132 research outputs found
Performance of Equilibrium Zeolite in Water-Based Mud at Elevated Temperature Conditions
This study looks at the performance of nano equilibrium zeolite treated drilling fluids at high temperatures conditions, and their potential as alternatives for oil-based muds (OBM). Mud samples for this study were prepared and aged with the equilibrium zeolite nanoparticles concentrations of 0.0 g, 0.5 g, 1.0 g and 1.5 g. Tests were performed to determine the rheological, filtration control properties, the pH and consequently the thermal stability of the study mud samples over a temperature range of 120 °F to 360 °F. One sample without the equilibrium zeolite served as a control for the study. From the results obtained, all the nano samples had their rheological properties not exhibiting much significant variation with temperature, thus they were more thermally stable, with the optimum nanoparticle concentration being 1.5 g. It was also hypothesized that the nano equilibrium zeolite behaved as thinners, since they were able to reduce the shear stresses, yield points, plastic viscosities and gel strengths of the mud samples as temperature was varied incrementally. It was therefore concluded that the optimum concentration of aged equilibrium zeolite has the potential to act as a thermal stability additive for Water Based Mud systems (WBMs)
Limits on the LyC signal from z~3 sources with secure redshift and HST coverage in the E-CDFS field
Aim: We aim to measure the LyC signal from a sample of sources in the Chandra
deep field south. We collect star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and active galactic
nuclei (AGN) with accurate spectroscopic redshifts, for which Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) coverage and multi-wavelength photometry are available. Method:
We selected a sample of about 200 sources at z~3. Taking advantage of HST
resolution, we applied a careful cleaning procedure and rejected sources
showing nearby clumps with different colours, which could be lower-z
interlopers. Our clean sample consisted of 86 SFGs (including 19 narrow-band
selected Lya emitters) and 8 AGN (including 6 detected in X-rays). We measured
the LyC flux from aperture photometry in four narrow-band filters covering
wavelengths below a 912 A rest frame (3.11<z<3.53). We estimated the ratio
between ionizing (LyC flux) and 1400 A non-ionizing emissions for AGN and
galaxies. Results: By running population synthesis models, we assume an average
intrinsic L(1400 A)/L(900 A) ratio of 5 as the representative value for our
sample. With this value and an average treatment of the lines of sight of the
inter-galactic medium, we estimate the LyC escape fraction relative to the
intrinsic value (fesc_rel(LyC)). We do not directly detect ionizing radiation
from any individual SFG, but we are able to set a 1(2)sigma upper limit of
fesc_rel(LyC)<12(24)%. This result is consistent with other non-detections
published in the literature. No meaningful limits can be calculated for the
sub-sample of Lya emitters. We obtain one significant direct detection for an
AGN at z=3.46, with fesc_rel(LyC) = (72+/-18)%. Conclusions: Our upper limit on
fescrel(LyC) implies that the SFGs studied here do not present either the
physical properties or the geometric conditions suitable for efficient
LyC-photon escape.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A on Jan 5th, 201
Discovery of a rich proto-cluster at z=2.9 and associated diffuse cold gas in the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS)
[Abridged] We characterise a massive proto-cluster at z=2.895 that we found
in the COSMOS field using the spectroscopic sample of the VIMOS Ultra-Deep
Survey (VUDS). This is one of the rare structures at z~3 not identified around
AGNs or radio galaxies, so it is an ideal laboratory to study galaxy formation
in dense environments. The structure comprises 12 galaxies with secure
spectroscopic redshift in an area of 7'x8', in a z bin of Dz=0.016. The
measured galaxy number overdensity is delta_g=12+/-2. This overdensity has
total mass of M~8.1x10^(14)M_sun in a volume of 13x15x17 Mpc^3. Simulations
indicate that such an overdensity at z~2.9 is a proto-cluster that will
collapse in a cluster of total mass M~2.5x10^(15)M_sun at z=0. We compare the
properties of the galaxies within the overdensity with a control sample at the
same z but outside the overdensity. We did not find any statistically
significant difference between the properties (stellar mass, SFR, sSFR, NUV-r,
r-K) of the galaxies inside and outside the overdensity. The stacked spectrum
of galaxies in the overdensity background shows a significant absorption
feature at the wavelength of Lya redshifted at z=2.895 (lambda=4736 A), with a
rest frame EW = 4+/- 1.4 A. Stacking only background galaxies without
intervening sources at z~2.9 along their line of sight, we find that this
absorption feature has a rest frame EW of 10.8+/-3.7 A, with a detection S/N of
~4. These EW values imply a high column density (N(HI)~3-20x10^(19)cm^(-2)),
consistent with a scenario where such absorption is due to intervening cold gas
streams, falling into the halo potential wells of the proto-cluster galaxies.
However, we cannot exclude the hypothesis that this absorption is due to the
diffuse gas within the overdensity.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (revised version
after referee's comments and language editing
The VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS): fast increase of the fraction of strong Lyman alpha emitters from z=2 to z=6
Aims. The aim of this work is to constrain the evolution of the fraction of
Lya emitters among UV selected star forming galaxies at 2<z<6, and to measure
the stellar escape fraction of Lya photons over the same redshift range.
Methods. We exploit the ultradeep spectroscopic observations collected by the
VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS) to build an unique, complete and unbiased sample
of 4000 spectroscopically confirmed star forming galaxies at 2<z<6. Our galaxy
sample UV luminosities brighter than M* at 2<z<6, and luminosities down to one
magnitude fainter than M* at 2<z<3.5. Results. We find that 80% of the star
forming galaxies in our sample have EW0(Lya)<10A, and correspondingly
fesc(Lya)<1%. By comparing these results with literature, we conclude that the
bulk of the Lya luminosity at 2<z<6 comes from galaxies that are fainter in the
UV than those we sample in this work. The strong Lya emitters constitute, at
each redshift, the tail of the distribution of the galaxies with extreme
EW0(Lya) and fesc(Lya) . This tail of large EW0 and fesc(Lya) becomes more
important as the redshift increases, and causes the fraction of Lya with EW0>
25A to increase from 5% at z=2 to 30% at z=6, with the increase being
relatively stronger beyond z=4. We observe no difference, for the narrow range
of UV luminosities explored in this work, between the fraction of strong Lya
emitters among galaxies fainter or brighter than M*, although the fraction for
the FUV faint galaxies evolves faster, at 2<z<3.5, than for the bright ones. We
do observe an anticorrelation between E(B-V) and fesc(Lya): generally galaxies
with high fesc(Lya) have also small amounts of dust (and viceversa). However,
when the dust content is low (E(B-V)<0.05) we observe a very broad range of
fesc(Lya), ranging from 10^-3 to 1. This implies that the dust alone is not the
only regulator of the amount of escaping Lya photons.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, A&A in pres
The evolution of clustering length, large-scale bias and host halo mass at 2<z<5 in the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS)
We investigate the evolution of galaxy clustering for galaxies in the
redshift range 2.0<<5.0 using the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). We present
the projected (real-space) two-point correlation function measured
by using 3022 galaxies with robust spectroscopic redshifts in two independent
fields (COSMOS and VVDS-02h) covering in total 0.8 deg. We quantify how the
scale dependent clustering amplitude changes with redshift making use of
mock samples to evaluate and correct the survey selection function. Using a
power-law model we find that the correlation
function for the general population is best fit by a model with a clustering
length =3.95 hMpc and slope
=1.8 at ~2.5, =4.350.60 hMpc and
=1.6 at ~3.5. We use these clustering parameters
to derive the large-scale linear galaxy bias , between galaxies and
dark matter. We find = 2.680.22 at redshift ~3 (assuming
= 0.8), significantly higher than found at intermediate and low
redshifts. We fit an HOD model to the data and we obtain that the average halo
mass at redshift ~3 is =10 hM. From
this fit we confirm that the large-scale linear galaxy bias is relatively high
at = 2.820.27. Comparing these measurements with similar
measurements at lower redshifts we infer that the star-forming population of
galaxies at ~3 should evolve into the massive and bright (<-21.5)
galaxy population which typically occupy haloes of mass =
10 h at redshift =0.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A&
The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of galaxies at z=3.3 in the VUDS-LBC/COSMOS field
The Lyman continuum (LyC) flux escaping from high-z galaxies into the IGM is
a fundamental quantity to understand the physical processes involved in the
reionization epoch. We have investigated a sample of star-forming galaxies at
z~3.3 in order to search for possible detections of LyC photons escaping from
galaxy halos. UV deep imaging in the COSMOS field obtained with the prime focus
camera LBC at the LBT telescope was used together with a catalog of
spectroscopic redshifts obtained by the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS) to build
a sample of 45 galaxies at z~3.3 with L>0.5L*. We obtained deep LBC images of
galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the interval 3.27<z<3.40 both in the R
and deep U bands. A sub-sample of 10 galaxies apparently shows escape
fractions>28% but a detailed analysis of their properties reveals that, with
the exception of two marginal detections (S/N~2) in the U band, all the other 8
galaxies are most likely contaminated by the UV flux of low-z interlopers
located close to the high-z targets. The average escape fraction derived from
the stacking of the cleaned sample was constrained to fesc_rel<2%. The implied
HI photo-ionization rate is a factor two lower than that needed to keep the IGM
ionized at z~3, as observed in the Lyman forest of high-z QSO spectra or by the
proximity effect. These results support a scenario where high redshift,
relatively bright (L>0.5L*) star-forming galaxies alone are unable to sustain
the level of ionization observed in the cosmic IGM at z~3. Star-forming
galaxies at higher redshift and at fainter luminosities (L<<L*) can be the
major contributors to the reionization of the Universe only if their physical
properties are subject to rapid changes from z~3 to z~6-10. Alternatively,
ionizing sources could be discovered looking for fainter sources among the AGN
population at high-z.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey First Data Release: spectra and spectroscopic redshifts of 698 objects up to z~6 in CANDELS
This paper describes the first data release (DR1) of the VIMOS Ultra Deep
Survey (VUDS). The DR1 includes all low-resolution spectroscopic data obtained
in 276.9 arcmin2 of the CANDELS-COSMOS and CANDELS-ECFDS survey areas,
including accurate spectroscopic redshifts z_spec and individual spectra
obtained with VIMOS on the ESO-VLT. A total of 698 objects have a measured
redshift, with 677 galaxies, two type-I AGN and a small number of 19
contaminating stars. The targets of the spectroscopic survey are selected
primarily on the basis of their photometric redshifts to ensure a broad
population coverage. About 500 galaxies have z_spec>2, 48 with z_spec>4, and
the highest reliable redshifts reach beyond z_spec=6. This dataset
approximately doubles the number of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts at
z>3 in these fields. We discuss the general properties of the sample in terms
of the spectroscopic redshift distribution, the distribution of Lyman-alpha
equivalent widths, and physical properties including stellar masses M_star and
star formation rates (SFR) derived from spectral energy distribution fitting
with the knowledge of z_spec. We highlight the properties of the most massive
star-forming galaxies, noting the large range in spectral properties, with
Lyman-alpha in emission or in absorption, and in imaging properties with
compact, multi-component or pair morphologies. We present the catalogue
database and data products. All data are publicly available and can be
retrieved from a dedicated query-based database available at
http://cesam.lam.fr/vuds.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, submitted to A&
The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey: Nature, ISM properties, and ionizing spectra of C III] λ 1909 emitters at z = 2-4
Context. Ultraviolet (UV) emission-line spectra are used to spectroscopically confirm high-z galaxies and increasingly also to determine their physical properties. Aims. We construct photoionization models to interpret the observed UV spectra of distant galaxies in terms of the dominant radiation field and the physical condition of the interstellar medium (ISM). These models are applied to new spectroscopic observations from the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). Methods. We construct a large grid of photoionization models, which use several incident radiation fields (stellar populations, active galactic nuclei (AGNs), mix of stars and AGNs, blackbodies, and others), and cover a wide range of metallicities and ionization parameters. From these models we derive new spectral UV line diagnostics using equivalent widths (EWs) of [CIII]λ1909 doublet, CIVλ1549 doublet and the line ratios of [CIII], CIV, and He IIλ1640 recombination lines. We apply these diagnostics to a sample of 450 [CIII]-emitting galaxies at redshifts z = 2-4 previously identified in VUDS. Results. We demonstrate that our photoionization models successfully reproduce observations of nearby and high-redshift sources with known radiation field and/or metallicity. For star-forming galaxies our models predict that [CIII] EW peaks at sub-solar metallicities, whereas CIV EW peaks at even lower metallicity. Using the UV diagnostics, we show that the average star-forming galaxy (EW([CIII]) ⌠2 Ă
) based on the composite of the 450 UV-selected galaxies' spectra The inferred metallicity and ionization parameter is typically Z = 0.3-0.5 Zâ and logU = -2.7 to - 3, in agreement with earlier works at similar redshifts. The models also indicate an average age of 50-200 Myr since the beginning of the current star-formation, and an ionizing photon production rate, Οion, of logΟion/erg-1 Hz = 25.3-25.4. Among the sources with EW([CIII]) >= 10 Ă
, approximately 30% are likely dominated by AGNs. The metallicity derived for galaxies with EW(CIII) = 10-20 Ă
is low, Z = 0.02-0.2 Zâ, and the ionization parameter higher (logU âŒ-1.7) than the average star-forming galaxy. To explain the average UV observations of the strongest but rarest [CIII] emitters (EW([CIII]) > 20 Ă
), we find that stellar photoionization is clearly insufficient. A radiation field consisting of a mix of a young stellar population (logΟion/erg-1 Hz ⌠25.7) plus an AGN component is required. Furthermore an enhanced C/O abundance ratio (up to the solar value) is needed for metallicities Z = 0.1-0.2 Zâ and logU = -1.7 to - 1.5. Conclusions. A large grid of photoionization models has allowed us to propose new diagnostic diagrams to classify the nature of the ionizing radiation field (star formation or AGN) of distant galaxies using UV emission lines, and to constrain their ISM properties. We have applied this grid to a sample of [CIII]-emitting galaxies at z = 2-4 detected in VUDS, finding a range of physical properties and clear evidence for significant AGN contribution in rare sources with very strong [CIII] emission. The UV diagnostics we propose should also serve as an important basis for the interpretation of upcoming observations of high-redshift galaxies
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