5,190 research outputs found
High sensitivity operation of discrete solid state detectors at 4 K
Techniques are described to allow operation of discrete, solid state detectors at 4 K with optimized JFET amplifiers. Three detector types cover the 0.6 to 4 mm spectral range with NEP approximately equal to 10 to the 16th power Hz (-1/2) for two of the types and potential improvement to this performance for the third. Lower NEP's are anticipated at longer infrared wavelengths
IDCS J1426.5+3508: The Most Massive Galaxy Cluster at
We present a deep (100 ks) Chandra observation of IDCS J1426.5+3508, a
spectroscopically confirmed, infrared-selected galaxy cluster at .
This cluster is the most massive galaxy cluster currently known at ,
based on existing Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) and gravitational lensing detections.
We confirm this high mass via a variety of X-ray scaling relations, including
-M, -M, -M and -M, finding a tight distribution of masses
from these different methods, spanning M = 2.3-3.3
M, with the low-scatter -based mass M. IDCS J1426.5+3508 is currently the
only cluster at for which X-ray, SZ and gravitational lensing mass
estimates exist, and these are in remarkably good agreement. We find a
relatively tight distribution of the gas-to-total mass ratio, employing total
masses from all of the aforementioned indicators, with values ranging from
= 0.087-0.12. We do not detect metals in the intracluster medium
(ICM) of this system, placing a 2 upper limit of . This upper limit on the metallicity suggests that this system may
still be in the process of enriching its ICM. The cluster has a dense,
low-entropy core, offset by 30 kpc from the X-ray centroid, which makes
it one of the few "cool core" clusters discovered at , and the first
known cool core cluster at . The offset of this core from the
large-scale centroid suggests that this cluster has had a relatively recent
(500 Myr) merger/interaction with another massive system.Comment: Minor changes to match accepted version, results unchanged; ApJ in
pres
The Formation of Massive Cluster Galaxies
We present composite 3.6 and 4.5 micron luminosity functions for cluster
galaxies measured from the Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) for 0.3<z<2.
We compare the evolution of m* for these luminosity functions to models for
passively evolving stellar populations to constrain the primary epoch of star
formation in massive cluster galaxies. At low redshifts (z < 1.3) our results
agree well with models with no mass assembly and passively evolving stellar
populations with a luminosity-weighted mean formation redshift zf=2.4 assuming
a Kroupa initial mass function (IMF). We conduct a thorough investigation of
systematic biases that might influence our results, and estimate systematic
uncertainites of Delta zf=(+0.16-0.18) (model normalization), Delta
zf=(+0.40-0.05) (alpha), and Delta zf=(+0.30-0.45) (choice of stellar
population model). For a Salpeter type IMF, the typical formation epoch is thus
strongly constrained to be z ~2-3. Higher formation redshifts can only be made
consistent with the data if one permits an evolving IMF that is bottom-light at
high redshift, as suggested by van Dokkum et al 2008. At high redshift (z >
1.3) we also witness a statistically significant (>5sigma) disagreement between
the measured luminosity function and the continuation of the passive evolution
model from lower redshifts. After considering potential systematic biases that
might influence our highest redshift data points, we interpret the observed
deviation as potential evidence for ongoing mass assembly at this epoch.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The Galaxy Population of Cluster RXJ0848+4453 at z=1.27
We present a study of the galaxy population in the cluster RXJ0848+4453 at
z=1.27, using deep HST NICMOS and WFPC2 images. We morphologically classify all
galaxies to K_s=20.6 that are covered by the HST imaging, and determine
photometric redshifts using deep ground based BRIzJK_s photometry. Of 22 likely
cluster members with morphological classifications, eleven (50%) are classified
as early-type galaxies, nine (41%) as spiral galaxies, and two (9%) as
``merger/peculiar''. At HST resolution the second brightest cluster galaxy is
resolved into a spectacular merger between three red galaxies of similar
luminosity, separated from each other by ~6 kpc, with an integrated magnitude
K=17.6 (~3 L* at z=1.27). The two most luminous early-type galaxies also show
evidence for recent or ongoing interactions. Mergers and interactions between
galaxies are possible because RXJ0848+4453 is not yet relaxed. The fraction of
early-type galaxies in our sample is similar to that in clusters at 0.5<z<1,
and consistent with a gradual decrease of the number of early-type galaxies in
clusters from z=0 to z=1.3. We find evidence that the color-magnitude relation
of the early-type galaxies is less steep than in the nearby Coma cluster. This
may indicate that the brightest early-type galaxies have young stellar
populations at z=1.27, but is also consistent with predictions of single age
``monolithic'' models with a galactic wind. The scatter in the color-magnitude
relation is ~0.04 in rest frame U-V, similar to that in clusters at 0<z<1.
Taken together, these results show that luminous early-type galaxies exist in
clusters at z~1.3, but that their number density may be smaller than in the
local Universe. Additional observations are needed to determine whether the
brightest early-type galaxies harbor young stellar populations.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter
Galaxy Cluster Correlation Function to z ~ 1.5 in the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey
We present the galaxy cluster autocorrelation function of 277 galaxy cluster
candidates with 0.25 \le z \le 1.5 in a 7 deg^2 area of the IRAC Shallow
Cluster Survey. We find strong clustering throughout our galaxy cluster sample,
as expected for these massive structures. Specifically, at = 0.5 we find a
correlation length of r_0 = 17.40^{+3.98}_{-3.10} h^-1 Mpc, in excellent
agreement with the Las Campanas Distant Cluster Survey, the only other
non-local measurement. At higher redshift, = 1, we find that strong
clustering persists, with a correlation length of r_0=19.14^{+5.65}_{-4.56}
h^-1 Mpc. A comparison with high resolution cosmological simulations indicates
these are clusters with halo masses of \sim 10^{14} Msun, a result supported by
estimates of dynamical mass for a subset of the sample. In a stable clustering
picture, these clusters will evolve into massive (10^{15} Msun) clusters by the
present day.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. ApJ Letters, in pres
Spitzer Photometry of WISE-Selected Brown Dwarf and Hyper-Luminous Infrared Galaxy Candidates
We present Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 m photometry and positions for a sample
of 1510 brown dwarf candidates identified by the WISE all-sky survey. Of these,
166 have been spectroscopically classified as objects with spectral types M(1),
L(7), T(146), and Y(12); Sixteen other objects are non-(sub)stellar in nature.
The remainder are most likely distant L and T dwarfs lacking spectroscopic
verification, other Y dwarf candidates still awaiting follow-up, and assorted
other objects whose Spitzer photometry reveals them to be background sources.
We present a catalog of Spitzer photometry for all astrophysical sources
identified in these fields and use this catalog to identify 7 fainter (4.5
m 17.0 mag) brown dwarf candidates, which are possibly wide-field
companions to the original WISE sources. To test this hypothesis, we use a
sample of 919 Spitzer observations around WISE-selected high-redshift
hyper-luminous infrared galaxy (HyLIRG) candidates. For this control sample we
find another 6 brown dwarf candidates, suggesting that the 7 companion
candidates are not physically associated. In fact, only one of these 7 Spitzer
brown dwarf candidates has a photometric distance estimate consistent with
being a companion to the WISE brown dwarf candidate. Other than this there is
no evidence for any widely separated ( 20 AU) ultra-cool binaries. As an
adjunct to this paper, we make available a source catalog of 7.33
objects detected in all of these Spitzer follow-up fields for use
by the astronomical community. The complete catalog includes the Spitzer 3.6
and 4.5 m photometry, along with positionally matched and
photometry from USNO-B; , , and photometry from 2MASS; and ,
, , and photometry from the WISE all-sky catalog
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