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Rapidly outflowing cold H  i gas is ubiquitously observed to be cospatial with a hot phase in galactic winds, yet the ablation time of cold gas by the hot phase should be much shorter than the acceleration time. Previous work showed efficient radiative cooling enables clouds to survive in hot galactic winds under certain conditions, as can magnetic fields even in purely adiabatic simulations for sufficiently small density contrasts between the wind and cloud. In this work, we study the interplay between radiative cooling and magnetic draping via three dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations with perpendicular ambient fields and tangled internal cloud fields. We find magnetic fields decrease the critical cloud radius for survival by two orders of magnitude (i.e. to sub-pc scales) in the strongly magnetized (βwind = 1) case. Our results show magnetic fields (i) accelerate cloud entrainment through magnetic draping, (ii) can cause faster cloud destruction in cases of inefficient radiative cooling, (iii) do not significantly suppress mass growth for efficiently cooling clouds, and, crucially, in combination with radiative cooling (iv) reduce the average overdensity by providing non-thermal pressure support of the cold gas. This substantially reduces the acceleration time compared to the destruction time (more than due to draping alone), enhancing cloud survival. Our results may help to explain the cold tiny rapidly outflowing cold gas observed in galactic winds and the subsequent high covering fraction of cold material in galactic haloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent JWST observations of the z  = 10.6 galaxy GN-z11 have revealed a very high gas-phase nitrogen abundance (higher than four times the solar value), a very small half-light radius (≈60 pc), and a large stellar mass (M s ≈ 109 M⊙) for its size. We consider that this object is a forming galactic nucleus or ultra-compact dwarf galaxy rather than a proto globular cluster, and thereby investigate the chemical abundance pattern using one-zone chemical evolution models. The principal results of the models are as follows. The observed log (N/O) > −0.24, log (C/O) > −0.78, and 12 + log (O/H) ≈ 7.8 can be self-consistently reproduced by the models both with very short star formation time-scales (<107 yr) and with top-heavy stellar initial mass functions. The adopted assumption of no chemical enrichment by massive (m > 25 M⊙) core collapse supernovae (CCSNe) is also important for the reproduction of high gas-phase log (N/O), because such CCSNe can decrease high log (N/O) of gas polluted by OB and Wolf–Rayet stars. GN-z11 can have a significant fraction (>0.5) of nitrogen-rich ([N/Fe] > 0.5) stars, which implies a possible link between nitrogen-rich stellar populations of the inner Galaxy and giant elliptical galaxies and high- z objects with high gas-phase log (N/O) like GN-z11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiwavelength study of galaxies is important to understand their formation and evolution. Only in the recent past, thanks to the Atacama Large (Sub) Millimeter Array (ALMA), were we able to study the far-infrared (IR) properties of galaxies at high redshifts. In this article, we summarize recent research highlights and their significance to our understanding of early galaxy evolution from the ALPINE survey, a large program with ALMA to observe the dust continuum and 158 μ m C + emission of normal star-forming galaxies at z = 4–6. Combined with ancillary data at UV through near-IR wavelengths, ALPINE provides the currently largest multiwavelength sample of post-reionization galaxies and has advanced our understanding of (i) the demographics of C + emission; (ii) the relation of star formation and C + emission; (iii) the gas content; (iv) outflows and enrichment of the intergalactic medium; and (v) the kinematics, emergence of disks, and merger rates in galaxies at z > 4 . ALPINE builds the basis for more detailed measurements with the next generation of telescopes, and places itself as an important post-reionization baseline sample to allow a continuous study of galaxies over 13 billion years of cosmic time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiwavelength study of galaxies is important to understand their formation and evolution. Only in the recent past, thanks to the Atacama Large (Sub) Millimeter Array (ALMA), were we able to study the far-infrared (IR) properties of galaxies at high redshifts. In this article, we summarize recent research highlights and their significance to our understanding of early galaxy evolution from the ALPINE survey, a large program with ALMA to observe the dust continuum and 158μm C+ emission of normal star-forming galaxies at z= 4–6. Combined with ancillary data at UV through near-IR wavelengths, ALPINE provides the currently largest multiwavelength sample of post-reionization galaxies and has advanced our understanding of (i) the demographics of C+ emission; (ii) the relation of star formation and C+ emission; (iii) the gas content; (iv) outflows and enrichment of the intergalactic medium; and (v) the kinematics, emergence of disks, and merger rates in galaxies at z>4. ALPINE builds the basis for more detailed measurements with the next generation of telescopes, and places itself as an important post-reionization baseline sample to allow a continuous study of galaxies over 13 billion years of cosmic time.

We take a close look at the galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and assess the role of the environment (in the form of cluster, group, and supercluster filament) in their evolution, in particular, examining the role of groups. We characterize the groups according to intrinsic properties such as richness and halo mass, as well as their position in the supercluster and proximity to the two rich clusters, Abell 1656 (Coma) and Abell 1367. We devise a new way of characterizing the local environment using a kernel density estimator. We find that apart from the dominant effects of the galaxy mass, the effect of the environment on galaxies is a complex combination of the overdensities on various scales, which is characterized in terms of membership of groups, and also of the position of the galaxy on filaments and their proximity to the infall regions of clusters. Whether the gas can be turned into stars depends upon the level of pre-processing, which plays a role in how star formation is enhanced in a given environment. Our results are consistent with gas accreted in the cold mode from the filaments, being made available to enhance star formation. Finally, we show that the Abell 1367 end of the supercluster is in the process of assembly at present, leading to heightened star formation activity, in contrast with the Coma-end of the filament system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed analysis of star formation properties of galaxies in a nearby (z ∼ 0.046) young (∼0.6 Gyr) post-merger cluster system A3376, with a moderate merger shock front (v s ∼1630 km s−1; |$\mathcal {M}$| ∼ 2) observed as symmetric radio relics. Exploiting the spectroscopic data from the wide-field OmegaWINGS survey and the associated photometric information, our investigations reveal the plausible effects of the dynamic post-merger environment differing from the high-density cluster environment experienced prior to the merging activity. The remnants of the pre-merger relaxed cluster environment are realized through the existence of passive spiral galaxies located in the central regions of the cluster between the two brightest cluster galaxies. We discover A3376 to contain a population of massive (log (M */M⊙) > 10) blue regular star-forming spirals in regions of maximum merger shock influence but exhibiting star formation rates similar to those in relaxed clusters at similar epoch. We further discover low-mass (log (M */M⊙) ≤ 10) late-type blue post-starburst galaxies which could either be formed as a result of rapid quenching of low-mass spirals following the shock-induced star formation or due to the intense surge in the intracluster medium pressures at the beginning of the merger. With the possibility of the merger shock affecting high- and low-mass spirals differently, our results bridge the seemingly contradictory results observed in known merging cluster systems so far and establish that different environmental effects are at play right from pre- to post-merger stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symplectic integrators are a foundation to the study of dynamical N -body phenomena, at scales ranging from planetary to cosmological. These integrators preserve the Poincaré invariants of Hamiltonian dynamics. The N -body Hamiltonian has another, perhaps overlooked, symmetry: it is smooth, or, in other words, it has infinite differentiability class order (DCO) for particle separations greater than 0. Popular symplectic integrators, such as hybrid methods or block adaptive stepping methods do not come from smooth Hamiltonians and it is perhaps unclear whether they should. We investigate the importance of this symmetry by considering hybrid integrators, whose DCO can be tuned easily. Hybrid methods are smooth, except at a finite number of phase space points. We study chaotic planetary orbits in a test considered by Wisdom. We find that increasing smoothness, at negligible extra computational cost in particular tests, improves the Jacobi constant error of the orbits by about 5 orders of magnitude in long-term simulations. The results from this work suggest that smoothness of the N -body Hamiltonian is a property worth preserving in simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We search the five CANDELS fields (COSMOS, EGS, GOODS-North, GOODS-South, and UDS) for passively evolving a.k.a. 'red and dead' massive galaxies in the first 2 Gyr after the big bang, integrating and updating the work on GOODS-South presented in a previous paper. We perform SED-fitting on photometric data, with top-hat star-formation histories to model an early and abrupt quenching, and using a probabilistic approach to select only robust candidates. Using libraries without (with) spectral lines emission, starting from a total of more than 20 000 z > 3 sources we end up with 102 (40) candidates, including one at z  = 6.7. This implies a minimal number density of 1.73 ± 0.17 × 10−5 (6.69 ± 1.08 × 10−6) Mpc−3 for 3 < z < 5; applying a correction factor to account for incompleteness yields 2.30 ± 0.20 × 10−5. We compare these values with those from five recent hydrodynamical cosmological simulations, finding a reasonable agreement at z < 4; tensions arise at earlier epochs. Finally, we use the star-formation histories from the best-fitting models to estimate the contribution of the high-redshift passive galaxies to the global star formation rate density during their phase of activity, finding that they account for ∼5–10 per cent of the total star formation at 3 < z < 8, despite being only |$\sim 0.5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| of the total in number. The resulting picture is that early and strong star formation activity, building massive galaxies on short time-scales and followed by a quick and abrupt quenching, is a rare but crucial phenomenon in the early Universe: the evolution of the cosmos must be heavily influenced by the short but powerful activity of these pristine monsters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the third of a series in which we investigate the discrimination between Gaussian (G) and Non-Gaussian (NG) clusters, based on the velocity distribution of the member galaxies. We study a sample of 177 groups from the Yang catalog in the redshift interval of 0.03 ≤  z  ≤ 0.1 and masses |${\ge }10^{14}\, \rm M_{\odot }$|⁠. Examining the projected stellar mass density distributions of G and NG groups, we find strong evidence of a higher infall rate in the outskirts of NG groups over the G ones. There is a 61 per cent excess of faint galaxies in NGs when contrasted with G groups, when integrating |$\rm from \, 0.8 \,to\, 2.0R/R_{200}$|⁠. The study of the star formation history (SFH) of ellipticals and spirals in the three main regions of the projected phase space reveals also that the star formation in faint spirals of NG groups is significantly different from their counterpart in the G groups. The assembled mass for faint spirals varies from 59 per cent at 12.7 Gyr to 75 per cent at 8.0 Gyr, while in G systems this variation is from 82 per cent to 91 per cent. This finding may also be interpreted as a higher infall rate of gas-rich systems in NG groups. This accretion process through the filaments, disturbing the velocity distribution and modifying not only the stellar population of the incoming galaxies but also their SFH, should be seriously considered in modelling galaxy evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are stellar systems similar in size to globular clusters (GCs) but extremely dense, comparable only to some GCs and ultra-compact dwarfs. They are present in galaxies with a wide range of masses, morphologies and gas content. There are several formation scenarios proposed for the formation of such objects, such as the merger of GCs or extreme star formation caused by the inflow of gas. Recent studies show that the presence of an NSC is related to galaxy stellar mass. Moreover, it has been suggested that NSCs are more often found in high density environments. In our work, we use deep imaging of the core regions of the Coma cluster down to an absolute magnitude of –8.2 and found that in this environment the nucleation fraction is higher than in the Virgo and Fornax clusters. We find nucleated galaxies in Coma as faint as –11.2 mag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a wide spectroscopic survey aimed at detecting extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) in the core of the Fornax cluster. About 4500 low-resolution spectra (from 4800 to 10000 Å) were observed in 25 VLT/VIMOS masks covering the central 1 deg2around the dominant galaxy NGC 1399 corresponding to ∼175 kpc galactocentric radius. We describe the methodology used for data reduction and data analysis. We found a total of 387 unique physical objects (372 GCs and 15 ultracompact dwarfs) in the field covered by our observations. Most of these objects lie in the region of NGC 1399 halo, with only 10 per cent likely belonging to other giant galaxies 48 of these objects have a literature counterpart. The new VIMOS data set is complementary to the many GC catalogues already present in the literature and it brings the total number of tracer particles around NGC 1399 to more than 1130 objects. With this comprehensive radial velocity sample, we have found that the velocity dispersion of the GC population (equally for red and blue GC populations) shows a relatively sharp increase from low velocity dispersion (⁠|${\sim } 250\rm{-}350\, \rm{km\,s^{-1}}$|⁠) to high velocity dispersion (⁠|${\sim } 300\,\rm{-}400\, \rm{km\,s^{-1}}$|⁠) at projected radius of ≈10 arcmin (∼60 kpc) from the galaxy centre. This suggests that at a projected radius of ≈60 kpc both blue and red GC populations begin to be governed by the dominating Fornax cluster potential, rather than by the central NGC 1399 galaxy potential. This kinematic evidence corroborates similar results found using surface brightness analysis and planetary nebulae kinematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using hydrodynamical simulations of entire galactic discs similar to the Milky Way (MW), reaching $$4.6{\,\rm pc}$$ resolution, we study the origins of observed physical properties of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). We find that efficient stellar feedback is a necessary ingredient in order to develop a realistic interstellar medium, leading to molecular cloud masses, sizes, velocity dispersions, and virial parameters in excellent agreement with MW observations. GMC scaling relations observed in the MW, such as the mass-size (M – R), velocity dispersion-size (σ– R), and the σ– R Σ relations, are reproduced in a feedback-driven ISM when observed in projection, with M ∝ R 2.3 and σ∝ R 0.56. When analysed in 3D, GMC scaling relations steepen significantly, indicating potential limitations of our understanding of molecular cloud 3D structure from observations. Furthermore, we demonstrate how a GMC population's underlying distribution of virial parameters can strongly influence the scatter in derived scaling relations. Finally, we show that GMCs with nearly identical global properties exist in different evolutionary stages, where a majority of clouds being either gravitationally bound or expanding, but with a significant fraction being compressed by external ISM pressure, at all times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that galaxies falling into clusters can experience gas stripping due to ram pressure by the intra-cluster medium. The most spectacular examples are galaxies with extended tails of optically bright stripped material known as 'jellyfish'. We use the first large homogeneous compilation of jellyfish galaxies in clusters from the WINGS and OmegaWINGS surveys, and follow-up MUSE observations from the GASP MUSE programme to investigate the orbital histories of jellyfish galaxies in clusters and reconstruct their stripping history through position versus velocity phase-space diagrams. We construct analytic models to de- fine the regions in phase-space where ram-pressure stripping is at play. We then study the distribution of cluster galaxies in phase-space and find that jellyfish galaxies have on average higher peculiar velocities (and higher cluster velocity dispersion) than the overall population of cluster galaxies at all cluster-centric radii, which is indicative of recent infall into the cluster and radial orbits. In particular, the jellyfish galaxies with the longest gas tails reside very near the cluster cores (in projection) and are moving at very high speeds, which coincides with the conditions of the most intense ram pressure. We conclude that many of the jellyfish galaxies seen in clusters likely formed via fast (***1-2 Gyr), incremental, outside-in ram-pressure stripping during first infall into the cluster in highly radial orbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies support the existence of a link between the active galactic nucleus (AGN) and star formation activity. Radio jets have been argued to be an ideal mechanism for direct interaction between the AGN and the host galaxy. A drawback of previous surveys of AGN is that they are fundamentally limited by the degeneracy between redshift and luminosity in flux-density limited samples. To overcome this limitation, we present far-infrared Herschel observations of 74 radio-loud quasars (RLQs), 72 radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) and 27 radio galaxies (RGs), selected at 0.9 < z < 1.1, which span over two decades in optical luminosity. By decoupling luminosity from evolutionary effects, we investigate how the star formation rate (SFR) depends on AGN luminosity, radio-loudness and orientation. We find that (1) the SFR shows a weak correlation with the bolometric luminosity for all AGN sub-samples, (2) the RLQs show an SFR excess of about a factor of 1.4 compared to the RQQs, matched in terms of black hole mass and bolometric luminosity, suggesting that either positive radio-jet feedback or radioAGNtriggering is linked to star formation triggering, and (3) RGs have lower SFRs by a factor of 2.5 than the RLQ sub-sample with the same BH mass and bolometric luminosity. We suggest that there is some jet power threshold at which radio-jet feedback switches from enhancing star formation (by compressing gas) to suppressing it (by ejecting gas). This threshold depends on both galaxy mass and jet power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent low value of Planck Collaboration XLVII integrated optical depth to Thomson scattering suggests that the reionization occurred fairly suddenly, disfavouring extended reionization scenarios. This will have a significant impact on the 21 cm power spectrum. Using a seminumerical framework, we improve our model from instantaneous to include time-integrated ionization and recombination effects, and find that this leads to more sudden reionization. It also yields larger HII bubbles that lead to an order of magnitude more 21 cm power on large scales, while suppressing the small-scale ionization power. Local fluctuations in the neutral hydrogen density play the dominant role in boosting the 21 cm power spectrum on large scales, while recombinations are subdominant. We use a Monte Carlo Markov chain approach to constrain our model to observations of the star formation rate functions at z = 6, 7, 8 from Bouwens et al., the Planck Collaboration XLVII optical depth measurements and the Becker & Bolton ionizing emissivity data at z ~ 5.We then use this constrained model to perform 21 cm forecasting for Low Frequency Array, Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and Square Kilometre Array in order to determine how well such data can characterize the sources driving reionization. We find that the Mock 21 cm power spectrum alone can somewhat constrain the halo mass dependence of ionizing sources, the photon escape fraction and ionizing amplitude, but combining the Mock 21 cm data with other current observations enables us to separately constrain all these parameters. Our framework illustrates how the future 21 cm data can play a key role in understanding the sources and topology of reionization as observations improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associated with one of the most important forms of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, and showing a strong preference for giant elliptical host galaxies, radio AGN ( $$L_{1.4\,\mathrm{GHz}} > 10^{24}$$ W $$\hbox {Hz}^{-1}$$ ) are a key sub-class of the overall AGN population. Recently their study has benefitted dramatically from the availability of high-quality data covering the X-ray to far-IR wavelength range obtained with the current generation of ground- and space-based telescope facilities. Reflecting this progress, here I review our current state of understanding of the population of radio AGN at low and intermediate redshifts ( $$z < 0.7$$ ), concentrating on their nuclear AGN and host galaxy properties, and covering three interlocking themes: the classification of radio AGN and its interpretation; the triggering and fuelling of the jet and AGN activity; and the evolution of the host galaxies. I show that much of the observed diversity in the AGN properties of radio AGN can be explained in terms of a combination of orientation/anisotropy, mass accretion rate, and variability effects. The detailed morphologies of the host galaxies are consistent with the triggering of strong-line radio galaxies (SLRG) in galaxy mergers. However, the star formation properties and cool ISM contents suggest that the triggering mergers are relatively minor in terms of their gas masses in most cases, and would not lead to major growth of the supermassive black holes and stellar bulges; therefore, apart from a minority (<20 %) that show evidence for higher star formation rates and more massive cool ISM reservoirs, the SLRG represent late-time re-triggering of activity in mature giant elliptical galaxies. In contrast, the host and environmental properties of weak-line radio galaxies (WLRG) with Fanaroff-Riley class I radio morphologies are consistent with more gradual fuelling of the activity via gas accretion at low rates onto the supermassive black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive early-type galaxies undergo a significant process of evolution with redshift on the stellar mass vs size plane. Furthermore, this trend does not depend on the age of their stellar populations. Therefore, such an evolution should involve processes that do not include a significant amount of star formation, leaving (mostly) dry mergers as the main growth channel. By studying close pairs involving a massive galaxy, one can quantify the role of mergers on the growth of massive galaxies. A recent study based on the SHARDS dataset reveals that minor mergers cannot be the dominant mechanism to explain the bulk of size growth in these systems. Merging is found to provide a constant fractional growth rate of ~10% per Gyr from redshift z=1, corresponding to an overall stellar mass increase of 2× between z=1 and z=0. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

By monitoring the arrival times from millisecond pulsars for years to decades, it is possible to search for, or place limits on, nanohertz frequency gravitational radiation. The most promising source of gravitational waves in this band is a stochastic background emitted from a population of supermassive black hole binaries. As these binaries are the direct product of of galaxy mergers and the properties of the SMBHs correlated strongly with their host galaxies, the gravitational wave emission of the binaries can be used to study how galaxies evolve. Here I discuss how pulsar timing can be used to search for gravitational waves, and how limits on the strength of the background are being used to challenge models of supermassive black hole formation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent observational evidence suggests that the coarse angular resolution [∼20 arcsec full width at half maximum (FWHM)] of single-dish telescopes at sub-mm wavelengths has biased the observed galaxy number counts by blending together the sub-mm emission from multiple sub-mm galaxies (SMGs). We use lightcones computed from an updated implementation of the GALFORM semi-analytic model to generate 50 mock sub-mm surveys of 0.5 deg2 at 850 μm, taking into account the effects of the finite single-dish beam in a more accurate way than has been done previously. We find that blending of SMGs does lead to an enhancement of source extracted number counts at bright fluxes (S850 μm ≳ 1 mJy). Typically, three to six galaxies contribute 90 per cent of the flux of an S850 μm = 5 mJy source and these blended galaxies are physically unassociated. We find that field-to-field variations are comparable to Poisson fluctuations for our S850 μm > 5 mJy SMG population, which has a median redshift z50 = 2.0, but are greater than Poisson for the S850 μm > 1 mJy population (z50 = 2.8). In a detailed comparison to a recent interferometric survey targeted at single-dish detected sources, we reproduce the difference between single-dish and interferometer number counts and find a median redshift (z50 = 2.5) in excellent agreement with the observed value (z50 = 2.5 ± 0.2).We also present predictions for single-dish survey number counts at 450 and 1100 μm, which show good agreement with observational data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present detections at 850 μm of the Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) population at z ≈ 3, 4, and 5 using data from the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array 2 Cosmology Legacy Survey in the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey 'Ultra Deep Survey' field. We employ stacking to probe beneath the survey limit, measuring the average 850 μm flux density of LBGs at z ≈ 3, 4, and 5 with typical ultraviolet luminosities of L1700 ≈ 1029 erg s-1 Hz-1. We measure 850 μm flux densities of (0.25 ± 0.03), (0.41 ± 0.06), and (0.88 ± 0.23) mJy, respectively, finding that they contribute at most 20 per cent to the cosmic far-infrared (IR) background at 850 μm. Fitting an appropriate range of spectral energy distributions to the z∼3, 4, and 5 LBG stacked 24-850 μm fluxes, we derive IR luminosities of L8-1000μm ≈ 3.2, 5.5, and 11.0 × 1011 L☉[and star formation rates (SFRs) of ≈50-200M☉yr-1], respectively. We find that the evolution in the IR luminosity density of LBGs is broadly consistent with model predictions for the expected contribution of luminous-to-ultraluminous IR galaxies at these epochs. We observe a positive correlation between stellar mass and IR luminosity and confirm that, for a fixed mass, the reddest LBGs (UV slope β →0) are redder due to dust extinction, with SFR(IR)/SFR(UV) increasing by about an order of magnitude over -2 < β < 0 with SFR(IR)/SFR(UV) ∼ 20 for the reddest LBGs. Furthermore, the most massive LBGs tend to have higher obscured-to-unobscured ratios, hinting at a variation in the obscuration properties across the mass range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive galaxies with old stellar populations have been put forwards as a challenge to models in which cosmic structures grow hierarchically through gravitational instability. I will explain how the growth of massive galaxies is helped by features of hierarchical models. I give a brief outline of how the galaxy formation process is modelled in hierarchical cosmologies using semi-analytical models, and illustrate how these models can be refined as our understanding of processes such as star formation improves. I then present a brief survey of the current state of play in the modelling of massive galaxies and list some outstanding challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

I summarizes the main characteristics of a cosmological hydro-dynamical model which includes chemical evolution. In the last decade, galaxy formation models have made important progress which contribute to understand observations although there are still many open questions to be answered. Current chemo-dynamical cosmological simulations are able to reproduce global trends. They provide a suitable route to underpin physical events responsible of determining observed chemical patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present 6.5-m MMT and 3.5 m APO spectrophotometry of 69 H ii regions in 42 low-metallicity emission-line galaxies, selected from the data release 7 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to have mostly [O iii]γ4959/Hβ <≲ 1 and [N ii]γ6583/Hβ <≲ 0.1. The electron temperature-sensitive emission line [O iii] γ4363 is detected in 53 H ii regions allowing a direct abundance determination. The oxygen abundance in the remaining 16 H ii regions is derived using a semi-empirical method. The oxygen abundance of the galaxies in our sample ranges from 12 + log O/H ∼ 7.1 to ∼7.9, with 14 H ii regions in 7 galaxies with 12 + log O/H ∼ 7.35. In 5 of the latter galaxies, the oxygen abundance is derived here for the first time. Including other known extremely metal-deficient emission-line galaxies from the literature, e.g. SBS 0335-052W, SBS 0335-052E and I Zw18, we have compiled a sample of the 17 most metal-deficient (with 12 + log O/H ∼ 7.35) emission-line galaxies known in the local universe. There appears to be a metallicity floor at 12 + log O/H ∼ 6.9, suggesting that the matter from which dwarf emission-line galaxies formed was pre-enriched to that level by e.g. Population III stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The final product of galaxy evolution through cosmic time is the population of galaxies in the local universe. These galaxies are also those that can be studied in most detail, thus providing a stringent benchmark for our understanding of galaxy evolution. Through the huge success of spectroscopic single-fiber, statistical surveys of the Local Universe in the last decade, it has become clear, however, that an authoritative observational description of galaxies will involve measuring their spatially resolved properties over their full optical extent for a statistically significant sample. We present here the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey, which has been designed to provide a first step in this direction. We summarize the survey goals and design, including sample selection and observational strategy. We also showcase the data taken during the first observing runs (June/July 2010) and outline the reduction pipeline, quality control schemes and general characteristics of the reduced data. This survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopic information of a diameter selected sample of ∼600 galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005 < z < 0.03). CALIFA has been designed to allow the building of two-dimensional maps of the following quantities: (a) stellar populations: ages and metallicities; (b) ionized gas: distribution, excitation mechanism and chemical abundances; and (c) kinematic properties: both from stellar and ionized gas components. CALIFA uses the PPAK integral field unit (IFU), with a hexagonal field-of-view of ∼1.3', with a 100% covering factor by adopting a three-pointing dithering scheme. The optical wavelength range is covered from 3700 to 7000 Å, using two overlapping setups (V500 and V1200), with different resolutions: R ∼ 850 and R ∼ 1650, respectively. CALIFA is a legacy survey, intended for the community. The reduced data will be released, once the quality has been guaranteed. The analyzed data fulfill the expectations of the original observing proposal, on the basis of a set of quality checks and exploratory analysis: (i) the final datacubes reach a 3σ limiting surface brightness depth of ∼23.0 mag/arcsec2 for the V500 grating data (∼22.8 mag/arcsec2 for V1200); (ii) about ∼70% of the covered field-of-view is above this 3σ limit; (iii) the data have a blue-to-red relative flux calibration within a few percent in most of the wavelength range; (iv) the absolute flux calibration is accurate within ∼8% with respect to SDSS; (v) the measured spectral resolution is ∼85 km s-1 for V1200 (∼150 km s-1 for V500); (vi) the estimated accuracy of the wavelength calibration is ∼5 km s-1 for the V1200 data (∼10 km s-1 for the V500 data); (vii) the aperture matched CALIFA and SDSS spectra are qualitatively and quantitatively similar. Finally, we show that we are able to carry out all measurements indicated above, recovering the properties of the stellar populations, the ionized gas and the kinematics of both components. The associated maps illustrate the spatial variation of these parameters across the field, reemphasizing the redshift dependence of single aperture spectroscopic measurements. We conclude from this first look at the data that CALIFA will be an important resource for archaeological studies of galaxies in the Local Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galaxies are found to inhabit a variety of environments. They are often found in pairs, groups, or clusters. Cosmological simulations predict that these clusters are connected on a larger scale by filaments, but because these large scale structures are so vast, and because they are of intermediate density, observational constraints on their properties are difficult to achieve. We find a large-scale filament in the Abell 1763-Abell 1770 superstructure, determine that the star-formation therein is enhanced, and uncover a bent double lobe radio source midway across the filament. From the bend of this AGN'a jets, we probe the density of the surrounding intra-filament medium (IFM), constrained to be between 1-20x10−29 gm/cm3. This density is consistent with direct probes of the IFM as well as theoretical models. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Numerical simulations have shown that strong gravitational torque by non-axisymmetric components induce evolutionary processes such as redistribution of mass and angular momentum in the galactic disks and consequent change of chemical abundance profiles. If we hope to understand chemical evolution gradients and their evolution we must understand the secular processes and re-arrangement of material by non-axisymmetric components and vice-versa. The most obvious of these aforementioned non-axisymmetric components are bars - at least 2/3 of spiral galaxies host a bar, and possibly all disk galaxies have hosted a bar at some point in their evolution. While observationally it has been found that barred galaxies have shallower gas-phase metallicity gradients than non-barred galaxies, a complementary analysis of the stellar abundance profiles has not yet been undertaken. This is unfortunate because the study of both gas and stars is important in providing a complete picture, as the two components undergo (and suffer from) very different evolutionary process. We present here a pilot study of the gas and stellar metallicity and age distributions in a sample of barred and non-barred galaxies using 2D spectroscopic observations. We found that the majority of the stellar mass in our sample is composed of old (~10 Gyr) stars. This is true in the bulge and the disc region, even beyond two disc scalelengths. In the disc region, a larger fraction of young stars is present in the external parts of the disc compared with the inner disc. The disc growth is, therefore, compatible with a moderate inside-out formation scenario, where the luminosity-weighted age changes from ~10 Gyrs in the centre, to ~4 Gyrs at two disc scalelengths, depending upon the galaxy. However, the presence of substructure, like star forming rings, can produce stellar population trends that are not directly related with the growing of the disc but to the bar potential. In the disc region, the metallicity gradient always decrease with the radius. In the bulge region this is not always true and we find inverse metallicity gradients in several galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present GASP, an ongoing ESO Large Program with MUSE aiming to study gas removal processes from galaxies at low redshift. GASP targets 100 galaxies with tails, tentacles and one-sided debris. MUSE data allows a detailed investigation of the ionized stripped gas, as well as of the gas and stars within the galaxy out to large distances from the galaxy center. We show the first results for two of the GASP galaxies that are striking cluster jellyfish galaxies of stellar masses ~ 1011M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We have studied the μJy radio properties of K-selected galaxy populations detected in the Ultra-Deep Survey (UDS) portion of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Deep Sky Survey using 610- and 1400-MHz images from the Very Large Array and the Giant Metre-wave Telescope. These deep radio mosaics, combined with the largest and deepest K-band image currently available, allow high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) detections of many K-selected subpopulations, including sBzK and pBzK star-forming and passive galaxies. We find a strong correlation between the radio and K-band fluxes and a linear relationship between star formation rate (SFR) and K-band luminosity. We find no evidence, either from radio spectral indices or a comparison with submm-derived SFRs, that the full sample is strongly contaminated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) at these low flux densities, though this is very difficult to determine from this data set. The photometric redshift distributions for the BzK galaxies place 37 (29) per cent of pBzK (sBzK) galaxies at , implying that location on the BzK diagram alone is not sufficient to select samples at . The sBzK and pBzK galaxies have similar levels of radio flux density, SFR and specific SFR (SSFR – SFR per unit stellar mass) at , suggesting there is strong contamination of the pBzK sample by star-forming galaxies. At , the pBzK galaxies become difficult to detect in the radio stack, though the implied SFRs are still much higher than expected for passively evolving galaxies. It may be that their radio emission comes from low-luminosity AGN. Extremely red objects (EROs) straddle the passive and star-forming regions of the BzK diagram and also straddle the two groups in terms of their radio properties. We find that K-bright ERO samples are dominated by passive galaxies and faint ERO samples contain more star-forming galaxies. The star formation history (SFH) from stacking all K-band sources in the UDS agrees well with that derived for other wavebands and other radio surveys, at least out to . The radio-derived SFH then appears to fall more steeply than that measured at other wavelengths. The SSFR for K-selected sources rises strongly with redshift at all stellar masses, and shows a weak dependence on stellar mass. High- and low-mass galaxies show a similar decline in SSFR since . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray observations of galaxy clusters have shown that the intra-cluster gas has iron abundances of about one-third of the solar value. These observations also show that part (if not all) of the intra-cluster gas metals was produced within the member galaxies. We present a systematic analysis of 20 galaxy clusters to explore the connection between the iron mass and the total luminosity of early- and late-type galaxies, and of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). From our results, the intra-cluster medium (ICM) iron mass seems to correlate better with the luminosity of the BCGs than with that of the red and blue galaxy populations. As the BCGs cannot produce alone the observed amount of iron, we suggest that ram-pressure plus tidal stripping acts together to enhance, at the same time, the BCG luminosities and the iron mass in the ICM. Through the analysis of the iron yield, we have also estimated that SN Ia are responsible for more than 50 per cent of the total iron in the ICM. This result corroborates the fact that ram-pressure contributes to the gas removal from galaxies to the ICM, being very efficient for clusters in the temperature range . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used the Parkes Multibeam system and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to assemble a sample of 195 galaxies selected originally from their H i signature to avoid biases against unevolved or low surface brightness objects. For each source nine intrinsic properties are measured homogeneously, as well as inclination and an optical spectrum. The sample, which should be almost entirely free of either misidentification or confusion, includes a wide diversity of galaxies ranging from inchoate, low surface brightness dwarfs to giant spirals. Despite this diversity there are five clear correlations among their properties. They include a common dynamical mass-to-light ratio within their optical radii, a correlation between surface brightness and luminosity and a common H i surface density. Such correlation should provide strong constrains on models of galaxy formation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effects of non-Gaussianity in the primordial density field on the reionization history. We rely on a semi-analytic method to describe the processes acting on the intergalactic medium (IGM), relating the distribution of the ionizing sources to that of dark matter haloes. Extending previous work in the literature, we consider models in which the primordial non-Gaussianity is measured by the dimensionless non-linearity parameter fNL, using the constraints recently obtained from cosmic microwave background data. We predict the ionized fraction and the optical depth at different cosmological epochs assuming two different kinds of non-Gaussianity characterized by a scale-independent and a scale-dependent fNL and comparing the results to those for the standard Gaussian scenario. We find that a positive fNL enhances the formation of high-mass haloes at early epochs when reionization begins, and, as a consequence, the IGM ionized fraction can grow by a factor of up to 5 with respect to the corresponding Gaussian model. The increase of the filling factor has a small impact on the reionization optical depth and is of the order of ∼10 per cent if a scale-dependent non-Gaussianity is assumed. Our predictions for non-Gaussian models are in agreement with the latest Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe results within the error bars, but a higher precision is required to constrain the scale dependence of non-Gaussianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new model for source counts from 8 to 1100 μm is presented, which agrees well with source-count data and the observed background spectrum. The model assumes different evolution for each of the four infrared template types used. The evolution is modified in two ways compared to my 2001 model: (i) the exponential factor is modified so that it tends to a constant value at late times and (ii) the power-law factor is modified so that it tends to zero at redshift , rather than zero as assumed previously. I find strong evidence from the 850 and 1100 μm counts, and from the infrared background, that , with some preference for a value at the low end of the range, implying that star-forming galaxies at are not significant infrared emitters, presumably due to a low opacity in dust at these early epochs. The model involves zero or even negative evolution for starbursts and active galactic nuclei at low redshifts (<0.2), suggesting that the era of major mergers and strong galaxy–galaxy interactions is over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a detailed study of the peculiar early-type galaxy NGC 1947. The main goal of this work is to constrain the dynamical status and the formation history of NGC 1947 by comparing the observed properties with the predictions derived from different galaxy formation scenarios. To this aim, we derived the photometric and kinematical properties of NGC 1947. Due to the presence of an extended dust lane, which crosses the galaxy centre along the photometric minor axis, we used near-infrared (NIR) images ( J and K bands) to derive an accurate analysis of the stellar light distribution. Optical images (in the V and R bands) are used to derive the colour profiles and colour maps to study the structure of the dust lane. The observed kinematics confirm the presence of two components with decoupled angular momentum: gas and dust rotate along the minor axis, while the rotation velocities of the stars are observed along the major axis. The complex structure observed in NGC 1947 supports the hypothesis that some kind of interactions happened in the evolution of this object. We analysed two alternatives: a merging process and an accretion event. We discussed how the observed properties strongly suggest that the decoupled ring of gas and dust has been accreted from outside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The GALEX mission is performing imaging and spectroscopic surveys of the sky at Ultraviolet wavelengths, and providing unprecedented sky maps in two UV bands, far-UV and near-UV, and catalogs of UV sources. I will describe the major surveys accomplished so far, and results in investigating the nature of the UV sources. The UV surveys, linked to a multi-wavelength archive, offer great sensitivity to detect and characterize several classes of astrophysical objects, such as low-redshift QSOs, star-forming galaxies, and white dwarfs (WD) in the Milky Way. Efforts towards obtaining a significant census of WDs from GALEX imaging data are described in particular. A dedicated, deep survey of nearby galaxies provides a snapshot of their recent star formation, shedding new light on the process of star formation and its modalities in different environments and conditions. Deep GALEX data revealed young stellar populations in extreme outskirts of spiral galaxies, previously thought to be stable against star formation given their low density. UV measurements for millions of nearby and distant galaxies map the history and probe the causes of star formation in the Universe over the redshift range z=0–2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of integral-field spectroscopy with the Multi-Pupil Field/Fiber Spectrograph of the Russian 6-m telescope we have studied the central parts of NGC 759 and NGC 83— regular (non-interacting, without strong nuclear activity) round red luminous ( M B=−20.8–−21.6) elliptical galaxies which are however known to possess molecular gas. In both galaxies we have found central stellar disks with the extension of 1–2 kpc along the radius which are evidently being formed just now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey is in the process of yielding a complete HI dataset of the Virgo Cluster and its environs (Giovanelli et al. 2007, Kent et al., in preparation). Assuming a distance to Virgo of 16.7 Mpc, the minimum detectable HI mass by ALFALFA is of order 2 × 107 M⊙. A number of the HI detections appear to have interesting properties. Some appear associated with, but offset from, low surface brightness optical counterparts; others, at larger spatial offsets, may be tidally related to optical counterparts. Yet another class includes detections which are not identifiable with any optical counterparts. We present the ALFALFA results on these objects in the Virgo region, as well as followup aperture synthesis observations obtained with the VLA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a new numerical model of star formation history and chemical evolution using the color-magnitude diagrams of resolved stars in galaxies. Our model differs from previous models in that it generates the simulated color-magnitude diagrams with the metal enrichment law calculated from the galactic chemical evolution model. We present a case of applying our model to a resolved galaxy in the Local Group: the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy. It is found the the primary origin of the radial gradient of stellar population in this galaxy is star formation followed by metallicity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We study the effect of active galactic nuclei (AGN) heating on the chemodynamical evolution of elliptical galaxies and their X-ray and optical properties using high-resolution Λ-dominated cold dark matter cosmological simulations. Our model considers an AGN as being ‘active’ when a convergent gas inflow condition exists within the nucleus of a galaxy; otherwise, the AGN is assumed to remain dormant. This induces a self-regulated activity for the AGN, the result of which leads to a stable hot corona and the suppression of significant late-time star formation – characteristics not encountered in traditional chemodynamical models of ellipticals. These properties of our AGN heating model lead to a system consistent with both the X-ray and optical properties of comparable elliptical galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the contribution of star formation to the growth of stellar mass in galaxies over the redshift range by studying the redshift evolution of the specific star formation rate (SSFR), defined as the star formation rate per unit stellar mass. We use an I-band-selected sample of 6180 field galaxies from the Munich Near-Infrared Cluster Survey (MUNICS) with spectroscopically calibrated photometric redshifts. The SSFR decreases with stellar mass at all redshifts. The low SSFRs of massive galaxies indicate that star formation does not significantly change their stellar mass over this redshift range: the majority of massive galaxies have assembled the bulk of their mass before redshift unity. Furthermore, these highest mass galaxies contain the oldest stellar populations at all redshifts. The line of maximum SSFR runs parallel to lines of constant star formation rate. With increasing redshift, the maximum SFR is generally increasing for all stellar masses, from at to at . We also show that the large SSFRs of low-mass galaxies cannot be sustained over extended periods of time. Finally, our results do not require a substantial contribution of merging to the growth of stellar mass in massive galaxies over the redshift range probed. We note that highly obscured galaxies which remain undetected in our sample do not affect these findings for the bulk of the field galaxy population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep narrow band imaging of a field around radio galaxy PKS 1138-262at z = 2.16 has yielded over 50 candidate Lyα emitting galaxies at similar redshift. Subsequent observations has led to the spectroscopical confirmation of 15 galaxies in the redshift range2.16 ±0.02, within a projected distance of 1.5 Mpc from the radio galaxy. These observations suggest that radio galaxies at high redshift, like 1138-262, are located in the progenitors of present-day massive clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the formation of hot intergalactic gas along with baryonic remnants in galaxy halos. In this scenario, the mass and metallicity of the hot intracluster and intragroup gas relates directly to the production of baryonic remnants during the collapse of galactic halos. We construct a schematic but self-consistent model in which early bursts of star formation lead to a large remnant population in the halo, and to the outflow of stellar ejecta into the halo and ultimately the Local Group. We consider local as well as high redshift constraints on this scenario. This study suggests that the microlensing objects in the Galactic halo may predominantly be ∼ 0.5M⊙ white dwarfs, assuming that the initial mass function for early star formation favored the formation of intermediate mass stars with m ≳ 1M⊙. However, the bulk of the baryonic dark matter in this scenario is associated with the ejecta of the white dwarf progenitors, and resides in the hot intergalactic medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]