A multiscale approach to environment

Physical processes influencing the properties of galaxies can be traced by the dependence and evolution of galaxy properties on their environment. A detailed understanding of this dependence can only be gained through comparison of observations with models, with an appropriate quantification of the rich parameter space describing the environment of the galaxy. We present a new, multiscale parameterization of galaxy environment which retains an observationally motivated simplicity whilst utilizing the information present on different scales. We examine how the distribution of galaxy (u-r) colours in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), parameterized using a double gaussian (red plus blue peak) fit, depends upon multiscale density. This allows us to probe the detailed dependence of galaxy properties on environment in a way which is independent of the halo model. Nonetheless, cross-correlation with the group catalogue constructed by Yang et al, 2007 shows that galaxy properties trace environment on different scales in a way which mimics that expected within the halo model. This provides independent support for the existence of virialized haloes, and important additional clues to the role played by environment in the evolution of the galaxy population. This work is described in full by Wilman et al., 2010, MNRAS, acceptedComment: A brief summary of the work presented by Wilman et al., 2010, MNRAS, accepted; LaTeX, 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in "Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation", Malta, 19-23 Oct. 2009, eds. V.P. Debattista & C.C. Popescu, AIP Conference Serie

Searchable Sky Coverage of Astronomical Observations: Footprints and Exposures

Sky coverage is one of the most important pieces of information about astronomical observations. We discuss possible representations, and present algorithms to create and manipulate shapes consisting of generalized spherical polygons with arbitrary complexity and size on the celestial sphere. This shape specification integrates well with our Hierarchical Triangular Mesh indexing toolbox, whose performance and capabilities are enhanced by the advanced features presented here. Our portable implementation of the relevant spherical geometry routines comes with wrapper functions for database queries, which are currently being used within several scientific catalog archives including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Hubble Legacy Archive projects as well as the Footprint Service of the Virtual Observatory.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PAS

Optimal multihump filter for photometric redshifts

We propose a novel type filter for multicolor imaging to improve on the photometric redshift estimation of galaxies. An extra filter - specific to a certain photometric system - may be utilized with high efficiency. We present a case study of the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys and show that one extra exposure could cut down the mean square error on photometric redshifts by 34% over the z<1.3 redshift range.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX AASTeX, accepted to A

Objective Identification of Informative Wavelength Regions in Galaxy Spectra

Understanding the diversity in spectra is the key to determining the physical parameters of galaxies. The optical spectra of galaxies are highly convoluted with continuum and lines which are potentially sensitive to different physical parameters. Defining the wavelength regions of interest is therefore an important question. In this work, we identify informative wavelength regions in a single-burst stellar populations model by using the CUR Matrix Decomposition. Simulating the Lick/IDS spectrograph configuration, we recover the widely used Dn(4000), Hbeta, and HdeltaA to be most informative. Simulating the SDSS spectrograph configuration with a wavelength range 3450-8350 Angstrom and a model-limited spectral resolution of 3 Angstrom, the most informative regions are: first region-the 4000 Angstrom break and the Hdelta line; second region-the Fe-like indices; third region-the Hbeta line; fourth region-the G band and the Hgamma line. A Principal Component Analysis on the first region shows that the first eigenspectrum tells primarily the stellar age, the second eigenspectrum is related to the age-metallicity degeneracy, and the third eigenspectrum shows an anti-correlation between the strengths of the Balmer and the Ca K and H absorptions. The regions can be used to determine the stellar age and metallicity in early-type galaxies which have solar abundance ratios, no dust, and a single-burst star formation history. The region identification method can be applied to any set of spectra of the user's interest, so that we eliminate the need for a common, fixed-resolution index system. We discuss future directions in extending the current analysis to late-type galaxies.Comment: 36 Pages, 13 Figures, 4 Tables. AJ Accepte