467 research outputs found
Finding Galaxy Groups In Photometric Redshift Space: the Probability Friends-of-Friends (pFoF) Algorithm
We present a structure finding algorithm designed to identify galaxy groups
in photometric redshift data sets: the probability friends-of-friends (pFoF)
algorithm. This algorithm is derived by combining the friends-of-friends
algorithm in the transverse direction and the photometric redshift probability
densities in the radial dimension. The innovative characteristic of our
group-finding algorithm is the improvement of redshift estimation via the
constraints given by the transversely connected galaxies in a group, based on
the assumption that all galaxies in a group have the same redshift. Tests using
the Virgo Consortium Millennium Simulation mock catalogs allow us to show that
the recovery rate of the pFoF algorithm is larger than 80% for mock groups of
at least 2\times10^{13}M_{\sun}, while the false detection rate is about 10%
for pFoF groups containing at least net members. Applying the algorithm
to the CNOC2 group catalogs gives results which are consistent with the mock
catalog tests. From all these results, we conclude that our group-finding
algorithm offers an effective yet simple way to identify galaxy groups in
photometric redshift catalogs.Comment: AJ accepte
A massive, distant proto-cluster at z=2.47 caught in a phase of rapid formation?
Numerical simulations of cosmological structure formation show that the
Universe's most massive clusters, and the galaxies living in those clusters,
assemble rapidly at early times (2.5 < z < 4). While more than twenty
proto-clusters have been observed at z > 2 based on associations of 5-40
galaxies around rare sources, the observational evidence for rapid cluster
formation is weak. Here we report observations of an asymmetric, filamentary
structure at z = 2.47 containing seven starbursting, submillimeter-luminous
galaxies and five additional AGN within a comoving volume of 15000 Mpc.
As the expected lifetime of both the luminous AGN and starburst phase of a
galaxy is ~100 Myr, we conclude that these sources were likely triggered in
rapid succession by environmental factors, or, alternatively, the duration of
these cosmologically rare phenomena is much longer than prior direct
measurements suggest. The stellar mass already built up in the structure is
and we estimate that the cluster mass will exceed that
of the Coma supercluster at . The filamentary structure is in line
with hierarchical growth simulations which predict that the peak of cluster
activity occurs rapidly at z > 2.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted in ApJL (small revisions from
previous version
Spitzer bright, UltraVISTA faint sources in COSMOS: the contribution to the overall population of massive galaxies at z=3-7
We have analysed a sample of 574 Spitzer 4.5 micron-selected galaxies with
[4.5]24 (AB) over the UltraVISTA ultra-deep COSMOS field. Our
aim is to investigate whether these mid-IR bright, near-IR faint sources
contribute significantly to the overall population of massive galaxies at
redshifts z>=3. By performing a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis
using up to 30 photometric bands, we have determined that the redshift
distribution of our sample peaks at redshifts z~2.5-3.0, and ~32% of the
galaxies lie at z>=3. We have studied the contribution of these sources to the
galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) at high redshifts. We found that the
[4.5]24 galaxies produce a negligible change to the GSMF
previously determined for Ks_auto<24 sources at 3=<z<4, but their contribution
is more important at 4=~50% of the galaxies with stellar
masses Mst>~6 x 10^10 Msun. We also constrained the GSMF at the highest-mass
end (Mst>~2 x 10^11 Msun) at z>=5. From their presence at 5=<z<6, and virtual
absence at higher redshifts, we can pinpoint quite precisely the moment of
appearance of the first most massive galaxies as taking place in the ~0.2 Gyr
of elapsed time between z~6 and z~5. Alternatively, if very massive galaxies
existed earlier in cosmic time, they should have been significantly
dust-obscured to lie beyond the detection limits of current, large-area, deep
near-IR surveys.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables. Updated to match version in press at
the Ap
Evolution of the Fraction of Clumpy Galaxies at 0.2<z<1.0 in the COSMOS field
Using the Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys data in the
COSMOS field, we systematically searched clumpy galaxies at 0.2<z<1.0 and
investigated the fraction of clumpy galaxies and its evolution as a function of
stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), and specific SFR (SSFR). The fraction
of clumpy galaxies in star-forming galaxies with Mstar > 10^9.5 Msun decreases
with time from ~0.35 at 0.8<z<1.0 to ~0.05 at 0.2<z<0.4 irrespective of the
stellar mass, although the fraction tends to be slightly lower for massive
galaxies with Mstar > 10^10.5 Msun at each redshift. On the other hand, the
fraction of clumpy galaxies increases with increasing both SFR and SSFR in all
the redshift ranges we investigated. In particular, we found that the SSFR
dependences of the fractions are similar among galaxies with different stellar
masses, and the fraction at a given SSFR does not depend on the stellar mass in
each redshift bin. The evolution of the fraction of clumpy galaxies from z~0.9
to z~0.3 seems to be explained by such SSFR dependence of the fraction and the
evolution of SSFRs of star-forming galaxies. The fraction at a given SSFR also
appears to decrease with time, but this can be due to the effect of the
morphological K-correction. We suggest that these results are understood by the
gravitational fragmentation model for the formation of giant clumps in disk
galaxies, where the gas mass fraction is a crucial parameter.Comment: 14 Pages, 13 Figures, 1 Table, Accepted for publication in Ap
Physical properties of z > 4 submillimeter galaxies in the COSMOS field
We investigate the physical properties of a sample of six submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS field, spectroscopically confirmed to lie at redshifts z> 4. While the redshifts for four of these SMGs were previously known, we present here two newly discovered z_(spec)> 4 SMGs. For our analysis we employ the rich (X-ray to radio) COSMOS multi-wavelength datasets. In particular, we use new data from the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) 325 MHz and 3 GHz Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to probe the rest-frame 1.4 GHz emission at z = 4, and to estimate the sizes of the star formation regions of these sources, respectively. We find that only oneSMG is clearly resolved at a resolution of 0''̣6 × 0''̣7 at 3 GHz, two may be marginally resolved, while the remaining three SMGs are unresolved at this resolution. Combining this with sizes from high-resolution (sub-)mm observations available in the literature for AzTEC 1 and AzTEC 3 we infer a median radio-emitting size for our z> 4 SMGs of (0''̣63 ± 0''̣12) × (0''̣35 ± 0''̣05) or 4.1 × 2.3 kpc^2 (major × minor axis; assuming z = 4.5) or lower if we take the two marginally resolved SMGs as unresolved. This is consistent with the sizes of star formation regions in lower-redshift SMGs, and local normal galaxies, yet higher than the sizes of star formation regions of local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). Our SMG sample consists of a fair mix of compact and more clumpy systems with multiple, perhaps merging, components. With an average formation time of ~280 Myr, as derived through modeling of the UV IR spectral energy distributions, the studied SMGs are young systems. The average stellar mass, dust temperature, and IR luminosity we derive are M⋆ ~ 1.4 × 10^(11) M⊙, T_(dust) ~ 43 K, and L_(IR) ~ 1.3 × 10^(13)L⊙, respectively. The average L_(IR) is up to an order of magnitude higher than for SMGs at lower redshifts. Our SMGs follow the correlation between dust temperature and IR luminosity as derived for Herschel-selected 0.1 4 SMGs put them at the high end of the L_(IR)–T_(dust) distribution of SMGs, and that our SMGs form a morphologically heterogeneous sample. Thus, additional in-depth analyses of large, statistical samples of high-redshift SMGs are needed to fully understand their role in galaxy formation and evolution
On the evolution of environmental and mass properties of strong lens galaxies in COSMOS
Among the 100 strong lens candidates found in the COSMOS field, 20 with
redshifts in the range [0.34,1.13], feature multiple images of background
sources. Using the multi-wavelength coverage of the field and its spectroscopic
follow-up, we characterize the evolution with redshift of the environment and
of the dark-matter (DM) fraction of the lens galaxies. We present new redshift
of the strong lens candidates. The lens environment is characterized by the
projected 10 closest galaxies around each lens and by the number of galaxies
with a projected distance less than 1Mpc at the lens galaxy redshift. In both
cases, we perform similar measurements on a control sample of twin non-lens
early type galaxies (ETGs). In addition, we identify group members and field
galaxies in the X-ray and optical catalogs of galaxy groups. From those
catalogs, we measure the external shear contribution at the lens galaxy
positions. The systems are then modeled using a SIE plus the external shear due
to the groups. We observe that the average stellar mass of lens galaxies
increases with z and that the environment of lens galaxies is compatible with
that of the twins. During the lens modeling, we notice that, when let free, the
external shear points in a direction which is the mean direction of the
external shear due to groups and of the closest galaxy to the lens. We notice
that the DM fraction of the lens galaxies within the Einstein radius decreases
as the redshift increases. Given these, we conclude that, while the environment
of lens galaxies is compatible with that of non-lens ETGS, their mass
properties evolves significantly with redshift: it is still not clear whether
this advocates in favor of a stronger lensing bias toward massive objects at
high redshift or is simply representative of the high proportion of massive and
high stellar density galaxies at high redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Significant modifications in the
paper but similar conclusion
Rest-frame Optical Emission Lines in Far-Infrared Selected Galaxies at z<1.7 from the FMOS-COSMOS Survey
We have used FMOS on Subaru to obtain near-infrared spectroscopy of 123
far-infrared selected galaxies in COSMOS and obtain the key rest-frame optical
emission lines. This is the largest sample of infrared galaxies with
near-infrared spectroscopy at these redshifts. The far-infrared selection
results in a sample of galaxies that are massive systems that span a range of
metallicities in comparison with previous optically selected surveys, and thus
has a higher AGN fraction and better samples the AGN branch. We establish the
presence of AGN and starbursts in this sample of (U)LIRGs selected as
Herschel-PACS and Spitzer-MIPS detections in two redshift bins (z~0.7 and
z~1.5) and test the redshift dependence of diagnostics used to separate AGN
from star-formation dominated galaxies. In addition, we construct a low
redshift (z~0.1) comparison sample of infrared selected galaxies and find that
the evolution from z~1.5 to today is consistent with an evolving AGN selection
line and a range of ISM conditions and metallicities from the models of Kewley
et al. (2013b). We find that a large fraction of (U)LIRGs are BPT-selected AGN
using their new, redshift-dependent classification line. We compare the
position of known X-ray detected AGN (67 in total) with the BPT selection and
find that the new classification line accurately selects most of these objects
(> 70%). Furthermore, we identify 35 new (likely obscured) AGN not selected as
such by their X-ray emission. Our results have direct implications for AGN
selection at higher redshift with either current (MOSFIRE, KMOS) or future
(PFS, MOONS) spectroscopic efforts with near-infrared spectral coverage.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journal Letter
Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies
Three billion years after the big bang (at redshift z=2), half of the most
massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual
star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an
order of magnitude larger than in low redshift ellipticals, their descendants.
Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar
populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr
earlier (at 3<z<6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise
to such starbursts which produce dense remnants. Sub-millimeter selected
galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich, starbursts. With a
new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact quiescent galaxies at z=2
and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z=3-6 SMGs are
consistent with being the progenitors of z=2 quiescent galaxies, matching their
formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses and
internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities
also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42 (+40/-29) Myr
(consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars
in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of
star-formation. These results suggests a coherent picture of the formation
history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst
of violent star-formation through their appearance as high stellar-density
galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.Comment: ApJ (in press
The dominant role of mergers in the size evolution of massive early-type galaxies since z ∼ 1
Aims. The role of galaxy mergers in massive galaxy evolution, and in particular to mass assembly and size growth, remains an open question. In this paper we measure the merger fraction and rate, both minor and major, of massive early-type galaxies (M_⋆ ≥ 10^(11) M_⊙) in the COSMOS field, and study their role in mass and size evolution.
Methods. We used the 30-band photometric catalogue in COSMOS, complemented with the spectroscopy of the zCOSMOS survey, to define close pairs with a separation on the sky plane 10 h^(-1) kpc ≤ r_p ≤ 30 h^(-1) kpc and a relative velocity Δv ≤ 500 km s^(-1) in redshift space. We measured both major (stellar mass ratio μ ≡ M_(⋆,2)/M_(⋆,1) ≥ 1/4) and minor (1/10 ≤ μ < 1/4) merger fractions of massive galaxies, and studied their dependence on redshift and on morphology (early types vs. late types).
Results. The merger fraction and rate of massive galaxies evolves as a power-law (1 + z)^n, with major mergers increasing with redshift, n_(MM) = 1.4, and minor mergers showing little evolution, n_(mm) ~ 0. When split by their morphology, the minor merger fraction for early-type galaxies (ETGs) is higher by a factor of three than that for late-type galaxies (LTGs), and both are nearly constant with redshift. The fraction of major mergers for massive LTGs evolves faster (n_(MM)^(LT) ~ 4 ) than for ETGs (n_(MM)^(ET)= 1.8).
Conclusions. Our results show that massive ETGs have undergone 0.89 mergers (0.43 major and 0.46 minor) since z ~ 1, leading to a mass growth of ~30%. We find that μ ≥ 1/10 mergers can explain ~55% of the observed size evolution of these galaxies since z ~ 1. Another ~20% is due to the progenitor bias (younger galaxies are more extended) and we estimate that very minor mergers (μ < 1/10) could contribute with an extra ~20%. The remaining ~5% should come from other processes (e.g., adiabatic expansion or observational effects). This picture also reproduces the mass growth and the velocity dispersion evolution of these galaxies. We conclude from these results, and after exploring all the possible uncertainties in our picture, that merging is the main contributor to the size evolution of massive ETGs at z ≲ 1, accounting for ~50−75% of that evolution in the last 8 Gyr. Nearly half of the evolution due to mergers is related to minor (μ < 1/4) events
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