arXiv subjects

A. Lapi

Publications and source records attributed to A. Lapi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Warm molecular and ionized gas kinematics in the Type-2 quasar J0945+1737

We analyze Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) observations of the type-2 quasar (QSO2) SDSS J094521.33+173753.2 to investigate its warm molecular and ionized gas kinematics. This QSO2 has a bolometric luminosity of 10$^{45.7}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and a redshift of z = 0.128. The K-band spectra provided by NIFS cover a range of 1.99-2.40 $μ$m where low-ionization (Pa$α$ and Br$δ$), high ionization ([S XI]$λ$1.920 $μ$m and [Si~VI]$λ$1.963 $μ$m) and warm molecular lines (from H$_2$ 1-0S(5) to 1-0S(1)) are detected, allowing us to study the multi-phase gas kinematics. Our analysis reveals gas in ordinary rotation in all the emission lines detected and also outflowing gas in the case of the low- and high-ionization emission lines. In the case of the nuclear spectrum, which corresponds to a circular aperture of 0.3\arcsec~(686 pc) in diameter, the warm molecular lines can be characterized using a single Gaussian component of full width at half maximum (FWHM)= 350-400 km s$^{-1}$, while Pa$α$, Br$δ$, and [Si~VI] are best fitted with two blue-shifted Gaussian components of FWHM$\sim$800 and 1700 km s$^{-1}$, in addition to a narrow component of $\sim$300 km s$^{-1}$. We interpret the blue-shifted broad components as outflowing gas, which reaches the highest velocities, of up to $-$840 km s$^{-1}$, in the south-east direction (PA$\sim$125$^{\circ}$), extending up to a distance of $\sim$3.4 kpc from the nucleus. The ionized outflow has a maximum mass outflow rate of $\dot{\text{M}}_{\text{out, max}}$=42-51 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, and its kinetic power represents 0.1$\%$ of the quasar bolometric luminosity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The Black Hole Mass Function Across Cosmic Times II. Heavy Seeds and (Super)Massive Black Holes

This is the second paper in a series aimed at modeling the black hole (BH) mass function, from the stellar to the (super)massive regime. In the present work we focus on (super)massive BHs and provide an ab-initio computation of their mass function across cosmic times. We consider two main mechanisms to grow the central BH, that are expected to cooperate in the high-redshift star-forming progenitors of local massive galaxies. The first is the gaseous dynamical friction process, that can cause the migration toward the nuclear regions of stellar-mass BHs originated during the intense bursts of star formation in the gas-rich host progenitor galaxy, and the buildup of a central heavy BH seed $M_\bullet\sim 10^{3-5}\, M_\odot$ within short timescales $\lesssim$ some $10^7$ yr. The second mechanism is the standard Eddington-type gas disk accretion onto the heavy BH seed, through which the central BH can become (super)massive $M_\bullet\sim 10^{6-10}\, M_\odot$ within the typical star-formation duration $\lesssim 1$ Gyr of the host. We validate our semi-empirical approach by reproducing the observed redshift-dependent bolometric AGN luminosity functions and Eddington ratio distributions, and the relationship between the star-formation and the bolometric luminosity of the accreting central BH. We then derive the relic (super)massive BH mass function at different redshifts via a generalized continuity equation approach, and compare it with present observational estimates. Finally, we reconstruct the overall BH mass function from the stellar to the (super)massive regime, over more than ten orders of magnitudes in BH mass.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Selecting a complete sample of blazars in sub-millimetre catalogues

The \textit{Herschel} Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS), that has covered about 642 sq. deg. in 5 bands from 100 to 500 $μ\rm m$, allows a blind flux-limited selection of blazars at sub-mm wavelengths. However, blazars constitute a tiny fraction of H-ATLAS sources and therefore identifying them is not a trivial task. Using the data on known blazars detected by the H-ATLAS we have defined a locus for 500\,$μ$m selected blazars and exploited it to select blazar candidates in the H-ATLAS fields. Candidates and known blazars in the H-ATLAS equatorial and South Galactic Pole fields were followed up with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) or with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and matched with existing radio- and mm-catalogues to reconstruct the spectral behaviour over at least 6 orders of magnitude in frequency. We identified a selection approach that, combining the information in the sub-mm and radio domains, efficiently singles out genuine blazars. In this way, we identified a sample of 39 blazars brighter than $S_{500μ\rm m} = 35\,$mJy in the H-ATLAS fields. Tests made cross-matching the H-ATLAS catalogues with large catalogues of blazar candidates indicate that the sample is complete. The derived counts are compared with model predictions finding good consistency with the C2Ex model and with estimates based on ALMA data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The impact of very massive stars on the chemical evolution of extremely metal-poor galaxies

In recent observations of extremely metal-poor low-mass starburst galaxies, almost solar Fe/O ratios are reported, despite N/O ratios consistent with the low metallicity. We investigate if the peculiar Fe/O ratios can be a distinctive signature of an early enrichment produced by very massive objects dying as Pair-Instability Supernovae (PISN). We run chemical evolution models with yields that account for the contribution by PISN. We use both the recent non-rotating stellar yields from Goswami et al. 2021, and new yields from rotating very massive stars calculated on purpose in this work. We also search for the best initial mass function (IMF) that is able to reproduce the observations. We can reproduce the observations by adopting a bi-modal IMF and by including an initial burst of rotating very massive stars. Only with a burst of very massive stars can we reproduce the almost solar Fe/O ratios at the estimated young ages. We also confirm that rotation is absolutely needed to concomitantly reproduce the observed N/O ratios. These results stress the importance of very massive stars in galactic chemical evolution studies and strongly support a top-heavy initial mass function in the very early evolutionary stages of metal poor starburst galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Tomography-based observational measurements of the halo mass function via the submillimeter magnification bias

Aims. The main goal of this paper is to derive observational constraints on the halo mass fuction (HMF) by performing a tomographic analysis of the magnification bias signal on a sample of background submillimeter galaxies. The results can then be compared with those from a non-tomographic study. Methods. We measure the cross-correlation function between a sample of foreground GAMA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range $0.1 < z < 0.8$ (and divided up into four bins) and a sample of background submillimeter galaxies from H-ATLAS with photometric redshifts in the range $1.2 < z < 4.0$. We model the weak lensing signal within the halo model formalism and carry out a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to obtain the posterior distribution of all HMF parameters, which we assume to follow the Sheth and Tormen (ST) three-parameter and two-parameter fits. Results. While the observational constraints on the HMF from the non-tomographic analysis are not stringent, there is a remarkable improvement in terms of uncertainty reduction when tomography is adopted. Moreover, with respect to the traditional ST triple of values from numerical simulations, the results from the three-parameter fit predict a higher number density of halos at masses below $10^{12}M_{\odot}/h$ at 95% credibility. The two-parameter fit yields even more restricting results, with a larger number density of halos below $10^{13}M_{\odot}/h$ and a lower one above $10^{14}M_{\odot}/h$, this time at more than 3$σ$ credibility. Our results are therefore in disagreement with the standard N-body values for the ST fit at 2$σ$ and 3$σ$, respectively.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The far-infrared/radio correlation for a sample of strongly lensed dusty star-forming galaxies detected by Herschel

We investigate the radio-far infrared (FIR) correlation for a sample of $28$ bright high-redshift ($1 \lesssim z \lesssim 4$) star-forming galaxies selected in the FIR from the Herschel-ATLAS fields as candidates to be strongly gravitationally lensed. The radio information comes either from high sensitivity dedicated ATCA observations at $2.1$ GHz or from cross-matches with the FIRST survey at $1.4$ GHz. By taking advantage of source brightness possibly enhanced by lensing magnification, we identify a weak evolution with redshift out to $z\lesssim 4$ of the FIR-to-radio luminosity ratio $q_{\rm FIR}$. We also find that the $q_{\rm FIR}$ parameter as a function of the radio power $L_{1.4\,\rm GHz}$ displays a clear decreasing trend, similarly to what is observed for optically/radio selected lensed quasars found in literature, yet covering a complementary region in the $q_{\rm FIR}-L_{1.4\,\rm GHz}$ diagram. We interpret such a behavior in the framework of an in-situ galaxy formation scenario, as a result of the transition from an early dust-obscured star-forming phase (mainly pinpointed by our FIR selection) to a late radio-loud quasar phase (preferentially sampled by the optical/radio selection).

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Cosmology with the sub-millimetre galaxies magnification bias: Tomographic Analysis

As in Gonzalez-Nuevo et al. 2017 and Bonavera et al. 2019, the high-z sub-millimetre galaxies can be used as background sample for gravitational lensing studies thanks to their magnification bias. In particular, as in Bonavera et al. 2020 the magnification bias can be exploited in order to constrain the free parameters of a Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) model and some of the main cosmological parameters. In this work the magnification bias has been evaluated as cosmological tool in a tomographic set up. The cross-correlation function (CCF) data have been used to jointly constrain the astrophysical parameters $M_{min}$, $M_{1}$ and $α$ in each one of the selected redshift bins and the $Ω_{M}$, $σ_{8}$, and $H_0$ cosmological ones ($Λ$CDM). Moreover, we explore the possible time evolution of the dark energy density introducing also the $ω_0, ω_a$ parameters in the joint analysis ($ω_0$CDM and $ω_0ω_a$CDM). The CCF has been measured between a foreground spectroscopic sample of GAMA galaxies that has been divided into four redshift bins (0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3, 0.3-0.5 and 0.5-0.8) and a sample of H-ATLAS galaxies with photometric redshifts >1.2. The CCF is modelled using a description that depends on HOD and cosmological parameters that are estimated with MCMC in different cases. For the $Λ$CDM model, the analysis yields a maximum posterior value at 0.26 with $[0.17,0.41]$ 68\% C.I. for $Ω_M$ and at 0.87 with $[0.75,1]$ 68\% C.I. for $σ_8$. With our current results $H_0$ is not yet constrained. With the $ω_0$CDM model, the constraints on $Ω_M$ and $σ_8$ are similar, but we found a maximum posterior value for $ω_0$ at -1 with $[-1.56, -0.47]$ 68\% C.I. In the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model, the results are -1.09 with $[-1.72, -0.66]$ 68\% C.I. for $ω_0$ and -0.19 with $[-1.88, 1.48]$ 68\% C.I. for $ω_a$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Galaxy cluster mass density profile derived using the submillimetre galaxies magnification bias

In this work we want to study the average mass density profile of tens to hundreds of clusters of galaxies acting as lenses that produce a magnification bias on the SMGs, and to estimate their associated masses and concentrations for different richness ranges. The background sample is composed of SMGs observed by Herschel with 1.2<z<4.0 (mean redshift at ~2.3) while the foreground sample is made up of galaxy clusters extracted from the SDSS III with photometric redshifts of 0.05< z< 0.8 (mean redshift at ~0.38). Measurements are obtained by stacking the SMG--cluster pairs to estimate the cross-correlation function using the Davis-Peebles estimator. This methodology allows us to derive the mass density profile for a wide range of angular scales, ~2-250 arcsec or ~10-1300 kpc for z=0.38, with a high radial resolution. We find that It is impossible to fit the data with a single mass density profile at all scales. As for the outer part, the estimated average masses increase from $M_{200c}=5.8$ to $51.5\times 10^{13} M_\odot$ and the concentration parameter from C=0.74 to 1.74. In the small-scale regions, the obtained average masses fluctuate around $M_{200c}=3-4 \times 10^{13}M_\odot$ with average C~4. The total average masses are in perfect agreement with the M-R relationship estimated from the cluster catalogue. While the estimated average C values of the central galactic halos are in agreement with traditional M-C relationships, we find low concentrations for the outer part. Moreover, C decrease for lower R values, probably indicating that the group of galaxies cannot be considered to be relaxed systems. Finally, we notice a systematic lack of signal at the transition between the dominance of the cluster halo and the central galactic halo (~100 kpc). This feature is also present in previous studies using different catalogues and/or methodologies, but is never discussed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

An ALMA view of 11 Dusty Star Forming Galaxies at the peak of Cosmic Star Formation History

We present the ALMA view of 11 main-sequence DSFGs, (sub-)millimeter selected in the GOODS-S field, and spectroscopically confirmed to be at the peak of Cosmic SFH (z = 2-3). Our study combines the analysis of galaxy SED with ALMA continuum and CO spectral emission, by using ALMA Science Archive products at the highest spatial resolution currently available for our sample (< 1 arcsec). We include galaxy multi-band images and photometry (in the optical, radio and X-rays) to investigate the interlink between dusty, gaseous and stellar components and the eventual presence of AGN. We use multi-band sizes and morphologies to gain an insight on the processes that lead galaxy evolution, e.g. gas condensation, star formation, AGN feedback. The 11 DSFGs are very compact in the (sub-)millimeter (median r(ALMA) = 1.15 kpc), while the optical emission extends tolarger radii (median r(H)/r(ALMA) = 2.05). CO lines reveal the presence of a rotating disc of molecular gas, but we can not exclude either the presence of interactions and/or molecular outflows. Images at higher (spectral and spatial) resolution are needed to disentangle from the possible scenarios. Most of the galaxies are caught in the compaction phase, when gas cools and falls into galaxy centre, fuelling the dusty burst of star formation and the growing nucleus. We expect these DSFGs to be the high-zstar-forming counterparts of massive quiescent galaxies. Some features of CO emission in three galaxies are suggestive of forthcoming/ongoing AGN feedback, that is thought to trigger the morphological transition from star-forming disks to ETGs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The evolution of compact massive quiescent and starforming galaxies derived from the $R_e-R_h$ and $M_{\rm star}-M_h$ relations

The mean size ( effective radius $R_e$) of Massive Galaxies (MGs, $M_{\rm star}>10^{11.2}M_\odot$) is observed to increase steadily with cosmic time. It is still unclear whether this trend originates from the size growth of individual galaxies (via, e.g., mergers and/or AGN feedback) or from the inclusion of larger galaxies entering the selection at later epochs (progenitor bias). We here build a data-driven, flexible theoretical framework to probe the structural evolution of MGs. We assign galaxies to dark matter haloes via stellar mass-halo mass (SMHM) relations with varying high-mass slopes and scatters $σ_{\rm SMHM}$ in stellar mass at fixed halo mass, and assign sizes to galaxies using an empirically-motivated, constant and linear relationship between $R_e$ and the host dark matter halo radius $R_h$. We find that: 1) the fast mean size growth of MGs is well reproduced independently of the shape of the input SMHM relation; 2) the numbers of compact MGs grow steadily until $z\gtrsim2$ and fall off at lower redshifts, suggesting a lesser role of progenitor bias at later epochs; 3) a time-independent scatter $σ_{\rm SMHM}$ is consistent with a scenario in which compact starforming MGs transition into quiescent MGs in a few $10^8$yr with a negligible structural evolution during the compact phase, while a scatter increasing at high redshift implies significant size growth during the starforming phase. A robust measurement of the size function of MGs at high redshift can set strong constraints on the scatter of the SMHM relation and, by extension, on models of galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

On the effects of the Initial Mass Function on Galactic chemical enrichment

There is mounting evidence that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) could extend much beyond the canonical Mi ~100, Msun limit, but the impact of such hypothesis on the chemical enrichment of galaxies still remains to be clarified. We aim to address this question by analysing the observed abundances of thin- and thick-disc stars in the Milky Way with chemical evolution models that account for the contribution of very massive stars dying as pair-instability supernovae. We built new sets of chemical yields from massive and very massive stars up to Mi ~ 350 Msun, by combining the wind ejecta extracted from our hydrostatic stellar evolution models with explosion ejecta from the literature. Using a simple chemical evolution code we analyse the effects of adopting different yield tables by comparing predictions against observations of stars in the solar vicinity. After several tests, we focus on the [O/Fe] ratio which best separates the chemical patterns of the two Milky Way components. We find that with a standard IMF, truncated at Mi ~ 100 Msun, we can reproduce various observational constraints for thin-disc stars, but the same IMF fails to account for the [O/Fe] ratios of thick-disc stars. The best results are obtained by extending the IMF up to Mi = 350 Msun and including the chemical ejecta of very massive stars, in the form of winds and pair-instability supernova explosions.Our study indicates that PISN played a significant role in shaping the chemical evolution of the Milky Way thick disc. By including their chemical yields it is easier to reproduce not only the level of the alpha-enhancement but also the observed slope of thick-disc stars in the [O/Fe] vs [Fe/H] diagram. The bottom line is that the contribution of very massive stars to the chemical enrichment of galaxies is potentially quite important and should not be neglected in chemical evolution models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

A direct and robust method to observationally constrain the halo mass function via the submillimeter magnification bias: Proof of concept

Aims. The main purpose of this work is to provide a method to derive tabulated observational constraints on the halo mass function (HMF) by studying the magnification bias effect on high-redshift submillimeter galaxies. Under the assumption of universality, we parametrize the HMF according to two traditional models, namely the Sheth and Tormen (ST) and Tinker fits and assess their performance in explaining the measured data within the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. We also study the potential influence of the halo occupation distribution (HOD) parameters in this analysis and discuss two important aspects regarding the HMF parametrization. Methods. We measure the cross-correlation function between a foreground sample of GAMA galaxies with redshifts in the range $0.2<z<0.8$ and a background sample of H-ATLAS galaxies with redshifts in the range $1.2<z<4.0$ and carry out an MCMC algorithm to check this observable against its mathematical prediction within the halo model formalism. Results. If all HMF parameters are assumed to be positive, the ST fit only seems to fully explain the measurements by forcing the mean number of satellite galaxies in a halo to increase substantially from its prior mean value. The Tinker fit, on the other hand, provides a robust description of the data without relevant changes in the HOD parameters, but with some dependence on the prior range of two of its parameters. When the normalization condition for the HMF is dropped and we allow negative values of the $p_1$ parameter in the ST fit, all the involved parameters are better determined, unlike the previous models, thus deriving the most general HMF constraints. While all cases are in agreement with the traditional fits within the uncertainties, the last one hints at a slightly higher number of halos at intermediate and high masses, raising the important point of the allowed parameter range.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Cosmological constraints with the sub-millimetre galaxies Magnification Bias after large scale bias corrections

The study of the magnification bias produced on high-redshift sub-millimetre galaxies by foreground galaxies through the analysis of the cross-correlation function was recently demonstrated as an interesting independent alternative to the weak-lensing shear as a cosmological probe. In the case of the proposed observable, most of the cosmological constraints mainly depend on the largest angular separation measurements. Therefore, we aim to study and correct the main large-scale biases that affect foreground and background galaxy samples to produce a robust estimation of the cross-correlation function. Then we analyse the corrected signal to derive updated cosmological constraintsWe measured the large-scale, bias-corrected cross-correlation functions using a background sample of H-ATLAS galaxies with photometric redshifts > 1.2 and two different foreground samples (GAMA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts or SDSS galaxies with photometric ones, both in the range 0.2 < z < 0.8). These measurements are modelled using the traditional halo model description that depends on both halo occupation distribution and cosmological parameters. We then estimated these parameters by performing a Markov chain Monte Carlo under multiple scenarios to study the performance of this observable and how to improve its results. After the large-scale bias corrections, we obtain only minor improvements with respect to the previous magnification bias results, mainly confirming their conclusions: a lower bound on $Ω_m > 0.22$ at $95\%$ C.L. and an upper bound $σ_8 < 0.97$ at $95\%$ C.L. (results from the $z_{spec}$ sample). However, by combining both foreground samples into a simplified tomographic analysis, we were able to obtain interesting constraints on the $Ω_m$-$σ_8$ plane as follows: $Ω_m= 0.50_{- 0.20}^{+ 0.14}$ and $σ_8= 0.75_{- 0.10}^{+ 0.07}$ at 68\% CL.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Knocking on giants' doors: I. The evolution of the dust-to-stellar mass ratio in distant dusty galaxies

The dust-to-stellar mass ratio ($M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$) is a crucial yet poorly constrained quantity to understand the production mechanisms of dust, metals and stars in galaxy evolution. In this work we explore and interpret the nature of $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ in 300 massive ($M_{\star}>10^{10}M_{\odot}$), dusty star-forming galaxies detected with ALMA up to $z\approx5$. We find that $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ evolves with redshift, stellar mass, specific SFR and integrated dust size, differently for main sequence and starburst galaxies. In both galaxy populations $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ rises until $z\sim2$ followed by a roughly flat trend towards higher redshifts. We show that the inverse relation between $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ and $M_{\star}$ holds up to $z\approx5$ and can be interpreted as an evolutionary transition from early to late starburst phases. We demonstrate that $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ in starbursts mirrors the increase in molecular gas fraction with redshift, and is enhanced in objects with the most compact dusty star-formation. The state-of-the-art cosmological simulation SIMBA broadly matches the evolution of $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ in main sequence galaxies, but underestimates it in starbursts. The latter is found to be linked to lower gas-phase metallicities and longer dust growth timescales relative to data. Our data are well reproduced by analytical model that includes recipes for rapid metal enrichment, strongly suggesting that high $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ is due to fast grain growth in metal enriched ISM. Our work highlights multifold benefits of using $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\rm \star}$ as a diagnostic tool for: (1) separating main sequence and starburst galaxies until $z\sim5$; (2) probing the evolutionary phases of dusty galaxies, and (3) refining the treatment of dust life cycle in simulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

IRAM 30m-EMIR Redshift Search of z = 3-4 Lensed Dusty Starbursts selected from the HerBS sample

Using the EMIR instrument on the IRAM 30m telescope, we conducted a spectroscopic redshift search of seven z$_{\rm phot}$ $\sim$ 4 sub-millimetre bright galaxies selected from the Herschel Bright Sources (HerBS) sample with fluxes at 500 $μ$m greater than 80 mJy. For four sources, we obtained spectroscopic redshifts between 3.4 < z < 4.1 through the detection of multiple CO-spectral lines with J $\leq$ 3. Later, we detected low-J transitions for two of these sources with the GBT including the CO(1-0) transition. For the remaining three sources, more data are needed to determine the spectroscopic redshift unambiguously. The measured CO luminosities and line widths suggest that all these sources are gravitationally lensed. These observations demonstrate that the 2 mm window is indispensable to confirm robust spectroscopic redshifts for z < 4 sources. Finally, we present an efficient graphical method to correctly identify spectroscopic redshifts.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Cosmology with the submillimetre galaxies magnification bias: Proof of concept

Context. As recently demonstrated, high-z submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) are the perfect background sample for tracing the mass density profiles of galaxies and clusters (baryonic and dark matter) and their time-evolution through gravitational lensing. Their magnification bias, a weak gravitational lensing effect, is a powerful tool for constraining the free parameters of a halo occupation distribution (HOD) model and potentially also some of the main cosmological parameters. Aims. The aim of this work is to test the capability of the magnification bias produced on high-z SMGs as a cosmological probe. We exploit cross-correlation data to constrain not only astrophysical parameters ($M_{min}$, $M_1$, and $α$), but also some of the cosmological ones ($Ω_m$, $σ_8$, and $H_0$) for this proof of concept. Methods. The measured cross-correlation function between a foreground sample of GAMA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range 0.2 < z < 0.8 and a background sample of H-ATLAS galaxies with photometric redshifts >1.2 is modelled using the traditional halo model description that depends on HOD and cosmological parameters. These parameters are then estimated by performing a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis using different sets of priors to test the robustness of the results and to study the performance of this novel observable with the current set of data Results. With our current results, $Ω_m$ and $H_0$ cannot be well constrained. However, we can set a lower limit of >0.24 at 95\% confidence level (CL) on $Ω_m$ and we see a slight trend towards $H_0>70$ values. For our constraints on $σ_8$ we obtain only a tentative peak around 0.75, but an interesting upper limit of $σ_8\lesssim 1$ at 95\% CL. We also study the possibility to derive better constraints by imposing more restrictive priors on the astrophysical parameters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

New Analytic Solutions for Galaxy Evolution II: Wind Recycling, Galactic Fountains and Late-Type Galaxies

We generalize the analytic solutions presented in Pantoni et al. (2019) by including a simple yet effective description of wind recycling and galactic fountains, with the aim of self-consistently investigating the spatially-averaged time evolution of the gas, stellar, metal, and dust content in disc-dominated late-type galaxies (LTGs). Our analytic solutions, when supplemented with specific prescriptions for parameter setting and with halo accretion rates from $N-$body simulations, can be exploited to reproduce the main statistical relationships followed by local LTGs; these involve, as a function of the stellar mass, the star formation efficiency, the gas mass fraction, the gas/stellar metallicity, the dust mass, the star formation rate, the specific angular momentum, and the overall mass/metal budget. Our analytic solutions allow to easily disentangle the diverse role of the main physical processes ruling galaxy formation in LTGs; in particular, we highlight the crucial relevance of wind recycling and galactic fountains in efficiently refurnishing the gas mass, extending the star-formation timescale, and boosting the metal enrichment in gas and stars. All in all, our analytic solutions constitute a transparent, handy, and fast tool that can provide a basis for improving the (subgrid) physical recipes presently implemented in more sophisticated semi-analytic models and numerical simulations, and can offer a benchmark for interpreting and forecasting current and future spatially-averaged observations of local and higher redshift LTGs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Growth of Supermassive Black Hole Seeds in ETG Star-Forming Progenitors: Multiple Merging of Stellar Compact Remnants via Gaseous Dynamical Friction and Gravitational Wave Emission

We propose a new mechanism for the growth of supermassive black hole (BH) seeds in the star-forming progenitors of local early-type galaxies (ETGs) at $z\gtrsim 1$. This envisages the migration and merging of stellar compact remnants (neutron stars and stellar-mass BHs) via gaseous dynamical friction toward the central high-density regions of such galaxies. We show that, under reasonable assumptions and initial conditions, the process can build up central BH masses of order $10^4-10^6\, M_\odot$ within some $10^7$ yr, so effectively providing heavy seeds before standard disk (Eddington-like) accretion takes over to become the dominant process for further BH growth. Remarkably, such a mechanism may provide an explanation, alternative to super-Eddington accretion rates, for the buildup of billion solar masses BHs in quasar hosts at $z\gtrsim 7$, when the age of the Universe $\lesssim 0.8$ Gyr constitutes a demanding constraint; moreover, in more common ETG progenitors at redshift $z\sim 2-6$ it can concur with disk accretion to build such large BH masses even at moderate Eddington ratios $\lesssim 0.3$ within the short star-formation duration $\lesssim$ Gyr of these systems. Finally, we investigate the perspectives to detect the merger events between the migrating stellar remnants and the accumulating central supermassive BH via gravitational wave emission with future ground and space-based detectors such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).

astro-ph.GA↗