Do the kinematics and mass profiles of dwarf galaxies present a fundamental challenge to standard cold dark matter (CDM) models? New, deep spectroscopy using DEIMOS on Keck for hundreds of low stellar mass (107-109 M⊙ star-forming galaxies at intermediate redshift (0.2 < z < 1) addresses this inquiry in a way that is less subject to cosmic variance and environmental bias than previous, more local work. Half of this sample reveals resolved, doppler-shifted nebular emission, used to constrain rotation curves. From these we can construct the stellar mass Tully-Fisher relation to masses as low as ~107 M⊙, and a persistent discrepancy is found between predictions from simulations and models compared to our observations. We suggest on-going and future tests that will be more effective in distinguishing between the effects of baryonic feedback and alternative models of dark matter in this remarkable regime.

Galaxy outflows are a vital mechanism in the regulation of galaxy evolution through feedback and enrichment. NGC 2146, a nearby infrared luminous galaxy (LIRG), presents evidence for outflows along the disk minor axis in all gas phases (ionized, neutral atomic and molecular). We present new far-IR Herschel imaging and spectroscopy of this galaxy from the Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: a Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel (KINGFISH) project, as well as new optical integral field unit spectroscopy, to map the kinematics and gas excitation in the central 5 kpc and trace the dust distribution (Kreckel et al.2014). We observe an increased velocity dispersion in the [OI] 62 um, [OIII] 88 um, [NII] 122 um and [CII] 158 um fine-structure lines that is spatially coincident with shocked gas above and below the disk.

Searching for massive, dusty starbursts offers the great opportunity to trace galaxy overdensities and thus the cosmic web in the distant universe. I will present our APEX-LABOCA 870 μm imaging of the protocluster field of the radio galaxy MRC1138–262 — the so-called Spiderweb Galaxy — at z = 2.16, uncovering a large number of so-called submm galaxies (SMGs). The number counts already indicate an excess of SMGs compared to blank fields. Based on an exquisite multi-wavelength dataset, I will show that a large fraction of these massive, dusty starbursts are physically associated with the protocluster at z = 2.16. Finally, I will discuss both the properties of this starburst overdensity and their individual members.

MAHALO-Subaru (MApping HAlpha and Lines of Oxygen with Subaru) project aims to investigate how the star forming activities in galaxies are propagated as a function of time, mass, and environment. It employs a unique set of narrow-band filters on MOIRCS/Subaru to search for Ha emitters associated to the proto-clusters or in narrow redshift slices in the general field. We have shown not only filamentary/clumpy structures of all the proto-clusters but also very high star formation activities therein especially at z > 2. HST images from the CANDELS survey have revealed that nearly half of the Hα emitters in the field at z ∼ 2 have clumpy structures. Among them, “red dusty clumps” are preferentially found at or near the mass center of galaxies. Therefore, they are probably linked to the formation of bulge component. To explore physical states and the mode of star formation of those forming galaxies, we have started Gracias-ALMA project in full coordination with the Mahalo-Subaru project. We will resolve molecular gas contents and dusty star formation within these galaxies, and tell whether clumps are formed by gravitational instability of gas rich disks, and whether bulges are formed by clump migration or through galaxy-galaxy mergers.

We present indirect constraints on the stellar initial-mass-function (IMF) in nine massive elliptical galaxies with σ ≈ 300 km/s, via a comparison of dynamical and stellar-population based stellar masses. We use adaptive-optics assisted, high resolution kinematical data from the SINFONI Search for Supermassive Black Holes that allow us to constrain the dynamical stellar mass-to-light ratio in the very centre of each galaxy. Hence we measure the IMF in a galaxy region where the stellar mass dominates over dark matter, minimising any potential degeneracy between the two mass components. In six of our galaxies – those which have depleted stellar cores – we find an IMF consistent with the one measured in the Milky-Way via direct star counts. The three remaining, power-law galaxies have instead stellar masses about a factor of two times larger than expected from a Milky-Way type IMF, indicating either a more bottom-heavy IMF (like, e.g., the Salpeter IMF) or a dark-matter distribution that is degenerate with the stellar mass down to the very centres of these galaxies. The bottom-light IMF in our core galaxies is surprising in view of previous studies that suggested a systematic IMF variation where early-type galaxies with σ ≈ 300 km/s have a Salpeter or even more dwarf-dominated IMF. Core galaxies are particularly important since their unique central orbital structure offers an independent crosscheck for the dynamical models. Our models with a bottom-light IMF are consistent with the distribution of orbits predicted by SMBH-binary core-formation models. This indicates that spatially well resolved central kinematical data are important for determining unbiased dynamical stellar mass-to-light ratios. Our results imply either that the IMF in massive galaxies varies over a wider range than previously anticipated, and is not the same in core and power-law ellipticals, or else that there are systematic variations in the distribution of dark matter among massive early-type galaxies.

Arguably two of the most important questions in Astrophysics today are: what is the Universe made of? and, how do galaxies form and evolve? Quite astonishingly we know only the properties of < 5% of the mass in the Universe (the atoms we are made of), while the nature of the dominant mass component (the dark matter) remains elusive. However, because of its abundance, dark matter is a significant driver of both the dynamics of stars and galaxies and of their formation and evolution.

We present 3D observations of three interacting galaxies in order derive their extended kinematics and to trace events such as violent star-formation (SF), mass-transfer, structure perturbation and the presence of energetic sources induced by the interacting processes.

We present the initial results of an integral field spectroscopic survey of E+A galaxies in the field, which combined with radio continuum measurements and multi-wavelength photometry and imaging provides significant insight into the dynamical and star formation histories of these transitioning post-starburst systems. We focus on the E+A galaxy known as G515 (z = 0.088), a massive merger remnant that began its star formation quenching process ∼ 1.0 Gyr ago. Its relatively young stellar population contrasts with its light profile and kinematics, which are more consistent with a slowly-rotating, early-type galaxy.

We present here a brief summary of the currenly on-going IFU surveys of galaxies in teh Local Universe, describing their main characteristics, including their sample selections, instrumental setups, wavelength ranges, and area of the galaxies covered. Finally, we make an emphasis on the main characteristics of the CALIFA survey and the more recent results that has been recently published.

Collisions between two pieces of space debris or between a piece of debris and an operative satellite is a real problem. Furthermore, collisions are responsible for the creation of new space debris systematically. The way to exclude the possibility of a collision consists of analysing the trajectories and looking for a time of coincidence. However, the analysis of all pairs of objects collected in a large orbit catalogue is unfeasible. The proposed method consists of reducing the possible pairs of candidates for a collision into a short list of pairs at real risk of collision. The method is based on a three-filter sequence: the first two filters are based on the geometry of the orbits, while the third one searches for a time of coincidence. This new method is tested resulting into an efficient tool for space debris collision assessment.

We have studied the kinematic properties of the ionized gas outflows and ambient interstellar medium (ISM) in a large and representative sample of local U/LIRGs (58 systems, 75 galaxies) at galactic and sub-galactic (i.e.,star-forming clumps) scales, thanks to integral field spectroscopy (IFS)-based high signal-to-noise integrated spectra. The main results have been recently presented in Arribas et al. (2014), and are briefly summarized here.

We present an early-look analysis of the “Cosmic Skidmark”. Discovered following visual inspection of the Geach, Murphy & Bower (2011) SDSS Stripe 82 cluster catalogue generated by ORCA (an automated cluster algorithm searching for red-sequences; Murphy, Geach & Bower 2012), this z = 0.19 1.4L⋆ galaxy appears to have been caught in the rare act of transformation while accreting onto an estimated 1013–1014h−1 M⊙-mass galaxy group. SDSS spectroscopy reveals clear signatures of star formation whilst deep optical imaging reveals a pronounced 50 kpc cometary tail. Pending completion of our ALMA Cycle 2 and IFU observations, we show here preliminary analysis of this target.

The dynamical evolution of short-period objects having perihelia at small heliocentric distances is discussed. We have investigated the motion of multiple-apparition members of the Marsden and Kracht sungrazing groups. The orbital evolution of these objects on timescales < 10 Kyr is mainly determined by the Kozai-Lidov secular perturbations. These objects are dynamically connected with high-inclination near-Earth objects. On the other hand, we have found several observed near-Earth objects that evolve in the same way, reaching small perihelion distances on short timescales in the past.

In the context of the formation of spiral galaxies the evolution and distribution of the angular momentum of dark matter halos have been discussed for more than 20 years, especially the idea that the specific angular momentum of the halo can be estimated from the specific angular momentum of its disk (e.g. Fall & Efstathiou (1980), Fall (1983) and Mo et al. (1998)). We use a new set of hydrodynamic cosmological simulations called Magneticum Pathfinder which allow us to split the galaxies into spheroidal and disk galaxies via the circularity parameter ϵ, as commonly used (e.g. Scannapieco et al. (2008)). Here, we focus on the dimensionless spin parameter λ = J |E|1/2 / (G M5/2) (Peebles 1969, 1971), which is a measure of the rotation of the total halo and can be fitted by a lognormal distribution, e.g. Mo et al. (1998). The spin parameter allows one to compare the relative angular momentum of halos across different masses and different times. Fig. 1 reveals a dichotomy in the distribution of λ at all redshifts when the galaxies are split into spheroids (dashed) and disk galaxies (dash-dotted). The disk galaxies preferentially live in halos with slightly larger spin parameter compared to spheroidal galaxies. Thus, we see that the λ of the whole halo reflects the morphology of its central galaxy. For more details and a larger study of the angular momentum properties of disk and spheroidal galaxies, see Teklu et al. (in prep.).

Star formation occurs on physical scales corresponding to individual star forming regions, typically of order ∼100 parsecs in size, but current observational facilities cannot resolve these scales within field galaxies beyond the local universe. However, the magnification from strong gravitational lensing allows us to measure the properties of these discrete star forming regions within galaxies in the distant universe. New results from multi-wavelength spectroscopic studies of a sample of extremely bright, highly magnified lensed galaxies are revealing the complexity of star formation on sub-galaxy scales during the era of peak star formation in the universe. We find a wide range of properties in the rest-frame UV spectra of individual galaxies, as well as in spectra that originate from different star forming regions within the same galaxy. Large variations in the strengths and velocity structure of Lyman-alpha and strong P Cygni lines such as C IV, and MgII provide new insights into the astrophysical relationships between extremely massive stars, the elemental abundances and physical properties of the nebular gas those stars ionize, and the galactic-scale outflows they power.

I have analyzed line-of-sight velocity fields of the stellar and ionized-gas components for the volume-limited sample of nearby lenticular galaxies by using the raw data of the ATLAS-3D survey undertaken with the integral-field spectrograph SAURON. Among 200 nearby lenticular galaxies, I distinguish 20 cases of nearly orthogonal rotation of the inner ionized gas with respect to the central stellar components; so I estimate a frequency of the inner polar disks in nearby S0 galaxies as 10%. Properties of the central stellar populations – mean ages, metallicities, magnesium-to-iron ratios – are derived through the Lick indices. The typical stellar population properties of the polar-disk host galaxies are exactly the same as the stellar population properties of the complete sample.

We examine the evolution induced by secular processes of an initial, cosmologically motivated, radial chemical distribution, in a barred and an unbarred disk.

We report on first molecular gas observations in the Lyman Alpha Reference Sample (LARS; Hayes et al.2013, 2014, Östlin et al.2014), which were performed using the 45m telescope at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO). The beamsize at the observed 12CO (1–0) emission is ≈ 15” corresponding to ≈ 12kpc at the given redshift of z ≈ 0.04. We detected strong 12CO emission in LARS 3 (Arp 238), marginally detected LARS 8 (SDSS 1250+0734) and derived an upper limit for LARS 9 (IRAS 08208+2816).