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The Westerlund 1 (Wd1) cluster hosts a rich and varied collection of massive stars. Its dynamical youth and the absence of ongoing star formation indicate a coeval population. As such, the simultaneous presence of both late-type supergiants and Wolf-Rayet stars has defied explanation in the context of single-star evolution. Observational evidence points to a high binary fraction, hence this stellar population offers a robust test for stellar models accounting for both single-star and binary evolution. We present an optical to near-IR (VLT & NTT) spectroscopic analysis of 22 WR stars in Wd 1, delivering physical properties for the WR stars.
We discuss how these differ from the Galactic field population, and how they may be reconciled with the predictions of single and binary evolutionary models.
As part of our ongoing Wolf-Rayet (WR) Magellanic Cloud survey, we have discovered 13 new WRs. However, the most exciting outcome of our survey is not the number of new WRs, but their unique characteristics. Eight of our discoveries appear to belong to an entirely new class of WRs. While one might naively classify these stars as WN3+O3V binaries, such a pairing is unlikely. Preliminary CMFGN modeling suggests physical parameters similar to early-type WNs in the Large Magellanic Cloud except with mass-loss rates three to five times lower and slightly higher temperatures. The evolution status of these stars remains an open question.
Before GAIA improves the HIPPARCOS survey, direct determination of the distance via parallax is only possible for γ Vel, but the analysis of the cluster or association to which WR stars are associated can give distances with a 50% to a 10% accuracy. The list of Galactic clusters, associations and clusters/association candidates has grown significantly in the last decade with the numerous deep, high resolution surveys of the Milky Way. In this work, we revisit the fundamental parameters of known clusters with WR stars, and we present the search for new ones. All our work is based on the catalogs from the VVV (from the VISTA telescope) and the UKIDS (from the UKIRT telescope) near infrared surveys. Finally, the relations between the fundamental parameters of clusters with WR stars are explored.
The emission-line dominated spectra of Wolf-Rayet stars are formed in expanding layers of their atmosphere, i.e. in their strong stellar wind. Adequate modeling of such spectra has to face a couple of difficulties. Because of the supersonic motion, the radiative transfer is preferably formulated in the co-moving frame. The strong deviations from local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE) require to solve the equations of statistical equilibrium for the population numbers, accounting for many hundred atomic energy levels and thousands of line transitions. Moreover, millions of lines from iron-group elements must be taken into account for their blanketing effect. Model atmospheres of the described kind can reproduce the observed WR spectra satisfyingly, and have been widely applied for corresponding spectral analyses.
Because most massive stars have been or will be affected by a companion during the course of their evolution, we cannot afford to neglect binaries when discussing the progenitors of supernovae and GRBs. Analyzing linear polarization in the emission lines of close binary systems allows us to probe the structures of these systems' winds and mass flows, making it possible to map the complex morphologies of the mass loss and mass transfer structures that shape their subsequent evolution. In Wolf-Rayet (WR) binaries, line polarization variations with orbital phase distinguish polarimetric signatures arising from lines that scatter near the stars from those that scatter far from the orbital plane. These far-scattering lines may form the basis for a "binary line-effect method" of identifying rapidly rotating WR stars (and hence GRB progenitor candidates) in binary systems.
Professional and amateur astronomers around the world contributed to a 4-month long campaign in 2013, mainly in spectroscopy but also in photometry, interferometry and polarimetry, to observe the first 3 Wolf-Rayet stars discovered: WR 134 (WN6b), WR 135 (WC8) and WR 137 (WC7pd+O9). Each of these stars are interesting in their own way, showing a variety of stellar wind structures. The spectroscopic data from this campaign were reduced and analyzed for WR 134 in order to better understand its behavior and long-term periodicity in the context of CIRs in the wind. We will be presenting the results of these spectroscopic data, which include the confirmation of the CIR variability and a time-coherency of ∼ 40 days (half-life of ∼ 20 days).
For some years now, spectroscopic measurements of massive stars in the amateur domain have been fulfilling professional requirements. Various groups in the northern and southern hemispheres have been established, running successful professional-amateur (ProAm) collaborative campaigns, e.g., on WR, O and B type stars. Today high quality data (echelle and long-slit) are regularly delivered and corresponding results published. Night-to-night long-term observations over months to years open a new opportunity for massive-star research. We introduce recent and ongoing sample campaigns (e.g. ∊ Aur, WR 134, ζ Pup), show respective results and highlight the vast amount of data collected in various data bases. Ultimately it is in the time-dependent domain where amateurs can shine most.
We highlight the basic physics that allows fundamental parameters, such as the effective
temperature, luminosity, abundances, and mass-loss rate, of Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars to be
determined. Since the temperature deduced from the spectrum of a W-R star is an ionization
temperature, a detailed discussion of the ionization structure of W-R winds, and how it is set, is given. We also provide an overview of line and continuum formation in W-R stars. Mechanisms that contribute to the strength of different emission lines, such as collisional excitation, radiative recombination, dielectronic recombination, and continuum uorescence, are discussed.
The main objective of this work is to investigate the evolution of massive stars, and the interplay between them and the ionized gas for a sample of local metal-poor Wolf-Rayet galaxies.
Optical integral field spectrocopy was used in combination with multi-wavelength radio data.
Combining optical and radio data, we locate Wolf-Rayet stars and supernova remnants across the Wolf-Rayet galaxies to study the spatial correlation between them. This study will shed light on the massive star formation and its feedback, and will help us to better understand
distant star-forming galaxies.
PopIII-star siblings in IZw18 and metal-poor WR galaxies unveiled from integral field spectroscopy
(2015)
Here, we highlight our recent results from the IFS study of Mrk178, the closest metal-poor WR galaxy, and of IZw18, the most metal-poor star-forming galaxy known in the local Universe. The IFS data of Mrk178 show the importance of aperture effects on the search for WR features, and the extent to which physical variations in the ISM properties can be detected. Our IFS data of IZw18 reveal its entire nebular HeIIλ4686-emitting region, and indicate for the very first time that peculiar, hot (nearly) metal-free ionizing stars (called here PopIII-star siblings) might hold the key to the HeII-ionization in IZw18.
The evolution of massive stars in very low metallicity galaxies is less well observationally
constrained than in environments more similar to the Milky Way, M33, or the LMC. We discuss
in this contribution the current state of our program to search for and characterize Wolf-Rayet stars (and other massive emission line stars) in low metallicity galaxies in the Local Volume.
Obtaining a complete census of massive, evolved stars in a galaxy would be a key ingredient for testing stellar evolution models. However, as the evolution of stars is also strongly dependent on their metallicity, it is inevitable to have this kind of data for a variety of galaxies with different metallicities. Between 2009 and 2011, we conducted the Magellanic Clouds Massive Stars and Feedback Survey (MSCF); a spatially complete, multi-epoch, broad- and narrow-band optical imaging survey of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. With the inclusion of shallow images, we are able to give a complete photometric catalog of stars between B ≈ 18 and B ≈ 19 mag.
These observations were augmented with additional photometric data of similar spatial res-
olution from UV to IR (e.g. from GALEX, 2MASS and Spitzer) in order to sample a large portion of the spectral energy distribution of the brightest stars (B < 16 mag) in the Magel- lanic Clouds. Using these data, were are able to train a machine learning algorithm that gives us a good estimate of the spectral type of tens of thousands of stars.
This method can be applied to the search for Wolf-Rayet-Stars to obtain a sample of candi- dates for follow-up observations. As this approach can, in principle, be adopted for any resolved galaxy as long as sufficient photometric data is available, it can form an effective alternative method to the classical strategies (e.g. He II filter imaging).
Detection and Characterization of Wolf-Rayet stars in M81 with GTC/OSIRIS spectra and HST images
(2015)
Here we investigate a sample of young star clusters (YSCs) and other regions of recent star formation with Wolf-Rayet (W-R) features detected in the relatively nearby spiral galaxy M81 by analysing long-slit (LS) and Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) spectra obtained with the OSIRIS instrument at the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). We take advantage of the synergy between GTC spectra and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images to also reveal their spatial localization and the environments hosting these stars. We finally discuss and comment on the next steps of our study.
We summarize past and current surveys for WRs among the Local Group galaxies, empha- sizing both the why and how. Such studies are invaluable for helping us learn about massive star evolution, and for providing sensitive tests of the stellar evolution models. But for such surveys to be useful, the completeness limits must be well understood. We illustrate that point by following the “evolution” of the observed WC/WN ratio in nearby galaxies. We end by examining our new survey for WR stars in the Magellanic Clouds, which has revealed a new type of WN star, never before seen.
In this contribution we present some preliminary results obtained from a SOAR-Goodman optical spectroscopic survey aimed to confirm the OIf* - OIf*/WN nature of a sample of Galactic candidates that were previously confirmed as massive stars based on near-infrared spectra taken with OSIRIS at SOAR. With only a few of such stars known in the Galaxy to date, our study significantly contributes to improve the number of known Galactic O2If* stars, as well as almost doubling the number of known members of the galactic sample of the rare type OIf*/WN.
The total population of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Galaxy is predicted by models to be as many as ~6000 stars, and yet the number of catalogued WR stars as a result of optical surveys was far lower than this (~200) at the turn of this century. When beginning our WR searches using infrared techniques it was not clear whether WR number predictions were too optimistic or whether there was more hidden behind interstellar and circumstellar extinction. During the last decade we pioneered a technique of exploiting the near- and mid-infrared continuum colours for individual point sources provided by large-format surveys of the Galaxy, including 2MASS and Spitzer/GLIMPSE, to pierce through the dust and reveal newly discovered WR stars throughout the Galactic Plane. The key item to the colour discrimination is via the characteristic infrared spectral index produced by the strong winds of the WR stars, combined with dust extinction, which place WR stars in a relatively depopulated area of infrared colour-colour diagrams. The use of the Spitzer/GLIMPSE 8µm and, more recently, WISE 22µm fluxes together with cross-referencing with X-ray measurements in selected Galactic regions have enabled improved candidate lists that increased our confirmation success rate, achieved via follow-up infrared and optical spectroscopy. To date a total of 102 new WR stars have been found with many more
candidates still available for follow-up. This constitutes an addition of ~16% to the current
inventory of 642 Galactic WR stars. In this talk we review our methods and provide some
new results and a preliminary review of their stellar and interstellar medium environments. We provide a roadmap for the future of this search, including statistical modeling, and what we can add to star formation and high mass star evolution studies.
Although we all use the name Wolf-Rayet to refer to specific groups of stars, “Wolf-Rayet” per se is really an astrophysical phenomenon of fast-moving, hot plasma, normally expanding around a hot star. However, expediency demands that we follow established traditions by referring to three specific kinds of WR stars: (1) cWR, “classical” He-burning descendants of massive, O-type stars, presumably all of which pass through a WR stage; (2) WNh, the most massive and luminous hydrogen-rich main-sequence stars with strong winds; and (3) [WR], the central stars of some 15 % of Planetary Nebulae. Wolf-Rayet stars are the epitome of relatively stable stars with the highest mass-loss rates for their kind. It behooves us to understand the what, how and why of this circumstance, along with its manyfold and fascinating consequences.
An overview of the known Wolf-Rayet (WR) population of the Milky Way is presented, including a brief overview of historical catalogues and recent advances based on infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations resulting in the current census of 642 (vl.13 online catalogue). The observed distribution of WR stars is considered with respect to known star clusters, given that ≤20% of WR stars in the disk are located in clusters. WN stars outnumber WC stars at all galactocentric radii, while early-type WC stars are strongly biased against the inner Milky Way. Finally, recent estimates of the global WR population in the Milky Way are reassessed, with 1,200±100 estimated, such that the current census may be 50% complete. A characteristic WR lifetime of 0.25 Myr is inferred for an initial mass threshold of 25 M⊙.
Wolf-Rayet Stars
(2015)
Nearly 150 years ago, the French astronomers Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet described stars with very conspicuous spectra that are dominated by bright and broad emission lines. Meanwhile termed Wolf-Rayet Stars after their discoverers, those objects turned out to represent important stages in the life of massive stars.
As the first conference in a long time that was specifically dedicated to Wolf-Rayet stars, an international workshop was held in Potsdam, Germany, from 1.-5. June 2015. About 100 participants, comprising most of the leading experts in the field as well as as many young scientists, gathered for one week of extensive scientific exchange and discussions. Considerable progress has been reported throughout, e.g. on finding such stars, modeling and analyzing their spectra, understanding their evolutionary context, and studying their circumstellar nebulae. While some major questions regarding Wolf-Rayet stars still remain open 150 years after their discovery, it is clear today that these objects are not just interesting stars as such, but also keystones in the evolution of galaxies.
These proceedings summarize the talks and posters presented at the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet workshop. Moreover, they also include the questions, comments, and discussions emerging after each talk, thereby giving a rare overview not only about the research, but also about the current debates and unknowns in the field. The Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC) included Alceste Bonanos (Athens), Paul Crowther (Sheffield), John Eldridge (Auckland), Wolf-Rainer Hamann (Potsdam, Chair), John Hillier (Pittsburgh), Claus Leitherer (Baltimore), Philip Massey (Flagstaff), George Meynet (Geneva), Tony Moffat (Montreal), Nicole St-Louis (Montreal), and Dany Vanbeveren (Brussels).
Many chemical reactions in biological cells occur at very low concentrations of constituent molecules. Thus, transcriptional gene-regulation is often controlled by poorly expressed transcription-factors, such as E.coli lac repressor with few tens of copies. Here we study the effects of inherent concentration fluctuations of substrate-molecules on the seminal Michaelis-Menten scheme of biochemical reactions. We present a universal correction to the Michaelis-Menten equation for the reaction-rates. The relevance and validity of this correction for enzymatic reactions and intracellular gene-regulation is demonstrated. Our analytical theory and simulation results confirm that the proposed variance-corrected Michaelis-Menten equation predicts the rate of reactions with remarkable accuracy even in the presence of large non-equilibrium concentration fluctuations. The major advantage of our approach is that it involves only the mean and variance of the substrate-molecule concentration. Our theory is therefore accessible to experiments and not specific to the exact source of the concentration fluctuations.
Many chemical reactions in biological cells occur at very low concentrations of constituent molecules. Thus, transcriptional gene-regulation is often controlled by poorly expressed transcription-factors, such as E.coli lac repressor with few tens of copies. Here we study the effects of inherent concentration fluctuations of substrate-molecules on the seminal Michaelis-Menten scheme of biochemical reactions. We present a universal correction to the Michaelis-Menten equation for the reaction-rates. The relevance and validity of this correction for enzymatic reactions and intracellular gene-regulation is demonstrated. Our analytical theory and simulation results confirm that the proposed variance-corrected Michaelis-Menten equation predicts the rate of reactions with remarkable accuracy even in the presence of large non-equilibrium concentration fluctuations. The major advantage of our approach is that it involves only the mean and variance of the substrate-molecule concentration. Our theory is therefore accessible to experiments and not specific to the exact source of the concentration fluctuations.
The non-linear behaviour of the atmospheric dynamics is not well understood and makes the evaluation and usage of regional climate models (RCMs) difficult. Due to these non-linearities, chaos and internal variability (IV) within the RCMs are induced, leading to a sensitivity of RCMs to their initial conditions (IC). The IV is the ability of RCMs to realise different solutions of simulations that differ in their IC, but have the same lower and lateral boundary conditions (LBC), hence can be defined as the across-member spread between the ensemble members.
For the investigation of the IV and the dynamical and diabatic contributions generating the IV four ensembles of RCM simulations are performed with the atmospheric regional model HIRHAM5. The integration area is the Arctic and each ensemble consists of 20 members. The ensembles cover the time period from July to September for the years 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012. The ensemble members have the same LBC and differ in their IC only. The different IC are arranged by an initialisation time that shifts successively by six hours. Within each ensemble the first simulation starts on 1st July at 00 UTC and the last simulation starts on 5th July at 18 UTC and each simulation runs until 30th September. The analysed time period ranges from 6th July to 30th September, the time period that is covered by all ensemble members. The model runs without any nudging to allow a free development of each simulation to get the full internal variability within the HIRHAM5.
As a measure of the model generated IV, the across-member standard deviation and the across-member variance is used and the dynamical and diabatic processes influencing the IV are estimated by applying a diagnostic budget study for the IV tendency of the potential temperature developed by Nikiema and Laprise [2010] and Nikiema and Laprise [2011]. The diagnostic budget study is based on the first law of thermodynamics for potential temperature and the mass-continuity equation. The resulting budget equation reveals seven contributions to the potential temperature IV tendency.
As a first study, this work analyses the IV within the HIRHAM5. Therefore, atmospheric circulation parameters and the potential temperature for all four ensemble years are investigated. Similar to previous studies, the IV fluctuates strongly in time. Further, due to the fact that all ensemble members are forced with the same LBC, the IV depends on the vertical level within the troposphere, with high values in the lower troposphere and at 500 hPa and low values in the upper troposphere and at the surface. By the same reason, the spatial distribution shows low values of IV at the boundaries of the model domain.
The diagnostic budget study for the IV tendency of potential temperature reveals that the seven contributions fluctuate in time like the IV. However, the individual terms reach different absolute magnitudes. The budget study identifies the horizontal and vertical ‘baroclinic’ terms as the main contributors to the IV tendency, with the horizontal ‘baroclinic’ term producing and the vertical ‘baroclinic’ term reducing the IV. The other terms fluctuate around zero, because they are small in general or are balanced due to the domain average.
The comparison of the results obtained for the four different ensembles (summers 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012) reveals that on average the findings for each ensemble are quite similar concerning the magnitude and the general pattern of IV and its contributions. However, near the surface a weaker IV is produced with decreasing sea ice extent. This is caused by a smaller impact of the horizontal 'baroclinic' term over some regions and by the changing diabatic processes, particularly a more intense reducing tendency of the IV due to condensative heating. However, it has to be emphasised that the behaviour of the IV and its dynamical and diabatic contributions are influenced mainly by complex atmospheric feedbacks and large-scale processes and not by the sea ice distribution.
Additionally, a comparison with a second RCM covering the Arctic and using the same LBCs and IC is performed. For both models very similar results concerning the IV and its dynamical and diabatic contributions are found. Hence, this investigation leads to the conclusion that the IV is a natural phenomenon and is independent from the applied RCM.
The main goal of this cumulative thesis is the derivation of surface emissivity data in the infrared from radiance measurements of Venus. Since these data are diagnostic of the chemical composition and grain size of the surface material, they can help to improve knowledge of the planet’s geology. Spectrally resolved images of nightside emissions in the range 1.0-5.1 μm were recently acquired by the InfraRed Mapping channel of the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS-M-IR) aboard ESA’s Venus EXpress (VEX). Surface and deep atmospheric thermal emissions in this spectral range are strongly obscured by the extremely opaque atmosphere, but three narrow spectral windows at 1.02, 1.10, and 1.18 μm allow the sounding of the surface. Additional windows between 1.3 and 2.6 μm provide information on atmospheric parameters that is required to interpret the surface signals. Quantitative data on surface and atmosphere can be retrieved from the measured spectra by comparing them to simulated spectra. A numerical radiative transfer model is used in this work to simulate the observable radiation as a function of atmospheric, surface, and instrumental parameters. It is a line-by-line model taking into account thermal emissions by surface and atmosphere as well as absorption and multiple scattering by gases and clouds. The VIRTIS-M-IR measurements are first preprocessed to obtain an optimal data basis for the subsequent steps. In this process, a detailed detector responsivity analysis enables the optimization of the data consistency. The measurement data have a relatively low spectral information content, and different parameter vectors can describe the same measured spectrum equally well. A usual method to regularize the retrieval of the wanted parameters from a measured spectrum is to take into account a priori mean values and standard deviations of the parameters to be retrieved. This decreases the probability to obtain unreasonable parameter values. The multi-spectrum retrieval algorithm MSR is developed to additionally consider physically realistic spatial and temporal a priori correlations between retrieval parameters describing different measurements. Neglecting geologic activity, MSR also allows the retrieval of an emissivity map as a parameter vector that is common to several spectrally resolved images that cover the same surface target. Even applying MSR, it is difficult to obtain reliable emissivity maps in absolute values. A detailed retrieval error analysis based on synthetic spectra reveals that this is mainly due to interferences from parameters that cannot be derived from the spectra themselves, but that have to be set to assumed values to enable the radiative transfer simulations. The MSR retrieval of emissivity maps relative to a fixed emissivity is shown to effectively avoid most emissivity retrieval errors. Relative emissivity maps at 1.02, 1.10, and 1.18 μm are finally derived from many VIRTIS-M-IR measurements that cover a surface target at Themis Regio. They are interpreted as spatial variations relative to an assumed emissivity mean of the target. It is verified that the maps are largely independent of the choice of many interfering parameters as well as the utilized measurement data set. These are the first Venus IR emissivity data maps based on a consistent application of a full radiative transfer simulation and a retrieval algorithm that respects a priori information. The maps are sufficiently reliable for future geologic interpretations.
Spots on stellar surfaces are thought to be stellar analogues of sunspots. Thus, starspots are direct manifestations of strong magnetic fields. Their decay rate is directly related to the magnetic diffusivity, which itself is a key quantity for the deduction of an activity cycle length. So far, no single starspot decay has been observed, and thus no stellar activity cycle was inferred from its corresponding turbulent diffusivity.
We investigate the evolution of starspots on the rapidly-rotating K0 giant XX Triangulum. Continuous high-resolution and phase-resolved spectroscopy was obtained with the robotic 1.2-m STELLA telescope on Tenerife over a timespan of six years. With our line-profile inversion code iMap we reconstruct a total of 36 consecutive Doppler maps. To quantify starspot area decay and growth, we match the observed images with simplified spot models based on a Monte-Carlo approach.
It is shown that the surface of XX Tri is covered with large high-latitude and even polar spots and with occasional small equatorial spots. Just over the course of six years, we see a systematically changing spot distribution with various time scales and morphology such as spot fragmentation and spot merging as well as spot decay and formation.
For the first time, a starspot decay rate on another star than the Sun is determined. From our spot-decay analysis we determine an average linear decay rate of D = -0.067±0.006 Gm^2/day. From this decay rate, we infer a turbulent diffusivity of η_τ = (6.3±0.5) x 10^14 cm^2/s and consequently predict an activity cycle of 26±6 years. The obtained cycle length matches very well with photometric observations.
Our time-series of Doppler maps further enables to investigate the differential rotation of XX Tri. We therefore applied a cross-correlation analysis. We detect a weak solar-like differential rotation with a surface shear of α = 0.016±0.003. This value agrees with similar studies of other RS CVn stars.
Furthermore, we found evidence for active longitudes and flip-flops. Whereas the more active longitude is located in phase towards the (unseen) companion star, the weaker active longitude is located at the opposite stellar hemisphere. From their periodic appearance, we infer a flip-flop cycle of ~2 years. Both activity phenomena are common on late-type binary stars.
Last but not least we redetermine several astrophysical properties of XX Tri and its binary system, as large datasets of photometric and spectroscopic observations are available since its last determination in 1999. Additionally, we compare the rotational spot-modulation from photometric and spectroscopic studies.
In this thesis we utilize resolved stellar populations to improve our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. In the first part we improve a method for metallicity determination of faint old stellar systems, in the second and third part we analyze the individual history of six nearby disk galaxies outside the Local Group.
A New Calibration of the Color Metallicity Relation of Red Giants for HST data:
It is well known, that the color distribution of stars on the the Red Giant Branch (RGB) can be used to determine metallicities of old stellar populations that have only shallow photometry. Based on the largest sample of globular clusters ever used for such studies, we quantify the relation between metallicity and color in the widely used HST ACS filters F606W and F814W.
We use a sample of globular clusters from the ACS Globular Cluster Survey and measure their RGB color at given absolute magnitudes to derive the color-metallicity relation. We find a clear relation between metallicity and RGB color; we investigate the scatter and the uncertainties in this relation and show its limitations. A comparison with isochrones shows reasonably good agreement with BaSTI models, a small offset to Dartmouth models, and a larger offset to Padua models.
Even for the best globular cluster data available, the metallicity of a simple stellar population can be determined from the RGB alone only with an accuracy of 0.3 dex for [M/H]<-1, and 0.15 dex for [M/H]>-1. For mixed populations, as they are observed in external galaxies, the uncertainties will be even larger due to uncertainties in extinction, age, etc. Therefore caution is necessary when interpreting photometric metallicities.
The Structural History of Nearby Low Mass Disk Galaxies:
We study the individual evolution histories of three nearby, low-mass, edge-on galaxies (IC5052, NGC4244, NGC5023).
Using the color magnitude diagrams of resolved stellar populations, we construct star count density maps for populations of different ages and analyze the change of structural parameters with stellar age within each galaxy.
The three galaxies show low vertical heating rates, which are much lower than the heating rate of the Milky Way. This indicates that heating agents, as giant molecular clouds and spiral structure are weak in low mass galaxies.
We do not detect a separate thick disk in any of the three galaxies, even though our observations cover a larger range in equivalent surface brightness than any integrated light study. While scaleheights increase with age, each population can be well described by a single disk. Only two of the galaxies contain a very weak additional component, which we identify as the faint halo. The mass of these faint halos is less than 1% of the mass of the disk.
All populations in the three galaxies exhibit no or only little flaring. While this finding is consistent with previous integrated light studies, it poses strong constraints on galaxy formation models, because most theoretical simulations often find strong flaring due to interactions or radial migration.
Furthermore, we find breaks in the radial profiles of all three galaxies. The radii of these breaks are independent of age, and the break strength is decreasing with age in two of the galaxies (NGC4244 and NGC5023). This is consistent with break formation models, that combine a star formation cutoff with radial migration. The differing behavior of IC5052 can be explained by a recent interaction or minor merger.
The Structural History of Massive Disk Galaxies:
We extend the structural analysis of stellar populations with distinct ages to three massive galaxies, NGC891, NGC4565 and NGC7814. While confusion effects due to the high stellar number densities in their central region, and the prominent dust lanes inhibit an detailed analysis of the radial profiles, we can study their vertical structure.
These massive galaxies also have a slower heating than the Milky Way, comparable to the low mass galaxies. This can be traced back to their already thick young populations and thick layers of their interstellar medium.
We do not find a clear separate thick disk in any of these three galaxies; all populations can be described by a single disk plus a S\'ersic bulge/halo component. In contrast to the low mass galaxies, we cannot rule out the presence of thick disks in the massive galaxies, because of the strong influence of the halo, that might hide the possible contribution of the thick disk to the vertical star count profiles. However, the faintness of the possible thick disks still points to problems in the earlier ubiquitous findings of thick disks in external galaxies.
This thesis investigates the application of polyelectrolyte multilayers in plasmonics and picosecond acoustics. The observed samples were fabricated by the spin-assisted layer-by-layer deposition technique that allowed a precise tuning of layer thickness in the range of few nanometers.
The first field of interest deals with the interaction of light-induced localized surface plasmons (LSP) of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles with the particles' environment. The environment consists of an air phase and a phase of polyelectrolytes, whose ratio affects the spectral position of the LSP resonance.
Measured UV-VIS spectra showed the shift of the LSP absorption peak as a function of the cover layer thickness of the particles. The data are modeled using an average dielectric function instead of the dielectric functions of air and polyelectrolytes. In addition using a measured dielectric function of the gold nanoparticles, the position of the LSP absorption peak could be simulated with good agreement to the data.
The analytic model helps to understand the optical properties of metal nanoparticles in an inhomogeneous environment.
The second part of this work discusses the applicability of PAzo/PAH and dye-doped PSS/PAH polyelectrolyte multilayers as transducers to generate hypersound pulses. The generated strain pulses were detected by time-domain Brillouin scattering (TDBS) using a pump-probe laser setup. Transducer layers made of polyelectrolytes were compared qualitatively to common aluminum transducers in terms of measured TDBS signal amplitude, degradation due to laser excitation, and sample preparation.
The measurements proved that fast and easy prepared polyelectrolyte transducers provided stronger TDBS signals than the aluminum transducer. AFM topography measurements showed a degradation of the polyelectrolyte structures, especially for the PAzo/PAH sample.
To quantify the induced strain, optical barriers were introduced to separate the transducer material from the medium of the hypersound propagation. Difficulties in the sample preparation prohibited a reliable quantification. But the experiments showed that a coating with transparent polyelectrolytes increases the efficiency of aluminum transducers and modifies the excited phonon distribution.
The adoption of polyelectrolytes to the scientific field of picosecond acoustics enables a cheap and fast fabrication of transducer layers on most surfaces. In contrast to aluminum layers the polyelectrolytes are transparent over a wide spectral range. Thus, the strain modulation can be probed from surface and back.
Function by structure
(2015)
Forcing Earth’s sea level
(2015)
Most of the baryonic matter in the Universe resides in a diffuse gaseous phase in-between galaxies consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium. This intergalactic medium (IGM) is distributed in large-scale filaments as part of the overall cosmic web. The luminous extragalactic objects that we can observe today, such as galaxies and quasars, are surrounded by the IGM in the most dense regions within the cosmic web. The radiation of these objects contributes to the so-called ultraviolet background (UVB) which keeps the IGM highly ionized ever since the epoch of reionization.
Measuring the amount of absorption due to intergalactic neutral hydrogen (HI) against extragalactic background sources is a very useful tool to constrain the energy input of ionizing sources into the IGM. Observations suggest that the HI Lyman-alpha effective optical depth, τ_eff, decreases with decreasing redshift, which is primarily due to the expansion of the Universe. However, some studies find a smaller value of the effective optical depth than expected at the specific redshift z~3.2, possibly related to the complete reionization of helium in the IGM and a hardening of the UVB. The detection and possible cause of a decrease in τ_eff at z~3.2 is controversially debated in the literature and the observed features need further explanation.
To better understand the properties of the mean absorption at high redshift and to provide an answer for whether the detection of a τ_eff feature is real we study 13 high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio quasar spectra observed with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The redshift evolution of the effective optical depth, τ_eff(z), is measured in the redshift range 2.7≤z≤3.6. The influence of metal absorption features is removed by performing a comprehensive absorption-line-fitting procedure.
In the first part of the thesis, a line-parameter analysis of the column density, N, and Doppler parameter, b, of ≈7500 individually fitted absorption lines is performed. The results are in good agreement with findings from previous surveys.
The second (main) part of this thesis deals with the analysis of the redshift evolution of the effective optical depth. The τ_eff measurements vary around the empirical power law τ_eff(z)~(1+z)^(γ+1) with γ=2.09±0.52. The same analysis as for the observed spectra is performed on synthetic absorption spectra. From a comparison between observed and synthetic spectral data it can be inferred that the uncertainties of the τ_eff values are likely underestimated and that the scatter is probably caused by high-column-density absorbers with column densities in the range 15≤logN≤17. In the real Universe, such absorbers are rarely observed, however. Hence, the difference in τ_eff from different observational data sets and absorption studies is most likely caused by cosmic variance. If, alternatively, the disagreement between such data is a result of an too optimistic estimate of the (systematic) errors, it is also possible that all τ_eff measurements agree with a smooth evolution within the investigated redshift range. To explore in detail the different analysis techniques of previous studies an extensive literature comparison to the results of this work is presented in this thesis.
Although a final explanation for the occurrence of the τ_eff deviation in different studies at z~3.2 cannot be given here, our study, which represents the most detailed line-fitting analysis of its kind performed at the investigated redshifts so far, represents another important benchmark for the characterization of the HI Ly-alpha effective optical depth at high redshift and its indicated unusual behavior at z~3.2.
Synchronization of large ensembles of oscillators is an omnipresent phenomenon observed in different fields of science like physics, engineering, life sciences, etc. The most simple setup is that of globally coupled phase oscillators, where all the oscillators contribute to a global field which acts on all oscillators. This formulation of the problem was pioneered by Winfree and Kuramoto. Such a setup gives a possibility for the analysis of these systems in terms of global variables. In this work we describe nontrivial collective dynamics in oscillator populations coupled via mean fields in terms of global variables. We consider problems which cannot be directly reduced to standard Kuramoto and Winfree models.
In the first part of the thesis we adopt a method introduced by Watanabe and Strogatz. The main idea is that the system of identical oscillators of particular type can be described by a low-dimensional system of global equations. This approach enables us to perform a complete analytical analysis for a special but vast set of initial conditions. Furthermore, we show how the approach can be expanded for some nonidentical systems. We apply the Watanabe-Strogatz approach to arrays of Josephson junctions and systems of identical phase oscillators with leader-type coupling.
In the next parts of the thesis we consider the self-consistent mean-field theory method that can be applied to general nonidentical globally coupled systems of oscillators both with or without noise. For considered systems a regime, where the global field rotates uniformly, is the most important one. With the help of this approach such solutions of the self-consistency equation for an arbitrary distribution of frequencies and coupling parameters can be found analytically in the parametric form, both for noise-free and noisy cases.
We apply this method to deterministic Kuramoto-type model with generic coupling and an ensemble of spatially distributed oscillators with leader-type coupling. Furthermore, with the proposed self-consistent approach we fully characterize rotating wave solutions of noisy Kuramoto-type model with generic coupling and an ensemble of noisy oscillators with bi-harmonic coupling.
Whenever possible, a complete analysis of global dynamics is performed and compared with direct numerical simulations of large populations.
Recent experiments show that transcription factors (TFs) indeed use the facilitated diffusion mechanism to locate their target sequences on DNA in living bacteria cells: TFs alternate between sliding motion along DNA and relocation events through the cytoplasm. From simulations and theoretical analysis we study the TF-sliding motion for a large section of the DNA-sequence of a common E. coli strain, based on the two-state TF-model with a fast-sliding search state and a recognition state enabling target detection. For the probability to detect the target before dissociating from DNA the TF-search times self-consistently depend heavily on whether or not an auxiliary operator (an accessible sequence similar to the main operator) is present in the genome section. Importantly, within our model the extent to which the interconversion rates between search and recognition states depend on the underlying nucleotide sequence is varied. A moderate dependence maximises the capability to distinguish between the main operator and similar sequences. Moreover, these auxiliary operators serve as starting points for DNA looping with the main operator, yielding a spectrum of target detection times spanning several orders of magnitude. Auxiliary operators are shown to act as funnels facilitating target detection by TFs.
Stochastic Wilson
(2015)
We consider a simple Markovian class of the stochastic Wilson–Cowan type models of neuronal network dynamics, which incorporates stochastic delay caused by the existence of a refractory period of neurons. From the point of view of the dynamics of the individual elements, we are dealing with a network of non-Markovian stochastic two-state oscillators with memory, which are coupled globally in a mean-field fashion. This interrelation of a higher-dimensional Markovian and lower-dimensional non-Markovian dynamics is discussed in its relevance to the general problem of the network dynamics of complex elements possessing memory. The simplest model of this class is provided by a three-state Markovian neuron with one refractory state, which causes firing delay with an exponentially decaying memory within the two-state reduced model. This basic model is used to study critical avalanche dynamics (the noise sustained criticality) in a balanced feedforward network consisting of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Such avalanches emerge due to the network size dependent noise (mesoscopic noise). Numerical simulations reveal an intermediate power law in the distribution of avalanche sizes with the critical exponent around −1.16. We show that this power law is robust upon a variation of the refractory time over several orders of magnitude. However, the avalanche time distribution is biexponential. It does not reflect any genuine power law dependence.
We define and study in detail utraslow scaled Brownian motion (USBM) characterized by a time dependent diffusion coefficient of the form . For unconfined motion the mean squared displacement (MSD) of USBM exhibits an ultraslow, logarithmic growth as function of time, in contrast to the conventional scaled Brownian motion. In a harmonic potential the MSD of USBM does not saturate but asymptotically decays inverse-proportionally to time, reflecting the highly non-stationary character of the process. We show that the process is weakly non-ergodic in the sense that the time averaged MSD does not converge to the regular MSD even at long times, and for unconfined motion combines a linear lag time dependence with a logarithmic term. The weakly non-ergodic behaviour is quantified in terms of the ergodicity breaking parameter. The USBM process is also shown to be ageing: observables of the system depend on the time gap between initiation of the test particle and start of the measurement of its motion. Our analytical results are shown to agree excellently with extensive computer simulations.
Recent experiments show that transcription factors (TFs) indeed use the facilitated diffusion mechanism to locate their target sequences on DNA in living bacteria cells: TFs alternate between sliding motion along DNA and relocation events through the cytoplasm. From simulations and theoretical analysis we study the TF-sliding motion for a large section of the DNA-sequence of a common E. coli strain, based on the two-state TF-model with a fast-sliding search state and a recognition state enabling target detection. For the probability to detect the target before dissociating from DNA the TF-search times self-consistently depend heavily on whether or not an auxiliary operator (an accessible sequence similar to the main operator) is present in the genome section. Importantly, within our model the extent to which the interconversion rates between search and recognition states depend on the underlying nucleotide sequence is varied. A moderate dependence maximises the capability to distinguish between the main operator and similar sequences. Moreover, these auxiliary operators serve as starting points for DNA looping with the main operator, yielding a spectrum of target detection times spanning several orders of magnitude. Auxiliary operators are shown to act as funnels facilitating target detection by TFs.
We define and study in detail utraslow scaled Brownian motion (USBM) characterized by a time dependent diffusion coefficient of the form . For unconfined motion the mean squared displacement (MSD) of USBM exhibits an ultraslow, logarithmic growth as function of time, in contrast to the conventional scaled Brownian motion. In a harmonic potential the MSD of USBM does not saturate but asymptotically decays inverse-proportionally to time, reflecting the highly non-stationary character of the process. We show that the process is weakly non-ergodic in the sense that the time averaged MSD does not converge to the regular MSD even at long times, and for unconfined motion combines a linear lag time dependence with a logarithmic term. The weakly non-ergodic behaviour is quantified in terms of the ergodicity breaking parameter. The USBM process is also shown to be ageing: observables of the system depend on the time gap between initiation of the test particle and start of the measurement of its motion. Our analytical results are shown to agree excellently with extensive computer simulations.
In this thesis, I study ultrafast dynamics in perovskite oxides using time resolved broadband spectroscopy. I focus on the observation of coherent phonon propagation by time resolved Brillouin scattering: following the excition of metal transducer films with a femtosecond infrared pump pulse, coherent phonon dynamics in the GHz frequency range are triggered. Their propagation is monitored using a delayed white light probe pulse. The technique is illustrated on various thin films and multilayered samples. I apply the technique to investigate the linear and nonlinear acoustic response in bulk SrTiO_3, which displays a ferroelastic phase transition from a cubic to a tetragonal structural phase at T_a=105 K. In the linear regime, I observe a coupling of the observed acoustic phonon mode to the softening optic modes describing the phase transition. In the nonlinear regime, I find a giant slowing down of the sound velocity in the low temperature phase that is only observable for a strain amplitude exceeding the tetragonality of the material. It is attributed to a coupling of the high frequency phonons to ferroelastic domain walls in the material. I propose a new mechanism for the coupling of strain waves to the domain walls that is only effective for high amplitude strain. A detailed study of the phonon attenuation across a wide temperature range shows that the phonon attenuation at low temperatures is influenced by the domain configuration, which is determined by interface strain. Preliminary measurements on magnetic-ferroelectric multilayers reveal that the excitation fluence needs to be carefully controlled when dynamics at phase transitions are studied.
Stochastic Wilson
(2015)
We consider a simple Markovian class of the stochastic Wilson–Cowan type models of neuronal network dynamics, which incorporates stochastic delay caused by the existence of a refractory period of neurons. From the point of view of the dynamics of the individual elements, we are dealing with a network of non-Markovian stochastic two-state oscillators with memory, which are coupled globally in a mean-field fashion. This interrelation of a higher-dimensional Markovian and lower-dimensional non-Markovian dynamics is discussed in its relevance to the general problem of the network dynamics of complex elements possessing memory. The simplest model of this class is provided by a three-state Markovian neuron with one refractory state, which causes firing delay with an exponentially decaying memory within the two-state reduced model. This basic model is used to study critical avalanche dynamics (the noise sustained criticality) in a balanced feedforward network consisting of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Such avalanches emerge due to the network size dependent noise (mesoscopic noise). Numerical simulations reveal an intermediate power law in the distribution of avalanche sizes with the critical exponent around −1.16. We show that this power law is robust upon a variation of the refractory time over several orders of magnitude. However, the avalanche time distribution is biexponential. It does not reflect any genuine power law dependence.
The origin of cosmic rays was the subject of several studies for over a century. The investigations done within this dissertation are one small step to shed some more light on this mystery.
Locating the sources of cosmic rays is not trivial due to the interstellar magnetic field. However, the Hillas criterion allows us to arrive at the conclusion that supernova remnants are our main suspect for the origin of galactic cosmic rays. The mechanism by which they are accelerating particles is found within the field of shock physics as diffusive shock acceleration. To allow particles to enter this process also known as Fermi acceleration pre-acceleration processes like shock surfing acceleration and shock drift acceleration are necessary. Investigating the processes happening in the plasma shocks of supernova remnants is possible by utilising a simplified model which can be simulated on a computer using Particle-in-Cell simulations.
We developed a new and clean setup to simulate the formation of a double shock, i.e., consisting of a forward and a reverse shock and a contact discontinuity, by the collision of two counter-streaming plasmas, in which a magnetic field can be woven into. In a previous work, we investigated the processes at unmagnetised and at magnetised parallel shocks, whereas in the current work, we move our investigation on to magnetised perpendicular shocks.
Due to a much stronger confinement of the particles to the collision region the perpendicular shock develops much faster than the parallel shock. On the other hand, this leads to much weaker turbulence. We are able to find indications for shock surfing acceleration and shock drift acceleration happening at the two shocks leading to populations of pre-accelerated particles that are suitable as a seed population to be injected into further diffusive shock acceleration to be accelerated to even higher energies. We observe the development of filamentary structures in the shock ramp of the forward shock, but not at the reverse shock. This leads to the conclusion that the development of such structures in the shock ramp of quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks might not necessarily be determined by the existence of a critical sonic Mach number but by a critical shock speed.
The results of the investigations done within this dissertation might be useful for further studies of oblique shocks and for studies using hybrid or magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Together with more sophisticated observational methods, these studies will help to bring us closer to an answer as to how particles can be accelerated in supernova remnants and eventually become cosmic rays that can be detected on Earth.