Measuring the quasar luminosity function below the detection threshold

>Magister Scientiae - MScThe radio emission of radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN) is thought to be from star formation and AGN related emission. I investigate these sources using 1.4 GHz radio data from FIRST and three optical quasars samples from the SDSS: (i) a volume-limited sample in the redshift range 0:2 < z < 0:4 defined by Mi < -23 (ii) magnitude-limited sample in the redshift range 1:8 < z < 2:5 defined by mr ≤ 18:5 and (iii) a uniform sample in the redshift range 0:2 < z < 3:5 (divided into 12 redshift bins). I constructed radio source counts and radio luminosity functions (RLFs) using the optical quasars detected in FIRST, which are consistent with literature results obtained using SDSS and NVSS quasars. There are differences at the low uxs end because of the different resolutions of FIRST and NVSS. I applied a median stack method to the 12 redshift bins of the uniform sample and found that the median ux decreases from 182 µJy in the lowest redshift bin to 39 µJy and the highest redshift bin. This is because the high redshift quasars although more luminous than their low redshift counterparts, they are much further away so they have lower uxes. I probed the quasar radio source counts to lower levels using reconstructed source counts obtained by applying the Bayesian stack technique. The reconstructed radio source counts were then used to constructed the quasar RLF to lower levels, where I found: (i) for z < 1 the constructed quasar RLF has the same slope as the detected quasars, suggesting that like the detect quasars their radio emission is dominated by AGN related emission (ii) above z = 1 the constructed RLF steepens with redshift, which suggests the strong link between accretion rate and radio jet power is gradually breaking down towards faint optical luminosities at high redshift.National Astrophysics and Space Science Program (NASSP) and SKA Afric

Probing galaxy evolution below the noise threshold with radio observations

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe faint radio population consisting of star forming galaxies (SFG) and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN) is important in the study of galaxy evolution. However, the bulk of the faint population is below the detection threshold of the current radio surveys. I study this population through a Bayesian-stacking technique that I have adapted to probe the radio luminosity function (RLF) below the typical 5σ detection threshold. The technique works by fitting RLF models to radio flux densities extracted at the position of galaxies selected from an auxiliary catalogue. I test the technique by adding Gaussian noise (σ) to simulated data and the RLF models are in agreement with the simulated data for up to three orders of magnitude (3 dex) below the detection threshold (5σ). The source of radio emission from radio quiet quasars (subset of AGN) is widely debated. I apply the technique to 1.4-GHz flux densities from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm survey (FIRST) at the positions of the optical quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The RLF models are constrained to 2 dex below the FIRST detection threshold. I found that the radio luminosity where radio-quiet quasars emerge coincides with the luminosity where SFGs are expected to start to dominate the RLF. This Implies that the radio emission of radio-quiet quasars and radio-quiet AGN, in general, could have a significant contribution from star formation in the host galaxies

A deep radio view of the evolution of the cosmic star-formation rate density from a stellar-mass selected sample in VLA-COSMOS

We present the 1.4 GHz radio luminosity functions (RLFs) of galaxies in the COS- MOS eld, measured above and below the 5 detection threshold, using a Bayesian model- tting technique. The radio ux-densities from VLA-COSMOS 3-GHz data,are extracted at the position of stellar mass-limited near-infrared (NIR) galaxies. We t a local RLF model, which is a combination of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxy (SFG), in 10 redshift bins with a pure luminosity evolution (PLE) model. We show that the evolution strength is similar to literature values up to z 1:6. Beyond z 2, we nd that the SFG RLF exhibits a negative evolution (L moves to lower luminosities) due to the decrease in low stellar-mass sources in our stellar mass-limited sample at high redshifts. From the RLF for SFGs, we determine the evolution in the cosmic star-formation-rate density (SFRD), which we nd to be consistent with the established behaviour up to z 1. Beyond z 1 cosmic SFRD declines if one assumes an evolving infrared{radio correlation (IRRC), whereas it stays relatively higher if one adopts a constant IRRC. We nd that the form of the relation between radio luminosity and SFR is therefore crucial in measuring the cosmic SFRD from radio data.We investigate the e ects of stellar mass on the total RLF by splitting our sample into low (108:5 6 M=M 6 1010) and high (M > 1010M ) stellar-mass subsets. We nd that the SFRD is dominated by sources in the high stellar masses bin, at all redshifts

A deep radio view of the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate density from a stellar-mass-selected sample in VLA-COSMOS

We present the 1.4 GHz radio luminosity functions (RLFs) of galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Surv e y (COSMOS) field, measured abo v e and below the 5 σdetection threshold, using a Bayesian model-fitting technique. The radio flux densities from Very Large Array (VLA)-COSMOS 3-GHz data are extracted at the position of stellar-mass-selected galaxies. We fit a local RLF model, which is a combination of active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies (SFGs), in 10 redshift bins with a pure luminosity evolution model. Our RLF exceeds previous determinations at low radio luminosities at z 1.5. We investigate the effects of stellar mass on the total RLF by splitting our sample into low (10 8.5 ≤M /M ≤10 10 ) and high ( M > 10 10 M ) stellar-mass subsets. We find that the SFRD is dominated by sources in the high stellar masses bin, at all redshift

The optically selected 1.4-GHz quasar luminosity function below 1 mJy

We present the radio luminosity function (RLF) of optically selected quasars below 1 mJy, constructed by applying a Bayesian-fitting stacking technique to objects well below the nominal radio flux density limit. We test the technique using simulated data, confirming that we can reconstruct the RLF over three orders of magnitude below the typical 5σ detection threshold. We apply our method to 1.4-GHz flux densities from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) survey, extracted at the positions of optical quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey over seven redshift bins up to z = 2.15, and measure the RLF down to two orders of magnitude below the FIRST detection threshold. In the lowest redshift bin (0.2 < z < 0.45), we find that our measured RLF agrees well with deeper data from the literature. The RLF for the radio-loud quasars flattens below log10[L1.4/WHz−1]≈25.5 and becomes steeper again below log10[L1.4/WHz−1]≈24.8⁠, where radio-quiet quasars start to emerge. The radio luminosity where radio-quiet quasars emerge coincides with the luminosity where star-forming galaxies are expected to start dominating the radio source counts. This implies that there could be a significant contribution from star formation in the host galaxies, but additional data are required to investigate this further. The higher redshift bins show a similar behaviour to the lowest z bin, implying that the same physical process may be responsible

A deep radio view of the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate density from a stellar-mass-selected sample in VLA-COSMOS

We present the 1.4 GHz radio luminosity functions (RLFs) of galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field, measured above and below the 5σ detection threshold, using a Bayesian model-fitting technique. The radio flux densities from Very Large Array (VLA)-COSMOS 3-GHz data are extracted at the position of stellar-mass-selected galaxies. We fit a local RLF model, which is a combination of active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies (SFGs), in 10 redshift bins with a pure luminosity evolution model. Our RLF exceeds previous determinations at low radio luminosities at z 1.5. We investigate the effects of stellar mass on the total RLF by splitting our sample into low (108.5 ≤ M/M⊙ ≤ 1010) and high (⁠M>1010M⊙⁠) stellar-mass subsets. We find that the SFRD is dominated by sources in the high stellar masses bin, at all redshifts

A Large Sky Survey with MeerKAT

We discuss the ground-breaking science that will be possible with a wide area survey, using the MeerKAT telescope, known as MeerKLASS (MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey). The current specifications of MeerKAT make it a great fit for cosmological applications, which require large volumes. In particular, a large survey over ~4,000 deg^2 for ~4,000 hours will potentially provide the first ever measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations using the 21cm intensity mapping technique, with enough accuracy to impose constraints on the nature of dark energy. The combination with multi-wavelength data will give unique additional information, such as the first constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity using the multi-tracer technique, as well as a better handle on foregrounds and systematics. The survey will also produce a large continuum galaxy sample down to a depth of 5 µJy in L-band, unmatched by any other concurrent telescope, which will allow to study the large-scale structure of the Universe out to high redshifts. Finally, the same survey will supply unique information for a range of other science applications, including a large statistical investigation of galaxy clusters, and the discovery of rare high-redshift AGN that can be used to probe the epoch of reionization as well as produce a rotation measure map across a huge swathe of the sky. The MeerKLASS survey will be a crucial step on the road to using SKA1-MID for cosmological applications, as described in the top priority SKA key science projects

A Large Sky Survey with MeerKAT

We discuss the ground-breaking science that will be possible with a wide area survey, using the MeerKAT telescope, known as MeerKLASS (MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey). The current specifications of MeerKAT make it a great fit for cosmological applications, which require large volumes. In particular, a large survey over ~4,000 deg^2 for ~4,000 hours will potentially provide the first ever measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations using the 21cm intensity mapping technique, with enough accuracy to impose constraints on the nature of dark energy. The combination with multi-wavelength data will give unique additional information, such as the first constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity using the multi-tracer technique, as well as a better handle on foregrounds and systematics. The survey will also produce a large continuum galaxy sample down to a depth of 5 µJy in L-band, unmatched by any other concurrent telescope, which will allow to study the large-scale structure of the Universe out to high redshifts. Finally, the same survey will supply unique information for a range of other science applications, including a large statistical investigation of galaxy clusters, and the discovery of rare high-redshift AGN that can be used to probe the epoch of reionization as well as produce a rotation measure map across a huge swathe of the sky. The MeerKLASS survey will be a crucial step on the road to using SKA1-MID for cosmological applications, as described in the top priority SKA key science projects

The MeerKAT international GHz tiered extragalactic exploration (MIGHTEE) survey

The MIGHTEE large survey project will survey four of the most well-studied extragalactic deep fields, totalling 20 square degrees to µJy sensitivity at Giga-Hertz frequencies, as well as an ultra-deep image of a single ∼1 deg2 MeerKAT pointing. The observations will provide radio continuum, spectral line and polarisation information. As such, MIGHTEE, along with the excellent multi-wavelength data already available in these deep fields, will allow a range of science to be achieved. Specifically, MIGHTEE is designed to significantly enhance our understanding of, (i) the evolution of AGN and star-formation activity over cosmic time, as a function of stellar mass and environment, free of dust obscuration; (ii) the evolution of neutral hydrogen in the Universe and how this neutral gas eventually turns into stars after moving through the molecular phase, and how efficiently this can fuel AGN activity; (iii) the properties of cosmic magnetic fields and how they evolve in clusters, filaments and galaxies. MIGHTEE will reach similar depth to the planned SKA all-sky survey, and thus will provide a pilot to the cosmology experiments that will be carried out by the SKA over a much larger survey volume