The ratio of total to selective absorption in dark clouds

Evidence relating to the value ofR=A _V/E_B-V appropriate to discrete dark clouds in the interstellar medium is discussed. The polarimetric method of evaluatingR recently proposed by Serkowski, Mathewson and Ford gives results consistent with extinction curve determinations. A value ofR～4.4 appears to apply to the most reddened stars in the ? Oph complex, suggesting the existence of an upper size limit for the grains. If the grains grow by accretion of the heavier elements from the surrounding gas, as suggested by Carrasco, Strom and Strom, then the availability of material sets a limitation on mantle growth consistent with the observed increase inR.     

On the ratio of the total to selective absorption

The ratio of total to selective absorbtion,R, has been found to remain constant as dust is processed in clouds from low to high density, through Hii regions and open clusters, and returned to the interstellar medium.R has the same value in dense dust clouds as it has in Hii regions of different ages. Variations inR values obtained from stars in Hii regions may be due to errors in special type classification. Globular cluster diameters show no tendency to increase with distance from the Sun whenR=3.2 is used. Large grains evidently do not exist in the interstellar medium. There is no evidence for neutral extinction in the Galaxy at large.     

The ratio of total to selective absorption in the Carina OB2 association

Several previous studies in and around the Great Carina nebula (NGC 3372) have strongly indicated an abnormal interstellar extinction law with a high ratio of total to selective absorptionR. In the present study, newUBV photometric data and accurate MK spectral-types of stars in the region of the Carina OB2 association are used to show that (1) Car OB2 is a genuine stellar association located at a distance of 3.2 kpc, and (2) the interstellar extinction law seems to be normal throughout most of the region. A representative value ofR = A _v/E(B – V) = 3.0 is derived for Car OB2 from the variable extinction method.Visiting Astronomer, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, operated by AURA, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

A method to constrain the total mass of galaxy groups

We present a simple method to constrain the total mass of groups of galaxies. Tidal theory predicts that a limit to the mass of bound groups of galaxies can be obtained by using the fact that the tidal forces due to the external mass distributions are insufficient to disrupt the groups. To illustrate how the method works, we find tidal limits on the mass of 11 nearby galaxy groups. In most cases, tidal limits placed on these groups show that the mass estimations obtained from methods based either on the application of the virial theorem or moments of the projected mass are underestimated by a factor of ∼2 even if, in many cases, errors are large. Three groups show virial parameters fully concordant with the tidal constraints while two outlier groups show anomalous results. The “irregular” state of the latter suggests that the reliability of the method depends on the physical properties of the test groups, which should match the fundamental assumptions of spherical symmetry and dynamical equilibrium state.     

The effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger-driven starbursts

We employ numerical simulations of galaxy mergers to explore the effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger-driven starbursts. Our numerical simulations include radiative cooling of gas, star formation, and stellar feedback to follow the interaction and merger of four disc galaxies. The galaxy models span a factor of 23 in total mass and are designed to be representative of typical galaxies in the local universe. We find that the merger-driven star formation is a strong function of merger mass ratio, with very little, if any, induced star formation for large mass ratio mergers. We define a burst efficiency that is useful to characterize the merger-driven star formation and test that it is insensitive to uncertainties in the feedback parametrization. In accord with previous work we find that the burst efficiency depends on the structure of the primary galaxy. In particular, the presence of a massive stellar bulge stabilizes the disc and suppresses merger-driven star formation for large mass ratio mergers. Direct, coplanar merging orbits produce the largest tidal disturbance and yield the most intense burst of star formation. Contrary to naive expectations, a more compact distribution of gas or an increased gas fraction both decrease the burst efficiency. Owing to the efficient feedback model and the newer version of smoothed particle hydrodynamics employed here, the burst efficiencies of the mergers presented here are smaller than in previous studies.     

Mass-to-light ratio gradients in early-type galaxy haloes

Owing to the fact that the near future should see a rapidly expanding set of probes of the halo masses of individual early-type galaxies, we introduce a convenient parameter for characterizing the halo masses from both observational and theoretical results:  ∇_ℓϒ  , the logarithmic radial gradient of the mass-to-light ratio. Using halo density profiles from Λ-cold dark matter (CDM) simulations, we derive predictions for this gradient for various galaxy luminosities and star formation efficiencies  ε_SF  . As a pilot study, we assemble the available  ∇_ℓϒ  data from kinematics in early-type galaxies – representing the first unbiased study of halo masses in a wide range of early-type galaxy luminosities – and find a correlation between luminosity and  ∇_ℓϒ  , such that the brightest galaxies appear the most dark-matter dominated. We find that the gradients in most of the brightest galaxies may fit in well with the ΛCDM predictions, but that there is also a population of fainter galaxies whose gradients are so low as to imply an unreasonably high star formation efficiency  ε_SF > 1  . This difficulty is eased if dark haloes are not assumed to have the standard ΛCDM profiles, but lower central concentrations.     

Silicate absorption in heavily obscured galaxy nuclei

Spectroscopy at 8–13 μm with T-ReCS on Gemini-S is presented for three galaxies with substantial silicate absorption features, NGC 3094, NGC 7172 and NGC 5506. In the galaxies with the deepest absorption bands, the silicate profile towards the nuclei is well represented by the emissivity function derived from the circumstellar emission from the red supergiant, μ Cephei which is also representative of the mid-infrared absorption in the diffuse interstellar medium in the Galaxy. There is spectral structure near 11.2 μm in NGC 3094 which may be due to a component of crystalline silicates. In NGC 5506, the depth of the silicate absorption increases from north to south across the nucleus, suggestive of a dusty structure on scales of tens of parsecs. We discuss the profile of the silicate absorption band towards galaxy nuclei and the relationship between the 9.7-μm silicate and 3.4-μm hydrocarbon absorption bands.     

On the total kinetic energy of our galaxy

The total kinetic energy of the Galaxy is estimated from the potential energy by applying the virial theorem. The limits of the potential energy depend strongly on the value of the local escape velocity. They are estimated to be between −7. 10¹⁶ M_Ȯ km²s⁻² and −1. 10¹⁶ M_Ȯ km²s⁻² (escape velocity approximately between 450 km s⁻¹ and 600 km s⁻¹). The specific kinetic energy of the Galaxy as a whole is most likely about 21 000 km²s⁻², being equally distributed among the subsystems if the local escape velocity is near its lower limit; the higher the local escape velocity is, the higher is the specific kinetic energy of the Galaxy due to the influence of the dark corona. The specific kinetic energy of the dark corona tends to become equal to that of the Galaxy as a whole for very high values of the local escape velocity. For the purpose of estimating the totl potential energy of the Galaxy, inter alia, a new model of the Milky Way is developed, which yields both the potential and the density analytically so that it is suitale for calculating the galactocentric orbits.     

The day to night absorption ratio in auroral zone riometer measurements

The day to night ratio in ionospheric radio wave absorption has been studied for College, Alaska using a narrow beam riometer array and computer assisted programming of the data. For the period of 6 November 1967 to 17 April 1968 no significant departure from a ratio of unity was found.     

The day to night absorption ratio in auroral zone riometer measurements

The day to night ratio in ionospheric radio wave absorption has been studied for College, Alaska using a narrow beam riometer array and computer assisted programming of the data. For the period of 6 November 1967 to 17 April 1968 no significant departure from a ratio of unity was found.     

Derivation of antiproton-proton flux ratio from the closed galaxy model

The antiproton-proton flux ratio has been estimated from the closed galaxy model of Peters and Westergaard by using the latest primary nucleon spectrum and inclusive reaction accelerator results. The derived flux ratio is about three times higher than those expected from the leaky box model. The results have been compared with the previous estimates by different authors.     

On the nature of the X-ray absorption in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507

We present results of the ASCA observation of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507. The 0.5–10 keV spectrum is rather complex and consists of several components: (i) a hard X-ray power law heavily absorbed by a column density of about 3-10²³ cm⁻², (ii) a narrow Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV, (iii) soft continuum emission well above the extrapolation of the absorbed hard power law and (iv) a narrow emission line at ∼0.9 keV. The line energy, consistent with highly ionized neon (Ne IX ), may indicate that the soft X-ray emission is derived from a combination of resonant scattering and fluorescence in a photoionized gas. Some contribution to the soft X-ray spectrum from thermal emission, as a blend of Fe L lines, by a starburst component in the host galaxy cannot be ruled out with the present data.     

Broadband spectrum of the total X-ray emission from the galaxy M31

We present the results of measurements of the total X-ray flux from the Andromeda galaxy (M31) in the 3-100 keV band based on data from the RXTE/PCA, INTEGRAL/ISGRI, and SWIFT/BAT space experiments. We show that the total emission from the galaxy has a multicomponent spectrum whose main characteristics are specified by binaries emitting in the optically thick and optically thin regimes. The galaxy’s luminosity at energies 20–100 keV gives about 6% of its total luminosity in the 3–100 keV band. The emissivity of the stellar population in M31 is L _{2–20 keV} ～ 1.1 × 10²⁹ erg s^?1 M _⊙ ^?1 in the 2–20 keV band and L _{20–100 keV} ～ 8 × 10²⁷ erg s^?1 M _⊙ ^?1 in the 20–100 keV band. Since low-mass X-ray binaries at high luminosities pass into a soft state with a small fraction of hard X-ray emission, the detection of individual hard X-ray sources in M31 requires a sensitivity that is tens of times better (up to 10^?13 erg s^?1 cm^?2) than is needed to detect the total hard X-ray emission from the entire galaxy. Allowance for the contribution from the hard spectral component of the galaxy changes the galaxy’s effective Compton temperature approximately by a factor of 2, from ～1.1 to ～2.1 keV.     

GMRT detection of HI 21 cm-line absorption from the peculiar galaxy in Abell 2125

Using the recently completed Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope, we have detected the HI 21 cm-line absorption from the peculiar galaxy C153 in the galaxy cluster Abell 2125. The HI absorption is at a redshift of 0.2533, with a peak optical depth of 0.36. The full width at half minimum of the absorption line is 100 km s⁻¹. The estimated column density of atomic Hydrogen is 0.7×10²²(T _s /100) cm⁻². The HI absorption is redshifted by ∼400km s⁻¹ compared to the [OIII] emission line from this system. We attribute this to an infalling cold gas or to an out-flowing ionised gas, or to a combination of both as a consequence of tidal interactions of C153 with either a cluster galaxy or the cluster potential.     

The origin of scaling in the galaxy distribution

I present an analytic model for non‐linear clustering of the luminous (baryonic) material in a universe in which the gravitational field is dominated by dark matter. The model is based on a two-component generalization of the adhesion approximation in which the gravitational potential of the dark component is determined by the standard Zel'dovich approximation or one of its variants, or by an N ‐body simulation. The baryonic matter flow is dissipative and is driven by this dark matter gravitational potential. The velocity potential of the matter is described by a generalization of the Burgers equation: the random heat equation ('RH equation') with a spatially correlated Gaussian driving potential.
The properties of the RH equation are well understood: it is closely related to the equation for the Anderson model and to Brownian motion in a random potential: the solution can be expressed in terms of path integrals. Using this it is possible to derive the scaling properties of the solution and, in particular, those of the resultant velocity field. Even though the flow is non‐linear, the velocity field remains Gaussian and inherits its scaling properties from the gravitational potential. This provides an underlying dynamical reason why the density field in the baryonic component is lognormally distributed and manifests multifractal scaling.
By explicitly putting dark and luminous matter on different footings, the model provides an improved framework for considering the growth of large‐scale cosmic structure. It provides a solution for the velocity potential of the baryonic component in closed form (albeit a path integral) from which the statistical properties of the baryonic flow can be derived.     

The mass of the Andromeda galaxy

This paper argues that the Milky Way galaxy is probably the largest member of the Local Group. The evidence comes from estimates of the total mass of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) derived from the three-dimensional positions and radial velocities of its satellite galaxies, as well as the projected positions and radial velocities of its distant globular clusters and planetary nebulae. The available data set comprises 10 satellite galaxies, 17 distant globular clusters and nine halo planetary nebulae with radial velocities. We find that the halo of Andromeda has a mass of together with a scalelength of 90 kpc and a predominantly isotropic velocity distribution. For comparison, our earlier estimate for the Milky Way halo is Although the error bars are admittedly large, this suggests that the total mass of M31 is probably less than that of the Milky Way . We verify the robustness of our results to changes in the modelling assumptions and to errors caused by the small size and incompleteness of the data set.
Our surprising claim can be checked in several ways in the near future. The numbers of satellite galaxies, planetary nebulae and globular clusters with radial velocities can be increased by ground-based spectroscopy, while the proper motions of the companion galaxies and the unresolved cores of the globular clusters can be measured using the astrometric satellites Space Interferometry Mission ( SIM ) and Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics ( GAIA ). Using 100 globular clusters at projected radii 20 R 50 kpc with both radial velocities and proper motions, it will be possible to estimate the mass within 50 kpc to an accuracy of 20 per cent. Measuring the proper motions of the companion galaxies with SIM and GAIA will reduce the uncertainty in the total mass caused by the small size of the data set to 22 per cent.