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At least 1,549 records · Page 86
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DOE OSTI2015

A Herschel/HIFI legacy survey of HF and H{sub 2}O IN the galaxy: Probing diffuse molecular cloud chemistry

We combine Herschel observations for a total of 12 sources to construct the most uniform survey of HF and H{sub 2}O in our Galactic disk. Both molecules are detected in absorption along all sight lines. The high spectral resolution of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-infrared (HIFI) allows us to compare the HF and H{sub 2}O distributions in 47 diffuse cloud components sampling the disk. We find that the HF and H{sub 2}O velocity distributions follow each other almost perfectly and establish that HF and H{sub 2}O probe the same gas-phase volume. Our observations corroborate theoretical predictions that HF is a sensitive tracer of H{sub 2} in diffuse clouds, down to molecular fractions of only a few percent. Using HF to trace H{sub 2} in our sample, we find that the N(H{sub 2}O)-to-N(HF) ratio shows a narrow distribution with a median value of 1.51. Our results further suggest that H{sub 2}O might be used as a tracer of H{sub 2}—within a factor of 2.5—in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). We show that the measured factor of ∼2.5 variation around the median is driven by true local variations in the H{sub 2}O abundance relative to H{sub 2} throughout the disk. The latter variability allows us to test our theoretical understanding of the chemistry of oxygen-bearing molecules in the diffuse gas. We show that both gas-phase and grain-surface chemistry are required to reproduce our H{sub 2}O observations. This survey thus confirms that grain surface reactions can play a significant role in the chemistry occurring in the diffuse ISM (n{sub H} ⩽ 1000 cm{sup −3}).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Prospects for detecting C II emission during the epoch of reionization

We produce simulations of the atomic C ii line emission in large sky fields in order to determine the current and future prospects for mapping this line during the high-redshift epoch of reionization. We calculate the C ii line intensity, redshift evolution, and spatial fluctuations using observational relations between C ii emission and the galaxy star formation rate over the frequency range 200–300 GHz. We estimate an averaged intensity of I{sub C II}=(4±2)×10{sup 2} Jy sr{sup −1} in the redshift range z ∼ 5.3−8.5. Observations of the C ii emission in this frequency range will suffer contamination from emission lines at lower redshifts, in particular CO rotational lines. Using simulations, we estimated the CO contamination to be I{sub CO}≈10{sup 3} Jy sr{sup −1} (originating from galaxies at z < 2.5). Using detailed simulations of the C ii and CO emission across a range of redshifts, we generate maps as a function of angle and frequency, fully taking into account this resolution and light-cone effects. In order to reduce the foreground contamination, we find that we should mask galaxies below redshifts ∼2.5 with a CO(J:2–1) to CO(J:6–5) line flux density higher than 5× 10{sup −22} W m{sup −2} or an AB magnitude lower than m{sub K}=22. We estimate that the additional continuum contamination originating in emission from stars and in dust, free–free, free–bound, and two-photon emission in the interstellar medium is of the order of 10{sup 5} Jy sr{sup −1}, which is well above the expected C ii signal. We also consider the possibility of cross-correlating foreground lines with galaxy surveys in order to probe the intensity of the foregrounds. Finally, we discuss the expected constraints from two experiments capable of measuring the expected C ii power spectrum.

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DOE OSTI2015

A SCUBA-2 850 micron survey of circumstellar disks in the λ Orionis cluster

We present results from an 850 μm survey of the ∼5 Myr old λ Orionis star-forming region. We used the SCUBA-2 camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to survey a ∼0.°5-diameter circular region containing 36 (out of 59) cluster members with infrared excesses indicative of circumstellar disks. We detected only one object at >3σ significance, the Herbig Ae star HD 245185, with a flux density of ∼74 mJy beam{sup −1} corresponding to a dust mass of ∼150 M{sub ⊕}. Stacking the individually undetected sources did not produce a significant mean signal but gives an upper limit on the average dust mass for λ Orionis disks of ∼3 M{sub ⊕}. Our follow-up observations of HD 245185 with the Submillimeter Array found weak CO 2–1 line emission with an integrated flux of ∼170 mJy km s{sup −1} but no {sup 13}CO or C{sup 18}O isotopologue emission at 30 mJy km s{sup −1} sensitivity, suggesting a gas mass of ≲1 M{sub Jup}. The implied gas-to-dust ratio is thus ≳50 times lower than the canonical interstellar medium value, setting HD 245185 apart from other Herbig Ae disks of similar age, which have been found to be gas rich; as HD 245185 also shows signs of accretion, we may be catching it in the final phases of disk clearing. Our study of the λ Orionis cluster places quantitative constraints on planet formation timescales, indicating that at ∼5 Myr the average disk no longer has sufficient dust and gas to form giant planets and perhaps even super-Earths; the bulk material has been mostly dispersed or is locked in pebbles/planetesimals larger than a few mm in size.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

On origin and destruction of relativistic dust and its implication for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays

Dust grains may be accelerated to relativistic speeds by radiation pressure, diffusive shocks, and other acceleration mechanisms. Such relativistic grains have been suggested as primary particles of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). In this paper, we first revisit the problem of acceleration by radiation pressure and calculate maximum grain velocities achieved. We find that grains can be accelerated to relativistic speeds with Lorentz factor γ<2 by powerful radiation sources, which is lower than earlier estimates showing that γ could reach ∼10. We then investigate different destruction mechanisms for relativistic grains traversing a variety of environments. In solar radiation, we find that the destruction by thermal sublimation and Coulomb explosions is important. We also quantify grain destruction due to electronic sputtering by ions and grain–grain collisions. Electronic sputtering is found to be rather inefficient, whereas the evaporation following grain–grain collisions is shown to be an important mechanism for which the a ∼ 0.01–1 μm grains would be destroyed after sweeping a gas column N{sub coll}∼5×10{sup 19}–5×10{sup 20} cm{sup −2}. Relativistic dust in the interstellar medium and intergalactic medium (IGM) would be disrupted by Coulomb explosions due to collisional charging after traversing a gas column N{sub coll}∼10{sup 17} cm{sup −2} unless grain material is very strong. We show that photoelectric emission by optical and ultraviolet background radiation is also significant for the destruction of relativistic dust in the IGM. The obtained results indicate that relativistic dust from galaxies would be destroyed before reaching the Earth's atmosphere and unlikely to account for UHECRs.

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DOE OSTI2015

The properties of the progenitor supernova, pulsar wind, and neutron star inside PWN G54.1+0.3

The evolution of a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) inside a supernova remnant (SNR) is sensitive to the properties of the central neutron star, pulsar wind, progenitor supernova, and interstellar medium. These properties are both difficult to measure directly and critical for understanding the formation of neutron stars and their interaction with the surrounding medium. In this paper, we determine these properties for PWN G54.1+0.3 by fitting its observed properties with a model for the dynamical and radiative evolution of a PWN inside an SNR. Our modeling suggests that the progenitor of G54.1+0.3 was an isolated ∼15–20 M{sub ⊙} star which exploded inside a massive star cluster, creating a neutron star initially spinning with a period of P{sub 0} ∼ 30–80 ms. We also find that ≳99.9% of the pulsar’s rotational energy is injected into the PWN as relativistic electrons and positrons whose energy spectrum is well characterized by a broken power law. Finally, we propose future observations which can both test the validity of this model and better determine the properties of this source—in particular, its distance and the initial spin period of the central pulsar.

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DOE OSTI2015

Hydrodynamical evolution of merging carbon–OXYGEN white dwarfs: Their pre-supernova structure and observational counterparts

We perform smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations for merging binary carbon–oxygen (CO) WDs with masses of 1.1 and 1.0 M{sub ⊙}, until the merger remnant reaches a dynamically steady state. Using these results, we assess whether the binary could induce a thermonuclear explosion, and whether the explosion could be observed as a type Ia supernova (SN Ia). We investigate three explosion mechanisms: a helium-ignition following the dynamical merger (“helium-ignited violent merger model”), a carbon-ignition (“carbon-ignited violent merger model”), and an explosion following the formation of the Chandrasekhar mass WD (“Chandrasekhar mass model”). An explosion of the helium-ignited violent merger model is possible, while we predict that the resulting SN ejecta are highly asymmetric since its companion star is fully intact at the time of the explosion. The carbon-ignited violent merger model can also lead to an explosion. However, the envelope of the exploding WD spreads out to ∼0.1 R{sub ⊙}; it is much larger than that inferred for SN 2011fe (<0.1 R{sub ⊙}) while much smaller than that for SN 2014J (∼1 R{sub ⊙}). For the particular combination of the WD masses studied in this work, the Chandrasekhar mass model does not successfully lead to an SN Ia explosion. Besides these assessments, we investigate the evolution of unbound materials ejected through the merging process (“merger ejecta”), assuming a case where the SN Ia explosion is not triggered by the helium- or carbon-ignition during the merger. The merger ejecta interact with the surrounding interstellar medium and form a shell. The shell has a bolometric luminosity of more than 2×10{sup 35} erg s{sup −1}, lasting for ∼2×10{sup 4} years. If this is the case, the Milky Way should harbor about 10 such shells at any given time. The detection of the shell(s) can therefore rule out the helium-ignited and carbon-ignited violent merger models as major paths to SN Ia explosions.

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DOE OSTI2015

Simultaneous multi-band radio and X-ray observations of the galactic center magnetar SGR 1745–2900

We report on multi-frequency, wideband radio observations of the Galactic Center magnetar (SGR 1745–2900) with the Green Bank Telescope for ∼100 days immediately following its initial X-ray outburst in 2013 April. We made multiple simultaneous observations at 1.5, 2.0, and 8.9 GHz, allowing us to examine the magnetar's flux evolution, radio spectrum, and interstellar medium parameters (such as the dispersion measure (DM), the scattering timescale, and its index). During two epochs, we have simultaneous observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which permitted the absolute alignment of the radio and X-ray profiles. As with the two other radio magnetars with published alignments, the radio profile lies within the broad peak of the X-ray profile, preceding the X-ray profile maximum by ∼0.2 rotations. We also find that the radio spectral index γ is significantly negative between ∼2 and 9 GHz; during the final ∼30 days of our observations γ∼−1.4, which is typical of canonical pulsars. The radio flux has not decreased during this outburst, whereas the long-term trends in the other radio magnetars show concomitant fading of the radio and X-ray fluxes. Finally, our wideband measurements of the DMs taken in adjacent frequency bands in tandem are stochastically inconsistent with one another. Based on recent theoretical predictions, we consider the possibility that the DM is frequency-dependent. Despite having several properties in common with the other radio magnetars, such as L{sub X,qui}/L{sub rot}≲1, an increase in the radio flux during the X-ray flux decay has not been observed thus far in other systems.

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DOE OSTI2015

SMA observations of C{sub 2}H in high-mass star-forming regions

C{sub 2}H is a representative hydrocarbon that is abundant and ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. To study its chemical properties, we present Submillimeter Array observations of the C{sub 2}H N = 3–2 and HC{sub 3}N J = 30–29 transitions and the 1.1 mm continuum emission toward four OB cluster-forming regions, AFGL 490, ON 1, W33 Main, and G10.6-0.4, which cover a bolometric luminosity range of ∼10{sup 3}–10{sup 6} L{sub ⊙}. We found that on large scales, the C{sub 2}H emission traces the dense molecular envelope. However, for all observed sources, the peaks of C{sub 2}H emission are offset by several times 10{sup 4} AU from the peaks of 1.1 mm continuum emission, where the most luminous stars are located. By comparing the distribution and profiles of C{sub 2}H hyperfine lines and the 1.1 mm continuum emission, we find that the C{sub 2}H column density (and abundance) around the 1.1 mm continuum peaks is lower than those in the ambient gas envelope. Chemical models suggest that C{sub 2}H might be transformed to other species owing to increased temperature and density; thus, its reduced abundance could be the signpost of the heated molecular gas in the ∼10{sup 4} AU vicinity around the embedded high-mass stars. Our results support such theoretical prediction for centrally embedded ∼10{sup 3}–10{sup 6} L{sub ⊙} OB star-forming cores, while future higher-resolution observations are required to examine the C{sub 2}H transformation around the localized sites of high-mass star formation.

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DOE OSTI2015

An analytical model for galaxy metallicity: What do metallicity relations tell us about star formation and outflow?

We develop a simple analytical model that tracks galactic metallicities governed by star formation and feedback to gain insight from the observed galaxy stellar mass–metallicity relations over a large range of stellar masses and redshifts. The model reveals the following implications of star formation and feedback processes in galaxy formation. First, the observed metallicity relations provide a stringent upper limit for the averaged outflow mass-loading factors of local galaxies, which are ∼20 for M{sub ∗}∼10{sup 9} M{sub ⊙} galaxies and monotonically decrease to ∼1 for M{sub ∗}∼10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙} galaxies. Second, the inferred upper limit for the outflow mass-loading factor sensitively depends on whether the outflow is metal-enriched with respect to the interstellar medium metallicity. If half of the metals ejected from supernovae leave the galaxy in metal-enriched winds, the outflow mass-loading factor for galaxies at any mass can barely be higher than ∼10, which puts strong constraints on galaxy formation models. Third, the relatively lower stellar-phase to gas-phase metallicity ratio for lower-mass galaxies indicates that low-mass galaxies are still rapidly enriching their metallicities in recent times, while high-mass galaxies are more settled, which seems to show a downsizing effect in the metallicity evolution of galaxies. The analysis presented in the paper demonstrates the importance of accurate measurements of galaxy metallicities and the cold gas fraction of galaxies at different redshifts for constraining star formation and feedback processes, and demonstrates the power of these relations for constraining the physics of galaxy formation.

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DOE OSTI2015

Numerical simulations of turbulent molecular clouds regulated by reprocessed radiation feedback from nascent super star clusters

Radiation feedback from young star clusters embedded in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) is believed to be important to the control of star formation. For the most massive and dense clouds, including those in which super star clusters (SSCs) are born, pressure from reprocessed radiation exerted on dust grains may disperse a significant portion of the cloud mass back into the interstellar medium. Using our radiation hydrodynamics code, Hyperion, we conduct a series of numerical simulations to test this idea. Our models follow the evolution of self-gravitating, strongly turbulent clouds in which collapsing regions are replaced by radiating sink particles representing stellar clusters. We evaluate the dependence of the star formation efficiency (SFE) on the size and mass of the cloud and κ, the opacity of the gas to infrared (IR) radiation. We find that the single most important parameter determining the evolutionary outcome is κ, with κ≳15 cm{sup 2} g{sup −1} needed to disrupt clouds. For κ=20−40 cm{sup 2} g{sup −1}, the resulting SFE = 50%−70% is similar to empirical estimates for some SSC-forming clouds. The opacities required for GMC disruption likely apply only in dust-enriched environments. We find that the subgrid model approach of boosting the direct radiation force L/c by a “trapping factor” equal to a cloud’s mean IR optical depth can overestimate the true radiation force by factors of ∼4−5. We conclude that feedback from reprocessed IR radiation alone is unlikely to significantly reduce star formation within GMCs unless their dust abundances or cluster light-to-mass ratios are enhanced.

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DOE OSTI2015

Optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the black hole Swift J1753.5–0127

We report on a multiwavelength observational campaign of the black hole (BH) X-ray binary Swift J1753.5–0127 that consists of an ESO/X-shooter spectrum supported by contemporaneous Swift/X-ray Telescope+Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and Australia Telescope Compact Array data. Interstellar medium absorption lines in the X-shooter spectrum allow us to determine E(B−V)=0.45±0.02 along the line of sight to the source. We also report detection of emission signatures of He ii λ4686, Hα, and, for the first time, H i λ10906 and Paβ. The double-peaked morphology of these four lines is typical of the chromosphere of a rotating accretion disk. Nonetheless, the paucity of disk features points toward a low level of irradiation in the system. This is confirmed through spectral energy distribution modeling, and we find that the UVOT+X-shooter continuum mostly stems from the thermal emission of a viscous disk. We speculate that the absence of reprocessing is due to the compactness of an illumination-induced envelope that fails to reflect enough incoming hard X-ray photons back to the outer regions. The disk also marginally contributes to the Compton-dominated X-ray emission and is strongly truncated, with an inner radius about 1000 times larger than the BH's gravitational radius. A near-infrared excess is present, and we associate it with synchrotron radiation from a compact jet. However, the measured X-ray flux is significantly higher than what can be explained by the optically thin synchrotron jet component. We discuss these findings in the framework of the radio-quiet versus X-ray-bright hypothesis, favoring the presence of a residual disk, predicted by evaporation models, that contributes to the X-ray emission without enhancing the radio flux.

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DOE OSTI2015

THE ACCRETION WIND MODEL OF FERMI BUBBLES. II. RADIATION

In a previous work, we have shown that the formation of Fermi bubbles can be due to the interaction between winds launched from the hot accretion flow in Sgr A* and the interstellar medium (ISM). In that work, we focus only on the morphology. In this paper we continue our study by calculating the gamma-ray radiation. Some cosmic-ray protons (CRp) and electrons (CRe) must be contained in the winds, which are likely formed by physical processes such as magnetic reconnection. We have performed MHD simulations to study the spatial distribution of CRp, considering the advection and diffusion of CRp in the presence of magnetic field. We find that a permeated zone is formed just outside of the contact discontinuity between winds and the ISM, where the collisions between CRp and thermal nuclei mainly occur. The decay of neutral pions generated in the collisions, combined with the inverse Compton scattering of background soft photons by the secondary leptons generated in the collisions and primary CRe, can well explain the observed gamma-ray spectral energy distribution. Other features such as the uniform surface brightness along the latitude and the boundary width of the bubbles are also explained. The advantage of this “accretion wind” model is that the adopted wind properties come from the detailed small-scale MHD numerical simulation of accretion flows and the value of mass accretion rate has independent observational evidences. The success of the model suggests that we may seriously consider the possibility that cavities and bubbles observed in other contexts such as galaxy clusters may be formed by winds rather than jets.

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DOE OSTI2015

ELEMENTAL DEPLETIONS IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS AND THE EVOLUTION OF DEPLETIONS WITH METALLICITY

We present a study of the composition of gas and dust in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) using UV absorption spectroscopy. We measure P ii and Fe ii along 84 spatially distributed sightlines toward the MCs using archival Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer observations. For 16 of those sightlines, we also measure Si ii, Cr ii, and Zn ii from new Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations. We analyze these spectra using a new spectral line analysis technique based on a semi-parametric Voigt profile model. We have combined these measurements with H i and H{sub 2} column densities and reference stellar abundances from the literature to derive gas-phase abundances, depletions, and gas-to-dust ratios (GDRs). Of our 84 P and 16 Zn measurements, 80 and 13, respectively, are depleted by more than 0.1 dex, suggesting that P and Zn abundances are not accurate metallicity indicators at and above the metallicity of the SMC. Si, Cr, and Fe are systematically less depleted in the SMC than in the Milky Way (MW) or LMC. The minimum Si depletion in the SMC is consistent with zero. We find GDR ranges of 190–565 in the LMC and 480–2100 in the SMC, which is broadly consistent with GDRs from the literature. These ranges represent actual location to location variation and are evidence of dust destruction and/or growth in the diffuse neutral phase of the interstellar medium. Where they overlap in metallicity, the gas-phase abundances of the MW, LMC, and SMC and damped Lyα systems evolve similarly with metallicity.

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DOE OSTI2015

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project: Post-starburst signatures in quasar host galaxies at z < 1

Quasar host galaxies are key for understanding the relation between galaxies and the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers. We present a study of 191 broad-line quasars and their host galaxies at z<1, using high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) spectra produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project. Clear detection of stellar absorption lines allows a reliable decomposition of the observed spectra into nuclear and host components, using spectral models of quasar and stellar radiations as well as emission lines from the interstellar medium. We estimate age, mass M{sub ∗}, and velocity dispersion σ{sub ∗} of the host stars, the star formation rate (SFR), quasar luminosity, and SMBH mass M{sub ∙}, for each object. The quasars are preferentially hosted by massive galaxies with M{sub ∗}∼10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙} characterized by stellar ages around 1 billion yr, which coincides with the transition phase of normal galaxies from the blue cloud to the red sequence. The host galaxies have relatively low SFRs and fall below the main sequence of star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. These facts suggest that the hosts have experienced an episode of major star formation sometime in the past 1 billion yr, which was subsequently quenched or suppressed. The derived M{sub ∙}−σ{sub ∗} and M{sub ∙}−M{sub ∗} relations agree with our past measurements and are consistent with no evolution from the local universe. The present analysis demonstrates that reliable measurements of stellar properties of quasar host galaxies are possible with high-S/N fiber spectra, which will be acquired in large numbers with future powerful instruments such as the Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph.

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DOE OSTI2015

X-ray scaling relations of “core” and “coreless” E and S0 galaxies

We have re-examined the two X-ray scaling relations of early-type galaxies (ETGs), L{sub X,GAS}–L{sub K} and L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS}, using 61 ATLAS{sup 3D} E and S0 galaxies observed with Chandra (including ROSAT results for a few X-ray bright galaxies with extended hot gas). With this sample, which doubles the number of ETGs available for study we confirm the strong, steep correlations reported by Boroson et al. Moreover, the larger sample allows us to investigate the effect of structural and dynamical properties of ETGs in these relations. Using the sub-sample of 11 “genuine” E galaxies with central surface brightness cores, slow stellar rotations and old stellar populations, we find that the scatter of the correlations is strongly reduced, yielding an extremely tight relation of the form L{sub X,GAS} ∼ T{sub GAS}{sup 4.5±0.3}. The rms deviation is only 0.13 dex. For the gas-rich galaxies in this sample (L{sub X,GAS} > 10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1}), this relation is consistent with recent simulations for velocity dispersion supported E galaxies. However, the tight L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS} relation of genuine E galaxies extends down into the L{sub X} ∼ 10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1} range, where simulations predict the gas to be in outflow/wind state, with resulting L{sub X} much lower than observed in our sample. The observed correlation may suggest the presence of small bound hot halos even in this low luminosity range. At the high luminosity end, the L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS} correlation of core elliptical galaxies is similar to that found in samples of cD galaxies and groups, but shifted down toward relatively lower L{sub X,GAS} for a given T{sub GAS}. In particular cDs, central dominant galaxies sitting at the bottom of the potential well imposed by the group dark matter, have an order of magnitude higher L{sub X,GAS} than our sample core galaxies for the same L{sub K} and T{sub GAS}. We suggest that enhanced cooling in cDs, which have higher hot gas densities and lower entropies, could lower T{sub GAS} to the range observed in giant Es; this conclusion is supported by the presence of extended cold gas in several cDs. Instead, in the sub-sample of coreless ETGs—these galaxies also tend to show stellar rotation, a flattened galaxy figure and rejuvenation of the stellar population—L{sub X,GAS} and T{sub GAS} are not correlated. The L{sub X}−T{sub GAS} distribution of coreless ETGs is a scatter diagram clustered at L{sub X,GAS} < 10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1}, similar to that reported for the hot interstellar medium (ISM) of spiral galaxies, suggesting that both the energy input from star formation and the effect of galactic rotation and flattening may disrupt the hot ISM.

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DOE OSTI2015

Ultra-luminous X-ray sources in Haro 11 and the role of X-ray binaries in feedback in Lyα emitting galaxies

Lyman Break Analogs (LBAs) are local proxies of high-redshift Lyman Break Galaxies. Spatially resolved studies of nearby starbursts have shown that Lyman continuum and line emission are absorbed by dust and that the Lyα is resonantly scattered by neutral hydrogen. In order to observe Lyα emission from star-forming regions, some source of feedback is required to blow the neutral gas away from the starburst to prevent scattering and allow the Lyα emission to escape. We show that there are two X-ray point sources embedded in the diffuse emission of the LBA galaxy Haro 11. CXOU J003652.4-333316 (abbreviated to Haro 11 X-1) is an extremely luminous (L{sub X}∼10{sup 41} erg s{sup −1}), spatially compact source with a hard-X-ray spectrum. We suggest that the X-ray emission from Haro 11 X-1 is dominated by a single accretion source. This might be an active galactic nucleus or a source similar to the extreme black hole binary (BHB) M82 X-1. The hard X-ray spectrum indicates that Haro 11 X-1 may be a BHB in a low accretion state. In this case, the very high X-ray luminosity suggests an intermediate mass black hole that could be the seed for formation of a supermassive black hole. Source CXOU J003652.7-33331619.5 (abbreviated Haro 11 X-2) has an X-ray luminosity of L{sub X}∼5×10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1} and a soft X-ray spectrum (power-law photon index Γ ∼ 2.2). This strongly suggests that Haro 11 X-2 is an X-ray binary in the ultra luminous state (i.e., an Ultra Luminous X-ray source, ULX). Haro 11 X-2 is coincident with the star-forming knot that is the source of the Lyα emission. The association of a ULX with Lyα emission raises the possibility that strong winds from X-ray binaries play an important role in injecting mechanical power into the interstellar medium, thus blowing away neutral material from the starburst region and allowing the Lyα to escape. We suggest that feedback from X-ray binaries may play a significant role in allowing Lyα emission to escape from galaxies in the early universe.

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DOE OSTI2015

On the [C ii]–SFR relation in high redshift galaxies

After two Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observing cycles, only a handful of [C ii] 158 μm emission line searches in z > 6 galaxies have reported a positive detection, questioning the applicability of the local [C ii]–star formation rate (SFR) relation to high-z systems. To investigate this issue we use the Vallini et al. (V13) model,based on high-resolution, radiative transfer cosmological simulations to predict the [C ii] emission from the interstellar medium of a z ≈ 7 (halo mass M{sub h} = 1.17 × 10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙}) galaxy. We improve the V13 model by including (a) a physically motivated metallicity (Z) distribution of the gas, (b) the contribution of photodissociation regions (PDRs), and (c) the effects of cosmic microwave background (CMB) on the [C ii] line luminosity. We study the relative contribution of diffuse neutral gas to the total [C ii] emission (F{sub diff}/F{sub tot}) for different SFR and Z values. We find that the [C ii] emission arises predominantly from PDRs: regardless of the galaxy properties, F{sub diff}/F{sub tot} ≤ 10%, since at these early epochs the CMB temperature approaches the spin temperature of the [C ii] transition in the cold neutral medium (T{sub CMB} ∼ T{sub s}{sup CNM} ∼ 20 K). Our model predicts a high-z [C ii]–SFR relation, consistent with observations of local dwarf galaxies (0.02 < Z/Z{sub ⊙} < 0.5). The [C ii] deficit suggested by actual data (L{sub Cii} < 2.0 × 10{sup 7} L{sub ⊙} in BDF3299 at z ≈ 7.1) if confirmed by deeper ALMA observations, can be ascribed to negative stellar feedback disrupting molecular clouds around star formation sites. The deviation from the local [C ii]–SFR would then imply a modified Kennicutt–Schmidt relation in z > 6 galaxies. Alternatively/in addition, the deficit might be explained by low gas metallicities (Z < 0.1 Z{sub ⊙}).

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DOE OSTI2015

THE NANOGRAV NINE-YEAR DATA SET: OBSERVATIONS, ARRIVAL TIME MEASUREMENTS, AND ANALYSIS OF 37 MILLISECOND PULSARS

We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars monitored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of arrival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. In conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evidence for excess low-frequency, or “red,” timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.

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