Nature of Purely Stellar Rings in Lenticular Galaxies

Astronomy Reports - The origin of several rings in lenticular galaxies with no signs of ongoing or recent star formation (without emission lines and a signal in the ultraviolet spectral range) is...     

Interacting holographic dark energy models: a general approach

Dark energy models inspired by the cosmological holographic principle are studied in homogeneous isotropic spacetime with a general choice for the dark energy density \(\rho_{d}=3(\alpha H^{2}+\beta\dot{H})\) . Special choices of the parameters enable us to obtain three different holographic models, including the holographic Ricci dark energy (RDE) model. Effect of interaction between dark matter and dark energy on the dynamics of those models are investigated for different popular forms of interaction. It is found that crossing of phantom divide can be avoided in RDE models for β>0.5 irrespective of the presence of interaction. A choice of α=1 and β=2/3 leads to a varying Λ-like model introducing an IR cutoff length Λ ^?1/2. It is concluded that among the popular choices an interaction of the form Q∝Hρ _m suits the best in avoiding the coincidence problem in this model.     

Synchronous evolution of galaxies in groups: NGC524 group

With the means of panoramic spectroscopy at the SAO RAS BTA telescope, we investigated the properties of stellar populations in the central regions of five early-type galaxies—the NGC524 group members. The evolution of the central regions of galaxies looks synchronized: the average age of stars in the bulges of all the five galaxies lies in the range of 3–6Gyr.Four of the five galaxies revealed synchronized bursts of star formation in the nuclei 1–2 Gyr ago. The only galaxy, in which the ages of stellar population in the nucleus and in the bulge coincide (i.e. the nuclear burst of star formation did not take place) isNGC502, the farthest from the center of the group of all the galaxies studied.     

Gully cut‐and‐fill cycles as related to agro‐management: a historical curve number simulation in the Tigray Highlands

Gully cut‐and‐fill dynamics are often thought to be driven by climate and/or deforestation related to population pressure. However, in this case‐study of nine representative catchments in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands, we find that neither climate changes nor deforestation can explain gully morphology changes over the twentieth century. Firstly, by using a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate historical catchment‐wide curve numbers, we show that the landscape was already heavily degraded in the nineteenth and early twentieth century – a period with low population density. The mean catchment‐wide curve number (> 80) one century ago was, under the regional climatic conditions, already resulting in considerable simulated historical runoff responses. Secondly, twentieth century land‐cover and runoff coefficient changes were confronted with twentieth century changing gully morphologies. As the results show, large‐scale land‐cover changes and deforestation cannot explain the observed processes. The study therefore invokes interactions between authigenic factors, small‐scale plot boundary changes, cropland management and sociopolitical forces to explain the gully cut processes. Finally, semi‐structured interviews and sedistratigraphic analysis of three filled gullies confirm the dominant impact of (crop)land management (tillage, check dams in gullies and channel diversions) on gully cut‐and‐fill processes. Since agricultural land management – including land tenure and land distribution – has been commonly neglected in earlier related research, we argue therefore that it can be a very strong driver of twentieth century gully morphodynamics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure of the galaxies of the NGC 80 group: Two-tiered disks

Two-color photometric data obtained on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory are used to analyze the structure of 13 large disk galaxies in the NGC 80 group. Nine of the 13 studied galaxies are classified as lenticular galaxies. The stellar populations in the galaxies are very diverse, from old stars with ages of T > 10 billion years (IC 1541) to relatively young stars with ages of T ∼ 1–3 billion years (IC 1548, NGC 85); in one case, star formation is ongoing (UCM 0018+2216). In most of the studied galaxies, more precisely in all of them brighter than M B ∼ −18, two-tiered stellar disks are detected, whose radial surface-brightness profiles can be described by two exponential segments with different characteristic scales—shorter near the center and longer at the periphery. All of the dwarf S0 galaxies with single-tiered disks are close companions to larger galaxies. Except for this fact, no dependence of the properties of S0 galaxies on distance from the center of the group is found. Morphological signs of a “minor merger” are found in the lenticular galaxy NGC 85. Based on these last two results, it is concluded that the most probable mechanism for their transformation of spiral into lenticular galaxies in groups is gravitational (minor mergers and tidal interactions).     

The structure of the stellar disks of southern S0 galaxies in sparse environments

Surface photometry data are presented for 12 southern lenticular galaxies located in regions of low density. Digital images in the gri bands were obtained on the LCOGT network of meter-class telescopes. Structural parameters of the global stellar disks of the galaxies are calculated—the exponential scale and relative thickness. The presence of substructure in the disks is noted; in particular, more than half the studied galaxies possess ring structures, sometimes more than one. The color maps presented indicate complex evolution of the substructure of the disks of lenticular galaxies: they can be classified as blue (ongoing star formation) or red (concentration of dust). The rings do not always lie in the main plane of the disk; there are cases of clearly inclined, or even polar, compact rings.     

Star formation history at the centers of lenticular galaxies with bars and purely exponential outer disks from SAURON data

We have investigated the stellar population properties in the central regions of a sample of lenticular galaxies with bars and single-exponential outer stellar disks using the data from the SAURON integral-field spectrograph retrieved from the open Isaac Newton Group Archive. We have detected chemically decoupled compact stellar nuclei with a metallicity twice that of the stellar population in the bulges in seven of the eight galaxies. A starburst is currently going on at the center of the eighth galaxy and we have failed to determine the stellar population properties from its spectrum. The mean stellar ages in the chemically decoupled nuclei found range from 1 to 11 Gyr. The scenarios for the origin of both decoupled nuclei and lenticular galaxies as a whole are discussed.     

Kinematics and stellar population of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4124

Results of spectroscopic and photometric studies for the locally isolated lenticular galaxy NGC 4124 are presented. A model of the mass distribution consistent with photometric data has been constructed on the basis of a kinematic analysis. In this model, the halo mass within the optical radius is almost half the diskmass. The disk is shown to be in a dynamical state close to amarginally stable one. This rules out dynamical disk heating for the galaxy through a strong external action or a merger with a massive system. However, the presence of a gaseous disk inclined to the main plane of the galaxy in the central kiloparsec region suggests probable cannibalization of a small satellite that also produced a late starburst in the central region. This is confirmed by the younger mean age (～2 Gyr) of the stellar population in the galaxy’s central region than the disk age (5–7 Gyr).     

Role of interannual equatorial forcing on the subsurface temperature dipole in the Bay of Bengal during IOD and ENSO events

Role of equatorial forcing on the thermocline variability in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during positive and negative phases of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was investigated using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) simulations during 1988 to 2015. Two numerical experiments were carried out for (i) the Indian Ocean Model (IOM) with interannual open boundary conditions and (ii) the BoB Model (BoBM) with climatological boundary conditions. The first mode of Sea Surface Height Anomalies (SSHA) variability showed a west-east dipole nature in both IOM and altimetry observations around 11°N, which was absent in the BoBM. The vertical section of temperature along the same latitude showed a sharp subsurface temperature dipole with a core at ~ 100 m depth. The positive (negative) subsurface temperature anomalies were observed over the whole northeastern BoB during NIOD (PIOD) and LN (EN) composites due to stronger (weaker) second downwelling Kelvin Waves. During the negative phases of IOD and ENSO, the cyclonic eddy on the southwestern BoB strengthened due to intensified southward coastal current along the western BoB and local wind stress. The subsurface temperature dipole was at its peak during October–December (OND) with 1-month lag from IOD and was evident from the Argo observations and other reanalysis datasets as well. A new BoB dipole index (BDI) was defined as the normalized difference of 100-m temperature anomaly and found to be closely related to the frequency of cyclones and the surface chlorophyll-a concentration in the BoB.

     

Lenticular galaxies with ultraviolet rings

Based on GALEX (Galaxy Ultraviolet Explorer) data, we have compiled a list of lenticular galaxies with ultraviolet rings—radially localized star-forming regions. We have analyzed the optical structure of these galaxies using SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) surface photometry, measured the colors of the rings, and compared the radial localizations of the ring structures in the optical and ultraviolet spectral ranges. Possible scenarios for the formation of ring star-forming regions in lenticular galaxies having no other structural peculiarities and exhibiting a homogeneous old stellar population outside the rings are discussed.