Susan G. Neff

Radio structure in the inner 1 arcsecond of NGC 1068

High-resolution VLA and VLBI observations of NGC 1068 at several different wavelengths are reported. These observations provide new information about the triple radio source in the central arcsec (75 pc) of the galaxy. The 21-cm European VLBI Network observations at 0.05-arcsec resolution detect a core of flux density 89 + or - 10 mJy. This core is dominated by a component less than 20 marcsec (1.5 pc) in diameter that has a brightness temperature of about 10 to the 8th K. Two more components may have been detected by the VLBI observations, one on either side of the compact core. At 0.07-arcsec resolution, the 1.3-cm VLA map of the central arcsec of NGC 1068 reveals a C-shaped radio morphology on scales from 10 to 50 pc. A comparison of the relative locations of the three components in the VLA and VLBI maps shows that the compact core in the VLBI map probably should be identified with the central component in the 1.3- and 2-cm VLA maps. If this identification is correct, the central component in the VLA maps is the actual nucleus of the galaxy. The core of the inner triple radio source may contain a significant flat-spectrum component. Themorexa0» presence of a compact core and the evidence for bending strengthen the argument that the inner triple radio source is produced by a mechanism similar to that operating in powerful radio galaxies. For a minimum-energy configuration, magnetic-field strengths of about 1 mG and energy densities of about 100 nerg/cu cm are found for the components of this source. 21 references.«xa0less

Ultraviolet Colors and Extinctions of H II Regions in the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Far-UV (wavelength 1520 A), U, Hα, and R images of the interacting Sbc spiral galaxy M51 were obtained by the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) during the Astro-2 Spacelab mission of 1995 March and at Mount Laguna Observatory. The μ152 - μU radial gradient of over 1 mag, becoming bluer with increasing radius, is attributed primarily to a corresponding radial extinction gradient. Magnitudes in both UV bands and Hα fluxes are reported for 28 H II regions. Optical extinctions for the 28 corresponding UV sources are computed from the measured m152 - U colors by fitting to the optical extinctions of Nakai & Kuno. The estimated normalized far-UV extinction A152/E(B-V) increases with increasing Galactocentric distance (decreasing metallicity), from 5.99 to 6.54, compared with the Galactic value 8.33. The best-fit m152 - U color for no extinction, -3.07, is the color of a model solar metallicity starburst of age ~2.5 Myr with IMF slope -1.0. H II regions show decreasing observed Hα fluxes with decreasing radius, relative to the Hα fluxes predicted from the observed f152 for age 2.5 Myr, after the Hα and f152 are corrected for extinction. We attribute the increasing fraction of missing Hα flux with decreasing radius to increasing extinction in the Lyman continuum. The increasing extinction-corrected far-UV flux of the H II regions with decreasing distance to the nucleus is probably a result of the corresponding increasing column density of the interstellar gas resulting in larger mass OB associations. The estimated dust-absorbed Lyman continuum energy flux is ~0.6 times the far-infrared energy flux of M51 observed by IRAS.

Overview of the Origins Space telescope: science drivers to observatory requirements

The Origins Space Telescope (OST) mission concept study is the subject of one of the four science and technology definition studies supported by NASA Headquarters to prepare for the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. OST will survey the most distant galaxies to discern the rise of metals and dust and to unveil the co-evolution of galaxy and blackhole formation, study the Milky Way to follow the path of water from the interstellar medium to habitable worlds in planetary systems, and measure biosignatures from exoplanets. This paper describes the science drivers and how they drove key requirements for OST Mission Concept 2, which will operate between ~5 and ~600 microns with a JWST sized telescope. Mission Concept 2 for the OST study optimizes the engineering for the key science cases into a powerful and more economical observatory compared to Mission Concept 1.