The
Planck
satellite has identified more than 2000 protocluster candidates with extreme star formation rates (SFRs). Here, we present the spectroscopic identification of a
Planck
-selected ...protocluster located in the Cosmos field, PHz G237.01+42.50. PHz G237.01+42.50 contains a galaxy overdensity of 31 spectroscopically identified galaxies at
z
≃ 2.16 (significant at 5.4
σ
) in a 10′ × 11′ region. The overdensity contains two substructures or protoclusters at ⟨
z
⟩ ≃ 2.16 and 2.195 with estimated halo masses at
z
= 0 of ∼5–6 × 10
14
M
⊙
, roughly consistent with Virgo-type clusters. The overdensity total SFR, ∼4000
M
⊙
yr
−1
, is higher than predicted by simulations but much smaller than the SFR derived from the
Planck
data (i.e., 10 173
M
⊙
yr
−1
). The analysis of the
Herschel
data in the field, in combination with the available ancillary data, shows that such a difference is due to an effect of source alignment along the line of sight that produces a 5
σ
overdensity of red
Herschel
sources in the field. We analyze the members’ ultraviolet (UV) spectra and UV-far-infrared spectral energy distributions to derive their SFR, stellar mass, and metallicity. Galaxy members include blue star-forming galaxies and Active galactic nuclei (AGN) with SFRs and stellar masses consistent with the main sequence. Active galactic nuclei, identified through optical spectroscopy or X-ray data, represent a significant fraction (20 ± 10%) of all members of the protocluster at
z
= 2.16, and they are powerful enough to produce radiative feedback. The core of this protocluster, besides being denser, includes members that are, on average, more massive and star-forming and contains a larger fraction of AGN and
Herschel
-detected galaxies than the full sample, suggesting an environmental effect on galaxy growth. A comparison between PHz G237.01+42.50 and other protoclusters in the literature at similar redshifts reveals some common traits and differences that reflect both observational biases and a diversity in intrinsic properties that is not yet fully understood.
ABSTRACT
We have analysed an archival XMM–Newton EPIC observation that serendipitously covered the sky position of a variable X-ray source AX J1714.1−3912, previously suggested to be a supergiant ...fast X-ray transient (SFXT). During the XMM–Newton observation the source is variable on a time-scale of hundred seconds and shows two luminosity states, with a flaring activity followed by unflared emission, with a variability amplitude of a factor of about 50. We have discovered an intense iron emission line with a centroid energy of 6.4 keV in the power law-like spectrum, modified by a large absorption (NH∼1024 cm−2), never observed before from this source. This X-ray spectrum is unusual for an SFXT, but resembles the so-called ‘highly obscured sources’, high mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) hosting an evolved Be supergiant companion (sgBe). This might suggest that AX J1714.1−3912 is a new member of this rare type of HMXBs, which includes IGR J16318-4848 and CI Camelopardalis. Increasing this small population of sources would be remarkable, as they represent an interesting short transition evolutionary stage in the evolution of massive binaries. Nevertheless, AX J1714.1−3912 appears to share X-ray properties of both kinds of HMXBs (SFXT versus sgBe HMXB). Therefore, further investigations of the companion star are needed to disentangle the two hypothesis.
There is a lack of large samples of spectroscopically confirmed clusters and protoclusters at high redshifts, z > 1.5. Discovering and characterizing distant (proto-)clusters is important for ...yielding insights into the formation of large-scale structure and on the physical processes responsible for regulating star-formation in galaxies in dense environments. The Spitzer Planck Herschel Infrared Cluster (SPHerIC) survey was initiated to identify these characteristically faint and dust-reddened sources during the epoch of their early assembly. We present Spitzer/IRAC observations of 82 galaxy (proto-)cluster candidates at 1.3 < zp < 3.0 that were vetted in a two step process: (1) using Planck to select by color those sources with the highest star-formation rates, and (2) using Herschel at higher resolution to separate out the individual red sources. The addition of the Spitzer data enables efficient detection of the central and massive brightest red cluster galaxies (BRCGs). We find that BRCGs are associated with highly significant, extended and crowded regions of IRAC sources which are more overdense than the field. This result corroborates our hypothesis that BRCGs within the Planck–Herschel sources trace some of the densest and actively star-forming proto-clusters in the early Universe. On the basis of a richness-mass proxy relation, we obtain an estimate of their mean masses which suggests our sample consists of some of the most massive clusters at z ≈ 2 and are the likely progenitors of the most massive clusters observed today.
ABSTRACT
We present an analysis of the kinematics and excitation of the warm ionized gas in two obscured, powerful quasars at z≥ 3.5 from the Spitzer Wide‐area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) survey, ...SWIRE J022513.90−043419.9 and SWIRE J022550.67−042142, based on imaging spectroscopy on the Very Large Telescope. Line ratios in both targets are consistent with luminous narrow‐line regions of active galactic nuclei (AGN). SWIRE J022550.67−042142 has very broad full width at half‐maximum (FWHM) = 2000 km s−1, spatially compact O iii line emission. SWIRE J022513.90−043419.9 is spatially resolved, has complex line profiles of Hβ and O iii, including broad wings with blueshifts of up to −1500 km s−1 relative to the narrow O iii λ5007 component, and widths of up to FWHM = 5000 km s−1. Estimating the systemic redshift from the narrow Hβ line, as is standard for AGN host galaxies, implies that a significant fraction of the molecular gas is blueshifted relative to the systemic velocity. Thus the molecular gas could be participating in the outflow. Significant fractions of the ionized and molecular gas reach velocities greater than the escape velocity. We compare empirical and modelling constraints for different energy injection mechanisms, such as merging, star formation and momentum‐driven AGN winds. We argue that the radio source is the most likely culprit, in spite of the source's rather modest radio power of 1025 W Hz−1. Such a radio power is not uncommon for intense starburst galaxies at z∼ 2. We discuss these results in light of the co‐evolution of AGN and their host galaxy.
We present the first quantitative detection of large-scale filamentary structure at z NOT approximately equal to 0.7 in the large cosmological volume probed by the VIMOS Public Extragalactic ...Redshift Survey (VIPERS). We use simulations to show the capability of VIPERS to recover robust topological features in the galaxy distribution, in particular the filamentary network. We then investigate how galaxies with different stellar masses and stellar activities are distributed around the filaments, and find a significant segregation, with the most massive or quiescent galaxies being closer to the filament axis than less massive or active galaxies. The signal persists even after downweighting the contribution of peak regions. Our results suggest that massive and quiescent galaxies assemble their stellar mass through successive mergers during their migration along filaments towards the nodes of the cosmic web. On the other hand, low-mass star-forming galaxies prefer the outer edge of filaments, a vorticity-rich region dominated by smooth accretion, as predicted by the recent spin alignment theory. This emphasizes the role of large-scale cosmic flows in shaping galaxy properties.
We present the SEDs of a hard X-ray selected sample containing 136 sources with FSUB2-10keV/SUB>10SUP-14/SUP erg cmSUP-2/SUP sSUP-1/SUP 132 are AGNs. The sources are detected in a 1 degSUP2/SUP area ...of the XMM-Newton Medium Deep Survey where optical data from the VVDS and CFHTLS and infrared data from the SWIRE survey are available. Based on a SED fitting technique we derive photometric redshifts with sigma(1+z)=0.11 and 6% of outliers and identify AGN signatures in 83% of the objects. This fraction is higher than derived when a spectroscopic classification is available. The remaining 17SUP+9/SUPSUB-6/SUB% of AGNs show star-forming galaxy SEDs (SF class). The sources with AGN signatures are divided in two classes, AGN1 (33SUP+6/SUPSUB-1/SUB%) and AGN2 (50SUP+6/SUPSUB-11/SUB%). The AGN1 and AGN2 classes include sources whose SEDs are fitted by type 1 and type 2 AGN templates, respectively. On average, AGN1s show soft X-ray spectra, consistent with being unabsorbed, while AGN2s and SFs show hard X-ray spectra, consistent with being absorbed. The analysis of the average SEDs as a function of X-ray luminosity shows a reddening of the infrared SEDs, consistent with a decreasing contribution from the host galaxy at higher luminosities. The AGNs in the SF classes are likely obscured in the mid-infrared, as suggested by their low LSUB3-20mum/SUB/LSUPcorr/SUPSUB0.5-10keV/SUB ratios. We confirm the previously found correlation for AGNs between the radio luminosity and the X-ray and the mid-infrared luminosities. The X-ray-radio correlation can be used to identify heavily absorbed AGNs. However, the estimated radio fluxes for the missing AGN population responsible for the bulk of the background at E>10 keV are too faint to be detected even in the deepest current radio surveys.
We present mid-infrared spectra of 32 high-redshift ultraluminous infrared galaxies, selected via the stellar photospheric feature at rest- frame 1.6 mum, and an observed-frame 24 mum flux of >500 ...muJy. Nearly all the sample reside in a redshift range of image and have rest-frame 1- 1000 mum luminosities of 10 super(12.9)-10 super(13.8) L sub(image). Most of the spectra exhibit prominent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission features and weak silicate absorption, consistent with a starburst origin for the IR emission. Our selection method appears to be a straightforward and efficient way of finding distant, IR-luminous, star-forming galaxies in narrow redshift ranges. There is, however, evidence that the mid-IR spectra of our sample differ systematically from those of local ULIRGs; our sample have comparable PAH equivalent widths but weaker apparent silicate absorption, and (possibly) enhanced PAH 6.2 mum/7.7 mum and 6.2 mum/11.2 mum flux ratios. Furthermore, the composite mid-IR spectrum of our sample is almost identical to that of local starbursts with IR luminosities of 10 super(10)-10 super(11) L sub(image), rather than that of local ULIRGs. These differences are consistent with a reduced dust column, which can plausibly be obtained via some combination of (1) star formation that is extended over spatial scales of 1-4 kpc and (2) star formation in unusually gas-rich regions.
Supernova (SN) H0pe was discovered as a new transient in
James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam images of the galaxy cluster
PLCK G165.7+67.0
taken as part of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for ...Reionization and Lensing Science (PEARLS) JWST GTO program (ID 1176) on 2023 March 30. The transient is a compact source associated with a background galaxy that is stretched and triply imaged by the strong gravitational lensing of the cluster. This paper reports spectra in the 950–1370 nm observer frame of two of the galaxy images obtained with Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Utility Camera in the Infrared (LUCI) in long-slit mode two weeks after the JWST observations. The individual and average spectra show the O
II
λλ
3727,3730 doublet and the Balmer and 4000 Å breaks at redshift
z
= 1.783 ± 0.002. The code investigating galaxy emission (CIGALE) best-fit model of the spectral energy distribution indicates that the host galaxy of SN H0pe is massive (
M
star
≃ 6 × 10
10
M
⊙
after correcting for a magnification factor
μ
∼ 7) with a predominantly intermediate-age (∼2 Gyr) stellar population, moderate extinction, and a magnification-corrected star formation rate ≃13
M
⊙
yr
−1
, consistent with being below the main sequence of star formation. These properties suggest that H0pe might be a type Ia SN. Additional observations of SN H0pe and its host recently carried out with JWST (JWST-DD-4446; PI: B. Frye) will be able to both determine the SN classification and confirm its association with the galaxy analyzed in this work.
We explore the accuracy of the clustering-based redshift estimation proposed by Ménard et al. when applied to VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) and Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope ...Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) real data. This method enables us to reconstruct redshift distributions from measurement of the angular clustering of objects using a set of secure spectroscopic redshifts. We use state-of-the-art spectroscopic measurements with i
AB < 22.5 from the VIPERS as reference population to infer the redshift distribution of galaxies from the CFHTLS T0007 release. VIPERS provides a nearly representative sample to a flux limit of i
AB < 22.5 at a redshift of >0.5 which allows us to test the accuracy of the clustering-based redshift distributions. We show that this method enables us to reproduce the true mean colour–redshift relation when both populations have the same magnitude limit. We also show that this technique allows the inference of redshift distributions for a population fainter than the reference and we give an estimate of the colour–redshift mapping in this case. This last point is of great interest for future large-redshift surveys which require a complete faint spectroscopic sample.