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At least 793 records · Page 44

Strong Lensing by Galaxies

Strong gravitational lensing at the galaxy scale is a valuable tool for various applications in astrophysics and cosmology. Some of the primary uses of galaxy-scale lensing are to study elliptical galaxies’ mass structure and evolution, constrain the stellar initial mass function, and measure cosmological parameters. Since the discovery of the first galaxy-scale lens in the 1980s, this field has made significant advancements in data quality and modeling techniques. In this review, we describe the most common methods for modeling lensing observables, especially imaging data, as they are the most accessible and informative source of lensing observables. We then summarize the primary findings from the literature on the astrophysical and cosmological applications of galaxy-scale lenses. We also discuss the current limitations of the data and methodologies and provide an outlook on the expected improvements in both areas in the near future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Intrinsic Shapes of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies (LSBGs): A Discriminant of LSBG Galaxy Formation Mechanisms

We use the low surface brightness galaxy (LSBG) samples created from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (781 galaxies), the Dark Energy Survey (20977 galaxies), and the Legacy Survey (selected via H ι detection in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey, 188 galaxies) to infer the intrinsic shape distribution of the LSBG population. To take into account the effect of the surface brightness cuts employed when constructing LSBG samples, we simultaneously model both the projected ellipticity and the apparent surface brightness in our shape inference. We find that the LSBG samples are well characterized by oblate spheroids, with no significant difference between red and blue LSBGs. This inferred shape distribution is in good agreement with similar inferences made for ultra-diffuse cluster galaxy samples, indicating that environment does not play a key role in determining the intrinsic shape of LSBGs. In this study, we also find some evidence that LSBGs are more thickened than similarly massive high surface brightness dwarfs. We compare our results to intrinsic shape measures from contemporary cosmological simulations, and find that the observed LSBG intrinsic shapes place considerable constraints on the formation path of such galaxies. In particular, LSBG production via the migration of star formation to large radii produces intrinsic shapes in good agreement with our observational findings.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Constraining low redshift [C II ] emission by cross-correlating FIRAS and BOSS data

ABSTRACT We perform a tomographic cross-correlation analysis of archival FIRAS data and the BOSS galaxy redshift survey to constrain the amplitude of [C II] 2P3/2 → 2P1/2 fine structure emission. Our analysis employs spherical harmonic tomography (SHT), which is based on the angular cross-power spectrum between FIRAS maps and BOSS galaxy over-densities at each pair of redshift bins, over a redshift range of 0.24 < z < 0.69. We develop the SHT approach for intensity mapping, where it has several advantages over existing power spectral estimators. Our analysis constrains the product of the [C II] bias and [C II] specific intensity, $b_{\rm [C \small{\rm II}]}I_{\rm [C \small{\rm II}]}$, to be <0.31 MJy/sr at z ≈ 0.35 and <0.28 MJy/sr at z ≈ 0.57 at $95{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ confidence. These limits are consistent with most current models of the [C II] signal, as well as with higher-redshift [C II] cross-power spectrum measurements from the Planck satellite and BOSS quasars. We also show that our analysis, if applied to data from a more sensitive instrument such as the proposed PIXIE satellite, can detect pessimistic [C II] models at high significance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Pushing automated morphological classifications to their limits with the Dark Energy Survey

ABSTRACT We present morphological classifications of ∼27 million galaxies from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Data Release 1 (DR1) using a supervised deep learning algorithm. The classification scheme separates: (a) early-type galaxies (ETGs) from late-type galaxies (LTGs); and (b) face-on galaxies from edge-on. Our convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are trained on a small subset of DES objects with previously known classifications. These typically have mr ≲ 17.7 mag; we model fainter objects to mr < 21.5 mag by simulating what the brighter objects with well-determined classifications would look like if they were at higher redshifts. The CNNs reach 97 per cent accuracy to mr < 21.5 on their training sets, suggesting that they are able to recover features more accurately than the human eye. We then used the trained CNNs to classify the vast majority of the other DES images. The final catalogue comprises five independent CNN predictions for each classification scheme, helping to determine if the CNN predictions are robust or not. We obtain secure classifications for ∼87 per cent and 73 per cent of the catalogue for the ETG versus LTG and edge-on versus face-on models, respectively. Combining the two classifications (a) and (b) helps to increase the purity of the ETG sample and to identify edge-on lenticular galaxies (as ETGs with high ellipticity). Where a comparison is possible, our classifications correlate very well with Sérsic index (n), ellipticity (ϵ), and spectral type, even for the fainter galaxies. This is the largest multiband catalogue of automated galaxy morphologies to date.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Composition of cosmic-ray nuclei from boron to nickel for 1200 to 2400 MeV per nucleon

Balloon-borne measurements of cosmic-ray nuclear abundances for Z = 5-28 and energies 1.2-1.4 GeV/nucleon, obtained using the scintillation/Cerenkov-counter telescope and multiwire proportional counter described by Dwyer et al. (1984) on four flights from Texas and Oklahoma during 1973-1975, are reported. The data are presented in tables and graphs and compared with published observations. Charge separation (sigma = 0.2 units for Fe) and exposure factor (38 sq m sr h) are attained, and the findings are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of a simple leaky-box model of the Galaxy and a pure exponential path-length distribution, although a nested-leaky-box model with some truncation is possible. The delay between e-process nucleosynthesis and cosmic-ray acceleration is estimated on the basis of the Co abundance at greater than 100 d and probably greater than 100,000 yr.

Dwyer, R.↗

A joint SZ–X-ray–optical analysis of the dynamical state of 288 massive galaxy clusters

In this work, we use imaging from the first three years of the Dark Energy Survey to characterize the dynamical state of 288 galaxy clusters at 0.1 ≲ z ≲ 0.9 detected in the South Pole Telescope (SPT) Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect survey (SPT-SZ). We examine spatial offsets between the position of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) and the centre of the gas distribution as traced by the SPT-SZ centroid and by the X-ray centroid/peak position from Chandra and XMM data. We show that the radial distribution of offsets provides no evidence that SPT SZ-selected cluster samples include a higher fraction of mergers than X-ray-selected cluster samples. We use the offsets to classify the dynamical state of the clusters, selecting the 43 most disturbed clusters, with half of those at z ≳ 0.5, a region seldom explored previously. We find that Schechter function fits to the galaxy population in disturbed clusters and relaxed clusters differ at z > 0.55 but not at lower redshifts. Disturbed clusters at z > 0.55 have steeper faint-end slopes and brighter characteristic magnitudes. Within the same redshift range, we find that the BCGs in relaxed clusters tend to be brighter than the BCGs in disturbed samples, while in agreement in the lower redshift bin. Possible explanations includes a higher merger rate, and a more efficient dynamical friction at high redshift. The red-sequence population is less affected by the cluster dynamical state than the general galaxy population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A galaxy-driven model of type Ia supernova luminosity variations

ABSTRACT Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are used as standardizable candles to measure cosmological distances, but differences remain in their corrected luminosities which display a magnitude step as a function of host galaxy properties such as stellar mass and rest-frame U−R colour. Identifying the cause of these steps is key to cosmological analyses and provides insight into SN physics. Here we investigate the effects of SN progenitor ages on their light-curve properties using a galaxy-based forward model that we compare to the Dark Energy Survey 5-yr SN Ia sample. We trace SN Ia progenitors through time and draw their light-curve width parameters from a bimodal distribution according to their age. We find that an intrinsic luminosity difference between SNe of different ages cannot explain the observed trend between step size and SN colour. The data split by stellar mass are better reproduced by following recent work implementing a step in total-to-selective dust extinction ratio (RV) between low- and high-mass hosts, although an additional intrinsic luminosity step is still required to explain the data split by host galaxy U−R. Modelling the RV step as a function of galaxy age provides a better match overall. Additional age versus luminosity steps marginally improve the match to the data, although most of the step is absorbed by the width versus luminosity coefficient α. Furthermore, we find no evidence that α varies with SN age.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Nature of the Unresolved Extragalactic Cosmic Soft X-Ray Background

In this paper we investigate the power spectrum of the unresolved 0.5-2 keV cosmic X-ray background (CXB) with deep Chandra 4-Msec (Ms) observations in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). We measured a signal that, on scales >30 arcsec, is significantly higher than the shot noise and is increasing with angular scale. We interpreted this signal as the joint contribution of clustered undetected sources like active galactic nuclei (AGN), galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). The power of unresolved cosmic source fluctuations accounts for approximately 12 per cent of the 0.5-2 keV extragalactic CXB. Overall, our modelling predicts that approximately 20 per cent of the unresolved CXB flux is produced by low-luminosity AGN, approximately 25 per cent by galaxies and approximately 55 per cent by the IGM. We do not find any direct evidence of the so-called 'warm hot intergalactic medium' (i.e. matter with 10(exp 5) less than T less than 10(exp 7) K and density contrast delta less than 1000), but we estimated that it could produce about 1/7 of the unresolved CXB. We placed an upper limit on the space density of postulated X-ray-emitting early black holes at z greater than 7.5 and compared it with supermassive black hole evolution models.

galaxies↗

Stars on the edge: Galactic tides and the outskirts of the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal

The formation of ‘stellar haloes’ in dwarf galaxies have been discussed in terms of early mergers or Galactic tides, although fluctuations in the gravitational potential due to stellar feedback is also a possible candidate mechanism. A Bayesian algorithm is used to find new candidate members in the extreme outskirts of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy. Precise metallicities and radial velocities (RVs) for two distant stars are measured from their spectra taken with the Gemini South GMOS spectrograph. The radial velocity, proper motion, and metallicity of these targets are consistent with Sculptor membership. As a result, the known boundary of the Sculptor dwarf extends now out to an elliptical distance of ∼10 r h (half-light radii), which corresponds to a projected physical distance of ∼3 kpc. As reported in earlier work, the overall distribution of RVs and metallicities indicate the presence of a more spatially and kinematically dispersed metal-poor population that surrounds the more concentrated and colder metal-rich stars. Sculptor’s density profile shows a ‘kink’ in its logarithmic slope at a projected distance of ∼25 arcmin (620 pc), which we interpret as evidence that Galactic tides have helped to populate the distant outskirts of the dwarf. We discuss further ways to test and validate this tidal interpretation for the origin of these distant stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Dark Energy Survey Year 3 high-redshift sample: selection, characterization, and analysis of galaxy clustering

ABSTRACT The fiducial cosmological analyses of imaging surveys like DES typically probe the Universe at redshifts z < 1. We present the selection and characterization of high-redshift galaxy samples using DES Year 3 data, and the analysis of their galaxy clustering measurements. In particular, we use galaxies that are fainter than those used in the previous DES Year 3 analyses and a Bayesian redshift scheme to define three tomographic bins with mean redshifts around z ∼ 0.9, 1.2, and 1.5, which extend the redshift coverage of the fiducial DES Year 3 analysis. These samples contain a total of about 9 million galaxies, and their galaxy density is more than 2 times higher than those in the DES Year 3 fiducial case. We characterize the redshift uncertainties of the samples, including the usage of various spectroscopic and high-quality redshift samples, and we develop a machine-learning method to correct for correlations between galaxy density and survey observing conditions. The analysis of galaxy clustering measurements, with a total signal to noise S/N ∼ 70 after scale cuts, yields robust cosmological constraints on a combination of the fraction of matter in the Universe Ωm and the Hubble parameter h, $\Omega _m h = 0.195^{+0.023}_{-0.018}$, and 2–3 per cent measurements of the amplitude of the galaxy clustering signals, probing galaxy bias and the amplitude of matter fluctuations, bσ8. A companion paper (in preparation) will present the cross-correlations of these high-z samples with cosmic microwave background lensing from Planck and South Pole Telescope, and the cosmological analysis of those measurements in combination with the galaxy clustering presented in this work.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Velocity dispersions of clusters in the Dark Energy Survey Y3 redMaPPer catalogue

ABSTRACT We measure the velocity dispersions of clusters of galaxies selected by the red-sequence Matched-filter Probabilistic Percolation (redMaPPer) algorithm in the first three years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), allowing us to probe cluster selection and richness estimation, λ, in light of cluster dynamics. Our sample consists of 126 clusters with sufficient spectroscopy for individual velocity dispersion estimates. We examine the correlations between cluster velocity dispersion, richness, X-ray temperature, and luminosity, as well as central galaxy velocity offsets. The velocity dispersion–richness relation exhibits a bimodal distribution. The majority of clusters follow scaling relations between velocity dispersion, richness, and X-ray properties similar to those found for previous samples; however, there is a significant population of clusters with velocity dispersions that are high for their richness. These clusters account for roughly 22 per cent of the λ < 70 systems in our sample, but more than half (55 per cent) of λ < 70 clusters at z > 0.5. A couple of these systems are hot and X-ray bright as expected for massive clusters with richnesses that appear to have been underestimated, but most appear to have high velocity dispersions for their X-ray properties likely due to line-of-sight structure. These results suggest that projection effects contribute significantly to redMaPPer selection, particularly at higher redshifts and lower richnesses. The redMaPPer determined richnesses for the velocity dispersion outliers are consistent with their X-ray properties, but several are X-ray undetected and deeper data are needed to understand their nature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spectroscopic confirmation of a mature galaxy cluster at a redshift of 2

Galaxy clusters are the most massive virialized structures in the Universe and are formed through the gravitational accretion of matter over cosmic time. The discovery of an evolved galaxy cluster at redshift z = 2, corresponding to a look-back time of 10.4 billion years, provides an opportunity to study its properties. The galaxy cluster XLSSC 122 was originally detected as a faint, extended X-ray source in the XMM Large Scale Structure survey and was revealed to be coincident with a compact over-density of galaxies with photometric redshifts of 1.9 ± 0.2. Subsequent observations at millimetre wavelengths detected a Sunyaev–Zel’dovich decrement along the line of sight to XLSSC 122, thus confirming the existence of hot intracluster gas, while deep imaging spectroscopy from the European Space Agency’s X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) revealed an extended, X-ray-bright gaseous atmosphere with a virial temperature of 60 million Kelvin, enriched with metals to the same extent as are local clusters. Here we report optical spectroscopic observations of XLSSC 122 and identify 37 member galaxies at a mean redshift of 1.98, corresponding to a look-back time of 10.4 billion years. We use photometry to determine a mean, dust-free stellar age of 2.98 billion years, indicating that star formation commenced in these galaxies at a mean redshift of 12, when the Universe was only 370 million years old. The full range of inferred formation redshifts, including the effects of dust, covers the interval from 7 to 13. These observations confirm that XLSSC 122 is a remarkably mature galaxy cluster with both evolved stellar populations in the member galaxies and a hot, metal-rich gas composing the intracluster medium.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Flux Cube Reconstruction from Slitless Spectroscopy

Slitless spectroscopy enables efficient, large-area surveys without target preselection, yet it faces challenges from source blending, higher noise, and lost spatial–spectral information. We present an advanced, nonparametric, data-driven algorithm that leverages multiple dispersion angles to reconstruct three-dimensional flux distributions, providing low-resolution integral field unit capabilities from slitless data. By treating each pixel as an independent element, our method naturally handles source confusion without requiring prior assumptions regarding redshifts, templates, or model libraries. We validate the algorithm using simulated Roman Space Telescope wide-field slitless spectroscopy images that are equivalent to what is expected from the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey. First, we demonstrate that a host-galaxy model reconstructed from multiple dispersion angles can be used to accurately subtract host light from a transient, recovering a Type Ia supernova spectrum with minimal bias. Second, we showcase a high-fidelity flux-cube reconstruction of a complex galaxy, successfully measuring the redshift and recovering continuum, emission, and absorption features. This approach highlights the potential of multi-dispersion-angle slitless data to provide spatially resolved spectral information in a nonparametric way, which is traditionally accessible only with integral field spectroscopy, opening a new window into large, unbiased, and spatially resolved studies of galaxy evolution.

Griggio, M. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Ba↗

Revealing the Galaxy–Halo Connection through Machine Learning

Abstract Understanding the connections between galaxy stellar mass, star formation rate, and dark matter halo mass represents a key goal of the theory of galaxy formation. Cosmological simulations that include hydrodynamics, physical treatments of star formation, feedback from supernovae, and the radiative transfer of ionizing photons can capture the processes relevant for establishing these connections. The complexity of these physics can prove difficult to disentangle and obfuscate how mass-dependent trends in the galaxy population originate. Here, we train a machine-learning method called Explainable Boosting Machines (EBMs) to infer how the stellar mass and star formation rate of nearly 6 million galaxies simulated by the Cosmic Reionization on Computers project depend on the physical properties of halo mass, the peak circular velocity of the galaxy during its formation history v peak , cosmic environment, and redshift. The resulting EBM models reveal the relative importance of these properties in setting galaxy stellar mass and star formation rate, with v peak providing the most dominant contribution. Environmental properties provide substantial improvements for modeling the stellar mass and star formation rate in only ≲10% of the simulated galaxies. We also provide alternative formulations of EBM models that enable low-resolution simulations, which cannot track the interior structure of dark matter halos, to predict the stellar mass and star formation rate of galaxies computed by high-resolution simulations with detailed baryonic physics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The peculiar galaxy NGC 7714.

NGC 7714 galaxy emission line spectrum indicating strong excitation and velocity gradients in excited gas due to rotation

Burbidge, E. M.↗