103,766 research outputs found
Identification of Moving Groups and Member Selection using Hipparcos Data
A new method to identify coherent structures in velocity space --- moving
groups --- in astrometric catalogues is presented: the Spaghetti method. It
relies on positions, parallaxes, and proper motions and is ideally suited to
search for moving groups in the Hipparcos Catalogue. No radial velocity
information is required.
The method has been tested extensively on synthetic data, and applied to the
Hipparcos measurements for the Hyades and IC2602 open clusters. The resulting
lists of members agree very well with those of Perryman et al. for the Hyades
and of Whiteoak and Braes for IC2602.Comment: 14 pages, 9 encapsulated postscript figures, LaTeX using mn.sty;
accepted for publication in the MNRA
X-Ray Groups of Galaxies in the Aegis Deep and Wide Fields
We present the results of a search for extended X-ray sources and their
corresponding galaxy groups from 800-ks Chandra coverage of the All-wavelength
Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). This yields one of the
largest X-ray selected galaxy group catalogs from a blind survey to date. The
red-sequence technique and spectroscopic redshifts allow us to identify 100
of reliable sources, leading to a catalog of 52 galaxy groups. The groups span
the redshift range and virial mass range
. For the 49 extended
sources which lie within DEEP2 and DEEP3 Galaxy Redshift Survey coverage, we
identify spectroscopic counterparts and determine velocity dispersions. We
select member galaxies by applying different cuts along the line of sight or in
projected spatial coordinates. A constant cut along the line of sight can cause
a large scatter in scaling relations in low-mass or high-mass systems depending
on the size of cut. A velocity dispersion based virial radius can more
overestimate velocity dispersion in comparison to X-ray based virial radius for
low mass systems. There is no significant difference between these two radial
cuts for more massive systems. Independent of radial cut, overestimation of
velocity dispersion can be created in case of existence of significant
substructure and also compactness in X-ray emission which mostly occur in low
mass systems. We also present a comparison between X-ray galaxy groups and
optical galaxy groups detected using the Voronoi-Delaunay method (VDM) for
DEEP2 data in this field.Comment: Accepted for publication in AP
A kinematic study of the Taurus-Auriga T association
Aims: This is the first paper in a series dedicated to investigating the
kinematic properties of nearby associations of young stellar objects. Here we
study the Taurus-Auriga association, with the primary objective of deriving
kinematic parallaxes for individual members of this low-mass star-forming
region. Methods: We took advantage of a recently published catalog of proper
motions for pre-main sequence stars, which we supplemented with radial
velocities from various sources found in the CDS databases. We searched for
stars of the Taurus-Auriga region that share the same space velocity, using a
modified convergent point method that we tested with extensive Monte Carlo
simulations. Results: Among the sample of 217 Taurus-Auriga stars with known
proper motions, we identify 94 pre-main sequence stars that are probable
members of the same moving group and several additional candidates whose
pre-main sequence evolutionary status needs to be confirmed. We derive
individual parallaxes for the 67 moving group members with known radial
velocities and give tentative parallaxes for other members based on the average
spatial velocity of the group. The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the moving
group members and a discussion of their masses and ages are presented in a
companion paper.Comment: accepted for publication by A&
Properties and numerical solutions of dispersion curves in general isotropic waveguides
In this paper, some properties of dispersion curves in general isotropic piecewise homogeneous waveguides are rigorously derived. These properties are leveraged in a numerical implementation capable of determining the dispersion curves of such waveguides with cross-section materials that can be highly conductive (such as copper). In a numerical example, the influence of a lossy shielding conductor on the complex modes of a shielded dielectric image guide is investigated for the first time
The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey: the group catalogue
[Abridged] We present a homogeneous and complete catalogue of optical groups
identified in the purely flux limited (17.5<=I<=24.0) VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey
(VVDS). We use mock catalogues extracted from the MILLENNIUM simulation, to
correct for potential systematics that might affect the overall distribution as
well as the individual properties of the identified systems. Simulated samples
allow us to forecast the number and properties of groups that can be
potentially found in a survey with VVDS-like selection functions. We use them
to correct for the expected incompleteness and also to asses how well galaxy
redshifts trace the line-of-sight velocity dispersion of the underlying mass
overdensity. In particular, we train on these mock catalogues the adopted
group-finding technique (the Voronoi-Delaunay Method, VDM). The goal is to
fine-tune its free parameters, recover in a robust and unbiased way the
redshift and velocity dispersion distributions of groups and maximize the level
of completeness (C) and purity (P) of the group catalogue. We identify 318 VVDS
groups with at least 2 members within 0.2<=z<=1.0, among which 144 (/30) with
at least 3 (/5) members. The sample has globally C=60% and P=50%. Nearly 45% of
the groups with at least 3 members are still recovered if we run the algorithm
with a parameter set which maximizes P (75%). We exploit the group sample to
study the redshift evolution of the fraction f_b of blue galaxies (U-B<=1)
within 0.2<=z<=1. We find that f_b is significantly lower in groups than in the
whole ensemble of galaxies irrespectively of their environment. These
quantities increase with redshift, with f_b in groups showing a marginally
significant steeper increase. We also confirm that, at any explored redshift,
f_b decreases for increasing group richness, and we extend towards fainter
luminosities the magnitude range over which this result holds.Comment: Submitted to A&A, revised version after referee comments, Table 5
adde
A statistical study of the luminosity gap in galaxy groups
The luminosity gap between the two brightest members of galaxy groups and
clusters is thought to offer a strong test for the models of galaxy formation
and evolution. This study focuses on the statistics of the luminosity gap in
galaxy groups, in particular fossil groups, e.g. large luminosity gap, in an
analogy with the same in a cosmological simulation. We use spectroscopic legacy
data of seventh data release (DR7) of SDSS, to extract a volume limited sample
of galaxy groups utilizing modified friends-of-friends (mFoF) algorithm.
Attention is paid to galaxy groups with the brightest group galaxy (BGG) more
luminous than \Mr = -22. An initial sample of 620 groups in which 109 optical
fossil groups, where the luminosity gap exceeds 2 magnitude, were identified.
We compare the statistics of the luminosity gap in galaxy groups at low mass
range from the SDSS with the same in the Millennium simulations where galaxies
are modeled semi-analytically. We show that the BGGs residing in galaxy groups
with large luminosity gap, i.e. fossil groups, are on average brighter and live
in lower mass halos with respect to their counter parts in non-fossil systems.
Although low mass galaxy groups are thought to have recently formed, we show
that in galaxy groups with 15 galaxies brighter than ,
evolutionary process are most likely to be responsible for the large luminosity
gap. We also examine a new probe of finding fossil group. In addition we extend
the recently introduced observational probe based on the luminosity gap, the
butterfly diagram, to galaxy groups and study the probe as a function of halo
mass. This probe can, in conjunction with the luminosity function, help to fine
tune the semi-analytic models of galaxies employed in the cosmological
simulations.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted to PASP journa
Multiscale probability mapping: groups, clusters and an algorithmic search for filaments in SDSS
We have developed a multiscale structure identification algorithm for the
detection of overdensities in galaxy data that identifies structures having
radii within a user-defined range. Our "multiscale probability mapping"
technique combines density estimation with a shape statistic to identify local
peaks in the density field. This technique takes advantage of a user-defined
range of scale sizes, which are used in constructing a coarse-grained map of
the underlying fine-grained galaxy distribution, from which overdense
structures are then identified. In this study we have compiled a catalogue of
groups and clusters at 0.025 < z < 0.24 based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey,
Data Release 7, quantifying their significance and comparing with other
catalogues. Most measured velocity dispersions for these structures lie between
50 and 400 km/s. A clear trend of increasing velocity dispersion with radius
from 0.2 to 1 Mpc/h is detected, confirming the lack of a sharp division
between groups and clusters. A method for quantifying elongation is also
developed to measure the elongation of group and cluster environments. By using
our group and cluster catalogue as a coarse-grained representation of the
galaxy distribution for structure sizes of <~ 1 Mpc/h, we identify 53 filaments
(from an algorithmically-derived set of 100 candidates) as elongated unions of
groups and clusters at 0.025 < z < 0.13. These filaments have morphologies that
are consistent with previous samples studied.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures and 6 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS.
Data products, three-dimensional visualisations and further information about
MSPM can be found at http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/sifa/Main/MSPM/ . v2
contains two additional references. v3 has a slightly altered title and
updated reference
The Vimos VLT Deep Survey: Compact structures in the CDFS
We have used the Vimos VLT Deep Survey in combination with other
spectroscopic, photometric and X-ray surveys from literature to detect several
galaxy structures in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). Both a
friend-of-friend based algorithm applied to the spectroscopic redshift catalog
and an adaptative kernel galaxy density and colour maps correlated with
photometric redshift estimates have been used. We mainly detect a chain-like
structure at z=0.66 and two massive groups at z=0.735 and 1.098 showing signs
of ongoing collapse. We also detect two galaxy walls at z=0.66 and at z=0.735
(extremely compact in redshift space). The first one contains the chain-like
structure and the last one contains in its center one of the two massive
groups. Finally, other galaxy structures that are probably loose low mass
groups are detected. We compare the group galaxy population with simulations in
order to assess the richness of these structures and we study their galaxy
morphological contents. The higher redshift structures appear to probably have
lower velocity dispersion than the nearby ones. The number of moderatly massive
structures we detect is consistent with what is expected for an LCDM model, but
a larger sample is required to put significant cosmological constraints.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, accepted in A&
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