138 research outputs found
Stellar Masses of Lyman Break Galaxies, Lyman Alpha Emitters and Radio Galaxies in Overdense Regions at z=4-6
We present new information on galaxies in the vicinity of luminous radio
galaxies and quasars at z=4,5,6. These fields were previously found to contain
overdensities of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) or spectroscopic Lyman alpha
emitters. We use HST and Spitzer data to infer stellar masses, and contrast our
results with large samples of LBGs in more average environments as probed by
the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS). The following results were
obtained. First, LBGs in both overdense regions and in the field at z=4-5 lie
on a very similar sequence in a z'-[3.6] versus [3.6] color-magnitude diagram.
This is interpreted as a sequence in stellar mass (log[M*/Msun] = 9-11) in
which galaxies become increasingly red due to dust and age as their star
formation rate (SFR) increases. Second, the two radio galaxies are among the
most massive objects (log[M*/Msun]~11) known to exist at z~4-5, and are
extremely rare based on the low number density of such objects as estimated
from the ~25x larger area GOODS survey. We suggest that the presence of these
massive galaxies and supermassive black holes has been boosted through rapid
accretion of gas or merging inside overdense regions. Third, the total stellar
mass found in the z=4 ``proto-cluster'' TN1338 accounts for <30% of the stellar
mass on the cluster red sequence expected to have formed at z>4, based on a
comparison with the massive X-ray cluster Cl1252 at z=1.2. Although future
near-infrared observations should determine whether any massive galaxies are
currently being missed, one possible explanation for this mass difference is
that TN1338 evolves into a smaller cluster than Cl1252. This raises the
interesting question of whether the most massive protocluster regions at z>4
remain yet to be discovered.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, In Press (17 pages, 7 figures
The growth and assembly of a massive galaxy at z ~ 2
We study the stellar mass assembly of the Spiderweb Galaxy (MRC 1138-262), a
massive z = 2.2 radio galaxy in a protocluster and the probable progenitor of a
brightest cluster galaxy. Nearby protocluster galaxies are identified and their
properties are determined by fitting stellar population models to their
rest-frame ultraviolet to optical spectral energy distributions. We find that
within 150 kpc of the radio galaxy the stellar mass is centrally concentrated
in the radio galaxy, yet most of the dust-uncorrected, instantaneous star
formation occurs in the surrounding low-mass satellite galaxies. We predict
that most of the galaxies within 150 kpc of the radio galaxy will merge with
the central radio galaxy by z = 0, increasing its stellar mass by up to a
factor of ~ 2. However, it will take several hundred Myr for the first mergers
to occur, by which time the large star formation rates are likely to have
exhausted the gas reservoirs in the satellite galaxies. The tidal radii of the
satellite galaxies are small, suggesting that stars and gas are being stripped
and deposited at distances of tens of kpc from the central radio galaxy. These
stripped stars may become intracluster stars or form an extended stellar halo
around the radio galaxy, such as those observed around cD galaxies in cluster
cores.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA
Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies
Three billion years after the big bang (at redshift z=2), half of the most
massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual
star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an
order of magnitude larger than in low redshift ellipticals, their descendants.
Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar
populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr
earlier (at 3<z<6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise
to such starbursts which produce dense remnants. Sub-millimeter selected
galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich, starbursts. With a
new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact quiescent galaxies at z=2
and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z=3-6 SMGs are
consistent with being the progenitors of z=2 quiescent galaxies, matching their
formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses and
internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities
also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42 (+40/-29) Myr
(consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars
in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of
star-formation. These results suggests a coherent picture of the formation
history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst
of violent star-formation through their appearance as high stellar-density
galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.Comment: ApJ (in press
Galaxy protocluster candidates around z ~ 2.4 radio galaxies
We study the environments of 6 radio galaxies at 2.2 < z < 2.6 using
wide-field near-infrared images. We use colour cuts to identify galaxies in
this redshift range, and find that three of the radio galaxies are surrounded
by significant surface overdensities of such galaxies. The excess galaxies that
comprise these overdensities are strongly clustered, suggesting they are
physically associated. The colour distribution of the galaxies responsible for
the overdensity are consistent with those of galaxies that lie within a narrow
redshift range at z ~ 2.4. Thus the excess galaxies are consistent with being
companions of the radio galaxies. The overdensities have estimated masses in
excess of 10^14 solar masses, and are dense enough to collapse into virizalised
structures by the present day: these structures may evolve into groups or
clusters of galaxies. A flux-limited sample of protocluster galaxies with K <
20.6 mag is derived by statistically subtracting the fore- and background
galaxies. The colour distribution of the protocluster galaxies is bimodal,
consisting of a dominant blue sequence, comprising 77 +/- 10% of the galaxies,
and a poorly populated red sequence. The blue protocluster galaxies have
similar colours to local star-forming irregular galaxies (U -V ~ 0.6),
suggesting most protocluster galaxies are still forming stars at the observed
epoch. The blue colours and lack of a dominant protocluster red sequence
implies that these cluster galaxies form the bulk of their stars at z < 3.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Shape index descriptors applied to texture-based galaxy analysis
A texture descriptor based on the shape index and the accompanying curvedness measure is proposed, and it is evaluated for the automated analysis of astronomical image data. A representative sample of images of low-redshift galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) serves as a testbed. The goal of applying texture descriptors to these data is to extract novel information about galaxies; information which is often lost in more traditional analysis. In this study, we build a regression model for predicting a spectroscopic quantity, the specific star-formation rate (sSFR). As texture features we consider multi-scale gradient orientation histograms as well as multi-scale shape index histograms, which lead to a new descriptor. Our results show that we can successfully predict spectroscopic quantities from the texture in optical multi-band images. We successfully recover the observed bi-modal distribution of galaxies into quiescent and star-forming. The state-ofthe-art for predicting the sSFR is a color-based physical model. We significantly improve its accuracy by augmenting the model with texture information. This study is the first step towards enabling the quantification of physical galaxy properties from imaging data alone.The Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences through the project "Surveying the sky using machine learning" (FNU 12-125149
The Nascent Red Sequence at z~2
We present new constraints on the evolution of the early-type galaxy
color-magnitude relation (CMR) based on deep near-infrared imaging of a galaxy
protocluster at z=2.16 obtained using NICMOS on-board the Hubble Space
Telescope. This field contains a spectroscopically confirmed space-overdensity
of Lyman-alpha and H-alpha emitting galaxies which surrounds the powerful radio
galaxy MRC 1138-262. Using these NICMOS data we identify a significant
surface-overdensity (= 6.2x) of red J-H galaxies in the color-magnitude diagram
(when compared with deep NICMOS imaging from the HDF-N and UDF). The
optical-NIR colors of these prospective red-sequence galaxies indicate the
presence of on-going dust-obscured star-formation or recently formed (<~ 1.5
Gyr)stellar populations in a majority of the red galaxies. We measure the slope
and intrinsic scatter of the CMR for three different red galaxy samples
selected by a wide color cut, and using photometric redshifts both with and
without restrictions on rest-frame optical morphology. In all three cases both
the rest-frame slope and intrinsic color scatter are considerably higher
than corresponding values for lower redshift galaxy clusters. These results
suggest that while some relatively quiescent galaxies do exist in this
protocluster both the majority of the galaxy population and hence the
color-magnitude relation are still in the process of forming, as expected.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (to appear June
1, 2008, v679n2
Morphologies of High Redshift, Dust Obscured Galaxies from Keck Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics
Spitzer MIPS images in the Bootes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey
have revealed a class of extremely dust obscured galaxy (DOG) at z~2. The DOGs
are defined by very red optical to mid-IR (observed-frame) colors, R - [24 um]
> 14 mag, i.e. f_v (24 um) / f_v (R) > 1000. They are Ultra-Luminous Infrared
Galaxies with L_8-1000 um > 10^12 -10^14 L_sun, but typically have very faint
optical (rest-frame UV) fluxes. We imaged three DOGs with the Keck Laser Guide
Star Adaptive Optics (LGSAO) system, obtaining ~0.06'' resolution in the
K'-band. One system was dominated by a point source, while the other two were
clearly resolved. Of the resolved sources, one can be modeled as a exponential
disk system. The other is consistent with a de Vaucouleurs profile typical of
elliptical galaxies. The non-parametric measures of their concentration and
asymmetry, show the DOGs to be both compact and smooth. The AO images rule out
double nuclei with separations of greater than 0.1'' (< 1 kpc at z=2), making
it unlikely that ongoing major mergers (mass ratios of 1/3 and greater) are
triggering the high IR luminosities. By contrast, high resolution images of z~2
SCUBA sources tend to show multiple components and a higher degree of
asymmetry. We compare near-IR morphologies of the DOGs with a set of z=1
luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs; L_IR ~ 10^11 L_sun) imaged with Keck LGSAO
by the Center for Adaptive Optics Treasury Survey. The DOGs in our sample have
significantly smaller effective radii, ~1/4 the size of the z=1 LIRGs, and tend
towards higher concentrations. The small sizes and high concentrations may help
explain the globally obscured rest-frame blue-to-UV emission of the DOGs.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journa
Mass-Selection and the Evolution of the Morphology-Density Relation from z=0.8 to z=0
We examined the morphology-density relations for galaxy samples selected by
luminosity and by mass in each of five massive X-ray clusters from z=0.023 to
0.83 for 674 spectroscopically-confirmed members. Rest-frame optical colors and
visual morphologies were obtained primarily from Hubble Space Telescope images.
Morphology-density relations (MDR) are derived in each cluster from a complete,
luminosity-selected sample of 452 galaxies with a magnitude limit M_V <
M^{*}_{V} + 1. The change in the early-type fraction with redshift matches
previous work for massive clusters of galaxies. We performed a similar
analysis, deriving MDRs for complete, mass-selected samples of 441 galaxies
with a mass-limit of 10^{10.6} M_{\sun}. Our mass limit includes faint objects,
the equivalent of =~1 mag below L^{*} for the red cluster galaxies, and
encompasses =~70% of the stellar mass in cluster galaxies. The MDRs in the
mass-selected sample at densities of Sigma > 50 galaxies Mpc^{-2} are similar
to those in the luminosity-selected sample but show larger early-type
fractions. However, the trend with redshift in the fraction of elliptical and
S0 galaxies with masses > 10^{10.6} M_{\sun} differs significantly between the
mass- and luminosity-selected samples. The clear trend seen in the early-type
fraction from z=0 to z=~ 0.8 is not found in mass-selected samples. The
early-type galaxy fraction changes much less, and is consistent with being
constant at 92% +/- 4% at \Sigma> 500 galaxies Mpc^{-2} and 83 +/- 3% at 50 <
\Sigma < 500 galaxies Mpc^{-2}. This suggests that galaxies of mass lower than
> 10^{10.6} M_{\sun} play a significant role in the evolution of the early-type
fraction in luminosity-selected samples. (Abstract abridged)Comment: 18 pages in emulate ApJ format, with 10 color figures, Accepted to
ApJ. Version updated to reflect published version, includes new references
and a correction to table
Massive Ellipticals at High Redshift: NICMOS Imaging of Z~1 Radio Galaxies
We present deep, continuum images of eleven high-redshift (0.811 < z < 1.875)
3CR radio galaxies observed with NICMOS. Our images probe the rest-frame
optical light where stars are expected to dominate the galaxy luminosity. The
rest-frame UV light of eight of these galaxies demonstrates the well-known
``alignment effect''. Most of the radio galaxies have rounder, more symmetric
morphologies at rest-frame optical wavelengths. Here we show the most direct
evidence that in most cases the stellar hosts are normal elliptical galaxies
with de Vaucouleurs law light profiles. For a few galaxies very faint traces of
the UV-bright aligned component are also visible in the infrared images. We
derive both the effective radius and surface-brightness for nine of eleven
sample galaxies by fitting surface-brightness models to them. We find their
sizes are similar to those of local FRII radio source hosts and are in general
larger than other local galaxies. The derived host galaxy luminosities are very
high and lie at the bright end of luminosity functions constructed at similar
redshifts. The galaxies in our sample are also brighter than the rest-frame
size--surface-brightness locus defined by the low-redshift sources. Passive
evolution roughly aligns the z ~ 1 galaxies with the low-redshift samples. The
optical host is sometimes centered on a local minimum in the rest-frame UV
emission, suggesting the presence of substantial dust obscuration. We also see
good evidence of nuclear point sources in three galaxies. Overall, our results
are consistent with the hypothesis that these galaxies have already formed the
bulk of their stars at redshifts greater than z >~ 2, and that the AGN
phenomenon takes place within otherwise normal, perhaps passively evolving,
galaxies. (abridged)Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, accepted to ApJ. Uses AASTEX and emulateapj
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