arXiv subjects

L. van Zee

Publications and source records attributed to L. van Zee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

A Multi-Wavelength Study of Star Formation in 15 Local Star-Forming Galaxies

We have fit the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to mid-infrared (MIR) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for several nearby galaxies ($<$ 20 Mpc). Global, radial, and local photometric measurements are explored to better understand how SED-derived star formation histories (SFHs) and classic star formation rate (SFR) tracers manifest at different scales. Surface brightness profiles and radial SED fitting provide insight into stellar population gradients in stellar discs and haloes. A double exponential SFH model is used in the SED fitting to better understand the distributions of young vs. old populations throughout these galaxies. Different regions of a galaxy often have undergone very different SFHs, either in strength, rate, timing, or some combination of all these factors. An analysis of individual stellar complexes within these galaxies shows a relationship between the ages of stellar clusters and how these clusters are distributed throughout the galaxy. These star formation properties are presented alongside previously published HI observations to provide a holistic picture of a small sample of nearby star-forming galaxies. The results presented here show that there is a wide variety of star formation gradients and average stellar age distributions that can manifest in a $Λ$CDM universe.

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arXiv2016

Neutral hydrogen and magnetic fields in M83 observed with the SKA Pathfinder KAT-7

We present new KAT-7 observations of the neutral hydrogen (HI) spectral line, and polarized radio continuum emission, in the grand design spiral M83. These observations provide a sensitive probe of the outer disk structure and kinematics, revealing a vast and massive neutral gas distribution that appears to be tightly coupled to the interaction of the galaxy with the environment. We present a new rotation curve extending out to a radius of 50 kpc. Based on our new HI dataset and comparison with multiwavelength data from the literature we consider the impact of mergers on the outer disk and discuss the evolution of M83. We also study the periphery of the HI distribution and reveal a sharp edge to the gaseous disk that is consistent with photoionization or ram pressure from the intergalactic medium (IGM). The radio continuum emission is not nearly as extended as the HI and is restricted to the main optical disk. Despite the relatively low angular resolution we are able to draw broad conclusions about the large-scale magnetic field topology. We show that the magnetic field of M83 is similar in form to other nearby star forming galaxies, and suggest that the disk-halo interface may host a large-scale regular magnetic field.

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arXiv2016

Baryonic Distributions in Galaxy Dark Matter Haloes I: New Observations of Neutral and Ionized Gas Kinematics

We present a combination of new and archival neutral hydrogen (HI) observations and new ionized gas spectroscopic observations for sixteen galaxies in the statistically representative EDGES kinematic sample. HI rotation curves are derived from new and archival radio synthesis observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) as well as processed data products from the Westerbork Radio Synthesis Telescope (WSRT). The HI rotation curves are supplemented with optical spectroscopic integral field unit (IFU) observations using SparsePak on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope to constrain the central ionized gas kinematics in twelve galaxies. The full rotation curves of each galaxy are decomposed into baryonic and dark matter halo components using 3.6$μ$m images from the Spitzer Space Telescope for the stellar content, the neutral hydrogen data for the atomic gas component, and, when available, CO data from the literature for the molecular gas component. Differences in the inferred distribution of mass are illustrated under fixed stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) and maximum disc/bulge assumptions in the rotation curve decomposition.

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arXiv2015

Baryonic Distributions in the Dark Matter Halo of NGC5005

We present results from multiwavelength observations of the galaxy NGC5005. We use new neutral hydrogen (HI) observations from the Very Large Array to examine the neutral gas morphology and kinematics. We find an HI disk with a well-behaved flat rotation curve in the radial range 20\arcsec-140\arcsec. Ionized gas observations from the SparsePak integral field unit on the WIYN 3.5m telescope provide kinematics for the central 70\arcsec. We use both the SparsePak and HI velocity fields to derive a rotation curve for NGC5005. Deep 3.6μm observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope probe the faint extended stellar population of NGC5005. The images reveal a large stellar disk with a high surface brightness component that transitions to a low surface brightness component at a radius nearly 1.6 times farther than the extent of the gas disk detected in HI. The 3.6μm image is also decomposed into bulge and disk components to account for the stellar light distribution. Optical broadband B and R and narrowband Hα from the WIYN 0.9m telescope complement the 3.6μm data by providing information about the dominant stellar population and current star formation activity. The neutral and ionized gas rotation curve is used along with the stellar bulge and disk light profiles to decompose the mass distributions in NGC5005 and determine a dark matter halo model. The maximum stellar disk contribution to the total rotation curve is only about 70\%, suggesting that dark matter makes a significant contribution to the dynamics at all radii.

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arXiv2010

An Aromatic Inventory of the Local Volume

Using infrared photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope, we perform the first inventory of aromatic feature emission (AFE, but also commonly referred to as PAH emission) for a statistically complete sample of star-forming galaxies in the local volume. The photometric methodology involved is calibrated and demonstrated to recover the aromatic fraction of the IRAC 8 micron flux with a standard deviation of 6% for a training set of 40 SINGS galaxies (ranging from stellar to dust dominated) with both suitable mid-infrared Spitzer IRS spectra and equivalent photometry. A potential factor of two improvement could be realized with suitable 5.5 and 10 micron photometry, such as what may be provided in the future by JWST. The resulting technique is then applied to mid-infrared photometry for the 258 galaxies from the Local Volume Legacy (LVL) survey, a large sample dominated in number by low-luminosity dwarf galaxies for which obtaining comparable mid-infrared spectroscopy is not feasible. We find the total LVL luminosity due to five strong aromatic features in the 8 micron complex to be 2.47E10 solar luminosities with a mean volume density of 8.8E6 solar luminosities per cubic Megaparsec. Twenty-four of the LVL galaxies, corresponding to a luminosity cut at M = -18.22 in the B band, account for 90% of the aromatic luminosity. Using oxygen abundances compiled from the literature for 129 of the 258 LVL galaxies, we find a correlation between metallicity and the aromatic to total infrared emission ratio but not the aromatic to total 8 micron dust emission ratio. A possible explanation is that metallicity plays a role in the abundance of aromatic molecules relative to the total dust content, but other factors such as star formation and/or the local radiation field affect the excitation of those molecules.

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arXiv2010

Total Infrared Luminosity Estimation of Resolved and Unresolved Galaxies

The total infrared (TIR) luminosity from galaxies can be used to examine both star formation and dust physics. We provide here new relations to estimate the TIR luminosity from various Spitzer bands, in particular from the 8 micron and 24 micron bands. To do so, we use 45" subregions within a subsample of nearby face-on spiral galaxies from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) that have known oxygen abundances as well as integrated galaxy data from the SINGS, the Local Volume Legacy Survey (LVL) and Engelbracht et al. (2008) samples. Taking into account the oxygen abundances of the subregions, the star formation rate intensity, and the relative emission of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at 8 micron, the warm dust at 24 micron and the cold dust at 70 micron and 160 micron we derive new relations to estimate the TIR luminosity from just one or two of the Spitzer bands. We also show that the metallicity and the star formation intensity must be taken into account when estimating the TIR luminosity from two wave bands, especially when data longward of 24 micron are not available.

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arXiv2010

The Calibration of Monochromatic Far-Infrared Star Formation Rate Indicators

(Abridged) Spitzer data at 24, 70, and 160 micron and ground-based H-alpha images are analyzed for a sample of 189 nearby star-forming and starburst galaxies to investigate whether reliable star formation rate (SFR) indicators can be defined using the monochromatic infrared dust emission centered at 70 and 160 micron. We compare recently published recipes for SFR measures using combinations of the 24 micron and observed H-alpha luminosities with those using 24 micron luminosity alone. From these comparisons, we derive a reference SFR indicator for use in our analysis. Linear correlations between SFR and the 70 and 160 micron luminosity are found for L(70)>=1.4x10^{42} erg/s and L(160)>=2x10^{42} erg/s, corresponding to SFR>=0.1-0.3 M_sun/yr. Below those two luminosity limits, the relation between SFR and 70 micron (160 micron) luminosity is non-linear and SFR calibrations become problematic. The dispersion of the data around the mean trend increases for increasing wavelength, becoming about 25% (factor ~2) larger at 70 (160) micron than at 24 micron. The increasing dispersion is likely an effect of the increasing contribution to the infrared emission of dust heated by stellar populations not associated with the current star formation. The non-linear relation between SFR and the 70 and 160 micron emission at faint galaxy luminosities suggests that the increasing transparency of the interstellar medium, decreasing effective dust temperature, and decreasing filling factor of star forming regions across the galaxy become important factors for decreasing luminosity. The SFR calibrations are provided for galaxies with oxygen abundance 12+Log(O/H)>8.1. At lower metallicity the infrared luminosity no longer reliably traces the SFR because galaxies are less dusty and more transparent.

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arXiv2009

The Spitzer Local Volume Legacy: Survey Description and Infrared Photometry

The survey description and the near-, mid-, and far-infrared flux properties are presented for the 258 galaxies in the Local Volume Legacy (LVL). LVL is a Spitzer Space Telescope legacy program that surveys the local universe out to 11 Mpc, built upon a foundation of ultraviolet, H-alpha, and HST imaging from 11HUGS (11 Mpc H-alpha and Ultraviolet Galaxy Survey) and ANGST (ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury). LVL covers an unbiased, representative, and statistically robust sample of nearby star-forming galaxies, exploiting the highest extragalactic spatial resolution achievable with Spitzer. As a result of its approximately volume-limited nature, LVL augments previous Spitzer observations of present-day galaxies with improved sampling of the low-luminosity galaxy population. The collection of LVL galaxies shows a large spread in mid-infrared colors, likely due to the conspicuous deficiency of 8um PAH emission from low-metallicity, low-luminosity galaxies. Conversely, the far-infrared emission tightly tracks the total infrared emission, with a dispersion in their flux ratio of only 0.1 dex. In terms of the relation between infrared-to-ultraviolet ratio and ultraviolet spectral slope, the LVL sample shows redder colors and/or lower infrared-to-ultraviolet ratios than starburst galaxies, suggesting that reprocessing by dust is less important in the lower mass systems that dominate the LVL sample. Comparisons with theoretical models suggest that the amplitude of deviations from the relation found for starburst galaxies correlates with the age of the stellar populations that dominate the ultraviolet/optical luminosities.

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arXiv2005

Oxygen and Nitrogen in Isolated Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

We present long slit optical spectroscopy of 67 HII regions in 21 dwarf irregular galaxies to investigate the enrichment of oxygen, nitrogen, neon, sulfur, and argon in low mass galaxies. Oxygen abundances are obtained via direct detection of the temperature sensitive emission lines for 25 HII regions; for the remainder of the sample, oxygen abundances are estimated from strong line calibrations. The direct abundance determinations are compared to the strong-line abundance calibrations of both McGaugh (1991) and Pilyugin (2000). Global oxygen and nitrogen abundances for this sample of dwarf irregular galaxies are examined in the context of open and closed box chemical evolution models. While several galaxies are consistent with closed box chemical evolution, the majority of this sample have an effective yield ~1/4 of the expected yield for a constant star formation rate and Salpeter IMF, indicating that either outflow of enriched gas or inflow of pristine gas has occurred. The effective yield strongly correlates with M_H/L_B in the sense that gas-rich galaxies are more likely to be closed systems. However, the effective yield does not appear to correlate with other global parameters such as dynamical mass, absolute magnitude, star formation rate or surface brightness. A correlation is found between the observed nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio and the color of the underlying stellar population; redder dwarf irregular galaxies have higher N/O ratios than blue dwarf irregular galaxies. The relative abundance ratios are interpreted in the context of delayed release of nitrogen and varied star formation histories.

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arXiv2005

Oxygen and Nitrogen in Leo A and GR 8

We present elemental abundances for multiple HII regions in Leo A and GR 8 obtained from long slit optical spectroscopy of these two nearby low luminosity dwarf irregular galaxies. As expected from their luminosities, and in agreement with previous observations, the derived oxygen abundances are extremely low in both galaxies. High signal-to-noise ratio observations of a planetary nebula in Leo A yield 12 + log(O/H) = 7.30 +/- 0.05; "semi-empirical" calculations of the oxygen abundance in four HII regions in Leo A indicate 12 + log(O/H) = 7.38 +/- 0.10. These results confirm that Leo A has one of the lowest ISM metal abundances of known nearby galaxies. Based on results from two HII regions with high signal-to-noise measurements of the weak [O III] 4363 line, the mean oxygen abundance of GR 8 is 12 + log(O/H) = 7.65 +/- 0.06; using "empirical" and "semi-empirical" methods, similar abundances are derived for 6 other GR 8 HII regions. Similar to previous results in other low metallicity galaxies, the mean log(N/O) = -1.53 +/- 0.09 for Leo A and -1.51 +/- 0.07 for GR 8. There is no evidence of significant variations in either O/H or N/O in the HII regions. The metallicity-luminosity relation for nearby (D < 5 Mpc) dwarf irregular galaxies with measured oxygen abundances has a mean correlation of 12 + log(O/H) = 5.67 - 0.151 M_B with a dispersion in oxygen about the relationship of 0.21. These observations confirm that gas-rich low luminosity galaxies have extremely low elemental abundances in the ionized gas-phase of their interstellar media. Although Leo A has one of the lowest metal abundances of known nearby galaxies, detection of tracers of an older stellar population indicate that it is not a newly formed galaxy as has been proposed for some other similarly low metallicity star forming galaxies.

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arXiv2004

Rotationally Supported Virgo Cluster Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies: Stripped Dwarf Irregular Galaxies?

New observations of 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster indicate that at least seven dEs have significant velocity gradients along their optical major axis, with typical rotation amplitudes of 20-30 km/s. Of the remaining nine galaxies in this sample, 6 have velocity gradients less than 20 km/s kpc^{-1} while the other 3 observations had too low of a signal--to--noise ratio to determine an accurate velocity gradient. Typical velocity dispersions for these galaxies are ~44 +/- 5 km/s, indicating that rotation can be a significant component of the stellar dynamics of Virgo dEs. When corrected for the limited spatial extent of the spectral data, the rotation amplitudes of the rotating dEs are comparable to those of similar brightness dIs. Evidence for a relationship between the rotation amplitude and galaxy luminosity is found, and, in fact, agrees well with the Tully-Fisher relation. The similarity in the scaling relations of dIs and dEs implies that it is unlikely that dEs evolve from significantly more luminous galaxies. These observations reaffirm the possibility that some cluster dwarf elliptical galaxies may be formed when the neutral gaseous medium is stripped from dwarf irregular galaxies in the cluster environment. We hypothesize that several different mechanisms are involved in the creation of the overall population of dE galaxies, and that stripping of infalling dIs may be the dominant process in the creation of dEs in clusters like Virgo.

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arXiv2004

Stellar Populations of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies: UBVRI Photometry of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster

We present UBVRI surface photometry for 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster with previously measured kinematic properties. The global optical colors are red, with median values for the sample of 0.24 +/- 0.03 in (U-B), 0.77 +/- 0.02 in (B-V), and 1.02 +/- 0.03 in (V-I). We recover the well known color-magnitude relation for cluster galaxies, but find no significant difference in dominant stellar population between rotating and non-rotating dwarf elliptical galaxies; the average age of the dominant stellar population is 5-7 Gyr in all 16 galaxies in this sample. Analysis of optical spectra confirm these age estimates and indicate Fe and Mg abundances in the range of 1/20th to 1/3 of solar, as expected for low luminosity galaxies. Based on Lick indices and simple stellar population models, the derived [alpha/Fe] ratios are sub-solar to solar, indicating a more gradual chemical enrichment history for dEs as compared to giant elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. These observations confirm the marked difference in stellar population and stellar distribution between dwarf and giant elliptical galaxies and further substantiate the need for alternative evolutionary scenarios for the lowest mass cluster galaxies. We argue that it is likely that several different physical mechanisms played a significant role in the production of the Virgo cluster dE galaxies including in situ formation, infall of dEs that were once part of Local Group analogs, and transformation of dwarf irregular galaxies by the cluster environment. The observations support the hypothesis that a large fraction of the Virgo cluster dEs are formed by ram pressure stripping of gas from infalling dIs.

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arXiv2003

Star Formation and the ISM in Four Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

We present new, high sensitivity VLA observations of HI in four dwarf galaxies (UGCA 292, GR8, DDO 210, and DDO 216) and we use these data to study interactions between star formation and the interstellar medium. HI velocity dispersions and line shapes in UGCA 292, GR8, and DDO 210 show that these three galaxies contain both warm and cool or cold HI phases. The presence of the cold neutral medium is indicated by a low-dispersion (3--6 km/s) HI component or by the Gauss-Hermite shape parameter h_4 > 0. Contrary to expectations, we find no trend between the incidence of the low-dispersion (colder) phase and the star formation rate in five dwarf galaxies. The colder HI phase may be a necessary ingredient for star formation, but it is clearly not sufficient. However, there is a global trend between the star formation rate of a galaxy and the incidence of asymmetric HI profiles. This trend probably reflects kinetic energy input from young massive stars. Numerical simulations show that the effects of rotational broadening (finite angular resolution) are minimal for these galaxies. Simulations are also used to estimate the errors in the column densities of the high-dispersion and the low-dispersion HI phases.

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arXiv2001

The Evolutionary Status of Isolated Dwarf Irregular Galaxies II. Star Formation Histories and Gas Depletion

The results of UBV and H alpha imaging of a large sample of isolated dwarf irregular galaxies are interpreted in the context of composite stellar population models. The observed optical colors are best fit by composite stellar populations which have had approximately constant star formation rates for at least 10 Gyr. The galaxies span a range of central surface brightness, from 20.5 to 25.0 mag arcsec^{-2}; there is no correlation between surface brightness and star formation history. Although the current star formation rates are low, it is possible to reproduce the observed luminosities without a major starburst episode. The derived gas depletion timescales are long, typically ~20 Gyr. These results indicate that dwarf irregular galaxies will be able to continue with their slow, but constant, star formation activity for at least another Hubble time. The sample of isolated dIs is compared to a sample of star bursting dwarf galaxies taken from the literature. The star bursting dwarf galaxies have many similar properties; the main difference between these two types of gas-rich dwarf galaxies is that the current star formation is concentrated in the center of the star bursting systems while it is much more distributed in the quiescent dIs. This results in pronounced color gradients for the starbursting dwarf galaxies, while the majority of the quiescent dwarf irregular galaxies have minor or non-existent color gradients. Thus, the combination of low current star formation rates, blue colors, and the lack of significant color gradients indicates that star formation percolates slowly across the disk of normal dwarf galaxies in a quasi-continuous manner.

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arXiv2000

Discovery of An Extremely Metal--Poor Galaxy: Optical Spectroscopy of UGCA 292

The results of optical spectroscopy of two HII regions in UGCA 292 (CVn I dwA) are presented. UGCA 292 is a nearby (D=3.1 Mpc) gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxy (M_H/L_B ~ 6.9) which was first discovered in a blind HI survey. The derived oxygen abundance is the third lowest of known star-forming galaxies [12 + log(O/H) = 7.30 +/- 0.05], making UGCA 292 one of the nearest metal-poor galaxies known. The derived N/O ratio is similar to that found in other low metallicity galaxies [log(N/O) = -1.47 +/- 0.10], and is indicative of a primary origin for nitrogen. The derived oxygen abundance is consistent with closed-box chemical evolution for this low mass galaxy. The observed blue colors, high gas mass fraction, and low metallicity suggest that UGCA 292 is relatively unevolved. The possibility that future blind HI surveys may yield similar low metallicity galaxies is discussed.

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arXiv2000

Star Formation and the ISM in Dwarf Galaxies

High spatial and spectral resolution observations of the atomic interstellar medium in nearby dwarf galaxies reveal evidence for warm and cold neutral gas, just like the phases in our own Galaxy. The cold or quiescent phase (about 20% of the HI in the galaxies studied, except for LGS 3) seems to be associated with star formation activity--- it may mark the regions where the conditions are right for star formation. These results help to explain the patterns of star formation activity which are seen in color-magnitude data for the dwarf irregulars.

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arXiv1999

Neutral Gas Distribution and Kinematics of the Nearly Face-on Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232

We have analyzed high velocity resolution HI synthesis observations of the nearly face-on Sc galaxy NGC 1232. The neutral gas distribution extends well beyond the optical extent of the galaxy. As expected, local peaks in the HI column density are associated with the spiral arms. Further, the HI column density drops precipitously near the center of the galaxy. Closed contours in the velocity field suggest either that the system is warped, or that the rotation curve declines. The velocity dispersion is approximately constant throughout the system, with a median value of 9.9 +/- 1.8 km/s. When corrected for rotational broadening, there is no indication of a radial trend in the neutral gas velocity dispersion in this galaxy.

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arXiv1998

Spectroscopy of Outlying H II Regions in Spiral Galaxies: Abundances and Radial Gradients

We present the results of low dispersion optical spectroscopy of 186 H II regions spanning a range of radius in 13 spiral galaxies. Abundances for several elements (oxygen, nitrogen, neon, sulfur, and argon) were determined for 185 of the H II regions. As expected, low metallicities were found for the outlying H II regions of these spiral galaxies. Radial abundance gradients were derived for the 11 primary galaxies; similar to results for other spiral galaxies, the derived abundance gradients are typically -0.04 to -0.07 dex/kpc.

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