92 research outputs found
The DESI N-body simulation project â I. Testing the robustness of simulations for the DESI dark time survey
Analysis of large galaxy surveys requires confidence in the robustness of numerical simulation methods. The simulations are used to construct mock galaxy catalogues to validate data analysis pipelines and identify potential systematics. We compare three N-body simulation codes, ABACUS, GADGET-2, and SWIFT, to investigate the regimes in which their results agree. We run N-body simulations at three different mass resolutions, 6.25 Ă 108, 2.11 Ă 109, and 5.00 Ă 109 hâ1 M, matching phases to reduce the noise within the comparisons. We find systematic errors in the halo clustering between different codes are smaller than the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) statistical error for s > 20 hâ1 Mpc in the correlation function in redshift space. Through the resolution comparison we find that simulations run with a mass resolution of 2.1 Ă 109 hâ1 M are sufficiently converged for systematic effects in the halo clustering to be smaller than the DESI statistical error at scales larger than 20 hâ1 Mpc. These findings show that the simulations are robust for extracting cosmological information from large scales which is the key goal of the DESI survey. Comparing matter power spectra, we find the codes agree to within 1 per cent for k †10 h Mpcâ1. We also run a comparison of three initial condition generation codes and find good agreement. In addition, we include a quasi-N-body code, FastPM, since we plan use it for certain DESI analyses. The impact of the halo definition and galaxyâhalo relation will be presented in a follow-up study
Overview of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to
measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic
Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over
14000 square degrees will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new
prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000
fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs.
We present an overview of the instrumentation, the main technical requirements
and challenges, and the current status of the project.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Preliminary Target Selection for the DESI Milky Way Survey (MWS)
International audienceThe DESI Milky Way Survey (MWS) will observe 8 million stars between mag, supplemented by observations of brighter targets under poor observing conditions. The survey will permit an accurate determination of stellar kinematics and population gradients; characterize diffuse substructure in the thick disk and stellar halo; enable the discovery of extremely metal-poor stars and other rare stellar types; and improve constraints on the Galaxy's 3D dark matter distribution from halo star kinematics. MWS will also enable a detailed characterization of the stellar populations within 100 pc of the Sun, including a complete census of white dwarfs. The target catalog from the preliminary selection described here is public
PROVABGS: The Probabilistic Stellar Mass Function of the BGS One-percent Survey
We present the probabilistic stellar mass function (pSMF) of galaxies in the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), observed during the One-percent Survey. The One-percent Survey was one of DESIâs survey validation programs conducted from 2021 April to May, before the start of the main survey. It used the same target selection and similar observing strategy as the main survey and successfully observed the spectra and redshifts of 143,017 galaxies in the r 100 Ă more galaxies. Moreover, we present the statistical framework for subsequent population statistics measurements using BGS, which will characterize the global galaxy population and scaling relations at low redshifts with unprecedented precision
PROVABGS: The Probabilistic Stellar Mass Function of the BGS One-Percent Survey
We present the probabilistic stellar mass function (pSMF) of galaxies in the
DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), observed during the One-Percent Survey. The
One-Percent Survey was one of DESI's survey validation programs conducted from
April to May 2021, before the start of the main survey. It used the same target
selection and similar observing strategy as the main survey and successfully
observed the spectra and redshifts of 143,017 galaxies in the
magnitude-limited BGS Bright sample and 95,499 galaxies in the fainter surface
brightness and color selected BGS Faint sample over . We derive pSMFs
from posteriors of stellar mass, , inferred from DESI photometry and
spectroscopy using the Hahn et al. (2022a; arXiv:2202.01809) PRObabilistic
Value-Added BGS (PROVABGS) Bayesian SED modeling framework. We use a
hierarchical population inference framework that statistically and rigorously
propagates the uncertainties. Furthermore, we include correction weights
that account for the selection effects and incompleteness of the BGS
observations. We present the redshift evolution of the pSMF in BGS as well as
the pSMFs of star-forming and quiescent galaxies classified using average
specific star formation rates from PROVABGS. Overall, the pSMFs show good
agreement with previous stellar mass function measurements in the literature.
Our pSMFs showcase the potential and statistical power of BGS, which in its
main survey will observe >100 more galaxies. Moreover, we present the
statistical framework for subsequent population statistics measurements using
BGS, which will characterize the global galaxy population and scaling relations
at low redshifts with unprecedented precision.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures; data used to generate figures is available at
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8018936; submitted to Ap
DESI Observations of the Andromeda Galaxy: Revealing the Immigration History of our Nearest Neighbor
We present DESI observations of the inner halo of M31, which reveal the
kinematics of a recent merger - a galactic immigration event - in exquisite
detail. Of the 11,416 sources studied in 3.75 hour of on-sky exposure time,
7,438 are M31 sources with well measured radial velocities. The observations
reveal intricate coherent kinematic structure in the positions and velocities
of individual stars: streams, wedges, and chevrons. While hints of coherent
structures have been previously detected in M31, this is the first time they
have been seen with such detail and clarity in a galaxy beyond the Milky Way.
We find clear kinematic evidence for shell structures in the Giant Stellar
Stream, the Northeast Shelf and Western Shelf regions. The kinematics are
remarkably similar to the predictions of dynamical models constructed to
explain the spatial morphology of the inner halo. The results are consistent
with the interpretation that much of the substructure in the inner halo of M31
is produced by a single galactic immigration event 1 - 2 Gyr ago. Significant
numbers of metal-rich stars ([Fe/H]) are present in all of the detected
substructures, suggesting that the immigrating galaxy had an extended star
formation history. We also investigate the ability of the shells and Giant
Stellar Stream to constrain the gravitational potential of M31, and estimate
the mass within a projected radius of 125 kpc to be . The results herald a
new era in our ability to study stars on a galactic scale and the immigration
histories of galaxies.Comment: 45 pages, 22 figures, 8 tables; Astrophysical Journal in press; Data
at https://zenodo.org/record/697749
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