A new, comprehensive set of low-temperature opacity data has been assembled. From this basic data set, Rosseland and Planck mean opacities have been computed for temperatures between 12,500 and 700 K. In addition to the usual continuous absorbers, atomic line absorption (with more than 8 million lines), molecular line absorption (with nearly 60 million lines), and grain absorption and scattering (by silicates, iron, carbon, and SiC) have been accounted for. The absorption due to lines is computed monochromatically and included in the mean with the opacity sampling technique. Grains are assumed to form in chemical equilibrium with the gas and to form into a continuous distribution of ellipsoids. Agreement of these opacities with other recent tabulations of opacities for temperatures above 5000 K is excellent. It is shown that opacities which neglect molecules become unreliable for temperatures below 5000 K. Triatomic molecules become important absorbers at 3200 K. Similarly, grains must be included in the computation for temperatures below 1700 K.

Low Temperature Rosseland Opacities.

The claimed detection of a diffuse galaxy lacking dark matter represents a possible challenge to our understanding of the properties of these galaxies and galaxy formation in general. The galaxy, already identified in photographic plates taken in the summer of 1976 at the UK 48-in Schmidt telescope, presents normal distance-independent properties (e.g. colour, velocity dispersion of its globular clusters). However, distance-dependent quantities are at odds with those of other similar galaxies, namely the luminosity function and sizes of its globular clusters, mass-to-light ratio and dark matter content. Here we carry out a careful analysis of all extant data and show that they consistently indicate a much shorter distance (13 Mpc) than previously indicated (20 Mpc). With this revised distance, the galaxy appears to be a rather ordinary low surface brightness galaxy (R_e=1.4+-0.1 kpc; M*=6.0+-3.6x10^7 Msun) with plenty of room for dark matter (the fraction of dark matter inside the half mass radius is >75% and M_halo/M*>20) corresponding to a minimum halo mass >10^9 Msun. At 13 Mpc, the luminosity and structural properties of the globular clusters around the object are the same as those found in other galaxies.

A distance of 13 Mpc resolves the claimed anomalies of the galaxy lacking dark matter

We present PHANGS-ALMA, the first survey to map CO J=2-1 line emission at ~1" ~ 100pc spatial resolution from a representative sample of 90 nearby (d<~20 Mpc) galaxies that lie on or near the z=0 "main sequence" of star-forming galaxies. CO line emission traces the bulk distribution of molecular gas, which is the cold, star-forming phase of the interstellar medium. At the resolution achieved by PHANGS-ALMA, each beam reaches the size of a typical individual giant molecular cloud (GMC), so that these data can be used to measure the demographics, life-cycle, and physical state of molecular clouds across the population of galaxies where the majority of stars form at z=0. This paper describes the scientific motivation and background for the survey, sample selection, global properties of the targets, ALMA observations, and characteristics of the delivered ALMA data and derived data products. As the ALMA sample serves as the parent sample for parallel surveys with VLT/MUSE, HST, AstroSat, VLA, and other facilities, we include a detailed discussion of the sample selection. We detail the estimation of galaxy mass, size, star formation rate, CO luminosity, and other properties, compare estimates using different systems and provide best-estimate integrated measurements for each target. We also report the design and execution of the ALMA observations, which combine a Cycle~5 Large Program, a series of smaller programs, and archival observations. Finally, we present the first 1" resolution atlas of CO emission from nearby galaxies and describe the properties and contents of the first PHANGS-ALMA public data release.

PHANGS–ALMA: Arcsecond CO(2–1) Imaging of Nearby Star-forming Galaxies

Multiwavelength deep observations are a key tool to understand the origin of the diffuse light in clusters of galaxies: the intra-cluster light (ICL). For this reason, we take advantage of the Hubble Frontier Fields survey to investigate the properties of the stellar populations of the ICL of its 6 massive intermediate redshift (0.3 10^15 Msol) clusters is formed by the stripping of MW-like objects that have been accreted at z<1, in agreement with current simulations. We do not find any significant increase in the fraction of light of the ICL with cosmic time, although the redshift range explored is narrow to derive any strong conclusion. When exploring the slope of the stellar mass density profile, we found that the ICL of the HFF clusters follows the shape of their underlying dark matter haloes, in agreement with the idea that the ICL is the result of the stripping of galaxies at recent times.

Intracluster light at the Frontier - II. The Frontier Fields Clusters

The so-called ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC~1052-DF2 was announced to be a galaxy lacking dark matter based on a spectroscopic study of its constituent globular clusters. Here we present the first spectroscopic analysis of the stellar body of this galaxy using the MUSE integral-field spectrograph at the (ESO) Very Large Telescope. The MUSE datacube simultaneously provides DF2's stellar velocity field and systemic velocities for seven globular clusters (GCs). We further discovered three planetary nebulae (PNe) that are likely part of this galaxy. While five of the clusters had velocities measured in the literature, we were able to confirm the membership of two more candidates through precise radial velocity measurements, which increases the measured specific frequency of GCs in DF2. The mean velocity of the diffuse stellar body, 1792.9$^{-1.8}_{+1.4}$~\kms, is consistent with the mean globular cluster velocity. We detect a weak but significant velocity gradient within the stellar body, with a kinematic axis close to the photometric major-axis, making it a prolate-like rotator. We estimate a velocity dispersion from the clusters and PNe of $\sigma_{\mathrm{int}}=10.6^{+3.9}_{-2.3}$~\kms. The velocity dispersion $\sigma_{\rm{DF2}\star}$(\re) for the stellar body within one effective radius is $10.8^{-4.0}_{+3.2}$~\kms. Considering various sources of systemic uncertainties this central value varies between 5 and 13~\kms, and we conservatively report a 95\% confidence upper limit to the dispersion within one \re\ of 21~\kms. We provide updated mass estimates based on these dispersions corresponding to the different distances to NGC~1052-DF2 that have been reported in the recent literature.

The ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 with MUSE: I. Kinematics of the stellar body

We present UV-extended E-MILES stellar population synthesis models covering the spectral range.. 1680-50 000 angstrom at moderately high resolution. We employ the NGSL space-based stellar library to compute spectra of single-age, single-metallicity stellar populations in the wavelength range from 1680 to 3540 angstrom. These models represent a significant improvement in resolution and age/metallicity coverage over previous studies based on earlier space-based libraries. These model spectra were joined with those we computed in the visible using MILES, and other empirical libraries for redder wavelengths. The models span the metallicity range -1.79 <= [M/H] <= +0.26 and ages above 30 Myr, for a suite of initial mass function types with varying slopes. We focus on the behaviour of colours, spectra and line-strength indices in the UV range as a function of relevant stellar population parameters. Whereas some indices strengthen with increasing age and metallicity, as most metallicity indicators in the visible, other indices peak around 3 Gyr for metal-rich stellar populations, such as Mg at 2800 angstrom. Our models provide reasonably good fits to the integrated colours and most line strengths of the stellar clusters of the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud. Our full spectrum fits in the UV range for a representative set of early-type galaxies (ETGs) of varying mass yield age and metallicity estimates in very good agreement with those obtained in the optical range. The comparison of UV colours and line strengths of massive ETGs with our models reveals the presence of young stellar components, with ages in the range 0.1-0.5 Gyr and mass fractions 0.1-0.5 per cent, on the top of an old stellar population.

B. Röck

Papers

UV-extended E-MILES stellar population models: young components in massive early-type galaxies