1,568 research outputs found
Evolution of star formation in the UKIDSS ultra deep survey field-I. Luminosity functions and cosmic star formation rate out to z = 1.6
We present new results on the cosmic star formation history in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS)-Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field out to z = 1.6. We compile narrowband data from the Subaru Telescope and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope forAstronomy (VISTA) in conjunction with broad-band data from the SXDS and UDS, to makea selection of 5725 emission-line galaxies in 12 redshift slices, spanning 10 Gyr of cosmictime. We determine photometric redshifts for the sample using 11-band photometry, and usea spectroscopically confirmed subset to fine tune the resultant redshift distribution. We usethe maximum-likelihood technique to determine luminosity functions in each redshift slice and model the selection effects inherent in any narrow-band selection statistically, to obviatethe retrospective corrections ordinarily required. The deep narrow-band data are sensitive tovery low star formation rates (SFRs), and allow an accurate evaluation of the faint end slopeof the Schechter function, α We find that a is particularly sensitive to the assumed faintest broad-band magnitude of a galaxy capable of hosting an emission line, and propose thatthis limit should be empirically motivated. For this analysis, we base our threshold on thelimiting observed equivalent widths of emission lines in the local Universe. We compute thecharacteristic SFR of galaxies in each redshift slice, and the integrated SFR density,ρ SFR. Wefind our results to be in good agreement with the literature and parametrize the evolution of the SFR density as ρ SFR α(1 + z)4.58 confirming a steep decline in star formation activity since z ~ 1.6.Peer reviewe
Nonlinear Dynamics of Aeolian Sand Ripples
We study the initial instability of flat sand surface and further nonlinear
dynamics of wind ripples. The proposed continuous model of ripple formation
allowed us to simulate the development of a typical asymmetric ripple shape and
the evolution of sand ripple pattern. We suggest that this evolution occurs via
ripple merger preceded by several soliton-like interaction of ripples.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, corrected 2 typo
A two-species continuum model for aeolian sand ripples
We formulate a continuum model for aeolian sand ripples consisting of two
species of grains: a lower layer of relatively immobile clusters, with an upper
layer of highly mobile grains moving on top. We predict analytically the ripple
wavelength, initial ripple growth rate and threshold saltation flux for ripple
formation. Numerical simulations show the evolution of realistic ripple
profiles from initial surface roughness via ripple growth and merger.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Spectroscopy of luminous z>7 galaxy candidates and sources of contamination in z>7 galaxy searches
We present three bright z+ dropout candidates selected from deep
Near-Infrared (NIR) imaging of the COSMOS 2 square degree field. All three
objects match the 0.8-8um colors of other published z>7 candidates but are
three magnitudes brighter, facilitating further study. Deep spectroscopy of two
of the candidates covering 0.64-1.02um with Keck-DEIMOS and all three covering
0.94-1.10um and 1.52-1.80um with Keck-NIRSPEC detects weak spectral features
tentatively identified as Ly-alpha at z=6.95 and z=7.69 in two of the objects.
The third object is placed at z~1.6 based on a 24um and weak optical detection.
A comparison with the spectral energy distributions of known z<7 galaxies,
including objects with strong spectral lines, large extinction, and large
systematic uncertainties in the photometry yields no objects with similar
colors. However, the lambda>1um properties of all three objects can be matched
to optically detected sources with photometric redshifts at z~1.8, so the
non-detection in the i+ and z+ bands are the primary factors which favors a z>7
solution. If any of these objects are at z~7 the bright end of the luminosity
function is significantly higher at z>7 than suggested by previous studies, but
consistent within the statistical uncertainty and the dark matter halo
distribution. If these objects are at low redshift, the Lyman-Break selection
must be contaminated by a previously unknown population of low redshift objects
with very strong breaks in their broad band spectral energy distributions and
blue NIR colors. The implications of this result on luminosity function
evolution at high redshift is discussed. We show that the primary limitation of
z>7 galaxy searches with broad filters is the depth of the available optical
data.Comment: 15 Pages, 15 figures, accepted to Ap
Very Strong Emission-Line Galaxies in the WISP Survey and Implications for High-Redshift Galaxies
The WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel Survey (WISP) uses the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) infrared grism capabilities to obtain slitless spectra of
thousands of galaxies over a wide redshift range including the peak of star
formation history of the Universe. We select a population of very strong
emission-line galaxies with rest-frame equivalent widths higher than 200 A. A
total of 176 objects are found over the redshift range 0.35 < z < 2.3 in the
180 arcmin^2 area we analyzed so far. After estimating the AGN fraction in the
sample, we show that this population consists of young and low-mass starbursts
with higher specific star formation rates than normal star-forming galaxies at
any redshift. After spectroscopic follow-up of one of these galaxies with
Keck/LRIS, we report the detection at z = 0.7 of an extremely metal-poor galaxy
with 12+Log(O/H)= 7.47 +- 0.11. The nebular emission-lines can substantially
affect the broadband flux density with a median brightening of 0.3 mag, with
examples producing brightening of up to 1 mag. The presence of strong emission
lines in low-z galaxies can mimic the color-selection criteria used in the z ~
8 dropout surveys. In order to effectively remove low redshift interlopers,
deep optical imaging is needed, at least 1 mag deeper than the bands in which
the objects are detected. Finally, we empirically demonstrate that strong
nebular lines can lead to an overestimation of the mass and the age of galaxies
derived from fitting of their SED. Without removing emission lines, the age and
the stellar mass estimates are overestimated by a factor of 2 on average and up
to a factor of 10 for the high-EW galaxies. Therefore the contribution of
emission lines should be systematically taken into account in SED fitting of
star-forming galaxies at all redshifts.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 15 pages, 13
figure
The bright end of the z ~ 7 UV Luminosity Function from a wide and deep HAWK-I survey
(Abridged) We present here the second half of an ESO Large Programme, which
exploits the unique combination of area and sensitivity provided in the near-IR
by the camera Hawk-I at the VLT. We have obtained - 30 observing hours with
Hawk-I in the Y-band of two high galactic latitude fields. We combined the
Y-band data with deep J and K Hawk-I observations, and with FORS1/FORS2 U, B,
V, R, I, and Z observations to select z-drop galaxies having Z - Y > 1, no
optical detection and flat Y - J and Y - K colour terms. We detect 8
high-quality candidates in the magnitude range Y = 25.5 - 26.5 that we add to
the z-drop candidates selected in two Hawk-I pointings over the GOODS-South
field. We use this full sample of 15 objects found in -161 arcmin^2 of our
survey to constrain the average physical properties and the evolution of the
number density of z ~ 7 LBGs. A stacking analysis yields a best-fit SED with
photometric redshift z= 6.85 +0.20 -0.15 and an E(B-V)=0.05 +0.15 -0.05. We
compute a binned estimate of the z ~ 7 LF and explore the effects of
photometric scatter and model uncertainties on the statistical constraints.
After accounting for the expected incompleteness through MonteCarlo
simulations, we strengthen our previous finding that a Schechter luminosity
function constant from z=6 to z=7 is ruled out at a >99% confidence level, even
including the effects of cosmic variance. For galaxies brighter than M_1500=
-19.0, we derive a luminosity density rho_UV = 1.5^{+2.1}{-0.8} x 10^25
erg/s/Hz/Mpc^3, implying a decrease by a factor 3.5 from z=6 to z=6.8. We find
that, under standard assumptions, the emission rate of ionizing photons coming
from UV bright galaxies is lower by at least a factor of two than the value
required for reionization. Finally, we exploit deep Hawk-I J and K band
observations to derive an upper limit on the number density of M1500<~ -22.0
LBGs at z-8 (Y-dropouts).Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Physical properties of Lyman-alpha emitters at from UV-to-FIR measurements
The analysis of the physical properties of low-redshift Ly emitters
(LAEs) can provide clues in the study of their high-redshift analogues. At , LAEs are bright enough to be detected over almost the entire
electromagnetic spectrum and it is possible to carry out a more precise and
complete study than at higher redshifts. In this study, we examine the UV and
IR emission, dust attenuation, SFR and morphology of a sample of 23
GALEX-discovered star-forming (SF) LAEs at with direct UV (GALEX),
optical (ACS) and FIR (PACS and MIPS) data. Using the same UV and IR limiting
luminosities, we find that LAEs at tend to be less dusty, have
slightly higher total SFRs, have bluer UV continuum slopes, and are much
smaller than other galaxies that do not exhibit Ly emission in their
spectrum (non-LAEs). These results suggest that at Ly
photons tend to escape from small galaxies with low dust attenuation. Regarding
their morphology, LAEs belong to Irr/merger classes, unlike non-LAEs. Size and
morphology represent the most noticeable difference between LAEs and non-LAEs
at . Furthermore, the comparison of our results with those obtained
at higher redshifts indicates that either the Ly technique picks up
different kind of galaxies at different redshifts or that the physical
properties of LAEs are evolving with redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Evolution of star formation in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Field - I. Luminosity functions and cosmic star formation rate out to z = 1.6 (vol 433, pg 796, 2013)
We present new results on the cosmic star formation history in the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Survey (SXDS)–Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field out to z = 1.6. We compile narrowband
data from the Subaru Telescope and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) in conjunction with broad-band data from the SXDS and UDS, to make a selection of 5725 emission-line galaxies in 12 redshift slices, spanning 10 Gyr of cosmic time. We determine photometric redshifts for the sample using 11-band photometry, and use
a spectroscopically confirmed subset to fine tune the resultant redshift distribution. We use the maximum-likelihood technique to determine luminosity functions in each redshift slice and model the selection effects inherent in any narrow-band selection statistically, to obviate the retrospective corrections ordinarily required. The deep narrow-band data are sensitive to very low star formation rates (SFRs), and allow an accurate evaluation of the faint end slope of the Schechter function, α. We find that α is particularly sensitive to the assumed faintest
broad-band magnitude of a galaxy capable of hosting an emission line, and propose that this limit should be empirically motivated. For this analysis, we base our threshold on the limiting observed equivalent widths of emission lines in the local Universe. We compute the
characteristic SFR of galaxies in each redshift slice, and the integrated SFR density, ρSFR. We find our results to be in good agreement with the literature and parametrize the evolution of the SFR density as ρSFR ∝ (1 + z)4.58 confirming a steep decline in star formation activity
since z ∼ 1.6.
Key words: surveys – galaxies: evolution – galaxies: formation – galaxies: high-redshift –
galaxies: star formation – cosmology: observations
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