K-band Luminosities Of Galaxies Research Articles

METAL DISTRIBUTIONS OUT TO 0.5r180IN THE INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM OF FOUR GALAXY GROUPS OBSERVED WITHSUZAKU

We studied the distributions of metal abundances and metal-mass-to-light ratios in the intracluster medium (ICM) of four galaxy groups, MKW 4, HCG 62, the NGC 1550 group, and the NGC 5044 group, out to 0.5 r180 observed with Suzaku. The Fe abundance decreases with radius, and about 0.2-0.4 solar beyond 0.1 r180. At a given radius in units of r180, the Fe abundance in the ICM of the four galaxy groups were consistent or smaller than those of clusters of galaxies. The Mg/Fe and Si/Fe ratios in the ICM are nearly constant at the solar ratio out to 0.5 r180. We also studied systematic uncertainties in the derived metal abundances comparing the results from two versions of atomic data for astrophysicists (ATOMDB) and single- and two temperature model fits. Since the metals have been synthesized in galaxies, we collected K-band luminosities of galaxies from Two Micron All Sky Survey catalogue (2MASS) and calculated the integrated iron-mass-to-light-ratios (IMLR), or the ratios of the iron mass in the ICM to light from stars in galaxies. The groups with smaller gas mass to light ratios have smaller IMLR values and the IMLR inversely correlated with the entropy excess. Based on these abundance features, we discussed the past history of metal enrichment process in groups of galaxies.

METAL-MASS-TO-LIGHT RATIOS OF THE PERSEUS CLUSTER OUT TO THE VIRIAL RADIUS

We analyzed XMM-Newton data of the Perseus cluster out to $\sim$1 Mpc, or approximately half the virial radius. Using the flux ratios of Lyalpha lines of H-like Si and S to Kalpha line of He-like Fe, the abundance ratios of Si/Fe and S/Fe of the intracluster medium (ICM) were derived using the APEC plasma code v2.0.1. The temperature dependence of the line ratio limits the systematic uncertainty in the derived abundance ratio. The Si/Fe and S/Fe in the ICM of the Perseus cluster show no radial gradient. The emission-weighted averages of the Si/Fe and S/Fe ratios outside the cool core are 0.91 +- 0.08 and 0.93 +- 0.10, respectively, in solar units according to the solar abundance table of Lodders (2003). These ratios indicate that most Fe was synthesized by supernovae Ia. We collected K-band luminosities of galaxies and calculated the ratio of Fe and Si mass in the ICM to K-band luminosity, iron-mass-to-light ratio (IMLR) and silicon-mass-to-light ratio (SMLR). Within $\sim$1 Mpc, the cumulative IMLR and SMLR increase with radius. Using Suzaku data for the northwest and east directions, we also calculated the IMLR out to $\sim$ 1.8 Mpc, or about the virial radius. We constrained the SMLR out to this radius and discussed the slope of the initial mass function of stars in the cluster. Using the cumulative IMLR profile, we discuss the past supernova Ia rate.

On the radio luminosity distribution of active galactic nuclei and the black hole fundamental plane

We have studied the dependence of the nuclear radio (1.4 GHz) luminosity of active galactic nuclei (AGN) on both 2–10 keV X-ray and host-galaxy K-band luminosities. A complete sample of 1268 X-ray-selected AGN (both type 1 and type 2) has been used, which is the largest catalogue of AGN belonging to statistically well-defined samples where radio, X-ray and K-band information exists. At variance with previous studies, radio upper limits have been taken into account statistically using a Bayesian maximum-likelihood fitting method. A good fit is obtained assuming a plane in 3D LR–LX–LK space, namely log LR = ξX log LX + ξK log LK + ξ0, with a ∼1 dex wide (1σ) spread in radio luminosity. As already shown by La Franca, Melini & Fiore, no evidence of bimodality in the radio luminosity distribution was found and therefore any definition of radio-loudness in AGN is arbitrary. Using scaling relations between the black hole (BH) mass and the host galaxy K-band luminosity, we have also derived a new estimate of the BH fundamental plane (in L5 GHz–LX–MBH space). Our analysis shows that previous measures of the BH fundamental plane are biased by ∼0.8 dex in favour of the most luminous radio sources. Therefore, many AGN studies, where the BH fundamental plane is used to investigate how AGN regulate their radiative and mechanical luminosity as a function of the accretion rate, and many AGN/galaxy co-evolution models, where radio feedback is computed using the AGN fundamental plane, should revise their conclusions.

CONSTRAINING THE OUTBURST PROPERTIES OF THE SMBH IN FORNAX A THROUGH X-RAY, INFRARED, AND RADIO OBSERVATIONS

Combined Spitzer, Chandra, XMM-Newton, and VLA observations of the giant radio galaxy NGC 1316 (Fornax A) show a radio jet and X-ray cavities from AGN outbursts likely triggered by a merger with a late-type galaxy at least 0.4 Gyr ago. We detect a weak nucleus with an SED typical of a low-luminosity AGN with a bolometric luminosity of 2.4x10^42 erg/s. The Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images show dust emission strongest in regions with little or no radio emission. The large infrared luminosity relative to the galaxy's K-band luminosity implies an external origin for the dust. The dust mass implies that the merger spiral galaxy had a stellar mass of 1-6x10^10 M_sun and a gas mass of 2-4x10^9 M_sun. Chandra images show a small ~15"(1.6 kpc) cavity coincident with the radio jet, while the XMM-Newton image shows two large X-ray cavities lying 320"(34.8 kpc) east and west of the nucleus, each approximately 230"(25 kpc) in radius. The radio lobes lie at radii of 14.3'(93 kpc) and 15.6'(101 kcp), more distant from the nucleus than the detected X-ray cavities. The relative morphology of the large scale 1.4 GHz and X-ray emission suggests they were products of two distinct outbursts, an earlier one creating the radio lobes and a later one producing the X-ray cavities. Alternatively, if a single outburst created both the X-ray cavities and the radio lobes, this would require that the morphology is not fully defined by the 1.4 GHz emission. For the more likely two outburst scenario, we use the buoyancy rise times to estimate an age for the more recent outburst of 0.1 Gyr and use the associated PV work done by the expanding plasma to create the X-ray cavities to estimate the outburst's energy of 10^58 ergs. The present size and location of the large radio lobes implies that the AGN outburst that created them happened ~0.4 Gyr ago and released ~5x10^58 ergs. (abridged)

Monte Carlo Markov Chain parameter estimation in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation

[abridged] We present a statistical exploration of the parameter space of the De Lucia and Blaizot version of the Munich semi-analytic model built upon the millennium dark matter simulation. This is achieved by applying a Monte Carlo Markov Chain method to constrain the 6 free parameters that define the stellar and black-hole mass functions at redshift zero. The model is tested against three different observational data sets, including the galaxy K-band luminosity function, B-V colours, and the black hole-bulge mass relation, separately and combined, to obtain mean values, confidence limits and likelihood contours for the best fit model. Using each observational data set independently, we discuss how the SA model parameters affect each galaxy property and to what extent the correlations between them can lead to improved understandings of the physics of galaxy formation. When all the observations are combined, we find reasonable agreement between the majority of the previously published parameter values and our confidence limits. However, the need to suppress dwarf galaxy formation requires the strength of the supernova feedback to be significantly higher in our best-fit solution than in previous work. To balance this, we require the feedback to become ineffective in halos of lower circular velocity than before, so as to permit the formation of sufficient high-luminosity galaxies: unfortunately, this leads to an excess of galaxies around L*. Although the best-fit is formally consistent with the data, there is no region of parameter space that reproduces the shape of galaxy luminosity function across the whole magnitude-range. We discuss modifications to the semi-analytic model that might simultaneously improve the fit to the observed luminosity function and reduce the reliance on excessive supernova feedback in small halos.

Tramp Classical Novae as Tracers of Intergalactic Stars

Simulations predict that collisions between galaxies must liberate stars into intergalactic space. The stripping of a galaxy's stars by the potential of a cluster in which it resides must also occur. This prediction is verified by the detections of classical novae, red giants, and planetary nebulae between the galaxies of the Virgo and Fornax Clusters. These tracers suggest a tramp stellar component of 10%-40% of the cluster baryonic mass. I point out that classical novae can usefully extend these results to the 250,000 Mpc3 of intergalactic space outside of galaxy clusters surrounding the Local Group. This is because individual novae are well-understood standard candles, with light curves and spectra that are distinct from all other astrophysical phenomena. In addition, the frequency of nova outbursts in any given galaxy is measured to be directly proportional to that galaxy's K-band luminosity (and independent of its Hubble type). Thus, intergalactic novae should be excellent tracers of the fraction of stars liberated from galaxies over the past 13 Gyr. Pan-STARRS, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and other large-area synoptic survey telescopes will begin to regularly discover tramp classical novae out to 20-40 Mpc in the coming decade. I estimate the expected discovery rates with LSST-like surveys to be hundreds of intergalactic tramp novae per year, and suggest survey parameters to optimize detections of these tramps.

The Gaseous Extent of Galaxies and the Origin of Lyα Absorption Systems. V. Optical and Near‐Infrared Photometry of Lyα‐absorbing Galaxies atz < 1

We present results of a program to obtain and analyze HST WFPC2 images and ground-based images of galaxies identified in an imaging and spectroscopic survey of faint galaxies in fields of HST spectroscopic target QSOs. Considering a sample of physically correlated galaxy and absorber pairs with galaxy-absorber cross-correlation amplitude ξga(v,ρ) > 1 and with galaxy impact parameter ρ < 200 h-1 kpc, we confirm and improve the results presented by Lanzetta et al. and Chen et al. that (1) extended gaseous envelopes are a common and generic feature of galaxies of a wide range of luminosity and morphological type, (2) the extent of tenuous gas [N(H ) 1014 cm-2] around galaxies scales with galaxy B-band luminosity as r ∝ L, and (3) galaxy interactions do not play an important role in distributing tenuous gas around galaxies in most cases. We further demonstrate that (4) the gaseous extent of galaxies scales with galaxy K-band luminosity as r ∝ L, and (5) tenuous gas around typical L* galaxies is likely to be distributed in spherical halos of radius ≈180 h-1 kpc of covering factor of nearly unity. The sample consists of 34 galaxy and absorber pairs and 13 galaxies that do not produce Lyα absorption lines to within sensitive upper limits. Redshifts of the galaxy and absorber pairs range from z = 0.0752 to 0.8920 with a median of z = 0.3567; impact parameter separations of the galaxy and absorber pairs range from ρ = 12.4 to 175.2 h-1 kpc with a median of ρ = 62.2 h-1 kpc. Of the galaxies, 15 (32%) are of B-band luminosity LB < 0.25 L and six (13%) are of low surface brightness. The galaxy sample is therefore representative of the galaxy population over a large fraction of the Hubble time. Because galaxies of all morphological types possess extended gaseous halos and because the extent of tenuous gas around galaxies scales with galaxy K-band luminosity, we argue that galaxy mass—rather than recent star formation activity—is likely to be the dominant factor that determines the extent of tenuous gas around galaxies. Nevertheless, applying the scaling relationship between the extent of Lyα-absorbing gas around galaxies and galaxy B-band luminosity, the results of our analysis also suggest that the number density evolution of Lyα absorption systems may serve to constrain the evolution of the comoving galaxy B-band luminosity density (at least for the redshift interval between z ~ 0 and z ~ 1 that has been studied in our survey).