arXiv subjects

Karen Pardos Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to Karen Pardos Olsen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

SIGAME v3: Gas Fragmentation in Post-processing of Cosmological Simulations for More Accurate Infrared Line Emission Modeling

We present an update to the framework called SImulator of GAlaxy Millimeter/submillimeter Emission (SÍGAME). SÍGAME derives line emission in the far-infrared (FIR) for galaxies in particle-based cosmological hydrodynamics simulations by applying radiative transfer and physics recipes via a post-processing step after completion of the simulation. In this version, a new technique is developed to model higher gas densities by parametrizing the gas density probability distribution function (PDF) in higher resolution simulations for use as a look-up table, allowing for more adaptive PDFs than in previous work. SÍGAME v3 is tested on redshift z = 0 galaxies drawn from the SIMBA cosmological simulation for eight FIR emission lines tracing vastly different interstellar medium phases. Including dust radiative transfer with SKIRT and high resolution photo-ionization models with Cloudy, this new method is able to self-consistently reproduce observed relations between line luminosity and star formation rate in all cases, except for [NII]122, [NII]205 and [OI]63, the luminosities of which are overestimated by median factors of 1.6, 1.2 and 1.2 dex, respectively. We attribute the remaining disagreement with observations to the lack of precise attenuation of the interstellar light on subgrid scales (<200 pc).

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

VERTICO: The Virgo Environment Traced In CO Survey

We present the Virgo Environment Traced in CO (VERTICO) survey, a new effort to map $^{12}$CO($2-1$), $^{13}$CO($2-1$), and C$^{18}$O($2-1$) in 51 Virgo Cluster galaxies with the Atacama Compact Array, part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The primary motivation of VERTICO is to understand the physical mechanisms that perturb molecular gas disks, and therefore star formation and galaxy evolution, in dense environments. This first paper contains an overview of VERTICO's design and sample selection, $^{12}$CO($2-1$) observations, and data reduction procedures. We characterize global $^{12}$CO($2-1$) fluxes and molecular gas masses for the 49 detected VERTICO galaxies, provide upper limits for the two non-detections, and produce resolved $^{12}$CO($2-1$) data products (median resolution $= 8^{\prime\prime} \approx 640~{\rm pc}$). Azimuthally averaged $^{12}$CO($2-1$) radial intensity profiles are presented along with derived molecular gas radii. We demonstrate the scientific power of VERTICO by comparing the molecular gas size--mass scaling relation for our galaxies with a control sample of field galaxies, highlighting the strong effect that radius definition has on this correlation. We discuss the drivers of the form and scatter in the size--mass relation and highlight areas for future work. VERTICO is an ideal resource for studying the fate of molecular gas in cluster galaxies and the physics of environment-driven processes that perturb the star formation cycle. Upon public release, the survey will provide a homogeneous legacy dataset for studying galaxy evolution in our closest cluster.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

An Empirical Determination of the Dependence of the Circumgalactic Mass Cooling Rate and Feedback Mass Loading Factor on Galactic Stellar Mass

Using our measurements of the H$α$ emission line flux originating in the cool (T $\sim10^4$ K) gas that populates the halos of galaxies, we build a joint model to describe mass of the cool circumgalactic medium (CGM) as a function of galactic stellar mass ($10^{9.5} < ({\rm M_*/M}_\odot) < 10^{11}$) and environment. Because the H$α$ emission correlates with the main cooling channel for this gas, we are able to estimate the rate at which the CGM cools and becomes fuel for star formation in the central galaxy. We describe this calculation, which uses our observations, previous measurements of some critical CGM properties, and modeling of the cooling mechanism using the \cloudy modeling suite. We find that the mass cooling rate is larger than the star formation rates of the central galaxies by a factor of $\sim 4 - 90$, empirically confirming that there is sufficient fuel to resolve the gas consumption problem and that feedback is needed to avoid collecting too much cold gas in galaxies. We find excellent agreement between our estimates of both the mass cooling rates and mass loading factors and the predictions of independent theoretical studies. The convergence in results that we find from several completely different treatments of the problem, particularly at the lower end of the galactic mass range, is a strong indication that we have a relatively robust understanding of the quantitative effects of feedback across this mass range.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Evidence for Widespread AGN Activity among Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ~ 2

We quantify the presence of Active Galactic nuclei (AGN) in a mass-complete (M_* >5e10 M_sun) sample of 123 star-forming and quiescent galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5, using X-ray data from the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey. 41+/-7% of the galaxies are detected directly in X-rays, 22+/-5% with rest-frame 0.5-8 keV luminosities consistent with hosting luminous AGN (L_0.5-8keV > 3e42 ergs/s). The latter fraction is similar for star-forming and quiescent galaxies, and does not depend on galaxy stellar mass, suggesting that perhaps luminous AGN are triggered by external effects such as mergers. We detect significant mean X-ray signals in stacked images for both the individually non-detected star-forming and quiescent galaxies, with spectra consistent with star formation only and/or a low luminosity AGN in both cases. Comparing star formation rates inferred from the 2-10 keV luminosities to those from rest-frame IR+UV emission, we find evidence for an X-ray excess indicative of low-luminosity AGN. Among the quiescent galaxies, the excess suggests that as many as 70-100% of these contain low- or high-luminosity AGN, while the corresponding fraction is lower among star-forming galaxies (43-65%). The ubiquitous presence of AGN in massive, quiescent z ~ 2 galaxies that we find provides observational support for the importance of AGN in impeding star formation during galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.CO↗