We carried out near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of patchy areas in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the Infrared Camera aboard AKARI. Two 100arcmin^2^ areas were imaged in 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24um, and also spectroscopically observed in the wavelength range continuously from 2.5 to 13.4um. The spectral resolving power, {lambda}{Delta}{lambda}, values were about 20, 50, and 50 at 3.5, 6.6, and 10.6um, respectively. Other than the two 100arcmin^2^ areas, some patchy areas were imaged and/or spectroscopically observed as well. In this paper, we overview the observations and present a list of near- to mid-infrared photometric results, which lists ~12000 near-infrared and ~1800 mid-infrared bright point sources detected in the observed areas. The 10{sigma} limits are 16.50, 16.12, 13.28, 11.26, 9.62, and 8.76 in Vega magnitudes at 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24um bands, respectively.
We present 2.5-5.0{mu}m spectra of 83 nearby (0.002<z<0.48) and bright (K<14mag) type-1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) taken with the Infrared Camera on board AKARI. The 2.5-5.0{mu}m spectral region contains emission lines such as Br{beta} (2.63{mu}m), Br{alpha} (4.05{mu}m), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (3.3{mu}m), which can be used for studying the black hole (BH) masses and star formation activity in the host galaxies of AGNs. The spectral region also suffers less dust extinction than in the ultra violet (UV) or optical wavelengths, which may provide an unobscured view of dusty AGNs. Our sample is selected from bright quasar surveys of Palomar-Green and SNUQSO, and AGNs with reverberation-mapped BH masses from Peterson et al. Using 11 AGNs with reliable detection of Brackett lines, we derive the Brackett-line-based BH mass estimators. We also find that the observed Brackett line ratios can be explained with the commonly adopted physical conditions of the broad line region. Moreover, we fit the hot and warm dust components of the dust torus by adding photometric data of SDSS, 2MASS, WISE, and ISO to the AKARI spectra, finding hot and warm dust temperatures of ~1100K and ~220K, respectively, rather than the commonly cited hot dust temperature of 1500K.
We present an analysis of 32 high-resolution echelle spectra of the pre-main sequence spectroscopic binary AK Sco obtained during 1998 and 2000, as well as a total of 72 photoelectric radial-velocity observations from the period 1986-1994. These data allow considerable improvement of the period and other orbital parameters of AK Sco. Our analysis also includes eight series of photometric observations in the uvby and Geneva seven-color systems from 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1997.
We present a new, K-selected, optical-to-near infrared photometric catalog of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), making it publicly available to the astronomical community. The data set is founded on publicly available imaging, supplemented by original z'JK imaging data collected as part of the MUltiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC). The final photometric catalog consists of photometry derived from UU_38_BVRIz'JK imaging covering the full 1/2x1/2{deg} of the ECDFS, plus H-band photometry for approximately 80% of the field. The 5{sigma} flux limit for point sources is K^(AB)^_tot_=22.0. This is also the nominal completeness and reliability limit of the catalog: the empirical completeness for 21.75<K<22.00 is >~85%. We have verified the quality of the catalog through both internal consistency checks, and comparisons to other existing and publicly available catalogs. As well as the photometric catalog, we also present catalogs of photometric redshifts and rest-frame photometry derived from the 10-band photometry. We have collected robust spectroscopic redshift determinations from published sources for 1966 galaxies in the catalog. Based on these sources, we have achieved a (1{sigma}) photometric redshift accuracy of {Delta}z/(1+z)=0.036, with an outlier fraction of 7.8%. Most of these outliers are X-ray sources. Finally, we describe and release a utility for interpolating rest-frame photometry from observed spectral energy distributions, dubbed InterRest available via http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~ent/InterRest
Scorpius-Centaurus is the nearest OB association, and its hundreds of members are divided into subgroups, including the Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC). Here we study the dynamics of the LCC area. We report the revelation of a large moving group containing more than 1800 intermediate- and low-mass young stellar objects and brown dwarfs that escaped identification until Gaia DR2 allowed a kinematic and photometric selection to be performed. We investigate the stellar and substellar content of this moving group using the Gaia DR2 astrometric and photometric measurements. The median distance of the members is 114.5pc, and 80% lie between 102 and 135pc from the Sun. Our new members cover a mass range of 0.02-5M_{sun}_ and add up to a total mass of about 700M_{sun}_. The present-day mass function follows a log-normal law with m_c_=0.22M_{sun}_ and {sigma}=0.64. We find more than 200 brown dwarfs in our sample. The star formation rate had its maximum of 8x10^-5^M_{sun}_/yr about 9Myr ago. We grouped the new members into four denser subgroups, which have increasing age from 7 to 10Myr, surrounded by "free-floating" young stars with mixed ages. Our isochronal ages, now based on accurate parallaxes, are compatible with several earlier studies of the region. The whole complex is presently expanding, and the expansion started between 8 and 10Myr ago. Two hundred members show infrared excess compatible with circumstellar disks from full to debris disks. This discovery provides a large sample of nearby young stellar and substellar objects for disk and exoplanet studies.
We investigate the nature of the long-period radial velocity variations in {alpha} Tau first reported over 20 years ago. We analyzed precise stellar radial velocity measurements for {alpha} Tau spanning over 30 years. An examination of the H{alpha} and CaII {lambda}8662 spectral lines, and Hipparcos photometry was also done to help discern the nature of the long-period radial velocity variations.
The ALESS survey has followed up on a sample of 122 sub-millimeter sources in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South at 870{mu}m with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), allowing us to pinpoint the positions of sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs) to ~0.3" and to find their precise counterparts at different wavelengths. This enabled the first compilation of the multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of a statistically reliable survey of SMGs. In this paper, we present a new calibration of the magphys SED modeling code that is optimized to fit these ultraviolet-to-radio SEDs of z>1 star-forming galaxies using an energy balance technique to connect the emission from stellar populations, dust attenuation, and dust emission in a physically consistent way. We derive statistically and physically robust estimates of the photometric redshifts and physical parameters (such as stellar masses, dust attenuation, star formation rates (SFRs), and dust masses) for the ALESS SMGs.
We present results from ground-based optical imaging of a low-mass dwarf galaxy discovered by the ALFALFA 21cm HI survey. Broadband (BVR) data obtained with the WIYN 3.5m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) are used to construct color-magnitude diagrams of the galaxy's stellar population down to V_o_~25. We also use narrowband H{alpha} imaging from the KPNO 2.1m telescope to identify a HII region in the galaxy. We use these data to constrain the distance to the galaxy to be between 1.5 and 2.0Mpc. This places Leo P within the Local Volume but beyond the Local Group. Its properties are extreme: it is the lowest-mass system known that contains significant amounts of gas and is currently forming stars.
Leo P is a low-luminosity dwarf galaxy discovered through the blind HI Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey. The HI and follow-up optical observations have shown that Leo P is a gas-rich dwarf galaxy with both active star formation and an underlying older population, as well as an extremely low oxygen abundance. Here, we measure the distance to Leo P by applying the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distance method to photometry of the resolved stellar population from new Large Binocular Telescope V and I band imaging. We measure a distance modulus of 26.19^+0.17^_-0.50_mag corresponding to a distance of 1.72^+0.14^_0.40_Mpc. Although our photometry reaches 3mag below the TRGB, the sparseness of the red giant branch yields higher uncertainties on the lower limit of the distance. Leo P is outside the Local Group with a distance and velocity consistent with the local Hubble flow. While located in a very low-density environment, Leo P lies within ~0.5Mpc of a loose association of dwarf galaxies which include NGC 3109, Antlia, Sextans A, and Sextans B, and 1.1Mpc away from its next nearest neighbor, Leo A. Leo P is one of the lowest metallicity star-forming galaxies known in the nearby universe, comparable in metallicity to I Zw 18 and DDO 68, but with stellar characteristics similar to dwarf spheriodals (dSphs) in the Local Volume such as Carina, Sextans, and Leo II. Given its physical properties and isolation, Leo P may provide an evolutionary link between gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxies and dSphs that have fallen into a Local Group environment and been stripped of their gas.
We present the catalog of ~31500 extragalactic HI line sources detected by the completed Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey out to z<0.06, including both high signal-to-noise ratio (>6.5) detections and ones of lower quality that coincide in both position and recessional velocity with galaxies of known redshift. We review the observing technique, data reduction pipeline, and catalog construction process, focusing on details of particular relevance to understanding the catalog's compiled parameters. We further describe and make available the digital HI line spectra associated with the cataloged sources. In addition to the extragalactic HI line detections, we report nine confirmed OH megamasers (OHMs) and 10 OHM candidates at 0.16<z<0.22 whose OH line signals are redshifted into the ALFALFA frequency band. Because of complexities in data collection and processing associated with the use of a feed-horn array on a complex single-dish antenna in the terrestrial radio frequency interference environment, we also present a list of suggestions and caveats for consideration by users of the ALFALFA extragalactic catalog for future scientific investigations.
