1,057 research outputs found
The Structure & Dynamics of Massive Early-type Galaxies: On Homology, Isothermality and Isotropy inside one Effective Radius
Based on 58 SLACS strong-lens early-type galaxies with direct total-mass and
stellar-velocity dispersion measurements, we find that inside one effective
radius massive elliptical galaxies with M_eff >= 3x10^10 M_sun are
well-approximated by a power-law ellipsoid with an average logaritmic density
slope of = -dlog(rho_tot)/dlog(r)=2.085^{+0.025}_{-0.018} (random
error on mean) for isotropic orbits with beta_r=0, +-0.1 (syst.) and
sigma_gamma' <= 0.20^{+0.04}_{-0.02} intrinsic scatter (all errors indicate the
68 percent CL). We find no correlation of gamma'_LD with galaxy mass (M_eff),
rescaled radius (i.e. R_einst/R_eff) or redshift, despite intrinsic differences
in density-slope between galaxies. Based on scaling relations, the average
logarithmic density slope can be derived in an alternative manner, fully
independent from dynamics, yielding =1.959 +- 0.077. Agreement
between the two values is reached for =0.45 +- 0.25, consistent with
mild radial anisotropy. This agreement supports the robustness of our results,
despite the increase in mass-to-light ratio with total galaxy mass: M_eff ~
L_{V,eff}^(1.363+-0.056). We conclude that massive early-type galaxies are
structurally close-to homologous with close-to isothermal total density
profiles (<=10 percent intrinsic scatter) and have at most some mild radial
anisotropy. Our results provide new observational limits on galaxy formation
and evolution scenarios, covering four Gyr look-back time.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJL; 4 pages, 2 figure
The Sloan Lens ACS Survey. IX. Colors, Lensing and Stellar Masses of Early-type Galaxies
We present the current photometric dataset for the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS)
Survey, including HST photometry from ACS, WFPC2, and NICMOS. These data have
enabled the confirmation of an additional 15 grade `A' (certain) lens systems,
bringing the number of SLACS grade `A' lenses to 85; including 13 grade `B'
(likely) systems, SLACS has identified nearly 100 lenses and lens candidates.
Approximately 80% of the grade `A' systems have elliptical morphologies while
~10% show spiral structure; the remaining lenses have lenticular morphologies.
Spectroscopic redshifts for the lens and source are available for every system,
making SLACS the largest homogeneous dataset of galaxy-scale lenses to date. We
have developed a novel Bayesian stellar population analysis code to determine
robust stellar masses with accurate error estimates. We apply this code to
deep, high-resolution HST imaging and determine stellar masses with typical
statistical errors of 0.1 dex; we find that these stellar masses are unbiased
compared to estimates obtained using SDSS photometry, provided that informative
priors are used. The stellar masses range from 10^10.5 to 10^11.8 M and
the typical stellar mass fraction within the Einstein radius is 0.4, assuming a
Chabrier IMF. The ensemble properties of the SLACS lens galaxies, e.g. stellar
masses and projected ellipticities, appear to be indistinguishable from other
SDSS galaxies with similar stellar velocity dispersions. This further supports
that SLACS lenses are representative of the overall population of massive
early-type galaxies with M* >~ 10^11 M, and are therefore an ideal
dataset to investigate the kpc-scale distribution of luminous and dark matter
in galaxies out to z ~ 0.5.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, 5 tables, published in Ap
Comparing and calibrating black hole mass estimators for distant active galactic nuclei
Black hole mass is a fundamental property of active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
In the distant universe, black hole mass is commonly estimated using the MgII,
Hbeta, or Halpha emission line widths and the optical/UV continuum or line
luminosities, as proxies for the characteristic velocity and size of the
broad-line region. Although they all have a common calibration in the local
universe, a number of different recipes are currently used in the literature.
It is important to verify the relative accuracy and consistency of the recipes,
as systematic changes could mimic evolutionary trends when comparing various
samples. At z=0.36, all three lines can be observed at optical wavelengths,
providing a unique opportunity to compare different empirical recipes. We use
spectra from the Keck Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to compare
black hole mass estimators for a sample of nineteen AGNs at this redshift. We
compare popular recipes available from the literature, finding that mass
estimates can differ up to 0.38+-0.05 dex in the mean (or 0.13+-0.05 dex, if
the same virial coefficient is adopted). Finally, we provide a set of 30
internally self consistent recipes for determining black hole mass from a
variety of observables. The intrinsic scatter between cross-calibrated recipes
is in the range 0.1-0.3 dex. This should be considered as a lower limit to the
uncertainty of the black hole mass estimators.Comment: ApJ in press, 11 pages, 10 figure
The Mass Assembly History of Spheroidal Galaxies: Did Newly-Formed Systems Arise Via Major Mergers?
We examine the properties of a morphologically-selected sample of 0.4<z<1.0
spheroidal galaxies in the GOODS fields in order to ascertain whether their
increase in abundance with time arises primarily from mergers. To address this
question we determine scaling relations between the dynamical mass determined
from stellar velocity dispersions, and the stellar mass determined from optical
and infrared photometry. We exploit these relations across the larger sample
for which we have stellar masses in order to construct the first statistically
robust estimate of the evolving dynamical mass function over 0<z<1. The trends
observed match those seen in the stellar mass functions of Bundy et al. 2005
regarding the top-down growth in the abundance of spheroidal galaxies. By
referencing our dynamical masses to the halo virial mass we compare the growth
rate in the abundance of spheroidals to that predicted by the assembly of dark
matter halos. Our comparisons demonstrate that major mergers do not fully
account for the appearance of new spheroidals since z~1 and that additional
mechanisms, such as morphological transformations, are required to drive the
observed evolution.Comment: Accepted to ApJL; New version corrects the Millennium merger
predictions--further details at
http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/~bundy/millennium
Inference of the Cold Dark Matter substructure mass function at z=0.2 using strong gravitational lenses
We present the results of a search for galaxy substructures in a sample of 11
gravitational lens galaxies from the Sloan Lens ACS Survey. We find no
significant detection of mass clumps, except for a luminous satellite in the
system SDSS J0956+5110. We use these non-detections, in combination with a
previous detection in the system SDSS J0946+1006, to derive constraints on the
substructure mass function in massive early-type host galaxies with an average
redshift z ~ 0.2 and an average velocity dispersion of 270 km/s. We perform a
Bayesian inference on the substructure mass function, within a median region of
about 32 kpc squared around the Einstein radius (~4.2 kpc). We infer a mean
projected substructure mass fraction at the 68
percent confidence level and a substructure mass function slope < 2.93
at the 95 percent confidence level for a uniform prior probability density on
alpha. For a Gaussian prior based on Cold Dark Matter (CDM) simulations, we
infer and a slope of =
1.90 at the 68 percent confidence level. Since only one
substructure was detected in the full sample, we have little information on the
mass function slope, which is therefore poorly constrained (i.e. the Bayes
factor shows no positive preference for any of the two models).The inferred
fraction is consistent with the expectations from CDM simulations and with
inference from flux ratio anomalies at the 68 percent confidence level.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS, some typos corrected and some
important references adde
The Lenses Structure & Dynamics Survey: The internal structure and evolution of E/S0 galaxies and the determination of H_0 from time-delay systems
The Lenses Structure & Dynamics (LSD) Survey aims at studying the internal
structure of luminous and dark matter - as well as their evolution - of field
early-type (E/SO) galaxies to z~1. In particular, E/S0 lens galaxies are
studied by combining gravitational lensing, photometric and kinematic data
obtained with ground-based (VLA/Keck/VLT) and space-based telescopes (HST).
Here, we report on preliminary results from the LSD Survey, in particular on
(i) the constraints set on the luminous and dark-matter distributions in the
inner several R_eff of E/S0 galaxies, (ii) the evolution of their stellar
component and (iii) the constraints set on the value of H_0 from time-delay
systems by combining lensing and kinematic data to break degeneracies in
gravitational-lens models.Comment: 4 pages; Proceeding for the "Multi-Wavelength Cosmology" conference,
Mykonos, Greece, June 17-20, 200
Lenses Structure & Dynamics Survey: The internal structure and evolution of E/S0 galaxies and the determination of H₀ from time-delay systems
The Lenses Structure & Dynamics (LSD) Survey aims at studying the internal structure of luminous and dark matter - as well as their evolution - of field earlytype (E/SO) galaxies to z ∼ 1. In particular, E/S0 lens galaxies are studied by combining gravitational lensing, photometric and kinematic data obtained with ground-based (VLA/Keck/VLT) and space-based telescopes (HST). Here, we report on preliminary results from the LSD Survey, in particular on (i) the constraints set on the luminous and dark-matter distributions in the inner several R_(eff) of E/S0 galaxies, (ii) the evolution of their stellar component and (iii) the constraints set on the value of H0 from time-delay systems by combining lensing and kinematic data to break degeneracies in gravitational-lens models
Constraints on the equation of state of dark energy and the Hubble constant from stellar ages and the CMB
We place tight constraints on the redshift-averaged, effective value of the
equation of state of dark energy, w, using only the absolute ages of Galactic
stars and the observed position of the first peak in the angular power spectrum
of the CMB. We find w<-0.8 at the 68% confidence level. If we further consider
that w > -1, this finding suggests that within our uncertainties, dark energy
is indistinguishable from a classical vacuum energy term.
We detect a correlation between the ages of the oldest galaxies and their
redshift. This opens up the possibility of measuring w(z) by computing the
relative ages of the oldest galaxies in the universe as a function of redshift,
dz/dt. We show that this is a realistic possibility by computing dz/dt at z~0
from SDSS galaxies and obtain an independent estimate for the Hubble constant,
H_0 = 69 \pm 12 km s-1 Mpc-1. The small number of galaxies considered at z>0.2
does not yield, currently, a precise determination of w(z), but shows that the
age--redshift relation is consistent with a Standard LCDM universe with .Comment: Submitted to Ap
- …