Browsing by Subject "star evolution"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Open Access
    Spectroscopic properties of star-forming host galaxies and type Ia supernova hubble residuals in a nearly unbiased sample
    (2011) D\'Andrea, Chris B; Gupta, Ravi R; Sako, Masao; Morris, Matt; Nichol, Robert C; Brown, Peter J; Campbell, Heather; Olmstead, Matthew D; Frieman, Joshua A; Garnavich, Peter; Jha, Saurabh W; Kessler, Richard; Lampeitl, Hubert; Marriner, John; Schneider, Donald P; Smith, Mathew
    We examine the correlation between supernova (SN) host-galaxy properties and their residuals in the Hubble diagram. We use SNe discovered during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey, and focus on objects at a redshift of z < 0.15, where the selection effects of the survey are known to yield a complete Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) sample. To minimize the bias in our analysis with respect to measured host-galaxy properties, spectra were obtained for nearly all hosts, spanning a range in magnitude of -23 < M{sub r} < -17. In contrast to previous works that use photometric estimates of host mass as a proxy for global metallicity, we analyze host-galaxy spectra to obtain gas-phase metallicities and star formation rates (SFRs) from host galaxies with active star formation. From a final sample of {approx}40 emission-line galaxies, we find that light-curve-corrected SNe Ia are {approx}0.1 mag brighter in high-metallicity hosts than in low-metallicity hosts. We also find a significant (>3{sigma}) correlation between the Hubble Residuals of SNe Ia and the specific SFR of the host galaxy. We comment on the importance of SN/host-galaxy correlations as a source of systematic bias in future deep SN surveys.
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    Open Access
    SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer
    (2017) Kasliwal, Mansi M; Bally, John; Masci, Frank; Cody, Ann Marie; Bond, Howard E; Jencson, Jacob E; Cao, Yi; Boyer, Martha; Cantiello, Matteo; Cook, David; Hsiao, Eric; Khan, Rubab M; Milne, Peter; Morrell, Nidia; Ofek, Eran O; Perley, Daniel A; Phillips, Mark; Prince, Thomas A; Shenoy, Dinesh; Surace, Jason; Dyk, Schuyler D Van; Whitelock, Patricia A; Williams, Robert
    We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS—SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer /IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between −11 and −14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]–[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr{sup −1} to >7 mag yr{sup −1}. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.
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    THE CENTRAL SLOPE OF DARK MATTER CORES IN DWARF GALAXIES: SIMULATIONS VERSUS THINGS
    (2011) Oh, Se-Heon; Brook, Chris; Governato, Fabio; Brinks, Elias; Mayer, Lucio; de Blok, W J G; Brooks, Alyson; Walter, Fabian
    We make a direct comparison of the derived dark matter (DM) distributions between hydrodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxies assuming ACDM cosmology and the observed dwarf galaxies sample from the THINGS survey in terms of (1) the rotation curve shape and (2) the logarithmic inner density slope a of mass density profiles. The simulations, which include the effect of baryonic feedback processes, such as gas cooling, star formation, cosmic UV background heating, and most importantly, physically motivated gas outflows driven by supernovae, form bulgeless galaxies with DM cores. We show that the stellar and baryonic mass is similar to that inferred from photometric and kinematic methods for galaxies of similar circular velocity. Analyzing the simulations in exactly the same way as the observational sample allows us to address directly the so-called cusp/core problem in the ACDM model. We show that the rotation curves of the simulated dwarf galaxies rise less steeply than cold dark matter rotation curves and are consistent with those of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The mean value of the logarithmic inner density slopes alpha of the simulated galaxies' DM density profiles is similar to-0.4 +/- 0.1, which shows good agreement with alpha = -0.29 +/- 0.07 of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The effect of non-circular motions is not significant enough to affect the results. This confirms that the baryonic feedback processes included in the simulations are efficiently able to make the initial cusps with alpha similar to-1.0 to -1.5 predicted by DM-only simulations shallower and induce DM halos with a central mass distribution similar to that observed in nearby dwarf galaxies.