We present optical spectroscopy of a sample of 77 luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars selected on the basis of their mid-infrared colors. Our objects are selected from the Spitzer Extragalactic First Look Survey and the SWIRE XMM-Newton Large-Scale Structure Survey (XMM-LSS) fields, with a typical 24um flux density of 5mJy. The median redshift is 0.6, with a range of ~0.05-4. Only 33% (25 out of 77) of these objects are normal type 1 quasars, with no obscuration. Forty-four percent (34 out of 77) are type 2 objects, with high-ionization, narrow emission lines, and 14% (11 out of 77) are dust-reddened type 1 quasars, showing broad lines but a dust-reddened or unusually weak quasar continuum.
Among the different observational techniques used to select high-redshift galaxies, the hydrogen recombination line Lyman-alpha (Ly{alpha}) is of particular interest because it gives access to the measurement of cosmological quantities such as the star formation rate (SFR) of distant galaxy populations. However, interpreting this line and calibrating such observables are still subject to serious uncertainties. In this context, it important to understand the mechanisms responsible for the attenuation of Ly{alpha} emission, and under what conditions the Ly{alpha} emission line can be used as a reliable star formation diagnostic tool. We used a sample of 24 Ly{alpha} emitters at z~0.3 with an optical spectroscopic follow-up to calculate the Ly{alpha} escape fraction and its dependence upon different physical properties. We also examined the reliability of Ly{alpha} as a SFR indicator. We combined these observations with a compilation of Ly{alpha} emitters selected at z=0-0.3 from the literature to assemble a larger sample.
We present an optical spectroscopic survey of 24um and 1.4GHz sources, detected in the Spitzer extragalactic First Look Survey (FLS), using the multifiber spectrograph, Hydra, on the WIYN telescope. We have obtained spectra for 772 sources, with flux densities above 0.15mJy in the infrared and 0.09mJy in the radio. The redshifts measured in this survey are mostly in the range 0<z<0.4, with a distribution peaking at z~0.2.
Optical spectrum of ZTF18abvkwla and its host galaxy
Short Name:
J/ApJ/895/49
Date:
16 Mar 2022 00:26:26
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present ZTF18abvkwla (the "Koala"), a fast blue optical transient discovered in the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) One-Day Cadence (1DC) Survey. ZTF18abvkwla has a number of features in common with the groundbreaking transient AT2018cow: blue colors at peak (g-r~-0.5mag), a short rise time from half-max of under two days, a decay time to half-max of only three days, a high optical luminosity (M_g.peak_~-20.6mag), a hot (>~40000K) featureless spectrum at peak light, and a luminous radio counterpart. At late times ({Delta}>80days), the radio luminosity of ZTF18abvkwla ({nu}L_{nu}_>~10^40^erg/s at 10GHz, observer-frame) is most similar to that of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The host galaxy is a dwarf starburst galaxy (M~5x10^8^M{odot}, SFR~7M{odot}/yr) that is moderately metal-enriched (log[O/H]~8.5), similar to the hosts of GRBs and superluminous supernovae. As in AT2018cow, the radio and optical emission in ZTF18abvkwla likely arise from two separate components: the radio from fast- moving ejecta ({Gamma}{beta}c>0.38c) and the optical from shock-interaction with confined dense material (<0.07M{sun} in ~10^15^cm). Compiling transients in the literature with t_rise_<5days and M_peak_<-20mag, we find that a significant number are engine-powered, and suggest that the high peak optical luminosity is directly related to the presence of this engine. From 18 months of the 1DC survey, we find that transients in this rise-luminosity phase space are at least two to three orders of magnitude less common than CC SNe. Finally, we discuss strategies for identifying such events with future facilities like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, as well as prospects for detecting accompanying X-ray and radio emission.
In this paper, we present the most up-to-date list of nearby galaxies with optically detected supernova remnants (SNRs). We discuss the contribution of the H{alpha} flux from the SNRs to the total H{alpha} flux and its influence on the derived star formation rate (SFR) for 18 galaxies in our sample. We found that the contribution of SNR flux to the total H{alpha} flux is 5+/-5%. Due to the observational selection effects, the SNR contamination of SFRs derived herein represents only a lower limit.
Based on our UBVRI observations and X-ray data from the RXTE satellite we have investigated the variabilities of the Seyfert Galaxy 3C 120 over the period 1996-2008.
The results of three-color UBV observations of rapid variability in the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7469 carried out in 1990-1994 are presented. The observations have been carried out during 15 different nights using the 60- and 125-cm telescopes with time resolution of 6-8min (50 hours monitoring) with the aperture of 27.5". The mean errors of one measurement are 1.8, 1.2 and 1.4% for U, B and V. The data set length during one night is from 2 up to 5h. The different nights show the variations at different level: from weak, when the standard deviation during the night exceeds the error of one measurement only by 10-20%, up to strong ones, when the standard deviation exceeds the error of the measurement by factor two.
We present an optical investigation of the Abell 85 cluster filament (z=0.055) previously interpreted in X-rays as groups falling on to the main cluster. We compare the distribution of galaxies with the X-ray filament, and investigate the galaxy luminosity functions in several bands and in several regions. We search for galaxies where star formation may have been triggered by interactions with intracluster gas or tidal pressure due to the cluster potential when entering the cluster.
Opt-NIR HST photometry of cluster candidates in M82
Short Name:
J/ApJS/216/6
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
Using high-resolution, multiple-passband Hubble Space Telescope images spanning the entire optical/near-infrared wavelength range, we obtained a statistically complete U-band-selected sample of 846 extended star clusters across the disk of the nearby starburst galaxy M82 (NGC3034). Based on a careful analysis of the clusters' spectral energy distributions, we determined their galaxy-wide age and mass distributions. The M82 clusters exhibit three clear peaks in their age distribution, thus defining relatively young, log(t/yr)<=7.5, intermediate-age, log(t/yr){isin}[7.5,8.5], and old samples, log(t/yr)>=8.5. Comparison of the completeness-corrected mass distributions offers a firm handle on the galaxy's star cluster disruption history. The most massive star clusters in the young and old samples are (almost) all concentrated in the most densely populated central region, while the intermediate-age sample's most massive clusters are more spatially dispersed, which may reflect the distribution of the highest-density gas throughout the galaxy's evolutionary history, combined with the solid-body nature of the galaxy's central region.