Search Publications
A `kilonova' associated with the short-duration γ-ray burst GRB 130603B
Fruchter, A. S.; Wiersema, K.; Levan, A. J. +4 more
Short-duration γ-ray bursts are intense flashes of cosmic γ-rays, lasting less than about two seconds, whose origin is unclear. The favoured hypothesis is that they are produced by a relativistic jet created by the merger of two compact stellar objects (specifically two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole). This is supported by indire…
Dusty starburst galaxies in the early Universe as revealed by gravitational lensing
Sharon, K.; Gladders, M. D.; Menten, K. M. +67 more
In the past decade, our understanding of galaxy evolution has been revolutionized by the discovery that luminous, dusty starburst galaxies were 1,000 times more abundant in the early Universe than at present. It has, however, been difficult to measure the complete redshift distribution of these objects, especially at the highest redshifts (z > …
Suppression of star formation in the galaxy NGC 253 by a starburst-driven molecular wind
Ott, Jürgen; Warren, Steven R.; Bolatto, Alberto D. +9 more
The under-abundance of very massive galaxies in the Universe is frequently attributed to the effect of galactic winds. Although ionized galactic winds are readily observable, most of the expelled mass (that is, the total mass flowing out from the nuclear region) is likely to be in atomic and molecular phases that are cooler than the ionized phases…
A galaxy rapidly forming stars 700 million years after the Big Bang at redshift 7.51
Dickinson, M.; Ferguson, H. C.; Finkelstein, S. L. +18 more
Of several dozen galaxies observed spectroscopically that are candidates for having a redshift (z) in excess of seven, only five have had their redshifts confirmed via Lyman α emission, at z = 7.008, 7.045, 7.109, 7.213 and 7.215 (refs 1, 2, 3, 4). The small fraction of confirmed galaxies may indicate that the neutral fraction in the intergalactic…
The rapid assembly of an elliptical galaxy of 400 billion solar masses at a redshift of 2.3
Altieri, B.; Aussel, H.; Pérez-Fournon, I. +41 more
Stellar archaeology shows that massive elliptical galaxies formed rapidly about ten billion years ago with star-formation rates of above several hundred solar masses per year. Their progenitors are probably the submillimetre bright galaxies at redshifts z greater than 2. Although the mean molecular gas mass (5 × 1010 solar masses) of th…
An age difference of two billion years between a metal-rich and a metal-poor globular cluster
Anderson, J.; Stetson, P. B.; Rich, R. M. +9 more
Globular clusters trace the formation history of the spheroidal components of our Galaxy and other galaxies, which represent the bulk of star formation over the history of the Universe. The clusters exhibit a range of metallicities (abundances of elements heavier than helium), with metal-poor clusters dominating the stellar halo of the Galaxy, and…
A black-hole mass measurement from molecular gas kinematics in NGC4526
Sarzi, Marc; Cappellari, Michele; Davis, Timothy A. +2 more
The masses of the supermassive black holes found in galaxy bulges are correlated with a multitude of galaxy properties, leading to suggestions that galaxies and black holes may evolve together. The number of reliably measured black-hole masses is small, and the number of methods for measuring them is limited, holding back attempts to understand th…
Pulsed accretion in a variable protostar
Gutermuth, Robert; Muzerolle, James; Furlan, Elise +2 more
Periodic increases in luminosity arising from variable accretion rates have been predicted for some pre-main-sequence close binary stars as they grow from circumbinary disks. The phenomenon is known as pulsed accretion and can affect the orbital evolution and mass distribution of young binaries, as well as the potential for planet formation. Accre…