Spitzer and ISO galaxy counts in the mid-infrared

Galaxy source counts that simultaneously fit the deep mid-infrared surveys at 24 microns and 15 microns made by the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ), respectively, are presented for two phenomenological models. The models are based on starburst and luminous infrared galaxy dominated populations. Both models produce excellent fits to the counts in both wavebands and provide an explanation for the high-redshift population seen in the longer Spitzer 24-micron band supporting the hypothesis that they are luminous–ultraluminous infrared galaxies at   z = 2–3  , being the mid-infrared counterparts to the submillimetre galaxy population. The source counts are characterized by strong evolution to redshift unity, followed by less drastic evolution to higher redshift. The number–redshift distributions in both wavebands are well explained by the effect of the many mid-infrared features passing through the observation windows. The sharp upturn at around a millijansky in the 15-μm counts in particular depends critically on the distribution of mid-infrared features around 12 μm, in the assumed spectral energy distribution.     

Open star clusters in the spiral arms of our Galaxy

We consider the age distributions of open star clusters attributed to three segments of Galactic spiral arms. The smoothed distributions of clusters on the age-Galactocentric angle plane show a great nonuniformity. The time dependence of the formation rate of Galactic disk clusters recovered by taking into account selection effects and dynamical evolution of clusters shows that, on average, the formation rate of open star clusters decreases with time. This is in agreement with the increase in star formation rate into the past, as follows from the study of this process by the method of stellar population synthesis. The present time is the epoch of a current maximum of the cluster formation rate. In addition to the current maximum, there have been at least three more maxima with a period of 300–400 Myr and a duration of no more than 300 Myr. The age distributions are consistent with the pattern of star formation governed by the successive passages of density waves through each examined volume of the Galactic disk. The spiral structure becomes more complex when passing from the inner regions of the Galaxy to its outer regions.     

How abundant is the population of binary radio pulsars with black holes?

Using a 'scenario machine' we have carried out a population synthesis of radio pulsars with black hole binaries (BH+Psr) in the context of the most widespread assumptions concerning star mass loss during evolution, the mass ratio distribution of binary stars, the kick velocity and the envelope mass loss during collapse. Our purpose is to show that under any plausible parameters for the evolution scenario, the BH+Psr population should be abundant in the Galaxy. It is shown that in all models (including those evolved by Heger et al. and Woosley, Heger & Weaver), the expected number of black holes paired with radio pulsars is sufficient for such systems to be discovered within the next few years.     

An atlas of predicted exotic gravitational lenses

We present an investigation of the relationships between the radio properties of a giant radio galaxy MRC B0319−454 and the surrounding galaxy distribution with the aim of examining the influence of intergalactic gas and gravity associated with the large-scale structure on the evolution in the radio morphology. Our new radio continuum observations of the radio source, with high surface brightness sensitivity, images the asymmetries in the megaparsec-scale radio structure in total intensity and polarization. We compare these with the three-dimensional galaxy distribution derived from galaxy redshift surveys. Galaxy density gradients are observed along and perpendicular to the radio axis: the large-scale structure is consistent with a model wherein the galaxies trace the ambient intergalactic gas and the evolution of the radio structures are ram-pressure limited by this associated gas. Additionally, we have modelled the off-axis evolution of the south-west radio lobe as deflection of a buoyant jet backflow by a transverse gravitational field: the model is plausible if entrainment is small. The case study presented here is a demonstration that giant radio galaxies may be useful probes of the warm-hot intergalactic medium believed to be associated with moderately over dense galaxy distributions.     

The Progenitors of sdB Binaries: Confronting Theory with Observations

We have re-examined the main binary evolution channels that produce sdB stars (by stable and unstable mass transfer, the merging of two helium white dwarfs). We find that all three main channels are of comparable importance, but produce slightly different mass distributions and dominate at different times. We show how the short-period sdB binaries can be used to constrain the efficiency of common-envelope ejection and discuss various observational tests that will allow further testing and constrain the binary evolution parameters that go into binary population synthesis simulations.     

A binary model for the UV-upturn of elliptical galaxies

The discovery of a flux excess in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of elliptical galaxies was a major surprise in 1969. While it is now clear that this UV excess is caused by an old population of hot helium-burning stars without large hydrogen-rich envelopes, rather than young stars, their origin has remained a mystery. Here we show that these stars most likely lost their envelopes because of binary interactions, similar to the hot subdwarf population in our own Galaxy. We have developed an evolutionary population synthesis model for the FUV excess of elliptical galaxies based on the binary model developed by Han et al. for the formation of hot subdwarfs in our Galaxy. Despite its simplicity, it successfully reproduces most of the properties of elliptical galaxies with a UV excess: the range of observed UV excesses, both in  (1550 − V )  and  (2000 − V )  , and their evolution with redshift. We also present colour–colour diagrams for use as diagnostic tools in the study of elliptical galaxies. The model has major implications for understanding the evolution of the UV excess and of elliptical galaxies in general. In particular, it implies that the UV excess is not a sign of age, as had been postulated previously, and predicts that it should not be strongly dependent on the metallicity of the population, but exists universally from dwarf ellipticals to giant ellipticals.     

Galactic 1.275-MeV emission from ONe novae and its detectability by INTEGRAL/SPI

Models of Galactic 1.275‐MeV emission produced by the decay of the radionuclide ²²Na have been computed. Several frequency–spatial distributions of novae have been investigated using recent results of nova rates and spatial distributions of novae in our Galaxy. These models allow us to estimate the lower limit of the ²²Na mass ejected per ONe nova detectable with the future spectrometer (SPI) of the INTEGRAL observatory as a function of the frequency–spatial distribution of ONe novae in the Galaxy. Calculations using recent estimations of the expected ²²Na mass ejected per ONe nova show that the detection of the Galactic emission of 1.275‐MeV photons will be difficult with the future spectrometer of the INTEGRAL observatory, whereas the cumulative emission around the Galactic Centre has some chance of being detected during the deep survey of the central radian of the Galaxy.     

Theoretical models for wide binary evolution

Summary Wide binary evolution under the influence of stars, giant molecular clouds, and the galactic tidal field is reviewed. Recent results show that binary lifetimes ata≳0.1 pc are determined by an interplay between relatively gentle evolution due to stellar encounters and catastrophic collisions with cloud subclumps. It is emphasized that binary semimajor axis distributions may not be understood from lifetimes alone. To determine the theoretical distribution binary ‘birthrate functions’ must be convolved with probability distributions for the evolution of an ensemble of binaries from given initial separations. Simple models show no sharp breaks below the tidal cut-off imposed by the Galaxy.     

Populating the Galaxy with pulsars – I. Stellar and binary evolution

The computation of theoretical pulsar populations has been a major component of pulsar studies since the 1970s. However, the majority of pulsar population synthesis has only regarded isolated pulsar evolution. Those that have examined pulsar evolution within binary systems tend to either treat binary evolution poorly or evolve the pulsar population in an ad hoc manner. Thus, no complete and direct comparison with observations of the pulsar population within the Galactic disc has been possible to date. Described here is the first component of what will be a complete synthetic pulsar population survey code. This component is used to evolve both isolated and binary pulsars. Synthetic observational surveys can then be performed on this population for a variety of radio telescopes. The final tool used for completing this work will be a code comprised of three components: stellar/binary evolution, Galactic kinematics and survey selection effects. Results provided here support the need for further (apparent) pulsar magnetic field decay during accretion, while they conversely suggest the need for a re-evaluation of the assumed typical millisecond pulsar formation process. Results also focus on reproducing the observed     diagram for Galactic pulsars and how this precludes short time-scales for standard pulsar exponential magnetic field decay. Finally, comparisons of bulk pulsar population characteristics are made to observations displaying the predictive power of this code, while we also show that under standard binary evolutionary assumption binary pulsars may accrete much mass.     

Disc galaxy evolution along the Hubble sequence

Galaxy discs are characterized by star formation histories that vary systematically along the Hubble sequence. We study global star formation, incorporating supernova feedback, gas accretion and enriched outflows in discs modelled by a multiphase interstellar medium in a fixed gravitational potential. The star formation histories, gas distributions and chemical evolution can be explained in a simple sequence of models which are primarily regulated by the cold gas accretion history.     

Why we study the geological record for evidence of the solar oscillation about the galactic midplane

The Solar System oscillates about the plane defined by the disk of matter in our Galaxy. This oscillatory motion gives rise to a substantial modulation in the tidally induced flux of Oort cloud comets. An observational determination of the quasi-periodicity of this motion carries with it significant information about the population, distributions, dynamics and origins of short-period and long-period comets. An additional incentive for emphasizing such a study is the information about dark disk matter that a period can yield. If dark disk matter is completely negligible, the amplitude of the solar motion will be sufficiently large that the peak-to-trough flux ratio will be ≈ 2.5 and the plane-crossing period will exceed 40 Myr. Dark disk matter comparable in mass to bright disk matter and distributed in any manner is inconsistent with K-dwarf distributions and can be rejected as a working hypothesis. But if a modest fraction of the disk matter is dark and distributed like the interstellar medium, as is consistent with limits deduced from K-giant and K-dwarf velocity distributions, the peak-to-trough flux ratio can increase to a factor of 4 even though the solar z amplitude is decreased. In that case the period can be as little as 30 Myr and the implied Oort population is smaller by a factor of 3. We should carefully reconsider the geological record as a potential discriminator of these options.     

Scale length of the galactic thin disk

This paper presents an analysis of the first 2MASS (The Two Micron All Sky Survey) sampler data as observed at lower Galactic latitude in our Galaxy. These new near-infrared data provide insight into the structure of the thin disk of our Galaxy, The interpretation of star counts and color distributions of stars in the near-infrared with the synthetic stellar population model, gives strong evidence that the Galactic thin disk density scale length,h _R , is rather short (2.7 ± 0.1 kpc).     

Populating the Galaxy with low-mass X-ray binaries

We perform binary population-synthesis calculations to investigate the incidence of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and their birth rate in the Galaxy. We use a binary-evolution algorithm that models all the relevant processes including tidal circularization and synchronization. Parameters in the evolution algorithm that are uncertain and may affect X-ray binary formation are allowed to vary during the investigation. We agree with previous studies that under standard assumptions of binary evolution the formation rate and number of black hole (BH) LMXBs predicted by the model are more than an order of magnitude less than what is indicated by observations. We find that the common-envelope process cannot be manipulated to produce significant numbers of BH LMXBs. However, by simply reducing the mass-loss rate from helium stars adopted in the standard model, to a rate that agrees with the latest data, we produce a good match to the observations. Including LMXBs that evolve from intermediate-mass systems also leads to favourable results. We stress that constraints on the X-ray binary population provided by observations are used here merely as a guide as surveys suffer from incompleteness and much uncertainty is involved in the interpretation of results.     

贫金属星中子俘获元素丰度

贫金属星的中子俘获元素丰度与恒星的形成和演化密切相关,它为研究星系形成早期的历史背景和化学演化提供了重要信息。贫金属星中子俘获元素丰度的研究已成为近年来核天体物理研究的前沿和热点。介绍了恒星内部重元素的核合图像,ｓ过程和ｒ过程核合成的概念及其核合成场所。着重介绍了近年来有关贫金属星中子俘获元素丰度的观测结果,综述了近年来贫金属星子俘获元素分布的理论研究进展情况和中子俘获元素的星系化学演化的研究进展     

Where are the halo stars?

In the usual and most widespread textbook picture of the Milky Way Galaxy, disk stars like the Sun are referred to as Population I, the spheroidal or halo component in turn as Population II. The latter is thought of as the pressure-supported, metal-poor relic of the early Galaxy, with renewed interest in recent years in the search for dark matter via microlensing. Modelling the putative massive compact halo objects however, faces the problem that the stellar halo is generally considered to consist of only a few billion solar masses. Here we present observational evidence that even this low budget may be a factor ten too high. If so, this immediately implies that the classical population II of halo stars is fairly irrelevant, not only in the dark matter context, but, in particular, in models of the formation and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy.     

Galactic evolution and star counts in the milky way

A model of population synthesis for our Galaxy is used to estimate the constraints imposed by photometric and astrometric star counts. We construct a statistical method to compute the degree of compatibility of the model with the data in the form of a multidimensional functionf(V, B-V, U-B, ). We apply the method to the determination of the star formation history in the Galaxy from Schmidt plates towards the anticentre. Although the presently available data do not allow us to draw firm conclusions, we show that the same kind of data with a slightly better photometric accuracy and with proper motions would give new constraints on the past star formation rate of the Galaxy.     

Why we study the geological record for evidence of the solar oscillation about the galactic midplane

The Solar System oscillates about the plane defined by the disk of matter in our Galaxy. This oscillatory motion gives rise to a substantial modulation in the tidally induced flux of Oort cloud comets. An observational determination of the quasi-periodicity of this motion carries with it significant information about the population, distributions, dynamics and origins of short-period and long-period comets. An additional incentive for emphasizing such a study is the information about dark disk matter that a period can yield. If dark disk matter is completely negligible, the amplitude of the solar motion will be sufficiently large that the peak-to-trough flux ratio will be 2.5 and the plane-crossing period will exceed 40 Myr. Dark disk matter comparable in mass to bright disk matter and distributed in any manner is inconsistent with K-dwarf distributions and can be rejected as a working hypothesis. But if a modest fraction of the disk matter is dark and distributed like the interstellar medium, as is consistent with limits deduced from K-giant and K-dwarf velocity distributions, the peak-to-trough flux ratio can increase to a factor of 4 even though the solar z amplitude is decreased. In that case the period can be as little as 30 Myr and the implied Oort population is smaller by a factor of 3. We should carefully reconsider the geological record as a potential discriminator of these options.     

Open Clusters as a Record of the Past

The Galactic open cluster population has long been used as a probe of the structure of the Galactic disk and a timeline for studying its evolution. With ages that range up to 12 billion years and positions that span a large range of Galactocentric distances, the open clusters provide a broad sample with which to investigate issues such as the history of star formation in the Galaxy, the chemical evolution of the disk, and the competing influences of cluster formation and disruption that mold the properties of the current cluster population. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Magellanic Clouds: their evolution,structure and composition

Summary The Magellanic Clouds play a fundamental role in a number of fields of astronomical research. Their distances are most relevant to the extragalactic distance scale. Their relative proximity offers exceptional opportunities for detailed studies of their stellar and interstellar content. They serve therefore as testing grounds for modern astrophysical theories, in particular concerning the chemical evolution of stars and galaxies.In this review we will discuss recent attempts to determine accurate distances to the Magellanic Clouds. We will consider their stellar generations as the results of interactions between the Large and the Small Magellanic Cloud as well as between the Clouds and the Galaxy. Recent determinations of the chemical abundances of the various age groups will be presented. The fact that the evolution of the Clouds has been slower than that of our Galaxy gives us the opportunity to study the conditions in slightly metalpoor galaxies. Recent progress in observing techniques has added much to our knowledge about the interstellar medium of the Clouds.The Magellanic System, which comprises the Magellanic Clouds, the Inter-Cloud Region and the Magellanic Stream, will be described. We will in particular consider the complex structure of the Large and the Small Cloud and the kinematics of their populations.     

The Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey – VI. Discovery and timing of 142 pulsars and a Galactic population analysis

We present the discovery and follow-up observations of 142 pulsars found in the Parkes 20-cm multibeam pulsar survey of the Galactic plane. These new discoveries bring the total number of pulsars found by the survey to 742. In addition to tabulating spin and astrometric parameters, along with pulse width and flux density information, we present orbital characteristics for 13 binary pulsars which form part of the new sample. Combining these results from another recent Parkes multibeam survey at high Galactic latitudes, we have a sample of 1008 normal pulsars which we use to carry out a determination of their Galactic distribution and birth rate. We infer a total Galactic population of  30 000 ± 1100  potentially detectable pulsars (i.e. those beaming towards us) having 1.4-GHz luminosities above 0.1 mJy kpc². Adopting the Tauris & Manchester beaming model, this translates to a total of  155 000 ± 6000  active radio pulsars in the Galaxy above this luminosity limit. Using a pulsar current analysis, we derive the birth rate of this population to be  1.4 ± 0.2  pulsars per century. An important conclusion from our work is that the inferred radial density function of pulsars depends strongly on the assumed distribution of free electrons in the Galaxy. As a result, any analyses using the most recent electron model of Cordes & Lazio predict a dearth of pulsars in the inner Galaxy. We show that this model can also bias the inferred pulsar scaleheight with respect to the Galactic plane. Combining our results with other Parkes multibeam surveys we find that the population is best described by an exponential distribution with a scaleheight of 330 pc. Surveys underway at Parkes and Arecibo are expected to improve the knowledge of the radial distribution outside the solar circle, and to discover several hundred new pulsars in the inner Galaxy.