Wide-angle photometric surveys of previously uncharted sky areas or wavelength regimes will always bring in unexpected sources - novelties or even anomalies - whose existence and properties cannot be easily predicted from earlier observations. Such objects can be efficiently located with novelty detection algorithms. Here we present an application of such a method, called one-class support vector machines (OCSVM), to search for anomalous patterns among sources preselected from the mid-infrared AllWISE catalogue covering the whole sky. To create a model of expected data we train the algorithm on a set of objects with spectroscopic identifications from the SDSS DR13 database, present also in AllWISE. The OCSVM method detects as anomalous those sources whose patterns - WISE photometric measurements in this case - are inconsistent with the model. Among the detected anomalies we find artefacts, such as objects with spurious photometry due to blending, but more importantly also real sources of genuine astrophysical interest. Among the latter, OCSVM has identified a sample of heavily reddened AGN/quasar candidates distributed uniformly over the sky and in a large part absent from other WISE-based AGN catalogues. It also allowed us to find a specific group of sources of mixed types, mostly stars and compact galaxies. By combining the semi-supervised OCSVM algorithm with standard classification methods it will be possible to improve the latter by accounting for sources which are not present in the training sample, but are otherwise well-represented in the target set. Anomaly detection adds flexibility to automated source separation procedures and helps verify the reliability and representativeness of the training samples. It should be thus considered as an essential step in supervised classification schemes to ensure completeness and purity of produced catalogues.
We use multiwavelength Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images and Galaxy Zoo morphologies to identify a sample of ~270 late-type galaxies with an off-centre bar. We measure offsets in the range 0.2-2.5kpc between the photometric centres of the stellar disc and stellar bar. The measured offsets correlate with global asymmetries of the galaxies, with those with largest offsets showing higher lopsidedness. These findings are in good agreement with predictions from simulations of dwarf-dwarf tidal interactions producing off-centre bars. We find that the majority of galaxies with off-centre bars are of Magellanic type, with a median mass of 10^9.6^M_{sun}_, and 91 per cent of them having M*<3x10^10^M_{sun}_, the characteristic mass at which galaxies start having higher central concentrations attributed to the presence of bulges. We conduct a search for companions to test the hypothesis of tidal interactions, but find that a similar fraction of galaxies with offset bars have companions within 100kpc as galaxies with centred bars. Although this may be due to the incompleteness of the SDSS spectroscopic survey at the faint end, alternative scenarios that give rise to offset bars such as interactions with dark companions or the effect of lopsided halo potentials should be considered. Future observations are needed to confirm possible low-mass companion candidates and to determine the shape of the dark matter halo, in order to find the explanation for the off-centre bars in these galaxies.
We present results of the search for Cepheids in the galaxy IC 1613 carried out as a sub-project of the OGLE-II microlensing survey. 138 Cepheids were found in the 14.2'x14.2' region in the center of the galaxy. We present light curves, VI photometry and basic data for all these objects, as well as color-magnitude diagram of the observed field.
OH megamasers are the most luminous masers in the universe. The total of 109 OH megamaser (OHM) galaxies known so far have been collected, and cross-identifications of those OHM galaxies with Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) sources are made in this paper. Using 2MASS (Cat. II/246) and IRAS (Cat. II/125, II/156) data, the infrared properties of OHM-detected and non-detected sources are compared.
We have carried out a wide-field imaging survey for [OII] {lambda}3727 emitting galaxies at z~1.2 in the HST COSMOS 2 square degree field using the Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. The survey covers a sky area of 6700arcmin^2^ in the COSMOS field, and a redshift range between 1.17 and 1.20 ({Delta}z=0.03), corresponding to a survey volume of 5.56x10^5^Mpc^3^. We obtain a sample of 3176 [OII] emitting galaxies with observed emission-line equivalent widths greater than 26{AA}. Since our survey tends to sample brighter [OII] emitting galaxies, we also analyze a sample of fainter [OII] emitting galaxies found in the Subaru Deep Field (SDF). We find an extinction-corrected [OII] luminosity density of 10Exp(40.35^+0.08^_-0.06_)^erg/s/Mpc^3^, corresponding to star formation rate density of 0.32^+0.06^_-0.04_ M_{sun}_/yr/Mpc^3^ in the COSMOS field at z~1.2. This is the largest survey for [OII] emitters beyond z=1 currently available.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) pilot survey identified 284 [OII]{lambda}3727 emitting galaxies in a 169arcmin^2^ field of sky in the redshift range 0<z<0.57. This line flux limited sample provides a bridge between studies in the local universe and higher-redshift [OII] surveys. We present an analysis of the star formation rates (SFRs) of these galaxies as a function of stellar mass as determined via spectral energy distribution fitting. The [OII] emitters fall on the "main sequence" of star-forming galaxies with SFR decreasing at lower masses and redshifts. However, the slope of our relation is flatter than that found for most other samples, a result of the metallicity dependence of the [OII] star formation rate indicator. The mass-specific SFR is higher for lower mass objects, supporting the idea that massive galaxies formed more quickly and efficiently than their lower mass counterparts. This is confirmed by the fact that the equivalent widths of the [OII] emission lines trend smaller with larger stellar mass. Examination of the morphologies of the [OII] emitters reveals that their star formation is not a result of mergers, and the galaxies' half-light radii do not indicate evolution of physical sizes.
We present emission-line strengths for 394 galaxies from the field-galaxy redshift surveys of Kirshner, Oemler, and Schechter (1978, Cat. <J/AJ/83/1549>, KOS) and Kirshner et al. (1983, Cat. <J/AJ/88/1285>, KOSS) as part of a study of the nature of field and void galaxies. These data are 95% complete in their coverage of the [O III]{lambda}{lambda}5007,4959 emission lines. We find that 8.8%+/-1.5% of a J magnitude-limited data set have [O III]{lambda}5007 emission equivalent widths greater than 10A. There is no evidence that the spatial distribution of emission-line galaxies in each field differs from that of galaxies without emission. However, there is a significant increase in the fraction of galaxies with strong [O III] emission in the southern fields of the Kirshner, Oemler, and Schechter (1978, Cat. <J/J/83/1549>) survey as compared with the other survey fields. Our results are consistent with the conclusion that the fraction of galaxies with emission is larger in the Bootes void than in the general field, but tighter constraints on the void normal galaxy population are needed to improve the statistics.
The [OIII] {lambda}{lambda} 4959, 5007 lines are a useful proxy to test the kinematic of the narrow-line region (NLR) in active galactic nuclei (AGN). In AGN, and particularly in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) these lines often show few peculiar features, such as blue wings, often interpreted as outflowing component, and a shift - typically toward lower wavelengths - of the whole spectroscopic feature in some exceptional sources, the so-called blue outliers, which are often associated to strong winds. We investigated the incidence of these peculiarities in two samples of radio-emitting NLS1s, one radio-loud and one radio-quiet. We also studied a few correlations between the observational properties of the [OIII] lines and those of the AGN. Our aim was to understand the difference between radio-quiet and radio-loud NLS1s, which may in turn provide useful information on the jet formation mechanism. We find that the NLR gas is much more perturbed in radio-loud than in radio-quiet NLS1s. In particular the NLR dynamics in {gamma}-ray emitting NLS1s appears to be highly disturbed, and this might be a consequence of interaction with the relativistic jet. The less frequently perturbed NLR in radio-quiet NLS1s suggests instead that these sources likely do not harbor a fully developed relativistic jet. Nonetheless blue-outliers in radio-quiet NLS1s are observed, and we interpret them as a product of strong winds.
We present the [OII] luminosity function measured in the redshift range 0.1<z<1.65 with unprecedented depth and accuracy. Our measurements are based on medium resolution flux-calibrated spectra of emission line galaxies with the FORS2 instrument at VLT and with the SDSS-III/BOSS spectrograph. The FORS2 spectra and the corresponding catalog containing redshifts and line fluxes are released along with this paper. In this work we use a novel method to combine the aforementioned surveys with GAMA, zCOSMOS and VVDS, which have different target selection, producing a consistent weighting scheme to derive the [OII] luminosity function. The measured luminosity function is in good agreement with previous independent estimates. The comparison with two state-of-the-art semi-analytical models is good, which is encouraging for the production of mock catalogs of [OII] flux limited surveys. We observe the bright end evolution over 8.5Gyr: we measure the decrease of logL* from 42.4erg/s at redshift 1.44 to 41.2 at redshift 0.165 and we find that the faint end slope flattens when redshift decreases. This measurement confirms the feasibility of the target selection of future baryonic acoustic oscillation surveys aiming at observing [OII] flux limited samples.
We present nebular emission associated with 198 strong Mg II absorbers at 0.35<=z<=1.1 in the fibre spectra of quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Measured [OII] luminosities (L_[OII]_) are typical of sub-L* galaxies with derived star formation rate (uncorrected for fibre losses and dust reddening) in the range of 0.5-20M_{sun}_/yr. Typically less than ~3 per cent of the MgII systems with rest equivalent width, W_2796_>=2{AA}, show L_[OII]_>=0.3L*_[OII]_. The detection rate is found to increase with increasing W_2796_ and z. No significant correlation is found between W_2796_ and L_[OII]_ even when we restrict the samples to narrow z ranges. A strong correlation is seen between L_[OII]_ and z. While this is expected from the luminosity evolution of galaxies, we show that finite fibre size plays a very crucial role in this correlation. The measured nebular line ratios (like [OIII]/[OII] and [OIII]/H {beta}) and their z evolution are consistent with those of galaxies detected in deep surveys. Based on the median stacked spectra, we infer the average metallicity (logZ~8.3), ionization parameter (logq~7.5) and stellar mass (log (M/M_{sun}_)~9.3). The MgII systems with nebular emission typically have W_2796_>=2{AA}, MgII doublet ratio close to 1 and W(FeII{lambda}2600)/W_2796_~0.5 as often seen in damped Ly {alpha} and 21-cm absorbers at these redshifts. This is the biggest reported sample of [OII] emission from MgII absorbers at low-impact parameters ideally suited for probing various feedback processes at play in z<=1 galaxies.