Mike Irwin

Bio: Mike Irwin is an academic researcher from University of Cambridge. The author has contributed to research in topics: Galaxy & Milky Way. The author has an hindex of 136, co-authored 755 publications receiving 83262 citations. Previous affiliations of Mike Irwin include University of New South Wales & Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A dwarf galaxy remnant in Canis Major: the fossil of an in-plane accretion onto the Milky Way

Abstract: We present an analysis of the asymmetries in the population of Galactic M-giant stars present in the 2MASS All Sky catalogue. Several large-scale asymmetries are detected, the most significant of which is a strong elliptical-shaped stellar over-density, close to the Galactic plane at (l=240, b=-8), in the constellation of Canis Major. A small grouping of globular clusters (NGC 1851, NGC 1904, NGC 2298, and NGC 2808), coincident in position and radial velocity, surround this structure, as do a number of open clusters. The population of M-giant stars in this over-density is similar in number to that in the core of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. We argue that this object is the likely dwarf galaxy progenitor of the ring-like structure that has recently been found at the edge of the Galactic disk. A numerical study of the tidal disruption of an accreted dwarf galaxy is presented. The simulated debris fits well the extant position, distance and velocity information on the ``Galactic Ring'', as well as that of the M-giant over-densities, suggesting that all these structures are the consequence of a single accretion event. The disrupted dwarf galaxy stream orbits close to the Galactic Plane, with a pericentre at approximately the Solar circle, an orbital eccentricity similar to that of stars in the Galactic thick disk, as well as a vertical scale height similar to that of the thick disk. This finding strongly suggests that the Canis Major dwarf galaxy is a building block of the Galactic thick disk, that the thick disk is continually growing, even up to the present time, and that thick disk globular clusters were accreted onto the Milky Way from dwarf galaxies in co-planar orbits.

The kinematic status and mass content of the sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy

Abstract: We present VLT FLAMES spectroscopic observations (R similar to 6500) in the Ca II triplet region for 470 probable kinematic members of the Sculptor (Scl) dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The accurate velocities (+/- 2 km s(-1)) and large area coverage of Scl allow us to measure a velocity gradient of 7.6(-2.2)(+3.0) km s(-1) deg(-1) along the projected major axis of Scl, likely a signature of intrinsic rotation. We also use our kinematic data to measure the mass distribution within this system. By considering independently the kinematics of the two distinct stellar components known to be present in Scl, we are able to relieve known degeneracies and find that the observed velocity dispersion profiles are best fitted by a cored dark matter halo with core radius kpc and mass enclosed within the gamma(c) = 0.5 kpc last measured point M(< 1.8 kpc) = (3.4 +/- 0.7) x 10(8) M-circle dot, assuming an increasingly radially anisotropic velocity, ellipsoid. This results in a mass-to-light ratio of 158 +/- 33 (M/L)(circle dot) inside 1.8 kpc. An NFW profile with concentration c = 20 and mass M(< 1.8 kpc) = 2.2(-0.7)(+1.0) x 10(8) M-circle dot is also statistically consistent with the ob- servations, but it tends to yield poorer fits for the metal-rich stars.

The Kinematics, Orbit, and Survival of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

Abstract: The Sagittarius galaxy (Sgr), the closest satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, has survived for many orbits about the Galaxy. Extant numerical calculations modeled this galaxy as a system with a centrally-concentrated mass profile, following the light, and found that it should lose more than one-half of its mass every 2--4 orbits and be completely disrupted long before now. Apparently Sgr, and by implication other dSph galaxies, do not have a centrally-concentrated profile for their dark matter. We develop a model in which the stars of the Sgr dwarf are embedded in a constant-density dark matter halo, representing the core of a tidally-limited system, and show that this is consistent with its survival. We present new photometric and kinematic observations of Sgr and show these data are consistent with this explanation for the continued existence of this galaxy. Sgr is being tidally distorted and is tidally limited, but is not disrupted as yet. The corresponding minimum total mass is $10^9 \msun$, while the central mass to visual light ratio $\sim 50$ in Solar units. Our new photographic photometry allows the detection of main-sequence stars of Sgr over an area of $22\deg \times 8\deg$. Sgr is prolate, with axis ratios $\sim$~3:1:1. For an adopted distance of $16 \pm 2 \kpc$ from the Galactic center on the opposite side of the Galaxy to the Sun, the major axis is $\gta 9 \kpc$ long and is aligned approximately normal to the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy, roughly following the coordinate line $\ell=5^\circ$. The central velocity dispersion of giant stars which are members of Sgr is $11.4 \pm 0.7 \kms$ and is consistent with being constant over the face of the galaxy. The gradient in mean line-of-sight velocity with position along the

Substructure revealed by RR Lyraes in SDSS Stripe 82

Abstract: We present an analysis of the substructure revealed by RR Lyraes in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82, which covers 2°5 in declination on the celestial equator over the right ascension range α = 20 h 7 to 3 h 3 We use the new public archive of light-motion curves in Stripe 82, published by Bramich et al in 2008, to identify a set of high-quality RR Lyrae candidates Period estimates are determined to high accuracy using a string-length method A subset of 178 RR Lyraes with spectrally derived metallicities are employed to derive metallicity-period-amplitude relations, which are then used, together with archive magnitude data and light-curve Fourier decomposition, to estimate metallicities and hence distances for the entire sample The RR Lyraes lie 5-115 kpc from the Galactic Centre, with distance estimates accurate to ∼8 per cent The RR Lyraes are further divided into subsets of 316 RRab types and 91 RRc types based on their period, colour and metallicity We fit a smooth density law to the distribution as a simple representation of the data For Galactocentric radii 5-25 kpc the number density of RR Lyraes falls as r ―2,4 , but beyond 25 kpc, the number density falls much more steeply, as r ―45 However, we stress that in practice the density distribution is not smooth, but dominated by clumps and substructure Samples of 55 and 237 RR Lyraes associated with the Sagittarius Stream and the Hercules-Aquila Cloud, respectively, are identified Hence, ∼70 per cent of the RR Lyraes in Stripe 82 belong to known substructure, and the sharp break in the density law reflects the fact that the dominant substructure in Stripe 82 - the Hercules-Aquila Cloud and the Sagittarius Stream -lie within 40 kpc In fact, almost 60 per cent of all the RR Lyraes in Stripe 82 are associated with the Hercules-Aquila Cloud alone, which emphasizes the cloud's pre-eminence Additionally, evidence of a new and distant substructure - the Pisces Overdensity ― is found, consisting of 28 faint RRLyraes centred on Galactic coordinates (l ≈ 80°, b ≈ -55°), with distances of ∼80 kpc The total stellar mass in the Pisces Overdensity is ∼10 4 M ⊙ and its metallicity is [Fe/H]∼ ―15

The Haunted Halos of Andromeda and Triangulum: A panorama of galaxy formation in action

Abstract: We present a deep photometric survey of M31, conducted with the CFHT and INT, covering the inner 50 kpc of the galaxy, the Southern quadrant out to 150 kpc, and extending to M33. This is the first systematic panoramic study of this very outermost region of galaxies. We detect several streams and other large-scale structures, and two new dwarf galaxies: And XV and XVI. The discovery of substructure on the minor axis, together with the fact that the light profile between 0.5 < R < 1.3 follows the exponential ``extended disk'', is particularly important in shedding light on the mixed and sometimes conflicting results reported in previous studies. Underlying the substructures lies a faint, metal-poor, smooth and extremely extended halo, reaching out to at least 150 kpc. The smooth halo component in M31 has a profile that can be fit with a Hernquist model of immense scale radius ~55 kpc, almost a factor of 4 larger than theoretical predictions. Alternatively a power-law with exponent -1.91 +/- 0.11 can be fit to the profile. The total luminosity of this structure is similar to that of the halo of the Milky Way. This vast, smooth, underlying halo is reminiscent of a classical monolithic model and completely unexpected from modern galaxy formation models. M33 is also found to have an extended metal-poor halo component, which can be fit with a Hernquist model also of scale radius ~55 kpc. These extended slowly-decreasing halos will provide a challenge and strong constraints for further modeling. [Abridged]

Measurements of Omega and Lambda from 42 High-Redshift Supernovae

Abstract: We report measurements of the mass density, Omega_M, and cosmological-constant energy density, Omega_Lambda, of the universe based on the analysis of 42 Type Ia supernovae discovered by the Supernova Cosmology Project. The magnitude-redshift data for these SNe, at redshifts between 0.18 and 0.83, are fit jointly with a set of SNe from the Calan/Tololo Supernova Survey, at redshifts below 0.1, to yield values for the cosmological parameters. All SN peak magnitudes are standardized using a SN Ia lightcurve width-luminosity relation. The measurement yields a joint probability distribution of the cosmological parameters that is approximated by the relation 0.8 Omega_M - 0.6 Omega_Lambda ~= -0.2 +/- 0.1 in the region of interest (Omega_M <~ 1.5). For a flat (Omega_M + Omega_Lambda = 1) cosmology we find Omega_M = 0.28{+0.09,-0.08} (1 sigma statistical) {+0.05,-0.04} (identified systematics). The data are strongly inconsistent with a Lambda = 0 flat cosmology, the simplest inflationary universe model. An open, Lambda = 0 cosmology also does not fit the data well: the data indicate that the cosmological constant is non-zero and positive, with a confidence of P(Lambda > 0) = 99%, including the identified systematic uncertainties. The best-fit age of the universe relative to the Hubble time is t_0 = 14.9{+1.4,-1.1} (0.63/h) Gyr for a flat cosmology. The size of our sample allows us to perform a variety of statistical tests to check for possible systematic errors and biases. We find no significant differences in either the host reddening distribution or Malmquist bias between the low-redshift Calan/Tololo sample and our high-redshift sample. The conclusions are robust whether or not a width-luminosity relation is used to standardize the SN peak magnitudes.

Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant

Abstract: We present spectral and photometric observations of 10 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.16 " z " 0.62. The luminosity distances of these objects are determined by methods that employ relations between SN Ia luminosity and light curve shape. Combined with previous data from our High-z Supernova Search Team and recent results by Riess et al., this expanded set of 16 high-redshift supernovae and a set of 34 nearby supernovae are used to place constraints on the following cosmo- logical parameters: the Hubble constant the mass density the cosmological constant (i.e., the (H 0 ), () M ), vacuum energy density, the deceleration parameter and the dynamical age of the universe ) " ), (q 0 ), ) M \ 1) methods. We estimate the dynamical age of the universe to be 14.2 ^ 1.7 Gyr including systematic uncer- tainties in the current Cepheid distance scale. We estimate the likely e†ect of several sources of system- atic error, including progenitor and metallicity evolution, extinction, sample selection bias, local perturbations in the expansion rate, gravitational lensing, and sample contamination. Presently, none of these e†ects appear to reconcile the data with and ) " \ 0 q 0 " 0.

A global geometric framework for nonlinear dimensionality reduction.

Abstract: Scientists working with large volumes of high-dimensional data, such as global climate patterns, stellar spectra, or human gene distributions, regularly confront the problem of dimensionality reduction: finding meaningful low-dimensional structures hidden in their high-dimensional observations. The human brain confronts the same problem in everyday perception, extracting from its high-dimensional sensory inputs-30,000 auditory nerve fibers or 10(6) optic nerve fibers-a manageably small number of perceptually relevant features. Here we describe an approach to solving dimensionality reduction problems that uses easily measured local metric information to learn the underlying global geometry of a data set. Unlike classical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS), our approach is capable of discovering the nonlinear degrees of freedom that underlie complex natural observations, such as human handwriting or images of a face under different viewing conditions. In contrast to previous algorithms for nonlinear dimensionality reduction, ours efficiently computes a globally optimal solution, and, for an important class of data manifolds, is guaranteed to converge asymptotically to the true structure.

Seven-year wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe (wmap *) observations: cosmological interpretation

Abstract: The combination of seven-year data from WMAP and improved astrophysical data rigorously tests the standard cosmological model and places new constraints on its basic parameters and extensions. By combining the WMAP data with the latest distance measurements from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the distribution of galaxies and the Hubble constant (H0) measurement, we determine the parameters of the simplest six-parameter ΛCDM model. The power-law index of the primordial power spectrum is ns = 0.968 ± 0.012 (68% CL) for this data combination, a measurement that excludes the Harrison–Zel’dovich–Peebles spectrum by 99.5% CL. The other parameters, including those beyond the minimal set, are also consistent with, and improved from, the five-year results. We find no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The seven-year temperature power spectrum gives a better determination of the third acoustic peak, which results in a better determination of the redshift of the matter-radiation equality epoch. Notable examples of improved parameters are the total mass of neutrinos, � mν < 0.58 eV (95% CL), and the effective number of neutrino species, Neff = 4.34 +0.86 −0.88 (68% CL), which benefit from better determinations of the third peak and H0. The limit on a constant dark energy equation of state parameter from WMAP+BAO+H0, without high-redshift Type Ia supernovae, is w =− 1.10 ± 0.14 (68% CL). We detect the effect of primordial helium on the temperature power spectrum and provide a new test of big bang nucleosynthesis by measuring Yp = 0.326 ± 0.075 (68% CL). We detect, and show on the map for the first time, the tangential and radial polarization patterns around hot and cold spots of temperature fluctuations, an important test of physical processes at z = 1090 and the dominance of adiabatic scalar fluctuations. The seven-year polarization data have significantly improved: we now detect the temperature–E-mode polarization cross power spectrum at 21σ , compared with 13σ from the five-year data. With the seven-year temperature–B-mode cross power spectrum, the limit on a rotation of the polarization plane due to potential parity-violating effects has improved by 38% to Δα =− 1. 1 ± 1. 4(statistical) ± 1. 5(systematic) (68% CL). We report significant detections of the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect at the locations of known clusters of galaxies. The measured SZ signal agrees well with the expected signal from the X-ray data on a cluster-by-cluster basis. However, it is a factor of 0.5–0.7 times the predictions from “universal profile” of Arnaud et al., analytical models, and hydrodynamical simulations. We find, for the first time in the SZ effect, a significant difference between the cooling-flow and non-cooling-flow clusters (or relaxed and non-relaxed clusters), which can explain some of the discrepancy. This lower amplitude is consistent with the lower-than-theoretically expected SZ power spectrum recently measured by the South Pole Telescope Collaboration.

Planck 2015 results - XIII. Cosmological parameters

Abstract: This paper presents cosmological results based on full-mission Planck observations of temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Our results are in very good agreement with the 2013 analysis of the Planck nominal-mission temperature data, but with increased precision. The temperature and polarization power spectra are consistent with the standard spatially-flat 6-parameter ΛCDM cosmology with a power-law spectrum of adiabatic scalar perturbations (denoted “base ΛCDM” in this paper). From the Planck temperature data combined with Planck lensing, for this cosmology we find a Hubble constant, H0 = (67.8 ± 0.9) km s-1Mpc-1, a matter density parameter Ωm = 0.308 ± 0.012, and a tilted scalar spectral index with ns = 0.968 ± 0.006, consistent with the 2013 analysis. Note that in this abstract we quote 68% confidence limits on measured parameters and 95% upper limits on other parameters. We present the first results of polarization measurements with the Low Frequency Instrument at large angular scales. Combined with the Planck temperature and lensing data, these measurements give a reionization optical depth of τ = 0.066 ± 0.016, corresponding to a reionization redshift of . These results are consistent with those from WMAP polarization measurements cleaned for dust emission using 353-GHz polarization maps from the High Frequency Instrument. We find no evidence for any departure from base ΛCDM in the neutrino sector of the theory; for example, combining Planck observations with other astrophysical data we find Neff = 3.15 ± 0.23 for the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, consistent with the value Neff = 3.046 of the Standard Model of particle physics. The sum of neutrino masses is constrained to ∑ mν < 0.23 eV. The spatial curvature of our Universe is found to be very close to zero, with | ΩK | < 0.005. Adding a tensor component as a single-parameter extension to base ΛCDM we find an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r0.002< 0.11, consistent with the Planck 2013 results and consistent with the B-mode polarization constraints from a joint analysis of BICEP2, Keck Array, and Planck (BKP) data. Adding the BKP B-mode data to our analysis leads to a tighter constraint of r0.002 < 0.09 and disfavours inflationarymodels with a V(φ) ∝ φ2 potential. The addition of Planck polarization data leads to strong constraints on deviations from a purely adiabatic spectrum of fluctuations. We find no evidence for any contribution from isocurvature perturbations or from cosmic defects. Combining Planck data with other astrophysical data, including Type Ia supernovae, the equation of state of dark energy is constrained to w = −1.006 ± 0.045, consistent with the expected value for a cosmological constant. The standard big bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the helium and deuterium abundances for the best-fit Planck base ΛCDM cosmology are in excellent agreement with observations. We also constraints on annihilating dark matter and on possible deviations from the standard recombination history. In neither case do we find no evidence for new physics. The Planck results for base ΛCDM are in good agreement with baryon acoustic oscillation data and with the JLA sample of Type Ia supernovae. However, as in the 2013 analysis, the amplitude of the fluctuation spectrum is found to be higher than inferred from some analyses of rich cluster counts and weak gravitational lensing. We show that these tensions cannot easily be resolved with simple modifications of the base ΛCDM cosmology. Apart from these tensions, the base ΛCDM cosmology provides an excellent description of the Planck CMB observations and many other astrophysical data sets.