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Register a new userA giant galaxy in the young Universe with a massive ring
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In the local (redshift z~0) Universe, collisional ring galaxies make up only ~0.01% of galaxies and are formed by head-on galactic collisions that trigger radially propagating density waves. These striking systems provide key snapshots for dissecting galactic disks and are studied extensively in the local Universe. However, not much is known about distant (z>0.1) collisional rings. Here we present a detailed study of a ring galaxy at a look-back time of 10.8 Gyr (z=2.19). Compared with our Milky Way, this galaxy has a similar stellar mass, but has a stellar half-light radius that is 1.5-2.2 times larger and is forming stars 50 times faster. The large, diffuse stellar light outside the star-forming ring, combined with a radial velocity on the ring and an intruder galaxy nearby, provides evidence for this galaxy hosting a collisional ring. If the ring is secularly evolved, the implied large bar in a giant disk would be inconsistent with the current understanding of the earliest formation of barred spirals. Contrary to previous predictions, this work suggests that massive collisional rings were as rare 11 Gyr ago as they are today. Our discovery offers a unique pathway for studying density waves in young galaxies, as well as constraining the cosmic evolution of spiral disks and galaxy groups.
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Galaxies evolve from a blue star-forming phase into a red quiescent one by quenching their star formation activity. In high density environments, this galaxy evolution proceeds earlier and more efficiently. Therefore, local galaxy clusters are dominated by well-evolved red, elliptical galaxies. The fraction of blue galaxies in clusters monotonically declines with decreasing redshift, i.e., the Butcher-Oemler effect. In the local Universe, observed blue fractions of massive clusters are as small as $lesssim$ 0.2. Here we report a discovery of a lq lq blue clusterrq rq, that is a local galaxy cluster with an unprecedentedly high fraction of blue star-forming galaxies yet hosted by a massive dark matter halo. The blue fraction is 0.57, which is 4.0 $sigma$ higher than those of the other comparison clusters under the same selection and identification criteria. The velocity dispersion of the member galaxies is 510 km s$^{-1}$, which corresponds to a dark matter halo mass of 2.0$^{+1.9}_{-1.0}times 10^{14}$ M$_{odot}$. The blue fraction of the cluster is more than 4.7 $sigma$ beyond the standard theoretical predictions including semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. The probability to find such a high blue fraction in an individual cluster is only 0.003%, which challenges the current standard frameworks of the galaxy formation and evolution in the $Lambda$CDM Universe. The spatial distribution of galaxies around the blue cluster suggests that filamentary cold gas streams can exist in massive halos even in the local Universe. However these cold streams have already disappeared in the theoretically simulated local universes.
At redshift z = 2, when the Universe was just three billion years old, half of the most massive galaxies were extremely compact and had already exhausted their fuel for star formation(1-4). It is believed that they were formed in intense nuclear starbursts and that they ultimately grew into the most massive local elliptical galaxies seen today, through mergers with minor companions(5,6), but validating this picture requires higher-resolution observations of their centres than is currently possible. Magnification from gravitational lensing offers an opportunity to resolve the inner regions of galaxies(7). Here we report an analysis of the stellar populations and kinematics of a lensed z = 2.1478 compact galaxy, which surprisingly turns out to be a fast-spinning, rotationally supported disk galaxy. Its stars must have formed in a disk, rather than in a merger-driven nuclear starburst(8). The galaxy was probably fed by streams of cold gas, which were able to penetrate the hot halo gas until they were cut off by shock heating from the dark matter halo(9). This result confirms previous indirect indications(10-13) that the first galaxies to cease star formation must have gone through major changes not just in their structure, but also in their kinematics, to evolve into present-day elliptical galaxies.
Mrk 1498 is part of a sample of galaxies with extended emission line regions (extended outwards up to a distance of $sim$7 kpc) suggested to be photo-ionized by an AGN that has faded away or that is still active but heavily absorbed. Interestingly, the nucleus of Mrk 1498 is at the center of two giant radio lobes with a projected linear size of 1.1 Mpc. Our multi-wavelength analysis reveals a complex nuclear structure, with a young radio source (Giga-hertz Peaked Spectrum) surrounded by a strong X-ray nuclear absorption, a mid-infrared spectrum that is dominated by the torus emission, plus a circum-nuclear extended emission in the [OIII] image (with radius of $sim$ 1 kpc), most likely related to the ionization of the AGN, aligned with the small and large scale radio jet and extended also at X-rays. In addition a large-scale extended emission (up to $sim$ 10 kpc) is only visible in [OIII]. These data show conclusive evidence of a heavily absorbed nucleus and has recently restarted its nuclear activity. To explain its complexity, we propose that Mrk 1498 is the result of a merging event or secular processes, such as a minor interaction, that has triggered the nuclear activity and produced tidal streams. The large-scale extended emission that gives place to the actual morphology could either be explained by star formation or outflowing material from the AGN.
The morphology of massive star-forming galaxies at high redshift is often dominated by giant clumps of mass ~10^8-10^9 Msun and size ~100-1000 pc. Previous studies have proposed that giant clumps might have an important role in the evolution of their host galaxy, particularly in building the central bulge. However, this depends on whether clumps live long enough to migrate from their original location in the disc or whether they get disrupted by their own stellar feedback before reaching the centre of the galaxy. We use cosmological hydrodynamical simulations from the FIRE (Feedback in Realistic Environments) project that implement explicit treatments of stellar feedback and ISM physics to study the properties of these clumps. We follow the evolution of giant clumps in a massive (stellar mass ~10^10.8 Msun at z=1), discy, gas-rich galaxy from redshift z>2 to z=1. Even though the clumpy phase of this galaxy lasts over a gigayear, individual gas clumps are short-lived, with mean lifetime of massive clumps of ~20 Myr. During that time, they turn between 0.1% and 20% of their gas into stars before being disrupted, similar to local GMCs. Clumps with M>10^7 Msun account for ~20% of the total star formation in the galaxy during the clumpy phase, producing ~10^10 Msun of stars. We do not find evidence for net inward migration of clumps within the galaxy. The number of giant clumps and their mass decrease at lower redshifts, following the decrease in the overall gas fraction and star-formation rate.
We present results of the analysis of photometric and spectroscopic observations of the young stellar complexes in the late giant spiral galaxy UGC 11973. Photometric analysis in the UBVRI bands have been carried out for the 13 largest complexes. For one of them, metallicity of the surrounding gas Z = 0.013+-0.005, the mass M = (4.6+-1.6)*10^6 Msun, and the age of the stellar complex t = (2.0+-1.1)*10^6 yr were evaluated, using spectroscopic data. It is shown that all complexes are massive (M >= 1.7*10^5 Msun) stellar groups younger than 3*10^8 yr.
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