The Surface Mass Density and Structure of the Outer Disk of NGC 628

We study the kinematics of GALEX-selected H_alpha knots in the outer disk (beyond R25) of NGC 628 (M74), a galaxy representative of large, undisturbed, extended UV (Type 1 XUV) disks. Our spectroscopic target sample of 235 of the bluest UV knots surrounding NGC 628 yielded 15 H_alpha detections (6%), roughly the number expected given the different mean ages of the two populations. The measured vertical velocity dispersion of the H_alpha knots between 1 - 1.8 R25 (13.5 - 23.2 kpc) is < 11 km/s. We assume that the H_alpha knots trace an 'intermediate' vertical mass density distribution (between the isothermal sech(z)^2 and exponential distributions) with a constant scaleheight across the outer disk (h_z = 700 pc) and estimate a total surface mass density of 7.5 solar masses/pc^2. This surface mass density can be accounted for by the observed gas and stars in the outer disk (little or no dark matter in the disk is required). The vertical velocity dispersion of the outer disk H_alpha knots nearly matches that measured from older planetary nebulae near the outskirts of the optical disk by Herrmann et al., suggesting a low level of scattering in the outer disk. A dynamically cold stellar component extending nearly twice as far as the traditional optical disk poses interesting constraints on the accretion history of the galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

A photometric search for transients in galaxy clusters

We have begun a program to search for supernovae and other transients in the fields of galaxy clusters with the 2.3m Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak. We present our automated photometric methods for data reduction, efficiency characterization, and initial spectroscopy. With this program, we aim to ultimately identify $\sim$25-35 cluster SN Ia ($\sim$10 of which will be intracluster, hostless events) and constrain the SN Ia rate associated with old, passive stellar populations. With these measurements we will constrain the relative contribution of hostless and hosted SN Ia to the metal enrichment of the intracluster medium. In the current work, we have identified a central excess of transient events within $1.25 r_{200}$ in our cluster fields after statistically subtracting out the 'background' transient rate taken from an off-cluster CCD chip. Based on the published rate of SN Ia for cluster populations we estimate that $\sim$20 percent of the excess cluster transients are due to cluster SN Ia, a comparable fraction to core collapse (CC) supernovae and the remaining are likely to be active galactic nuclei. Interestingly, we have identified three intracluster SN candidates, all of which lay beyond $R>r_{200}$. These events, if truly associated with the cluster, indicate a large deficit of intracluster (IC) SN at smaller radii, and may be associated with the IC stars of infalling groups or indicate that the intracluster light (ICL) in the cluster outskirts is actively forming stars which contribute CC SN or prompt SN Ia.Comment: Updated to match accepted version; 26 pages, 14 figures, AJ accepte

Super-Solar Super Lyman Limit Systems

We present abundance measurements for two super Lyman Limit systems (SLLS; quasar absorption line systems with 10^19 cm^-2 < N_HI < 10^20.3 cm^-2) selected from a set of metal-strong absorbers in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar database. After applying estimate corrections for photoionization effects, we derive gas-phase metallicities of [M/H]=+0.7 +/- 0.2 dex for the SLLS at z=1.7749 toward SDSS0927+5621 and [M/H]=+0.05 +/- 0.1 dex for the SLLS at z=1.7678 toward SDSS0953+5230. The former exhibits among the highest gas metallicity of any astrophysical environment and its total metal surface density exceeds that of nearly every known damped Lya system. The properties of these absorbers -- high metallicity and large velocity width (> 300 km/s) -- resemble those of gas observed in absorption in the spectra of bright, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. We discuss the metal mass density of the SLLS based on these observations and our ongoing SLLS survey and argue that a conservative estimate to the total metal budget at z=2 is greater than 15% of the total, suggesting that the metal-rich LLS may represent the dominant metal reservoir in the young universe.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to ApJL; Revised June 22, 200

Star Cluster Populations in the Outer Disks of Nearby Galaxies

We present a Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) imaging study that characterizes the star cluster component of nearby galaxy outer disks (beyond the optical radius R_25). Expanding on the pilot project of Herbert-Fort et al. (2009), we present deep (~ 27.5 mag V-band point-source limiting magnitude) U- and V-band imaging of six galaxies: IC 4182, NGC 3351, NGC 4736, NGC 4826, NGC 5474, and NGC 6503. We find that the outer disk of each galaxy is populated with marginally-resolved star clusters with masses ~10^3 M_sun and ages up to ~ 1 Gyr (masses and ages are limited by the depth of our imaging and uncertainties are large given how photometry can be strongly affected by the presence or absence of a few stars in such low mass systems), and that they are typically found out to at least 2 R_25 but sometimes as far as 3 to 4 R_25- even beyond the apparent HI disk. The mean rate of cluster formation for 1 R_25<= R <= 1.5R_25 is at least one every ~2.5 Myr and the clusters are spatially correlated with the HI, most strongly with higher density gas near the periphery of the optical disk and with lower density neutral gas at the HI disk periphery. We hypothesize that the clusters near the edge of the optical disk are formed in the extension of spiral structure from the inner disk and are a fairly consistent phenomenon and that the clusters formed at the periphery of the HI disk are the result of accretion episodes.Comment: 23 pages, accepted for publication in Ap

Spatially Correlated Cluster Populations in the Outer Disk of NGC 3184

We use deep (~27.5 mag V-band point-source limiting magnitude) V- and U-band LBT imaging to study the outer disk (beyond the optical radius R_25) of the non-interacting, face-on spiral galaxy NGC 3184 (D = 11.1 Mpc; R_25 = 11.1 kpc) and find that this outer disk contains >1000 objects (or marginally-resolved 'knots') resembling star clusters with masses ~10^2 - 10^4 M_sun and ages up to ~1 Gyr. We find statistically significant numbers of these cluster-like knots extending to ~1.4 R_25, with the redder knots outnumbering bluer at the largest radii. We measure clustering among knots and find significant correlation to galactocentric radii of 1.5 R_25 for knot separations <1 kpc. The effective integrated surface brightness of this outer disk cluster population ranges from 30 - 32 mag arcsec^-2 in V. We compare the HI extent to that of the correlated knots and find that the clusters extend at least to the damped Lyman-alpha threshold of HI column density (2e20 cm^-2; 1.62 R_25). The blue knots are correlated with HI spiral structure to 1.5 R_25, while the red knots may be correlated with the outer fringes of the HI disk to 1.7 R_25. These results suggest that outer disks are well-populated, common, and long-lasting features of many nearby disk galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 12 pages, 10 figure

The Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey: type Ia supernova rate measurement in z~0.1 clusters and the late-time delay time distribution

We describe the Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey (MENeaCS), designed to measure the cluster Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate in a sample of 57 X-ray selected galaxy clusters, with redshifts of 0.05 < z < 0.15. Utilizing our real time analysis pipeline, we spectroscopically confirmed twenty-three cluster SN Ia, four of which were intracluster events. Using our deep CFHT/Megacam imaging, we measured total stellar luminosities in each of our galaxy clusters, and we performed detailed supernova detection efficiency simulations. Bringing these ingredients together, we measure an overall cluster SN Ia rate within R_{200} (1 Mpc) of 0.042^{+0.012}_{-0.010}^{+0.010}_{-0.008} SNuM (0.049^{+0.016}_{-0.014}^{+0.005}_{-0.004} SNuM) and a SN Ia rate within red sequence galaxies of 0.041^{+0.015}_{-0.015}^{+0.005}_{-0.010} SNuM (0.041^{+0.019}_{-0.015}^{+0.005}_{-0.004} SNuM). The red sequence SN Ia rate is consistent with published rates in early type/elliptical galaxies in the `field'. Using our red sequence SN Ia rate, and other cluster SNe measurements in early type galaxies up to $z\sim1$, we derive the late time (>2 Gyr) delay time distribution (DTD) of SN Ia assuming a cluster early type galaxy star formation epoch of z_f=3. Assuming a power law form for the DTD, \Psi(t)\propto t^s, we find s=-1.62\pm0.54. This result is consistent with predictions for the double degenerate SN Ia progenitor scenario (s\sim-1), and is also in line with recent calculations for the double detonation explosion mechanism (s\sim-2). The most recent calculations of the single degenerate scenario delay time distribution predicts an order of magnitude drop off in SN Ia rate \sim 6-7 Gyr after stellar formation, and the observed cluster rates cannot rule this out.Comment: 35 pages, 14 figures, ApJ accepte

Intracluster supernovae in the Multi-epoch Nearby Cluster Survey

The Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey (MENeaCS) has discovered twenty-three cluster Type Ia supernovae (SNe) in the 58 X-ray selected galaxy clusters (0.05 < z < 0.15) surveyed. Four of our SN Ia events have no host galaxy on close inspection, and are likely intracluster SNe. Deep image stacks at the location of the candidate intracluster SNe put upper limits on the luminosities of faint hosts, with M_{r} > -13.0 mag and M_{g} > -12.5 mag in all cases. For such limits, the fraction of the cluster luminosity in faint dwarfs below our detection limit is <0.1%, assuming a standard cluster luminosity function. All four events occurred within ~600 kpc of the cluster center (projected), as defined by the position of the brightest cluster galaxy, and are more centrally concentrated than the cluster SN Ia population as a whole. After accounting for several observational biases that make intracluster SNe easier to discover and spectroscopically confirm, we calculate an intracluster stellar mass fraction of 0.16^{+0.13}_{-0.09} (68% CL) for all objects within R_{200}. If we assume that the intracluster stellar population is exclusively old, and the cluster galaxies themselves have a mix of stellar ages, we derive an upper limit on the intracluster stellar mass fraction of <0.47 (84% one-sided CL). When combined with the intragroup SNe results of McGee & Balogh, we confirm the declining intracluster stellar mass fraction as a function of halo mass reported by Gonzalez and collaborators. (Abridged)Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, ApJ publishe

The Orbital Distribution of Satellite Galaxies

We measure the distribution of velocities for prograde and retrograde satellite galaxies using a combination of published data and new observations for 78 satellites of 63 extremely isolated disc galaxies (169 satellites total). We find that the velocity distribution is non-Gaussian (>99.9% confidence), but that it can be described as the sum of two Gaussians, one of which is broad (sigma = 176 \pm 15 km/s), has a mean prograde velocity of 86 \pm 30 km/s, and contains ~55% of the satellites, while the other is slightly retrograde with a mean velocity of -21 \pm 22 km/s and sigma = 74 \pm 18 km/s and contains ~45% of the satellites. Both of these components are present over all projected radii and found in the sample regardless of cuts on primary inclination or satellite disc angle. The double-Gaussian shape, however, becomes more pronounced among satellites of more luminous primaries. We remove the potential dependence of satellite velocity on primary luminosity using the Tully-Fisher relation and still find the velocity distribution to be asymmetric and even more significantly non-Gaussian. The asymmetric velocity distribution demonstrates a connection between the inner, visible disc galaxy and the kinematics of the outer, dark halo. The reach of this connection, extending even beyond the virial radii, suggests that it is imprinted by the satellite infall pattern and large-scale effects, rather than by higher-level dynamical processes in the formation of the central galaxy or late-term evolution of the satellites.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures; Accepted for publication in MNRA