122 research outputs found
The Mean and Scatter of the Velocity Dispersion-Optical Richness Relation for maxBCG Galaxy Clusters
The distribution of galaxies in position and velocity around the centers of
galaxy clusters encodes important information about cluster mass and structure.
Using the maxBCG galaxy cluster catalog identified from imaging data obtained
in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we study the BCG-galaxy velocity correlation
function. By modeling its non-Gaussianity, we measure the mean and scatter in
velocity dispersion at fixed richness. The mean velocity dispersion increases
from 202+/-10 km/s for small groups to more than 854+/-102 km/s for large
clusters. We show the scatter to be at most 40.5+/-3.5%, declining to
14.9+/-9.4% in the richest bins. We test our methods in the C4 cluster catalog,
a spectroscopic cluster catalog produced from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR2
spectroscopic sample, and in mock galaxy catalogs constructed from N-body
simulations. Our methods are robust, measuring the scatter to well within
one-sigma of the true value, and the mean to within 10%, in the mock catalogs.
By convolving the scatter in velocity dispersion at fixed richness with the
observed richness space density function, we measure the velocity dispersion
function of the maxBCG galaxy clusters. Although velocity dispersion and
richness do not form a true mass-observable relation, the relationship between
velocity dispersion and mass is theoretically well characterized and has low
scatter. Thus our results provide a key link between theory and observations up
to the velocity bias between dark matter and galaxies.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, published in Ap
Dynamical Confirmation of SDSS Weak Lensing Scaling Laws
Galaxy masses can be estimated by a variety of methods; each applicable in
different circumstances, and each suffering from different systematic
uncertainties. Confirmation of results obtained by one technique with analysis
by another is particularly important. Recent SDSS weak lensing measurements of
the projected-mass correlation function reveal a linear relation between galaxy
luminosities and the depth of their dark matter halos (measured on 260 \hinv
kpc scales). In this work we use an entirely independent dynamical method to
confirm these results. We begin by assembling a sample of 618 relatively
isolated host galaxies, surrounded by a total of 1225 substantially fainter
satellites. We observe the mean dynamical effect of these hosts on the motions
of their satellites by assembling velocity difference histograms. Dividing the
sample by host properties, we find significant variations in satellite velocity
dispersion with host luminosity. We quantify these variations using a simple
dynamical model, measuring \mtsd a dynamical mass within 260 \hinv kpc. The
appropriateness of this mass reconstruction is checked by conducting a similar
analysis within an N-body simulation. Comparison between the dynamical and
lensing mass-to-light scalings shows reasonable agreement, providing some
quantitative confirmation for the lensing results.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
SDSS-RASS: Next Generation of Cluster-Finding Algorithms
We outline here the next generation of cluster-finding algorithms. We show
how advances in Computer Science and Statistics have helped develop robust,
fast algorithms for finding clusters of galaxies in large multi-dimensional
astronomical databases like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Specifically,
this paper presents four new advances: (1) A new semi-parametric algorithm -
nicknamed ``C4'' - for jointly finding clusters of galaxies in the SDSS and
ROSAT All-Sky Survey databases; (2) The introduction of the False Discovery
Rate into Astronomy; (3) The role of kernel shape in optimizing cluster
detection; (4) A new determination of the X-ray Cluster Luminosity Function
which has bearing on the existence of a ``deficit'' of high redshift, high
luminosity clusters. This research is part of our ``Computational
AstroStatistics'' collaboration (see Nichol et al. 2000) and the algorithms and
techniques discussed herein will form part of the ``Virtual Observatory''
analysis toolkit.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of MPA/MPE/ESO Conference "Mining the Sky",
July 31 - August 4, 2000, Garching, German
The galaxy-mass correlation function measured from weak lensing in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We present galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements over scales 0.025 to 10 h(-1) Mpc in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Using a flux-limited sample of 127,001 lens galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts and mean luminosity [L] similar to L-* and 9,020,388 source galaxies with photometric redshifts, we invert the lensing signal to obtain the galaxy-mass correlation function xi(gm). We find xi(gm) is consistent with a power law, xi(gm) (r = r(0))(-gamma), with best-fit parameters gamma = 1.79 +/- 0.06 and r(0) (5.4 +/- 0.7) (0.27/Omega(m))(1/gamma) h(-1) Mpc. At fixed separation, the ratio xi(gg)/xi(gm) = b/r, where b is the bias and r is the correlation coefficient. Comparing with the galaxy autocorrelation function for a similarly selected sample of SDSS galaxies, we find that b/r is approximately scale-independent over scales 0.2 - 6.7 h(-1) Mpc, with mean [b/r] = (1.3 +/- 0.2) (Omega(m)/0.27). We also find no scale dependence in b/r for a volume-limited sample of luminous galaxies (-23.0 < M-r < -21.5). The mean b/r for this sample is [b/r](Vlim) = (2.0 +/- 0.7) (Omega(m)/0.27). We split the lens galaxy sample into subsets based on luminosity, color, spectral type, and velocity dispersion and see clear trends of the lensing signal with each of these parameters. The amplitude and logarithmic slope of xi(gm) increase with galaxy luminosity. For high luminosities (L similar to 5 L-*), xi(gm) deviates significantly from a power law. These trends with luminosity also appear in the subsample of red galaxies, which are more strongly clustered than blue galaxies
Robust Optical Richness Estimation with Reduced Scatter
Reducing the scatter between cluster mass and optical richness is a key goal
for cluster cosmology from photometric catalogs. We consider various
modifications to the red-sequence matched filter richness estimator of Rozo et
al. (2009), and evaluate their impact on the scatter in X-ray luminosity at
fixed richness. Most significantly, we find that deeper luminosity cuts can
reduce the recovered scatter, finding that sigma_lnLX|lambda=0.63+/-0.02 for
clusters with M_500c >~ 1.6e14 h_70^-1 M_sun. The corresponding scatter in mass
at fixed richness is sigma_lnM|lambda ~ 0.2-0.3 depending on the richness,
comparable to that for total X-ray luminosity. We find that including blue
galaxies in the richness estimate increases the scatter, as does weighting
galaxies by their optical luminosity. We further demonstrate that our richness
estimator is very robust. Specifically, the filter employed when estimating
richness can be calibrated directly from the data, without requiring a-priori
calibrations of the red-sequence. We also demonstrate that the recovered
richness is robust to up to 50% uncertainties in the galaxy background, as well
as to the choice of photometric filter employed, so long as the filters span
the 4000 A break of red-sequence galaxies. Consequently, our richness estimator
can be used to compare richness estimates of different clusters, even if they
do not share the same photometric data. Appendix 1 includes "easy-bake"
instructions for implementing our optimal richness estimator, and we are
releasing an implementation of the code that works with SDSS data, as well as
an augmented maxBCG catalog with the lambda richness measured for each cluster.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. 20 pages in emulateapj forma
A Gravitationally Lensed Quasar with Quadruple Images Separated by 14.62 Arcseconds
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool for the study of the distribution of
dark matter in the Universe. The cold-dark-matter model of the formation of
large-scale structures predicts the existence of quasars gravitationally lensed
by concentrations of dark matter so massive that the quasar images would be
split by over 7 arcsec. Numerous searches for large-separation lensed quasars
have, however, been unsuccessful. All of the roughly 70 lensed quasars known,
including the first lensed quasar discovered, have smaller separations that can
be explained in terms of galaxy-scale concentrations of baryonic matter.
Although gravitationally lensed galaxies with large separations are known,
quasars are more useful cosmological probes because of the simplicity of the
resulting lens systems. Here we report the discovery of a lensed quasar, SDSS
J1004+4112, which has a maximum separation between the components of 14.62
arcsec. Such a large separation means that the lensing object must be dominated
by dark matter. Our results are fully consistent with theoretical expectations
based on the cold-dark-matter model.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the 18th&25th Dec issue of Nature
(Letters to Nature
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