scholarly journals DYNAMO Survey: An Upclose View of Clumpy Galaxies

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S309) ◽  
pp. 129-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fisher ◽  

AbstractWe highlight recent results on the DYNAMO survey of turbulent, clumpy disks galaxies found at z=0.1. Bright star forming DYNAMO galaxies are found to be very similar in properties to star forming galaxies in the high redshift Universe. Typical star formation rates of turbulent DYNAMO galaxies range 10-80 M⊙ yr−1. Roughly 2/3 of DYNAMO galaxies have Hα kinematics that are consistent with rotation. The typical gas velocity dispersion of DYNAMO galaxies is σHα ~ 20 - 60 km s−1. We show that, when convolved to the same resolution, maps of Hα emission in DYNAMO galaxies have essentially identical morphology as that of z ~ 1 - 3 galaxies. Finally, DYNAMO galaxies have high molecular gas fractions fmol ~ 20 - 35%. We note that DYNAMO galaxies are not dwarfs, typical masses are Mstar ~ 0.8 - 8 × 1010 M⊙. These data are all consistent with a scenario in which despite being at relatively low redshift the DYNAMO galaxies are forming stars similarly to that observed in the high-redshift Universe, that is to say star formation is occurring in very massive (Mclump ~ 109 M⊙), very large (rclump ~ 300 pc) clumps of gas.

2017 ◽  
Vol 602 ◽  
pp. A51 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vollmer ◽  
P. Gratier ◽  
J. Braine ◽  
C. Bot

High-z star-forming galaxies have significantly higher gas fractions and star-formation efficiencies per molecular gas mass than local star-forming galaxies. In this work, we take a closer look at the gas content or fraction and the associated star-formation rate in main sequence and starburst galaxies at z = 0 and z ~ 1–2 by applying an analytical model of galactic clumpy gas disks to samples of local spiral galaxies, ULIRGs, submillimeter (smm), and high-z star-forming galaxies. The model simultaneously calculates the total gas mass, Hi/H2 mass, the gas velocity dispersion, IR luminosity, IR spectral energy distribution, CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED), HCN(1–0) and HCO+(1–0) emission of a galaxy given its size, integrated star formation rate, stellar mass radial profile, rotation curve, and Toomre Q parameter. The model reproduces the observed CO luminosities and SLEDs of all sample galaxies within the model uncertainties (~0.3 dex). Whereas the CO emission is robust against the variation of model parameters, the HCN and HCO+ emissions are sensitive to the chemistry of the interstellar medium. The CO and HCN mass-to-light conversion factors, including CO-dark H2, are given and compared to the values found in the literature. All model conversion factors have uncertainties of a factor of two. Both the HCN and HCO+ emissions trace the dense molecular gas to a factor of approximately two for the local spiral galaxies, ULIRGs and smm-galaxies. Approximately 80% of the molecular line emission of compact starburst galaxies originates in non-self-gravitating gas clouds. The effect of HCN infrared pumping is small but measurable (10–20%). The gas velocity dispersion varies significantly with the Toomre Q parameter. The Q = 1.5 model yields high-velocity dispersions (vdisp ≫ 10 km s-1) consistent with available observations of high-z star-forming galaxies and ULIRGs. However, we note that these high-velocity dispersions are not mandatory for starburst galaxies. The integrated Kennicutt-Schmidt law has a slope of approximately 1 for the local spirals, ULIRGs, and smm-galaxies, whereas the slope is 1.7 for high-z star-forming galaxies. The model shows Kennicutt-Schmidt laws with respect to the molecular gas surface density with slopes of approximately 1.5 for local spiral galaxies, high-z star-forming galaxies. The relation steepens for compact starburst galaxies. The model star-formation rate per unit area is, as observed, proportional to the molecular gas surface density divided by the dynamical timescale. Our relatively simple analytic model together with the recipes for the molecular line emission appears to capture the essential physics of galactic clumpy gas disks.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 157-157
Author(s):  
T. S. Gonçalves ◽  
A. Basu-Zych ◽  
S. Borthakur ◽  
A. Baker ◽  
K. Sheth ◽  
...  

AbstractLyman Break Analogs (LBAs) are a population of star-forming galaxies at low redshift (z ∼ 0.2). These objects present metallicities, morphologies and other physical properties similar to higher redshift Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs), motivating their detailed study as potential local analogs to high-redshift starburst galaxies (Hoopes et al. 2007, Basu-Zych et al. 2009, Overzier et al. 2010, Overzier et al. 2011).Our recent integral-field spectroscopy survey of LBAs with Keck/OSIRIS shows that these galaxies have the same nebular gas kinematic properties as high-redshift LBGs. We argue that such kinematic studies are not an appropriate diagnostic to rule out major merger events as the trigger for the observed starburst. Comparison between kinematic analysis and morphological indices from HST imaging disagree with respect to merger identification, with no correlation between the two methods. Artificial redshifting of our data indicates the merger detection rate is even worse at high redshift due to surface brightness dimming and resolution loss. For more details, we refer the reader to Gonçalves et al. (2010).More recently, we have initiated a program with the CARMA array to detect molecular gas in these galaxies (Gonçalves et al. 2013, in prep.). Our results show that LBAs present strong emission in CO(1-0), with similar gas fractions to those observed in high-redshift starburst galaxies. Moreover, the objects observed thus far follow the same Schmidt-Kennicutt law as local galaxies, albeit at much higher surface densities, as found in BzK galaxies at z ∼ 2 (Daddi et al. 2010). This distinguishes our sample from dusty starburst galaxies, such as ULIRGs and SMGs.The upcoming operations of ALMA will definitely make a great impact on this project. We will be able to observe fainter, lower metallicity objects, and at the same time we will map the CO emission at sub-kpc resolutions. Once those data become available, we hope the scenario for the physical processes regarding the collapse of the molecular clouds and subsequent star formation will become clearer.


Author(s):  
N. R. Tanvir ◽  
E. Le Floc’h ◽  
L. Christensen ◽  
J. Caruana ◽  
R. Salvaterra ◽  
...  

AbstractAt peak, long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation known. Since their progenitors are massive stars, they provide a tracer of star formation and star-forming galaxies over the whole of cosmic history. Their bright power-law afterglows provide ideal backlights for absorption studies of the interstellar and intergalactic medium back to the reionization era. The proposed THESEUS mission is designed to detect large samples of GRBs at z > 6 in the 2030s, at a time when supporting observations with major next generation facilities will be possible, thus enabling a range of transformative science. THESEUS will allow us to explore the faint end of the luminosity function of galaxies and the star formation rate density to high redshifts; constrain the progress of re-ionisation beyond $z\gtrsim 6$ z ≳ 6 ; study in detail early chemical enrichment from stellar explosions, including signatures of Population III stars; and potentially characterize the dark energy equation of state at the highest redshifts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 617-659
Author(s):  
Masami Ouchi ◽  
Yoshiaki Ono ◽  
Takatoshi Shibuya

Hydrogen Lyman-α (Lyα) emission has been one of the major observational probes for the high-redshift Universe since the first discoveries of high- z Lyα-emitting galaxies in the late 1990s. Due to the strong Lyα emission originated by resonant scattering and recombination of the most abundant element, Lyα observations witness not only Hii regions of star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) but also diffuse Hi gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and the intergalactic medium (IGM). Here, we review Lyα sources and present theoretical interpretations reached to date. We conclude the following: ▪  A typical Lyα emitter (LAE) at z ≳ 2 with a L* Lyα luminosity is a high- z counterpart of a local dwarf galaxy, a compact metal-poor star-forming galaxy (SFG) with an approximate stellar (dark matter halo) mass and star-formation rate of 108−9M⊙ (1010−11M⊙) and 1–10 M⊙ year−1, respectively. ▪  High- z SFGs ubiquitously have a diffuse Lyα-emitting halo in the CGM extending to the halo virial radius and beyond. ▪  Remaining neutral hydrogen at the epoch of cosmic reionization makes a strong dimming of Lyα emission for galaxies at z > 6 that suggests the late reionization history. The next-generation large-telescope projects will combine Lyα emission data with Hi Lyα absorptions and 21-cm radio data that map out the majority of hydrogen (Hi+Hii) gas, uncovering the exchanges of ( a) matter by outflow and inflow and ( b) radiation, relevant to cosmic reionization, between galaxies and the CGM/IGM.


2018 ◽  
Vol 613 ◽  
pp. A34 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Paraficz ◽  
M. Rybak ◽  
J. P. McKean ◽  
S. Vegetti ◽  
D. Sluse ◽  
...  

We present ALMA 2-mm continuum and CO (2-1) spectral line imaging of the gravitationally lensed z = 0.654 star-forming/quasar composite RX J1131-1231 at 240–400 mas angular resolution. The continuum emission is found to be compact and coincident with the optical emission, whereas the molecular gas forms a complete Einstein ring, which shows strong differential magnification. The de-lensed source structure is determined on 400-parsec-scales resolution using a Bayesian pixelated visibility-fitting lens modelling technique. The reconstructed molecular gas velocity-field is consistent with a large rotating disk with a major-axis FWHM ~9.4 kpc at an inclination angle of i = 54° and with a maximum rotational velocity of 280 km s−1. From dynamical model fitting we find an enclosed mass within 5 kpc of M(r < 5 kpc) = (1.46 ± 0.31) × 1011 M⊙. The molecular gas distribution is highly structured, with clumps that are co-incident with higher gas velocity dispersion regions (40–50 km s−1) and with the intensity peaks in the optical emission, which are associated with sites of on-going turbulent star-formation. The peak in the CO (2-1) distribution is not co-incident with the AGN, where there is a paucity of molecular gas emission, possibly due to radiative feedback from the central engine. The intrinsic molecular gas luminosity is L′CO = 1.2 ± 0.3 × 1010 K km s−1 pc2 and the inferred gas mass is MH2 = 8.3 ± 3.0 × 1010 M⊙, which given the dynamical mass of the system is consistent with a CO–H2 conversion factor of α = 5.5 ± 2.0 M⊙ (K km s−1 pc2)−1. This suggests that the star-formation efficiency is dependent on the host galaxy morphology as opposed to the nature of the AGN. The far-infrared continuum spectral energy distribution shows evidence for heated dust, equivalent to an obscured star-formation rate of SFR = 69−25+41 × (7.3/μIR) M⊙ yr−1, which demonstrates the composite star-forming and AGN nature of this system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 608 ◽  
pp. A48 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Dannerbauer ◽  
M. D. Lehnert ◽  
B. Emonts ◽  
B. Ziegler ◽  
B. Altieri ◽  
...  

It is not yet known if the properties of molecular gas in distant protocluster galaxies are significantly affected by their environment as galaxies are in local clusters. Through a deep, 64 h of effective on-source integration with the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we discovered a massive, Mmol = 2.0 ± 0.2× 1011 M⊙, extended, ~40 kpc, CO(1–0)-emitting disk in the protocluster surrounding the radio galaxy, MRC 1138−262. The galaxy, at zCO = 2.1478, is a clumpy, massive disk galaxy, M∗ ~ 5 × 1011 M⊙, which lies 250 kpc in projection from MRC 1138−262 and is a known Hα emitter, named HAE229. This source has a molecular gas fraction of ~30%. The CO emission has a kinematic gradient along its major axis, centered on the highest surface brightness rest-frame optical emission, consistent with HAE229 being a rotating disk. Surprisingly, a significant fraction of the CO emission lies outside of the UV/optical emission. In spite of this, HAE229 follows the same relation between star-formation rate and molecular gas mass as normal field galaxies. HAE229 is the first CO(1–0) detection of an ordinary, star-forming galaxy in a protocluster. We compare a sample of cluster members at z > 0.4 thatare detected in low-order CO transitions, with a similar sample of sources drawn from the field. We confirm findings that the CO-luminosity and full-width at half maximum are correlated in starbursts and show that this relation is valid for normal high-z galaxies as well as for those in overdensities. We do not find a clear dichotomy in the integrated Schmidt-Kennicutt relation for protocluster and field galaxies. Our results suggest that environment does not have an impact on the “star-formation efficiency” or the molecular gas content of high-redshift galaxies. Not finding any environmental dependence in these characteristics, especially for such an extended CO disk, suggests that environmentally-specific processes such as ram pressure stripping do not operate efficiently in (proto)clusters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. A78
Author(s):  
Juan Molina ◽  
Edo Ibar ◽  
Nicolás Godoy ◽  
Andrés Escala ◽  
Tomonari Michiyama ◽  
...  

Context. Spatially resolved observations of the ionized and molecular gas are critical for understanding the physical processes that govern the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies. The observation of starburst systems is also important as they present extreme gas conditions that may help to test different ISM models. However, matched resolution imaging at ∼kpc scales for both ISM gas phases are usually scarce, and the ISM properties of starbursts still remain poorly understood. Aims. We aim to study the morpho-kinematic properties of the ionized and molecular gas in three dusty starburst galaxies at z = 0.12−0.17 to explore the relation between molecular ISM gas phase dynamics and the star-formation activity. Methods. We employ two-dimensional dynamical modelling to analyse Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimiter Array CO(1–0) and seeing-limited Spectrograph for INtegral Field Observations in the Near Infrared Paschen-α (Paα) observations, tracing the molecular and ionized gas morpho-kinematics at ∼kpc-scales. We use a dynamical mass model, which accounts for beam-smearing effects, to constrain the CO-to-H2 conversion factor and estimate the molecular gas mass content. Results. One starburst galaxy shows irregular morphology, which may indicate a major merger, while the other two systems show disc-like morpho-kinematics. The two disc-like starbursts show molecular gas velocity dispersion values comparable with those seen in local luminous and ultra luminous infrared galaxies but in an ISM with molecular gas fraction and surface density values in the range of the estimates reported for local star-forming galaxies. We find that these molecular gas velocity dispersion values can be explained by assuming vertical pressure equilibrium. We also find that the star-formation activity, traced by the Paα emission line, is well correlated with the molecular gas content, suggesting an enhanced star-formation efficiency and depletion times of the order of ∼0.1−1 Gyr. We find that the star-formation rate surface density (ΣSFR) correlates with the ISM pressure set by self-gravity (Pgrav) following a power law with an exponent close to 0.8. Conclusions. In dusty disc-like starburst galaxies, our data support the scenario in which the molecular gas velocity dispersion values are driven by the ISM pressure set by self-gravity and are responsible for maintaining the vertical pressure balance. The correlation between ΣSFR and Pgrav suggests that, in these dusty starbursts galaxies, the star-formation activity arises as a consequence of the ISM pressure balance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S352) ◽  
pp. 317-317
Author(s):  
Deanne Fisher

AbstractOver 2/3 of all star formation in the Universe occurs in gas-rich, super-high pressure clumpy galaxies in the epoch of redshift z ∼ 1 – 3. However, because these galaxies are so distant we are limited in the information available to study the properties of star formation and gas in these systems. I will present results using a sample of extremely rare, nearby galaxies (called DYNAMO) that are very well matched in gas fraction (fgas ∼ 20 – 80%), kinematics (rotating disks with velocity dispersions ranging 20 – 100 km/s), structure (exponential disks) and morphology (clumpy star formation) to high-z main-sequence galaxies. We therefore use DYNAMO galaxies as laboratories to study the processes inside galaxies in the dominate mode of star formation in the Universe. In this talk I will report on results from our programs with HST, ALMA, Keck, and NOEMA for DYNAMO galaxies that are aimed at testing models of star formation. We have discovered of an inverse relationship between gas velocity dispersion and molecular gas depletion time. This correlation is directly predicted by theories of feedback-regulated star formation; conversely, predictions of models in which turbulence is driven by gravity only are not consistent with our data. I will also show that feedback-regulated star formation can explain the redshift evolution of galaxy star formation efficiency. I will also present results from a recently acquired map of CO(2-1) in a clumpy galaxy with resolution less than 200 pc. With maps such as these we can begin to study these super giant star forming clumps at scales that are more comparable to local surveys. I will show results for the star formation efficiency of clumps, the boundedness of clumps of molecular gas, and discuss links between star formation efficiency and formation of clumps of stellar mass. The details of clumpy systems are a direct constraint of the results of simulations, especially on the nature of feedback in the high density environments of star formation that dominate the early Universe.


2018 ◽  
Vol 613 ◽  
pp. A72 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Girard ◽  
M. Dessauges-Zavadsky ◽  
D. Schaerer ◽  
M. Cirasuolo ◽  
O. J. Turner ◽  
...  

We present results from the KMOS LENsing Survey (KLENS), which is exploiting gravitational lensing to study the kinematics of 24 star-forming galaxies at 1.4 < z < 3.5 with a median mass of log(M⋆∕M⊙) = 9.6 and a median star formation rate (SFR) of 7.5 M⊙ yr−1. We find that 25% of these low mass/low SFR galaxies are rotation-dominated, while the majority of our sample shows no velocity gradient. When combining our data with other surveys, we find that the fraction of rotation-dominated galaxies increases with the stellar mass, and decreases for galaxies with a positive offset from the main sequence (higher specific star formation rate). We also investigate the evolution of the intrinsic velocity dispersion, σ0, as a function of the redshift, z, and stellar mass, M⋆, assuming galaxies in quasi-equilibrium (Toomre Q parameter equal to 1). From the z − σ0 relation, we find that the redshift evolution of the velocity dispersion is mostly expected for massive galaxies (log(M⋆∕M⊙) > 10). We derive a M⋆ − σ0 relation, using the Tully–Fisher relation, which highlights that a different evolution of the velocity dispersion is expected depending on the stellar mass, with lower velocity dispersions for lower masses, and an increase for higher masses, stronger at higher redshift. The observed velocity dispersions from this work and from comparison samples spanning 0 < z < 3.5 appear to follow this relation, except at higher redshift (z > 2), where we observe higher velocity dispersions for low masses (log(M⋆∕M⊙) ~ 9.6) and lower velocity dispersions for high masses (log(M⋆∕M⊙) ~ 10.9) than expected. This discrepancy could, for instance, suggest that galaxies at high redshift do not satisfy the stability criterion, or that the adopted parametrization of the specific star formation rate and molecular properties fail at high redshift.


2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A115 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Béthermin ◽  
T. R. Greve ◽  
C. De Breuck ◽  
J. D. Vieira ◽  
M. Aravena ◽  
...  

The origin of the high star formation rates (SFR) observed in high-redshift dusty star-forming galaxies is still unknown. Large fractions of dense molecular gas might provide part of the explanation, but there are few observational constraints on the amount of dense gas in high-redshift systems dominated by star formation. In this paper, we present the results of our Atacama large millimeter array (ALMA) program targeting dense-gas tracers (HCN(5-4), HCO+(5-4), and HNC(5-4)) in five strongly lensed galaxies from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) submillimeter galaxy sample. We detected two of these lines (S/N > 5) in SPT-125-47 at z = 2.51 and tentatively detected all three (S/N ∼ 3) in SPT0551-50 at z = 3.16. Since a significant fraction of our target lines is not detected, we developed a statistical method to derive unbiased mean properties of our sample taking into account both detections and non-detections. On average, the HCN(5-4) and HCO+(5-4) luminosities of our sources are a factor of ∼1.7 fainter than expected, based on the local L′HCN(5-4) − LIR relation, but this offset corresponds to only ∼2σ if we consider sample variance. We find that both the HCO+/HCN and HNC/HCN flux ratios are compatible with unity. The first ratio is expected for photo-dominated regions (PDRs) while the second is consistent with PDRs or X-ray dominated regions (XDRs) and/or mid-infrared (IR) pumping of HNC. Our sources are at the high end of the local relation between the star formation efficiency, determined using the LIR/[CI] and LIR/CO ratios, and the dense-gas fraction, estimated using the HCN/[CI] and HCN/CO ratios. Finally, in SPT0125-47, which has the highest signal-to-noise ratio, we found that the velocity profiles of the lines tracing dense (HCN, HCO+) and lower-density (CO, [CI]) molecular gas are similar. In addition to these lines, we obtained one robust and one tentative detection of 13CO(4-3) and found an average I 12CO(4-3)/I13CO(4-3) flux ratio of 26.1−3.5+4.5, indicating a young but not pristine interstellar medium. We argue that the combination of large and slightly enriched gas reservoirs and high dense-gas fractions could explain the prodigious star formation in these systems.


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