We developed an efficient method to search for late-type subdwarfs. We carried out a search cross-matching SDSS, 2MASS, and UKIDSS with VO tools. We considered different photometric and proper motion criteria for our selection. We identified 100 late-type subdwarf candidates. We obtained our own low-resolution optical spectra for 71 of our candidates and retrieved Sloan spectra for 30 of them (9 in common to the 71). We classified 92 candidates based on optical spectra. Our new discoveries include 49 subdwarfs, 25 extreme subdwarfs, six ultrasubdwarfs, one subdwarf/extreme subdwarf, and two dwarfs/subdwarfs. In addition, we discovered three early-L subdwarfs. We double the numbers of cool subdwarfs and derived a surface density of late-type subdwarfs.
We present results from a study of the supernova remnant (SNR) population in a sample of six nearby galaxies (NGC 2403, NGC 3077, NGC 4214, NGC 4449, NGC 4395, and NGC 5204) based on Chandra archival data. We have detected 244 discrete X-ray sources down to a limiting flux of 10^-15^ erg/s/cm^2^. We identify 37 X-ray-selected thermal SNRs based on their X-ray colors or spectra, 30 of which are new discoveries. In many cases, the X-ray classification is confirmed based on counterparts with SNRs identified in other wavelengths. Three of the galaxies in our sample (NGC 4214, NGC 4395, and NGC 5204) are studied for the first time, resulting in the discovery of 13 thermal SNRs. We discuss the properties (luminosity, temperature, and density) of the X-ray-detected SNRs in the galaxies of our sample in order to address their dependence on their environment. We find that X-ray-selected SNRs in irregular galaxies appear to be more luminous than those in spirals. We attribute this to the lower metallicities and therefore more massive progenitor stars of irregular galaxies or the higher local densities of the interstellar medium. We also discuss the X-ray-selected SNR populations in the context of the star formation rate of their host galaxies. A comparison of the numbers of observed luminous X-ray-selected SNRs with those expected based on the luminosity functions of X-ray SNRs in the Magellanic Clouds and M33 suggest different luminosity distributions between the SNRs in spiral and irregular galaxies with the latter tending to have flatter distributions.
To improve the census of the Upper Sco association (~11 Myr, ~145 pc), we have identified candidate members using parallaxes, proper motions, and color-magnitude diagrams from several wide-field imaging surveys and have obtained optical and infrared spectra of several hundred candidates to measure their spectral types and assess their membership. We also have performed spectroscopy on a smaller sample of previously known or suspected members to refine their spectral types and evidence of membership. We have classified 530 targets as members of Upper Sco, 377 of which lack previous spectroscopy. Our new compilation of all known members of the association contains 1631 objects. Although the census of Upper Sco has expanded significantly over the last decade, there remain hundreds of candidates that lack spectroscopy. The precise parallaxes and proper motions from the second data release of Gaia should extend down to substellar masses in Upper Sco, which will greatly facilitate the identification of the undiscovered members.
We calibrate spectroscopically the C- versus (vs.) M-type asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star selection made using near-IR photometry, and investigate the spatial distribution of the C/M ratio in NGC 6822, based on low resolution spectroscopy and near-IR photometry.
Tracing nuclear inflows and outflows in AGNs, determining the mass of gas involved in them, and their impact on the host galaxy and nuclear black hole requires 3-D imaging studies of both the ionized and molecular gas. We map the distribution and kinematics of molecular and ionized gas in a sample of active galaxies to quantify the nuclear inflows and outflows. Here, we analyze the nuclear kinematics of NGC 1566 via ALMA observations of the CO J:2-1 emission at 24pc spatial and ~2.6km/s spectral resolution, and Gemini-GMOS/IFU observations of ionized gas emission lines and stellar absorption lines at similar spatial resolution, and 123km/s of intrinsic spectral resolution. The morphology and kinematics of stellar, molecular (CO), and ionized ([NII]) emission lines are compared to the expectations from rotation, outflows, and streaming inflows. While both ionized and molecular gas show rotation signatures, there are significant non-circular motions in the innermost 200pc and along spiral arms in the central kpc (CO). The nucleus shows a double-peaked CO profile (full width at zero intensity of 200km/s), and prominent (~80km/s) blue- and redshifted lobes are found along the minor axis in the inner arcseconds. Perturbations by the large-scale bar can qualitatively explain all features in the observed velocity field. We thus favor the presence of a molecular outflow in the disk with true velocities of ~180km/s in the nucleus and decelerating to 0 by ~72pc. The implied molecular outflow rate is 5.6M_{Sun}_/yr, with this gas accumulating in the nuclear 2" arms. The ionized gas kinematics support an interpretation of a similar but more spherical outflow in the inner 100pc, with no signs of deceleration. There is some evidence of streaming inflows of ~50km/s along specific spiral arms, and the estimated molecular mass inflow rate, ~0.1M_{Sun}_/yr, is significantly higher than the SMBH accretion rate (dM/dt=4.8x10^-5^M_{Sun}_/yr).
We used SOFIA/GREAT [CII] 158um observations as well as HI data from THINGS and CO(2-1) data from HERACLES to decompose the spectrally resolved [CII] line profiles in NGC4124 into components associated with neutral atomic and molecular gas. We infer gas masses traced by [CII] under different ISM conditions. We find that the molecular gas mass is dominated by CO-dark gas and that we can only assign 9 percent of [CII] intensity to the cold neutral medium.
NGC 5824 is a massive Galactic globular cluster suspected to have an intrinsic spread in its iron content, according to the strength of the calcium triplet lines. We present chemical abundances of 117 cluster giant stars using high-resolution spectra acquired with the multi-object spectrograph FLAMES. The metallicity distribution of 87 red giant branch stars is peaked at [Fe/H]=-2.11+/-0.01dex, while that derived from 30 asymptotic giant branch stars is peaked at [Fe/H]=-2.20+/-0.01dex. Both the distributions are compatible with a null spread, indicating that this cluster did not retain the ejecta of supernovae. The small iron abundance offset between the two groups of stars is similar to the abundances already observed among red and asymptotic giant branch stars in other clusters. The lack of intrinsic iron spread rules out the possibility that NGC 5824 is the remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy, as previously suggested. We also find evidence of the chemical anomalies usually observed in globular clusters, namely the Na-O and the Mg-Al anticorrelations. In particular, NGC 5824 exhibits a huge range of [Mg/Fe] abundance, observed in only a few metal-poor and/or massive clusters. We conclude that NGC 5824 is a normal globular cluster, without spread in [Fe/H] but with an unusually large spread in [Mg/Fe], possibly due to an efficient self-enrichment driven by massive asymptotic giant branch stars.
We present [Fe/H], ages, and Ca abundances for an initial sample of 10 globular clusters in NGC 5128 obtained from high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio echelle spectra of their integrated light. All abundances and ages are obtained using our original technique for high-resolution integrated light abundance analysis of globular clusters. The clusters have a range in [Fe/H] between -1.6 and -0.2. In this sample, the average [Ca/Fe] for clusters with [Fe/H]<-0.4 is +0.37+/-0.07, while the average [Ca/Fe] in our Milky Way (MW) and M31 GC samples is +0.29+/-0.09 and +0.24+/-0.10, respectively. This may imply a more rapid chemical enrichment history for NGC 5128 than for either the MW or M31. This sample provides the first quantitative picture of the chemical history of NGC 5128 that is directly comparable to what is available for the MW. Data presented here were obtained with the MIKE echelle spectrograph on the Magellan Clay Telescope.
Gas inflowing along stellar bars is often stalled at the location of circumnuclear rings, which form an effective reservoir for massive star formation and thus shape the central regions of galaxies. However, how exactly star formation proceeds within these circumnuclear starburst rings is the subject of debate. Two main scenarios for this process have been put forward. In the first, the onset of star formation is regulated by the total amount of gas present in the ring with star forming starting, once a mass threshold has been reached, in "random" positions within the ring like "popcorn". In the second, star formation primarily takes place near the locations where the gas enters the ring. This scenario has been dubbed "pearls-on-a-string". Here we combine new optical IFU data covering the full stellar bar with existing multiwavelength data to study the 580pc radius circumnuclear starburst ring in detail in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6951. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archival data together with SAURON and OASIS IFU data, we derive the ages and stellar masses of star clusters, as well as the total stellar content of the central region.
According to traditional gas-phase chemical models, O_2_ should be abundant in molecular clouds, but until recently, attempts to detect interstellar O_2_ line emission with ground- and space-based observatories have failed. Following the multi-line detections of O_2_ with low abundances in the Orion and rho Oph A molecular clouds with Herschel, it is important to investigate other environments, and we here quantify the O_2_ abundance near a solar-mass protostar. Observations of molecular oxygen, O_2_, at 487GHz toward a deeply embedded low-mass Class 0 protostar, NGC 1333-IRAS 4A, are presented, using the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory. Complementary data of the chemically related NO and CO molecules are obtained as well. The high spectral resolution data are analysed using radiative transfer models to infer column densities and abundances, and are tested directly against full gas-grain chemical models. The deep HIFI spectrum fails to show O_2_ at the velocity of the dense protostellar envelope, implying one of the lowest abundance upper limits of O_2_/H_2_ at <6x10^-3^ (3 sigma). The O_2_/CO abundance ratio is less than 0.005. However, a tentative (4.5 sigma) detection of O_2_ is seen at the velocity of the surrounding NGC1333 molecular cloud, shifted by 1km/s relative to the protostar. For the protostellar envelope, pure gas-phase models and gas-grain chemical models require a long pre-collapse phase (~0.7-1x10^6^-years), during which atomic and molecular oxygen are frozen out onto dust grains and fully converted to H_2_O, to avoid overproduction of O_2_ in the dense envelope. The same model also reproduces the limits on the chemically related NO molecule if hydrogenation of NO on the grains to more complex molecules such as NH_2_OH, found in recent laboratory experiments, is included. The tentative detection of O_2_ in the surrounding cloud is consistent with a low-density PDR model with small changes in reaction rates. The low O_2_ abundance in the collapsing envelope around a low-mass protostar suggests that the gas and ice entering protoplanetary disks is very poor in O_2_.
