455 research outputs found
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging in the Chandra Deep Field South: III. Quantitative Morphology of the 1Ms Chandra Counterparts and Comparison with the Field Population
We present quantitative morphological analyses of 37 HST/WFPC2 counterparts
of X-ray sources in the 1 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDFS). We investigate:
1) 1-D surface brightness profiles via isophotal ellipse fitting; 2) 2-D, PSF-
convolved, bulge+disk+nucleus profile-fitting; 3) asymmetry and concentration
indices compared with all ~3000 sources in our three WFPC2 fields; and 4) near-
neighbor analyses comparing local environments of X-ray sources versus the
field control sample. Significant nuclear point-source optical components
appear in roughly half of the resolved HST/WFPC2 counterparts, showing a narrow
range of F_X/F_{opt,nuc} consistent with the several HST-unresolved X-ray
sources (putative type-1 AGN) in our fields. We infer roughly half of the
HST/WFPC2 counterparts host unobscured AGN, which suggests no steep decline in
the type-1/type-2 ratio out to the redshifts z~0.5-1 typical of our sources.
The concentration indices of the CDFS counterparts are clearly larger on
average than those of the field distribution, at 5-sigma, suggesting that the
strong correlation between central black hole mass and host galaxy properties
(including concentration index) observed in nearby galaxies is already evident
by z~0.5-1. By contrast, the asymmetry index distribution of the 21 resolved
CDFS sources at I<23 is indistinguishable from the I<23 field. Moreover, the
frequency of I<23 near neighbors around the CDFS counterparts is not
significantly different from the field sample. These results, combined with
previous similar findings for local samples, suggest that recent merger/
interaction history is not a good indicator of AGN activity over a substantial
range of look-back time.Comment: 30 pages, incl. 8 figures; accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
The Quasar-LBG Two-point Angular Cross-correlation Function at z ~ 4 in the COSMOS Field
In order to investigate the origin of quasars, we estimate the bias factor
for low-luminosity quasars at high redshift for the first time. In this study,
we use the two-point angular cross-correlation function (CCF) for both
low-luminosity quasars at and Lyman-break galaxies
(LBGs). Our sample consists of both 25 low-luminosity quasars (16 objects are
spectroscopically confirmed low-luminosity quasars) in the redshift range
and 835 color-selected LBGs with at
in the COSMOS field. We have made our analysis for the following two
quasar samples; (1) the spectroscopic sample (the 16 quasars confirmed by
spectroscopy), and (2) the total sample (the 25 quasars including 9 quasars
with photometric redshifts). The bias factor for low-luminosity quasars at
is derived by utilizing the quasar-LBG CCF and the LBG
auto-correlation function. We then obtain the upper limits of the bias
factors for low-luminosity quasars, that are 5.63 and 10.50 for the total and
the spectroscopic samples, respectively. These bias factors correspond to the
typical dark matter halo masses, log
and , respectively. This result is not inconsistent with the predicted
bias for quasars which is estimated by the major merger models.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
Detailed Shape and Evolutionary Behavior of the X-ray Luminosity Function of Active Galactic Nuclei
We construct the rest-frame 2--10 keV intrinsic X-ray luminosity function of
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) from a combination of X-ray surveys from the
all-sky Swift BAT survey to the Chandra Deep Field-South. We use ~3200 AGNs in
our analysis, which covers six orders of magnitude in flux. The inclusion of
the XMM and Chandra COSMOS data has allowed us to investigate the detailed
behavior of the XLF and evolution. In deriving our XLF, we take into account
realistic AGN spectrum templates, absorption corrections, and probability
density distributions in photometric redshift. We present an analytical
expression for the overall behavior of the XLF in terms of the
luminosity-dependent density evolution, smoothed two power-law expressions in
11 redshift shells, three-segment power-law expression of the number density
evolution in four luminosity classes, and binned XLF. We observe a sudden
flattening of the low luminosity end slope of the XLF slope at z>~0.6. Detailed
structures of the AGN downsizing have been also revealed, where the number
density curves have two clear breaks at all luminosity classes above log LX>43.
The two break structure is suggestive of two-phase AGN evolution, consisting of
major merger triggering and secular processes.Comment: 39 Pages, 9 figures. ApJ in pres
The incidence of obscuration in active galactic nuclei
We study the incidence of nuclear obscuration on a complete sample of 1310
AGN selected on the basis of their rest-frame 2-10 keV X-ray flux from the
XMM-COSMOS survey, in the redshift range 0.3<z<3.5. We classify the AGN as
obscured or un-obscured on the basis of either the optical spectral properties
and the overall SED or the shape of the X-ray spectrum. The two classifications
agree in about 70% of the objects, and the remaining 30% can be further
subdivided into two distinct classes: at low luminosities X-ray un-obscured AGN
do not always show signs of broad lines or blue/UV continuum emission in their
optical spectra, most likely due to galaxy dilution effects; at high
luminosities broad line AGN may have absorbed X-ray spectra, which hints at an
increased incidence of small-scale (sub-parsec) dust-free obscuration. We
confirm that the fraction of obscured AGN is a decreasing function of the
intrinsic X-ray luminosity, while the incidence of absorption shows significant
evolution only for the most luminous AGN, which appear to be more commonly
obscured at higher redshift. We find no significant difference between the mean
stellar masses and star formation rates of obscured and un-obscured AGN hosts.
We conclude that the physical state of the medium responsible for obscuration
in AGN is complex, and mainly determined by the radiation environment (nuclear
luminosity) in a small region enclosed within the gravitational sphere of
influence of the central black hole, but is largely insensitive to the wider
scale galactic conditions.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication by MNRA
How Massive Single Stars End their Life
How massive stars die -- what sort of explosion and remnant each produces --
depends chiefly on the masses of their helium cores and hydrogen envelopes at
death. For single stars, stellar winds are the only means of mass loss, and
these are chiefly a function of the metallicity of the star. We discuss how
metallicity, and a simplified prescription for its effect on mass loss, affects
the evolution and final fate of massive stars. We map, as a function of mass
and metallicity, where black holes and neutron stars are likely to form and
where different types of supernovae are produced. Integrating over an initial
mass function, we derive the relative populations as a function of metallicity.
Provided single stars rotate rapidly enough at death, we speculate upon stellar
populations that might produce gamma-ray bursts and jet-driven supernovae.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figues, submitted to Ap
The Chandra Deep Field North Survey. IX. Extended X-ray Sources
The ~1 Ms Chandra Deep Field North observation is used to study the extended
X-ray sources in the region surrounding the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N),
yielding the most sensitive probe of extended X-ray emission at cosmological
distances to date. A total of six such sources are detected, the majority of
which align with small numbers of optically bright galaxies. Their angular
sizes, band ratios, and X-ray luminosities -- assuming they lie at the same
distances as the galaxies coincident with the X-ray emission -- are generally
consistent with the properties found for nearby groups of galaxies. One source
is notably different and is likely to be a poor-to-moderate X-ray cluster at
high redshift (i.e., z > 0.7). We are also able to place strong constraints on
the optically detected cluster of galaxies ClG 1236+6215 at z=0.85 and the
wide-angle-tail radio galaxy VLA J123725.7+621128 at z~1-2. With rest-frame
0.5--2.0 keV X-ray luminosities of <(3-15)e42 ergs s^{-1}, the environments of
both sources are either likely to have a significant deficit of hot
intra-cluster gas compared to local clusters of galaxies, or they are X-ray
groups. We find the surface density of extended X-ray sources in this
observation to be 167 (+97,-67) deg^{-2} at a limiting soft-band flux of
approximately 3e-16 ergs s^{-1} cm^{-2}. No evolution in the X-ray luminosity
function of clusters is needed to explain this value. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures (8 color), LaTeX emulateapj5.sty, accepted for
publication by the Astronomical Journal. Manuscript with full resolution
embedded images available at
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/niel/hdf/hdf-chandra.htm
The XMM-Newton wide-field survey in the COSMOS field. IV: X-ray spectral properties of Active Galactic Nuclei
We present a detailed spectral analysis of point-like X-ray sources in the
XMM-COSMOS field. Our sample of 135 sources only includes those that have more
than 100 net counts in the 0.3-10 keV energy band and have been identified
through optical spectroscopy. The majority of the sources are well described by
a simple power-law model with either no absorption (76%) or a significant
intrinsic, absorbing column (20%).As expected, the distribution of intrinsic
absorbing column densities is markedly different between AGN with or without
broad optical emission lines. We find within our sample four Type-2 QSOs
candidates (L_X > 10^44 erg/s, N_H > 10^22 cm^-2), with a spectral energy
distribution well reproduced by a composite Seyfert-2 spectrum, that
demonstrates the strength of the wide field XMM/COSMOS survey to detect these
rare and underrepresented sources.Comment: 16 pages, ApJS COSMOS Special Issue, 2007 in press. The
full-resolution version is available at
http://www.mpe.mpg.de/XMMCosmos/PAPERS/mainieri_cosmos.ps.g
On the occupation of X-ray selected galaxy groups by radio AGN since z=1.3
Previous clustering analysis of low-power radio AGN has indicated that they
preferentially live in massive groups. The X-ray surveys of the COSMOS field
have achieved a sensitivity at which these groups are directly detected out to
z=1.3. Making use of Chandra-, XMM- and VLA-COSMOS surveys we identify radio
AGN members (10**23.6 < L_1.4GHz/(W/Hz) < 10**25) of galaxy groups (10**13.2 <
M_200/M_sun < 10**14.4; 0.1<z<1.3) and study i) the radio AGN -- X-ray group
occupation statistics as a function of group mass, and ii) the distribution of
radio AGN within the groups. We find that radio AGN are preferentially
associated with galaxies close to the center (< 0.2r_200). Compared to our
control sample of group members matched in stellar mass and color to the radio
AGN host galaxies, we find a significant enhancement of radio AGN activity
associated with 10**13.6 < M_200/M_sun < 10**14 halos. We present the first
direct measurement of the halo occupation distribution (HOD) for radio AGN,
based on the total mass function of galaxy groups hosting radio AGN. Our
results suggest a possible deviation from the usually assumed power law HOD
model. We also find an overall increase of the fraction of radio AGN in galaxy
groups (<1r_200), relative to that in all environments.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
The FMOS-COSMOS survey of star-forming galaxies at z~1.6. IV: Excitation state and chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium
We investigate the physical conditions of ionized gas in high-z star-forming
galaxies using diagnostic diagrams based on the rest-frame optical emission
lines. The sample consists of 701 galaxies with an Ha detection at , from the FMOS-COSMOS survey, that represent the normal
star-forming population over the stellar mass range with those at being
well sampled. We confirm an offset of the average location of star-forming
galaxies in the BPT diagram ([OIII]/Hb vs. [NII]/Ha), primarily towards higher
[OIII]/Hb, compared with local galaxies. Based on the [SII] ratio, we measure
an electron density (), that is higher
than that of local galaxies. Based on comparisons to theoretical models, we
argue that changes in emission-line ratios, including the offset in the BPT
diagram, are caused by a higher ionization parameter both at fixed stellar mass
and at fixed metallicity with additional contributions from a higher gas
density and possibly a hardening of the ionizing radiation field. Ionization
due to AGNs is ruled out as assessed with Chandra. As a consequence, we revisit
the mass-metallicity relation using [NII]/Ha and a new calibration including
[NII]/[SII] as recently introduced by Dopita et al. Consistent with our
previous results, the most massive galaxies ()
are fully enriched, while those at lower masses have metallicities lower than
local galaxies. Finally, we demonstrate that the stellar masses, metallicities
and star formation rates of the FMOS sample are well fit with a
physically-motivated model for the chemical evolution of star-forming galaxies.Comment: 38 pages; Accepted for publication in Ap
The XMM-Newton wide-field survey in the COSMOS field: I. Survey description
We present the first set of XMM-Newton EPIC observations in the 2 square
degree COSMOS field. The strength of the COSMOS project is the unprecedented
combination of a large solid angle and sensitivity over the whole
multiwavelength spectrum. The XMM-Newton observations are very efficient in
localizing and identifying active galactic nuclei (AGN) and clusters as well as
groups of galaxies. One of the primary goals of the XMM-Newton Cosmos survey is
to study the co-evolution of active galactic nuclei as a function of their
environment in the Cosmic web. Here we present the log of observations, images
and a summary of first research highlights for the first pass of 25 XMM-Newton
pointings across the field. In the existing dataset we have detected 1416 new
X-ray sources in the 0.5-2, 2-4.5 and 4.5-10 keV bands to an equivalent 0.5-2
keV flux limit of 7x10-16 erg cm-2 s-1. The number of sources is expected to
grow to almost 2000 in the final coverage of the survey. From an X-ray color
color analysis we identify a population of heavily obscured, partially leaky or
reflecting absorbers, most of which are likely to be nearby, Compton-thick AGN.Comment: 9 pages, ApJS COSMOS Special Issue, 2007 in press. the
full-resolution version is available at
http://www.mpe.mpg.de/XMMCosmos/PAPERS/grh_cosmos.ps.g
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