680 research outputs found
Using SCUBA to place upper limits on arcsecond scale CMB anisotropies at 850 microns
The SCUBA instrument on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope has already had an
impact on cosmology by detecting relatively large numbers of dusty galaxies at
high redshift. Apart from identifying well-detected sources, such data can also
be mined for information about fainter sources and their correlations, as
revealed through low level fluctuations in SCUBA maps. As a first step in this
direction we analyse a small SCUBA data-set as if it were obtained from a
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) differencing experiment. This enables us to
place limits on CMB anisotropy at 850 microns. Expressed as Q_{flat}, the
quadrupole expectation value for a flat power spectrum, the limit is 152
microKelvin at 95 per cent confidence, corresponding to C_0^{1/2} < 355
microKelvin for a Gaussian autocorrelation function, with a coherence angle of
about 20--25 arcsec; These results could easily be reinterpretted in terms of
any other fluctuating sky signal. This is currently the best limit for these
scales at high frequency, and comparable to limits at similar angular scales in
the radio. Even with such a modest data-set, it is possible to put a constraint
on the slope of the SCUBA counts at the faint end, since even randomly
distributed sources would lead to fluctuations. Future analysis of sky
correlations in more extensive data-sets ought to yield detections, and hence
additional information on source counts and clustering.Comment: 12 pages, 9 postscript figures, uses mn.st
Sub-mm counterparts to Lyman-break galaxies
We summarize the main results from our SCUBA survey of Lyman-break galaxies
(LBGs) at z~3. Analysis of our sample of LBGs reveals a mean flux of
S850=0.60.2 mJy, while simple models of emission based on the UV
properties predict a mean flux about twice as large. Known populations of LBGs
are expected to contribute flux to the weak sub-mm source portion of the far-IR
background, but are not likely to comprise the bright source (S850>5 mJy) end
of the SCUBA-detected source count. The detection of the LBG, Westphal-MM8, at
1.9 mJy suggests that deeper observations of individual LBGs in our sample
could uncover detections at similar levels, consistent with our UV-based
predictions. By the same token, many sub-mm selected sources with S850<2 mJy
could be LBGs. The data are also consistent with the FarIR/ relation
holding at z=3.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, contributed talk at UMass/INAOE Conference ``Deep
Millimeter Surveys'
350 Micron Observations of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts
We present 350micron observations of 36 ultraluminous infrared galaxies
(ULIRGs) at intermediate redshifts (0.089 <= z <= 0.926) using the
Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera II (SHARC-II) on the Caltech
Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). In total, 28 sources are detected at S/N >= 3,
providing the first flux measurements longward of 100micron for a statistically
significant sample of ULIRGs in the redshift range of 0.1 < z < 1.0. Combining
our 350micron flux measurements with the existing IRAS 60 and 100micron data,
we fit a single-temperature model to the spectral energy distribution (SED),
and thereby estimate dust temperatures and far-IR luminosities. Assuming an
emissivity index of beta = 1.5, we find a median dust temperature and far-IR
luminosity of Td = 42.8+-7.1K and log(Lfir/Lsolar) = 12.2+-0.5, respectively.
The far-IR/radio correlation observed in local star-forming galaxies is found
to hold for ULIRGs in the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.5, suggesting that the
dust in these sources is predominantly heated by starbursts. We compare the
far-IR luminosities and dust temperatures derived for dusty galaxy samples at
low and high redshifts with our sample of ULIRGs at intermediate redshift. A
general Lfir-Td relation is observed, albeit with significant scatter, due to
differing selection effects and variations in dust mass and grain properties.
The relatively high dust temperatures observed for our sample compared to that
of high-z submillimeter-selected starbursts with similar far-IR luminosities
suggest that the dominant star formation in ULIRGs at moderate redshifts takes
place on smaller spatial scales than at higher redshifts.Comment: (24 pages in preprint format, 1 table, 7 figures, accepted for
publication in ApJ
A study of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich increment using archival SCUBA data
In a search for evidence of the short wavelength increment in the
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, we have analyzed archival galaxy cluster data
from the Sub-millimetre Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope, resulting in the most complete pointed survey of clusters at
850 microns to date. SCUBA's 850 microns passband overlaps the peak of the SZ
increment. The sample consists of 44 galaxy clusters in the range 0 < z < 1.3.
Maps of each of the clusters have been made and sources have been extracted; as
an ancillary product we generate the most thorough galaxy cluster point source
list yet from SCUBA. Seventeen of these clusters are free of obvious AGN and
have data deep enough to provide interesting measurements of the expected SZ
signal. Specialized analysis techniques are employed to extract the SZ effect
signal from these SCUBA data, including using SCUBA's short wavelength band as
an atmospheric monitor and fitting the long wavelength channel to a model of
the spatial distribution of each cluster's SZ effect. By explicitly excising
the exact cluster centre from our analysis we demonstrate that emission from
galaxies within the cluster does not contaminate our measurement. The SZ
amplitudes from our measurements are consistently higher than the amplitudes
inferred from low frequency measurements of the SZ decrement.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, replacement matches version published in MNRA
An upper limit to [C II] emission in a z ~= 5 galaxy
Low-ionization-state far-infrared (FIR) emission lines may be useful
diagnostics of star-formation activity in young galaxies, and at high redshift
may be detectable from the ground. In practice, however, very little is known
concerning how strong such line emission might be in the early Universe. We
attempted to detect the 158 micron [C II] line from a lensed galaxy at z =
4.926 using the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. This source is an ordinary
galaxy, in the sense that it shows high but not extreme star formation, but
lensing makes it visible. Our analysis includes a careful consideration of the
calibrations and weighting of the individual scans. We find only modest
improvement over the simpler reduction methods, however, and the final spectrum
remains dominated by systematic baseline ripple effects. We obtain a 95 per
cent confidence upper limit of 33 mJy for a 200 km/s full width at half maximum
line, corresponding to an unlensed luminosity of 1x10^9 L_sun for a standard
cosmology. Combining this with a marginal detection of the continuum emission
using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, we derive an upper limit of 0.4 per
cent for the ratio of L_CII/L_FIR in this object.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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Differences in clinicopathologic variables between Borrelia C6 antigen seroreactive and Borrelia C6 seronegative glomerulopathy in dogs.
BackgroundRapidly progressive glomerulonephritis has been described in dogs that seroreact to Borrelia burgdorferi, but no studies have compared clinicopathologic differences in Lyme-seroreactive dogs with protein-losing nephropathy (PLN) versus dogs with Borrelia-seronegative PLN.Hypothesis/objectivesDogs with Borrelia C6 antigen-seroreactive PLN have distinct clinicopathologic findings when compared to dogs with Borrelia seronegative PLN.AnimalsForty dogs with PLN and Borrelia C6 antigen seroreactivity and 78 C6-seronegative temporally matched dogs with PLN.MethodsRetrospective prevalence case-control study. Clinical information was retrieved from records of dogs examined at the University of California, Davis, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Histopathologic findings in renal tissue procured by biopsy or necropsy of dogs with PLN were reviewed.ResultsRetrievers and retriever mixes were overrepresented in seroreactive dogs (P < .001). Seroreactive dogs were more likely to have thrombocytopenia (P < .001), azotemia (P = .002), hyperphosphatemia (P < .001), anemia (P < .001), and neutrophilia (P = .003). Hematuria, glucosuria, and pyuria despite negative urine culture were more likely in seroreactive dogs (all P ≤ .002). Histopathologic findings were consistent with immune-complex glomerulonephritis in 16 of 16 case dogs and 7 of 23 control dogs (P = 006). Prevalence of polyarthritis was not different between groups (P = .17).Conclusions and clinical importanceC6 seroreactivity in dogs with PLN is associated with a clinicopathologically distinct syndrome when compared with other types of PLN. Early recognition of this syndrome has the potential to improve outcomes through specific aggressive and early treatment
Evidence for Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization from Cross-Correlation with the Cosmic Infrared Background
We reconstruct the gravitational lensing convergence signal from cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization data taken by the Polarbear experiment and cross-correlate it with cosmic infrared background maps from the Herschel satellite. From the cross spectra, we obtain evidence for gravitational lensing of the CMB polarization at a statistical significance of 4.0σ and indication of the presence of a lensing B-mode signal at a significance of 2.3σ. We demonstrate that our results are not biased by instrumental and astrophysical systematic errors by performing null tests, checks with simulated and real data, and analytical calculations. This measurement of polarization lensing, made via the robust cross-correlation channel, not only reinforces POLARBEAR auto-correlation measurements, but also represents one of the early steps towards establishing CMB polarization lensing as a powerful new probe of cosmology and astrophysics
The CHESS spectral survey of star forming regions: Peering into the protostellar shock L1157-B1 - II. Shock dynamics
Context. The outflow driven by the low-mass class 0 protostar L1157 is the prototype of the so-called chemically active outflows. The bright bowshock B1 in the southern outflow lobe is a privileged testbed of magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) shock models, for which dynamical and chemical processes are strongly interdependent.
Aims. We present the first results of the unbiased spectral survey of the L1157-B1 bowshock, obtained in the framework of the key program “Chemical HErschel Surveys of star forming regions” (CHESS). The main aim is to trace the warm and chemically enriched gas and to infer the excitation conditions in the shock region.
Methods. The CO 5-4 and o-H2_O 1_(10)–1_(01) lines have been detected at high-spectral resolution in the unbiased spectral survey of the HIFI-band 1b spectral window (555–636 GHz), presented by Codella et al. in this volume. Complementary ground-based observations in the submm window help establish the origin of the emission detected in the main-beam of HIFI and the physical conditions in the shock.
Results. Both lines exhibit broad wings, which extend to velocities much higher than reported up to now. We find that the molecular emission arises from two regions with distinct physical conditions : an extended, warm (100 K), dense (3 × 10^5 cm^(-3)) component at low-velocity, which dominates the water line flux in Band 1; a secondary component in a small region of B1 (a few arcsec) associated with high-velocity, hot (>400 K) gas of moderate density ((1.0–3.0) × 10^4 cm^(-3)), which appears to dominate the flux of the water line at 179μm observed with PACS. The water abundance is enhanced by two orders of magnitude between the low- and the high-velocity component, from 8 × 10^(-7) up to 8 × 10^(-5). The properties of the high-velocity component agree well with the predictions of steady-state C-shock models
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