1,122 research outputs found
Detectability of High Redshift Ellipticals in the Hubble Deep Field
Relatively few intensively star-forming galaxies at redshifts z>2.5 have been
found in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). This has been interpreted to imply a low
space density of elliptical galaxies at high z, possibly due to a late (z<2.5)
epoch of formation, or to dust obscuration of the ellipticals that are forming
at z~3. I use HST UV (2300 Ang) images of 25 local early-type galaxies to
investigate a third option, that ellipticals formed at z>4.5, and were fading
passively by 2<z<4.5. Present-day early-types are faint and centrally
concentrated in the UV. If ellipticals formed their stars in a short burst at
z>4.5, and have faded passively to their present brightnesses at UV
wavelengths, they would generally be below the HDF detection limits in any of
its bands at z>2.5. Quiescent z ~ 3 ellipticals, if they exist, should turn up
in sufficiently deep IR images.Comment: AAS LaTex, 11 pages, 1 table, 1 figure, some corrections and
clarifications, accepted for publication in ApJ
The Near Infrared Background: Interplanetary Dust or Primordial Stars?
The intensity of the diffuse ~ 1 - 4 micron sky emission from which solar
system and Galactic foregrounds have been subtracted is in excess of that
expected from energy released by galaxies and stars that formed during the z <
5 redshift interval (Arendt & Dwek 2003, Matsumoto et al. 2005). The spectral
signature of this excess near-infrared background light (NIRBL) component is
almost identical to that of reflected sunlight from the interplanetary dust
cloud, and could therefore be the result of the incomplete subtraction of this
foreground emission component from the diffuse sky maps. Alternatively, this
emission component could be extragalactic. Its spectral signature is consistent
with that of redshifted continuum and recombination line emission from HII
regions formed by the first generation of very massive stars. In this paper we
analyze the implications of this spectral component for the formation rate of
these Population III stars, the redshift interval during which they formed, the
reionization of the universe and evolution of collapsed halo masses. We find
that to reproduce the intensity and spectral shape of the NIRBL requires a peak
star formation rate that is higher by about a factor of 4 to 10 compared to
those derived from hierarchical models. Furthermore, an extragalactic origin
for the NIRBL leads to physically unrealistic absorption-corrected spectra of
distant TeV blazars. All these results suggest that Pop III stars contribute
only a fraction of the NIRBL intensity with zodiacal light, star forming
galaxies, and/or non-nuclear sources giving rise to the remaining fraction.Comment: 28 pages including 7 embedded figures. Submitted to Ap
Luminosity Density of Galaxies and Cosmic Star Formation Rate from Lambda-CDM Hydrodynamical Simulations
We compute the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) and the rest-frame comoving
luminosity density in various pass-bands as a function of redshift using
large-scale \Lambda-CDM hydrodynamical simulations with the aim of
understanding their behavior as a function of redshift. To calculate the
luminosity density of galaxies, we use an updated isochrone synthesis model
which takes metallicity variations into account. The computed SFR and the
UV-luminosity density have a steep rise from z=0 to 1, a moderate plateau
between z=1 - 3, and a gradual decrease beyond z=3. The raw calculated results
are significantly above the observed luminosity density, which can be explained
either by dust extinction or the possibly inappropriate input parameters of the
simulation. We model the dust extinction by introducing a parameter f; the
fraction of the total stellar luminosity (not galaxy population) that is
heavily obscured and thus only appears in the far-infrared to sub-millimeter
wavelength range. When we correct our input parameters, and apply dust
extinction with f=0.65, the resulting luminosity density fits various
observations reasonably well, including the present stellar mass density, the
local B-band galaxy luminosity density, and the FIR-to-submm extragalactic
background. Our result is consistent with the picture that \sim 2/3 of the
total stellar emission is heavily obscured by dust and observed only in the
FIR. The rest of the emission is only moderately obscured which can be observed
in the optical to near-IR wavelength range. We also argue that the steep
falloff of the SFR from z=1 to 0 is partly due to the shock-heating of the
universe at late times, which produces gas which is too hot to easily condense
into star-forming regions.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. Accepted version in ApJ. Substantially revised
from the previous version. More emphasis on the comparison with various
observations and the hidden star formation by dust extinctio
The shapes, orientation, and alignment of Galactic dark matter subhalos
We present a study of the shapes, orientations, and alignments of Galactic
dark matter subhalos in the ``Via Lactea'' simulation of a Milky Way-size LCDM
host halo. Whereas isolated dark matter halos tend to be prolate, subhalos are
predominantly triaxial. Overall subhalos are more spherical than the host halo,
with minor to major and intermediate to major axis ratios of 0.68 and 0.83,
respectively. Like isolated halos, subhalos tend to be less spherical in their
central regions. The principal axis ratios are independent of subhalo mass,
when the shapes are measured within a physical scale like r_Vmax, the radius of
the peak of the circular velocity curve. Subhalos tend to be slightly more
spherical closer to the host halo center. The spatial distribution of the
subhalos traces the prolate shape of the host halo when they are selected by
the largest V_max they ever had, i.e. before they experienced strong tidal mass
loss. The subhalos' orientation is not random: the major axis tends to align
with the direction towards the host halo center. This alignment disappears for
halos beyond 3 r_200 and is more pronounced when the shapes are measured in the
outer regions of the subhalos. The radial alignment is preserved during a
subhalo's orbit and they become elongated during pericenter passage, indicating
that the alignment is likely caused by the host halo's tidal forces. These
tidal interactions with the host halo act to make subhalos rounder over time.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, submitted to ApJ, v2: corrected typo in
abstract ("[...] subhalos tend be less spherical in their central regions."),
added a few reference
An Integrated Picture of Star Formation, Metallicity Evolution, and Galactic Stellar Mass Assembly
We present an integrated study of star formation and galactic stellar mass
assembly from z=0.05-1.5 and galactic metallicity evolution from z=0.05-0.9
using a very large and highly spectroscopically complete sample selected by
rest-frame NIR bolometric flux in the GOODS-N. We assume a Salpeter IMF and fit
Bruzual & Charlot (2003) models to compute the galactic stellar masses and
extinctions. We determine the expected formed stellar mass density growth rates
produced by star formation and compare them with the growth rates measured from
the formed stellar mass functions by mass interval. We show that the growth
rates match if the IMF is slightly increased from the Salpeter IMF at
intermediate masses (~10 solar masses). We investigate the evolution of galaxy
color, spectral type, and morphology with mass and redshift and the evolution
of mass with environment. We find that applying extinction corrections is
critical when analyzing galaxy colors; e.g., nearly all of the galaxies in the
green valley are 24um sources, but after correcting for extinction, the bulk of
the 24um sources lie in the blue cloud. We find an evolution of the
metallicity-mass relation corresponding to a decrease of 0.21+/-0.03 dex
between the local value and the value at z=0.77 in the 1e10-1e11 solar mass
range. We use the metallicity evolution to estimate the gas mass of the
galaxies, which we compare with the galactic stellar mass assembly and star
formation histories. Overall, our measurements are consistent with a galaxy
evolution process dominated by episodic bursts of star formation and where star
formation in the most massive galaxies (>1e11 solar masses) ceases at z<1.5
because of gas starvation. (Abstract abridged)Comment: 48 pages, Accepted by the Astrophysical Journa
Infalling Faint [OII] Emitters in Abell 851. I. Spectroscopic Confirmation of Narrowband-Selected Objects
We report on a spectroscopic confirmation of narrowband-selected [OII]
emitters in Abell 851 catalogued by Martin et al. (2000). The optical spectra
obtained from the Keck I Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) and Keck II
Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) have confirmed [OII]3727
emission in narrowband-selected cluster [OII] candidates at a 85% success rate
for faint (i <~ 25) blue (g-i < 1) galaxies. The rate for the successful
detection of [OII] emission is a strong function of galaxy color, generally
proving the efficacy of narrowband [OII] search supplemented with broadband
colors in selecting faint cluster galaxies with recent star formation. Balmer
decrement-derived reddening measurements show a high degree of reddening
[E(B-V) >~ 0.5] in a significant fraction of this population. Even after
correcting for dust extinction, the [OII]/Ha line flux ratio for the
high-E(B-V) galaxies remains generally lower by a factor of ~2 than the mean
[OII]/Ha ratios reported by the studies of nearby galaxies. The strength of
[OII] equivalent width shows a negative trend with galaxy luminosity while the
Ha equivalent width does not appear to depend as strongly on luminosity. This
in part is due to the high amount of reddening observed in luminous galaxies.
Furthermore, emission line ratio diagnostics show that AGN-like galaxies are
abundant in the high luminosity end of the cluster [OII]-emitting sample, with
only moderately strong [OII] equivalent widths, consistent with a scenario of
galaxy evolution connecting AGNs and suppression of star-forming activity in
massive galaxies.Comment: 11 pages (LaTeX emulateapj), 8 figures, to appear in ApJ. A version
with high resolution figures available from the lead autho
Counts and Sizes of Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field - South: Implications for the Next Generation Space Telescope
Science objectives for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) include a
large component of galaxy surveys, both imaging and spectroscopy. The Hubble
Deep Field datasets include the deepest observations ever made in the
ultraviolet, optical and near infrared, reaching depths comparable to that
expected for NGST spectroscopy. We present the source counts, galaxy sizes and
isophotal filling factors of the HDF-South images. The observed integrated
galaxy counts reach >500 galaxies per square arcminute at AB<30. We extend
these counts to faint levels in the infrared using models. The trend previously
seen that fainter galaxies are smaller, continues to AB=29 in the high
resolution HDF-S STIS image, where galaxies have a typical half-light radius of
0.1 arcseconds. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations show that the small measured
sizes are not due to selection effects until >29mag. Using the HDF-S NICMOS
image, we show that galaxies are smaller in the near infrared than they are in
the optical. We analyze the isophotal filling factor of the HDF-S STIS image,
and show that this image is mostly empty sky even at the limits of galaxy
detection, a conclusion we expect to hold true for NGST spectroscopy. At the
surface brightness limits expected for NGST imaging, however, about a quarter
of the sky is occupied by the outer isophotes of AB<30 galaxies. We discuss the
implications of these data on several design concepts of the NGST near-infrared
spectrograph. We compare the effects of resolution and the confusion limit of
various designs, as well as the multiplexing advantages of either multi-object
or full-field spectroscopy. We argue that the optimal choice for NGST
spectroscopy of high redshift galaxies is a multi-object spectrograph (MOS)
with target selection by a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) device.Comment: 27 pages including 10 figures, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journal, June 2000, abridged abstrac
Evolution of Lyman Break Galaxies Beyond Redshift Four
The formation rate of luminous galaxies seems to be roughly constant from z~2
to z~4 from the recent observations of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) (Steidel et
al 1999). The abundance of luminous quasars, on the other hand, appears to drop
off by a factor of more than twenty from z~2 to z~5 (Warren, Hewett, & Osmer
1994; Schmidt, Schneider, & Gunn 1995). The difference in evolution between
these two classes of objects in the overlapping, observed redshift range,
z=2-4, can be explained naturally, if we assume that quasar activity is
triggered by mergers of luminous LBGs and one quasar lifetime is ~10^{7-8} yrs.
If this merger scenario holds at higher redshift, for the evolutions of these
two classes of objects to be consistent at z>4, the formation rate of luminous
LBGs is expected to drop off at least as rapidly as exp(-(z-4)^{6/5}) at z>4.Comment: in press, ApJ Letters, 15 latex pages plus 1 fi
Low Star Formation Rates for z=1 Early-Type Galaxies in the Very Deep GOODS-MIPS Imaging: Implications for their Optical/Near-Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions
We measure the obscured star formation in z~1 early-type galaxies. This
constrains the influence of star formation on their optical/near-IR colors,
which, we found, are redder than predicted by the model by Bruzual & Charlot
(2003). From deep ACS imaging we construct a sample of 95 morphologically
selected early-type galaxies in the HDF-N and CDF-S with spectroscopic
redshifts in the range 0.85<z<1.15. We measure their 24 micron fluxes from the
deep GOODS-MIPS imaging and derive the IR luminosities and star formation
rates. The fraction of galaxies with >2 sigma detections (~25 muJy} is
17(-4,+9)%. Of the 15 galaxies with significant detections at least six have an
AGN. Stacking the MIPS images of the galaxies without significant detections
and adding the detected galaxies without AGN we find an upper limit on the mean
star formation rate (SFR) of 5.2+/-3.0 Msol yr^-1, and on the mean specific SFR
of 4.6+/-2.2 * 10^-11 yr^-1. Under the assumption that the average SFR will
decline at the same rate as the cosmic average, the in situ growth in stellar
mass of the early-type galaxy population is less than 14+/-7% between z=1 and
the present. We show that the typically low IR luminosity and SFR imply that
the effect of obscured star formation (or AGN) on their rest-frame
optical/near-IR SEDs is negligible for ~90% of the galaxies in our sample.
Hence, their optical/near-IR colors are most likely dominated by evolved
stellar populations. This implies that the colors predicted by the Bruzual &
Charlot (2003) model for stellar populations with ages similar to those of z~1
early-type galaxies (~1-3 Gyr) are most likely too blue, and that stellar
masses of evolved, high-redshift galaxies can be overestimated by up to a
factor of ~2.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
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