211 research outputs found
Listening to galaxies tuning at z ~ 2.5 - 3.0: The first strikes of the Hubble fork
We investigate the morphological properties of 494 galaxies selected from the
GMASS survey at z>1, primarily in their optical rest frame, using HST images,
from the CANDELS survey. We propose that the Hubble sequence of galaxy
morphologies takes shape at redshift 2.5<z<3. The fractions of both ellipticals
and disks decrease with increasing lookback time at z>1, such that at redshifts
z=2.5-2.7 and above, the Hubble types cannot be identified, and most galaxies
are classified as irregular. The quantitative morphological analysis shows
that, at 1<z<3, morphological parameters are not as effective in distinguishing
the different morphological Hubble types as they are at low redshift. No
significant morphological k-correction was found to be required for the Hubble
type classification, with some exceptions. In general, different morphological
types occupy the two peaks of the rest-frame (U-B) colour bimodality of
galaxies: most irregulars occupy the blue peak, while ellipticals are mainly
found in the red peak, though with some level of contamination. Disks are more
evenly distributed than either irregulars and ellipticals. We find that the
position of a galaxy in a UVJ diagram is related to its morphological type: the
"quiescent" region of the plot is mainly occupied by ellipticals and, to a
lesser extent, by disks. We find that only ~33% of all morphological
ellipticals in our sample are red and passively evolving galaxies. Blue
galaxies morphologically classified as ellipticals show a remarkable structural
similarity to red ones. Almost all irregulars have a star-forming galaxy
spectrum. In addition, the majority of disks show some sign of star-formation
activity in their spectra, though in some cases their red continuum is
indicative of old stellar populations. Finally, an elliptical morphology may be
associated with either passively evolving or strongly star-forming galaxies.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, 5 tables. "Morphological atlas" in the
appendix. Revised version accepted for publication in A&
Deep VLT spectroscopy of the z=2.49 Radio Galaxy MRC 2104-242: Evidence for a metallicity gradient in its extended emission line region
We present spectroscopic observations of the rest-frame UV line emission
around radio galaxy MRC 2104-242 at z=2.49, obtained with FORS1 on VLT Antu.
The morphology of the halo is dominated by two spatially resolved regions. Lya
is extended by >12 arcsec along the radio axis, CIV and HeII are extended by ~8
arcsec. The overall spectrum is typical for that of high redshift radio
galaxies. The most striking spatial variation is that NV is present in the
spectrum of the region associated with the center of the galaxy hosting the
radio source, the northern region, while absent in the southern region.
Assuming that the gas is photoionized by a hidden quasar, the difference in NV
emission can be explained by a metallicity gradient within the halo. This is
consistent with a scenario in which the gas is associated with a massive
cooling flow or originates from the debris of the merging of two or more
galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
The star formation rate cookbook at 1 < z < 3: Extinction-corrected relations for UV & [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities
We use a spectroscopic sample of 286 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 1<z<3
from the GMASS survey to study different star formation rate (SFR) estimators.
Infrared (IR) data are used to derive empirical calibrations to correct
ultraviolet (UV) and [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities for dust extinction and
dust-corrected estimates of SFR. In the selection procedure we fully exploit
the available spectroscopic information. On the basis of three continuum
indices, we are able to identify and exclude from the sample galaxies in which
old stellar populations might bring a non-negligible contribution to IR
luminosity (LIR) and continuum reddening. Using Spitzer-MIPS and Herschel-PACS
data we derive LIR for two-thirds of our sample. The LIR/LUV ratio is used as a
probe of effective attenuation (AIRX) to search for correlations with continuum
and spectroscopic features. The relation between AIRX and UV continuum slope
({\beta}) was tested for our sample and found to be broadly consistent with the
literature results at the same redshift, though with a larger dispersion with
respect to UV-selected samples. We find a correlation between the rest-frame
equivalent width (EW) of the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line and {\beta}, which is the
main result of this work. We therefore propose the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line EW
as a dust attenuation probe and calibrate it through AIRX, though the
assumption of a reddening curve is still needed to derive the actual
attenuation towards the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line. We tested the issue of
differential attenuation towards stellar continuum and nebular emission: our
results are in line with the traditional prescription of extra attenuation
towards nebular lines. A set of relations is provided that allows the recovery
of the total unattenuated SFR from UV and [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities.
(Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 20 pages, 19 figures, 5 table
Gemini Near-infrared Spectroscopy of Luminous z~6 Quasars: Chemical Abundances, Black Hole Masses, and MgII Absorption
We present Gemini near-infrared spectroscopic observations of six luminous
quasars at z=5.86.3. Five of them were observed using Gemini-South/GNIRS,
which provides a simultaneous wavelength coverage of 0.9--2.5 m in cross
dispersion mode. The other source was observed in K band with
Gemini-North/NIRI. We calculate line strengths for all detected emission lines
and use their ratios to estimate gas metallicity in the broad-line regions of
the quasars. The metallicity is found to be supersolar with a typical value of
4 Z_{\sun}, and a comparison with low-redshift observations shows no
strong evolution in metallicity up to z6. The FeII/MgII ratio of the
quasars is 4.9+/-1.4, consistent with low-redshift measurements. We estimate
central BH masses of 10^9 to 10^{10} M_{\sun} and Eddington luminosity ratios
of order unity. We identify two MgII 2796,2803 absorbers with
rest equivalent width W_0^{\lambda2796}>1 \AA at 2.2<z<3 and three MgII
absorbers with W_0^{\lambda2796}>1.5 \AA at z>3 in the spectra, with the two
most distant absorbers at z=4.8668 and 4.8823, respectively. The redshift
number densities (dN/dz) of MgII absorbers with W_0^{\lambda2796}>1.5 \AA are
consistent with no cosmic evolution up to z>4.Comment: 33 pages (including 7 figures and 6 tables), AJ in pres
A Chandra study of X-ray sources in the field of the z=2.16 radio galaxy MRC 1138-262
We present results from a Chandra X-ray Observatory study of the field X-ray
source population in the vicinity of the radio galaxy MRC 1138-262. Many
serendipitous X-ray sources are detected in an area of 8'x8' around the radio
source and 90% are identified in our deep VLT images. The space density of such
sources is higher than expected on the basis of the statistics of ROSAT and
Chandra deep surveys. The most likely explanation is in terms of a
concentration of AGN associated with the protocluster at z=2.16 which was found
around the radio galaxy in previous studies. Two sources have a confirmed
spectroscopic redshift close to that of the radio galaxy, and for three more
sources other observations suggest that they are associated with the
protocluster. Four of these five X-ray sources form, together with the radio
galaxy, a filament in the plane of the sky. The direction of the filament is
similar to that of the radio source axis, the large scale distribution of the
other protocluster members, the 150 kpc-sized emission-line halo and the
extended X-ray emission associated with the radio galaxy.
The majority of optically identified X-ray sources in this field have
properties consistent with type I AGN, a few could be soft, low luminosity
galaxies, one is probably an obscured (type II) AGN and one is a star. These
statistics are consistent with the results of deep X-ray surveys.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysic
AGN feedback at z~2 and the mutual evolution of active and inactive galaxies
The relationships between galaxies of intermediate stellar mass and moderate
luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 1<z<3 are investigated with the
Galaxy Mass Assembly ultra-deep Spectroscopic Survey (GMASS) sample
complemented with public data in the GOODS-South field. Using X-ray data,
hidden AGNs are identified in unsuspected star-forming galaxies with no
apparent signs of non-stellar activity. In the color-mass plane, two parallel
trends emerge during the ~2 Gyr between the average redshifts z~2.2 and z~1.3:
while the red sequence becomes significantly more populated by ellipticals, the
majority of AGNs with L(2-10 keV)>10^42.3 erg s^-1 disappear from the blue
cloud/green valley where they were hosted predominantly by star-forming systems
with disk and irregular morphologies. These results are even clearer when the
rest-frame colors are corrected for dust reddening. At z~2.2, the ultraviolet
spectra of active galaxies (including two Type 1 AGNs) show possible gas
outflows with velocities up to about -500 km s^-1 that are not observed neither
in inactive systems at the same redshift, nor at lower redshifts. Such outflows
indicate the presence of gas that can move faster than the escape velocities of
active galaxies. These results suggest that feedback from moderately luminous
AGNs (logL_X~2 by contributing to
outflows capable of ejecting part of the interstellar medium and leading to a
rapid decrease in the star formation in host galaxies with stellar masses
10<logM<11 M_Sun.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press (6 pages, 4 figures
Search for clusters at high redshift - I. Candidate Lya emitters near 1138-262 at z=2.2
Radio, optical and X-ray observations of the powerful radio galaxy PKS
1138-262 at z=2.156 have suggested that this galaxy is a massive galaxy in the
center of a forming cluster. We have imaged 1138-262 and the surrounding 38
square arcminute field with the Very Large Telescope in a broad band and a
narrow band encompassing the redshifted Lya emission. We detect 50 objects with
rest equivalent width larger than 20 A and a luminous, highly extended Lya halo
around 1138-262. If the radio galaxy is at the center of a forming cluster,
these objects are candidate Lya emitting cluster galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A as Letter, 4 pages, 4 figure
The host galaxy of the z=2.4 radio-loud AGN MRC 0406-244 as seen by HST
We present multicolour Hubble Space Telescope images of the powerful z=2.4
radio galaxy MRC 0406-244 and model its complex morphology with several
components including a host galaxy, a point source, and extended nebular and
continuum emission. We suggest that the main progenitor of this radio galaxy
was a normal, albeit massive (M ~10^{11} solar masses), star-forming galaxy.
The optical stellar disc of the host galaxy is smooth and well described by a
S\'ersic profile, which argues against a recent major merger, however there is
also a point-source component which may be the remnant of a minor merger. The
half-light radius of the optical disc is constrained to lie in the range 3.5 to
8.2kpc, which is of similar size to coeval star forming galaxies.
Biconical shells of nebular emission and UV-bright continuum extend out from
the host galaxy along the radio jet axis, which is also the minor axis of the
host galaxy. The origin of the continuum emission is uncertain, but it is most
likely to be young stars or dust-scattered light from the AGN, and it is
possible that stars are forming from this material at a rate of
200^{+1420}_{-110} solar masses per year.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
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
Spectroscopic Identification of a Proto-Cluster at z=2.300: Environmental Dependence of Galaxy Properties at High Redshift
We have discovered a highly significant over-density of galaxies at
z=2.300+/-0.015 in the course of a redshift survey designed to select
star-forming galaxies in the redshift range z=2.3+/-0.4 in the field of the
bright z=2.72 QSO HS1700+643. The structure has a redshift-space galaxy
over-density of delta_g,z ~= 7 and an estimated matter over-density in real
space of delta_m ~= 1.8, indicating that it will virialize by z~0 with a mass
scale of ~= 1.4x10^15 M_sun, that of a rich galaxy cluster. Detailed modeling
of the spectral energy distribution -- from the rest-far-UV to the rest-near-IR
-- of the 72 spectroscopically confirmed galaxies in this field for which we
have obtained K_s and Spitzer/IRAC photometry, allows for a first direct
comparison of galaxy properties as a function of large-scale environment at
high redshift. We find that galaxies in the proto-cluster environment have mean
stellar masses and inferred ages that are ~2 times larger (at z=2.30) than
identically UV-selected galaxies outside of the structure, and show that this
is consistent with simple theoretical expectations for the acceleration of
structure formation in a region that is over-dense on large scales by the
observed amount. The proto-cluster environment contains a significant number of
galaxies that already appear old, with large stellar masses (>10^11 M_sun), by
z=2.3.Comment: 7 pages including 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Typo
correcte
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