147 research outputs found
The Environment of ``E+A'' Galaxies
The violent star formation history of ``E+A'' galaxies and their detection
almost exclusively in distant clusters is frequently used to link them to the
``Butcher-Oemler effect'' and to argue that cluster environment influences
galaxy evolution. From 11113 spectra in the Las Campanas Redshift Survey, we
have obtained a unique sample of 21 nearby ``E+A" galaxies. Surprisingly, a
large fraction (about 75%) of these ``E+A''s lie in the field. Therefore,
interactions with the cluster environment, in the form of the ICM or cluster
potential, are not essential for ``E+A'' formation. If one mechanism is
responsible for ``E+A''s, their existence in the field and the tidal features
in at least 5 of the 21 argue that galaxy-galaxy interactions and mergers are
that mechanism. The most likely environments for such interactions are poor
groups, which have lower velocity dispersions than clusters and higher galaxy
densities than the field. In hierarchical models, groups fall into clusters in
greater numbers at intermediate redshifts than they do today. Thus, the
Butcher-Oemler effect may reflect the typical evolution of galaxies in groups
and in the field rather than the influence of clusters on star formation in
galaxies. This abstract is abridged.Comment: 39 uuencoded, compressed pages (except Fig 1), complete preprint at
ftp://ociw.edu/pub/aiz/eplusa.ps, ApJ, submitte
Wide-Field Chandra X-Ray Observations of AGN in Abell 85 & Abell 754
To better understand the mechanism or mechanisms that lead to AGN activity
today, we measure the X-ray AGN fraction in a new sample of nearby clusters and
examine how it varies with galaxy properties, projected cluster-centric radius,
and cluster velocity dispersion. We present new wide-field Chandra X-ray
Observatory observations of Abell 85, Abell 754 and the background cluster
Abell 89B out to their virial radii. Out of seventeen X-ray sources associated
with galaxies in these clusters, we classify seven as X-ray AGN with L_{X,B} >
10^{41} erg/s. Only two of these would be classified as AGN based on their
optical spectra. We combine these observations with archival data to create a
sample of X-ray AGN from six z < 0.08 clusters and find that 3.4+1.1/-0.8% of
M_R 10^{41} erg/s. We find that
more X-ray AGN are detected in more luminous galaxies and attribute this to
larger spheriods in more luminous galaxies and increased sensitivity to lower
Eddington-rate accretion from black holes in those spheroids. At a given X-ray
luminosity limit, more massive black holes can be accreting less efficiently,
yet still be detected. If interactions between galaxies are the principal
drivers of AGN activity, then the AGN fraction should be higher in lower
velocity dispersion clusters and the outskirts of clusters. However, the
tendency of the most massive and early-type galaxies to lie in the centers of
the richest clusters could dilute such trends. While we find no variation in
the AGN fraction with projected cluster-centric radius, we do find that the AGN
fraction increases significantly from 2.6+1.0/-0.8% in rich clusters to
10.0+6.2/-4.3% in those with lower velocity dispersions.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal, 17 pages using emulateapj.cls, 10
B & W Figures (degraded): Full resolution paper available at
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~sivakoff/AGN/XAGN_A85_A754.pd
A Spectroscopic Study of the Environments of Gravitational Lens Galaxies
(Abridged) We present the first results from our spectroscopic survey of the
environments of strong gravitational lenses. The lens galaxy belongs to a poor
group of galaxies in six of the eight systems in our sample. We discover three
new groups associated with the lens galaxies of BRI 0952-0115 (five members),
MG 1654+1346 (seven members), and B2114+022 (five members). We more than double
the number of members for another three previously known groups around the
lenses MG 0751+2716 (13 total members), PG 1115+080 (13 total members), and
B1422+231 (16 total members). We determine the kinematics of the six groups,
including their mean velocities, velocity dispersions, and projected spatial
centroids. The velocity dispersions of the groups range from 110 +170, -80 to
470 +100, -90 km/s. In at least three of the lenses -- MG0751, PG1115, and
B1422 -- the group environment significantly affects the lens potential. These
lenses happen to be the quadruply-imaged ones in our sample, which suggests a
connection between image configuration and environment. The lens galaxy is the
brightest member in fewer than half of the groups. Our survey also allows us to
assess for the first time whether mass structures along the line of sight are
important for lensing. We first show that, in principle, the lens potential may
be affected by line-of-sight structures over a wide range of spatial and
redshift offsets from the lens. We then quantify real line-of-sight effects
using our survey and find that at least four of the eight lens fields have
substantial interloping structures close in projection to the lens, and at
least one of those structures (in the field of MG0751) significantly affects
the lens potential.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Figure 6
posted as a JPEG image. Requires emulateapj.st
Hierarchical Structure Formation and Modes of Star Formation in Hickson Compact Group 31
The handful of low-mass, late-type galaxies that comprise Hickson Compact
Group 31 is in the midst of complex, ongoing gravitational interactions,
evocative of the process of hierarchical structure formation at higher
redshifts. With sensitive, multicolor Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we
characterize the large population of <10 Myr old star clusters that suffuse the
system. From the colors and luminosities of the young star clusters, we find
that the galaxies in HCG 31 follow the same universal scaling relations as
actively star-forming galaxies in the local Universe despite the unusual
compact group environment. Furthermore, the specific frequency of the globular
cluster system is consistent with the low end of galaxies of comparable masses
locally. This, combined with the large mass of neutral hydrogen and tight
constraints on the amount of intragroup light, indicate that the group is
undergoing its first epoch of interaction-induced star formation. In both the
main galaxies and the tidal-dwarf candidate, F, stellar complexes, which are
sensitive to the magnitude of disk turbulence, have both sizes and masses more
characteristic of z=1-2 galaxies. After subtracting the light from compact
sources, we find no evidence for an underlying old stellar population in F --
it appears to be a truly new structure. The low velocity dispersion of the
system components, available reservoir of HI, and current star formation rate
of ~10 solar masses per year, indicate that HCG31 is likely to both exhaust its
cold gas supply and merge within ~1 Gyr. We conclude that the end product will
be an isolated, X-ray-faint, low-mass elliptical.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures (including low resolution versions of color
images), latex file prepared with emulateapj. Accepted for publication by the
Astronomical Journa
Morphological Composition of z~0.4 groups: The site of S0 formation
The low redshift Universe (z<~0.5) is not a dull place. Processes leading to
the suppression of star formation and morphological transformation are
prevalent: this is particularly evident in the dramatic upturn in the fraction
of S0-type galaxies in clusters. However, until now, the process and
environment of formation has remained unidentified. We present a HST-based
morphological analysis of galaxies in the redshift-space selected group and
field environments at z~0.4. Groups contain a much higher fraction of S0s at
fixed luminosity than the lower density field, with >99.999% confidence. Indeed
the S0 fraction in groups is at least as high as in z~0.4 clusters and X-ray
selected groups, which have more luminous Intra Group Medium (IGM). An 97%
confident excess of S0s at >=0.3Mpc from the group centre at fixed luminosity,
tells us that formation is not restricted to, and possibly even avoids, the
group cores. Interactions with a bright X-ray emitting IGM cannot be important
for the formation of the majority of S0s in the Universe. In contrast to S0s,
the fraction of elliptical galaxies in groups at fixed luminosity is similar to
the field, whilst the brightest ellipticals are strongly enhanced towards the
group centres (>99.999% confidence within 0.3Mpc). We conclude that the group
and sub-group environments must be dominant for the formation of S0 galaxies,
and that minor mergers, galaxy harassment and tidal interactions are the most
likely responsible mechanisms. This has implications not only for the inferred
pre-processing of cluster galaxies, but also for the global morphological and
star formation budget of galaxies: as hierarchical clustering progresses, more
galaxies will be subject to these transformations as they enter the group
environment.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Spectroscopy of clusters in the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS)
We present spectroscopic observations of galaxies in 4 clusters at z =
0.7-0.8 and in one cluster at z~0.5 obtained with the FORS2 spectrograph on the
VLT as part of the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS), a photometric and
spectroscopic survey of 20 intermediate to high redshift clusters. We describe
our target selection, mask design, observation and data reduction procedures,
using these first 5 clusters to demonstrate how our strategies maximise the
number of cluster members for which we obtain spectroscopy. We present
catalogues containing positions, I-band magnitudes and spectroscopic redshifts
for galaxies in the fields of our 5 clusters. These contain 236 cluster
members, with the number of members per cluster ranging from 30 to 67. Our
spectroscopic success rate, i.e. the fraction of spectroscopic targets which
are cluster members, averages 50% and ranges from 30% to 75%. We use a robust
biweight estimator to measure cluster velocity dispersions from our
spectroscopic redshift samples. We also make a first assessment of substructure
within our clusters. The velocity dispersions range from 400 to 1100 km s-1.
Some of the redshift distributions are significantly non-Gaussian and we find
evidence for significant substructure in two clusters, one at z~0.79 and the
other at z~0.54. Both have velocity dispersions exceeding 1000 km s-1 but are
clearly not fully virialised; their velocity dispersions may thus be a poor
indicator of their masses. The properties of these first 5 EDisCS clusters span
a wide range in redshift, velocity dispersion, richness and substructure, but
are representative of the sample as a whole. Spectroscopy for the full dataset
will allow a comprehensive study of galaxy evolution as a function of cluster
environment and redshift.Comment: 18 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, Table 4 is
available ahead of journal publication by downloading the source files for
this astro-ph submission or from first author on request
([email protected]
The merger history, AGN and dwarf galaxies of Hickson Compact Group 59
Compact group galaxies often appear unaffected by their unusually dense
environment. Closer examination can, however, reveal the subtle, cumulative
effects of multiple galaxy interactions. Hickson Compact Group (HCG) 59 is an
excellent example of this situation. We present a photometric study of this
group in the optical (HST), infrared (Spitzer) and X-ray (Chandra) regimes
aimed at characterizing the star formation and nuclear activity in its
constituent galaxies and intra-group medium. We associate five dwarf galaxies
with the group and update the velocity dispersion, leading to an increase in
the dynamical mass of the group of up to a factor of 10 (to 2.8e13 Msun), and a
subsequent revision of its evolutionary stage. Star formation is proceeding at
a level consistent with the morphological types of the four main galaxies, of
which two are star-forming and the other two quiescent. Unlike in some other
compact groups, star-forming complexes across HCG 59 closely follow mass-radius
scaling relations typical of nearby galaxies. In contrast, the ancient globular
cluster populations in galaxies HCG 59A and B show intriguing irregularities,
and two extragalactic HII regions are found just west of B. We age-date a faint
stellar stream in the intra-group medium at ~1 Gyr to examine recent
interactions. We detect a likely low-luminosity AGN in HCG 59A by its ~10e40
erg/s X-ray emission; the active nucleus rather than star formation can account
for the UV+IR SED. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context
of galaxy evolution in dense environments.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figures. Please visit "http://tinyurl.com/isk-hcg59" for
a full-resolution PDF. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
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