No Arabic abstract
We present an analysis of the optical nuclear spectra from the active galactic nuclei (AGN) in a sample of giant low surface brightness (GLSB) galaxies. GLSB galaxies are extreme late type spirals that are large, isolated and poorly evolved compared to regular spiral galaxies. Earlier studies have indicated that their nuclei have relatively low mass black holes. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we selected a sample of 30 GLSB galaxies that showed broad H$alpha$ emission lines in their AGN spectra. In some galaxies such as UGC 6284, the broad component of H$alpha$ is more related to outflows rather than the black hole. One galaxy (UGC 6614) showed two broad components in H$alpha$, one associated with the black hole and the other associated with an outflow event. We derived the nuclear black hole (BH) masses of 29 galaxies from their broad H$alpha$ parameters. We find that the nuclear BH masses lie in the range $10^{5}-10^{7} M_{odot}$. The bulge stellar velocity dispersion $sigma_{e}$ was determined from the underlying stellar spectra. We compared our results with the existing BH mass - velocity dispersion ($M_{BH}-sigma_{e}$) correlations and found that the majority of our sample lie in the low BH mass regime and below the $M_{BH}-sigma_{e}$ correlation. The effects of galaxy orientation in the measurement of $sigma_e$ and the increase of $sigma_e$ due to the effects of bar are probable reasons for the observed offset for some galaxies, but in many galaxies the offset is real. A possible explanation for the $M_{BH}-sigma_{e}$ offset could be lack of mergers and accretion events in the history of these galaxies which leads to a lack of BH-bulge co-evolution. keywords{galaxies: active, galaxies: bulges, galaxies: nuclei}
About half of nearby galaxies have a central surface brightness >1 magnitude below that of the sky. The overall properties of these low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) remain understudied, and in particular we know very little about their massive black hole population. This gap must be closed to determine the frequency of massive black holes at z=0 as well as to understand their role in regulating galaxy evolution. Here we investigate the incidence and intensity of nuclear, accretion-powered X-ray emission in a sample of 32 nearby LSBGs with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A nuclear X-ray source is detected in 4 galaxies (12.5%). Based on an X-ray binary contamination assessment technique developed for normal galaxies, we conclude that the detected X-ray nuclei indicate low-level accretion from massive black holes. The active fraction is consistent with that expected from the stellar mass distribution of the LSBGs, but not their total baryonic mass, when using a scaling relation from an unbiased X-ray survey of normal galaxies. This suggests that their black holes co-evolved with their stellar population. In addition, the apparent agreement nearly doubles the number of galaxies available within ~100 Mpc for which a measurement of nuclear activity can efficiently constrain the frequency of black holes as a function of stellar mass. We conclude by discussing the feasibility of measuring this occupation fraction to a few percent precision below 1e10 solar masses with high-resolution, wide-field X-ray missions currently under consideration.
Our statistical understanding of galaxy evolution is fundamentally driven by objects that lie above the surface-brightness limits of current wide-area surveys (mu ~ 23 mag arcsec^-2). While both theory and small, deep surveys have hinted at a rich population of low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) fainter than these limits, their formation remains poorly understood. We use Horizon-AGN, a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation to study how LSBGs, and in particular the population of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs; mu > 24.5 mag arcsec^-2), form and evolve over time. For M* > 10^8 MSun, LSBGs contribute 47, 7 and 6 per cent of the local number, mass and luminosity densities respectively (~85/11/10 per cent for M* > 10^7 MSun). Todays LSBGs have similar dark-matter fractions and angular momenta to high-surface-brightness galaxies (HSBGs; mu < 23 mag arcsec^-2), but larger effective radii (x2.5 for UDGs) and lower fractions of dense, star-forming gas (more than x6 less in UDGs than HSBGs). LSBGs originate from the same progenitors as HSBGs at z > 2. However, LSBG progenitors form stars more rapidly at early epochs. The higher resultant rate of supernova-energy injection flattens their gas-density profiles, which, in turn, creates shallower stellar profiles that are more susceptible to tidal processes. After z ~ 1, tidal perturbations broaden LSBG stellar distributions and heat their cold gas, creating the diffuse, largely gas-poor LSBGs seen today. In clusters, ram-pressure stripping provides an additional mechanism that assists in gas removal in LSBG progenitors. Our results offer insights into the formation of a galaxy population that is central to a complete understanding of galaxy evolution, and which will be a key topic of research using new and forthcoming deep-wide surveys.
We investigate the formation and properties of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) with $M_{*} > 10^{9.5} mathrm{M_{odot}}$ in the EAGLE hydrodynamical cosmological simulation. Galaxy surface brightness depends on a combination of stellar mass surface density and mass-to-light ratio ($M/L$), such that low surface brightness is strongly correlated with both galaxy angular momentum (low surface density) and low specific star formation rate (high $M/L$). This drives most of the other observed correlations between surface brightness and galaxy properties, such as the fact that most LSBGs have low metallicity. We find that LSBGs are more isolated than high surface brightness galaxies (HSBGs), in agreement with observations, but that this trend is driven entirely by the fact that LSBGs are unlikely to be close-in satellites. The majority of LSBGs are consistent with a formation scenario in which the galaxies with the highest angular momentum are those that formed most of their stars recently from a gas reservoir co-rotating with a high-spin dark matter halo. However, the most extended LSBG disks in EAGLE, which are comparable in size to observed giant LSBGs, are built up via mergers. These galaxies are found to inhabit dark matter halos with a higher spin in their inner regions ($<0.1r_{200c}$), even when excluding the effects of baryonic physics by considering matching halos from a dark matter only simulation with identical initial conditions.
The existence of galaxies with a surface brightness $mu$ lower than the night sky has been known since three decades. Yet, their formation mechanism and emergence within a $rmLambda CDM$ universe has remained largely undetermined. For the first time, we investigated the origin of Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies with M$_{star}$$sim$10$^{9.5-10}$M$_{odot}$, which we are able to reproduce within hydrodynamical cosmological simulations from the NIHAO suite. The simulated and observed LSBs share similar properties, having large HI reservoir, extended star formation histories and effective radii, low S{e}rsic index and slowly rising rotation curves. The formation mechanism of these objects is explored: simulated LSBs form as a result of co-planar co-rotating mergers and aligned accretion of gas at early times, while perpendicular mergers and mis-aligned gas accretion result in higher $mu$ galaxies by $z$=0. The larger the merger, the stronger the correlation between merger orbital configuration and final $mu$. While the halo spin parameter is consistently high in simulated LSB galaxies, the impact of halo concentration, feedback-driven gas outflows and merger time only plays a minor-to-no role in determining $mu$. Interestingly, the formation scenario of such `classical LSBs differs from the one of less massive, M$_{star}$$sim$10$^{7-9}$M$_{odot}$, Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies, the latter resulting from the effects of SNae driven gas outflows: a M$_{star}$ of $sim$10$^9$M$_{odot}$ thus represents the transition regime between a feedback-dominated to an angular momentum-dominated formation scenario in the LSB realm. Observational predictions are offered regarding spatially resolved star formation rates through LSB discs: these, together with upcoming surveys, can be used to verify the proposed emergence scenario of LSB galaxies.
Low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) -- defined as systems that are fainter than the surface-brightness limits of past wide-area surveys -- form the overwhelming majority of galaxies in the dwarf regime (M* < 10^9 MSun). Using NewHorizon, a high-resolution cosmological simulation, we study the origin of LSBGs and explain why LSBGs at similar stellar mass show the large observed spread in surface brightness. New Horizon galaxies populate a well-defined locus in the surface brightness -- stellar mass plane, with a spread of ~3 mag arcsec^-2, in agreement with deep SDSS Stripe data. Galaxies with fainter surface brightnesses today are born in regions of higher dark-matter density. This results in faster gas accretion and more intense star formation at early epochs. The stronger resultant supernova feedback flattens gas profiles at a faster rate which, in turn, creates shallower stellar profiles (i.e. more diffuse systems) more rapidly. As star formation declines towards late epochs (z<1), the larger tidal perturbations and ram pressure experienced by these systems (due to their denser local environments) accelerate the divergence in surface brightness, by increasing their effective radii and reducing star formation respectively. A small minority of dwarfs depart from the main locus towards high surface brightnesses, making them detectable in past wide surveys. These systems have anomalously high star-formation rates, triggered by recent, fly-by or merger-driven starbursts. We note that objects considered extreme/anomalous at the depth of current datasets, e.g. `ultra-diffuse galaxies, actually dominate the predicted dwarf population and will be routinely visible in future surveys like LSST.