417 research outputs found
Searching for galaxy clusters in the VST-KiDS Survey
We present the methods and first results of the search for galaxy clusters in
the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS). The adopted algorithm and the criterium for
selecting the member galaxies are illustrated. Here we report the preliminary
results obtained over a small area (7 sq. degrees), and the comparison of our
cluster candidates with those found in the RedMapper and SZ Planck catalogues;
the analysis to a larger area (148 sq. degrees) is currently in progress. By
the KiDS cluster search, we expect to increase the completeness of the clusters
catalogue to z = 0.6-0.7 compared to RedMapper.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the
Conference "The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys", Naples, November 25-28 201
KiDS & Euclid:Cosmological implications of a pseudo angular power spectrum analysis of KiDS-1000 cosmic shear tomography
We present a tomographic weak lensing analysis of the Kilo Degree Survey Data Release 4 (KiDS-1000) using a new pseudo angular power spectrum estimator (\pcl) under development for the ESA Euclid mission. Over 21 million galaxies with shape information are divided into five tomographic redshift bins ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 in photometric redshift. We measure \pcl{} using eight bands in the multipole range $7
Timing of Millisecond Pulsars in NGC 6752: Evidence for a High Mass-to-Light Ratio in the Cluster Core
Using pulse timing observations we have obtained precise parameters,
including positions with about 20 mas accuracy, of five millisecond pulsars in
NGC 6752. Three of them, located relatively close to the cluster center, have
line-of-sight accelerations larger than the maximum value predicted by the
central mass density derived from optical observation, providing dynamical
evidence for a central mass-to-light ratio >~ 10, much higher than for any
other globular cluster. It is likely that the other two millisecond pulsars
have been ejected out of the core to their present locations at 1.4 and 3.3
half-mass radii, respectively, suggesting unusual non-thermal dynamics in the
cluster core.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter. 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
Microlensing of Globular Clusters as a Probe of Galactic Structure
The spatial distribution of compact dark matter in our Galaxy can be
determined in a few years of monitoring Galactic globular clusters for
microlensing. Globular clusters are the only dense fields of stars distributed
throughout the three-dimensional halo and hence are uniquely suited to probe
its structure. The microlensing optical depths towards different clusters have
varying contributions from the thin disk, thick disk, bulge, and halo of the
Galaxy. Although measuring individual optical depths to all the clusters is a
daunting task, we show that interesting Galactic structure information can be
extracted with as few as -- events in total for the entire globular
cluster system (observable with 2--5 years of monitoring). The globular cluster
microlensing is particularly sensitive to the core radius of the halo mass
distribution and to the scale length, surface mass density, and radial scale
height variations of the thin disk.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to ApJ Letters. Uses aastex macro
Testing the nature of S0 galaxies using planetary nebula kinematics in NGC 1023
We investigate the manner in which lenticular galaxies are formed by studying
their stellar kinematics: an S0 formed from a fading spiral galaxy should
display similar cold outer disc kinematics to its progenitor, while an S0
formed in a minor merger should be more dominated by random motions. In a pilot
study to attempt to distinguish between these scenarios, we have measured the
planetary nebula (PN) kinematics of the nearby S0 system NGC 1023. Using the
Planetary Nebula Spectrograph, we have detected and measured the line-of-sight
velocities of 204 candidate PNe in the field of this galaxy. Out to
intermediate radii, the system displays the kinematics of a normal
rotationally-supported disc system. After correction of its rotational
velocities for asymmetric drift, the galaxy lies just below the spiral galaxy
Tully-Fisher relation, as one would expect for a fading system. However, at
larger radii the kinematics undergo a gradual but major transition to random
motion with little rotation. This transition does not seem to reflect a change
in the viewing geometry or the presence of a distinct halo component, since the
number counts of PNe follow the same simple exponential decline as the stellar
continuum with the same projected disc ellipticity out to large radii. The
galaxy's small companion, NGC 1023A, does not seem to be large enough to have
caused the observed modification either. This combination of properties would
seem to indicate a complex evolutionary history in either the transition to
form an S0 or in the past life of the spiral galaxy from which the S0 formed.
More data sets of this type from both spirals and S0s are needed in order to
definitively determine the relationship between these types of system.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Version with full resolution
figure 1 can be found at
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzmrm/N1023_PNS.accepted.pd
Dark-Matter Content of Early-Type Galaxies with Planetary Nebulae
We examine the dark matter properties of nearby early-type galaxies using
planetary nebulae (PNe) as mass probes. We have designed a specialised
instrument, the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (PN.S) operating at the William
Herschel telescope, with the purpose of measuring PN velocities with best
efficiency. The primary scientific objective of this custom-built instrument is
the study of the PN kinematics in 12 ordinary round galaxies. Preliminary
results showing a dearth of dark matter in ordinary galaxies (Romanowsky et al.
2003) are now confirmed by the first complete PN.S datasets. On the other hand
early-type galaxies with a "regular" dark matter content are starting to be
observed among the brighter PN.S target sample, thus confirming a correlation
between the global dark-to-luminous mass virial ratio (f_DM=M_DM/M_star) and
the galaxy luminosity and mass.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the IAU Symposium
244 "Dark Galaxies and Lost Baryons", Cardiff 25-29 June 2007, eds. J.I.
Davies & M.J. Disne
- …