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A. U. Kapoor

Publications and source records attributed to A. U. Kapoor.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Euclid: Early Release Observations -- The formation of peanutty dwarf galaxies in Perseus

Dwarf galaxies in dense cluster environments are susceptible to tidal interactions that can alter their morphology and kinematics. Boxy isophotes are well studied in massive galaxies but remain poorly understood in dwarfs. We aim to identify and characterise boxy/peanutty dwarf galaxies in the Perseus cluster and determine the origin of their isophotal shapes. Using Euclid Early Release Observations of the Perseus cluster, we present a cumulative light fraction method for robustly measuring the isophotal shape parameter $c_4$, particularly suited to low surface brightness regimes. From ~1100 cataloged dwarfs, we select a clean sample of ~190 early-type systems with reliable $c_4$ measurement. Observed trends are interpreted through comparison with mock Euclid observations of $N$-body simulations of tidally transformed dwarfs. We identify 13 dwarfs with significantly boxy isophotes ($c_4 < -0.0175$). These galaxies lack visible thin disks, lie on the cluster red sequence, and show no preferential spatial concentration within Perseus. We find a significant anticorrelation between $c_4$ and effective radius: larger galaxies exhibit more boxy isophotes. An analogous size-shape anticorrelation is recovered in the simulations, where inner regions are dominated by box orbits associated with a triaxial peanut structure and outer regions by short-axis tube orbits. The boxy dwarfs in Perseus are tidally transformed remnants of moderately rotating progenitors, with boxy isophotes tracing inner box-orbit-dominated peanut structures. The size-shape correlation arises from viewing geometry: face-on orientations reveal the rectangular profile of the elongated triaxial structure (large and boxy), while edge-on views yield rounder, compact morphologies. Our sample represents an orientation-selected subset of tidally transformed, peanutty dwarfs in the cluster.

astro-ph.GA↗

Evaluating star formation rates at z = 5

Inferring the star formation rates (SFR) in high redshift galaxies remains challenging, owing to observational limitations or uncertainties in calibration methods that link luminosities to SFRs. We utilize two state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations NewHorizon and NewCluster, post-processed with the radiative transfer code Skirt, to investigate the systematic uncertainties and biases in the inferred SFRs for z=5 galaxies; an epoch where galaxies build-up their stellar mass. We create synthetic observables for widely-used tracers: Halpha nebular line, [CII] 158 micron fine-structure line, total infrared (IR) continuum luminosity, and hybrid (IR + UV). We find that Halpha-inferred SFRs, time-averaged over 10 Myr, are sensitive to the choice of calibration and exhibit substantial scatter driven by dust attenuation, viewing angle, and dust-to-metal ratio. Adopting a steeper attenuation curve reduces this scatter significantly but does not fully eliminate systematic uncertainties. IR continuum-based SFRs trace intrinsic SFRs time-averaged over 100 Myr timescales when a well-sampled continuum emission between restframe 8 and 1000 micron is available and underestimate them with typical approaches when IR data are limited. Nevertheless, IR SFRs display a considerable scatter, largely due to UV photon leakage and strong variations in the star formation history. When UV data are available, hybrid (IR + UV) SFRs provide a more robust estimate, reducing scatter compared to IR-based SFRs while avoiding explicit attenuation corrections. Finally, we derive a [CII]-SFR relation finding a steeper relation than previous studies, however with significant scatter linked to gas density and metallicity. Overall, IR-, hybrid-, and [CII]-based tracers remain more robust than Halpha against variations in optical depth.

astro-ph.GA↗