the small, dense, cool core is the truncated relic of a previous cooling core. The Chandra observations also reveal a variety of X-ray features in the central region, including a finger, an edge-like feature, and a small tail, all aligned along a north-south axis, as are the galaxy light and group galaxy distribution. The proposed AGN outburst may cause gas to slosh around the center and produce these asymmetric features. The observed flat temperature profile to 1/3rvir is not consistent with the predicted temperature profile in recent numerical simulations. We compare the entropy profile of the ESO 3060170 group with those of three other groups and find a flatter relation than that predicted by simulations involving only shock heating, S approximately r approximately 0.85. This is direct evidence of the importance of non-gravitational processes in group centers. We derive the mass profiles within 1/3rvir and find that the ESO 3060170 group is the most massive fossil group known.

Forman, William↗

NASA NTRS2004

Infrared and Optical Observations of GRB 030115 and its Extremely Red Host Galaxy: Implications for Dark Bursts

We present near-infrared (a) and optical observations of the afterglow of GRB 030115. Discovered in an infrared search at Kitt Peak 5 hours after the burst trigger, this afterglow is the faintest ever observed in the R-band at such an early epoch, and exhibits very red colors, with R-K approximately equal to 6. The magnitude of the optical afterglow of GRB 030115 is fainter than many upper limits for other bursts, suggesting that without early nIR observations it would have been classified as a "dark" burst. Both the color and optical magnitude of the afterglow are likely due to dust extinction and indicate that at least some optical afterglows are observations were also taken of the host galaxy and the surrounding field. Photometric redshifts imply that the host, and a substantial number of faint galaxies in the field are at z approximately 2.5. The overdensity of galaxies is sufficiently great that GRB 030115 may have occurred in a rich high-redshift cluster. The host galaxy shows extremely red colors (R-K=5) and is the first GRB host to be classified as an Extreme Red Object (ERO). Some of the galaxies surrounding the host also show very red colors, while the majority of the cluster are much bluer, indicating ongoing unobscured star formation. As it is thought that much of high redshift star formation occurs in highly obscured environments it may well be that GRB 030115 represents a transition object, between the relatively unobscured afterglows seen to date and a population which are very heavily extinguished, even in the nIR.

Levan, Andrew↗

NASA NTRS2005

Evolution of Galaxies and the Star Formation Rate in the Infrared

A central goal of extragalactic observational astronomy is to understand how normal galaxies evolve with redshift, and particularly when galaxies formed their stars. While optical and rest-frame UV observations have begun to address these issues, the interpretation of such data is particularly challenging because of the sensitivity to dust obscuration (at optical and UV wavelengths). The absorbed light is re-radiated at IR wavelengths, hence the optimal indicators of the star formation rate (SFR) is at a rest-frame wavelength of approx. 60 microns. The Spitzer Space Telescope mission is revolutionizing the study of the global properties and evolution of galaxies. Spitzer reaches nearly two orders of magnitude more sensitivity than previous IR space missions. This research program is to study the SFR using statistical samples of galaxies in the local universe, at intermediate redshifts, and set the stage for continuing studies up to z=5. The overall research program is divided into three main investigations: A Mid-IR Hubble Atlas and SFR estimators in the local universe, Evolution of the SFR at 0 < z < 1 using pencil beam redshift surveys, and Galaxy formation and evolution at 1 < z < 5. The first papers from Spitzer were published during the last year, including ten refereed journal papers where the PI was first or co-author.

Pahre, Michael A.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Age Dating Merger Events in Early Type Galaxies via the Detection of AGB Light

A thorough statistical analysis of the J-H vs. H-K color plane of all detected early type galaxies in the 2MASS catalog with velocities less than 5000 km/s has been performed. This all sky survey is not sensitive to one particular galactic environment and therefore a representative range of early type galaxy environments have been sampled. Virtually all N-body simulation so major mergers produces a central starburst due to rapid collection of gas. This central starburst is of sufficient amplitude to change the stellar population in the central regions of the galaxy. Intermediate age populations are given away by the presence of AGB stars which will drive the central colors redder in H-K relative to the J- H baseline. This color anomaly has a lifetime of 2-5 billion years depending on the amplitude of the initial starburst Employing this technique on the entire 2MASS sample (several hundred galaxies) reveals that the AGB signature occurs less than 1% of the time. This is a straightforward indication that virtually all nearby early type galaxies have not had a major merger occur within the last few billion years.

Bothun, G.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Jet-Intracluster Medium Interactions of the Head Tail Radio Galaxy 3C 129

The 50 ksec XMM observations of the galaxy cluster 3C 129 were taken as scheduled, and the data are of good quality. We analyzed the data in the following way. After standard cleaning, we flat-fielded the XMM surface brightness maps. Combining the data from the EPIC MOS and PN Camera CCDs, we performed a cross-correlation analysis of the X-ray surface brightness distribution with the 1.4 GHz VLA radio map. We found evidence for cavities in the X-ray emitting Intra-Cluster Medium (ICM) associated with the radio tail of the head-tail radio galaxy 3C 129. This discovery is very interesting as it excludes the presence of a large fraction of thermal plasma in the radio tail. Together with the observation of an apparent pressure mismatch between the radio plasma and the ICM, and an upper limit on the magnetic field inside the radio tail (from the radio spectral indices map) the observation implies that the tail pressure is dominated either by low-energy electrons/positrons, or, by relativistic protons. Furthermore, we studied the energy spectrum of an X-ray "hot-spot" associated with the head of the radio galaxy 3C 129. It seems likely that the X-ray hot-spot originates from shocked gas in front of the radio galaxy. , The analysis turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. The main reason is the lack of a comprehensive, publicly available background model that is key for the analysis of extended sources. Small groups like our do not have the man-power to come up with a background model themselves. We used the model from Read & Ponman (A&A 409, 395, 2003). However, the background subtracted X-ray surface brightness maps show a bright ring in the outer 20% of the camera. We tried to get rid of this ring and contacted the XMM helpdesk and Read & Ponman, the authors of the background paper. However, up to this day, we did not entirely succeed to remove the brightness enhancement at the outer parts of the camera. Unfortunately, our results are somewhat sensitive to the uncertainty, as the radio galaxy 3C 129 is very large and occupies a rather large fraction of the XMM field of view. We are now working on a paper describing the results. The paper will include a detailed discussion of the uncertainties associated with the non- perfect background subtraction.

Krawczynski, Henric S. W.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Normal and Starburst Galaxies in Deep X-ray Surveys

This talk will cover progress of the last several years in unraveling the nature of normal and starburst galaxies in deep X-ray surveys. This includes discussion of the normal galaxy X-ray Luminosity Function in deep field and cluster surveys and what it tells us about the binary populations in galaxies. The utility of broad band X-ray emission, especially as compared to other multiwavelength measurements of current/recent star formation, will be reviewed. These broad band X-ray measurements of star formation are based upon X-ray/Star Formation Rate correlations that span the currently available redshift range (0 < z < 1). I will also discuss new efforts underway to systematically characterize the X-ray emission from galaxies in group and cluster environments, including a new effort underway in the Coma cluster of galaxies.

Cardiff, A. Hornschemeier↗

NASA NTRS2006

Studying Galaxy Formation with the Hubble, Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes

The deepest optical to infrared observations of the universe include the Hubble Deep Fields, the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and the recent Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Galaxies are seen in these surveys at redshifts 2-6, less than 1 Gyr after the Big Bang, at the end of a period when light from the galaxies has reionized Hydrogen in the inter-galactic medium. These observations, combined with theoretical understanding, indicate that the first stars and galaxies formed at z>10, beyond the reach of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. To observe the first galaxies, NASA is planning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a large (6.5m), cold (50K), infrared-optimized observatory to be launched early in the next decade into orbit around the second Earth- Sun Lagrange point. JWST will have four instruments: The Near-Infrared Camera, the Near-Infrared multi-object Spectrograph, and the Tunable Filter Imager will cover the wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns, while the Mid-Infrared Instrument will do both imaging and spectroscopy from 5 to 27 microns. In addition to JWST s ability to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, I will also briefly review its expected contributions to studies of the formation of stars and planetary systems.

Gardner, Jonathan F.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Studying Galaxy Formation with the Hubble, Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes

The deepest optical to infrared observations of the universe include the Hubble Deep Fields, the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and the recent Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Galaxies are seen in these surveys at redshifts 2x3, less than 1 Gyr after the Big Bang, at the end of a period when light from the galaxies has reionized Hydrogen in the inter-galactic medium. These observations, combined with theoretical understanding, indicate that the first stars and galaxies formed at z>lO, beyond the reach of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. To observe the first galaxies, NASA is planning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a large (6.5m), cold (<50K), infrared-optimized observatory to be launched early in the next decade into orbit around the second Earth- Sun Lagrange point. JWST will have four instruments: The Near-Infrared Camera, the Near-Infrared multi-object Spectrograph, and the Tunable Filter Imager will cover the wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns, while the Mid-Infrared Instrument will do both imaging and spectroscopy from 5 to 28.5 microns. In addition to JWST's ability to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, I will also briefly review its expected contributions to studies of the formation of stars and planetary systems.

Gardner, Jonathan P.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Stellar Evolutionary Effects on the Abundance of PAHS and SN-Condensed Dust in Galaxies

Spectral aid photometric observations of nearby galaxies show a correlation between the strength of their mid-IR aromatic features and their metal abundance, and a deficiency of these features in low-metallicity galaxies. The aromatic features are most commonly attributed to emission from PAH molecules. In this paper, we suggest that the observed correlation represents a trend of PAH abundance with galactic age, reflecting the delayed injection of PAHs and carbon dust into the ISM, by AGB stars in their final, post-AGB phase of their evolution. These AGB stars are the primary sources of PAHs and carbon dust in galaxies, and recycle their ejecta back to the interstellar medium only after a few hundred million years of evolution on the main sequence. In contrast, more massive stars that explode as Type II supernovae inject their metals and dust almost instantaneously after their formation. After determining the PAH abundances in 35 nearby galaxies, we use a chemical evolution model to show that the delayed injection of carbon dust by AGB stars provides a natural explanation to the dependence of the PAH content, in galaxies with metallicity. We also show that larger dust particles giving rise to the far-IR emission follow a distinct evolutionary trend closely related to the injection of dust by massive stars into the ISM.

Dwek, Eli↗

NASA NTRS2007

Studying Galaxy Formation with the Hubble, Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes

The deepest optical to infrared observations of the universe include the Hubble Deep Fields, the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and the recent Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Galaxies are seen in these surveys at redshifts z>6, less than 1 Gyr after the Big Bang, at the end of a period when light from the galaxies has reionized Hydrogen in the inter-galactic medium. These observations, combined with theoretical understanding, indicate that the first stars and galaxies formed at z>10, beyond the reach of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. To observe the first galaxies, NASA is planning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a large (6.5m), cold (<50K), infrared-optimized observatory to be launched early in the next decade into orbit around the second Earth- Sun Lagrange point. JWST will have four instruments: The Near-Infrared Camera, the Near-Infrared multi-object Spectrograph, and the Tunable Filter Imager will cover the wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns, while the Mid-Infrared Instrument will do both imaging and spectroscopy from 5 to 28.5 microns. In addition to JWST's ability to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, I will also briefly review its expected contributions to studies of the formation of stars and planetary systems.

Gardner, Jonathan P.↗