Attila Popping

The ESO UVES advanced data products quasar sample - II. Cosmological evolution of the neutral gas mass density

Quasar foreground damped absorbers, associated with HI-rich galaxies allow to estimate the neutral gas mass over cosmic time, which is a possible indicator of gas consumption as star formation proceeds. The DLAs and sub-DLAs are believed to contain a large fraction of neutral gas mass in the Universe. In Paper I of the series, we present the results of a search for DLAs and sub-DLAs in the ESO-UVES Advanced Data Products dataset of 250 quasars. Here we use an unbiased sub-sample of sub-DLAs from this dataset. We build a subset of 122 quasars ranging from 1.5 <z_em < 5.0, suitable for statistical analysis. The statistical sample is analyzed in conjunction with other sub-DLA samples from the literature. This makes up a combined sample of 89 sub-DLAs over a redshift path of

A Pilot for a Very Large Array H I Deep Field

\Delta z=193

The ESO UVES advanced data products quasar sample - VI. Sub-damped Lyman α metallicity measurements and the circumgalactic medium

. Redshift evolution of the number density and the line density are derived for sub-DLAs and compared with the LLSs and DLAs measurements from the literature. The results indicate that these three classes of absorbers are evolving in the redshift interval 1 < z < 5. The column density distribution, f(N,z), down to the sub-DLA limit is determined. The flattening of f_(N,z) in the sub-DLA regime is present in the observations. The redshift evolution of f_(N,z) down to sub-DLA regime is also presented, indicating the presence of more sub-DLAs at high-redshift as compared to low-redshift. f_(N,z) is further used to determine the neutral gas mass density, Omega_g, at 1.5 < z < 5.0. The complete sample shows that sub-DLAs contribute 8-20% to the total Omega_g from 1.5 < z < 5.0. In agreement with previous studies, no evolution of Omega_g is seen from low-redshift to high-redshift, suggesting that star formation solely cannot explain this non-evolution and replenishment of gas and/or recombination of ionized gas is needed. (Abridged)

The standing wave phenomenon in radio telescopes - Frequency modulation of the WSRT primary beam

High-resolution 21-cm HI deep fields provide spatially and kinematically resolved images of neutral hydrogen at different redshifts, which are key to understanding galaxy evolution across cosmic time and testing predictions of cosmological simulations. Here we present results from a pilot for an HI deep field done with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We take advantage of the newly expanded capabilities of the telescope to probe the redshift interval 0 < z < 0.193 in one observation. We observe the COSMOS field for 50 hours, which contains 413 galaxies with optical spectroscopic redshifts in the imaged field of 34′ × 34′ and the observed redshift interval. We have detected neutral hydrogen gas in 33 galaxies in different environments spanning the probed redshift range, including three without a previously known spectroscopic redshift. The detections have a range of HI and stellar masses, indicating the diversity of galaxies we are probing. We discuss the observations, data reduction, results and highlight interesting detections. We find that the VLA’s B-array is the ideal configuration for HI deep fields since its long spacings mitigate RFI. This pilot shows that the VLA is ready to carry out such a survey, and serves as a test for future HI deep fields planned with other SKA pathfinders.

Comparison of potential ASKAP Hi survey source finders

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) can be probed through the analysis of absorbing systems in the line of sight to bright background quasars. We present measurements of the metallicity of a new sample of 15 sub-damped Lyman alpha absorbers (sub-DLAs, defined as absorbers with 19.0 \textless logN(HI) \textless 20.3) with redshift 0.584 \textless= z(abs) \textless= 3.104 from the ESO Ultra-Violet Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) Advanced Data Products Quasar Sample (EUADP). We combine these results with other measurements from the literature to produce a compilation of metallicity measurements for 92 sub-DLAs as well as a sample of 362 DLAs. We apply a multi-element analysis to quantify the amount of dust in these two classes of systems. We find that either the element depletion patterns in these systems differ from the Galactic depletion patterns or they have a different nucleosynthetic history than our own Galaxy. We propose a new method to derive the velocity width of absorption profiles, using the modelled Voigt profile features. The correlation between the velocity width Delta V-90 of the absorption profile and themetallicity is found to be tighter for DLAs than for sub-DLAs. We report hints of a bimodal distribution in the [Fe/H] metallicity of low redshift (z \textless 1.25) sub-DLAs, which is unseen at higher redshifts. This feature can be interpreted as a signature from the metal-poor, accreting gas and the metal-rich, outflowing gas, both being traced by sub-DLAs at low redshifts.

SOFIA: A flexible source finder for 3D spectral line data

Context. Inadequacies in the knowledge of the primary beam response of current interferometric arrays often form a limitation to the image fidelity, particularly when “mosaicing” over multiple tele scope pointings. Aims. We hope to overcome these limitations by constructing a frequency-resolved, full-polarization empirical model for th e primary beam of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). Methods. Holographic observations, sampling angular scales between about 5 arcmin and 11 degrees, were obtained of a bright compact source (3C147). These permitted measurement of voltage response patterns for seven of the fourteen telescopes in the array and allowed calculation of the mean cross-correlated power beam. Good sampling of the main-lobe, near-in, and far-side-lobes out to a radius of more than 5 degrees was obtained. Results. A robust empirical beam model was detemined in all polarization products (XX, XY, YX and YY) and at frequencies between 1322 and 1457 MHz with 1 MHz resolution. Substantial departures from axi-symmetry are apparent in the main-lobe as well as systematic differences between the polarization properties. Surprisingly, many beam properties are modulated at the 5 to 10% level with changing frequency. These include: (1) the main beam area, (2) the side-lobe to main-lobe power ratio, and (3) the effective telescope aperture. These semi-sinusoidsal modulations have a basic period of about 17 MHz, consistent with the natural “standing wave” period of a 8.75 m focal distance. The deduced frequency modulations of the beam pattern were verified in an independent long duration observation using compact continuum sources at very large off-axis distances. Conclusions. Application of our frequency-resolved beam model should enable higher dynamic range and improved image fidelity for int erferometric observations in complex fields, although at the e xpense of an increased computational load. The beam modulation with frequency can not be as easily overcome in total power observations. In that case it may prove effective to combat the underlying multi-path interference by coating all shadowed telescope surfaces with a broad-band isotropic scattering treatment.

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Curation and reanalysis of 16.6k redshifts in the G10/COSMOS region

The large size of the ASKAP Hi surveys DINGO and WALLABY necessitates automated 3D source finding. A performance difference of a few percent corresponds to a significant number of galaxies being detected or undetected. As such, the performance of the automated source finding is of paramount importance to both of these surveys. We have analysed the performance of various source finders to determine which will allow us to meet our survey goals during the DINGO and WALLABY design studies. Here we present a comparison of the performance of five different methods of automated source finding. These source finders are duchamp, gamma-finder, a cnhi finder, a 2d–1d wavelet reconstruction finder and a sigma clipping method (s+c finder). Each source finder was applied to the same three-dimensional data cubes containing (a) point sources with a Gaussian velocity profile and (b) spatially extended model-galaxies with inclinations and rotation profiles. We focus on the completeness and reliability of each algorithm when comparing the performance of the different source finders.

The ESO UVES advanced data products quasar sample – III. Evidence of bimodality in the [N/α] distribution

We introduce SOFIA, a flexible software application for the detection and parametrization of sources in 3D spectral line data sets. SOFIA combines for the first time in a single piece of software a set of new source-finding and parametrization algorithms developed on the way to future H I surveys with ASKAP (WALLABY, DINGO) and APERTIF. It is designed to enable the general use of these new algorithms by the community on a broad range of data sets. The key advantages of SOFIA are the ability to: search for line emission on multiple scales to detect 3D sources in a complete and reliable way, taking into account noise level variations and the presence of artefacts in a data cube; estimate the reliability of individual detections; look for signal in arbitrarily large data cubes using a catalogue of 3D coordinates as a prior; provide a wide range of source parameters and output products which facilitate further analysis by the user. We highlight the modularity of SOFIA, which makes it a flexible package allowing users to select and apply only the algorithms useful for their data and science questions. This modularity makes it also possible to easily expand SOFIA in order to include additional methods as they become available. The full SOFIA distribution, including a dedicated graphical user interface, is publicly available for download.

ASKAP HI imaging of the galaxy group IC 1459

We discuss the construction of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 10h region (G10) using publicly available data in the Cosmic Evolution Survey region (COSMOS) in order to extend the GAMA survey to z ∼ 1 in a single deg2 field. In order to obtain the maximum number of high precision spectroscopic redshifts we re-reduce all archival zCOSMOS-bright data and use the GAMA automatic cross-correlation redshift fitting code autoz. We use all available redshift information (autoz, zCOSMOS-bright 10k, PRIMUS, VVDS, SDSS and photometric redshifts) to calculate robust best-fitting redshifts for all galaxies and visually inspect all 1D and 2D spectra to obtain 16 583 robust redshifts in the full COSMOS region. We then define the G10 region to be the central ∼1 deg2 of COSMOS, which has relatively high spectroscopic completeness, and encompasses the CHILES VLA region. We define a combined r < 23.0 mag and i < 22.0 mag G10 sample (selected to have the highest bijective overlap) with which to perform future analysis, containing 9861 sources with reliable high-precision VLT-VIMOS spectra. All tables, spectra and imaging are available at http://ict.icrar.org/cutout/G10.

HIGHEST REDSHIFT IMAGE of NEUTRAL HYDROGEN in EMISSION: A CHILES DETECTION of A STARBURSTING GALAXY at z = 0.376

We report here a study of nitrogen and α-capture element (O, S, and Si) abundances in 18 Damped Lyα Absorbers (DLAs) and sub-DLAs drawn from the ESO-UVES Advanced Data Products (EUADP) database. We report 9 new measurements, 5 upper and 4 lower limits of nitrogen that when compiled with available nitrogen measurements from the literature makes a sample of 108 systems. The extended sample presented here confirms the [N/α] bimodal behaviour suggested in previous studies. Three-quarter of the systems show h[N/α]i= −0.85 (±0.20dex) and one-quarter ratios are clustered at h[N/α]i = −1.41 (±0.14dex). The high [N/α] plateau is consistent with the H ii regions of dwarf irregular and blue compact dwarf galaxies although extended to lower metallicities and could be interpreted as the result of a primary nitrogen production by intermediate mass stars. The low [N/α] values are the lowest ever observed in any astrophysical site. In spite of this fact, even lower values could be measured with the present instrumentation, but we do not find them below [N/α] ≈ −1.7. This suggests the presence of a floor in [N/α] abundances, which along with the lockstep increase of N and Si may indicate a primary nitrogen production from fast rotating, massive stars in relatively young or unevolved systems.