Arif Babul

The remnants of galaxy formation from a panoramic survey of the region around M31.

In hierarchical cosmological models, galaxies grow in mass through the continual accretion of smaller ones. The tidal disruption of these systems is expected to result in loosely bound stars surrounding the galaxy, at distances that reach 10–100 times the radius of the central disk. The number, luminosity and morphology of the relics of this process provide significant clues to galaxy formation history, but obtaining a comprehensive survey of these components is difficult because of their intrinsic faintness and vast extent. Here we report a panoramic survey of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). We detect stars and coherent structures that are almost certainly remnants of dwarf galaxies destroyed by the tidal field of M31. An improved census of their surviving counterparts implies that three-quarters of M31’s satellites brighter than Mv = -6 await discovery. The brightest companion, Triangulum (M33), is surrounded by a stellar structure that provides persuasive evidence for a recent encounter with M31. This panorama of galaxy structure directly confirms the basic tenets of the hierarchical galaxy formation model and reveals the shared history of M31 and M33 in the unceasing build-up of galaxies.

The role of black holes in galaxy formation and evolution

Virtually all massive galaxies, including our own, host central black holes ranging in mass from millions to billions of solar masses. The growth of these black holes releases vast amounts of energy that powers quasars and other weaker active galactic nuclei. A tiny fraction of this energy, if absorbed by the host galaxy, could halt star formation by heating and ejecting ambient gas. A central question in galaxy evolution is the degree to which this process has caused the decline of star formation in large elliptical galaxies, which typically have little cold gas and few young stars, unlike spiral galaxies.

The nature and space density of fossil groups of galaxies

We describe the properties of a sample of galaxy groups with very unusual distributions of galaxy luminosities. The most extreme example has an X-ray luminosity similar to that of the Virgo cluster but has a very low richness, with only one galaxy brighter than L*, compared with six in Virgo. That one galaxy, however, is optically more luminous than any galaxy in Virgo and has an optical luminosity as bright as many of the central cD galaxies in rich Abell clusters. The characteristic feature of the fossil groups we study is that most of the light arises from one dominant, central galaxy. We define a fossil system and, based on this definition, construct a small X-ray-selected, flux-limited sample of fossil groups with well-known selection criteria. We confirm that these systems are indeed groups of galaxies, but dominated by one central luminous giant elliptical galaxy and with few, or no, L* galaxies. We find that fossil systems represent 8–20 per cent of all systems of the same X-ray luminosity. Fossil groups are at least as numerous as all poor and rich clusters combined, and are thus a possible site for the formation of luminous central cluster galaxies before infall into clusters occurs. The fossil systems in our sample have significantly higher X-ray luminosities than normal groups of similar total optical luminosities (or similar X-ray temperature, where the latter can be measured). These enhanced X-ray luminosities may be due to relatively cool gas in the innermost regions or due to a low central gas entropy. We interpret fossil groups as old, undisturbed systems which have avoided infall into clusters, but where galaxy merging of most of the L* galaxies has occurred. An early formation epoch, before that of most groups, could explain low central gas entropies and high X-ray luminosities.

The Dynamics of Sinking Satellites around Disk Galaxies: A Poor Man’s Alternative to High-Resolution Numerical Simulations

We have developed a simple yet surprisingly accurate analytic scheme for tracking the dynamical evolution of substructure within dark matter halos. The scheme incorporates the effects of dynamical friction, tidal mass loss, and tidal heating via physically motivated approximations. Using our scheme, we can predict the orbital evolution and mass-loss history of individual subhalos in detail. We are also able to determine the impact and importance of the different physical processes on the dynamical evolution of the subhalos. To test and calibrate this model, we compare it with a set of recent high-resolution numerical simulations of mergers between galaxies and small companions. We find that we can reproduce the orbits and mass-loss rates seen in all of these simulations with considerable accuracy, using a single set of values for the three free parameters in our model. Computationally, our scheme is more than 1000 times faster than the simplest of the high-resolution numerical simulations. This means that we can carry out detailed and statistically meaningful investigations into the characteristics of the subhalo population in different cosmologies, the stripping and disruption of the subhalos, and the interactions of the subhalos with other dynamical structures such as a thin disk. This last point is of particular interest given the ubiquity of minor mergers in hierarchical models. In this regard, our methods simplicity and speed makes it particularly attractive for incorporation into semianalytic models of galaxy formation.

Reionization in a cold dark matter universe: The feedback of galaxy formation on the intergalactic medium

We study the coupled evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and the emerging structure in the universe in the context of the cold dark matter (CDM) model, with a special focus on the consequences of imposing reionization and the Gunn-Peterson constraint as a boundary condition on the model. We have calculated the time-varying density of the IGM by coupling our detailed, numerical calculations of the thermal and ionization balance and radiative transfer in a uniform, spatially averaged IGM of H and He, including the mean opacity of an evolving distribution of gas clumps which correspond to quasar absorption line clouds, to the linearized equations for the growth of density fluctuations in both the gaseous and dark matter components in a CDM universe. We use the linear growth equations to identify the fraction of the gas which must have collapsed out at each epoch, an approach similar in spirit to the so-called Press-Schechter formalism. We identify the IGM density with the uncollapsed baryon fraction. The collapsed fraction is postulated to be a source of energy injection into the IGM, by radiation or bulk hydrodynamical heating (e.g., via shocks) or both, at a rate which is marginally enough to satisfy the Gunn-Peterson constraint at z less than 5. Our results include the following: (1) We find that the IGM in a CDM model must have contained a substantial fraction of the total baryon density of the universe both during and after its reionization epoch. (2) As a result, our previous conclusion that the observed Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSOs) at high redshift are not sufficient to ionize the IGM enough to satisfy the Gunn-Peterson constraint is confirmed. (3) We predict a detectable He II Gunn-Peterson effect at 304(1 + z) A in the spectra of quasars at a range of redshift z greater than or approx. 3, depending on the nature of the sources of IGM reionization. (4) We find, moreover, that a CDM model with high bias parameter b (i.e., b greater than or approx. 2) cannot account for the baryon content of the universe at z approximately 3 observed in quasar absorption line gas unless Omega (sub B) significantly exceeds the maximum value allowed by big bang nucleocynthesis. (5) For a CDM model with bias parameter within the allowed range of (lower) values, the lower limit to Omega(sub B) imposed by big bang nucleosynthesis (Omega(sub B) h(sup 2) greater than or equal to 0.01) combines with our results to yield the minimum IGM density for the CDM fodel. For CDM with b = 1 (Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) normalization), we find Omega(sub IGM)(sup min) (z approximately 4) approx. equal 0.02-0.03, and Omega(sub IGM)(sup min)(z approximately 0) approx. equal 0.005-0.03, depending upon the nature of the sources of IGM reionization. (6) In general, we find that self-consistent reionization of the IGM by the collapsed baryon fraction has a strong effect on the rate of collapse. (7) As a further example, we show that the feedback effect on the IGM of energy release by the collapsed baryon fraction may explain the slow evolution of the observed comoving QSO number density between z = 5 and z = 2, followed by the sharp decline after z = 2.

Joint Analysis of Cluster Observations. II. Chandra/XMM-Newton X-Ray and Weak Lensing Scaling Relations for a Sample of 50 Rich Clusters of Galaxies

We present a study of multiwavelength X-ray and weak lensing scaling relations for a sample of 50 clusters of galaxies. Our analysis combines Chandra and XMM-Newton data using an energy-dependent cross-calibration. After considering a number of scaling relations, we find that gas mass is the most robust estimator of weak lensing mass, yielding 15% ? 6% intrinsic scatter at (the pseudo-pressure YX yields a consistent scatter of 22% ? 5%). The scatter does not change when measured within a fixed physical radius of 1?Mpc. Clusters with small brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) to X-ray peak offsets constitute a very regular population whose members have the same gas mass fractions and whose even smaller (<10%) deviations from regularity can be ascribed to line of sight geometrical effects alone. Cool-core clusters, while a somewhat different population, also show the same (<10%) scatter in the gas mass-lensing mass relation. There is a good correlation and a hint of bimodality in the plane defined by BCG offset and central entropy (or central cooling time). The pseudo-pressure YX does not discriminate between the more relaxed and less relaxed populations, making it perhaps the more even-handed mass proxy for surveys. Overall, hydrostatic masses underestimate weak lensing masses by 10% on the average at ; but cool-core clusters are consistent with no bias, while non-cool-core clusters have a large and constant 15%-20% bias between and , in agreement with N-body simulations incorporating unthermalized gas. For non-cool-core clusters, the bias correlates well with BCG ellipticity. We also examine centroid shift variance and power ratios to quantify substructure; these quantities do not correlate with residuals in the scaling relations. Individual clusters have for the most part forgotten the source of their departures from self-similarity.

Gravitational Lensing in Clusters of Galaxies: New Clues Regarding the Dynamics of Intracluster Gas

Long arcs in clusters of galaxies, produced by gravitational lensing, can be used to estimate the mass interior to the arcs and therefore, constrain the cluster mass distribution. The radial density distribution of the intracluster gas (ICM) can be extracted from the X-ray surface brightness observations. If the gas temperature is also known, it is then possible to probe the dynamical state of the gas and test whether the ICM is in hydro- static equilibrium within the gravitational potential of the cluster as a result of thermal pressure support. We analyze three clusters that exhibit large arcs, whose X-ray surface brightness profiles have been observed, and whose gas temperatures have been determined. In two of the clusters, A2218 and A1689, the central mass implied by lensing is a factor of

Pre-heated isentropic gas in groups of galaxies

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Evidence for non‐hydrostatic gas from the cluster X‐ray to lensing mass ratio

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The Canadian Cluster Comparison Project : detailed study of systematics and updated weak lensing masses

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