255 research outputs found
Retired galaxies: not to be forgotten in the quest of the star formation -- AGN connection
We propose a fresh look at the Main Galaxy Sample of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey by packing the galaxies in stellar mass and redshift bins. We show how
important it is to consider the emission-line equivalent widths, in addition to
the commonly used emission-line ratios, to properly identify retired galaxies
(i.e. galaxies that have stopped forming stars and are ionized by their old
stellar populations) and not mistake them for galaxies with low-level nuclear
activity. We find that the proportion of star-forming galaxies decreases with
decreasing redshift in each mass bin, while that of retired galaxies increases.
Galaxies with have formed all their stars at
redshift larger than 0.4. The population of AGN hosts is never dominant for
galaxy masses larger than . We warn about the effects of
stacking galaxy spectra to discuss galaxy properties. We estimate the lifetimes
of active galactic nuclei (AGN) relying entirely on demographic arguments ---
i.e. without any assumption on the AGN radiative properties. We find
upper-limit lifetimes of about 1--5 Gyr for detectable AGN in galaxies with
masses between --. The lifetimes of the AGN-dominated
phases are a few yr. Finally, we compare the star-formation histories of
star-forming, AGN and retired galaxies as obtained by the spectral synthesis
code STARLIGHT. Once the AGN is turned on it inhibits star formation for the
next 0.1 Gyr in galaxies with masses around , 1
Gyr in galaxies with masses around .Comment: accepted for MNRAS figure resolution has been degraded with respect
to what will be published in MNRA
Structure and dynamics of the supercluster of galaxies SC0028-0005
According to the standard cosmological scenario, superclusters are objects
that have just passed the turn around point and are collapsing. The dynamics of
very few superclusters have been analysed up to now. In this paper we study the
supercluster SC0028-0005, at redshift 0.22, identify the most prominent groups
and/or clusters that make up the supercluster, and investigate the dynamic
state of this structure. For the membership identification, we have used
photometric and spectroscopic data from SDSS-DR10, finding 6 main structures in
a flat spatial distribution. We have also used a deep multi-band observation
with MegaCam/CFHT to estimate de mass distribution through the weak-lensing
effect. For the dynamical analysis, we have determined the relative distances
along the line of sight within the supercluster using the Fundamental Plane of
early-type galaxies. Finally, we have computed the peculiar velocities of each
of the main structures. The 3D distribution suggests that SC0028-005 is indeed
a collapsing supercluster, supporting the formation scenario of these
structures. Using the spherical collapse model, we estimate that the mass
within ~Mpc should lie between 4 and . The
farthest detected members of the supercluster suggest that within ~Mpc
the density contrast is with respect to the critical density at
, implying a total mass of --,
most of which in the form of low-mass galaxy groups or smaller substructures.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Enlightening the structure and dynamics of Abell 1942
We present a dynamical analysis of the galaxy cluster Abell 1942 based on a
set of 128 velocities obtained at the European Southern Observatory. Data on
individual galaxies are presented and the accuracy of the determined velocities
is discussed as well as some properties of the cluster. We have also made use
of publicly available Chandra X-ray data. We obtained an improved mean redshift
value z = 0.22513 \pm 0.0008 and velocity dispersion sigma = 908^{+147}_{-139}
km/s. Our analysis indicates that inside a radius of ~1.5 h_{70}^{-1} Mpc (~7
arcmin) the cluster is well relaxed, without any remarkable feature and the
X-ray emission traces fairly well the galaxy distribution. Two possible optical
substructures are seen at ~5 arcmin from the centre towards the Northwest and
the Southwest direction, but are not confirmed by the velocity field. These
clumps are however, kinematically bound to the main structure of Abell 1942.
X-ray spectroscopic analysis of Chandra data resulted in a temperature kT = 5.5
\pm 0.5 keV and metal abundance Z = 0.33 \pm 0.15 Z_odot. The velocity
dispersion corresponding to this temperature using the T_X-sigma scaling
relation is in good agreement with the measured galaxies velocities. Our
photometric redshift analysis suggests that the weak lensing signal observed at
the south of the cluster and previously attributed to a "dark clump", is
produced by background sources, possibly distributed as a filamentary
structure.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 15 pages, 15
figures, table w/ positions, photometric data and redshift
The galaxy environment in GAMA G3C groups using the Kilo Degree Survey Data Release 3
We aim to investigate the galaxy environment in GAMA Galaxy Groups Catalogue
(G3C) using a volume-limited galaxy sample from the Kilo Degree Survey Data
Release 3. The k-Nearest Neighbour technique is adapted to take into account
the probability density functions (PDFs) of photometric redshifts in our
calculations. This algorithm was tested on simulated KiDS tiles, showing its
capability of recovering the relation between galaxy colour, luminosity and
local environment. The characterization of the galaxy environment in G3C groups
shows systematically steeper density contrasts for more massive groups. The red
galaxy fraction gradients in these groups is evident for most of group mass
bins. The density contrast of red galaxies is systematically higher at group
centers when compared to blue galaxy ones. In addition, distinct group center
definitions are used to show that our results are insensitive to center
definitions. These results confirm the galaxy evolution scenario which
environmental mechanisms are responsible for a slow quenching process as
galaxies fall into groups and clusters, resulting in a smooth observed colour
gradients in galaxy systems.Comment: 14 pages, Accepted to MNRA
The Cluster of Galaxies Abell 970
We present a dynamical analysis of the galaxy cluster Abell 970 based on a
new set of radial velocities measured at ESO, Pic du Midi and Haute-Provence
observatories. Our analysis indicates that this cluster has a substructure and
is out of dynamical equilibrium. This conclusion is also supported by
differences in the positions of the peaks of the surface density distribution
and X-ray emission, as well as by the evidence of a large scale velocity
gradient in the cluster. We also found a discrepancy between the masses
inferred with the virial theorem and with the X-ray emission, what is expected
if the galaxies and the gas inside the cluster are not in hydrostatic
equilibrium. Abell 970 has a modest cooling flow, as is expected if it is out
of equilibrium as suggested by Allen (1998). We propose that cooling flows may
have an intermittent behavior, with phases of massive cooling flows being
followed by phases without significant cooling flows after the acretion of a
galaxy group massive enough to disrupt the dynamical equilibrium in the center
of the clusters. A massive cooling flow will be established again, after a new
equilibrium is achieved.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, submitted to A&
Galaxies behind the Galactic plane: First results and perspectives from the VVV Survey
Vista Variables in The Via Lactea (VVV) is an ESO variability survey that is
performing observations in near infrared bands (ZYJHKs) towards the Galactic
bulge and part of the disk with the completeness limits at least 3 mag deeper
than 2MASS. In the present work, we searched in the VVV survey data for
background galaxies near the Galactic plane using ZYJHKs photometry that covers
1.636 square degrees. We identified 204 new galaxy candidates by analyzing
colors, sizes, and visual inspection of multi-band (ZYJHKs) images. The galaxy
candidates colors were also compared with the predicted ones by star counts
models considering a more realistic extinction model at the same completeness
limits observed by VVV. A comparison of the galaxy candidates with the expected
one by Milennium simulations is also presented. Our results increase the number
density of known galaxies behind the Milky Way by more than one order of
magnitude. A catalog with galaxy properties including ellipticity, Petrosian
radii and ZYJHKs magnitudes is provided, as well as comparisons of the results
with other surveys of galaxies towards Galactic plane.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables; in press at The Astronomical Journa
Two spectroscopically confirmed galaxy structures at z=0.61 and 0.74 in the CFHTLS Deep~3 field
Adami et al. (2010) have detected several cluster candidates at z>0.5 as part
of a systematic search for clusters in the Canada France Hawaii Telescope
Legacy Survey, based on photometric redshifts. We focus here on two of them,
located in the D3 field: D3-6 and D3-43. We have obtained spectroscopy with
Gemini/GMOS and measured redshifts for 23 and 14 galaxies in the two
structures. These redshifts were combined with those available in the
literature. A dynamical and a weak lensing analysis were also performed,
together with the study of X-ray Chandra archive data. Cluster D3-6 is found to
be a single structure of 8 spectroscopically confirmed members at an average
redshift z=0.607, with a velocity dispersion of 423 km/s. It appears to be a
relatively low mass cluster. D3-43-S3 has 46 spectroscopically confirmed
members at an average redshift z=0.739. It can be decomposed into two main
substructures, having a velocity dispersion of about 600 and 350 km/s. An
explanation to the fact that D3-43-S3 is detected through weak lensing (only
marginally, at the ~3sigma level) but not in X-rays could be that the two
substructures are just beginning to merge more or less along the line of sight.
We also show that D3-6 and D3-43-S3 have similar global galaxy luminosity
functions, stellar mass functions, and star formation rate (SFR) distributions.
The only differences are that D3-6 exhibits a lack of faint early type
galaxies, a deficit of extremely high stellar mass galaxies compared to
D3-43-S3, and an excess of very high SFR galaxies. This study shows the power
of techniques based on photometric redshifts to detect low to moderately
massive structures, even at z~0.75.Comment: Accepted in A&A, final version, shortened abstrac
Morphological Properties of Superclusters of Galaxies
We studied superclusters of galaxies in a volume-limited sample extracted
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS/DR7) and from mock
catalogues based on a semi-analytical model of galaxy evolution in the
Millenium Simulation. A density field method was applied to a sample of
galaxies brighter than to identify superclusters,
taking into account selection and boundary effects. In order to evaluate the
influence of threshold density, we have chosen two thresholds: the first
maximizes the number of objects (D1), and the second constrains the maximum
supercluster size to 120~hMpc (D2). We have performed a
morphological analysis, using Minkowski Functionals, based on a parameter which
increases monotonically from filaments to pancakes. An anti-correlation was
found between supercluster richness (and total luminosity or size) and the
morphological parameter, indicating that filamentary structures tend to be
richer, larger and more luminous than pancakes in both observed and mock
catalogues. We have also used the mock samples to compare supercluster
morphologies identified in position and velocity spaces, concluding that our
morphological classification is not biased by the peculiar velocities. Monte
Carlo simulations designed to investigate the reliability of our results with
respect to random fluctuations show that these results are robust. Our analysis
indicates that filaments and pancakes present different luminosity and size
distributions.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures Accepted to MNRA
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