Kinematic, Structural and Composition Studies of the Interstellar and Intergalactic Media

Start year
1986
Organizational Unit

Grants related:

    General
    Description

    The basic objective of the broject is to investigate the evolution of galaxies by deepening our understanding of the interaction between the insterstellar medium and the stars.The main technique which we use is the two-dimensional kinematic study of whole galaxies observed using our instrument:GHaFaS, a Fabry-Perot interferometer on the William Herschel Telescope of the ORM.

    We combine the data from GHaFaS with our own photometric imaging using ACAM on the same telescope, with a variety of sources of images in the infrared and ultraviolet, and with emission line maps en the radio and milimetre range to explore the effects, and the physical parameters which the determine the star formation rate and the mass function of the stars depending on the sites of their formation in galaxies.

    In the present phase of the project the dynamical aspects which we are e xploring are basically two: the resonant structure of discs and bars, and the effects of the zones of massive star formation on their surroundings via stellar winds and supernovae.In addition, in preparation for the exploration of galaxy formation in earlier epochs, we are studying how the interactions between galaxies stimulate and condition star formation within them before they merge. In the future these studies will be extended, methodically, in two directions: outwards to galaxies at increasing redshift, and inwards by applying our methods to the study of interstellar porcesse in the zones of massive star formation in the Local Group galaxy M33.

    We combine our research into galaxy kinematics with evolutionary aspects of galaxy discs based on precise observations of their surface brightness profiles, both in local galaxies and in galaxies at intermediate redshift. In order to make progress in this direction we are collaborating with colleagues at the Instituto de Astronomía de la UNAM (México) and the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (France) in the implementation of a new instrument, NEFER, which will be a high resolution Fabry-Perot module incorporated into OSIRIS on the GTC. We had successful inicial trials in December 2017, and commissioneed NEFER in March 2018 for use as a visitor instrument permanently on the GTC.

    1. The "Font-Beckman" method for analysing resonances in galaxies was shown to give very accurate results, comparing it with the "Tremaine-Weinberg" method using data from GHaFaS (WHT and MUSE (VLT)
    2. The profiles of Type III (antitruncated) S0 galaxies were measured at z = 0.6 (5 thousan dmillion years ago) for the first time. The "break radius" is the same as that of local galaxies, but its surface brightness is 1.6 magnitudes brighter.
    3. A new and greatly improved analysis of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field gave an image with valid photometry down to 33 mag /arcsec squared, revealing the faint outskirts of it galaxies,.
    4. Comparing galaxies in interacting pairs with isolated galaxies it was shown that the star formation rate in the former is consistently enhanced and that this enhancement is common to the discs and the tidal tails
    5. The galaxy NGC 864 (CIG 86), apparently isolated, shows an asymmetric distribution of its hI. It was shown that this galaxy is truly isolated, and that HI accretion probably accounts for the asymmetry as well as the star formation in its stellar pseud-ring

    Related publications

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      We have applied stellar population synthesis to 500-pc-sized regions in a sample of 102 galaxy discs observed with the MUSE spectrograph. We derived the star formation history and analyse specifically the 'recent' ( $20\,\rm {Myr}$ ) and 'past' ( $570\,\rm {Myr}$ ) age bins. Using a star formation self-regulator model, we can derive local mass

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    • Arp 70: an interacting galaxy with extreme outflows

      We analysed a Fabry-Pérot (FP) cube of the interacting pair of galaxies Arp 70, which was obtained from the CeSAM public repository of FP data. On the larger galaxy Arp 70b, we detected the spectral signature of two different outflows, one located in the centre and the other associated with a giant H II region in the arm region. The central outflow

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    • Detection of the self-regulation of star formation in galaxy discs

      Stellar feedback has a notable influence on the formation and evolution of galaxies. However, direct observational evidence is scarce. We have performed stellar population analysis using MUSE optical spectra of the spiral galaxy NGC 628 and find that current maximum star formation in spatially resolved regions is regulated according to the level of

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    • The missing light of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

      Context. The Hubble Ultra Deep field (HUDF) is the deepest region ever observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. With the main objective of unveiling the nature of galaxies up to z ˜ 7 - 8, the observing and reduction strategy have focused on the properties of small and unresolved objects, rather than the outskirts of the largest objects, which are

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    • Spiral structure in barred galaxies. Observational constraints to spiral arm formation mechanisms

      A method, which we have developed for determining corotation radii, has allowed us to map in detail the radial resonant structures of barred spiral galaxies. Here, we have combined this information with new determinations of the bar strength and the pitch angle of the innermost segment of the spiral arms to find relationships between these

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    • Unveiling the environment and faint features of the isolated galaxy CIG 96 with deep optical and HI observations

      Context. Asymmetries in atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies are often caused by the interaction with close companions, making isolated galaxies an ideal framework to study secular evolution. The AMIGA project has demonstrated that isolated galaxies show the lowest level of asymmetry in their HI integrated profiles compared to even field galaxies, yet

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    • Formation of S0 galaxies through mergers. Morphological properties: tidal relics, lenses, ovals, and other inner components

      Context. Major mergers are popularly considered too destructive to produce the relaxed regular structures and the morphological inner components (ICs) usually observed in lenticular (S0) galaxies. Aims: We aim to test if major mergers can produce remnants with realistic S0 morphologies. Methods: We have selected a sample of relaxed discy remnants

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    • Evolution of the anti-truncated stellar profiles of S0 galaxies since z = 0.6 in the SHARDS survey. II. Structural and photometric evolution

      Context. Anti-truncated lenticular galaxies (Type-III S0s) present tight scaling relations between their surface brightness photometric and structural parameters. Although several evolutionary models have been proposed for the formation of these structures, the observations of Type-III S0 galaxies are usually limited to the local Universe. Aims: We

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    • Precision Determination of Corotation Radii in Galaxy Disks: Tremaine–Weinberg versus Font–Beckman for NGC 3433

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    • Stellar Population Synthesis of Star-forming Clumps in Galaxy Pairs and Non-interacting Spiral Galaxies

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    • 280 one-opposition near-Earth asteroids recovered by the EURONEAR with the Isaac Newton Telescope

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    • The ALHAMBRA survey: 2D analysis of the stellar populations in massive early-type galaxies at z < 0.3

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    • Formation of S0 galaxies through mergers. Evolution in the Tully-Fisher relation since z ∼ 1

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    • Evolution of the anti-truncated stellar profiles of S0 galaxies since z = 0.6 in the SHARDS survey. I. Sample and methods

      Context. The controversy about the origin of the structure of early-type S0-E/S0 galaxies may be due to the difficulty of comparing surface brightness profiles with different depths, photometric corrections and point spread function (PSF) effects (which are almost always ignored). Aims: We aim to quantify the properties of Type-III (anti-truncated)

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    • Balmer Filaments in Tycho’s Supernova Remnant: An Interplay between Cosmic-ray and Broad-neutral Precursors

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    • Physical properties of superbubbles in the Antennae galaxies

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    • The molecular gas mass of M 33

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    • Kinematic Clues to Bar Evolution for Galaxies in the Local Universe: Why the Fastest Rotating Bars are Rotating Most Slowly

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    • The UK Infrared Telescope M 33 monitoring project - V. The star formation history across the galactic disc

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