arXiv subjects

Andreas Burkert

Publications and source records attributed to Andreas Burkert.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The Structure and Dark Halo Core Properties of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

The structure and dark matter halo core properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are investigated. A double-isothermal model of an isothermal stellar system, embedded in an isothermal dark halo core provides an excellent fit to the various observed stellar surface density distributions. The stellar system can be well characterised by King profiles with a broad distribution of concentration parameters c. The core scale length of the stellar system a_* is sensitive to the central dark matter density rho_0. In contrast to single-component systems, the cut-off radius of the stellar system, rs_t, however does not trace the tidal radius but the core radius r_c of its dark matter halo. c is therefore sensitive to the ratio of the stellar to the dark matter velocity dispersion, sigma_*/sigma_0. Simple empirical relationships are derived that allow to calculate the dark halo core parameters rho_0, r_c and sigma_0, given the observable quantities sigma_*, a_* and c. The DIS model is applied to the Milky Way's dSphs. Their halo velocity dispersions lie in a narrow range of 10km/s <= sigma_0 <= 18km/s with halo core radii of 280pc <= r_c <= 1.3kpc and r_c=2a_*. All dSphs follow closely the same universal dark halo core scaling relation rho_0*r_c=75 Msolar/pc^2 that characterises the cores of more massive galaxies over several orders of magnitude in mass. The dark matter core mass is a strong function of core radius. Inside a fixed radius r_u, with r_u the logarithmic mean of the dSph's core radii, the total enclosed mass M_u is however roughly constant, although outliers should exist. For our dSphs we find r_u=400pc and M_u=2.6*10^7 Msolar. The core densities of the Galaxy's dSphs are very high, with rho_0=0.2 Msolar/pc^3. They should therefore be tidally undisturbed. Observational evidence for tidal effects might then provide a serious challenge for the cold dark matter scenario.

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arXiv2015

The co-planarity of satellite galaxies delivered by randomly aligned cold mode accretion streams

Recent observations have shown that the majority of the Andromeda galaxy's satellites are aligned in a thin plane. On the theoretical side it has been proposed that galaxies acquire their gas via cold streams. In addition, numerical simulations show that the same streams also deliver gas clumps which could potentially develop into satellite galaxies. Assuming that cold streams are a major source of satellite systems around galaxies we calculate the probabilities in two different models to find a certain fraction of satellites within a thin plane around the central galaxy of the host halo with and without having the same sense of rotation. Using simple geometrical considerations and adopting a random orientation of the streams we demonstrate that the vast thin disk of satellites detected around Andromeda can naturally be explained within this framework. In fact, without any satellite scattering, two streams would lead to too many satellites in the thin plane, compared with the observations. Three streams reproduce the observations very well. Natural implications from our model are that all massive galaxies should have a thin plane of satellites and that the satellites should naturally distribute themselves not only into a single plane but into several inclined ones. We estimate the effect of additional satellites accreted from random directions and find it to be of minor relevance for a mild inflow of satellites from random directions.

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arXiv2015

26Al kinematics: superbubbles following the spiral arms? Constraints from the statistics of star clusters and HI supershells

High energy resolution spectroscopy of the 1.8 MeV radioactive decay line of 26Al with the SPI instrument on board the INTEGRAL satellite has recently revealed that diffuse 26Al has large velocities in comparison to other components of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way. 26Al shows Galactic rotation in the same sense as the stars and other gas tracers, but reaches excess velocities up to 300 km/s. We investigate if this result can be understood in the context of superbubbles, taking into account the statistics of young star clusters and H I supershells, as well as the association of young star clusters with spiral arms. We derive energy output and 26Al mass of star clusters as a function of the cluster mass via population synthesis from stellar evolutionary tracks of massive stars. [...] We link this to the size distribution of HI supershells and assess the properties of likely 26Al-carrying superbubbles. 26Al is produced by star clusters of all masses above about 200 solar masses, roughly equally contributed over a logarithmic star cluster mass scale, and strongly linked to the injection of feedback energy. The observed superbubble size distribution cannot be related to the star cluster mass function in a straight forward manner. In order to avoid that the added volume of all superbubbles exceeds the volume of the Milky Way, individual superbubbles have to merge frequently. If any two superbubbles merge, or if 26Al is injected off-centre in a bigger HI supershell we expect the hot 26Al-carrying gas to obtain velocities of the order of the typical sound speed in superbubbles, about 300 km/s before decay. [...]

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arXiv2015

The chemical evolution of local star forming galaxies: Radial profiles of ISM metallicity, gas mass, and stellar mass and constraints on galactic accretion and winds

The radially averaged metallicity distribution of the ISM and the young stellar population of a sample of 20 disk galaxies is investigated by means of an analytical chemical evolution model which assumes constant ratios of galactic wind mass loss and accretion mass gain to star formation rate. Based on this model the observed metallicities and their gradients can be described surprisingly well by the radially averaged distribution of the ratio of stellar mass to ISM gas mass. The comparison between observed and model predicted metallicity is used to constrain the rate of mass loss through galactic wind and accretion gain in units of the star formation rate. Three groups of galaxies are found: galaxies with either mostly winds and only weak accretion, or mostly accretion and only weak winds, and galaxies where winds are roughly balanced by accretion. The three groups are distinct in the properties of their gas disks. Galaxies with approximately equal rates of mass-loss and accretion gain have low metallicity, atomic hydrogen dominated gas disks with a flat spatial profile. The other two groups have gas disks dominated by molecular hydrogen out to 0.5 to 0.7 isophotal radii and show a radial exponential decline, which is on average steeper for the galaxies with small accretion rates. The rates of accretion (<1.0 x SFR) and outflow (<2.4 x SFR) are relatively low. The latter depend on the calibration of the zero point of the metallicity determination from the use of HII region strong emission lines.

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arXiv2015

Structure Formation in Gas-Rich Galactic Discs with Finite Thickness: From Discs to Rings

Gravitational instabilities play an important role in structure formation of gas-rich high-redshift disc galaxies. In this paper, we revisit the axisymmetric perturbation theory and the resulting growth of structure by taking the realistic thickness of the disc into account. In the unstable regime, which corresponds for thick discs to a Toomre parameter below the critical value Q_0,crit = 0.696, we find a fastest growing perturbation wavelength that is always a factor 1.93 times larger than in the classical razor-thin disc approximation. This result is independent of the adopted disc scaleheight and by this independent of temperature and surface density. In order to test the analytical theory, we compare it with a high-resolution hydrodynamical simulation of an isothermal gravitationally unstable gas disc with the typical vertical sech^2 density profile and study its break up into rings that subsequently fragment into dense clumps. In the first phase, rings form, that organize themselves discretely, with distances corresponding to the local fastest growing perturbation wavelength. We find that the disc scaleheight has to be resolved initially with five or more grid cells in order to guarantee proper growth of the ring structures, which follow the analytical prediction. These rings later on contract to a thin and dense line, while at the same time accreting more gas from the inter-ring region. It is these dense, circular filaments, that subsequently fragment into a large number of clumps. Contrary to what is typically assumed, the clump sizes are therefore not directly determined by the fastest growing wavelength.

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arXiv2014

First Investigation of the Combined Impact of Ionizing Radiation and Momentum Winds from a Massive Star on a Self-Gravitating Core

Massive stars shape the surrounding ISM by emitting ionizing photons and ejecting material through stellar winds. To study the impact of the momentum from the wind of a massive star on the surrounding neutral or ionized material, we implemented a new HEALPix-based momentum conserving wind scheme in the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code SEREN. A qualitative study of the impact of the feedback from an O7.5-like star on a self gravitating sphere shows that, on its own, the transfer of momentum from a wind onto cold surrounding gas has both a compressing and dispersing effect. It mostly affects gas at low and intermediate densities. When combined with a stellar source's ionizing UV radiation, we find the momentum driven wind to have little direct effect on the gas. We conclude that, during a massive star's main sequence, the UV ionizing radiation is the main feedback mechanism shaping and compressing the cold gas. Overall, the wind's effects on the dense gas dynamics and on the triggering of star formation are very modest. The structures formed in the ionization-only simulation and in the combined feedback simulation are remarkably similar. However, in the combined feedback case, different SPH particles end up being compressed. This indicates that the microphysics of gas mixing differ between the two feedback simulations and that the winds can contribute to the localized redistribution and reshuffling of gas.

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arXiv2014

The Galactic Center cloud G2 and its gas streamer

We present new, deep near-infrared SINFONI @ VLT integral field spectroscopy of the gas cloud G2 in the Galactic Center, from late summer 2013 and spring 2014. G2 is visible in recombination line emission. The spatially resolved kinematic data track the ongoing tidal disruption. As expected for an observation near pericenter passage, roughly half of the gas in 2014 is found at the redshifted, pre-pericenter side of the orbit, while the other half is at the post-pericenter, blueshifted side. We also present an orbital solution for the gas cloud G1, which was discovered a decade ago in L'-band images when it was spatially almost coincident with Sgr A*. The orientation of the G1 orbit in the three angles is almost identical to the one of G2, but it has a lower eccentricity and smaller semi-major axis. We show that the observed astrometric positions and radial velocities of G1 are compatible with the G2 orbit, assuming that (i) G1 was originally on the G2 orbit preceding G2 by 13 years and (ii) a simple drag force acted on it during pericenter passage. Taken together with the previously described tail of G2, which we detect in recombination line emission and thermal broadband emission, we propose that G2 may be a bright knot in a much more extensive gas streamer. This matches purely gaseous models for G2, such as a stellar wind clump or the tidal debris from a partial disruption of a star.

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arXiv2014

Development of multiple tidal tails around globular clusters and dwarf satellite galaxies

The formation and evolution of tidal tails like those observed around some globular clusters and dwarf satellite galaxies is examined with an N-body simulation. In particular, we analyse in detail the evolving tidal features of a one-component satellite that is moving on a highly eccentric orbit in the external field of a host galaxy potential like our own. The results show that every time the satellite approaches apogalacticon, a fresh pair of tidal tails becomes notably prominent, and that eventually, the satellite possesses multiple tidal tails via repeating apocentre passages. Accordingly, the number of observed tidal arms can be used as a tracer of the number of orbital periods that such a system has completed around the centre of its host galaxy. By identifying the arm particles included in each of the first three consecutively formed pairs of tidal tails, we find that each pair of tidal tails is practically identical to one another regarding the energy and angular-momentum distributions. In addition, we demonstrate that the density profiles of these three pairs of tidal tails at their first apogalacticons after formation agree well with one another. It therefore follows that the multiplicity in tidal features originates from the repeated episode of tidal-arm formation in the course of the precessing motion of a satellite.

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arXiv2014

Re-examining the Too-Big-To-Fail Problem for Dark Matter Haloes with Central Density Cores

Recent studies found the densities of dark matter (DM) subhaloes which surround nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) to be significantly lower than those of the most massive subhaloes expected around Milky Way sized galaxies in cosmological simulations, the so called "too-big-to-fail" (TBTF) problem. A caveat of previous work has been that dark substructures were assumed to contain steep density cusps in the center of DM haloes even though the central density structure of DM haloes is still under debate. In this study, we re-examine the TBTF problem for models of DM density structure with cores or shallowed cusps. Our analysis demonstrates that the TBTF problem is alleviated as the logarithmic slope of the central cusp becomes shallower. We find that the TBTF problem is avoided if the central cusps of DM haloes surrounding dSphs are shallower than $r^{-0.6}$.

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arXiv2014

The Bones of the Milky Way

The very long and thin infrared dark cloud "Nessie" is even longer than had been previously claimed, and an analysis of its Galactic location suggests that it lies directly in the Milky Way's mid-plane, tracing out a highly elongated bone-like feature within the prominent Scutum-Centaurus spiral arm. Re-analysis of mid-infrared imagery from the Spitzer Space Telescope shows that this IRDC is at least 2, and possibly as many as 5 times longer than had originally been claimed by Nessie's discoverers (Jackson et al. 2010); its aspect ratio is therefore at least 300:1, and possibly as large as 800:1. A careful accounting for both the Sun's offset from the Galactic plane ($\sim 25$ pc) and the Galactic center's offset from the $(l^{II},b^{II})=(0,0)$ position shows that the latitude of the true Galactic mid-plane at the 3.1 kpc distance to the Scutum-Centaurus Arm is not $b=0$, but instead closer to $b=-0.4$, which is the latitude of Nessie to within a few pc. An analysis of the radial velocities of low-density (CO) and high-density (${\rm NH}_3$) gas associated with the Nessie dust feature suggests that Nessie runs along the Scutum-Centaurus Arm in position-position-velocity space, which means it likely forms a dense `spine' of the arm in real space as well. The Scutum-Centaurus arm is the closest major spiral arm to the Sun toward the inner Galaxy, and, at the longitude of Nessie, it is almost perpendicular to our line of sight, making Nessie the easiest feature to see as a shadow elongated along the Galactic Plane from our location. Future high-resolution dust mapping and molecular line observations of the harder-to-find Galactic "bones" should allow us to exploit the Sun's position above the plane to gain a (very foreshortened) view "from above" of the Milky Way's structure.

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arXiv2014

A Consistent Study of Metallicity Evolution at 0.8 < z < 2.6

We present the correlations between stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR) and [NII]/Ha flux ratio as indicator of gas-phase metallicity for a sample of 222 galaxies at 0.8 < z < 2.6 and log(M*/Msun)=9.0-11.5 from the LUCI, SINS/zC-SINF and KMOS3D surveys. This sample provides a unique analysis of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) over an extended redshift range using consistent data analysis techniques and strong-line metallicity indicator. We find a constant slope at the low-mass end of the relation and can fully describe its redshift evolution through the evolution of the characteristic turnover mass where the relation begins to flatten at the asymptotic metallicity. At fixed mass and redshift, our data do not show a correlation between the [NII]/Ha ratio and SFR, which disagrees with the 0.2-0.3dex offset in [NII]/Ha predicted by the "fundamental relation" between stellar mass, SFR and metallicity discussed in recent literature. However, the overall evolution towards lower [NII]/Ha at earlier times does broadly agree with these predictions.

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arXiv2014

Cosmological simulations of black hole growth: AGN luminosities and downsizing

In this study, we present a detailed, statistical analysis of black hole growth and the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGN) using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations run down to $z=0$. The simulations self-consistently follow radiative cooling, star formation, metal enrichment, black hole growth and associated feedback processes from both supernovae typeII/Ia and AGN. We consider two simulation runs, one with a large co-moving volume of $(500\ \mathrm{Mpc})^3$ and one with a smaller volume of $(68\ \mathrm{Mpc})^3$ but with a by a factor of almost 20 higher mass resolution. Consistently with previous results, our simulations can widely match observed black hole properties of the local Universe. Furthermore, our simulations can successfully reproduce the evolution of the bolometric AGN luminosity function for both the low-luminosity and the high-luminosity end up to $z=3.0$. In addition, the smaller but higher resolution run is able to match the observational data of the low bolometric luminosity end at higher redshifts $z=3-4$. We also perform a direct comparison with the observed soft and hard X-ray luminosity functions of AGN, including an empirical correction for a torus-level obscuration, and find a similarly good agreement. These results nicely demonstrate that the observed "anti-hierarchical" trend in the AGN number density evolution (i.e. the number densities of luminous AGN peak at higher redshifts than those of faint AGN) is self-consistently predicted by our simulations. Implications of this downsizing behaviour on active black holes, their masses and Eddington-ratios are discussed. Overall, the downsizing behaviour in the AGN number density as a function of redshift can be mainly attributed to the evolution of the gas density in the resolved vicinity of a (massive) black hole. (shortened)

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arXiv2014

From Filaments to Oscillating Starless Cores

Long wavelength sonic oscillations are observed or inferred in many of the small, dark molecular clouds, the starless cores, that are the precursors to protostars. The oscillations provide significant internal energy and the time scale for their dissipation may control the rate of star formation in the starless cores. Despite their importance, their origin is unknown. We explore one hypothesis that the oscillations develop as a starless core forms from a filament. We model this process with a numerical hydrodynamic simulation and generate synthetic molecular line observations with a radiative transfer simulation. Comparison with actual observations shows general agreement suggesting the proposed mechanism is viable.

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arXiv2014

The formation of filamentary bundles in turbulent molecular clouds

The classical picture of a star-forming filament is a near-equilibrium structure, with collapse dependent on its gravitational criticality. Recent observations have complicated this picture, revealing filaments as a mess of apparently interacting subfilaments, with transsonic internal velocity dispersions and mildly supersonic intra-subfilament dispersions. How structures like this form is unresolved. Here we study the velocity structure of filamentary regions in a simulation of a turbulent molecular cloud. We present two main findings: first, the observed complex velocity features in filaments arise naturally in self gravitating hydrodynamic simulations of turbulent clouds without the need for magnetic or other effects. Second, a region that is filamentary only in projection and is in fact made of spatially distinct features can displays these same velocity characteristics. The fact that these disjoint structures can masquerade as coherent filaments in both projection and velocity diagnostics highlights the need to continue developing sophisticated filamentary analysis techniques for star formation observations.

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arXiv2014

The connection between the cusp-to-core transformation and observational universalities of DM halos

Observations have revealed interesting universal properties of dark matter (DM) halos especially around low-mass galaxies. Strigari et al. (2008) showed that DM halos have common enclosed masses within 300pc (Strigari relation). Kormendy & Freeman (2004) reported DM halos having almost identical central surface densities (the $μ_{\rm 0D}$ relation). In addition, there exists a core-cusp problem, a discrepancy of the central density distribution between simulated halos and observations. We investigate whether a scenario where cuspy halos transform into cores by some dynamical processes can also explain their universal structural properties. It is shown that a cusp-to-core transformation model naturally reproduces the $μ_{\rm 0D}$ relation and that Strigari relation follows from the $μ_{\rm 0D}$ relation for dwarf galaxies. We also show that the central densities of cored dark halos provide valuable information about their formation redshifts.

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arXiv2013

Observations of the gas cloud G2 in the Galactic Center

In 2011, we discovered a compact gas cloud ("G2") with roughly three Earth masses that is falling on a near-radial orbit toward the massive black hole in the Galactic Center. The orbit is well constrained and pericenter passage is predicted for early 2014. Our data beautifully show that G2 gets tidally sheared apart due to the massive black hole's force. During the next months, we expect that in addition to the tidal effects, hydrodynamics get important, when G2 collides with the hot ambient gas around Sgr A*. Simulations show that ultimately, the cloud's material might fall into the massive black hole. Predictions for the accretion rate and luminosity evolution, however, are very difficult due to the many unknowns. Nevertheless, this might be a unique opportunity in the next years to observe how gas feeds a massive black hole in a galactic nucleus.

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arXiv2013

The Mystery of the $σ$-Bump -- A new Signature for Major Mergers in Early-type Galaxies?

The stellar velocity dispersion as a function of the galactocentric radius of an early-type galaxy can generally be well approximated by a power law $σ\propto r^β$. However, some observed dispersion profiles show a deviation from this fit at intermediate radii, usually between one and three $R_{\mathrm{eff}}$, where the velocity dispersion remains constant with radius, showing a bump-like behavior, which we term the "$σ$-"bump. To understand the origin of this $σ$-bump, we study a set of simulated early-type galaxies formed in major mergers. We find the $σ$-bump in all of our simulated early-type galaxies, with the size and position of the bump slightly varying from galaxy to galaxy, leading to the assumption that the bump is a characteristic of the major merger formation scenario. The feature can be seen both in the intrinsic and projected stellar velocity dispersions. In contrast to shells that form during the merger event but evolve with time and finally disappear, the $σ$-bump stays nearly constant with radius and is a permanent feature that is preserved until the end of the simulation. The $σ$-bump is not seen in the dark matter and gas components and we therefore conclude that it is a purely stellar feature of merger remnants.

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arXiv2013

Wet Disc Contraction to Galactic Blue Nuggets and Quenching to Red Nuggets

We study the origin of high-redshift, compact, quenched spheroids (red nuggets) through the dissipative shrinkage of gaseous discs into compact star-forming systems (blue nuggets). The discs, fed by cold streams, undergo violent disc instability (VDI) that drives gas into the centre (along with mergers). The inflow is dissipative when its timescale is shorter than the star formation timescale. This implies a threshold of 0.28 in the cold-to-total mass ratio within the disc radius. For the typical gas fraction 0.5 at z=2, this threshold is traced back to a maximum spin parameter of 0.05, implying that half the star-forming galaxies contract to blue nuggets, while the rest form extended stellar discs. Thus, the surface density of blue galaxies is expected to be bimodal about 10^9 Msun/kpc^2, slightly increasing with mass. Blue nuggets are expected to be rare at low z when the gas fraction is low. The blue nuggets quench to red nuggets by complementary internal and external mechanisms. Internal quenching by a compact bulge, operating as a fast mode and especially at high z, may involve starbursts, stellar and AGN feedback, or Q-quenching. Quenching due to hot-medium haloes above 10^{12} Msun provides maintenance and a slower mode at low redshift. These predictions are confirmed in simulations and are consistent with observations at z=0-3.

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