Abstract
Green-pea galaxies are a special class of star-forming compact galaxies with strong O
iii
λ
5007 and considered as analogs of high-redshift Ly
α
-emitting galaxies and potential sources for ...cosmic reionization. In this paper, we identify 76 strong O
iii
λ
5007 compact galaxies at
z
< 0.35 from DR16 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These galaxies present relatively low stellar mass, high star-formation rate, and low metallicity. Both the star-forming main-sequence (SFMS) relation and mass–metallicity relation (MZR) are investigated and compared with green-pea and blueberry galaxies collected from literature. It is found that our strong O
iii
λ
5007 compact galaxies share common properties with those compact galaxies with extreme star formation and show distinct scaling relations in respect to those of normal star-forming galaxies at the same redshift. The slope of SFMS is higher, indicates that strong O
iii
λ
5007 compact galaxies might grow faster in stellar mass. The lower MZR implies that they may be less chemically evolved and hence on the early stage of star formation. A further environmental investigation confirms that they inhabit relatively low-density regions. Future large-scale spectroscopic surveys will provide more details on their physical origin and evolution.
Abstract
We have conducted photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2016ije that was discovered through the Tsinghua-NAOC Transient Survey. This peculiar ...object exploded in the outskirts of a metal-poor, low-surface brightness galaxy (i.e.,
M
g
= −14.5 mag). Our photometric analysis reveals that SN 2016ije is subluminous (
M
B
,
max
= −17.65 ± 0.06 mag) but exhibits relatively broad light curves (Δ
m
15
(
B
) = 1.35 ± 0.14 mag), similar to the behavior of SN 2002es. Our analysis of the bolometric light curve indicates that only 0.14 ± 0.04
M
⊙
of
56
Ni was synthesized in the explosion of SN 2016ije, which suggests a less energetic thermonuclear explosion when compared to normal SNe Ia, and this left a considerable amount of unburned materials in the ejecta. Spectroscopically, SN 2016ije resembles other SN 2002es-like SNe Ia, except that the ejecta velocity inferred from its carbon absorption line (∼4500 km s
−1
) is much lower than that from silicon lines (∼8300 km s
−1
) at around the maximum light. Additionally, most of the absorption lines are broader than other 02es-like SNe Ia. These peculiarities suggest the presence of significant unburned carbon in the inner region and a wide line-forming region along the line of sight. These characteristics suggest that SN 2016ije might originate from the violent merger of a white dwarf binary system, when viewed near an orientation along the iron-group-element cavity caused by the companion star.
Abstract Neutral hydrogen (H i ) is the primary component of the cool interstellar medium (ISM) and is the reservoir of fuel for star formation. Owing to the sensitivity of existing radio telescopes, ...our understanding of the evolution of the ISM in galaxies remains limited, as it is based on only a few hundred galaxies detected in H i beyond the local Universe. With the high sensitivity of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we carried out a blind H i search, the FAST Ultra-Deep Survey, which extends to redshifts up to 0.42 and a sensitivity of 50 μ Jy beam −1 . Here, we report the first discovery of six galaxies in H i at z > 0.38. For these galaxies, the FAST angular resolution of ∼4′ corresponds to a mean linear size of ∼ 1.3 h 70 − 1 Mpc. These galaxies are among the most distant H i emission detections known, with one having the most massive H i content ( 10 10.93 ± 0.04 h 70 − 2 M ⊙ ). Using recent data from the DESI survey and new observations with the Hale, Big Telescope Alt-azimuth, and Keck telescopes, optical counterparts are detected for all galaxies within the 3 σ positional uncertainty ( 0.5 h 70 − 1 Mpc) and 200 km s −1 in recession velocity. Assuming that the dominant source of H i is the identified optical counterpart, we find evidence of evolution in the H i content of galaxies over the last 4.2 Gyr. Our new high-redshift H i galaxy sample provides the opportunity to better investigate the evolution of cool gas in galaxies. A larger sample size in the future will allow us to refine our knowledge of the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Abstract
Based on the photometric redshift catalog of Zou et al., we apply a fast clustering algorithm to identify 540,432 galaxy clusters at
z
≲ 1 in the DESI legacy imaging surveys, which cover a ...sky area of about 20,000 deg
2
. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the false-detection rate of our detecting method is about 3.1%. The total masses of galaxy clusters are derived using a calibrated richness–mass relation that is based on the observations of X-ray emission and the Sunyaev and Zel’dovich effect. The median redshift and mass of our detected clusters are about 0.53 and 1.23 × 10
14
M
⊙
, respectively. Comparing with previous clusters identified using the data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey; we can recognize most of them, especially those with high richness. Our catalog will be used for further statistical studies on galaxy clusters and environmental effects on galaxy evolution, etc.
A large telescope's adaptive optics (AO) system requires one or more bright artificial laser guide stars to improve its sky coverage. The recent advent of a high power sodium laser is perfect for ...such application. However, besides the output power, other parameters of the laser also have a significant impact on the brightness of the generated sodium laser guide star, mostly in non-linear relationships. When tuning and optimizing these parameters it is necessary to tune based on a laser guide star generation performance metric. Although return photon fluxis widely used, variability of the atmosphere and sodium layer makes it difficult to compare results from different sites or even within a short time period for the same site. A new metric, coupling efficiency, is adopted in our field tests. In this paper, we will introduce our method for measuring the coupling efficiency of a 20W class pulse sodium laser for AO application during field tests that were conducted during 2013-2015.
Abstract
The strength and vertical distribution of atmospheric turbulence is a key factor determining the performance of optical and infrared telescopes, with and without adaptive optics. Yet, this ...remains challenging to measure. We describe a new technique using a sequence of short-exposure images of a star field, obtained with a small telescope. Differential motion between all pairs of star images is used to compute the structure functions of longitudinal and transverse wavefront tilt for a range of angular separations. These are compared with theoretical predictions of simple turbulence models by means of a Markov Chain Monte Carlo optimization. The method is able to estimate the turbulence profile in the lower atmosphere, the total and free-atmosphere seeing, and the outer scale. We present results of Monte Carlo simulations used to verify the technique, and show some examples using data from the second AST3 telescope at Dome A in Antarctica.
Abstract
The legacy imaging surveys for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project provides multiple-color photometric data, which are about 2 mag deeper than those from the SDSS. In this ...study, we redetermine the fundamental properties for an old halo globular cluster of Palomar 5 based on these new imaging data, including structure parameters, stellar population parameters, and luminosity and mass functions. These characteristics, together with its tidal tails, are key for dynamical studies of the cluster and constraining the mass model of the Milky Way. By fitting the King model to the radial surface density profile of Palomar 5, we derive the core radius of
, tidal radius of
, and concentration parameter of
c
= 0.78 ± 0.04. We apply a Bayesian analysis method to derive the stellar population properties and get an age of 11.508 ± 0.027 Gyr, metallicity of Fe/H = −1.798 ± 0.014, reddening of
E
(
B
−
V
) = 0.0552 ± 0.0005, and distance modulus of
. The main-sequence luminosity and mass functions for both the cluster center and tidal tails are investigated. The luminosity and mass functions at different distances from the cluster center suggest that there is obvious spatial mass segregation. Many faint low-mass stars have been evaporated at the cluster center, and the tidal tails are enhanced by low-mass stars. Both the concentration and relaxation times suggest that Palomar 5 is a totally relaxed system.
ABSTRACT
The location of an astronomical observatory is a key factor that affects its scientific productivity. The best astronomical sites are generally those found at high altitudes. Several such ...sites in western China and the Tibetan plateau are presently under development for astronomy. One of these is Ali, which, at over 5000 m, is one of the highest astronomical sites in the world. In order to further investigate the astronomical potential of Ali, we have installed a lunar scintillometer, for the primary purpose of profiling atmospheric turbulence. This paper describes the instrument and technique, and reports results from the first year of observations. We find that ground layer (GL) turbulence at Ali is remarkably weak and relatively thin. The median seeing, from turbulence in the range 11–500 m above ground, is 0.34 arcsec, with seeing better than 0.26 arcsec occurring 25 per cent of the time. Under median conditions, half of the GL turbulence lies below a height of 62 m. These initial results, and the high altitude and relatively low temperatures, suggest that Ali could prove to be an outstanding site for ground-based astronomy.
Abstract
In this paper, we present photometric and spectroscopic observations of the subluminous Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2012ij, which has an absolute
B
-band peak magnitude
M
B
,
max
=
−
17.95
±
...0.15
mag. The
B
-band light curve exhibits a fast postpeak decline with Δ
m
15
(
B
) = 1.86 ± 0.05 mag. All the
R
- and
I
/
i
-band light curves show a weak secondary peak/shoulder feature at about 3 weeks after the peak, like some transitional subclass of SNe Ia, which could result from an incomplete merger of near-infrared (NIR) double peaks. The spectra are characterized by Ti
ii
and strong Si
ii
λ
5972 absorption features that are usually seen in low-luminosity objects like SN 1999by. The NIR spectrum before maximum light reveals weak carbon absorption features, implying the existence of unburned materials. We compare the observed properties of SN 2012ij with those predicted by the sub-Chandrasekhar-mass and the Chandrasekhar-mass delayed-detonation models and find that both optical and NIR spectral properties can be explained to some extent by these two models. By comparing the secondary maximum features in the
I
and
i
bands, we suggest that SN 2012ij is a transitional object linking normal SNe Ia to typical 91bg-like ones. From the published sample of SNe Ia from the Carnegie Supernova Project II, we estimate that the fraction of SN 2012ij–like SNe Ia is not lower than ∼2%.
Abstract
Photometric redshift (photo
z
) is a fundamental parameter for multi-wavelength photometric surveys, while galaxy clusters are important cosmological probes and ideal objects for exploring ...the dense environmental impact on galaxy evolution. We extend our previous work on estimating photo
z
and detecting galaxy clusters to the latest data releases of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) imaging surveys, Dark Energy Survey (DES) and Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) imaging surveys and make corresponding catalogs publicly available for more extensive scientific applications. The photo
z
catalogs include accurate measurements of photo
z
and stellar mass for about 320, 293 and 134 million galaxies with
r
< 23,
i
< 24 and
i
< 25 in DESI DR9, DES DR2 and HSC-SSP PDR3 data, respectively. The photo
z
accuracy is about 0.017, 0.024 and 0.029 and the general redshift coverage is
z
< 1,
z
< 1.2 and
z
< 1.6, respectively for those three surveys. The uncertainty of the logarithmic stellar mass that is inferred from stellar population synthesis fitting is about 0.2 dex. With the above photo
z
catalogs, galaxy clusters are detected using a fast cluster-finding algorithm. A total of 532,810, 86,963 and 36,566 galaxy clusters with the number of members larger than 10 is discovered for DESI, DES and HSC-SSP, respectively. Their photo
z
accuracy is at the level of 0.01. The total mass of our clusters is also estimated by using the calibration relations between the optical richness and the mass measurement from X-ray and radio observations. The photo
z
and cluster catalogs are available at ScienceDB (https://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.o00069.00003) and PaperData Repository (https://doi.org/10.12149/101089).