33,689 research outputs found
The Non-Parametric Model for Linking Galaxy Luminosity with Halo/Subhalo Mass
We present a non-parametric, empirically based, model for associating galaxy
luminosities with halo/subhalo masses, based on a self-consistent treatment of
subhalo mass loss and the subhalo mass function. We find that, at high mass,
the mass-luminosity relation is almost independent of the actual luminosity
function considered, when luminosity is scaled by the characteristic luminosity
L*. Additionally, the shape of the total halo luminosity depends on the slope
of the subhalo mass function. For these high mass, cluster sized haloes, we
find that total luminosity scales as L_tot ~ M^0.88, while the luminosity of
the first brightest galaxy has a much weaker dependence on halo mass, L_1 ~
M^0.28, in good agreement with observations and previous results. At low mass,
the resulting slope of the mass-luminosity relation depends strongly of the
faint end slope of the luminosity function, and we obtain a steep relation,
with approximately L ~ M^4.5 in the K-band. The average number of galaxies per
halo/cluster is also in very good agreement with observations, scaling as
M^0.9. In general, we obtain a good agreement with several independent sets of
observational data. We find that, when comparing with observations and for a
flat cosmology, the model tends to prefer lower values for Omega_m and sigma_8.
Within the WMAP+SDSS concordance plane of Tegmark et al. (2004), we find best
agreement around Omega_m=0.25 and sigma_8=0.8, also in very good agreement with
the results of the CMB+2dF study of Sanchez et al. (2005). We also check on
possible corrections for observed mass based on a comparison of the equivalent
number of haloes/clusters. Additionally, we include further checks on the model
results based on the mass to light ratio, the occupation number, the group
luminosity function and the multiplicity function. (abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, submitted to MNRA
The Mass Function and Average Mass Loss Rate of Dark Matter Subhaloes
We present a simple, semi-analytical model to compute the mass functions of
dark matter subhaloes. The masses of subhaloes at their time of accretion are
obtained from a standard merger tree. During the subsequent evolution, the
subhaloes experience mass loss due to the combined effect of dynamical
friction, tidal stripping, and tidal heating. Rather than integrating these
effects along individual subhalo orbits, we consider the average mass loss
rate, where the average is taken over all possible orbital configurations. This
allows us to write the average mass loss rate as a simple function that depends
only on redshift and on the instantaneous mass ratio of subhalo and parent
halo. After calibrating the model by matching the subhalo mass function (SHMF)
of cluster-sized dark matter haloes obtained from numerical simulations, we
investigate the predicted mass and redshift dependence of the SHMF.We find
that, contrary to previous claims, the subhalo mass function is not universal.
Instead, both the slope and the normalization depend on the ratio of the parent
halo mass, M, and the characteristic non-linear mass M*. This simply reflects a
halo formation time dependence; more massive parent haloes form later, thus
allowing less time for mass loss to operate. We analyze the halo-to-halo
scatter, and show that the subhalo mass fraction of individual haloes depends
most strongly on their accretion history in the last Gyr. Finally we provide a
simple fitting function for the average SHMF of a parent halo of any mass at
any redshift and for any cosmology, and briefly discuss several implications of
our findings.Comment: Replaced to match version accepted for publication in MNRAS. Small
section added that discusses higher-order moments of subhalo occupation
distribution (including a new figure). Otherwise, few small change
Satellite Luminosities in Galaxy Groups
Halo model interpretations of the luminosity dependence of galaxy clustering
assume that there is a central galaxy in every sufficiently massive halo, and
that this central galaxy is very different from all the others in the halo. The
halo model decomposition makes the remarkable prediction that the mean
luminosity of the non-central galaxies in a halo should be almost independent
of halo mass: the predicted increase is about 20% while the halo mass increases
by a factor of more than 20. In contrast, the luminosity of the central object
is predicted to increase approximately linearly with halo mass at low to
intermediate masses, and logarithmically at high masses. We show that this
weak, almost non-existent mass-dependence of the satellites is in excellent
agreement with the satellite population in group catalogs constructed by two
different collaborations. This is remarkable, because the halo model prediction
was made without ever identifying groups and clusters. The halo model also
predicts that the number of satellites in a halo is drawn from a Poisson
distribution with mean which depends on halo mass. This, combined with the weak
dependence of satellite luminosity on halo mass, suggests that the Scott
effect, such that the luminosities of very bright galaxies are merely the
statistically extreme values of a general luminosity distribution, may better
apply to the most luminous satellite galaxy in a halo than to BCGs. If galaxies
are identified with halo substructure at the present time, then central
galaxies should be about 4 times more massive than satellite galaxies of the
same luminosity, whereas the differences between the stellar M/L ratios should
be smaller. Therefore, a comparison of the weak lensing signal from central and
satellite galaxies should provide useful constraints. [abridged]Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Matches version accepted by MNRA
Properties of Dark Matter Haloes in Clusters, Filaments, Sheets and Voids
Using a series of high-resolution N-body simulations of the concordance
cosmology we investigate how the formation histories, shapes and angular
momenta of dark-matter haloes depend on environment. We first present a
classification scheme that allows to distinguish between haloes in clusters,
filaments, sheets and voids in the large-scale distribution of matter. This
method is based on a local-stability criterion for the orbits of test particles
and closely relates to the Zel'dovich approximation. Applying this scheme to
our simulations we then find that: i) Mass assembly histories and formation
redshifts strongly depend on environment for haloes of mass M<M* (haloes of a
given mass tend to be older in clusters and younger in voids) and are
independent of it for larger masses; ii) Low-mass haloes in clusters are
generally less spherical and more oblate than in other regions; iii) Low-mass
haloes in clusters have a higher median spin than in filaments and present a
more prominent fraction of rapidly spinning objects; we identify recent major
mergers as a likely source of this effect. For all these relations, we provide
accurate functional fits as a function of halo mass and environment. We also
look for correlations between halo-spin directions and the large-scale
structures: the strongest effect is seen in sheets where halo spins tend to lie
within the plane of symmetry of the mass distribution. Finally, we measure the
spatial auto-correlation of spin directions and the cross-correlation between
the directions of intrinsic and orbital angular momenta of neighbouring haloes.
While the first quantity is always very small, we find that spin-orbit
correlations are rather strong especially for low-mass haloes in clusters and
high-mass haloes in filaments.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. Version accepted for publication in MNRAS
(references added). Version with high-resolution figures available at
http://www.exp-astro.phys.ethz.ch/hahn/pub/HPCD06.pd
Cosmological Constraints from Galaxy Clustering and the Mass-to-Number Ratio of Galaxy Clusters
We place constraints on the average density (Omega_m) and clustering
amplitude (sigma_8) of matter using a combination of two measurements from the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey: the galaxy two-point correlation function, w_p, and
the mass-to-galaxy-number ratio within galaxy clusters, M/N, analogous to
cluster M/L ratios. Our w_p measurements are obtained from DR7 while the sample
of clusters is the maxBCG sample, with cluster masses derived from weak
gravitational lensing. We construct non-linear galaxy bias models using the
Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) to fit both w_p and M/N for different
cosmological parameters. HOD models that match the same two-point clustering
predict different numbers of galaxies in massive halos when Omega_m or sigma_8
is varied, thereby breaking the degeneracy between cosmology and bias. We
demonstrate that this technique yields constraints that are consistent and
competitive with current results from cluster abundance studies, even though
this technique does not use abundance information. Using w_p and M/N alone, we
find Omega_m^0.5*sigma_8=0.465+/-0.026, with individual constraints of
Omega_m=0.29+/-0.03 and sigma_8=0.85+/-0.06. Combined with current CMB data,
these constraints are Omega_m=0.290+/-0.016 and sigma_8=0.826+/-0.020. All
errors are 1-sigma. The systematic uncertainties that the M/N technique are
most sensitive to are the amplitude of the bias function of dark matter halos
and the possibility of redshift evolution between the SDSS Main sample and the
maxBCG sample. Our derived constraints are insensitive to the current level of
uncertainties in the halo mass function and in the mass-richness relation of
clusters and its scatter, making the M/N technique complementary to cluster
abundances as a method for constraining cosmology with future galaxy surveys.Comment: 23 pages, submitted to Ap
The Build-Up of the Hubble Sequence in the COSMOS Field
We use ~8,600 >5e10 Msol COSMOS galaxies to study how the morphological mix
of massive ellipticals, bulge-dominated disks, intermediate-bulge disks,
bulge-less disks and irregular galaxies evolves from z=0.2 to z=1. The
morphological evolution depends strongly on mass. At M>3e11 Msol, no evolution
is detected in the morphological mix: ellipticals dominate since z=1, and the
Hubble sequence has quantitatively settled down by this epoch. At the 1e11 Msol
mass scale, little evolution is detected, which can be entirely explained with
major mergers. Most of the morphological evolution from z=1 to z=0.2 takes
place at masses 5e10 - 1e11 Msol, where: (i) The fraction of spirals
substantially drops and the contribution of early-types increases. This
increase is mostly produced by the growth of bulge-dominated disks, which vary
their contribution from ~10% at z=1 to >30% at z=0.2 (cf. the elliptical
fraction grows from ~15% to ~20%). Thus, at these masses, transformations from
late- to early-types result in disk-less elliptical morphologies with a
statistical frequency of only 30% - 40%. Otherwise, the processes which are
responsible for the transformations either retain or produce a non-negligible
disk component. (ii) The bulge-less disk galaxies, which contribute ~15% to the
intermediate-mass galaxy population at z=1, virtually disappear by z=0.2. The
merger rate since z=1 is too low to account for the disappearance of these
massive bulge-less disks, which most likely grow a bulge via secular evolution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ
Embedding realistic surveys in simulations through volume remapping
Connecting cosmological simulations to real-world observational programs is
often complicated by a mismatch in geometry: while surveys often cover highly
irregular cosmological volumes, simulations are customarily performed in a
periodic cube. We describe a technique to remap this cube into elongated
box-like shapes that are more useful for many applications. The remappings are
one-to-one, volume-preserving, keep local structures intact, and involve
minimal computational overhead.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Companion material at
http://mwhite.berkeley.edu/BoxRemap
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