Discriminating among theories of spiral structure using Gaia DR2

We compare the distribution in position and velocity of nearby stars from the Gaia DR2 radial velocity sample with predictions of current theories for spirals in disc galaxies. Although the rich substructure in velocity space contains the same information, we find it more revealing to reproject the data into action-angle variables, and we describe why resonant scattering would be more readily identifiable in these variables. We compute the predicted changes to the phase space density, in multiple different projections, that would be caused by a simplified isolated spiral pattern, finding widely differing predictions from each theory. We conclude that the phase space structure present in the Gaia data shares many of the qualitative features expected in the transient spiral mode model. We argue that the popular picture of apparently swing-amplified spirals results from the superposition of a few underlying spiral modes.Comment: Revised version accepted to appear in MNRAS. Some significant improvements. A full resolution version of Fig 4 is available from http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~sellwood/mult_res.pd

Preliminary DIMM and MASS Nighttime Seeing Measurements at PEARL, in the Canadian High Arctic

Results of deploying a Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) and a DIMM combined with a Multi-Aperture Scintillation Sensor (MASS/DIMM) are reported for campaigns in 2011 and 2012 on the roof of the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL). This facility is on a 610-m-high ridge at latitude 80 degrees N, near the Eureka weatherstation on Ellesmere Island, Canada. The median seeing at 8-m elevation is 0.85 arcsec or better based on DIMM data alone, but is dependent on wind direction, and likely includes a component due to the PEARL building itself. Results with MASS/DIMM yield a median seeing less than 0.76 arcsec. A semi-empirical model of seeing versus ground wind speed is introduced which allows agreement between these datasets, and with previous boundary-layer profiling by lunar scintillometry from the same location. This further suggests that best 20 percentile seeing reaches 0.53 arcsec, of which typically 0.30 arcsec is due to the free atmosphere. Some discussion for guiding future seeing instrumentation and characterization at this site is provided.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, accepted for PAS

Predicted and observed evolution in the mean properties of Type Ia supernovae with redshift

Recent studies indicate that Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) consist of two groups - a "prompt" component whose rates are proportional to the host galaxy star formation rate, whose members have broader lightcurves and are intrinsically more luminous, and a "delayed" component whose members take several Gyr to explode, have narrower lightcurves, and are intrinsically fainter. As cosmic star formation density increases with redshift, the prompt component should begin to dominate. We use a two-component model to predict that the average lightcurve width should increase by 6% from z=0-1.5. Using data from various searches we find an 8.1% +/- 2.7% increase in average lightcurve width for non-subluminous SNe Ia from z=0.03 - 1.12, corresponding to an increase in the average intrinsic luminosity of 12%. To test whether there is any bias after supernovae are corrected for lightcurve shape we use published data to mimic the effect of population evolution and find no significant difference in the measured dark energy equation of state parameter, w. However, future measurements of time-variable w will require standardization of SN Ia magnitudes to 2% up to z=1.7, and it is not yet possible to assess whether lightcurve shape correction works at this level of precision. Another concern at z=1.5 is the expected order of magnitude increase in the number of SNe Ia that cannot be calibrated by current methods.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ Letters, addressed referee's comments, table adde

Mass-to-Light Ratios of Galaxy Groups from Weak Lensing

We present the findings of our weak lensing study of a sample of 116 CNOC2 galaxy groups. The lensing signal is used to estimate the mass-to-light ratio of these galaxy groups. The best fit isothermal sphere model to our lensing data has an Einstein radius of 0.88"+/-0.12", which corresponds to a shear-weighted velocity dispersion of 245+/-18 km/s. The mean mass-to-light ratio within 1 h^-1 Mpc is 185+/-28 h times solar in the B-band and is independent of radius from the group center. The signal-to-noise ratio of the shear measurement is sufficient to split the sample into subsets of "poor" and "rich" galaxy groups. The poor galaxy groups were found to have an average velocity dispersion of 193+/-38 km/s and a mass-to-light ratio of 134+/-26 h times solar in the B-band, while the rich galaxy groups have a velocity dispersion of 270+/-39 km/s and a mass-to-light ratio of 278+/-42 h times solar in the B-band, similar to the mass-to-light ratio of clusters. This steep increase in the mass-to-light ratio as a function of mass, suggests that the mass scale of ~10^13 solar masses is where the transition between the actively star-forming field environment and the passively-evolving cluster environment occurs. This is the first such detection from weak lensing.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ 6 pages, 6 figures, uses emulateap

Clustering of Very Red Galaxies in the Las Campanas IR Survey

We report results from the first 1000 square arc-minutes of the Las Campanas IR survey. We have imaged 1 square degree of high latitude sky in six distinct fields to a 5-sigma H-band depth of 20.5 (Vega). Optical imaging in the V,R,I,and z' bands allow us to select color subsets and photometric-redshift-defined shells. We show that the angular clustering of faint red galaxies (18 3) is an order of magnitude stronger than that of the complete H-selected field sample. We employ three approaches to estimate $n(z)$ in order to invert w(theta) to derive r_0. We find that our n(z) is well described by a Gaussian with = 1.2, sigma(z) = 0.15. From this we derive a value for r_0 of 7 (+2,-1) co-moving H^{-1} Mpc at = 1.2. This is a factor of ~ 2 larger than the clustering length for Lyman break galaxies and is similar to the expectation for early type galaxies at this epoch.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. To appear in proceedings of the ESO/ECF/STScI workshop "Deep Fields" held in Garching, Germany, 9-12 October 200

Gemini Deep Deep Survey VI: Massive Hdelta-strong galaxies at z=1

We show that there has been a dramatic decline in the abundance of massive galaxies with strong Hdelta stellar absorption lines from z=1.2 to the present. These ``Hdelta-strong'', or HDS, galaxies have undergone a recent and rapid break in their star-formation activity. Combining data from the Gemini Deep Deep and the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys to make mass-matched samples (M*>=10^10.2 Msun), with 25 and 50,255 galaxies, respectively), we find that the fraction of galaxies in an HDS phase has decreased from about 50% at z=1.2 to a few percent today. This decrease in fraction is due to an actual decrease in the number density of massive HDS systems by a factor of 2-4, coupled with an increase in the number density of massive galaxies by about 30 percent. We show that this result depends only weakly on the threshold chosen for the Hdelta equivalent width to define HDS systems (if greater than 4 A) and corresponds to a (1+z)^{2.5\pm 0.7} evolution. Spectral synthesis studies of the high-redshift population using the PEGASE code, treating Hdelta_A, EW[OII], Dn4000, and rest-frame colors, favor models in which the Balmer absorption features in massive Hdelta-strong systems are the echoes of intense episodes of star-formation that faded about 1 Gyr prior to the epoch of observation. The z=1.4-2 epoch appears to correspond to a time at which massive galaxies are in transition from a mode of sustained star formation to a relatively quiescent mode with weak and rare star-formation episodes. We argue that the most likely local descendants of the distant massive HDS galaxies are passively evolving massive galaxies in the field and small groups.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, uses emulateapj.sty; updated to match the version accepted by ApJ. One figure added, conclusions unchange