The Low-Redshift Quasar-Quasar Correlation Function from an Extragalactic Halpha Emission-Line Survey to z=0.4

We study the large-scale spatial distribution of low-redshift quasars and Seyfert~1 galaxies using a sample of 106 luminous emission-line objects ($\bar{M}_{B} \approx -23$) selected by their H$\alpha$ emission lines in a far-red objective prism survey ($0.2 < z < 0.37$). Of the 106 objects, 25 were previously known AGN (Veron-Cetty and Veron 2000), and follow-up spectroscopy for an additional 53 objects (including all object pairs with separation r < 20 \hmpc) confirmed 48 AGN and 5 narrow emission-line galaxies (NELGs). The calculated amplitude of the spatial two-point correlation function for the emission-line sample is A = 0.4 \cdot \bar{\xi}(r < 20 \hmpc) \cdot 20^{1.8} = 142 \pm 53. Eliminating the confirmed NELGs from the sample we obtain the AGN clustering amplitude $A = 98 \pm 54$. Using Monte Carlo simulations we reject the hypothesis that the observed pair counts were drawn from a random distribution at the 99.97% and 98.6% confidence levels for the entire sample and the AGN subset respectively. We measure a decrease in the quasar clustering amplitude by a factor of $3.7 \pm 2.0$ between $z = 0.26$ and $z \approx 1.5$, and present the coordinates, redshifts, and follow-up spectroscopy for the 15 previously unknown AGN and 4 luminous NELGs that contribute to the clustering signal.Comment: ApJ, in press, Vol 548, added follow-up spectroscop

The Las Campanas IR Survey: Early Type Galaxy Progenitors Beyond Redshift One

(Abridged) We have identified a population of faint red galaxies from a 0.62 square degree region of the Las Campanas Infrared Survey whose properties are consistent with their being the progenitors of early-type galaxies. The optical and IR colors, number-magnitude relation and angular clustering together indicate modest evolution and increased star formation rates among the early-type field population at redshifts between one and two. The counts of red galaxies with $H$ magnitudes between 17 and 20 rise with a slope that is much steeper than that of the total H sample. The surface density of red galaxies drops from roughly 3000 per square degree at H = 20.5, I-H > 3 to ~ 20 per square degree at H = 20, I-H > 5. The V-I colors are approximately 1.5 magnitudes bluer on average than a pure old population and span a range of more than three magnitudes. The colors, and photometric redshifts derived from them, indicate that the red galaxies have redshift distributions adequately described by Gaussians with sigma_z ~ 0.2$centered near redshift one, with the exception that galaxies having$V-I3$ are primarily in the 1.5 < z < 2 range. We find co-moving correlation lengths of 9-10 Mpc at z ~ 1, comparable to, or larger than, those found for early-type galaxies at lower redshifts. A simple photometric evolution model reproduces the counts of the red galaxies, with only a ~ 30% decline in the underlying space density of early-type galaxies at z ~ 1.2. We suggest on the basis of the colors, counts, and clustering that these red galaxies are the bulk of the progenitors of present day early-type galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ Letter

The Las Campanas Infrared Survey. III. The H-band Imaging Survey and the Near-Infrared and Optical Photometric Catalogs

(Abridged) The Las Campanas Infrared Survey, based on broad-band optical and near-infrared photometry, is designed to robustly identify a statistically significant and representative sample of evolved galaxies at redshifts z>1. We have completed an H-band imaging survey over 1.1 square degrees of sky in six separate fields. The average 5 sigma detection limit in a four arcsecond diameter aperture is H ~ 20. Here we describe the design of the survey, the observation strategies, data reduction techniques, and object identification procedures. We present sample near-infrared and optical photometric catalogs for objects identified in two survey fields. We perform object detection in all bandpasses and identify ~ 54,000 galaxies over 1,408 square arcminutes of sky in the two fields. Of these galaxies, ~ 14,000 are detected in the H-band and ~ 2,000 have the colors of evolved galaxies, I - H >3, at z > 1. We find that (1) the differential number counts N(m) for the H-band detected objects has a slope of 0.44 at H 19. In addition, we find that (2) the differential number counts for the H detected red objects has a slope of 0.85 at H 20, with a mean surface density ~ 3,000 degree^{-2} mag^{-1} at H=20. Finally, we find that (3) galaxies with red optical to near-IR colors (I-H > 3) constitute ~ 20% of the H detected galaxies at H ~ 21, but only 2% at H = 19. We show that red galaxies are strongly clustered, which results in a strong field to field variation in their surface density. Comparisons of observations and predictions based on various formation scenarios indicate that these red galaxies are consistent with mildly evolving early-type galaxies at z ~ 1, although with a significant amount of on-going star formation as indicated by the large scatter in their V-I colors.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Cepheid limb darkening, angular diameter corrections, and projection factor from static spherical model stellar atmospheres

Context. One challenge for measuring the Hubble constant using Classical Cepheids is the calibration of the Leavitt Law or period-luminosity relationship. The Baade-Wesselink method for distance determination to Cepheids relies on the ratio of the measured radial velocity and pulsation velocity, the so-called projection factor and the ability to measure the stellar angular diameters. Aims. We use spherically-symmetric model stellar atmospheres to explore the dependence of the p-factor and angular diameter corrections as a function of pulsation period. Methods. Intensity profiles are computed from a grid of plane-parallel and spherically-symmetric model stellar atmospheres using the SAtlas code. Projection factors and angular diameter corrections are determined from these intensity profiles and compared to previous results. Results. Our predicted geometric period-projection factor relation including previously published state-of-the-art hydrodynamical predictions is not with recent observational constraints. We suggest a number of potential resolutions to this discrepancy. The model atmosphere geometry also affects predictions for angular diameter corrections used to interpret interferometric observations, suggesting corrections used in the past underestimated Cepheid angular diameters by 3 - 5%. Conclusions. While spherically-symmetric hydrostatic model atmospheres cannot resolve differences between projection factors from theory and observations, they do help constrain underlying physics that must be included, including chromospheres and mass loss. The models also predict more physically-based limb-darkening corrections for interferometric observations.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&

The Las Campanas Infrared Survey: Early-Type Galaxy Progenitors beyond z = 1

We have identified a population of faint red galaxies from a 0.62 deg^2 region of the Las Campanas Infrared Survey whose properties are consistent with their being the progenitors of early-type galaxies. The optical and IR colors, number-magnitude relation, and angular clustering together indicate modest evolution and increased star formation rates among the early-type field population at redshifts between 1 and 2. The counts of red galaxies with H magnitudes between 17 and 20 rise with a slope that is much steeper than that of the total H sample. The surface density of red galaxies drops from roughly 3000 deg^(-2) at H = 20.5, I-H > 3 to ~20 deg^(-2) at H = 20, I-H > 5. The V-I colors are approximately 1.5 mag bluer on average than a pure old population and span a range of more than 3 mag. The strength of the angular clustering of the red galaxies is an order of magnitude larger than that of the full galaxy sample. The colors, and photometric redshifts derived from them, indicate that the red galaxies have redshift distributions adequately described by Gaussians with σ_z ≃ 0.2 centered near z = 1, with the exception that galaxies having V-I 3 are primarily in the 1.5 ≾ z ≾ 2 range. We invert the angular correlation functions using these n(z) and find comoving correlation lengths of r_0 ≃ 9-10 h^(-1) Mpc at z ≃ 1, comparable to, or larger than, those found for early-type galaxies at lower redshifts. A simple photometric evolution model reproduces the counts of the red galaxies, with only an ~30% decline in the underlying space density of early-type galaxies at z ~ 1.2. The colors indicate characteristic star formation rates of ~1 M_☉ yr^(-1) per 10^(10) M_☉. We suggest on the basis of the colors, counts, and clustering that these red galaxies are the bulk of the progenitors of present-day early-type galaxies

The Las Campanas Infrared Survey – II. Photometric redshifts, comparison with models and clustering evolution

The Las Campanas Infrared (LCIR) Survey, using the Cambridge Infra-Red Survey Instrument (CIRSI), reaches H∼21 over nearly 1 deg^2. In this paper we present results from 744 arcmin^2 centred on the Hubble Deep Field South for which UBVRI optical data are publicly available. Making conservative magnitude cuts to ensure spatial uniformity, we detect 3177 galaxies to H=20.0 in 744 arcmin^2 and a further 842 to H=20.5 in a deeper subregion of 407 arcmin^2. We compare the observed optical–infrared (IR) colour distributions with the predictions of semi-analytic hierarchical models and find reasonable agreement. We also determine photometric redshifts, finding a median redshift of ∼0.55. We compare the redshift distributions N(z) of E, Sbc, Scd and Im spectral types with models, showing that the observations are inconsistent with simple passive-evolution models while semi-analytic models provide a reasonable fit to the total N(z) but underestimate the number of z∼1 red spectral types relative to bluer spectral types. We also present N(z) for samples of extremely red objects (EROs) defined by optical–IR colours. We find that EROs with R-H>4 and H4 comprise ∼18 per cent of the observed galaxy population, while in semi-analytic models they contribute only ∼4 per cent. We also determine the angular correlation function w(θ) for magnitude, colour, spectral type and photometric redshift-selected subsamples of the data and use the photometric redshift distributions to derive the spatial clustering statistic ξ(r) as a function of spectral type and redshift out to z∼1.2. Parametrizing ξ(r) by ξ(rc,z)=[rc/r∗(z)]^(-1.8), where r_c is in comoving coordinates, we find that r∗(z) increases by a factor of 1.5–2 from z=0 to z∼1.2. We interpret this as a selection effect – the galaxies selected at z∼1.2 are intrinsically very luminous, about 1–1.5 mag brighter than L∗. When galaxies are selected by absolute magnitude, we find no evidence for evolution in r∗ over this redshift range. Extrapolated to z=0, we find r∗(z=0)∼6.5 h^(-1) Mpc for red galaxies and r∗(z=0)∼2–4 h^(-1) Mpc for blue galaxies. We also find that, while the angular clustering amplitude of EROs with R-H>4 or I-H>3 is up to four times that of the whole galaxy population, the spatial clustering length r∗(z=1) is ∼7.5–10.5 h^(-1) Mpc, which is only a factor of ∼1.7 times r∗(z=1) for R-H<4 and I-H<3 galaxies lying in a similar redshift and luminosity range. This difference is similar to that observed between red and blue galaxies at low redshifts

Direct Determination of Hubble Parameter Using Type IIn Supernovae

We introduce a novel approach, a Dense Shell Method (DSM), for measuring distances for cosmology. It is based on original Baade idea to relate absolute difference of photospheric radii with photospheric velocity. We demonstrate that this idea works: the new method does not rely on the Cosmic Distance Ladder and gives satisfactory results for the most luminous Type IIn Supernovae. This allows one to make them good primary distance indicators for cosmology. Fixing correction factors for illustration, we obtain with this method the median distance of 68^{+19}_{-15} (68%CL) Mpc to SN 2006gy and median Hubble parameter 79^{+23}_{-17} (68%CL) km/s/Mpc.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, typos correcte