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Register a new userSpectroscopy of Close Companions to QSOs and the Ages of Interaction-Induced Starbursts
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Gabriela Canalizo
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We present low-resolution absorption-line spectra of three candidate close ( < 3 arcsec) companions to the low redshift QSOs 3CR 323.1, PG 1700+518, and PKS 2135-147. The spectra were obtained with LRIS on the Keck telescopes and with the Faint Object Spectrograph on the University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescope. For 3CR 323.1 and PG 1700+518, we measure relative velocities that are consistent with an association between the QSOs and their companion galaxies. The spectral features of the companion galaxy to 3CR 323.1 indicate a stellar population of intermediate age (approx. 2.3 Gyr). In contrast, the spectrum of the companion object to PG 1700+518 shows strong Balmer absorption lines from a relatively young stellar population, along with the Mg Ib absorption feature and the 4000 A break from an older population. By modeling the two stellar components of this spectrum, it is possible to estimate the time that has elapsed since the end of the most recent major starburst event: we obtain approx. 0.1 Gyr. This event may have coincided with an interaction that triggered the QSO activity. Finally, our spectroscopy shows conclusively that the supposed companion to PKS 2135-147 is actually a projected Galactic G star.
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(Shortened) We consider the massive star formation properties, radial profiles, and atomic gas masses of those galaxies in our H alpha Galaxy Survey, a representative sample of the local Universe of 327 disk galaxies, that have close companion galaxies, in comparison with a matched control sample of galaxies without companions. We find that the presence of a close companion raises the star formation rate by a factor of just under two, while increasing hardly at all the equivalent width of the H alpha emission. This means that although statistically galaxies with close companions form stars at a higher rate, they do this over extended periods of time, and not as bursts. We find no significant increase in the central concentration of the star formation as a result of the presence of a close companion. The fraction of truly interacting or merging galaxies is very small in the local Universe, at around 2%, and possibly 4% of bright galaxies. Most of these interacting galaxies currently have unremarkable star formation properties. We also study the properties of the Survey galaxies with the most extreme values for star formation indicators such as rate, equivalent width, star formation rate per area, and gas depletion timescale. We find that each of these indicators favors a different subset of galaxies, and use this information to discuss critically the possible definitions of the term starburst to describe galaxies with enhanced star formation activity. We conclude that no one starburst definition can be devised which is objective and generally discriminant. Unless one restricts the use of the term starburst to a very small number of galaxies, the term will continue to be used for a heterogeneous and wide-ranging collection of objects with no physical basis for their classification as starburst.
An asymmetry index is derived from ellipse-fitting to galaxy images, that gives weight to faint outer features and is not strongly redshift-dependent. These measures are made on a sample of 13 2MASS QSOs and their neighbour galaxies, and a control sample of field galaxies from the same wide-field imaging data. The QSO host galaxy asymmetries correlate well with visual tidal interaction indices previously published. The companion galaxies have somewhat higher asymmetry than the control galaxy sample, and their asymmetry is inversely correlated with distance from the QSO. The distribution of QSO-companion asymmetry indices is different from that for matched control field galaxies at the $sim95%$ significance level. We present the data and discuss this evidence for tidal and other disturbances in the vicinity of QSOs.
A set of 41 nearby stars (closer than 25 pc) is investigated which have very wide binary and common proper motion (CPM) companions at projected separations between 1000 and $200 000$ AU. These companions are identified by astrometric positions and proper motions from the NOMAD catalog. Based mainly on measures of chromospheric and X-ray activity, age estimation is obtained for most of 85 identified companions. Color -- absolute magnitude diagrams are constructed to test if CPM companions are physically related to the primary nearby stars and have the same age. Our carefully selected sample includes three remote white dwarf companions to main sequence stars and two systems (55 Cnc and GJ 777A) of multiple planets and distant stellar companions. Ten new CPM companions, including three of extreme separations, are found. Multiple hierarchical systems are abundant; more than 25% of CPM components are spectroscopic or astrometric binaries or multiples themselves. Two new astrometric binaries are discovered among nearby CPM companions, GJ 264 and HIP 59000 and preliminary orbital solutions are presented. The Hyades kinematic group (or stream) is presented broadly in the sample, but we find few possible thick disk objects and none halo stars. It follows from our investigation that moderately young (age $lesssim 1$ Gyr) thin disk dwarfs are the dominating species in the near CPM systems, in general agreement with the premises of the dynamical survival paradigm. Some of the multiple stellar systems with remote CPM companions probably undergo the dynamical evolution on non-coplanar orbits, known as the Kozai cycle.
Hot subdwarf stars (sdO/Bs) are evolved core helium-burning stars with very thin hydrogen envelopes, which can be formed by common envelope ejection. Close sdB binaries with massive white dwarf (WD) companions are potential progenitors of thermonuclear supernovae type Ia (SN~Ia). We discovered such a progenitor candidate as well as a candidate for a surviving companion star, which escapes from the Galaxy. More candidates for both types of objects have been found by crossmatching known sdB stars with proper motion and light curve catalogues. We found 72 sdO/B candidates with high Galactic restframe velocities, 12 of them might be unbound to our Galaxy. Furthermore, we discovered the second-most compact sdB+WD binary known. However, due to the low mass of the WD companion, it is unlikely to be a SN,Ia progenitor.
Extragalactic starbursts induced by gravitational interactions can now be studied from z = ~0 to ~2. The evidence that mergers of gas-rich galaxies tend to trigger galaxy-wide starbursts is strong, both statistically and in individual cases of major disk-disk mergers. Star formation rates appear enhanced by factors of a few to ~10^3 above normal. Detailed studies of nearby mergers and ULIRGs suggest that the main trigger for starbursts is the rapidly mounting pressure of the ISM in extended shock regions, rather than high- velocity, ~50 - 100 km/s cloud-cloud collisions. Numerical simulations demonstrate that in colliding galaxies the star formation rate depends not only on the gas density, but crucially also on energy dissipation in shocks. An often overlooked characteristic of merger-induced starbursts is that the spatial distribution of the enhanced star formation extends over large scales (~10 - 20 kpc). Thus, although most such starbursts do peak near the galactic centers, young stellar populations pervade merger remnants and explain why (1) age gradients in descendent galaxies are mild and (2) resultant cluster systems are far-flung. This review presents an overview of interesting phenomena observed in galaxy-wide starbursts and emphasizes that such events continue to accompany the birth of elliptical galaxies to the present epoch.
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