Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations of hyperluminous infrared galaxies

We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 I -band imaging for a sample of nine hyperluminous infrared galaxies (HLIRGs) spanning a redshift range     . Three of the sample have morphologies showing evidence for interactions and six are quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). Host galaxies in the QSOs are detected reliably out to     . The detected QSO host galaxies have an elliptical morphology with scalelengths spanning     and absolute k -corrected magnitudes spanning     There is no clear correlation between the infrared (IR) power source and the optical morphology. None of the sources in the sample, including F15307+3252, shows any evidence for gravitational lensing. We infer that the IR luminosities are thus real. Based on these results, and previous studies of HLIRGs, we conclude that this class of object is broadly consistent with being a simple extrapolation of the ULIRG population to higher luminosities; ULIRGs being mainly violently interacting systems powered by starbursts and/or active galactic nuclei. Only a small number of sources, the infrared luminosities of which exceed 10¹³ L_⊙, are intrinsically less luminous objects that have been boosted by gravitational lensing.     

水分子对硝酸根分子振动的影响

利用第一性原理计算硝酸根与1～3个水分子形成的水合物(NO3-.nH2O,n=1～3)的红外吸收谱,并与测量的硝酸钠水溶液的红外吸收谱进行了比较分析。计算结果表明硝酸根与水分子所形成的水合物具有多种稳定的结构,其中硝酸根与1个水分子结合的亚稳定结构,其硝酸根反对称伸缩振动的劈裂与硝酸钠水溶液中硝酸根的红外吸收谱结果一致,表明硝酸盐溶液中每一硝酸根与附近水分子的作用效果等效为NO3-.1H2O。     

A Herbig–Haro object associated with GGD30 and its exciting source

GGD30 has been suggested to be either a small reflection nebulosity or a Herbig–Haro (HH) object formed in the outflow from a nearby obscured star. Observations to date have not been able to distinguish between these two scenarios. In addition, there are conflicting proposals for the location of the exciting source for GGD30. To resolve these questions, we have carried out optical spectroscopy and near-infrared ( J , K and 3.6-μm) imaging of GGD30. Taken together, these observations reveal that the bright optical knot in GGD30 must be a HH object, excited by the outflow from an optically obscured pre-main-sequence (PMS) star located ∼3 arcsec to the southwest. Based on mid-infrared fluxes from the Mid-course Space Experiment ( MSX ) satellite, we estimate the luminosity of this PMS star to be  ∼12.5 L_⊙  which suggests it is an intermediate-mass object rather than low-mass as previously proposed. The optical spectroscopy indicates projected velocities of  ∼−270 km s⁻¹  associated with the HH object. The fact that these velocities are blueshifted and relatively high compared to the velocities typical of HH flows suggests that the outflow from the PMS star must be almost aligned with the line of sight. There is an additional low-velocity  (∼−70 km s⁻¹) Hα  component but its origin is not clear.     

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.     

The initial conditions of isolated star formation – VII. Spitzer mapping of pre-stellar cores

We have retrieved Spitzer archive data of pre-stellar cores taken with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) at a wavelength of 160 μm. Seventeen images, containing 18 cores, were constructed. Flux densities were measured for each core, and background estimates were made. Mean off-source backgrounds were found to be 48 ± 10 MJy sr⁻¹ in Taurus and 140 ± 55 MJy sr⁻¹ in Ophiuchus. Consistency was found between the MIPS 170-μm and ISOPHOT 160-μm calibrations. Fourteen cores were detected both by MIPS and by our previous submillimetre surveys. Spectral energy distributions were made for each core, using additional 24- and 70-μm data from the Spitzer data archive, as well as previous infrared and submillimetre data. Previous temperature estimates were refined, and new temperature estimates were made where no Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ) data exist. A temperature range of 8–18 K was found for the cores, with most lying in the range 10–13 K. We discount recent claims that a large number of pre-stellar cores may have been misclassified and in fact contain low-luminosity protostars detectable only by Spitzer . We find no new protostars in our sample other than that previously reported in L1521F. It is shown that this has a negligible effect on pre-stellar lifetime estimates.     

The H+ region contribution to [C ii] 158-μm emission

The [C  ii ]  158-μm  line is an important emission-line diagnostic in photodissociation regions (PDRs), but this emission line can also emerge from ionized gas. This work calculates the contribution of [C  ii ] emission from ionized gas over a wide range of parameter space by considering the simplified case of an H⁺ region and PDR in pressure equilibrium. Additionally, these calculations also predict the strong correlation observed between [N  ii ]  205-μm  emission and [C  ii ] discussed by previous authors. Overall, the results of these calculations have wide-ranging applications to the interpretation of [C  ii ] emission in astrophysical environments.