The Dynamics of Radio Galaxies and Double–Double Radio Galaxies

Relativistic and magnetized plasma ejected by radio loud AGNs through jets form the diffuse lobes of radio galaxies. The radiating particles (electron/electron–positron) in lobes emit in radio via the synchrotron process and X-ray via inverse-Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons. The thermal environment around radio galaxies emits X-rays via the thermal bremsstrahlung process. By combining information from these processes we can measure physical conditions in and around the radio lobes and thus study the dynamics of radio galaxies, including double–double radio galaxies.     

A Catalog of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the IRAS Survey and Second Data Release of SDSS

We selected a sample of luminous infrared galaxies by cross-identification of the Faint Source Catalogue (FSC) and Point Source Catalogue (PSC) of the IRAS Survey with the Second Data Release of the SDSS. The size of our sample is 1267 for FSC and 427 for PSC by using the 2σ significance level cross-section. The "likelihood ratio" method is used to estimate the individual's reliability and for defining two more reliable subsamples (908 for FSC and 356 for PSC). A catalog of infrared, optical and radio data is compiled and will be used in further work. Some statistical results show that luminous infrared galaxies are quite different from ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. The AGN fractions of galaxies at different infrared luminosities and the radio-infrared correlations are consistent with the previous studies.     

Feeding Monsters – A Study of Active Galaxies

We present new interferometric observations of the molecular gas distribution and kinematics in the nuclei of different active galaxies at high angular resolution and high sensitivity carried out with the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer (PdBI). The observations cover galaxies in a redshift range of 0.03–1.4. We have so far observed five different active galaxies: NGC3718, NGC1068, HE1029–1831, 3C48 and Q0957+561. The first two objects belong to the NUGA (NUclei of GAlaxies) project – an international collaboration mainly between Spain, France and Germany – containing about 30 Seyfert and LINER galaxies. Both are at the same distance of 14Mpc and show a warped gas and dust disk. The new mosaic map of NGC3718 corrected for short-spacing effects with IRAM 30 m observations well demonstrates the existence of the warped gas disk with several secondary maxima in the projected gas distribution caused by orbit crowding effects. Based on these new data we have improved recent simulations of the warped disk in NGC3718. HE1029–1831 and 3C48 are nearby QSOs. HE1029–1831 is taken out of the Cologne nearby QSO sample. The maps of the integrated CO(1–0) and CO(2–1) emission clearly show that the molecular gas is mostly related to the central bulge with a non-negligible fraction distributed along the bar known from optical observations. Our new CO data of 3C48 unveil new information about the kinematics of its molecular gas complementing and improving further studies based on previous infrared observations and detailed multi-particle simulations. Finally, new measurements of the CO(1–0) line in Q0957+561 – a highly-red-shifted, gravitationally lensed quasar – will be presented as a link to earlier evolutionary stages of active galaxies and their hosts.     

A Study of Binary Stellar Population Synthesis of Elliptical Galaxies

We determined the relative stellar ages and metallicities of about 80 elliptical galaxies in both low and high density environments using the latest binary stellar population (BSP) synthesis model and tested the predictions of a recent hierarchical formation model that adopted the new ACDM cosmology. The stellar ages and metallicities were estimated from two high-quality published spectra line indices, the Hβand [MgFe] indices. The results show that the stellar populations of elliptical galaxies are older than 3.9 Gyr and more metal rich than 0.02. Most of our results are in agreement with the model predictions: (1) elliptical galaxies in denser environment are redder and have older populations than field galaxies; (2) elliptical galaxies with more massive stellar components are redder and have older and more metal rich populations than less massive ones; (3) the most massive galaxies have the oldest and most metal rich stars. However, some of our results differ from the model predictions on the metallicity distributions of low- and high-density elliptical galaxies and the dependence on the distance to the cluster center.     

Prospects of the “WSO-UV” Project for Star Formation Study in Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

In the present work we consider the questions of star formation and evolution of nearby dwarf galaxies. We describe the method of star formation history determination based on multicolor photometry of resolved stars and models of color-magnitude diagrams of the galaxies. We present the results of star formation rate determination and its dependence on age and metallicity for dwarf irregular and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the two nearby galaxy groups M81 and Cen A. Similar age of the last episode of star formation in the central part of the M81 group and also unusually high level of metal enrichment in the several galaxies of the Cen A group are mentioned. We pay special attention to the consideration of perspectives of star formation study in nearby dwarf galaxies with he new WSO-UV observatory.     

Steps Towards a Fully Automated Classification and Redshiftmeasurement Pipeline for LAMOST Spectra. I. Continuum level and wavelength estimation for galaxies

1 INTRoDUCTIONThere are aiready several wide-field multi-fiber spectrograPhic surveys in various stages ofdevelopment, most notably the stellar popu1ation, galaxy and QSO suxveys using the 2dF faciLity as described by Lewis et al. (1998) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) aJs summarizedby York et al. (2000), both of which are already underway, and those surveys planning to usethe 6dF facility as described by Wason et al. (2000) and the LAMOST facility as outllnedby Wang et a…     

Photon Spectra of Electron–Electron Bremsstrahlung

A formula is given for the cross section of electron–electron bremsstrahlung in the rest system of the target electron. It is in particular appropriate for the calculation of photon spectra in astrophysical applications, e.g., if the primary electrons have energy distributions in the form of a power law. For the long-wavelength limit of the spectrum the cross section is specified in closed form.     

A Multiwavelength Study of the Jets in FR-I Radio Galaxies： I. Data and Analysis

We compile a sample of 11 Fanaroff-Riley type I Radio Galaxies(FR-I RGs)with multi-wavelength observations to address the dynamic behavior of jets in these objects.Optical images acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope(HST)are carefully analyzed.The method and reduction procedure are described in detail. Unresolved optical cores emerge after having properly removed starlight from the host galaxies in eight of the FR-I RGs,of which five are new identifications.Broad band spectral properties of these newly identified compact cores are compared with that previously found in FR-I RGs,as well as the low-energy-peaked BL Lac objects. The similarity between them argues for the same non-thermal synchrotron origin. Well-resolved optical jets with knotty morphologies are found in three FR-I RGs in our sample,namely 3C 15,3C 66B and B20755 37.The optical counterparts to the inner radio/X-ray jets are identified and a clear one-to-one correspondence between the optical,radio and X-ray knots is found.The structure and information on the optical jets are discussed.Physical parameters such as the knots position,flux and size are also presented.Detailed comparison between the multi-wavelength data and radiative and dynamic models of jet will be made in a forthcoming paper.     

The Intensity–Velocity Phase Spectra of Evanescent Oscillations and Acoustic Sources

There are three major issues in modeling solar evanescent oscillations: the variation of the intensity [I]–velocity [V] phase difference of p-modes close to the base of photosphere; the existence of a plateau of negative I–V phase differences below and between the ridges of the low-frequency p-modes; the explanation of the I–V cross-spectra of the evanescent oscillations. We present new interpretations for the first two issues, based on modeling intensity fluctuations taking steep temperature gradients, opacity, and non-adiabatic cooling into account. We also discuss consequences of our model for the explanation of power spectra and cross-power spectra of p-modes. In particular, we present evidence that the acoustic sources that generate evanescent waves produce a coherent background that explains the plateau–interridge regime of negative I–V phase difference.     

Hα Emission and Dynamics in Groups of Galaxies

H_α luminosities of a sample of galaxies in nearby compactgroups are presented. Our purpose is to study the influence of thegroup environment on the star formation rates (SFRs) of the galaxies in thegroups, provided that the H_α luminosity is a good tracer of theSFR of disc galaxies. Measuring the global L /L _B of the groups – including early-type galaxies – we find that the average value of the H_α emission is not significantly different from thatmeasured for field galaxies, and that most of the groups that show thehighest level of L /L _B, with respect to a set of synthetic groups built out of field galaxies, show tidal features in at least one of their members. Finally, we have exploredthe relationship between the ratio L /L _B and severalrelevant dynamical parameters of the groups (velocity dispersion, crossingtime, radius and mass-to-luminosity ratio) and have found no clearcorrelation. This suggests that the exact dynamical state of a groupdoes not appear to control the SFR of the group as a whole. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Concordance of Kinematics and Lensing of Elliptical Galaxies with WMAP Cosmology

We explore degeneracies in strong lensing model so to make time delay data consistent with the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) cosmology. Previous models using a singular isothermal lens often yield a time delay between the observed multiple images too small than the observed value if we "hardwire" the now widely quoted post-WMAP "high" value of the Hubble constant (H0 - 71 ± 4km s-1 Mpc-1). Alternatively, the lens density profile (star plus dark matter) is required to be locally steeper than r-2 (isothermal) profile near the Einstein radius (of the order 3 kpc) to fit the time delays; a naive extrapolation of a very steep profile to large radius would imply a lens halo with a scale length of the order only 3 kpc, too compact to be consistent with CDM. We explore more sophisticated, mathematically smooth, positive lens mass density profiles which are consistent with a large halo and the post-WMAP H0. Thanks to the spherical monopole degeneracy, the "reshuffling" of the mass in a lens model does not affect the quality of the fit to the image positions, amplifications, and image time delays. Even better, unlike the better-known mass sheet degeneracy, the stellar mass-to-light and the HO value are not affected either. We apply this monopole degeneracy to the quadruple imaged time-delay system PG1115 080. Finally we discuss the implications of the time delay data on the newly proposed relativistic MOND theory.     

A Study on the Recovery and Classification of Meteorites from the Mt. Grove Region of Antarctica

The Antarctic Continent has become the largest natural preservatory of meteorites in the world because of its unique geographical position and climatic conditions. Mt. Grove is located in the inland area of the Antarctic Continent where the conditions are favorable for the preservation of meteorites. During China's 15th, 16th and 19th Antarctic Scientific Explorations a large number of meteorites were recovered in the Mt. Grove region. Especially during the 19th Exploration in 2002/03 a total of 4448 meteorites were recovered, which at one stroke put China among countries that have recovered most numbers of meteorites. Here, we report mainly the results of microscope and electron microprobe studies of 28 meteorites recovered during the 16th Exploration. The meteorites are chemically classified based on their mean Fa contents of olivine, mean Fs contents of low-Ca pyroxene and abundances of Fe-Ni metal. We also give a brief account of the meteorite recovery during the three Explorations and of some preli     

Relation between Starlight and Nebular Emission Lines of Star-Forming Galaxies

We present an exercise that intends to establish a relationship between the strength of nebular emission lines and optical stellar features in the spectrum of a galaxy. After accurately subtracting the stellar continuum and the underlying stellar absorption, we made reliable measurements of the emission lines of all the galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2 (SDSS DR2). More than 4000 star-forming galaxies with high S/N ratio of both the stellar spectrum and the emission lines are selected. These galaxy spectra are fitted with the 10 PCs of Yip et al., after all the emission line regions have been filtered out. We find that the flux of hydrogen Balmer emission lines, Hα and Hβ can be well recovered from the PCs, while the metal lines are not well reproduced. The fluxes of Hα and Hβ measured from the PC-reconstructed spectra and from the observed spectra agree well with an rms scatter of only - 0.1 dex. This result suggests that, with moderate spectral resolution and S/N ratio, the optical stellar spectrum of a galaxy can serve as an indicator of star formation rate.     

An Infrared Photometric Study of Galaxies with Extragalactic H2O Maser Sources

All galaxies with extragalactic H_2O maser sources observed so far are collected. With the 2MASS and the IRAS photometric data an infrared study is performed on those galaxies.By a comparison between the H_2O maser detected sources and non-detected sources in the infrared it is indicated that infrared properties in the IRAS 12-25μm and 60-100μm are important for producing H_2O masers in galaxies.It is also found that the H_2O maser galaxies with different nuclear activity types have rather different infrared properties mainly in the IRAS 12-60μm region.     

Disk Thicknesses and Some Parameters of 108 Non-Edge-On Spiral Galaxies

We present disk thicknesses, some other parameters and their statistics of 108 non-edge-on spiral galaxies. The method for determining the disk thickness is based on solving Poisson's equation for a disturbance of matter density in three-dimensional spiral galaxies. From the spiral arms found we could obtain the pitch angles, the inclination of the galactic disk, and the position of the innermost point (the forbidden region with radius r 0 to the galactic center) of the spiral arm, and finally the thickness.     

Evidence for X-Ray Emission from a Large-Scale Filament of Galaxies?

The large-scale ( approximately 100 kpc) environments of Seyfert galaxies are not significantly different from those of non-Seyfert galaxies. In the context of the interaction model of the formation of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), it has thus been proposed that AGNs form via "minor mergers" of large disk galaxies with smaller companions. We test this hypothesis by comparing the nuclear spectra of 105 bright nearby galaxies with measurements of their R- or r-band morphological asymmetries at three successive radii. We find no significant differences between these asymmetries among the 13 Seyfert galaxies in the sample and galaxies having other nuclear spectral types (absorption, H ii region-like, LINER), nor is there strong qualitative evidence that such mergers have occurred among any of the Seyfert galaxies or LINERs. Thus, either any minor mergers began greater, similar1 Gyr ago and are essentially complete, or they did not occur at all, and AGNs form independently of any type of interaction. Support for the latter interpretation is provided by the growing evidence that supermassive black holes exist in the cores of most elliptical and early-type spiral galaxies, which in turn suggests that nuclear activity represents a normal phase in the evolution of the bulges of massive galaxies. Galaxy mergers may increase the luminosity of Seyfert nuclei to the level of QSOs, which could explain why the latter objects appear to be found in rich environments and in interacting systems.     

Investigation of Galaxies of the Second Byurakan Sky Survey. V. Spectroscopic Observations in the Field of 12h22m, +55°

The results of spectroscopic observations of 28 galaxies of the Second Byurakan Sky Survey, completing the follow-up spectroscopy of galaxies in the survey field with central coordinates = 12^h22^m, = +35°, are presented. The spectra were obtained on the 2.6 m telescope of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, and the 6 m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences. The redshifts and absolute stellar magnitudes of all the galaxies have been determined. A preliminary analysis of the spatial distribution of all galaxies in this sample is given.     

A Composite Model for GHz Peaked Spectra of Radio Sources

GHz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources are powerful and compact sources with convex spectra. With increasing observational findings, it has been realized that either Synchrotron Self-Absorption (SSA) alone or Free-Free Absorption (FFA) alone is not enough to account for all the spectral features. We present a model consisting of an SSA region partially covered by FFA plasma, and derive a composite spectral formula. By applying the model to a sample of 19 GPS sources having strong absorption, it is found that the external FFA process makes the SSA peak frequency linearly shift to a higher (observed) peak frequency. The shift indicates that the FFA does play a role at the frequency close to the observed peak frequency.     

Automatic Normalization and Equivalent-Width Measurement of High-Resolution Stellar Spectra

It is well known that normalization, radial velocity correction and equivalent-width measurement of high-resolution stellar spectra are time-consuming work. In order to improve the efficiency we present an automatic method for these routines. The continuum is determined by fitting the 'high points' in the spectrum. After continuum normalization, the program automatically searches for the position of the Ha line and obtains a rough radial velocity, then computes an accurate radial velocity by cross-correlation between the given spectrum and the solar spectrum. In this method, the equivalent-width is automatically measured using Gaussian fitting. A comparison between our results and those from traditional analysis shows that the typical error for equivalent width is around 3.8% in our method. Developing such automatic routines does not mean to replace the interactive reduction method: it is just for a quick extraction of information from the spectra, especially those obtained in large sky surveys.     

Relations between the IR-UV-X-ray Continuum and Emission Lines for a Large Composite Sample of Narrow Line and Normal Seyfert 1 Galaxies

1 INTRODUCTIONThe broad emission lines, the most important characteristics of active galactic nuclei (AGN),are generally believed to be emitted by photoionized gas in the clouds that are illuminated bythe UV to X-ray continuum radiation of the celltral source (Netzer 1990). The photoionizationmodel is quite successful in explaining the average emission line properties of AGNs using anaverage ionizing continuum. To date, there are two sets of statistical relationships between thecolltin…