Illuminating protogalaxies? The discovery of extended Lyman-α emission around a QSO at z=4.5

We have discovered extended Lyman-α emission around a z=4.5 QSO in a deep long-slit spectrum with Keck/LRIS at moderate spectral resolution (R≈ 1000). The line emission extends 5 arcsec beyond the continuum of the QSO and is spatially asymmetric. This extended line emission has a spectral extent of 1000km/s, much narrower in velocity spread than the broad Lyman-α from the QSO itself and slightly offset in redshift. No evidence of continuum is seen for the extended emission line region, suggesting that this recombination line is powered by reprocessed QSO Lyman continuum flux rather than by local star formation. This phenomenon is rare in QSOs which are not radio loud, and this is the first time it has been observed at z>4. It seems likely that the QSO is illuminating the surrounding cold gas of the host galaxy, with the ionizing photons producing Lyman-α fluorescence. As suggested by Haiman and Rees (2001), this `fuzz' around a distant quasar may place strong constraints on galaxy formation and the extended distribution of cold, neutral gas. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The high redshift intergalactic and interstellar media with X‐shooter

I review here a few important questions that X‐shooter can help tackle and answer in the field of quasar absorption lines. This includes (i) determine the ionizing background and the physical state of the inter‐galactic medium (IGM) by analysing the characteristics of the Lyman‐α forest and the proximity effect; (ii) investigate the metal content of the high redshift IGM; (iii) study the small scale transverse correlation in the IGM by observing pairs of quasars with small separation in the sky; (iv) study the galaxy‐IGM relations by detecting the counterpart of damped Lyman‐α systems (DLAs) or determining the correlation between the properties of galaxies and absorption lines; (v) detect and characterize the long‐sought cold diffuse molecular (H₂ and CO) interstellar medium (ISM) of high redshift galaxies and study its dust content (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Broadening of QSO Lyα forest absorbers

We investigate the dependence of QSO Ly α absorption features on the temperature of the absorbing gas and on the amplitude of the underlying dark-matter fluctuations. We use high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations in cold dark matter dominated cosmological models. In models with a hotter intergalactic medium (IGM), the increased temperature enhances the pressure gradients between low- and high-density regions and this changes the spatial distribution and the velocity field of the gas. Combined with more thermal broadening, this leads to significantly wider absorption features in hotter models. Cosmological models with little small-scale power also have broader absorption features, because fluctuations on the scale of the Jeans length are still in the linear regime. Consequently, both the amplitude of dark-matter fluctuations on small scales and thermal smoothing affect the flux decrement distribution in a similar way. However, the b -parameter distribution of Voigt profile fits, obtained by deblending the absorption features into a sum of thermally broadened lines, is largely independent of the amount of small-scale power, but does depend strongly on the IGM temperature. The same is true for the two-point function of the flux and for the flux power spectrum on small scales. These three flux statistics are thus sensitive probes of the temperature of the IGM. We compare the values computed for our models and obtained from a HIRES spectrum of the quasar Q1422+231 and conclude that the IGM temperature at z ∼3.25 is fairly high, T ₀≳15 000 K. The flux decrement distribution of the observed spectrum is fitted well by that of a ΛCDM model with that temperature.     

Constraining quasar host halo masses with the strength of nearby Lyα forest absorption

Using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, we measure the mean transmitted flux in the Lyα forest for quasar sightlines that pass near a foreground quasar. We find that the trend of absorption with pixel quasar separation distance can be fitted using a simple power-law form including the usual correlation function parameters r ₀ and γ, so that     . From the simulations, we find the relation between r ₀ and quasar host mass, and formulate this as a way to estimate quasar host dark matter halo masses, quantifying uncertainties due to cosmological and IGM parameters, and redshift errors. With this method, we examine data for ∼9000 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5, assuming that the effect of ionizing radiation from quasars (the so-called transverse proximity effect) is unimportant (no evidence for it is seen in the data). We find that the best-fitting host halo mass for SDSS quasars with mean redshift z = 3 and absolute G -band magnitude −27.5 is  log  M /M_⊙= 12.68^+0.81_−0.67  . We also use the Lyman-Break Galaxy (LBG) and Lyα forest data of Adelberger et al. in a similar fashion to constrain the halo mass of LBGs to be  log₁₀  M /M_⊙= 11.41^+0.54_−0.59  , a factor of ∼20 lower than the bright quasars. In addition, we study the redshift distortions of the Lyα forest around quasars, using the simulations. We use the quadrupole to monopole ratio of the quasar Lyα forest correlation function as a measure of the squashing effect. We find its dependence on halo mass difficult to measure, but find that it may be useful for constraining cosmic geometry.     

Does the fine structure constant vary? A third quasar absorption sample consistent with varying α

We report results from a third sample of quasar absorption line spectra from the Keck telescope which has been studied to search for any possible variation of the fine structure constant, α. This third sample, which is larger than the sum of the two previously published samples, shows the same effect, and also gives, as do the previous two samples, a significant result. The combined sample yields a highly significant effect, Δα = (α_z - α₀ )/α₀ = -0.57 ± 0.10 × 10^-5, averaged over the redshift range 0.2 < z < 3.7. We include a brief discussion of small-scale kinematic structure in quasar absorbing clouds. However, kinematics are unlikely to impact significantly on the averagednon-zeroΔα /α above, and we have so far been unable to identify any systematic effect which can explain it. New measurements of quasar spectra obtained using independent instrumentation and telescopes are required to properly check the Keck results. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Constraining the cosmological time variation of the fine - structure constant

The variation of the fine-structure constant α = e ² / ħc can be probed by comparing the wavelength of atomic transitions from the redshift of quasars in the Universe and laboratory over cosmological time scales t ~ 10¹⁰ yr. After a careful selection of pairs of lines, the Thong method with a derived analytical expression for the error analysis was applied to compute the α variation. We report a new constraint on the variation of the fine-structure constant based on the analysis of the C_IV, N_V, Mg_II, Al_III, and Si_IV doublet absorption lines. The weighted mean value of the variation in α derived from our analysis over the redshift range 0.4939 ≤ z ≤ 3.7 is = ( 0.09 ± 0.07)×10⁻⁵. This result is three orders of magnitude better than the results obtained by earlier analysis of the same data on the constraint on Δα/α .     

Examination of the Association between Quasars and Abell Clusters on All Sky

Using the Hewitt-Burbidge QSO Catalogue (1993) and all-sky catalogue of Abell clusters (ACO, 1989) at the region |b| > 40^° we analyze the cross correlation function and find anti-correlation between them at angular separations 3^° < θ < 10^° , which is mainly caused by optical-selected QSOs, rather than radio-selected QSOs. There is no such anti-correlation between QSOs and Abell clusters at smaller separations θ < 3^°. Considering that this phenomenon may be caused by different characters of the objects, we further estimate the correlation function with various subsamples. We find that the correlation is independent of the redshift of QSOs, but depends upon the type of Abell clusters: for the D ≤ 4 clusters there is an obvious tendency of overdensity of quasars at 0^° < θ < 5^°; around the R ≥ 2 Abell clusters there is about an 18.7% deficit of quasars in the region 3^° < θ < 7^°. K-S Test shows the overdensity or deficit of quasars around different types of clusters cannot be explained by the projection effect of background quasars. We get the enhancement factor of quasar overdensity (for D ≤ 4 clusters) q =1.13, and the extinction magnitude factor of QSO deficiency (for R ≥ 2 clusters) Av= 0.14. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial fluctuations in the spectral shape of the ultraviolet background at 2 < z < 3 and the reionization of helium

The low-density hydrogen and helium in the intergalactic medium (IGM) probed by quasi-stellar object (QSO) absorption lines is sensitive to the amplitude and spectral shape of the metagalactic ultraviolet (UV) background. We use realistic H  i and He  ii Lyα forest spectra, constructed from state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations of a Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) universe to confirm the reliability of using line profile fitting techniques to infer the ratio of the metagalactic H  i and He  ii ionization rates. We further show that the large spatial variations and the anticorrelation with H  i absorber density observed in the ratio of the measured He  ii to H  i column densities can be explained in a model where the H  i ionization rate is dominated by the combined UV emission from young star-forming galaxies and QSOs and the He  ii ionization rate is dominated by emission from QSOs only. In such a model the large fluctuations in the column density ratio are due to the small number of QSOs expected to contribute at any given point to the He  ii ionization rate. A significant contribution to UV emission at the He  ii photoelectric edge from hot gas in galaxies and galaxy groups would decrease the expected fluctuations in the column density ratio. Consequently, this model appears difficult to reconcile with the large increase in He  ii opacity fluctuations towards higher redshift. Our results further strengthen previous suggestions that observed He  ii Lyα forest spectra at z ∼ 2–3.5 probe the tail end of the reionization of He  ii by QSOs.     

The low-redshift evolution of the Lyman-β forest

The low-redshift evolution of the intergalactic medium is investigated using hydrodynamic cosmological simulations. The assumed cosmological model is a critical density cold dark matter universe. The imposed uniform background of ionizing radiation has the amplitude, shape and redshift evolution as computed from the observed quasar luminosity function by Haardt &38; Madau. We have analysed simulated Lyman-α spectra using Voigt-profile fitting, mimicking the procedure with which quasar spectra are analysed. Our simulations reproduce the observed evolution of the number of Lyman-α absorption lines over the whole observed interval of z  = 0.5 to 4. In particular, our simulations show that the decrease in the rate of evolution of Lyman-α absorption lines at z  ≤ 2, as observed by the Hubble Space Telescope , can be explained by the steep decline in the photoionizing background resulting from the rapid decline in quasar numbers at low redshift.     

Probing subparsec structure in the Lyman α forest with gravitational microlensing

We present the results of microlens ray-tracing simulations showing the effect of absorbing material between a source quasar and a lensing galaxy in a gravitational lens system. We find that, in addition to brightness fluctuations due to microlensing, the strength of the absorption line relative to the continuum varies with time, with the properties of the variations depending on the structure of the absorbing material. We conclude that such variations will be measurable via ultraviolet spectroscopy of image A of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 if the Lyman α clouds between the quasar and the lensing galaxy possess structure on scales smaller than ∼0.1 pc. The time-scale for the variations is on the order of years to decades, although very short-term variability can occur. While the Lyman α lines may not be accessible at all wavelengths, this approach is applicable to any absorption system, including metal lines.     

X-ray characterization of thin foil gold mirrors of a soft X-ray telescope for ASTROSAT

X-ray reflectivity measurements were performed on several thin foil gold mirrors fabricated in TIFR for a Soft X-ray Imaging Telescope. The mirrors were made from thin aluminum foils with a reflecting layer of sputtered gold transferred from a smooth glass mandrel using an epoxy. X-ray reflectivity measurements were performed on a sample of randomly selected mirrors using CuK _α (8.05 keV), CrK _α (5.41 keV) X-rays and also at several energies in the energy range of 155–300 eV using the synchrotron source Indus-1. It was found that the roughness of the low-density top gold layer as obtained from the fitting of X-ray reflectivity data for CuK _α radiation is relatively more as compared to that obtained from the CrK _α radiation. This indicates that in the mirrors made by this process, the upper surfaces are smoother as compared to the deeper layers. It was also observed that the critical angle almost vanishes in the very low energy range of 290–300 eV due to strong absorption effects of the low density material sitting on top of these mirrors. Due to this absorption effect, efficiency of these mirrors reduces in this energy range. This is first time that reflectivity measurements are being reported for very soft X-rays (≤ 300 eV) for mirrors made for any X-ray astronomy mission.     

Dependence of the aerosol component of optical thickness and the relative concentration of methane on depth in atmospheres of giant planets

Based on the data on a spectral dependence of the geometric albedo of giant planet discs, we obtained depth variations in the optical thickness τ _a of the aerosol component and relative concentration γ of methane (Uranium, Neptune) lnτ _a = −0.720 + 1.507Δlnp (for −2.2085 ≤ lnp ≤ −1.0018), lnτ _a = +1.224 + 1.160Δlnp (for −1.0018 ≤ lnp ≤ −0.0595), lnτ _a = +2.318 + 0.192Δlnp (for −0.0595 ≤ lnp), γ = 0.0027 for Jupiter; lnτ _a = −0.846 + 1.598Δlnp (for −3.3619 ≤ lnp ≤ −2.0575), lnτ _a = +1.238 + 1.342Δlnp (for −2.0575 ≤ lnp ≤ −1.2074), lnτ _a = +2.379 + 0.722 (for −1.2074 ≤ lnp ≤ −0.6501), lnτ _a = +2.781 + 0.326Δlnp (for 0.6501 ≤ lnp), γ = 0.0027 for Saturn; lnτ _a = −2.694 + 0.087Δlnp (for +0.3685 ≤ lnp ≤ +1.2314), lnτ _a = −2.619 + 7.341Δlnp (for +1.2314 ≤ lnp ≤ +1.7556), lnτ _a = +1.229 + 0.956Δlnp (for +1.7556 ≤ lnp) for Uranium; lnτ _a = −1.861 + 1.248Δlnp (for +0.3204 ≤ lnp ≤ +0.9051), lnτ _a = −1.131 + 0.347Δlnp (for +0.9051 ≤ lnp) for Neptune; depth-averaged relative methane concentration lnγ = −9.982 + 2.676Δlnp(0.3584 ≤ lnp ≤ 1.5445); ln γ = −9.738 + 2.561Δlnp(0.3237 ≤ lnp ≤ 1.6156) and γ = 0.00382(lnp ≥ 1.6156); 0.00554(lnp ≥ 1.6156) for Uranium and Neptune, respectively (p is in bar).     

Metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium

I demonstrate by means of high-resolution cosmological simulations, which include modelling of a two-phase interstellar medium, that the dominant mechanism for transporting heavy elements from protogalaxies into the intergalactic medium (IGM) is the merger mechanism as discovered by Gnedin & Ostriker. Direct ejection of the interstellar gas by supernovae plays only a minor role in transporting metals into the IGM: for a realistic cosmological scenario only a small fraction of all metals in the IGM is delivered by the supernova-driven winds, while most of the metals in the IGM are transported by the merger mechanism. As a result, the metallicity distribution in the IGM is highly inhomogeneous, in agreement with studies of the QSO metal absorption systems, and the predicted metallicity distribution of Lyman alpha absorbers as a function of their column density is in excellent agreement with the observational data.     

Does the fine structure constant vary? A detailed investigation into systematic effects

We have previously presented 5.7 σ evidence for a smaller αat redshifts 0.2 < z_abs < 3.7 from a sample of 128 Keck/HIRES quasar absorption systems: Δα/α = (-0.57 ± 0.10) x10^-5. A non-zero <Δα/α manifests itself as a distinct pattern of shifts in the measured absorption line wavelengths. The statistical error is now small: we do detect small line shifts in the HIRES data. Whether these shifts are due to systematic errors or due to real variation in α is now the central question. Here we summarize the two potentially most important systematic effects: atmospheric dispersion and isotopic abundance evolution. Previously, these have been difficult to quantify/model but here we find that neither of them can explain our results. Furthermore, the HIRES spectra themselves contain no evidence for these effects. Independent measurements of Δα/α with a different telescope and spectrograph are now crucial if we are to rule out or confirm the present evidence for a variable α. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quasar correlation function and redshift space distortion from SDSS DR5 data

For z = 0.8–2.2 redshift interval, quasar pair correlation function parameters and β redshift space distortion parameter (connected to large-scale potential flows) values are estimated. We base them on the Main QSO Sample from SDSS Data Release 5. Standard correlation function form ξ(r) = (r ₀/r)^γ is used for comoving distances r = 2–50 Mpc between quasars. We fix the parameters of the cosmological model: Ω_Λ = 1 − Ω _M = 0.726 and H ₀ = 70.5 km/(s Mpc). We come to the best-fit parameter values of γ = 1.77 ± 0.20, r ₀ = 5.52 ± 0.95 Mpc/h for r in the range 2–30 Mpc, γ = 1.91 ± 0.11, r ₀ = 5.82 ± 0.61 Mpc for r in the range 2–50 Mpc. The mean β value is β = 0.43 ± 0.22.     

Optical identification of iras point sources on the basis of low-dispersion FBS spectra. II

The second portion of optically identified point sources from the IRAS Point Source Catalog contains 104 objects. The identifications were made on the basis of the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), the First Byurakan Survey (FBS), blue and red maps of the Palomar Survey (POSS), and infrared fluxes at wavelengths of 12, 25, 60, and 100 fim in the region of +61 ° ≤ δ ≤ +65°and 50^h30^m ≤ α ≤ 11^h15^m with an area of 157 sq. deg. Of the 114 sources in this region, 10 could not be identified because of the absence of the corresponding optical counterparts with the given coordinates. For the identified objects we determined their optical coordinates, their departure from the IR coordinates, the stellar V magnitudes, the color indices CI, and the preliminary types. The objects have optical magnitudes in the range of 8ⁿ–21^m. Of the 104 objects, 46 turned out to be stars of spectral types K and M, 1 is a planetary nebula, 3 are QSO candidates, and 54 are galaxies. In the present work we give a list of the 58 nonstellar objects. The identified galaxies include Seyfert candidates, interacting pairs, galaxies with companions and superassociations, etc. Finder charts for these objects from the DSS are given. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 581–593, October-December, 1997.     

Relativistic model of radiating massive fluid sphere

In this paper we present a new class of nonsingular solutions representing time dependent balls of perfect fluid with matter-radiation in general relativity. The solution of the class is suitable for interior modeling of a quasar i.e. a massive radiating star. The interior solution is matched with a zero pressure Vaidya metric. From this solution we constructed a quasar model by assuming the life time of the quasar of ≈10⁷ year. We obtained a mass of the quasar of ≈10⁹ M _θ , linear dimension ≈10¹⁷ km and a rate of emission L _∞≈10⁴⁷ erg/s.     

On most general exact solution for Vaidya-Tikekar isentropicsuperdense star

The energy density of Vaidya-Tikekar isentropic superdense star is found to be decreasing away from the center, only if the parameter K is negative. The most general exact solution for the star is derived for all negative values of K in terms of circular and inverse circular functions. Which can further be expressed in terms of algebraic functions for K = 2-(n/δ)² < 0 (n being integer andδ = 1,2,3 4). The energy conditions 0 ≤ p ≤ αρc ², (α = 1 or 1/3) and adiabatic sound speed conditiondp dρ ≤ c ², when applied at the center and at the boundary, restricted the parameters K and α such that .18 < −K −2287 and.004 ≤ α ≤ .86. The maximum mass of the star satisfying the strong energy condition (SEC), (α = 1/3) is found to be3.82 Mq_· at K=−2/3, while the same for the weak energy condition (WEC), (α =1) is 4.57 M_ _⊙ atK=−>5/2. In each case the surface density is assumed to be 2 × 10¹⁴ gm cm^-3. The solutions corresponding to K>0 (in fact K>1) are also made meaningful by considering the hypersurfaces t= constant as 3-hyperboloid by replacing the parameter R ² by −R² in Vaidya-Tikekar formalism. The solutions for the later case are also expressible in terms of algebraic functions for K=2-(n/δ² > 1 (n being integer or zero and δ =1,2,3 4). The cases for which 0 < K < 1 do not possess negative energy density gradient and therefore are incapable of representing any physically plausible star model. In totality the article provides all the physically plausible exact solutions for the Buchdahl static perfect fluid spheres. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optical imaging and spectroscopic observation of the galactic supernova remnant G85.9-0.6

Optical CCD imaging with Hα and [SII] filters and spectroscopic observations of the galactic supernova remnant G85.9-0.6 have been performed for the first time. The CCD image data are taken with the 1.5 m Russian-Turkish Telescope (RTT150) at TüBİTAK National Observatory (TUG) and spectral data are taken with the Bok 2.3 m telescope on Kitt Peak, AZ. The images are taken with narrow-band interference filters Hα, [SII] and their continuum. [SII]/Hα ratio image is performed. The ratio obtained from [SII]/Hα is found to be ∼0.42, indicating that the remnant interacts with HII regions. G85.9-0.6 shows diffuse-shell morphology. [SII]λ λ6716/6731 average flux ratio is calculated from the spectra, and the electron density N _e is obtained to be 395 cm⁻³. From [OIII]/Hβ ratio, shock velocity has been estimated, pre-shock density of n _c =14 cm⁻³, explosion energy of E=9.2×10⁵⁰ ergs, interstellar extinction of E(B−V)=0.28, and neutral hydrogen column density of N(HI)=1.53×10²¹ cm⁻² are reported.     

Radio loudness of high-redshift (z≥3) quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Using a homogenous sample of 1962 quasars with redshift 3.0≤z≲4.5 drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we study the relationships between radio loudness, virial black hole (BH) mass and Eddington ratio (accretion rate relative to the Eddington limit). For the radio-detected objects, we find a significant (>99.5 per cent) anticorrelation between radio loudness R parameter and BH mass, consistent with previous studies of low-redshift radio-loud quasars. The truly radio-loud quasars (R>30) are found to be confined to M _BH≲10¹⁰ M_⊙ within our sample. We also find that R is only weakly correlated with Eddington ratio L _bol/L _Edd. Combined with previous results on the low-redshift R−L _bol/L _Edd relation, this result indicates no strong L _bol/L _Edd dependence of R at L _bol/L _Edd≳10⁻². On the other hand, the large scatter in these relationships suggests that other physical properties such as BH spin and quasar clustering must also play an important role in quasar radio emission.