24 research outputs found
The Dipole Anisotropy of the First All-Sky X-ray Cluster Sample
We combine the recently published CIZA galaxy cluster catalogue with the
XBACs cluster sample to produce the first all-sky catalogue of X-ray clusters
in order to examine the origins of the Local Group's peculiar velocity without
the use of reconstruction methods to fill the traditional Zone of Avoidance.
The advantages of this approach are (i) X-ray emitting clusters tend to trace
the deepest potential wells and therefore have the greatest effect on the
dynamics of the Local Group and (ii) our all-sky sample provides data for
nearly a quarter of the sky that is largely incomplete in optical cluster
catalogues. We find that the direction of the Local Group's peculiar velocity
is well aligned with the CMB as early as the Great Attractor region 40 h^-1 Mpc
away, but that the amplitude of its dipole motion is largely set between 140
and 160 h^-1 Mpc. Unlike previous studies using galaxy samples, we find that
without Virgo included, roughly ~70% of our dipole signal comes from mass
concentrations at large distances (>60 h^-1 Mpc) and does not flatten,
indicating isotropy in the cluster distribution, until at least 160 h^-1 Mpc.
We also present a detailed discussion of our dipole profile, linking observed
features to the structures and superclusters that produce them. We find that
most of the dipole signal can be attributed to the Shapley supercluster
centered at about 150 h^-1 Mpc and a handful of very massive individual
clusters, some of which are newly discovered and lie well in the Zone of
Avoidance.Comment: 15 Pages, 9 Figures. Accepted by Ap
The ROSAT North Ecliptic Pole Survey: The X-ray Catalog
The sky around the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP), at (2000) =
18, (2000) = +66\degr33\arcmin39\arcsec, has the deepest
exposure of the entire {\it ROSAT} All - Sky Survey (RASS). The NEP is an
undistinguished region of moderate Galactic latitude, b=29\fdg8, and hence
suitable for compiling statistical samples of both galactic and extragalactic
objects. We have made such a compilation in the 80.6 deg region surrounding
the NEP. Our sample fully exploits the properties of the RASS, since the only
criteria for inclusion are source position and significance, and yields the
deepest large solid angle contiguous sample of X-ray sources to date. We find
442 unique sources above a flux limit in the 0.5--2.0 keV band. In this paper we present the
X-ray properties of these sources as determined from the RASS. These include
positions, fluxes, spectral information in the form of hardness ratios, and
angular sizes. Since we have performed a comprehensive optical identification
program we also present the average X-ray properties of classes of objects
typical of the X-ray sky at these flux levels. We discuss the use of the RASS
to find clusters of galaxies based on their X-ray properties alone.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures, accepted for ApJ Supp 162, 2006 (February
issue
Quenched Cold Accretion of a Large Scale Metal-Poor Filament due to Virial Shocking in the Halo of a Massive z=0.7 Galaxy
Using HST/COS/STIS and HIRES/Keck high-resolution spectra, we have studied a
remarkable HI absorbing complex at z=0.672 toward the quasar Q1317+277. The HI
absorption has a velocity spread of 1600 km/s, comprises 21 Voigt profile
components, and resides at an impact parameter of D=58 kpc from a bright, high
mass [log(M_vir/M_sun) ~ 13.7] elliptical galaxy that is deduced to have a 6
Gyr old, solar metallicity stellar population. Ionization models suggest the
majority of the structure is cold gas surrounding a shock heated cloud that is
kinematically adjacent to a multi-phase group of clouds with detected CIII, CIV
and OVI absorption, suggestive of a conductive interface near the shock. The
deduced metallicities are consistent with the moderate in situ enrichment
relative to the levels observed in the z ~ 3 Ly-alpha forest. We interpret the
HI complex as a metal-poor filamentary structure being shock heated as it
accretes into the halo of the galaxy. The data support the scenario of an early
formation period (z > 4) in which the galaxy was presumably fed by cold-mode
gas accretion that was later quenched via virial shocking by the hot halo such
that, by intermediate redshift, the cold filamentary accreting gas is
continuing to be disrupted by shock heating. Thus, continued filamentary
accretion is being mixed into the hot halo, indicating that the star formation
of the galaxy will likely remain quenched. To date, the galaxy and the HI
absorption complex provide some of the most compelling observational data
supporting the theoretical picture in which accretion is virial shocked in the
hot coronal halos of high mass galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap
The XMM Cluster Survey: Active Galactic Nuclei and Starburst Galaxies in XMMXCS J2215.9-1738 at z=1.46
We use Chandra X-ray and Spitzer infrared observations to explore the AGN and
starburst populations of XMMXCS J2215.9-1738 at z=1.46, one of the most distant
spectroscopically confirmed galaxy clusters known. The high resolution X-ray
imaging reveals that the cluster emission is contaminated by point sources that
were not resolved in XMM observations of the system, and have the effect of
hardening the spectrum, leading to the previously reported temperature for this
system being overestimated. From a joint spectroscopic analysis of the Chandra
and XMM data, the cluster is found to have temperature T=4.1_-0.9^+0.6 keV and
luminosity L_X=(2.92_-0.35^+0.24)x10^44 erg/s extrapolated to a radius of 2
Mpc. As a result of this revised analysis, the cluster is found to lie on the
sigma_v-T relation, but the cluster remains less luminous than would be
expected from self-similar evolution of the local L_X-T relation. Two of the
newly discovered X-ray AGN are cluster members, while a third object, which is
also a prominent 24 micron source, is found to have properties consistent with
it being a high redshift, highly obscured object in the background. We find a
total of eight >5 sigma 24 micron sources associated with cluster members (four
spectroscopically confirmed, and four selected using photometric redshifts),
and one additional 24 micron source with two possible optical/near-IR
counterparts that may be associated with the cluster. Examining the IRAC colors
of these sources, we find one object is likely to be an AGN. Assuming that the
other 24 micron sources are powered by star formation, their infrared
luminosities imply star formation rates ~100 M_sun/yr. We find that three of
these sources are located at projected distances of <250 kpc from the cluster
center, suggesting that a large amount of star formation may be taking place in
the cluster core, in contrast to clusters at low redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 16 pages, 10 figure
The XMM Cluster Survey: X-ray analysis methodology
The XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) is a serendipitous search for galaxy clusters
using all publicly available data in the XMM-Newton Science Archive. Its main
aims are to measure cosmological parameters and trace the evolution of X-ray
scaling relations. In this paper we describe the data processing methodology
applied to the 5,776 XMM observations used to construct the current XCS source
catalogue. A total of 3,675 > 4-sigma cluster candidates with > 50
background-subtracted X-ray counts are extracted from a total non-overlapping
area suitable for cluster searching of 410 deg^2. Of these, 993 candidates are
detected with > 300 background-subtracted X-ray photon counts, and we
demonstrate that robust temperature measurements can be obtained down to this
count limit. We describe in detail the automated pipelines used to perform the
spectral and surface brightness fitting for these candidates, as well as to
estimate redshifts from the X-ray data alone. A total of 587 (122) X-ray
temperatures to a typical accuracy of < 40 (< 10) per cent have been measured
to date. We also present the methodology adopted for determining the selection
function of the survey, and show that the extended source detection algorithm
is robust to a range of cluster morphologies by inserting mock clusters derived
from hydrodynamical simulations into real XMM images. These tests show that the
simple isothermal beta-profiles is sufficient to capture the essential details
of the cluster population detected in the archival XMM observations. The
redshift follow-up of the XCS cluster sample is presented in a companion paper,
together with a first data release of 503 optically-confirmed clusters.Comment: MNRAS accepted, 45 pages, 38 figures. Our companion paper describing
our optical analysis methodology and presenting a first set of confirmed
clusters has now been submitted to MNRA
The XMM Cluster Survey: Predicted overlap with the Planck Cluster Catalogue
We present a list of 15 clusters of galaxies, serendipitously detected by the
XMM Cluster Survey (XCS), that have a high probability of detection by the
Planck satellite. Three of them already appear in the Planck Early
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (ESZ) catalogue. The estimation of the Planck detection
probability assumes the flat Lambda cold dark matter (LambdaCDM) cosmology most
compatible with 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) data. It
takes into account the XCS selection function and Planck sensitivity, as well
as the covariance of the cluster X-ray luminosity, temperature, and integrated
comptonization parameter, as a function of cluster mass and redshift,
determined by the Millennium Gas Simulations. We also characterize the
properties of the galaxy clusters in the final data release of the XCS that we
expect Planck will have detected by the end of its extended mission. Finally,
we briefly discuss possible joint applications of the XCS and Planck data.Comment: Closely matches the version accepted for publication by MNRAS, 7
pages, 3 figures. The XCS-DR1 catalogue, together with optical and X-ray
(colour-composite and greyscale) images for each cluster, is publicly
available from http://xcs-home.org/datarelease
Early assembly of the most massive galaxies
The current consensus is that galaxies begin as small density fluctuations in
the early Universe and grow by in situ star formation and hierarchical merging.
Stars begin to form relatively quickly in sub-galactic sized building blocks
called haloes which are subsequently assembled into galaxies. However, exactly
when this assembly takes place is a matter of some debate. Here we report that
the stellar masses of brightest cluster galaxies, which are the most luminous
objects emitting stellar light, some 9 billion years ago are not significantly
different from their stellar masses today. Brightest cluster galaxies are
almost fully assembled 4-5 Gyrs after the Big Bang, having grown to more than
90% of their final stellar mass by this time. Our data conflict with the most
recent galaxy formation models based on the largest simulations of dark matter
halo development. These models predict protracted formation of brightest
cluster galaxies over a Hubble time, with only 22% of the stellar mass
assembled at the epoch probed by our sample. Our findings suggest a new picture
in which brightest cluster galaxies experience an early period of rapid growth
rather than prolonged hierarchical assembly.Comment: Published in Nature 2nd April 2009. This astro ph version includes
main text and supplementary material combine
Correction to: Cluster identification, selection, and description in Cluster randomized crossover trials: the PREP-IT trials
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article
Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures
Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo