12,508 research outputs found
Cluster of galaxies around seven radio-loud QSOs at 1<z<1.6: K-band images
We have conducted a NIR study of the environments of seven radio-loud quasars
at redshifts 1<z<1.6. In present paper we describe deep band images
obtained for the fields of ~6X6 arcmin around the quasars with 3
limiting magnitudes of K~20.5. These fields were previously studied using deep
B and R band images (Sanchez & Gonzalez-Serrano 1999). Using together optical
and NIR data, it has been found a significant excess of galaxies which
optical-NIR colours, luminosity, spatial scale, and number of galaxies are
compatible with clusters at the redshift of the quasar.
We have selected a sample of cluster candidates analyzing the R-K vs. K
diagram. A ~25% of the candidates present red optical-NIR colours and an
ultraviolet excess. This population has been also found in clusters around
quasars at the same redshifts (Tanaka et al. 2000; Haines et al. 2001). These
galaxies seem to follow a mixed evolution: a main passive evolution plus late
starformation processes. The quasars do not inhabit the core of the clusters,
being found in the outer regions. This result agrees with the hypothesis that
the origin/feeding mechanism of the nuclear activity were merging processes.
The quasars inhabit the region were a collision is most probably to produce a
merger.Comment: 15 pages. A&A, accepted for publishin
Neural-network selection of high-redshift radio quasars, and the luminosity function at z~4
We obtain a sample of 87 radio-loud QSOs in the redshift range 3.6<z<4.4 by
cross-correlating sources in the FIRST radio survey S{1.4GHz} > 1 mJy with
star-like objects having r <20.2 in SDSS Data Release 7. Of these 87 QSOs, 80
are spectroscopically classified in previous work (mainly SDSS), and form the
training set for a search for additional such sources. We apply our selection
to 2,916 FIRST-DR7 pairs and find 15 likely candidates. Seven of these are
confirmed as high-redshift quasars, bringing the total to 87. The candidates
were selected using a neural-network, which yields 97% completeness (fraction
of actual high-z QSOs selected as such) and an efficiency (fraction of
candidates which are high-z QSOs) in the range of 47 to 60%. We use this sample
to estimate the binned optical luminosity function of radio-loud QSOs at , and also the LF of the total QSO population and its comoving density. Our
results suggest that the radio-loud fraction (RLF) at high z is similar to that
at low-z and that other authors may be underestimating the fraction at high-z.
Finally, we determine the slope of the optical luminosity function and obtain
results consistent with previous studies of radio-loud QSOs and of the whole
population of QSOs. The evolution of the luminosity function with redshift was
for many years interpreted as a flattening of the bright end slope, but has
recently been re-interpreted as strong evolution of the break luminosity for
high-z QSOs, and our results, for the radio-loud population, are consistent
with this.Comment: 20 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on 3 March 201
Observed modes of sea surface temperature variability in the South Pacific region
The South Pacific (SP) region exerts large control on the climate of the Southern Hemisphere at many times scales. This paper identifies the main modes of interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the SP which consist of a tropical-driven mode related to a horseshoe structure of positive/negative SST anomalies within midlatitudes and highly correlated to ENSO and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) variability, and another mode mostly confined to extratropical latitudes which is characterized by zonal propagation of SST anomalies within the South Pacific Gyre. Both modes are associated with temperature and rainfall anomalies over the continental regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Besides the leading mode which is related to well known warmer/cooler and drier/moister conditions due to its relationship with ENSO and the IPO, an inspection of the extratropical mode indicates that it is associated with distinct patterns of sea level pressure and surface temperature advection. These relationships are used here as plausible and partial explanations to the observed warming trend observed within the Southern Hemisphere during the last decades.The authors would like to thank Scott Power for his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and the two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions led to a substantial improvement of the paper. This study was supported by Grants UBACyT-20020100100803, UBACyT-20020120300051, PIP-11220120100586 and the SPECS (GA 308378) EU-funded Project. JG-S was partially supported by the H2020-funded MSCA-IF-EF DPETNA project (GA No. 655339). The authors acknowledge the Red Española de Supercomputación (RES) and PRACE for awarding access to MareNostrum 3 at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center through the HiResClim project. The support of Virginie Guémas and Oriol Mula-Valls at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center is warmly appreciated.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
R-Band Imaging of Fields Around 1<z<2 Radiogalaxies
We have taken deep -band images of fields around five radiogalaxies:
0956+47, 1217+36, 3C256, 3C324 and 3C294 with . 0956+47 is found to
show a double nucleus. Our data on 1217+36 suggest the revision of its
classification as a radiogalaxy. We found a statistically significant excess of
bright () galaxies on scales of 2 arcmin around the radiogalaxies
(which have ) in our sample. The excess has been determined
empirically to be at level. It is remarkable that this excess
is not present for galaxies within the same area, suggesting that
the excess is not physically associated to the galaxies but due to intervening
groups and then related to gravitational lensing.Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded compressed PostScript including tables. Figures
available upon request. To appear in the March 1995 issue of The Astronomical
Journa
Use of neural networks for the identification of new z>=3.6 QSOs from FIRST-SDSS DR5
We aim to obtain a complete sample of redshift > 3.6 radio QSOs from FIRST
sources having star-like counterparts in the SDSS DR5 photometric survey
(r<=20.2). We found that simple supervised neural networks, trained on sources
with SDSS spectra, and using optical photometry and radio data, are very
effective for identifying high-z QSOs without spectra. The technique yields a
completeness of 96 per cent and an efficiency of 62 per cent. Applying the
trained networks to 4415 sources without DR5 spectra we found 58 z>=3.6 QSO
candidates. We obtained spectra of 27 of them, and 17 are confirmed as high-z
QSOs. Spectra of 13 additional candidates from the literature and from SDSS DR6
revealed 7 more z>=3.6 QSOs, giving and overall efficiency of 60 per cent. None
of the non-candidates with spectra from NED or DR6 is a z>=3.6 QSO,
consistently with a high completeness. The initial sample of z>=3.6 QSOs is
increased from 52 to 76, i.e. by a factor 1.46. From the new identifications
and candidates we estimate an incompleteness of SDSS for the spectroscopic
classification of FIRST 3.6<=z<=4.6 QSOs of 15 percent for r<=20.2.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures accepted for publication in MNRA
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