Evaluation of hadronic emission in starburst galaxies and star-forming galaxies

In this work,we reanalyzed 11 years of spectral data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope(Fermi-LAT)of currently observed starburst galaxies(SBGs)and star-forming galaxies(SFGs).We used a one-zone model provided by NAIMA and the hadronic origin to explain the GeV observation data of the SBGs and SFGs.We found that a protonic distribution of a power-law form with an exponential cutoff can explain the spectra of most SBGs and SFGs.However,it cannot explain the spectral hardening components of NGC 1068 and NGC 4945 in the GeV energy band.Therefore,we considered the two-zone model to well explain these phenomena.We summarized the features of two model parameters,including the spectral index,cutoff energy,and proton energy budget.Similar to the evolution of supernova remnants(SNRs)in the Milky Way,we estimated the protonic acceleration limitation inside the SBGs to be the order of 10^(2) TeV using the one-zone model;this is close to those of SNRs in the Milky Way.

Infrared Galaxies in the Nearby Universe

We used the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） Data Release 5 （DR5） to study the morphological properties of 1137 nearby infrared （IR） galaxies, most of which are brighter than 15.9 mag in r-band. This sample was drawn from a cross-correlation of the Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite （IRAS） point source catalog redshift survey with DR5 at z ≤ 0.08. Based on this IR galaxy sample, we constructed five volume-limited sub-samples with IR luminosity ranging from 10^9.5 L⊙ to 10^12L⊙. By deriving the IR luminosity functions （LF） for different morphological types, we found that normal spiral galaxies are the dominant population below LIR ~ 8 ~ 10^10 L⊙; while the fraction of barred spiral galaxies increases with increasing IR luminosity and becomes dominant in spiral galaxies beyond LIR ≈ 5 × 10^10L⊙. As the IR luminosity decreases, the IR galaxies become more compact and have lower stellar masses. The analysis also shows that normal spiral galaxies give the dominant contribution to the total comoving IR energy density in the nearby universe, while, in contrast, the contribution from peculiar galaxies is only 39%.

Co-evolution of nuclear rings,bars and the central intensity ratio of their host galaxies

Using a sample of 13 early-type spiral galaxies hosting nuclear rings,we report remarkable correlations between the properties of the nuclear rings and the central intensity ratio(CIR) of their host galaxies.The CIR,a function of intensity of light within the central 1.5 and 3 arcsec region,is found to be a vital parameter in galaxy evolution,as it shares strong correlations with many structural and dynamical properties of early-type galaxies,including mass of the central supermassive black hole(SMBH).We use archival HST images for aperture photometry at the centre of the galaxy image to compute the CIR.We observe that the relative sizes of nuclear rings and ring cluster surface densities strongly correlate with the CIR.These correlations suggest reduced star formation in the centres of galaxies hosting small and dense nuclear rings.This scenario appears to be a consequence of strong bars as advocated by the significant connection observed between the CIR and bar strengths.In addition,we observe that the CIR is closely related with the integrated properties of the stellar population in the nuclear rings,associating the rings hosting older and less massive star clusters with low values of CIR.Thus,the CIR can serve as a crucial parameter in unfolding the coupled evolution of bars and rings as it is intimately connected with both their properties.

Nuclear Starburst Activity in the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 2273

We present spectrophotometric results of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 2273. Thepresence of high-order Balmer absorption lines (H8, H9, H10) and weak equivalent widths of CaII Kλ3933, CN λ4200, G-band λ4300 and MgIb λ5173 clearly indicate recent star-forming activity inthe nuclear region. Using a simple stellar population synthesis model, we find that for the bestfit, the contributions of a power-law featureless continuum, an intermediate-age (～ 10~8 yr) and anold (> 10~9 yr) stellar population to the total light at the reference normalization wavelength are10.0%, 33.4% and 56.6%, respectively. The existence of recent starburst activity is also consistentwith its high far-infrared luminosity (log L_(FIR.)/L☉ = 9.9), its infrared color indexes[α(25,60) = ― 1.81 and α(60,100) = ― 0.79, typical values for Seyfert galaxies withcircumnuclear starburst], and its q-value (2.23, ratio of infrared to radio flux, very similar tothat of normal spirals and starburst galaxies). Byrd et al. have suggested that NGC 2273 might haveinteracted with NGC 2273B in less than 10~9 yr ago, so the starburst activity in this galaxy couldhave been triggered by tidal interaction, as indicated in recent numerical simulations.

Elliptical Galaxies with Emission Lines from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

As part of a study of star formation history along the Hubble sequence, we present here the results for 11 elliptical galaxies with strong nebular emission lines. After removing the dilution from the underlying old stellar populations by use of stellar population synthesis model, we derive the accurate fluxes of all the emission lines in these objects, which are then classified, using emission line ratios, into one Seyfert 2, six LINERs and four HII galaxies. We also identify one HII galaxy （A1216＋04） as a hitherto unknown Wolf-Rayet galaxy from the presence of the WolfRayet broad bump at 4650A. We propose that the star-forming activities in elliptical galaxies are triggered by either galaxy-galaxy interaction or the merging of a small satellite/a massive star cluster, as has been suggested by recent numerical simulations.

Relation between Starlight and Nebular Emission Lines of Star-Forming Galaxies

We present an exercise that intends to establish a relationship between the strength of nebular emission lines and optical stellar features in the spectrum of a galaxy. After accurately subtracting the stellar continuum and the underlying stellar absorption, we made reliable measurements of the emission lines of all the galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2 (SDSS DR2). More than 4000 star-forming galaxies with high S/N ratio of both the stellar spectrum and the emission lines are selected. These galaxy spectra are fitted with the 10 PCs of Yip et al., after all the emission line regions have been filtered out. We find that the flux of hydrogen Balmer emission lines, Ha and Hβ can be well recovered from the PCs, while the metal lines are not well reproduced. The fluxes of Ha and Hβ measured from the PC-reconstructed spectra and from the observed spectra agree well with an rms scatter of only - 0.1 dex. This result suggests that, with moderate spectral resolution and S/N ratio, the optical stellar spectrum of a galaxy can serve as an indicator of star formation rate.

A sample of metal-poor galaxies identified from the LAMOST spectral survey

We present a sample of 48 metal-poor galaxies at z 〈 0.14 selected from 92 510 galaxies in the LAMOST survey. These galaxies are identified by their detection of the auroral emission line[OⅢ]λ4363 above the 3σ level, which allows a direct measurement of electron temperature and oxygen abundance. The emission line fluxes are corrected for internal dust extinction using the Balmer decrement method. With electron temperature derived from [OⅢ]λλ4959, 5007/[OⅢ]λ4363 and electron density from [SⅡ]λ6731/[SⅡ]λ6717, we obtain the oxygen abundances in our sample which range from 12 ＋ log（O/H） = 7.63（0.09 Z_⊙） to 8.46（0.6 Z_⊙）. We find an extremely metal-poor galaxy with 12 ＋ log（O/H） = 7.63 ± 0.01. With multiband photometric data from FUV to NIR and Hαmeasurements, we also determine the stellar masses and star formation rates, based on the spectral energy distribution fitting and Hα luminosity, respectively. We find that our galaxies have low and intermediate stellar masses with 6.39 ≤ log（M/M_⊙） ≤ 9.27, and high star formation rates（SFRs） with-2.18 ≤ log（SFR/M_⊙yr^（-1）） ≤ 1.95. We also find that the metallicities of our galaxies are consistent with the local T_e-based mass-metallicity relation, while the scatter is about 0.28 dex. Additionally,assuming the coefficient of α = 0.66, we find most of our galaxies follow the local mass-metallicity-SFR relation, but a scatter of about 0.24 dex exists, suggesting the mass-metallicity relation is weakly dependent on SFR for those metal-poor galaxies.

The discovery of 64 luminous infrared galaxies in the LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area at the Southern Galactic Cap

We report the discovery of 64 luminous infrared galaxies, based on new observations of 20 square degrees from the LAMOST Complete Spectroscopic Survey of Pointing Area at the Southern Galactic Cap and the WISE 22 μm catalog from the AllW ISE Data Release. Half of them are classified as late-type spirals and the others are classified as peculiar/compact galaxies. The peculiar/compact galaxies tend to exhibit higher luminosities and lower stellar masses. We also separate AGNs from HII galaxies in a simple way by examining LAMOST spectra. Those cases show that host AGNs are easily distinguished from others in the mid-infrared color-color diagrams.

Relations between stellar mass and electron temperature-based metallicity for star-forming galaxies in a wide mass range

We select 947 star-forming galaxies from SDSS-DR7 with [O III]λ4363emission lines detected at a signal-to-noise ratio larger than 5σ. Their electron temperatures and direct oxygen abundances are then determined. We compare the results from different methods. t2, the electron temperature in the low ionization region, estimated from t3, that in the high ionization region, is compared using three analysis relations between t2- t3. These show obvious differences, which result in some different ionic oxygen abundances. The results of t3, t2, O＋＋/H＋and O＋/H＋derived by using methods from IRAF and literature are also compared. The ionic abundances O＋＋/H＋are higher than O＋/H＋for most cases. The different oxygen abundances derived from Teand the strong-line ratios show a clear discrepancy, which is more obvious following increasing stellar mass and strong-line ratio R23. The sample of galaxies from SDSS with detected [O III]λ4363 have lower metallicites and higher star formation rates, so they may not be typical representatives of the whole population of galaxies. Adopting data objects from Andrews ＆ Martini, Liang et al. and Lee et al. data, we derive new relations of stellar mass and metallicity for star-forming galaxies in a much wider stellar mass range： from 106 M to 1011 M.

Clustering Property of Wolf-Rayet Galaxies in the SDSS

We have analysed, for the first time, the clustering properties of Wolf-Rayet （W-R） galaxies, using a large sample of 846 W-R galaxies selected from the Data Release 4 （DR4） of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）. We compute the cross-correlation function between W- R galaxies and a reference sample of galaxies drawn from the DR4. We compare the function to the results for control samples of non-W-R star-forming galaxies that are matched closely in redshift, luminosity, concentration, 4000-A break strength and specific star formation rate （SSFR）. On scales larger than a few Mpc, W-R galaxies have almost the same clustering amplitude as the control samples, indicating that W-R galaxies and non-W-R control galaxies populate dark matter haloes of similar masses. On scales between 0.1-1 h^-1 Mpc, W-R galaxies are less clustered than the control samples, and the size of the difference depends on the SSFR. Based on both observational and theoretical considerations, we speculate that this negative bias can be interpreted by W-R galaxies residing preferentially at the centers of their dark matter haloes. We examine the distribution of W-R galaxies more closely using the SDSS galaxy group catalogue of Yang et al., and find that -82% of our W-R galaxies are the central galaxies of groups, compared to -74% for the corresponding control galaxies. We find that W-R galaxies are hosted, on average, by dark matter haloes of masses of 10^12.3M⊙, compared to 10^12.1M⊙ for centrally-located W-R galaxies and 10^12.7M⊙ for satellite ones. We would like to point out that this finding, which provides a direct observational support to our conjecture, is really very crude due to the small number of W-R galaxies and the incompleteness of the group catalogue, and needs more work in future with larger samples.

Radio Identifications of Markarian Galaxies and the Correlation between Radio and Far-Infrared Properties

By checking DSS optical images and NVSS radio images, 782 Markarian galaxies were identified to be NVSS radio sources. A comparison of the radio luminosity at 1.4GHz and the far-infrared （FIR） luminosity for 468 “normal” galaxies shows a tight correlation. Most of the Seyfert galaxies and quasars follow the radio-FIR relation deduced from the “normal” galaxy sample, but with a somewhat larger scatter. A total 167 Markarian galaxies, comprising 100 “normal” galaxies, 66 Seyfert galaxies and one quasar, have either excess radio emission or much lower FIR spectral index α（25 μm, 60 μm）. These galaxies may be classified as “AGN-powered”. For “normal” galaxies, the average q value （defined as the log ratio between FIR and radio luminosities） is 2.3. There seems a trend for q to slightly decrease with increasing radio luminosity. This may imply that the ongoing active star formation in galaxies with higher radio luminosities is more efficient in heating the cosmic-ray electrons.

The Evolution of Advanced Merger (U)LIRGs on the Color-Stellar Mass Diagram

Based on a sample of 79 local advanced merger （adv-merger） （U）LIRGs, we search for evidence of quenching processes by investigating the distributions of star formation history indicators （EW（Ha）, EW（HfiA） and D,（4000）） on the NUV-r color-mass and SFR-M, diagrams. The distributions of EW（Ha） and Dn（4000） on the NUV-r color-mass diagram show clear trends that at a given stellar mass, galaxies with redder NUV-r colors have smaller EW（Ha） and larger Dn （4000）. The reddest adv-merger （U）LIRGs close to the green valley mostly have Dn（4000）〉 1.4. In addition, in the SFR-M, diagram, as the SFR decreases, the EW（Ha） decreases and the Dn （4000） increases, implying that the adv-merger （U）LIRGs on the star formation main sequence have more evolved stellar populations than those above the main sequence. These results indicate that a fraction of the adv-merger （U）LIRGs have already exhibited signs of fading from the starburst phase and that the NUV-r reddest adv-merger （U）LIRGs are likely at the initial stage of post-starbursts with an age of - 1 Gyr, which is consistent with the gas exhaustion time-scales. Therefore, our results offer additional support for the fast evolutionary track from the blue cloud to the red sequence.

Observational evidence for the evolution of nuclear metallicity and star formation rate with the merger stage

We investigate the evolution of nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance and star formation rate（SFR） of local far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies along the merger sequence, as traced by their optical morphologies. The sample was drawn from a cross-correlation analysis of the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey and 1 Jy ultraluminous infrared galaxy sample with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 database. The investigation is done by comparing our sample to a control sample matched in the normalized redshift distribution in two diagnostics, which are the nuclear gas-phase metallicity vs.stellar mass and the nuclear SFR vs. stellar mass diagrams. Galaxies with different morphological types show different mass-metallicity relations（MZRs）. Compared to the MZR defined by the control sample,isolated spirals have comparable metallicities with the control sample at a given stellar mass. Spirals in pairs and interacting galaxies with projected separations of rp 〉 20 kpc show a mild metallicity dilution of0.02–0.03 dex. Interacting galaxies with rp 〈 20 kpc, pre-mergers and advanced mergers are underabundant by～0.06,～0.05 and～0.04 dex, respectively. This shows an evolutionary trend that the metallicity is increasingly depressed as the merging proceeds and it is diluted most dramatically when two galaxies are closely interacting. Afterwards, the interstellar medium（ISM） is enriched when the galaxies coalesce.This is the first time that such ISM enrichment at the final coalescence stage has been observed, which demonstrates the importance of supernova explosions in affecting the nuclear metallicity. Moreover, the central SFR enhancement relative to the control sample evolves simultaneously with the nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance. Our results support the predictions from numerical simulations.

Case Study on the γ-algorithm: Possible Tests from the Luminosity versus Displacement Correlation of High Mass X-Ray Binaries

Using the apparent correlation of luminosity(L;) versus displacement(R) of high mass X-ray binaries(HMXBs),we aim to constrain the common envelope(CE) mechanism, which is vital in the formation and evolution of compact binaries. We find that under the assumption of the γ-algorithm, the apparent correlation can also be reconstructed generally within a reasonable range of key parameters adopted, though the population of HMXBs is distinct with that in the canonical αCE-formalism. We compare the spatial distribution of HMXBs under the two CE mechanisms, and suggest the difference in L;versus R distribution may provide an additional clue for the study of the CE phase and to discriminate between CE models.

An Analytic Model of Galactic Winds and Mass Outflows

Galactic winds and mass outflows are observed both in nearby starburst galaxies and in high-redshiff star-forming galaxies. We develop a simple analytic model to understand the observed superwind phenomenon with a discussion of the model uncertainties. Our model is built upon the model of McKee ＆ Ostriker for the interstellar medium. It allows one to predict how properties of a superwind,such as wind velocity and mass outflow rate, are related to properties of its starforming host galaxy, such as size, gas density and star formation rate. The model predicts a threshold of star formation rate density for the generation of observable galactic winds. Galaxies with more concentrated star formation activities produce superwinds with higher velocities. The predicted mass outflow rates are comparable to （or slightly larger than） the corresponding star formation rates. We apply our model to both local starburst galaxies and high-redshift Lyman break galaxies,and find its predictions to be in good agreement with current observations. Our model is simple and so can be easily incorporated into numerical simulations and semi-analytical models of galaxy formation.

Circumnuclear Star Forming Activity in NGC 3982

We present a study of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 3982 using optical, infrared and X-ray data acquired by SDSS, Spitzer and Chandra. Our main results are as follows： （1） A simple stellar population synthesis on the nuclear and circumnuclear SDSS spectra gives unambiguous evidence of young stellar components in both the nuclear and circumnuclear regions. （2） The Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph （IRS） spectrum of the central region （∽ 3＂） shows a power-law continuum, a silicate emission feature at 9.7μm, and significant PAH emission features at 7.7, 8.6, 11.3 and 12.7 pro, suggesting the coexistence of AGN and starburst activities in the central region of NGC 3982. （3） We estimate the star formation rate （SFR） of the circumnuclear （∽ 5＂ - 20＂） region from the Hα luminosity to be SFRHα = 0.52 M⊙ yr^-1, which is consistent with the result from the Spitzer IRAC 8 μm luminosity, SFR8.0μm = 0.57 M⊙ yr^-1. （4） We measure the spectral energy distribution for the active nucleus of NGC 3982 from radio to X-ray, and obtain a bolometric luminosity of Lbol 4.5 × 10^42 erg s-1, corresponding to an Eddington ratio （Lbol//LEdd） of 0.014 The HST image of NGC 3982 shows a nuclear mini-spiral between the circumnuclear starforming region and the nucleus, which could be the channel through which gas is transported to the supermassive black hole from the circumnuclear star-forming region.

The Long-term Survival Chances of Young Massive Star Clusters

We review the long-term survival chances of young massive star clusters （YMCs）, hallmarks of intense starburst episodes often associated with Violent galaxy interactions. We address the key question as to whether at least some of these YMCs can be considered protoglobular clusters （GCs）, in which case these would be expected to evolve into counterparts of the ubiquitous old GCs believed to be among the oldest galactic building blocks. In the absence of significant external perturbations, the key factor determining a cluster＇s long-term survival chances is the shape of its stellar initial mass function （IMF）. It is, however, not straightforward to assess the IMF shape in unresolved extragalactic YMCs. We discuss in detail the promise of using high-resolution spectroscopy to make progress towards this goal, as well as the numerous pitfalls associated with this approach. We also discuss the latest progress in worldwide efforts to better understand the evolution of entire cluster systems, the disruption processes they are affected by, and whether we can use recently gained insights to determine the nature of at least some of the YMCs observed in extragalactic starbursts as proto-GCs. We conclude that there is an increasing body of evidence that GC formation appears to be continuing until today; their long-term evolution crucially depends on their environmental conditions, however.

Triggering star formation by both radiative and mechanical AGN feedback

We perform two dimensional hydrodynamic numerical simulations to study the positive active galactic nucleus （AGN） feedback which triggers, rather than suppresses, star formation. Recently, it was shown by Nayakshin et al. and Ishibashi et al. that star formation occurs when the cold interstellar medium （ISM） is squeezed by the impact of mass outflow or radiation pressure, respectively. Mass outflow is ubiquitous in this astrophysical context, and radiation pressure is also important if the AGN is luminous. For the first time in this subject, we incorporate both mass outflow feedback and radiative feedback into our model. Consequently, the ISM is shocked into shells by the AGN feedback, and these shells soon fragment into clumps and filaments because of Rayleigh-Taylor and thermal instabilities. We have two major findings： （1） the star formation rate can indeed be very large in the clumps and filaments. However, the resultant star formation rate density is too large compared with previous works, which is mainly because we ignore the fact that most of the stars that are formed would be disrupted when they move away from the galactic center. （2） Although radiation pressure feedback has a limited effect, when mass outflow feedback is also included, they reinforce each other. Specifically, in the gas-poor case, mass outflow is always the dominant contributor to feedback.

A sample of E+A galaxy candidates in the Second Data Release of LAMOST Survey

A sample of 70 E＋A galaxies is selected from 37 206 galaxies in the second data release of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope（LAMOST）. This sample is selected according to the criteria for E＋A galaxies defined by Goto, and each of these objects is further visually identified. In this sample, most objects are low redshift E＋A galaxies with z 〈 0.25, and are located in an area of the sky with high Galactic latitude and magnitude from 14 to 18 mag in the g, r and i bands. A stellar population analysis of the whole sample indicates that the E＋A galaxies are characterized by both young and old stellar populations（SPs）, and the metalrich SPs have relatively higher contributions than the metal-poor ones. Additionally, a morphological classification of these objects is performed based on images taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.