N. Lee

Berkeley Supernova Ia Program - I. Observations, data reduction and spectroscopic sample of 582 low-redshift Type Ia supernovae

In this first paper in a series, we present 1298 low-redshift (z ≲ 0.2) optical spectra of 582 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed from 1989 to 2008 as part of the Berkeley Supernova Ia Program (BSNIP). 584 spectra of 199 SNe Ia have well-calibrated light curves with measured distance moduli, and many of the spectra have been corrected for host-galaxy contamination. Most of the data were obtained using the Kast double spectrograph mounted on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory and have a typical wavelength range of 3300–10 400 A, roughly twice as wide as spectra from most previously published data sets. We present our observing and reduction procedures, and we describe the resulting SN Database, which will be an online, public, searchable data base containing all of our fully reduced spectra and companion photometry. In addition, we discuss our spectral classification scheme (using the SuperNova IDentification code, snid; Blondin & Tonry), utilizing our newly constructed set of snid spectral templates. These templates allow us to accurately classify our entire data set, and by doing so we are able to reclassify a handful of objects as bona fide SNe Ia and a few other objects as members of some of the peculiar SN Ia subtypes. In fact, our data set includes spectra of nearly 90 spectroscopically peculiar SNe Ia. We also present spectroscopic host-galaxy redshifts of some SNe Ia where these values were previously unknown. The sheer size of the BSNIP data set and the consistency of our observation and reduction methods make this sample unique among all other published SN Ia data sets and complementary in many ways to the large, low-redshift SN Ia spectra presented by Matheson et al. and Blondin et al. In other BSNIP papers in this series, we use these data to examine the relationships between spectroscopic characteristics and various observables such as photometric and host-galaxy properties.

A Multiwavelength Study of a Sample of 70 μm Selected Galaxies in the COSMOS Field. I. Spectral Energy Distributions and Luminosities

We present a large robust sample of 1503 reliable and unconfused 70 μm selected sources from the multiwavelength data set of the Cosmic Evolution Survey. Using the Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry, we estimate the total infrared (IR) luminosity, L_(IR) (8-1000 μm), by finding the best-fit template from several different template libraries. The long-wavelength 70 and 160 μm data allow us to obtain a reliable estimate of L_(IR), accurate to within 0.2 and 0.05 dex, respectively. The 70 μm data point enables a significant improvement over the luminosity estimates possible with only a 24 μm detection. The full sample spans a wide range in IR luminosity, L_(IR) ≈ 10^8-10^(14) L_☉, with a median luminosity of 10^(11.4) L_☉. We identify a total of 687 luminous, 303 ultraluminous, and 31 hyperluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs, ULIRGs, and HyLIRGs) over the redshift range 0.01 < z < 3.5 with a median redshift of 0.5. Presented here are the full spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for each of the sources compiled from the extensive multiwavelength data set from the ultraviolet (UV) to the far-infrared. A catalog of the general properties of the sample (including the photometry, redshifts, and L_(IR)) is included with this paper. We find that the overall shape of the SED and trends with L_(IR) (e.g., IR color temperatures and optical-IR ratios) are similar to what has been seen in studies of local objects; however, our large sample allows us to see the extreme spread in UV to near-infrared colors spanning nearly 3 orders of magnitude. In addition, using SED fits we find possible evidence for a subset of cooler ultraluminous objects than observed locally. However, until direct observations at longer wavelengths are obtained, the peak of emission and the dust temperature cannot be well constrained. We use these SEDs, along with the deep radio and X-ray coverage of the field, to identify a large sample of candidate active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We find that the fraction of AGNs increases strongly with L_(IR), as it does in the local universe, and that nearly 70% of ULIRGs and all HyLIRGs likely host a powerful AGN.

Evolution of the specific star formation rate function at z< 1.4 Dissecting the mass-SFR plane in COSMOS and GOODS

The relation between the stellar mass (M⋆) and the star formation rate (SFR) characterizes how the instantaneous star formation is determined by the galaxy past star formation history and by the growth of the dark matter structures. We deconstruct the M⋆-SFR plane by measuring the specific SFR functions in several stellar mass bins from z = 0.2 out to z = 1.4 (specific SFR = SFR/M⋆, noted sSFR). Our analysis is primary based on a 24 μm selected catalogue combining the COSMOS and GOODS surveys. We estimate the SFR by combining mid- and far-infrared data for 20500 galaxies. The sSFR functions are derived in four stellar mass bins within the range 9.5 < log (M⋆ /M⊙) < 11.5. First, we demonstrate the importance of taking into account selection effects when studying the M⋆-SFR relation. Secondly, we find a mass-dependent evolution of the median sSFR with redshift varying as sSFR ∝ (1 + z)^b, with b increasing from b = 2.88^(±0.12) to b = 3.78^(± 0.60) between M⋆ = 10^(9.75) M⊙ and M⋆ = 10^(11.1) M⊙, respectively. At low masses, this evolution is consistent with the cosmological accretion rate and predictions from semi-analytical models (SAM). This agreement breaks down for more massive galaxies showing the need for a more comprehensive description of the star formation history in massive galaxies. Third, we obtain that the shape of the sSFR function is invariant with time at z< 1.4 but depends on the mass. We observe a broadening of the sSFR function ranging from 0.28 dex at M⋆ = 10^(9.75) M⊙ to 0.46 dex at M⋆ = 10^(11.1) M⊙. Such increase in the intrinsic scatter of the M⋆-SFR relation suggests an increasing diversity ofstar formation histories (SFHs) as the stellar mass increases. Finally, we find a gradual decline of the sSFR with stellar mass as log _(10)(sSFR) ∝ −0.17M⋆. We discuss the numerous physical processes, as gas exhaustion in hot gas halos or secular evolution, which can gradually reduce the sSFR and increase the SFH diversity.

Faint submillimeter galaxy counts at 450 μm.

We present the results of SCUBA-2 observations at 450 μm and 850 μm of the field lensed by the massive cluster A370. With a total survey area >100 arcmin2 and 1σ sensitivities of 3.92 and 0.82 mJy beam–1 at 450 and 850 μm, respectively, we find a secure sample of 20 sources at 450 μm and 26 sources at 850 μm with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 4. Using the latest lensing model of A370 and Monte Carlo simulations, we derive the number counts at both wavelengths. The 450 μm number counts probe a factor of four deeper than the counts recently obtained from the Herschel Space Telescope at similar wavelengths, and we estimate that ~47%-61% of the 450 μm extragalactic background light resolved into individual sources with 450 μm fluxes greater than 4.5 mJy. The faint 450 μm sources in the 4σ sample have positional accuracies of 3 arcsec, while brighter sources (S/N >6σ) are good to 1.4 arcsec. Using a deep radio map (1σ ~ 6 μJy) we find that the percentage of submillimeter sources having secure radio counterparts is 85% for 450 μm sources with intrinsic fluxes >6 mJy and 67% for 850 μm sources with intrinsic fluxes >4 mJy. We also find that 67% of the >4σ 450 μm sources are detected at 850 μm, while the recovery rate at 450 μm of >4σ 850 μm sources is 54%. Combined with the source redshifts estimated using millimetric flux ratios, the recovered rate is consistent with the scenario where both 450 μm and 20 cm emission preferentially select lower redshift dusty sources, while 850 μm emission traces a higher fraction of dusty sources at higher redshifts. We identify potential counterparts in various wavelengths from X-ray to mid-infrared and measure the multiwavelength photometry, which we then use to analyze the characteristics of the sources. We find three X-ray counterparts to our robust submillimeter sample (S/N > 5), giving an active galactic nucleus fraction for our 450 (850) μm sample of 3/8 (3/9) or 38% (33%). We also find a correlation between the Ks band and the 850 μm/20 cm flux ratio.

Late-Stage Galaxy Mergers in Cosmos to z ~ 1

The role of major mergers in galaxy and black hole formation is not well-constrained. To help address this, we develop an automated method to identify late-stage galaxy mergers before coalescence of the galactic cores. The resulting sample of mergers is distinct from those obtained using pair-finding and morphological indicators. Our method relies on median-filtering of high-resolution images to distinguish two concentrated galaxy nuclei at small separations. This method does not rely on low surface brightness features to identify mergers, and is therefore reliable to high redshift. Using mock images, we derive statistical contamination and incompleteness corrections for the fraction of late-stage mergers. The mock images show that our method returns an uncontaminated (<10%) sample of mergers with projected separations between 2.2 and 8 kpc out to z ~ 1. We apply our new method to a magnitude-limited (m_(FW 814) 10.6 and 0.25 < z ⩽ 1.00, we find ~5% of systems are late-stage mergers. Correcting for incompleteness and contamination, the fractional merger rate increases strongly with redshift as Rmerge μ (1 + z)^(3.8±0.9), in agreement both with earlier studies and with dark matter halo merger rates. Separating the sample into star-forming and quiescent galaxies shows that the merger rate for star-forming galaxies increases strongly with redshift, (1 + z)^(4.5±1.3), while the merger rate for quiescent galaxies is consistent with no evolution, (1 + z)^(1.1±1.2). The merger rate also becomes steeper with decreasing stellar mass. Limiting our sample to galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts from zCOSMOS, we find that the star formation rates and X-ray selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in likely late-stage mergers are higher by factors of ~2 relative to those of a control sample. Combining our sample with more widely separated pairs, we find that 8 ± 5% of star formation and 20 ± 8% of AGN activity are triggered by close encounters (<143 kpc) or mergers, providing additional evidence that major mergers are not the only channels for star formation and black hole growth.

Confirming the Existence of a Quiescent Galaxy Population out to z=3: A Stacking Analysis of Mid-, Far-Infrared and Radio Data

We performed a comprehensive stacking analysis on similar to 14,200 quiescent galaxy (QG) candidates at z = 0-3 across mid-, far-infrared (MIR and FIR), and radio wavelengths. Identified via their rest-frame NUV - r and r - J colors, the QG candidates (M-* = 10(9.8-12.2) M-circle dot) have drastically different IR and radio properties depending on their 24 mu m emission strength. The fraction of QG candidates with strong 24 mu m emission (equivalent to inferred star formation rates SFR24 \textgreater= 100 M-circle dot yr(-1), hereafter “IR-bright”) increases with redshift and peaks at 15%, and their stacked MIPS 24 mu m, Herschel (PACS and SPIRE) and VLA emissions are consistent with being star-forming galaxies (SFGs). In contrast, the majority of QG candidates are faint or undetected at 24 mu m individually (i.e., SFR24 \textless 100 M-circle dot yr(-1), hereafter “IR-faint”). Their low dust-obscured SFRs derived from Herschel stacking (SFRH less than or similar to 3, 15, 50 M-circle dot yr(-1) out to z similar to 1, 2, 3) are \textgreater 2.5-12.5x lower than compared to SFGs. This is consistent with the quiescence, as expected from their low unobscured SFRs, as inferred from modeling their ultraviolet-to-NIR photometry. The discrepancy between the L-IR derived from stacking Herschel and 24 mu m indicates that IR-faint QGs have dust SEDs that are different from those of SFGs. For the most massive (M-star \textgreater= 10(11) M-circle dot) IR-faint QGs at z \textless 1.5, the stacked 1.4 GHz emission is in excess of that expected from other SFR indicators, suggesting a widespread presence of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. Our results reaffirm the existence of a significant population of QGs out to z. =. 3, thus corroborating the need to quench star formation in galaxies at early epochs.

A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?

Ultraluminous and luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs and LIRGs) are the most extreme star-forming galaxies in the universe, and dominate the total star formation rate density at z>1. In the local universe (z 1, the morphology types of ~30% of (U)LIRGs can not be determined due to their faintness in the F814W-band, and thus the merger fraction measured at z>1 suffers from large uncertainties.