389 research outputs found
The K-selected Butcher-Oemler Effect
[abridged] We investigate the Butcher-Oemler effect in a sample of K-selected
galaxies in 33 clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.92. We attempt to duplicate the
original Butcher-Oemler analysis as closely as possible given the
characteristics of our data. We find that the infrared selected blue fractions
are lower than those measured in the optical and that the trend with redshift
is much weaker. Comparison with optical data in clusters in common with Butcher
& Oemler (1984) shows that infrared selection is the primary difference between
our study and optically selected samples. We suggest that the Butcher-Oemler
effect is in large part due to a population of star-forming low mass galaxies
which will evolve into dwarf galaxies. These early results point to the need
for larger and deeper infrared samples of cluster galaxies to address this
issueComment: 37 pages, 19 figures, ApJ accepted (vol 598 n1
The Stellar Masses and Star Formation Histories of Galaxies at z ≈ 6: Constraints from Spitzer Observations in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey
Using the deep Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), we study the stellar masses and star formation histories of galaxies at z approx 6 based on the i_(775)-band dropout sample selected from the GOODS fields. In total, we derive stellar masses for 53 i_(775)-band dropouts that have robust IRAC detections. These galaxies have typical stellar masses of ~10^(10) M_⊙ and typical ages of a couple of hundred million years, consistent with earlier results based on a smaller sample of z ≈ 6 galaxies. The existence of such massive galaxies at z ≈ 6 can be explained by at least one set of N-body simulations of the hierarchical paradigm. We also study 79 i_(775)-band dropouts that are invisible in the IRAC data and find that they are typically less massive by a factor of 10. These galaxies are much bluer than those detected by the IRAC, indicating that their luminosities are dominated by stellar populations with ages ≾ 40 Myr. Based on our mass estimates, we derive a lower limit to the global stellar mass density at z ≈ 6, which is 1.1-6.7 × 10^6 M_⊙ Mpc^(-3). The prospect of detecting the progenitors of the most massive galaxies at yet higher redshifts is explored. We also investigate the implication of our results for reionization and find that the progenitors of the galaxies comparable to those in our sample, even in the most optimized (probably unrealistic) scenario, cannot sustain the reionization for a period longer than ~2 Myr. Thus most of the photons required for reionization must have been provided by other sources, such as the progenitors of the dwarf galaxies that are far below our current detection capability
IDCS J1426.5+3508: The Most Massive Galaxy Cluster at
We present a deep (100 ks) Chandra observation of IDCS J1426.5+3508, a
spectroscopically confirmed, infrared-selected galaxy cluster at .
This cluster is the most massive galaxy cluster currently known at ,
based on existing Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) and gravitational lensing detections.
We confirm this high mass via a variety of X-ray scaling relations, including
-M, -M, -M and -M, finding a tight distribution of masses
from these different methods, spanning M = 2.3-3.3
M, with the low-scatter -based mass M. IDCS J1426.5+3508 is currently the
only cluster at for which X-ray, SZ and gravitational lensing mass
estimates exist, and these are in remarkably good agreement. We find a
relatively tight distribution of the gas-to-total mass ratio, employing total
masses from all of the aforementioned indicators, with values ranging from
= 0.087-0.12. We do not detect metals in the intracluster medium
(ICM) of this system, placing a 2 upper limit of . This upper limit on the metallicity suggests that this system may
still be in the process of enriching its ICM. The cluster has a dense,
low-entropy core, offset by 30 kpc from the X-ray centroid, which makes
it one of the few "cool core" clusters discovered at , and the first
known cool core cluster at . The offset of this core from the
large-scale centroid suggests that this cluster has had a relatively recent
(500 Myr) merger/interaction with another massive system.Comment: Minor changes to match accepted version, results unchanged; ApJ in
pres
An X-ray Selected Galaxy Cluster at z=1.11 in the Rosat Deep Cluster Survey
We report the discovery of an X-ray luminous galaxy cluster at z =1.11. RDCS
J0910+5422 was selected as an X-ray cluster candidate in the ROSAT Deep Cluster
Survey on the basis of its spatial extent in a Rosat PSPC image. Deep optical
and near-IR imaging reveal a red galaxy overdensity around the peak of the
X-ray emission, with a significant excess of objects with J-K and I-K colors
typical of elliptical galaxies at z ~ 1.0. Spectroscopic observations at the
Keck II telescope secured 9 galaxy redshifts in the range 1.095<z<1.120
yielding a mean cluster redshift of =1.106. Eight of these galaxies lie
within a 30 arcsec radius around the peak X-ray emission. A deep Chandra ACIS
exposure on this field shows extended X-ray morphology and allows the X-ray
spectrum of the intracluster medium to be measured. The cluster has a
bolometric luminosity L_x = 2.48^{+0.33}_{-0.26} x 10^44 ergs/s, a temperature
of kT = 7.2^{+2.2}_{-1.4} keV, and a mass within r = 1 Mpc of 7.0 x 10^14 M_sun
(H_0=65 km/s/Mpc, Omega_m = 0.3, and Lambda = 0.7). The spatial distribution of
the cluster members is elongated, which is not due to an observational
selection effect, and followed by the X-ray morphology. The X-ray surface
brightness profile and the spectrophotometric properties of the cluster members
suggest that this is an example of a massive cluster in an advanced stage of
formation with a hot ICM and an old galaxy population already in place at z >
1.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures: Figures 1,4,6 included as separate jpg files.
Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa
The Intracluster Medium in z > 1 Galaxy Clusters
The Chandra X-ray Observatory was used to obtain a 190 ks image of three high
redshift galaxy clusters in one observation. The results of our analysis of
these data are reported for the two z > 1 clusters in this Lynx field,
including the most distant known X-ray selected cluster. Spatially-extended
X-ray emission was detected from both these clusters, indicating the presence
of hot gas in their intracluster media. A fit to the X-ray spectrum of RX
J0849+4452, at z=1.26, yields a temperature of kT = 5.8^{+2.8}_{-1.7} keV.
Using this temperature and the assumption of an isothermal sphere, the total
mass of RX J0849+4452 is found to be 4.0^{+2.4}_{-1.9} X 10^{14} h_{65}^{-1}
M_{\sun} within r = 1 h_{65}^{-1} Mpc. The T_x for RX J0849+4452 approximately
agrees with the expectation based on its L_{bol} = 3.3^{+0.9}_{-0.5} X 10^{44}^{-1} according to the low redshift L_x - T_x relation. The very
different distributions of X-ray emitting gas and of the red member galaxies in
the two z > 1 clusters, in contrast to the similarity of the optical/IR colors
of those galaxies, suggests that the early-type galaxies mostly formed before
their host clusters.Comment: 4 pages in emulateapj style plus 2 color jpegs for Figure 3. Accepted
by The Astrophysical Journa
WISE Brown Dwarf Binaries: The Discovery of a T5+T5 and a T8.5+T9 System
The multiplicity properties of brown dwarfs are critical empirical constraints for formation theories, while multiples themselves provide unique opportunities to test evolutionary and atmospheric models and examine empirical trends. Studies using high-resolution imaging cannot only uncover faint companions, but they can also be used to determine dynamical masses through long-term monitoring of binary systems. We have begun a search for the coolest brown dwarfs using preliminary processing of data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and have confirmed many of the candidates as late-type T dwarfs. In order to search for companions to these objects, we are conducting observations using the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system on Keck II. Here we present the first results of that search, including a T5 binary with nearly equal mass components and a faint companion to a T8.5 dwarf with an estimated spectral type of T9
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