Sub-Pixel Response Measurement of Near-Infrared Sensors

Wide-field survey instruments are used to efficiently observe large regions of the sky. To achieve the necessary field of view, and to provide a higher signal-to-noise ratio for faint sources, many modern instruments are undersampled. However, precision photometry with undersampled imagers requires a detailed understanding of the sensitivity variations on a scale much smaller than a pixel. To address this, a near-infrared spot projection system has been developed to precisely characterize near-infrared focal plane arrays and to study the effect of sub-pixel non uniformity on precision photometry. Measurements of large format near-infrared detectors demonstrate the power of this system for understanding sub-pixel response.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PAS

Streamlined Calibrations of the ATLAS Precision Muon Chambers for Initial LHC Running

The ATLAS Muon Spectrometer is designed to measure the momentum of muons with a resolution of dp/p = 3% and 10% at 100 GeV and 1 TeV momentum respectively. For this task, the spectrometer employs 355,000 Monitored Drift Tubes (MDTs) arrayed in 1200 Chambers. Calibration (RT) functions convert drift time measurements into tube-centered impact parameters for track segment reconstruction. RT functions depend on MDT environmental parameters and so must be appropriately calibrated for local chamber conditions. We report on the creation and application of a gas monitor system based calibration program for muon track reconstruction in the LHC startup phase.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figure

Construction of Precision sMDT Detector for ATLAS Muon Spectrometer Upgrade

This paper describes the small-diameter monitored drift-tube detector construction at the University of Michigan as a contribution to the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer upgrade for the high-luminosity Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Measurements of the first 30 chambers built at Michigan show that the drift tube wire position accuracy meets the specification of 20 microns. The positions of the platforms for alignment and magnetic field sensors are all installed well within the required precision. The cosmic ray test measurements show single wire tracking resolution of 100 +- 7 microns with an average detection efficiency above 99 %. The infrastructure, tooling, techniques, and procedures for chamber production are described in detail. The results from the chamber quality control tests of the first 30 constructed chambers are reported.Comment: 35 pages, 41 figure

Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: Intra-Cluster Light from Redshift 0.2 to 0.5

Using the full six years of imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey, we study the surface brightness profiles of galaxy cluster central galaxies and intra-cluster light. We apply a ``stacking'' method to over four thousand galaxy clusters identified by the redMaPPer cluster finding algorithm in the redshift range of 0.2 to 0.5. This yields high signal-to-noise radial profile measurements of the central galaxy and intra-cluster light out to 1 Mpc from the cluster center. Using redMaPPer richness as a cluster mass indicator, we find that the intra-cluster light brightness has a strong mass dependence throughout the 0.2 to 0.5 redshift range, and the dependence grows stronger at a larger radius. In terms of redshift evolution, we find some evidence that the central galaxy, as well as the diffuse light within the transition region between the cluster central galaxy and intra-cluster light within 80 kpc from the center, may be growing over time. At larger radii, more than 80 kpc away from the cluster center, we do not find evidence of additional redshift evolution beyond the cluster mass dependence, which is consistent with the findings from the IllustrisTNG hydrodynamic simulation. We speculate that the major driver of intra-cluster light growth, especially at large radii, is associated with cluster mass growth. Finally, we find that the color of the cluster central galaxy and intra-cluster light displays a radial gradient that becomes bluer at a larger radius, which is consistent with a stellar stripping and disruption origin of intra-cluster light as suggested by simulation studies.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

Chemical Analysis of the Brightest Star of the Cetus II Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxy Candidate

We present a detailed chemical abundance analysis of the brightest star in the ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxy candidate Cetus II from high-resolution Magellan/MIKE spectra. For this star, DES J011740.53-173053, abundances or upper limits of 18 elements from Carbon to Europium are derived. Its chemical abundances generally follow those of other UFD galaxy stars, with a slight enhancement of the alpha-elements (Mg, Si, and Ca) and low neutron-capture element (Sr, Ba, Eu) abundances supporting the classification of Cetus II as a likely UFD. The star exhibits lower Sc, Ti, and V abundances than Milky Way (MW) halo stars with similar metallicity. This signature is consistent with yields from a supernova (SN) originating from a star with a mass of ~11.2 solar masses. In addition, the star has a Potassium abundance of [K/Fe] = 0.81 which is somewhat higher than the K abundances of MW halo stars with similar metallicity, a signature which is also present in a number of UFD galaxies. A comparison including globular clusters (GC) and stellar stream stars suggests that high K is a specific characteristic for some UFD galaxy stars and can thus be used to help classify objects as UFD galaxies.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, accepted to Ap

Chemical Analysis of the Brightest Star of the Cetus II Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Candidate

We present a detailed chemical abundance analysis of the brightest star in the ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) galaxy candidate Cetus II from high-resolution Magellan/MIKE spectra. For this star, DES J011740.53-173053, abundances or upper limits of 18 elements from carbon to europium are derived. Its chemical abundances generally follow those of other UFD galaxy stars, with a slight enhancement of the α-elements (Mg, Si, and Ca) and low neutron-capture element (Sr, Ba, and Eu) abundances supporting the classification of Cetus II as a likely UFD. The star exhibits lower Sc, Ti, and V abundances than Milky Way (MW) halo stars with similar metallicity. This signature is consistent with yields from a supernova originating from a star with a mass of ∼11.2 M ⊙. In addition, the star has a potassium abundance of [K/Fe] = 0.81, which is somewhat higher than the K abundances of MW halo stars with similar metallicity, a signature that is also present in a number of UFD galaxies. A comparison including globular clusters and stellar stream stars suggests that high K is a specific characteristic of some UFD galaxy stars and can thus be used to help classify objects as UFD galaxiesFunding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain, the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, the Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics at the Ohio State University, the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft and the Collaborating Institutions in the Dark Energy Surve

Designing an Optimal Kilonova Search Using DECam for Gravitational-wave Events

We address the problem of optimally identifying all kilonovae detected via gravitational-wave emission in the upcoming LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA observing run, O4, which is expected to be sensitive to a factor of ∼7 more binary neutron star (BNS) alerts than previously. Electromagnetic follow-up of all but the brightest of these new events will require >1 m telescopes, for which limited time is available. We present an optimized observing strategy for the DECam during O4. We base our study on simulations of gravitational-wave events expected for O4 and wide-prior kilonova simulations. We derive the detectabilities of events for realistic observing conditions. We optimize our strategy for confirming a kilonova while minimizing telescope time. For a wide range of kilonova parameters, corresponding to a fainter kilonova compared to GW170817/AT 2017gfo, we find that, with this optimal strategy, the discovery probability for electromagnetic counterparts with the DECam is ∼80% at the nominal BNS gravitational-wave detection limit for O4 (190 Mpc), which corresponds to an ∼30% improvement compared to the strategy adopted during the previous observing run. For more distant events (∼330 Mpc), we reach an ∼60% probability of detection, a factor of ∼2 increase. For a brighter kilonova model dominated by the blue component that reproduces the observations of GW170817/AT 2017gfo, we find that we can reach ∼90% probability of detection out to 330 Mpc, representing an increase of ∼20%, while also reducing the total telescope time required to follow up events by ∼20%

Photometric Properties of Jupiter Trojans Detected by the Dark Energy Survey

The Jupiter Trojans are a large group of asteroids that are coorbiting with Jupiter near its L4 and L5 Lagrange points. The study of Jupiter Trojans is crucial for testing different models of planet formation that are directly related to our understanding of solar system evolution. In this work, we select known Jupiter Trojans listed by the Minor Planet Center from the full six years data set (Y6) of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) to analyze their photometric properties. The DES data allow us to study Jupiter Trojans with a fainter magnitude limit than previous studies in a homogeneous survey with griz band measurements. We extract a final catalog of 573 unique Jupiter Trojans. Our sample include 547 asteroids belonging to L5. This is one of the largest analyzed samples for this group. By comparing with the data reported by other surveys we found that the color distribution of L5 Trojans is similar to that of L4 Trojans. We find that L5 Trojans' g - i and g - r colors become less red with fainter absolute magnitudes, a trend also seen in L4 Trojans. Both the L4 and L5 clouds consistently show such a color-size correlation over an absolute magnitude range 11 < H < 18. We also use DES colors to perform taxonomic classifications. C- and P-type asteroids outnumber D-type asteroids in the L5 Trojans DES sample, which have diameters in the 5-20 km range. This is consistent with the color-size correlation