42 research outputs found
Stellar populations and Lyα emission in two lensed z Ⳡ6 galaxies
We present an analysis of two strongly lensed galaxies at z= 6.56 and z⌠7 for which multi-band photometric and spectroscopic observations are available. For one source, the data include recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Spitzer observations. Using a spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique considering a number of parameters (various libraries of empirical and theoretical template spectra, variable extinction and extinction laws), we attempt to constrain the properties of their stellar populations (age, star formation (SF) history and mass) and their intrinsic Lyman α (Lyα) emission. The following main results are obtained for the individual galaxies. Triple arc in Abell 2218, probable z⌠7 galaxy. The most likely redshift of this source is z⌠6.0-7.2, taking into account both our photometric determination and lensing considerations. SED fits indicate generally a low extinction [E(BâV) âČ 0.05], but do not strongly constrain the SF history. Best fits have typical ages of âŒ3-400 Myr. A reasonable maximum age of 250-650 Myr (1s interval) can be estimated. However, the apparent 4000-Ă
break observed recently from the combination of (Infrared Array Camera) IRAC/Spitzer and HST observations can also be reproduced equally well with the template of a young (âŒ3-5 Myr) burst where strong rest-frame optical emission lines enhance the 3.6- and 4.5-ÎŒm fluxes. The estimated star formation rate (SFR) is typically âŒ1 Mâ yrâ1 for a Salpeter initial mass function (IMF) from 1 to 100 Mâ, in agreement with previous estimates. The unknowns on the age and SF history could easily explain the apparent absence of Lyα in this galaxy. Abell 370 HCM 6A. The available Lyα and continuum observations indicate basically two possible solutions: (1) a young burst or ongoing constant SF with non-negligible extinction or (2) a composite young +âold' stellar population. In the first case, one obtains a best fit, E(BâV) ⌠0.25, or AV⌠0.5-1.8 at a 1s level. In consequence, we obtain SFR âŒ11-41 Mâ yrâ1, higher than earlier estimates, and we estimate a fairly high total luminosity [L⌠(1 â 4) Ă 1011 Lâ] for this galaxy, in the range of luminous infrared galaxies. A Lyα transmission of âŒ23-90 per cent is estimated from our best-fitting models. Other properties (age and SF history) remain largely unconstrained. In case of composite stellar populations, the SFR, mass and luminosity estimate are lower. The two scenarios may be distinguishable with IRAC/Spitzer observations at 3.6 and 4.5 ÎŒ
Dust in the reionization era: ALMA observations of a =8.38 Galaxy
We report on the detailed analysis of a gravitationally-lensed Y-band
dropout, A2744_YD4, selected from deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging in the
Frontier Field cluster Abell 2744. Band 7 observations with the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array (ALMA) indicate the proximate detection of a significant 1mm
continuum flux suggesting the presence of dust for a star-forming galaxy with a
photometric redshift of . Deep X-SHOOTER spectra confirms the high
redshift identity of A2744_YD4 via the detection of Lyman emission at
a redshift =8.38. The association with the ALMA detection is confirmed by
the presence of [OIII] 88m emission at the same redshift. Although both
emission features are only significant at the 4 level, we argue their
joint detection and the positional coincidence with a high redshift dropout in
the HST images confirms the physical association. Analysis of the available
photometric data and the modest gravitational magnification ()
indicates A2744_YD4 has a stellar mass of 210 M, a
star formation rate of M/yr and a dust mass of
610 M. We discuss the implications of the
formation of such a dust mass only 200 Myr after the onset of cosmic
reionisation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
A peculiar galaxy appears at redshift 11: properties of a moderate redshift interloper
Laporte et al. (2011) reported a very high redshift galaxy candidate: a
lensed J-band dropout (A2667-J1). J1 has a photometric redshift of z=9.6-12,
the probability density function for which permits no low or intermediate z
solution. We here report new spectroscopic observations of this galaxy with
VLT/XShooter, which show clear [OIII]5007AA, Ly-alpha, H-alpha, and H-beta
emission and place the galaxy firmly at z=2.082. The oxygen lines contribute
only ~25% to the H-band flux, and do not significantly affect the dropout
selection of J1. After correcting the broadband fluxes for line emission, we
identify two roughly equally plausible natures for A2667-J1: either it is young
heavily reddened starburst, or a maximally old system with a very pronounced
4000AA break, upon which a minor secondary burst of star formation is
superimposed. Fits show that to make a 3 sigma detection of this object in the
B-band (V-band), imaging of depth AB=30.2 (29.5) would be required - despite
the relatively bright NIR magnitude, we would need optical data of equivalent
depth to the Hubble Ultra Deep Field to rule out the mid-z solution on purely
photometric grounds. Assuming that this stellar population can be scaled to the
NIR magnitudes of recent HST/WFC3 IR-selected galaxies, we conclude that
infeasibly deep optical data AB~32 would be required for the same level of
security. There is a population of galaxies at z~2 with continuum colours alone
that mimic those of our z=7-12 candidates.Comment: Accepted by Monthly Notices. 5 pages, 2 figure
The relation between star formation, morphology and local density in high redshift clusters and groups
We investigate how the [OII] properties and the morphologies of galaxies in
clusters and groups at z=0.4-0.8 depend on projected local galaxy density, and
compare with the field at similar redshifts and clusters at low-z. In both
nearby and distant clusters, higher-density regions contain proportionally
fewer star-forming galaxies, and the average [OII] equivalent width of
star-forming galaxies is independent of local density. However, in distant
clusters the average current star formation rate (SFR) in star-forming galaxies
seems to peak at densities ~15-40 galaxies Mpc^{-2}. At odds with low-z
results, at high-z the relation between star-forming fraction and local density
varies from high- to low-mass clusters. Overall, our results suggest that at
high-z the current star formation (SF) activity in star-forming galaxies does
not depend strongly on global or local environment, though the possible SFR
peak seems at odds with this conclusion. We find that the cluster SFR
normalized by cluster mass anticorrelates with mass and correlates with the
star-forming fraction. These trends can be understood given a) that the average
star-forming galaxy forms about 1 Msun/yr in all clusters; b) that the total
number of galaxies scales with cluster mass and c) the dependence of
star-forming fraction on cluster mass. We present the morphology-density (MD)
relation for our z=0.4-0.8 clusters, and uncover that the decline of the spiral
fraction with density is entirely driven by galaxies of types Sc or later. For
galaxies of a given Hubble type, we see no evidence that SF properties depend
on local environment. In contrast with recent findings at low-z, in our distant
clusters the SF-density relation and the MD-relation are equivalent, suggesting
that neither of the two is more fundamental than the other.(abr.)Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The EFIGI catalogue of 4458 nearby galaxies with detailed morphology
Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 27 pages, 7 tables, 32 colour figures. Data available at http://www.efigi.orgInternational audienceNow that large databases of resolved galaxy images are provided by modern imaging surveys, advanced morphological studies can be envisioned, urging for well defined calibration samples. We present the EFIGI catalogue, a multiwavelength database specifically designed for a dense sampling of all Hubble types. The catalogue merges data from standard surveys and catalogues (Principal Galaxy Catalogue, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Value-Added Galaxy Catalogue, HyperLeda, and the NASA Extragalactic Database) and provides detailed morphological information. Imaging data are obtained from the SDSS DR4 in the u, g, r, i, and z bands for a sample of 4458 PGC galaxies, whereas photometric and spectroscopic data are obtained from the SDSS DR5 catalogue. Point-Spread Function models are derived in all five bands. Composite colour images of all objects are visually examined by a group of astronomers, and galaxies are staged along the Hubble sequence and classified according to 16 morphological attributes describing their structure, texture, as well as environment and appearance on a five-level scale. The EFIGI Hubble sequence shows remarkable agreement with the RC3 Revised Hubble Sequence. The main characteristics and reliability of the catalogue are examined, including photometric completeness, type mix, systematic trends and correlations. The final EFIGI database is a large sub-sample of the local Universe, with a dense sampling of Sd, Sdm, Sm and Im types compared to magnitude-limited catalogues. We estimate the photometric catalogue to be more than ~ 80% complete for galaxies with 10 < g < 14. More than 99.5% of EFIGI galaxies have a known redshift in the HyperLeda and NED databases
The build-up of the colour-magnitude relation in galaxy clusters since z⌠0.8
Using galaxy clusters from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey, we study how the distribution of galaxies along the colour-magnitude relation has evolved since z⌠0.8. While red-sequence galaxies in all these clusters are well described by an old, passively evolving population, we confirm our previous finding of a significant evolution in their luminosity distribution as a function of redshift. When compared to galaxy clusters in the local Universe, the high-redshift EDisCS clusters exhibit a significant deficit of faint red galaxies. Combining clusters in three different redshift bins, and defining as âfaint' all galaxies in the range 0.4 âłL/L*âł 0.1, we find a clear decrease in the luminous-to-faint ratio of red galaxies from z⌠0.8 to âŒ0.4. The amount of such a decrease appears to be in qualitative agreement with predictions of a model where the blue bright galaxies that populate the colour-magnitude diagram of high-redshift clusters, have their star formation suppressed by the hostile cluster environment. Although model results need to be interpreted with caution, our findings clearly indicate that the red-sequence population of high-redshift clusters does not contain all progenitors of nearby red-sequence cluster galaxies. A significant fraction of these must have moved on to the red sequence below z⌠0.
High-redshift lensed galaxies
We present the results obtained from our deep survey of lensing clusters aimed at constraining the abundance of star-forming galaxies at zâŒ6-1
ALMA 1.3 mm Survey of Lensed Submillimeter Galaxies Selected by Herschel: Discovery of Spatially Extended SMGs and Implications
We present an ALMA 1.3 mm (Band 6) continuum survey of lensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) at z = 1.0 to âŒ3.2 with an angular resolution of âŒ0farcs2. These galaxies were uncovered by the Herschel Lensing Survey and feature exceptionally bright far-infrared continuum emission (Speak âł 90 mJy) owing to their lensing magnification. We detect 29 sources in 20 fields of massive galaxy clusters with ALMA. Using both the Spitzer/IRAC (3.6/4.5 ÎŒm) and ALMA data, we have successfully modeled the surface brightness profiles of 26 sources in the rest-frame near- and far-infrared. Similar to previous studies, we find the median dust-to-stellar continuum size ratio to be small (Re,dust/Re,star = 0.38 ± 0.14) for the observed SMGs, indicating that star formation is centrally concentrated. This is, however, not the case for two spatially extended main-sequence SMGs with a low surface brightness at 1.3 mm (âČ0.1 mJy arcsecâ2), in which the star formation is distributed over the entire galaxy (Re,dust/Re,star > 1). As a whole, our SMG sample shows a tight anticorrelation between (Re,dust/Re,star) and far-infrared surface brightness (ÎŁIR) over a factor of â1000 in ÎŁIR. This indicates that SMGs with less vigorous star formation (i.e., lower ÎŁIR) lack central starburst and are likely to retain a broader spatial distribution of star formation over the whole galaxies (i.e., larger Re,dust/Re,star). The same trend can be reproduced with cosmological simulations as a result of central starburst and potentially subsequent "inside-out" quenching, which likely accounts for the emergence of compact quiescent galaxies at z ⌠2
The Rest-Frame Optical Luminosity Function of Cluster Galaxies at z<0.8 and the Assembly of the Cluster Red Sequence
We present the rest-frame optical luminosity function (LF) of red sequence
galaxies in 16 clusters at 0.4<z<0.8 drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey
(EDisCS). We compare our clusters to an analogous sample from the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) and match the EDisCS clusters to their most likely
descendants. We measure all LFs down to M M* + (2.5 - 3.5). At z<0.8, the
bright end of the LF is consistent with passive evolution but there is a
significant build-up of the faint end of the red sequence towards lower
redshift. There is a weak dependence of the LF on cluster velocity dispersion
for EDisCS but no such dependence for the SDSS clusters. We find tentative
evidence that red sequence galaxies brighter than a threshold magnitude are
already in place, and that this threshold evolves to fainter magnitudes toward
lower redshifts. We compare the EDisCS LFs with the LF of co-eval red sequence
galaxies in the field and find that the bright end of the LFs agree. However,
relative to the number of bright red galaxies, the field has more faint red
galaxies than clusters at 0.6<z<0.8 but fewer at 0.4<z<0.6, implying
differential evolution. We compare the total light in the EDisCS cluster red
sequences to the total red sequence light in our SDSS cluster sample. Clusters
at 0.4<z<0.8 must increase their luminosity on the red sequence (and therefore
stellar mass in red galaxies) by a factor of 1-3 by z=0. The necessary
processes that add mass to the red sequence in clusters predict local clusters
that are over-luminous as compared to those observed in the SDSS. The predicted
cluster luminosities can be reconciled with observed local cluster luminosities
by combining multiple previously known effects.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 36 pages, 16
figures, 10 table