European Southern Observatory

About: European Southern Observatory is a facility organization based out in Garching bei München, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Stars. The organization has 3594 authors who have published 16157 publications receiving 823095 citations. The organization is also known as: The European Southern Observatory，ESO & ESO.

MUSE sneaks a peek at extreme ram-pressure stripping events - I. A kinematic study of the archetypal galaxy ESO137-001

Abstract: We present Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of ESO137−001, a spiral galaxy infalling towards the centre of the massive Norma cluster at z ∼ 0.0162. During the high-velocity encounter of ESO137−001 with the intracluster medium, a dramatic ram-pressure stripping event gives rise to an extended gaseous tail, traced by our MUSE observations to >30 kpc from the galaxy centre. By studying the Hα surface brightness and kinematics in tandem with the stellar velocity field, we conclude that ram pressure has completely removed the interstellar medium from the outer disc, while the primary tail is still fed by gas from the inner regions. Gravitational interactions do not appear to be a primary mechanism for gas removal. The stripped gas retains the imprint of the disc rotational velocity to ∼20 kpc downstream, without a significant gradient along the tail, which suggests that ESO137−001 is fast moving along a radial orbit in the plane of the sky. Conversely, beyond ∼20 kpc, a greater degree of turbulence is seen, with velocity dispersion up to ≳100 km s−1. For a model-dependent infall velocity of vinf ∼ 3000 km s−1, we conclude that the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in the tail occurs on time-scales ≥6.5 Myr. Our work demonstrates the terrific potential of MUSE for detailed studies of how ram-pressure stripping operates on small scales, providing a deep understanding of how galaxies interact with the dense plasma of the cluster environment.

The laboca survey of the extended chandra deep field south: two modes of star formation in active galactic nucleus hosts?

Abstract: We study the co-existence of star formation and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in Chandra X-ray-selected AGN by analyzing stacked 870 μm submillimeter emission from a deep and wide map of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), obtained with the LABOCA instrument at the APEX telescope. The total X-ray sample of 895 sources with median redshift z ~ 1 drawn from the combined (E)CDFS X-ray catalogs is detected at >11σ significance at a mean submillimeter flux of 0.49 ± 0.04 mJy, corresponding to a typical star formation rate (SFR) around 30 M sun yr-1 for a T = 35 K, β = 1.5 graybody far-infrared spectral energy distribution. The good signal-to-noise ratio permits stacking analyses for major subgroups, splitting the sample by redshift, intrinsic luminosity, and AGN obscuration properties. We observe a trend of SFR increasing with redshift. An increase of SFR with AGN luminosity is indicated at the highest L 2-10 keV >~ 1044 erg s-1 luminosities only. Increasing trends with X-ray obscuration as expected in some AGN evolutionary scenarios are not observed for the bulk of the X-ray AGN sample but may be present for the highest intrinsic luminosity objects with L 2-10 keV >~ 1044 erg s-1. This behavior suggests a transition between two modes in the co-existence of AGN activity and star formation. For the bulk of the sample, the X-ray luminosity and obscuration of the AGN are not intimately linked to the global SFR of their hosts. The hosts are likely massive and forming stars secularly, at rates similar to the pervasive star formation seen in massive galaxies without an AGN at similar redshifts. In these systems, star formation is not linked to a specific state of the AGN and the period of moderately luminous AGN activity may not highlight a major evolutionary transition of the galaxy. The change indicated toward more intense star formation, and a more pronounced increase in SFRs between unobscured and obscured AGN reported in the literature at highest (L 2-10 keV >~ 1044 erg s-1) luminosities suggests that these luminous AGNs follow an evolutionary path on which obscured AGN activity and intense star formation are linked, possibly via merging. Comparison to local hard X-ray-selected AGN supports this interpretation. SFRs in the hosts of moderate luminosity AGN at z ~ 1 are an order of magnitude higher than at z ~ 0, following the increase in the non-AGN massive galaxy population. At high AGN luminosities, hosts on the evolutionary link/merger path emerge from this secular level of star formation.

The coronal X-ray - age relation and its implications for the evaporation of exoplanets

Abstract: We study the relationship between coronal X-ray emission and stellar age for late-type stars, and the variation of this relationship with spectral type. We select 717 stars from 13 open clusters and find that the ratio of X-ray to bolometric luminosity during the saturated phase of coronal emission decreases from 10−3.1 for late K dwarfs to 10−4.3 for early-F-type stars [across the range 0.29 ≤ (B−V)0 < 1.41]. Our determined saturation time-scales vary between 107.8 and 108.3 yr, though with no clear trend across the whole FGK range. We apply our X-ray emission–age relations to the investigation of the evaporation history of 121 known transiting exoplanets using a simple energy-limited model of evaporation and taking into consideration Roche lobe effects and different heating/evaporation efficiencies. We confirm that a linear cut-off of the planet distribution in the M2/R3 versus a−2 plane is an expected result of population modification by evaporation and show that the known transiting exoplanets display such a cut-off. We find that for an evaporation efficiency of 25 per cent we expect around one in ten of the known transiting exoplanets to have lost ≥5 per cent of their mass since formation. In addition we provide estimates of the minimum formation mass for which a planet could be expected to survive for 4 Gyr for a range of stellar and planetary parameters. We emphasize the importance of the earliest periods of a planet’s life for its evaporation history with 75 per cent expected to occur within the first Gyr. This raises the possibility of using evaporation histories to distinguish between different migration mechanisms. For planets with spin-orbit angles available from measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, no difference is found between the distributions of planets with misaligned orbits and those with aligned orbits. This suggests that dynamical effects accounting for misalignment occur early in the life of the planetary system, although additional data are required to test this.

The structure and dynamics of molecular gas in planet-forming zones: a crires spectro-astrometric survey

Abstract: We present a spectro-astrometric survey of molecular gas in the inner regions of 16 protoplanetary disks using CRIRES, the high-resolution infrared imaging spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope. Spectro-astrometry with CRIRES measures the spatial extent of line emission to sub-milliarcsecond precision, or <0.2 AU at the distance of the observed targets. The sample consists of gas-rich disks surrounding stars with spectral types ranging from K to A. The properties of the spectro-astrometric signals divide the sources into two distinct phenomenological classes: one that shows clear Keplerian astrometric spectra and one in which the astrometric signatures are dominated by gas with strong non-Keplerian (radial) motions. Similarly to the near-infrared continuum emission, as determined by interferometry, we find that the size of the CO line emitting region in the Keplerian sources obeys a size-luminosity relation as R_(CO) α_L^(0.5)_*. The non-Keplerian spectro-astrometric signatures are likely indicative of the presence of wide-angle disk winds. The central feature of the winds is a strong sub-Keplerian velocity field due to conservation of angular momentum as the wind pressure drives the gas outward. We construct a parameterized two-dimensional disk+wind model that reproduces the observed characteristics of the observed CO spectra and astrometry. The modeled winds indicate mass-loss rates of ≳ 10^(–10) to 10^(–8) M_⊙ yr^(–1). We suggest a unifying model in which all disks have slow molecular winds, but where the magnitude of the mass-loss rate determines the degree to which the mid-infrared molecular lines are dominated by the wind relative to the Keplerian disk surface.

Superluminous supernovae from PESSTO

Abstract: We present optical spectra and light curves for three hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae followed by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO). Time series spectroscopy from a fewdays aftermaximum light to 100 d later shows them to be fairly typical of this class, with spectra dominated by Ca II, MgII, FeII, and Si II, which evolve slowly over most of the post-peak photospheric phase. We determine bolometric light curves and apply simple fitting tools, based on the diffusion of energy input by magnetar spin-down, Ni-56 decay, and collision of the ejecta with an opaque circumstellar shell. We investigate how the heterogeneous light curves of our sample (combined with others from the literature) can help to constrain the possible mechanisms behind these events. We have followed these events to beyond 100-200 d after peak, to disentangle host galaxy light from fading supernova flux and to differentiate between the models, which predict diverse behaviour at this phase. Models powered by radioactivity require unrealistic parameters to reproduce the observed light curves, as found by previous studies. Both magnetar heating and circumstellar interaction still appear to be viable candidates. A large diversity is emerging in observed tail-phase luminosities, with magnetar models failing in some cases to predict the rapid drop in flux. This would suggest either that magnetars are not responsible, or that the X-ray flux from the magnetar wind is not fully trapped. The light curve of one object shows a distinct rebrightening at around 100 d after maximum light. We argue that this could result either from multiple shells of circumstellar material, or from a magnetar ionization front breaking out of the ejecta.