We present results from the largest contiguous narrow-band survey in the near-infrared. We have used the wide-field infrared camera/Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the lowOH2 filter (1.187+/-0.005{mu}m) to survey ~10deg^2^ of contiguous extragalactic sky in the SA22 field. A total of ~6000 candidate emission-line galaxies are found. We use deep ugrizJK data to obtain robust photometric redshifts. We combine our data with the High-redshift(Z) Emission Line Survey (HiZELS), explore spectroscopic surveys (VVDS, VIPERS) and obtain our own spectroscopic follow-up with KMOS, FMOS and MOSFIRE to derive large samples of high-redshift emission-line selected galaxies: 3471 H{alpha} emitters at z=0.8, 1343 [OIII] + H{beta} emitters at z=1.4 and 572 [OII] emitters at z=2.2. We probe comoving volumes of >10^6^Mpc^3^ and find significant overdensities, including an 8.5{sigma} (spectroscopically confirmed) overdensity of H{alpha} emitters at z=0.81. We derive H{alpha}, [OIII] + H{beta} and [OII] luminosity functions at z=0.8, 1.4, 2.2, respectively, and present implications for future surveys such as Euclid. Our uniquely large volumes/areas allow us to subdivide the samples in thousands of randomized combinations of areas and provide a robust empirical measurement of sample/cosmic variance. We show that surveys for star-forming/emission-line galaxies at a depth similar to ours can only overcome cosmic-variance (errors <10 percent) if they are based on volumes >5x10^5^Mpc^3^; errors on L* and {phi}* due to sample (cosmic) variance on surveys probing ~10^4^ and ~10^5^Mpc^3^ are typically very high: ~300 and ~40-60 percent, respectively.
We present 348 X-ray-emitting stars identified from correlating the Extended Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP), a wide-area serendipitous survey based on archival X-ray images, with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR6). We use morphological star/galaxy separation, matching to an SDSS quasar catalog, an optical color-magnitude cut, and X-ray data-quality tests to create our catalog, the ChaMP Extended Stellar Survey (ChESS), from a sample of 2121 matched ChaMP/SDSS sources. Our cuts retain 92% of the spectroscopically confirmed stars in the original sample while excluding 99.6% of the 684 spectroscopically confirmed extragalactic sources. Fewer than 3% of the sources in our final catalog are previously identified stellar X-ray emitters. For 42 catalog members, spectroscopic classifications are available in the literature. We present new spectral classifications and H{alpha} measurements for an additional 79 stars. The catalog is dominated by main-sequence stars; we estimate the fraction of giants in ChESS is ~10%. We identify seven giant stars (including a possible Cepheid and an RR Lyrae star) as ChaMP sources, as well as three cataclysmic variables. Future papers will present analyses of source variability and comparisons of this catalog to models of stellar activity in the Galactic disk.
We present a study of the relation between X-rays and ultraviolet emission in quasars for a sample of broad-line, radio-quiet objects obtained from the cross-match of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR14 with the latest Chandra Source Catalog 2.0 (2332 quasars) and the Chandra COSMOS Legacy survey (273 quasars). The non-linear relation between the ultraviolet (at 2500{AA}, LUV) and the X-ray (at 2keV, LX) emission in quasars has been proved to be characterised by a smaller intrinsic dispersion than the observed one, as long as a homogeneous selection, aimed at preventing the inclusion of contaminants in the sample, is fulfilled. By leveraging on the low background of Chandra, we performed a complete spectral analysis of all the data available for the SDSS-CSC2.0 quasar sample (i.e. 3430 X-ray observations), with the main goal of reducing the uncertainties on the source properties (e.g. flux, spectral slope). We analysed whether any evolution of the LX-LUV relation exists by dividing the sample in narrow redshift intervals across the redshift range spanned by our sample, z~=0.5-4. We find that the slope of the relation does not evolve with redshift and it is consistent with the literature value of 0.6 over the explored redshift range, implying that the mechanism underlying the coupling of the accretion disc and hot corona is the same at the different cosmic epochs. We also find that the dispersion decreases when examining the highest redshifts, where only pointed observations are available. These results further confirm that quasars are 'standardisable candles', that is we can reliably measure cosmological distances at high redshifts where very few cosmological probes are available.
We study the classification and composite spectra of galaxies in the fourth data release (DR4) of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). We select 40182 spectra of galaxies from LAMOST DR4, which have photometric information but no spectroscopic observations in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These newly observed spectra are recalibrated and classified into six classes - passive, H{alpha}-weak, star-forming, composite, LINER and Seyfert - using the line intensity (H{beta}, [OIII] 5007, H{alpha} and [NII] 6585). We also study the correlation between spectral class and morphological type through three parameters: concentration index, (u-r) colour and D4000n index. We calculate composite spectra of high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for six spectral classes and, using these composites, we pick out some features that can differentiate the classes effectively, including H{beta}, Fe5015, H{gamma}A, HK and the Mg2 band. In addition, we compare our composite spectra with the SDSS ones and analyse their differences. A galaxy catalogue of 40182 newly observed spectra (36601 targets) and the composite spectra of the six classes are available online (http://sciwiki.lamost.org/downloads/wll).
Using the ILLUSTRIS cosmological simulation project, we investigate the relation between the separation of galaxies in a pair, both in velocity and projected spatial separation space, and the probability that these interacting galaxies will merge in the future. From this analysis, we propose a new set of criteria to select close pairs of galaxies along with a new corrective term to be applied to the computation of the galaxy merger fraction. We then probe the evolution of the major and minor merger fraction using the latest MUSE deep observations over the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Hubble Deep Field South, COSMOS-Gr30 and Abell 2744 regions. From a parent sample of 2483 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts, we identify 366 close pairs spread over a large range of redshifts (0.2<z<6) and stellar masses (10^7^-10^11^M_{sun}_). Using the stellar mass ratio between the secondary and primary galaxy as a proxy to split the sample into major, minor and very minor mergers, we found a total of 183 major, 142 minor and 47 very minor close pairs corresponding to a mass ratio range of 1:1-1:6, 1:6-1:100 and lower than 1:100, respectively. Due to completeness issues, we do not consider the very minor pairs in the analysis. Overall, the major merger fraction increases up to z~2-3 reaching 25% for pairs with the most massive galaxy with a stellar mass M*>10^9.5^M_{sun}_. Beyond this redshift, the fraction decreases down to ~5% at z~6. The major merger fraction for lower mass primary galaxies M*<10^9.5^M_{sun}_, seems to follow a more constant evolutionary trend with redshift. Thanks to the addition of new MUSE fields and new selection criteria, the increased statistics of the pair samples allow to narrow significantly the error bars compared to our previous analysis (Ventou et al., 2017A&A...608A...9V). The evolution of the minor merger fraction is roughly constant with cosmic time, with a fraction of 20% at z<3 and a slow decrease between 3<z<6 to 8-13%.
Orion KL has served as a benchmark for spectral line searches throughout the (sub)millimeter regime. The main goal is to systematically study spectral characteristics of Orion KL in the 1.3cm band. We carried out a spectral line survey (17.9GHz to 26.2GHz) with the Effelsberg-100m telescope towards Orion KL. We find 261 spectral lines, yielding an average line density of about 32 spectral features per GHz above 3 sigma. The identified lines include 164 radio recombination lines (RRLs) and 97 molecular lines. A total of 23 molecular transitions from species known to exist in Orion KL are detected for the first time in the interstellar medium. Non-metastable ^15^NH_3_ transitions are detected in Orion KL for the first time. Based on the velocity information of detected lines and the ALMA images, the spatial origins of molecular emission are constrained and discussed. A narrow feature is found in SO_2_ (8_1,7_-7_2,6_), possibly suggesting the presence of a maser line. Column densities and fractional abundances relative to H_2_ are estimated for 12 molecules with LTE methods. Rotational diagrams of non-metastable ^14^NH_3_ transitions with J=K+1 to J=K+4 yield different results; metastable ^15^NH_3_ is found to have a higher excitation temperature than non-metastable ^15^NH_3_, indicating that they may trace different regions. Elemental and isotopic abundance ratios are estimated: ^12^C/^13^C=63+/-17, ^14^N/^15^N=100+/-51, D/H=0.0083+/-0.0045. The dispersion of the He/H ratios derived from H_alpha/He_alpha_ pairs to H_delta_/He_delta_ pairs is very small, which is consistent with theoretical predictions that the departure coefficients bn factors for hydrogen and helium are nearly identical. Based on a non-LTE code neglecting excitation by the infrared radiation field and a likelihood analysis, we find that the denser regions have lower kinetic temperature, which favors an external heating of the Hot Core.
There are significant amounts of H_2_ in the Milky Way. Due to its symmetry H_2_ does not radiate at radio frequencies. CO is thought to be a tracer for H_2_, however CO is formed at significantly higher opacities than H_2_. Thus, toward high Galactic latitudes significant amounts of H_2_ are hidden and called CO-dark. We demonstrate that the dust-to-gas ratio is a tool to identify locations and column densities of CO-dark H_2_. We adopt the hypothesis of a constant E(B-V)/NH ratio, independent of phase transitions from HI to H_2_. We investigate the Doppler temperatures T_D_, from a Gaussian decomposition of HI4PI data, to study temperature dependencies of E(B-V)/NHI. The E(B-V)/NHI ratio in the cold HI gas phase is high in comparison to the warmer one. We consider this as evidence that cold HI gas toward high Galactic latitudes is associated with H_2_. Beyond CO-bright regions we find for T_D_<1165K a correlation (NHI+2NH_2_)/NHI{prop.to}-log T_D_. In combination with a factor XCO=4.0x10^20^cm^-2^(K.km/s)^-1^ this yields for the full-sky NH/E(B-V)~5.1 to 6.7 10^21^cm^-2^mag^-1^, compatible with X-ray scattering and UV absorption line observations. Cold HI with T_D_<1165K contains on average 46% CO-dark H_2_. Prominent filaments have T_D_<220K and typical excitation temperatures Tex~50K. With a molecular gas fraction of >61% they are dominated dynamically by H_2_.
As part of the SAGES Legacy Unifying Globulars and GalaxieS (SLUGGS) survey, we stack 1137 Keck DEIMOS (Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph) spectra of globular clusters from 10 galaxies to study their stellar populations in detail. The stacked spectra have median signal-to-noise ratios of ~90 {AA}^-1^. Besides the calcium triplet, we study weaker sodium, magnesium, titanium and iron lines as well as the H{alpha} and higher order Paschen hydrogen lines. In general, the stacked spectra are consistent with old ages and a Milky Way-like initial mass function. However, we see different metal line index strengths at fixed colour and magnitude, and differences in the calcium triplet-colour relation from galaxy to galaxy. We interpret this as strong evidence for variations in the globular cluster colour-metallicity relation between galaxies. Two possible explanations for the colour-metallicity relation variations are that the average ages of globular clusters vary from galaxy to galaxy or that the average abundances of light elements (i.e. He, C, N and O) differ between galaxies. Stacking spectra by magnitude, we see that the colours become redder and metal line indices stronger with brighter magnitudes. These trends are consistent with the previously reported `blue tilts' being mass-metallicity relations.
A compact group (CG) is a kind of special galaxy system where the galaxy members are separated at distances of the order of galaxy size. The strong interaction between the galaxy members makes CGs ideal labs for studying the environmental effects on galaxy evolution. The traditional photometric selection algorithm biases against the CG candidates at low redshifts, while the spectroscopic identification technique is affected by the spectroscopic incompleteness of sample galaxies and typically biases against the high redshift candidates. In this study, we combine these two methods and select CGs in the main galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, where we also have taken the advantages of the complementary redshift measurements from the LAMOST spectral and GAMA surveys. We have obtained the largest and most complete CG samples to date. Our samples include 6144 CGs and 8022 CG candidates, which are unique in the studies of the nature of the CGs and the evolution of the galaxies inside.
We present the discovery of 57 wide (>5'') separation, low-mass (stellar and substellar) companions to stars in the solar neighborhood identified from Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) data and the spectral classification of 31 previously known companions. Our companions represent a selective subsample of promising candidates and span a range in spectral type of K7-L9 with the addition of one DA white dwarf. These were identified primarily from a dedicated common proper motion search around nearby stars, along with a few as serendipitous discoveries from our Pan-STARRS 1 brown dwarf search. Our discoveries include 23 new L dwarf companions and one known L dwarf not previously identified as a companion. The primary stars around which we searched for companions come from a list of bright stars with well-measured parallaxes and large proper motions from the Hipparcos catalog (8583 stars, mostly A-K dwarfs) and fainter stars from other proper motion catalogs (79170 stars, mostly M dwarfs). We examine the likelihood that our companions are chance alignments between unrelated stars and conclude that this is unlikely for the majority of the objects that we have followed-up spectroscopically. We also examine the entire population of ultracool (>M7) dwarf companions and conclude that while some are loosely bound, most are unlikely to be disrupted over the course of ~10 Gyr. Our search increases the number of ultracool M dwarf companions wider than 300 AU by 88% and increases the number of L dwarf companions in the same separation range by 82%. Finally, we resolve our new L dwarf companion to HIP 6407 into a tight (0.13'', 7.4 AU) L1+T3 binary, making the system a hierarchical triple. Our search for these key benchmarks against which brown dwarf and exoplanet atmosphere models are tested has yielded the largest number of discoveries to date.