CANDELS Observations Of The Structural Properties Of Cluster Galaxies At Z=1.62

We discuss the structural and morphological properties of galaxies in a z = 1.62 proto-cluster using near-IR imaging data from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 data of the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). The cluster galaxies exhibit a clear color-morphology relation: galaxies with colors of quiescent stellar populations generally have morphologies consistent with spheroids, and galaxies with colors consistent with ongoing star formation have disk-like and irregular morphologies. The size distribution of the quiescent cluster galaxies shows a deficit of compact (less than or similar to 1 kpc), massive galaxies compared to CANDELS field galaxies at z = 1.6. As a result, the cluster quiescent galaxies have larger average effective sizes compared to field galaxies at fixed mass at greater than 90% significance. Combined with data from the literature, the size evolution of quiescent cluster galaxies is relatively slow from z similar or equal to 1.6 to the present, growing as (1 + z)(-0.6 +/- 0.1). If this result is generalizable, then it implies that physical processes associated with the denser cluster region seem to have caused accelerated size growth in quiescent galaxies prior to z = 1.6 and slower subsequent growth at z < 1.6 compared to galaxies in the lower density field. The quiescent cluster galaxies at z = 1.6 have higher ellipticities compared to lower redshift samples at fixed mass, and their surface-brightness profiles suggest that they contain extended stellar disks. We argue that the cluster galaxies require dissipationless (i.e., gas-poor or "dry") mergers to reorganize the disk material and to match the relations for ellipticity, stellar mass, size, and color of early-type galaxies in z < 1 clusters.NASA NAS5-26555HST GO-12060NASA through from the Space Telescope Science Institute GO-12060European Research CouncilRoyal SocietyTexas AM UniversityGeorge P. and Cynthia Woods Institute for Fundamental Physics and AstronomyAstronom

CANDELS Observations of the Environmental Dependence of the Color-Mass-Morphology Relation at z = 1.6

We study the environmental dependence of color, stellar mass, and morphology by comparing galaxies in a forming cluster to those in the field at z = 1:6 with Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared imaging in the CANDELS/UDS field. We quantify the morphology of the galaxies using the effective radius, reff, and S\'ersic index, n. In both the cluster and field, approximately half of the bulge-dominated galaxies (n > 2) reside on the red sequence of the color-magnitude diagram, and most disk-dominated galaxies (n < 2) have colors expected for star-forming galaxies. There is weak evidence that cluster galaxies have redder rest-frame U - B colors and higher stellar masses compared to the field. Star-forming galaxies in both the cluster and field show no significant differences in their morphologies. In contrast, there is evidence that quiescent galaxies in the cluster have larger median effective radii and smaller S\'ersic indices compared to the field with a significance of 2?. These differences are most pronounced for galaxies at clustercentric distances 1 Mpc < Rproj < 1.5 Mpc, which have low S\'ersic indices and possibly larger effective radii, more consistent with star-forming galaxies at this epoch and in contrast to other quiescent galaxies. We argue that star-forming galaxies are processed under the influence of the cluster environment at distances greater than the cluster-halo virial radius. Our results are consistent with models where gas accretion onto these galaxies is suppressed from processes associated with the cluster environment.Comment: ApJ accepted, 19 pages, 10 figure

A genome-wide scan for common alleles affecting risk for autism

Although autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a substantial genetic basis, most of the known genetic risk has been traced to rare variants, principally copy number variants (CNVs). To identify common risk variation, the Autism Genome Project (AGP) Consortium genotyped 1558 rigorously defined ASD families for 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyzed these SNP genotypes for association with ASD. In one of four primary association analyses, the association signal for marker rs4141463, located within MACROD2, crossed the genome-wide association significance threshold of P < 5 × 10−8. When a smaller replication sample was analyzed, the risk allele at rs4141463 was again over-transmitted; yet, consistent with the winner's curse, its effect size in the replication sample was much smaller; and, for the combined samples, the association signal barely fell below the P < 5 × 10−8 threshold. Exploratory analyses of phenotypic subtypes yielded no significant associations after correction for multiple testing. They did, however, yield strong signals within several genes, KIAA0564, PLD5, POU6F2, ST8SIA2 and TAF1C

Extremely Red Galaxies at z = 5-9 with MIRI and NIRSpec:Dusty Galaxies or Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei?

We study a new population of extremely red objects (EROs) recently discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) based on their NIRCam colors F277W − F444W &gt; 1.5 mag. We find 37 EROs in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) field with F444W &lt; 28 mag and photometric redshifts between 5 &lt; z &lt; 7, with median z = 6.9 − 1.6 + 1.0 . Surprisingly, despite their red long-wavelength colors, these EROs have blue short-wavelength colors (F150W − F200W ∼ 0 mag) indicative of bimodal spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with a red, steep slope in the rest-frame optical, and a blue, flat slope in the rest-frame UV. Moreover, all these EROs are unresolved, point-like sources in all NIRCam bands. We analyze the SEDs of eight of them with MIRI and NIRSpec observations using stellar population models and active galactic nucleus (AGN) templates. We find that dusty galaxies or obscured AGNs provide similarly good SED fits but different stellar properties: massive and dusty, log M ⋆ / M ⊙ ∼ 10 and A V ≳ 3 mag, or low mass and obscured, log M ⋆ / M ⊙ ∼ 7.5 and A V ∼ 0 mag, hosting an obscured quasi-stellar object (QSO). SED modeling does not favor either scenario, but their unresolved sizes are more suggestive of AGNs. If any EROs are confirmed to have log M ⋆ / M ⊙ ≳ 10.5, it would increase the pre-JWST number density at z &gt; 7 by up to a factor ∼60. Similarly, if they are QSOs with luminosities in the L bol &gt; 1045-46 erg s−1 range, their number would exceed that of bright blue QSOs by more than three orders of magnitude. Additional photometry at mid-infrared wavelengths will reveal the true nature of the red continuum emission in these EROs and will place this puzzling population in the right context of galaxy evolution.</p

CEERS Epoch 1 NIRCam Imaging: Reduction Methods and Simulations Enabling Early JWST Science Results

We present the data release and data reduction process for the Epoch 1 NIRCam observations for the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS). These data consist of NIRCam imaging in six broadband filters (F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W and F444W) and one medium band filter (F410M) over four pointings, obtained in parallel with primary CEERS MIRI observations (Yang et al. in prep). We reduced the NIRCam imaging with the JWST Calibration Pipeline, with custom modifications and reduction steps designed to address additional features and challenges with the data. Here we provide a detailed description of each step in our reduction and a discussion of future expected improvements. Our reduction process includes corrections for known pre-launch issues such as 1/f noise, as well as in-flight issues including snowballs, wisps, and astrometric alignment. Many of our custom reduction processes were first developed with pre-launch simulated NIRCam imaging over the full 10 CEERS NIRCam pointings. We present a description of the creation and reduction of this simulated dataset in the Appendix. We provide mosaics of the real images in a public release, as well as our reduction scripts with detailed explanations to allow users to reproduce our final data products. These represent one of the first official public datasets released from the Directors Discretionary Early Release Science (DD-ERS) program.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures, submitted to ApJ. Accompanying CEERS public Data Release 0.5 available at ceers.github.io/releases.htm

Evidence for a Shallow Evolution in the Volume Densities of Massive Galaxies at z=4z=4 to 88 from CEERS

We analyze the evolution of massive (log$_{10}$ [$M_\star/M_\odot$] $>10$) galaxies at $z \sim$ 4--8 selected from the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey. We infer the physical properties of all galaxies in the CEERS NIRCam imaging through spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting with dense basis to select a sample of high redshift massive galaxies. Where available we include constraints from additional CEERS observing modes, including 18 sources with MIRI photometric coverage, and 28 sources with spectroscopic confirmations from NIRSpec or NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy. We sample the recovered posteriors in stellar mass from SED fitting to infer the volume densities of massive galaxies across cosmic time, taking into consideration the potential for sample contamination by active galactic nuclei (AGN). We find that the evolving abundance of massive galaxies tracks expectations based on a constant baryon conversion efficiency in dark matter halos for $z \sim$ 1--4. At higher redshifts, we observe an excess abundance of massive galaxies relative to this simple model. These higher abundances can be explained by modest changes to star formation physics and/or the efficiencies with which star formation occurs in massive dark matter halos, and are not in tension with modern cosmology.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation