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In this paper, we present the third data release (DR3) of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). We identify likely near-infrared counterparts to submillimetre sources in the South Galactic Pole (SGP) field using the VISTA VIKING survey. We search for the most probable counterparts within 15 arcsec of each Herschel source using a probability measure based on the ratio between the likelihood the true counterpart is found close to the submillimetre source and the likelihood that an unrelated object is found in the same location. For 110 374 (57.0 per cent) sources, we find galaxies on the near-infrared images where the probability that the galaxy is associated to the source is greater than 0.8. We estimate the false identification rate to be 4.8 per cent, with a probability that the source has an associated counterpart on the VIKING images of 0.835 ± 0.009. We investigate the effects of gravitational lensing and present 41 (0.14 deg−2) candidate lensed systems with observed flux densities >100 mJy at 500 μm. We include in the data release a probability that each source is gravitationally lensed and discover an additional 5923 sources below 100 mJy that have a probability greater than 0.94 of being gravitationally lensed. We estimate that ∼400–1 000 sources have multiple true identifications in VIKING based on the similarity of redshift estimates for multiple counterparts close to a Herschel source. The data described in this paper can be found at the H-ATLAS website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Eight MIxer Receiver (EMIR) instrument on the Institut de RadioAstronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope, we conducted a spectroscopic redshift search of seven z phot ∼ 4 submillimetre bright galaxies selected from the Herschel Bright Sources sample with fluxes at 500 μm greater than 80 mJy. For four sources, we obtained spectroscopic redshifts between 3.4 < z < 4.1 through the detection of multiple CO-spectral lines with J  ≥ 3. Later, we detected low- J transitions for two of these sources with the Green Bank Telescope including the CO(1–0) transition. For the remaining three sources, more data are needed to determine the spectroscopic redshift unambiguously. The measured CO luminosities and line widths suggest that all these sources are gravitationally lensed. These observations demonstrate that the 2 mm window is indispensable to confirm robust spectroscopic redshifts for z < 4 sources. Finally, we present an efficient graphical method to correctly identify spectroscopic redshifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a sub-set of the DustPedia galaxy sample (461 galaxies) to investigate the effect the environment has had on galaxies. We consider Virgo cluster and field samples and also assign a density contrast parameter to each galaxy, as defined by the local density of SDSS galaxies. We consider their chemical evolution (using MDust/MBaryon and MGas/MBaryon), their specific star formation rate (SFR/MStars), star formation efficiency (SFR/MGas), stars-to-dust mass ratio (MStars/MDust), gas-to-dust mass ratio (MGas/MDust) and the relationship between star formation rate per unit mass of dust and dust temperature (SFR/MDust and TDust). Late type galaxies (later than Sc) in all of the environments can be modelled using simple closed box chemical evolution and a simple star formation history (SFR(t) ∝ t exp−t/τ). For earlier type galaxies the physical mechanisms that give rise to their properties are clearly much more varied and require a more complicated model (mergers, gas in or outflow). However, we find little or no difference in the properties of galaxies of the same morphological type within the cluster, field or with different density contrasts. It appears that it is morphology, how and whenever this is laid down, and consistent internal physical processes that primarily determine the derived properties of galaxies in the DustPedia sample and not processes related to differences in the local environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present measurements of the angular correlation function of sub-millimetre (sub-mm) galaxies (SMGs) identified in four out of the five fields of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) – GAMA-9h, GAMA-12h, GAMA-15h, and NGP – with flux densities |$S_{250 \, \mu {\rm m}} \gt 30$| mJy at 250 μm. We show that galaxies selected at this wavelength trace the underlying matter distribution differently at low and high redshifts. We study the evolution of the clustering finding that at low redshifts sub-mm galaxies exhibit clustering strengths of r 0 ∼ 2–3 h −1 Mpc, below |$z$| < 0.3. At high redshifts, on the other hand, we find that sub-mm galaxies are more strongly clustered with correlation lengths r 0 = 8.1 ± 0.5, 8.8 ± 0.8, and 13.9 ± 3.9 h −1 Mpc at |$z$|  = 1–2, 2–3. and 3–5, respectively. We show that sub-mm galaxies across the redshift range 1 < |$z$| < 5, typically reside in dark-matter halos of mass of the order of |${\sim } 10^{12.5}\hbox{--}10^{13.0} \, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$| and are consistent with being the progenitors of local massive elliptical galaxies that we see in the local Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most radiative transfer models assume that dust in spiral galaxies is distributed exponentially. In this paper our goal is to verify this assumption by analysing the two-dimensional large-scale distribution of dust in galaxies from the DustPedia sample. For this purpose, we have made use of Herschel imaging in five bands, from 100 to 500 μm, in which the cold dust constituent is primarily traced and makes up the bulk of the dust mass in spiral galaxies. For a subsample of 320 disc galaxies, we successfully performed a simultaneous fitting with a single Sérsic model of the Herschel images in all five bands using the multi-band modelling code GALFITM. We report that the Sérsic index n, which characterises the shape of the Sérsic profile, lies systematically below 1 in all Herschel bands and is almost constant with wavelength. The average value at 250 μm is 0.67 ± 0.37 (187 galaxies are fitted with n250 ≤ 0.75, 87 galaxies have 0.75 < n250 ≤ 1.25, and 46 – with n250 >  1.25). Most observed profiles exhibit a depletion in the inner region (at r <  0.3−0.4 of the optical radius r25) and are more or less exponential in the outer part. We also find breaks in the dust emission profiles at longer distances (0.5−0.6) r25 which are associated with the breaks in the optical and near-infrared. We assumed that the observed deficit of dust emission in the inner galaxy region is related to the depression in the radial profile of the HI surface density in the same region because the atomic gas reaches high enough surface densities there to be transformed into molecular gas. If a galaxy has a triggered star formation in the inner region (for example, because of a strong bar instability, which transfers the gas inwards to the centre, or a pseudobulge formation), no depletion or even an excess of dust emission in the centre is observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the properties of the first 250 µm blind sample of nearby galaxies (15 < D < 46Mpc) containing 42 objects from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. Herschel's sensitivity probes the faint end of the dust luminosity function for the first time, spanning a range of stellar mass (7.4 M* < 11.3 log < 10Mʘ), star formation activity (-11.8 < SSFR <-8.9 log10 10 yr-1), gas fraction (3-96 per cent), and colour (0.6 < FUV-KS < 7.0 mag). The median cold dust temperature is 14.6 K, colder than in the Herschel Reference Survey (18.5 K) and Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (17.7 K). The mean dust-to-stellar mass ratio in our sample is higher than these surveys by factors of 3.7 and 1.8, with a dust mass volume density of (3.7 ± 0.7) x 105 Mʘ Mpc-3. Counter-intuitively, we find that the more dust rich a galaxy, the lower its UV attenuation. Over half of our dust-selected sample are very blue in FUV-KS colour, with irregular and/or highly flocculent morphology; these galaxies account for only 6 per cent of the sample's stellar mass but contain over 35 per cent of the dust mass. They are the most actively star-forming galaxies in the sample, with the highest gas fractions and lowest UV attenuation. They also appear to be in an early stage of converting their gas into stars, providing valuable insights into the chemical evolution of young galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic phenomena in the Universe; believed to result from the collapse and subsequent explosion of massive stars. Even though it has profound consequences for our understanding of their nature and selection biases, little is known about the dust properties of the galaxies hosting GRBs. We present analysis of the far-infrared properties of an unbiased sample of 20 BeppoSAX and Swift GRB host galaxies (at an average redshift of z = 3.1) located in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey, the Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey, the Herschel Fornax Cluster Survey, the Herschel Stripe 82 Survey and the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey, totalling 880 deg², or ~3 per cent of the sky in total. Our sample selection is serendipitous, based only on whether the X-ray position of a GRB lies within a large-scale Herschel survey - therefore our sample can be considered completely unbiased. Using deep data at wavelengths of 100-500 µm, we tentatively detected 1 out of 20 GRB hosts located in these fields. We constrain their dust masses and star formation rates (SFRs), and discuss these in the context of recent measurements of submillimetre galaxies and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. The average far-infrared flux of our sample gives an upper limit on SFR of < 114 M8857; yr-1. The detection rate of GRB hosts is consistent with that predicted assuming that GRBs trace the cosmic SFR density in an unbiased way, i.e. that the fraction of GRB hosts with SFR > 500 M8857; yr-1 is consistent with the contribution of such luminous galaxies to the cosmic star formation density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined variations in the 160/250 and 250/350 μm surface brightness ratios within 24 nearby (<30 Mpc) face-on spiral galaxiesobserved with the Herschel Space Observatory to identify the heating mechanisms for dust emitting at these wavelengths. The analysis consisted of both qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the 160/250 and 250/350 μm ratios to Hα and 24 μm emission, which trace the light from star-forming regions, and 3.6 μm emission, which traces the light from the older stellar populations of the galaxies. We find broad variations in the heating mechanisms for the dust. In one subset of galaxies, we found evidence that emission at ≤160 μm (and in rare cases potentially at ≤350 μm) originates from dust heated by star-forming regions. In another subset, we found that the emission at ≥250 μm (and sometimes at ≥160 μm) originates from dust heated by the older stellar population. In the rest of the sample, either the results are indeterminate or both of these stellar populations may contribute equally to the global dust heating. The observed variations in dust heating mechanisms do not necessarily match what has been predicted by dust emission and radiative transfer models, which could lead to overestimated dust temperatures, underestimated dust masses, false detections of variability in dust emissivity, and inaccurate star formation rate measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present Herschel Space Telescope observations of the nearby Fornax cluster at 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500 µm with a spatial resolution of 7-36 arcsec (10 arcsec 1 kpc at dFornax = 17.9Mpc). We define a sample of 11 bright galaxies, selected at 500 µm, that can be directly compared with our past work on the Virgo cluster. We check and compare our results with previous observations made by IRAS and Planck, finding good agreement. The far-infrared luminosity density is higher, by about a factor of 3, in Fornax compared toVirgo, consistent with the higher number density of galaxies. The 100 µm (42.5-122.5 µm) luminosity is two orders of magnitude larger in Fornax than in the local field as measured by IRAS.We calculate stellar (L0.4-2.5) and far-infrared (L100-500) luminosities for each galaxy and use these to estimate a mean optical depth of t = 0.4 ± 0.1 - the same value as we previously found for Virgo cluster galaxies. For 10 of the 11 galaxies (NGC 1399 excepted), we fit a modified blackbody curve (ß = 2.0) to our observed flux densities to derive dust masses and temperatures of 106.54-8.35 M... and T =14.6-24.2 K, respectively, values comparable to those found for Virgo. The derived stars-to-gas(atomic) and gas(atomic)-to-dust ratios vary from 1.1-67.6 to 9.8-436.5, respectively, again broadly consistent with values for Virgo. Fornax is a mass overdensity in stars and dust of about 120 when compared to the local field (30 for Virgo). Fornax and Virgo are both a factor of 6 lower overdensities in gas(atomic) than in stars and dust indicating loss of gas, but not dust and stars, in the cluster environment. We consider in more detail two of the sample galaxies. As the brightest source in either Fornax or Virgo, NGC 1365 is also detected by Planck. The Planck data fit the PACS/SPIRE spectral energy distribution out to 1382 µm with no evidence of other sources of emission ('spinning dust', free-free, synchrotron). At the opposite end of the scale, NGC 1399 is detected only at 500 µm with the emission probably arising from the nuclear radio source rather than interstellar dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Herschel Reference Survey (HRS) is a guaranteed time Herschel key project aimed at studying the physical properties of the interstellar medium in galaxies of the nearby universe. This volume limited, K-band selected sample is composed of galaxies spanning the whole range of morphological types (from ellipticals to late-type spirals) and environments (from the field to the centre of the Virgo Cluster). We present flux density measurements of the whole sample of 323 galaxies of the HRS in the three bands of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), at 250 μm, 350 μm and 500 μm. Aperture photometry is performed on extended galaxies and point spread function (PSF) fitting on timeline data for unresolved objects; we carefully estimate errors and upper limits. The flux densities are found to be in good agreement with those of the HeViCS and KINGFISH key projects in all SPIRE bands, and of the Planck consortium at 350 μm and 550 μm, for the galaxies in common. This submillimetre catalogue of nearby galaxies is a benchmark for the study of the dust properties in the local universe, giving the zero redshift reference for any cosmological survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We examine the dust and gas properties of the nearby, barred galaxy M83, which is part of the Very Nearby Galaxy Survey. Using images from the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) instruments of Herschel, we examine the dust temperature and dust mass surface density distribution. We find that the nuclear, bar and spiral arm regions exhibit higher dust temperatures and masses compared to interarm regions. However, the distributions of dust temperature and mass are not spatially coincident. Assuming a trailing spiral structure, the dust temperature peaks in the spiral arms lie ahead of the dust surface density peaks. The dust mass surface density correlates well with the distribution of molecular gas as traced by CO ( J= 3→2) images (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope) and the star formation rate as traced by Hα with a correction for obscured star formation using 24- μm emission. Using H i images from The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS) to trace the atomic gas component, we make total gas mass surface density maps and calculate the gas-to-dust ratio. We find a mean gas-to-dust ratio of 84 ± 4 with higher values in the inner region assuming a constant CO-to-H2 conversion factor. We also examine the gas-to-dust ratio using CO-to-H2 conversion factor that varies with metallicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present measurements of the mean mid-infrared to submillimetre flux densities of massive ( M★≳ 1011 M⊙) galaxies at redshifts 1.7 < z < 2.9, obtained by stacking positions of known objects taken from the GOODS NICMOS Survey (GNS) catalogue on maps at 24 m ( Spitzer/MIPS); 70, 100 and 160 m ( Herschel/PACS); 250, 350 and 500 m ( BLAST); and 870 m (LABOCA). A modified blackbody spectrum fit to the stacked flux densities indicates a median [interquartile] star formation rate (SFR) of SFR = 63[48, 81] M⊙ yr−1. We note that not properly accounting for correlations between bands when fitting stacked data can significantly bias the result. The galaxies are divided into two groups, disc-like and spheroid-like, according to their Sérsic indices, n. We find evidence that most of the star formation is occurring in n≤ 2 (disc-like) galaxies, with median [interquartile] SFR = 122[100, 150] M⊙ yr−1, while there are indications that the n > 2 (spheroid-like) population may be forming stars at a median [interquartile] SFR = 14[9, 20] M⊙ yr−1, if at all. Finally, we show that star formation is a plausible mechanism for size evolution in this population as a whole, but find only marginal evidence that it is what drives the expansion of the spheroid-like galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We investigate the ultraviolet and optical properties and environment of low-redshift galaxies detected in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) science demonstration data. We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey seventh release and the Galaxy And Mass Assembly data base to select galaxies with mag in the redshift range 0.02 ≤ z ≤ 0.2 and look for their submillimetre counterparts in H-ATLAS. Our results show that at low redshift, H-ATLAS detects mainly blue/star-forming galaxies with a minor contribution from red systems which are highly obscured by dust. In addition we find that the colour of a galaxy rather than the local density of its environment determines whether it is detectable by H-ATLAS. The average dust temperature of galaxies that are simultaneously detected by both PACS and SPIRE is 25 ± 4 K, independent of environment. This analysis provides a glimpse of the potential of the H-ATLAS data to investigate the submillimetre properties of galaxies in the local universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a catalog of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the Andromeda (M31) galaxy extracted from the Herschel Exploitation of Local Galaxy Andromeda (HELGA) data set. GMCs are identified from the Herschel maps using a hierarchical source extraction algorithm. We present the results of this new catalog and characterize the spatial distribution and spectral energy properties of its clouds based on the radial dust/gas properties found by Smith et al. A total of 326 GMCs in the mass range 104-107M☼ are identified; their cumulative mass distribution is found to be proportional to M–2.34, in agreement with earlier studies. The GMCs appear to follow the same correlation of cloud mass to LCO observed in the Milky Way. However, comparison between this catalog and interferometry studies also shows that the GMCs are substructured below the Herschel resolution limit, suggesting that we are observing associations of GMCs. Following Gordon et al., we study the spatial structure of M31 by splitting the observed structure into a set of spiral arms and offset rings. We fit radii of 10.3 and 15.5 kpc to the two most prominent rings. We then fit a logarithmic spiral with a pitch angle of 8.°9 to the GMCs not associated with either ring. Last, we comment on the effects of deprojection on our results and investigate the effect different models for M31's inclination will have on the projection of an unperturbed spiral arm system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]