Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems: Volume 6: Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology

694 Pages·2013·26.696 MB·English

by  William C. Keel, Terry D. Oswalt

Planets,StarsandStellarSystems
ExtragalacticAstronomyandCosmology
TerryD. Oswalt(Editor-in-Chief)
William C.Keel (VolumeEditor)
Planets, Stars and
Stellar Systems
Volume 6:
Extragalactic Astronomy and
Cosmology
With314Figuresand12Tables
Editor-in-Chief
TerryD.Oswalt
DepartmentofPhysics&SpaceSciences
FloridaInstituteofTechnology
UniversityBoulevard
Melbourne,FL,USA
VolumeEditor
WilliamC.Keel
DepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy
UniversityofAlabama
Tuscaloosa,AL,USA
ISBN978-94-007-5608-3 ISBN978-94-007-5609-0(eBook)
ISBN978-94-007-5610-6(printandelectronicbundle)
DOI10.1007/978-94-007-5609-0
Thistitleispartofasetwith
SetISBN978-90-481-8817-8
SetISBN978-90-481-8818-5(eBook)
SetISBN978-90-481-8852-9(printandelectronicbundle)
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Series Preface
Itismygreatpleasuretointroduce“Planets,Stars,andStellarSystems”(PSSS).Asa“Springer
Reference”,PSSSisintendedforgraduatestudentstoprofessionalsinastronomy,astrophysics
andplanetaryscience,butitwillalsobeusefultoscientistsinotherfieldswhoseresearchinter-
estsoverlapwithastronomy.Ouraimistocapturethespiritof21st centuryastronomy–an
empiricalphysicalsciencewhosealmostexplosiveprogressisenabledbynewinstrumentation,
observationaldiscoveries,guidedbytheoryandsimulation.
Each volume, edited by internationally recognized expert(s), introduces the reader to a
well-defined area within astronomy and can be used as a textor recommendedreading for
an advanced undergraduateor postgraduatecourse. Volume 1, edited by Ian McLean, is an
essentialprimeronthetoolsofanastronomer,i.e.,thetelescopes,instrumentationanddetec-
torsusedtoquerytheentireelectromagneticspectrum.Volume2,editedbyHowardBond,isa
compendiumofthetechniquesandanalysismethodsthatenabletheinterpretationofdatacol-
lectedwiththesetools.Volume3,co-editedbyLindaFrenchandPaulKalas,providesacrash
courseintherapidlyconvergingfieldsofstellar,solarsystemandextrasolarplanetaryscience.
Volume4,editedbyMartinBarstow,isoneofthemostcompletereferencesonstellarstructure
andevolutionavailabletoday.Volume5,editedbyGerardGilmore,bridgesthegapbetween
our understandingof stellarsystemsand populations seenin greatdetail within the Galaxy
andthoseseenindistantgalaxies.Volume6,editedbyBill Keel,nicelycapturesourcurrent
understandingoftheoriginandevolutionoflocalgalaxiestothelargescalestructureofthe
universe.
The chapters have been written by practicing professionals within the appropriate sub-
disciplines. Available in both traditional paper and electronic form, they include extensive
bibliographicandhyperlinkreferencestothecurrentliteraturethatwillhelpreaderstoacquirea
solidhistoricalandtechnicalfoundationinthatarea.Eachcanalsoserveasavaluablereference
foracourseorrefresherforpracticingprofessionalastronomers.Thosefamiliarwiththe“Stars
andStellarSystems”seriesfromseveraldecadesagowillrecognizesomeoftheinspirationfor
theapproachwehavetaken.
Verymanypeoplehavecontributedtothisproject.IwouldliketothankHarryBlomand
Sonja Guerts(Sonja Japengaatthetime)ofSpringer, whooriginally encouragedmetopur-
suethisprojectseveralyearsago.Special thankstoouroutstandingSpringer editorsRamon
Khanna(Astronomy)andLydiaMueller(MajorReferenceWorks)andtheirhard-workingedi-
torialteamJenniferCarlson,ElizabethFerrell,JuttaJaeger-Hamers,JuliaKoerting,andTamara
Schineller.Theircontinuousenthusiasm,friendlyproddingandunwaveringsupportmadethis
seriespossible.Needlesstosay(butI’msayingitanyway),itwasnotaneasytaskshepherding
aprojectthisbigthroughtocompletion!
Mostofall,ithasbeenaprivilegetoworkwitheachofthevolumeEditorslistedaboveand
over100contributingauthorsonthisproject.I’velearnedalotofastronomyfromthem,andI
hopeyouwill,too!
January2013 TerryD.Oswalt
GeneralEditor
Preface to Volume 6
Intentionally, this compendium invites contrast with the similarly titled volume from 1975,
edited by Alan and Mary Sandage and Jerome Kristian. They describe its view as largely
a product of the late 1960s. Our understanding of galaxies then, despite the already enor-
mousobservationalandtheoreticaleffortsummarized,nowseemswoefullyincomplete,largely
becausewestandontheshouldersoftechnologicalinnovators.Wewerethenattheverydawn
ofX-rayobservationsofgalaxiesandclusters,andlikewiseourknowledgeoftheradiostruc-
turesofgalaxiesandAGNwaspoisedfordramaticimprovementsinqualityandquantity.AGN
werestillanoveltywhoseconnectionto“ordinary”galaxieswasalmostunknown;themodel
ofenergyreleaseduringaccretionintomassiveblackholescoldnotyetbeclearlyformulated.
As far as we knew then galaxy masses were baryonic, and there was something suspi-
ciousaboutvirialmassestimatesforgalaxyclusters.Photometryofgalaxiesremainedatedious
project,eitherusingphotomultipliersortheblackartofcalibratedphotographicphotometry.
Digital instrumentation for optical astronomy was just beginning to appear; the basic tech-
niquesofobservationhadadvancedonlyincrementallyformanyyears.Onecatalogvolume
couldstillcontainessentiallyallthephotometricandredshiftdataeverobtainedforgalaxies.
Weknewalmostnothingabouttheevolutionofgalaxies;therelevantobservationsremained
closelymixedwiththequestforthefundamentalparametersofcosmology.
Sincethatvolumeappeared(duringmyundergraduateyears),ourviewofgalaxiesandtheir
contexthasbroadeneddramatically,sometimesinwaysscarcelyconceivablethen.
Itseemsappropriatetocontrastmanyoftheseviewstoourcurrentpicture.Notonlycanwe
tracethehistoryofstarformation(galaxyevolutionseenintheact)acrosscosmictime,butwe
canaddressthisquestionwithconstraintsallthewayfromtheX-raytoradioregimes,coupling
directdetectionofyoungstellarpopulationswiththesecondhandemissionfromdustgrains
andsupernovaproducts.
We continue to find value in the galaxy categories bequeathed by Edwin Hubble, Alan
Sandage,andSidneyvandenBergh,butnowextendthestudyofgalaxystructureacrosscos-
mictimeandwavelength.Connectionsemerge(somehotlydebated)betweendetailsofgalaxy
structureandeventsingalaxyhistory.Againandagain,crucialobservablepropertiesofgalaxies
areseentobedrivenbydarkmatter,whosepropertiesarebeingnarrowedbysuchtechniques
asgravitationallensing.
Withthefindingofsupermassiveblackholes(andthuspotentially“deadquasars”)inmost
luminousgalaxies,weseemtohavetheanswertoaquestionposedbyJoeMillerdecadesago-are
quasarsimportantormerelyinteresting?Ifgalaxiesareimportant,soarequasars.
Ourunderstandingofclustersandlarger-scalestructureshasbeenrevolutionized,bothwith
thefindingthatthehotintraclustermediumcarriesmoremassthanthestars,andwithbroad
surveysshowingstatisticalpropertiesofsuperclusters,voids,andfilaments(itisgratifyingto
notethatonefigureinthisvolumeshowsareprocessingofthesamegalaxycountsshownin
contourformbyC.D.Shanein1975).Further,wearestartingtofillinphysicaldetailastothe
waysgalaxiesareaffectedbytheirenvironments.Atthelevelofdetailwecannowreach,no
galaxyisreallyanislandUniverse.
viii PrefacetoVolume6
Thecosmicdistancescaleremainsimportant,butweareinaverydifferentstage.Awebof
interlockingaswellasindependentmeasurementshasnarrowedthevalueofthelocalHubble
constanttoafewpercent,sothatlocalmotionssuperimposedontheexpansionaremeasurable.
Weareatakeyjunctureincosmology.Recentresultshavedramaticallynarrowedthevalues
of the Hubble constant, mass density, and fluctuation amplitude in the early Universe, with
furtherrefinementsexpectedsoonfromthePlanckmission.Finestructureinthemicrowave
background radiationencodesarichrangeofbothphysical andastrophysical processes.Yet
westillonlyanticipateaphysicalunderstandingofwhatevercausestheaccelerationofcosmic
expansionindicatedbymultipletechniques.Suchtermsasdarkenergy,cosmologicalconstant,
andquintessenceatthispointservemostlytoorganizeourignorance.
Likewise, with new facilities capable of narrowing the observational Dark Ages, we see
promiseofaddingnewbodiesofdatatounderpinourunderstandingofgalaxyformation,and
thefirststars,andthegrowthofblackholesintheearlyUniverse.
Allreadersofthiscollectionoweadebttothecommunityspiritoftheauthors,whohave
investedsomuchtimeandeffortintomakingtheircontributions. Ihopethatthiscollection
shareswith its predecessoralong usefullife for manychapters,butalsothe scientificjoyof
beingovertakeninsomeaspectsbyutterlyunexpecteddiscoveries.
WilliamC.Keel
Tuscaloosa,Alabama
USA
Editor-in-Chief
Dr.TerryD.Oswalt
DepartmentPhysics&SpaceSciences
FloridaInstituteofTechnology
150W.UniversityBoulevard
Melbourne,Florida32901
USA
E-mail:[email protected]
Dr.OswalthasbeenamemberoftheFloridaTechfacultysince1982andwasthefirstprofes-
sionalastronomerintheDepartmentofPhysicsandSpaceSciences.Heservesonanumberof
professionalsocietyandadvisorycommitteeseachyear.From1998to2000,Dr.Oswaltserved
asProgramDirectorforStellarAstronomyandAstrophysicsattheNationalScienceFounda-
tion.AfterreturningtoFloridaTechin2000,heservedasAssociateDeanforResearchforthe
CollegeofScience(2000–2005)andinterimViceProvostforResearch(2005–2006).Heisnow
HeadoftheDepartmentofPhysics&SpaceSciences.Dr.Oswalthaswrittenover200scientific
articlesandhaseditedthreeastronomybooks,inadditiontoservingasEditor-in-Chiefforthe
six-volumePlanets,Stars,andStellarSystemsseries.
Dr.OswaltisthefoundingchairmanoftheSoutheastAssociationforResearchinAstron-
omy(SARA), aconsortiumoftensoutheasternuniversitiesthatoperatesautomated1-meter
classtelescopesatKittPeakNationalObservatoryinArizonaandCerroTololoInteramerican
Observatory in Chile (see the website www.saraobservatory.org for details). These facilities,
which are remotelyaccessible on the Internet, are used for a variety of researchprojects by
facultyandstudents.TheyalsosupporttheSARAResearchExperiencesforUndergraduates
(REU)program,whichbringsstudentsfromallovertheU.S.eachsummertoparticipateone-
on-onewithSARAfacultymentorsinastronomicalresearchprojects.Inaddition,Dr.Oswalt
securedfundingforthe0.8-meterOrtegatelescopeontheFloridaTechcampus.Itisthelargest
researchtelescopeintheStateofFlorida.
Dr.Oswalt’sprimaryresearchfocusesonspectroscopicandphotometricinvestigationsof
verywidebinariesthatcontainknownorsuspectedwhitedwarfstars.Thesepairsofstars,whose
separationsaresolargethatorbital motionisundetectable,provideauniqueopportunityto
explorethelowluminosityendsofboththewhitedwarfcoolingtrackandthemainsequence;
totestcompetingmodelsofwhitedwarfspectralevolution;todeterminethespacemotions,
masses,andluminositiesforthelargestsinglesampleofwhitedwarfsknown;andtosetalower
limittotheageanddarkmattercontentoftheGalacticdisk.
Volume Editor
Dr.WilliamC.Keel
DepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy
UniversityofAlabama
Box870324
206GallaleeHall
Tuscaloosa,AL35487
USA
William C. Keel is Professor of Astronomy atthe University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. His
astronomicalinterestsbeganasayoungsterusingasecondhandreflectorinthebackyard,and
heremainsactiveasanamateuraswellasprofessionalastronomer.Hisundergraduatework
wasatVanderbiltUniversity,followedbyaPh.D.fromtheUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz.
Dr.Keelhadpostdoctoralpositions atKittPeakNationalObservatoryandatLeiden,before
takingupafacultypositioninAlabama.Hisresearchinterestsspanthegalaxies-activegalactic
nuclei,galaxyinteractionsandevolution,dustingalaxies.Observationallyoriented,hiswork
hasusedspectralbandsfromtheradiototheX-rayregimes,withthestrongestemphasisinthe
opticalandultraviolet.Theseresultshavebeenreportedin150refereedpapers.
Inrecentyears,muchofhisworkhasbeentiedtotheenormouslysuccessfulGalaxyZoo
citizen-scienceproject.Hecontinuestohaveschedulingresponsibilitiesforthetwotelescopes
of the SARA consortium, and has served on numerous NASA review panels including two
SeniorReviews.
Dr. Keel has been active in outreach beyond the formal classroom, through magazine
articles,anonlinepresenceinseveraldiscussionforums,andwebcomicsexplainingongoing
HubbleSpaceTelescopeprograms.
Hehaswrittenatechnicalmonograph,TheRoadtoGalaxyFormation,andthenontechni-
calvolumeTheSkyatEinstein’sFeettracingtheimpactofrelativitythroughoutastronomy.
Table of Contents
SeriesPreface.......................................................................................... v
PrefacetoVolume6.................................................................................. vii
Editor-in-Chief......................................................................................... ix
VolumeEditor......................................................................................... xi
ListofContributors.................................................................................. xv
Volume6
1 GalaxyMorphology....................................................................... 1
RonaldJ.Buta
2 EllipticalandDiskGalaxyStructureandModernScalingLaws.............. 91
AlisterW.Graham
3 StarFormationinGalaxies.............................................................. 141
SamuelBoissier
4 TheCoolISMinGalaxies................................................................. 183
JanM.vanderHulst ⋅W.J.G.deBlok
5 TheInfluenceofEnvironmentonGalaxyEvolution.............................. 207
BerndVollmer
6 ClustersofGalaxies........................................................................ 265
RichardBower
7 ActiveGalacticNuclei..................................................................... 305
EricS.Perlman
8 TheLarge-ScaleStructureoftheUniverse......................................... 387
AlisonL.Coil
9 TheDistanceScaleoftheUniverse................................................... 423
WendyL.Freedman ⋅BarryF.Madore
10 GalaxiesintheCosmologicalContext................................................ 451
GabriellaDeLucia
xiv TableofContents
11 EvolutionofActiveGalacticNuclei................................................... 503
AndreaMerloni ⋅SebastianHeinz
12 TheIntergalacticMedium............................................................... 567
RenyueCen
13 CosmicMicrowaveBackground........................................................ 609
JohnMather ⋅GaryHinshaw ⋅LymanPage
Index..................................................................................................... 685