A. Ederoclite

JPCAM: A 1.2 GPIXEL CAMERA FOR THE J-PAS SURVEY

JPCam is a 14-CCD mosaic camera, using the new e2v 9k-by-9k 10microm-pixel 16-channel detectors, to be deployed on a dedicated 2.55m wide-field telescope at the OAJ (Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre) in Aragon, Spain. The camera is designed to perform a Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) survey of the northern sky. The J-PAS survey strategy will use 54 relatively narrow-band (~13.8nm) filters equi-spaced between 370 and 920nm plus 3 broad-band filters to achieve unprecedented photometric red-shift accuracies for faint galaxies over ~8000 square degrees of sky. The cryostat, detector mosaic and read electronics is being supplied by e2v under contract to J-PAS while the mechanical structure, housing the shutter and filter assembly, is being designed and constructed by a Brazilian consortium led by INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). Four sets of 14 filters are placed in the ambient environment, just above the dewar window but directly in line with the detectors, leading to a mosaic having ~10mm gaps between each CCD. The massive 500mm aperture shutter is expected to be supplied by the Argelander-Institut fur Astronomie, Bonn. We will present an overview of JPCam, from the filter configuration through to the CCD mosaic camera. A brief outline of the main J-PAS science projects will be included.

AGN-Host Galaxy Connection: Morphology and Colours of X-ray Selected AGN at z < 2

Context. The connection between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies has been widely studied and found to be of great importance for providing answers to some fundamental questions related to AGN fuelling mechanisms, and both their formation and evolution. Aims. Using X-ray data and one of the deepest broad-band optical data sets available, we study how morphology and colours are related to X-ray properties for sources at redshifts z ≤ 2.0, using a sample of 262 AGN in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS). Methods. We performed our morphological classification using the galSVM code, which is a new method that is particularly suited to dealing with high-redshift sources. Colour-magnitude diagrams were studied in relationship to redshift, morphology, X-ray obscuration, and X-ray-to-optical flux ratio. We analysed the different regions in the colour-magnitude diagrams, and searched for correlations with the observed properties of AGN populations using models of their formation and evolution. Results. We confirm that a robust and reliable morphological classification of a general galaxy population at high redshift should be based on a multi-parametric approach. At least 50% of X-ray detected AGN at z <= 2.0 analysed in this work reside in spheroidal and bulge-dominated galaxies, while at least 18% have disk-dominated hosts. This suggests that different mechanisms may be responsible for triggering the nuclear activity. When analysing populations of X-ray detected AGN in both colour-magnitude and colour-stellar mass diagrams, the highest number of sources is found to reside in the green valley at redshifts ≃0.5-1.5. However, a larger number of low-luminosity AGN have been detected than in previous works owing to the substantial depth of the SXDS optical data. Whether AGN are hosted by early-or late-type galaxies, no clear relationship has been found with the optical colours (independently of redshift), as is typical of normal galaxies. Both early-and late-type AGN cover similar ranges of X-ray obscuration, for both unobscured and obscured sources. Conclusions. Our findings appear to confirm some previous suggestions that X-ray selected AGN residing in the green valley represent a transitional population, quenching star formation by means of different AGN feedback mechanisms and evolving to red-sequence galaxies. They might be hosted by similar sources (the majority of sources being late-type elliptical and lenticular galaxies, and early-type spirals) with similar stellar populations, which are triggered mainly by major and/or minor mergers, and in some cases by means of secular mechanism, as shown in previous numerical simulations. In the aforementioned transition we observe different phases of AGN activity, with some AGN being in the QSO-mode detected as compact, blue, and unobscured in X-rays, and with others passing through different phases before and after the QSO-mode, being obscured and unobscured in X-rays, respectively.

Extracting Hα flux from photometric data in the J-PLUS survey

Aims. We present the main steps that will be taken to extract H emission flux from Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) photometric data. Methods. For galaxies with z . 0:015, the H +[Nii] emission is covered by the J-PLUS narrow-band filter F660. We explore three di erent methods to extract the H + [Nii] flux from J-PLUS photometric data: a combination of a broad-band and a narrow-band filter (r 0 and F660), two broad-band and a narrow-band one (r 0 , i 0 and F660), and a SED-fitting based method using 8 photometric points. To test these methodologies, we simulated J-PLUS data from a sample of 7511 SDSS spectra with measured H flux. Based on the same sample, we derive two empirical relations to correct the derived H +[Nii] flux from dust extinction and [Nii] contamination. Results. We find that the only unbiased method is the SED fitting based one. The combination of two filters underestimates the measurements of the H + [Nii] flux by a 28%, while the three filters method by a 9%. We study the error budget of the SED-fitting based method and find that, in addition to the photometric error, our measurements have a systematic uncertainty of a 4.3%. Several sources contribute to this uncertainty: di erences between our measurement procedure and the one used to derive the spectroscopic values, the use of simple stellar populations as templates, and the intrinsic errors of the spectra, which were not taken into account. Apart from that, the empirical corrections for dust extinction and [Nii] contamination add an extra uncertainty of 14%. Conclusions. Given the J-PLUS photometric system, the best methodology to extract H + [Nii] flux is the SED-fitting based one. Using this method, we are able to recover reliable H fluxes for thousands of nearby galaxies in a robust and homogeneous way. Moreover, each stage of the process (emission line flux, dust extinction correction, and [Nii] decontamination) can be decoupled and improved in the future. This method ensures reliable H measurements for many studies of galaxy evolution, from the local star formation rate density, to 2D studies in spatially well resolved galaxies or the study of environmental e ects, up to mr0 = 21:8 (AB; 3 detection of H +[Nii] emission).

The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre: current status, developments, operations and strategies

The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ) is a new Spanish astronomical facility particularly designed for carrying out large sky surveys. The OAJ is mainly motivated by the development of J-PAS, the Javalambre- PAU Astrophysical Survey, an unprecedented astronomical survey that aims to observe 8500 deg2 of the sky with a set of 54 optical contiguous narrow-band filters (FWHM ~14 nm) and 5 mid and broad-band ones. J-PAS will provide a low resolution spectrum (R ~ 50) for every pixel of the Northern sky down to AB~22:5 - 23:5 per square arcsecond (at 5 σ level), depending on the narrow-band filter, and ~ 2 magnitudes deeper for the redder broad-band filters. The main telescope at the OAJ is the Javalambre Survey Telescope (JST/T250), an innovative Ritchey-Chrétien, alt-azimuthal, large-etendue telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 2.55m and 3 deg (diameter) FoV. The JST/T250 is the telescope devoted to conduct J-PAS with JPCam, a panoramic camera of 4.7 deg2 FoV and a mosaic of 14 large format CCDs that, overall, amounts to 1.2 Gpix. The second largest telescope at the OAJ is the Javalambre Auxiliary Survey Telescope (JAST/T80), a Ritchey-Chrétien, German-equatorial telescope of 82 cm primary mirror and 2 deg FoV, whose main goal is to perform J-PLUS, the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey. J-PLUS will cover the same sky area of J-PAS using the panoramic camera T80Cam with 12 filters in the optical range, which are specifically defined to perform the photometric calibration of J-PAS. The OAJ project officially started in mid 2010. Four years later, the OAJ is mostly completed and the first OAJ operations have already started. The civil work and engineering installations are finished, including the telescope buildings and the domes. JAST/T80 is at the OAJ undertaking commissioning tasks, and JST/T250 is in AIV phase at the OAJ. Related astronomical subsystems like the seeing and atmospheric extinction monitors and the all-sky camera are fully operative. This paper aims to present a brief description and status of the OAJ main installations, telescopes and cameras. The current development and operation plan of the OAJ in terms of staffing organization, resources, observation scheduling, and data archiving, is also described.

OSIRIS tunable imager and spectrograph for the GTC: from design to commissioning

OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) was the optical Day One instrument for the 10.4m Spanish telescope GTC. It is installed at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (La Palma, Spain). This instrument has been operational since March-2009 and covers from 360 to 1000 nm. OSIRIS observing modes include direct imaging with tunable and conventional filters, long slit and low resolution spectroscopy. OSIRIS wide field of view and high efficiency provide a powerful tool for the scientific exploitation of GTC. OSIRIS was developed by a Consortium formed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Instituto de Astronomía de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IA-UNAM). The latter was in charge of the optical design, the manufacture of the camera and collaboration in the assembly, integration and verification process. The IAC was responsible for the remaining design of the instrument and it was the project leader. The present paper considers the development of the instrument from its design to its present situation in which is in used by the scientific community.

Curvature wavefront sensing performance simulations for active correction of the Javalambre wide-field telescopes

In order to maintain image quality during Javalambre wide field telescope operations, deformations and rigid body motions must be actively controlled to minimize optical disturbances. For JST/T250 the aberrations of the telescope will be measured with four curvature sensors at the focal plane. To correct the measured distortions, the secondary mirror position (with a hexapod support) and the camera position can be modified in a control closed loop. Multiple software tools have been developed to accomplish this goal, constituting the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ) Active Optics Pipeline. We present a comprehensive analysis of the wave-front sensing system, including the availability of reference stars, pupil registration, wavefront estimators and the iteration matrix evaluation techniques. Some preliminary simulations have been made using a telescope model with a Optical Ray Tracing Software.

Robotic operation of the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ)

The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ) is a fully automated astronomical observatory located at the Sierra de Javalambre (Teruel, Spain) whose primary role is to conduct all-sky astronomical surveys with two unprecedented telescopes of unusually large fields of view: the JST/T250, a 2.55m telescope of 3deg field of view, and the JAST/T80, an 83cm telescope of 2deg field of view. The OAJ control system based on CIA model is a global tool to manage, monitor, control and maintain all observatory systems including not only astronomical subsystems but also infrastructure and other facilities. The OCS deployment is a standards-based development, taking advantage of technologies such as EPICS framework, EtherCAT Fieldbus and Beckhoff PLC hardware as open automation systems based on PC Control technology. The present paper describes the deployment of the OCS architecture, current status of the implementation, lessons learned and stimulating results of J-PLUS survey performed with JAST/T80 telescope, the open access to the Early Data Release (EDR) of the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey and next steps with JST/T250 telescope and J-PAS Javalambre Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey.

J-PLUS: morphological star/galaxy classification by PDF analysis

Our goal is to morphologically classify the sources identified in the images of the J-PLUS early data release (EDR) into compact (stars) or extended (galaxies) using a suited Bayesian classifier. J-PLUS sources exhibit two distinct populations in the r-band magnitude vs. concentration plane, corresponding to compact and extended sources. We modelled the two-population distribution with a skewed Gaussian for compact objects and a log-normal function for the extended ones. The derived model and the number density prior based on J-PLUS EDR data were used to estimate the Bayesian probability of a source to be star or galaxy. This procedure was applied pointing-by-pointing to account for varying observing conditions and sky position. Finally, we combined the morphological information from g, r, and i broad bands in order to improve the classification of low signal-to-noise sources. The derived probabilities are used to compute the pointing-by-pointing number counts of stars and galaxies. The former increases as we approach to the Milky Way disk, and the latter are similar across the probed area. The comparison with SDSS in the common regions is satisfactory up to r ~ 21, with consistent numbers of stars and galaxies, and consistent distributions in concentration and (g - i) colour spaces. We implement a morphological star/galaxy classifier based on PDF analysis, providing meaningful probabilities for J-PLUS sources to one magnitude deeper (r ~ 21) than a classical boolean classification. These probabilities are suited for the statistical study of 150k stars and 101k galaxies with 15 < r < 21 present in the 31.7 deg2 of the J-PLUS EDR. In a future version of the classifier, we will include J-PLUS colour information from twelve photometric bands.

Galaxy properties from J-PAS narrow-band photometry

AMN acknowledges support from the Sociedad Mexicana de Fisica through its Program Mexico-Centro America y el Caribe para el Avance de la Ciencia, la Tecnologia y la Innovacion, and thanks the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia (CIDA) for a graduate student grant. AMN also thanks the warm hospitality of the Instituto de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (IRyA, UNAM) and the Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon (CEFCA) during part of this research. GB acknowledges support for this work from UNAM through grant PAPIIT IG100115. n nFunding for the SDSS and SDSS-II has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, the Max Planck Society and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Software and cyber-infrastructure development to control the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ)

The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ) is a new astronomical facility located at the Sierra de Javalambre (Teruel, Spain) whose primary role will be to conduct all-sky astronomical surveys with two unprecedented telescopes of unusually large fields of view: the JST/T250, a 2.55m telescope of 3deg field of view, and the JAST/T80, an 83cm telescope of 2deg field of view. CEFCA engineering team has been designing the OAJ control system as a global concept to manage, monitor, control and maintain all the observatory systems including not only astronomical subsystems but also infrastructure and other facilities. In order to provide quality, reliability and efficiency, the OAJ control system (OCS) design is based on CIA (Control Integrated Architecture) and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) as a key to improve day and night operation processes. The OCS goes from low level hardware layer including IOs connected directly to sensors and actuators deployed around the whole observatory systems, including telescopes and astronomical instrumentation, up to the high level software layer as a tool to perform efficiently observatory operations. We will give an overview of the OAJ control system design and implementation from an engineering point of view, giving details of the design criteria, technology, architecture, standards, functional blocks, model structure, development, deployment, goals, report about the actual status and next steps.