130 research outputs found
J-PLUS: analysis of the intracluster light in the Coma cluster
The intracluster light (ICL) is a luminous component of galaxy clusters
composed of stars that are gravitationally bound to the cluster potential but
do not belong to the individual galaxies. Previous studies of the ICL have
shown that its formation and evolution are intimately linked to the
evolutionary stage of the cluster. Thus, the analysis of the ICL in the Coma
cluster will give insights into the main processes driving the dynamics in this
highly complex system. Using a recently developed technique, we measure the ICL
fraction in Coma at several wavelengths, using the J-PLUS unique filter system.
The combination of narrow- and broadband filters provides valuable information
on the dynamical state of the cluster, the ICL stellar types, and the
morphology of the diffuse light. We use the Chebyshev-Fourier Intracluster
Light Estimator (CICLE) to disentangle the ICL from the light of the galaxies,
and to robustly measure the ICL fraction in seven J-PLUS filters. We obtain the
ICL fraction distribution of the Coma cluster at different optical wavelengths,
which varies from , showing the highest values in the narrowband
filters J0395, J0410, and J0430. This ICL fraction excess is distinctive
pattern recently observed in dynamically active clusters (mergers), indicating
a higher amount of bluer stars in the ICL compared to the cluster galaxies.
Both the high ICL fractions and the excess in the bluer filters are indicative
of a merging state. The presence of younger/lower-metallicity stars the ICL
suggests that the main mechanism of ICL formation for the Coma cluster is the
stripping of the stars in the outskirts of infalling galaxies and, possibly,
the disruption of dwarf galaxies during past/ongoing mergers.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&
J-PLUS: Photometric Re-calibration with the Stellar Color Regression Method and an Improved Gaia XP Synthetic Photometry Method
We employ the corrected Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) photometric data and
spectroscopic data from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic
Telescope (LAMOST) DR7 to assemble a sample of approximately 0.25 million FGK
dwarf photometric standard stars for the 12 J-PLUS filters using the Stellar
Color Regression (SCR) method. We then independently validated the J-PLUS DR3
photometry, and uncovered significant systematic errors: up to 15 mmag in the
results of Stellar Locus (SL) method, and up to 10 mmag mainly caused by
magnitude-, color-, and extinction-dependent errors of the Gaia XP spectra with
the Gaia BP/RP (XP) Synthetic Photometry (XPSP) method. We have also further
developed the XPSP method using the corrected Gaia XP spectra by Huang et al.
(2023) and applied it to the J-PLUS DR3 photometry. This resulted in an
agreement of 1-5 mmag with the SCR method, and a two-fold improvement in the
J-PLUS zero-point precision. Finally, the zero-point calibration for around 91%
of the tiles within the LAMOST observation footprint is determined through the
SCR method, with the remaining approximately 9% of tiles outside this footprint
relying on the improved XPSP method. The re-calibrated J-PLUS DR3 photometric
data establishes a solid data foundation for conducting research that depends
on high-precision photometric calibration.Comment: 21 papes; 20 figures, submitted, see main results in Figures 5 and 1
J-PLUS: Detecting and studying extragalactic globular clusters -- the case of NGC 1023
Extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) are key objects for studying the
formation and evolution of galaxies. The arrival of wide-field surveys such as
the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) offers new
possibilities for the study of GCs. Nevertheless, GCs are not detected a priori
by the data reduction pipeline of J-PLUS and, due to its pixel scale, the
standard techniques of GCs detection are challenged. To fill this gap, we
develop a semi-automatic pipeline to detect GCs in J-PLUS that can also be
adapted to similar surveys. As a case study, we use data from the S0 galaxy NGC
1023 and we also study the stellar population content of GC candidates in the
galaxy. To detect GCs, our methodology is based on Source Extractor and does
not require a previous filtering or modelling of the host galaxy. We study
colors and perform spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis on our final GC
candidate catalog to obtain stellar population parameters. In NGC 1023,
GCFinder identifies 523 GC candidates. We observe evidence of color bimodality
in a few broad-band colors but not on narrow-band colors. The SED analysis
reveals a clear metallicity bimodality and we observe that narrow-band filters
are very useful to constrain metallicities. We also identified a broad
age-metallicity relation as well as a wide metallicity distribution that are
evidence that NGC 1023 experienced accretion events in the past. It is the
first time this kind of study is performed with J-PLUS data. By detecting GC
candidates in wide-field images without modeling the light of the galaxy,
GCFinder becomes considerably faster, at a marginal loss of centrally-located
GC candidates of about 7 percent. As GCFinder is entirely based on Source
Extractor, it could be easily incorporated into automated software handling
wide-field surveys.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, submitted to A&
The miniJPAS survey: Optical detection of galaxy clusters with PZWav
Galaxy clusters are an essential tool to understand and constrain the
cosmological parameters of our Universe. Thanks to its multi-band design, J-PAS
offers a unique group and cluster detection window using precise photometric
redshifts and sufficient depths. We produce galaxy cluster catalogues from the
miniJPAS, which is a pathfinder survey for the wider J-PAS survey, using the
PZWav algorithm. Relying only on photometric information, we provide optical
mass tracers for the identified clusters, including richness, optical
luminosity, and stellar mass. By reanalysing the Chandra mosaic of the AEGIS
field, alongside the overlapping XMM-Newton observations, we produce an X-ray
catalogue. The analysis reveals the possible presence of structures with masses
of 4 M at redshift 0.75, highlighting the depth of the
survey. Comparing results with those from two other cluster catalogues,
provided by AMICO and VT, we find common clusters with cluster centre
offsets of 10060 kpc and redshift differences below 0.001. We provide a
comparison of the cluster catalogues with a catalogue of massive galaxies and
report on the significance of cluster selection. In general, we are able to
recover approximately 75 of the galaxies with 2 M. This study emphasises the potential of the J-PAS survey and
the employed techniques down to the group scales.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to A&A in December 19, 202
The miniJPAS survey: clusters and galaxy groups detection with AMICO
Samples of galaxy clusters allow us to better understand the physics at play
in galaxy formation and to constrain cosmological models once their mass,
position (for clustering studies) and redshift are known. In this context,
large optical data sets play a crucial role. We investigate the capabilities of
the Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey
(J-PAS) in detecting and characterizing galaxy groups and clusters. We analyze
the data of the miniJPAS survey, obtained with the JPAS-Pathfinder camera and
covering deg centered on the AEGIS field to the same depths and with
the same 54 narrow band plus 2 broader band near-UV and near-IR filters
anticipated for the full J-PAS survey. We use the Adaptive Matched Identifier
of Clustered Objects (AMICO) to detect and characterize groups and clusters of
galaxies down to in the redshift range . We detect 80, 30
and 11 systems with signal-to-noise ratio larger than 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5,
respectively, down to . We derive mass-proxy scaling
relations based on Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray data for the signal amplitude
returned by AMICO, the intrinsic richness and a new proxy that incorporates the
galaxies' stellar masses. The latter proxy is made possible thanks to the J-PAS
filters and shows a smaller scatter with respect to the richness. We fully
characterize the sample and use AMICO to derive a probabilistic membership
association of galaxies to the detected groups that we test against
spectroscopy. We further show how the narrow band filters of J-PAS provide a
gain of up to 100% in signal-to-noise ratio in detection and an uncertainty on
the redshift of clusters of only placing J-PAS in
between broadband photometric and spectroscopic surveys. The performances of
AMICO and J-PAS with respect to mass sensitivity, mass-proxies qualityComment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, submitted to A&
Genome-Wide SNP-genotyping array to study the evolution of the human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus Biotype 3
Vibrio vulnificus is an aquatic bacterium and an important human pathogen. Strains Of V. vulnificus are classified into three different biotypes. The newly emerged biotype 3 has been found to be clonal and restricted to Israel. In the family Vibrionaceae , horizontal gene transfer is the main mechanism responsible for the emergence of new pathogen groups. To better understand the evolution of the bacterium, and in particular to trace the evolution of biotype 3, we performed genome-wide SNP genotyping of 254 clinical and environmental V. vulnificus isolates with worldwide distribution recovered over a 30-year period, representing all phylogeny groups. A custom single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array implemented on the Illumina GoldenGate platform was developed based on 570 SNPs randomly distributed throughout the genome. In general, the genotyping results divided the V. vulnificus species into three main phylogenetic lineages and an additional subgroup, clade B, consisting of environmental and clinical isolates from Israel. Data analysis suggested that 69% of biotype 3 SNPs are similar to SNPs from clade B, indicating that biotype 3 and clade B have a common ancestor. The rest of the biotype 3 SNPs were scattered along the biotype 3 genome, probably representing multiple chromosomal segments that may have been horizontally inserted into the clade B recipient core genome from other phylogroups or bacterial species sharing the same ecological niche. Results emphasize the continuous evolution of V. vulnificus and support the emergence of new pathogenic groups within this species as a recurrent phenomenon. Our findings contribute to a broader understanding of the evolution of this human pathogen
J-PLUS: A first glimpse at spectrophotometry of asteroids -- The MOOJa catalog
Context: The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) is an
observational campaign that aims to obtain photometry in 12 ultraviolet-visible
filters (0.3-1 {\mu}m) of approximately 8 500 deg{^2} of the sky observable
from Javalambre (Teruel, Spain). Due to its characteristics and strategy of
observation, this survey will let us analyze a great number of Solar System
small bodies, with improved spectrophotometric resolution with respect to
previous large-area photometric surveys in optical wavelengths. Aims: The main
goal of this work is to present here the first catalog of magnitudes and colors
of minor bodies of the Solar System compiled using the first data release (DR1)
of the J-PLUS observational campaign: the Moving Objects Observed from
Javalambre (MOOJa) catalog. Methods: Using the compiled photometric data we
obtained very-low-resolution reflectance (photospectra) spectra of the
asteroids. We first used a {\sigma}-clipping algorithm in order to remove
outliers and clean the data. We then devised a method to select the optimal
solar colors in the J-PLUS photometric system. These solar colors were computed
using two different approaches: on one hand, we used different spectra of the
Sun, convolved with the filter transmissions of the J-PLUS system, and on the
other, we selected a group of solar-type stars in the J-PLUS DR1, according to
their computed stellar parameters. Finally, we used the solar colors to obtain
the reflectance spectra of the asteroids. Results: We present photometric data
in the J-PLUS filters for a total of 3 122 minor bodies (3 666 before outlier
removal), and we discuss the main issues of the data, as well as some
guidelines to solve the
Lethal Mutants and Truncated Selection Together Solve a Paradox of the Origin of Life
BACKGROUND: Many attempts have been made to describe the origin of life, one of which is Eigen's cycle of autocatalytic reactions [Eigen M (1971) Naturwissenschaften 58, 465-523], in which primordial life molecules are replicated with limited accuracy through autocatalytic reactions. For successful evolution, the information carrier (either RNA or DNA or their precursor) must be transmitted to the next generation with a minimal number of misprints. In Eigen's theory, the maximum chain length that could be maintained is restricted to 100-1000 nucleotides, while for the most primitive genome the length is around 7000-20,000. This is the famous error catastrophe paradox. How to solve this puzzle is an interesting and important problem in the theory of the origin of life. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We use methods of statistical physics to solve this paradox by carefully analyzing the implications of neutral and lethal mutants, and truncated selection (i.e., when fitness is zero after a certain Hamming distance from the master sequence) for the critical chain length. While neutral mutants play an important role in evolution, they do not provide a solution to the paradox. We have found that lethal mutants and truncated selection together can solve the error catastrophe paradox. There is a principal difference between prebiotic molecule self-replication and proto-cell self-replication stages in the origin of life. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We have applied methods of statistical physics to make an important breakthrough in the molecular theory of the origin of life. Our results will inspire further studies on the molecular theory of the origin of life and biological evolution
The miniJPAS survey: Identification and characterization of the emission line galaxies down to in the AEGIS field
The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey
(J-PAS) is expected to map thousands of square degrees of the northern sky with
56 narrowband filters in the upcoming years. This will make J-PAS a very
competitive and unbiased emission line survey compared to spectroscopic or
narrowband surveys with fewer filters. The miniJPAS survey covered 1 deg,
and it used the same photometric system as J-PAS, but the observations were
carried out with the pathfinder J-PAS camera. In this work, we identify and
characterize the sample of emission line galaxies (ELGs) from miniJPAS with a
redshift lower than . Using a method based on artificial neural networks,
we detect the ELG population and measure the equivalent width and flux of the
, , [OIII], and [NII] emission lines. We explore the
ionization mechanism using the diagrams [OIII]/H versus [NII]/H
(BPT) and EW(H) versus [NII]/H (WHAN). We identify 1787 ELGs
(%) from the parent sample (2154 galaxies) in the AEGIS field. For the
galaxies with reliable EW values that can be placed in the WHAN diagram (2000
galaxies in total), we obtained that %, % , and
% are star-forming (SF), active galactic nucleus (Seyfert), and
quiescent galaxies, respectively. Based on the flux of we find that
the star formation main sequence is described as SFR and has an intrinsic scatter of . The cosmic evolution of the SFR density ()
is derived at three redshift bins: , , and
, which agrees with previous results that were based on
measurements of the emission line.Comment: 22 pages, 19 figure
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