Low Gas Fractions Research Articles

Impact of Crude Oil on Pre-Generated Foam in Porous Media

As foam is injected into an oil reservoir, the region near an injector can become oil-free due to the relatively high capillary number. Foam created in this region encounters oil further out in the reservoir. The impact of oil on foam in porous media is usually investigated by co-injecting surfactant, gas and oil, or by injecting pre-generated foam into an oil-saturated core. However, the former experiment does not give information on the impact of oil on pre-generated foam, and with the latter experiment one cannot easily obtain data at different oil fractional flows, necessary to model the impact of oil on pre-generated foam.Here we present a novel but relatively simple experimental technique for investigating the effect of oil on pre-generated foam in porous media. This allows one to compare the effects of oil on pre-generated foam and on foam generation without the experimental complications involved in using two separate porous media. We co-inject surfactant solution and gas into a relative narrow core (1 cm diameter), and inject oil into the core some distance downstream from the inlet through ports in the side of the core. The relatively narrow core allows rapid contact between the injected crude oil and pre-generated foam in a porous medium much larger than pore dimensions. By injecting the three phases into the core we investigate the flow behaviour of foam with oil at fixed fractional flows of all three phases.We illustrate the technique with a study of the effect of one crude oil with two surfactants. With this system, there is a progressive decrease in the apparent viscosity of the foam after encountering oil. Foams with a higher gas fraction experiences a more-significant weakening by oil over the length of the core than foams with a lower gas fraction. By the end of the core, the apparent viscosities of foam with a higher gas fraction approach values observed with three-phase co-injection. We present a novel, but relatively simple method to investigate the change of foam mobility as it encounters oil in a porous medium, at controlled fractional flows. We show that in our case the apparent viscosity of foam with oil can decrease by more than a factor of four over a distance of 15 cm, indicating that foam and oil reach steady-state (as observed with three-phase co-injection) almost instantaneously compared to the length of a reservoir-simulation grid-block.

The role of AGN in galaxy star formation: A case study of a radio galaxy at z = 2.6

AbstractRadio galaxies are ideal sites to scrutinize AGN feedback physics, as they are massive galaxies with jets that interact with the surrounding ISM. I will present a detailed analysis of the recent star formation history and conditions of a starbursting, massive radio galaxy at z = 2.6, PKS 0529-549. In the 8.5-hour VLT/X-Shooter spectrum, we detect unambiguous signatures of stellar photospheric absorption lines originating from OB-stars. Comparison with model spectra shows that more than one burst took place in its recent past: the most recent one at 4 − 7 Myr, and another aged ⩾20 Myr. ALMA observations of the [CI] atomic carbon emission line indicates that it has a low molecular gas fraction (∼13%) and short depletion time (∼40 Myr). Most intriguing is the modest velocity dispersion (⩽50 km/s) of these photospheric lines and the ALMA [CI] cold gas. We attribute its efficient star formation to compressive gas motions, induced by radio jets and/or interaction. Star formation works in concert with the AGN to remove any residual molecular gas and eventually leads to quenching.

New insights of foam flow dynamics in a high-complexity 2D micromodel

In this work, we present direct observation of foam flow through a 2D porous microfluidic device. Through a specially designed image processing workflow, we perform individual bubble tracking and establish flow dynamics within the micromodel structure. In addition to our experimental data, we provide 2D and 3D numerical Newtonian flow simulations on equivalent digitized versions of the model, carried out using Lattice Boltzmann simulation codes for comparison. The results show that foam flow in our experimental conditions, low gas fraction and high injection velocity, demonstrate a high degree of similarity to the flow of a Newtonian fluid in both 2D and 3D simulations, in aspects of large-scale flow distribution homogeneity and specific flow passage activation. However, the foam data shows a larger spread of pore-scale flow velocities, spanning from blocked off areas of quasi-zero flow, to zones of high velocity, with velocities well above the Newtonian counterparts. For our model depth and characteristics, the 2D simulation demonstrates slightly more flow heterogeneity and is closer to the foam case. Detailed bubble tracking gives access to other characteristics of the foam flow inside the medium such as the dichotomy between the flow patterns of the smallest bubbles, typically dispersing and accessing most regions available, and the largest bubbles, which travel in long straight preferential paths exclusively. We show that intrinsically tied to these different flow patterns is the relationship between bubble velocity and bubble size, as we demonstrate distinct populations of trapped and flowing bubbles with distinct sizes. Finally, we explore the relationships between microstructural parameters and flow intensity and note a weak correlation to local structural parameters. Our study, which combines high spatial and time resolution, small network dimensions, high network complexity and efficient bubble tracking, therefore sheds new light on the study of foam flow in porous media.

NIHAO XX: the impact of the star formation threshold on the cusp–core transformation of cold dark matter haloes

We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the NIHAO project to investigate the impact of the threshold for star formation on the response of the dark matter (DM) halo to baryonic processes. The fiducial NIHAO threshold, $n=10\, {\rm cm}^{-3}$, results in strong expansion of the DM halo in galaxies with stellar masses in the range $10^{7.5} < M_{star} < 10^{9.5} M_{\odot}$. We find that lower thresholds such as $n=0.1$ (as employed by the EAGLE/APOSTLE and Illustris/AURIGA projects) do not result in significant halo expansion at any mass scale. Halo expansion driven by supernova feedback requires significant fluctuations in the local gas fraction on sub-dynamical times (i.e., < 50 Myr at galaxy half-light radii), which are themselves caused by variability in the star formation rate. At one per cent of the virial radius, simulations with $n=10$ have gas fractions of $\simeq 0.2$ and variations of $\simeq 0.1$, while $n=0.1$ simulations have order of magnitude lower gas fractions and hence do not expand the halo. The observed DM circular velocities of nearby dwarf galaxies are inconsistent with CDM simulations with $n=0.1$ and $n=1$, but in reasonable agreement with $n=10$. Star formation rates are more variable for higher $n$, lower galaxy masses, and when star formation is measured on shorter time scales. For example, simulations with $n=10$ have up to 0.4 dex higher scatter in specific star formation rates than simulations with $n=0.1$. Thus observationally constraining the sub-grid model for star formation, and hence the nature of DM, should be possible in the near future.

Extremely Low Molecular Gas Content in a Compact, Quiescent Galaxy at z = 1.522

Abstract One of the greatest challenges to theoretical models of massive galaxy formation is the regulation of star formation at early times. The relative roles of molecular gas expulsion, depletion, and stabilization are uncertain as direct observational constraints of the gas reservoirs in quenched or quenching galaxies at high redshift are scant. We present ALMA observations of CO(2–1) in a massive ( ), recently quenched galaxy at z = 1.522. The optical spectrum of this object shows strong Balmer absorption lines, which implies that star formation ceased ∼0.8 Gyr ago. We do not detect CO(2–1) line emission, placing an upper limit on the molecular gas mass of . The implied gas fraction is , lower than typical star-forming galaxies at similar stellar masses at this redshift, among the lowest gas fractions at this specific star formation rate at any epoch, and the most stringent constraint on the gas contents of a passive galaxy to date. Our observations show that the depletion of from the interstellar medium of quenched objects can be both efficient and fairly complete, in contrast to recent claims of significant cold gas in recently quenched galaxies. We explore the variation in observed gas fractions in high-z galaxies and show that galaxies with high stellar surface density have low , similar to recent correlations between specific star formation rate and stellar surface density.

Star formation and gas in the minor merger UGC 10214

Minor mergers play a crucial role in galaxy evolution. UGC 10214 (the Tadpole galaxy) is a prime example of this process in which a dwarf galaxy has interacted with a large spiral galaxy ∼250 Myr ago and produced a perturbed disc and a giant tidal tail. We used a multi-wavelength dataset that partly consists of new observations (Hα, HI, and CO) and partly of archival data to study the present and past star formation rate (SFR) and its relation to the gas and stellar mass at a spatial resolution down to 4 kpc. UGC 10214 is a high-mass (stellar mass M⋆ = 1.28 × 1011 M⊙) galaxy with a low gas fraction (Mgas/M⋆ = 0.24), a high molecular gas fraction (MH2/MHI = 0.4), and a modest SFR (2–5 M⊙ yr−1). The global SFR compared to its stellar mass places UGC 10214 on the galaxy main sequence (MS). The comparison of the molecular gas mass and current SFR gives a molecular gas depletion time of about ∼2 Gyr (based on Hα), comparable to those of normal spiral galaxies. Both from a comparison of the Hα emission, tracing the current SFR, and far-ultraviolet (FUV) emission, tracing the recent SFR during the past tens of Myr, and also from spectral energy distribution fitting with CIGALE, we find that the SFR has increased by a factor of about 2–3 during the recent past. This increase is particularly noticeable in the centre of the galaxy where a pronounced peak of the Hα emission is visible. A pixel-to-pixel comparison of the SFR, molecular gas mass, and stellar mass shows that the central region has had a depressed FUV-traced SFR compared to the molecular gas and the stellar mass, whereas the Hα-traced SFR shows a normal level. The atomic and molecular gas distribution is asymmetric, but the position-velocity diagram along the major axis shows a pattern of regular rotation. We conclude that the minor merger has most likely caused variations in the SFR in the past that resulted in a moderate increase of the SFR, but it has not perturbed the gas significantly so that the molecular depletion time remains normal.

Constraints on the H i Mass for NGC 1052-DF2

Abstract We report deep, single-dish 21 cm observations of NGC 1052-DF2, taken with the Green Bank Telescope. NGC 1052-DF2, proposed to be lacking in dark matter, is currently classified as an ultra-diffuse galaxy in the NGC 1052 group. We do not detect the galaxy, and derive an upper limit on the H i mass. The galaxy is extremely gas poor, and we find that a detection at a distance of 19 Mpc and using a line width of 3.2 km s−1 would have an upper limit of M ⊙. At this mass limit, the gas fraction of neutral gas mass to stellar mass is extremely low, at M H i /M ⋆ &lt; 0.0027. This extremely low gas fraction, comparable to Galactic dwarf spheroidals and gas-poor dwarf ellipticals, implies that either the galaxy is within the virial radius of NGC 1052, where its gas has been stripped due to its proximity to the central galaxy, or that NGC 1052-DF2 is at a distance that is large enough to inhibit detection of its gas. We also estimate the upper limit of the H i mass of NGC 1052-DF2 resided at 13 Mpc. This would give an H i mass of M ⊙, and an H i gas fraction if M H i /M ⋆ &lt; 0.0024, becoming even more extreme for its environment. While the dark matter fraction would be less extreme at this distance, the neutral gas fraction would be unprecedented for an object in a low-density environment.

Tidally Induced Bars in Gas-rich Dwarf Galaxies Orbiting the Milky Way

Abstract Bars in galaxies may form not only through instability but also as a result of an interaction with another galaxy. In particular, they may appear in disky dwarf galaxies interacting with Milky Way–like galaxies. Here we report the results of Nbody/SPH simulations of such dwarfs orbiting in the static potential of a larger galaxy. We used several models of the dwarf galaxy, all of the same mass but covering a large range of gas fractions: 0%, 30%, and 70%. We also tested the impact of subgrid star formation processes. In all cases, bars of similar length formed in the stellar disk of the dwarfs at the first pericenter passage. However, unexpectedly, the gaseous component remained approximately axisymmetric and unaffected by the bar potential. The bar properties did not change significantly between two consecutive pericenters. The impact of the later encounters with the host depends strongly on the exact orientation of the bar at the pericenter. When the bar is spun up by the tidal force torque, it is also shortened. Conversely, if it is slowed down, it gets longer. In the models with a low gas fraction, the bars were more pronounced and survived until the end of the simulations, while in the dwarfs with a high gas fraction, the bars were destroyed after the second or third pericenter passage. In terms of the ratio of the corotation radius to the bar length, the bars are slow, and remain so independently of the encounters with the host.

A dearth of atomic hydrogen in NGC 1052-DF2

ABSTRACT The recently claimed discovery of an ultra-diffuse galaxy lacking dark matter has important implications for alternate theories to dark matter as well as models of galaxy formation in the lambda cold dark matter context. In this letter, we present a deep Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope search for atomic hydrogen in this ultra-diffuse galaxy, NGC 1052-DF2. We report a non-detection of the H i 21cm transition from the galaxy and place a stringent upper limit on the H i mass of the galaxy – $\rm{M}_{\rm H\, {\small {I}}} \lt 3.15 \times 10^6 \ ({\Delta V}/20 \ \rm{km/s})^{1/2} \ \rm{M}_\odot \ (3\sigma)$. This makes NGC 1052-DF2 an extremely gas-poor galaxy with an atomic gas to stellar mass fraction of $\rm{M}_{\rm H\, {\small {I}}}/\rm{M}_* \ \lt \ 0.016 \ ({\Delta V}/20 \ \rm{km/s})^{1/2} \ (3\sigma)$. Such low gas fractions are typical of dwarf ellipticals in dense environments and would be consistent with NGC 1052-DF2 having undergone a tidal stripping event which can also explain its apparent lack of dark matter.

Growing a ‘cosmic beast’: observations and simulations of MACS J0717.5+3745

ABSTRACTWe present a gravitational lensing and X-ray analysis of a massive galaxy cluster and its surroundings. The core of MACS J0717.5+3745 ($M(R\lt 1\, {\rm Mpc})\sim$ $2 \times 10^{15}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, $z$ = 0.54) is already known to contain four merging components. We show that this is surrounded by at least seven additional substructures with masses ranging $3.8{-}6.5\times 10^{13}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, at projected radii 1.6–4.9 Mpc. We compare MACS J0717 to mock lensing and X-ray observations of similarly rich clusters in cosmological simulations. The low gas fraction of substructures predicted by simulations turns out to match our observed values of 1–$4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Comparing our data to three similar simulated haloes, we infer a typical growth rate and substructure infall velocity. That suggests MACS J0717 could evolve into a system similar to, but more massive than, Abell 2744 by $z$ = 0.31, and into a ∼ $10^{16}\, \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ supercluster by $z$ = 0. The radial distribution of infalling substructure suggests that merger events are strongly episodic; however, we find that the smooth accretion of surrounding material remains the main source of mass growth even for such massive clusters.

Image processing techniques for the measurement of two-phase bubbly pipe flows using particle image and tracking velocimetry (PIV/PTV)

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement in gas-liquid bubbly flows is a challenging task, mainly due to the dispersion of the laser light caused by the gas-liquid interfaces. A common solution adopted is the use of fluorescent seeding particles associated with a bandpass filter for the laser light. Therefore, the camera captures only the light fluoresced by the seeding particles, filtering the laser light dispersed by the gas-liquid interfaces and measuring a velocity field which corresponds to the liquid phase, seeded with the particles. However, even for relatively low gas fractions, the fluoresced light reflected by the interfaces distorts the measurements, as it illuminates particles out from the laser plane. In addition, the fluoresced light also reflects at the interfaces, distorting the measurements and trending to overshoot the measured liquid velocities In this work, PIV measurements of air-water bubbly flows in a small diameter pipe (D = 26.2 mm) are performed with fluorescent tracer particles (PIV/LIF). A new method for the phase discrimination in PIV was developed to overcome the problems caused by the presence of bubbles in the flow, which uses the pixels intensity information of each interrogation window, to identify if that window corresponds to liquid or bubble region. To validate the PIV procedure, a Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) algorithm was also developed to measure the bubbles velocities, based on similar implementations found in literature, but some corrections were also proposed to overcome the bubble overlap phenomena which arises in bubbly pipe flows, when backward illumination is used. The PIV and the PTV methods were tested and validated by a series of distinct gas void fraction and bubble diameters experimental cases, confirming the accuracy and reliability of both methods. The proposed method was used to analyze a set of upward laminar and turbulent bubbly flows, showing that the averaged axial velocity and the dispersed gas bubbles modify the turbulence intensity profiles.

Molecular outflow and feedback in the obscured quasar XID2028 revealed by ALMA

We imaged, with ALMA and ARGOS/LUCI, the molecular gas and dust and stellar continuum in XID2028, which is an obscured quasi-stellar object (QSO) at z = 1.593, where the presence of a massive outflow in the ionised gas component traced by the [OIII]5007 emission has been resolved up to 10 kpc. This target represents a unique test case to study QSO feedback in action at the peak epoch of AGN-galaxy co-evolution. The QSO was detected in the CO(5 − 4) transition and in the 1.3 mm continuum at ~30 and ~20σ significance, respectively; both emissions are confined in the central (&lt;2 kpc) radius area. Our analysis suggests the presence of a fast rotating molecular disc (v ~ 400 km s−1) on very compact scales well inside the galaxy extent seen in the rest-frame optical light (~10 kpc, as inferred from the LUCI data). Adding available measurements in additional two CO transitions, CO(2 − 1) and CO(3 − 2), we could derive a total gas mass of ~1010 M⊙, thanks to a critical assessment of CO excitation and the comparison with the Rayleigh–Jeans continuum estimate. This translates into a very low gas fraction (&lt;5%) and depletion timescales of 40–75 Myr, reinforcing the result of atypical gas consumption conditions in XID2028, possibly because of feedback effects on the host galaxy. Finally, we also detect the presence of high velocity CO gas at ~5σ, which we interpret as a signature of galaxy-scale molecular outflow that is spatially coincident with the ionised gas outflow. XID2028 therefore represents a unique case in which the measurement of total outflowing mass, of ~500–800 M⊙ yr−1 including the molecular and atomic components in both the ionised and neutral phases, was attempted for a high-z QSO.

Gas kinematics in FIRE simulated galaxies compared to spatially unresolved HI observations.

The shape of a galaxy's spatially unresolved, globally integrated 21-cm emission line depends on its internal gas kinematics: galaxies with rotationally supported gas discs produce double-horned profiles with steep wings, while galaxies with dispersion-supported gas produce Gaussian-like profiles with sloped wings. Using mock observations of simulated galaxies from the FIRE project, we show that one can therefore constrain a galaxy's gas kinematics from its unresolved 21-cm line profile. In particular, we find that the kurtosis of the 21-cm line increases with decreasing V/σ and that this trend is robust across a wide range of masses, signal-to-noise ratios, and inclinations. We then quantify the shapes of 21-cm line profiles from a morphologically unbiased sample of ~2000 low-redshift, HI-detected galaxies with Mstar = 107-11 M☉ and compare to the simulated galaxies. At Mstar ≳ 1010 M☉, both the observed and simulated galaxies produce double-horned profiles with low kurtosis and steep wings, consistent with rotationally supported discs. Both the observed and simulated line profiles become more Gaussian like (higher kurtosis and less-steep wings) at lower masses, indicating increased dispersion support. However, the simulated galaxies transition from rotational to dispersion support more strongly: at Mstar 108-10 M, most of the simulations produce more Gaussian-like profiles than typical observed galaxies with similar mass, indicating that gas in the low-mass simulated galaxies is, on average, overly dispersion supported. Most of the lower-mass-simulated galaxies also have somewhat lower gas fractions than the median of the observed population. The simulations nevertheless reproduce the observed line-width baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, which is insensitive to rotational versus dispersion support.

The KMOS3D Survey: Rotating Compact Star-forming Galaxies and the Decomposition of Integrated Line Widths*

Abstract Using integral field spectroscopy, we investigate the kinematic properties of 35 massive centrally dense and compact star-forming galaxies (SFGs; , , ) at z ∼ 0.7–3.7 within the KMOS3D survey. We spatially resolve 23 compact SFGs and find that the majority are dominated by rotational motions with velocities ranging from 95 to 500 km s−1. The range of rotation velocities is reflected in a similar range of integrated Hα line widths, 75–400 km s−1, consistent with the kinematic properties of mass-matched extended galaxies from the full KMOS3D sample. The fraction of compact SFGs that are classified as “rotation-dominated” or “disklike” also mirrors the fractions of the full KMOS3D sample. We show that integrated line-of-sight gas velocity dispersions from KMOS3D are best approximated by a linear combination of their rotation and turbulent velocities with a lesser but still significant contribution from galactic-scale winds. The Hα exponential disk sizes of compact SFGs are, on average, 2.5 ± 0.2 kpc, 1–2× the continuum sizes, in agreement with previous work. The compact SFGs have a 1.4× higher active galactic nucleus (AGN) incidence than the full KMOS3D sample at fixed stellar mass with an average AGN fraction of 76%. Given their high and centrally concentrated stellar masses, as well as stellar-to-dynamical mass ratios close to unity, the compact SFGs are likely to have low molecular gas fractions and to quench on a short timescale unless replenished with inflowing gas. The rotation in these compact systems suggests that their direct descendants are rotating passive galaxies.

The dependence of bar frequency on galaxy mass, colour, and gas content – and angular resolution – in the local universe

I use distance- and mass-limited subsamples of the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G) to investigate how the presence of bars in spiral galaxies depends on mass, colour, and gas content and whether large, SDSS-based investigations of bar frequencies agree with local data. Bar frequency reaches a maximum of $\approx 0.70$ at $M_{\star} \sim 10^{9.7} M_{\odot}$, declining to both lower and higher masses. It is roughly constant over a wide range of colours ($g - r \approx 0.1$-0.8) and atomic gas fractions ($\log (M_{HI} / M_{\star}) \approx -2.5$ to 1). Bars are thus as common in blue, gas-rich galaxies are they are in red, gas-poor galaxies. This is in sharp contrast to many SDSS-based studies of $z \sim 0.01$-0.1 galaxies, which report f_bar increasing strongly to higher masses (from $M_{\star} \sim 10^{10}$ to $10^{11} M_{\odot}$), redder colours, and lower gas fractions. The contradiction can be explained if SDSS-based studies preferentially miss bars in, and underestimate the bar fraction for, lower-mass (bluer, gas-rich) galaxies due to poor spatial resolution and the correlation between bar size and stellar mass. Simulations of SDSS-style observations using the S4G galaxies as a parent sample, and assuming that bars below a threshold angular size of twice the PSF FWHM cannot be identified, successfully reproduce typical SDSS f_bar trends for stellar mass and gas mass ratio. Similar considerations may affect high-redshift studies, especially if bars grow in length over cosmic time; simulations suggest that high-redshift bar fractions may thus be systematically underestimated.

Galaxy metallicity scaling relations in the EAGLE simulations

We quantify the correlations between gas-phase and stellar metallicities and global properties of galaxies, such as stellar mass, halo mass, age and gas fraction, in the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. The slope of the correlation between stellar mass and metallicity of star-forming (SF) gas (M*–ZSF,gas relation) depends somewhat on resolution, with the higher resolution run reproducing a steeper slope. This simulation predicts a non-zero metallicity evolution, increasing by ≈0.5 dex at ∼109 M⊙ since z = 3. The simulated relation between stellar mass, metallicity and star formation rate at z ≲ 5 agrees remarkably well with the observed fundamental metallicity relation. At M* ≲ 1010.3 M⊙ and fixed stellar mass, higher metallicities are associated with lower specific star formation rates, lower gas fractions and older stellar populations. On the other hand, at higher M*, there is a hint of an inversion of the dependence of metallicity on these parameters. The fundamental parameter that best correlates with the metal content, in the simulations, is the gas fraction. The simulated gas fraction–metallicity relation exhibits small scatter and does not evolve significantly since z = 3. In order to better understand the origin of these correlations, we analyse a set of lower resolution simulations in which feedback parameters are varied. We find that the slope of the simulated M*–ZSF,gas relation is mostly determined by stellar feedback at low stellar masses (M* ≲ 1010 M⊙), and at high masses (M* ≳ 1010 M⊙) by the feedback from active galactic nuclei.

Integral field spectroscopy of nearby quasi-stellar objects – II. Molecular gas content and conditions for star formation

We present single-dish CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) observations for 14 low-redshift quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). In combination with optical integral field spectroscopy we study how the cold gas content relates to the star formation rate (SFR) and black hole accretion rate. CO(1-0) is detected in 8 of 14 targets and CO(2-1) is detected in 7 out of 11 cases. The majority of disc-dominated QSOs reveal gas fractions and depletion times well matching normal star forming systems. Two gas-rich major mergers show clear starburst signatures with higher than average gas fractions and shorter depletion times. Bulge-dominated QSO hosts are mainly undetected in CO(1-0) which corresponds, on average, to lower gas fractions than in disc-dominated counterparts. Their SFRs however imply shorter than average depletion times and higher star formation efficiencies. Negative QSO feedback through removal of cold gas seems to play a negligible role in our sample. We find a trend between black hole accretion rate and total molecular gas content for disc-dominated QSOs when combined with literature samples. We interpret this as an upper envelope for nuclear activity which is well represented by a scaling relation between the total and circum-nuclear gas reservoir accessible for accretion. Bulge-dominated QSOs significantly differ from that scaling relation and appear uncorrelated with the total molecular gas content. This could be explained either by a more compact gas reservoir, blow out of the gas envelope through outflows, or a different ISM phase composition.

Using dust, gas and stellar mass-selected samples to probe dust sources and sinks in low-metallicity galaxies

We combine samples of nearby galaxies with Herschel photometry selected on their dust, metal, HI, and stellar mass content, and compare these to chemical evolution models in order to discriminate between different dust sources. In a companion paper, we used a HI-selected sample of nearby galaxies to reveal a sub-sample of very gas rich (gas fraction > 80 per cent) sources with dust masses significantly below predictions from simple chemical evolution models, and well below $M_d/M_*$ and $M_d/M_{gas}$ scaling relations seen in dust and stellar-selected samples of local galaxies. We use a chemical evolution model to explain these dust-poor, but gas-rich, sources as well as the observed star formation rates (SFRs) and dust-to-gas ratios. We find that (i) a delayed star formation history is required to model the observed SFRs; (ii) inflows and outflows are required to model the observed metallicities at low gas fractions; (iii) a reduced contribution of dust from supernovae (SNe) is needed to explain the dust-poor sources with high gas fractions. These dust-poor, low stellar mass galaxies require a typical core-collapse SN to produce 0.01 - 0.16 $M_{\odot}$ of dust. To match the observed dust masses at lower gas fractions, significant grain growth is required to counteract the reduced contribution from dust in SNe and dust destruction from SN shocks. These findings are statistically robust, though due to intrinsic scatter it is not always possible to find one single model that successfully describes all the data. We also show that the dust-to-metals ratio decreases towards lower metallicity.

Molecular gas during the post-starburst phase: low gas fractions in green-valley Seyfert post-starburst galaxies

Post-starbursts (PSBs) are candidate for rapidly transitioning from star-bursting to quiescent galaxies. We study the molecular gas evolution of PSBs at z ~ 0.03 - 0.2. We undertook new CO (2-1) observations of 22 Seyfert PSBs candidates using the ARO Submillimeter Telescope. This sample complements previous samples of PSBs by including green valley PSBs with Seyfert-like emission, allowing us to analyze for the first time the molecular gas properties of 116 PSBs with a variety of AGN properties. The distribution of molecular gas to stellar mass fractions in PSBs is significantly different than normal star-forming galaxies in the COLD GASS survey. The combined samples of PSBs with Seyfert-like emission line ratios have a gas fraction distribution which is even more significantly different and is broader (~ 0.03-0.3). Most of them have lower gas fractions than normal star-forming galaxies. We find a highly significant correlation between the WISE 12 micron to 4.6 micron flux ratios and molecular gas fractions in both PSBs and normal galaxies. We detect molecular gas in 27% of our Seyfert PSBs. Taking into account the upper limits, the mean and the dispersion of the distribution of the gas fraction in our Seyfert PSB sample are much smaller (mean = 0.025, std dev. = 0.018) than previous samples of Seyfert PSBs or PSBs in general (mean ~ 0.1 - 0.2, std dev. ~ 0.1 - 0.2).

Vortex Street Characteristics of Two-phase Flow with Low Gas Fraction

Vortex Street Characteristics of Two-phase Flow with Low Gas Fraction