(Abridged) We present an analysis of ionization and metal enrichment in the Magellanic Stream (MS), the nearest gaseous tidal stream, using HST/STIS and FUSE ultraviolet spectroscopy of two background AGN, NGC 7469 and Mrk 335. For NGC 7469, we include optical spectroscopy from VLT/UVES. In both sightlines the MS is detected in low-ion and high-ion absorption. Toward NGC 7469, we measure a MS oxygen abundance [O/H]_MS=[OI/HI]=-1.00+/-0.05(stat)+/-0.08(syst), supporting the view that the Stream originates in the SMC rather than the LMC. We use CLOUDY to model the low-ion phase of the Stream as a photoionized plasma using the observed Si III/Si II and C III/C II ratios. Toward Mrk 335 this yields an ionization parameter log U between -3.45 and -3.15 and a gas density log (n_H/cm^-3) between -2.51 and -2.21. Toward NGC 7469 we derive sub-solar abundance ratios for [Si/O], [Fe/O], and [Al/O], indicating the presence of dust in the MS. The high-ion column densities are too large to be explained by photoionization, but also cannot be explained by a single-temperature collisional-ionization model (equilibrium or non-equilibrium). This suggests the high-ion plasma is multi-phase. Summing over the low-ion and high-ion phases, we derive conservative lower limits on the ratio N(total H II)/N(H I) of >19 toward NGC 7469 and >330 toward Mrk 335, showing that along these two directions the vast majority of the Stream has been ionized. The presence of warm-hot plasma together with the small-scale structure observed at 21 cm provides evidence for an evaporative interaction with the hot Galactic corona. This scenario, predicted by hydrodynamical simulations, suggests that the fate of the MS will be to replenish the Galactic corona with new plasma, rather than to bring neutral fuel to the disk.
Swift Ultraviolet Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (SUMaC). I. Shape of the Ultraviolet Dust Extinction Law and Recent Star Formation History of the Small Magellanic Cloud
Expanded Sample of Small Magellanic Cloud Ultraviolet Dust Extinction Curves: Correlations between the 2175 A bump, q_pah, UV extinction shape, and N(HI)/A(V)
We aim to identify and characterise binary systems containing red supergiant (RSG) stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) using a newly available ultraviolet (UV) point source catalogue obtained using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on board AstroSat. We select a sample of 560 SMC RSGs based on photometric and spectroscopic observations at optical wavelengths and cross-match this with the far-UV point source catalogue using the UVIT F172M filter, finding 88 matches down to m$_{F172M}$=20.3 ABmag, which we interpret as hot companions to the RSGs. Stellar parameters (luminosities, ef…
This work presents a new detection of H$_2$ absorption arising in a high velocity cloud (HVC) associated with either the Milky Way or the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The absorber was found in an archival Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectrum of the LMC star Sk-70$^\circ$32. This is the fifth well-characterized H$_2$ absorber to be found in the Milky Way's halo and the second such absorber outside the Magellanic Stream and Bridge. The absorber has a local standard of rest central velocity of $+$140 km s$^{-1}$ and a H$_2$ column density of $10^{17.5}$ cm$^{-2}$. It is most likely pa…
The Stripped-Star Ultraviolet Magellanic Cloud Survey (SUMS): The UV Photometric Catalog and Stripped Star Candidate Selection
University of Toronto(多伦多大学);KU Leuven(荷语鲁汶大学);Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)(奥地利科学技术研究所);Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics(理论物理珀西默研究所)
The dominant gaseous structure in the Galactic halo is the Magellanic Stream, an extended network of neutral and ionized filaments surrounding the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), the two most massive satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Recent observations indicate that the Clouds are on their first passage around our Galaxy, the Stream is made up of gas stripped from both the LMC and the SMC, and the majority of this gas is ionized. While it has long been suspected that tidal forces and ram-pressure stripping contributed to the Stream's formation, a full understanding of its orig…
The Magellanic Stream is sculpted by its infall through the Milky Way's circumgalactic medium, but the rates and directions of mass, momentum, and energy exchange through the Stream-halo interface are relative unknowns critical for determining the origin and fate of the Stream. Complementary to large-scale simulations of LMC-SMC interactions, we apply new insights derived from idealized, high-resolution "cloud-crushing" and radiative turbulent mixing layer simulations to the Leading Arm and Trailing Stream. Contrary to classical expectations of fast cloud breakup, we predict that the Leading A…
对中子星及其脉冲星风星云(PWNe)的偏振测量能够提供对年轻的旋转动力孤立中子星(INS)的高度磁化相对论环境的深刻见解。除了无线电波段,光学观测主要适合提供这种见解。进行光学偏振观测的第一个惯性导航系统是蟹状星云脉冲星,它也是最亮的一颗(V=16.5)。由于这个原因,蟹状星云脉冲星也是唯一的惯性导航系统,重复,相位分辨偏振测量已执行多年。此外,它是唯一的情况下,连同更微弱和遥远的PSR B 0540 -69在大麦云(LMC),一个光学脉冲星嵌入在一个光学PWN。因此,螃蟹是一个完美的测试案例,研究光学偏振特性的光子晶体和他们的PWNe。在本文中,我们回顾了蟹状星云脉冲星及其PWN在光域和紫外域的偏振特性,总结了其他INS偏振观测的最新进展,并概述了使用当前和未来几代光学望远镜进行INS偏振研究的前景
Tracing the Hidden Molecular Gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud with SOFIA and APEX
Universidad de Concepción(康塞普西翁大学);Millennium Nucleus for Galaxies (MINGAL)(星系千年核(MINGAL));Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik(马克斯·普朗克地外物理研究所);Universidad de Chile(智利大学);University of Maryland(马里兰大学);Joint Space-Science Institute(联合空间科学研究所);Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie(马克斯·普朗克射电天文学研究所);Universidad de La Serena(拉塞雷纳大学);Caltech Owens Valley Radio Observatory(加州理工学院欧文斯谷无线电天文台);Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)(波茨坦阿斯特诺物理莱布尼茨研究所(AIP));Space Telescope Science Institute(太空望远镜科学研究所);Universität zu Köln(科隆大学)
Metal-poor massive stars dominate the light we observe from star-forming dwarf galaxies and may have produced the bulk of energetic photons that reionized the universe at high redshift. Yet, the rarity of observations of individual O stars below the $20\%$ solar metallicity ($Z_\odot$) of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) hampers our ability to model the ionizing fluxes of metal-poor stellar populations. We present new Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectra of three O-dwarf stars in the galaxies Leo P ($3\%\,Z_\odot$), Sextans A ($6\%\,Z_\odot$), and WLM ($14\%\,Z_\odot$). We quan…
We present a clean, magnitude-limited (IRAC1 or WISE1$\leq$15.0 mag) multiwavelength source catalog for the LMC. The catalog was built upon crossmatching ($1''$) and deblending ($3''$) between the SEIP source list and Gaia DR2, with strict constraints on the Gaia astrometric solution to remove the foreground contamination. The catalog contains 197,004 targets in 52 different bands including 2 ultraviolet, 21 optical, and 29 infrared bands. Additional information about radial velocities and spectral/photometric classifications were collected from the literature. The bright end of our sample is …