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F. Bertoldi

Publications and source records attributed to F. Bertoldi.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
arXiv2002

Dust emission and star formation toward a redshift 5.5 QSO

We report observations of the low-luminosity z = 5.50 quasar RD J030117+002025 (RD0301 hereafter) at 250 GHz (1.20mm) using the Max-Planck Millimeter Bolometer (MAMBO) array at the IRAM 30-meter telescope. The quasar was detected with a 1.2mm flux density of 0.87 +-0.20 mJy. The lack of detectable 1.4 GHz radio emission indicates that the millimeter emission is of thermal nature, making RD0301 the most distant dust-emission source known. When matching a 50K grey body thermal far-infrared (FIR) spectrum to the observed millimeter flux we imply a FIR luminosity ~4x10^12 L_sun, which is comparable to the quasar's optical luminosity. If the FIR luminosity arises from massive star formation, the implied star formation rate would be ~600 M_sun/yr, comparable to that of the starburst galaxies which dominate the average star formation and FIR emission in the early Universe. The FIR luminosity of RD0301 is close to the average of that found in optically far more luminous high-redshift quasars. The comparably high millimeter to optical brightness ratio of RD0301 is further evidence for that there is no strong correlation between the optical and millimeter brightness of high-redshift quasars, supporting the idea that in high-redshift quasars the dust is not heated by the AGN, but by starbursts.

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arXiv2001

Detection of a vibration-rotation emission line of hydrogen deuteride toward Orion Peak 1: excitation coupling of HD to H_2

The 2.46um v=1-0 R(5) line of deuterated molecular hydrogen, HD, has been detected in the Orion Peak~1 shock emission region, at a surface brightness of (8.5 +/- 2.1) x 10^(-9) W m^(-2)sr^(-1) over a 6 arcsec^2 area. Comparison of the column density of HD(v=1,J=6) with the column density of HD(v=0,J=6) previously observed from ISO and the H_2 level column densities toward the same region implies that the excitation of HD is similar to that of H_2 for these energy levels, despite much higher spontaneous transition rates for HD. We suggest that this rough equality is caused by the coupling of the HD levels to those of H_2, due to strong reactive collisions, HD + H -> H_2 + D, in warm, partially dissociated gas. The deuterium abundance implied by the combined ISO and UKIRT measurements toward Orion Peak 1 is [D]/[H] = (5.1 +/- 1.9)x10^(-6).

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arXiv2001

GRB 010222: A Burst Within a Starburst

We present millimeter and submillimeter wavelength observations and near-infrared K-band imaging toward the bright gamma-ray burst GRB 010222. Over seven epochs the flux density of the source was constant with an average flux density 3.74+/-0.53 mJy at 350 GHz and 1.05+/-0.22 mJy at 250 GHz, giving a spectral index alpha=3.78+/-0.25. We rule out the possibility that this emission originated from the burst or its afterglow and we conclude that it is due to a dusty, high redshift starburst galaxy (SMM J14522+4301). We argue that the host galaxy of GRB 010222 is the most plausible counterpart of SMM J14522+4301, based in part on the centimeter detection of the host at the expected level. The optical/NIR properties of the host galaxy of GRB 010222 suggest that it is a blue, sub-L_*, similar to other GRB host galaxies. This contrasts with the enormous far-infrared luminosity of this galaxy based on our submillimeter detection (L_Bol~4X10^{12} L_odot). We suggest that this GRB host galaxy has a very high star formation rate, SFR 600 M_\odot/yr, most of which is unseen at optical wavelengths.

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arXiv2001

A 1.2mm MAMBO/IRAM-30m Survey of Dust Emission from the Highest Redshift PSS Quasars

We report 250 GHz (1.2mm) observations of redshift > 3.8 quasars from the Palomar Sky Survey (PSS) sample, using the Max-Planck Millimetre Bolometer (MAMBO) array at the IRAM 30-metre telescope. Eighteen sources were detected and upper limits were obtained for 44 with 3-sigma flux density limits in the range 1.5-4 mJy. Adopting typical dust temperatures of 40-50K, we derive dust masses of ~10^8-10^9 M_sun and far-infrared luminosities of order 10^13 L_sun. We suggest that a substantial fraction of this luminosity arises from young stars, implying star formation rates approaching 10^3 M_sun/yr or more. The high millimetre detection rate supports current views on a connection between AGN and star forming activity, suggesting a parallel evolution of the central black hole and of the stellar core of a galaxy, although their growth-rate ratio seems higher than the mass ratio observed in nearby galaxies. The observed, exceptionally bright objects may trace the peaks of the primordial density field, the cores of future giant ellipticals

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arXiv2001

Radio Observations of Infrared Luminous High Redshift QSOs

We present Very Large Array (VLA) observations at 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz of a sample of 12 Quasi-stellar Objects (QSOs) at z = 3.99 to 4.46. The sources were selected as the brightest sources at 250 GHz from the recent survey of Omont et al. (2001). We detect seven sources at 1.4 GHz with flux densities, S_{1.4} > 50 microJy. These centimeter (cm) wavelength observations imply that the millimeter (mm) emission is most likely thermal dust emission. The radio-through-optical spectral energy distributions for these sources are within the broad range defined by lower redshift, lower optical luminosity QSOs. For two sources the radio continuum luminosities and morphologies indicate steep spectrum, radio loud emission from a jet-driven radio source. For the remaining 10 sources the 1.4 GHz flux densities, or limits, are consistent with those expected for active star forming galaxies. If the radio emission is powered by star formation in these systems, then the implied star formation rates are of order 1e3 M_solar/year. We discuss the angular sizes and spatial distributions of the radio emitting regions, and we consider briefly these results in the context of co-eval black hole and stellar bulge formation in galaxies.

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arXiv2001

A 250 GHz Survey of High Redshift QSOs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present observations at 250 GHz (1.2 mm), 43 GHz, and 1.4 GHz of a sample of 41 QSOs at z > 3.7 found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We detect 16 sources with a 250 GHz flux density greater than 1.4 mJy. The combination of centimeter and millimeter wavelength observations indicates that the 250 GHz emission is most likely thermal dust emission. Assuming a dust temperature of 50 K, the implied dust masses for the 16 detected sources are in the range 1.5e8 to 5.9e8 Msun, and the dust emitting regions are likely to be larger than 1 kpc in extent. The radio-through-optical spectral energy distributions for these sources are within the broad range defined by lower redshift, lower optical luminosity QSOs. We consider possible dust heating mechanisms, including UV emission from the active nucleus (AGN) and a starburst concurrent with the AGN, with implied star formation rates between 500 and 2000 Msun/year.

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arXiv2000

Size determination of the Centaur Chariklo from millimeter-wavelength bolometer observations

Using the Max-Planck Millimeter Bolometer Array (MAMBO) at the IRAM 30m telescope we detected emission at 250 GHz from the Centaur Chariklo (1997 CU26). The observed continuum flux density implies a photometric diameter of 273 km. The resulting geometric albedo is 0.055, somewhat higher than expected from a comparison with most of the other few Centaurs and cometary nuclei for which such data are available.

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arXiv2000

Excitation of H_2 and HD in shocks and PDRs

Photodissociation regions (PDRs) and shocks give rise to conspicuous emission from rotationally and vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen. This line emission has now been studied with ISO and from the ground in great detail. A remarkable discovery has been that toward the Orion outflow and other shock-excited regions, the H_2 level populations show a very high excitation component. We suggest that these high-excitation populations may arise from non-thermal pumping processes, such as H_2 formation and high-velocity ion-molecule collision in partially dissociative shocks. In PDRs such as NGC 7023 however, formation pumping is always less important than fluorescent pumping. We furthermore present two HD emission line detections toward Orion Peak 1. This enables the first comparison of the H_2 and the HD excitation, which surprisingly turn out to be identical.

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arXiv2000

Wide Field Imaging at 250 GHz

We summarize results from sensitive, wide-field imaging at 250 GHz using the Max-Planck Bolometer Array at the IRAM 30m telescope, including source counts, clustering, and redshift distribution.

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arXiv2000

The Bright Gamma-Ray Burst 991208 - Tight Constraints on Afterglow Models from Observations of the Early-Time Radio Evolution

The millimeter wavelength emission from GRB 991208 is the second brightest ever detected, yielding a unique data set. We present here well-sampled spectra and light curves over more than two decades in frequency for a two-week period. This data set has allowed us for the first time to trace the evolution of the characteristic synchrotron self-absorption frequency nu_a and peak frequency nu_m, and the peak flux density F_m: we obtain nu_a \propto t^{-0.15 +- 0.12}, nu_m \propto t^{-1.7 +- 0.4}, and $_m \propto t^{-0.47 +- 0.11}. From the radio data we find that models of homogeneous or wind-generated ambient media with a spherically symmetric outflow can be ruled out. A model in which the relativistic outflow is collimated (a jet) can account for the observed evolution of the synchrotron parameters, the rapid decay at optical wavelengths, and the observed radio to optical spectral flux distributions that we present here, provided that the jet transition has not been fully completed in the first two weeks after the event. These observations provide additional evidence that rapidly decaying optical/X-ray afterglows are due to jets and that such transitions either develop very slowly or perhaps never reach the predicted asymptotic decay F(t) \propto t^{-p}.

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arXiv2000

Three high-redshift millimeter sources and their radio and near-infrared identifications

We present millimeter wavelength detections of three faint sources that are most likely high-redshift starburst galaxies. For one of the sources, which was previously discovered with SCUBA at 850 mu m, we present a detection with the IRAM interferometer at 240 GHz (1.25 mm) that shows the object unresolved at an angular resolution of 2.''5, and coincident within 1'' with a radio source and a galaxy detected in the near-infrared. The two other sources were discovered in a deep 250 GHz (1.2 mm) survey with the Max-Planck Millimeter Bolometer (MAMBO) array at the IRAM 30m telescope. Both have fluxes of ~4 mJy and radio counterparts with a 1.4 GHz flux density of ~75 muJy. Their radio-to-mm flux ratios suggest redshifts larger than 2. Both sources are faint in the optical and near-infrared, one showing a 20.5 mag K-band counterpart. From our data and that available in the literature, we estimate the redshift distribution of twenty-two faint mm and sub-mm sources and conclude that the majority of them are likely to be at z>2.

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arXiv2000

A Jet Model for the Afterglow Emission from GRB000301C

We present broad-band radio observations of the afterglow of GRB000301C, spanning from 1.4 to 350 GHz for the period of 3 to 83 days after the burst. This radio data, in addition to measurements at the optical bands, suggest that the afterglow arises from a collimated outflow, i.e. a jet. To test this hypothesis in a self-consistent manner, we employ a global fit and find that a model of a jet, expanding into a constant density medium (ISM+jet), provides the best fit to the data. A model of the burst occurring in a wind-shaped circumburst medium (wind-only model) can be ruled out, and a wind+jet model provides a much poorer fit of the optical/IR data than the ISM+jet model. In addition, we present the first clear indication that the reported fluctuations in the optical/IR are achromatic with similar amplitudes in all bands, and possibly extend into the radio regime. Using the parameters derived from the global fit, in particular a jet break time, t_{jet}=7.5 days, we infer a jet opening angle of θ=0.2, and consequently the estimate of the emitted energy in the GRB itself is reduced by a factor of 50 relative to the isotropic value, giving E=1.1 \times 10^{51} ergs.

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arXiv2000

Dust Emission from High Redshift QSOs

We present detections of emission at 250 GHz (1.2 mm) from two high redshift QSOs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey sample using the bolometer array at the IRAM 30m telescope. The sources are SDSSp 015048.83+004126.2 at z = 3.7, and SDSSp J033829.31+002156.3 at z = 5.0, which is the third highest redshift QSO known, and the highest redshift mm emitting source yet identified. We also present deep radio continuum imaging of these two sources at 1.4 GHz using the Very Large Array. The combination of cm and mm observations indicate that the 250 GHz emission is most likely thermal dust emission, with implied dust masses of 1e8 M_solar. We consider possible dust heating mechanisms, including UV emission from the active nucleus (AGN), and a massive starburst concurrent with the AGN, with implied star formation rates > 1e3 M_solar/year.

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arXiv1999

Studying High Redshift Star Forming Galaxies at Centimeter and Millimeter Wavelengths

We discuss various aspects of centimeter and millimeter wavelength continuum and line observations of high redshift star forming galaxies. Perhaps the most important lesson is that sensitive observations at submm through cm wavelengths reveal a population of active star forming galaxies at high redshift which are unseen in deep optical surveys due to dust obscuration. Current models suggest that this population represents the formation of the spheroidal components of galaxies at z between 2 and 5, constituting about half of the total amount of cosmic star formation from the big bang to the present. High resolution imaging at cm wavelengths provides sub-arcsecond astrometry, and can be used to search for gravitational lensing and/or for the presence of an AGN. Radio continuum observations provide unique information on the magnetic fields in early galaxies, and give a gross indication of the star formation rate, while the radio-to-submm spectral index provides a rough indication of source redshift. Low J transitions of CO are redshifted into the cm bands for z > 2, allowing for sensitive searches for CO emission over large volumes at high redshift. We present recent results from the Very Large Array (VLA), and from the new 230 GHz MPIfR bolometer array at the IRAM 30m telescope. A wide field survey with the bolometer array indicates a cut-off in the source distribution function at FIR luminosities > 3e12 L_sun. Lastly, we summarize the scientific promise of the New VLA.

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arXiv1999

Proposed identification of Hubble Deep Field submillimeter source HDF 850.1

The IRAM interferometer has been used to detect the submm source HDF 850.1 found by Hughes et al. (1998) in the Hubble Deep Field. The flux density measured at 1.3mm is 2.2 mJy, in agreement with the flux density measured at the JCMT. The flux densities and upper limits measured at 3.4, 2.8, 1.3, 0.85, and 0.45 mm show that the emission is from dust. We suggest that the 1.3mm dust source is associated with the optical arc-like feature, 3-593.0, that has a photometric redshift of about 1.7. If HDF 850.1 is at this redshift and unlensed, its spectral energy distribution, combined with that of 3-593.0, matches closely that of the ultraluminous galaxy VII Zw 31. Another possibility is that the dust source may be gravitationally lensed by the elliptical galaxy 3-586.0 at a redshift of 1.

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arXiv1999

Heating the Gas in Photodissociation Fronts

ISO has provided us with a new perspective on gas temperatures in photodissociation regions through measurements of line emission from rotationally-excited levels of the H_2 molecule. The H_2 rotational level populations provide a thermal probe, showing that gas temperatures T_gas approx 500-1000 K prevail in a portion of the PDR where significant quantities of H_2 are present. Such high gas temperatures were unexpected. Theoretical models for the S140 PDR are presented. Possible mechanisms for heating the gas to such high temperatures are discussed.

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