arXiv subjects

Chris Pearson

Publications and source records attributed to Chris Pearson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Line Emission Terahertz Observatory (LETO): Exploring the lifecycle of the ISM and the origins of water

The Interstellar Medium (ISM) is the reservoir of baryonic matter from which stars and planetary systems are formed. It is also the repository of the material that is expelled at the end of the stellar evolutionary cycle feeding the baryonic matter reservoir. These evolutionary phases in the ISM together form a complex interplay driving planet and star formation and thus the evolution of our own Milky Way as well as galaxies at low and high redshifts. The design of the Line Emission Terahertz Observatory (LETO) has been optimized to investigate the impact of the ISM on star formation on galactic and extragalactic scales, study the processes that transform gas clouds into stars and planetary systems, and trace the flow of water in the ISM. To achieve these goals, LETO will carry out deep velocity-resolved wide-area spectroscopic observations of key FIR lines in the ISM covering an area of approximately 900 square degrees of the Galactic Plane. To complement our local view LETO will map a large sample of about 200 nearby galaxies in addition to surveys of Galaxies at Cosmic Noon. To shed light on the planet formation process, LETO will study the physical and chemical properties (especially gas mass) of numerous proto-planetary disks and stellar cores through pointed observations of the HD and H2O lines. LETO is a powerful FIR mission building on rich European heritage. To satisfy the requirements for sensitivity, resolving power and mapping speed, LETO utilizes a 3.5m class mirror and several bands with sensitive state-of-the-art multi-pixel heterodyne arrays. The bands together will cover the wavelength range from 56 to 666 micron and with the heterodyne receivers and backends high resolving power spectroscopy a set of key FIR atomic, ionic, and molecular lines can be studied in great detail. The mission is one of several selected for further study in the context of the ESA M8 call.

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arXiv2026

MIGHTEE: The evolving radio luminosity functions of star-forming galaxies to $z\sim 4.5$ and the cosmic history of star formation

A key question in extragalactic astronomy is how the star-formation rate density (SFRD) evolves over cosmic time. A powerful way of addressing this question is using radio-continuum observations, where the radio waves are unaffected by dust and are able to reach sufficient resolution to resolve individual galaxies. We present an investigation of the 1.4 GHz radio luminosity functions (RLFs) of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using deep radio continuum observations in the COSMOS and XMM-LSS fields, covering a combined area of $\sim 4\,\mathrm{deg}^2$. These data enable the most accurate measurement of the evolution in the SFRD from mid-frequency radio continuum observations. We model the total RLF as the sum of evolving SFG and AGN components, negating the need for individual source classification. We find that the SFGs have systematically higher space densities at fixed luminosity than found in previous radio studies, but consistent with more recent studies with MeerKAT. We attribute this to the excellent low-surface brightness sensitivity of MeerKAT. We then determine the evolution of the SFRD. Adopting the far-infrared - radio correlation results in a significantly higher the SFRD at $z > 1$, compared to combined UV and far-infrared measurements. However, using more recent relations for the correlation between star-formation rate and radio luminosity, based on full spectral energy distribution modelling, can resolve this apparent discrepancy. Thus radio observations provide a powerful method of determining the total SFRD, in the absence of dust-sensitive far-infrared data.

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arXiv2025

Transformational astrophysics and exoplanet science with Habitable Worlds Observatory's High Resolution Imager

Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be NASA's flagship space telescope of the 2040s, designed to search for life on other planets and to transform broad areas of astrophysics. NASA are seeking international partners, and the UK is well-placed to lead the design and construction of its imaging camera - which is likely to produce the mission's most visible public impact. Early participation in the mission would return investment to UK industry, and bring generational leadership for the UK in space science, space technology, and astrophysics.

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arXiv2025

How accurately can obscured galaxy luminosities be measured using spectral energy distribution fitting of near- through far-infrared observations?

Infrared-luminous galaxies are important sites of stellar and black hole mass assembly at most redshifts. Their luminosities are often estimated by fitting spectral energy distribution (SED) models to near- to far-infrared data, but the dependence of these estimates on the data used is not well-understood. Here, using observations simulated from a well-studied local sample, we compare the effects of wavelength coverage, signal-to-noise (S/N), flux calibration, angular resolution, and redshift on the recovery of starburst, AGN, and host luminosities. We show that the most important factors are wavelength coverage that spans the peak in a SED, with dense wavelength sampling. Such observations recover starburst and AGN infrared luminosities with systematic bias below $20\%$. Starburst luminosities are best recovered with far-infrared observations while AGN luminosities are best recovered with near- and mid-infrared observations, though the recovery of both are enhanced with near/mid-infrared, and far-infrared observations, respectively. Host luminosities are best recovered with near/far-infrared observations, but are usually biased low, by $\gtrsim20\%$. The recovery of starburst and AGN luminosity is enhanced by observing at high angular resolution. Starburst-dominated systems show more biased recovery of luminosities than do AGN-dominated systems. As redshift increases, far-infrared observations become more capable, and mid-infrared observations less capable, at recovering luminosities. Our results highlight the transformative power of a far-infrared instrument with dense wavelength coverage from tens to hundreds of microns for studying infrared-luminous galaxies. We tabulate estimates of systematic bias and random error for use with JWST and other observatories.

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arXiv2025

The Herschel-SPIRE Dark Field I: The deepest Herschel image of the submillimetre Universe

We present the image maps, data reduction, analysis and the first source counts from the Herschel SPIRE Dark Field. The SPIRE Dark Field is an area of sky near the North Ecliptic Pole observed many times during the calibration phase of the Herschel mission in order to characterise the stability of the SPIRE instrument and is subsequently one of the deepest imaged fields of the Universe at far-infrared-submillimetre wavelengths. The SPIRE dark field is concurrent with the Spitzer IRAC Dark Field used for a similar purpose. The final Dark Field map is comprised of 141 individual SPIRE observations in Small Map and Large Map modes defined by a deep inner region approximately 12' in diameter and a slightly shallower surrounding area of diameter ~30'. The depth of both regions reach well below the confusion limit of the SPIRE instrument at 250 microns, 350 microns and 500 microns. Two independent processes are used to extract sources, a standard map based method using the SUSSEXtractor algorithm and a list driven photometry approach using the XID algorithm with the Spitzer MIPS 24 microns catalogue as an input prior. The resulting source counts detect the turnover in the galaxy population with both methods shown to be consistent with previous results from other Herschel surveys, with the XID process reaching approximately twice as deep compared to traditional map based algorithms. Finally, we compare our results with two contemporary galaxy evolution models, again showing a good general agreement with the modelled counts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

The Herschel-SPIRE Dark Field -- II. A P(D) fluctuation analysis of the deepest Herschel image of the submillimetre universe

The Herschel-SPIRE Dark Field is the deepest field produced by the SPIRE instrument pushing down below the galaxy confusion limit in each of the 250, 350, 500 $\mu$m bands. Standard source extraction techniques inevitably fail because of this, and we must turn to statistical methods. Here, we present a P(D) - probability of deflection - analysis of a 12$'$ diameter region of uniform coverage at the centre of the Herschel-SPIRE Dark Field. Comparing the distribution of pixel fluxes from our observations to the distributions predicted by current literature models, we find that none of the most recent models can accurately recreate our observations. Using a P(D) analysis, we produce a fitted differential source count spline with a bump in the source counts at faint flux densities, followed by a turnover at fainter fluxes, required to fit the observations. This indicates a possible missing component from the current literature models that could be interpreted perhaps as a new population of galaxies, or a missing aspect of galaxy evolution. Taking our best-fitting results, we also calculate the contribution to the cosmic infrared background (CIB) in each of the bands, which all agree with the Planck CIB measurements in this field.

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arXiv2025

The assembly of supermassive black holes at $z<1$ in early-type galaxies from scaling relations

The assembly of supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass ($M_{\bullet}$) and stellar mass ($M_{*}$) in galaxies can be studied via the redshift evolution of the $M_{\bullet}-M_{*}$ relation, but the ways in which selection bias and physical assembly channels affect this evolution are uncertain. To address this, we compare the $M_{\bullet}-M_{*}$ relation for local massive ($M_{*}>10^{10.5}$M$_{\odot}$) quiescent early-type galaxies (ETGs) to that for massive ETGs hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) at $z\sim0.8$. The restrictions on stellar mass and galaxy type limit the assembly channels that may connect the two relations. For the local sample we find $\log(M_{\bullet}) = 8.80 + 1.10(\log{M_{*}-11})$, in line with prior work. For the $z\sim0.8$ sample we find a bias-corrected relation: $\log(M_{\bullet}) = 7.80 + 1.25(\log{M_{*}-11})$. We show, however, that this relation depends on the stellar and SMBH mass functions used to compute the selection bias, the virial relation, the virial factor, and the active fraction, which together introduce uncertainty of up to $\sim0.6$\,dex in the $z\sim0.8$ relation. Adopting reasonable choices of these parameters then our $z\sim0.8$ relation lies above that for $z\sim0$ AGN by $\sim0.5$\,dex, but below our $z\sim0$ ETG relation by $0.4-1$\,dex in SMBH mass. We discuss possible sources of this offset, including further bias corrections, `downsizing" in SMBH mass assembly, and preferential SMBH growth. Our results highlight the need to reduce uncertainties from selection and measurement bias in SMBH and stellar masses at all redshifts.

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arXiv2025

Molecular Gas Heating, Star Formation Rate Relations, and AGN Feedback in Infrared-luminous Galaxy Mergers

We examine the origin of molecular gas heating in a sample of 42 infrared-luminous galaxies at $z<0.3$ by combining two sets of archival data. First, integrated CO line luminosities in the 1-0 and 5-4 through 13-12 transitions. Second, results from radiative transfer modelling that decompose their bolometric emission into starburst, AGN, and host galaxy components. We find that the CO 1-0 and 5-4 through 9-8 lines primarily arise via radiative heating in the starburst and the host galaxy. In contrast, the CO 10-9 through 13-12 lines may arise primarily in the starburst and AGN, with an increasing contribution from mechanical heating and shocks. For the sample as a whole, we find no evidence that AGN luminosity affects the heating of molecular gas by star formation. However, for starbursts with low initial optical depths, a more luminous AGN may reduce the efficiency of starburst heating of the CO 5-4 and above lines, consistent with negative AGN feedback.

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arXiv2023

Observational evidence for cosmological coupling of black holes and its implications for an astrophysical source of dark energy

Observations have found black holes spanning ten orders of magnitude in mass across most of cosmic history. The Kerr black hole solution is however provisional as its behavior at infinity is incompatible with an expanding universe. Black hole models with realistic behavior at infinity predict that the gravitating mass of a black hole can increase with the expansion of the universe independently of accretion or mergers, in a manner that depends on the black hole's interior solution. We test this prediction by considering the growth of supermassive black holes in elliptical galaxies over $0<z\lesssim2.5$. We find evidence for cosmologically coupled mass growth among these black holes, with zero cosmological coupling excluded at 99.98% confidence. The redshift dependence of the mass growth implies that, at $z\lesssim7$, black holes contribute an effectively constant cosmological energy density to Friedmann's equations. The continuity equation then requires that black holes contribute cosmologically as vacuum energy. We further show that black hole production from the cosmic star formation history gives the value of $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ measured by Planck while being consistent with constraints from massive compact halo objects. We thus propose that stellar remnant black holes are the astrophysical origin of dark energy, explaining the onset of accelerating expansion at $z \sim 0.7$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

A Preferential Growth Channel for Supermassive Black Holes in Elliptical Galaxies at z<2

The assembly of stellar and supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass in elliptical galaxies since $z\sim1$ can help to diagnose the origins of locally-observed correlations between SMBH mass and stellar mass. We therefore construct three samples of elliptical galaxies, one at $z\sim0$ and two at $0.7\lesssim z \lesssim2.5$, and quantify their relative positions in the $M_{BH}-M_*$ plane. Using a Bayesian analysis framework, we find evidence for translational offsets in both stellar mass and SMBH mass between the local sample and both higher redshift samples. The offsets in stellar mass are small, and consistent with measurement bias, but the offsets in SMBH mass are much larger, reaching a factor of seven between $z\sim1$ and $z\sim0$. The magnitude of the SMBH offset may also depend on redshift, reaching a factor of $\sim20$ at $z\sim 2$. The result is robust against variation in the high and low redshift samples and changes in the analysis approach. The magnitude and redshift evolution of the offset are challenging to explain in terms of selection and measurement biases. We conclude that either there is a physical mechanism that preferentially grows SMBHs in elliptical galaxies at $z\lesssim 2$, or that selection and measurement biases are both underestimated, and depend on redshift.

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arXiv2022

Stellar and black hole assembly in z<0.3 infrared-luminous mergers: intermittent starbursts vs. super-Eddington accretion

We study stellar and black hole mass assembly in a sample of 42 infrared-luminous galaxy mergers at z<0.3 by combining results from radiative transfer modelling with archival measures of molecular gas and black hole mass. The ratios of stellar mass, molecular gas mass, and black hole mass to each other are consistent with those of massive gas-rich galaxies at z<0.3. The advanced mergers may show increased black hole mass to stellar mass ratios, consistent with the transition from AGN to ellipticals and implying substantial black hole mass growth over the course of the merger. Star formation rates are enhanced relative to the local main sequence, by factors of ~100 in the starburst and ~1.8 in the host. The starburst star formation rates appear distinct to star formation in the main sequence at all redshifts up to at least z~5. Starbursts may prefer late-stage mergers, but are observed at any merger stage. We do not find evidence that the starbursts in these low-redshift systems substantially increase the total stellar mass, with a soft upper limit on the stellar mass increase from starburst activity of about a factor of two. In contrast, 12 objects show evidence for super-Eddington accretion, associated with late-stage mergers, suggesting that many AGN in infrared-luminous mergers go through a super-Eddington phase. The super-Eddington phase may increase black hole mass by up to an order of magnitude at an accretion efficiency of 42+/-33% over a period of 44+/-22Myr. Our results imply that super-Eddington accretion is an important black hole growth channel in infrared-luminous galaxies at all redshifts.

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arXiv2021

The evolution of merger fraction of galaxies at z < 0.6 depending on the star formation mode in the AKARI NEP Wide field

We study the galaxy merger fraction and its dependence on star formation mode in the5.4 square degrees of the North Ecliptic Pole-Wide field. We select 6352 galaxies withAKARI 9{\mu}m detections, and identify mergers among them using the Gini coefficientand M20derived from the Subaru/HSC optical images. We obtain the total infraredluminosity and star formation rate of galaxies using the spectral energy distributiontemplates based on one band, AKARI 9{\mu}m. We classify galaxies into three differentstar formation modes (i.e. starbursts, main sequence, and quiescent galaxies) andcalculate the merger fractions for each. We find that the merger fractions of galaxiesincrease with redshift atz<0.6. The merger fractions of starbursts are higher thanthose of main sequence and quiescent galaxies in all redshift bins. We also examinethe merger fractions of far-infrared detected galaxies which have at least one detectionfromHerschel/SPIRE. We find thatHerscheldetected galaxies have higher mergerfraction compared to non-Herscheldetected galaxies, and bothHerscheldetected andnon-Herscheldetected galaxies show clearly different merger fractions depending onthe star formation modes.

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arXiv2021

Environmental Effects on AGN activity via Extinction-free Mid-Infrared Census

How does the environment affect active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity? We investigated this question in an extinction-free way, by selecting 1120 infrared galaxies in the $AKARI$ North Ecliptic Pole Wide field at redshift $z$ $\leq$ 1.2. A unique feature of the $AKARI$ satellite is its continuous 9-band infrared (IR) filter coverage, providing us with an unprecedentedly large sample of IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies. By taking advantage of this, for the first time, we explored the AGN activity derived from SED modelling as a function of redshift, luminosity, and environment. We quantified AGN activity in two ways: AGN contribution fraction (ratio of AGN luminosity to the total IR luminosity), and AGN number fraction (ratio of number of AGNs to the total galaxy sample). We found that galaxy environment (normalised local density) does not greatly affect either definitions of AGN activity of our IRG/LIRG samples (log ${\rm L}_{\rm TIR}$ $\leq$ 12). However, we found a different behavior for ULIRGs (log ${\rm L}_{\rm TIR}$ $>$ 12). At our highest redshift bin (0.7 $\lesssim$ z $\lesssim$ 1.2), AGN activity increases with denser environments, but at the intermediate redshift bin (0.3 $\lesssim$ z $\lesssim$ 0.7), the opposite is observed. These results may hint at a different physical mechanism for ULIRGs. The trends are not statistically significant (p $\geq$ 0.060 at the intermediate redshift bin, and p $\geq$ 0.139 at the highest redshift bin). Possible different behavior of ULIRGs is a key direction to explore further with future space missions (e.g., $JWST$, $Euclid$, $SPHEREx$).

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arXiv2021

Active galactic nuclei catalog from the AKARI NEP Wide field

Context. The North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) field provides a unique set of panchromatic data, well suited for active galactic nuclei (AGN) studies. Selection of AGN candidates is often based on mid-infrared (MIR) measurements. Such method, despite its effectiveness, strongly reduces a catalog volume due to the MIR detection condition. Modern machine learning techniques can solve this problem by finding similar selection criteria using only optical and near-infrared (NIR) data. Aims. Aims of this work were to create a reliable AGN candidates catalog from the NEP field using a combination of optical SUBARU/HSC and NIR AKARI/IRC data and, consequently, to develop an efficient alternative for the MIR-based AKARI/IRC selection technique. Methods. A set of supervised machine learning algorithms was tested in order to perform an efficient AGN selection. Best of the models were formed into a majority voting scheme, which used the most popular classification result to produce the final AGN catalog. Additional analysis of catalog properties was performed in form of the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting via the CIGALE software. Results. The obtained catalog of 465 AGN candidates (out of 33 119 objects) is characterized by 73% purity and 64% completeness. This new classification shows consistency with the MIR-based selection. Moreover, 76% of the obtained catalog can be found only with the new method due to the lack of MIR detection for most of the new AGN candidates. Training data, codes and final catalog are available via the github repository. Final AGN candidates catalog will be also available via the CDS service after publication.

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arXiv2021

Ariel: Enabling planetary science across light-years

Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets, simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, enabling planetary science far beyond the boundaries of the Solar System. The payload consists of an off-axis Cassegrain telescope (primary mirror 1100 mm x 730 mm ellipse) and two separate instruments (FGS and AIRS) covering simultaneously 0.5-7.8 micron spectral range. The satellite is best placed into an L2 orbit to maximise the thermal stability and the field of regard. The payload module is passively cooled via a series of V-Groove radiators; the detectors for the AIRS are the only items that require active cooling via an active Ne JT cooler. The Ariel payload is developed by a consortium of more than 50 institutes from 16 ESA countries, which include the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and a NASA contribution.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

An Active Galactic Nucleus Recognition Model based on Deep Neural Network

To understand the cosmic accretion history of supermassive black holes, separating the radiation from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star-forming galaxies (SFGs) is critical. However, a reliable solution on photometrically recognising AGNs still remains unsolved. In this work, we present a novel AGN recognition method based on Deep Neural Network (Neural Net; NN). The main goals of this work are (i) to test if the AGN recognition problem in the North Ecliptic Pole Wide (NEPW) field could be solved by NN; (ii) to shows that NN exhibits an improvement in the performance compared with the traditional, standard spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting method in our testing samples; and (iii) to publicly release a reliable AGN/SFG catalogue to the astronomical community using the best available NEPW data, and propose a better method that helps future researchers plan an advanced NEPW database. Finally, according to our experimental result, the NN recognition accuracy is around 80.29% - 85.15%, with AGN completeness around 85.42% - 88.53% and SFG completeness around 81.17% - 85.09%.

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arXiv2020

Identification of AKARI infrared sources by Deep HSC Optical Survey: Construction of New Band-Merged Catalogue in the NEP-Wide field

The north ecliptic pole (NEP) field is a natural deep field location for many satellite observations. It has been targeted manytimes since it was surveyed by the AKARI space telescope with its unique wavelength coverage from the near- to mid-infrared(mid-IR). Many follow-up observations have been carried out and made this field one of the most frequently observed areas witha variety of facilities, accumulating abundant panchromatic data from X-ray to radio wavelength range. Recently, a deep opticalsurvey with the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) at the Subaru telescope covered the NEP-Wide (NEPW) field, which enabled us toidentify faint sources in the near- and mid-IR bands, and to improve the photometric redshift (photo-z) estimation. In this work,we present newly identified AKARI sources by the HSC survey, along with multi-band photometry for 91,861 AKARI sourcesobserved over the NEPW field. We release a new band-merged catalogue combining various photometric data from GALEXUV to the submillimetre (sub-mm) bands (e.g., Herschel/SPIRE, JCMT/SCUBA-2). About 20,000 AKARI sources are newlymatched to the HSC data, most of which seem to be faint galaxies in the near- to mid-infrared AKARI bands. This cataloguemotivates a variety of current research, and will be increasingly useful as recently launched (eROSITA/ART-XC) and futurespace missions (such as JWST, Euclid, and SPHEREx) plan to take deep observations in the NEP field.

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arXiv2020

Extinction-free Census of AGNs in the $AKARI$/IRC North Ecliptic Pole Field from 23-band Infrared Photometry from Space Telescopes

In order to understand the interaction between the central black hole and the whole galaxy or their co-evolution history along with cosmic time, a complete census of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is crucial. However, AGNs are often missed in optical, UV and soft X-ray observations since they could be obscured by gas and dust. A mid-infrared (mid-IR) survey supported by multiwavelength data is one of the best ways to find obscured AGN activities because it suffers less from extinction. Previous large IR photometric surveys, e.g., $WISE$ and $Spitzer$, have gaps between the mid-IR filters. Therefore, star forming galaxy (SFG)-AGN diagnostics in the mid-IR were limited. The $AKARI$ satellite has a unique continuous 9-band filter coverage in the near to mid-IR wavelengths. In this work, we take advantage of the state-of-the-art spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling software, CIGALE, to find AGNs in mid-IR. We found 126 AGNs in the NEP-Wide field with this method. We also investigate the energy released from the AGN as a fraction of the total IR luminosity of a galaxy. We found that the AGN contribution is larger at higher redshifts for a given IR luminosity. With the upcoming deep IR surveys, e.g., $JWST$, we expect to find more AGNs with our method.

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