Flat Rotation Curves of z ∼ 1 Star-Forming Galaxies

We investigate the shape of the Rotation Curves (RCs) of z ∼ 1 Star-Forming Galaxies (SFGs) and compare them with local SFGs. For this purpose, we have used 344 galaxies from the K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph (KMOS) for Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS). This sample covers the redshift range 0.57 ≤ z ≤ 1.04, the effective radii 0.69 ≤ Re [kpc] ≤ 7.76, and the stellar masses 8.7 ≤ log (M* [M⊙]) ≤ 11.32. Using 3DBAROLO, we extract the Hα kinematic maps and corresponding RCs. The main advantage of 3DBAROLO is that it incorporates the beam smearing in the 3D observational space, which provide us with the intrinsic rotation velocity even in the low spatial resolution data. We have corrected the RCs for pressure support, which seems to be a more dominant effect than beam smearing in high-z galaxies. Only a combination of the three techniques (3D-kinematic modelling + 3D-beam smearing correction + pressure gradient correction ) yields the intrinsic RC of an individual galaxy. Further, we present the co-added and binned RCs constructed out of 256 high-quality objects. We do not see any change in the shape of RCs with respect to the local SFGs. Moreover, we notice a significant evolution in the stellar-disk length (RD) of the galaxies as a function of their circular velocity. Therefore, we conclude that the stellar disk of SFGs evolves over cosmic time (from z ∼ 1) while the total mass stays constant (within ∼20 kpc).

The first shear measurements from precision weak lensing

ABSTRACT We present an end-to-end methodology to measure the effects of weak lensing on individual galaxy–galaxy systems exploiting their kinematic information. Using this methodology, we have measured a shear signal from the velocity fields of 18 weakly lensed galaxies. We selected a sample of systems based only on the properties of the sources, requiring them to be bright (apparent i-band magnitude <17.4) and in the nearby Universe ($z$ < 0.15). We have observed the velocity fields of the sources with WiFeS, an optical IFU on a 2.3 m telescope, and fitted them using a simple circular motion model with an external shear. We have measured an average shear of 〈γ〉 = 0.020 ± 0.008 compared to a predicted 〈γpred〉 = 0.005 obtained using median stellar-to-halo relationships from the literature. While still a statistical approach, our results suggest that this new weak lensing methodology can overcome some of the limitations of traditional stacking-based techniques. We describe in detail all the steps of the methodology and make publicly available all the velocity maps for the weakly lensed sources used in this study.

Propeties of H alpha emitters at z ∼ 2.3: Derivation of H alpha luminosity from multi-band photometry

The measurement of Hα luminosity for large numbers of galaxies is important to investigate recent star formation history of galaxies. With SED fitting that includes emission line templates, we extract individual galaxy Hα luminosities from broad-band photometry. We compare Hα luminosity function with the result of a narrow-band survey, HiZELS, and find there are more luminous galaxies in Hα than previously reported. As a result, our derived star formation rate density at z ∼ 2.3 turns out to be 2.2 times higher than previous studies. Most of the offset in the results can be explained by missing Hα in the HiZELS photometric aperture and different methods for dust extinction correction.

Joint cluster reconstructions

Context. Galaxy clusters provide a multitude of observational data across wavelengths, and their structure and morphology are of considerable interest in cosmology as well as astrophysics. Aims. We develop a framework that allows the combination of lensing and non-lensing observations in a free-form and mesh-free approach to infer the projected mass distribution of individual galaxy clusters. This method can be used to test common assumptions on the morphology of clusters in parametric models. Methods. We make use of the lensing reconstruction code SAWLENS2, and expand its capabilities by incorporating an estimate of the projected gravitational potential based on X-ray data that are deprojected using the local Richardson–Lucy method and used to infer the Newtonian potential of the cluster. We discuss how potentially arising numerical artefacts can be treated. Results. We demonstrate the feasibility of our method on a simplified mock Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) halo and on a cluster from a realistic hydrodynamical simulation. We show how the combination of X-ray and weak lensing data can affect a free-form reconstruction, improving the accuracy in the central region in some cases by a factor of two.

Suppressed CO emission and high G/D ratios in z = 2 galaxies with sub-solar gas-phase metallicity

ABSTRACT We study a population of significantly sub-solar enrichment galaxies at z = 1.99, to investigate how molecular gas, dust, and star formation relate in low-metallicity galaxies at the peak epoch of star formation. We target our sample with several deep Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and Very Large Array datasets, and find no individual detections of CO[4–3], CO[1–0], or dust, in stark contrast to the >60 per cent detection rate expected for solar-enrichment galaxies with these MS H α star formation rates (SFRs). We find that both low- and high-density molecular gas (traced by CO[1–0] and CO[4–3], respectively) are affected by the low enrichment, showing sample average (stacked) luminosity deficits >0.5–0.7 dex below expectations. This is particularly pertinent for the use of high-J CO emission as a proxy of instantaneous SFR. Our individual galaxy data and stacked constraints point to a strong inverse dependence ∝ Zγ of gas-to-dust ratios (G/D) and CO-to-H2 conversion factors (αCO) on metallicity at z ∼ 2, with γG/D <−2.2 and $\gamma _{\alpha _{\rm CO}}\lt $−0.8, respectively. We quantify the importance of comparing G/D and αCO versus metallicity trends from the literature on a common, suitably normalized metallicity scale. When accounting for systematic offsets between different metallicity scales, our z ∼ 2 constraints on these scaling relations are consistent with the corresponding relations for local galaxies. However, among those local relations, we favour those with a steep/double power-law dependence of G/D on metallicity. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for (a) gas mass measurements for sub-M* galaxies, and (b) efforts to identify the characteristic galaxy mass scale contributing most to the comoving molecular gas density at z = 2.

Upper limit on the central density of dark matter in the Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld (EiBI) gravity

We investigate the stability of circular material orbits in the analytic galactic metric recently derived by Harko et al., Mod. Phys. Lett. A29, 1450049 (2014). It turns out that stability depends more strongly on the dark matter central density ρ0 than on other parameters of the solution. This property then yields an upper limit on ρ0 for each individual galaxy, which we call here [Formula: see text], such that stable circular orbits are possible only when the constraint [Formula: see text] is satisfied. This is our new result. To approximately quantify the upper limit, we consider as a familiar example our Milky Way galaxy that has a projected dark matter radius R DM ~180 kpc and find that [Formula: see text]. This limit turns out to be about four orders of magnitude larger than the latest data on central density ρ0 arising from the fit to the Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) and Burkert density profiles. Such consistency indicates that the Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld (EiBI) solution could qualify as yet another viable alternative model for dark matter.

The Local Universe: Galaxies in 3D

Here I present results from individual galaxy studies and galaxy surveys in the Local Universe with particular emphasis on the spatially resolved properties of neutral hydrogen gas. The 3D nature of the data allows detailed studies of the galaxy morphology and kinematics, their relation to local and global star formation as well as galaxy environments. I use new 3D visualisation tools to present multi-wavelength data, aided by tilted-ring models of the warped galaxy disks. Many of the algorithms and tools currently under development are essential for the exploration of upcoming large survey data, but are also highly beneficial for the analysis of current galaxy surveys.

Study of Starburst/Activity/Interaction Phenomena based on the Multiple Byurakan-IRAS Galaxies

The Byurakan-IRAS Galaxy (BIG) sample is the result of optical identifications of IRAS PSC sources at high-galactic latitudes using the First Byurakan Survey (FBS) low-dispersion spectra. Among the 1178 objects most are spiral galaxies and many have been proved to be AGN and starburst by spectroscopic observations, as well as there is a number of ULIRGs among these objects. BIG objects contain galaxy pairs, multiples, and small groups that are subject for study on the matter of the real IR-emitter in these systems. Given that these objects are powerful IR sources, they are considered as young systems indicating high rate of evolution and starburst activity exceeding 100 Mo/yr. Spectroscopic observations show that all these systems are physical ones and we were able to measure the mutual distances and sizes for all components. Cross-correlations with the recent more accurate IR catalogues, such as 2MASS and WISE, as well as radio ones (NVSS, FIRST), provided accurate coordinates of the IR source and possibility to find the individual galaxy responsible for the IR. However, in almost half of the cases, IR position indicates the intermediate region between the components, which means that it comes from the system as a whole. Some more MW data have been matched to IR and radio to have an overall understanding on these systems. Given that these systems are mostly interacting/merging ones often containing AGN and most of them may be considered as powerful starbursts, it is possible to study starburst/activity/interaction phenomena and their interrelationship.

Evolution of Massive Galaxy Structural Properties and Sizes via Star Formation

We investigate the resolved star formation properties of a sample of 45 massive galaxies (M* > 1011 M⊙) within a redshift range of 1.5 ⩽ z ⩽ 3 detected in the GOODS NICMOS Survey (Conselice et al. 2011), a HST H160-band imaging program. We derive the star formation rate as a function of radius using rest frame UV data from deep z850 ACS imaging. The star formation present at high redshift is then extrapolated to z = 0, and we examine the stellar mass produced in individual regions within each galaxy. We also construct new stellar mass profiles of the in situ stellar mass at high redshift from Sérsic fits to rest-frame optical, H160-band, data. We combine the two stellar mass profiles to produce an evolved stellar mass profile. We then fit a new Sérsic profile to the evolved profile, from which we examine what effect the resulting stellar mass distribution added via star formation has on the structure and size of each individual galaxy.