- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/884/151
- Title:
- Lyman cont. luminosity of SDSS quasar pairs at z~3
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/884/151
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We have used spectra of 181 projected quasar pairs at separations <=1.5' from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 in the redshift range of 2.5-3.5 to probe the proximity regions of the foreground quasars. We study the proximity effect both in the longitudinal and in the transverse directions, by carrying out a comparison of the Ly{alpha} absorption lines originating from the vicinity of quasars to those originating from the general intergalactic medium at the same redshift. We found an enhancement in the transmitted flux within 4Mpc to the quasar in the longitudinal direction. However, the trend is found to be reversed in the transverse direction. In the longitudinal direction, we derived an excess overdensity profile showing an excess up to r<=5Mpc after correcting for the quasar's ionization, taking into account the effect of low spectral resolution. This excess overdensity profile matches with the average overdensity profile in the transverse direction without applying any correction for the effect of the quasar's ionization. Among various possible interpretations, we found that the anisotropic obscuration of the quasar's ionization seems to be the most probable explanation. This is also supported by the fact that all of our foreground quasars happen to be type 1 AGNs. Finally, we constrain the average quasar's illumination along the transverse direction as compared to that along the longitudinal direction to be <=27% (3{sigma} confidence level).
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/775/78
- Title:
- Lyman limit absorption systems in z~3 QSOs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/775/78
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the results of a blind survey of Lyman limit systems (LLSs) detected in absorption against 105 quasars at z~3 using the blue sensitive MagE spectrograph at the Magellan Clay telescope. By searching for Lyman limit absorption in the wavelength range {lambda}~3000-4000{AA}, we measure the number of LLSs per unit redshift {ell}(z)=1.21+/-0.28 at z~2.8. Using a stacking analysis, we further estimate the mean free path of ionizing photons in the z~3 universe {lambda}_mfp_^912^=100+/-29h_70.4_^-1^Mpc. Combined with our LLS survey, we conclude that systems with logN_HI_>=17.5/cm2 contribute only ~40% to the observed mean free path at these redshifts. Furthermore, with the aid of photoionization modeling, we infer that a population of ionized and metal poor systems is likely required to reproduce the metal line strengths observed in a composite spectrum of 20 LLSs with log N_HI_~17.5-19/cm2 at z~2.6-3.0. Finally, with a simple toy model, we deduce that gas in the halos of galaxies can alone account for the totality of LLSs at z<~3, but a progressively higher contribution from the intergalactic medium is required beyond z~3.5. We also show how the weakly evolving number of LLSs per unit redshift at z<~3 can be modeled either by requiring that the spatial extent of the circumgalactic medium is redshift invariant in the last ~10Gyr of cosmic evolution or by postulating that LLSs arise in halos that are rare fluctuations in the density field at each redshift.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/226/5
- Title:
- MACT survey. I. Opt. spectroscopy in Subaru Deep Field
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/226/5
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Deep rest-frame optical spectroscopy is critical for characterizing and understanding the physical conditions and properties of the ionized gas in galaxies. Here, we present a new spectroscopic survey called "Metal Abundances across Cosmic Time" or MACT, which will obtain rest-frame optical spectra for ~3000 emission-line galaxies. This paper describes the optical spectroscopy that has been conducted with MMT/Hectospec and Keck/DEIMOS for ~1900 z=0.1-1 emission-line galaxies selected from our narrowband and intermediate-band imaging in the Subaru Deep Field. In addition, we present a sample of 164 galaxies for which we have measured the weak [OIII]{lambda}4363 line (66 with at least 3{sigma} detections and 98 with significant upper limits). This nebular emission line determines the gas-phase metallicity by measuring the electron temperature of the ionized gas. This paper presents the optical spectra, emission-line measurements, interstellar properties (e.g., metallicity, gas density), and stellar properties (e.g., star formation rates, stellar mass). Paper II of the MACT survey (Ly et al. 2016ApJ...828...67L) presents the first results on the stellar mass-gas metallicity relation at z<=1 using the sample with [OIII]{lambda}4363 measurements.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/240/33
- Title:
- MaDCoWS. I. Catalog of z~1 galaxy clusters
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/240/33
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS), a search for galaxy clusters at 0.7<=z<=1.5 based upon data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. MaDCoWS is the first cluster survey capable of discovering massive clusters at these redshifts over the full extragalactic sky. The search is divided into two regions-the region of the extragalactic sky covered by Pan-STARRS ({delta}{>}-30{deg}) and the remainder of the southern extragalactic sky at {delta}{<}-30{deg} for which shallower optical data from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey is available. In this paper, we describe the search algorithm, characterize the sample, and present the first MaDCoWS data release-catalogs of the 2433 highest amplitude detections in the WISE-Pan-STARRS region and the 250 highest amplitude detections in the WISE-SuperCOSMOS region. A total of 1723 of the detections from the WISE-Pan-STARRS sample have also been observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope, providing photometric redshifts and richnesses, and an additional 64 detections within the WISE-SuperCOSMOS region also have photometric redshifts and richnesses. Spectroscopic redshifts for 38 MaDCoWS clusters with IRAC photometry demonstrate that the photometric redshifts have an uncertainty of {sigma}z/(1+z)~0.036. Combining the richness measurements with Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations of MaDCoWS clusters, we also present a preliminary mass-richness relation that can be used to infer the approximate mass distribution of the full sample. The estimated median mass for the WISE-Pan-STARRS catalog is M_500_=1.6_-0.8_^+0.7^x10^14^M_{sun}_, with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich data confirming that we detect clusters with masses up to M_500_~5x10^14^M_{sun}_ (_M200_~10^15^M_{sun}_).
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/162/229
- Title:
- 13 Magellanic Clouds metal-poor stars
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/162/229
- Date:
- 15 Mar 2022
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The chemical abundances of a galaxy's metal-poor stellar population can be used to investigate the earliest stages of its formation and chemical evolution. The Magellanic Clouds are the most massive of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies and are thought to have evolved in isolation until their recent accretion by the Milky Way. Unlike the Milky Way's less massive satellites, little is known about the Magellanic Clouds' metal-poor stars. We have used the mid-infrared metal-poor star selection of Schlaufman & Casey and archival data to target nine LMC and four SMC giants for high-resolution Magellan/MIKE spectroscopy. These nine LMC giants with -2.4<~[Fe/H]<~-1.5 and four SMC giants with -2.6<~[Fe/H]<~-2.0 are the most metal-poor stars in the Magellanic Clouds yet subject to a comprehensive abundance analysis. While we find that at constant metallicity these stars are similar to Milky Way stars in their {alpha}, light, and iron-peak elemental abundances, both the LMC and SMC are enhanced relative to the Milky Way in the r-process element europium. These abundance offsets are highly significant, equivalent to 3.9{sigma} for the LMC, 2.7{sigma} for the SMC, and 5.0{sigma} for the complete Magellanic Cloud sample. We propose that the r-process enhancement of the Magellanic Clouds' metal-poor stellar population is a result of the Magellanic Clouds' isolated chemical evolution and long history of accretion from the cosmic web combined with r-process nucleosynthesis on a timescale longer than the core-collapse supernova timescale but shorter than or comparable to the thermonuclear (i.e., Type Ia) supernova timescale.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/456/451
- Title:
- Magellanic Clouds PNe abundances
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/456/451
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the second part of an optical spectroscopic study of planetary nebulae in the LMC and SMC. The first paper, Leisy & Dennefeld (1996, Cat. <J/A+AS/116/95>), discussed the CNO cycle for those objects where C abundances were available. In this paper we concentrate more on other elemental abundances (such as O, Ne, S, Ar) and their implications for the evolution of the progenitor stars. We use a much larger sample of 183 objects, of which 65 are our own observations, where the abundances have been re-derived in a homogeneous way. For 156 of them, the quality of data is considered to be satisfactory for further analysis.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+AS/116/95
- Title:
- Magellanic Clouds PNe line intensities
- Short Name:
- J/A+AS/116/95
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present optical and ultraviolet spectroscopic observations of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Large (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC). For the visible spectra with highest S/N, line intensities have been measured to a few tenths of a percent of H_{beta}_. UV spectra are used for the determination of carbon abundances. This paper discusses the CNO cycle and its implications. We show that the CN or ON cycles are more effective with lower initial metallicities and are always complete for typeI nebulae. The latter cannot easily be distinguished from non-type I PNe on the basis of N or He abundance alone, as continuity exists in all of the standard diagrams. From the study of the C abundances, we deduce that the 3rd dredge-up is occurring in all PNe: its efficiency too is higher with lower initial metallicities, offering an easy explanation for the higher number of carbon stars found in metal-deficient galaxies. It is shown that this dredged-up carbon is sometimes transformed into nitrogen by Hot-Bottom Burning, but in a few objects only and not even in all the typeI PNe, which therefore do not form a homogeneous class.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/883/11
- Title:
- Magellan/IMACS spectra of Crater II & Hercules
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/883/11
- Date:
- 21 Jan 2022 09:25:05
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We investigate the possibility that the dwarf galaxies Crater II and Hercules have previously been tidally stripped by the Milky Way. We present Magellan/IMACS spectra of candidate member stars in both objects. We identify 37 members of Crater II, 25 of which have velocity measurements in the literature, and we classify three stars within that subset as possible binaries. We find that including or removing these binary candidates does not change the derived velocity dispersion of Crater II. Excluding the binary candidates, we measure a velocity dispersion of {sigma}_Vlos_=2.7_-0.4_^+0.5^km/s, corresponding to M/L=47_-13_^+17^M_{sun}_/L_{sun}_. We measure a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.95_-0.05_^+0.06^, with a dispersion of {sigma}_[Fe/H]_=0.18_-0.08_^+0.06^. Our velocity dispersion and metallicity measurements agree with previous measurements for Crater II, and confirm that the galaxy resides in a kinematically cold dark-matter halo. We also search for spectroscopic members stripped from Hercules in the possible extratidal stellar overdensities surrounding the dwarf. For both galaxies, we calculate proper motions using Gaia DR2 astrometry, and use their full 6D phase space information to evaluate the probability that their orbits approach sufficiently close to the Milky Way to experience tidal stripping. Given the available kinematic data, we find a probability of ~40% that Hercules has suffered tidal stripping. The proper motion of Crater II makes it almost certain to be stripped.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/154/113
- Title:
- Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy of Abell 267
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/154/113
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report the results of a pilot program to use the Magellan/M2FS spectrograph to survey the galactic populations and internal kinematics of galaxy clusters. For this initial study, we present spectroscopic measurements for 223 quiescent galaxies observed along the line of sight of the galaxy cluster Abell 267 (z~0.23). We develop a Bayesian method for modeling the integrated light from each galaxy as a simple stellar population, with free parameters that specify the redshift (v_los_/c) and characteristic age, metallicity ([Fe/H]), alpha-abundance ([{alpha}/Fe]), and internal velocity dispersion ({sigma}_int_) for individual galaxies. Parameter estimates derived from our 1.5hr observation of A267 have median random errors of {sigma}_Vlos_=20km/s, {sigma}_Age_=1.2Gyr, {sigma}_[Fe/H]_=0.11dex, {sigma}_[{alpha}/Fe]_=0.07dex, and {sigma}_{sigma}int_=20km/s. In a companion paper, we use these results to model the structure and internal kinematics of A267.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/819/53
- Title:
- Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy of Tucana 2 and Grus 1
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/819/53
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present results from spectroscopic observations with the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS) of 147 stellar targets along the line of sight to the newly discovered "ultrafaint" stellar systems Tucana 2 (Tuc 2) and Grus 1 (Gru 1). Based on simultaneous estimates of line of sight velocity and stellar-atmospheric parameters, we identify 8 and 7 stars as probable members of Tuc 2 and and Gru 1, respectively. Our sample for Tuc 2 is sufficient to resolve an internal velocity dispersion of 8.6^+4.4^_-2.7_km/s about a mean of -129.1+/-3.5km/s (solar rest frame), and to estimate a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-2.23^+0.18^_-0.12_. These results place Tuc 2 on chemodynamical scaling relations followed by dwarf galaxies, suggesting a dominant dark matter component with dynamical mass 2.7^+3.1^_-1.3_x10^6^M_{sun}_ enclosed within the central ~160pc, and dynamical mass-to-light ratio 1913^+2234^_-950_M_{sun}_/L_{nu},{sun}_. For Gru 1 we estimate a mean velocity of -140.5^+2.4^_-1.6_km/s and a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.42^+0.55^_-0.42_ but our sample does not resolve Gru 1's velocity dispersion. The radial coordinates of Tuc 2 and Gru 1 in Galactic phase space suggest that their orbits are among the most energetic within a distance of <~300pc. Moreover, their proximity to each other in this space arises naturally if both objects are trailing the Large Magellanic Cloud.
