70 research outputs found
A Magnified View of the Kinematics and Morphology of RCSGA 032727-132609: Zooming in on a Merger at z=1.7
We present a detailed analysis of multi-wavelength HST/WFC3 imaging and
Keck/OSIRIS near-IR AO-assisted integral field spectroscopy for a highly
magnified lensed galaxy at z=1.70. This young starburst is representative of
UV-selected star-forming galaxies (SFG) at z~2 and contains multiple individual
star-forming regions. Due to the lensing magnification, we can resolve spatial
scales down to 100pc in the source plane of the galaxy. The velocity field
shows disturbed kinematics suggestive of an ongoing interaction, and there is a
clear signature of a tidal tail. We constrain the age, reddening, SFR and
stellar mass of the star-forming clumps from SED modelling of the WFC3
photometry and measure their H-alpha luminosity, metallicity and outflow
properties from the OSIRIS data. With strong star formation driven outflows in
four clumps, RCSGA0327 is the first high redshift SFG at stellar mass <10^10
M_sun with spatially resolved stellar winds. We compare the H-alpha
luminosities, sizes and dispersions of the star-forming regions to other high-z
clumps as well as local giant HII regions and find no evidence for increased
clump star formation surface densities in interacting systems, unlike in the
local Universe. Spatially resolved SED modelling unveils an established stellar
population at the location of the largest clump and a second mass concentration
near the edge of the system which is not detected in H-alpha emission. This
suggests a picture of an equal-mass mixed major merger, which has not triggered
a new burst of star formation or caused a tidal tail in the gas-poor component.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures, accepted to Ap
Probing Individual Star Forming Regions Within Strongly Lensed Galaxies at z > 1
Star formation occurs on physical scales corresponding to individual star
forming regions, typically of order ~100 parsecs in size, but current
observational facilities cannot resolve these scales within field galaxies
beyond the local universe. However, the magnification from strong gravitational
lensing allows us to measure the properties of these discrete star forming
regions within galaxies in the distant universe. New results from
multi-wavelength spectroscopic studies of a sample of extremely bright, highly
magnified lensed galaxies are revealing the complexity of star formation on
sub-galaxy scales during the era of peak star formation in the universe. We
find a wide range of properties in the rest-frame UV spectra of individual
galaxies, as well as in spectra that originate from different star forming
regions within the same galaxy. Large variations in the strengths and velocity
structure of Lyman-alpha and strong P Cygni lines such as C IV, and MgII
provide new insights into the astrophysical relationships between extremely
massive stars, the elemental abundances and physical properties of the nebular
gas those stars ionize, and the galactic-scale outflows they power.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To be published in the Proceedings of IAU
Symposium 309. For more details and closely related work see also
arXiv:1310.6695 and arXiv:1406.335
Spatially Resolved Galactic Wind in Lensed Galaxy RCSGA 032727-132609
We probe the spatial distribution of outflowing gas along four lines of sight
separated by up to 6 kpc in a gravitationally-lensed star-forming galaxy at
z=1.70. Using MgII and FeII emission and absorption as tracers, we find that
the clumps of star formation are driving galactic outflows with velocities of
-170 to -250 km/sec. The velocities of MgII emission are redshifted with
respect to the systemic velocities of the galaxy, consistent with being
back-scattered. By contrast, the FeII fluorescent emission lines are either
slightly blueshifted or at the systemic velocity of the galaxy. Taken together,
the velocity structure of the MgII and FeII emission is consistent with arising
through scattering in galactic winds. Assuming a thin shell geometry for the
out owing gas, the estimated masses carried out by these outfows are large (>
30 - 50 ), with mass loading factors several times the
star-formation rate. Almost 20% to 50% of the blueshifted absorption probably
escapes the gravitational potential of the galaxy. In this galaxy, the outflow
is "locally sourced", that is, the properties of the outflow in each line of
sight are dominated by the properties of the nearest clump of star formation;
the wind is not global to the galaxy. The mass outflow rates and the momentum
flux carried out by outflows in individual star forming knots of this object
are comparable to that of starburst galaxies in the local Universe.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure, accepted for publication in MNRA
Stellar Populations of Highly Magnified Lensed Galaxies: Young Starbursts at z~2
We present a comprehensive analysis of the rest-frame UV to near-IR spectral
energy distributions and rest-frame optical spectra of four of the brightest
gravitationally lensed galaxies in the literature: RCSGA 032727-132609 at
z=1.70, MS1512-cB58 at z=2.73, SGAS J152745.1+065219 at z=2.76 and SGAS
J122651.3+215220 at z=2.92. This includes new Spitzer imaging for RCSGA0327 as
well as new spectra, near-IR imaging and Spitzer imaging for SGAS1527 and
SGAS1226. Lensing magnifications of 3-4 magnitudes allow a detailed study of
the stellar populations and physical conditions. We compare star formation
rates as measured from the SED fit, the H-alpha and [OII] emission lines, and
the UV+IR bolometric luminosity where 24 micron photometry is available. The
SFR estimate from the SED fit is consistently higher than the other indicators,
which suggests that the Calzetti dust extinction law used in the SED fitting is
too flat for young star-forming galaxies at z~2. Our analysis finds similar
stellar population parameters for all four lensed galaxies: stellar masses
3-7*10^9 M_sun, young ages ~ 100 Myr, little dust content E(B-V)=0.10-0.25, and
star formation rates around 20-100 M_sun/yr. Compared to typical values for the
galaxy population at z~2, this suggests we are looking at newly formed,
starbursting systems that have only recently started the build-up of stellar
mass. These results constitute the first detailed, uniform analysis of a sample
of the growing number of strongly lensed galaxies known at z~2.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Accepted to Ap
The Mass Distribution of the Strong Lensing Cluster SDSS J1531+3414
We present the mass distribution at the core of SDSS J1531+3414, a
strong-lensing cluster at z=0.335. We find that the mass distribution is well
described by two cluster-scale halos with a contribution from cluster-member
galaxies. New HST observations of SDSS J1531+3414 reveal a signature of ongoing
star formation associated with the two central galaxies at the core of the
cluster, in the form of a chain of star forming regions at the center of the
cluster. Using the lens model presented here, we place upper limits on the
contribution of a possible lensed image to the flux at the center region, and
rule out that this emission is coming from a background source.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; Submitted to Ap
Star Formation at z=2.481 in the Lensed Galaxy SDSS J1110+6459, I: Lens Modeling and Source Reconstruction
Using the combined resolving power of the Hubble Space Telescope and
gravitational lensing, we resolve star-forming structures in a z~2.5 galaxy on
scales much smaller than the usual kiloparsec diffraction limit of HST. SGAS
J111020.0+645950.8 is a clumpy, star forming galaxy lensed by the galaxy
cluster SDSS J1110+6459 at z = 0.659, with a total magnification ~30x across
the entire arc. We use a hybrid parametric/non-parametric strong lensing mass
model to compute the deflection and magnification of this giant arc,
reconstruct the light distribution of the lensed galaxy in the source plane,
and resolve the star formation into two dozen clumps. We develop a
forward-modeling technique to model each clump in the source plane. We ray
trace the model to the image plane, convolve with the instrumental point spread
function (PSF), and compare with the GALFIT model of the clumps in the image
plane, which decomposes clump structure from more extended emission. This
technique has the advantage, over ray tracing, by accounting for the asymmetric
lensing shear of the galaxy in the image plane and the instrument PSF. At this
resolution, we can begin to study star formation on a clump-by-clump basis,
toward the goal of understanding feedback mechanisms and the buildup of
exponential disks at high redshift.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, accepted to Ap
Lens Model and Time Delay Predictions for the Sextuply Lensed Quasar SDSS J2222+2745
SDSS J2222+2745 is a galaxy cluster at z=0.49, strongly lensing a quasar at
z=2.805 into six widely separated images. In recent HST imaging of the field,
we identify additional multiply lensed galaxies, and confirm the sixth quasar
image that was identified by Dahle et al. (2013). We used the Gemini North
telescope to measure a spectroscopic redshift of z=4.56 of one of the secondary
lensed galaxies. These data are used to refine the lens model of SDSS
J2222+2745, compute the time delay and magnifications of the lensed quasar
images, and reconstruct the source image of the quasar host and a second lensed
galaxy at z=2.3. This second galaxy also appears in absorption in our Gemini
spectra of the lensed quasar, at a projected distance of 34 kpc. Our model is
in agreement with the recent time delay measurements of Dahle et al. (2015),
who found tAB=47.7+/-6.0 days and tAC=-722+/-24 days. We use the observed time
delays to further constrain the model, and find that the model-predicted time
delays of the three faint images of the quasar are tAD=502+/-68 days,
tAE=611+/-75 days, and tAF=415+/-72 days. We have initiated a follow-up
campaign to measure these time delays with Gemini North. Finally, we present
initial results from an X-ray monitoring program with Swift, indicating the
presence of hard X-ray emission from the lensed quasar, as well as extended
X-ray emission from the cluster itself, which is consistent with the lensing
mass measurement and the cluster velocity dispersion.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; submitted to Ap
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