arXiv subjects

F. Combes

Publications and source records attributed to F. Combes.

At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources

arXiv1997

Mixing and Transfer of Elements by Interactions and Mergers

Galaxy interactions produce strong torques that generate radial gas flows. There are two opposite tendencies of these flows, regarding abundance gradients: homogeneization and gradient flattening, and enhanced star formation in the center, and gradient steepening. Mechanisms to create abundance gradients are discussed, and comparison with observations is detailed, concerning spirals (such as collisional rings, starbursts..) or ellipticals (formed or not in mergers). A review of N-body simulations predictions, taken into account star formation, is also presented.

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arXiv1997

Molecular lines in absorption: recent results

Some recent results are presented about high redshift molecular absorption lines, namely about chemical abundances of elements, and in particular of water and molecular oxygen. Excitation temperatures of several molecules are found lower than the cosmic background temperature at the corresponding redshift z=0.88582 in PKS1830-211, and interpretations are proposed. The radio flux monitoring of the two gravitational images of PKS1830-211 is presented over almost two years, but precise calibration is still preventing the determination of the time-delay without ambiguity. The high spectral resolution of radio observations allows to put constraints on the variation of the fine-structure constant over a large fraction of the Hubble time.

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arXiv1997

Extended gas in interacting systems

HI observations have revealed large gaseous extensions in interacting and merging systems. The interstellar gas is obviously dragged out in tidal tails during an encounter, and the percentage of HI in the tails increases with the merging stage. However, the opposite is true for the molecular gas, which is observed highly concentrated towards the nuclei of interacting galaxies, amounting to a significant fraction of the dynamical mass. Statistically, there appears to be more gas observed in interacting galaxies than in normal, isolated ones. As N-body simulations show, the gas is driven inwards in the interaction process by the strong gravity torques, before being consumed through star formation in the triggered starbursts. We review here all observations that could bring more knowledge about the state of the gas in the outer parts of galaxies, and about accretion processes. The link with the observations of the Ly$α$ absorbers at low and high redshifts is discussed.

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arXiv1997

A sensitive search for CO emission from faint blue galaxies at z~0.5

We have obtained sensitive upper limits on the CO J=2-1 and CO J=3-2 emission lines for five faint blue galaxies with redshifts $z\sim 0.5$ using the IRAM 30~m telescope. These observations would have been able to detect the luminous infrared galaxy IRAS F10214+4724 if it were located at this redshift and unlensed. However, they are not sensitive enough to detect the prototype starburst galaxy M82 or the HII galaxy UM448 if they were located at this redshift. Our upper limits for the CO emission are consistent with between 19% and 66% of the total galactic mass being in the form of molecular hydrogen, and thus shed little light on the ultimate fate of these galaxies.

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arXiv1997

The Central Regions of the Galaxy and Galaxies: A Brief Summary

This symposium has revealed considerable new progress on nuclei of galaxies over the last three years. In this talk, I will try to point out the advances since the last meeting on exactly the same subject held three years ago at Ringberg Castle the Galactic Center", ed. R. Genzel and A. Harris, Kluwer.

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arXiv1997

Molecular gas in galaxies of Hickson compact groups

We have observed 70 galaxies belonging to 45 Hickson compact groups in the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) lines, in order to determine their molecular content. We detected 57 galaxies, corresponding to a detection rate of 81%. We compare the gas content relative to blue and FIR luminosities of galaxies in compact groups with respect to other samples in the literature, including various environments and morphological types. We find that there is some hint of enhanced M(H2)/Lb and M(dust)/Lb ratios in the galaxies from compact group with respect to our control sample, especially for the most compact groups, suggesting that tidal interactions can drive the gas component inwards, by removing its angular momentum, and concentrating it in the dense central regions, where it is easily detected. The molecular gas content in compact group galaxies is similar to that in pairs and starburst samples. However, the total L(FIR) luminosity of HCGs is quite similar to that of the control sample, and therefore the star formation efficiency appears lower than in the control galaxies. However this assumes that the FIR spatial distributions are similar in both samples which is not the case at radio frequencies. Higher spatial resolution FIR data are needed to make a valid comparison. Given their short dynamical friction time-scale, it is possible that some of these systems are in the final stage before merging, leading to ultra-luminous starburst phases. We also find for all galaxy samples that the \htwo content (derived from CO luminosity and normalised to blue luminosity) is strongly correlated to the L(FIR)luminosity, while the total gas content H2+HI is not.

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arXiv1997

New upper limits on the interstellar O2 abundance

We report new observations of molecular oxygen in absorption at z=0.685 in front of the radio source B0218+357. The lines at 56.3 and 118.7 GHz have been observed, redshifted to 33.4 and 70.5 GHz respectively, with the 12m at Kitt Peak, 43m at Green Bank telescopes, and the 45m Nobeyama radio telescope. Deriving the surface filling factor of the absorbing dark cloud with other lines detected at nearby frequencies, we deduce from the upper limits on the O2 lines a relative abundance of molecular oxygen with respect to carbon monoxyde of O2/CO $\la$ 2 10$^{-3}$ at 1$σ$, seven times lower than the previous limit. The consequences of this result are discussed.

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arXiv1997

Perspectives for detecting cold H2 in outer galactic disks

We review here the main direct or indirect ways to detect the possible presence of large amounts of cold molecular hydrogen in the outer parts of disk galaxies, an hypothesis that we have recently developed. Direct ways range from H2 absorption in the UV domain to detection of the radio hyperfine structure: the ortho-H2 molecule has an hyperfine, or ultrafine, structure in its fundamental state, due to the coupling between the rotation-induced magnetic moment, and the nuclear spin. This gives rise to 2 magnetic dipole transitions, at the wavelengths of 0.5 and 5.5 km. Indirect ways are essentially the detection of the HD and LiH transitions, and in some environments like clusters of galaxies, more heavy trace molecules such as CO. We discuss from this point of view the recent discovery by COBE/FIRAS of a very cold Galactic dust component (4-7 K) which could correspond to a dominating gas mass component of the ISM, if interpreted as standard dust emission. Some of the proposed means could be applied to the well-known molecular clouds, to bring some new light to the problem of the H2/CO conversion ratio.

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arXiv1997

Vertical equilibrium of molecular gas in galaxies

We present CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) observations of the two nearly face-on galaxies NGC 628 and NGC 3938, in particular cuts along the major and minor axis. The contribution of the beam-smeared in-plane velocity gradients to the observed velocity width is quite small in the outer parts of the galaxies. This allows us to derive the velocity dispersion of the molecular gas perpendicular to the plane. We find that this dispersion is remarkably constant with radius, 6 \kms for NGC 628 and 8.5 \kms for NGC 3938, and of the same order as the \hI\ dispersion. The constancy of the value is interpreted in terms of a feedback mechanism involving gravitational instabilities and gas dissipation. The similarity of the CO and \hI dispersions suggests that the two components are well mixed, and are only two different phases of the same kinematical gas component. The gas can be transformed from the atomic phase to the molecular phase and vice-versa several times during a z-oscillation.

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arXiv1997

Detection of water at z = 0.685 towards B0218+357

We report the detection of the H_2O molecule in absorption at a redshift z = 0.68466 in front of the gravitationally lensed quasar B0218+357. We detect the fundamental transition of ortho-water at 556.93 GHz (redshifted to 330.59 GHz). The line is highly optically thick and relatively wide (15 km/s FWHM), with a profile that is similar to that of the previously detected CO(2--1) and HCO^+(2--1) optically thick absorption lines toward this quasar. From the measured level of the continuum at 330.59 GHz, which corresponds to the level expected from the power-law spectrum $S(ν) \propto ν^{-0.25}$ already observed at lower frequencies, we deduce that the filling factor of the H_2O absorption is large. It was already known from the high optical thickness of the CO, ^{13}CO and C^{18}O lines that the molecular clouds entirely cover one of the two lensed images of the quasar (all its continuum is absorbed); our present results indicate that the H_2O clouds are covering a comparable surface. The H_2O molecules are therefore not confined to small cores with a tiny filling factor, but are extended over parsec scales. The H_2O line has a very large optical depth, and only isotopic lines could give us the water abundance. We have also searched for the 183 GHz line in absorption, obtaining only an upper limit; this yields constraints on the excitation temperature.

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arXiv1997

The 3D Geometry of Dark Matter Halos

The thickness of the neutral hydrogen layer, coupled with the rotation curve, traces the outer dark matter potential. We estimate the amplitude of the flaring in spiral galaxies from a 3D model of the HI gas. Warps in particular are explicitly parametrized in the form of an harmonical density wave. Applying our method to the galaxy NGC 891, the only model that could fit the observations, and in particular the HI at large height above the plane, includes a strong warp with a line of node almost coinciding with the line of sight. This high-Z HI is not observed at the most extreme velocity channels, those corresponding to high rotational velocities. This is accounted for by the model, since orbits in the tilted planes are not circular, but elongated, with their minor axis in the galaxy plane. Their velocity on the major axis (i.e. at their maximal height above the plane) is then 30% less than in the plane. We finally connect the modelled vertical outer gaseous distribution to the dark matter through hydrodynamical and gravitational equations. Under the assumption of isotropy of the gaseous velocity dispersion, we conclude on a very flattened halo geometry for the galaxy NGC 891 ($q \approx 0.2$), while a vertical velocity dispersion smaller that the radial one would lead to a less flattened Dark Matter Halo ($q \approx 0.4-0.5$). Both results however suggests that dark matter is dissipative or has been strongly influenced by the gas dynamics.

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arXiv1996

Fractal Dimensions and Scaling Laws in the Interstellar Medium: a new Field Theory approach

We develop a field theoretical approach to the cold interstellar medium (ISM). We show that a non-relativistic self-gravitating gas in thermal equilibrium with variable number of atoms or fragments is exactly equivalent to a field theory of a single scalar field ϕ({\vec x}) with exponential self interaction.We analyze this field theory perturbatively and non-perturbatively through the renormalization group approach.We show scaling behaviour(critical) for a continuous range of the temperature and of the other physical parameters. We derive in this framework the scaling relation Delta M(R) \sim R^{d_H} for the mass on a region of size R, and Delta v \sim R^q for the velocity dispersion where q = (d_H -1)/2. For the density-density correlations we find a power-law behaviour for large distances \sim|{\vec r_1} -{\vec r_2}|^{2 d_H -6}. The fractal dimension d_H turns to be related with the critical exponent nu of the correlation length by d_H = 1/nu. The renormalization group approach for a single component scalar field in three dimensions states that the long- distance critical behaviour is governed by the (non-perturbative) Ising fixed point. The corresponding values of the scaling exponents are nu = 0.631..., d_H = 1.585... and q = 0.293.... Mean field theory yields for the scaling exponents nu =1/2, d_H = 2 and q = 1/2. Both the Ising and the mean field values are compatible with the present ISM observational data: 1.4 \leq d_H \leq 2, 0.3 \leq q \leq 0.6.As typical in critical phenomena, the scaling behaviour and critical exponents of the ISM can be obtained without dwelling into the dynamical (time-dependent) behaviour. The relevant rôle of self- gravity is stressed by the authors in a Letter to Nature, September 5, 1996.

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arXiv1996

Self-gravity as an explanation of the fractal structure of the interstellar medium

The gas clouds of the interstellar medium have a fractal structure, the origin of which has generally been thought to lie in turbulence. The energy of turbulence could come from galactic rotation at large-scale, then cascade down to be dissipated on small-scales by viscosity; it has been suggested that such turbulence helps to prevent massive molecular clouds from collapsing in response to their own gravity. Here we show that, on the contrary, self-gravity itself may be the dominant factor in making clouds fractal. We develop a field-theory approach to the structure of clouds, assuming them to be isothermal, and with only gravitational interactions; we find that the observed fractal dimension of the clouds arise naturally from this approach. Although this result does not imply that turbulence is not important, it does demonstrate that the fractal structure can be understood without it.

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arXiv1996

Search for molecular absorption in the tori of active galactic nuclei

We describe a search for molecular absorption at millimetre wavelengths associated with dusty molecular tori in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The sample observed consists of 11 flat-spectrum radio sources known to have red optical to infra-red colours plus two steep-spectrum narrow-line radio galaxies. Spectra of the sources were obtained in the 3-, 2- and 1.3-millimetre bands at frequencies corresponding to common molecular transitions of CO, HCO+, HCN and CS at the AGN redshift. No absorptions were detected in any of the sources. We calculated upper limits to the column density in molecular absorption, using an excitation temperature of 10 K, to be N(CO) < 10^{15} - 10^{16} cm^-2, equivalent to hydrogen columns of order N(H) < 10^{19} - 10^{20} cm^-2. These limits are significantly lower than the values N(H) \approx (2 - 6) 10^{21} cm^-2 that might be expected if the red colours of these sources were due to dust absorption at the quasar redshift as suggested by Webster et al. (1995). Should the excitation temperature of the molecular transitions be higher than 100K, the upper limits to the H2 column densities would be greater than those derived from the red colours. To explain the lack of molecular absorption we conclude that either the optical extinction takes place outside the host galaxy (along the line of sight), or the excitation temperature of the molecular transitions is very high, or the obscuration is not associated with significant amounts of cold molecular gas. It is quite possible that the hard X-ray flux from the central source of these AGN is strong enough to photo-dissociate the molecules.

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arXiv1996

M=1 and 2 Gravitational Instabilities in Gaseous Disks: I. Diffuse Gas

We report the results of self-gravitating simulations of spiral galaxies, modeled by stellar and gaseous components, developed to investigate in particular the role of dissipation in the evolution of galaxy disks. The gas disk is simulated by the Beam-Scheme method, where it is considered as a self-gravitating fluid. The results suggest that the gravitational coupling between the stars and gas plays a fundamental role in the formation and dissolution of stellar bars, depending on the gaseous mass concentration and on the degree of dissipation. In addition we remark that initially concentrated gas disks can be unstable to the one-armed (m=1) spiral perturbations, which may explain the lopsided features observed in the gas distribution of the late-type isolated galaxies. The development of the m=1 feature slows down the radial gas flows towards the center, since the large-scale gravity torques are then much weaker.

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arXiv1996

Secular Evolution of Galaxy Morphologies

Today we have numerous evidences that spirals evolve dynamically through various secular or episodic processes, such as bar formation and destruction, bulge growth and mergers, sometimes over much shorter periods than the standard galaxy age of 10-15 Gyr. This, coupled to the known properties of the Hubble sequence, leads to a unique sense of evolution: from Sm to Sa. Linking this to the known mass components provides new indications on the nature of dark matter in galaxies. The existence of large amounts of yet undetected dark gas appears as the most natural option. Bounds on the amount of dark stars can be given since their formation is mostly irreversible and requires obviously a same amount of gas.

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arXiv1996

Very Cold Gas and Dark Matter

We have recently proposed a new candidate for baryonic dark matter: very cold molecular gas, in near-isothermal equilibrium with the cosmic background radiation at 2.73 K. The cold gas, of quasi-primordial abundances, is condensed in a fractal structure, resembling the hierarchical structure of the detected interstellar medium. We present some perspectives of detecting this very cold gas, either directly or indirectly. The H$_2$ molecule has an "ultrafine" structure, due to the interaction between the rotation-induced magnetic moment and the nuclear spins. But the lines fall in the km domain, and are very weak. The best opportunity might be the UV absorption of H$_2$ in front of quasars. The unexpected cold dust component, revealed by the COBE/FIRAS submillimetric results, could also be due to this very cold H$_2$ gas, through collision-induced radiation, or solid H$_2$ grains or snowflakes. The $γ$-ray distribution, much more radially extended than the supernovae at the origin of cosmic rays acceleration, also points towards and extended gas distribution.

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arXiv1994

Fractal Cold Gas as Dark Matter in Galaxies and Clusters

The conjecture that dark matter in galaxies is mostly cold fractal gas is developed in the more general context of the thermodynamics of the ideal isothermal gas subject to gravitational instability. This simple gas model already contains the contrary ingredients able to prevent an asymptotic equilibrium: any growing gravothermal singularity evaporates in a finite time, and any tendency to uniform gas is gravitationally unstable. The paradox is simply resolved by allowing fractal states, which are then scale-free and steady {\it in average}, but non-differentiable and time-dependent. If we apply to clusters the lessons learned with galaxies, we are led to the conclusion that gas in clusters at a temperature much below the virial temperature should also adopt a fractal structure and become inhomogeneous. The same instrumental biases acting at galactic scale and preventing the detection of the smallest and coldest sub-resolution clumps in the fractal are then even more relevant for cluster gas measurements. The large baryonic mass observed in the cluster hot gas and the morphology-density relation suggest also gaseous dark matter in spirals. If this dark gas component remains undetected in spirals, the same instrumental biases should hold in clusters, where cooling hot gas disappears from detection near the centre.

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