687 research outputs found
Photometric redshifts and quasar probabilities from a single, data-driven generative model
We describe a technique for simultaneously classifying and estimating the
redshift of quasars. It can separate quasars from stars in arbitrary redshift
ranges, estimate full posterior distribution functions for the redshift, and
naturally incorporate flux uncertainties, missing data, and multi-wavelength
photometry. We build models of quasars in flux-redshift space by applying the
extreme deconvolution technique to estimate the underlying density. By
integrating this density over redshift one can obtain quasar flux-densities in
different redshift ranges. This approach allows for efficient, consistent, and
fast classification and photometric redshift estimation. This is achieved by
combining the speed obtained by choosing simple analytical forms as the basis
of our density model with the flexibility of non-parametric models through the
use of many simple components with many parameters. We show that this technique
is competitive with the best photometric quasar classification
techniques---which are limited to fixed, broad redshift ranges and high
signal-to-noise ratio data---and with the best photometric redshift techniques
when applied to broadband optical data. We demonstrate that the inclusion of UV
and NIR data significantly improves photometric quasar--star separation and
essentially resolves all of the redshift degeneracies for quasars inherent to
the ugriz filter system, even when included data have a low signal-to-noise
ratio. For quasars spectroscopically confirmed by the SDSS 84 and 97 percent of
the objects with GALEX UV and UKIDSS NIR data have photometric redshifts within
0.1 and 0.3, respectively, of the spectroscopic redshift; this amounts to about
a factor of three improvement over ugriz-only photometric redshifts. Our code
to calculate quasar probabilities and redshift probability distributions is
publicly available
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search. I. Candidate Selection Algorithm
We present an algorithm for selecting an uniform sample of gravitationally
lensed quasar candidates from low-redshift (0.6<z<2.2) quasars brighter than
i=19.1 that have been spectroscopically identified in the SDSS. Our algorithm
uses morphological and color selections that are intended to identify small-
and large-separation lenses, respectively. Our selection algorithm only relies
on parameters that the SDSS standard image processing pipeline generates,
allowing easy and fast selection of lens candidates. The algorithm has been
tested against simulated SDSS images, which adopt distributions of field and
quasar parameters taken from the real SDSS data as input. Furthermore, we take
differential reddening into account. We find that our selection algorithm is
almost complete down to separations of 1'' and flux ratios of 10^-0.5. The
algorithm selects both double and quadruple lenses. At a separation of 2'',
doubles and quads are selected with similar completeness, and above (below) 2''
the selection of quads is better (worse) than for doubles. Our morphological
selection identifies a non-negligible fraction of single quasars: To remove
these we fit images of candidates with a model of two point sources and reject
those with unusually small image separations and/or large magnitude differences
between the two point sources. We estimate the efficiency of our selection
algorithm to be at least 8% at image separations smaller than 2'', comparable
to that of radio surveys. The efficiency declines as the image separation
increases, because of larger contamination from stars. We also present the
magnification factor of lensed images as a function of the image separation,
which is needed for accurate computation of magnification bias.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: gravitational potential and surface density drive stellar populations -- I. early-type galaxies
The well-established correlations between the mass of a galaxy and the
properties of its stars are considered evidence for mass driving the evolution
of the stellar population. However, for early-type galaxies (ETGs), we find
that color and stellar metallicity [Z/H] correlate more strongly with
gravitational potential than with mass , whereas stellar population
age correlates best with surface density . Specifically, for our sample
of 625 ETGs with integral-field spectroscopy from the SAMI Galaxy Survey,
compared to correlations with mass, the color--, [Z/H]--, and
age-- relations show both smaller scatter and less residual trend with
galaxy size. For the star formation duration proxy [/Fe], we find
comparable results for trends with and , with both being
significantly stronger than the [/Fe]- relation. In determining the
strength of a trend, we analyze both the overall scatter, and the observational
uncertainty on the parameters, in order to compare the intrinsic scatter in
each correlation. These results lead us to the following inferences and
interpretations: (1) the color-- diagram is a more precise tool for
determining the developmental stage of the stellar population than the
conventional color--mass diagram; and (2) gravitational potential is the
primary regulator of global stellar metallicity, via its relation to the gas
escape velocity. Furthermore, we propose the following two mechanisms for the
age and [/Fe] relations with : (a) the age-- and
[/Fe]-- correlations arise as results of compactness driven
quenching mechanisms; and/or (b) as fossil records of the
relation in their disk-dominated progenitors.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table Accepted to Ap
Double-Peaked Low-Ionization Emission Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei
We present a new sample of 116 double-peaked Balmer line Active Galactic
Nuclei (AGN) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Double-peaked emission
lines are believed to originate in the accretion disks of AGN, a few hundred
gravitational radii (Rg) from the supermassive black hole. We investigate the
properties of the candidate disk emitters with respect to the full sample of
AGN over the same redshifts, focusing on optical, radio and X-ray flux, broad
line shapes and narrow line equivalent widths and line flux-ratios. We find
that the disk-emitters have medium luminosities (~10^44erg/s) and FWHM on
average six times broader than the AGN in the parent sample. The double-peaked
AGN are 1.6 times more likely to be radio-sources and are predominantly (76%)
radio quiet, with about 12% of the objects classified as LINERs. Statistical
comparison of the observed double-peaked line profiles with those produced by
axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric accretion disk models allows us to impose
constraints on accretion disk parameters. The observed Halpha line profiles are
consistent with accretion disks with inclinations smaller than 50 deg, surface
emissivity slopes of 1.0-2.5, outer radii larger than ~2000 Rg, inner radii
between 200-800Rg, and local turbulent broadening of 780-1800 km/s. The
comparison suggests that 60% of accretion disks require some form of asymmetry
(e.g., elliptical disks, warps, spiral shocks or hot spots).Comment: 60 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ. For high
quality figures and full tables, please see
http://astro.princeton.edu/~iskra/disks.htm
Chandra Observations of the Highest Redshift Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We present new Chandra observations of 21 z>4 quasars, including 11 sources
at z>5. These observations double the number of X-ray detected quasars at z>5,
allowing investigation of the X-ray spectral properties of a substantial sample
of quasars at the dawn of the modern Universe. By jointly fitting the spectra
of 15 z>5 radio-quiet quasars (RQQs), including sources from the Chandra
archive, with a total of 185 photons, we find a mean X-ray power-law photon
index of Gamma=1.95^{+0.30}_{-0.26}, and a mean neutral intrinsic absorption
column density of N_H<~6x10^{22} cm^{-2}. These results show that quasar X-ray
spectral properties have not evolved up to the highest observable redshifts. We
also find that the mean optical-X-ray spectral slope (alpha_ox) of
optically-selected z>5 RQQs, excluding broad absorption line quasars, is
alpha_ox=-1.69+/-0.03, which is consistent with the value predicted from the
observed relationship between alpha_ox and ultraviolet luminosity. Four of the
sources in our sample are members of the rare class of weak emission-line
quasars, and we detect two of them in X-rays. We discuss the implications our
X-ray observations have for the nature of these mysterious sources and, in
particular, whether their weak-line spectra are a consequence of continuum
boosting or a deficit of high-ionization line emitting gas.Comment: 15 pages (emulateapj), 8 figures. Accepted by Ap
Gender incongruence of childhood: clinical utility and stakeholder agreement with the World Health Organization’s proposed ICD-11 criteria
The World Health Organization (WHO) is revising the tenth version of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10; WHO, 1992). This includes a reconceptualization of the definition and positioning of Gender Incongruence of Childhood (GIC). This study aimed to: 1) collect the views of transgender individuals and professionals regarding the retention of the diagnosis; 2) see if the proposed GIC criteria were acceptable to transgender individuals and health care providers 3) compare results between two countries with two different healthcare systems to see if these differences influence opinions regarding the GIC diagnosis; and 4) determine whether healthcare providers from high-income countries feel that the proposed criteria are clinically useful and easy to use.
A total of 628 participants were included in the study: 284 from the Netherlands (NL; 45.2 %), 8 from Flanders (Belgium; 1.3 %), and 336 (53.5%) from the United Kingdom (UK). Most participants were transgender people (or their partners/relatives; TG) (n = 522), 89 participants were healthcare providers (HCPs) and 17 were both healthcare providers and (partners/relatives of) transgender people. Participants completed an online survey developed for this study.
Overall, the majority response from transgender participants (42.9%) was that if the diagnosis would be removed from the mental health chapter it should also be removed from the ICD-11 completely, while 33.6% thought it should remain in the ICD-11. Participants were generally satisfied with other aspects of the proposed ICD-11 GIC diagnosis: most TG participants (58.4%) thought the term Gender Identity Disorder should change, and most thought Gender Incongruence was an improvement (63.0%). Furthermore, most participants (76.1%) did not consider GIC to be a psychiatric disorder and placement in a separate chapter dealing with Gender and Sexual Health (the majority response in the NL and selected by 37.5% of the TG participants overall) or as a Z-code (the majority response in the UK and selected by 26.7% of the TG participants overall) would be preferable. In the UK, the majority response (35.8%) was that narrowing the diagnosis for children was an improvement, while in the NL the majority response (49.5%) was that this was not an improvement. Although generally the results from healthcare providers were in line with the results from the transgender participants (and stakeholders) some differences were found.
This study suggests that, in an ideal world, a diagnosis is not welcomed. However, realistically - due to healthcare funding - including a GIC diagnosis in ICD-11 is seen as a requirement. The choice for positioning of a diagnosis of GIC within the ICD-11 is as a separate chapter dealing with symptoms and/or disorders regarding sexual and gender health. This was the overall first choice for NL participants and second choice for UK participants, after the use of a Z-code. The difference reflects the fact that in the UK, Z-codes carry no negative implications for reimbursement of treatment costs. These findings highlight the challenges faced by the WHO in their attempt to integrate research findings from different countries, with different cultures and healthcare systems in their quest to create a manual that is globally applicable
Binary Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Evidence for Excess Clustering on Small Scales
We present a sample of 218 new quasar pairs with proper transverse
separations R_prop < 1 Mpc/h over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 3.0, discovered
from an extensive follow up campaign to find companions around the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey and 2dF Quasar Redshift Survey quasars. This sample includes
26 new binary quasars with separations R_prop < 50 kpc/h (theta < 10
arcseconds), more than doubling the number of such systems known. We define a
statistical sample of binaries selected with homogeneous criteria and compute
its selection function, taking into account sources of incompleteness. The
first measurement of the quasar correlation function on scales 10 kpc/h <
R_prop < 400 kpc/h is presented. For R_prop < 40 kpc/h, we detect an order of
magnitude excess clustering over the expectation from the large scale R_prop >
3 Mpc/h quasar correlation function, extrapolated down as a power law to the
separations probed by our binaries. The excess grows to ~ 30 at R_prop ~ 10
kpc/h, and provides compelling evidence that the quasar autocorrelation
function gets progressively steeper on sub-Mpc scales. This small scale excess
can likely be attributed to dissipative interaction events which trigger quasar
activity in rich environments. Recent small scale measurements of galaxy
clustering and quasar-galaxy clustering are reviewed and discussed in relation
to our measurement of small scale quasar clustering.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, 9 tables. Submitted to the Astronomical Journa
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