arXiv subjects

V. Charmandaris

Publications and source records attributed to V. Charmandaris.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

HST observations of the LMC compact HII region N11A

We present a study of the LMC compact HII region N11A using Hubble Space Telescope imaging observations which resolve N11A and reveal its unknown nebular and stellar features. The presence of a sharp ionization front extending over more than 4'' (1 pc) and fine structure filaments as well as larger loops indicate an environment typical of massive star formation regions, in agreement with high [OIII]/Hb line ratios. N11A is a young region, as deduced from its morphology, reddening, and especially high local concentration of dust, as indicated by the Balmer decrement map. Our observations also reveal a cluster of stars lying towards the central part of N11A. Five of the stars are packed in an area less than 2'' (0.5 pc), with the most luminous one being a mid O type star. N11A appears to be the most evolved compact HII region in the Magellanic Clouds so far studied.

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arXiv2001

HST study of the LMC compact star forming region N83B

High resolution imaging with the HST uncovers the so far hidden stellar content and the nebular features of the high excitation compact HII region N83B in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We discover that the HII region is powered by the most recent massive starburst in the OB association LH5 and the burst has created about 20 blue stars spread over ~30" on the sky (7.5 pc). Globally N83B displays a turbulent environment typical of newborn massive star formation sites. It contains an impressive ridge, likely created by a shock and a cavity with an estimated age of only ~30,000 yr, sculpted in the ionized gas by the powerful winds of massive stars. The observations bring to light two compact HII blobs, N83B-1 and N83B-2, and a small arc-nebula, N83B-3, lying inside the larger HII region. N83B-1, only ~2.8" (0.7 pc) across, is the brightest and most excited part of N83B. It harbors the presumably hottest star of the burst and is also strongly affected by dust with an extinction of Av=2.5 mag. The second blob, N83B-2, is even more compact, with a size of only ~1" (0.3 pc). All three features are formed in the border zone between the molecular cloud and the ionized gas possibly in a sequential process triggered by the ionization front of an older HII region. Our HST imaging presents an interesting and rare opportunity to observe details in the morphology of the star formation in very small spatial scales in the LMC which are in agreement with the concept of the fractal structure of molecular star forming clouds. A scenario which supports hierarchical massive star formation in the LMC OB association LH5 is presented.

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arXiv2001

Star Formation in Tidal Dwarf Galaxies

Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs) are objects presently forming from gas which has been expelled from their parent galaxies during an interaction. We observed the CO emission of a sample of 11 TDGs, of which 8 were detected. The CO is found at the peak of the HI observations and has the same line velocity and width, indicating that the molecular gas is forming in situ instead of being torn from the parent galaxies. The presence of H$α$ emission furthermore shows that stars are forming from this molecular gas. In order to investigate star formation in TDGs further, we compared their molecular gas content and star formation rate (SFR), traced by H$α$, to those of spiral galaxies and classical dwarfs. The major difference between TDGs and classical dwarfs is the lower metallicity of the latter. The star formation efficiency (SFR per molecular gas mass) of TDGs lies in the range typical of spiral galaxies indicating that star formation is proceeding in a normal fashion from molecular gas.

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arXiv2001

Mid-infrared observations of NGC 1068 with ISOCAM

We report on Mid-Infrared (MIR) observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, obtained with ISOCAM in low-resolution spectro-imaging mode. The spatial resolution (around 5 arcsec) allows us to disentangle the circumnuclear starburst regions from the emission of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). The global spatial distribution of the Unidentified Infrared Bands (UIBs) is similar to the cold dust component, traced by the 450 microns emission and the gaseous component obtained from the CO(1-0) map. However, a shift between the maximum of the UIB and 450 microns emission is clearly seen in our maps. The UIBs in the MIR (5-16 microns) originate almost exclusively from the starburst regions in the galactic disk with an emission peaking at the extremity of the stellar/ gaseous bar at a distance of 1 kpc from the AGN. The spectrum of the nucleus is characterized over the whole 5-16 microns range by a strong continuum which can be fitted with a power law of index -1.7. Moreover, the high [NeIII]/[NeII] ratio (>2.5) in the nuclear region argues for a hard radiation field from the AGN. Observations indicate that the AGN in NGC 1068 contributes less than 5% to the total integrated UIB emission even though its hot dust continuum contributes as much as 75% to the total MIR flux. On the contrary, the nuclear contribution to the cold dust emission decreases considerably at submillimeter wavelengths and does not represent more than 25% of the total integrated emission at 450 microns.

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arXiv2000

Mid-infrared diagnostics to distinguish AGNs from starbursts

We present new mid-infrared (MIR) diagnostics to distinguish emission of active galactic nuclei (AGN) from that originating in starburst regions. Our method uses empirical spectroscopic criteria based on the fact that MIR emission from star forming or active galaxies arises mostly from HII regions, photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) and AGNs. The analysis of the strength of the 6.2micron Unidentified Infrared Band (UIB) and the MIR continuum shows that UIBs are very faint or absent in regions harboring the intense and hard radiation fields of AGNs and pure HII regions, where the UIB carriers could be destroyed. The MIR signature of AGNs is the presence of an important continuum in the 3-10micron band which originates from very hot dust heated by the intense AGN radiation field. Using these two distinct spectral properties found in our MIR templates, we build diagnostic diagrams which provide quantitative estimates of the AGN, PDR and HII region contribution in a given MIR spectrum. This new MIR classification can be used to reveal the presence of AGNs highly obscured by large columns of dust.

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arXiv2000

Spatial resolution bias in the mid-infrared Starburst/AGN classification

We present the effects of limited spatial resolution to the observed mid-infrared (MIR) spectrum of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) surrounded by a disk with massive star forming regions. Using MIR observations of the face-on nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 6814, we vary the observing aperture and examine the evolution of the observed AGN/starburst fraction with our MIR diagnostic. We show that the spatial resolution of ISOCAM is sufficient to disentangle AGN from starburst features in nuclear regions of nearby galaxies (D<50Mpc). However, with the exception of a few ultra-luminous galaxies, dilution effects hide completely the AGN contribution in more distant galaxies.

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arXiv2000

High-Resolution Imaging of Molecular Gas and Dust in the Antennae (NGC 4038/39): Super Giant Molecular Complexes

We present new aperture synthesis CO maps of the Antennae (NGC 4038/39) obtained with the Caltech Millimeter Array. These sensitive images show molecular emission associated with the two nuclei and a partial ring of star formation to the west of NGC 4038, as well as revealing the large extent of the extra-nuclear region of star formation (the ``overlap region''), which dominates the CO emission from this system. The largest molecular complexes have masses of 3-6x10^8 M_sun, typically an order of magnitude larger than the largest structures seen to date in more quiescent galaxy disks. The extremely red luminous star clusters identified previously with HST are well-correlated with the CO emission, which supports the conclusion that they are highly embedded young objects rather than old globular clusters. There is an excellent correlation between the CO emission and the 15 micron emission seen with ISO, particularly for the brightest regions. The most massive complexes in the overlap region have similar [NeIII]/[NeII] ratios, which implies that all these regions are forming many massive stars. However, only the brightest mid-infrared peak shows strong, rising continuum emission longward of 10 microns, indicative of very small dust grains heated to high temperatures by their proximity to nearby luminous stars. Since these grains are expected to be removed rapidly from the immediate environment of the massive stars, it is possible that this region contains very young (< 1 Myr) sites of star formation. Alternatively, fresh dust grains could be driven into the sphere of influence of the massive stars, perhaps by the bulk motions of two giant molecular complexes. The kinematics and morphology of the CO emission in this region provide some support for this second scenario.

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arXiv2000

Searching for AGN signatures in Mid-IR Spectra: The case of NGC1068

We present mid-IR observations of the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 obtained with ISOCAM between 5 and 16micron. The proximity of this galaxy coupled with the spectro-imaging capabilities of the instrument allow us to separate the mid-IR emission of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) from the distinctly different emission of the circumnuclear star forming regions. The Unidentified Infrared Bands (UIBs), which trace the starburst contribution very well, are not detected in the spectrum of the AGN region where their carriers could be destroyed. Moreover, the featureless continuum of the AGN exhibits a strong hot dust component below 10micron not observed in the starburst regions. Those two distinct mid-IR spectral properties, as well as the presence of high excitation ionic lines such as [NeVI](7.7micron) and [NeV](14.3micron) in the AGN spectrum, provide us with very powerful complementary tools to disentangle AGNs from starbursts. The effects of high extinction on the mid-IR identification of AGNs are also discussed.

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arXiv2000

The Mid-Infrared Spectra of Interacting Galaxies: From ISO to SIRTF

We present mid-infrared (5--16micron) images and spectra of a sequence of interacting galaxies, observed by ISOCAM. The galaxies were selected as being at progressive stages in the time evolution of a merging event, following what is known as Toomre's ``merger sequence'', and having no detected contribution from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) in their mid-infrared spectrum. To trace the intensity of the global star formation in those galaxies, we use the ratio of the 15micron to 7micron flux. Our analysis indicates that this ratio increases from ~1 to ~5 as galaxies move from the pre-starburst to the merging/starburst phase only to decrease to ~1 again in the post-starburst phase of the evolved merger remnants. Moreover, we find that the variation of this ratio is well correlated with the one of the IRAS 25/12 and 60/100 flux ratios. The potential to test and improve upon these results using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board SIRTF is discussed.

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arXiv2000

IRS: the Infrared Spectrograph on SIRTF

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arXiv2000

First Detection of Molecular Gas in the Shells of CenA

Shells are faint arc-like stellar structures, which have been observed around early type galaxies and are thought to be the result of an interaction. HI gas has recently been detected in shells, a surprising result in view of the theoretical predictions that most of the gas should decouple from stars and fall into the nucleus in such interactions. Here we report the first detection of molecular gas (CO) in shells, found 15kpc away from the center of NGC5128 (CenA), a giant elliptical galaxy that harbors an active nucleus (AGN). The ratio between CO and HI emission in the shells is the same as that found in the central regions, which is unexpected given the metallicity gradient usually observed in galaxies. We propose that the dynamics of the gas can be understood within the standard picture of shell formation if one takes into account that the interstellar medium is clumpy and hence not highly dissipative. The observed metal enrichment could be due to star formation induced by the AGN jet in the shells. Furthermore our observations provide evidence that molecular gas in mergers may be spread out far from the nuclear regions.

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arXiv2000

Search for molecular gas in HVCs through HCO+ absorption

High-Velocity Clouds (HVCs) have radial velocities that cannot be explained by the global Galactic rotation; their distances remain mostly unknown, and their true nature and origin are still a mystery. Some of them could be of galactic origin, or belong to tidal streams drawn by the Milky-Way/ Magellanic Clouds interaction, or could even be intergalactic clouds infalling onto the Local Group. In the latter hypothesis, they play a major role in the hierarchical formation scenario of the Milky-Way and are connected to the Lyman-limit absorption systems. In any case, the determination of their physical state (density, temperature, internal structure, abundances, excitation) will help to discriminate between current theories on their origin and nature. A recent UV measurement (Richter et al 1999) has discovered for the first time in a HVC the molecular phase that was previously searched for, without success, through CO emission. Previous non detections could be due either to metallicity problems, or insufficient excitation (because of low density). Low-excitation molecular gas may, however, be detectable though absorption. Here we report on a sensitive search for HCO+(1-0) absorption lines in front of 27 quasars, already known to be strong millimetric continuum sources. Except for one tentative case, no detection was obtained in most HVCs, although HCO+(1-0) was clearly detected towards galactic low-velocity clouds. We discuss the implications of this result.

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arXiv1999

Extragalactic Spectroscopy with SIRTF/IRS

The Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) is one of the three instruments on board the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) to be launched in December 2001. The IRS will provide high resolution spectra (R = 600) from 10-37 microns and low resolution spectra (R >= 60) from 5-40microns. Its high sensitivity and ``spectral mapping''-mode make it a powerful instrument for observing both faint point-like and extended sources. We discuss the performance of the IRS on faint extragalactic targets and present simulated spectra of starbursts and AGNs at high redshift. In addition, we discuss the determination of redshifts from the low resolution spectra.

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arXiv1999

Smoke in the "Smoke Rings": ISO Observations of Dust in Collisional Ring Galaxies

Collisional ring galaxies probably result from a head-on collision between a compact companion galaxy and a gas-rich disk system. We present a review of the discovery of warm dust in five collisional rings observed by ISO which range in total Far-IR luminosity from 10$^{10}$~ $<$ ~L$_{FIR}$ ~$<$ ~10$^{11}$ L$\odot$. The results show that in most cases, the mid-IR (MIR) flux is often a significant fraction of the total energy budget of star formation activity in these galaxies (at least 10% even in the least powerful cases). We argue that the MIR emission, when combined with optical and radio observations, allows us to build a more complete picture of activity in these collisional systems. Although not as extreme as ULIRGs, these collisional systems provide low-redshift examples of the early effects of galaxy collisions on the ISM and may be relevant to the collisional assembly of galaxy disk components at high redshift.

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arXiv1999

Mid-IR imaging of Toomre's Merger Sequence

We present results on mid-IR (5--16micron) spectral imaging of a sequence of interacting galaxies, observed by ISOCAM. The galaxies are part of the well known Toomre's ``merger sequence'' which was defined as a sample of galaxies depicting progressive snapshots in the time evolution of a merging event. To trace the intensity of the radiation field in a starburst, we use the ratio of the 15 to 7 micron flux. Our analysis indicates that this ratio increases as galaxies move from the pre-starburst to the starburst phase and goes again down to ~1 in the post-starburst phase, a value typical of normal star forming regions in galactic disks. Moreover, we find that the variation of this ratio is well correlated with the one of the IRAS 25micron/12micron and 60micron/100micron flux ratios.

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arXiv1999

Formation of Gaseous Shells

HI observations have revealed in several shell galaxies the presence of gaseous shells slightly displaced from the stellar shells radially, in the outward direction. We propose a mechanism to form this gaseous shells, based on the well-known phase-wrapping process of the companion matter in a merger, with nearly radial orbits. The mechanism relies on the existence of a clumpy interstellar matter, and on dynamical friction experienced by the companion core.

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arXiv1999

The `Papillon' nebula: a compact HII blob in the LMC resolved by HST

We present high spatial resolution HST imaging of the LMC compact HII region N159-5. This high excitation blob is revealed to be a `papillon' or butterfly-shaped ionized nebula with the `wings' separated by ~2.3" (0.6 pc). Two subarcsecond features resembling a `smoke ring' and a `globule' are detected in the wings, the origin of which is briefly discussed. N159-5 may represent a new type of HII region in the Magellanic Clouds overlooked so far because of insufficient spatial resolution. Our images also show a strikingly turbulent medium around the Papillon in the giant HII region N159, which manifests itself by a large number of subarcsecond filaments, arcs, ridges, and fronts carved in the ionized gas by the stellar winds from massive stars in the N159 complex.

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arXiv1999

Plasma and Warm Dust in the Collisional Ring Galaxy VIIZw466 from VLA and ISO Observations

We present the first mid-infrared (Mid-IR) ($\lambda5-15μ$m) and radio continuum ($λλ$20,~6 and 3.6 cm) observations of the star-forming collisional ring galaxy VII Zw 466 and its host group made with the Infrared Space Observatory and the NRAO Very Large Array. A search was also made for CO line emission in two of the galaxies with the Onsala 20m radio telescope and upper limits were placed on the mass of molecular gas in those galaxies. The ring galaxy is believed to owe its morphology to a slightly off-center collision between an `intruder' galaxy and a disk. An off-center collision is predicted to generate a radially expanding density wave in the disk which should show large azimuthal variations in overdensity, and have observational consequences. The radio continuum emission shows the largest asymmetry, exhibiting a crescent-shaped distribution consistent with either the trapping of cosmic-ray particles in the target disk, or an enhanced supernova rate in the compressed region. On the other hand, the ISO observations (especially those made at $\lambda9.6μ$m) show a more scattered distribution, with emission centers associated with powerful star formation sites distributed more uniformly around the ring. Low-signal to noise observations at $\lambda15.0μ$m show possible emission inside the ring, with little emission directly associated with the \ion{H}{2} regions. The observations emphasize the complex relationship between the generation of radio emission and the development of star formation even in relatively simple and well understood collisional scenarios.

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