The Unusual AGN Host NGC 1266:Evidence for Shocks in a Molecular Gas Rich S0 Galaxy with a Low Luminosity Nucleus

NGC 1266 is a lenticular galaxy(S0)hosting an active galactic nucleus(AGN),and known to contain a large amount of shocked gas.We compare the luminosity ratio of mid-J CO lines to IR continuum with star-forming galaxies(SFGs),and then model the CO spectral line energy distribution(SLED).We confirm that in the mid-and high-J regions(J_(up)=4-13),the C-type shock(v_(s)=25 km s^(-1),n_(H)=5×10^(4)cm^(-3))can reproduce the CO observations well.The galaxy spectral energy distribution(SED)is constructed and modeled by the code X-CIGALE and obtains a set of physical parameters including the star formation rate(SFR,1.17±0.47 M_(⊙)yr^(-1)).Also,our work provides SFR derivation of[C II]from the neutral hydrogen regions only(1.38±0.14 M_(⊙)yr^(-1)).Previous studies have illusive conclusions on the AGN or starburst nature of the NGC 1266 nucleus.Our SED model shows that the hidden AGN in the system is intrinsically low-luminosity,consequently the infrared luminosity of the AGN does not reach the expected level.Archival data from Nu STAR hard X-ray observations in the 3-79 keV band shows a marginal detection,disfavoring presence of an obscured luminous AGN and implying that a compact starburst is more likely dominant for the NGC 1266 nucleus.

The Way to Quench:Galaxy Evolution in A2142

We show how the star formation activity of galaxies is progressively inhibited from the outer region to the center of the massive cluster A2142.From an extended spectroscopic redshift survey of 2239 galaxies covering a circular area of radius~11 Mpc from the cluster center,we extract a sample of 333 galaxies with known stellar mass,star formation rate,and spectral index D_(n)4000.We use the Blooming Tree algorithm to identify the substructures of the cluster and separate the galaxy sample into substructure galaxies,halo galaxies,and outskirt galaxies.The substructure and halo galaxies are cluster members,whereas the outskirt galaxies are only weakly gravitationally bound to the cluster.For the cluster members,the star formation rate per stellar mass decreases with decreasing distance R from the cluster center.Similarly,the spectral index D_(n)4000 increases with R,indicating an increasing average age of the stellar population in galaxies closer to the cluster center.In addition,star formation in substructure galaxies is generally more active than in halo galaxies and less active than in outskirt galaxies,proving that substructures tend to slow down the transition between field galaxies and cluster galaxies.We finally show that most actively star-forming galaxies are within the cluster infall region,whereas most galaxies in the central region are quiescent.

Photometric Monitoring of Blazar 3C 66A with the Yunnan University Astronomical Observatory 1 m Telescope

3C 66A is one of our first batches of photometric monitoring objects with the 1 m optical telescope at Yunnan University Astronomical Observatory.In the present work,the observational campaign was performed from 2021 November 1 to 2022 February 27 in the Johnson-Morgan system V and R bands.The average magnitudes in each band were■=15.52±0.18 mag and■=15.07±0.17 mag.The overall variability amplitudes wereΔV=■,Amp=70.27%andΔR=■,Amp=68.56%,respectively.Most of the intraday variabilities(IDVs)occurred in 2021 December and 2022 February.The minimal rise/decay timescale was about 6 minutes(5.82±2.74 minutes and 6.18±2.81 minutes on 2022 February 11,6.99±3.70 minutes and 6.17±2.91 minutes on 2022 February 12).Durations of these rapid variabilities were from 11.99 to 179.67 minutes.The discrete correlation function analyses between V and R bands showed significantly correlated variability.Color index analysis of ID Vs showed that the spectrums do not change with variabilities.

Structural Properties of Early-Type Galaxies from the SDSS DR2

Two-dimensional bulge/disk light decomposition with GIM2D in both the r- and g-bands has been applied to a sample of 129 early-type galaxies brighter than 13.5 magnitude in the r-band, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2. Intensity-weighted Fourier coefficient （α4/α） was also derived for each sample galaxy. Our analysis shows that there are correlations between bulge-to-total light ratio （B/T） with bulge Sersic index nB and between bulge and disk scale sizes. Isophotal shape parameter （α4/α） is not correlated with BIT and riB. Both bulge and disk components satisfy a color-magnitude relation. The space Fundamental Plane analysis shows that galaxies with larger B/T tend to lie tighter and closer to the line of k1 ＋ k2 = 8 （the so-called ＂zone of avoidance＂） than the galaxies with smaller B/T. It indicates that existence of the disk component may lead to scatter of the distribution on the Fundamental Plane. Our analysis also shows that k1 ＋ k2 correlates with （g-r） color and B/T, but does not correlate with （α4/α） for early-type galaxies. The fitted parameters and other retrieved parameters used in this paper for all sample galaxies are available online.

Estimating the Metallicity of Old Star Clusters in M33

Based on the method proposed by Kong et al. and on the multi-color spectrophotometry by Ma et al., we estimate the metallicities of 16 old star clusters in the nearby spiral galaxy M33, ten of which are halo globular clusters. These old clusters are all metal poor, the range of metallicity ([Fe/H]) is from-0.14 to-2.12. In general, our results are consistent with those derived by other methods, such as integrated spectra and photometry, and our study confirms the reliability of the method of Kong et al.

Extragalactic H_2O Megamaser Sources:Central Black Holes,Nuclear X-ray and Maser Emissions

Extragalactic H2O megamasers are typically found within the innermost few parsecs of active galaxy nuclei （AGN） and the maser emission is considered to be excited most likely by the X-ray irradiation of the AGN. We investigate a comprehensive sample of extragalactic H2O masers in a sample of 38 maser host AGN to check potential correlations of the megamaser emission with parameters of the AGN, such as X-ray luminosity and black hole （BH） masses. We find a relation between the maser luminosities and BH masses LH2O∝MBH^3.6±0.4 which supports basically the theoretical prediction. The relation between the maser emission and X-ray emission is also confirmed.

Radio Luminosity,Black Hole Mass and Eddington Ratio for Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the MBH-σ＊ relation for radio-loud quasars with redshifl z 〈 0.83 in Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）. The sample consists of 3772 quasars with better models of the H/4 and [O Ⅲ] lines and available radio luminosity, including 306 radio-loud quasars, 3466 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity or upper-limit of radio luminosity （181 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity）. The virial supermassive black hole mass （MBH） is calculated from the broad Hβline, and the host stellar velocity dispersion （σ＊） is traced by the core [O Ⅲ] gaseous velocity dispersion. The radio luminosity and radio loudness are derived from the FIRST catalog. Our results are as follows： （1） For radio-quiet quasars, we confirm that there is no obvious deviation from the MBH-σ＊ relation defined for inactive galaxies when the uncertainties in ~IBH and the luminosity bias are concerned. （2） We find that the radio-loud quasars deviate more from the MBH-σ＊ relation than do the radio-quiet quasars. This deviation is only partly due to a possible cosmological evolution of the MBH-σ＊ relation and the luminosity bias. （3） The radio luminosity is proportional to MBH1.28＋0.23-0.16（LBol/LEdd） ^1.29＋0.31-0.24 for radio-quiet quasars and to -MBH3.10＋0.60-0.70（LBol/LEdd）^4.18＋1.40-1.10 - for radio-loud quasars. The weaker dependence of the radio luminosity on the mass and the Eddington ratio for radio-loud quasars shows that other physical effects would account for their radio luminosities, such as the spin of the black hole.

A Deprojection Analysis of Abell 1650 with XMM-Newton

We revisit the XMM-Newton observation of the galaxy cluster Abell 1650 with a deprojection technique. We find that the radial deprojected spectra of Abell 1650 can be marginally fitted by a single-temperature model. In order to study the properties of the central gas, we fit the spectra of the central two regions with a two- temperature model. The fits then become significantly better and the cool gas about 1～2 keV can be connected with the gas cooling. Fitting the central spectrum （r≤1′） by using a cooling flow model with an isothermal component yields a small mass deposition rate of 10-7^＋11 M. yr^-1, while the standard cooling flow model can not fit this spectrum satisfactorily except that there exists a cut-off temperature having a level of about 3 keV. From the isothermal model we derive the deprojected electron density profile ne（r）, and then together with the deprojected temperature profile the total mass and gas mass fraction of cluster are also determined. We compare the properties of Abell 1650 with those of Abell 1835 （a large cooling flow cluster） and some other clusters, to explore the difference in properties between large and small cooling flow cluster, and what causes the difference in the cooling flow of different clusters. It has been shown that Abell 1835 has a steeper potential well and thus a higher electron density and a lower temperature in its center, indicating that the shape of the gravitational potential well in central region determines the cooling flow rates of clusters. We calculate the potential, internal and radiated energies of these two clusters, and find that the gas energies in both clusters are conserved during the collapsing stage.

A Fourteen-Band Photometric Study of A2443

We present a multi-color photometric study of the galaxy cluster A2443 （z = 0.108） with the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut （BATC） system. The spectral energy distributions （SEDs） in 14 intermediate bands are obtained for 5975 detected from -ldeg^2 of the BATC images. Color-color diagrams are used for star-galaxy separation, then a photometric redshift technique is applied to the galaxy sample for cluster membership determination. There are 301 galaxies with photometric redshifts between 0.08 and 0.14 determined as member candidates of A2443, including 289 new ones. Based on this enlarged sample, the luminosity function and color magnitude relation of the cluster are studied. With an evolutionary synthesis model, we find that the fainter galaxies tend to have longer time scales of star formation than the brighter ones. Morphologically, we show an elongated spatial distribution associating with the galaxy cluster ZwCl 2224.2＋1651, which contains more blue galaxies. This result indicates that galaxy cluster ZwCl 2224.2＋1651 may be falling into A2443, and cluster-cluster interaction could have triggered star formation activities in ZwCl 2224.2＋1651.

Chemical Evolution of Blue Compact Galaxies

Based on a sample of 72 Blue Compact Galaxies （BCGs） observed with the 2.16 m telescope of the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences （NAOC） and about 4000 strong emission line galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we analyzed their chemical evolution history using the revised chemical evolution model of Larsen et al. Our sample covers a much larger metallicity range （7.2 〈 12 ＋ log（O/H） 〈 9.0）. We found that, in order to reproduce the observed abundance pattern and gas fraction over the whole metallicity range, a relatively continuous star formation history is needed for high metallicity galaxies, while assuming a series of instantaneous bursts with long quiescent periods （some Gyrs） for low metallicity galaxies. Model calculations also show that only the closed-box model is capable of reproducing the observational data over the whole metallicity range. Models that consider the ordinary winds and/or inflow can only fit the observations in the low metallicity range, and a model with enriched wind cannot fit the data in the whole metallicity range. This implies that the current adopted simple wind and inflow models are not applicable to massive galaxies, where the underlying physics of galactic winds or inflow could be more complicated.

Powerful CMD:a tool for color-magnitude diagram studies

We present a new tool for color-magnitude diagram（CMD） studies, Powerful CMD. This tool is built based on the advanced stellar population synthesis（ASPS） model, in which single stars, binary stars, rotating stars and star formation history have been taken into account. Via Powerful CMD, the distance modulus, color excess, metallicity, age, binary fraction, rotating star fraction and star formation history of star clusters can be determined simultaneously from observed CMDs. The new tool is tested via both simulated and real star clusters. Five parameters of clusters NGC 6362, NGC 6652, NGC 6838 and M67 are determined and compared to other works. It is shown that this tool is useful for CMD studies, in particular for those utilizing data from the Hubble Space Telescope（HST）. Moreover, we find that inclusion of binaries in theoretical stellar population models may lead to smaller color excess compared to the case of single-star population models.

Star-Forming Galaxies at z～2 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

Using a simple color selection based on B-, z- and K-band photometry, BzK =（z - K）AB - （B - Z）AB 〉 -0.2, we picked out 52 star-forming galaxies at 1.4 ≤z ≤ 2.5 （sBzKs） from a K-band selected sample （Kvega 〈 22.0） in an area of - 5.5 arcmin^2 of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field （UDF）. We develop a new photometric redshift method, and the error in our photometric redshifts is less than 0.02（1 ＋ z）. From the photometric redshift distribution, we find the BzK color criterion can be used to select star-forming galaxies at 1.4≤ z ≤ 2.5 with Kvega 〈 22.0. Down to Kvega 〈 22.0, the number counts of sBzKs increase linearly with the K magnitude; the sBzKs are strongly clustered, and most of them have irregular morphologies on the ACS images. They have a median reddening of E（B - V） - 0.28, an average star formation rate of - 36 M⊙ yr^-1 and a typical stellar mass of - 10^10 M⊙. The UV criterion for the galaxies at z - 2 can select most of the faint sBzKs in the UDF, but it does not work well for bright, massive, highly-reddened, actively star-forming galaxies.

Merger Dynamics of the Pair of Galaxy Clusters-A399 and A401

Convincing evidence for a past interaction between the two rich clusters A399 and A401 was recently found in the X-ray imaging observations. We examine the structure and dynamics of this pair of galaxy clusters. A mixture-modeling algorithm was applied to obtain a robust partition into two clusters, which allowed us to discuss the virial mass and velocity distribution of each cluster. Assuming that these two clusters follow a linear orbit and they have once experienced a close encounter, we model the binary cluster as a two-body system. As a result, four gravitationally bound solutions are obtained. The recent X-ray observations seem to favor a scenario in which the two clusters with a true separation of 5.4h-1 Mpc are currently expanding at 583 km s-1 along a direction with a projection angle of 67.5°, and they will reach a maximum extent of 5.65 h-1 Mpc in about 1.0 h-1 Gyr.

Metal abundance and kinematical properties of the M81 globular cluster system

We present metal abundance properties of 144 globular clusters associated with M81. These globulars represent the largest globular cluster sample in M81 till now. Our main results are： the distribution of metallicities is bimodal, with metallicity peaks at [Fe/H] -1.51 and -0.58, and the metal-poor globular clusters tend to be less spatially concentrated than the metal-rich ones; the metal-rich globular clusters in M81 do not demonstrate a centrally concentrated spatial distribution like the metalrich ones in M31 do; like our Galaxy and M31, the globular clusters in M81 have a small radial metallicity gradient. These results are consistent with those obtained from a small sample of M81 globular clusters. In addition, this paper shows that there is evidence that a strong rotation of the M81 globular cluster system around the minor axis exists, and that rotation is present in the metal-rich globular cluster subsample, but the metal-poor globular cluster subsample shows no evidence of rotation. The most significant difference between the rotation of the metal-rich and metal-poor globular clusters occurs at intermediate projected galactocentric radii. Our results confirm the conclusion of Schroder et al. that M81＇s metal-rich globular clusters at intermediate projected radii are associated with a thick disk of M81.

Resolving the Mass Discrepancy between Strong and Weak Lensing Methods

We readdress the outstanding cluster mass discrepancy between strong and weak gravitational lensing techniques utilizing updated data of both giant arcs and weak lensing measurements from the literature. We find that the systematically higher values of cluster masses revealed by strong lensing can be attributed to the oversimplification of the lensing model when estimating the cluster mass enclosed within the giant arcs. This arises because inhomogeneities and substructures in the central cores of clusters may invalidate the spherical symmetry assumption used widely in previous applications. When a more realistic modeling of the arcs is used, then the masses by strong lensing agree fairly well with those given by weak lensing when both are extrapolated to the same cluster regions. We conclude that as of now no significant discrepancy has been found among different cluster mass estimators including optical galaxies, X-ray gas and lensing.

On the Black Hole - Bulge Mass Ratios in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

We present estimated ratios of the central black hole mass to the bulge mass (Mbh/Mbulge) for 15 Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s). It is found that NLS1s apparently have lower mass ratios: the average mass ratio is about 1 × 10-4 with a spread of 2, which is one order of magnitude lower than for Broad Line AGNs and quiescent galaxies. This lower value, as compared to that established essentially for all other types of galaxies, can be accounted for by an underestimation of the black hole masses and an overestimation of the bulge masses in the NLS1s.

LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE)——The survey's science plan

We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope （GSJT, formerly calledthe Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope -- LAMOST）. The survey will obtain spectra for 2.5 million stars brighter than r 〈 19 during dark/grey time, and 5 million stars brighter than r 〈 17 or J 〈 16 on nights that are moonlit or have low transparency. The survey will begin in the fall of 2012, and will run for at least four years. The telescope＇s design constrains the optimal declination range for observations to 10~ 〈 di 〈 50~, and site conditions lead to an emphasis on stars in the direction of the Galactic anticenter. The survey is divided into three parts with different target selection strategies： disk, anticenter, and spheroid. The resulting dataset will be used to study the merger history of the Milky Way, the substructure and evolution of the disks, the nature of the first generation of stars through identification of the lowest metallicity stars, and star formation through study of open clusters and OB associations. Detailed design of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration （LEGUE） survey will be completed in summer 2012, after a review of the results of the pilot survey.

Expectation for the X-ray Galactic Halo

We present an estimate of the strength and spectrum of the X-ray background from the warm gas associated with the Galactic halo. This investigation is motivated primarily by the recent detection of a spatially variable soft X-ray component towards the north Galactic polar cap by Kuntz et al. (2001), suggesting that the warm gas heated by gravitational shocks of the Galactic halo may produce a significant contribution to the soft X-ray sky. Another purpose of the study is to refine the recent theoretical prediction of the X-ray spectrum from the Galactic halo by Xue (2001) who adopted an ideal and simple isothermal model for the gas and dark matter distributions of the Galactic halo. We use the universal density profile for the dark matter distributions of the Galactic halo to evaluate the X- ray properties of the warm gas either in hydrostatic equilibrium with, or tracing the underlying gravitational potential of the Galaxy. It has been shown that our prediction is consistent with the measured soft X-ray component towards the north Galactic polar cap if the gas fraction is taken to be^0.005.