51 research outputs found
On Dark Peaks and Missing Mass: A Weak-Lensing Mass Reconstruction of the Merging Cluster System A520
Merging clusters of galaxies are unique in their power to directly probe and place limits on the self-interaction cross-section of dark matter. Detailed observations of several merging clusters have shown the intracluster gas to be displaced from the centroids of dark matter and galaxy density by ram pressure, while the latter components are spatially coincident, consistent with collisionless dark matter. This has been used to place upper limits on the dark matter particle self-interaction cross-section of order 1 sq cm/g. The cluster A520 has been seen as a possible exception. We revisit A520 presenting new Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys mosaic images and a Magellan image set. We perform a detailed weak-lensing analysis and show that the weak-lensing mass measurements and morphologies of the core galaxy-filled structures are mostly in good agreement with previous works. There is, however, one significant difference: We do not detect the previously claimed "dark core" that contains excess mass with no significant galaxy overdensity at the location of the X-ray plasma. This peak has been suggested to be indicative of a large self-interaction cross-section for dark matter (at least approx 5alpha larger than the upper limit of 0.7 sq cm/g determined by observations of the Bullet Cluster). We find no such indication and instead find that the mass distribution of A520, after subtraction of the X-ray plasma mass, is in good agreement with the luminosity distribution of the cluster galaxies.We conclude that A520 shows no evidence to contradict the collisionless dark matter scenario
Automated detection of galaxy-scale gravitational lenses in high resolution imaging data
Lens modeling is the key to successful and meaningful automated strong
galaxy-scale gravitational lens detection. We have implemented a lens-modeling
"robot" that treats every bright red galaxy (BRG) in a large imaging survey as
a potential gravitational lens system. Using a simple model optimized for
"typical" galaxy-scale lenses, we generate four assessments of model quality
that are used in an automated classification. The robot infers the lens
classification parameter H that a human would have assigned; the inference is
performed using a probability distribution generated from a human-classified
training set, including realistic simulated lenses and known false positives
drawn from the HST/EGS survey. We compute the expected purity, completeness and
rejection rate, and find that these can be optimized for a particular
application by changing the prior probability distribution for H, equivalent to
defining the robot's "character." Adopting a realistic prior based on the known
abundance of lenses, we find that a lens sample may be generated that is ~100%
pure, but only ~20% complete. This shortfall is due primarily to the
over-simplicity of the lens model. With a more optimistic robot, ~90%
completeness can be achieved while rejecting ~90% of the candidate objects. The
remaining candidates must be classified by human inspectors. We are able to
classify lens candidates by eye at a rate of a few seconds per system,
suggesting that a future 1000 square degree imaging survey containing 10^7
BRGs, and some 10^4 lenses, could be successfully, and reproducibly, searched
in a modest amount of time. [Abridged]Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Ap
The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). IX. The dual origin of low-mass cluster galaxies as revealed by new structural analyses
Using deep Hubble Frontier Fields imaging and slitless spectroscopy from the
Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space, we analyze 2200 cluster and 1748 field
galaxies at to determine the impact of environment on galaxy
size and structure at , an unprecedented limit at these
redshifts. Based on simple assumptions--we find no significant
differences in half-light radii () between equal-mass cluster or field
systems. More complex analyses-)-reveal local density
) to induce only a ( confidence) reduction in
beyond what can be accounted for by color, Sersic index (), and
redshift () effects.Almost any size difference between galaxies in high- and
low-density regions is thus attributable to their different distributions in
properties other than environment. Indeed, we find a clear color-
correlation in low-mass passive cluster galaxies () such
that bluer systems have larger radii, with the bluest having sizes consistent
with equal-mass star-forming galaxies. We take this as evidence that
large- low-mass passive cluster galaxies are recently acquired systems
that have been environmentally quenched without significant structural
transformation (e.g., by ram pressure stripping or starvation).Conversely,
of small- low-mass passive cluster galaxies appear to have been
in place since . Given the consistency of the small- galaxies'
stellar surface densities (and even colors) with those of systems more than ten
times as massive, our findings suggest that clusters mark places where galaxy
evolution is accelerated for an ancient base population spanning most masses,
with late-time additions quenched by environment-specific mechanisms are mainly
restricted to the lowest masses.Comment: The accepted version. The catalog is available through the GLASS web
page (http://glass.astro.ucla.edu), or
https://www.astr.tohoku.ac.jp/~mtakahiro/Publication/Morishita17
Inferences on the Timeline of Reionization at z~8 From the KMOS Lens-Amplified Spectroscopic Survey
Detections and non-detections of Lyman alpha (Ly) emission from
galaxies ( Gyr after the Big Bang) can be used to measure the timeline of
cosmic reionization. Of key interest to measuring reionization's mid-stages,
but also increasing observational challenge, are observations at z > 7, where
Ly redshifts to near infra-red wavelengths. Here we present a search
for z > 7.2 Ly emission in 53 intrinsically faint Lyman Break Galaxy
candidates, gravitationally lensed by massive galaxy clusters, in the KMOS
Lens-Amplified Spectroscopic Survey (KLASS). With integration times of ~7-10
hours, we detect no Ly emission with S/N>5 in our sample. We determine
our observations to be 80% complete for 5 spatially and spectrally
unresolved emission lines with integrated line flux erg
s cm. We define a photometrically selected sub-sample of 29
targets at , with a median 5 Ly EW limit of 58A.
We perform a Bayesian inference of the average intergalactic medium (IGM)
neutral hydrogen fraction using their spectra. Our inference accounts for the
wavelength sensitivity and incomplete redshift coverage of our observations,
and the photometric redshift probability distribution of each target. These
observations, combined with samples from the literature, enable us to place a
lower limit on the average IGM neutral hydrogen fraction of at z ~ 8, providing further evidence of rapid reionization
at z~6-8. We show that this is consistent with reionization history models
extending the galaxy luminosity function to , with
low ionizing photon escape fractions, .Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Nature and Nurture? Comparing Lyα Detections in UV-bright and Fainter [O iii]+Hβ Emitters at z ∼ 8 with Keck/MOSFIRE
The 100% detection rate of Lyα emission in a sample of four luminous z ∼ 8 galaxies with red Spitzer/IRAC colors suggests objects with unusual ionizing capabilities that created early ionized bubbles in a neutral era. Whether such bubbles reflect enhanced ionizing properties (nature) or an overdense environment (nurture), however, remains unclear. Here we aim to distinguish between these hypotheses via a search for Lyα emission in five fainter galaxies drawn from the CANDELS-GOODS fields using a similar IRAC excess and UV magnitudes that should reflect reduced clustering effects. Using Keck/MOSFIRE we tentatively detect >4σ line emission in only two targets at redshifts z_{Lyα} = 7.1081 and 7.9622 with rest-frame EWs of 16–17 Å, ∼1.5× weaker compared to their brighter counterparts. Thus, we find a reduced rate for Lyα emission of 0.40_{-0.25}^{+0.30} compared to 1.00_{-0.44}^{+0.00} for more luminous examples. The lower rate agrees with predictions from simulations of a mostly neutral intergalactic medium and an intrinsic EW0,Lyα distribution for z ∼ 6 galaxies. However, even with an extreme EW_{0,Lyα} model, it is challenging to match the detection rate for the luminous objects. Spectral energy distribution fitting of our fainter sample indicates young and star-forming systems, albeit with less extreme star formation rates and ionization parameters compared to their luminous counterparts. The enhanced Lyα rate in luminous galaxies is thus likely a byproduct of both extreme ionizing properties as well as environmental effects. Further studies with JWST may be required to resolve the physical nature of this puzzling population
The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). II. Gas-phase metallicity and radial gradients in an interacting system at z~2
We present spatially resolved gas-phase metallicity for a system of three
galaxies at z=1.85 detected in the Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space
(GLASS). The combination of HST's diffraction limit and strong gravitational
lensing by the cluster MACS J0717+3745 results in a spatial resolution of
~200-300 pc, enabling good spatial sampling despite the intrinsically small
galaxy sizes. The galaxies in this system are separated by 50-200 kpc in
projection and are likely in an early stage of interaction, evidenced by
relatively high specific star formation rates. Their gas-phase metallicities
are consistent with larger samples at similar redshift, star formation rate,
and stellar mass. We obtain a precise measurement of the metallicity gradient
for one galaxy and find a shallow slope compared to isolated galaxies at high
redshift, consistent with a flattening of the gradient due to gravitational
interaction. An alternative explanation for the shallow metallicity gradient
and elevated star formation rate is rapid recycling of metal-enriched gas, but
we find no evidence for enhanced gas-phase metallicities which should result
from this effect. Notably, the measured stellar masses log(M/Msun) = 7.2-9.1
probe to an order of magnitude below previous mass-metallicity studies at this
redshift. The lowest mass galaxy has properties similar to those expected for
Fornax at this redshift, indicating that GLASS is able to directly study the
progenitors of local group dwarf galaxies on spatially resolved scales. Larger
samples from the full GLASS survey will be ideal for studying the effects of
feedback, and the time evolution of metallicity gradients. These initial
results demonstrate the utility of HST spectroscopy combined with gravitational
lensing for characterizing resolved physical properties of galaxies at high
redshift.Comment: AJ in press. The GLASS website is at http://glass.physics.ucsb.ed
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