arXiv subjects

C. J. Pritchet

Publications and source records attributed to C. J. Pritchet.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Gemini Spectroscopy of Supernovae from SNLS: Improving High Redshift SN Selection and Classification

We present new techiques for improving the efficiency of supernova (SN) classification at high redshift using 64 candidates observed at Gemini North and South during the first year of the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). The SNLS is an ongoing five year project with the goal of measuring the equation of state of Dark Energy by discovering and following over 700 high-redshift SNe Ia using data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey. We achieve an improvement in the SN Ia spectroscopic confirmation rate: at Gemini 71% of candidates are now confirmed as SNe Ia, compared to 54% using the methods of previous surveys. This is despite the comparatively high redshift of this sample, where the median SN Ia redshift is z=0.81 (0.155 <= z <= 1.01). These improvements were realized because we use the unprecedented color coverage and lightcurve sampling of the SNLS to predict whether a candidate is an SN Ia and estimate its redshift, before obtaining a spectrum, using a new technique called the "SN photo-z." In addition, we have improved techniques for galaxy subtraction and SN template chi^2 fitting, allowing us to identify candidates even when they are only 15% as bright as the host galaxy. The largest impediment to SN identification is found to be host galaxy contamination of the spectrum -- when the SN was at least as bright as the underlying host galaxy the target was identified more than 90% of the time. However, even SNe on bright host galaxies can be easily identified in good seeing conditions. When the image quality was better than 0.55 arcsec the candidate was identified 88% of the time. Over the five-year course of the survey, using the selection techniques presented here we will be able to add approximately 170 more confirmed SNe Ia than would be possible using previous methods.

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arXiv2005

A Hubble Space Telescope Snapshot Survey of Dynamically Close Galaxy Pairs in the CNOC2 Redshift Survey

We compare the structural properties of two classes of galaxies at intermediate redshift: those in dynamically close galaxy pairs, and those which are isolated. Both samples are selected from the CNOC2 Redshift Survey, and have redshifts in the range 0.1 < z <0.6. Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images were acquired as part of a snapshot survey, and were used to measure bulge fraction and asymmetry for these galaxies. We find that paired and isolated galaxies have identical distributions of bulge fractions. Conversely, we find that paired galaxies are much more likely to be asymmetric (R_T+R_A >= 0.13) than isolated galaxies. Assuming that half of these pairs are unlikely to be close enough to merge, we estimate that 40% +/- 11% of merging galaxies are asymmetric, compared with 9% +/- 3% of isolated galaxies. The difference is even more striking for strongly asymmetric (R_T+R_A >= 0.16) galaxies: 25% +/- 8% for merging galaxies versus 1% +/- 1% for isolated galaxies. We find that strongly asymmetric paired galaxies are very blue, with rest-frame B-R colors close to 0.80, compared with a mean (B-R)_0 of 1.24 for all paired galaxies. In addition, asymmetric galaxies in pairs have strong [OII]3727 emission lines. We conclude that close to half of the galaxy pairs in our sample are in the process of merging, and that most of these mergers are accompanied by triggered star formation.

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arXiv2004

SNLS -- the Supernova Legacy Survey

Type Ia supernovae provide direct evidence for an accelerating universe, and for the existence of "dark energy" driving this expansion. The Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) will deliver many hundreds of SNIa detections, and well-sampled g'r'i'z' light curves, over the next 5 years. Using these data, we will obtain a precise measurement of the cosmological parameters (Omega_mass, Omega_Lambda); our goal is to determine the cosmological equation of state parameter w to a precision better than +-0.10, and hence test theories for the origin of the universal acceleration. SNLS uses the CFHT MegaCam imager (400 Megapixels, 1 deg^2) to image four fields around the sky in 4 filters, with typical time sampling of 3--4 nights. A total of 202 nights of CFHT time has been allocated over the next 5 years for these observations; a large program of followup spectroscopy is now underway at VLT, Gemini, Keck, and Magellan. SNLS has been running since August 2003. There now exist about 330 reliable SN detections with excellent light curves out to beyond redshift 0.9, of which about 80 have been spectroscopically identified as Type Ia's. See http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/SNLS for up-to-the-minute information on the latest SN discoveries.

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arXiv2001

Very Red and Extremely Red Galaxies in the Fields of z ~ 1.5 Radio-Loud Quasars

We previously identified an excess of mostly red galaxies around 31 RLQs at z=1-2. These fields have an ERO (extremely red object, R-K>6) density 2.7 times higher than the field. Assuming the EROs are passively evolved galaxies at the quasar redshifts, they have characteristic luminosities of only ~L^*. We also present new observations of four z~1.54 RLQ fields: (1) Wide-field J & Ks data confirm an Abell richness ~2 excess within 140" of Q0835+580 but an excess only within 50" of Q1126+101. (2) In 3 fields we present deep narrow-band redshifted H-alpha observations. We detect five candidate galaxies at the quasar redshifts, a surface density 2.5x higher than the field. (3) SCUBA sub-mm observations of 3 fields detect 2 quasars and 2 galaxies with SEDs best fit as highly reddened galaxies at the quasar z. (4) H-band adaptive optics (AO) imaging is used to estimate redshifts for 2 red, bulge-dominated galaxies using the Kormendy relation. Both have structural redshifts foreground to the quasar, but these are not confirmed by photometric redshifts, possibly because their optical photometry is corrupted by scattered light from the AO guidestar. (5) We use quantitative SED fits to constrain the photometric redshifts z_ph for some galaxies. Most galaxies near Q0835+580 are consistent with being at its redshift, including a candidate very old passively evolving galaxy. Many very & extremely red objects have z_ph z_q, and dust reddening is required to fit most of them, including many objects whose fits also require relatively old stellar populations. Large reddenings of E(B-V)~0.6 are required to fit four J-K selected EROs, though all but one of them have best-fit z_ph>z_q. These objects may represent a population of dusty high-z galaxies underrepresented in optically selected samples. (Abridged)

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arXiv2001

Dynamically Close Galaxy Pairs and Merger Rate Evolution in the CNOC2 Redshift Survey

We investigate redshift evolution in the galaxy merger and accretion rates, using a well-defined sample of 4184 galaxies with 0.12 < z < 0.55 and R_C < 21.5. We identify 88 galaxies in close (5 < r_p < 20 h^{-1} kpc) dynamical (delta v < 500 km/s) pairs. These galaxies are used to compute global pair statistics, after accounting for selection effects resulting from the flux limit, k-corrections, luminosity evolution, and spectroscopic incompleteness. We find that the number of companions per galaxy (for -21 < M_B^{k,e} < -18) is Nc = 0.0321 +/- 0.0077 at z=0.3. The luminosity in companions, per galaxy, is Lc = 0.0294 +/- 0.0084 x 10^10 h^2 L_sun. We assume that Nc is proportional to the galaxy merger rate, while Lc is directly related to the mass accretion rate. After increasing the maximum pair separation to 50 h^{-1} kpc, and comparing with the low redshift SSRS2 pairs sample, we infer evolution in the galaxy merger and accretion rates of (1+z)^{2.3 +/- 0.7} and (1+z)^{2.3 +/- 0.9} respectively. These are the first such estimates to be made using only confirmed dynamical pairs. When combined with several additional assumptions, this implies that approximately 15% of present epoch galaxies with -21 < M_B < -18 have undergone a major merger since z=1.

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arXiv2000

New Techniques for Relating Dynamically Close Galaxy Pairs to Merger and Accretion Rates : Application to the SSRS2 Redshift Survey

We introduce two new pair statistics, which relate close galaxy pairs to the merger and accretion rates. We demonstrate the importance of correcting these (and other) pair statistics for selection effects related to sample depth and completeness. In particular, we highlight the severe bias that can result from the use of a flux-limited survey. The first statistic, denoted N_c, gives the number of companions per galaxy, within a specified range in absolute magnitude. N_c is directly related to the galaxy merger rate. The second statistic, called L_c, gives the total luminosity in companions, per galaxy. This quantity can be used to investigate the mass accretion rate. Both N_c and L_c are related to the galaxy correlation function and luminosity function in a straightforward manner. We outline techniques which account for various selection effects, and demonstrate the success of this approach using Monte Carlo simulations. If one assumes that clustering is independent of luminosity (which is appropriate for reasonable ranges in luminosity), then these statistics may be applied to flux-limited surveys. These techniques are applied to a sample of 5426 galaxies in the SSRS2 redshift survey. Using close dynamical pairs, we find N_c(-21<M_B<-18) = 0.0226+/-0.0052 and L_c(-21<M_B<-18) = 0.0216+/-0.0055 10^{10} h^2 L_sun at z=0.015. These are the first secure estimates of low-z close pair statistics. If N_c remains fixed with redshift, simple assumptions imply that ~ 6.6% of present day galaxies with -21<M_B<-18 have undergone mergers since z=1. When applied to redshift surveys of more distant galaxies, these techniques will yield the first robust estimates of evolution in the galaxy merger and accretion rates. [Abridged]

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arXiv1999

The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. II: Metallicity Distribution and Radial Structure in NGC 4874, and Implications for Galaxy Formation

Deep HST/WFPC2 (V,I) photometry is used to investigate the globular cluster system (GCS) in NGC 4874, the central cD galaxy of the Coma cluster. The luminosity function of the clusters displays its normal Gaussian-like shape and turnover level. Other features of the system are surprising: the GCS is (a) spatially extended, with core radius r_c = 22 kpc, (b) entirely metal-poor (a narrow, unimodal metallicity distribution with mean [Fe/H] = -1.5), and (c) modestly populated, with specific frequency S_N = 3.7 +- 0.5. We suggest on the basis of some simple models that as much as half of this galaxy might have accreted from low-mass satellites, but no single one of the three classic modes of galaxy formation (accretion, disk mergers, in situ formation) can supply a fully satisfactory formation picture. Even when they are used in combination, strong challenges to these models remain. The principal anomaly in this GCS is essentially the complete lack of metal-rich clusters. If these were present in normal (M87-like) numbers in addition to the metal-poor ones that are already there, then the GCS in total would more closely resemble what we see in many other giant E galaxies.

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arXiv1999

The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. I: The Luminosity Function in NGC 4874, and Implications for Hubble's Constant

We have used deep HST/WFPC2 images in V (F606W) and I (F814W) to measure the luminosity distribution of the globular clusters in NGC 4874, the central cD galaxy of the Coma cluster. We find the ``turnover'' point of the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) to lie at V = 27.88 +/- 0.12, while the overall GCLF shape matches the standard Gaussian-like form with dispersion SIGMA_V = 1.49 +/- 0.12. We use the GCLF as a standard candle by matching the turnover points in NGC 4874 and another Coma elliptical, IC 4051, with those of the giant ellipticals in the Virgo cluster (M87 and five others). The result is (m-M)_(Coma - Virgo) = 4.06 +/- 0.11 magnitudes, which converts to a Coma distance d = 102 Mpc if the Virgo distance modulus is (m-M)_0 = 30.99 +/- 0.04. The Hubble constant which emerges from our GCLF measurement is then H0 = (69 +/- 9) km/s/Mpc. We confirm this H0 value with a novel presentation of the ``Hubble diagram'' for GCLFs in giant E galaxies. Measurements of additional GCLFs in the Coma ellipticals, as well as calibrating galaxies in Virgo and Fornax, have excellent potential to refine this result in the near future.

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arXiv1999

Observations of Candidate z=1.54 Quasar Host Clusters

We present new data on several z=1.54 radio-loud quasar fields from a sample of 31 at z=1-2 in which we have previously identified an excess population of predominantly red galaxies. Narrow-band H-alpha observations detect five candidate galaxies at the quasar redshifts in three fields totaling 10.156 arcmin^2, a surface density 30 times higher than in previous surveys, even targeted ones. SCUBA observations of three fields detect at least one candidate quasar-associated galaxy. Many galaxies with SEDs indicating considerable dust are not detected, but the limits are only sufficient to rule out hyperluminous infrared galaxies. Finally, quantitative photometric redshifts and SED fits are presented for one "J-band dropout" galaxy with J-K>2.5 which is confirmed to be very dusty (E(B-V)~=0.5) and background to the quasar at >99.9% confidence.

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arXiv1999

The Luminosity Distribution of Local Group Galaxies

From a rediscussion of Local Group membership, and of distances to individual galaxies, we obtain $M_V$ values for 35 probable and possible Local Group members. The luminosity function of these objects is well fitted by a Schechter function with faint end slope $α= -1.1 \pm 0.1$. The probability that the luminosity distribution of the Local Group is a single Schechter function with $α$ steeper than -1.3 is less than 1 per cent. However, more complicated luminosity functions, such as multi-component Schechter functions with steep faint-end slopes, cannot be ruled out. There is some evidence that the luminosity distribution of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group is steeper than that of dwarf irregular galaxies.

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arXiv1998

The CNOC2 Field Galaxy Redshift Survey

The CNOC2 field galaxy redshift survey is designed to provide measurements of the evolution of galaxies and their clustering over the redshift range 0 to 0.7. The sample is spread over four sky patches with a total area of about 1.5 square degrees. Here we report preliminary results based on two of the sky patches, and the redshift range of 0.15 to 0.55. We find that galaxy evolution can be statistically described as nearly pure luminosity evolution of early and intermediate SED types, and nearly pure density evolution of the late SED types. The correlation of blue galaxies relative to red galaxies is similar on large scales but drops by a factor of three on scales less than about 0.3/h mpc, approximately the mean scale of virialization. There is a clear, but small, 60%, change in clustering with 1.4 mag of luminosity. To minimize these population effects in our measurement of clustering evolution, we choose galaxies with M_r^{k,e}<= -20 mag as a population whose members are most likely to be conserved with redshift. Remarkably, the evolution of the clustered density in proper co-ordinates at r < 10/h Mpc, proportional to r_0^gamma (1+z)^3, is best described as a ``de-clustering'', (1+z)^{0.6+/-0.4}. Or equivalently, there is a weak growth of clustering in co-moving co-ordinates, x_0~ (1+z)^{-0.3 +/- 0.2}. This conclusion is supported by the pairwise peculiar velocities which rise slightly, but not significantly, into the past. The Cosmic Virial Theorem applied to the CNOC2 data gives Q Omega_M/b=0.11 +/- 0.04$, where Q is the three point correlation parameter and b the bias. Similarly, galaxy groups have a virial mass-to-light ratio (evolution corrected) of M_{virial}/L_R^{k,e} = 215h Lsun/Msun, or Omega_M=0.15 +/- 0.05.

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arXiv1998

The Omega_M-Omega_Lambda Constraint from CNOC Clusters

The CNOC redshift survey of galaxy clusters measures Omega_M from Omega_e(z)= M/L x j/ρ_c which can be applied on a cluster-by-cluster basis. The mass-to-light ratios, M/L, are estimated from rich galaxy clusters, corrected to the field population over the 0.18 to 0.55 redshift range. Since the luminosity density depends on cosmological volumes, the resulting Omega_e(z) has a strong dependence on cosmology which allows us to place the results in the Omega_M-Omega_Lambda plane. The resulting Omega_M declines if Omega_Lambda>0 and we find that Omega_Lambda<1.5.

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arXiv1998

The Evolution of Blue Stragglers Formed Via Stellar Collisions

We have used the results of recent smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations of colliding stars to create models appropriate for input into a stellar evolution code. In evolving these models, we find that little or no surface convection occurs, precluding angular momentum loss via a magnetically-driven stellar wind as a viable mechanism for slowing rapidly rotating blue stragglers which have been formed by collisions. Angular momentum transfer to either a circumstellar disk (possibly collisional ejecta) or a nearby companion are plausible mechanisms for explaining the observed low rotation velocities of blue stragglers. Under the assumption that the blue stragglers seen in NGC 6397 and 47 Tuc have been created solely by collisions, we find that the majority of these blue stragglers cannot have been highly mixed by convection or meridional circulation currents at anytime during their evolution. Also, on the basis of the agreement between the predictions of our non-rotating models and the observed blue straggler distribution, the evolution of blue stragglers is apparently not dominated by the effects of rotation.

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arXiv1997

Results on Galaxy Evolution from the CNOC2 Field Galaxy Redshift Survey

The CNOC2 Field Galaxy Redshift Survey presently contains some 5000 galaxy redshifts, plus extensive UBgRI photometry, and is the largest galaxy sample at moderate redshifts 0.1 < z < 0.6. Here we present some preliminary results on the galaxy luminosity function (LF) and its redshift evolution, using a sample of R < 21.5 CNOC2 galaxies, subdivided into early, intermediate, and late types based on their B-R colors relative to non-evolving galaxy models. We find a significant steepening in the faint-end slope alpha of the LF as one proceeds from early to late types. Also, for all galaxy types we find a rate of M* evolution consistent with that from passively evolving galaxy models. Finally, late-type galaxies show positive density evolution with redshift, in contrast to negative or no density evolution for earlier types.

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arXiv1997

Omega_M and the CNOC Surveys

The CNOC1 cluster survey measures Omega_M via Oort's method, Omega_M= M/L x j/rho_c, where M/L is the field mass-to-light ratio, j is the field luminosity density and rho_c is the closure density. A wide range of potential systematic effects are explicitly controlled by independently deriving the mean cluster mass profile (finding good agreement with theoretical predictions), the cluster light profile, the redshift evolution of both cluster and field galaxies, the differential evolution between the two, and the field and cluster efficiencies for the conversion of baryons into galaxies. We conclude that Omega_M=0.19+/-0.06 where the errors are objectively evaluated via resampling methods. The redshift evolution of the numbers of clusters per unit co-moving volume over the 0< z < 0.6 range is found to be very slow, as is required for consistency with a low density universe. The evolution of galaxy clustering in the field is compatible with a low density universe, and strongly disfavors models of galaxy evolution that associate low density halos with individual galaxies.

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arXiv1997

Omega baryon via Oort's Method

The baryon density of the universe is equal to the product of the baryon-to-light ratio, M_b/L, and the luminosity density, j. We estimate M_b/L as the sum of the masses of the X-ray gas and the visible stars in a rich cluster of galaxies divided by the luminosity of the cluster galaxies in precisely the same sky aperture. We evaluate the gas-to-light ratio derived from the EMSS detect cell flux and the CNOC cluster redshift survey galaxies. After making an aperture correction to an effective overdensity of 500rho_c, we find that Omega_gas=0.012-0.016 h^-3/2, depending on the galaxy fading correction. Adding in the galaxy baryons at a mass-to-light ratio of 5 Msun/Lsun, equivalent to Omega_stars=0.003h^-1, we find that Omega_b=0.015-0.019 for H_0=100 (or 0.040-0.051 for H_0=50). Expressed as the baryon to photon ratio, eta, this corresponds to eta=4.0-5.2x10^{-10} (H_0=100) and is in the mid-range of values from other methods. The individual clusters have a dispersion about the mean Omega_{gas} of 40%, and the chi^2 of the 14 clusters is consistent with the hypothesis that the gas-to-light ratio is a universal constant. If we ignore the light of the cD, the variance increases by a factor of three. After the radial segregation of gas and light within a cluster is taken into account, these statistics indicate that there is little variation of the gas-to-light ratio from cluster to cluster over the 0.2 to 0.55 range in redshift.

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arXiv1997

The Average Mass Profile of Galaxy Clusters

The average mass density profile measured in the CNOC cluster survey is well described with the analytic form rho(r)=A/[r(r+a_rho)^2], as advocated on the basis on n-body simulations by Navarro, Frenk & White. The predicted core radii are a_rho=0.20 (in units of the radius where the mean interior density is 200 times the critical density) for an Omega=0.2 open CDM model, or a_rho=0.26 for a flat Omega=0.2 model, with little dependence on other cosmological parameters for simulations normalized to the observed cluster abundance. The dynamically derived local mass-to-light ratio, which has little radial variation, converts the observed light profile to a mass profile. We find that the scale radius of the mass distribution, 0.20<= a_rho <= 0.30 (depending on modeling details, with a 95% confidence range of 0.12-0.50), is completely consistent with the predicted values. Moreover, the profiles and total masses of the clusters as individuals can be acceptably predicted from the cluster RMS line-of-sight velocity dispersion alone. This is strong support of the hierarchical clustering theory for the formation of galaxy clusters in a cool, collisionless, dark matter dominated universe.

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arXiv1997

The CNOC Cluster Survey: Omega, sigma_8, Phi(L,z) Results, and Prospects for Lambda Measurement

Rich galaxy clusters are powerful probes of both cosmological and galaxy evolution parameters. The CNOC cluster survey was primarily designed to distinguish between Omega=1 and Omega~0.2 cosmologies. Projected foreground and background galaxies provide a field sample of comparable size. The results strongly support a low-density universe. The luminous cluster galaxies are about 10-30% fainter, depending on color, than the comparable field galaxies, but otherwise they show a slow and nearly parallel evolution. On the average, there is no excess star formation when galaxies fall into clusters. These data provide the basis for a simple Lambda measurement using the survey's clusters and the field data. The errors in Omega_M, Lambda, sigma_8 and galaxy evolution parameters could be reduced to a few percent with a sample of a few hundred clusters spread over the 0<z<1 range.

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