Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spitzer Irac Infrared Colours Of Submillimetre-Bright Galaxies, Min Yun, I Aretxaga, Mln Ashby, J Austermann, Gg Fazio, M Giavalisco, Js Huang, Dh Hughes, S Kim, Jd Lowenthal, T Perera, K Scott, G Wilson, Jd Younger

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

High-redshift submillimetre-bright galaxies identified by blank field surveys at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths appear in the region of the Infra Red Array Camera (IRAC) colour–colour diagrams previously identified as the domain of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our analysis using a set of empirical and theoretical dusty starburst spectral energy distribution (SED) models shows that power-law continuum sources associated with hot dust heated by young (≲100 Myr old), extreme starbursts at z > 2 also occupy the same general area as AGNs in the IRAC colour–colour plots. A detailed comparison of the IRAC colours and SEDs demonstrates that the two populations …

The Physical Scale Of The Far-Infrared Emission In The Most Luminous Submillimeter Galaxies, Jd Younger, Gg Fazio, Dj Wilner, Mln Ashby, R Blundell, Ma Gurwell, Js Huang, D Iono, Ab Peck, Gr Petitpas, Ks Scott, Gw Wilson, Min Yun

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We present high-resolution submillimeter interferometric imaging of two of the brightest high-redshift submillimeter galaxies known: GN 20 and AzTEC1 at 0.8'' and 0.3'' resolution, respectively. Our data—the highest resolution submillimeter imaging of high-redshift sources accomplished to date—were collected in three different array configurations: compact, extended, and very extended. We derive angular sizes of 0.6'' and 1.0'' for GN 20 and 0.3'' and 0.4'' for AzTEC1 from modeling their visibility functions as a Gaussian and an elliptical disk, respectively. Because both sources are B-band dropouts, they likely lie within a relatively narrow redshift window around z ~ 4, which indicates …

Star Formation Rates In Lyman Break Galaxies: Radio Stacking Of Lbgs In The Cosmos Field And The Sub-Mu Jy Radio Source Population, Cl Carilli, N Lee, P Capak, E Schinnerer, Ks Lee, H Mccraken, Min Yun, N Scoville, V Smolcic, M Giavalisco, A Datta, Y Taniguchi, Cm Urry

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We present an analysis of the radio properties of large samples of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at z ~ 3, 4, and 5 from the COSMOS field. The median stacking analysis yields a statistical detection of the z ~ 3 LBGs (U-band dropouts), with a 1.4 GHz flux density of 0.90 ± 0.21 μJy. The stacked emission is unresolved, with a size <1, or a physical size <8 kpc. The total star formation rate implied by this radio luminosity is 31 ± 7 M yr⁻¹, based on the radio-FIR correlation in low-redshift star-forming galaxies. The star formation rate derived from a similar analysis of the UV luminosities is 17 M yr⁻¹, without any correction for …

Evidence For A Population Of High-Redshift Submillimeter Galaxies From Interferometric Imaging, Joshua D. Younger, Giovanni G. Fazio, Jia Sheng Huang, Min S. Yun, Grant W. Wilson, Matthew L.N. Ashby, Mark A. Gurwell, Kamson Lai, Alison B. Peck, Glen R. Petitpas, David J. Wilner, Daisuke Iono, Kotaro Kohno, Ryohei Kawabe, David H. Hughes, Itziar Aretxaga, Tracy Webb, Alejo Martínez-Sansigre, Sungeun Kim, Kimberly S. Scott, Jason Austermann, Thushara Perera, James Lowenthal, Eva Schinnerer, Vernesa Smolčić

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We have used the Submillimeter Array to image a flux-limited sample of seven submillimeter galaxies, selected by the AzTEC camera on the JCMT at 1.1 mm, in the COSMOS field at 890 μm with ∼2″ resolution. All of the sources - two radio-bright and five radio-dim - are detected as single point sources at high significance (>6 σ), with positions accurate to ∼0.2″ that enable counterpart identification at other wavelengths observed with similarly high angular resolution. All seven have IRAC counterparts, but only two have secure counterparts in deep HST ACS imaging. As compared to the two radio-bright sources …

Structure Formation Inside Triaxial Dark Matter Halos: Galactic Disks, Bulges, And Bars, Clayton Heller, Isaac Shlosman, Evangelie Athanassoula

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We investigate formation and evolution of galactic disks immersed in assembling live DM halos. Models have been evolved from cosmological initial conditions and represent the collapse of an isolated density perturbation. The baryons include gas participating in star formation (SF) and stars with the energy feedback onto the ISM. We find that (1) the triaxial halo figure tumbling is insignificant and the angular momentum (J) is channeled into the internal circulation, while the baryonic collapse is stopped by the centrifugal barrier; (2) density response of the (disk) baryons is out of phase with DM, thus washing out the …

Spiral Disk Opacity From Occulting Galaxy Pairs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey., Benne W. Holwerda, W. C. Keel, A. Bolton

Faculty Scholarship

A spiral galaxy partially overlapping a more distant elliptical offers a unique opportunity to measure the dust extinction in the foreground spiral. From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR4 spectroscopic sample, we selected 83 occulting galaxy pairs and measured disk opacity over the redshift range z ¼ 0:0Y0:2 with the goal of determining the recent evolution of disk dust opacity. The enrichment of the ISM changes over the lifetime of a disk, and it is reasonable to expect the dust extinction properties of spiral disks as a whole to change over their lifetime. When they do, the change will …

Stellar Populations Across The Ngc 4244 Truncated Galactic Disk., Roelof De Jong, A. C. Seth, D. Radburn-Smith, E. F. Bell, T. M. Brown, J. S. Bullock, S. Courteau, J. J. Dalcanton, H. C. Ferguson, P. Goudfrooij, S. Holfeltz, Benne W. Holwerda, C. Purcell, J. Sick, D. B. Zucker

Faculty Scholarship

We use the Hubble Space Telescope ACS to study the resolved stellar populations of the nearby, nearly edgeon galaxy NGC 4244 across its outer disk surface density break. The stellar photometry allows us to study the distribution of different stellar populations and reach very low equivalent surface brightnesses. We find that the break occurs at the same radius for young, intermediate-age, and old stars. The stellar density beyond the break drops sharply by a factor of at least 600 in 5 kpc. The break occurs at the same radius independent of height above the disk, but is sharpest in the …

Initial Mass Function Effects On The Colour Evolution Of Disk Galaxies, P. Westera, M. Samland, Stefan Kautsch, R. Buser, K. Ammon

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Aims. In this work, we want to find out if the IMF can be determined from colour images, integrated colours, or mass-to-light ratios, especially at high redshift, where galaxies cannot be resolved into individual stars, which would enable us to investigate dependencies of the IMF on cosmological epoch.

Methods. We use chemo-dynamical models to investigate the influence of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) on the evolution of a Milky Way-type disk galaxy, in particular of its colours.

Results. We find that the effect of the IMF on the internal gas absorption is larger than its effect on …

The Metallicity Distribution Of Intracluster Stars In Virgo, Benjamin F. Willaims, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) to detect and measure ~5300 stars in a single intracluster field in the Virgo Cluster. By performing F606W and F814W photometry on these stars, we have determined their metallicity distribution function and constrained the types of stars present in this portion of Virgo's intracluster space. Based on the small number of stars detected that were brighter than the red giant branch (RGB) tip, we suggest that in this region, Virgo's intracluster stars are mostly old (10 Gyr). Through analysis of the RGB stars themselves, we determine that …

Virgo’S Intracluster Globular Clusters As Seen By The Advanced Camera For Surveys, Benjamin F. Williams, Robin Ciardullo, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We report the discovery of four candidate intracluster globular clusters (IGCs) in a single deepHST ACS field of the Virgo Cluster. We show that each cluster is roughly spherical, has a magnitude near the peak of the Virgo globular cluster luminosity function, has a radial profile that is best fitted by a King model, and is surrounded by an excess of point sources that have the colors and magnitudes of cluster red giant stars. Despite the fact that two of our IGC candidates have integrated colors redder than the mean of the M87 globular cluster system, we propose that …

Evolution Of Stellar Bars In Live Axisymmetric Halos: Recurrent Buckling And Secular Growth, Inma Martinez-Valpuesta, Isaac Shlosman, Clayton Heller

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Evolution of stellar bars in disk galaxies is accompanied by dynamical instabilities and secular changes. Following the vertical buckling instability, the bars are known to weaken dramatically and develop a pronounced boxy/ peanut shape when observed edge-on. Using high-resolution N-body simulations of stellar disks embedded in live axisymmetric dark matter halos, we have investigated the long-term changes in the bar morphology, specifically the evolution of the bar size, its vertical structure, and the exchange of angular momentum. We find that following the initial buckling, the bar resumes its growth from deep inside the corotation radius and follows the ultraharmonic resonance …

Measuring The Halo Mass Of Z ∼ 3 Damped Lyα Absorbers From The Absorber-Galaxy Cross-Correlation, Nicolas Bouché, Jeffrey P. Gardner, Neal Katz, David H. Weinberg, Romeel Davé, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We test the reliability of a method to measure the mean halo mass of absorption-line systems such as damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs). The method is based on measuring the ratio of the cross-correlation between DLAs and galaxies to the autocorrelation of the galaxies themselves, which is (in linear theory) the ratio of their bias factor b. We show that the ratio of the projected cross- and autocorrelation functions [W (r )/w (r )] is also the ratio of their bias factor, irrespective of the galaxy distribution, provided that one uses the same galaxies for w (r ) and w (r …

The Star Formation Rate-Density Relationship At Redshift 3, Nicolas Bouché, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We study the star formation rate (SFR) as a function of environment for UV-selected Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at redshift 3. From deep [μ (sky) ≃ 27.6] UBVI MOSAIC images, covering a total of 0.90 deg , we select 334 LBGs in slices 100 h Mpc (comoving) deep spanning the redshift range 2.9 < z < 3.4 based on Bayesian photometric redshifts that include the I magnitude as a prior. The slice width (100 h Mpc) corresponds to the photometric redshift accuracy (Δ ∼ 0.15). We used mock catalogs from the GIF2 cosmological simulations to show that this redshift resolution is sufficient to statistically differentiate the high-density regions from the low-density regions using ∑ , the projected density to the fifth nearest neighbor. These mock catalogs have a redshift depth of 110 h Mpc, similar to our slice width. The large area of the MOSAIC images, ∼40 × 40 Mpc (comoving) per field, allows us to measure the SFR from the dust-corrected UV continuum as a function of ∑ . In contrast to low-redshift galaxies, we find that the SFR (or UV luminosity) of LBGs at z = 3 shows no detectable dependence on environment over 2 orders of magnitude in densities. To test the significance of our result, we use Monte Carlo simulations (from the mock catalogs) and the same projected density estimators that we applied to our data. We find that we can reject the steep z = 0 SFR-density relation at the 5 σ level. We conclude that the SFR-density relation at z = 3 must be at least 3.6 times flatter than it is locally; i.e., the SFR of LBGs is significantly less dependent on environment than the SFR of local star-forming galaxies. We find that the rest-frame UV colors are also independent of environment.

Galaxies At Z = 3 Around Damped Ly-Α Clouds, N. Bouché, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We are exploring the connection between Damped Ly-α Absorption systems and Lyman Break Galaxies using deep m (5σ)=26 m - broad band imaging (UBVI) of four wide fields (0.25deg each) obtained at the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope with MOSAIC. Each field contains a DLA at z ∼ 3. We want to address the nature of DLA at high-redshifts: (1) Are the DLAs embedded in much larger systems of galaxies? (2) How does the spatial distribution of emitters in 3D (space and redshift) correlate with the absorber? Contrary to most previous DLA studies, we are not looking for the absorber, and …

Clustering Of Galaxies At Z ∼ 3 Around The Probable Damped Lyα Absorber Toward Qso Apm 08279+5255, Nicolas Bouché, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present results on the clustering of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) around a probable damped Lyα absorption line cloud (DLA) at z = 2.974 from deep UBVI images of the field containing the quasar APM 08279+5255 (z = 3.91). The large area covered by our images, 0.31 deg or ∼40 × 40 Mpc comoving at redshift z = 3, and their depth, μ (sky) ≃ 27.6 mag arcsec , allow us to identify ∼450 LBG candidates brighter than I = 24.80 at 2. 75 < z < 3.25 both close (50 kpc) to the DLA line of sight and up to 20 Mpc (comoving) from the DLA, i.e., physically unrelated. LBG candidates were identified using photometric redshift techniques that include the I magnitude as a prior estimate in addition to the colors. The two are combined using Bayes's theorem. This helps to break the degeneracies that occur in a pure spectral template fitting scheme. The overall rms is σ ≃ 0.15 at z ∼ 3 based on our analysis of photometric redshifts in the HDF-N. From the redshift likelihood distributions, we selected LBG galaxies within a redshift slice of width W = 0.15(≃ σ ) centered on the redshift of the DLA z . Within that redshift slice, we find an enhancement of galaxies near the DLA using both the surface density (Σ/Σ ≃ 3) and an estimator of the three-dimensional spatial overdensity (n/n̄ ∼ 5 ± 3). The surface overdensity Σ/Σ is significant at the more than 95% significance level on scales 2.5 < r < 5 Mpc comoving. The overdensity cannot be related to the QSO environment since the QSO is at z = 3.91. These results imply that some DLA could reside in high-density regions. We search within 45″ from the line of sight for galaxies responsible for the DLA and find one candidate with Z = 3.03 that is 26″ (145 kpc physical) away. From its magnitude I = 24.65 ± 0.2, its luminosity is M = -21.35. Due to its large impact parameter, however, this galaxy is not a likely candidate for the absorber. abs em I,AB AB z z z abs g g g θ em phot I,AB 2 -2

Keck Spectroscopy And Imaging Of Faint Galaxies Identified As Microjansky Radio Sources, Nathan D. Roche, James D. Lowenthal, David C. Koo

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We investigate the nature of the faintest radio sources detected in three Very Large Array surveys, to F(8.5 GHz) ∼ 8 μJy. Using the Keck low-resolution imaging spectrograph in BRI and the near-infrared camera in K′ (2.1 μm), we image 51 radio sources, and identify probable optical counterparts for 50. With low-resolution imaging spectroscopy, we successfully acquire new redshifts for 17 sources. Combining these with nine prior redshifts, we can then analyse a sample of 26 sources with spectroscopic redshifts. Based on this sample of 26, we find the largest contribution, about 60 per cent (15), to be from disc …

Faint Radio Sources And Star Formation History, Deborah B. Haarsma, R. B. Partridge, R. A. Windhorst, E. A. Richards

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The centimeter-wave luminosity of local radio galaxies correlates well with their star formation rate. We extend this correlation to surveys of high-redshift radio sources to estimate the global star formation history. The star formation rate found from radio observations needs no correction for dust obscuration, unlike the values calculated from optical and ultraviolet data. Three deep radio surveys have provided catalogs of sources with nearly complete optical identifications and nearly 60% complete spectroscopic redshifts: the Hubble Deep Field and Flanking Fields at 12h + 62°, the SSA13 field at 13h + 42°, and the V15 field at 14h + 52°. …

Lyman-Α Imaging Of A Very Luminous Z = 2.3 Starburst Galaxy With Wfpc2, Nathan Roche, James D. Lowenthal, Bruce Woodgate

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We investigate the Lyα and UV continuum morphology of one of the most luminous known Lymana emitting galaxies (the 'Coup Fourré Galaxy'), associated with a z = 2.3 damped Lyα absorption system in the spectrum of the QSO PHL 957. The galaxy is observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 (HST WFPC2), through a narrow filter (F410M) corresponding to rest-frame Lyα for a total exposure time of 41.2 ks, plus shorter exposures in F555W and F814W. In all three passbands, the galaxy is resolved into a close (∼0.35 arcsec) pair of two components, CFgA and CFgB, both …

The Peculiar Motions Of Early-Type Galaxies In Two Distant Regions -- V. The Mg-- Relation, Age And Metallicity, M. Colless, D. Burstein, R. L. Davies, R. K. Mcmahan, R. P. Saglia, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We have examined the Mg—σ relation for early-type galaxies in the EFAR sample and its dependence on cluster properties. A comprehensive maximum likelihood treatment of the sample selection and measurement errors gives fits to the global Mg—σ relation of Mg b^′=0.131 log σ −0.131 and Mg₂=0.257 log σ −0.305. The slope of these relations is 25 per cent steeper than that obtained by most other authors owing to the reduced bias of our fitting method. The intrinsic scatter in the global Mg— σ relation is estimated to be 0.016 mag in Mg b^′ and 0.023 …

Near-Infrared Galaxy Counts To J And K ∼ 24 As A Function Of Image Size, Matthew A. Bershady, James D. Lowenthal, David C. Koo

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We have used the Keck 10 m telescope to count objects as a function of image size in two high Galactic latitude Ðelds covering 1.5 arcmin2 and reaching 50% completeness depths of K \ 24 and J \ 24.5 for stellar sources. Our counts extend D1 mag deeper in K than those of surveys with other telescopes; complement other Keck surveys in the K-band that provide counts at comparable or shallower depths but that have not utilized image structure; and extend by several magnitudes the J-band counts from brighter surveys using smaller telescopes that cover larger areas. We Ðnd the …

Far-Ultraviolet Spectra Of Starburst Galaxies: Stellar Population And The Kinematics Of The Interstellar Medium, Rosa M. Gonzalez Delgado, Claus Leitherer, Timothy Heckman, James D. Lowenthal, Henry C. Ferguson, Carmelle Robert

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

The far-ultraviolet spectra of the four starburst galaxies NGC 6090, Mrk 66, Mrk 1267, and IRAS 0833 + 6517 were observed with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope during the Astro-2 mission. Additional data were obtained for IRAS 0833 + 6517 with the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. We analyze the observations in terms of the stellar content and the kinematics of the interstellar medium, and we discuss the implications of these results for the interpretation of the ultraviolet spectra of high-redshift galaxies. Evolutionary synthesis models are used to constrain the star formation history from the absolute ultraviolet …

Fluctuations In Finite N Equilibrium Stellar Systems, Martin D. Weinberg

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

Gravitational amplification of Poisson noise in stellar systems is important on large scales. For example, it increases the dipole noise power by roughly a factor of six and the quadrupole noise by 50% for a King model profile. The dipole noise is amplified by a factor of fifteen for the core-free Hernquist model. The predictions are computed using the dressed-particle formalism of Rostoker & Rosenbluth (1960) and are demonstrated by n-body simulation. This result implies that a collisionless n-body simulation is impossible; The fluctuation noise which causes relaxation is an intrinic part of self gravity. In other words, eliminating two-body …

The Nature Of Compact Galaxies In The Hubble Deep Field. Ii. Spectroscopic Properties And Implications For The Evolution Of The Star Formation Rate Density Of The Universe, Rafael Guzmán, Jesús Gallego, David C. Koo, Andrew C. Phillips, James D. Lowenthal, S. M. Faber, Garth D. Illingworth, Nicole P. Vogt

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present a spectroscopic study of 51 compact field galaxies with redshifts z < 1.4 and apparent magnitudes I < 23.74 in the flanking fields of the Hubble Deep Field. These galaxies are compact in the sense that they have small apparent half-light radii (r ≤ 0″.5) and high surface brightnesses (μ ≤ 22.2 mag arcsec ). The spectra, taken at the Keck telescope, show emission lines in 88% of our sample, and only absorption lines in the remaining 12%. Emission-line profiles are roughly Gaussian with velocity widths that range from the measurement limit of σ ∼ 35 km s to 150 km s . Rest frame [O II] λ3727 equivalent widths range from 5 to 94 Å, yielding star formation rates (SFRs) of ∼0.1 to 14 M yr . The analysis of various line diagnostic diagrams reveals that ∼60% of compact emission-line galaxies have velocity widths, excitations, Hβ luminosities, SFRs, and mass-to-light ratios characteristic of young star-forming H II galaxies. The remaining 40% form a more heterogeneous class of evolved starbursts, similar to local starburst disk galaxies. We find that, although the compact galaxies at z > 0.7 have similar SFRs per unit mass to those at z < 0.7, they are on average ∼10 times more massive. Our sample implies a lower limit for the global comoving SFR density of ∼0.004 M yr Mpc at z = 0.55, and ∼0.008 M yr Mpc at z = 0.85 (assuming Salpeter IMF, H = 50 km s Mpc , and q = 0.5). These values, when compared to estimates for a sample of local compact galaxies selected in a similar fashion, support a history of the universe in which the SFR density declines by a factor ∼10 from z = 1 to today. From the comparison with the SFR densities derived for magnitude-limited samples of field galaxies, we conclude that compact emission-line galaxies, though only ∼20% of the general field population, may contribute as much as ∼45% to the global SFR of the universe at 0.4 < z < 1. © 1997. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. 814 1/2 I814 ⊙ ⊙ ⊙ 0 o -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -3 -1 -3 -1 -1

Keck Spectroscopy Of Redshift Z ∼ 3 Galaxies In The Hubble Deep Field, James Lowenthal, David C. Koo, Rafael Guzmán, Jesús Gallego, Andrew C. Phillips, S. M. Faber, Nicole P. Vogt, Garth D. Illingworth, Caryl Gronwall

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We have obtained spectra with the 10 m Keck telescope of a sample of 24 galaxies having colors consistent with star-forming galaxies at redshifts 2 ≲ z ≲ 4.5 in the Hubble deep field (HDF). Eleven of these galaxies are confirmed to be at high redshift (z = 3.0), one is at z = 0.5, and the other 12 have uncertain redshifts but have spectra consistent with their being at z > 2. The spectra of the confirmed high-redshift galaxies show a diversity of features, including weak Lyα emission, strong Lyα breaks or damped Lyα absorption profiles, and the stellar and …

The Nature Of Compact Galaxies In The Hubble Deep Field. I. Global Properties, Andrew C. Phillips, Rafael Guzmán, Jesús Gallego, David C. Koo, James D. Lowenthal, Nicole P. Vogt, S. M. Faber, Garth D. Illingworth

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present 10 m Keck spectroscopy and photometry for a sample of 61 small (r1/2 ≤ 0″.5), faint (I814 ≤ 23.74), high-surface brightness (μI814 < 22.2 mag arcsec-2) galaxies in fields flanking the Hubble Deep Field. The majority of this empirically defined sample of compact galaxies lies at redshifts 0.4 ≲ z ≲ 1 (88% completeness in redshift identifications), ruling out a large component of low-redshift galaxies. The number of such galaxies in the range 1.4 ≲ z ≲ 2.2 is also constrained to ≲ 10%. The majority of the observed galaxies are emission-line systems, while a significant fraction (23%-34%) appear to be normal ellipticals or otherwise early-type systems. One object is an active galactic nucleus, and two are at high redshift (z > 2). The Keck redshift and photometric data are combined with Hubble Space Telescope images to derive luminosities and physical sizes. We also use emission-line widths, where available, to estimate masses. About two-thirds of the emission-line galaxies, or roughly one-half the sample, are small, low-mass, relatively luminous systems with properties resembling those of local H II galaxies. We compare the properties and numbers of these galaxies to the "bursting dwarf" model of Babul & Ferguson. Our sample …

Microjansky Source Counts And Spectral Indices At 8.44 Ghz, Rogier A. Windhorst, Edward B. Fomalont, R. Bruce Partridge, James D. Lowenthal

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We used the VLA to make deep images of two 7′ × 7′ fields at 8.44 GHz with 10″ resolution. With an rms noise of 3.2 and 5.1 μJy, respectively, in the two fields, we compiled a catalog of 82 sources. From the complete sample of 20 sources with S ≥ 14.5 μJy, the differential 8.44 GHz source count is dN(S)/ dS = (-4.6 ± 0.7) × S-2.3 ± 0.2 Jy-1 sr-1 in the range 14.5-1000 mJy. Analysis of statistical image fluctuations from weak sources (Fomalont et al. 1993) suggests that this slope remains unchanged at γ = 2.3 ± …