James D. Lowenthal

AzTEC half square degree survey of the SHADES fields - I. Maps, catalogues and source counts

We present the first results from the largest deep extragalactic mm-wavelength survey undertaken to date. These results are derived from maps covering over 0.7 deg2, made at λ= 1.1 mm, using the AzTEC continuum camera mounted on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The maps were made in the two fields originally targeted at λ= 850 μm with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) in the SCUBA Half-Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) project, namely the Lockman Hole East (mapped to a depth of 0.9–1.3 mJy rms) and the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field (mapped to a depth of 1.0–1.7 mJy rms). The wealth of existing and forthcoming deep multifrequency data in these two fields will allow the bright mm source population revealed by these new wide-area 1.1 mm images to be explored in detail in subsequent papers. Here, we present the maps themselves, a catalogue of 114 high-significance submillimetre galaxy detections, and a thorough statistical analysis leading to the most robust determination to date of the 1.1 mm source number counts. These new maps, covering an area nearly three times greater than the SCUBA SHADES maps, currently provide the largest sample of cosmological volumes of the high-redshift Universe in the mm or sub-mm. Through careful comparison, we find that both the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) and the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) North fields, also imaged with AzTEC, contain an excess of mm sources over the new 1.1 mm source-count baseline established here. In particular, our new AzTEC/SHADES results indicate that very luminous high-redshift dust enshrouded starbursts (S1.1mm > 3 mJy) are 25–50 per cent less common than would have been inferred from these smaller surveys, thus highlighting the potential roles of cosmic variance and clustering in such measurements. We compare number count predictions from recent models of the evolving mm/sub-mm source population to these sub-mm bright galaxy surveys, which provide important constraints for the ongoing refinement of semi-analytic and hydrodynamical models of galaxy formation, and find that all available models overpredict the number of bright submillimetre galaxies found in this survey.

An AzTEC 1.1 mm survey of the GOODS-N field - I. Maps, catalogue and source statistics

We have conducted a deep and uniform 1.1 mm survey of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) field with AzTEC on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Here, we present the first results from this survey including maps, the source catalogue and 1.1 mm number counts. The results presented here were obtained from a 245 arcmin2 region with a near uniform coverage to a depth of 0.96–1.16 mJy beam−1. Our robust catalogue contains 28 source candidates detected with S/N ≥ 3.75, only ∼1– 2 of which are expected to be spurious detections. Of these source candidates, eight are also detected by Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) at 850 μm in regions where there is a good overlap between the two surveys. The major advantage of our survey over that with SCUBA is the uniformity of coverage. We calculate number counts using two different techniques: the first using a frequentist parameter estimation and the second using a Bayesian method. The two sets of results are in good agreement. We find that the 1.1 mm differential number counts are well described in the 2–6 mJy range by the functional form dN/dS=N′(S′/S) exp(−S/S′) with fitted parameters S′= 1.25 ± 0.38 mJy and dN/dS= 300 ± 90 mJy−1 deg−2 at 3 mJy.

THE AzTEC/SMA INTERFEROMETRIC IMAGING SURVEY OF SUBMILLIMETER-SELECTED HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES

We present results from a continuing interferometric survey of high-redshift submillimeter galaxies with the Submillimeter Array, including high-resolution (beam size ~2 arcsec) imaging of eight additional AzTEC 1.1mm selected sources in the COSMOS Field, for which we obtain six reliable (peak S/N>5 or peak S/N>4 with multiwavelength counterparts within the beam) and two moderate significance (peak S/N>4) detections. When combined with previous detections, this yields an unbiased sample of millimeter-selected SMGs with complete interferometric followup. With this sample in hand, we (1) empirically confirm the radio-submillimeter association, (2) examine the submillimeter morphology - including the nature of submillimeter galaxies with multiple radio counterparts and constraints on the physical scale of the far infrared - of the sample, and (3) find additional evidence for a population of extremely luminous, radio-dim submillimeter galaxies that peaks at higher redshift than previous, radio-selected samples. In particular, the presence of such a population of high-redshift sources has important consequences for models of galaxy formation - which struggle to account for such objects even under liberal assumptions - and dust production models given the limited time since the Big Bang.

Deep 1.1 mm-wavelength imaging of the GOODS-S field by AzTEC/ASTE – II. Redshift distribution and nature of the submillimetre galaxy population

We report the results of the counterpart identification and a detailed analysis of the physical properties of the 48 sources discovered in our deep 1.1-mm wavelength imaging survey of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) field using the AzTEC instrument on the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment. One or more robust or tentative counterpart candidate is found for 27 and 14 AzTEC sources, respectively, by employing deep radio continuum, Spitzer/Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer and Infrared Array Camera, and Large APEX Bolometer Camera 870 μm data. Five of the sources (10 per cent) have two robust counterparts each, supporting the idea that these galaxies are strongly clustered and/or heavily confused. Photometric redshifts and star formation rates (SFRs) are derived by analysing ultraviolet(UV)-to-optical and infrared(IR)-to-radio spectral energy distributions (SEDs). The median redshift of z_(med)∼ 2.6 is similar to other earlier estimates, but we show that 80 per cent of the AzTEC–GOODS sources are at z≥ 2, with a significant high-redshift tail (20 per cent at z≥ 3.3). Rest-frame UV and optical properties of AzTEC sources are extremely diverse, spanning 10 mag in the i- and K-band photometry (a factor of 10^4 in flux density) with median values of i= 25.3 and K= 22.6 and a broad range of red colour (i−K= 0–6) with an average value of i−K ≈ 3. These AzTEC sources are some of the most luminous galaxies in the rest-frame optical bands at z≥ 2, with inferred stellar masses M_*= (1–30) × 10^(10) M_⊙ and UV-derived SFRs of SFRUV≳ 10^(1-3) M_⊙ yr^(−1). The IR-derived SFR, 200–2000 M_⊙ yr^(−1), is independent of z or M_*. The resulting specific star formation rates, SSFR ≈ 1–100 Gyr^(−1), are 10–100 times higher than similar mass galaxies at z= 0, and they extend the previously observed rapid rise in the SSFR with redshift to z = 2–5. These galaxies have a SFR high enough to have built up their entire stellar mass within their Hubble time. We find only marginal evidence for an active galactic nucleus (AGN) contribution to the near-IR and mid-IR SEDs, even among the X-ray detected sources, and the derived M_* and SFR show little dependence on the presence of an X-ray bright AGN.

Three-Dimensional Fabry-Perot Imaging Spectroscopy of the Crab Nebula, Cassiopeia A, and Nova GK Persei

A three-dimensional model of the [0 III] A5007 line-emitting gas in the Crab Nebula has been developed from imaging spectroscopy taken with the Goddard Fabry-Perot Imager mounted on the McGrawHill 1.3m telescope of Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory. Several interesting morphological features revealed in three-dimensional isophotal displays are discussed.

The source counts of submillimetre galaxies detected at λ= 1.1 mm

The source counts of galaxies discovered at submillimetre and millimetre wavelengths provide important information on the evolution of infrared-bright galaxies. We combine the data from six blank-field surveys carried out at 1.1 mm with AzTEC, totalling 1.6 deg^2 in area with root-mean-square depths ranging from 0.4 to 1.7 mJy, and derive the strongest constraints to date on the 1.1 mm source counts at flux densities S_1100= 1–12 mJy. Using additional data from the AzTEC Cluster Environment Survey to extend the counts to S1100∼ 20 mJy, we see tentative evidence for an enhancement relative to the exponential drop in the counts at S_1100∼ 13 mJy and a smooth connection to the bright source counts at >20 mJy measured by the South Pole Telescope; this excess may be due to strong-lensing effects. We compare these counts to predictions from several semi-analytical and phenomenological models and find that for most the agreement is quite good at flux densities ≳ 4 mJy; however, we find significant discrepancies (≳ 3σ) between the models and the observed 1.1-mm counts at lower flux densities, and none of them is consistent with the observed turnover in the Euclidean-normalized counts at S_1100≲ 2 mJy. Our new results therefore may require modifications to existing evolutionary models for low-luminosity galaxies. Alternatively, the discrepancy between the measured counts at the faint end and predictions from phenomenological models could arise from limited knowledge of the spectral energy distributions of faint galaxies in the local Universe.

Spitzer IRAC infrared colours of submillimetre-bright galaxies

High-redshift submillimetre-bright galaxies identified by blank field surveys at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths appear in the region of the Infra Red Array Camera (IRAC) colour-colour diagrams previously identified as the domain of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our analysis using a set of empirical and theoretical dusty starburst spectral energy distribution (SED) models shows that power-law continuum sources associated with hot dust heated by young (≤100 Myr old), extreme starbursts at z > 2 also occupy the same general area as AGNs in the IRAC colour-colour plots. A detailed comparison of the IRAC colours and SEDs demonstrates that the two populations are distinct from each other, with submillimetre-bright galaxies having a systematically flatter IRAC spectrum (≥1 mag bluer in the observed [4.5]-[8.0] colour). Only about 20 per cent of the objects overlap in the colour-colour plots, and this low fraction suggests that submillimetre galaxies powered by a dust-obscured AGN are not common. The red infrared colours of the submillimetre galaxies are distinct from those of the ubiquitous foreground IRAC sources, and we propose a set of infrared colour selection criteria for identifying SMG counterparts that can be used even in the absence of radio or Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) 24 μm data.

The VLT LBG Redshift Survey– II. Interactions between galaxies and the IGM at z∼ 3★

We have measured redshifts for 243 z 3 quasars in nine VLT VIMOS LBG redshift survey areas, each of which is centred on a known bright quasar. Using spectra of these quasars, we measure the cross-correlation between neutral hydrogen gas causing the Ly forest and 1020 Lyman-break galaxies at z 3. We nd an increase in neutral hydrogen absorption within 5 h 1 Mpc of a galaxy in agreement with the results of Adelberger et al. (2003, 2005). The Ly -LBG cross-correlation can be described by a power-law on scales larger than 3h 1 Mpc. When galaxy velocity dispersions are taken into account our results at smaller scales (< 2 h 1 Mpc) are also in good agreement with the results of Adelberger et al. (2005). There is little immediate indication of a region with a transmission spike above the mean IGM value which might indicate the presence of star-formation feedback. To measure the galaxy velocity dispersions, which include both intrinsic LBG velocity dispersion and redshift errors, we have used the LBG-LBG redshift space distortion measurements of Bielby et al. (2010). We nd that the redshift-space transmission spike implied in the results of Adelberger et al. (2003) is too narrow to be physical in the presence of the likely LBG velocity dispersion and is likely to be a statistical uke. Nevertheless, neither our nor previous data can rule out the presence of a narrow, real-space transmission spike, given the evidence of the increased Ly absorption surrounding LBGs which can mask the spike’s presence when convolved with a realistic LBG velocity dispersion. Finally, we identify 176 Civ systems in the quasar spectra and nd an LBG-C iv correlation strength on scales of 10 h 1 Mpc consistent with the relation measured at Mpc scales.

The clustering of galaxies around three z~3 damped lyα absorbers

[Abridged] We present out results on the cross-correlation of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) around three damped \Ly absorbers (DLAs) at redshift three from deep multi-band MOSAIC images obtained at the KPNO 4m. The large area of the MOSAIC images, 0.31

Discovery of a Ly-alpha galaxy near a damped Ly-alpha absorber at z = 2.3

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