arXiv subjects

Karl D. Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to Karl D. Gordon.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

PDRs4All: A JWST Early Release Science Program on radiative feedback from massive stars

Massive stars disrupt their natal molecular cloud material through radiative and mechanical feedback processes. These processes have profound effects on the evolution of interstellar matter in our Galaxy and throughout the Universe, from the era of vigorous star formation at redshifts of 1-3 to the present day. The dominant feedback processes can be probed by observations of the Photo-Dissociation Regions (PDRs) where the far-ultraviolet photons of massive stars create warm regions of gas and dust in the neutral atomic and molecular gas. PDR emission provides a unique tool to study in detail the physical and chemical processes that are relevant for most of the mass in inter- and circumstellar media including diffuse clouds, proto-planetary disks and molecular cloud surfaces, globules, planetary nebulae, and star-forming regions. PDR emission dominates the infrared (IR) spectra of star-forming galaxies. Most of the Galactic and extragalactic observations obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will therefore arise in PDR emission. In this paper we present an Early Release Science program using the MIRI, NIRSpec, and NIRCam instruments dedicated to the observations of an emblematic and nearby PDR: the Orion Bar. These early JWST observations will provide template datasets designed to identify key PDR characteristics in JWST observations. These data will serve to benchmark PDR models and extend them into the JWST era. We also present the Science-Enabling products that we will provide to the community. These template datasets and Science-Enabling products will guide the preparation of future proposals on star-forming regions in our Galaxy and beyond and will facilitate data analysis and interpretation of forthcoming JWST observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Searching for TESS Photometric Variability of Possible JWST Spectrophotometric Standard Stars

We use data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to search for, and set limits on, optical to near-infrared photometric variability of the well-vetted, candidate James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectrophotometric standards. Our search of 37 of these candidate standards has revealed measurable periodic variability in 15 stars. The majority of those show variability that is less than half a percent; however, four stars are observed to vary photometrically, from minimum to maximum flux, by more than 1% (the G dwarf HD 38949 and three fainter A dwarfs). Variability of this size would likely impact the error budget in the spectrophotometric calibration of the science instruments aboard JWST. For the 22 candidate standards with no detected variability, we report upper limits on the observed changes in flux. Despite some systematic noise, all stars brighter than 12 magnitude in the TESS band show a 3 sigma upper limit on the total change in brightness of less than half a percent on time scales between an hour and multiple weeks, empirically establishing their suitability as spectrophotometric standards. We further discuss the value and limits of high-cadence, high-precision photometric monitoring with TESS as a tool to vet the suitability of stars to act as spectrophotometric standards.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

Relations between mid-IR dust emission and UV extinction

We analyze low resolution Spitzer infrared (IR) 5-14 micron spectra of the diffuse emission toward a carefully selected sample of stars. The sample is composed of sight lines toward stars that have well determined ultraviolet (UV) extinction curves and which are shown to lie beyond effectively all of the extinguishing and emitting dust along their lines of sight. Our sample includes sight lines whose UV curve extinction curves exhibit a wide range of curve morphology and which sample a variety of interstellar environments. As a result, this unique sample enabled us to study the connection between the extinction and emission properties of the same grains, and to examine their response to different physical environments. We quantify the emission features in terms of the PAH model given by Draine & Li (2007) and a set of additional features, not known to be related to PAH emission. We compare the intensities of the different features in the Spitzer mid-IR spectra with the Fitzpatrick & Massa (2007) parameters which describe the shapes of UV to near-IR extinction curves. Our primary result is that there is a strong correlation between the area of the 2175 A UV bump in the extinction curves of the program stars and the strengths of the major PAH emission features in the mid-IR spectra for the same lines of sight.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The Quest for the Missing Dust: I -- Restoring Large Scale Emission in Herschel Maps of Local Group Galaxies

Because the galaxies of the Local Group have such large angular sizes, much of their diffuse, large-angular-scale emission is filtered out by the Herschel data reduction process. In this work, we restore this previously missed dust in Herschel observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud, M31, and M33. We do this by combining Herschel data (including new reductions for the Magellanic Clouds), in Fourier space, with lower-resolution data from all-sky surveys (Planck, IRAS, and COBE) that did not miss the extended emission. With these new maps, we find that a significant amount of emission was missing from uncorrected Herschel data of these galaxies; over 20% in some bands. Our new photometry also resolves the disagreement between fluxes reported from older HERITAGE Magellanic Cloud Herschel reductions, and fluxes reported from other telescopes. More emission is restored in shorter wavelength bands, especially in the galaxies' peripheries, making these regions 20-40% bluer than before. We also find that the Herschel-PACS instrument response conflicts with the all-sky data, over the 20-90' angular scales to which they are both sensitive, by up to 31%. By binning our new data based on hydrogen column density, we are able to detect emission from dust at low ISM densities (at $Σ_{\rm H} < 1\,{\rm M_{\odot} pc^{-2}}$ in some cases), and are able to detect emission at much lower densities (a factor of 2.2 lower on average, and more than a factor of 7 lower in several cases) than was possible with uncorrected data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Milky Way Mid-Infrared Spitzer Spectroscopic Extinction Curves: Continuum and Silicate Features

We measured the mid-infrared (MIR) extinction using Spitzer photometry and spectroscopy (3.6--37 micron) for a sample of Milky Way sightlines (mostly) having measured ultraviolet extinction curves. We used the pair method to determine the MIR extinction that we then fit with a power law for the continuum and modified Drude profiles for the silicate features. We derived 16 extinction curves having a range of A(V) (1.8-5.5) and R(V) values (2.4-4.3). Our sample includes two dense sightlines that have 3 micron ice feature detections and weak 2175 A bumps. The average A(lambda)/A(V) diffuse sightline extinction curve we calculate is lower than most previous literature measurements. This agrees better with literature diffuse dust grain models, though it is somewhat higher. The 10 micron silicate feature does not correlate with the 2175 A bump, for the first time providing direct observational confirmation that these two features arise from different grain populations. The strength of the 10 micron silicate feature varies by $\sim$2.5 and is not correlated with A(V) or R(V). It is well fit by a modified Drude profile with strong correlations seen between the central wavelength, width, and asymmetry. We do not detect other features with limits in A(lambda)/A(V) units of 0.0026 (5--10 micron), 0.004 (10--20 micron), and 0.008 (20-40 micron). We find that the standard prescription of estimating R(V) from C times E(K_s-V)/E(B-V) has C = -1.14 and a scatter of $\sim$7%. Using the IRAC 5.6 micron band instead of K_s gives C = -1.03 and the least scatter of $\sim$3\%.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Benchmarking Dust Emission Models in M101

We present a comparative study of four physical dust models and two single-temperature modified blackbody models by fitting them to the resolved WISE, Spitzer, and Herschel photometry of M101 (NGC 5457). Using identical data and a grid-based fitting technique, we compare the resulting dust and radiation field properties derived from the models. We find that the dust mass yielded by the different models can vary by up to factor of 3 (factor of 1.4 between physical models only), although the fits have similar quality. Despite differences in their definition of the carriers of the mid-IR aromatic features, all physical models show the same spatial variations for the abundance of that grain population. Using the well determined metallicity gradient in M101 and resolved gas maps, we calculate an approximate upper limit on the dust mass as a function of radius. All physical dust models are found to exceed this maximum estimate over some range of galactocentric radii. We show that renormalizing the models to match the same Milky Way high latitude cirrus spectrum and abundance constraints can reduce the dust mass differences between models and bring the total dust mass below the maximum estimate at all radii.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Spitzer IRAC observations of JWST calibration stars

We present infrared photometry of all 36 potential JWST calibrators for which there is archival Spitzer IRAC data. This photometry can then be used to inform stellar models necessary to provide absolute calibration for all JWST instruments. We describe in detail the steps necessary to measure IRAC photometry from archive retrieval to photometric corrections. To validate our photometry we examine the distribution of uncertainties from all detections in all four IRAC channels as well as compare the photometry and its uncertainties to those from models, ALLWISE, and the literature. 75% of our detections have standard deviations per star of all observations within each channel of less than three percent. The median standard deviations are 1.2, 1.3, 1.1, and 1.9% in [3.6] - [8.0] respectively. We find less than 8% standard deviations in differences of our photometry with ALLWISE, and excellent agreement with literature values (less than 3% difference) lending credence to our measured fluxes. JWST is poised to do ground-breaking science, and accurate calibration and cross-calibration with other missions will be part of the underpinnings of that science.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

METAL: The Metal Evolution, Transport, and Abundance in the Large Magellanic Cloud Hubble program. II. Variations of interstellar depletions and dust-to-gas ratio within the LMC

A key component of the baryon cycle in galaxies is the depletion of metals from the gas to the dust phase in the neutral ISM. The METAL (Metal Evolution, Transport and Abundance in the Large Magellanic Cloud) program on the Hubble Space Telescope acquired UV spectra toward 32 sightlines in the half-solar metallicity LMC, from which we derive interstellar depletions (gas-phase fractions) of Mg, Si, Fe, Ni, S, Zn, Cr, and Cu. The depletions of different elements are tightly correlated, indicating a common origin. Hydrogen column density is the main driver for depletion variations. Correlations are weaker with volume density, probed by CI fine structure lines, and distance to the LMC center. The latter correlation results from an East-West variation of the gas-phase metallicity. Gas in the East, compressed side of the LMC encompassing 30 Doradus and the Southeast HI over-density is enriched by up to +0.3dex, while gas in the West side is metal-deficient by up to -0.5dex. Within the parameter space probed by METAL, no correlation with molecular fraction or radiation field intensity are found. We confirm the factor 3-4 increase in dust-to-metal and dust-to-gas ratios between the diffuse (logN(H)~20 cm-2) and molecular (logN(H)~22 cm-2) ISM observed from far-infrared, 21 cm, and CO observations. The variations of dust-to-metal and dust-to-gas ratios with column density have important implications for the sub-grid physics of chemical evolution, gas and dust mass estimates throughout cosmic times, and for the chemical enrichment of the Universe measured via spectroscopy of damped Lyman-alpha systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury: Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) I. Ultraviolet to Infrared Photometry of 22 Million Stars in M33

We present panchromatic resolved stellar photometry for 22 million stars in the Local Group dwarf spiral Triangulum (M33), derived from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the optical (F475W, F814W), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the near ultraviolet (F275W, F336W) and near-infrared (F110W, F160W) bands. The large, contiguous survey area covers $\sim$14 square kpc and extends to 3.5 kpc (14 arcmin, or 1.5-2 scale lengths) from the center of M33. The PHATTER observing strategy and photometry technique closely mimic those of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT), but with updated photometry techniques that take full advantage of all overlapping pointings (aligned to within $<$5-10 milliarcseconds) and improved treatment of spatially-varying point spread functions. The photometry reaches a completeness-limited depth of F475W$\sim$28.5 in the lowest surface density regions observed in M33 and F475W$\sim$26.5 in the most crowded regions found near the center of M33. We find the young populations trace several relatively tight arms, while the old populations show a clear, looser two-armed structure. We present extensive analysis of the data quality including artificial star tests to quantify completeness, photometric uncertainties, and flux biases. This stellar catalog is the largest ever produced for M33, and is publicly available for download by the community.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Mapping the Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons Using Resolved Stars: A Much Higher Escape Fraction for NGC 4214

We demonstrate a new method for measuring the escape fraction of ionizing photons using Hubble Space Telescope imaging of resolved stars in NGC 4214, a local analog of high-redshift starburst galaxies that are thought to be responsible for cosmic reionization. Specifically, we forward model the UV through near-IR spectral energy distributions of $\sim$83,000 resolved stars to infer their individual ionizing flux outputs. We constrain the local escape fraction by comparing the number of ionizing photons produced by stars to the number that are either absorbed by dust or consumed by ionizing the surrounding neutral hydrogen in individual star-forming regions. We find substantial spatial variation in the escape fraction (0-40%). Integrating over the entire galaxy yields a global escape fraction of 25% (+16%/-15%). This value is much higher than previous escape fractions of zero reported for this galaxy. We discuss sources of this apparent tension, and demonstrate that the viewing angle and the 3D ISM geometric effects are the cause. If we assume the NGC 4214 has no internal dust, like many high-redshift galaxies, we find an escape fraction of 59% (an upper-limit for NGC 4214). This is the first non-zero escape fraction measurement for UV-faint (M$_{\rm FUV}$ = -15.9) galaxies at any redshift, and supports the idea that starburst UV-faint dwarf galaxies can provide a sufficient amount of ionizing photons to the intergalactic medium.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Evidence of dust grain evolution from extinction mapping in the IC 63 photodissociation region

Photodissociation regions (PDRs) are parts of the ISM consisting of predominantly neutral gas, located at the interface between H II regions and molecular clouds. The physical conditions within these regions show variations on very short spatial scales, and therefore PDRs constitute ideal laboratories for investigating the properties and evolution of dust grains. We have mapped IC 63 at high resolution from the UV to the NIR (275 nm to 1.6 $μ$m), using the Hubble Space Telescope WFC3. Using a Bayesian SED fitting tool, we simultaneously derive a set of stellar ($T_\text{eff}$, $\log(g)$, distance) and extinction ($A_V$, $R_V$) parameters for 520 background stars. We present maps of $A_V$ and $R_V$ with a resolution of 25 arcsec based on these results. The extinction properties vary across the PDR, with values for $A_V$ between 0.5 and 1.4 mag, and a decreasing trend in $R_V$, going from 3.7 at the front of the nebula to values as low as 2.5 further in. This provides evidence for evolution of the dust optical properties. We fit two modified blackbodies to the MIR and FIR SED, obtained by combining the $A_V$ map with data from Spitzer and Herschel. We derive effective temperatures (30 K and 227 K) and the ratio of opacities at 160 $μ$m to V band $κ_{160} / κ_V$ ($7.0 \times 10^{-4}$ and $2.9 \times 10^{-9}$) for the two dust populations. Similar fits to individual pixels show spatial variations of $κ_{160} / κ_{V}$. The analysis of our HST data, combined with these Spitzer and Herschel data, provides the first panchromatic view of dust within a PDR.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

An Analysis of the Shapes of Interstellar Extinction Curves. VII. Milky Way Spectrophotometric Optical-through-Ultraviolet Extinction and Its R-Dependence

We produce a set of 72 NIR through UV extinction curves by combining new HST/STIS optical spectrophotometry with existing IUE spectrophotometry (yielding gapless coverage from 1150 to 10000 Angstroms) and NIR photometry. These curves are used to determine a new, internally consistent, NIR through UV Milky Way Mean Curve and to characterize how the shapes of the extinction curves depend on R(V). We emphasize that while this dependence captures much of the curve variability, there remains considerable variation which is independent of R(V). We use the optical spectrophotometry to verify the presence of structure at intermediate wavelength scales in the curves. The fact that the optical through UV portions of the curves are sampled at relatively high resolution makes them very useful for determining how extinction affects different broad band systems, and we provide several examples. Finally, we compare our results to previous investigations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Interstellar Dust Grains: Ultraviolet and Mid-IR Extinction Curves

Interstellar dust plays a central role in shaping the detailed structure of the interstellar medium, thus strongly influencing star formation and galaxy evolution. Dust extinction provides one of the main pillars of our understanding of interstellar dust while also often being one of the limiting factors when interpreting observations of distant objects, including resolved and unresolved galaxies. The ultraviolet (UV) and mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength regimes exhibit features of the main components of dust, carbonaceous and silicate materials, and therefore provide the most fruitful avenue for detailed extinction curve studies. Our current picture of extinction curves is strongly biased to nearby regions in the Milky Way. The small number of UV extinction curves measured in the Local Group (mainly Magellanic Clouds) clearly indicates that the range of dust properties is significantly broader than those inferred from the UV extinction characteristics of local regions of the Milky Way. Obtaining statistically significant samples of UV and MIR extinction measurements for all the dusty Local Group galaxies will provide, for the first time, a basis for understanding dust grains over a wide range of environments. Obtaining such observations requires sensitive medium-band UV, blue-optical, and mid-IR imaging and followup R ~ 1000 spectroscopy of thousands of sources. Such a census will revolutionize our understanding of the dependence of dust properties on local environment providing both an empirical description of the effects of dust on observations as well as strong constraints on dust grain and evolution models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Galaxy inclination and the IRX-beta relation: Effects on UV star-formation rate measurements at intermediate to high redshifts

At intermediate and high redshifts, measurements of galaxy star-formation rates are usually based on rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) data. A correction for dust attenuation, A_UV, is needed for these measurements. This correction is typically inferred from UV spectral slopes (beta) using an equation known as "Meurer's Relation." In this paper, we study this relation at a redshift of 1.5 using images and photometric measurements in the rest-frame UV (HST) through mid-infrared (Spitzer). It is shown that massive star-forming galaxies (above 10^10 Msun) have dust corrections that are dependent on their inclination to the line-of-sight. Edge-on galaxies have higher A_UV and infrared excess (IRX=L(IR)/L(UV)) than face-on galaxies at a given beta. Interestingly, dust corrections for low-mass star-forming galaxies do not depend on inclination. This is likely because more massive galaxies have more disk-like shapes/kinematics, while low-mass galaxies are more prolate and have more disturbed kinematics. To account for an inclination-dependent dust correction, a modified Meurer's Relation is derived: A_UV=4.43+1.99 beta - 1.73 (b/a-0.67), where b/a is the galaxy axis ratio. This inclination-dependence of A_UV can be explained by a two-component model of the dust distribution inside galaxies. In such a model, the dust attenuation of edge-on galaxies has a higher contribution from a "mixture" component (dust uniformly mixed with stars in the diffuse interstellar medium), and a lower contribution from a "birth cloud" component (near-spherical dust shells surrounding young stars in H II regions) than that of face-on galaxies. The difference is caused by the larger path-lengths through disks at higher inclinations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

A New Stellar Atmosphere Grid and Comparisons with HST/STIS Calspec Flux Distributions

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) has measured the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for several stars of types O, B, A, F, and G. These absolute fluxes from the CALSPEC database are fit with a new spectral grid computed from the ATLAS-APOGEE ATLAS9 model atmosphere database using a chi-square minimization technique in four parameters. The quality of the fits are compared for complete LTE grids by Castelli & Kurucz (CK04) and our new comprehensive LTE grid (BOSZ). For the cooler stars, the fits with the MARCS LTE grid are also evaluated, while the hottest stars are also fit with the NLTE Lanz & Hubeny OB star grids. Unfortunately, these NLTE models do not transition smoothly in the infrared to agree with our new BOSZ LTE grid at the NLTE lower limit of Teff =15,000K. The new BOSZ grid is available via the Space Telescope Institute MAST archive and has a much finer sampled IR wavelength scale than CK04, which will facilitate the modeling of stars observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Our result for the angular diameter of Sirius agrees with the ground- based interferometric value.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2016

Modeling dust emission in the Magellanic Clouds with Spitzer and Herschel

Dust modeling is crucial to infer dust properties and budget for galaxy studies. However, there are systematic disparities between dust grain models that result in corresponding systematic differences in the inferred dust properties of galaxies. Quantifying these systematics requires a consistent fitting analysis. We compare the output dust parameters and assess the differences between two dust grain models, Compiegne et al (2011), and THEMIS (Jones et al 2013, Kohler et al 2015). In this study, we use a single fitting method applied to all the models to extract a coherent and unique statistical analysis. We fit the models to the dust emission seen by Spitzer and Herschel in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC and LMC). The observations cover the infrared (IR) spectrum from a few microns to the sub-millimeter range. For each fitted pixel, we calculate the full n-D likelihood, based on the method described in Gordon et al (2014). The free parameters are both environmental ($U$, the interstellar radiation field strength; $α_\mathrm{ISRF}$, power-law coefficient for a multi-U environment; $Ω^*$, the starlight strength) and intrinsic to the model ($Y_\mathrm{i}$: abundances of the grain species $i$; $α_\mathrm{sCM20}$, coefficient in the small carbon grain size distribution). Fractional residuals of 5 different sets of parameters show that fitting THEMIS brings a more accurate reproduction of the observations than the Compiegne model. However, independent variations of the dust species show strong model-dependencies. We find that the abundance of silicates can only be constrained to an upper-limit and the silicate/carbon ratio is different than that seen in our Galaxy. In the LMC, our fits result in dust masses slightly lower than those found in literature , by a factor lower than 2. In the SMC, we find dust masses in agreement with previous studies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury XV. The BEAST: Bayesian Extinction and Stellar Tool

We present the Bayesian Extinction And Stellar Tool (BEAST), a probabilistic approach to modeling the dust extinguished photometric spectral energy distribution of an individual star while accounting for observational uncertainties common to large resolved star surveys. Given a set of photometric measurements and an observational uncertainty model, the BEAST infers the physical properties of the stellar source using stellar evolution and atmosphere models and constrains the line of sight extinction using a newly developed mixture model that encompasses the full range of dust extinction curves seen in the Local Group. The BEAST is specifically formulated for use with large multi-band surveys of resolved stellar populations. Our approach accounts for measurement uncertainties and any covariance between them due to stellar crowding (both systematic biases and uncertainties in the bias) and absolute flux calibration, thereby incorporating the full information content of the measurement. We illustrate the accuracy and precision possible with the BEAST using data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury. While the BEAST has been developed for this survey, it can be easily applied to similar existing and planned resolved star surveys.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Composite biasing in Monte Carlo radiative transfer

Biasing or importance sampling is a powerful technique in Monte Carlo radiative transfer, and can be applied in different forms to increase the accuracy and efficiency of simulations. One of the drawbacks of the use of biasing is the potential introduction of large weight factors. We discuss a general strategy, composite biasing, to suppress the appearance of large weight factors. We use this composite biasing approach for two different problems faced by current state-of-the-art Monte Carlo radiative transfer codes: the generation of photon packages from multiple components, and the penetration of radiation through high optical depth barriers. In both cases, the implementation of the relevant algorithms is trivial and does not interfere with any other optimisation techniques. Through simple test models, we demonstrate the general applicability, accuracy and efficiency of the composite biasing approach. In particular, for the penetration of high optical depths, the gain in efficiency is spectacular for the specific problems that we consider: in simulations with composite path length stretching, high accuracy results are obtained even for simulations with modest numbers of photon packages, while simulations without biasing cannot reach convergence, even with a huge number of photon packages.

astro-ph.IM↗