Showing papers by "Narciso Benítez published in 2002"

Photometric Redshifts for the SDSS Early Data Release

Abstract: The Early Data Release from the Sloan Digital Sky survey provides one of the largest multicolor photometric catalogs currently available to the astronomical community. In this paper we present the first application of photometric redshifts to the $\sim 6$ million extended sources within these data (with 1.8 million sources having $r' < 21$). Utilizing a range of photometric redshift techniques, from empirical to template and hybrid techniques, we investigate the statistical and systematic uncertainties present within the redshift estimates for the EDR data. For $r'<21$ we find that the redshift estimates provide realistic redshift histograms with an rms uncertainty in the photometric redshift relation of 0.035 at $r'<18$ and rising to 0.1 at $r'<21$. We conclude by describing how these photometric redshifts and derived quantities, such as spectral type, restframe colors and absolute magnitudes, are stored within the SDSS database. We provide sample queries for searching on photometric redshifts and list the current caveats and issues that should be understood before using these photometric redshifts in statistical analyses of the SDSS galaxies.

Spectral evidence for widespread galaxy outflows at z > 4

Abstract: We present discovery spectra of a sample of eight lensed galaxies at high redshift, 3.7 < z < 5.2, selected by their red colors in the fields of four massive clusters: A1689, A2219, A2390, and AC 114. Metal absorption lines are detected and observed to be blueshifted by 300-800 km s-1 with respect to the centroid of Lyα emission. A correlation is found between this blueshift and the equivalent width of the metal lines, which we interpret as a broadening of saturated absorption lines caused by a dispersion in the outflow velocity of interstellar gas. Local starburst galaxies show similar behavior, associated with obvious gas outflows. We also find a trend of increasing equivalent width of Lyα emission with redshift, which may be a genuine evolutionary effect toward younger stellar populations at high redshift with less developed stellar continua. No obvious emission is detected below the Lyman limit in any of our spectra or in deep U- or B-band images. The UV continua are reproduced well by early B stars, although some dust absorption would allow a fit to hotter stars. If B stars dominate, then their relatively prominent stellar absorption lines should separate in wavelength from those of the outflowing gas, requiring more detailed spectroscopy. After correcting for the lensing, we derive small physical sizes for our objects, ~0.5-5 kpc h-1 for a flat cosmology with Ωm = 0.3,ΩΛ = 0.7. The lensed images are only marginally resolved in good seeing despite their close proximity to the critical curve, where large arcs are visible and hence high magnifications of up to ~20 times are inferred. Two objects show a clear spatial extension of the Lyα emission relative to the continuum starlight, indicating a breakout of the gas. The sizes of our galaxies together with their large gas motion suggests that outflows of gas are common at high redshift and associated with galaxy formation.

Evidence for nearby supernova explosions.

Abstract: Supernova (SN) explosions are one of the most energetic---and potentially lethal---phenomena in the Universe. We show that the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association, a group of young stars currently located at approximately 130 pc from the Sun, has generated 20 SN explosions during the last 11 Myr, some of them probably as close as 40 pc to our planet. The deposition on Earth of (60)Fe atoms produced by these explosions can explain the recent measurements of an excess of this isotope in deep ocean crust samples. We propose that approximately 2 Myr ago, one of the SNe exploded close enough to Earth to seriously damage the ozone layer, provoking or contributing to the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary marine extinction.

The magnification of sn 1997ff, the farthest known supernova

Abstract: With a redshift of z {approx} 1.7, SN 1997ff is the most distant type Ia supernova discovered so far. This SN is close to several bright, z = 0.6-0.9 galaxies, and we consider the effects of lensing by those objects on the magnitude of SN 1997ff. We estimate their velocity dispersions using the Tully-Fisher and Faber-Jackson relations corrected for evolution effects, and calculate, applying the multiple-plane lensing formalism, that SN 1997ff is magnified by 0.34{+-}0.12 mag. Due to the spatial configuration of the foreground galaxies, the shear from individual lenses partially cancels out,and the total distortion induced on the host galaxy is considerably smaller than that produced by a single lens having the same magnification. After correction for lensing, the revised distance to SN 1997ff is m-M = 45.49 {+-} 0.34 mag, which improves the agreement with the {Omega}{sub M} = 0.35, {Omega}{Lambda} = 0.65 cosmology expected from lower-redshift SNe Ia, and is inconsistent at the {approx} 3 sigma confidence level with a uniform gray dust model or a simple evolution model.

The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect as a cosmological discriminator

Abstract: We show how future measurements of the SZ effect (SZE) can be used to constrain the cosmological parameters. We combine the SZ information expected from the Planck full-sky survey, N(S), where no redshift information is included, with the N(z) obtained from an optically-identified SZ-selected survey covering less than 1 % of the sky. We demonstrate how with a small subsample (� 300 clusters) of the whole SZ catalogue observed optically it is possible to drastically reduce the degeneracy among the cosmological parameters. We have studied the requirements for performing the optical follow-up and we show the feasibility of such a project. Finally we have compared the cluster expectations for Planck with those expected for Newton-XMM during their lifetimes. It is shown that, due to its larger sky coverage, Planck will detect a factor � 5 times more clusters than Newton-XMM and also with a larger redshift coverage.

An Automatic Image Reduction Pipeline for the Advanced Camera for Surveys

Abstract: We have written an automatic image processing pipeline for the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program. The pipeline, known as Apsis, supports the different cameras available on the ACS instrument and is written in Python with a flexible object-oriented design that simplifies the incorporation of new pipeline modules. The processing steps include empirical determination of image offsets and rotation, cosmic ray rejection, image combination using the drizzle routine called via the STScI Pyraf package, object detection and photometry using SExtractor, and photometric redshift estimation in the event of multiple bandpasses. The products are encapsulated in XML markup for automated ingestion into the ACS Team archive.

The magnification of SN 1997ff, the farthest known Supernova

Abstract: With a redshift of z~1.7, SN 1997ff is the most distant type Ia supernova discovered so far. This SN is close to several bright, z=0.6-0.9 galaxies, and we consider the effects of lensing by those objects on the magnitude of SN 1997ff. We estimate their velocity dispersions using the Tully-Fisher and Faber-Jackson relations corrected for evolution effects,and calculate, applying the multiple-plane lensing formalism, that SN 1997ff is magnified by 0.34+-0.12 mag. Due to the spatial configuration of the foreground galaxies, the shear from individual lenses partially cancels out,and the total distortion induced on the host galaxy is considerable smaller than that produced by a single lens having the same magnification. After correction for lensing, the revised distance to SN 1997ff is m-M=45.5 mag, which improves the agreement with the Omega_M=0.35, Omega_Lambda = 0.65 cosmology expected from lower-redshift SNe Ia, and is inconsistent at the ~3 sigma confidence level with a uniform gray dust model or a simple evolution model.