Darwin curves and galaxy arms

In the natural world, there exists one kind of structure which is beyond the scope of human laboratorial experiment. It is the structure of galaxies which is usually composed of billions of stars. Spiral galaxies are flat disk-shaped. There are two types of spiral galaxies. The spiral galaxies with some bar-shaped pattern are called barred spirals, and the ones without the pattern are called ordinary spirals. Longer-wavelength galaxy images (infrared, for example) show that ordinary spiral galaxies are basically an axi-symmetric disk that is called exponential disk. For a planar distribution of matter, Jin He defined Darwin curves in the plane as such that the ratio of the matter densities at both sides of the curve is constant along the curve. Therefore, the arms of ordinary spiral galaxies are Darwin curves. Now an important question is that: Are the arms of barred spiral galaxies the Darwin curves too? Fortunately, Jin He designed a piece of Galaxy Anatomy graphic software. With the software, not only can people simulate the stellar density distribution of barred spiral galaxies but also can draw the Darwin curves of the simulated galaxy structure. This paper shows partial evidence that the arms of galaxy NGC 3275, 4548 and 5921 follow Darwin curves.     

An efficient method to identify galaxy clusters by using SuperCOSMOS, 2MASS and WISE data

The survey data of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer(WISE)provide an opportunity for the identification of galaxy clusters.We present an efficient method for detecting galaxy clusters by combining the WISE data with SuperCOSMOS and 2MASS data.After performing star-galaxy separation,we calculate the number of companion galaxies around the galaxies with photometric redshifts previously estimated by the SuperCOSMOS,2MASS and WISE data.A scaled richness Rscal 30 is set as a criterion to identify clusters.From a sky area of 275 deg2of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 region,we identify 302 clusters in the redshift range of 0.1z0.35,247(82%)of which are previously known SDSS clusters.The results suggest that our method is efficient for identifying galaxy clusters by using the all sky data of the SuperCOSMOS,2MASS and WISE.     

银河系的形成和演化

银河系是宇宙中数以百亿计星系中的一员.自威廉.赫歇尔以来,人们对银河系结构和运动状态的认识已有200多年历史,而有关银河系起源和演化的探索则只是在最近半个多世纪内才成为天文学的研究热点.文章在简述银河系认识史的基础上,对有关银河系形成和演化这一重要天体物理问题做了概要的评述,其中包括银河系厚盘的发现及其可能的形成机制.     

Submillimeter galaxies

A cosmologically significant population of very luminous high-redshift galaxies has recently been discovered at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths. Advances in submm detector technologies have opened this new window on the distant Universe. Here we discuss the properties of the high-redshift submm galaxies, their significance for our understanding of the process of galaxy formation, and the selection effects that apply to deep submm surveys. The submm galaxies generate a significant fraction of the energy output of all the galaxies in the early Universe. We emphasize the importance of studying a complete sample of submm galaxies, and stress that because they are typically very faint in other wavebands, these follow-up observations are very challenging. Finally, we discuss the surveys that will be made using the next generation of submm-wave instruments under development.     

Comparing dark matter models,modified Newtonian dynamics and modified gravity in accounting for galaxy rotation curves

We compare six models(including the baryonic model,two dark matter models,two modified Newtonian dynamics models and one modified gravity model) in accounting for galaxy rotation curves.For the dark matter models,we assume NFW profile and core-modified profile for the dark halo,respectively.For the modified Newtonian dynamics models,we discuss Milgrom's MOND theory with two different interpolation functions,the standard and the simple interpolation functions.For the modified gravity,we focus on Moffat's MSTG theory.We fit these models to the observed rotation curves of 9 high-surface brightness and 9 low-surface brightness galaxies.We apply the Bayesian Information Criterion and the Akaike Information Criterion to test the goodness-of-fit of each model.It is found that none of the six models can fit all the galaxy rotation curves well.Two galaxies can be best fitted by the baryonic model without involving nonluminous dark matter.MOND can fit the largest number of galaxies,and only one galaxy can be best fitted by the MSTG model.Core-modified model fits about half the LSB galaxies well,but no HSB galaxies,while the NFW model fits only a small fraction of HSB galaxies but no LSB galaxies.This may imply that the oversimplified NFW and core-modified profiles cannot model the postulated dark matter haloes well.     

Book reviews

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is making a multi-colour, three-dimensional map of the nearby Universe. The survey is in two parts. The first part is imaging one quarter of the sky in five colours from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared. This imaging survey is expected to detect around 50 million galaxies to a magnitude limit g～23. The second part of the survey, taking place concurrently with the imaging, is to obtain spectra for up to 1 million galaxies and 100 000 quasars. From these spectra one obtains redshifts and hence distances, in order to map out the three-dimensional distribution of galaxies and quasars in the Universe. These observations will be used to constrain models of cosmology and of galaxy formation and evolution. This article describes the goals and methods used by the SDSS, the current status of the survey, and highlights some exciting discoveries made from data obtained in the first two years of survey operations.     

Compact groups of galaxies (CGs) from the SDSS Data Release 6

From the volume-limited MAIN galaxy sample of the SDSS Data Release 6 (SDSS6), we have identified 1298 compact groups of galaxies (CGs) at the neighbourhood radius of R = 1.2 Mpc by three-dimensional cluster analysis. In order to compile the CG catalog, we also estimated velocity dispersion, virial radius, virial mass and crossing time of CGs. In addition, our results show that properties of galaxies may not correlate with merging frequencies.     

Are the Peaks in the Cosmic Microwave Background Really Acoustic?

It is shown that the widely accepted interpretation of the peaks in the CMB as acoustic oscillations seems to be not correct. It is further shown that the peaks correspond to the extension of galaxies in a non-standard scenario of galaxy formation forwarded by the author in a previous paper. Hence this result and the generating mechanism of the peaks by amplification of zero-point quantum oscillations in the very early universe as proposed by Bose and Grishchuk might complement one another to an overall picture of galaxy formation.     

Spheroidal and Elliptical Galaxy Radial Velocity Dispersion Determined from Cosmological General Relativity

Radial velocity dispersion in spheroidal and elliptical galaxies, as a function of radial distance from the center of the galaxy, has been derived from Cosmological Special Relativity. For velocity dispersions in the outer regions of spherical galaxies, the dynamical mass calculated for a galaxy using Carmelian theory may be 10 to 100 times less than that calculated from standard Newtonian physics. This means there is no need to include halo dark matter. The velocity dispersion is found to be approximately constant across the galaxy after falling from an initial high value at the center. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council.     

Radio emission from interstellar neutral hydrogen

The emission line for neutral hydrogen at 1420 Mc/s is the only line so far discovered in radioastronomy. Since its mechanism of origin is completely understood, observations of this line provide direct information about conditions in interstellar space such as temperatures, densities and velocities. Extensive investigations of our own Milky Way system have shown clearly that it is a spiral galaxy similar to, but rather smaller than, the great spiral nebula in Andromeda. Our knowledge of the spiral structure of galaxies is far from complete; hydrogen-line measures of high-speed expansions in the centre of the Milky Way system may provide a clue to the understanding of this problem. In addition, determinations of the hydrogen content of different types of galaxy reinforce current theories which suggest that irregular galaxies evolve through the spiral form to elliptical galaxies.     

Balance of dark and luminous mass in rotating galaxies

A fine balance between dark and baryonic mass is observed in spiral galaxies. As the contribution of the baryons to the total rotation velocity increases, the contribution of the dark matter decreases by a compensating amount. This poses a fine-tuning problem for galaxy formation models, and may point to new physics for dark matter particles or even a modification of gravity.     

The Coevolution of Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes in the Near Universe

A fundamental role is attributed to supermassive black holes (SMBH), and the feedback they generate, in the evolution of galaxies. But theoretical models trying to reproduce the M_SMBH vs. sigma relation (between the SMBH mass and stellar velocity dispersion of the galaxy bulge) make broad assumptions about the physical processes involved. These assumptions are needed due to the scarcity of observational constraints on the relevant physical processes which occur when the SMBH is being fed via mass accretion in active galactic nuclei (AGN). In search for these constraints, our group—AGN integral field spectroscopy (AGNIFS)—has been mapping the gas kinematics as well as the stellar population properties of the inner few hundred parsecs of a sample of nearby AGN hosts. In this contribution, I report on results obtained so far which show gas inflows along nuclear spirals and compact disks in the inner tens to hundreds of pc in nearby AGN hosts which seem to be the sources of fuel to the AGN. As the inflow rates are much larger than the AGN accretion rate, the excess gas must be depleted via formation of new stars in the bulge. Indeed, in many cases, we find ～100 pc circumnuclear rings of recent star formation (ages ～10–500 Myr) that can be interpreted as a signature of coevolution of the host galaxy and its AGN. I also report on the mapping of outflows in ionized gas, which are ubiquitous in Seyfert galaxies, and discuss mass outflow rates and powers.     

Constraints on dark matter annihilation from M87

As the largest mass concentrations in the local Universe, nearby clusters of galaxies and their central galaxies are prime targets in searching for indirect signatures of dark matter annihilation (DMA). We seek to constrain the dark matter annihilation emission component from multi-frequency observations of the central galaxy of the Virgo cluster. The annihilation emission component is modeled by the prompt and inverse-Compton gamma rays from the hadronization of annihilation products from generic weakly interacting dark matter particles. This component is fitted to the excess of the observed data above the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the jet in M87, described with a best-fit synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) spectrum. While this result is not sufficiently significant to claim a detection, we emphasize that a dark matter “double hump signature” can be used to unambiguously discriminate the dark matter emission component from the variable jet-related emission of M87 in future, more extended observation campaigns.     

Gravitational lensing by spiral galaxies

Spiral galaxies at moderate redshifts and oriented optimally could form characteristic multiple images of extended background sources from which the mass distribution in the galaxy can be estimated. The absorption profile due to the galaxy provides a reliable tool for the chemical and thermal diagnostic of the lens.     

基于粒子群优化算法的测光红移回归预测

星系的红移在天文研究中极其重要,星系测光红移的预测对研究宇宙大尺度结构及演变有着重要的研究意义。利用斯隆巡天项目发布的SDSS DR13的150 000个星系的测光及光谱数据进行分析,首先根据颜色特征并基于聚类的方法对星系进行分类,由分类结果可知早型星系的占比较大。对比了三种不同的机器学习算法对早型星系进行测光红移回归预测实验,并找出最优的方法。实验中将星系样本中u, g, r, i, z五个波段的测光值以及两两做差得到的10个颜色特征作为输入数据,首先构建BP网络,使用BP算法对星系的测光红移进行回归预测;然后利用遗传算法（GA）优化BP网络各层参数,将优化后的GA-BP算法应用于早型星系的回归预测试验中。考虑到GA算法的复杂操作会影响预测效率,并且粒子群算法（PSO）不仅稳定性高且操作简单,因此将粒子群算法应用到星系样本中早型星系的测光红移回归预测实验中,进而采用粒子群算法优化BP网络（PSO-BP）。实验中将光谱红移作为期望值,采用均方差（MSE）作为误差分析指标来评判三种算法的精度,将PSO-BP回归预测结果与BP网络模型、GA-BP网络模型进行比较。由实验结果可知,BP网络的MSE值为0.001 92,GA-BP网络的MSE值0.001 728,PSO-BP网络的MSE值为0.001 708。实验结果表明,所用到的PSO-BP优化模型在精度上优于BP神经网络模型和GA-BP神经网络模型,分别提高了11.1%和1.2%;在效率上优于传统的K近邻（KNN）测光红移估计算法, 克服了KNN算法中遍历所有数据样本进行训练的缺点并且其泛化性能优于其它BP网络优化模型。     

New insights into AGNs with low-mass black holes and high accretion rates: the case of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are believed to harbor low-mass black holes accreting at high rates, and they are therefore important targets when studying the nature of black hole growth, galaxy evolution, and accretion physics. We have rigorously studied the physical properties of a sample of NLS1 galaxies. We briefly review previous findings and present new results, including: (1) The locus of NLS1 galaxies on the M _BH-σ plane, which we find to follow the relation of non-active galaxies after removing objects obviously dominated by outflows. (2) The presence of “blue outliers” which hint at extreme outflows as they would be predicted from merger models. (3) More subtle evidence for winds and outflows across the whole NLS1 population. (4) New correlations and trends which link black hole mass, Eddington ratio and physical parameters of the emission-line region. A new element is added to the eigenvector 1 space based on a principal component analysis, which aims at identifying the main drivers of AGN correlation properties.

     

Extragalactic background light: inventory of light throughout the cosmic history

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) stands for the mean surface brightness of the sky as we would see it from a representative vantage point in the intergalactic space outside of our Milky Way Galaxy. Averaged over the whole 4π solid angle it represents the collective light from all luminous matter radiated throughout the cosmic history. Part of the EBL is resolved into galaxies that, with the increasing detecting power of giant telescopes and sensitive detectors, are seen to deeper and deeper limiting magnitudes. This resolved part is now known to contribute a substantial or even the major part of the EBL. There still remains, however, the challenge of finding out to what extent galaxies too faint or too diffuse to be discerned individually, individual stars or emission by gas outside the galaxies, or – more speculatively – some hitherto unknown light sources such as decaying elementary particles are accounting for the remaining EBL. We review the recent progress that has been made in the measurement of EBL. The current photometric results suggest that there is, beyond the resolved galaxies, an EBL component that cannot be explained by diffuse galaxy halos or intergalactic stars.     

Statistical analysis of the Perseus-Pisces redshift survey: spatial and luminosity properties

We analyze the spatial and the luminosity properties of the Perseus-Pisces redshift survey. We find that the two point correlation function (CF) Γ(r) is a power law up to the sample effective depth ( 30 h⁻¹ Mpc), showing the fractal nature of the galaxy distribution in this catalog. The fractal dimension turns out to be D 2. We also consider the CF ξ(r) and in particular the behavior of the “correlation length” r₀ (ξ(r₀)1) as function of the sample size. In this respect we find, unambiguously, that the luminosity segregation effect is not supported by any experimental evidence. In addition we have studied the galaxian number-density (n(r)) and number-counts (N(m)) in the VL subsamples finding a good agreement with the properties of a fractal distribution. In particular our conclusion is that the n(r) relation permits to extend the analysis of the fractal nature up to a deeper depth than that reached by the CF analysis, and, we find evidence for fractal properties up to the limiting depth of 130 h⁻¹ Mpc. We clarify the role of the small-scale fluctuations in the determination of the galaxy counts. Even in this case the results are in agreement with the previous ones. Finally we have considered the correlations between galaxy positions and luminosities by means of the multifractal analysis. We find clear evidence for self-similar behavior of the whole luminosity-space distribution. These results confirm and extend those of Coleman and Pietronero (1992).     

星系光谱的400.0 nm跳变点的自动测量技术

本文给出星系光谱中的400.0nm跳变点位置和跳变值的自动测量方法,利用小波变换和离散卷积等技术,避免了对每条光谱进行繁琐的测量,可以作为星系光谱研究的预处理步骤。     

Central black hole masses of galaxies

In this paper, the stellar velocity dispersions in the host galaxies are used to estimate the central black hole masses for a sample of elliptical galaxies. We find that the central black hole masses are in the range of 10^{(5.5-9.5)}M_⊙. Based on the estimated masses in this paper and those by Woo & Urry (2002) and the measured host galaxy absolute magnitude, a relation, log (M_{BH}/M_⊙) = -(0.25±4.3×10^{-3})M_R + (2.98±0.208) is found for central black hole mass and the host galaxy magnitude. Some discussions are presented.