ESA Science & Technology - Publication Archive

In this paper we present a detailed study of the structures and morphologies of a sample of 1188 massive galaxies with Mstar>10^10Msun between redshifts z=1-3 within the Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) field. Using this sample we determine how galaxy structure and morphology evolve with time. We visually classify our sample into disks, ellipticals and peculiar systems and correct for redshift effects on our classifications through simulations. We find evolution in the fractions of galaxies at a given visual classification as a function of redshift. The peculiar population is dominant at z>2 with a substantial spheroid population, and a negligible disk population. We compute the transition redshift, ztrans, where the combined fraction of spheroids and disks is equal to that of peculiar galaxies, as ztrans=1.86+/-0.62 for galaxies in our stellar mass range. We find that this changes as a function of stellar mass, with Hubble-type systems becoming dominant at higher redshifts for higher mass galaxies (ztrans=2.22+/-0.82), than for the lower mass galaxies (ztrans=1.73+/-0.57). Higher mass galaxies become morphologically settled before their lower mass counterparts, a form of morphological downsizing. We furthermore compare our visual classifications with Sersic index, the concentration, asymmetry and clumpiness (CAS) parameters, star formation rate and rest frame U-B colour. We find links between the colour of a galaxy, its star formation rate and how extended or peculiar it appears. Finally, we discuss the negligible z>2 disk fraction based on visual morphologies and speculate that this is an effect of forming disks appearing peculiar through processes such as violent disk instabilities or mergers. We conclude that to properly define high redshift morphology a new and more exact classification scheme is needed.

We report on the long-term X-ray monitoring of the outburst decay of the low magnetic field magnetar SGR 0418+5729 using all the available X-ray data obtained with RXTE, Swift, Chandra, and XMM-Newton observations from the discovery of the source in 2009 June up to 2012 August. The timing analysis allowed us to obtain the first measurement of the period derivative of SGR 0418+5729: P_dot= 4(1) × 10^-15 s s^-1, significant at a ~3.5 sigma confidence level. This leads to a surface dipolar magnetic field of B_dip ~ 6 × 10¹² G. This measurement confirms SGR 0418+5729 as the lowest magnetic field magnetar. Following the flux and spectral evolution from the beginning of the outburst up to ~1200 days, we observe a gradual cooling of the tiny hot spot responsible for the X-ray emission, from a temperature of ~0.9 to 0.3 keV. Simultaneously, the X-ray flux decreased by about three orders of magnitude: from about 1.4 × 10^-11 to 1.2 × 10^-14 erg s^-1 cm^-2. Deep radio, millimeter, optical, and gamma-ray observations did not detect the source counterpart, implying stringent limits on its multi-band emission, as well as constraints on the presence of a fossil disk. By modeling the magneto-thermal secular evolution of SGR 0418+5729, we infer a realistic age of ~550 kyr, and a dipolar magnetic field at birth of ~10¹⁴ G. The outburst characteristics suggest the presence of a thin twisted bundle with a small heated spot at its base. The bundle untwisted in the first few months following the outburst, while the hot spot decreases in temperature and size. We estimate the outburst rate of low magnetic field magnetars to be about one per year per galaxy, and we briefly discuss the consequences of such a result in several other astrophysical contexts.

We have been able to compare with astrometric precision AstroDrizzle processed images of NGC 6720 (the Ring Nebula) made using two cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope. The time difference of the observations was 12.925 yrs. This large time-base allowed determination of tangential velocities of features within this classic planetary nebula. Individual features were measured in [N II] images as were the dark knots seen in silhouette against background nebular [O III] emission. An image magnification and matching technique was also used to test the accuracy of the usual assumption of homologous expansion. We found that homologous expansion does apply, but the rate of expansion is greater along the major axis of the nebula, which is intrinsically larger than the minor axis.
We find that the dark knots expand more slowly that the nebular gas, that the distance to the nebula is 720 pc +/- 30 per cent, and the dynamic age of the Ring Nebula is about 4000 yrs. The dynamic age is in agreement with the position of the central star on theoretical curves for stars collapsing from the peak of the Asymptotic Giant Branch to being white dwarfs.

We have performed a detailed analysis of the electron temperature and density in the Ring Nebula using the calibrated Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 images described in the preceding paper. The electron temperature (T_e) determined from [N II] and [O III] rises slightly and monotonically toward the central star. The observed equivalent width (EW) in the central region indicates that T_e rises as high as 13,000 K. In contrast, the low EWs in the outer regions are largely due to scattered diffuse Galactic radiation by dust. The images allowed determination of unprecedented small-scale variations in T_e. These variations indicate that the mean square area temperature fluctuations are significantly higher than expected from simple photoionization. The power producing these fluctuations occurs at scales of less than 3.5×10¹⁵ cm. This scale length provides a strong restriction on the mechanism causing the large t² values observed.

We have performed a detailed analysis of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720) using Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 images and derived a new three-dimensional model. Existing high spectral resolution spectra played an important supplementary role in our modeling. It is shown that the Main Ring of the nebula is an ionization-bounded irregular non-symmetric disk with a central cavity and perpendicular extended lobes pointed almost toward the observer. The faint outer halos are determined to be fossil radiation, i.e., radiation from gas ionized in an earlier stage of the nebula when it was not ionization bounded. The narrowband WFC3 filters that isolate some of the emission lines are affected by broadening on their short wavelength side and all the filters were calibrated using ground-based spectra. The filter calibration results are presented in an appendix.

Stellar archaeology shows that massive elliptical galaxies formed rapidly about ten billion years ago with star-formation rates of above several hundred solar masses per year. Their progenitors are probably the submillimetre bright galaxies at redshifts z greater than 2. Although the mean molecular gas mass (5x10¹⁰ solar masses) of the submillimetre bright galaxies can explain the formation of typical elliptical galaxies, it is inadequate to form elliptical galaxies that already have stellar masses above 2x10¹¹ solar masses at z~2. Here we report multi-wavelength high-resolution observations of a rare merger of two massive submillimetre bright galaxies at z=2.3. The system is seen to be forming stars at a rate of 2,000 solar masses per year. The star-formation efficiency is an order of magnitude greater than that of normal galaxies, so the gas reservoir will be exhausted and star formation will be quenched in only around 200 million years. At a projected separation of 19 kiloparsecs, the two massive starbursts are about to merge and form a passive elliptical galaxy with a stellar mass of about 4x10¹¹ solar masses. We conclude that gas-rich major galaxy mergers with intense star formation can form the most massive elliptical galaxies by z~1.5.

Polar vortices are common in the atmospheres of rapidly rotating planets. On Earth and Mars, vortices are generated by surface temperature gradients and their strength is modulated by the seasonal insolation cycle. Slowly rotating Venus lacks pronounced seasonal forcing, but vortices are known to occur at both poles, in an atmosphere that rotates faster than the planet itself. Here we report observations of cloud motions at altitudes of 42 and 63 km above Venus's south pole using infrared images from the VIRTIS instrument onboard the Venus Express spacecraft. We find that the south polar vortex is a long-lived but unpredictable feature. Within the two cloud layers sampled, the centres of rotation of the vortex are rarely aligned vertically and both wander erratically around the pole with velocities of up to 16 ms^-1. At the two horizontal levels, the observed cloud morphologies do not correlate with the vorticity of the wind field and change continuously, and vertical and meridional wind shears are also highly variable. We conclude that Venus's south polar vortex is a continuously evolving structure that is at least 20 km high, extending through a quasi-convective turbulent region.

We present a ~52-671 um spectral scan towards Sgr A* taken with the PACS and SPIRE spectrometers onboard Herschel. The achieved angular resolution allows us to separate, for the first time at far-IR wavelengths, the emission towards the central cavity (gas in the inner central parsec of the galaxy) from that of the surrounding circum-nuclear disk. The spectrum towards SgrA* is dominated by strong [OIII], [OI], [CII], [NIII], [NII], and [CI] fine structure lines (in decreasing order of luminosity) arising in gas irradiated by UV-photons from the central stellar cluster. In addition, rotationally excited lines of ¹²CO (from J=4-3 to 24-23), ¹²CO, H₂O, OH, H₃O⁺, HCO⁺ and HCN, as well as ground- state absorption lines of OH⁺, H₂O⁺, H₃O⁺, CH⁺, H₂O, OH, HF, CH and NH are detected. The excitation of the ¹²CO ladder is consistent with a hot isothermal component at T_k=10^3.1 K and n(H₂)<=10⁴ cm^-3. It is also consistent with a distribution of temperature components at higher density with most CO at T_k<~300 K. The detected molecular features suggest that, at present, neither very enhanced X-ray, nor cosmic-ray fluxes play a dominant role in the heating of the hot molecular gas. The hot CO component (either the bulk of the CO column or just a small fraction depending on the above scenario) results from a combination of UV- and shock-driven heating. If irradiated dense clumps/clouds do not exist, shocks likely dominate the heating of the hot molecular gas. This is consistent with the high-velocity gas detected towards SgrA*.

This page should automatically redirect you to the page with the publication's full details.

To go to the publication page, please click here.

This page should automatically redirect you to the page with the publication's full details.

To go to the publication page, please click here.

This page should automatically redirect you to the page with the publication's full details.

To go to the publication page, please click here.

Context. In the past 15 years, several studies suggested that water in the stratosphere of Jupiter originated from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) comet impacts in July 1994, but direct proof was missing. Only a very sensitive instrument observing with high spectral/spatial resolution can help to solve this problem. This is the case of the Herschel Space Observatory, which is the first telescope capable of mapping water in Jupiter's stratosphere.

Aims. We observed the spatial distribution of water emission in Jupiter's stratosphere with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) and the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) onboard Herschel to constrain its origin. In parallel, we monitored Jupiter's stratospheric temperature with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) to separate temperature from water variability.

Methods. We obtained a 25-point map of the 1669.9 GHz water line with HIFI in July 2010 and several maps with PACS in October 2009 and December 2010. The 2010 PACS map is a 400-point raster of the water 66.4 um emission. Additionally, we mapped the methane v4 band emission to constrain the stratospheric temperature in Jupiter in the same periods with the IRTF.

Results. Water is found to be restricted to pressures lower than 2 mbar. Its column density decreases by a factor of 2-3 between southern and northern latitudes, consistently between the HIFI and the PACS 66.4 um maps. We infer that an emission maximum seen around 15 °S is caused by a warm stratospheric belt detected in the IRTF data.

Conclusions. Latitudinal temperature variability cannot explain the global north-south asymmetry in the water maps. From the latitudinal and vertical distributions of water in Jupiter's stratosphere, we rule out interplanetary dust particles as its main source. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Jupiter's stratospheric water was delivered by SL9 and that more than 95% of the observed water comes from the comet according to our models.

Reference: FPM-SA-Dc-00001

This document presents the scientific objectives of the ESA mission STE-QUEST and provides the top level science requirements. STE-QUEST is a mission in the Fundamental Physics domain conceived to test to high accuracy the different aspects of the Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP). The scientific case described in this document was initially recommended by the ESA-appointed "Fundamental Physics Roadmap Advisory Team" (FPR-AT) as a result of a large consultation process conducted in the fundamental physics community [FPR-AT, A Roadmap for Fundamental Physics in Space, (2010)]. Submitted in reply to the 2010 Call for Medium-size Missions for the Cosmic Vision plan, STE-QUEST was recommended by the ESA advisory structure and finally selected for an assessment study.

This Science Requirements Document (SciRD) will be the basis for the STE-QUEST mission design during the assessment study phase, which started in April 2011 and will be concluded with the presentation of the study results to the ESA advisory structure in beginning 2014. During the assessment phase, it is expected that the requirements may be adjusted driven by technical feasibility within the programmatic boundaries. The STE-QUEST Study Science Team will act as the review and control board for changes in this document. The possible changes will be logged in this document to provide a record of the evolution.

This document also aims at showing the links between science requirements and mission performance requirements, in order to help to understand, trace, and support the analysis of the relation between mission specifications and scientific objectives.

Massive present-day early-type (elliptical and lenticular) galaxies probably gained the bulk of their stellar mass and heavy elements through intense, dust-enshrouded starbursts - that is, increased rates of star formation - in the most massive dark-matter haloes at early epochs. However, it remains unknown how soon after the Big Bang massive starburst progenitors exist. The measured redshift (z) distribution of dusty, massive starbursts has long been suspected to be biased low in z owing to selection effects, as confirmed by recent findings of systems with redshifts as high as ~5 (refs 2-4). Here we report the identification of a massive starburst galaxy at z = 6.34 through a submillimetre colour-selection technique. We unambiguously determined the redshift from a suite of molecular and atomic fine-structure cooling lines. These measurements reveal a hundred billion solar masses of highly excited, chemically evolved interstellar medium in this galaxy, which constitutes at least 40 per cent of the baryonic mass. A 'maximum starburst' converts the gas into stars at a rate more than 2,000 times that of the Milky Way, a rate among the highest observed at any epoch. Despite the overall downturn in cosmic star formation towards the highest redshifts, it seems that environments mature enough to form the most massive, intense starbursts existed at least as early as 880 million years after the Big Bang.

The energy transport of bursty bulk flows (BBFs) is very important to the understanding of substorm energy transport. Previous studies all use the MHD bulk parameters to calculate the energy flux density of BBFs. In this paper, we use the kinetic approach, i.e., ion velocity distribution function, to study the energy transport of an earthward bursty bulk flow observed by Cluster C1 on 30 July 2002. The earthward energy flux density calculated using kinetic approach Q_Kx is obviously larger than that calculated using MHD bulk parameters Q_MHDx. The mean ratio Q_Kx/Q_MHDx in the flow velocity range 200-800 km/s is 2.7, implying that the previous energy transport of BBF estimated using MHD approach is much underestimated. The underestimation results from the deviation of ion velocity distribution from ideal Maxwellian distribution. The energy transport of BBF is mainly provided by ions above 10 keV although their number density N_f is much smaller than the total ion number density N. The ratio Q_Kx/Q_MHDx is basically proportional to the ratio N/N_f. The flow velocity v(E) increases with increasing energy. The ratio N_f/N is perfectly proportional to flow velocity V_x. A double ion component model is proposed to explain the above results. The increase of energy transport capability of BBF is important to understanding substorm energy transport. It is inferred that for a typical substorm, the ratio of the energy transport of BBF to the substorm energy consumption may increase from the previously estimated 5% to 34% or more.

Aims. A strong, hard X-ray flare was discovered (IGR J12580+0134) by INTEGRAL in 2011, and is associated to NGC 4845, a Seyfert 2 galaxy never detected at high-energy previously. To understand what happened we observed this event in the X-ray band on several occasions.

Methods.

Follow-up observations with XMM-Newton, Swift, and MAXI are presented together with the INTEGRAL data. Long and short term variability are analysed and the event wide band spectral shape modelled.

Results.

The spectrum of the source can be described with an absorbed (N_H ~ 7 × 10²² cm^-2) power law (Gamma = 2.2), characteristic of an accreting source, plus a soft X-ray excess, likely to be of diffuse nature. The hard X-ray flux increased to maximum in a few weeks and decreased over a year, with the evolution expected for a tidal disruption event. The fast variations observed near the flare maximum allowed us to estimate the mass of the central black hole in NGC 4845 as ~3 × 10⁵ solar masses. The observed flare corresponds to the disruption of about 10% of an object with a mass of 14-30 Jupiter. The hard X-ray emission should come from a corona forming around the accretion flow close to the black hole. This is the first tidal event where such a corona has been observed.

Published online: 27 March 2013

We study in detail high-frequency (HF) plasma waves between the electron cyclotron and plasma frequencies within a reconnection diffusion region (DR) encountered by Cluster in the magnetotail using continuous electric field waveforms. We identify three wave types, all observed within the separatrix regions: Langmuir waves (LW), electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs), and electron cyclotron waves (ECWs). This is the first time the ECWs have been observed inside this region. Direct comparison between waveforms and electron distributions are made at the timescale of one energy sweep of the electron detector (125 ms). Based on the wave and electron distribution characteristics, we find that the separatrix region has a stratified spatial structure. The outer part of the region is dominated by LW emissions related to suprathermal electron beams propagating away from the X-line. Furthest in, nearest to the current sheet, we observe ESWs associated with counterstreaming electron populations. Studying HF waveforms allows for a precise mapping of kinetic boundaries in the reconnection region and helps to improve our understanding of the electron dynamics in the DR.

The W3 GMC is a prime target for the study of the early stages of high-mass star formation. We have used Herschel data from the HOBYS key program to produce and analyze column density and temperature maps. Two preliminary catalogs were produced by extracting sources from the column density map and from Herschel maps convolved to 500 Œm resolution. Herschel reveals that among the compact sources (FWHM < 0.45 pc), W3 East, W3 West, and W3 (OH) are the most massive and luminous and have the highest column density. Considering the unique properties of W3 East and W3 West, the only clumps with ongoing high-mass star formation, we suggest a "convergent constructive feedback" scenario to account for the formation of a cluster with decreasing age and increasing system/source mass toward the innermost regions. This process, which relies on feedback by high-mass stars to ensure the availability of material during cluster formation, could also lead to the creation of an environment suitable for the formation of Trapezium-like systems. In common with other scenarios proposed in other HOBYS studies, our results indicate that an active/dynamic process aiding in the accumulation, compression, and confinement of material is a critical feature of the high-mass star/cluster formation, distinguishing it from classical low-mass star formation. The environmental conditions and availability of triggers determine the form in which this process occurs, implying that high-mass star/cluster formation could arise from a range of scenarios: from large-scale convergence of turbulent flows to convergent constructive feedback or mergers of filaments.

We present cosmological parameter constraints based on the final nine-year WMAP data, in conjunction with additional cosmological data sets. The WMAP data alone, and in combination, continue to be remarkably well fit by a six-parameter LCDM model. When WMAP data are combined with measurements of the high-l CMB anisotropy, the BAO scale, and the Hubble constant, the densities, Omegabh2, Omegach2, and Omega_L, are each determined to a precision of ~1.5%. The amplitude of the primordial spectrum is measured to within 3%, and there is now evidence for a tilt in the primordial spectrum at the 5sigma level, confirming the first detection of tilt based on the five-year WMAP data. At the end of the WMAP mission, the nine-year data decrease the allowable volume of the six-dimensional LCDM parameter space by a factor of 68,000 relative to pre-WMAP measurements. We investigate a number of data combinations and show that their LCDM parameter fits are consistent. New limits on deviations from the six-parameter model are presented, for example: the fractional contribution of tensor modes is limited to r<0.13 (95% CL); the spatial curvature parameter is limited to -0.0027 (+0.0039/-0.0038); the summed mass of neutrinos is <0.44 eV (95% CL); and the number of relativistic species is found to be 3.84+/-0.40 when the full data are analyzed. The joint constraint on Neff and the primordial helium abundance agrees with the prediction of standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We compare recent PLANCK measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with our seven-year measurements, and show their mutual agreement. Our analysis of the polarization pattern around temperature extrema is updated. This confirms a fundamental prediction of the standard cosmological model and provides a striking illustration of acoustic oscillations and adiabatic initial conditions in the early universe.

MAXI J1659-152 is a bright X-ray transient black-hole candidate binary system discovered in September 2010. We report here on MAXI, RXTE, Swift, and XMM-Newton observations during its 2010/2011 outburst. We find that during the first one and a half week of the outburst the X-ray light curves display drops in intensity at regular intervals, which we interpret as absorption dips. About three weeks into the outbursts, again drops in intensity are seen. These dips have, however, a spectral behaviour opposite to that of the absorption dips, and are related to fast spectral state changes (hence referred to as transition dips). The absorption dips recur with a period of 2.414 ± 0.005 h, which we interpret as the orbital period of the system. This implies that MAXI J1659-152 is the shortest period black-hole candidate binary known to date. The inclination of the accretion disk with respect to the line of sight is estimated to be 65-80°. We propose the companion to the black-hole candidate to be close to an M5 dwarf star, with a mass and radius of about 0.15-0.25 solar masses and 0.2-0.25 solar radii, respectively. We derive that the companion had an initial mass of about 1.5 solar masses, which evolved to its current mass in about 5-6 billion years. The system is rather compact (orbital separation of >=1.33 solar radii), and is located at a distance of 8.6 ± 3.7 kpc, with a height above the Galactic plane of 2.4 ± 1.0 kpc. The characteristics of short orbital period and high Galactic scale height are shared with two other transient black-hole candidate X-ray binaries, i.e., XTE J1118+480 and Swift J1735.5-0127. We suggest that all three are kicked out of the Galactic plane into the halo, rather than being formed in a globular cluster.