On the lack of correlation between Mg II 2796, 2803 Angstrom and Lyman alpha emission in lensed star-forming galaxies

We examine the Mg II 2796, 2803 Angstrom, Lyman alpha, and nebular line emission in five bright star-forming galaxies at 1.66<z<1.91 that have been gravitationally lensed by foreground galaxy clusters. All five galaxies show prominent Mg II emission and absorption in a P Cygni profile. We find no correlation between the equivalent widths of Mg II and Lyman alpha emission. The Mg II emission has a broader range of velocities than do the nebular emission line profiles; the Mg II emission is redshifted with respect to systemic by 100 to 200 km/s. When present, Lyman alpha is even more redshifted. The reddest components of Mg II and Lyman alpha emission have tails to 500-600 km/s, implying a strong outflow. The lack of correlation in the Mg II and Lyman alpha equivalent widths, the differing velocity profiles, and the high ratios of Mg II to nebular line fluxes together suggest that the bulk of Mg II emission does not ultimately arise as nebular line emission, but may instead be reprocessed stellar continuum emission.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in press. 6 pages, 2 figure

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

The Magellan Evolution of Galaxies Spectroscopic and Ultraviolet Reference Atlas (MEGaSaURA) I: The Sample and the Spectra

We introduce Project MEGaSaURA: The Magellan Evolution of Galaxies Spectroscopic and Ultraviolet Reference Atlas. MEGaSaURA comprises medium-resolution, rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy of N=15 bright gravitationally lensed galaxies at redshifts of 1.68$<$z$<$3.6, obtained with the MagE spectrograph on the Magellan telescopes. The spectra cover the observed-frame wavelength range $3200 < \lambda_o < 8280$ \AA ; the average spectral resolving power is R=3300. The median spectrum has a signal-to-noise ratio of $SNR=21$ per resolution element at 5000 \AA . As such, the MEGaSaURA spectra have superior signal-to-noise-ratio and wavelength coverage compared to what COS/HST provides for starburst galaxies in the local universe. This paper describes the sample, the observations, and the data reduction. We compare the measured redshifts for the stars, the ionized gas as traced by nebular lines, and the neutral gas as traced by absorption lines; we find the expected bulk outflow of the neutral gas, and no systemic offset between the redshifts measured from nebular lines and the redshifts measured from the stellar continuum. We provide the MEGaSaURA spectra to the astronomical community through a data release.Comment: Resubmitted to AAS Journals. Data release will accompany journal publication. v2 addresses minor comments from refere

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

Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies

Three billion years after the big bang (at redshift z=2), half of the most massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an order of magnitude larger than in low redshift ellipticals, their descendants. Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr earlier (at 3<z<6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise to such starbursts which produce dense remnants. Sub-millimeter selected galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich, starbursts. With a new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact quiescent galaxies at z=2 and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z=3-6 SMGs are consistent with being the progenitors of z=2 quiescent galaxies, matching their formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses and internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42 (+40/-29) Myr (consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of star-formation. These results suggests a coherent picture of the formation history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst of violent star-formation through their appearance as high stellar-density galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.Comment: ApJ (in press

Spatially Resolved Outflows in a Seyfert Galaxy at z = 2.39

We present the first spatially resolved analysis of rest-frame optical and UV imaging and spectroscopy for a lensed galaxy at z = 2.39 hosting a Seyfert active galactic nucleus (AGN). Proximity to a natural guide star has enabled high signal-to-noise VLT SINFONI + adaptive optics observations of rest-frame optical diagnostic emission lines, which exhibit an underlying broad component with FWHM ~ 700 km/s in both the Balmer and forbidden lines. Measured line ratios place the outflow robustly in the region of the ionization diagnostic diagrams associated with AGN. This unique opportunity - combining gravitational lensing, AO guiding, redshift, and AGN activity - allows for a magnified view of two main tracers of the physical conditions and structure of the interstellar medium in a star-forming galaxy hosting a weak AGN at cosmic noon. By analyzing the spatial extent and morphology of the Ly-alpha and dust-corrected H-alpha emission, disentangling the effects of star formation and AGN ionization on each tracer, and comparing the AGN induced mass outflow rate to the host star formation rate, we find that the AGN does not significantly impact the star formation within its host galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The Physical Conditions of a Lensed Star-forming Galaxy at z=1.7

We report rest-frame optical Keck/NIRSPEC spectroscopy of the bright lensed galaxy RCSGA 032727-132609 at z=1.7037. From precise measurements of the nebular lines, we infer a number of physical properties: redshift, extinction, star formation rate, ionization parameter, electron density, electron temperature, oxygen abundance, and N/O, Ne/O, and Ar/O abundance ratios. The limit on [O III]~4363 A tightly constrains the oxygen abundance via the "direct" or electron temperature method, for the first time in an average-metallicity galaxy at z~2. We compare this result to several standard "bright-line" O abundance diagnostics, thereby testing these empirically-calibrated diagnostics in situ. Finally, we explore the positions of lensed and unlensed galaxies in standard diagnostic diagrams, and explore the diversity of ionization conditions and mass--metallicity ratios at z=2.Comment: ApJ in press. 15 pages, 7 figure

The KMOS^3D Survey: design, first results, and the evolution of galaxy kinematics from 0.7<z<2.7

We present the KMOS^3D survey, a new integral field survey of over 600 galaxies at 0.7<z<2.7 using KMOS at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The KMOS^3D survey utilizes synergies with multi-wavelength ground and space-based surveys to trace the evolution of spatially-resolved kinematics and star formation from a homogeneous sample over 5 Gyrs of cosmic history. Targets, drawn from a mass-selected parent sample from the 3D-HST survey, cover the star formation-stellar mass ($M_*$) and rest-frame $(U-V)-M_*$ planes uniformly. We describe the selection of targets, the observations, and the data reduction. In the first year of data we detect Halpha emission in 191 $M_*=3\times10^{9}-7\times10^{11}$ Msun galaxies at z=0.7-1.1 and z=1.9-2.7. In the current sample 83% of the resolved galaxies are rotation-dominated, determined from a continuous velocity gradient and $v_{rot}/\sigma>1$, implying that the star-forming 'main sequence' (MS) is primarily composed of rotating galaxies at both redshift regimes. When considering additional stricter criteria, the Halpha kinematic maps indicate at least ~70% of the resolved galaxies are disk-like systems. Our high-quality KMOS data confirm the elevated velocity dispersions reported in previous IFS studies at z>0.7. For rotation-dominated disks, the average intrinsic velocity dispersion decreases by a factor of two from 50 km/s at z~2.3 to 25 km/s at z~0.9 while the rotational velocities at the two redshifts are comparable. Combined with existing results spanning z~0-3, disk velocity dispersions follow an approximate (1+z) evolution that is consistent with the dependence of velocity dispersion on gas fractions predicted by marginally-stable disk theory.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 1 Appendix; Accepted to ApJ November 2

Studying the impact of a medication use evaluation for polymedicated older patients by the community pharmacist (SIMENON) : study protocol

Background: Aged polymedicated patients are particularly vulnerable for drug-related problems. A medication review aims to optimize the medication use of patients and improve health outcomes. In this study, the effect of a pharmacist-led medication use review is investigated for polymedicated ambulatory older patients with the aim of implementing this pharmaceutical care intervention across Belgium. Methods: This article describes the study protocol of the SIMENON study and reports the results of the feasibility study, which aimed to test and optimize this study protocol. In the SIMENON intervention study, 75 Belgian community pharmacies each recruit 12 patients for a medication use review. For each patient, the identified drug-related problems and subsequent interventions are registered using the PharmDISC classification. In a subset of Dutch speaking patients, a pretest-posttest single group design is used to measure the impact of this review on patient related outcomes using questionnaires. The main outcome of the study is the type and number of drug-related problems and related interventions. A second outcome is the impact of the medication use review on adherence, objectively measured with dispensing data. Evolution in medication related quality of life is another outcome, measured with the Living with Medicines Questionnaire version 3. Other patient reported outcomes include adherence, self-management, patient satisfaction, fall incidents and use of emergency healthcare services. Discussion: The findings of this study can provide data on the effectiveness of a medication use review in the Belgian primary care setting. Furthermore, it will provide insights in which patients benefit most of this intervention and therefore facilitate the implementation of medication review in Belgium