ABSTRACT
Galaxy haloes appear to be missing a large fraction of their baryons, most probably hiding in the circumgalactic medium (CGM), a diffuse component within the dark matter halo that extends ...far from the inner regions of the galaxies. A powerful tool to study the CGM gas is offered by absorption lines in the spectra of background quasars. Here, we present optical (MUSE) and mm (ALMA) observations of the field of the quasar Q1130−1449 which includes a log N(H i)/cm−2 = 21.71 ± 0.07 absorber at z = 0.313. Ground-based VLT/MUSE 3D spectroscopy shows 11 galaxies at the redshift of the absorber down to a limiting SFR > 0.01 M⊙ yr−1 (covering emission lines of O ii, Hβ, O iii, N ii, and H α), 7 of which are new discoveries. In particular, we report a new emitter with a smaller impact parameter to the quasar line of sight (b = 10.6 kpc) than the galaxies detected so far. Three of the objects are also detected in CO(1–0) in our ALMA observations indicating long depletion time-scales for the molecular gas and kinematics consistent with the ionized gas. We infer from dedicated numerical cosmological ramses zoom-in simulations that the physical properties of these objects qualitatively resemble a small group environment, possibly part of a filamentary structure. Based on metallicity and velocity arguments, we conclude that the neutral gas traced in absorption is only partly related to these emitting galaxies while a larger fraction is likely the signature of gas with surface brightness almost four orders of magnitude fainter that current detection limits. Together, these findings challenge a picture where strong-$N(\rm H\,{\small I})$ quasar absorbers are associated with a single bright galaxy and favour a scenario where the H i gas probed in absorption is related to far more complex galaxy structures.
We present a sample of 120 dust-reddened quasars identified by matching radio sources detected at 1.4 GHz in the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters survey with the near-infrared Two ...Micron All Sky Survey catalog and color-selecting red sources. Optical and/or near-infrared spectroscopy provide broad wavelength sampling of their spectral energy distributions that we use to determine their reddening, characterized by E(B - V). We demonstrate that the reddening in these quasars is best described by Small-Magellanic-Cloud-like dust. This sample spans a wide range in redshift and reddening (0.1 lap z lap 3, 0.1 lap E(B - V) lap 1.5), which we use to investigate the possible correlation of luminosity with reddening. At every redshift, dust-reddened quasars are intrinsically the most luminous quasars. We interpret this result in die context of merger-driven quasar/galaxy coevolution where these reddened quasars are revealing an emergent phase during which the heavily obscured quasar is shedding its cocoon of dust prior to becoming a "normal" blue quasar. When correcting for extinction, we find that, depending on how the parent population is defined, these red quasars make up lap 15%-20% of the luminous quasar population. We estimate, based on the fraction of objects in this phase, that its duration is 15%-20% as long as the unobscured, blue quasar phase.
We calculate stellar masses for ∼400 000 massive luminous galaxies at redshift ∼0.2-0.7 using the first two years of data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Stellar masses are ...obtained by fitting model spectral energy distributions to u, g, r, i, z magnitudes, and simulations with mock galaxies are used to understand how well the templates recover the stellar mass. Accurate BOSS spectroscopic redshifts are used to constrain the fits. We find that the distribution of stellar masses in BOSS is narrow (Δlog M ∼ 0.5 dex) and peaks at about log M/M ∼ 11.3 (for a Kroupa initial stellar mass function), and that the mass sampling is uniform over the redshift range 0.2-0.6, in agreement with the intended BOSS target selection. The galaxy masses probed by BOSS extend over ∼1012 M, providing unprecedented measurements of the high-mass end of the galaxy mass function. We find that the galaxy number density above ∼2.5 × 1011 M agrees with previous determinations. We perform a comparison with semi-analytic galaxy formation models tailored to the BOSS target selection and volume, in order to contain incompleteness. The abundance of massive galaxies in the models compare fairly well with the BOSS data, but the models lack galaxies at the massive end. Moreover, no evolution with redshift is detected from ∼0.6 to 0.4 in the data, whereas the abundance of massive galaxies in the models increases to redshift zero. Additionally, BOSS data display colour-magnitude (mass) relations similar to those found in the local Universe, where the most massive galaxies are the reddest. On the other hand, the model colours do not display a dependence on stellar mass, span a narrower range and are typically bluer than the observations. We argue that the lack of a colour-mass relation for massive galaxies in the models is mostly due to metallicity, which is too low in the models.
Aiming for a new and more comprehensive DIB catalog between 4000 and 9000 , we revisited the Atlas Catalog based on the observations of HD 183143 and HD 204827. Twenty-five medium to highly reddened ...sight lines were selected, sampling a variety of spectral types of the background star and the interstellar environments. The median signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of these spectra is ∼1300 around 6400 . Compared to the Atlas Catalog, 22 new DIBs were found, and the boundaries of 27 (sets of) DIBs were adjusted, resulting in an updated catalog containing 559 DIBs that we refer to as the Apache Point Observatory Catalog of Optical Diffuse Interstellar Bands. Measurements were then made based on this catalog. We found our survey most sensitive between 5500 and 7000 , due largely to the local S/N of the spectra, the relative absence of interfering stellar lines, and the weakness of telluric residuals. For our data sample, the number of DIBs detected in a given sight line is mostly dependent on EB−V and less on the spectral type of the background star. Some dependence on the molecular fraction fH2 is observed, but it is less well determined owing to the limited size of the data sample. The variations of the wavelengths of each DIB in different sight lines are generally larger than those of the known interstellar lines CH+, CH, and K i. Those variations could be due to the inherent error in the measurement, or to differences in the velocity components among sight lines.
Gas flows in and out of galaxies through their circum-galactic medium (CGM) are poorly constrained and direct observations of this faint, diffuse medium remain challenging. We use a sample of five z ...˜ 1-2 galaxy counterparts to damped Lyman-α absorbers (DLAs) to combine data on cold gas, metals and stellar content of the same galaxies. We present new Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 imaging of these fields in three to five broad-band filters and characterize the stellar properties of the host galaxies. By fitting the spectral energy distribution, we measure their stellar masses to be in the range of log(M*/M⊙) ˜ 9.1-10.7. Combining these with IFU observations, we find a large spread of baryon fractions inside the host galaxies, between 7 and 100 per cent. Similarly, we find gas fractions between 3 and 56 per cent. Given their star formation rates, these objects lie on the expected main sequence of galaxies. Emission line metallicities indicate they are consistent with the mass-metallicity relation for DLAs. We also report an apparent anti-correlation between the stellar masses and N(H I), which could be due to a dust bias effect or lower column density systems tracing more massive galaxies. We present new ALMA observations of one of the targets leading to a molecular gas mass of log(Mmol/M⊙) < 9.89. We also investigate the morphology of the DLA counterparts and find that most of the galaxies show a clumpy structure and suggest ongoing tidal interaction. Thanks to our high spatial resolution HST data, we gain new insights into the structural complexity of the CGM.
The spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) galaxy sample represents the final set of galaxies observed using the original SDSS target selection criteria. We analyse the ...clustering of galaxies within this sample, including both the luminous red galaxy and main samples, and also include the 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey data. In total, this sample comprises 893 319 galaxies over 9100 deg2. Baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) are observed in power spectra measured for different slices in redshift; this allows us to constrain the distance–redshift relation at multiple epochs. We achieve a distance measure at redshift z= 0.275, of rs(zd)/DV(0.275) = 0.1390 ± 0.0037 (2.7 per cent accuracy), where rs(zd) is the comoving sound horizon at the baryon-drag epoch, DV(z) ≡(1 +z)2D2Acz/H(z)1/3, DA(z) is the angular diameter distance and H(z) is the Hubble parameter. We find an almost independent constraint on the ratio of distances DV(0.35)/DV(0.2) = 1.736 ± 0.065, which is consistent at the 1.1σ level with the best-fitting Λ cold dark matter model obtained when combining our z= 0.275 distance constraint with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-year (WMAP5) data. The offset is similar to that found in previous analyses of the SDSS DR5 sample, but the discrepancy is now of lower significance, a change caused by a revised error analysis and a change in the methodology adopted, as well as the addition of more data. Using WMAP5 constraints on Ωbh2 and Ωc h2, and combining our BAO distance measurements with those from the Union supernova sample, places a tight constraint on Ωm= 0.286 ± 0.018 and H0= 68.2 ± 2.2 km s−1 Mpc−1 that is robust to allowing Ωk≠ 0 and w≠−1. This result is independent of the behaviour of dark energy at redshifts greater than those probed by the BAO and supernova measurements. Combining these data sets with the full WMAP5 likelihood constraints provides tight constraints on both Ωk=−0.006 ± 0.008 and w=−0.97 ± 0.10 for a constant dark energy equation of state.
We present new Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer observations of quasar field Q2131-1207 with a log N(HI)N(HI) = 19.50 plus or minus 0.15 sub-damped Lyman a at zabs = 0.42980. We detect four galaxies ...at a redshift consistent with that of the absorber where only one was known before this study. Two of these are star-forming galaxies, while the ones further away from the quasar (>140 kpc) are passive galaxies. We report the metallicities of the H II regions of the closest objects (12 + log(O/H) = 8.98 plus or minus 0.02 and 8.32 plus or minus 0.16) to be higher or equivalent within the errors to the metallicity measured in absorption in the neutral phase of the gas (8.15 plus or minus 0.20). For the closest object, a detailed morphokinematic analysis indicates that it is an inclined large rotating disc with Vmax = 200 plus or minus 3 km s... We measure the masses to be Mdyn = 7.4 plus or minus 0.4 x 10... M... and M sub( halo) = 2.9 plus or minus 0.2 x 10... M... Some of the gas seen in absorption is likely to be corotating with the halo of that object, possibly due to a warped disc. The azimuthal angle between the quasar line-of-sight and the projected major axis of the galaxy on the sky is 12... plus or minus 1... which indicates that some other fraction of the absorbing gas might be associated with accreting gas. This is further supported by the galaxy to gas metallicity difference. Based on the same arguments, we exclude outflows as a possibility to explain the gas in absorption. The four galaxies form a large structure (at least 200 kpc wide) consistent with a filament or a galaxy group so that a fraction of the absorption could be related to intragroup gas. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
We use the joint measurement of geometry and growth from anisotropic galaxy clustering in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Data Release 9 (DR9) CMASS sample reported by Reid et al. ...to constrain dark energy (DE) properties and possible deviations from the general relativity (GR). Assuming GR and taking a prior on the linear matter power spectrum at high redshift from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), anisotropic clustering of the CMASS DR9 galaxies alone constrains Ωm = 0.308 ± 0.022 and 100Ωk = 5.9 ± 4.8 for w = −1, or w = −0.91 ± 0.12 for Ωk = 0. When combined with the full CMB likelihood, the addition of the anisotropic clustering measurements to the spherically averaged baryon acoustic oscillation location increases the constraining power on DE by a factor of 4 in a flat cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology with constant DE equation of state w (giving w = −0.87 ± 0.05). This impressive gain depends on our measurement of both the growth of structure and the Alcock-Paczynski effect, and is not realized when marginalizing over the amplitude of redshift-space distortions. Combining with both the CMB and Type Ia supernovae, we find Ωm = 0.281 ± 0.014 and 1000Ωk = −9.2 ± 5.0 for w = −1, or w
0 = −1.13 ± 0.12 and w
a = 0.65 ± 0.36 assuming Ωk = 0. Finally, when a ΛCDM background expansion is assumed, the combination of our estimate of the growth rate with previous growth measurements provides tight constraints on the parameters describing possible deviations from GR giving γ = 0.64 ± 0.05. For one-parameter extensions of the flat ΛCDM model, we find a ∼2σ preference either for w > −1 or slower growth than in GR. However, the data are fully consistent with the concordance model, and evidence for these additional parameters is weaker than 2σ.
We present the power spectrum of the reconstructed halo density field derived from a sample of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Seventh Data Release (DR7). The ...halo power spectrum has a direct connection to the underlying dark matter power for k≤ 0.2 h Mpc−1, well into the quasi-linear regime. This enables us to use a factor of ∼8 more modes in the cosmological analysis than an analysis with kmax= 0.1 h Mpc−1, as was adopted in the SDSS team analysis of the DR4 LRG sample. The observed halo power spectrum for 0.02 < k < 0.2 h Mpc−1 is well fitted by our model: χ2= 39.6 for 40 degrees of freedom for the best-fitting Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. We find Ωmh2(ns/0.96)1.2= 0.141+0.010−0.012 for a power-law primordial power spectrum with spectral index ns and Ωbh2= 0.022 65 fixed, consistent with cosmic microwave background measurements. The halo power spectrum also constrains the ratio of the comoving sound horizon at the baryon-drag epoch to an effective distance to z= 0.35: rs/DV(0.35) = 0.1097+0.0039−0.0042. Combining the halo power spectrum measurement with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5 year results, for the flat ΛCDM model we find Ωm= 0.289 ± 0.019 and H0= 69.4 ± 1.6 km s−1 Mpc−1. Allowing for massive neutrinos in ΛCDM, we find eV at the 95 per cent confidence level. If we instead consider the effective number of relativistic species Neff as a free parameter, we find Neff= 4.8+1.8−1.7. Combining also with the Kowalski et al. supernova sample, we find Ωtot= 1.011 ± 0.009 and w=−0.99 ± 0.11 for an open cosmology with constant dark energy equation of state w. The power spectrum and a module to calculate the likelihoods are publicly available at http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/toolbox/lrgdr/.
We discuss the interstellar absorption from many atomic and molecular species seen in high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope/STIS UV and high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of the moderately ...reddened B3–5 V star HD 62542. This remarkable sight line exhibits both very steep far-UV extinction and a high fraction of hydrogen in molecular form, with strong absorption from CH, C2, CN, and CO, but weak absorption from CH+ and most of the commonly observed diffuse interstellar bands. Most of the material resides in a single narrow velocity component, offering a rare opportunity to probe the primarily molecular core of a single interstellar cloud with little associated diffuse atomic gas. Detailed analyses of the spectra indicate that (1) the molecular fraction in the main cloud is high (f(H2) ≳ 0.8); (2) the gas is fairly cold (T k = 40–43 K; from the rotational excitation of H2 and C2); (3) the local hydrogen density n H ∼ 1500 cm−3 (from C2 excitation, fine-structure excitation of C0, and simple chemical models); (4) the unusually high excitation temperatures for 12CO and 13CO may be largely due to radiative excitation; (5) N(C+):N(CO):N(C) ∼ 100:10:1; (6) the depletions of many elements are more severe than those seen in any other sight line and the detailed pattern of depletions differs from those derived from larger samples of Galactic sight lines; and (7) the various neutral/first ion ratios do not yield consistent estimates for electron density, even when the effects of grain-assisted recombination and low-temperature dielectronic recombination are considered.
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