882 research outputs found
Probing the Radio Loud/Quiet AGN dichotomy with quasar clustering
We investigate the clustering properties of 45441 radio-quiet quasars (RQQs)
and 3493 radio-loud quasars (RLQs) drawn from a joint use of the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at 20 cm (FIRST) surveys in
the range . This large spectroscopic quasar sample allow us to
investigate the clustering signal dependence on radio-loudness and black hole
(BH) virial mass. We find that RLQs are clustered more strongly than RQQs in
all the redshift bins considered. We find a real-space correlation length of
and
{\normalsize{}for} RQQs and
RLQs, respectively, for the full redshift range. This implies that RLQs are
found in more massive host haloes than RQQs in our samples, with mean host halo
masses of and
, respectively. Comparison with
clustering studies of different radio source samples indicates that this mass
scale of is characteristic for the
bright radio-population, which corresponds to the typical mass of galaxy groups
and galaxy clusters. The similarity we find in correlation lengths and host
halo masses for RLQs, radio galaxies and flat-spectrum radio quasars agrees
with orientation-driven unification models. Additionally, the clustering signal
shows a dependence on black hole (BH) mass, with the quasars powered by the
most massive BHs clustering more strongly than quasars having less massive BHs.
We suggest that the current virial BH mass estimates may be a valid BH proxies
for studying quasar clustering. We compare our results to a previous
theoretical model that assumes that quasar activityComment: 15 pages, 13 figures, A&A in pres
Deep LOFAR 150 MHz imaging of the Bo\"otes field: Unveiling the faint low-frequency sky
We have conducted a deep survey (with a central rms of )
with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at 120-168 MHz of the Bo\"otes field, with
an angular resolution of , and obtained a sample of
10091 radio sources ( limit) over an area of .
The astrometry and flux scale accuracy of our source catalog is investigated.
The resolution bias, incompleteness and other systematic effects that could
affect our source counts are discussed and accounted for. The derived 150 MHz
source counts present a flattening below sub-mJy flux densities, that is in
agreement with previous results from high- and low- frequency surveys. This
flattening has been argued to be due to an increasing contribution of
star-forming galaxies and faint active galactic nuclei. Additionally, we use
our observations to evaluate the contribution of cosmic variance to the scatter
in source counts measurements. The latter is achieved by dividing our Bo\"otes
mosaic into 10 non-overlapping circular sectors, each one with an approximate
area of The counts in each sector are computed in the
same way as done for the entire mosaic. By comparing the induced scatter with
that of counts obtained from depth observations scaled to 150MHz, we find that
the scatter due to cosmic variance is larger than the Poissonian
errors of the source counts, and it may explain the dispersion from previously
reported depth source counts at flux densities . This work
demonstrates the feasibility of achieving deep radio imaging at low-frequencies
with LOFAR.Comment: A\&A in press. 15 pages, 16 figure
Analytical shear and flexion of Einasto dark matter haloes
N-body simulations predict that dark matter haloes are described by specific
density profiles on both galactic- and cluster-sized scales. Weak gravitational
lensing through the measurements of their first and second order properties,
shear and flexion, is a powerful observational tool for investigating the true
shape of these profiles. One of the three-parameter density profiles recently
favoured in the description of dark matter haloes is the Einasto profile. We
present exact expressions for the shear and the first and second flexions of
Einasto dark matter haloes derived using a Mellin-transform formalism in terms
of the Fox H and Meijer G functions, that are valid for general values of the
Einasto index. The resulting expressions can be written as series expansions
that permit us to investigate the asymptotic behaviour of these quantities.
Moreover, we compare the shear and flexion of the Einasto profile with those of
different mass profiles including the singular isothermal sphere, the
Navarro-Frenk-White profile, and the S\'ersic profile. We investigate the
concentration and index dependences of the Einasto profile, finding that the
shear and second flexion could be used to determine the halo concentration,
whilst for the Einasto index the shear and first and second flexions may be
employed. We also provide simplified expressions for the weak lensing
properties and other lensing quantities in terms of the generalized
hypergeometric function.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Stellar mass map and dark matter distribution in M31
Stellar mass distribution in M31 is estimated using optical and infrared
imaging data. Combining the derived stellar mass model with various kinematical
data, properties of the DM halo of the galaxy are constrained.
SDSS observations through the ugriz filters and the Spitzer imaging at 3.6
microns are used to sample the SED of the galaxy at each imaging pixel.
Intrinsic dust extinction effects are taken into account by using far-infrared
observations. Synthetic SEDs created with different stellar population
synthesis models are fitted to the observed SEDs, providing estimates for the
stellar mass surface density. The stellar mass distribution of the galaxy is
described with a 3D model consisting of a nucleus, a bulge, a disc, a young
disc and a halo component, each following the Einasto density distribution
(relations between different functional forms of the Einasto density
distribution are given in App. B). By comparing the stellar mass distribution
to the observed rotation curve and kinematics of outer globular clusters and
satellite galaxies, the DM halo parameters are estimated.
Stellar population synthesis models suggest that M31 is dominated by old
stars throughout the galaxy. The total stellar mass is (10-15)10^10Msun, 30% of
which is in the bulge and 56% in the disc. None of the tested DM distribution
models can be falsified on the basis of the stellar matter distribution and the
rotation curve of the galaxy. The virial mass of the DM halo is
(0.8-1.1)10^12Msun and the virial radius is 189-213kpc, depending on the DM
distribution. The central density of the DM halo is comparable to that of
nearby dwarf galaxies, low-surface-brightness galaxies and distant massive disc
galaxies, thus the evolution of central DM halo properties seems to be
regulated by similar processes for a broad range of halo masses, environments,
and cosmological epochs.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
Analytical properties of Einasto dark matter haloes
Recent high-resolution N-body CDM simulations indicate that nonsingular
three-parameter models such as the Einasto profile perform better than the
singular two-parameter models, e.g. the Navarro, Frenk and White, in fitting a
wide range of dark matter haloes. While many of the basic properties of the
Einasto profile have been discussed in previous studies, a number of analytical
properties are still not investigated. In particular, a general analytical
formula for the surface density, an important quantity that defines the lensing
properties of a dark matter halo, is still lacking to date. To this aim, we
used a Mellin integral transform formalism to derive a closed expression for
the Einasto surface density and related properties in terms of the Fox H and
Meijer G functions, which can be written as series expansions. This enables
arbitrary-precision calculations of the surface density and the lensing
properties of realistic dark matter halo models. Furthermore, we compared the
S\'ersic and Einasto surface mass densities and found differences between them,
which implies that the lensing properties for both profiles differ.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Extremely deep 150 MHz source counts from the LoTSS Deep Fields
International audienceWith the advent of new generation low-frequency telescopes, such as the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), and improved calibration techniques, we have now started to unveil the subgigahertz radio sky with unprecedented depth and sensitivity. The LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey (LoTSS) is an ongoing project in which the whole northern radio sky will be observed at 150 MHz with a sensitivity better than 100 μJy beam−1 at a resolution of 6′′. Additionally, deeper observations are planned to cover smaller areas with higher sensitivity. The Lockman Hole, the Boötes, and the Elais-N1 regions are among the most well known northern extra-galactic fields and the deepest of the LoTSS Deep Fields so far. We exploited these deep observations to derive the deepest radio source counts at 150 MHz to date. Our counts are in broad agreement with those from the literature and show the well known upturn at ≤1 mJy, mainly associated with the emergence of the star-forming galaxy population. More interestingly, our counts show, for the first time a very pronounced drop around S ~ 2 mJy, which results in a prominent “bump” at sub-mJy flux densities. Such a feature was not observed in previous counts’ determinations (neither at 150 MHz nor at a higher frequency). While sample variance can play a role in explaining the observed discrepancies, we believe this is mostly the result of a careful analysis aimed at deblending confused sources and removing spurious sources and artifacts from the radio catalogs. This “drop and bump” feature cannot be reproduced by any of the existing state-of-the-art evolutionary models, and it appears to be associated with a deficiency of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at an intermediate redshift (1 < z < 2) and an excess of low-redshift (z < 1) galaxies and/or AGN.Key words: galaxies: evolution / surveys / radio continuum: genera
The LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey: Deep Fields, I -- Direction-dependent calibration and imaging
The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is an ideal instrument to conduct deep extragalactic surveys. It has a large field of view and is sensitive to large-scale and compact emission. It is, however, very challenging to synthesize thermal noise limited maps at full resolution, mainly because of the complexity of the low-frequency sky and the direction dependent effects (phased array beams and ionosphere). In this first paper of a series, we present a new calibration and imaging pipeline that aims at producing high fidelity, high dynamic range images with LOFAR High Band Antenna data, while being computationally efficient and robust against the absorption of unmodeled radio emission. We apply this calibration and imaging strategy to synthesize deep images of the Boötes and Lockman Hole fields at ∼150 MHz, totaling ∼80 and ∼100 h of integration, respectively, and reaching unprecedented noise levels at these low frequencies of .30 and .23 µJy beam−1 in the inner ∼3 deg2 . This approach is also being used to reduce the LOTSS-wide data for the second data release
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