Comparing Dense Galaxy Cluster Redshift Surveys with Weak Lensing Maps

We use dense redshift surveys of nine galaxy clusters at $z\sim0.2$ to compare the galaxy distribution in each system with the projected matter distribution from weak lensing. By combining 2087 new MMT/Hectospec redshifts and the data in the literature, we construct spectroscopic samples within the region of weak-lensing maps of high (70--89%) and uniform completeness. With these dense redshift surveys, we construct galaxy number density maps using several galaxy subsamples. The shape of the main cluster concentration in the weak-lensing maps is similar to the global morphology of the number density maps based on cluster members alone, mainly dominated by red members. We cross correlate the galaxy number density maps with the weak-lensing maps. The cross correlation signal when we include foreground and background galaxies at 0.5$z_{\rm cl}<z<2z_{\rm cl}$ is $10-23$% larger than for cluster members alone at the cluster virial radius. The excess can be as high as 30% depending on the cluster. Cross correlating the galaxy number density and weak-lensing maps suggests that superimposed structures close to the cluster in redshift space contribute more significantly to the excess cross correlation signal than unrelated large-scale structure along the line of sight. Interestingly, the weak-lensing mass profiles are not well constrained for the clusters with the largest cross correlation signal excesses ($>$20% for A383, A689 and A750). The fractional excess in the cross correlation signal including foreground and background structures could be a useful proxy for assessing the reliability of weak-lensing cluster mass estimates.Comment: 22 pages, 19 figures, 2 tables. To appear in ApJ. Paper with high resolution figures is available at http://astro.kias.re.kr/~hshwang/ms_hwang20141014.pd

Quantifying Feedbacks Between Ice Flow, Grain Size, and Basal Meltwater on Annual and Decadal Time-Scales Using a 2-D Ice Sheet Model:

Thesis advisor: Mark D. BehnIce sheet flow is strongly controlled by the conditions at the ice-bed interface. While these processes are hard to observe directly, comparisons between numerical modeling and ice surface observations can be used to indirectly infer subglacial processes. Specifically, seasonal summer speed up near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) has been linked to the presence of subglacial water. For decades, the Glen flow law has been the most widely-accepted constitutive relation for modeling ice flow. However, while the Glen law captures the temperature-dependent, nonlinear viscosity of ice, it does not explicitly incorporate ice grain size, which has been shown in laboratory experiments to influence ice rheology. To compensate for the lack of explicit grain size dependence, ice sheet models often utilize an “enhancement factor” that modifies the flow law to better match observations, but does not provide insight into the physical processes at play. Using a grain size sensitive rheology that incorporates grain size evolution due to dynamic recrystallization and grain growth, I model the effects of seasonal variations of subglacial hydrology in a 2-D vertical cross-section of ice flow on both annual and inter-annual timescales. The presence of subglacial water reduces the frictional coupling between the ice and the bed. Here I simulate the presence of water at the ice-bed interface during the melt season using patches of free-slip and explore a range of patch sizes and geometries to investigate their role in modulating ice surface velocities and grain size within the ice. I compare modeled winter and summer surface velocities to observations taken on the western margin of the GIS and find that realistic surface velocities are achievable using agrain size sensitive flow law without the introduction of an enhancement factor. Further, the grain size of the internal ice responds on an inter-annual timescale to these seasonal forcings at the bed, potentially leading to long-term changes in surface velocities.Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences

CAIRNS: The Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey III. Environmental Dependence of H-alpha Properties of Galaxies

We investigate the environmental dependence of star formation in cluster virial regions and infall regions as part of CAIRNS (Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey), a large spectroscopic survey of the infall regions surrounding nine nearby rich clusters of galaxies. Our long-slit spectroscopy yields estimates of star formation rates in environments from cluster cores to the general large-scale structure. The fraction of galaxies with current star formation in their inner disks as traced by H-alpha emission increases with distance from the cluster and converges to the ``field'' value only at 2-3 virial radii, in agreement with other investigations. However, among galaxies with significant current star formation (EW[Ha]geq2\AA), there is no difference in the distribution of EW[Ha] inside and outside the virial radius. This surprising result, first seen by Carter et al., suggests that (1) star formation is truncated on either very short timescales or only at moderate and high redshifts or (2) that projection effects contaminate the measurement. The number density profiles of star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies indicate that, among galaxies projected inside the virial radius, at least half of the former and 20% of the latter are ``infall interlopers,'' galaxies in the infall region but outside the virial region. The kinematics of star-forming galaxies in the infall region closely match those of absorption-dominated galaxies. This result shows that the star forming galaxies in the infall regions are not interlopers from the field and excludes one model of the backsplash scenario of galaxy transformation. Finally, we quantify systematic uncertainties in estimating the global star formation in galaxies from their inner disks.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figures, accepted for publication in A

CIRS: Cluster Infall Regions in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey I. Infall Patterns and Mass Profiles

We use the Fourth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to test the ubiquity of infall patterns around galaxy clusters and measure cluster mass profiles to large radii. We match X-ray cluster catalogs with SDSS, search for infall patterns, and compute mass profiles for a complete sample of X-ray selected clusters. Very clean infall patterns are apparent in most of the clusters, with the fraction decreasing with increasing redshift due to shallower sampling. All 72 clusters in a well-defined sample limited by redshift (ensuring good sampling) and X-ray flux (excluding superpositions) show infall patterns sufficient to apply the caustic technique. This sample is by far the largest sample of cluster mass profiles extending to large radii to date. Similar to CAIRNS, cluster infall patterns are better defined in observations than in simulations. Further work is needed to determine the source of this difference. We use the infall patterns to compute mass profiles for 72 clusters and compare them to model profiles. Cluster scaling relations using caustic masses agree well with those using X-ray or virial mass estimates, confirming the reliability of the caustic technique. We confirm the conclusion of CAIRNS that cluster infall regions are well fit by NFW and Hernquist profiles and poorly fit by singular isothermal spheres. This much larger sample enables new comparisons of cluster properties with those in simulations. The shapes (specifically, NFW concentrations) of the mass profiles agree well with the predictions of simulations. The mass inside the turnaround radius is on average 2.19$\pm$0.18 times that within the virial radius. This ratio agrees well with recent predictions from simulations of the final masses of dark matter haloes.Comment: 34 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in AJ, full resolution version available at http://www.astro.yale.edu/krines

XMM-Newton/SDSS: star formation efficiency in galaxy clusters and constraints on the matter density parameter

It is believed that the global baryon content of clusters of galaxies is representative of the matter distribution of the universe, and can, therefore, be used to reliably determine the matter density parameter Omega_m. This assumption is challenged by the growing evidence from optical and X-ray observations that the total baryon mass fraction increases towards rich clusters. In this context, we investigate the dependence of stellar, and total baryon mass fractions as a function of mass. To do so, we used a subsample of nineteen clusters extracted from the X-ray flux limited sample HIFLUGCS that have available DR-7 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data. From the optical analysis we derived the stellar masses. Using XMM-Newton we derived the gas masses. Then, adopting a scaling relation we estimate the total masses. Adding the gas and the stellar mass fractions we obtain the total baryonic content that we find to increase with cluster mass, reaching 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP-7) prediction for clusters with M_500 = 1.6 x 10^{15} M_sun. We observe a decrease of the stellar mass fraction (from 4.5% to ~1.0%) with increasing total mass where our findings for the stellar mass fraction agree with previous studies. This result suggests a difference in the number of stars formed per unit of halo mass, though with a large scatter for low-mass systems. That is, the efficiency of star formation varies on cluster scale that lower mass systems are likely to have higher star formation efficiencies. It follows immediately that the dependence of the stellar mass fraction on total mass results in an increase of the mass-to-light ratio from lower to higher mass systems. We also discuss the consequences of these results in the context of determining the cosmic matter density parameter Omega_m.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 11 pages, 5 figures. http://stacks.iop.org/0004-637X/743/1

CAIRNS: The Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey I. Redshifts and Mass Profiles

The CAIRNS (Cluster And Infall Region Nearby Survey) project is a spectroscopic survey of the infall regions surrounding eight nearby, rich, X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies. We collect 15665 redshifts (3471 new or remeasured) within \sim 5-10 Mpc of the centers of the clusters, making it the largest study of the infall regions of clusters. We determine cluster membership and the mass profiles of the clusters based on the phase space distribution of the galaxies. All of the clusters display decreasing velocity dispersion profiles. The mass profiles are fit well by functional forms based on numerical simulations but exclude an isothermal sphere. Specifically, NFW and Hernquist models provide good descriptions of cluster mass profiles to their turnaround radii. Our sample shows that the predicted infall pattern is ubiquitous in rich, X-ray luminous clusters over a large mass range. The caustic mass estimates are in excellent agreement with independent X-ray estimates at small radii and with virial estimates at intermediate radii. The mean ratio of the caustic mass to the X-ray mass is 1.03\pm0.11 and the mean ratio of the caustic mass to the virial mass (when corrected for the surface pressure term) is 0.93\pm0.07. We further demonstrate that the caustic technique provides reasonable mass estimates even in merging clusters.Comment: 54 pages, 18 figures, to appear in The Astronomical Journa

The Velocity Dispersion Function of Very Massive Galaxy Clusters: Abell 2029 and Coma

Based on an extensive redshift survey for galaxy clusters Abell 2029 and Coma, we measure the luminosity functions (LFs) and stellar mass functions (SMFs) for the entire cluster member galaxies. Most importantly, we measure the velocity dispersion functions (VDFs) for quiescent members. The MMT/Hectospec redshift survey for galaxies in A2029 identifies 982 spectroscopic members; for 838 members, we derive the central velocity dispersion from the spectroscopy. Coma is the only other cluster surveyed as densely. The LFs, SMFs, and VDFs for A2029 and Coma are essentially identical. The SMFs of the clusters are consistent with simulations. The A2029 and Coma VDFs for quiescent galaxies have a significantly steeper slope than those of field galaxies for velocity dispersion ≲ 100 {km} {{{s}}}-1. The cluster VDFs also exceed the field at velocity dispersion ≳ 250 {km} {{{s}}}-1. The differences between cluster and field VDFs are potentially important tests of simulations and of the formation of structure in the universe

TEMPORAL ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND REPRODUCTIVE STATUS OF MOOSE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Biological data collected from harvested moose (Alces alces) were analyzed to assess whether temporal change has occurred in the physical and reproductive condition of moose from 1988–2009 in New Hampshire. Measurements included age and field-dressed body weight of both sexes, number of corpora lutea (CL) and ovulation rate of females, and antler beam diameter (ABD) and antler spread of males. Similar data were obtained from Maine and Vermont for comparative analysis. The only significant changes (P &lt;0.05) occurred in the yearling age class: mean body weight of both sexes, number of CL, and ABD all declined in New Hampshire. The current ovulation rate (~20%) and mean body weight (&lt;200 kg) of yearling females in New Hampshire and Vermont were considered low. The declines measured in yearlings, yet relative stability in adults, are consistent with the presumption that winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) impact the productivity of moose populations through reduced calf survival and growth and fecundity of yearlings. Density-dependent factors related to habitat change are also discussed given the recent, rapid expansion of moose in the 3 states. Continued monitoring of physical parameters and productivity of harvested moose, particularly the yearling cohort, is warranted to better assess the relationships among winter ticks, habitat quality, and moose populations