A new generation of spectral synthesis models has been developed in the recent years, but there is no matching -- in terms of quality and resolution -- set of template galaxy spectra for testing and refining the new models. Our main goal is to find and calibrate new near-infrared spectral indices along the Hubble sequence of galaxies which will be used to obtain additional constraints to the population analysis based on medium resolution integrated spectra of galaxies. Spectra of previously studied and well understood galaxies with relatively simple stellar populations (e.g., ellipticals or bulge dominated galaxies) are needed to provide a baseline data set for spectral synthesis models. X-Shooter spectra spanning the optical and infrared wavelength (350-2400nm) of bright nearby elliptical galaxies with resolving power R~4000-5400 were obtained. Heliocentric systemic velocity, velocity dispersion and Mg, Fe and H{beta} line-strength indices are presented. We present a library of very high quality spectra of galaxies covering a large range of age, metallicity and morphological type. Such as a dataset of spectra will be crucial to address important questions of the modern investigation concerning galaxy formation and evolution.
This paper examines relations between the radio surface brightness Sigma and the diameter D (also known as Sigma-D relations) for a sample of extragalactic supernova remnants (SNRs) as constructed from a combination of published data and data from our own surveys. Our sample of extragalactic SNRs is the largest ever devised for the purpose of analyzing Sigma-D relations.
We report multiple epoch VLA/JVLA observations of 89 northern hemisphere sources, most with 37GHz flux density >1Jy, observed at 4.8, 8.5, 33.5, and 43.3GHz. The high frequency selection leads to a predominantly flat spectrum sample, with 85% of our sources being in the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalog (ERCSC, Cat. VIII/88). These observations allow us to: 1) validate Planck's 30 and 44GHz flux density scale; 2) extend the radio spectral energy distributions of Planck sources to lower frequencies allowing for the full 5-857GHz regime to be studied; and 3) characterize the variability of these sources. At 30GHz and 44GHz, the JVLA and Planck flux densities agree to within ~3%. On timescales of less than two months the median variability of our sources is 2%. On timescales of about a year the median variability increases to 14%. Using the WMAP 7-year data, the 30GHz median variability on a 1-6 years timescale is 16%.
The study of absorptions along the lines of sight to bright high-z QSOs is an invaluable cosmological tool that provides a wealth of information on the inter-/circum-galactic medium, dark matter, primordial elements, reionization, fundamental constants, and general relativity. Unfortunately, the number of bright (i<~18) QSOs at z>~2 in the southern hemisphere is much lower than that in the north, due to the lack of wide multiwavelength surveys at decl. {delta}<0{deg}, hampering the effectiveness of observations from southern observatories. In this work we present a new method based on Canonical Correlation Analysis to identify such objects, taking advantage of a number of available databases: Skymapper, Gaia DR2, WISE, and 2MASS. Our QSO candidate sample lists 1476 sources with i<18 over 12400deg^2^ in the southern hemisphere. With a preliminary campaign we observed spectroscopically 69 of them, confirming 54 new bright QSOs at z>2.5, corresponding to a success rate of our method of ~80%. Furthermore, we estimate a completeness of ~90% of our sample at completion of our observation campaign. The new QSOs confirmed by this first and the forthcoming campaigns (QUBRICS survey) will be the targets of subsequent studies using higher resolution spectrographs, like ESPRESSO, UVES, and (in the long term) ELT/HIRES.
A revised sample of bright radio sources at 178MHz is defined in order to correct the biases introduced into the 3CR catalog by confusion and partial resolution. The sample is shown to be 96 percent complete to a flux-density limit of 10Jy for sources smaller than 10arcmin. The bias of the 3CR catalog against objects of larger angular size is also reduced. Optical identifications are presented for 96 percent of the sources, 71 percent with galaxies and 25 percent with quasars. The radio-galaxy population is found to show strong space-density evolution for luminosities in excess of approximately 10^26.5^W/Hz/sr at 178MHz (redshifts greater than or approximately equal to 0.2), while the evolutionary properties of galaxies and quasars of the same luminosity and redshift are very similar.
We present the Bright SHARC (Serendipitous High-Redshift Archival ROSAT Cluster) Survey, which is an objective search for serendipitously detected extended X-ray sources in 460 deep ROSAT PSPC pointings. The Bright SHARC Survey covers an area of 178.6 deg^2^ and has yielded 374 extended sources. We discuss the X-ray data reduction, the candidate selection and present results from our on-going optical follow-up campaign. The optical follow-up concentrates on the brightest 94 of the 374 extended sources and is now 97% complete. We have identified 37 clusters of galaxies, for which we present redshifts and luminosities. The clusters span a redshift range of 0.0696<z<0.83 and a luminosity range of 0.065<L_X_< 8.3x10^44^ergs/s [0.5-2.0keV] (assuming H_0_=50km/s/Mpc and q_0_=0.5). Twelve of the clusters have redshifts greater than z=0.3, eight of which are at luminosities brighter than L_X_=3x10^44^ergs/s. Seventeen of the 37 optically confirmed Bright SHARC clusters have not been listed in any previously published catalog. We also report the discovery of three candidate "fossil groups" of the kind proposed by Ponman et al. (1994Natur.369..462P)
The Australia Telescope 20-GHz (AT20G) Survey is a blind survey of the whole southern sky at 20GHz (with follow-up observations at 4.8 and 8.6GHz) carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array from 2004 to 2007. The Bright Source Sample (BSS) is a complete flux-limited subsample of the AT20G Survey catalogue comprising 320 extragalactic (|b|>1.5{deg}) radio sources south of DE=-15{deg} with S_20GHz_>0/50Jy. Of these, 218 have near simultaneous observations at 8 and 5GHz. In this paper we present an analysis of radio spectral properties in total intensity and polarization, size, optical identifications and redshift distribution of the BSS sources.
Table1 contains the 130 brightest sources of a 230GHz survey of quasars and BL Lacertae objects performed at the SEST. The objects which showed a 230GHz flux density above500 mJy most of the time were selected as pointing sources. Name, coordinates (B1950) and type are given in the table. Due to the variability of many objects the minimum and maximum flux density at 230GHz is given as well. A few values are taken from literature. These data are marked with an asterisk.
We present a catalog of star clusters with V_F555W_<23mag detected in the interacting spiral galaxy M51 system based on mosaic images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys by the Hubble Heritage Team. We have selected about 3600 clusters based on their morphological information through visual inspection. The final star cluster catalog includes 2224 clusters that are relatively well isolated and have a circular shape.
