Detection Of H-alpha Emission Research Articles

The spectacular evolution of Supernova 1996al over 15 yr: a low-energy explosion of a stripped massive star in a highly structured environment

Spectrophotometry of SN 1996al carried out throughout 15 years is presented. The early photometry suggests that SN 1996al is a Linear type-II supernova, with an absolute peak of Mv ~ -18.2 mag. Early spectra present broad, asymmetric Balmer emissions, with super-imposed narrow lines with P-Cygni profile, and He I features with asymmetric, broad emission components. The analysis of the line profiles shows that the H and He broad components form in the same region of the ejecta. By day +142, the Halpha profile dramatically changes: the narrow P-Cygni profile disappears, and the Halpha is fitted by three emission components, that will be detected over the remaining 15 yrs of the SN monitoring campaign. Instead, the He I emissions become progressively narrower and symmetric. A sudden increase in flux of all He I lines is observed between 300 and 600 days. Models show that the supernova luminosity is sustained by the interaction of low mass (~1.15 Msun) ejecta, expelled in a low kinetic energy (~ 1.6 x 10^50 erg) explosion, with highly asymmetric circumstellar medium. The detection of Halpha emission in pre-explosion archive images suggests that the progenitor was most likely a massive star (~25 Msun ZAMS) that had lost a large fraction of its hydrogen envelope before explosion, and was hence embedded in a H-rich cocoon. The low-mass ejecta and modest kinetic energy of the explosion are explained with massive fallback of material into the compact remnant, a 7-8 Msun black hole.

Deep Fabry-Perot Hα observations of two Sculptor group galaxies, NGC 247 and 300

It has been suggested that diffuse ionized gas can extend all the way to the end of the HI disc, and even beyond, such as in the case of the warped galaxy NGC 253 (Bland-Hawthorn et al. 1997). Detecting ionized gas at these radii could carry significant implications as to the distribution of dark matter in galaxies. With the aim of detecting this gas, we carried out a deep Halpha kinematical analysis of two Sculptor group galaxies, NGC 247 and NGC 300. The Fabry-Perot data were taken at the 36-cm Marseille Telescope in La Silla, Chile, offering a large field of view. With almost 20 hours of observations for each galaxy, very faint diffuse emission is detected. Typical emission measures of 0.1 cm^-6 pc are reached. For NGC 247, emission extending up to a radius comparable with that of the HI disc (r~13') is found, but no emission is seen beyond the HI disc. For NGC 300, we detect ionized gas on the entirety of our field of view (r_max~14'), and find that the bright HII regions are embedded in a diffuse background. Using the deep data, extended optical rotation curves are obtained, as well as mass models. These are the most extended optical rotation curves thus far for these galaxies. We find no evidence suggesting that NGC 247 has a warped disc, and to account for our non detection of Halpha emission beyond its HI disc, as opposed to the warped galaxy NGC 253, our results favour the model in which only through a warp, ionization by hot young stars in the central region of a galaxy can let photons escape and ionize the interstellar medium in the outer parts.

The Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio in high-redshift radio galaxies

The first spectroscopic detection of H-alpha emission from radio galaxies at z greater than 2 are presented. Strong H-alpha emission is detected at z = 2.429 in B3 0731 + 438, and H-alpha is directed at z = 2.428 in 0406 - 244 at a significant level of greater than 6 sigma. The resulting Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratios for 0731 + 438 and 0406 - 244 are 3.9 and 3.2 with 3 sigma uncertainties of 1.5 for each. A range of possible extinctions is derived depending on the reddening-free Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio assumed and the extinction curve employed. The most important result of this study is the demonstration that the Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio in distant galaxies can now be measured with relative ease.

Detection of H-alpha emission in the hot white dwarf G191-B2B

Detection of H-alpha emission in the hot white dwarf G191-B2B