The Classification of T Dwarfs

We discuss methods for classifying T dwarfs based on spectral morphological features and indices. T dwarfs are brown dwarfs which exhibit methane absorption bands at 1.6 and 2.2 ${\mu}m$. Spectra at red optical (6300--10100 {\AA}) and near-infrared (1--2.5 ${\mu}m$) wavelengths are presented, and differences between objects are noted and discussed. Spectral indices useful for classification schemes are presented. We conclude that near-infrared spectral classification is generally preferable for these cool objects, with data sufficient to resolve the 1.17 and 1.25 ${\mu}m$ K I doublets lines being most valuable. Spectral features sensitive to gravity are discussed, with the strength of the K-band peak used as an example. Such features may be used to derive a two-dimensional scheme based on temperature and mass, in analogy to the MK temperature and luminosity classes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, conference proceedings for IAU Ultracool Dwarf Stars session, ed. I. Steele & H. Jone

Coronagraphic imaging of 3C 273 with the advanced camera for surveys

The nearby and luminous QSO 3C 273 was imaged in 2002 July with the High Resolution Channel (HRC) of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in coronagraphic mode in F475W (g), F606W (V), and F814W (I) as part of the Early Release Observations (ERO) program. After subtraction of the remaining PSF of the QSO, these images offer the most detailed view yet of the morphology and colors of the host galaxy of this QSO. We find that the central light distribution is elongated along the jet axis and its outer edge is delineated by an arc, centered on the jet at a radius of similar to2."6 from the QSO and bluer than the surrounding galaxy. This system is embedded in an extended galactic halo. Compared with early-type galaxies of similar redshifts and luminosities, the light distribution of 3C 273 is flatter in the core, likely from suppression by dust, but similar in the outer halo. The QSO is displaced from the isophotal center of the galaxy by similar to1."4. Previously known emission-line extensions are confirmed and new morphological features are identified, including a dramatic spiral-shaped plume, two faint. laments, a dust lane, and a knot along the jet axis. Part of the inner jet is unambiguously detected in all three bandpasses, and its morphology matches that of a MERLIN radio map. Different mechanisms that could explain the morphology of 3C 273 are considered, such as scattered QSO radiation, a face-on disk, and a merger event

Faint galaxies in deep advanced camera for surveys observations

We present the analysis of the faint galaxy population in the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Early Release Observation fields VV 29 ( UGC 10214) and NGC 4676. These observations cover a total area of 26.3 arcmin(2) and have depths close to that of the Hubble Deep Fields in the deepest part of the VV 29 image, with 10 sigma detection limits for point sources of 27.8, 27.6, and 27.2 AB magnitudes in the g(F475W), V-F606W, and I-F814W bands, respectively. Measuring the faint galaxy number count distribution is a difficult task, with different groups arriving at widely varying results even on the same data set. Here we attempt to thoroughly consider all aspects relevant for faint galaxy counting and photometry, developing methods that are based on public software and that are easily reproducible by other astronomers. Using simulations we determine the best SExtractor parameters for the detection of faint galaxies in deep Hubble Space Telescope observations, paying special attention to the issue of deblending, which significantly affects the normalization and shape of the number count distribution. We confirm, as claimed by Bernstein, Freedman, & Madore, that Kron-like magnitudes, such as the ones generated by SExtractor, can miss more than half of the light of faint galaxies, what dramatically affects the slope of the number counts. We show how to correct for this effect, which depends sensitively not only on the characteristics of the observations, but also on the choice of SExtractor parameters. We present catalogs for the VV 29 and NGC 4676 fields with photometry in the F475W, F606W, and F814W bands. We also show that combining the Bayesian software BPZ with superb ACS data and new spectral templates enables us to estimate reliable photometric redshifts for a significant fraction of galaxies with as few as three filters. After correcting for selection effects, we measure slopes of 0.32 +/- 0.01 for 22 25.5 can be well approximated in all our filters by a passive luminosity evolution model based on the COMBO-17 luminosity function (alpha = -1.5), with a strong merging rate following the prescription of Glazebrook et al., phi* proportional to / (1 + Qz), with Q = 4

Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys coronagraphic imaging of the AU microscopii debris disk

We present Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys multicolor coronagraphic images of the recently discovered edge-on debris disk around the nearby (similar to10 pc) M dwarf AU Microscopii. The disk is seen between r = 0".75 and 15" (7.5-150 AU) from the star. It has a thin midplane with a projected FWHM thickness of 2.5-3.5 AU within r < 50 AU of the star that increases to 6.5-9 AU at r similar to 75 AU. The disk's radial brightness profile is generally flat for r < 15 AU, then decreases gradually (I proportional to r(1.8)) out to r approximate to 43 AU, beyond which it falls rapidly (I proportional to r(-4.7)). Within 50 AU the midplane is straight and aligned with the star, and beyond that it deviates by similar to3degrees, resulting in a bowed appearance that was also seen in ground-based images. Three-dimensional modeling of the disk shows that the inner region (r < 50 AU) is inclined to the line of sight by less than 1degrees and the outer disk by similar to3degrees. The inclination of the outer disk and moderate forward scattering (g approximate to 0.4) can explain the apparent bow. The intrinsic, deprojected FWHM thickness is 1.5-10 AU, increasing with radius. The models indicate that the disk is clear of dust within similar to12 AU of the star, in general agreement with the previous prediction of 17 AU based on the infrared spectral energy distribution. The disk is blue, being 60% brighter at B than I relative to the star. One possible explanation for this is that there is a surplus of very small grains compared with other imaged debris disks that have more neutral or red colors. This may be due to the low radiation pressure exerted by the late-type star. Observations at two epochs show that an extended source seen along the midplane is a background galaxy

Evolution of the color-magnitude relation in high-redshift clusters: Blue early-type galaxies and red pairs in RDCS J0910+5422

The color-magnitude relation has been determined for the RDCS J0910+5422 cluster of galaxies at redshift z = 1.106. Cluster members were selected from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST ACS) images, combined with ground-based near-IR imaging and optical spectroscopy. The observed early-type color-magnitude relation (CMR) in i(775) - z(850) versus z(850) shows an intrinsic scatter in color of 0.060 +/- 0.009 mag, within 10 from the cluster X-ray emission center. Both the elliptical and the S0 galaxies show small scatter about the CMR of 0.042 +/- 0.010 and 0.044 +/- 0.020 mag, respectively. From the scatter about the CMR, a mean luminosity weighted age t > 3: 3 Gyr (z(f) approximate to 3) is derived for the elliptical galaxies, assuming a simple stellar population modeling (single-burst solar metallicity). Strikingly, the S0 galaxies in RDCS J0910+5422 are systematically bluer in i(775) - z(850), by 0.07 +/- 0.02 mag, than the ellipticals. The ellipticity distribution as a function of color indicates that the face-on S0s in this particular cluster have likely been classified as elliptical. Thus, if anything, the offset in color between the elliptical and S0 populations may be even more significant. The color offset between S0 and E galaxies corresponds to an age difference of approximate to 1 Gyr for a single-burst solar-metallicity model. A solar-metallicity model with an exponential decay in star formation will reproduce the offset for an age of 3.5 Gyr; i.e., the S0s have evolved gradually from star-forming progenitors. The early-type population in this cluster appears to be still forming. The blue early-type disk galaxies in RDCS J0910+5422 likely represent the direct progenitors of the more evolved S0s that follow the same red sequence as elliptical galaxies in other clusters. Thirteen red galaxy pairs are observed, and the galaxies associated in pairs constitute similar to 40% of the CMR galaxies in this cluster