Starbursts in Galaxies GEFE

    General
    Description

    Starsbursts play a key role in the cosmic evolution of galaxies, and thus in the star formation (SF) history of the universe, the production of metals, and the feedback coupling galaxies with the cosmic web. Extreme SF conditions prevail early on during the formation of the first stars and galaxies, therefore, the starburst phenomenon constitutes a fundamental ingredient of our understanding of the Universe. Starbursts are observed throughout, from the giant HII regions in nearby spirals, to the massive clumps typical of high redshift objects. This project is aimed at carrying out a comprehensive study of the physics of local massive SF regions in order to enlarge our understanding of the most distant galaxies and most extreme starbursts. We combine observational studies (using ground-based and space-borne spectrophotometry) along with our self-consistent theoretical models. Among the observational facilities, the team is directly involved in the development and scientific exploitation of the GTC instruments EMIR and MEGARA, which will become operational during the timespan of the project.

    We have structured our research for the next three years around five main objectives:

    1) The interplay between massive SF and the interstellar medium within galaxies.

    2) Understanding the formation of disk galaxies.

    3) The role of the environment on massive SF and the evolution of galaxies.

    4) Extreme starbursting in the early Universe.

    5) Participation in the science verification and building of new instrumentation.

    The main results expected from this project include: i) constraining the chemical evolution of galaxies using a combination of integral-field spectroscopy and fully bi-dimensional models, ii) understanding the role of molecular gas and high-energy background photons on the formation of galaxies, iii) developing a technique to image the cosmic web gas that feeds the starbursts, iv) characterizing the chemical and dynamical properties of the gas that is falling into the galaxies, v) deciphering the different ways in which the environment can affect the SF in star-forming galaxies along cosmic time; paying special attention to the triggering of violent SF bursts in the lowest metallicity galaxies. vi) explaining how very massive and compact starbursts may evolve in the so-called positive feedback mode, accounting for extreme starbursts in local galaxy analogs to the objects present in the primeval universe. vii) understanding the SF in Lya and Ly-break galaxies, viii) constraining the existence of candidate stars analog to PopIII in extremely metal-poor galaxies, both in the local universe and at high redshift, ix) developing the know-how needed for effective use of EMIR and MEGARA. We aim at getting the most from these new instruments by leading science cases during verification phase and later on.

    Principal investigator
    Project staff
    Collaborators
    Dr.
    Nieves D. Castro Rodriguez
    Dr.
    Daniel Reverte Paya
    Dr.
    Ricardo Amorin Barbieri
    Dr.
    Rafael Guzmán Llorente
    Dr.
    Jesus Gallego Maestro
    Dr.
    Pablo Perez Gonzalez
    Dr.
    Bruce Elmegreen
    Dr.
    Debra Elmegreen
    1. Local anticorrelation between star formation rate and gas-phase metallicity in disc galaxies Using a representative sample of 14 star-forming dwarf galaxies in the local Universe, we show the existence of a spaxel-to-spaxel anticorrelation between the index N2 ≡ log ([N II]λ 6583/H α ) and the H α flux.
    2. Discovery of a high-metallicity low mass galaxy, confirming the stochasticity of the cosmic web gas feed star formation
    3. Pyroclastic Blowout: Dust Survival in Supernovi Events
    4. A simultaneous search for high-z LAEs and LBGs in the SHARDS survey.We derive redshifts, star formation rates, Lyα equivalent widths, and luminosity functions (LFs). Grouping within our sample is also studied, finding 92 pairs or small groups of galaxies
    5. A possible binary AGN has been found in Mrk 622.

    Related publications

    • Integral Field Spectroscopy of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies

      We present results of integral field optical spectroscopy of five luminous blue compact dwarf galaxies. The data were obtained using the fiber system INTEGRAL attached to the William Herschel Telescope. The galaxies Mrk 370, Mrk 35, Mrk 297, Mrk 314, and III Zw 102 were observed. The central 33.6''×29.4'' regions of the galaxies were mapped with a

      García-Lorenzo, Begoña et al.

      Advertised on:

      4
      2008
      Citations
      32
    • Torus and Active Galactic Nucleus Properties of Nearby Seyfert Galaxies: Results from Fitting Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions and Spectroscopy

      We used the CLUMPY torus models and a Bayesian approach to fit the infrared spectral energy distributions and ground-based high angular resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy of 13 nearby Seyfert galaxies. This allowed us to put tight constraints on torus model parameters such as the viewing angle i, the radial thickness of the torus Y, the angular

      Alonso-Herrero, Almudena et al.

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      8
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    • The Infrared Nuclear Emission of Seyfert Galaxies on Parsec Scales: Testing the Clumpy Torus Models

      We present subarcsecond resolution mid-infrared (mid-IR) photometry in the wavelength range from 8 to 20 μm of 18 Seyfert galaxies, reporting high spatial resolution nuclear fluxes for the entire sample. We construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) dominates, relatively uncontaminated by starlight, adding

      Ramos Almeida, C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
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    • Testing the Unification Model for Active Galactic Nuclei in the Infrared: Are the Obscuring Tori of Type 1 and 2 Seyferts Different?

      We present new mid-infrared imaging data for three Type-1 Seyfert galaxies obtained with T-ReCS on the Gemini-South Telescope at subarcsecond resolution. Our aim is to enlarge the sample studied in a previous work to compare the properties of Type-1 and Type-2 Seyfert tori using clumpy torus models and a Bayesian approach to fit the infrared (IR)

      Ramos-Almeida, C. et al.

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      4
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    • Wavelength Calibration for OSIRIS/GTC Tunable Filters

      OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) is the first light instrument of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It provides a flexible and competitive tunable filter (TF). Since it is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer working in a collimated beam, the TF transmission wavelength depends on the position of the

      Méndez-Abreu, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2011
      Citations
      6
    • Unveiling the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Nature of Markarian 573 Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

      In this Letter we present clear evidence that Mrk 573 is an obscured narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxy and not an archetypal Seyfert 2, as it has been classified until now. Only three galaxies have been proposed as members of this class, prior to this work. Here we report near-infrared spectroscopic data taken with LIRIS on the 4.2 m William

      Ramos Almeida, C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2008
      Citations
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    • The starburst-active galactic nucleus connection in the merger galaxy Mrk 938: an infrared and X-ray view

      Mrk 938 is a luminous infrared (IR) galaxy in the local Universe believed to be the remnant of a galaxy merger. It shows a Seyfert 2 nucleus and intense star formation according to optical spectroscopic observations. We have studied this galaxy using new Herschel far-IR imaging data in addition to archival X-ray, UV, optical, near-IR and mid-IR

      Esquej, P. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2012
      Citations
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    • The population of barred galaxies in the local universe. I. Detection and characterisation of bars

      Context: Bars are very common in the centre of the disc galaxies, and they drive the evolution of their structure. The state-of-the-art imaging and redshift surveys of galaxies allow us to study the relationships between the properties of the bars and those of their hosts in statistically significant samples. Aims: A volume-limited sample of 2106

      Aguerri, J. A. L. et al.

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      2
      2009
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      267
    • The intrinsic dispersion in the Faber-Jackson relation for early-type galaxies as function of the mass and redshift

      Context. It has been reported that the intrinsic dispersion at constant magnitude in the structural relations of early-type galaxies is a useful tool to study the universality of these structural relations, that is to say, to study whether the structural relations depend on luminosity, wavelength, redshift, and/or environment. Aims: We study the

      Nigoche-Netro, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2011
      Citations
      14
    • The host in blue compact galaxies.. Structural properties and scaling relations

      Aims: We characterise the underlying stellar host in a sample of 20 blue compact galaxies (BCGs), by fitting their two-dimensional light distributions. Their derived host structural parameters and those of eight other BCGs already obtained in a previous paper are related to galaxy properties, such as colours and gas content. These properties are

      Amorín, R. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2009
      Citations
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    • The Faber-Jackson relation for early-type galaxies: dependence on the magnitude range

      Aims: Previous studies have found that the coefficients and intrinsic dispersions of both the Kormendy relation and the Fundamental Plane depend on the magnitude range within which the galaxies are contained. We study whether this type of behaviour is also present for the Faber-Jackson relation. Methods: We take a sample of early-type galaxies from

      Nigoche-Netro, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2010
      Citations
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    • The ALHAMBRA Photometric System

      This paper presents the characterization of the optical range of the ALHAMBRA photometric system, a 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band CCD system with wavelength coverage from 3500 Å to 9700 Å. The photometric description of the system is done by presenting the full response curve as a product of the filters, CCD, and atmospheric transmission

      Aparicio Villegas, T. et al.

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      3
      2010
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    • Systematic Search for Extremely Metal-poor Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

      We carry out a systematic search for extremely metal-poor (XMP) galaxies in the spectroscopic sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data release 7 (DR7). The XMP candidates are found by classifying all the galaxies according to the form of their spectra in a region 80 Å wide around Hα. Due to the data size, the method requires an automatic

      Morales-Luis, A. B. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2011
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    • Structural properties of disk galaxies. II. Intrinsic shape of bulges

      Context. Knowledge of the intrinsic shapes of galaxy components provides crucial information when constraining phenomena driving their formation and evolution. Aims: We analize the structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0-Sb galaxies to derive the intrinsic shape of their bulges. Methods: We developed a new method to

      Méndez-Abreu, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2010
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    • Structural properties of disk galaxies. I. The intrinsic equatorial ellipticity of bulges

      Context: A variety of formation scenarios have been proposed to explain the diversity of properties observed in bulges. Studying their intrinsic shape can help to constrain the dominant mechanisms at the epochs of their assembly. Aims: The structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0-Sb galaxies were derived in order to

      Méndez-Abreu, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      2
      2008
      Citations
      149
    • Search for Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies During Quiescence. II. Metallicities of Gas and Stars, Ages, and Star Formation Rates

      We examine the metallicity and age of a large set of Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Data Release 6 galaxies that may be blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies during quiescence (QBCDs). The individual spectra are first classified and then averaged to reduce noise. The metallicity inferred from emission lines (tracing ionized gas) exceeds by ~0.35 dex the

      Sánchez Almeida, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2009
      Citations
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    • Search for Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies During Quiescence

      Blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies are metal-poor systems going through a major starburst that cannot last for long. We have identified galaxies which may be BCDs during quiescence (QBCD), i.e., before the characteristic starburst sets in or when it has faded away. These QBCD galaxies are assumed to be like the BCD host galaxies. The SDSS DR6

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      9
      2008
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    • Revisiting the Hubble sequence in the SDSS DR7 spectroscopic sample: a publicly available Bayesian automated classification

      We present an automated morphological classification in 4 types (E, S0, Sab, Scd) of ~700 000 galaxies from the SDSS DR7 spectroscopic sample based on support vector machines. The main new property of the classification is that we associate a probability to each galaxy of being in the four morphological classes instead of assigning a single class

      Huertas-Company, M. et al.

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      1
      2011
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    • Resolving the nuclear dust distribution of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3081

      We report far-infrared (FIR) imaging of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3081 in the range 70-500 μm, obtained with an unprecedented angular resolution, using the Herschel Space Observatory instruments PACS and SPIRE. The 11 kpc (˜70 arcsec) diameter star-forming ring of the galaxy appears resolved up to 250 μm. We extracted IR (1.6-500 μm) nuclear fluxes

      Ramos Almeida, C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2011
      Citations
      23
    • Relationship between Hubble Type and Spectroscopic Class in Local Galaxies

      We compare the Hubble type and the spectroscopic class of the galaxies with spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. As has long been known, elliptical galaxies tend to be red whereas spiral galaxies tend to be blue; however, this relationship presents a large scatter, which we measure and quantify in detail for the first time. We

      Sánchez-Almeida, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2011
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