Recent Talks
List of all the talks in the archive, sorted by date.
Abstract
Galaxies are arguably complex systems. However, they also display many scaling relations between their physical properties, hinting that it might be possible to summarize all this complexity within a few phenomenological parameters. In this talk, we will first address the question of how many parameters are indeed necessary in order to describe a galaxy, and then discuss some of them in detail, aiming towards a self-consistent, cartoon (yet remarkably accurate) picture of galaxy formation and evolution.
Abstract
We revisit the question of the ionization of the diffuse medium in late type galaxies, by studying NGC 891, the prototype of edge-on spiral galaxies. The most important challenge for the models considered so far was the observed increase of [O III]/Hβ, [O II]/Hβ and [N II]/Hα with increasing distance to the galactic plane. We propose a scenario based on the expected population of massive OB stars and hot low-mass evolved stars (HOLMES) in this galaxy to explain this observational fact. In the framework of this scenario we construct a finely meshed grid of photoionization models. For each value of the galactic latitude z we look for the models which simultaneously fit the observed values of the [O III]/Hβ, [O II]/Hβ and [N II]/Hα ratios. For each value of z we find a range of solutions which depends on the value of the oxygen abundance. The models which fit the observations indicate a systematic decrease of the electron density with increasing z. They become dominated by the HOLMES with increasing z only when restricting to solar oxygen abundance models, which argues that the metallicity above the galactic plane should be close to solar. They also indicate that N/O increases with increasing z.
Abstract
Since June last year, the IAC is an institutional member in the third phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III). Many of us have already got an account in the wiki, a bunch are following closely the evolution of one or more of the four surveys, BOSS, MARVELS, SEGUE-2 and APOGEE, through the mailing lists and the teleconferences, and there are even some who are already working actively on them. All this in a period of one year since the IAC´s participation was first proposed. In this seminar, we'll make a quick summary of the activities related to SDSS at the IAC, we'll present the latest news, and will make a live demonstration on how to access DR8 data.
Abstract
This lecture will address recent progress in modeling the emergence of cosmic structure at high redshifts. Also new insights gained from numerical simulations into the processes relevant for star formation are presented. Rapid magnetic field growth in galaxies and the important role of proto-stellar outflows regulating star formation up to pc scales are particularly highlighted.
Abstract
In this talk I will present the first complete 12CO J=3-2 map of M81, observed as part of the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey. We have detected nine regions of significant CO emission located at different positions within the spiral arms, and confirmed that the global CO emission in the galaxy is low. Using a new Hα map obtained with the Isaac Newton Telescope and archival data I will discuss a series of topics including the correlation between the molecular gas and star forming regions, the CO (3-2)/(1-0) line ratio, and the amount of hydrogen produced in photo-dissociation regions near the locations where CO J=3-2 was detected.
Abstract
Clusters of galaxies are expected to contain substantial population of cosmic-rays that can yield a significant high energy emission. Moreover, as they are heavily dark matter dominated, they must be considered prime targets for gamma-ray searches for WIMP decay or annihilation. I will present dark matter gamma-ray all-sky simulated Fermi maps of the Local Universe. The dark matter distribution is obtained from a constrained cosmological simulation provided by the CLUES project. I will discuss the possibility for the Fermi-LAT instrument to detect a dark matter gamma-ray signal in extragalactic structures, mainly nearby clusters, in a 5-year all-sky survey and discuss our on work in progress on cosmic-rays. We are also promoting a campaign of observation of the Perseus galaxy cluster with the MAGIC telescopes. Deep observations of nearby clusters with ground-based instruments are crucial to investigate the nature of dark matter as well as the possible gamma-ray emission coming from cosmic-ray acceleration in these environments.
Abstract
Massive stars dominate the light output of entire galaxies, with luminosities in excess of 105 L⊙. This makes them powerful probes with which to study a range of astrophysical phenomena. In this talk I will review the recent results of our group, in which we have been able to shed new light on the recent star-forming history of our Galaxy, and the nature of supernova progenitors. I will also discuss our latest project, which is to use massive stars as tracers of extra-galactic star-forming histories out to distances of 10 Mpc and beyond.
Abstract
Early-type dwarfs (dEs) are by far the most abundant galaxy population in nearby clusters. Whether these objects are primordial, or recent end-products of the different physical mechanisms that can transform galaxies once they enter these high-density environments, is still a matter of debate. Here we present a novel approach to test the latter scenario by comparing the properties of the globular cluster systems of dEs and their potential progenitors with simple predictions from gravitational and hydrodynamical interactions. Current data in the literature do not favour violent mechanisms, but gentle processes with long timescales or that took place at the early stages of their formation.
Abstract
Massive (≥ 1011 M⊙) galaxies at high redshift (z ≥ 1.5) remain mysterious objects. Their extremely small sizes (effective radii of 1-2 kpc) make them as dense as modern globular clusters. It is thought that a highly dissipational merger is needed to create such compact type of galaxies. We will discuss this issue, along with state-of-the-art morphological and kinematic observations of these objects. In the present day Universe massive galaxies show large sizes, and harbor old and metal-rich stellar populations. In order to explore their development, we present near-IR IFU observations with SINFONI@VLT for ten massive galaxies at z=1.4 solely selected by their high stellar mass which allow us to retrieve velocity dispersions, kinematic maps and dynamical masses. We joined this with data and works coming from the GOODS NICMOS Survey, the largest sample of massive galaxies (80 objects) with high-resolution imaging at high redshift (1.7 < z < 3) acquired to date. As a result, we show how their morphology changes possibly through elusive minor merging.
Abstract
(1) In a recently published differential analysis (see Fabbian et al) we have derived abundance corrections for iron lines, using synthetic spectra from solar magneto-convection simulations that were performed via running the Copenhagen stagger-code on massively-parallel clusters. The series of 3D snapshots used for the spectral synthesis covers 2.5 solar hours in the statistically stationary regime of the convection. Crucially, we show that the effect of magnetic fields on solar abundance determinations cannot be neglected. This is equally valid for all three different Fe abundance indicators which we have studied, though the sign of the abundance correction changes depending on the interplay of the magnetic-sensitivity of the spectral line under consideration and of temperature structure variations.
Interestingly, for two of the abundance indicators (respectively, at 608.27nm and 624.07 nm) that were used in Asplund et al's analysis and that we also included in our investigation, the presence of a magnetic field has a predominantly indirect (i.e., due to temperature changes between MHD and HD models) effect, leading to positive abundance corrections (since the final equivalent width of those Fe I lines is found to decrease with increasing magnetic flux). The direct magnetic effect due to Zeeman broadening dominates instead for the 1564.85 nm absorption line, causing for it increasingly negative abundance corrections when making the initially implanted magnetic flux larger.
(2) A new three-dimensional model of the solar photosphere is presented in this paper and made publicly available to the community. This model has the peculiarity that it has been obtained by inverting spectro-polarimetric observations, rather than from numerical radiation hydrodynamical simulations. The data used here are from the spectro-polarimeter on-board the Hinode satellite, which routinely delivers Stokes I, Q, U and V profiles in the 6302 Å spectral region with excellent quality, stability and spatial resolution (approximately 0.3''). With such spatial resolution, the major granular components are well resolved, which implies that the derived model needs no micro- or macro-turbulence to properly fit the widths of the observed spectral lines. Not only this model fits the observed data used for its construction, but it can also fit previous solar atlas observations satisfactorily.
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Recent Colloquia
Recent Talks
