The redshift dependence of spectral index in powerful radio galaxies

We present and discuss in this paper the rest frame radio spectra (1–25 GHz) of a sample of fourteen radio galaxies atz >2 from the newly defined MRC/1Jy complete sample of 558 radio sources. These galaxies are among the most powerful radio sources known and range in luminosity from 1028-1028·8 watt Hz-1 at 1 GHz. We find that the median rest frame spectral index of this sample of galaxies atz >2 is significantly steeper than that of a matched luminosity sample of 3CRR galaxies which are at a much lower redshift (0.85 <z < 1.7). This indicates that spectral index correlates primarily with redshift, at least in the luminosity range considered here. The difference between the distributions of rest frame spectral curvatures for the two samples does not appear to be statistically significant. We suggest a new explanation for the steeper spectra of radio galaxies at high redshift involving steeper electron energy spectra at injection. Electron energy spectra are expected to steepen in a first-order Fermi acceleration process, at both non-relativistic and relativistic shock fronts, as the upstream fluid velocity decreases. This may well be the case at high redshifts: the hotter and denser circum-galactic medium at high redshifts could result in slower speeds for the hotspot and the jet material behind it. The smaller sizes of radio sources at higher redshifts provide support to this scenario. Since deceased.     

Optical and NIR investigation of a sample of tidal dwarf candidates

We analyzed a sample of 44 candidates for Tidal Dwarf Galaxies(TDGs) previously selected on optical imaging with low resolution spectroscopy. Most of the TDG candidates have the same redshift as the interacting system, 3 of them very likely are low metallicity dwarf galaxies in projection, and 13 show signs of kinematics decoupled from their hosting tidal tail. Subsequent NIR photometry in combination with evolutionary synthesis modeling allows us to derive stellar masses, star formation rates, and the ratio of old to young stars within each TDG candidate. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Variability of extragalactic objects in relation to redshift, color, radio spectral index and absorption lines

Optical variability of extragalactic objects, viz., QSOs, BL Lacs and Seyfert galaxies has been monitored systematically over an appreciable period of time and a large amount of data have accumulated. The present work reports results of investigations involving statistical analysis of updated data on relationships between variability and various observed properties of the objects, viz., redshift, color indices, radio spectral index and absorption lines. It is found that at high frequencies (rest frame) radio spectral index does not change significantly with the degree of variability. However, the degree of variability depends on redshifts. On the other hand, presence or absence of absorption lines is significantly associated with variability for QSOs with larger redshifts (z > 1.0), while no such relationship exists for QSOs at smaller redshifts (z < 1.0) or other objects. Correlation between color indices and redshifts depends on the degree of variability and the sample chosen for the color index.     

Interacting Galaxies — the X-ray View

We have selected a complete, flux-limited sample of bright point-like sources with absorbed X-ray spectra from the ROSAT All-Sky survey, the ROSAT Hard Survey (RHS). The sample is drawn from the high-galactic latitude sky, |b^II| > ±30°, and avoids the general direction of the Magellanic Clouds and the Virgo Cluster. It comprises a total of 182 objects of which 118 were previosly catalogued objects and 64 were new AGN candidates. Through optical follow-up studies at La Silla, Calar Alto and the 6m Zelentchuk telescope we could identify 56 of the new objects, thus achieving a spectrscopic completeness of 96% of the sample. The selection strategy turned out to be extremely useful. Out of the new identifications, 84% are indeed active galaxies or emission line galaxies. While 14 objects are new BL Lac candidates 33 of the new AGN are Seyfert galaxies with a redshift distribution in the range 0.021–0.63, peaking at around 0.06, i.e. relatively local. Surprisingly, about 40% of the X-ray selected Seyfert galaxies seem to reside in interacting systems. With smaller selection uncertainties this fraction exceeds the number of paired galaxies in optically selected samples and therefore gives strong support to the idea that AGN activity is triggered by interaction.     

Clustering evolution between z=1 and today

We present results of an investigation of clustering evolution of field galaxies between a redshift of z ∼ 1 and the present epoch. The current analysis relies on a sample of ∼ 14000 galaxies in two fields of the COMBO 17 survey. The redshift distribution extends to z ∼ 1. The amplitude of the three-dimensional correlation function can be estimated by means of the projected correlation function w(r _p ). The validity of the deprojection was tested on the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). In a flat cosmology with non-zero cosmological constant for bright galaxies (M _B ≤-18) the clustering growth is proportional to (1+z) ^-2. However, the measured clustering evolution clearly depends on Hubble type. While locally the clustering strength of early type galaxies is equal to that of the bright galaxies, at high redshifts they are much stronger clustered, and thus the clustering has to evolve much more slowly. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An HI Survey of Clusters in the Local Universe:

We outline the project of multifrequency observation of five clusters of galaxies spanning a redshift between 0.05 and 0.2. The core of the project is an HI survey of clusters accomplished with the VLA in its C configuration, and complemented with GMRT data. The 21 cm imaging is being combined with optical spectroscopy and deep NIR imaging with the aim to obtain a database on galaxy evolution in the nearby universe. We choose a sample of clusters with different degrees of dynamical evolution, some containing an important population of starburst or/and post–starburst galaxies, and a hot intracluster medium with emission in X–ray. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optical variability properties of high luminosity AGN classes

We present the results of a comparative study of the intranight optical variability (INOV) characteristics of radio-loud and radioquiet quasars, which involves a systematic intra-night optical monitoring of seven sets of high luminosity AGNs covering the redshift rangez ≃ 0.2 toz ≃ 2.2. The sample, matched in the optical luminosity—redshift(M ^B—z) plane, consists of seven radio-quiet quasars (RQQs), eight radio lobedominated quasars (LDQs), five radio core-dominated quasars (CDQs) and six BL Lac objects (BLs). Systematic CCD observations, aided by a careful data analysis procedure, have allowed us to detect INOV with amplitudes as low as about 1%. Present observations cover a total of 113 nights (720 hours) with only a single quasar monitored as continuously as possible on a given night. Considering the cases of only unambiguous detections of INOV we have estimated duty cycles (DCs) of 17%, 12%, 20% and 61% for RQQs, LDQs, CDQs, and BLs, respectively. The much lower amplitude and DC of ESfOV shown by RQQs compared to BLs may be understood in terms of their having optical synchrotron jets which are modestly misdirected from us. From our fairly extensive dataset, no general trend of a correlation between the INOV amplitude and the apparent optical brightness of the quasar is noticed. This suggests that the physical mechanisms of INOV and long term optical variability (LTOV) do not have a one-to-one relationship and different factors are involved. Also, the absence of a clear negative correlation between the INOV and LTOV characteristics of blazars of our sample points toward an inconspicuous contribution of accretion disk fluctuations to the observed INOV. The INOV duty cycle of the AGNs observed in this program suggests that INOV is associated predominantly with the highly polarized optical emission components. We also report new VLA imaging of two RQQs (1029 + 329 & 1252 + 020) in our sample which has yielded a 5 GHz detection in one of them (1252 + 020;S _5GHZ ≃ 1 mJy).     

Environmental dependence of stellar mass and stellar velocity dispersion of CMASS galaxies

In this study, I attempt to apply for a new statistical method and investigate the environmental dependence of stellar mass and stellar velocity dispersion in the CMASS sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 9 (SDSS DR9). I divide the CMASS sample with redshifts 0.44 ≤ z ≤ 0.59 into many subsamples with a redshift binning size of Δz = 0.01, and analyze the environmental dependence of stellar mass and stellar velocity dispersion of subsamples in each redshift bin. It is found that stellar mass and stellar velocity dispersions of CMASS galaxies are very weakly correlated with the local environment. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Chemically consistent evolutionary synthesis

To account for the range of stellar metallicities in local galaxies and for the increasing importance of low metallicities at higher redshift we present chemically consistent models for the spectral and chemical evolution of galaxies over cosmological timescales. We discuss advantages, limitations and future prospects of our approach. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preliminary results on VLT K-band imaging observations of GRB host galaxies

We have obtainedK-band imaging observations of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) host galaxies with the near-infrared spectro-imager ISAAC installed on the Very Large Telescope at Paranal (Chile). The derivedK magnitudes, combined with other photometric data taken from the literature, are used to investigate theR-K colors of GRB hosts. We do not find any extremely reddened starbursts in our sample, despite the capability of GRBs to trace star formation even in dusty regions. The observedR-K colors are on the contrary typical of irregular and spiral blue galaxies at high redshift.     

Low-redshift Galaxies in the Infrared and Submillimetre

In recent years the evolution of dust-enshrouded galaxies has become an important issue in cosmology. We present the results of a study linking the high- and low-redshift populations of such galaxies. Previously, a simple hierarchical clustering model was found to be successful in describing the high-redshift populations of dusty galaxies. This study showed that strong evolution could not be avoided in order to satisfy all the high-redshift infrared and submillimetre constraints. We now apply the same model to the low-redshift data available, and find that the strong evolution inferred is compatible with the count and redshift data we have from IRAS and ISO. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Statistics of the Big Blue Bump Feature in a Low Redshift Sample of Active Galactic Nuclei

We present a statistical analysis of the big blue bump (BBB) feature for a large heterogeneous sample of 95 optically selected and soft X-ray bright, low redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This sample covers a sufficiently broad luminosity range, allowing us to test the luminosity dependence of the spectral energy distribution in the BBB region. Following the works of Zheng et al., Laor et al. and Kriss et al., we introduce the broad band spectral index from 1050 Å to0.5 keV (α _UV-SX ), compare its distribution with that of the soft X-ray spectral index (α _SX ) obtained by ROSAT PSPC, and find that the two indices have equal average-values within 1 ～ 2σuncertainties, whether in the whole sample, in luminosity divisions or in subsamples. These equalities also have no obvious luminosity dependence. This indicates that a single power law can describe the overall UV toX-ray spectrum in a statistical sense, or the broad band UV to soft X-ray spectrum is the soft X-ray spectral extension on an average. Thus, our results support Laor et al.'s conjecture about the BBB peak aroundFUV 1050 Å from a statistical viewpoint. As we further test whether the equality holds for individual objects within measure errors, χ₂ test refuse to accept it. In addition, our statistical results, from the luminosity divisions and on the correlation of spectral indices with luminosity (M _B), imply that the luminosity dependence of α _UV and α _UV-SX is mainly due to absorption in low luminosity AGNs.     

Redshift quantization - a review

Redshift quantization has three main facets: 1) the internal organization of galaxies, 2) differential effects between galaxies in physical systems, 3) global effects linking all galaxies and cosmology. The subject originated as an outgrowth of redshift correlation studies including studies of internal kinematics of galaxies. While possibly central to understanding redshift quantization, this aspect is complex and largely undeveloped. The bulk of the evidence for redshift quantization comes from differential and global periodicity testing. More recently redshift variability has been associated with the phenomenon. Early work in theory led to a determination ofq0 close to 0.5. A new association between quantization and the Cosmic Background Radiation further links redshift quantization with basic cosmology.     

Associated HI absorption in thez = 3.4 radio galaxy B2 0902 + 343 observed with the GMRT

We have made observations of the as sociated HI absorption of a high redshift radio galaxy 0902+34 atz = 3.395 with the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope in the 323 ± 1 MHz band. We find a narrow absorption line with a flux density of 11.5 mJy at a redshift of 3.397 consistent with that observed by Usonet al. (1991), Briggset al. (1993) and de Bruyn (1996). A weak broad absorption feature reported by de Bruyn (1996) has not been detected in our observations. We also place an upper limit of 4mJy(2σ) on emission line strength at the position where Usonet al. (1991) claimed to have found a narrow emission line.     

Seyfert星系的环境

本文对CfA样本中的属群星系进行了最近邻间距分析,发现在最近邻距离小于20kpc的星系中存在明显的Seyfert核超(即其中Seyfert星系所占比率高出平均值约3倍)。这表明近距星系的存在可能是产生Seyfert核活动的有利环境。     

Dense molecular gas in a sample of LIRGs and ULIRGs: The low-redshift connection to the huge high-redshift starbursts and AGNs

The sample of nearby LIRGs and ULIRGs for which dense molecular gas tracers have been measured is building up, allowing for the study of the physical and chemical properties of the gas in the variety of objects in which the most intense star formation and/or AGN activity in the local universe is taking place. This characterisation is essential to understand the processes involved, discard others and help to interpret the powerful starbursts and AGNs at high redshift that are currently being discovered and that will routinely be mapped by ALMA. We have studied the properties of the dense molecular gas in a sample of 17 nearby LIRGs and ULIRGs through millimeter observations of several molecules (HCO⁺, HCN, CN, HNC and CS) that trace different physical and chemical conditions of the dense gas in these extreme objects. In this paper we present the results of our HCO⁺ and HCN observations. We conclude that the very large range of measured line luminosity ratios for these two molecules severely questions the use of a unique molecular tracer to derive the dense gas mass in these galaxies.     

Soft X—ray Properties of Ultraluminous IRAS Galaxies

We report on the results of cross-correlation of a sample of 903 Utraluminous IRAS galaxies (ULIRGs) with the ROSAT-All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalogue and the ROSAT archived pointing observations. The sample of ULIRGs has been compiled from the recently released PSCz redshift survey. In total,35 ULIRGs are securely detected by the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and pointing observations, five of which are blazars. The statistical properties of these sources in the soft X-ray band are determined and compared with their properties on other wavebands. We find that the ratio of the soft X-ray to the far-infrared flux spans about five orders of magnitude and reaches values of about unity. This ratio is a good indicator of the main energy source of ULIRGs. Those with soft X-ray to far-infrared flux exceeding 0.01 are probably powered by accretion onto central supermassive black holes while those with ratios smaller than 0.001 are probably powered by starbursts or other heating processes, or are Compton thick sources. Some ULIRGs have energy contributions from both. This ratio is low for most ULIRGs and hyperluminous infrared galaxies, which explains their low detection rate by ROSAT and ASCA.We also find that some ULIRGs have a similar soft X-ray luminosity vs. temperature relation to that for groups of galaxies and elliptical galaxies,suggesting a common origin of these systems. Our study also reveals a tight correlation between the hardness ratio and the soft X-ray luminosity for Seyfert 1s/QSOs.     

The Orbits of Cluster Galaxy Populations as Evolutionary Constraints

We determine the mass profile of a synthetic cluster built from the combination of 59 nearby clusters observed in the ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey (ENACS). We use ellipticals and S0s as tracers of the cluster potential, and solve the Jeans equation assuming isotropic orbits. Such an assumption is justified by the analysis of the shape of the velocity distribution of ellipticals and S0s. We find that the cluster mass profile is consistent with the Navarro, Frenk and White(NFW) model. We use this cluster mass profile to search for equilibrium solutions for the other cluster galaxy populations: very bright ellipticals (M _R ≤–22+5 log h),early-type spirals (Sa-Sb), and late-type spirals and irregulars (Sbc-Ir), together with emission-line galaxies. We find equilibrium solutions for both the early- and the late-spirals, but not for the very bright ellipticals. The dynamics of very bright ellipticals is probably affected by dissipative processes which invalidate the use of the collisionless Jeans equation. The equilibrium solution found for the early-spirals implies them to move on nearly-isotropic orbits. Late-spirals are instead found to be on mildly radial orbits, with the radial anisotropy increasing outwards. We discuss the implications of these results for the evolutionary histories of the different populations of cluster galaxies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A possible large-scale alignment of galaxy spin directions — Analysis of 10 datasets from SDSS,Pan-STARRS,and HST

Multiple observations made by several different telescopes have shown asymmetry between the number of spiral galaxies rotating in opposite directions in different parts of the sky. One of the immediate questions regarding the possible asymmetry of the spin directions is whether the distribution forms a cosmological-scale axis. This paper analyzes and compares 10 different datasets published in the past decade, collected by SDSS, Pan-STARRS, and Hubble Space Telescope. The datasets contain spiral galaxies separated by their spin direction, and the distribution can show dipole axes. The analysis shows that the directions of the most probable dipole axes are consistent in datasets that have similar average redshift, but different between datasets that have different average redshift. The analysis also shows that the location of the most probable axis correlates with the average redshift of the galaxies in the datasets. That is, the location of the most probable axis shifts when the redshift gets higher, and the correlation is statistically significant. This provides a certain indication of a drift in a possible axis formed by the distribution of galaxy spin directions, or a cosmological scale structure that peaks at a certain distance from Earth.     

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.