The Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) Multi-Cycle Treasury program (PI: Marc Postman) completed its Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multiwavelength obsrvations of 25 massive galaxy clusters in 2013 (Postman et al. 2012 describes the full survey). The full HST dataset and associated catalogs and gravitational lens models are available at MAST. A series or programs with Spitzer have covered all CLASH galaxy clusters with IRAC Channels 1 and 2. Several of the targets include Channels 3 and 4 data.
The Cluster Lensing And Supernovae survey with Hubble (CLASH) is a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Multi-Cycle Treasury programme that observes 25 massive galaxy clusters, 20 of which were X-ray-selected to preferably choose dynamically relaxed clusters, and 5 additional "high magnification" clusters, which were selected based on their optical lensing properties. CLASH aims to study the dark matter distribution of the clusters and find magnified high-redshift galaxies behind them. CLASH observations were carried out in 16 bands from UV to NIR to derive accurate and reliable estimates of photometric redshifts. We present the CLASH photometric redshifts using 16 HST bands and study the photometric redshift accuracy including a detailed comparison between photometric and spectroscopic redshifts for the strong lensing arcs using the measurements from the cluster MACSJ1206.2-0847.
The Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) is a 524-orbit Multi-Cycle Treasury Program to use the gravitational lensing properties of 25 galaxy clusters to accurately constrain their mass distributions. The survey, described in detail in this paper, will definitively establish the degree of concentration of dark matter in the cluster cores, a key prediction of structure formation models. The CLASH cluster sample is larger and less biased than current samples of space-based imaging studies of clusters to similar depth, as we have minimized lensing-based selection that favors systems with overly dense cores. Specifically, 20 CLASH clusters are solely X-ray selected. The X-ray-selected clusters are massive (kT>5keV) and, in most cases, dynamically relaxed. Five additional clusters are included for their lensing strength ({theta}_Ein_>35" at z_s_=2) to optimize the likelihood of finding highly magnified high-z (z>7) galaxies. A total of 16 broadband filters, spanning the near-UV to near-IR, are employed for each 20-orbit campaign on each cluster. These data are used to measure precise ({sigma}_z_~0.02(1+z)) photometric redshifts for newly discovered arcs. Observations of each cluster are spread over eight epochs to enable a search for Type Ia supernovae at z>1 to improve constraints on the time dependence of the dark energy equation of state and the evolution of supernovae. We present newly re-derived X-ray luminosities, temperatures, and Fe abundances for the CLASH clusters as well as a representative source list for MACS1149.6+2223 (z=0.544).
We present VIMOS-Very Large Telescope (VLT) spectroscopy of the Frontier Fields (FF) cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (z=0.397). Taken as part of the CLASH-VLT survey, the large spectroscopic campaign provided more than 4000 reliable redshifts over ~600arcmin^2^, including ~800 cluster member galaxies. The unprecedented sample of cluster members at this redshift allows us to perform a highly detailed dynamical and structural analysis of the cluster out to ~2.2r_200_ (~4Mpc). Our analysis of substructures reveals a complex system composed of a main massive cluster (M_200_~0.9x10^15^M_{sun}_ and {sigma}_V,r200_~1000km/s) presenting two major features: (i) a bimodal velocity distribution, showing two central peaks separated by {Delta}V_rf_~1100km/s with comparable galaxy content and velocity dispersion, and (ii) a projected elongation of the main substructures along the NE-SW direction, with a prominent sub-clump ~600kpc SW of the center and an isolated BCG approximately halfway between the center and the SW clump. We also detect a low-mass structure at z~0.390, ~10' south of the cluster center, projected at ~3Mpc, with a relative line-of-sight velocity of {Delta}V_rf_~-1700km/s. The cluster mass profile that we obtain through our dynamical analysis deviates significantly from the "universal" NFW, being best fit by a Softened Isothermal Sphere model instead. The mass profile measured from the galaxy dynamics is found to be in relatively good agreement with those obtained from strong and weak lensing, as well as with that from the X-rays, despite the clearly unrelaxed nature of the cluster. Our results reveal an overall complex dynamical state of this massive cluster and support the hypothesis that the two main subclusters are being observed in a pre-collisional phase, in agreement with recent findings from radio and deep X-ray data. In this article, we also release the entire redshift catalog of 4386 sources in the field of this cluster, which includes 60 identified Chandra X-ray sources and 105 JVLA radio sources.
The Australia Telescope National Facility Mopra millimetre telescope has been used to search for 95.1-GHz class I methanol masers towards 62 6.6-GHz class II methanol masers. A total of 26 95.1-GHz masers were detected, 18 of these being new discoveries. Combining the results of this search with observations reported in the literature, a near complete sample of 66 6.6-GHz class II methanol masers has been searched in the 95.1-GHz transition, with detections towards 38 per cent (25 detections; not all of the sources studied in this paper qualify for the complete sample, and some of the sources in the sample were not observed in the present observations).
Spectral energy distributions for 132 classical and type II Cepheids were searched for evidence of excess flux above the photospheric level in the mid-infrared. Eight of them were found to have unambiguously strong excess emission while a further 13 showed evidence of weak emission. The presence of emission appears to be unrelated to either the pulsational amplitude or the effective temperature while strong emission is limited to stars with periods longer than 11 days, with a single exception. For the stars with strong emission we attempted to fit the energy distribution with a stellar wind model. No acceptable fit could be found for silicate grains. With graphite or iron grains we could only obtain an acceptable fit if the maximum dust temperature was significantly lower than the condensation temperature. We conclude that the excess emission is not evidence of mass loss.
In 2013-2014, we obtained 14959 CCD frames in the BVIc photometric system for 170 classical Cepheids from the General Catalogue of Variable Stars. We performed our observations with the 76-cm telescope of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO, South Africa) using the SBIG ST-10XME CCD camera. The tables of observations, the plots of light curves, and the current light elements are presented.
Accurate radial velocities (vrad) of Cepheids are mandatory within the context of Cepheid distance measurements using the Baade-Wesselink technique. The most common vrad derivation method consists in cross-correlating the observed stellar spectra with a binary template and measuring a velocity on the resulting mean profile. Nevertheless, for Cepheids and other pulsating stars, the spectral lines selected within the template as well as the way of fitting the cross-correlation function (CCF) have a direct and significant impact on the measured vrad. Our first aim is to detail the steps to compute consistent CCFs and vrad of Cepheids. Next, this study aims at characterising the impact of Cepheid spectral properties and vrad computation methods on the resulting line profiles and vrad time series. We collected more than 3900 high-resolution spectra from seven different spectrographs of 64 Classical Milky Way (MW) Cepheids. These spectra were normalised and standardised using a single custom-made process on pre-defined wavelength ranges.We built six tailored correlation templates selecting unblended spectral lines of different depths based on a synthetic Cepheid spectrum, on three different wavelength ranges from 3900 to 8000{AA}. Each observed spectrum was cross-correlated with these templates to build the corresponding CCFs, adopted as the proxy for the spectrum mean line profile. We derived a set of line profile observables as well as three different vrad measurements from each CCF and two custom proxies for the CCF quality and amount of signal. This study presents a large catalogue of consistent Cepheid CCFs and vrad time series. It confirms that each step of the process has a significant impact on the deduced vrad: the wavelength, the template line depth and width, and the vrad computation method. The way towards more robust Cepheid vrad time series seems to go through steps that minimise the asymmetry of the line profile and its impact on the vrad. Centroid or first-moment vrad, that exhibit slightly smaller amplitudes but significantly smaller scatter than Gaussian or biGaussian vrad, should therefore be favoured. Stronger or deeper spectral lines also tend to be less asymmetric and lead to more robust vrad than weaker lines.
We present a detailed investigation of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) disk using classical Cepheids. Our analysis is based on optical (I, V; OGLE-IV), near-infrared (NIR: J, H, K_S_) and mid-infrared (MIR: w1; WISE) mean magnitudes. By adopting new templates to estimate the NIR mean magnitudes from single-epoch measurements, we build the currently most accurate, largest, and homogeneous multi-band data set of LMC Cepheids. We determine Cepheid individual distances using optical and NIR Period-Wesenheit relations (PWRs), to measure the geometry of the LMC disk and its viewing angles. Cepheid distances based on optical PWRs are precise at 3%, but accurate to 7%, while the ones based on NIR PWRs are more accurate (to 3%), but less precise (2%-15%), given the higher photometric error on the observed magnitudes. We found an inclination of i=25.05+/-0.02(stat.)+/-0.55(syst.){deg}, and a position angle of the lines of nodes P.A.=150.76+/-0.02(stat.)+/-0.07(syst.){deg}. These values agree well with estimates based either on young (Red Supergiants) or on intermediate-age (Asymptotic Giant Branch, Red Clump) stellar tracers, but they significantly differ from evaluations based on old (RR Lyrae) stellar tracers. This indicates that young/intermediate and old stellar populations have different spatial distributions. Finally, by using the reddening-law fitting approach, we provide a reddening map of the LMC disk, which is 10 times more accurate and 2 times larger than similar maps in the literature. We also found an LMC true distance modulus of {mu}_0,LMC_=18.48+/-0.10(stat. and syst.)mag, in excellent agreement with the currently most accurate measurement.
Recent results suggest that the first steps towards planet formation may be already taking place in protoplanetary discs during the first 100000yr after stars form. It is therefore crucial to unravel the physical and chemical structures of such discs in their earliest stages while they are still embedded in their natal envelopes and compare them with more evolved systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the structure of a line-rich Class I protobinary source, Oph-IRS 67, and analyse the differences and similarities with Class 0 and Class II sources. We present a systematic molecular line study of IRS 67 with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on 1-2" (150-300AU) scales. The wide instantaneous band-width of the SMA observations (~30GHz) provide detections of a range of molecular transitions that trace different physics, such as CO isotopologues, sulphur-bearing species, deuterated species, and carbon-chain molecules. We see significant differences between different groups of species. For example, the CO isotopologues and sulphur-bearing species show a rotational profile and are tracing the larger-scale circumbinary disc structure, while CN, DCN, and carbon-chain molecules peak at the southern edge of the disc at blue-shifted velocities. In addition, the cold gas tracer DCO^+^ is seen beyond the extent of the circumbinary disc. The detected molecular transitions can be grouped into three main components: cold regions far from the system, the circumbinary disc, and a UV-irradiated region likely associated with the surface layers of the disc that are reached by the UV radiation from the sources. The different components are consistent with the temperature structure derived from the ratio of two H_2_CO transitions, that is, warm temperatures are seen towards the outflow direction, lukewarm temperatures are associated with the UV-radiated region, and cold temperatures are related with the circumbinary disc structure. The chemistry towards IRS 67 shares similarities with both Class 0 and Class II sources, possibly due to the high gas column density and the strong UV radiation arising from the binary system. IRS 67 is, therefore, highlighting the intermediate chemistry between deeply embedded sources and T-Tauri discs.
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