199 research outputs found
The Galaxy UV Luminosity Function Before the Epoch of Reionization
We present a model for the evolution of the galaxy ultraviolet (UV)
luminosity function (LF) across cosmic time where star formation is linked to
the assembly of dark matter halos under the assumption of a mass dependent, but
redshift independent, efficiency. We introduce a new self-consistent treatment
of the halo star formation history, which allows us to make predictions at
(lookback time Myr), when growth is rapid. With a
calibration at a single redshift to set the stellar-to-halo mass ratio, and no
further degrees of freedom, our model captures the evolution of the UV LF over
all available observations (). The significant drop in
luminosity density of currently detectable galaxies beyond is
explained by a shift of star formation toward less massive, fainter galaxies.
Assuming that star formation proceeds down to atomic cooling halos, we derive a
reionization optical depth , fully consistent
with the latest Planck measurement, implying that the universe is fully
reionized at . In addition, our model naturally
produces smoothly rising star formation histories for galaxies with in agreement with observations and hydrodynamical simulations. Before the
epoch of reionization at we predict the LF to remain well-described by a
Schechter function, but with an increasingly steep faint-end slope
( at ). Finally, we construct forecasts for surveys
with \JWST~and \WFIRST and predict that galaxies out to will be
observed. Galaxies at will likely be accessible to JWST and WFIRST only
through the assistance of strong lensing magnification.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 11 pages, 13 figures. Corrected
mislabelled redshifts in Figure
Beacons into the Cosmic Dark Ages: Boosted transmission of Ly from UV bright galaxies at
Recent detections of Lyman alpha (Ly) emission from galaxies
were somewhat unexpected given a dearth of previous non-detections in this era
when the intergalactic medium (IGM) is still highly neutral. But these
detections were from UV bright galaxies, which preferentially live in
overdensities which reionize early, and have significantly Doppler-shifted
Ly line profiles emerging from their interstellar media (ISM), making
them less affected by the global IGM state. Using a combination of reionization
simulations and empirical ISM models we show, as a result of these two effects,
UV bright galaxies in overdensities have higher transmission through
the IGM than typical field galaxies, and this boosted transmission is
enhanced as the neutral fraction increases. The boosted transmission is not
sufficient to explain the observed high Ly fraction of galaxies (Stark et al. 2017), suggesting Ly emitted by
these galaxies must be stronger than expected due to enhanced production and/or
selection effects. Despite the bias of UV bright galaxies to reside in
overdensities we show Ly observations of such galaxies can accurately
measure the global neutral hydrogen fraction, particularly when Ly from
UV faint galaxies is extinguished, making them ideal candidates for
spectroscopic follow-up into the cosmic Dark Ages.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
The Luminosity Function at z~8 from 97 Y-band dropouts: Inferences About Reionization
[Abbreviated] We present the largest search to date for Lyman break
galaxies (LBGs) based on 350 arcmin of HST observations in the V-, Y-, J-
and H-bands from the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies (BoRG) survey. The BoRG
dataset includes 50 arcmin of new data and deeper observations of two
previous BoRG pointings, from which we present 9 new LBG candidates,
bringing the total number of BoRG LBGs to 38 with (AB system). We introduce a new Bayesian formalism for
estimating the galaxy luminosity function (LF), which does not require binning
(and thus smearing) of the data and includes a likelihood based on the formally
correct binomial distribution as opposed to the often used approximate Poisson
distribution. We demonstrate the utility of the new method on a sample of
LBGs that combines the bright BoRG galaxies with the fainter sources published
in Bouwens et al. (2012) from the HUDF and ERS programs. We show that the
LF is well described by a Schechter function with a characteristic
magnitude , a faint-end slope of , and a number density of . Integrated down to this
LF yields a luminosity density, . Our LF analysis
is consistent with previously published determinations within 1. We
discuss the implication of our study for the physics of reionization. By
assuming theoretically motivated priors on the clumping factor and the photon
escape fraction we show that the UV LF from galaxy samples down to
can ionize only 10-50% of the neutral hydrogen at . Full reionization
would require extending the LF down to .Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 22 pages, 15 figure
Correcting the z~8 Galaxy Luminosity Function for Gravitational Lensing Magnification Bias
We present a Bayesian framework to account for the magnification bias from
both strong and weak gravitational lensing in estimates of high-redshift galaxy
luminosity functions. We illustrate our method by estimating the UV
luminosity function using a sample of 97 Y-band dropouts (Lyman break galaxies)
found in the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies (BoRG) survey and from the
literature. We find the luminosity function is well described by a Schechter
function with characteristic magnitude of ,
faint-end slope of , and number density of
. These
parameters are consistent within the uncertainties with those inferred from the
same sample without accounting for the magnification bias, demonstrating that
the effect is small for current surveys at , and cannot account for the
apparent overdensity of bright galaxies compared to a Schechter function found
recently by Bowler et al. (2014a,b) and Finkelstein et al. (2014). We estimate
that the probability of finding a strongly lensed source in our sample
is in the range depending on limiting magnitude. We identify one
strongly-lensed candidate and three cases of intermediate lensing in BoRG
(estimated magnification ) in addition to the previously known
candidate group-scale strong lens. Using a range of theoretical luminosity
functions we conclude that magnification bias will dominate wide field surveys
-- such as those planned for the Euclid and WFIRST missions -- especially at
. Magnification bias will need to be accounted for in order to derive
accurate estimates of high-redshift luminosity functions in these surveys and
to distinguish between galaxy formation models.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 20 pages, 13 figure
The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). IX. The dual origin of low-mass cluster galaxies as revealed by new structural analyses
Using deep Hubble Frontier Fields imaging and slitless spectroscopy from the
Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space, we analyze 2200 cluster and 1748 field
galaxies at to determine the impact of environment on galaxy
size and structure at , an unprecedented limit at these
redshifts. Based on simple assumptions--we find no significant
differences in half-light radii () between equal-mass cluster or field
systems. More complex analyses-)-reveal local density
) to induce only a ( confidence) reduction in
beyond what can be accounted for by color, Sersic index (), and
redshift () effects.Almost any size difference between galaxies in high- and
low-density regions is thus attributable to their different distributions in
properties other than environment. Indeed, we find a clear color-
correlation in low-mass passive cluster galaxies () such
that bluer systems have larger radii, with the bluest having sizes consistent
with equal-mass star-forming galaxies. We take this as evidence that
large- low-mass passive cluster galaxies are recently acquired systems
that have been environmentally quenched without significant structural
transformation (e.g., by ram pressure stripping or starvation).Conversely,
of small- low-mass passive cluster galaxies appear to have been
in place since . Given the consistency of the small- galaxies'
stellar surface densities (and even colors) with those of systems more than ten
times as massive, our findings suggest that clusters mark places where galaxy
evolution is accelerated for an ancient base population spanning most masses,
with late-time additions quenched by environment-specific mechanisms are mainly
restricted to the lowest masses.Comment: The accepted version. The catalog is available through the GLASS web
page (http://glass.astro.ucla.edu), or
https://www.astr.tohoku.ac.jp/~mtakahiro/Publication/Morishita17
The puzzling properties of the MACS1149-JD1 galaxy at z=9.11
We analyze new JWST NIRCam and NIRSpec data on the redshift 9.11 galaxy
MACS1149-JD1. Our NIRCam imaging data reveal that JD1 comprises three spatially
distinct components. Our spectroscopic data indicate that JD1 appears dust-free
but is already enriched, . We
also find that the Carbon and Neon abundances in JD1 are below the solar
abundance ratio. Particularly the Carbon under-abundance is suggestive of
recent star formation where Type~II supernovae have already enriched the ISM in
Oxygen but intermediate mass stars have not yet enriched the ISM in Carbon. A
recent burst of star formation is also revealed by the star formation history
derived from NIRCam photometry. Our data do not reveal the presence of a
significant amount of old populations, resulting in a factor of
smaller stellar mass than previous estimates. Thus, our data support the view
that JD1 is a young galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publicatio
Inferences on the Timeline of Reionization at z~8 From the KMOS Lens-Amplified Spectroscopic Survey
Detections and non-detections of Lyman alpha (Ly) emission from
galaxies ( Gyr after the Big Bang) can be used to measure the timeline of
cosmic reionization. Of key interest to measuring reionization's mid-stages,
but also increasing observational challenge, are observations at z > 7, where
Ly redshifts to near infra-red wavelengths. Here we present a search
for z > 7.2 Ly emission in 53 intrinsically faint Lyman Break Galaxy
candidates, gravitationally lensed by massive galaxy clusters, in the KMOS
Lens-Amplified Spectroscopic Survey (KLASS). With integration times of ~7-10
hours, we detect no Ly emission with S/N>5 in our sample. We determine
our observations to be 80% complete for 5 spatially and spectrally
unresolved emission lines with integrated line flux erg
s cm. We define a photometrically selected sub-sample of 29
targets at , with a median 5 Ly EW limit of 58A.
We perform a Bayesian inference of the average intergalactic medium (IGM)
neutral hydrogen fraction using their spectra. Our inference accounts for the
wavelength sensitivity and incomplete redshift coverage of our observations,
and the photometric redshift probability distribution of each target. These
observations, combined with samples from the literature, enable us to place a
lower limit on the average IGM neutral hydrogen fraction of at z ~ 8, providing further evidence of rapid reionization
at z~6-8. We show that this is consistent with reionization history models
extending the galaxy luminosity function to , with
low ionizing photon escape fractions, .Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Could chronic Vardenafil administration influence the cardiovascular risk in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus?
Introduction
Appropriate algorithms for the prediction of cardiovascular risk are strongly suggested in clinical practice, although still controversial. In type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the benefi- cial effect of phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitors is demonstrated on endothelial function but not on the estimation of cardiovascular risk.
Aim
To study whether the chronic Vardenafil administration to men with T2DM influences vari- ables correlated with the predicted long-term cardiovascular risk calculated by different vali- dated algorithms.
Methods
Per-protocol analysis of a longitudinal, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, dou- ble-blind, investigator-started, clinical trial. 54 male patients affected by T2DM were assigned to study (26patients) and control-group (28patients), respectively. The study included a treatment phase (24weeks) (Vardenafil/placebo 10mg twice-daily) and a follow- up phase (24weeks). Three time points were considered: baseline(V0), end of treatment (V1) and end of the study(V2). Parameters evaluated: endothelial health-related parameters and cardiovascular risk, assessed by calculating the Framingham (coronary hart disease [CHD], myocardial infarction [MI], stroke and cardiovascular disease [CVD]), ASSIGN and CUORE equations.
Results
Predicted cardiovascular risk at ten years resulted different using the three algorithms cho- sen, without differences between study and control groups and among visits. IL-6 was directly related to CHD, CVD and CUORE scores at V1 and with MI and STROKE at V2. Similarly, hs-CRP was directly related to CHD, MI, STROKE and CUORE only at V1 in the study group. Testosterone serum levels were inversely related to CHD and MI at V1 in study group.
Discussion
The predicted cardiovascular risk is different depending on the algorithm chosen. Despite no predictive risk reduction after six months of treatment, a possible effect of Vardenafil could be hypothesized through its action on inflammation markers reduction and through restoration of normal testosterone levels
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