K-band imaging of strong Ca ii-absorber host galaxies at z∼1

We present K -band imaging of fields around 30 strong Ca  ii absorption-line systems, at  0.7 < z < 1.2  , three of which are confirmed damped Lyman α systems. A significant excess of galaxies is found within 6.0 arcsec (≃50 kpc) from the absorber line of sight. The excess galaxies are preferentially luminous compared to the population of field galaxies. A model in which field galaxies possess a luminosity-dependent cross-section for Ca  ii absorption of the form  ( L / L *)^0.7  reproduces the observations well. The luminosity-dependent cross-section for the Ca  ii absorbers appears to be significantly stronger than the established  ( L / L *)^0.4  dependence for Mg  ii absorbers. The associated galaxies lie at large physical distances from the Ca  ii -absorbing gas; we find a mean impact parameter of 24 kpc  ( H ₀= 70 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹)  . Combined with the observed number density of Ca  ii absorbers the large physical separations result in an inferred filling factor of only ∼10 per cent. The physical origin of the strong Ca  ii absorption remains unclear, possible explanations vary from very extended discs of the luminous galaxies to associated dwarf galaxy neighbours, remnants of outflows from the luminous galaxies, or tidal debris from cannibalism of smaller galaxies.     

SINFONI observations of starclusters in starburst galaxies

We have used ESO’s new NIR IFS SINFONI during its Science Verification period to observe the central regions of local starburst galaxies. Being Science Verification observations, the aim was 2-fold: to demonstrate SINFONI’s capabilities while obtaining information on the nature of starclusters in starburst galaxies. The targets chosen include a number of the brighter clusters in NGC1808 and NGC253. Here we present first results.     

GRB host galaxies studies with X‐shooter

Gamma‐ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions since the formation of the Universe, associated with the death of massive stars or mergers of compact stellar objects. Several recent striking results strongly support the idea that host galaxies of GRBs are opening a new view on our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, back to the very primordial universe at z ∼ 8. They form a unique sample of galaxies which cover a wide range of redshift, they are typically weak with low mass and unlike other methods they are not selected on luminosity. In recent years, thanks to the support of new generation instruments, multi‐band photometry and spectroscopy allow us to better investigate the properties of these host galaxies (e.g., stellar mass, age, SFR, metallicity), to study their possible evolution and to compare them with field galaxies and other classes of galaxies. GRB host spectroscopy is one of the main science drivers behind the X‐shooter spectrograph. In this paper, we present the first results of the program devoted to Italian‐French GTO multiband spectroscopy of GRB host galaxies with X‐shooter (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Two-dimensional properties of nearby galaxies

Research on two-dimensional (2-D) properties of galaxies is a significant component of the study of galaxy formation and evolution. Through the spatial distribution of physical properties (derived from integrated luminosity and spectroscopy) of galaxies, we are allowed to realize the inner environment and evolution history of each individual galaxy and finally answer how galaxies were assembled. In this paper, with reviewing previous work, we present a proposal for study on 2-D properties of nearby galaxies. In our prospective work, we will make use of multi-wavelength data covering a range from ultraviolet to far-infrared to determine the distributions of properties such as age, metallicity and dust-reddening in nearby galaxies, and try to remove the degeneracy among them. Combining with surface photometry and spectroscopy, we will also analyze the distribution of HII regions and star formation properties in galaxies. In our future plan, the World Space Observatory for Ultraviolet (WSO/UV) will be applied to our research and allow detail diagnosis of nearby galaxies at ultraviolet band.     

Using X‐shooter to measure the extinction in long GRB host galaxies from emission lines

The spectra of the host galaxies of gamma‐ray bursts at low redshift generally show strong hydrogen lines of the Balmer, Paschen and Brackett series, in addition to strong nebular metal lines. In special cases the hosts can be resolved in separate star forming regions, and spatially resolved spectroscopy can be obtained. Generally, the three strongest Balmer lines are used to derive the reddening experienced by the emission lines of the host gas, assuming a Milky Way extinction curve, case B recombination and a fixed electron temperature. We demonstrate how the wide wavelength range of X‐shooter, in combination with a rigorous calibration strategy, can be used to fit explicitly for R_V, T_e, and A_V simultaneously using a large number of H and He I recombination lines, explicitly corrected for stellar atmosphere absorption. This increases our understanding of extinction and absorption in starforming regions in GRB hosts. We use two GRB hosts as examples of the methods, outlining the advantages of using X‐shooter over other instruments (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The escape of ionizing photons from supernova-dominated primordial galaxies

In order to assess the contribution of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and Lyman α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts  3 < z < 7  to the ionization of intergalactic medium (IGM), we investigate the escape fractions of ionizing photons from supernova-dominated primordial galaxies by solving the three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer. The model galaxy is employed from an ultra-high-resolution chemodynamic simulation of a primordial galaxy by Mori & Umemura, which well reproduces the observed properties of LAEs and LBGs. The total mass of model galaxy is  10¹¹ M_⊙  . We solve not only photoionization but also collisional ionization by shocks. In addition, according to the chemical enrichment, we incorporate the effect of dust extinction, taking the size distributions of dust into account. As a result, we find that dust extinction reduces the escape fractions by a factor of 1.5–8.5 in the LAE phase and by a factor of 2.5–11 in the LBG phase, while the collisional ionization by shocks increases the escape fractions by a factor of  ≈2  . The resultant escape fractions are 0.07–0.47 in the LAE phase and 0.06–0.17 in the LBG phase. These results are well concordant with the recent estimations derived from the flux density ratio at 1500 to 900 Å of LAEs and LBGs. Combining the resultant escape fractions with the luminosity functions of LAEs and LBGs, we find that high- z LAEs and LBGs can ionize the IGM at   z = 3–5  . However, ionizing radiation from LAEs as well as LBGs falls short of ionizing the IGM at   z > 6  . That implies that additional ionization sources may be required at   z > 6  .     

The evolution of cosmic star formation, metals and gas

We reconstruct the history of the cosmic star formation as well as the cosmic production of metals in the universe by means of detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological types. We consider a picture of coeval, non-interacting evolving galaxies where ellipticals experience intense and rapid starbursts within the first Gyr after their formation, and spirals and irregulars continue to form stars at lower rates up to the present time. We show that spirals are the main contributors to the decline of the luminosity density in all bands between z=1 and z=0. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Millimetric properties of gamma-ray burst host galaxies

We present millimetre (mm) and submillimetre (submm) photometry of a sample of five host galaxies of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), obtained using the Max Planck Millimetre Bolometer (MAMBO2) array and Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA). These observations were obtained as part of an ongoing project to investigate the status of GRBs as indicators of star formation. Our targets include two of the most unusual GRB host galaxies, selected as likely candidate submm galaxies: the extremely red  ( R − K ≈ 5)  host of GRB 030115, and the extremely faint  ( R > 29.5)  host of GRB 020124. Neither of these galaxies is detected, but the deep upper limits for GRB 030115 impose constraints on its spectral energy distribution, requiring a warmer dust temperature than is commonly adopted for submillimetre galaxies (SMGs).
As a framework for interpreting these data, and for predicting the results of forthcoming submm surveys of Swift -derived host samples, we model the expected flux and redshift distributions based on luminosity functions of both submm galaxies and GRBs, assuming a direct proportionality between the GRB rate density and the global star formation rate density. We derive the effects of possible sources of uncertainty in these assumptions, including (1) introducing an anticorrelation between GRB rate and the global average metallicity, and (2) varying the dust temperature.     

Halo ejection in distant radio galaxies: jet feedback in massive galaxy formation

We present results from a Keck optical and near IR spectroscopic study of the giant emission line halos of the z>3 High Redshift Radio Galaxies (HiZRGs) 4C 41.17, 4C 60.07 and B2 0902+34. The outer regions of these halos show quiet kinematics with typical velocity dispersions of a few hundred km s⁻¹ and velocity shears consistent with rotation. The inner regions contain shocked, clumpy cocoons of gas closely associated with the radio lobes with disturbed kinematics and expansion velocities and/or velocity dispersions >1000 km s⁻¹. We also find evidence for the ejection of chemically enriched material in 4C 41.17 up to a distance of ∼60 kpc along the radio-axis. We infer that these HiZRGs are undergoing a final jet-induced phase of star formation with the ejection of most of their interstellar medium before evolving to become “red and dead” Elliptical galaxies.     

The properties of the galaxies in the ENACS clusters, and the relation between spirals and S0 galaxies

We discuss the properties of the galaxies in about 60 rich, nearby clusters, using kinematic data from the ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey, combined with new imaging data. The images were used to classify the galaxies, and to recalibrate the galaxy types derived from the ENACS spectra; this yields galaxy-type estimates for about4800 galaxies. For about 1200 galaxies, a bulge/disk decomposition could be made, which yields sizes and luminosities of bulges and disks. From the projected radial distances and relative l.o.s.-velocities we derived the galaxy ensembles with significantly different phase-space distributions. We find that galaxies in and outside substructure must be distinguished. The morphological composition of the substructures appears to vary with projected radius. Outside substructures, 4 galaxy ensembles must be defined: viz. the brighest Es, the other early-type galaxies, the early spirals(Sa-Sb), and the late spirals (including the emission-line galaxies). We also study the morphology-density relation, and we find that the segregation of the late spirals is driven mostly by global factors, while the segregation of Es, S0s and early spirals is driven mostly by local density. The properties of early spirals and S0ssupport the picture in which early spirals transform into S0s, while the properties of the late spirals do not support such a relation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Morphological dependence in the spatial orientations of galaxies around the Local Supercluster

We study the spatial orientation of 5 169 galaxies that have radial velocity 3 000 to 5 000 km s⁻¹. The ‘position angle–inclination’ method is used to find the spin vector and the projections of spin vector of the galaxy rotation axes. The spatial isotropic distribution is assumed to examine the non-random effects. For this, we have performed chi-square, Fourier, and auto-correlation tests. We found a random alignment of spin vectors of total galaxies with respect to the equatorial coordinate system. The spin vector projections of total galaxies is found to be oriented tangentially with respect to the equatorial center. The spiral galaxies show a similar orientation as shown by the total sample. Five subsamples of barred spiral (late-type) galaxies show a preferred alignment. However, early-type barred spirals show a random orientation. A weak morphological dependence is noticed in the subsamples of late type barred spirals. A comparison with the previous works and the possible explanation of the results will be presented.     

Chemical and dynamical evolution of spiral galaxies

We present the very first results of a new 3D numerical model for the formation and evolution of spiral galaxies along the Hubble sequence. We take into account the hydrodynamical properties of the gas with an SPH method while we use a tree code for the gravitational forces of the dark matter and stars. The chemical evolution is also fully included, with both SNe Ia and SNe II explosions being followed, and this will allows us to predict abundances of various chemical species, abundance ratios and their radial distributions. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The K-band Hubble diagram of submillimetre galaxies and hyperluminous galaxies

We present the K -band Hubble diagrams ( K – z relations) of submillimetre-selected galaxies and hyperluminous galaxies (HLIRGs). We report the discovery of a remarkably tight K – z relation of HLIRGs, indistinguishable from that of the most luminous radio galaxies. Like radio galaxies, the HLIRG K – z relation at   z ≲ 3  is consistent with a passively evolving ∼3 L _* instantaneous starburst starting from a redshift of   z ∼ 10  . In contrast, many submillimetre-selected galaxies are ≳2 mag fainter, and the population has a much larger dispersion. We argue that dust obscuration and/or a larger mass range may be responsible for this scatter. The galaxies so far proved to be hyperluminous may have been biased towards higher AGN bolometric contributions than submillimetre-selected galaxies due to the 60-μm selection of some, so the location on the K – z relation may be related to the presence of the most massive active galactic nucleus. Alternatively, a particular host galaxy mass range may be responsible for both extreme star formation and the most massive active nuclei.