Hintze Centre for Astrophysical Surveys

Abstract:

Recent observations and simulations have challenged the long-held paradigm that mergers are the dominant mechanism driving the growth of both galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBH), in favour of non-merger (secular) processes. In this pilot study of merger-free SMBH and galaxy growth, we use Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectral observations to examine four low-redshift (0.043 < z < 0.073) disc-dominated ‘bulgeless’ galaxies hosting luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN), assumed to be merger-free. We detect blueshifted broadened [O III] emission from outflows in all four sources, which the [OIII]/Hβ ratios reveal are ionized by the AGN. We calculate outflow rates in the range 0.12−0.7 M⊙ yr−1⁠, with velocities of 675−1710 km s−1⁠, large radial extents of 0.6−2.4 kpc⁠, and SMBH accretion rates of 0.02−0.07 M⊙ yr−1⁠. We find that the outflow rates, kinematics, and energy injection rates are typical of the wider population of low-redshift AGN, and have velocities exceeding the galaxy escape velocity by a factor of ∼30, suggesting that these outflows will have a substantial impact through AGN feedback. Therefore, if both merger-driven and non-merger-driven SMBH growth lead to co-evolution, this suggests that co-evolution is regulated by feedback in both scenarios. Simulations find that bars and spiral arms can drive inflows to galactic centers at rates an order of magnitude larger than the combined SMBH accretion and outflow rates of our four targets. This work therefore provides further evidence that non-merger processes are sufficient to fuel SMBH growth and AGN outflows in disc galaxies.

Abstract:

We study the radio spectral properties of 2094 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) by combining our early science data from the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey with VLA, GMRT radio data, and rich ancillary data in the COSMOS field. These SFGs are selected at VLA 3 GHz, and their flux densities from MeerKAT 1.3 GHz and GMRT 325 MHz imaging data are extracted using the ‘superdeblending’ technique. The median radio spectral index is α3GHz1.3GHz=−0.80±0.01 without significant variation across the rest-frame frequencies ∼1.3–10 GHz, indicating radio spectra dominated by synchrotron radiation. On average, the radio spectrum at observer-frame 1.3–3 GHz slightly steepens with increasing stellar mass with a linear fitted slope of β = −0.08 ± 0.01, which could be explained by age-related synchrotron losses. Due to the sensitivity of GMRT 325 MHz data, we apply a further flux density cut at 3 GHz (⁠S3GHz≥50μJy) and obtain a sample of 166 SFGs with measured flux densities at 325 MHz, 1.3 GHz, and 3 GHz. On average, the radio spectrum of SFGs flattens at low frequency with the median spectral indices of α1.3GHz325MHz=−0.59+0.02−0.03 and α3.0GHz1.3GHz=−0.74+0.01−0.02⁠. At low frequency, our stacking analyses show that the radio spectrum also slightly steepens with increasing stellar mass. By comparing the far-infrared-radio correlations of SFGs based on different radio spectral indices, we find that adopting α3GHz1.3GHz for k-corrections will significantly underestimate the infrared-to-radio luminosity ratio (qIR) for >17 per cent of the SFGs with measured flux density at the three radio frequencies in our sample, because their radio spectra are significantly flatter at low frequency (0.33–1.3 GHz).

Abstract:

[Context] The INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics (INSPIRE) is an ongoing project targeting 52 ultra-compact massive galaxies at 0.1 2) through a short and intense star formation burst, and then have evolved passively and undisturbed until the present day. Relics provide a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms of star formation at high-z. [Aims] INSPIRE is designed to spectroscopically confirm and fully characterise a large sample of relics, computing their number density in the redshift window 0.1 < z < 0.5 for the first time, thus providing a benchmark for cosmological galaxy formation simulations. In this paper, we present the INSPIRE Data Release (DR1), comprising 19 systems with observations completed in 2020. [Methods] We use the methods already presented in the INSPIRE Pilot, but revisiting the 1D spectral extraction. For the 19 systems studied here, we obtain an estimate of the stellar velocity dispersion, fitting the two XSH arms (UVB and VIS) separately at their original spectral resolution to two spectra extracted in different ways. We estimate [Mg/Fe] abundances via line-index strength and mass-weighted integrated stellar ages and metallicities with full spectral fitting on the combined (UVB+VIS) spectrum. [Results] For each system, different estimates of the velocity dispersion always agree within the errors. Spectroscopic ages are very old for 13/19 galaxies, in agreement with the photometric ones, and metallicities are almost always (18/19) super-solar, confirming the mass-metallicity relation. The [Mg/Fe] ratio is also larger than solar for the great majority of the galaxies, as expected. We find that ten objects formed more than 75% of their stellar mass (M∗) within 3 Gyr from the big bang and classify them as relics. Among these, we identify four galaxies that had already fully assembled their M∗ by that time and are therefore 'extreme relics' of the ancient Universe. Interestingly, relics, overall, have a larger [Mg/Fe] and a more metal-rich stellar population. They also have larger integrated velocity dispersion values compared to non-relics (both ultra-compact and normal-size) of similar stellar mass. [Conclusions ]The INSPIRE DR1 catalogue of ten known relics is the largest publicly available collection, augmenting the total number of confirmed relics by a factor of 3.3, and also enlarging the redshift window. The resulting lower limit for the number density of relics at 0.17 < z < 0.39 is ρ ∼ 9.1 × 10-8 Mpc-3.CS is supported by an ‘Hintze Fellow’ at the Oxford Centre for Astrophysical Surveys, which is funded through generous support from the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation. CS, CT, FLB, AG, and SZ acknowledge funding from the INAF PRIN-INAF 2020 program 1.05.01.85.11. AFM has received financial support through the Postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowship Programme from ‘La Caixa’ Banking Foundation (LCF/BQ/LI18/11630007). GD acknowledges support from CONICYT project Basal AFB-170002. DS is a member of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne