Accurate mass and velocity functions of dark matter halos

$N$-body cosmological simulations are an essential tool to understand the observed distribution of galaxies. We use the MultiDark simulation suite, run with the Planck cosmological parameters, to revisit the mass and velocity functions. At redshift $z=0$, the simulations cover four orders of magnitude in halo mass from $\sim10^{11}M_\odot$ with 8,783,874 distinct halos and 532,533 subhalos. The total volume used is $\sim$515 Gpc$^3$, more than 8 times larger than in previous studies. We measure and model the halo mass function, its covariance matrix w.r.t halo mass and the large scale halo bias. With the formalism of the excursion-set mass function, we explicit the tight interconnection between the covariance matrix, bias and halo mass function. We obtain a very accurate ($<2\%$ level) model of the distinct halo mass function. We also model the subhalo mass function and its relation to the distinct halo mass function. The set of models obtained provides a complete and precise framework for the description of halos in the concordance Planck cosmology. Finally, we provide precise analytical fits of the $V_{max}$ maximum velocity function up to redshift $z<2.3$ to push for the development of halo occupation distribution using $V_{max}$. The data and the analysis code are made publicly available in the \textit{Skies and Universes} database.Comment: Corresponding data is available at the Skies and Universes data base: http://projects.ift.uam-csic.es/skies-universe

A study of 1000 galaxies with unusually young and massive stars in the SDSS: a search for hidden black holes

We select 1076 galaxies with extinction-corrected Halpha equivalent widths too large to be explained with a Kroupa (2001) IMF, and compare these with a control sample of galaxies that is matched in stellar mass, redshift and 4000 AA break strength, but with normal Halpha equivalent widths. Our goal is to study how processes such as black hole growth and energetic feedback processes from massive stars differ between galaxies with extreme central Halpha emission and galaxies with normal young central stellar populations. The stellar mass distribution of Halpha excess galaxies is peaked at 3 \times 10^10 Msun and almost all fall well within the star-forming locus in the [OIII]/Hbeta versus [NII]/Halpha BPT disgram. Halpha excess galaxies are twice as likely to exhibit Halpha line asymmetries and 1.55 times more likely to be detected at 1 GHz in the VLA FIRST survey compared to control sample galaxies. The radio luminosity per unit stellar mass decreases with the stellar age of the system. Using stacked spectra, we demonstrate that [NeV] emission is not present in the very youngest of the radio-quiet Halpha excess galaxies with detectable Wolf-Rayet features, suggesting that black hole growth has not yet commenced in such systems. [NeV] emission is detected in Halpha excess galaxies with radio detections and the strength of the line correlates with the radio luminosity. This is the clearest indication for a possible population of black holes that may be forming in a subset of the Halpha excess population.Comment: 17 pages, 22 figures, accepted in MNRA

Measuring galaxy [OII] emission line doublet with future ground-based wide-field spectroscopic surveys

The next generation of wide-field spectroscopic redshift surveys will map the large-scale galaxy distribution in the redshift range 0.7< z<2 to measure baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO). The primary optical signature used in this redshift range comes from the [OII] emission line doublet, which provides a unique redshift identification that can minimize confusion with other single emission lines. To derive the required spectrograph resolution for these redshift surveys, we simulate observations of the [OII] (3727,3729) doublet for various instrument resolutions, and line velocities. We foresee two strategies about the choice of the resolution for future spectrographs for BAO surveys. For bright [OII] emitter surveys ([OII] flux ~30.10^{-17} erg /cm2/s like SDSS-IV/eBOSS), a resolution of R~3300 allows the separation of 90 percent of the doublets. The impact of the sky lines on the completeness in redshift is less than 6 percent. For faint [OII] emitter surveys ([OII] flux ~10.10^{-17} erg /cm2/s like DESi), the detection improves continuously with resolution, so we recommend the highest possible resolution, the limit being given by the number of pixels (4k by 4k) on the detector and the number of spectroscopic channels (2 or 3).Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Multi-tracer extension of the halo model:probing quenching and conformity in eBOSS

We develop a new Multi-Tracer Halo Occupation Distribution (\texttt{MTHOD}) framework for the galaxy distribution and apply it to the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) final data between $z=0.7-1.1$. We obtain a best fit \mthod\, for each tracer and describe the host halo properties of these galaxies. The mean halo masses for LRGs, ELGs and QSOs are found to be 1.9 \times 10^{13} \msolaroh, 1.1 \times 10^{12} \msolaroh and 5 \times 10^{12} \msolaroh respectively in the eBOSS data. We use the \texttt{MTHOD} framework to create mock galaxy catalogues and predict auto- and cross-correlation functions for all the tracers. Comparing these results with data, we investigate galactic conformity, the phenomenon whereby the properties of neighbouring galaxies are mutually correlated in a manner that is not captured by the basic halo model. We detect \textsl{1-halo} conformity at more than 3$\sigma$ statistical significance, while obtaining upper limit on \textsl{2-halo} conformity. We also look at the environmental dependence of the galaxy quenching efficiency and find that halo mass driven quenching successfully explains the behaviour in high density regions, but it fails to describe the quenching efficiency in low density regions. In particular, we show that the quenching efficiency in low density filaments is higher in the observed data, as compared to the prediction of the \mthod\ with halo mass driven quenching. The mock galaxy catalogue constructed in this paper is publicly available on https://www.roe.ac.uk/~salam/MTHOD/ .Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, the software and mock catalogue should be made available through: https://www.roe.ac.uk/~salam/MTHOD/ , Accepted for publication in MNRA

Probing AGN Inner Structure with X-ray Obscured Type 1 AGN

Using the X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the XMM-XXL north survey and the SDSS Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) spectroscopic follow-up of them, we compare the properties of X-ray unobscured and obscured broad-line AGN (BLAGN1 and BLAGN2; $N_\textrm{H}$below and above $10^{21.5}$ cm$^{-2}$), including their X-ray luminosity $L_X$, black hole mass, Eddington ratio $\lambda_{\textrm{Edd}}$, optical continuum and line features. We find that BLAGN2 have systematically larger broad line widths and hence apparently higher (lower) $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ ($\lambda_{\textrm{Edd}}$) than BLAGN1. We also find that the X-ray obscuration in BLAGN tends to coincide with optical dust extinction, which is optically thinner than that in narrow-line AGN (NLAGN) and likely partial-covering to the broad line region. All the results can be explained in the framework of a multi-component, clumpy torus model by interpreting BLAGN2 as an intermediate type between BLAGN1 and NLAGN in terms of an intermediate inclination angle.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, published in MNRA

The Mass-Concentration Relation and the Stellar-to-Halo Mass Ratio in the CFHT Stripe 82 Survey

We present a new measurement of the mass-concentration relation and the stellar-to-halo mass ratio over the halo mass range $5\times 10^{12}$ to $2\times 10^{14}M_{\odot}$. To achieve this, we use weak lensing measurements from the CFHT Stripe 82 Survey (CS82), combined with the central galaxies from the redMaPPer cluster catalogue and the LOWZ/CMASS galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Tenth Data Release. The stacked lensing signals around these samples are modelled as a sum of contributions from the central galaxy, its dark matter halo, and the neighboring halos, as well as a term for possible centering errors. We measure the mass-concentration relation: $c_{200c}(M)=A(\frac{M_{200c}}{M_0})^{B}$ with $A=5.24\pm1.24, B=-0.13\pm0.10$ for $0.2<z<0.4$ and $A=6.61\pm0.75, B=-0.15\pm0.05$ for $0.4<z<0.6$. These amplitudes and slopes are completely consistent with predictions from recent simulations. We also measure the stellar-to-halo mass ratio for our samples, and find results consistent with previous measurements from lensing and other techniques.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Constraint on the time variation of the fine-structure constant with the SDSS-III/BOSS DR12 quasar sample

From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12, which covers the full Baryonic Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) footprint, we investigate the possible variation of the fine-structure constant over cosmological time-scales. We analyse the largest quasar sample considered so far in the literature, which contains 13175 spectra (10363 from SDSS-III/BOSS DR12 + 2812 from SDSS-II DR7) with redshift $z<\,$1. We apply the emission-line method on the [O III] doublet (4960, 5008 A) and obtain $\Delta\alpha/\alpha= \left(0.9 \pm 1.8\right)\times10^{-5}$ for the relative variation of the fine-structure constant. We also investigate the possible sources of systematics: misidentification of the lines, sky OH lines, H$\,\beta$ and broad line contamination, Gaussian and Voigt fitting profiles, optimal wavelength range for the Gaussian fits, chosen polynomial order for the continuum spectrum, signal-to-noise ratio and good quality of the fits. The uncertainty of the measurement is dominated by the sky subtraction. The results presented in this work, being systematics limited, have sufficient statistics to constrain robustly the variation of the fine-structure constant in redshift bins ($\Delta z\approx$ 0.06) over the last 7.9 Gyr. In addition, we study the [Ne III] doublet (3870, 3969 A) present in 462 quasar spectra and discuss the systematic effects on using these emission lines to constrain the fine-structure constant variation. Better constraints on $\Delta\alpha/\alpha\$ ($<$10$^{-6}$) using the emission-line method would be possible with high-resolution spectroscopy and large galaxy/qso surveys.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures. Version published in MNRAS. Analysis enlarged, public catalogue now availabl

Quasars at intermediate redshift are not special; but they are often satellites

Understanding the links between the activity of supermassive black holes (SMBH) at the centres of galaxies and their host dark matter haloes is a key question in modern astrophysics. The final data release of the SDSS-IV eBOSS provides the largest contemporary spectroscopic sample of galaxies and QSOs. Using this sample and covering the redshift interval $z=0.7-1.1$, we have measured the clustering properties of the eBOSS QSOs, Emission Line Galaxies (ELGs) and Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). We have also measured the fraction of QSOs as a function of the overdensity defined by the galaxy population. Using these measurements, we investigate how QSOs populate and sample the galaxy population, and how the host dark-matter haloes of QSOs sample the underlying halo distribution. We find that the probability of a galaxy hosting a QSO is independent of the host dark matter halo mass of the galaxy. We also find that about 60\% of eBOSS QSOs are hosted by LRGs and about 20-40\% of QSOs are hosted by satellite galaxies. We find a slight preference for QSOs to populate satellite galaxies over central galaxies. This is connected to the host halo mass distribution of different types of galaxies. Based on our analysis, QSOs should be hosted by a very broad distribution of haloes, and their occurrence should be modulated only by the efficiency of galaxy formation processes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 Figures, Data and code from this analysis is available at https://www.roe.ac.uk/~salam/GQOD/ , submitted to MNRAS, comments and suggestions are welcom