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This is an Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., Cluster substructure and ram pressure stripping in individual galaxies are among the primary pieces of evidence for the ongoing growth of galaxy clusters as they accrete galaxies and groups from their surroundings. We present a multiwavelength study of the center of the Hydra I galaxy cluster, including exquisite new MeerKAT H I and DECam Hα imaging which reveal conclusive evidence for ram pressure stripping in NGC 3312, NGC 3314a, and NGC 3314b through compressed H I contours, well-defined H I tails, and ongoing star formation in the stripped gas. In particular, we quantify the stripped material in NGC 3312, and NGC 3314a, which makes up between 8% and 35% of the gas still in the disk, is forming stars at ∼0.5 M⊙ yr−1, and extends ∼30−60 kpc from the main disk. The estimated stellar mass in the tails is an order of magnitude less than the H I mass. A fourth “ring” galaxy at the same velocity does not show signs of ram pressure in H I. In addition, we used the H I and stellar morphologies, combined with a Beta model of the hot intracluster medium, to constrain the real distances of the galaxies to the cluster center, and we used the chance alignment of NGC 3314b behind NGC 3314a to break the degeneracy between whether the galaxies are in front or in back of the cluster. The drag seen in the H I tails supports our preferred scenario that NGC 3312 and NGC 3314a are moving toward us as part of a foreground substructure which has already passed its pericenter and is on “out fall” from the cluster. The high surviving H I content of the galaxies may suggest that the substructure or intragroup medium can protect them from the harshest effects of ram pressure, or that the galaxies are in fact on more tangential orbits. © The Authors 2022., K.M.H. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” awarded to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709) from the coordination of the participation in SKA-SPAIN, funded by the Ministry of Science and innovation (MICIN) and grant RTI2018-096228-B-C31 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE). R.K. gratefully acknowledges partial funding support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under project 80NSSC18K1498, and from the National Science Foundation under grants No. 1852136 and 2150222. H.C. is supported by Key Research Project of Zhejiang Lab. (No. 2021PE0AC03); the South African Department of Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation through SARChI’s South African SKA Fellowship within the SARAO Research Chair held by RC Kraan-Korteweg. J.S.G. thanks the University of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science for partial support of this work. The MeerKAT telescope is operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Research Foundation, an agency of the Department of Science and Innovation. Part of the data published here have been reduced using the CARACal pipeline, partially supported by ERC Starting grant number 679629 “FORNAX”, MAECI Grant Number ZA18GR02, DST-NRF Grant Number 113121 as part of the ISARP Joint Research Scheme, and BMBF project 05A17PC2 for D-MeerKAT, and partially supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation. Information about CARACal can be obtained online under the URL: https://caracal.readthedocs.io/en/latest. This work made use of the CARTA (Cube Analysis and Rendering Tool for Astronomy) software (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3377984 – https://cartavis.github.io). We acknowledge the use of the Ilifu cloud computing facility – www.ilifu.ac.za, a partnership between the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Stellenbosch, Sol Plaatje University, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. The Ilifu facility is supported by contributions from the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA – a partnership between the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, the University of the Western Cape and the South African Radio astronomy Observatory), the Computational Biology division at UCT and the Data Intensive Research Initiative of South Africa (DIRISA).

Full list of authors: Baldi, R. D.; Williams, D. R. A.; McHardy, I. M.; Beswick, R. J.; Brinks, E.; Dullo, B. T.; Knapen, J. H.; Argo, M. K.; Aalto, S.; Alberdi, A.; Baan, W. A.; Bendo, G. J.; Corbel, S.; Fenech, D. M.; Gallagher, J. S.; Green, D. A.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Klöckner, H. -R.; Körding, E.; Maccarone, T. J.; Muxlow, T. W. B.; Mundell, C. G.; Panessa, F.; Peck, A. B.; Pérez-Torres, M. A.; Romero-Cañizales, C.; Saikia, P.; Shankar, F.; Spencer, R. E.; Stevens, I. R.; Varenius, E.; Ward, M. J.; Yates, J.; Uttley, P., We present the second data release of high-resolution (≤0.2 arcsec) 1.5-GHz radio images of 177 nearby galaxies from the Palomar sample, observed with the e-MERLIN array, as part of the Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band Imaging of Nearby Galaxies Sample (LeMMINGs) survey. Together with the 103 targets of the first LeMMINGs data release, this represents a complete sample of 280 local active (LINER and Seyfert) and inactive galaxies (H ii galaxies and absorption line galaxies, ALG). This large program is the deepest radio survey of the local Universe, ≳1017.6 W Hz-1, regardless of the host and nuclear type: we detect radio emission ≳0.25 mJy beam-1 for 125/280 galaxies (44.6 per cent) with sizes of typically ≲100 pc. Of those 125, 106 targets show a core which coincides within 1.2 arcsec with the optical nucleus. Although we observed mostly cores, around one third of the detected galaxies features jetted morphologies. The detected radio core luminosities of the sample range between ∼1034 and 1040 erg s-1. LINERs and Seyferts are the most luminous sources, whereas H ii galaxies are the least. LINERs show FR I-like core-brightened radio structures while Seyferts reveal the highest fraction of symmetric morphologies. The majority of H ii galaxies have single radio core or complex extended structures, which probably conceal a nuclear starburst and/or a weak active nucleus (seven of them show clear jets). ALGs, which are typically found in evolved ellipticals, although the least numerous, exhibit on average the most luminous radio structures, similar to LINERs. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society., The authors thank the anonymous referee for his/her helpful comments to improve the manuscript. AA and MAPT acknowledge support from the Spanish MCIU through grant PGC2018-098915-B-C21 and from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the 'Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa' award for the Instituto de Astrof ' isica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709). BTD acknowledges support from a Spanish postdoctoral fellowship 'Ayudas 1265 para la atraccion del talento investigador. Modalidad 2: jovenes investigadores.' funded by Comunidad de Madrid under grant number 2016-T2/TIC-2039. BTD also acknowledges support from grant 'Ayudas para la realizaci on de proyectos de I + D para jovenes doctores 2019.' funded by Comunidad de Madrid and Universidad Complutense de Madrid under grant number PR65/19-22417. JHK acknowledges financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 721463 to the SUNDIAL ITN network, from the State Research Agency (AEI-MCINN) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the grant 'The structure and evolution of galaxies and their central regions' with reference PID2019-105602GB-I00/10.13039/501100011033, and from IAC project P/300724, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the State Budget and by the Canary Islands Department of Economy, Knowledge and Employment, through the Regional Budget of the Autonomous Community. JSG thanks the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its Foundation for support of this research through his Rupple Bascom Professorship. FS acknowledges partial support from a Leverhulme Trust Research fellowship. CGM acknowledges support from the University of Bath and Jim and Hiroko Sherwin. e-MERLIN is a National Facility operated by the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank Observatory on behalf of STFC, part of UK Research and Innovation.

Only about 19 Galactic and 25 extragalactic bonafide luminous blue variables (LBVs) are known to date. This incomplete census prevents our understanding of this crucial phase of massive star evolution which leads to the formation of heavy binary black holes via the classical channel. With large samples of LBVs one could better determine the duration and maximum stellar luminosity which characterize this phase. We search for candidate LBVs (cLBVs) in a new galaxy, NGC 7793. For this purpose, we combine high spatial resolution images from two Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programs with optical spectroscopy from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). By combining PSF-fitting photometry measured on F547M, F657N, and F814W images, with restrictions on point-like appearance (at HST resolution) and H α luminosity, we find 100 potential cLBVs, 36 of which fall in the MUSE fields. Five of the latter 36 sources are promising cLBVs which have MV ≤ −7 and a combination of: H α with a P-Cygni profile; no [O i]$\, \lambda 6300$ emission; weak or no [O iii]$\, \lambda 5007$ emission; large [N ii]/H α relative to H ii regions; and [S ii]$\, \lambda 6716$/[S ii]$\, \lambda 6731\sim 1$. It is not clear if these five cLBVs are isolated from O-type stars, which would favour the binary formation scenario of LBVs. Our study, which approximately covers one fourth of the optical disc of NGC 7793, demonstrates how by combining the above HST surveys with multi-object spectroscopy from 8-m class telescopes, one can efficiently find large samples of cLBVs in nearby galaxies.

We present a multiwavelength study of IC 860, a nearby post-starburst galaxy at the early stage of transitioning from blue and star-forming to red and quiescent. Optical images reveal a galaxy-wide, dusty outflow originating from a compact core. We find evidence for a multiphase outflow in the molecular and neutral gas phase from the CO position-velocity diagram and NaD absorption features. We constrain the neutral mass outflow rate to be ~0.5 M$_{\odot}/$yr, and the total hydrogen mass outflow rate to be ~12 M$_{\odot}$/yr. Neither outflow component seems able to escape the galaxy. We also find evidence for a recent merger in the optical images, CO spatial distribution, and kinematics, and evidence for a buried AGN in the optical emission line ratios, mid-IR properties, and radio spectral shape. The depletion time of the molecular gas reservoir under the current star formation rate is ~7 Gyr, indicating that the galaxy could stay at the intermediate stage between the blue and red sequence for a long time. Thus the timescales for a significant decline in star formation rate ("quenching") and gas depletion are not necessarily the same. Our analysis supports the quenching picture where outflows help suppress star formation by disturbing rather than expelling the gas and shed light on possible ongoing activities in similar quenching galaxies., Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Online material will be available from the publisher

Multi-wavelength images from the farUV (~0.15 micron) to the sub-millimeter of the central region of the galaxy NGC 3351 are analyzed to constrain its stellar populations and dust attenuation. Despite hosting a ~1 kpc circumnuclear starburst ring, NGC 3351 deviates from the IRX-beta relation, the relation between the infrared-to-UV luminosity ratio and the UV continuum slope (beta) that other starburst galaxies follow. To understand the reason for the deviation, we leverage the high angular resolution of archival nearUV-to-nearIR HST images to divide the ring into ~60-180 pc size regions and model each individually. We find that the UV slope of the combined intrinsic (dust-free) stellar populations in the central region is redder than what is expected for a young model population. This is due to the region's complex star formation history, which boosts the nearUV emission relative to the farUV. The resulting net attenuation curve has a UV slope that lies between those of the starburst attenuation curve (Calzetti et al. 2000) and the Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curve; the total-to-selective attenuation value, R'(V)=4.93, is larger than both. As found for other star-forming galaxies, the stellar continuum of NGC 3351 is less attenuated than the ionized gas, with E(B-V)_{star}=0.40 E(B-V)_{gas}. The combination of the `red' intrinsic stellar population and the new attenuation curve fully accounts for the location of the central region of NGC 3351 on the IRX-beta diagram. Thus, the observed characteristics result from the complex mixture of stellar populations and dust column densities in the circumnuclear region. Despite being a sample of one, these findings highlight the difficulty of defining attenuation curves of general applicability outside the regime of centrally-concentrated starbursts., 45 page, 17 figures; accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal, March 21st, 2021

Full list of authors: Falstad, N.; Aalto, S.; König, S.; Onishi, K.; Muller, S.; Gorski, M.; Sato, M.; Stanley, F.; Combes, F.; González-Alfonso, E.; Mangum, J. G.; Evans, A. S.; Barcos-Muñoz, L.; Privon, G. C.; Linden, S. T.; Díaz-Santos, T.; Martín, S.; Sakamoto, K.; Harada, N.; Fuller, G. A.; Gallagher, J. S.; van der Werf, P. P.; Viti, S.; Greve, T. R.; García-Burillo, S.; Henkel, C.; Imanishi, M.; Izumi, T.; Nishimura, Y.; Ricci, C.; Mühle, S., Context. Some luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs) host extremely compact (r < 100 pc) and dusty nuclei. The high extinction associated with large column densities of gas and dust toward these objects render them hard to detect at many wavelengths. The intense infrared radiation arising from warm dust in these sources can provide a significant fraction of the bolometric luminosity of the galaxy and is prone to excite vibrational levels of molecules such as HCN. This results in emission from the rotational transitions of vibrationally excited HCN (HCN-vib); the brightest emission is found in compact obscured nuclei (CONs; ςHCN-vib > 1 L⊙ pc-2 in the J = 3-2 transition). However, there have been no systematic searches for CONs, and it is unknown how common they are. Aims. We aim to establish how common CONs are in the local Universe (z < 0.08), and whether their prevalence depends on the luminosity or other properties of the host galaxy. Methods. We conducted an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array survey of the rotational J = 3-2 transition of HCN-vib in a volume-limited sample of 46 far-infrared luminous galaxies. Results. Compact obscured nuclei are identified in 38-13+18% of the ULIRGs, 21-6+12% of the LIRGs, and 0-0+9% of the lower luminosity galaxies. We find no dependence on the inclination of the host galaxy, but strong evidence of lower IRAS 25 μm to 60 μm flux density ratios (f25/f60) in CONs (with the exception of one galaxy, NGC 4418) compared to the rest of the sample. Furthermore, we find that CONs have stronger silicate features (s9.7 μm), but similar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon equivalent widths (EQW6.2 μm) compared to other galaxies. Along with signatures of molecular inflows seen in the far-infrared in most CONs, submillimeter observations also reveal compact, often collimated, outflows. Conclusions. In the local Universe, CONs are primarily found in (U)LIRGs, in which they are remarkably common. As such systems are often highly disturbed, inclinations are difficult to estimate, and high-resolution continuum observations of the individual nuclei are required to determine if the CON phenomenon is related to the inclinations of the nuclear disks. Further studies of the in- A nd outflow properties of CONs should also be conducted to investigate how these are connected to each other and to the CON phenomenon. The lower f25/f60 ratios in CONs as well as the results for the mid-infrared diagnostics investigated (EQW6.2 μm and s9.7 μm) are consistent with the notion that large dust columns gradually shift the radiation from the hot nucleus to longer wavelengths, making the mid- A nd far-infrared "photospheres"significantly cooler than the interior regions. Finally, to assess the importance of CONs in the context of galaxy evolution, it is necessary to extend this study to higher redshifts where (U)LIRGs are more common. © 2021 ESO., This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2018.1.01344.S., ADS/JAO.ALMA#2015.1.00404.S, ADS/ JAO.ALMA#2017.1.00082.S, ADS/JAO.ALMA#2017.1.00057.S, ADS/JAO. ALMA#2013.1.00032.S, ADS/JAO.ALMA#2017.1.00598.S, ADS/JAO.ALMA#2015.1.00412.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Repub lic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ. We acknowledge support from the Nordic ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) node based at Onsala Space Observatory. The Nordic ARC node is funded through Swedish Research Council grant No 2017-00648. S.A. gratefully acknowledges support from an ERC AdvancedGrant 789410 and from the Swedish Research Council. K.S. S.G-B. acknowledges support from the research projects PGC2018-094671-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) and PID2019-106027GA C44 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación T.D-S. acknowledges support from the CASSACA and CONICYT fund CAS-CONICYT Call 2018. G.A.F acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the AYA2017-84390-C2-1-R grant (co-funded by FEDER) and through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award for the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709). T.R.G. acknowledges the Cosmic Dawn Center of Excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant No. 140. E.G-A. is a Research Associate at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for support under projects ESP2017-86582-C4-1-R and PID2019-105552RB-C41. This research has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Labora tory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

VV 655, a dwarf irregular galaxy with HI tidal debris, is a companion to the lenticular luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) NGC 4418. NGC 4418 stands out among nearby LIRGs due to its dense central concentration of molecular gas and the dusty, bi-polar structures along its minor axis suggestive of a wind driven by a central starburst and possible nuclear activity. We seek to understand the consequences of the ongoing minor interaction between VV 655 and NGC 4418 for the evolution of the LIRG, including the origin of the gas supply responsible for its unusual nuclear properties. We investigate the structural, kinematic, and chemical properties of VV 655 and NGC 4418 by analyzing archival imaging data and optical spectroscopic observations from the SDSS-III and new spectra from SALT-RSS. We characterize their gas-phase metal abundances and spatially resolved, ionized gas kinematics, and demonstrate that the gas-phase metallicity in NGC 4418 significantly exceeds that in VV 655. No kinematic disturbances in the ionized gas are observed along the minor axis of NGC 4418, but we see evidence for ionized gas outflows from VV 655 that may increase the cross-section for gas stripping in grazing collisions. A faint, asymmetric outer arm is detected in NGC 4418 of the type normally associated with galaxy-galaxy interactions. The simplest model suggests that the minor interaction between VV 655 and NGC 4418 produced the unusual nuclear properties of the LIRG via tidal torquing of the interstellar medium of NGC 4418 rather than through a significant gas transfer event. In addition to inducing a central concentration of gas in NGC 4418, this interaction also produced an enhanced star formation rate and an outer tidal arm in the LIRG. The VV 655-NGC 4418 system offers an example of the potential for minor collisions to alter the evolutionary pathways of giant galaxies., 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present the Hubble imaging Probe of Extreme Environments and Clusters (HiPEEC) survey. We fit HST NUV to NIR broadband and H$\alpha$ fluxes, to derive star cluster ages, masses, extinctions and determine the star formation rate (SFR) of 6 merging galaxies. These systems are excellent laboratories to trace cluster formation under extreme gas physical conditions, rare in the local universe, but typical for star-forming galaxies at cosmic noon. We detect clusters with ages of 1-500 Myr and masses that exceed $10^7$ M$_\odot$. The recent cluster formation history and their distribution within the host galaxies suggest that systems like NGC34, NGC1614, NGC4194 are close to their final coalescing phase, while NGC3256, NGC3690, NGC6052 are at an earlier/intermediate stage. A Bayesian analysis of the cluster mass function in the age interval 1-100 Myr provides strong evidence in 4 of the 6 galaxies that an exponentially truncated power law better describes the observed mass distributions. For two galaxies, the fits are inconclusive due to low number statistics. We determine power-law slopes $\beta \sim-1.5$ to $-2.0$, and truncation masses, M$_c$, between $10^6$ and a few times $10^7$ M$_\odot$, among the highest values reported in the literature. Advanced mergers have higher M$_c$ than early/intermediate merger stage galaxies, suggesting rapid changes in the dense gas conditions during the merger. We compare the total stellar mass in clusters to the SFR of the galaxy, finding that these systems are among the most efficient environments to form star clusters in the local universe., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; data and catalogues will be released at this URL http://dx.doi.org/10.17909/t9-cn0b-ht83

Submillimetre and millimetre observations are important in probing the properties of the molecular gas and dust around obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their feedback. With very high-resolution (0."02x0."03 (2x3 pc)) ALMA 345 GHz observations of CO 3-2, HCO$^+$ 4-3, HCN 4-3 $��_2$=1$f$, and continuum we have studied the molecular outflow and nucleus of the extremely radio-quiet lenticular galaxy NGC1377. The outflow is resolved, revealing a 150 pc long, clumpy, high-velocity, collimated molecular jet. The molecular emission is emerging from the spine of the jet with an average diameter of 3-7 pc. A narrow-angle, rotating molecular wind surrounds the jet and is enveloped by a larger-scale, slower CO-emitting structure. The jet and narrow wind are turbulent ($��>$40 kms$^{-1}$) and have steep radial gas excitation gradients. The jet shows velocity reversals that we propose are caused by precession, or episodic directional changes. We suggest that an important process powering the outflow is magneto-centrifugal driving. In contrast, the large-scale CO-envelope may be a slow wind, or cocoon that stems from jet-wind interactions. An asymmetric, nuclear r$\sim$2 pc and hot (>180 K) dust structure with a high molecular column density, N(H$_2$)$\sim1.8 \times 10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, is detected in continuum and vibrationally excited HCN. Its luminosity is likely powered by a buried AGN. The mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) is estimated to $\sim9\times10^6$ M$_\odot$ and the SMBH of NGC1377 appears to be at the end of an intense phase of accretion. The nuclear growth may be fuelled by low-angular momentum gas inflowing from gas ejected in the molecular jet and wind. Such a feedback-loop of cyclic accretion and outflows would be an effective process in growing the nuclear SMBH. This result invites new questions as to SMBH growth processes in obscured, dusty galaxies., 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Updated affiliations, added reference

We use deep Chandra and HST data to uniquely classify the X-ray binary (XRB) populations in M81 on the basis of their donor stars and local stellar populations (into early-type main sequence, yellow giant, supergiant, low-mass, and globular cluster). First, we find that more massive, redder, and denser globular clusters are more likely to be associated with XRBs. Second, we find that the high-mass XRBs (HMXBs) overall have a steeper X-ray luminosity function (XLF) than the canonical star-forming galaxy XLF, though there is some evidence of variations in the slopes of the sub-populations. On the other hand, the XLF of the prototypical starburst M82 is described by the canonical powerlaw (αcum ∼ 0.6) down to LX ∼ 1036 erg s−1. We attribute variations in XLF slopes to different mass transfer modes (Roche-lobe overflow versus wind-fed systems).

Extragalactic cosmic ray populations are important diagnostic tools for tracking the distribution of energy in nuclei and for distinguishing between activity powered by star formation versus active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Here, we compare different diagnostics of the cosmic ray populations of the nuclei of Arp 220 based on radio synchrotron observations and the recent gamma-ray detection. We find the gamma-ray and radio emission to be incompatible; a joint solution requires at minimum a factor of 4 - 8 times more energy coming from supernovae and a factor of 40 - 70 more mass in molecular gas than is observed. We conclude that this excess of gamma-ray flux in comparison to all other diagnostics of star-forming activity indicates that there is an AGN present that is providing the extra cosmic rays, likely in the western nucleus., 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

In this paper, we build from previous work (Bustard et al. 2018) and present simulations of recent (within the past Gyr), magnetized, cosmic ray driven outflows from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), including our first attempts to explicitly use the derived star formation history of the LMC to seed outflow generation. We run a parameter set of simulations for different LMC gas masses and cosmic ray transport treatments, and we make preliminary comparisons to published outflow flux estimates, neutral and ionized hydrogen observations, and Faraday rotation measure maps. We additionally report on the gas mass that becomes unbound from the LMC disk and swept by ram pressure into the Trailing Magellanic Stream. We find that, even for our largest outburst, the mass contribution to the Stream is still quite small, as much of the outflow-turned-halo gas is shielded on the LMC's far-side due to the LMC's primarily face-on infall through the Milky Way halo over the past Gyr. On the LMC's near-side, past outflows have fought an uphill battle against ram pressure, with near-side halo mass being at least a factor of a few smaller than the far-side. Absorption line studies probing only the LMC foreground, then, may be severely underestimating the total mass of the LMC halo formed by outflows., 23 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. Accepted to ApJ. See expanded discussion of clustered stellar feedback in Section 3 and clarifications in Figure 3

Understanding the nuclear growth and feedback processes in galaxies requires investigating their often obscured central regions. One way to do this is to use (sub)millimeter line emission from vibrationally excited HCN (HCN-vib). It has been suggested that the most intense HCN-vib emission from a galaxy is connected to a phase of nuclear growth that occurs before the nuclear feedback processes have been fully developed. We aim to investigate if there is a connection between the presence of strong HCN-vib emission and the development of feedback in (U)LIRGs. We collected literature and archival data to compare the luminosities of rotational lines of HCN-vib, normalized to the total infrared luminosity, to the median velocities of 119 {\mu}m OH absorption lines, potentially indicating outflows, in a total of 17 (U)LIRGs. The most HCN-vib luminous systems all lack signatures of significant molecular outflows in the far-infrared OH absorption lines. However, at least some of the systems with bright HCN-vib emission do have fast and collimated outflows that can be seen in spectral lines at longer wavelengths. We conclude that the galaxy nuclei with the highest L(HCN-vib)/L(IR) do not drive wide-angle outflows detectable using the median velocities of far-infrared OH absorption lines. It is possible that this is due to an orientation effect where sources which are oriented in such a way that their outflows are not along our line of sight also radiate a smaller proportion of their infrared luminosity in our direction. It could also be that massive wide-angle outflows destroy the deeply embedded regions responsible for bright HCN-vib emission, so that the two phenomena cannot coexist. This would strengthen the idea that vibrationally excited HCN traces a heavily obscured stage of evolution before nuclear feedback mechanisms are fully developed., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We present the star cluster catalogs for 17 dwarf and irregular galaxies in the $HST$ Treasury Program "Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey" (LEGUS). Cluster identification and photometry in this subsample are similar to that of the entire LEGUS sample, but special methods were developed to provide robust catalogs with accurate fluxes due to low cluster statistics. The colors and ages are largely consistent for two widely used aperture corrections, but a significant fraction of the clusters are more compact than the average training cluster. However, the ensemble luminosity, mass, and age distributions are consistent suggesting that the systematics between the two methods are less than the random errors. When compared with the clusters from previous dwarf galaxy samples, we find that the LEGUS catalogs are more complete and provide more accurate total fluxes. Combining all clusters into a composite dwarf galaxy, we find that the luminosity and mass functions can be described by a power law with the canonical index of $-2$ independent of age and global SFR binning. The age distribution declines as a power law, with an index of $\approx-0.80\pm0.15$, independent of cluster mass and global SFR binning. This decline of clusters is dominated by cluster disruption since the combined star formation histories and integrated-light SFRs are both approximately constant over the last few hundred Myr. Finally, we find little evidence for an upper-mass cutoff ($, Comment: 25 pages; 28 figures (Accepted to MNRAS)

The structure and kinematics of gaseous, disk-halo interfaces are imprinted with the processes that transfer mass, metals, and energy between galactic disks and their environments. We study the extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (eDIG) layer in the interacting, star-forming galaxy NGC 5775 to better understand the consequences of star-formation feedback on the dynamical state of the thick-disk interstellar medium (ISM). Combining emission-line spectroscopy from the Robert Stobie Spectrograph on the Southern African Large Telescope with radio continuum observations from Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies - an EVLA Survey, we ask whether thermal, turbulent, magnetic field, and cosmic-ray pressure gradients can stably support the eDIG layer in dynamical equilibrium. This model fails to reproduce the observed exponential electron scale heights of the eDIG thick disk and halo on the northeast ($h_{z,e} = 0.6, 7.5$ kpc) and southwest ($h_{z,e} = 0.8, 3.6$ kpc) sides of the galaxy at $R < 11$ kpc. We report the first definitive detection of an increasing eDIG velocity dispersion as a function of height above the disk. Blueshifted gas along the minor axis at large distances from the midplane hints at a disk-halo circulation and/or ram pressure effects caused by the ongoing interaction with NGC 5774. This work motivates further integral field unit and/or Fabry-Perot spectroscopy of galaxies with a range of star-formation rates to develop a spatially-resolved understanding of the role of star-formation feedback in shaping the kinematics of the disk-halo interface., 20 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

SXP 1062 is an exceptional case of a young neutron star in a wind-fed high-mass X-ray binary associated with a supernova remnant. A unique combination of measured spin period, its derivative, luminosity and young age makes this source a key probe for the physics of accretion and neutron star evolution. Theoretical models proposed to explain the properties of SXP 1062 shall be tested with new data., Proceedings of IAUS 291 "Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years", J. van Leeuwen (ed.)

We present a study correlating the spatial locations of young star clusters with those of molecular clouds in NGC~5194, in order to investigate the timescale over which clusters separate from their birth clouds. The star cluster catalogues are from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) and the molecular clouds from the Plateau de Bure Interefrometer Arcsecond Whirpool Survey (PAWS). We find that younger star clusters are spatially closer to molecular clouds than older star clusters. The median ages for clusters associated with clouds is 4~Myr whereas it is 50~Myr for clusters that are sufficiently separated from a molecular cloud to be considered unassociated. After $\sim$6~Myr, the majority of the star clusters lose association with their molecular gas. Younger star clusters are also preferentially located in stellar spiral arms where they are hierarchically distributed in kpc-size regions for 50-100~Myr before dispersing. The youngest star clusters are more strongly clustered, yielding a two-point correlation function with $\alpha=-0.28\pm0.04$, than the GMCs ($\alpha=-0.09\pm0.03$) within the same PAWS field. However, the clustering strength of the most massive GMCs, supposedly the progenitors of the young clusters for a star formation efficiency of a few percent, is comparable ($\alpha=-0.35\pm0.05$) to that of the clusters. We find a galactocentric-dependence for the coherence of star formation, in which clusters located in the inner region of the galaxy reside in smaller star-forming complexes and display more homogeneous distributions than clusters further from the centre. This result suggests a correlation between the survival of a cluster complex and its environment., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We derive the recent star formation histories of 23 active dwarf galaxies using HST observations from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS). We apply a color-magnitude diagram fitting technique using two independent sets of stellar models, PARSEC-COLIBRI and MIST. Despite the non-negligible recent activity, none of the 23 star forming dwarfs show enhancements in the last 100 Myr larger than three times the 100-Myr-average. The unweighted mean of the individual SFHs in the last 100 Myr is also consistent with a rather constant activity, irrespective of the atomic gas fraction. We confirm previous results that for dwarf galaxies the CMD-based average star formation rates (SFRs) are generally higher than the FUV-based SFR. For half of the sample, the 60-Myr-average CMD-based SFR is more than two times the FUV SFR. In contrast, we find remarkable agreement between the 10-Myr-average CMD-based SFR and the H${\alpha}$-based SFR. Finally, using core helium burning stars of intermediate mass we study the pattern of star formation spatial progression over the past 60 Myr, and speculate on the possible triggers and connections of the star formation activity with the environment in which these galaxies live. Approximately half of our galaxies show spatial progression of star formation in the last 60 Myr, and/or very recent diffuse and off-center activity compared to RGB stars., Comment: 29 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The energy densities in magnetic fields and cosmic rays (CRs) in galaxies are often assumed to be in equipartition, allowing for an indirect estimate of the magnetic field strength from the observed radio synchrotron spectrum. However, both primary and secondary CRs contribute to the synchrotron spectrum, and the CR electrons also loose energy via bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton. While classical equipartition formulae avoid these intricacies, there have been recent revisions that account for the extreme conditions in starbursts. Yet, the application of the equipartition formula to starburst environments also presupposes that timescales are long enough to reach equilibrium. Here, we test equipartition in the central molecular zones (CMZs) of nearby starburst galaxies by modeling the observed gamma-ray spectra, which provide a direct measure of the CR energy density, and the radio spectra, which provide a probe of the magnetic field strength. We find that in starbursts, the magnetic field energy density is significantly larger than the CR energy density, demonstrating that the equipartition argument is frequently invalid for CMZs., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

Time-domain studies of pre-main sequence stars have long been used to investigate star properties during their early evolutionary phases and to trace the evolution of circumstellar environments. Historically these studies have been confined to the nearest, low-density, star forming regions. We used the Wide Field Camera 3 on board of the Hubble Space Telescope to extend, for the first time, the study of pre-main sequence variability to one of the few young massive clusters in the Milky Way, Westerlund 2. Our analysis reveals that at least 1/3 of the intermediate and low-mass pre-main sequence stars in Westerlund 2 are variable. Based on the characteristics of their light curves, we classified ~11% of the variable stars as weak-line T-Tauri candidates, ~ 52% as classical T-Tauri candidates, ~ 5% as dippers and ~26% as bursters. In addition, we found that 2% of the stars below 6Mo (~6% of the variables) are eclipsing binaries, with orbital periods shorter than 80 days. The spatial distribution of the different populations of variable pre-main sequence stars suggests that stellar feedback and UV-radiation from massive stars play an important role on the evolution of circumstellar and planetary disks., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ

The supergiant ionized shell SMC-SGS 1 (DEM 167), located in the outer Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), resembles structures that originate from an energetic star-formation event and later stimulate star formation as they expand into the ambient medium. However, stellar populations within and surrounding SMC-SGS 1 tell a different story. We present a photometric study of the stellar population encompassed by SMC-SGS 1 in order to trace the history of this structure and its potential influence on star formation within the low-density, low-metallicity SMC Wing. For a stellar population that is physically associated with SMC-SGS 1, we combined near-ultraviolet (NUV) photometry from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) with archival optical (V-band) photometry from the ESO Danish 1.54m Telescope. Given their colors and luminosities, we estimated stellar ages and masses by matching observed photometry to theoretical stellar isochrone models. We find that the investigated region supports an active, extended star-formation event spanning $\sim$ 25 - 40 Myr ago, as well as continued star formation into the present. Using a standard initial mass function (IMF), we infer a lower bound on the stellar mass from this period of $\sim 3 \times 10^4 M_{\odot}$, corresponding to a star-formation intensity of $\sim$ 6 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$ kpc$^{-2}$ yr$^{-1}$. The spatial and temporal distributions of young stars encompassed by SMC-SGS 1 imply a slow, consistent progression of star formation over millions of years. Ongoing star formation along the edge of and interior to SMC-SGS 1 suggests a combined stimulated and stochastic mode of star formation within the SMC Wing. A slow expansion of the shell within this low-density environment may preserve molecular clouds within the volume of the shell, leaving them to form stars even after nearby stellar feedback expels local gas and dust., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

Clusters or associations of early-type stars are often associated with a 'superbubble' of hot gas. The formation of such superbubbles is caused by the feedback from massive stars. The complex N206 in the Large Magellanic Cloud exhibits a superbubble and a rich massive star population. We observed these massive stars using the FLAMES multi-object spectrograph at ESO-VLT. Available UV spectra from HST, IUE, and FUSE are also used. The spectral analysis is performed with Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmospheres. We present the stellar and wind parameters of the OB stars and the two WR binaries in the N206 complex. Twelve percent of the sample show Oe/Be type emission lines, although most of them appear to rotate far below critical. We found eight runaway stars based on their radial velocity. The wind-momentum luminosity relation of our OB sample is consistent with the expectations. The HRD of the OB stars reveals a large age spread (1-30 Myr), suggesting different episodes of star formation in the complex. The youngest stars are concentrated in the inner part of the complex, while the older OB stars are scattered over outer regions. We derived the present day mass function for the entire N206 complex as well as for the cluster NGC2018. Three very massive Of stars are found to dominate the feedback among 164 OB stars in the sample. The two WR winds alone release about as much mechanical luminosity as the whole OB star sample. The cumulative mechanical feedback from all massive stellar winds is comparable to the combined mechanical energy of the supernova explosions that likely occurred in the complex. Accounting also for the WR wind and supernovae, the mechanical input over the last five Myr is ~$2.3\times10^{52}$ erg, which exceeds the current energy content of the complex by more than a factor of five. The morphology of the complex suggests a leakage of hot gas from the superbubble., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

Two dwarf irregular galaxies DDO 187 and NGC 3738 exhibit a striking pattern of star formation: intense star formation is taking place in a large region occupying roughly half of the inner part of the optical galaxy. We use data on the HI distribution and kinematics and stellar images and colors to examine the properties of the environment in the high star formation rate (HSF) halves of the galaxies in comparison with the low star formation rate (LSF) halves. We find that the pressure and gas density are higher on the HSF sides by 30-70%. In addition we find in both galaxies that the HI velocity fields exhibit significant deviations from ordered rotation and there are large regions of high velocity dispersion and multiple velocity components in the gas beyond the inner regions of the galaxies. The conditions in the HSF regions are likely the result of large-scale external processes affecting the internal environment of the galaxies and enabling the current star formation there., Comment: In press in ApJ

Galactic winds and fountains driven by supernova-heated gas play an integral role in re-distributing gas in galaxies, depositing metals in the circumgalactic medium (CGM), and quenching star formation. The interplay between these outflows and ram pressure stripping due to the galaxy's motion through an ambient medium may enhance these effects by converting fountain flows into expelled gas. In this paper, we present controlled, 3D simulations of ram pressure stripping combined with thermally driven, local outflows from clustered supernovae in an isolated disk galaxy modeled on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf satellite of the Milky Way on its first infall. Observational evidence of local outflows emanating from supergiant shells in the LMC and a trailing filament of HI gas originating from these regions - with no obvious Leading Arm counterpart - may represent a perfect example of this process. Our simulations present a proof-of-concept that ram pressure can convert fountain flows into expelled gas. We find that fountains launched near the peak star formation time of the LMC can comprise part of the LMC filament in the Trailing Stream, but with lower column densities than observed. Larger, more numerous outflows from the LMC may be possible and may contribute more mass, but higher inertia gas will lengthen the timescale for this gas to be swept away by ram pressure. Given the high resolution observations, increased knowledge of star formation histories, and growing evidence of multiphase, ionized outflows, the LMC is an ideal test-bed for future wind models., Comment: Accepted to ApJ; Moderate revisions compared to Version 1, including three new figures (Figs. 10, 13, and 14) and further analysis of resolution effects (see Section 5.2)

The Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) is a multiwavelength Cycle 21 Treasury program on the Hubble Space Telescope. It studied 50 nearby star-forming galaxies in 5 bands from the near-UV to the I-band, combining new Wide Field Camera 3 observations with archival Advanced Camera for Surveys data. LEGUS was designed to investigate how star formation occurs and develops on both small and large scales, and how it relates to the galactic environments. In this paper we present the photometric catalogs for all the apparently single stars identified in the 50 LEGUS galaxies. Photometric catalogs and mosaicked images for all filters are available for download. We present optical and near-UV color-magnitude diagrams for all the galaxies. For each galaxy we derived the distance from the tip of the red giant branch. We then used the NUV color-magnitude diagrams to identify stars more massive than 14 M ☉, and compared their number with the number of massive stars expected from the GALEX FUV luminosity. Our analysis shows that the fraction of massive stars forming in star clusters and stellar associations is about constant with the star formation rate. This lack of a relation suggests that the timescale for evaporation of unbound structures is comparable or longer than 10 Myr. At low star formation rates this translates to an excess of mass in clustered environments as compared to model predictions of cluster evolution, suggesting that a significant fraction of stars form in unbound systems. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

One of the main theories for explaining the formation of spiral arms in galaxies is the stationary density wave theory. This theory predicts the existence of an age gradient across the arms. We use the stellar cluster catalogues of the galaxies NGC 1566, M51a, and NGC 628 from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) program. In order to test for the possible existence of an age sequence across the spiral arms, we quantified the azimuthal offset between star clusters of different ages in our target galaxies. We found that NGC 1566, a grand-design spiral galaxy with bisymmetric arms and a strong bar, shows a significant age gradient across the spiral arms that appears to be consistent with the prediction of the stationary density wave theory. In contrast, M51a with its two well-defined spiral arms and a weaker bar does not show an age gradient across the arms. In addition, a comparison with non LEGUS star cluster catalogues for M51a yields similar results. We believe that the spiral structure of M51a is not the result of a stationary density wave with a fixed pattern speed. Instead, tidal interactions could be the dominant mechanism for the formation of spiral arms. We also found no offset in the azimuthal distribution of star clusters with different ages across the weak spiral arms of NGC 628.

We present a study of the dust-to-gas ratios in five nearby galaxies NGC 628 (M74), NGC 6503, NGC 7793, UGC 5139 (Holmberg I), and UGC 4305 (Holmberg II). Using Hubble Space Telescope broad band WFC3/UVIS UV and optical images from the Treasury program LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey) combined with archival HST/ACS data, we correct thousands of individual stars for extinction across these five galaxies using an isochrone-matching (reddening-free Q) method. We generate extinction maps for each galaxy from the individual stellar extinctions using both adaptive and fixed resolution techniques, and correlate these maps with neutral HI and CO gas maps from literature, including The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS) and the HERA CO-Line Extragalactic Survey (HERACLES). We calculate dust-to-gas ratios and investigate variations in the dust-to-gas ratio with galaxy metallicity. We find a power law relationship between dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity, consistent with other studies of dust-to-gas ratio compared to metallicity. We find a change in the relation when H$_2$ is not included. This implies that underestimation of $N_{H_2}$ in low-metallicity dwarfs from a too-low CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor $X_{CO}$ could have produced too low a slope in the derived relationship between dust-to-gas ratio and metallicity. We also compare our extinctions to those derived from fitting the spectral energy distribution (SED) using the Bayesian Extinction and Stellar Tool (BEAST) for NGC 7793 and find systematically lower extinctions from SED-fitting as compared to isochrone matching., Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, accepted by ApJ

We present an investigation of the relationship between giant molecular cloud (GMC) properties and the associated stellar clusters in the nearby flocculent galaxy NGC 7793. We combine the star cluster catalog from the HST LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey) program with the 15 parsec resolution ALMA CO(2-1) observations. We find a strong spatial correlation between young star clusters and GMCs such that all clusters still associated with a GMC are younger than 11 Myr and display a median age of 2 Myr. The age distribution increases gradually as the cluster-GMC distance increases, with star clusters that are spatially unassociated with molecular gas exhibiting a median age of 7 Myr. Thus, star clusters are able to emerge from their natal clouds long before the timescale required for clouds to disperse. To investigate if the hierarchy observed in the stellar components is inherited from the GMCs, we quantify the amount of clustering in the spatial distributions of the components and find that the star clusters have a fractal dimension slope of $-0.35 \pm 0.03$, significantly more clustered than the molecular cloud hierarchy with slope of $-0.18 \pm 0.04$ over the range 40-800 pc. We find, however, that the spatial clustering becomes comparable in strength for GMCs and star clusters with slopes of $-0.44\pm0.03$ and $-0.45\pm0.06$ respectively, when we compare massive ($>$10$^5$ M$_{\odot}$) GMCs to massive and young star clusters. This shows that massive star clusters trace the same hierarchy as their parent GMCs, under the assumption that the star formation efficiency is a few percent., 12 page, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We use HST observations from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey to reconstruct the recent star formation histories (SFHs) of three actively star-forming dwarf galaxies, NGC4449, Holmberg II and NGC1705, from their UV color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). We apply a CMD fitting technique using two independent sets of stellar isochrones, PARSEC-COLIBRI and MIST, to assess the uncertainties related to stellar evolution modelling. Irrespective of the adopted stellar models, all the three dwarfs are found to have had almost constant star formation rates (SFRs) in the last 100-200 Myr, with modest enhancements (a factor of $\sim$2) above the 100 Myr-averaged-SFR. Significant differences among the three dwarfs are found in the overall SFR, the timing of the most recent peak and the SFR$/$area. The Initial Mass Function (IMF) of NGC1705 and Holmberg II is consistent with a Salpeter slope down to $\approx$ 5 M$_{\odot}$, whereas it is slightly flatter, s$=-2.0$, in NGC4449. The SFHs derived with the two different sets of stellar models are consistent with each other, except for some quantitative details, attributable to their input assumptions. They also share the drawback that all synthetic diagrams predict a clear separation in color between upper main sequence and helium burning stars, which is not apparent in the data. Since differential reddening, significant in NGC4449, or unresolved binaries don't appear to be sufficient to fill the gap, we suggest this calls for a revision of both sets of stellar evolutionary tracks., Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ

Massive stars are the key agents of feedback. Consequently, quantitative analysis of massive stars are required to understand how the feedback of these objects shapes/ creates the large scale structures of the ISM. The giant HII region N206 in the Large Magellanic Cloud contains an OB association that powers a X-ray superbubble, serving as an ideal laboratory in this context. We obtained optical spectra with the muti-object spectrograph FLAMES at the ESO-VLT. When possible, the optical spectroscopy was complemented by UV spectra from the HST, IUE, and FUSE archives. Detailed spectral classifications are presented for our sample Of-type stars. For the quantitative spectroscopic analysis we use the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmosphere code. The physical parameters and nitrogen abundances of our sample stars are determined by fitting synthetic spectra to the observations. The stellar and wind parameters of nine Of-type stars are used to construct wind momentum,luminosity relationship. We find that our sample follows a relation close to the theoretical prediction, assuming clumped winds. The most massive star in the N206 association is an Of supergiant which has a very high mass-loss rate. Two objects in our sample reveal composite spectra, showing that the Of primaries have companions of late O subtype. All stars in our sample have an evolutionary age less than 4 million years, with the O2-type star being the youngest. All these stars show a systematic discrepancy between evolutionary and spectroscopic masses. All stars in our sample are nitrogen enriched. Nitrogen enrichment shows a clear correlation with increasing projected rotational velocities. The mechanical energy input from the Of stars alone is comparable to the energy stored in the N206 superbubble as measured from the observed X-ray and H alpha emission., Comment: Accepted for the pubblication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The cores of Arp 220, the closest ultra-luminous infrared starburst galaxy, provide an opportunity to study interactions of cosmic rays under extreme conditions. In this paper, we model the populations of cosmic rays produced by supernovae in the central molecular zones of both starburst nuclei. We find that ~65 - 100% of cosmic rays are absorbed in these regions due to their huge molecular gas contents, and thus, the nuclei of Arp 220 nearly complete proton calorimeters. As the cosmic ray protons collide with the interstellar medium, they produce secondary electrons that are also contained within the system and radiate synchrotron emission. Using results from chi-squared tests between the model and the observed radio spectral energy distribution, we predict the emergent gamma-ray and high-energy neutrino spectra and find the magnetic field to be at milligauss levels. Because of the extremely intense far-infrared radiation fields, the gamma-ray spectrum steepens significantly at TeV energies due to gamma-gamma absorption., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

IAU Commission 28 (IAU C28: Galaxies) was founded in the late 1930s at which time it had only a small membership (see the historical notes by Sadler et al. 2007). When C28 ended its existence in 2015 there were well over 1000 members on its books. The membership had grown to the point where the effort to keep track of active participants had become a major task. During the C28s tenure 27 IAU Symposia have been devoted to galaxies, the third highest number (Mickaelian 2014)

Cosmic rays are nuclei that have been accelerated to relativistic velocities by astrophysical sources, arriving at Earth after traversing the space between us and the source. As electrically charged particles, they are deflected by magnetic fields, which scramble their directions in space ( 1 ). Finding deviations from the highly isotropic angular distribution of high-energy cosmic rays in the sky has long been a prime goal of cosmic-ray researchers. Marginal detections have been reported in the past that failed to hold up. On page 1266 of this issue, The Pierre Auger Collaboration ( 2 ) report a strong detection of a pronounced anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies ( E ) of ≥8 EeV (8 × 1018 electron volts), indicating that they are of extragalactic origin.

We investigate how star formation is spatially organized in the grand-design spiral NGC 1566 from deep $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ photometry with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. Our contour-based clustering analysis reveals 890 distinct stellar conglomerations at various levels of significance. These star-forming complexes are organized in a hierarchical fashion with the larger congregations consisting of smaller structures, which themselves fragment into even smaller and more compact stellar groupings. Their size distribution, covering a wide range in length-scales, shows a power law as expected from scale-free processes. We explain this shape with a simple ‘fragmentation and enrichment’ model. The hierarchical morphology of the complexes is confirmed by their mass–size relation that can be represented by a power law with a fractional exponent, analogous to that determined for fractal molecular clouds. The surface stellar density distribution of the complexes shows a lognormal shape similar to that for supersonic non-gravitating turbulent gas. Between 50 and 65 per cent of the recently formed stars, as well as about 90 per cent of the young star clusters, are found inside the stellar complexes, located along the spiral arms. We find an age difference between young stars inside the complexes and those in their direct vicinity in the arms of at least 10 Myr. This time-scale may relate to the minimum time for stellar evaporation, although we cannot exclude the $\textit{in situ}$ formation of stars. As expected, star formation preferentially occurs in spiral arms. Our findings reveal turbulent-driven hierarchical star formation along the arms of a grand-design galaxy., DAG kindly acknowledges financial support by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through programme GO 1659/3-2. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This research has also made use of the SIMBAD data base (Wenger et al. 2000), operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with programme GO-13364. Support for programme 13364 was provided by NASA through grants from STScI.

We present the implementation of a Bayesian formalism within the Stochastically Lighting Up Galaxies (SLUG) stellar population synthesis code, which is designed to investigate variations in the initial mass function (IMF) of star clusters. By comparing observed cluster photometry to large libraries of clusters simulated with a continuously varying IMF, our formalism yields the posterior probability distribution function (PDF) of the cluster mass, age, and extinction, jointly with the parameters describing the IMF. We apply this formalism to a sample of star clusters from the nearby galaxy NGC 628, for which broad-band photometry in five filters is available as part of the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS). After allowing the upper-end slope of the IMF ($\alpha_3$) to vary, we recover PDFs for the mass, age, and extinction that are broadly consistent with what is found when assuming an invariant Kroupa IMF. However, the posterior PDF for $\alpha_3$ is very broad due to a strong degeneracy with the cluster mass, and it is found to be sensitive to the choice of priors, particularly on the cluster mass. We find only a modest improvement in the constraining power of $\alpha_3$ when adding H$\alpha$ photometry from the companion H$\alpha$-LEGUS survey. Conversely, H$\alpha$ photometry significantly improves the age determination, reducing the frequency of multi-modal PDFs. With the aid of mock clusters we quantify the degeneracy between physical parameters, showing how constraints on the cluster mass that are independent of photometry can be used to pin down the IMF properties of star clusters., Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, Pre-copyedited version of article accepted for publication in MNRAS following peer review

We present a study of the effective (half-light) radii and other structural properties of a systematically selected sample of young, massive star clusters (YMCs, $\geq$$5\times10^3$ M$_{\odot}$ and $\leq$200 Myr) in two nearby spiral galaxies, NGC 628 and NGC 1313. We use Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/UVIS and archival ACS/WFC data obtained by the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), an HST Treasury Program. We measure effective radii with GALFIT, a two-dimensional image-fitting package, and with a new technique to estimate effective radii from the concentration index (CI) of observed clusters. The distribution of effective radii from both techniques spans $\sim$0.5-10 pc and peaks at 2-3 pc for both galaxies. We find slight positive correlations between effective radius and cluster age in both galaxies, but no significant relationship between effective radius and galactocentric distance. Clusters in NGC 1313 display a mild increase in effective radius with cluster mass, but the trend disappears when the sample is divided into age bins. We show that the vast majority of the clusters in both galaxies are much older than their dynamical times, suggesting they are gravitationally bound objects. We find that about half of the clusters in NGC 628 are underfilling their Roche lobes, based on their Jacobi radii. Our results suggest that the young, massive clusters in NGC 628 and NGC 1313 are expanding due to stellar mass loss or two-body relaxation and are not significantly influenced by the tidal fields of their host galaxies., 21 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Contact first author for machine-readable tables

We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but instead are distributed such that the age difference increases with the cluster pair separation to the 0.25-0.6 power, and that the maximum size over which star formation is physically correlated ranges from ~200 pc to ~1 kpc. The observed trends between age difference and separation suggest that cluster formation is hierarchical both in space and time: clusters that are close to each other are more similar in age than clusters born further apart. The temporal correlations between stellar aggregates have slopes that are consistent with turbulence acting as the primary driver of star formation. The velocity associated with the maximum size is proportional to the galaxy's shear, suggesting that the galactic environment influences the maximum size of the star-forming structures., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Minor mergers are important processes contributing significantly to how galaxies evolve across the age of the Universe. Their impact on supermassive black hole growth and star formation is profound. The detailed study of dense molecular gas in galaxies provides an important test of the validity of the relation between star formation rate and HCN luminosity on different galactic scales. We use observations of HCN, HCO+1-0 and CO3-2 to study the dense gas properties in the Medusa merger. We calculate the brightness temperature ratios and use them in conjunction with a non-LTE radiative line transfer model. The HCN and HCO+1-0, and CO3-2 emission do not occupy the same structures as the less dense gas associated with the lower-J CO emission. The only emission from dense gas is detected in a 200pc region within the "Eye of the Medusa". No HCN or HCO+ is detected for the extended starburst. The CO3-2/2-1 brightness temperature ratio inside "the Eye" is ~2.5 - the highest ratio found so far. The line ratios reveal an extreme, fragmented molecular cloud population inside "the Eye" with large temperatures (>300K) and high gas densities (>10^4 cm^-3). "The Eye" is found at an interface between a large-scale minor axis inflow and the Medusa central region. The extreme conditions inside "the Eye" may be the result of the radiative and mechanical feedback from a deeply embedded, young, massive super star cluster, formed due to the gas pile-up at the intersection. Alternatively, shocks from the inflowing gas may be strong enough to shock and fragment the gas. For both scenarios, however, it appears that the HCN and HCO+ dense gas tracers are not probing star formation, but instead a post-starburst and/or shocked ISM that is too hot and fragmented to form new stars. Thus, caution is advised in linking the detection of emission from dense gas tracers to evidence of ongoing or imminent star formation., 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&A