An Extremely Deep Wide-Field Near-Infrared Survey: Bright Galaxy Counts and Local Large Scale Structure

We present a deep, wide-field near-infrared (NIR) survey over five widely separated fields at high Galactic latitude covering a total of ~ 3 deg^2 in J, H, and Ks. The deepest areas of the data (~ 0.25 deg^2) extend to a 5 sigma limiting magnitude of JHKs > 24 in the AB magnitude system. Although depth and area vary from field to field, the overall depth and large area of this dataset make it one of the deepest wide-field NIR imaging surveys to date. This paper discusses the observations, data reduction, and bright galaxy counts in these fields. We compare the slope of the bright galaxy counts with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and other counts from the literature and explore the relationship between slope and supergalactic latitude. The slope near the supergalactic equator is sub- Euclidean on average pointing to the possibility of a decreasing average space density of galaxies by ~ 10-15% over scales of ~ 250-350 Mpc. On the contrary, the slope at high supergalactic latitudes is strongly super-Euclidean on average suggesting an increase in the space density of galaxies as one moves from the voids just above and below the supergalactic plane out to distances of ~ 250-350 Mpc. These results suggest that local large scale structure could be responsible for large discrepancies in the measured slope between different studies in the past. In addition, the local universe away from the supergalactic plane appears to be underdense by ~ 25-100% relative to the space densities of a few hundred megaparsecs distant. Subject headings: cosmology: observations and large scale structure of universe-galaxies: fundamental parameters (counts)-infrared: galaxiesComment: Accepted to ApJS, 18 Pages, 14 Figures, 8 Table

The OPTX Project I: The Flux and Redshift Catalogs for the CLANS, CLASXS, and CDF-N fields

We present the redshift catalogs for the X-ray sources detected in the Chandra Deep Field North (CDF-N), the Chandra Large Area Synoptic X-ray Survey (CLASXS), and the Chandra Lockman Area North Survey (CLANS). The catalogs for the CDF-N and CLASXS fields include redshifts from previous work, while the redshifts for the CLANS field are all new. For fluxes above 10^-14 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 (2-8 keV) we have redshifts for 76% of the sources. We extend the redshift information for the full sample using photometric redshifts. The goal of the OPTX Project is to use these three surveys, which are among the most spectroscopically complete surveys to date, to analyze the effect of spectral type on the shape and evolution of the X-ray luminosity functions and to compare the optical spectral types with the X-ray spectral properties. We also present the CLANS X-ray catalog. The nine ACIS-I fields cover a solid angle of ~0.6 square degrees and reach fluxes of 7x10^-16 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 (0.5-2 keV) and 3.5x10^-15 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 (2-8 keV). We find a total of 761 X-ray point sources. Additionally, we present the optical and infrared photometric catalog for the CLANS X-ray sources, as well as updated optical and infrared photometric catalogs for the X-ray sources in the CLASXS and CDF-N fields. The CLANS and CLASXS surveys bridge the gap between the ultradeep pencil-beam surveys, such as the CDFs, and the shallower, very large-area surveys. As a result, they probe the X-ray sources that contribute the bulk of the 2-8 keV X-ray background and cover the flux range of the observed break in the logN-logS distribution. We construct differential number counts for each individual field and for the full sample.Comment: Published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 18 pages, 16 figures, 14 table

The OPTX Project IV: How Reliable is [OIII] as a Measure of AGN Activity?

We compare optical and hard X-ray identifications of AGNs using a uniformly selected (above a flux limit of f_2-8 keV = 3.5e-15 erg/cm2/s) and highly optically spectroscopically complete ( > 80% for f_2-8 keV > 1e-14 erg/cm2/s and > 60% below) 2-8 keV sample observed in three Chandra fields (CLANS, CLASXS, and the CDF-N). We find that empirical emission-line ratio diagnostic diagrams misidentify 20-50% of the X-ray selected AGNs that can be put on these diagrams as star formers, depending on which division is used. We confirm that there is a large (2 orders in magnitude) dispersion in the log ratio of the [OIII]5007A to hard X-ray luminosities for the non-broad line AGNs, even after applying reddening corrections to the [OIII] luminosities. We find that the dispersion is similar for the broad-line AGNs, where there is not expected to be much X-ray absorption from an obscuring torus around the AGN nor much obscuration from the galaxy along the line-of-sight if the AGN is aligned with the galaxy. We postulate that the X-ray selected AGNs that are misidentified by the diagnostic diagrams have low [OIII] luminosities due to the complexity of the structure of the narrow-line region, which causes many ionizing photons from the AGN not to be absorbed. This would mean that the [OIII] luminosity can only be used to predict the X-ray luminosity to within a factor of ~3 (one sigma). Despite selection effects, we show that the shapes and normalizations of the [OIII] and transformed hard X-ray luminosity functions show reasonable agreement, suggesting that the [OIII] samples are not finding substantially more AGNs at low redshifts than hard X-ray samples.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 11 pages, 10 figure

Measuring the Sources of the Intergalactic Ionizing Flux

We use a wide-field (0.9 square degree) X-ray sample with optical and GALEX ultraviolet observations to measure the contribution of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) to the ionizing flux as a function of redshift. Our analysis shows that the AGN contribution to the metagalactic ionizing background peaks around z=2. The measured values of the ionizing background from the AGNs are lower than previous estimates and confirm that ionization from AGNs is insufficient to maintain the observed ionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z>3. We show that only sources with broad lines in their optical spectra have detectable ionizing flux and that the ionizing flux seen in an AGN is not correlated with its X-ray color. We also use the GALEX observations of the GOODS-N region to place a 2-sigma upper limit of 0.008 on the average ionization fraction fnu(700 A)/fnu(1500 A) for 626 UV selected galaxies in the redshift range z=0.9-1.4. We then use this limit to estimate an upper bound to the galaxy contribution in the redshift range z=0-5. If the z~1.15 ionization fraction is appropriate for higher redshift galaxies, then contributions from the galaxy population are also too low to account for the IGM ionization at the highest redshifts (z>4).Comment: 15 pages, Accepted by The Astrophysical Journa

Rights, responsibilities and reform: a study of French justice (1990-2016)

The principal questions addressed in this portfolio of eleven publications concern the reforms to French justice at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries. The portfolio is accompanied by a supporting statement explaining the genesis and chronology of the portfolio, its originality and the nature of the submission's distinct contribution to knowledge. The thesis questions whether the reforms protect the rights of the defence adequately. It considers how the French state views its responsibility to key figures in criminal justice, be they suspected and convicted criminals, the victims of offences or the professionals who are prosecuting the offences. It reflects upon the role of the examining magistrate, the delicate relationship between justice, politics and the media, breaches of confidentiality and the catastrophic conditions in which suspects and prisoners are detained in French prisons. It then extends its scope to a case study of the prosecution of violent crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and discovers significant flaws in procedures even at international levels. In concluding, it asks whether, given the challenges facing the French criminal justice system, French courts are adequately equipped to assure justice when suspects charged with the most serious international crimes appear before them under the principle of universal jurisdiction. The research, carried out over a number of years, relies predominantly on an analysis of French-language sources and represents a unique contribution to the understanding and knowledge of French justice for an English-speaking public at the turn of the twenty-first century

France, universal jurisdiction and Rwandan génocidaires: the Simbikangwa trial

YesIn 2014, twenty years after the Rwandan genocide, the first trial took place in France of a Rwandan génocidaire, Pascal Simbikangwa, despite the presence on French territory of a number of genocide suspects for many years, various extradition requests by Rwanda – declined by France – and numerous arrests and investigations. This article looks at issues of jurisdiction regarding the Simbikangwa case and the reasons the French courts heard his case, and examines some issues which may be of significance in the choice of arena for the bringing to justice of Rwandans genocide suspects living in France in future

The Resolved Near-Infrared Extragalactic Background

We present a current best estimate of the integrated near-infrared (NIR) extragalactic background light (EBL) attributable to resolved galaxies in J, H, and Ks. Our results in units of nW m-2 sr-1 are 11.7+5.6 -2.6 in J, 11.5+4.5 -1.5 in H and 10.0+2.8 -0.8 in Ks. We derive these new limits by combining our deep wide-field NIR photometry from five widely separated fields with other studies from the literature to create a galaxy counts sample that is highly complete and has good counting statistics out to JHKs ~ 27-28. As part of this effort we present new ultradeep Ks-band galaxy counts from 22 hours of observations with the Multi Object Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (MOIRCS) instrument on the Subaru Telescope. We use this MOIRCS Ks-band mosaic to estimate the total missing flux from sources beyond our detection limits. Our new limits to the NIR EBL are in basic agreement with, but 10 - 20% higher than previous estimates, bringing them into better agreement with estimates of the total NIR EBL (resolved + unresolved sources) obtained from TeV gamma-ray opacity measurements and recent direct measurements of the total NIR EBL. We examine field to field variations in our photometry to show that the integrated light from galaxies is isotropic to within uncertainties, consistent with the expected large-scale isotropy of the EBL. Our data also allow for a robust estimate of the NIR light from Galactic stars, which we find to be 14.7 +/- 2.4 in J, 10.1 +/- 1.9 in H and 7.6 +/- 1.8 in Ks in units of nW m-2 sr-1.Comment: Accepted to Ap

How far has the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda really come since Akayesu in the prosecution and investigation of sexual offences committed against women? An analysis of Ndindiliyimana et al

YesDuring the first trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), that of Jean-Paul Akayesu, it became evident that many Tutsi and moderate Hutu women had been raped, that “rape was the rule and its absence was the exception”.1 Although, initially, not a single charge of sexual violence was proffered against Akayesu, presiding judge Navanethem Pillay interrupted the proceedings, allowing ICTR prosecutors to amend the indictment and include counts of rape and sexual violence. Akayesu subsequently became the first case to recognise the concept of genocidal rape. However, post-Akayesu, comparatively few defendants appearing before the ICTR have been convicted of sexual violence. An analysis of the recent case of Ndindiliyimana et al2 reveals that major shortcomings beset the investigation and prosecution procedures, so that crimes of sexual violence go unpunished, although research suggests that adequate legislation is in place at the ICTR to prosecute rape and sexual violence successfully