Interesting Astrophysics: Sep 28 to Oct 02

A mixed bag of preprints this week. From my personal perspective I'd say the Marchili et al paper on M82' SN2008iz and Acero et al's paper on a gamma ray detection of NGC 253 are the most interesting.

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Galaxies and Starbursts

The radio lightcurve of SN 2008iz in M82 revealed by Urumqi observations
N. Marchili, I. Marti-Vidal, A. Brunthaler, T.P. Krichbaum, P. Mueller, X. Liu, H.-G. Song, U. Bach, R. Beswick, J.A. Zensus, arXiv:0909.5535 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in A & A

Detection of Gamma Rays From a Starburst Galaxy
The HESS Collaboration: F. Acero, et al, arXiv:0909.4651 [ps, pdf, other]

Comments: 24 pages, 8 figures, published in Science Express, see: this http URL

Reported H.E.S.S. gamma ray detection of NGC 253, F()>220 GeV) = [5.5 +/- 1.0(stat) +/- 2.8 (sys)] times 10-13 cm-2 s-1. Much of the interpretation is done under the assumption that all the activity is due to the starburst, and NOT related to any AGN, which I'm not personally sure is a robust assumption. Still its an interesting mini-paper.

Star Formation Histories within the Antennae Galaxies (Arp 244)
Hong-Xin Zhang, Yu Gao, Xu Kong, arXiv:0909.5186 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted by MNRAS

How ubiquitous are massive starbursts in interacting galaxies?
P. Di Matteo, F. Bournaud, M. Martig, F. Combes, A.-L. Melchior, B. Semelin, arXiv:0909.5192 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 4 pages, Proceedings of the conference "Galaxies in isolation: exploring Nature vs Nurture" (May 2009, Granada, Spain)

Comparison of H-alpha and UV Star Formation Rates in the Local Volume: Systematic Discrepancies for Dwarf Galaxies
Janice C. Lee, Armando Gil de Paz, Christy Tremonti, Robert C. Kennicutt Jr., Samir Salim, Matthew Bothwell, Daniela Calzetti, Julianne Dalcanton, Daniel Dale, Chad Engelbracht, Jose G. Funes S.J., Benjamin Johnson, Shoko Sakai, Evan Skillman, Liese van Zee, Fabian Walter, Daniel Weisz, arXiv:0909.5205 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 29 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

The Far-Infrared--Radio Correlation at High Redshifts: Physical Considerations and Prospects for the Square Kilometer Array
Eric J. Murphy, arXiv:0910.0011 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

What stellar populations can tell us about the evolution of the mass-metallicity relation in SDSS galaxies
N. Vale Asari, G. Stasinska, R. Cid Fernandes, J. M. Gomes, M. Schlickmann, A. Mateus, W. Schoenell, arXiv:0910.0224 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: To appear in the proceedings of IAU symposium 262, 'Stellar Populations - Planning for the Next Decade'

From their abstract: "Our results suggest that the M-Z relation for galaxies with present-day stellar masses down to 10^10 solar masses is mainly driven by the star formation history and not by inflows or outflows." This strikes me as a bit odd for a major conclusion, as pretty much everyone agrees that M-Z is dominated by the SF history... the real argument if M-yeff, and the trends suggestive of outflow really kick in for galaxies *below* 10^10.5 solar masses.

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Theoretical Cosmology

Can galaxy outflows and re-accretion produce the downsizing in specific star formation rate of late-type galaxies?
C. Firmani, V. Avila-Reese, A. Rodriguez-Puebla, arXiv:0909.5188 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 11 pages, 4 figures. Comments are welcome. Submitted to MNRAS

The physics driving the cosmic star formation history
Joop Schaye, Claudio Dalla Vecchia, C. M. Booth, Robert P. C. Wiersma, Tom Theuns, Marcel R. Haas, Serena Bertone, Alan R. Duffy, I. G. McCarthy, Freeke van de Voort, arXiv:0909.5196 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: Submitted to MNRAS, 27 pages and 18 figures

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Numerical Astrophysics

A new radiative cooling curve based on an up to date plasma emission code
K.M. Schure, D. Kosenko, J.S. Kaastra, R. Keppens, J. Vink, arXiv:0909.5204 [ps, pdf, other]

Comments: 11 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Tables in text format online available at this http URL

Collisional ionisation equilibrium cooling, valid above 10⁴ K.. Seems pretty straightforward.

Numerical Implementation of Streaming Down the Gradient: Application to Fluid Modeling of Cosmic Rays
Prateek Sharma, Phillip Colella, Daniel F. Martin, arXiv:0909.5426 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: submitted to SIAM J. of Scient. Comp.; 15 pages, 9 figs.; comments welcome

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Stars, Supernovae and Planets

Stellar models: firm evidence, open questions and future developments
Santi Cassisi, arXiv:0909.4629 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 10 pages, 3 figures, Keynote review talk at the IAU Symp. 262 "Stellar Populations - Planning the Next Decade" of the XXVIIth IAU General Assembly held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Proceeding eds. G. Bruzual & S. Charlot

Chandra observation of Cepheus A: The diffuse emission of HH 168 resolved
P. C. Schneider, H. M. Guenther, J. H. M. M. Schmitt, arXiv:0909.5326 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Core collapse supernovae and starbursts
Miguel A. Perez-Torres, arXiv:0909.5578 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: Proceedings of the 8th international e-VLBI Workshop, accepted for publication, 6 pages, 1 figure,

Brian Switek reviews the Templeton Foundation's "Test of Faith" DVD series

Brian Switek has a characteristically thoughtful review of the Templeton Foundation's DVD miniseries "Test of Faith" on his blog. As Brian is not one of those evil "divisive" (or worse: "uncivil") atheists like Dawkins, Coyne or PZ Myers I'd hope that his critique is not dismissed out of hand by pro-religion accommodationists.

Unfortunately for an organization that claims to represent a serious, sober and moderate vision of (some form of) religion and science not in being in conflict, the DVDs engage in much the same sort of God-of-the-gaps teleology and straw-man argumentation that creationists normally engage in.

Nor does the Templeton Foundation's vision of religion sound particularly deist or ecumenical. Brian writes:

I would not have been so aggravated with the program if it presented scientists who said something akin to "I am a Christian/Muslim/Buddhist/Pastafarian/&c. I believe [insert belief system here] on the basis of faith, and I feel what I have come to understand about the nature of the universe is consistent with the faith I practice. Rather than make nature conform to my beliefs, however, I would rather understand the world as it is. If it turns out to be inconsistent with my faith then I will have to question what I believe." I could at least respect that. Instead the Test of Faith series trots out scientist after scientist who believe that they have some special glimmer or proof of God in nature; it is going at the whole thing backwards. The impression the series gives is that the natural world justifies and supports a particular religion, Christianity, rather than stating that some liberal forms of that religion could accept the science of evolution. (Whether evolution is reconcilable with religion depends on what brand religion we're talking about.)

And people wonder why many scientists have little or no respect for the Templeton Foundation?

PS: The 'physicist Katherine Blundell [who] says that there are "truths" in the universe that science does not detect' (*) mentioned is most probably the Oxford astronomer Katherine Blundell, as she is associated with some organization called The Faraday Institute For Science and Religion.

* Oh really. How do you know?

Interesting Astrophysics: Sep 21 to Sep 25

A interesting week. Of particular note: Radio observation of young SNe/SNRs in Arp 299 (NGC 3690+IC 694) by Ulvestad and also Perez-Torres et al; empirical measures of gas consumption in galaxies by Bauermeister et al versus simulated gas accretion by Kereš et al (which makes galaxies too massive); YACRDWM (yet another cosmic ray driven wind model), this time by Samui et al; and estimates of the delay time for prompt Type Ia supernovae (Raskin et al)

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Galaxies and Starbursts

Radio Emission from Young Supernovae and Supernova Remnants in Arp 299
James S. Ulvestad, arXiv:0909.3534 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: Astronomical Journal, in press, December 2009 issue

Arp 299 = NGC 3690 + IC 694. Finds 30 point-like radio sources in the two nuclei. Also gives estimated sizes of the two regions where the young SNe/SNRs are found.

An extremely prolific supernova factory in the buried nucleus of the starburst galaxy IC 694
M.A. Perez-Torres, C. Romero-Canizales, A. Alberdi, A. Polatidis, arXiv:0909.3959 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: Under revision by A&A, 6 pages, 2 figures

Makes a number of rather strong claims...

The Gas Consumption History to z ~ 4
Amber Bauermeister, Leo Blitz, Chung-Pei Ma, arXiv:0909.3840 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 10 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to ApJ

UV Continuum Slope and Dust Obscuration from z~6 to z~2: The Star Formation Rate Density at High Redshift
R.J. Bouwens, G.D. Illingworth, M. Franx, R-R. Chary, G.R. Meurer, C.J. Conselice, H. Ford, M. Giavalisco, P. van Dokkum, arXiv:0909.4074 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 30 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

HI kinematics and dynamics of Messier 31
Laurent Chemin, Claude Carignan, Tyler Foster, arXiv:0909.3846 [ps, pdf, other]

Comments: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 22 pages, 17 figures. For a higher resolution version of the article, see this http URL

Low Resolution Spectral Templates For AGNs and Galaxies From 0.03 -- 30 microns
R.J. Assef, C.S. Kochanek, M. Brodwin, R. Cool, W. Forman, A.H. Gonzalez, R.C. Hickox, C. Jones, E. Le Floc'h, J. Moustakas, S.S. Murray, D. Stern, arXiv:0909.3849 [ps, pdf, other]

Comments: Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. 23 text pages + 3 tables + 18 figures. Fortran codes, templates and electronic tables available at this http URL

Cosmic ray driven outflows from high redshift galaxies
Saumyadip Samui, Kandaswamy Subramanian, Raghunathan Srianand, arXiv:0909.3854 [pdf, other]
Comments: 14 pages, 7 figures, Submitted to MNRAS

As with all CR-driven models this relies on assuming that supernovae losing the vast majority (~90%) of their initial kinetic energy in order for the energy associated with CRs to then be significant in the remaining total. This may apply to quiescently star forming galaxies, but its a bad assumption for actively star forming galaxies.

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Black Holes and AGN

Title: Characterising the Far-infrared Properties of Distant X-ray Detected AGNs: Evidence for Evolution in the Infrared--X-ray Luminosity Ratio
J. R. Mullaney, D. M. Alexander, M. Huynh, A. D. Goulding, D. Frayer, arXiv:0909.3842 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 20 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS accepted

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Theoretical Cosmology

Galaxies in a simulated ΛCDM universe - II. Observable properties and constraints on feedback
Kereš, Dušan; Katz, Neal; Davé, Romeel; Fardal, Mark; Weinberg, David H., 2009, MNRAS, 396, 2332
Full Text: HTML, PDF (1885k)

In short they find that the over-cooling problem remains, and existing (simplistic) feedback recipes do NOT fix it.

Galaxies in a simulated ΛCDM Universe - I. Cold mode and hot cores
Kereš, Dušan; Katz, Neal; Fardal, Mark; Davé, Romeel; Weinberg, David H., 2009, MNRAS, 395, 160
Full Text: HTML, PDF (44390k)

Updated version of the older stuff on the relative strengths of cold mode and hot mode accretion onto galaxies and how accretion rates onto galaxies relate to the simulated star formation rates. NB: The end up with 3 times too many baryons in galaxies, so should we still believe that accretion is being handled correctly?

The Modelling of Feedback Processes in Cosmological Simulations of Disk Galaxy Formation
Franziska Piontek, Matthias Steinmetz, arXiv:0909.4167 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 21 pages, 27 figures, submitted to MNRAS

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Stars, Supernovae and Planets

Discovery of Strong Radiative Recombination Continua from The Supernova Remnant IC 443 with Suzaku
Hiroya Yamaguchi, Midori Ozawa, Katsuji Koyama, Kuniaki Masai, Junko S. Hiraga, Masanobu Ozaki, Daisuke Yonetoku, arXiv:0909.3848 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted by ApJ Letter

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Observations of the Chemical Composition of LMC N132D
Kevin France, Matthew Beasley, Brian A. Keeney, Charles W. Danforth, Cynthia S. Froning, James C. Green, arXiv:0909.4110 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to ApJL

Prompt Ia Supernovae Are Significantly Delayed
Cody Raskin, Evan Scannapieco, James Rhoads, Massimo Della Valle, arXiv:0909.4293 [pdf, other]
Comments: 6 pages, 6 figures, ApJ, in press

From their abstract: "Our approach confines the analysis only to the relevant portions of the hosts, allowing us to show that even so-called "prompt" SNe Ia that trace star-formation on cosmic timescales exhibit a significant delay time of 200-500 million years."

Radiation-Hydrodynamic Models of X-Ray & EUV Photoevaporating Protoplanetary Discs
J. E. Owen, B. Ercolano, C. J. Clarke, R. D. Alexander, arXiv:0909.4309 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

X-rays are the dominant driving mechanism for photoevaporation.

The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function: Pieces of the Puzzle
Robin Ciardullo, arXiv:0909.4356 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 7 pages, including 7 figures; presentation at the workshop on the Legacies of the Macquarie/AAO/Strasbourg H-alpha Planetary Nebula project, accepted for publication in PASA

Note to self: Must read, as may have implications for understanding compact H-alpha point sources in M82 ACS data.

3D models of radiatively driven colliding winds in massive O+O star binaries - III. Thermal X-ray emission
J. M. Pittard, E. R. Parkin, arXiv:0909.4383 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: 29 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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Other

Astroinformatics: A 21st Century Approach to Astronomy
Kirk D. Borne, arXiv:0909.3892 [pdf, other]
Comments: 14 pages total: 1 cover page, 3 pages of co-signers, plus 10 pages, Astro2010 Decadal Survey State of the Profession Position Paper

Galaxies and Cladistics
Didier Fraix-Burnet, arXiv:0909.4164 [ps, pdf, other]
Comments: Talk given at the "12th Evolutionary Biology Meeting" held in Marseille, France, Sept. 24-26, 2008
Journal-ref: Evolutionary Biology. Concept, Modeling, and Application, Pontarotti, Pierre (Ed.) (2009) 363-378

MacArthur Fellows for 2009 announced

This years crop of MacArthur Fellows (the so-called genius grants) has just been announced - the list of this year's Fellows is well worth a look. I like the diversity in occupation and age they cover - its not just thirty-somethings in fashionable areas.