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Elaine M. Sadler

Publications and source records attributed to Elaine M. Sadler.

85 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Angular clustering in the SUMSS radio survey

We measure the angular correlation function of radio galaxies selected by the 843 MHz Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey (SUMSS). We find that the characteristic imprint of large-scale structure is clearly detectable, and that the survey is very uniform. Through comparison with similar analyses for other wide-area radio surveys - the 1400 MHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and the 325 MHz Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS) - we are able to derive consistent angular clustering parameters, including a steep slope for the clustering function, $w(θ) \propto θ^{-1.1}$. We revise upwards previous estimates of the NVSS clustering amplitude, and find no evidence for dependence of clustering properties on radio frequency. It is important to incorporate the full covariance matrix when fitting parameters to the measured correlation function. Once the redshift distribution for mJy radio galaxies has been determined, these projected clustering measurements will permit a robust description of large-scale structure at $z \sim 0.8$, the median redshift of the sources.

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A Survey for EHB Stars in the Galactic Bulge

We present a progress report on an extensive survey to find and characterize all types of blue horizontal-branch stars in the nuclear bulge of the Galaxy. We have obtained wide, shallow imaging in UBV of ~12 square degrees in the bulge, with follow-up spectroscopy for radial velocities and metal abundance determinations. We have discovered a number of metal-rich blue HB stars, whose presence in the bulge is expected by the interpretation of the extragalactic ultraviolet excess. Very deep images have been obtained in UBV and SDSS u along the bulge minor axis, which reveal a significant number of EHB candidates fainter than B = 19, i.e., with the same absolute magnitudes as EHB stars in several globular clusters.

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The local black-hole mass function from 2dFGRS radio galaxies

Radio emission from early-type (E and S0) galaxies usually signals the presence of a central supermassive black hole. If radio luminosity and black-hole mass are correlated, then we can use the large sample of radio galaxies observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) to estimate the local (z<0.1) black-hole mass function for early-type galaxies. Integrating over this mass function yields a local black-hole mass density of Rho_BH = 1.8 (+0.4, -0.6) x 10^5 solar mases/Mpc^3 (for Ho = 50 km/s/Mpc), in good agreement both with the local value derived from galaxy velocity dispersions and with the high-redshift value derived from QSOs. This supports earlier suggestions that local radio galaxies are the direct descendants of most or all of the high-redshift QSOs.

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Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: AGN, starburst galaxies and their cosmic evolution

Radio continuum surveys can detect galaxies over a very wide range in redshift, making them powerful tools for studying the distant universe. Until recently, though, identifying the optical counterparts of faint radio sources and measuring their redshifts was a slow and laborious process which could only be carried out for relatively small samples of galaxies. Combining data from all-sky radio continuum surveys with optical spectra from the new large-area redshift surveys now makes it possible to measure redshifts for tens of thousands of radio-emitting galaxies, as well as determining unambiguously whether the radio emission in each galaxy arises mainly from an active nucleus (AGN) or from processes related to star formation. Here we present some results from a recent study of radio-source populations in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, including a new derivation of the local star-formation density, and discuss the prospects for future studies of galaxy evolution using both radio and optical data.

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HI in elliptical galaxies

Neutral hydrogen is an important component of the interstellar medium in elliptical galaxies as well as a potentially valuable mass tracer. Until recently, HI surveys of early-type galaxies have been sparse and inhomogeneous but this has changed with the advent of the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS; Barnes et al. 2001). We discuss HIPASS observations of a sample of ~2500 nearby E/S0 galaxies, as well as detailed HI imaging of a range of individual objects.

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Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey - II. Local radio luminosity functions for AGN and star-forming galaxies at 1.4 GHz

We have cross-matched the 1.4 GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) with the first 210 fields observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), covering an effective area of 325 square degrees (about 20% of the final 2dFGRS area). This yields a set of optical spectra of 912 candidate NVSS counterparts, of which we identify 757 as genuine radio IDs - the largest and most homogeneous set of radio-source spectra ever obtained. The 2dFGRS radio sources span the redshift range z=0.005 to 0.438, and are a mixture of active galaxies (60%) and star-forming galaxies (40%). About 25% of the 2dFGRS radio sources are spatially resolved by NVSS, and the sample includes three giant radio galaxies with projected linear size greater than 1 Mpc. The high quality of the 2dF spectra means we can usually distinguish unambiguously between AGN and star-forming galaxies. We have made a new determination of the local radio luminosity function at 1.4 GHz for both active and star-forming galaxies, and derive a local star-formation density of 0.022+/-0.004 solar masses per year per cubic Mpc. (Ho=50 km/s/Mpc).

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Hot Horizontal Branch Stars in the Galactic Bulge. I

We present the first results of a survey of blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars in the Galactic bulge. 164 candidates with 15 < V < 17.5 in a field 7.5deg from the Galactic Center were observed in the blue at 2.4A FWHM resolution with the AAT 2dF spectrograph. Radial velocities were measured for all stars. For stars with strong Balmer lines, their profiles were matched to theoretical spectrum calculations to determine stellar temperature Teff and gravity log g; matches to metal lines yielded abundances. CTIO UBV photometry then gave the reddening and distance to each hot star. Reddening was found to be highly variable, with E(B-V) from 0.0 to 0.55 around a mean of 0.28. Forty-seven BHB candidates were identified with Teff >= 7250K, of which seven have the gravities of young stars, three are ambiguous, and 37 are HB stars. They span a wide metallicity range, from solar to 1/300 solar. The warmer BHB's are more metal-poor and loosely concentrated towards the Galactic center, while the cooler ones are of somewhat higher metallicity and closer to the center. Their red B-V colors overlap main-sequence stars, but the U-B vs. B-V diagram separates them until E(B-V) > 0.5. We detect two cool solar-metallicity HB stars in the bulge of our own Galaxy, the first such stars known. Still elusive are their hot counterparts, the metal-rich sdB/O stars causing excess UV light in metal-rich galaxies; they have V ~ 20.5 in the Bulge.

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Galaxy destruction and diffuse light in clusters

Deep images of the Centaurus and Coma clusters reveal two spectacular arcs of diffuse light that stretch for over 100 kpc, yet are just a few kpc wide. At a surface brightness of m_b \sim 27-28th arcsec^-2, the Centaurus arc is the most striking example known of structure in the diffuse light component of a rich galaxy cluster. We use numerical simulations to show that the Centaurus feature can be reproduced by the tidal debris of a spiral galaxy that has been tidally disrupted by the gravitational potential of NGC 4709. The surface brightness and narrow dimensions of the diffuse light suggest that the disk was co-rotating with its orbital path past pericentre. Features this prominent in clusters will be relatively rare, although at fainter surface brightness levels the diffuse light will reveal a wealth of structure. Deeper imaging surveys may be able to trace this feature for several times its presently observed extent and somewhere along the tidal debris, a fraction of the original stellar component of the disk will remain bound, but transformed into a faint spheroidal galaxy. It should be possible to confirm the galactic origin of the Centaurus arc by observing planetary nebulae along its length with redshifts close to that of NGC 4709.

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Radio Sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. I. Radio Source Populations

We present the first results from a study of the radio continuum properties of galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, based on thirty 2dF fields covering a total area of about 100 square degrees. About 1.5% of galaxies with b(J) < 19.4 mag are detected as radio continuum sources in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). Of these, roughly 40% are star-forming galaxies and 60% are active galaxies (mostly low-power radio galaxies and a few Seyferts). The combination of 2dFGRS and NVSS will eventually yield a homogeneous set of around 4000 radio-galaxy spectra, which will be a powerful tool for studying the distriibution and evolution of both AGN and starburst galaxies out to redshift z=0.3.

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SN1997cy/GRB970514 - A New Piece in the GRB Puzzle?

We present observations of SN1997cy, a supernova discovered as part of the Mount Stromlo Abell Cluster SN Search, which does not easily fit into the traditional classification scheme for supernovae. This object's extraordinary optical properties and coincidence with GRB970514, a short duration gamma ray burst, suggest a second case, after SN1998bw/GRB980425, for a SN-GRB association. SN1997cy is among the most luminous SNe yet discovered and has a peculiar spectrum. We present evidence that SN1997cy ejected approximately 2 solar masses of 56Ni, supported by its late-time light curve, and FeII/[FeIII] lines in its spectrum, although it is possible that both these observations can be explained via circumstellar interaction. While SN1998bw and SN1997cy appear to be very different objects with respect to both their gamma ray and optical properties, SN1997cy and the optical transient associated with GRB970508 have roughly similar late-time optical behavior. This similarity may indicate that the late-time optical output of these two intrinsically bright transient events have a common physical process. Although the connection between GRB970514 and SN1997cy is suggestive, it is not conclusive. However, if this association is real, followup of short duration GRBs detected with BATSE or HETE2 should reveal objects similar to SN1997cy.

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SUMSS: A Wide-Field Radio Imaging Survey of the Southern Sky. I. Science goals, survey design and instrumentation

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, operating at 843 MHz with a 5 square degree field of view, is carrying out a radio imaging survey of the sky south of declination -30 deg. This survey (the Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey, or SUMSS) produces images with a resolution of 43" x 43" cosec(Dec.) and an rms noise level of about 1 mJy/beam. SUMSS is therefore similar in sensitivity and resolution to the northern NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS; Condon et al. 1998). The survey is progressing at a rate of about 1000 square degrees per year, yielding individual and statistical data for many thousands of weak radio sources. This paper describes the main characteristics of the survey, and presents sample images from the first year of observation.

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The Proper Motion of NGC 6522 in Baade's Window

We have detected seven stars with a common proper motion which are located within 2.5 arcminutes of the globular cluster NGC 6522 in the Baade's Window field of the Galactic bulge. We argue that these stars are members of the cluster, and derive a weighted mean proper motion and heliocentric radial velocity of mu_l = 1.4 +/- 0.2 mas/yr, mu_b = -6.2 +/- 0.2 mas/yr, v = -28.5 +/- 6.5 km/s. We rederive the distance to NGC 6522 (0.91 +/- 0.04 R_0, where R_0 is the Galactocentric distance) and metallicity ([Fe/H] = -1.28 +/- 0.12), making use of recent revisions in the foreground extinction toward the cluster (A_V = 1.42 +/- 0.05). We find the spatial velocity of the cluster and conclude that the cluster stays close to the Galactic center, and may have experienced significant bulge/disk shocking during its lifetime.

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K Giants in Baade's Window. II. The Abundance Distribution

This is the second in a series of papers in which we analyze spectra of over 400 K and M giants in Baade's Window, including most of the stars with proper motions measured by Spaenhauer et al. [AJ, 103, 297 (1992)]. In our first paper, we measured line--strength indices of Fe, Mg, CN and H$β$ and calibrated them on the system of Faber et al. [ApJS, 57, 711 (1985)]. Here, we use the $\langle{\rm Fe}\rangle$ index to derive an abundance distribution in [Fe/H] for 322 stars with effective temperatures between 3900 K and 5160 K. Our derived values of [Fe/H] agree well with those measured from high--resolution echelle spectra (e.g., McWilliam \& Rich [ApJS, 91, 749 (1994)]) for the small number of stars in common. We find a mean abundance $\langle{\rm [Fe/H]}\rangle = -0.11 \pm 0.04$ for our sample of Baade's Window K giants. More than half the sample lie in the range $-0.4 <$ \feh\ $<+0.3$. We estimate line--of--sight distances for individual stars in our sample and confirm that, in Baade's Window, most K giants with $V < 15.5$ are foreground disk stars, but the great majority (more than 80\%) with $V > 16$ belong to the bulge. We also compare the metallicities derived from the CN and Mg$_2$ indices to those from iron. Most of the metal--rich stars in our sample appear to be CN--weak, in contrast to the situation in metal--rich globular clusters and elliptical galaxies. The metal--poor half of our sample ([Fe/H] $< 0$) shows evidence for a mild Mg overenhancement ([Mg/Fe] $\sim +0.2$); but this is not seen in the more metal--rich stars ([Fe/H] $\geq$ 0). The K giants in Baade's Window therefore share some, but not all, of the characteristics of stars in elliptical galaxies as inferred from their integrated light.

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