Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Mhongoose Discovery Of A Gas-Rich Low Surface Brightness Galaxy In The Dorado Group, Stacy Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We present the discovery of a low-mass, gas-rich low surface brightness galaxy in the Dorado group, at a distance of 17.7 Mpc. Combining deep MeerKAT 21-cm observations from the MeerKAT Hi Observations of Nearby Galactic Objects: Observing Southern Emitters (MHONGOOSE) survey with deep photometric images from the VST Early-type Galaxy Survey (VEGAS) we find a stellar and neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) gas mass of M∗ = 2:23 × 106M⊙ and MHI = 1:68 × 106 M⊙, respectively. This low surface brightness galaxy is the lowest-mass Hi detection found in a group beyond the local Universe (D ≳ 10 Mpc). …

Mhongoose: A Meerkat Nearby Galaxy H I Survey, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

The MHONGOOSE (MeerKAT H i Observations of Nearby Galactic Objects: Observing Southern Emitters) survey maps the distribution and kinematics of the neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) gas in and around 30 nearby star-forming spiral and dwarf galaxies to extremely low H i column densities. The H i column density sensitivity (3σ over 16 km s−1) ranges from ∼5 × 1017 cm−2 at 9000 resolution to ∼4 × 1019 cm−2 at the highest resolution of 700. The H i mass sensitivity (3σ over 50 km s−1) is ∼5.5×105 M at a distance of 10 Mpc (the median distance of the sample …

Delving Deep: A Population Of Extremely Dusty Dwarfs Observed By Jwst, L. Bisigello, G. Gandolfi, A. Grazian, G. Rodighiero, L. Costantin, A. R. Cooray, A. Feltre, C. Gruppioni, N. P. Hathi, Benne W. Holwerda, A. M. Koekemoer, R. A. Lucas, J. A. Newman, P. G. Pérez-González, L. Y. A. Yung, A. De La Vega, P. Arrabal Haro, M. B. Bagley, M. Dickinson, S. L. Finkelstein, J. S. Kartaltepe, C. Papovich, N. Pirzkal, S. Wilkins

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Aims. We take advantage of the NIRCam photometric observations available as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science survey (CEERS) to identify and analyse very red sources in an effort to discover very dusty star forming galaxies. Methods. We select red galaxies as objects with a S / N > 3 at 4.4 μm and a S / N < 2 in all JWST and HST filters at λ ≤ 2 μm, which corresponds to [ F 200 W ]−[ F 444 W ]> 1.2 considering CEERS depths. This selection is ideal to identify very dusty ( A V > 1 mag) galaxies with stellar masses between 10 6 and 10 10 M ⊙ at z < 5, more massive dusty galaxies at z = 5 − 18 and galaxies at z > 18 due to the Lyman absorption, independently of their dust …

The Loneliest Galaxies In The Universe: A Gama And Galaxy Zoo Study On Void Galaxy Morphology, Lori E. Porter, Benne Holwerda, Sandor Kruk, Maritza Lara-López, Kevin A. Pimbblet, Christopher P A Henry, Sarah Casura, Lee S. Kelvin

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The large-scale structure of the Universe is comprised of galaxy filaments, tendrils, and voids. The majority of the Universe’s volume is taken up by these voids, which exist as underdense, but not empty, regions. The galaxies found inside these voids are expected to be some of the most isolated objects in the Universe. This study, using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) and Galaxy Zoo surveys, aims to investigate basic physical properties and morphology of void galaxies versus field (filament and tendril) galaxies. We use void galaxies with stellar masses (⁠M∗" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; …

Gama/Devils: Cosmic Star Formation And Agn Activity Over 12.5 Billion Years, Jordan C J D’Silva, Simon P. Driver, Claudia D P Lagos, Aaron S G Robotham, Sabine Bellstedt, Luke J M Davies, Jessica E. Thorne, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Matias Bravo, Benne Holwerda, Steven Phillipps, Nick Seymour, Malgorzata Siudek, Rogier A. Windhorst

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We use the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) and the Deep Extragalactic Visible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) observational data sets to calculate the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) bolometric luminosity history (CSFH/CAGNH) over the last 12.5 billion years. SFRs and AGN bolometric luminosities were derived using the spectral energy distribution fitting code ProSpect, which includes an AGN prescription to self consistently model the contribution from both AGN and stellar emission to the observed rest-frame ultra-violet to far-infrared photometry. We find that both the CSFH and CAGNH evolve similarly, rising in the early Universe up to a …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Comparing Visually And Spectroscopically Identified Galaxy Merger Samples, Alice Desmons, Sarah Brough, Cristina Martínez-Lombilla, Roberto De Propris, Benne Holwerda, Ángel R. López-Sánchez

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We conduct a comparison of the merging galaxy populations detected by a sample of visual identification of tidal features around galaxies as well as spectroscopically detected close pairs of galaxies to determine whether our method of selecting merging galaxies biases our understanding of galaxy interactions. Our volume-limited parent sample consists of 852 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey in the redshift range 0.04 ≤ z ≤ 0.20 and stellar mass range 9.50 ≤ log 10(M⋆/M⊙)≤ 11.0" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: normal; font-family: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; …

Red Riding On Hood: Exploring How Galaxy Colour Depends On Environment, Pankaj C. Bhambhani, Ivan K. Baldry, Sarah Brough, Alexander D. Hill, M A. Lara-Lopez, J Loveday, Benne Holwerda

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Galaxy populations are known to exhibit a strong colour bimodality, corresponding to blue star-forming and red quiescent subpopulations. The relative abundance of the two populations has been found to vary with stellar mass and environment. In this paper, we explore the effect of environment considering different types of measurements. We choose a sample of 49 911 galaxies with 0.05 < z < 0.18 from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. We study the dependence of the fraction of red galaxies on different measures of the local environment as well as the large-scale `geometric’ environment defined by density gradients in the surrounding cosmic web. We find that the red galaxy fraction varies with the environment at fixed stellar mass. The red fraction depends more strongly on local environmental measures than on large-scale geometric environment measures. By comparing the different environmental densities, we show that no density measurement fully explains the observed environmental red fraction variation, suggesting the different measures of environmental density contain different information. We test whether the local environmental measures, when combined together, can explain all the observed environmental red fraction variation. The geometric environment has a small residual effect, and this effect is larger for voids than any other type of geometric environment. This could provide a test of the physics applied to cosmological-scale galaxy evolution simulations as it combines large-scale effects with local environmental impact.

Cold Gas Disks In Main-Sequence Galaxies At Cosmic Noon: Low Turbulence, Flat Rotation Curves, And Disk-Halo Degeneracy, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We study the dynamics of cold molecular gas in two main-sequence galaxies at cosmic noon (zC-488879 at z ≃ 1.47 and zC-400569 at z ≃ 2.24) using new high-resolution ALMA observations of multiple 12CO transitions. For zC-400569 we also reanalyze high-quality Hα data from the SINS/zC-SINF survey. We find that (1) both galaxies have regularly rotating CO disks and their rotation curves are flat out to ∼8 kpc contrary to previous results pointing to outer declines in the rotation speed Vrot; (2) the intrinsic velocity dispersions are low (σCO ≲ 15 km s-1 for CO and σHα ≲ 37 km …

Wallaby Pilot Survey: H I Gas Kinematics Of Galaxy Pairs In Cluster Environment, Shin-Jeong Kim, Se-Heon Oh, Jing Wang, Lister Staveley-Smith, Bärbel S. Koribalski, Minsu Kim, Hye-Jin Park, Shinna Kim, Kristine Spekkens, Juan P. Madrid

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We examine the H I gas kinematics of galaxy pairs in two clusters and a group using Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) WALLABY pilot survey observations. We compare the H I properties of galaxy pair candidates in the Hydra I and Norma clusters, and the NGC 4636 group, with those of non-paired control galaxies selected in the same fields. We perform H I profile decomposition of the sample galaxies using a tool, BAYGAUD, which allows us to deblend a line-of-sight velocity profile with an optimal number of Gaussian components. We construct H I superprofiles of the sample galaxies via …

Modelling Strong Lenses From Wide-Field Ground-Based Observations In Kids And Gama, Shawn Knabel, Benne Holwerda, J Nightingale, T Treu, M Bilicki, S Brough, S Driver, L Finnerty, L Haberzettl, S Hegde, A M. Hopkins, K Kuijken, J Liske, A K. Pimblett, R C. Steele, A H. Wright

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Despite the success of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lens studies with Hubble-quality imaging, a number of well-studied strong lenses remains small. As a result, robust comparisons of the lens models to theoretical predictions are difficult. This motivates our application of automated Bayesian lens modelling methods to observations from public data releases of overlapping large ground-based imaging and spectroscopic surveys: Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) and Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA), respectively. We use the open-source lens modelling software PYAUTOLENS to perform our analysis. We demonstrate the feasibility of strong lens modelling with large-survey data at lower resolution as a complementary avenue to studies …

Gauging The Mass Of Metals In The Gas Phase Of Galaxies From The Local Universe To The Epoch Of Reionization, K. E. Heintz, Alice E. Shapley, Ryan L. Sanders, M. Killi, D. Watson, G. Magdis, F. Valentino, M. Ginolfi, D. Narayanan, T. R. Greve, J. P. U. Fynbo, D. Vizgan, S. N. Wilson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The chemical enrichment of dust and metals are vital processes in constraining the star formation history of the universe. These are important ingredients in the formation and evolution of galaxies overall. Previously, the dust masses of high-redshift star-forming galaxies have been determined through their far-infrared continuum, however, equivalent, and potentially simpler, approaches to determining the metal masses have yet to be explored at z ≳ 2. Here, we present a new method of inferring the metal mass in the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies out to z 8, using the far-infrared [C II]- 158† μm emission line as a proxy. …

The Dust-To-Gas Mass Ratio Of Luminous Galaxies As A Function Of Their Metallicity At Cosmic Noon, Gergö Popping, Irene Shivaei, Ryan L. Sanders, Tucker Jones, Alexandra Pope, Naveen Reddy, Alice E. Shapley, Alison L. Coil, Mariska Kriek

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Aims. We aim to quantify the relation between the dust-to-gas mass ratio (DTG) and gas-phase metallicity of z = 2.1-2.5 luminous galaxies and contrast this high-redshift relation against analogous constraints at z = 0.

Methods. We present a sample of ten star-forming main-sequence galaxies in the redshift range 2.1 < z < 2.5 with rest-optical emission-line information available from the MOSDEF survey and with ALMA 1.2 millimetre and CO J = 3-2 follow-up observations. The galaxies have stellar masses ranging from 1010.3 to 1010.6 M? and cover a range in star-formation rate from 35 to 145 M? yr-1. We calculated the gas-phase oxygen abundance of these galaxies from rest-optical nebular emission lines (8.4 < 12+log (O=H) < 8.8, corresponding to 0.5..1.25 Z?). We estimated the dust and H2 masses of the galaxies (using a metallicity-dependent CO-to-H2 conversion factor) from the 1.2mm and CO J = 3..2 observations, respectively, from which we estimated a DTG.

Results. We find that the galaxies in this sample follow the trends already observed between CO line luminosity and dust-continuum luminosity from z = 0 to z = 3, extending such trends to fainter galaxies at 2.1 < z < 2.5 than observed to date. We find no second-order metallicity dependence in the CO - dust-continuum luminosity relation for the galaxies presented in this work. The DTGs of main-sequence galaxies at 2.1 < z < 2.5 are consistent with an increase in the DTG with gas-phase metallicity. The metallicity dependence of the DTG is driven by the metallicity dependence of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor. Galaxies at z = 2.1-2.5 are furthermore consistent with the DTG-metallicity relation found at z = 0 (i.e. with no significant evolution), providing relevant constraints for galaxy formation models. These results furthermore imply that the metallicity of galaxies should be taken into account when estimating cold-gas masses from dust-continuum emission, which is especially relevant when studying metal-poor low-mass or high-redshift galaxies.

The Mosdef-Lris Survey: Detection Of Inflowing Gas Towards Three Star-Forming Galaxies At Z ∼ 2, Andrew Weldon, Naveen Reddy, Michael W. Topping, Alice E. Shapley, Xinnan Du, Sedona H. Price, Ryan L. Sanders, Alison L. Coil, Bahram Mobasher, Mariska Kriek, Brian Siana, Saeed Rezaee

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report on the discovery of cool gas inflows towards three star-forming galaxies at ∼ 2.30. Analysis of Keck Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy reveals redshifted low-ionization interstellar (LIS) metal absorption lines with centroid velocities of 60–130 km s⁻¹. These inflows represent some of the most robust detections of inflowing gas into isolated, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Our analysis suggests that the inflows are due to recycling metal-enriched gas from previous ejections. Comparisons between the galaxies with inflows and a larger parent sample of 131 objects indicate that galaxies with detected inflows may have higher specific star formation …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Extended Intragroup Light In A Group At Z = 0.2 From Deep Hyper Suprime-Cam Images, Cristina Martínez-Lombilla, Sarah Brough, Mireia Montes, Roberto Baena-Gallé, Mohammad Akhlaghi, Raúl Infante-Sainz, Simon P. Driver, Benne W. Holwerda, Kevin A. Pimbblet, Aaron S G Robotham

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We present a pilot study to assess the potential of Hyper Suprime-Cam Public Data Release 2 (HSC-PDR2) images for the analysis of extended faint structures within groups of galaxies. We examine the intragroup light (IGL) of the group 400138 (M_dyn = 1.3 ± 0.5 × 1013 M_⊙, z ∼ 0.2) from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey using Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program Public Data Release 2 (HSC-SSP PDR2) images in g, r, and i bands. We present the most extended IGL measurement to date, reaching down to μglim=30.76" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; …

Wallaby Pilot Survey: Hi Gas Kinematics Of Galaxy Pairs In Cluster Environment, Shin-Jeong Kim, Minsu Kim, Hye-Jin Park, Shinna Kim, Bigiel Frank, Helga Denes, Bi-Qing For, Peter Kamphuis, Se-Heon Oh, Benne Holwerda, Kristen Mcquinn, Juan Madrid, Ahmed Elagali, Gerhardt R. Meurer, Kristine Spekkens, Lister Staveley-Smith, Barbara Catinella, Nathan Deg, Karen Lee-Waddell, Jing Wang, Lourdes Verdes-Montenegro, Ivy Wong, Jonghwan Rhee

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We examine the H I gas kinematics of galaxy pairs in two clusters and a group using Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) WALLABY pilot survey observations. We compare the H I properties of galaxy pair candidates in the Hydra I and Norma clusters, and the NGC 4636 group, with those of non-paired control galaxies selected in the same fields. We perform H I profile decomposition of the sample galaxies using a tool, BAYGAUD which allows us to de-blend a line-of-sight velocity profile with an optimal number of Gaussian components. We construct H I super-profiles of the sample galaxies via …

Devils: Cosmic Evolution Of Sed-Derived Metallicities And Their Connection To Star Formation Histories, Jessica E. Thorne, Aaron S G Robotham, Sabine Bellstedt, Luke J M Davies, Robin H W Cook, Luca Cortese, Benne Holwerda, Steven Phillipps, Malgorzata Siudek

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Gas-phase metallicities of galaxies are typically measured through auroral or nebular emission lines, but metallicity also leaves an imprint on the overall spectral energy distribution (SED) of a galaxy and can be estimated through SED fitting. We use the PROSPECT SED fitting code with a flexible parametric star formation history and an evolving metallicity history to self-consistently measure metallicities, stellar mass, and other galaxy properties for 90 000 galaxies from the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) and Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. We use these to trace the evolution of the mass–metallicity relation (MZR) and show that the …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly: Galaxy Morphology In The Green Valley, Prominent Rings, And Looser Spiral Arms, Dominic Smith, Lutz Haberzettl, L E. Porter, Ren Porter-Temple, Christopher P A Henry, Benne Holwerda, Á R. López-Sánchez, Steven Phillipps, Alister W. Graham, Sarah Brough, Kevin A. Pimbblet, Jochen Liske, Lee S. Kelvin, Clayton D. Robertson, Wade Roemer, Michael Walmsley, David O’Ryan, Tobias Géron

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Galaxies broadly fall into two categories: star-forming (blue) galaxies and quiescent (red) galaxies. In between, one finds the less populated “green valley". Some of these galaxies are suspected to be in the process of ceasing their star-formation through a gradual exhaustion of gas supply or already dead and are experiencing a rejuvenation of star-formation through fuel injection. We use the Galaxy And Mass Assembly database and the Galaxy Zoo citizen science morphological estimates to compare the morphology of galaxies in the green valley against those in the red sequence and blue cloud. Our goal is to examine the structural differences …

Deep Investigation Of Neutral Gas Origins (Dingo): Hi Stacking Experiments With Early Science Data, Jonghwan Rhee, Richard Dodson, Kristóf Rozgonyi, Sarah Brough, Benne Holwerda, Simon Driver, Attila Popping, Sambit Roychowdhury, Sabine Bellstedt, Michael J. I. Brown, Lister Staveley-Smith, Ivan Baldry, Angel Lopez-Sanchez, Martin Meyer, Elizabeth Mahony, Aaron Robotham, Andrew Hopkins, Karen Lee-Waddell

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We present early science results from Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO), an H I survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Using ASKAP subarrays available during its commissioning phase, DINGO early science data were taken over ∼60 deg2 of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 23 h region with 35.5 h integration time. We make direct detections of six known and one new sources at z < 0.01. Using H I spectral stacking, we investigate the H I gas content of galaxies at 0.04 < z < 0.09 for different galaxy colours. The results show that galaxy morphology based on optical colour is strongly linked to H I gas properties. To examine environmental impacts on the H I gas content of galaxies, three subsamples are made based on the GAMA group catalogue. The average H I mass of group central galaxies is larger than those of satellite and isolated galaxies, but with a lower H I gas fraction. We derive a variety of H I scaling relations for physical properties of our sample, including stellar mass, stellar mass surface density, NUV − r colour, specific star formation rate, and halo mass. We find that the derived H I scaling relations are comparable to other published results, with consistent trends also observed to ∼0.5 dex lower limits in stellar mass and stellar surface density. The cosmic H I densities derived from our data are consistent with other published values at similar redshifts. DINGO early science highlights the power of H I spectral stacking techniques with ASKAP

Bending Waves Excited By Irregular Gas Inflow Along Warps, Tigran Khachaturyants, Leandro Beraldo E Silva, Victor P. Debattista, Kathryne J. Daniel

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Gaia has revealed clear evidence of bending waves in the vertical kinematics of stars in the solar neighbourhood. We study bending waves in two simulations, one warped, with the warp due to misaligned gas inflow, and the other unwarped. We find slow, retrograde bending waves in both models, with the ones in the warped model having larger amplitudes. We also find fast, prograde bending waves. Prograde bending waves in the unwarped model are very weak, in agreement with the expectation that these waves should decay on short, approximately crossing, time-scales, due to strong winding. However, prograde bending waves are much …

Wallaby Pre-Pilot Survey: Two Dark Clouds In The Vicinity Of Ngc 1395, O. I. Wong, A. R. H. Stevens, B. Q. For, Tobias Westmeier, M. Dixon, S. -H. Oh, G. I. G. Jozsa, T. N. Reynolds, K. Lee-Waddell, Juan P. Madrid

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) WALLABY pre-pilot observations of two ‘dark’ HI sources (with HI masses of a few times 108 M⊙ and no known stellar counterpart) that reside within 363 kpc of NGC 1395, the most massive early-type galaxy in the Eridanus group of galaxies. We investigate whether these ‘dark’ HI sources have resulted from past tidal interactions or whether they are an extreme class of low surface brightness galaxies. Our results suggest that both scenarios are possible, and not mutually exclusive. The two ‘dark’ HI sources are compact, reside in relative isolation and are …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly: Group And Field Galaxy Morphologies In The Star-Formation Rate - Stellar Mass Plane, W. J. Pearson, L. Wang, S. Brough, Benne Holwerda, A. M. Hopkins, J. Loveday

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Aims. We study the environment in which a galaxy lies (i.e. field or group) and its connection with the morphology of the galaxy. This is done by examining the distribution of parametric and non-parametric statistics across the star-formation rate (SFR) - stellar mass (M?) plane and studying how these distributions change with the environment in the local universe (z < 0.15). Methods. We determine the concentration (C), Gini, M20, asymmetry, Gini-M20 bulge statistic (GMB), 50% light radius (r50), total Sérsic index, and bulge Sérsic index (nBulge) for galaxies from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey using optical images from the Kilo Degree Survey. We determine the galaxy environment using the GAMA group catalogue and split the galaxies into field or group galaxies. The group galaxies are further divided by the group halo mass (Mh) - 11 ≤ log(Mh /M*) < 12, 12 ≤ log(Mh /M*) < 13, and 13 ≤ log(Mh /M*) < 14 - and into central and satellite galaxies. The galaxies in each of these samples are then placed onto the SFR-M? plane, and each parameter is used as a third dimension. We fit the resulting distributions for each parameter in each sample using two two-dimensional Gaussian distributions: one for star-forming galaxies and one for quiescent galaxies. The coefficients of these Gaussian fits are then compared between environments. Results. Using C and r50, we find that galaxies typically become larger as the group mass increases. This change is greater for larger galaxies. There is no indication that galaxies are typically more or less clumpy as the environment changes. Using GMB and nBulge , we see that the star-forming galaxies do not become more bulge or disk dominated as the group mass changes. Asymmetry does not appear to be greatly influenced by environment.

Galaxy And Mass Assembly: Luminosity And Stellar Mass Functions In Gama Groups, J. A. Vazquez-Mata, J. Loveday, S. D. Riggs, I. K. Baldry, L. J.M. Davies, A. S.G. Robotham, Benne W. Holwerda, M. J.I. Brown, M. E. Cluver, L. Wang, M. Alpaslan, J. Bland-Hawthorn, S. Brough, S. P. Driver, A. M. Hopkins, E. N. Taylor, A. H. Wright

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

How do galaxy properties (such as stellar mass, luminosity, star formation rate, and morphology) and their evolution depend on the mass of their host dark matter halo? Using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly group catalogue, we address this question by exploring the dependence on host halo mass of the luminosity function (LF) and stellar mass function (SMF) for grouped galaxies subdivided by colour, morphology, and central/satellite. We find that spheroidal galaxies in particular dominate the bright and massive ends of the LF and SMF, respectively. More massive haloes host more massive and more luminous central galaxies. The satellites LF and …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Defining Passive Galaxy Samples And Searching For The Uv Upturn, S. Phillipps, S. S. Ali, M. N. Bremer, R. De Propris, A. E. Sansom, M. E. Cluver, M. Alpaslan, S. Brough, M. J.I. Brown, L. J.M. Davies, S. P. Driver, M. W. Grootes, Benne W. Holwerda, A. M. Hopkins, P. A. James, K. Pimbblet, A. S.G. Robotham, E. N. Taylor, L. Wang

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We use data from the GAMA and GALEX surveys to demonstrate that the UV upturn, an unexpected excess of ultraviolet flux from a hot stellar component, seen in the spectra of many early-type galaxies, arises from processes internal to individual galaxies with no measurable influence from the galaxies' larger environment. We first define a clean sample of passive galaxies without a significant contribution to their UV flux from low-level star formation. We confirm that galaxies with the optical colours of red sequence galaxies often have signs of residual star formation, which, without other information, would prevent a convincing demonstration of …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Properties And Evolution Of Red Spiral Galaxies, Smriti Mahajan, Kriti Kamal Gupta, Rahul Rana, M. J.I. Brown, S. Phillipps, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, M. N. Bremer, S. Brough, Benne W. Holwerda, A. M. Hopkins, J. Loveday, Kevin Pimbblet, Lingyu Wang

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We use multiwavelength data from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to explore the cause of red optical colours in nearby (0.002 < z < 0.06) spiral galaxies. We show that the colours of red spiral galaxies are a direct consequence of some environment-related mechanism(s) that has removed dust and gas, leading to a lower star formation rate. We conclude that this process acts on long time-scales (several Gyr) due to a lack of morphological transformation associated with the transition in optical colour. The specific star formation rate (sSFR) and dust-to-stellar mass ratio of red spiral galaxies is found to be statistically lower than blue spiral galaxies. On the other hand, red spirals are on average 0.9 dex more massive, and reside in environments 2.6 times denser than their blue counterparts. We find no evidence of excessive nuclear activity, or higher inclination angles to support these as the major causes for the red optical colours seen in ≳47 per cent of all spirals in our sample. Furthermore, for a small subsample of our spiral galaxies that are detected in H I, we find that the SFR of gas-rich red spiral galaxies is lower by ∼1 dex than their blue counterparts.

Default Parallels: The Science Potential Of Jwst Parallel Observations During Tso Primary Observations, Benne W. Holwerda, Jonathan Fraine, Nelly Mouawad, Joanna S. Bridge

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will observe several stars for long cumulative durations while pursuing exoplanets as primary science targets for both Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) and very likely General Observer (GO) programs. Here we argue in favor of an automatic default parallel program to observe, e.g., using the F200W/F277W filters or grism of NIRCAM/NIRISS in order to find high redshift (z (Formula Presented) 10) galaxies, cool red/brown dwarf substellar objects, solar system objects, and observations of serendipitous planetary transits. We argue here the need for automated exploratory astrophysical observations with unused JWST instruments during these long-duration exoplanet observations. …

Effect Of Galaxy Mergers On Star-Formation Rates, W. J. Pearson, L. Wang, M. Alpaslan, I. Baldry, M. Bilicki, M. J.I. Brown, M. W. Grootes, Benne W. Holwerda, T. D. Kitching, S. Kruk, F. F.S. Van Der Tak

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Context. Galaxy mergers and interactions are an integral part of our basic understanding of how galaxies grow and evolve over time. However, the effect that galaxy mergers have on star-formation rates (SFRs) is contested, with observations of galaxy mergers showing reduced, enhanced, and highly enhanced star formation. Aims. We aim to determine the effect of galaxy mergers on the SFR of galaxies using statistically large samples of galaxies, totalling over 200 000, which is over a large redshift range from 0.0 to 4.0. Methods. We trained and used convolutional neural networks to create binary merger identifications (merger or non-merger) in …

The Super Eight Galaxies: Properties Of A Sample Of Very Bright Galaxies At 7 < Z < 8, Joanna S. Bridge, Benne W. Holwerda, Mauro Stefanon, Rychard J. Bouwens, Pascal A. Oesch, Michele Trenti, Stephanie R. Bernard, Larry D. Bradley, Garth D. Illingworth, Samir Kusmic, Dan Magee, Takahiro Morishita, Guido W. Roberts-Borsani, Renske Smit, Rebecca L. Steele

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We present the Super Eight galaxies - a set of very luminous, high-redshift (7.1 < z < 8.0) galaxy candidates found in the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies (BoRG) Survey fields. The original sample includes eight galaxies that are Y-band dropout objects with H-band magnitudes of m H < 25.5. Four of these objects were originally reported in Calvi et al. Combining new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/F814W imaging and Spitzer IRAC data with archival imaging from BoRG and other surveys, we explore the properties of these galaxies. Photometric redshift fitting places six of these galaxies in the redshift range of 7.1 < z < 8.0, resulting in three new high-redshift galaxies and confirming three of the four high-redshift galaxy candidates from Calvi et al. We calculate the half-light radii of the Super Eight galaxies using the HST F160W filter and find that the Super Eight sizes are in line with the typical evolution of size with redshift. The Super Eights have a mean mass of log (M ∗/M o) ∼10, which is typical for sources in this luminosity range. Finally, we place our sample on the UV z ∼ 8 luminosity function and find that the Super Eight number density is consistent with other surveys in this magnitude and redshift range.

Formation Of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies In The Field And In Galaxy Groups, Fangzhou Jiang, Avishai Dekel, Jonathan Freundlich, Aaron Romanowsky, Aaron Dutton, Andrea Macciò, Arianna Di Cintio

Faculty Publications

We study ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in zoom in cosmological simulations, seeking the origin of UDGs in the field versus galaxy groups. We find that while field UDGs arise from dwarfs in a characteristic mass range by multiple episodes of supernova feedback (Di Cintio et al.), group UDGs may also form by tidal puffing up and they become quiescent by ram-pressure stripping. The field and group UDGs share similar properties, independent of distance from the group centre. Their dark-matter haloes have ordinary spin parameters and centrally dominant dark-matter cores. Their stellar components tend to have a prolate shape with a Sérsic …

New Constraints On Early-Type Galaxy Assembly From Spectroscopic Metallicities Of Globular Clusters In M87, Alexa Villaume, Aaron Romanowsky, Jean Brodie, Jay Strader

Faculty Publications

The observed characteristics of globular cluster (GC) systems, such as metallicity distributions, are commonly used to place constraints on galaxy formation models. However, obtaining reliable metallicity values is particularly difficult because of our limited means to obtain high quality spectroscopy of extragalactic GCs. Often, "color–metallicity relations" are invoked to convert easier-to-obtain photometric measurements into metallicities, but there is no consensus on what form these relations should take. In this paper we make use of multiple photometric data sets and iron metallicity values derived from applying full-spectrum stellar population synthesis models to deep Keck/LRIS spectra of 177 GCs centrally located around …

Spatially Resolved Stellar Populations And Kinematics With Kcwi: Probing The Assembly History Of The Massive Early-Type Galaxy Ngc 1407, Anna Ferré-Mateu, Duncan Forbes, Richard Mcdermid, Aaron Romanowsky, Jean Brodie

Faculty Publications

Using the newly commissioned Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) instrument on the Keck II telescope, we analyze the stellar kinematics and stellar populations of the well-studied massive early-type galaxy (ETG) NGC 1407. We obtained high signal-to-noise integral field spectra for a central and an outer (around one effective radius toward the southeast direction) pointing with integration times of just 600 s and 2400 s, respectively. We confirm the presence of a kinematically distinct core also revealed by VLT/MUSE data of the central regions. While NGC 1407 was previously found to have stellar populations characteristic of massive ETGs (with radially constant …