Sloan Fellows

About: Sloan Fellows is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Star formation. The organization has 55 authors who have published 253 publications receiving 35008 citations. The organization is also known as: Sloan Fellows.

Disk-stability constraints on the number of arms in spiral galaxies

Abstract: A model based on disk-stability criteria to determine the number of spiral arms of a general disk galaxy with an exponential disk, a bulge and a dark halo described by a Hernquist model is presented. The multifold rotational symmetry of the spiral structure can be evaluated analytically once the structural properties of a galaxy, such as the circular speed curve, and the disk surface brightness, are known. By changing the disk mass, these models are aimed at varying the critical length scale parameter of the disk and lead to a different spiral morphology in agreement with prior models. Previous studies based on the swing amplification and disk stability have been applied to constrain the mass-to-light ratio in disk galaxies. This formalism provides an analytic expression to estimate the number of arms expected by swing amplification making its application straightforward to large surveys. It can be applied to predict the number of arms in the Milky Way as a function of radius and to constrain the mass-to-light ratio in disk galaxies for which photometric and kinematic measurements are available, like in the DiskMass survey. Hence, the halo contribution to the total mass in the inner parts of disk galaxies can be inferred in light of the ongoing and forthcoming surveys.

Spectroscopic Confirmation of a z = 6.740 Galaxy behind the Bullet Cluster

Abstract: We present the first results of our spectroscopic follow-up of 6.5 5? significance using a 16 hr long exposure with FORS2 VLT. Based on the absence of flux in bluer broadband filters, the blue color of the source, and the absence of additional lines, we identify the line as Ly? at z = 6.740 ? 0.003. The integrated line flux is f = (0.7 ? 0.1 ? 0.3) ? 10?17 erg?1 s?1 cm?2 (the uncertainties are due to random and flux calibration errors, respectively) making it the faintest Ly? flux detected at these redshifts. Given the magnification of ? = 3.0 ? 0.2 the intrinsic (corrected for lensing) flux is f int = (0.23 ? 0.03 ? 0.10 ? 0.02) ? 10?17 erg?1 s?1 cm?2 (additional uncertainty due to magnification), which is ~2-3 times fainter than other such measurements in z ~ 7?galaxies. The intrinsic H 160W-band magnitude of the object is , corresponding to 0.5 L* for LBGs at these redshifts. The galaxy is one of the two sub-L* LBG galaxies spectroscopically confirmed at these high redshifts (the other is also a lensed z = 7.045 galaxy), making it a valuable probe for the neutral hydrogen fraction in the early universe.

Star formation in the bullet cluster. i. the infrared luminosity function and star formation rate

Abstract: The Bullet Cluster is a massive galaxy cluster at z = 0.297 undergoing a major supersonic (Mach 3) merger event. Using data from Spitzer MIPS and the Infrared Array Camera, optical imaging, and optical spectroscopy, we present the global star formation rate (SFR) of this unique cluster. Using a 90% spectroscopically complete sample of 37 star-forming MIPS confirmed cluster members out to R < 1.7 Mpc, and the Rieke et al. relation to convert from 24 μm flux to SFR, we calculate an integrated obscured SFR of 267 M ☉ yr–1 and a specific SFR of 28 M ☉ yr–1 per 1014 M ☉. The cluster mass normalized integrated SFR of the Bullet Cluster is among the highest in a sample of eight other clusters and cluster mergers from the literature. Five LIRGs and one ULIRG contribute 30% and 40% of the total SFR of the cluster, respectively. To investigate the origin of the elevated specific SFR, we compare the infrared luminosity function (IR LF) of the Bullet Cluster to those of Coma (evolved to z = 0.297) and CL1358+62. The Bullet Cluster IR LF exhibits an excess of sources compared to the IR LFs of the other massive clusters. A Schechter function fit of the Bullet Cluster IR LF yields L* = 44.68 ± 0.11 erg s–1, which is ~0.25 and 0.35 dex brighter than L* of evolved Coma and CL1358+62, respectively. The elevated IR LF of the Bullet Cluster relative to other clusters can be explained if we attribute the excess star-forming IR galaxies to a population associated with the infalling group that has not yet been transformed into quiescent galaxies. In this case, the timescale required for quenching star formation in the cluster environment must be longer than the timescale since the group's accretion—a few hundred million years. We suggest that strangulation is likely to be an important process in the evolution of star formation in clusters.

Dissecting the Gravitational Lens B1608+656. II. Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant, Spatial Curvature, and the Dark Energy Equation of State

Abstract: Strong gravitational lens systems with measured time delays between the multiple images provide a method for measuring the "time-delay distance" to the lens, and thus the Hubble constant. We present a Bayesian analysis of the strong gravitational lens system B1608+656, incorporating (i) new, deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations, (ii) a new velocity dispersion measurement of 260+/-15 km/s for the primary lens galaxy, and (iii) an updated study of the lens' environment. When modeling the stellar dynamics of the primary lens galaxy, the lensing effect, and the environment of the lens, we explicitly include the total mass distribution profile logarithmic slope gamma' and the external convergence kappa_ext; we marginalize over these parameters, assigning well-motivated priors for them, and so turn the major systematic errors into statistical ones. The HST images provide one such prior, constraining the lens mass density profile logarithmic slope to be gamma'=2.08+/-0.03; a combination of numerical simulations and photometric observations of the B1608+656 field provides an estimate of the prior for kappa_ext: 0.10 +0.08/-0.05. This latter distribution dominates the final uncertainty on H_0. Compared with previous work on this system, the new data provide an increase in precision of more than a factor of two. In combination with the WMAP 5-year data set, we find that the B1608+656 data set constrains the curvature parameter to be -0.031 < Omega_k < 0.009 (95% CL), a level of precision comparable to that afforded by the current Type Ia SNe sample. Asserting a flat spatial geometry, we find that, in combination with WMAP, H_0 = 69.7 +4.9/-5.0 km/s/Mpc and w=-0.94 +0.17/-0.19 (68% CL), suggesting that the observations of B1608+656 constrain w as tightly as do the current Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data. (abridged)

The properties of the cool circumgalactic gas probed with the SDSS, WISE and GALEX surveys

Abstract: We explore the distribution of cool (~$10^4$K) gas around galaxies and its dependence on galaxy properties. By cross-correlating about 50,000 MgII absorbers with millions of sources from the SDSS (optical), WISE (IR), and GALEX (UV) surveys we effectively extract about 2,000 galaxy-absorber pairs at z~0.5 and probe relations between absorption strength and galaxy type, impact parameter and azimuthal angle. We find that cool gas traced by MgII absorbers exists around both star-forming and passive galaxies with a similar incidence rate on scales greater than 100 kpc but each galaxy type exhibits a different behavior on smaller scales: MgII equivalent width does not correlate with the presence of passive galaxies whereas stronger MgII absorbers tend to be found in the vicinity of star-forming galaxies. This effect is preferentially seen along the minor axis of these galaxies, suggesting that some of the gas is associated with outflowing material. In contrast, the distribution of cool gas around passive galaxies is consistent with being isotropic on the same scales. We quantify the average excess MgII equivalent width $ $ as a function of galaxy properties and find $ \propto SFR^{1.2}, sSFR^{0.5}$ and $M_\ast^{0.4}$ for star-forming galaxies. This work demonstrates that the dichotomy between star-forming and passive galaxies is reflected in the CGM traced by low-ionized gas. We also measure the covering fraction of MgII absorption and find it to be about 2-10 times higher for star-forming galaxies than passive ones within 50 kpc. We estimate the amount of neutral gas in the halo of $ $~10.8 galaxies to be a few x$10^9 \rm M_\odot$ for both types of galaxies. Finally, we find that correlations between absorbers and sources detected in the UV and IR lead to physical trends consistent with those measured in the optical.