829 research outputs found
Analysis of the SFR - M* plane at z<3: single fitting versus multi-Gaussian decomposition
The analysis of galaxies on the star formation rate - stellar mass (SFR-M*)
plane is a powerful diagnostic for galaxy evolution at different cosmic times.
We consider a sample of 24463 galaxies from the CANDELS/GOODS-S survey to
conduct a detailed analysis of the SFR-M* relation at redshifts 0.53 over more than three dex in stellar mass. To obtain SFR estimates, we
utilise mid- and far-IR photometry when available, and rest-UV fluxes for all
the other galaxies. We perform our analysis in different redshift bins, with
two different methods: 1) a linear regression fitting of all star-forming
galaxies, defined as those with specific star formation rates , similarly to what is typically done in the
literature; 2) a multi-Gaussian decomposition to identify the galaxy main
sequence (MS), the starburst sequence and the quenched galaxy cloud. We find
that the MS slope becomes flatter when higher stellar mass cuts are adopted,
and that the apparent slope change observed at high masses depends on the SFR
estimation method. In addition, the multi-Gaussian decomposition reveals the
presence of a starburst population which increases towards low stellar masses
and high redshifts. We find that starbursts make up ~5% of all galaxies at
z=0.5-1.0, while they account for ~16% of galaxies at 23 with
log8.25-11.25. We conclude that the dissection of the SFR-M* in
multiple components over a wide range of stellar masses is necessary to
understand the importance of the different modes of star formation through
cosmic time.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&A, after
addressing referee report. Main changes with respect to v1: two new
appendixes to investigate the impact of redshift outliers and to test a
two-Gaussian component fit to the sSFR distribution. No conclusion change
Morphology and Redshifts of Extremely Red Galaxies in the GOODS/CDFS deep ISAAC field
We present the photometric redshift distribution of a sample of 198 Extremely
Red Galaxies (ERGs) with Ks3.92 (Vega), selected by Roche et al.
in 50.4 sq. arcmin of the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). The sample has been
obtained using ISAAC-VLT and ACS-HST GOODS public data. We also show the
results of a morphological study of the 72 brightest ERGs in the z band (z<25,
AB).Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the ESO/USM/MPE
Workshop "Multiwavelength Mapping of Galaxy Formation and Evolution", Venice,
October 13-16, 200
Assessment of blue swimmer crab recruitment and breeding stock levels in the Peel-Harvey Estuary and status of the Mandurah to Bunbury Developing Crab Fishery
Two projects were funded to investigate iconic blue swimmer crab stocks in the Peel-Harvey Estuary and Mandurah to Bunbury Developing Crab Fishery. One was a four year project (2007 â 2011) to undertake the following: i) determine recruitment and spawning stock levels of the crab population in the Peel-Harvey Estuary and whether the status of stocks has changed considerably in the past decade, ii) establish a commercial monitoring program to assess the length frequency and sex ratio of crabs captured by commercial fishers, and iii) develop a commercial monitoring program in the Mandurah to Bunbury Developing Crab Fishery and South West Trawl Managed Fishery. A fishery-independent study was conducted at 15 sites throughout the estuary per month between December 2007 and December 2011. Sites chosen were identical to those surveyed between 1995 and 1998, to allow historical comparisons. Additional trap sites were sampled outside the Peel-Harvey Estuary monthly from August 2008 to December 2011 to understand crab abundance, composition and movement between estuarine and oceanic waters. A second project was a 12-month recreational survey in the Peel-Harvey Estuary between November 2007 and October 2008 to provide an estimate of recreational catch and effort
The infrared luminosity function of galaxies at redshifts z=1 and z~2 in the GOODS fields
We present the rest-frame 8 micron luminosity function (LF) at redshifts z=1
and ~2, computed from Spitzer 24 micron-selected galaxies in the GOODS fields
over an area of 291 sq. arcmin. Using classification criteria based on X-ray
data and IRAC colours, we identify the AGN in our sample. The rest-frame 8
micron LF for star-forming galaxies at redshifts z=1 and ~2 have the same shape
as at z~0, but with a strong positive luminosity evolution. The number density
of star-forming galaxies with log_{10}(nu L_nu(8 micron))>11 increases by a
factor >250 from redshift z~0 to 1, and is basically the same at z=1 and ~2.
The resulting rest-frame 8 micron luminosity densities associated with star
formation at z=1 and ~2 are more than four and two times larger than at z~0,
respectively. We also compute the total rest-frame 8 micron LF for star-forming
galaxies and AGN at z~2 and show that AGN dominate its bright end, which is
well-described by a power-law. Using a new calibration based on Spitzer
star-forming galaxies at 0<z<0.6 and validated at higher redshifts through
stacking analysis, we compute the bolometric infrared (IR) LF for star-forming
galaxies at z=1 and ~2. We find that the respective bolometric IR luminosity
densities are (1.2+/-0.2) x 10^9 and (6.6^{+1.2}_{-1.0}) x 10^8 L_sun Mpc^{-3},
in agreement with previous studies within the error bars. At z~2, around 90% of
the IR luminosity density associated with star formation is produced by
luminous and ultraluminous IR galaxies (LIRG and ULIRG), with the two
populations contributing in roughly similar amounts. Finally, we discuss the
consistency of our findings with other existing observational results on galaxy
evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ. 33 pages, 15 figures. Uses
emulateap
The evolution of Ks-selected galaxies in the GOODS/CDFS deep ISAAC field
We present estimated redshifts and derived properties for a sample of 1663
galaxies with Ks <= 22 (Vega), selected from 50.4 sq.arcmin of the GOODS/CDFS
field with deep ISAAC imaging, and make an extensive comparison of their
properties with those of the extremely red galaxies (ERGs) selected in the same
field. We study in detail the evolution of Ks-selected galaxies up to redshifts
z ~ 4 and clarify the role of ERGs within the total Ks-band galaxy population.
We compute the total Ks-band luminosity function (LF) and compare its evolution
with the ERG LF. Up to =2.5, the bright end of the Ks-band LF shows no
sign of decline, and is progressively well reproduced by the ERGs with
increasing redshift. We also explore the evolution of massive systems present
in our sample: up to 20%-25% of the population of local galaxies with assembled
stellar mass M>1x10^11 Msun has been formed before redshift z ~ 4, and contains
~ 45% to 70% of the stellar mass density of the Universe at that redshift.
Within our sample, the comoving number density of these massive systems is then
essentially constant down to redshift z ~ 1.5, by which point most of them have
apparently evolved into (I-Ks)-selected ERGs. The remaining massive systems
observed in the local Universe are assembled later, at redshifts z <= 1.5. Our
results therefore suggest a two-fold assembly history for massive galaxies, in
which galaxy/star formation proceeds very efficiently in high mass haloes at
very high redshift.Comment: Revised version accepted by MNRAS. 17 pages, 15 figure
Recovering the properties of high redshift galaxies with different JWST broad-band filters
Imaging with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow for observing
the bulk of distant galaxies at the epoch of reionisation. The recovery of
their properties, such as age, color excess E(B-V), specific star formation
rate (sSFR) and stellar mass, will mostly rely on spectral energy distribution
fitting, based on the data provided by JWST's two imager cameras, namely the
Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and the Mid Infrared Imager (MIRI). In this work
we analyze the effect of choosing different combinations of NIRCam and MIRI
broad-band filters, from 0.6 {\mu}m to 7.7 {\mu}m, on the recovery of these
galaxy properties. We performed our tests on a sample of 1542 simulated
galaxies, with known input properties, at z=7-10. We found that, with only 8
NIRCam broad-bands, we can recover the galaxy age within 0.1 Gyr and the color
excess within 0.06 mag for 70% of the galaxies. Besides, the stellar masses and
sSFR are recovered within 0.2 and 0.3 dex, respectively, at z=7-9. Instead, at
z=10, no NIRCam band traces purely the {\lambda}> 4000 {\AA} regime and the
percentage of outliers in stellar mass (sSFR) increases by > 20% (> 90%), in
comparison to z=9. The MIRI F560W and F770W bands are crucial to improve the
stellar mass and the sSFR estimation at z=10. When nebular emission lines are
present, deriving correct galaxy properties is challenging, at any redshift and
with any band combination. In particular, the stellar mass is systematically
overestimated in up to 0.3 dex on average with NIRCam data alone and including
MIRI observations improves only marginally the estimation.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication at the ApJ
Star formation in galaxies at z~4-5 from the SMUVS survey: a clear starburst/main-sequence bimodality for Halpha emitters on the SFR-M* plane
We study a large galaxy sample from the Spitzer Matching Survey of the
UltraVISTA ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS) to search for sources with enhanced 3.6
micron fluxes indicative of strong Halpha emission at z=3.9-4.9. We find that
the percentage of "Halpha excess" sources reaches 37-40% for galaxies with
stellar masses log10(M*/Msun) ~ 9-10, and decreases to <20% at log10(M*/Msun) ~
10.7. At higher stellar masses, however, the trend reverses, although this is
likely due to AGN contamination. We derive star formation rates (SFR) and
specific SFR (sSFR) from the inferred Halpha equivalent widths (EW) of our
"Halpha excess" galaxies. We show, for the first time, that the "Halpha excess"
galaxies clearly have a bimodal distribution on the SFR-M* plane: they lie on
the main sequence of star formation (with log10(sSFR/yr^{-1})<-8.05) or in a
starburst cloud (with log10(sSFR/yr^{-1}) >-7.60). The latter contains ~15% of
all the objects in our sample and accounts for >50% of the cosmic SFR density
at z=3.9-4.9, for which we derive a robust lower limit of 0.066 Msun yr^{-1}
Mpc^{-3}. Finally, we identify an unusual >50sigma overdensity of z=3.9-4.9
galaxies within a 0.20 x 0.20 sq. arcmin region. We conclude that the SMUVS
unique combination of area and depth at mid-IR wavelengths provides an
unprecedented level of statistics and dynamic range which are fundamental to
reveal new aspects of galaxy evolution in the young Universe.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Re-submitted to the ApJ, after
addressing referee report. Main changes with respect to v1: a new section and
a new appendix have been added to investigate further the origin and
robustness of the sSFR bimodality. No conclusion change
Proximate and ultimate causes of signal diversity in the electric fish Gymnotus
A complete understanding of animal signal evolution necessitates analyses of both the proximate (e. g. anatomical and physiological) mechanisms of signal generation and reception, and the ultimate (i.e. evolutionary) mechanisms underlying adaptation and diversification. Here we summarize the results of a synthetic study of electric diversity in the species-rich neotropical electric fish genus Gymnotus. Our study integrates two research directions. The first examines the proximate causes of diversity in the electric organ discharge (EOD) - which is the carrier of both the communication and electrolocation signal of electric fishes - via descriptions of the intrinsic properties of electrocytes, electrocyte innervation, electric organ anatomy and the neural coordination of the discharge (among other parameters). The second seeks to understand the ultimate causes of signal diversity -via a continent-wide survey of species diversity, species-level phylogenetic reconstructions and field-recorded head-to-tail EOD (ht-EOD) waveforms (a common procedure for characterizing the communication component of electric fish EODs). At the proximate level, a comparative morpho-functional survey of electric organ anatomy and the electromotive force pattern of the EOD for 11 species (representing most major clades) revealed four distinct groups of species, each corresponding to a discrete area of the phylogeny of the genus and to a distinct type of ht-EOD waveform. At the ultimate level, our analyses (which emphasize the ht-EOD) allowed us to conclude that selective forces from the abiotic environment have had minimal impact on the communication component of the EOD. In contrast, selective forces of a biotic nature - imposed by electroreceptive predators, reproductive interference from heterospecific congeners, and sexual selection - may be important sources of diversifying selection on Gymnotus signals
The Complex Structure of the Multi-Phase Galactic Wind in a Starburst Merger
Neutral outflows have been detected in many ultraluminous infrared galaxies
(ULIRGs) via the Na I D absorption-line doublet.
For the first time, we have mapped and analyzed the 2-D kinematics of a cool
neutral outflow in a ULIRG, F10565+2448, using the integral field unit (IFU) on
Gemini North to observe the Na I D feature. At the same time we have mapped the
ionized outflow with the [NII] and H emission lines. We find a systemic
rotation curve that is consistent with the rotation of the molecular disk
determined from previous CO observations. The absorption lines show evidence of
a nuclear outflow with a radial extent of at least 3 kpc, consistent with
previous observations. The strength of the Na I D lines have a strong,
spatially resolved correlation with reddening, suggesting that dust is present
in the outflow. Surprisingly, the outflow velocities of the neutral gas show a
strong asymmetry in the form of a major-axis gradient that is opposite in sign
to disk rotation. This is inconsistent with entrained material rotating along
with the galaxy or with a tilted minor-axis outflow. We hypothesize that this
unusual behavior is due to an asymmetry in the distribution of the ambient gas.
We also see evidence of asymmetric ionized outflow in the emission-line
velocity map, which appear to be decoupled from the neutral outflow. Our
results strengthen the hypothesis that ULIRG outflows differ in morphology from
those in more quiescent disk galaxies.Comment: Accepted to Ap
- âŠ