3,428 research outputs found
XMM-Newton Surveys of the Canada-France Redshift Survey Fields - III: The Environments of X-ray Selected AGN at 0.4<z<0.6
The environmental properties of a sample of 31 hard X-ray selected AGN are
investigated, from scales of 500 kpc down to 30 kpc, and are compared to a
control sample of inactive galaxies. The AGN all lie in the redshift range
0.4<z<0.6. The accretion luminosity-density of the Universe peaks close to this
redshift range, and the AGN in the sample have X-ray luminosities close to the
knee in the hard X-ray luminosity function, making them representative of the
population which dominated this important phase of energy conversion.
Using both the spatial clustering amplitude and near neighbour counts it is
found that the AGN have environments that are indistinguishable from normal,
inactive galaxies over the same redshift range and with similar optical
properties. Typically, the environments are of sub-cluster richness, in
contrast to similar studies of high-z quasars, which are often found in
clusters with comparable richness to the Abell R>=0 clusters.
It is suggested that minor mergers with low mass companions is a likely
candidate for the mechanism by which these modest luminosity AGN are fuelled.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted by MNRA
XMM—Newton surveys of the Canada—France Redshift Survey Fields — III. The environments of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei at 0.4 < z < 0.6
The environmental properties of a sample of 31 hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) are investigated, from scales of 500 kpc down to 30 kpc, and are compared to a control sample of inactive galaxies. All the AGN lie in the redshift range 0.4 < z < 0.6. The accretion luminosity density of the Universe peaks close to this redshift range, and the AGN in the sample have X-ray luminosities close to the knee in the hard X-ray luminosity function, making them representative of the population that dominated this important phase of energy conversion. Using both the spatial clustering amplitude and near-neighbour counts, it is found that the AGN have environments that are indistinguishable from normal, inactive galaxies over the same redshift range and with similar optical properties. Typically, the environments are of subcluster richness, in contrast to similar studies of high-z quasars, which are often found in clusters with comparable richness to the Abell R≥ 0 clusters. It is suggested that minor mergers with low-mass companions are a likely candidate for the mechanism by which these modest luminosity AGN are fuelle
Dark energy constraints and correlations with systematics from CFHTLS weak lensing, SNLS supernovae Ia and WMAP5
We combine measurements of weak gravitational lensing from the CFHTLS-Wide
survey, supernovae Ia from CFHT SNLS and CMB anisotropies from WMAP5 to obtain
joint constraints on cosmological parameters, in particular, the dark energy
equation of state parameter w. We assess the influence of systematics in the
data on the results and look for possible correlations with cosmological
parameters.
We implement an MCMC algorithm to sample the parameter space of a flat CDM
model with a dark-energy component of constant w. Systematics in the data are
parametrised and included in the analysis. We determine the influence of
photometric calibration of SNIa data on cosmological results by calculating the
response of the distance modulus to photometric zero-point variations. The weak
lensing data set is tested for anomalous field-to-field variations and a
systematic shape measurement bias for high-z galaxies.
Ignoring photometric uncertainties for SNLS biases cosmological parameters by
at most 20% of the statistical errors, using supernovae only; the parameter
uncertainties are underestimated by 10%. The weak lensing field-to-field
variance pointings is 5%-15% higher than that predicted from N-body
simulations. We find no bias of the lensing signal at high redshift, within the
framework of a simple model. Assuming a systematic underestimation of the
lensing signal at high redshift, the normalisation sigma_8 increases by up to
8%. Combining all three probes we obtain -0.10<1+w<0.06 at 68% confidence
(-0.18<1+w<0.12 at 95%), including systematic errors. Systematics in the data
increase the error bars by up to 35%; the best-fit values change by less than
0.15sigma. [Abridged]Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Revised version, matches the one to be
published in A&A. Modifications have been made corresponding to the referee's
suggestions, including reordering of some section
Elevated glutamatergic compounds in pregenual anterior cingulate in pediatric autism spectrum disorder demonstrated by 1H MRS and 1H MRSI.
Recent research in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has aroused interest in anterior cingulate cortex and in the neurometabolite glutamate. We report two studies of pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) in pediatric ASD. First, we acquired in vivo single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) in 8 children with ASD and 10 typically developing controls who were well matched for age, but with fewer males and higher IQ. In the ASD group in midline pACC, we found mean 17.7% elevation of glutamate + glutamine (Glx) (p<0.05) and 21.2% (p<0.001) decrement in creatine + phosphocreatine (Cr). We then performed a larger (26 subjects with ASD, 16 controls) follow-up study in samples now matched for age, gender, and IQ using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H MRSI). Higher spatial resolution enabled bilateral pACC acquisition. Significant effects were restricted to right pACC where Glx (9.5%, p<0.05), Cr (6.7%, p<0.05), and N-acetyl-aspartate + N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (10.2%, p<0.01) in the ASD sample were elevated above control. These two independent studies suggest hyperglutamatergia and other neurometabolic abnormalities in pACC in ASD, with possible right-lateralization. The hyperglutamatergic state may reflect an imbalance of excitation over inhibition in the brain as proposed in recent neurodevelopmental models of ASD
The VIPERS Multi-Lambda Survey. II. Diving with massive galaxies in 22 square degrees since z = 1.5
We investigate the evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) and
stellar mass density from redshift z=0.2 to z=1.5 of a <22-selected
sample with highly reliable photometric redshifts and over an unprecedentedly
large area. Our study is based on NIR observations carried out with WIRCam at
CFHT over the footprint of the VIPERS spectroscopic survey and benefits from
the high quality optical photometry from the CFHTLS and UV observations with
the GALEX satellite. The accuracy of our photometric redshifts is <
0.03 and 0.05 for the bright (22.5) samples,
respectively. The SMF is measured with ~760,000 galaxies down to =22 and
over an effective area of ~22.4 deg, the latter of which drastically
reduces the statistical uncertainties (i.e. Poissonian error & cosmic
variance). We point out the importance of a careful control of the photometric
calibration, whose impact becomes quickly dominant when statistical
uncertainties are reduced, which will be a major issue for future generation of
cosmological surveys with, e.g. EUCLID or LSST. By exploring the rest-frame
(NUV-r) vs (r-) color-color diagram separating star-forming and quiescent
galaxies, (1) we find that the density of very massive log() >
11.5 galaxies is largely dominated by quiescent galaxies and increases by a
factor 2 from z~1 to z~0.2, which allows for additional mass assembly via dry
mergers, (2) we confirm a scenario where star formation activity is impeded
above a stellar mass log() = 10.640.01, a value that
is found to be very stable at 0.2 < z < 1.5, (3) we discuss the existence of a
main quenching channel that is followed by massive star-forming galaxies, and
finally (4) we characterise another quenching mechanism required to explain the
clear excess of low-mass quiescent galaxies observed at low redshift.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Version to be
publishe
A Multicenter Examination and Strategic Revisions of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
Objective To examine the internal consistency and distribution of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores to inform modification of the measure. Methods This cross-sectional study included 617 participants with a tic disorder (516 children and 101 adults), who completed an age-appropriate diagnostic interview and the YGTSS to evaluate tic symptom severity. The distributions of scores on YGTSS dimensions were evaluated for normality and skewness. For dimensions that were skewed across motor and phonic tics, a modified Delphi consensus process was used to revise selected anchor points. Results Children and adults had similar clinical characteristics, including tic symptom severity. All participants were examined together. Strong internal consistency was identified for the YGTSS Motor Tic score (α = 0.80), YGTSS Phonic Tic score (α = 0.87), and YGTSS Total Tic score (α = 0.82). The YGTSS Total Tic and Impairment scores exhibited relatively normal distributions. Several subscales and individual item scales departed from a normal distribution. Higher scores were more often used on the Motor Tic Number, Frequency, and Intensity dimensions and the Phonic Tic Frequency dimension. By contrast, lower scores were more often used on Motor Tic Complexity and Interference, and Phonic Tic Number, Intensity, Complexity, and Interference. Conclusions The YGTSS exhibits good internal consistency across children and adults. The parallel findings across Motor and Phonic Frequency, Complexity, and Interference dimensions prompted minor revisions to the anchor point description to promote use of the full range of scores in each dimension. Specific minor revisions to the YGTSS Phonic Tic Symptom Checklist were also proposed
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