No Arabic abstract
Spectroscopic long-slit observations of the dwarf Irr galaxy IC 10 were conducted at the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope with the SCORPIO focal reducer. The ionized-gas emission spectra in the regions of intense current star formation were obtained for a large number of regions in IC 10. The relative abundances of oxygen, N+, and S+ in about twenty HII regions and in the synchrotron superbubble were estimated. We found that the galaxy-averaged oxygen abundance is 12 + log(O/H) = 8.17 +- 0.35 and the metallicity is Z = 0.18 +- 0.14 Z_sun. Our abundances estimated from the strong emission lines are found to be more reliable than those obtained by comparing diagnostic diagrams with photoionization models.
Dense molecular gas and star formation are correlated in galaxies. The effect of low metallicity on this relationship is crucial for interpreting observations of high redshift galaxies, which have lower metallicities than galaxies today. However, it remains relatively unexplored because dense molecular gas tracers like HCN and HCO+ are faint in low metallicity systems. We present Green Bank Telescope observations of HCN(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) on giant molecular cloud (34pc) scales in the nearby low metallicity ($12+log({rm O/H})=8.2$) starburst IC 10 and compare them to those in other galaxies. We detect HCN and HCO+ in one and three of five pointings, respectively. The $I_{rm HCN}/I_{rm HCO+}$ values are within the range seen in other galaxies, but are most similar to those seen in other low metallicity sources and in starbursts. The detections follow the fiducial $L_{rm IR}$-$L_{rm HCN}$ and $L_{rm IR}$-$L_{rm HCO+}$ relationships. These trends suggest that HCN and HCO+ can be used to trace dense molecular gas at metallicities of 1/4 $Z_odot$, to first order. The dense gas fraction is similar to that in spiral galaxies, but lower than that in U/LIRGs. The dense molecular gas star formation efficiency, however, is on the upper end of those in normal galaxies and consistent with those in U/LIRGs. These results suggest that the CO and HCN/HCO+ emission occupy the same relative volumes as at higher metallicity, but that the entire emitting structure is reduced in size. Dense gas mass estimates for high redshift galaxies may need to be corrected for this effect.
We estimate the reddening and distance of the nearest starburst galaxy IC 10 using deep near infrared $JHK_{S}$ photometry obtained with the Multi-Object InfraRed Camera and Spectrograph (MOIRCS) on the Subaru telescope. We estimate the foreground reddening toward IC 10 using $UBV$ photometry of IC 10 from the Local Group Survey, obtaining $E(B-V)=0.52pm 0.04$ mag. We derive the total reddening including the internal reddening, $E(B-V)=0.98pm 0.06$ mag, using $UBV$ photometry of early-type stars in IC 10 and comparing $JHK_{S}$ photometry of red giant branch stars in IC 10 and the SMC. Using the 2MASS point source catalog of 20 Galactic globular clusters, we derive a relation between the metallicity [Fe/H]$_{CG97}$ and the slope of the red giant branch in the $K_{S}- (J-K_{S})$ color-magnitude diagram. The mean metallicity of the red giant branch stars in IC 10 is estimated to be [Fe/H]$_{CG97}=-1.08pm0.28$. The magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) of IC 10 in the $K_{S}$ band is measured to be $K_{S,TRGB}=18.28pm0.01$. Based on the TRGB method, we estimate the distance modulus of IC 10 to be $(m-M)_{0}=24.27pm0.03{rm (random)}pm0.18{rm (systematic)}$, corresponding to the distance of $d=715pm10pm60$ kpc. This confirms that IC 10 is a member of the Local Group.
Methods: We used the dual-band receiver GREAT on board the SOFIA airborne telescope to perform observations of the [C II] 158 {mu}m fine-structure line at the postitions of two giant molecular clouds (GMC) in the center of IC 342 (GMCs C and E) and compared the spectra with corresponding ground-based data for low- and mid-J CO and [C I]. We performed model calculations assuming a clumpy photo-dissociation region (PDR) environment using the KOSMA-tau PDR model code to derive physical parameters of the local medium. Results: The [C II] 158 {mu}m emission resembles the spectral signature of ground-based atomic and molecular lines, which indicates a common origin. The emission from GMC E can be decomposed into a cool, molecular component with weak far-ultraviolet (FUV) fields and low, mean densities of 103 cm^-3 and a strongly excited starburst/PDR region with higher densities of 104 cm^-3 and FUV intensities of 250-300 Draine fields. The emission from GMC C is consistent with gas densities of 5000 cm^-3, FUV intensities of a few Draine fields and total gas masses of 20times10^6 M$_odot$. Conclusions: The high spectral resolution of the GREAT receiver allowed us to decompose the [C II] emission of the GMC E into a strongly excited gas component resembling a PDR/starburst environment and a quieter, less excited gas component and to analyze the different components within a single beam individually.
In young starburst galaxies, the X-ray population is expected to be dominated by the relics of the most massive and short-lived stars, black-hole and neutron-star high mass X-ray binaries (XRBs). In the closest such galaxy, IC 10, we have made a multi-wavelength census of these objects. Employing a novel statistical correlation technique, we have matched our list of 110 X-ray point sources, derived from a decade of Chandra observations, against published photometric data. We report an 8 sigma correlation between the celestial coordinates of the two catalogs, with 42 X-ray sources having an optical counterpart. Applying an optical color-magnitude selection to isolate blue supergiant (SG) stars in IC 10, we find 16 matches. Both cases show a statistically significant overabundance versus the expectation value for chance alignments. The blue objects also exhibit systematically higher fx/fv ratios than other stars in the same magnitude range. Blue SG-XRBs include a major class of progenitors of double-degenerate binaries, hence their numbers are an important factor in modeling the rate of gravitational wave sources. We suggest that the anomalous features of the IC 10 stellar population are explained if the age of the IC 10 starburst is close to the time of the peak of interaction for massive binaries.
A number of radio observations have revealed the presence of large synchrotron-emitting sources associated with the intra-cluster medium. There is strong observational evidence that the emitting particles have been (re-)accelerated by shocks and turbulence generated during merger events. The particles that are accelerated are thought to have higher initial energies than those in the thermal pool but the origin of such mildly relativistic particles remains uncertain and needs to be further investigated. The galaxy cluster Abell 1914 is a massive galaxy cluster in which X-ray observations show clear evidence of merging activity. We carried out radio observations of this cluster with the LOw Frequency ARay (LOFAR) at 150 MHz and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 610 MHz. We also analysed Very Large Array (VLA) 1.4 GHz data, archival GMRT 325 MHz data, CFHT weak lensing data and Chandra observations. Our analysis shows that the ultra-steep spectrum source (4C38.39; $alpha lesssim -2$), previously thought to be part of a radio halo, is a distinct source with properties that are consistent with revived fossil plasma sources. Finally, we detect some diffuse emission to the west of the source 4C38.39 that could belong to a radio halo.