Sandra M. Faber

Science Objectives and Early Results of the DEEP2 Redshift Survey

The DEIMOS spectrograph has now been installed on the Keck-II telescope and commissioning is nearly complete. The DEEP2 Redshift Survey, which will take approximately 120 nights at the Keck Observatory over a three year period and has been designed to utilize the power of DEIMOS, began in the summer of 2002. The multiplexing power and high efficiency of DEIMOS enables us to target 1000 faint galaxies per clear night. Our goal is to gather high-quality spectra of ≈ 60,000 galaxies with z>0.75 in order to study the properties and large scale clustering of galaxies at z ≈ 1. The survey will be executed at high spectral resolution, R=λ/Δλ ≈ 5000, allowing us to work between the bright OH sky emission lines and to infer linewidths for many of the target galaxies (for several thousand objects, we will obtain rotation curves as well). The linewidth data will facilitate the execution of the classical redshift-volume cosmological test, which can provide a precision measurement of the equation of state of the Universe. This talk reviews the project, summarizes our science goals and presents some early DEIMOS data.

Downsizing by shutdown in red galaxies

We address the origin of the downsizing of elliptical galaxies, according to which the stars in more massive galaxies formed earlier and over a shorter period than those in less massive galaxies. We show that this could be the natural result of a shutdown of star formation in dark matter haloes above a critical mass of ∼10 12 M ⊙ . This is demonstrated using a semi-analytic simulation of galaxy formation within the standard hierarchical scenario of structure formation. The assumed threshold mass is motivated by the prediction of stable shock heating above this mass and the finding that such a shutdown reproduces the observed distribution of galaxies in luminosity and colour. The shutdown at a critical halo mass introduces a characteristic stellar mass for the transition of galaxies into the red sequence of the galaxy colour-magnitude diagram. Central galaxies of haloes that are more massive today have reached this mass earlier and can therefore grow further along the red sequence by dry mergers, ending up more massive and containing older stars. Small galaxies formed in haloes below the critical mass can shutdown late, when they fall into haloes above the critical mass and become satellites. While our semi-analytic simulation that incorporates an explicit shutdown reproduces downsizing as inferred from the stellar ages of ellipticals, we explain why it is much harder to detect downsizing using the mass functions of different galaxy types.

THE ADVANCED CAMERA FOR SURVEYS GENERAL CATALOG: STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS FOR APPROXIMATELY HALF A MILLION GALAXIES

We present the Advanced Camera for Surveys General Catalog (ACS-GC), a photometric and morphological database using publicly available data obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The goal of the ACS-GC database is to provide a large statistical sample of galaxies with reliable structural and distance measurements to probe the evolution of galaxies over a wide range of look-back times. The ACS-GC includes approximately 470,000 astronomical sources (stars + galaxies) derived from the AEGIS, COSMOS, GEMS, and GOODS surveys. GALAPAGOS was used to construct photometric (SEXTRACTOR) and morphological (GALFIT) catalogs. The analysis assumes a single Sersic model for each object to derive quantitative structural parameters. We include publicly available redshifts from the DEEP2, COMBO-17, TKRS, PEARS, ACES, CFHTLS, and zCOSMOS surveys to supply redshifts (spectroscopic and photometric) for a considerable fraction (~74%) of the imaging sample. The ACS-GC includes color postage stamps, GALFIT residual images, and photometry, structural parameters, and redshifts combined into a single catalog.

The relationship between star formation activity and galaxy structural properties in CANDELS and a semi-analytic model

We study the correlation of galaxy structural properties with their location relative to the SFR–M* correlation, also known as the star formation ‘star-forming main sequence’ (SFMS), in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey and Galaxy and Mass Assembly Survey and in a semi-analytic model (SAM) of galaxy formation. We first study the distribution of median Sersic index, effective radius, star formation rate (SFR) density and stellar mass density in the SFR–M* plane. We then define a redshift-dependent main sequence and examine the medians of these quantities as a function of distance from this main sequence, both above (higher SFRs) and below (lower SFRs). Finally, we examine the distributions of distance from the main sequence in bins of these quantities. We find strong correlations between all of these galaxy structural properties and the distance from the SFMS, such that as we move from galaxies above the SFMS to those below it, we see a nearly monotonic trend towards higher median Sersic index, smaller radius, lower SFR density, and higher stellar density. In the SAM, bulge growth is driven by mergers and disc instabilities, and is accompanied by the growth of a supermassive black hole which can regulate or quench star formation via active galactic nucleus feedback. We find that our model qualitatively reproduces the trends described above, supporting a picture in which black holes and bulges co-evolve, and active galactic nucleus feedback plays a critical role in moving galaxies off of the SFMS.

Chemical reactivity testing of optical fluids and materials in the DEIMOS spectrographic camera for the Keck II telescope

The DEIMOS Spectrograph Camera contains tow doublets and a triplet. Each group contains materials differing in thermal coefficient expansion, mechanical and optical properties. To mate the elements and at the same time accommodate large camera temperature changes, we will fill the space between with an optical fluid couplant. We selected candidate couplants, lens-support materials, and fluid-constraining materials based on published optical, mechanical and chemical properties. We then tested the chemical reactivity between the coupling fluids, lens-support and fluid- constraining materials. We describe here the test configurations, our criteria for reactivity, and the result for various test durations. We describe our conclusions and final choices for couplant and materials.

DEIMOS camera assembly

DEIMOS is a large multi-object spectrography with an imaging mode that is being built for the W. M. Keck 2 Telescope. The camera contains nine lens elements in five groups. The overall length of the camera and detector assembly is 0.67 meters, and the largest element is 0.33 meters in diameter. Typical centration and spacing tolerances are at the level of 25 microns. We describe the error budget, the design of the lens-supporting structure, and the assembly procedures.

DEIMOS Rotation Control System Software

The Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS)was delivered to the Keck II telescope during February 2002, and has been commissioned in the several months since then. Most of the instrument is in a barrel that rests on a cradle at the Nasmyth focus, and rotates to track field rotation. This paper describes the architecture of the rotator control software, including the communications protocols, time synchronization with the telescope control software, methods adopted for meeting the real-time control requirements, safety issues for a multi-ton rotating mass, and unusual position encoder challenges.