Person: Castillo Morales, María África
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First Name
María África
Last Name
Castillo Morales
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Físicas
Department
Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica
Area
Astronomía y Astrofísica
Identifiers
11 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
- Project number: PIMCD154/23-24
Item Físicas e ingenieras del mañana: fomentando sus vocaciones científicas(2024) Martín Benito, Mercedes; Castillo Morales, María África; García Payo, M. Carmen; Gómez Nicola, Ángel; Martín Fernández, Fátima; Pérez García, Lucas; Prieto Jiménez, Carlota; Sanmartino Rodríguez, Julio AntonioEste proyecto propone varias iniciativas para fomentar la vocación por la física y las ingenierías que impartimos en la Facultad de CC. Físicas, en alumnas de primaria y secundaria. El objetivo es reducir el desequilibrio de género en nuestro centro. Item NGC 7469 as seen by MEGARA: new results from high-resolution IFU spectroscopy(Monthly notices of The Royal Astronomical Society, 2020) Gil De Paz, Armando; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Castillo Morales, María África; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Cardiel López, NicolásWe present our analysis of high-resolution (R ∼ 20 000) GTC/MEGARA integral-field unit spectroscopic observations, obtained during the commissioning run, in the inner region (12.5 arcsec × 11.3 arcsec) of the active galaxy NGC 7469, at spatial scales of 0.62 arcsec. We explore the kinematics, dynamics, ionization mechanisms, and oxygen abundances of the ionized gas, by modelling the H α-[N II] emission lines at high signal-to-noise (> 15) with multiple Gaussian components. MEGARA observations reveal, for the first time for NGC 7469, the presence of a very thin (20 pc) ionized gas disc supported by rotation (V/σ = 4.3), embedded in a thicker (222 pc), dynamically hotter (V/σ = 1.3) one. These discs nearly corotate with similar peak-to-peak velocities (163 versus 137 km s^(−1)), but with different average velocity dispersion (38 ± 1 versus 108 ± 4 km s^(−1)). The kinematics of both discs could be possibly perturbed by star-forming regions. We interpret the morphology and the kinematics of a third (broader) component (σ > 250 km s^(−1)) as suggestive of the presence of non-rotational turbulent motions possibly associated either to an outflow or to the lense. For the narrow component, the [N II]/H α ratios point to the star-formation as the dominant mechanism of ionization, being consistent with ionization from shocks in the case of the intermediate component. All components have roughly solar metallicity. In the nuclear region of NGC 7469, at r ≤ 1.85 arcsec, a very broad (FWHM = 2590 km s^(−1)) H α component is contributing (41 per cent) to the global H α-[N II] profile, being originated in the (unresolved) broad line region of the Seyfert 1.5 nucleus of NGC 7469.Item Spatially resolved analysis of neutralwWinds, stars, and ionized gas kinematics with MEGARA/GTC: new insights on the nearby galaxy UGC 10205(Astrophysical journal, 2020) Catalán Torrecilla, Cristina; Castillo Morales, María África; Gil De Paz, Armando; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Chamorro Cazorla, Mario; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Cardiel López, Nicolás; Dullo, BililignWe present a comprehensive analysis of the multiphase structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the stellar kinematics in the edge-on nearby galaxy UGC 10205 using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data taken with MultiEspectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía (MEGARA) at the GTC. We explore both the neutral and the ionized gas phases using the interstellar Na I D doublet absorption (LR−V setup, R ∼ 6000) and the Hα emission line (HR−R setup, R ∼ 18000), respectively. The high-resolution data show the complexity of the Hα emission-line profile revealing the detection of up to three kinematically distinct gaseous components. Despite of this fact, a thin-disk model is able to reproduce the bulk of the ionized gas motions in the central regions of UGC 10205. The use of asymmetric drift corrections is needed to reconciliate the ionized and the stellar velocity rotation curves. We also report the detection of outflowing neutral gas material blueshifted by ∼ 87 km s^(−1) . The main physical properties that describe the observed outflow are a total mass M_(out) = (4.55 ± 0.06) × 10^(7) Mʘ and a coldgas mass outflow rate M_(out) = 0.78 0.03 Mʘ yr^(−1) . This work points out the necessity of exploiting highresolution IFS data to understand the multiphase components of the ISM and the multiple kinematical components in the central regions of nearby galaxies.Item Spatially resolved properties of the ionized gas in the HII galaxy J084220+115000(Monthly notices of The Royal Astronomical Society, 2023) Gil De Paz, Armando; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Castillo Morales, María África; Cardiel López, Nicolás; Pascual Ramírez, SergioWe present a spatially resolved spectroscopic study for the metal poor H_(II) galaxy J084220+115000 using MEGARA Integral Field Unit observations at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. We estimated the gas metallicity using the direct method for oxygen, nitrogen and helium and found a mean value of 12+log(O/H)=8.03±0.06, and integrated electron density and temperature of ∼ 161 cm^(−3) and ∼ 15400 K, respectively. The metallicity distribution shows a large range of ∆(O/H) = 0.72 dex between the minimum and maximum (7.69±0.06 and 8.42±0.05) values, unusual in a dwarf starforming galaxy. We derived an integrated log(N/O) ratio of −1.51 ± 0.05 and found that both N/O and O/H correspond to a primary production of metals. Spatially resolved maps indicate that the gas appears to be photoionized by massive stars according to the diagnostic line ratios. Between the possible mechanisms to explain the starburst activity and the large variation of oxygen abundance in this galaxy, our data support a possible scenario where we are witnessing an ongoing interaction triggering multiple star-forming regions localized in two dominant clumps.Item Unexplored outflows in nearby low luminosity AGNs: the case of NGC 1052(Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2022) Cazzoli, S.; Hermosa Muñoz, L.; Márquez, I.; Masegosa, J.; Castillo Morales, María África; Gil De Paz, Armando; Hernández García, L.; La Franca, F.; Ramos Almeida, C.Context. Multi-phase outflows play a central role in galaxy evolution shaping the properties of galaxies. Understanding outflows and their effects in low luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs), such as low ionisation nuclear emission line regions (LINERs), is essential. LINERs bridge the gap between normal and active galaxies, being the most numerous AGN population in the local Universe. Aims. Our goal is to analyse the kinematics and ionisation mechanisms of the multi-phase gas of NGC 1052, the prototypical LINER, in order to detect and map the ionised and neutral phases of the putative outflow. Methods. We obtained Very Large Telescope MUSE and Gran Telescopio Canarias MEGARA optical integral field spectroscopy data for NGC 1052. In addition to stellar kinematics maps, by modelling spectral lines with multiple Gaussian components, we obtained flux, kinematic, and excitation maps of both ionised and neutral gas. Results. The stars are distributed in a dynamically hot disc (V/σ ∼ 1.2), with a centrally peaked velocity dispersion map (σ_(c) = 201 +/- 10 km s^(-1)) and large observed velocity amplitudes (∆V = 167 +/- 19 km s^(-1)). The ionised gas, probed by the primary component is detected up ∼30'' (∼3.3 kpc) mostly in the polar direction with blue and red velocities (|V|< 250 km s^(-1)). The velocity dispersion map shows a notable enhancement (σ > 90 km s^(-1)) crossing the galaxy along the major axis of rotation in the central 10''. The secondary component has a bipolar morphology, velocity dispersion larger than 150 km s^(-1), and velocities up to 660 km s^(-1). A third component is detected with MUSE (and barely with MEGARA), but it is not spatially resolved. The broad-line region (BLR) component (used to model the broad Hα emission only) has a full width at half maximum of 2427 +/- 332 and 2350 +/- 470 km s^(-1) for MUSE and MEGARA data, respectively. The maps of the NaD absorption indicate optically thick neutral gas with complex kinematics. The velocity field is consistent with a slow rotating disc (∆V = 77 +/- 12 km s^(-1)), but the velocity dispersion map is off-centred without any counterpart in the (centrally peaked) flux map. Conclusions. We found evidence of an ionised gas outflow (secondary component) with a mass of 1.6 +/- 0.6 x 10^(5) Mꙩ, and mass rate of 0.4 +/- 0.2 Mꙩ yr^(-1). The outflow is propagating in a cocoon of gas with enhanced turbulence and might be triggering the onset of kiloparsec-scale buoyant bubbles (polar emission), both probed by the primary component. Taking into account the energy and kinetic power of the outflow (1.3 +/- 0.9 x 10^(53) erg and 8.8 +/- 3.5 x 10^(40) erg s^(-1), respectively) as well as its alignment with both the jet and the cocoon, and that the gas is collisionally ionised (due to gas compression), we consider that the most likely power source of the outflow is the jet, although some contribution from the AGN is possible. The hints of the presence of a neutral gas outflow are weak.Item Stellar populations with MEGARA: The inner regions of NGC 7025(Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2022) Chamorro Cazorla, Mario; Gil De Paz, Armando; Castillo Morales, María África; Dullo, Bililign; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Carrasco, E.; Iglesias Páramo, J.; Cedazo, R.; García Vargas, M. L.; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Cardiel López, Nicolás; Pérez Calpena, A.; Gómez Álvarez, P.; Martínez-Delgado, I.; Catalán Torrecilla, CristinaContext. This paper aims to determine the capabilities of the MEGARA spectrograph at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), which is an optical integral-field unit, for studying stellar populations. We also aim to exploit its combination of high spectral (Rx2004;similar to 6000,12000 and 20 000) and spatial (0.62 '') resolution within its 12 '' .5 x 11 '' .3 field of view. We do this by analysing the commissioning data of the nearby S0a galaxy NGC 7025. Aims. We establish a systematic method through which we can determine the properties of the stellar populations in the observations made with MEGARA, more specifically, within the MEGADES legacy project. For this paper in particular, we determine the properties of the stellar populations of NGC 7025. Methods. We used MEGARA observations of galaxy NGC 7025 that were taken during the commissioning phase of the instrument. We applied different approaches to estimate the properties of the stellar populations with the highest possible certainty. In addition to the specific study of NGC 7025 and in the context of the MEGADES survey, we have carried out a number of tests to determine the expected errors (including potential biases) in these star formation history (SFH) derivations as a function of these parameters, namely spectral setup, signal-to-noise ratio, sigma, and the SFH itself. Results. All the studies we conduct (both full spectral fitting and absorption line indices) of the stellar populations of NGC 7025 indicate that the stars that form its bulge have supersolar metallicity and considerably old ages (similar to 10 Gyr) in general. Using three different combinations of MEGARA spectral setups, we determined that the bulge of NGC 7025 has smild negative mass-weighted age gradient. For the more detailed SFH, our results indicate that in addition to a rather constant star formation at early epochs, a peak in the formation history of the stars in the bulge is also found 3.5-4.5 Gyr ago. This partly explains the mass-weighted age gradients we measured. Conclusions. The scenario presented in NGC 7025 is that of an isolated galaxy under secular evolution that about 3.5-4.5 Gyr ago likely experienced a minor merger (mass ratio 1/10) that induced an increase in star formation and also perturbed the morphology of its outer disc. In addition to these specific results for NGC 7025, we report different lessons learned for the ongoing exploitation of the MEGADES survey with the GTC, such as the need to obtain combined observations in the LR-B + LR-V setups and a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 20 per angstrom.Item A new insight of AGC 198691 (Leoncino) galaxy with MEGARA at the GTC(Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2022) Carrasco, E.; García Vargas, M. L.; Gil De Paz, Armando; Mollá, M.; Izazaga Pérez, R.; Castillo Morales, María África; Gómez Álvarez, P.; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Iglesias Páramo, J.; Cardiel López, Nicolás; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Pérez Calpena, A.We describe the observations of the low metallicity nearby galaxy AGC 198691 (Leoncino Dwarf) obtained with the Integral Field Unit of the instrument MEGARA at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. The observations cover the wavelength ranges 4304-5198 Aand 6098-7306 Awith a resolving power R approximate to 6000. We present 2D maps of the ionized gas, deriving the extension of the H II region and gas kinematics from the observed emission lines. We have not found any evidence of recent gas infall or loss of metals by means of outflows. This result is supported by the closed-box model predictions, consistent with the oxygen abundance found by other authors in this galaxy and points towards Leoncino being a genuine XMD galaxy. We present for the first time spatially resolved spectroscopy allowing the detailed study of a star-forming region. We use POPSTAR + CLOUDY models to simulate the emission-line spectrum. We find that the central emission-line spectrum can be explained by a single young ionizing cluster with an age of approximate to 3.5 +/- 0.5 Myr and a stellar mass of approximate to 2 x10(3) M-circle dot. However, the radial profiles of [O III].5007Aand the Balmer lines in emission demand photoionization by clusters of different ages between 3.5 and 6.5 Myr that might respond either to the evolution of a single cluster evolving along the cooling time of the nebula (approximate to 3 Myr at the metallicity of Leoncino, Z approximate to 0.0004) or to mass segregation of the cluster, being both scenarios consistent with the observed equivalent widths of the Balmer lines.Item Mapping the ionized gas of the metal-poor HII galaxy PHL 293B with MEGARA(Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2020) Kehrig, C.; Iglesias-Paramo, J.; Vílchez, J. M.; Gil De Paz, Armando; Duarte Puertas, S.; Perez-Montero, E.; Díaz, A. I.; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Carrasco, E.; Cardiel López, Nicolás; García-Vargas, M. L.; Castillo Morales, María África; Cedazo, R.; Gomez- Álvarez, P.; Martínez-Delgado, I.; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Perez-Calpena, A.Here we report the first spatially resolved spectroscopic study for the galaxy PHL 293B using the high-resolution GTC/MEGARA integral field unit (IFU). PHL 293B is a local, extremely metal-poor, high ionization galaxy. This makes PHL 293B an excellent analogue for galaxies in the early Universe. The MEGARA aperture (∼ 12.5” × 11.3”) covers the entire PHL 293B main body and its far-reaching ionized gas. We created and discussed maps of all relevant emission lines, line ratios and physical-chemical properties of the ionized ISM. The narrow emission gas appears to be ionized mainly by massive stars according to the observed diganostic line ratios, regardless of the position across the MEGARA aperture. We detected low intensity broad emission components and blueshifted absorptions in the Balmer lines (Hα,Hβ) which are located in the brightest zone of the galaxy ISM. A chemically homogeneity, across hundreds of parsecs, is observed in O/H. We take the oxygen abundance 12+log (O/H) = 7.64 ± 0.06 derived from the PHL 293B integrated spectrum as the representative metallicity for the galaxy. Our IFU data reveal for the first time that the nebular HeIIλ4686 emission from PHL 293B is spatially extended and coincident with the ionizing stellar cluster, and allow us to compute its absolute HeII ionizing photon flux. Wolf-Rayet bumps are not detected excluding therefore Wolf-Rayet stars as the main HeII excitation source. The origin of the nebular HeIIλ4686 is discussed.Item MEGARA-GTC stellar spectral library: I(Monthly notices of The Royal Astronomical Society, 2020) García Vargas, M. L.; Carrasco, E.; Mollá, M.; Berlanas, S.R.; Cardiel López, Nicolás; Gil De Paz, Armando; Gómez Álvarez, P.; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Iglesias Páramo, J.; Cedazo, R.; Pascual Ramírez, Sergio; Pérez Calpena, A.; Martínez Delgado, I.; Castillo Morales, María ÁfricaMEGARA (Multi Espectrografo en GTC de Alta Resolucion para Astronomia) is an optical (3650-9750 Å), fibre-fed, medium-high spectral resolution (R = 6000, 12 000 and 20 000) instrument for the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) 10.4-m telescope, commissioned in the summer of 2017, and currently in operation. The scientific exploitation of MEGARA requires a stellar spectra library to interpret galaxy data and to estimate the contribution of the stellar populations. In this paper, we introduce the MEGARA-GTC spectral library, detailing the rationale behind the building of this catalogue. We present the spectra of 97 stars (21 individual stars and 56 members of the globular cluster M15, which are both subsamples taken during the commissioning runs, and 20 stars from our ongoing GTC Open-Time programme). The spectra have R = 20 000 in the HR-R and HR-I set-ups, centred at 6563 and 8633 Å, respectively. We describe the procedures to reduce and analyse the data. Then, we determine the best-fitting theoretical models to each spectrum through a χ^(2) minimization technique, to derive the stellar physical parameters, and we discuss the results. We have also measured some absorption lines and indices. Finally, we introduce our project to complete the library and the data base in order to make the spectra available to the community.Item MEGARA-IFU detection of extended He II λ4686 nebular emission in the central region of NGC1569 and its ionization budget(Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2020) Gil De Paz, Armando; Gallego Maestro, Jesús; Castillo Morales, María África; Pascual Ramírez, SergioWe here report the detection of extended He ii λ4686 nebular emission in the central region of NGC 1569 using the integral field spectrograph MEGARA at the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias. The observations cover a Field of View (FoV) of 12.5 arcsec×11.3 arcsec at seeing-limited spatial resolution of ∼15 pc and at a spectral resolution of R=6000 in the wavelength range 4330–5200 Å. The emission extends over a semi-circular arc of ∼40 pc width and ∼150 pc diameter around the super star cluster A (SSC-A). The A_(V) derived using Balmer decrement varies from the Galactic value of 1.6 mag to a maximum of ∼4.5 mag, with a mean value of 2.65±0.60 mag. We infer 124±11 Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in SSC-A using the He ii λ4686 broad feature and A_(V)=2.3 mag. The He+ ionizing photon rate from these WR stars is sufficient to explain the luminosity of the He ii nebula. The observationally-determined total He+ and H0 ionizing photon rates, their ratio, and the observed number of WR stars in SSC-A are all consistent with the predictions of simple stellar population models at an age of 4.0±0.5 Myr, and mass of (5.5±0.5)×105 Mꙩ.Our observations reinforce the absence of WR stars in SSC-B, the second most massive cluster in the FoV. None of the other locations in our FoV where He ii λ4686 emission has been reported from narrow-band imaging observations contain WR stars.