arXiv subjects

David G. Gilbank

Publications and source records attributed to David G. Gilbank.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

The GOGREEN and GCLASS Surveys: First Data Release

We present the first public data release of the GOGREEN and GCLASS surveys of galaxies in dense environments, spanning a redshift range $0.8<z<1.5$. The surveys consist of deep, multiwavelength photometry and extensive Gemini GMOS spectroscopy of galaxies in 26 overdense systems ranging in halo mass from small groups to the most massive clusters. The objective of both projects was primarily to understand how the evolution of galaxies is affected by their environment, and to determine the physical processes that lead to the quenching of star formation. There was an emphasis on obtaining unbiased spectroscopy over a wide stellar mass range ($M\gtrsim 2\times 10^{10}~\mathrm{M}_\odot$), throughout and beyond the cluster virialized regions. The final spectroscopic sample includes 2771 unique objects, of which 2257 have reliable spectroscopic redshifts. Of these, 1704 have redshifts in the range $0.8<z<1.5$, and nearly 800 are confirmed cluster members. Imaging spans the full optical and near-infrared wavelength range, at depths comparable to the UltraVISTA survey, and includes \textit{HST}/WFC3 F160W (GOGREEN) and F140W (GCLASS). This data release includes fully reduced images and spectra, with catalogues of advanced data products including redshifts, line strengths, star formation rates, stellar masses and rest-frame colours. Here we present an overview of the data, including an analysis of the spectroscopic completeness and redshift quality.

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arXiv2017

Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments (GOGREEN) I: Survey Description

We describe a new Large Program in progress on the Gemini North and South telescopes: Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments (GOGREEN). This is an imaging and deep spectroscopic survey of 21 galaxy systems at $1 10$ in halo mass. The scientific objectives include measuring the role of environment in the evolution of low-mass galaxies, and measuring the dynamics and stellar contents of their host haloes. The targets are selected from the SpARCS, SPT, COSMOS and SXDS surveys, to be the evolutionary counterparts of today's clusters and groups. The new red-sensitive Hamamatsu detectors on GMOS, coupled with the nod-and-shuffle sky subtraction, allow simultaneous wavelength coverage over $λ\sim 0.6$--$1.05μ$m, and this enables a homogeneous and statistically complete redshift survey of galaxies of all types. The spectroscopic sample targets galaxies with AB magnitudes $z^{\prime}<24.25$ and [3.6]$μ$m$<22.5$, and is therefore statistically complete for stellar masses $M_\ast\gtrsim10^{10.3}M_\odot$, for all galaxy types and over the entire redshift range. Deep, multiwavelength imaging has been acquired over larger fields for most systems, spanning $u$ through $K$, in addition to deep IRAC imaging at 3.6$μ$m. The spectroscopy is $\sim 50$ per cent complete as of semester 17A, and we anticipate a final sample of $\sim 500$ new cluster members. Combined with existing spectroscopy on the brighter galaxies from GCLASS, SPT and other sources, GOGREEN will be a large legacy cluster and field galaxy sample at this redshift that spectroscopically covers a wide range in stellar mass, halo mass, and clustercentric radius.

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arXiv2017

The close pair fraction of BCGs since $z=0.5$: major mergers dominate recent BCG stellar mass growth

Using the redMaPPer cluster catalogue based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry, we investigate the importance of major mergers in the stellar mass build-up of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) between $0.08 \leq z \leq 0.50$. We use the SDSS spectroscopy, supplemented with spectroscopic observations from the Southern African Large Telescope at higher redshifts, to identify which BCGs and nearby companions are potential major merger candidates. We use the pair fraction as a proxy for the merger fraction in order to determine how much stellar mass growth the BCGs have experienced due to major mergers. We observe a weak trend of the BCG pair fraction increasing with decreasing redshift, suggesting that major mergers may become more important towards the present day. Major mergers are found to contribute, on average, $24 \pm 14 $ $(29 \pm 17)$ per cent towards the stellar mass of a present day BCG since $z=0.32$ (0.45), assuming that half of the companion's stellar mass is accreted onto the BCG. Furthermore, using our merger results in conjunction with predictions from two recent semi-analytical models along with observational measurements from the literature, we find that major mergers have sufficient stellar material to account for the stellar mass growth of the intracluster light between $z=0.3$ and $z=0$.

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arXiv2016

HST Hα grism spectroscopy of ROLES: a flatter low-mass slope for the z~1 SSFR--mass relation

We present measurements of star formation rates (SFRs) for dwarf galaxies (M*~10^8.5 Msun ) at z~1 using near-infrared slitless spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by targetting and measuring the luminosity of the Hα emission line. Our sample is derived from the Redshift One LDSS3 Emission Line Survey (ROLES), which used [O II]λ 3727 as a tracer of star formation to target very low stellar masses down to very low SFRs (~0.1 Msun yr^-1) at this epoch. Dust corrections are estimated using SED-fits and we find, by comparison with other studies using Balmer decrement dust corrections, that we require a smaller ratio between the gas phase and stellar extinction than the nominal Calzetti relation, in agreement with recent findings by other studies. By stacking the WFC3 spectra at the redshifts obtained from ground-based [O II] detections, we are able to push the WFC3 spectra to much lower SFRs and obtain the most complete spectroscopic measurement of the low mass end of the SSFR--mass relation to date. We measure a flatter low mass power law slope (-0.47 +/- 0.04) than found by other (shallower) Hα-selected samples (\approx -1), although still somewhat steeper than that predicted by the EAGLE simulation (-0.14 +/- 0.05), hinting at possible missing physics not modelled by EAGLE or remaining incompleteness for our Hα data.

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arXiv2015

Weak-lensing-inferred scaling relations of galaxy clusters in the RCS2: mass-richness, mass-concentration, mass-bias, and more

We study a sample of ~10^4 galaxy clusters in the redshift range 0.2 5x10^13 h_70^-1 M_sun, discovered in the second Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). The depth and excellent image quality of the RCS2 enable us to detect the cluster-mass cross-correlation up to z~0.7. To obtain cluster masses, concentrations and halo biases, we fit a cluster halo model simultaneously to the lensing signal and to the projected density profile of red-sequence cluster members, as the latter provides tight constraints on the cluster miscentring distribution. We parametrise the mass-richness relation as M_200 = A x (N_200/20)^alpha, and find A = (15.0 +- 0.8) x 10^13 h_70^-1 M_sun and alpha = 0.73 +- 0.07 at low redshift (0.2<z<0.35). At intermediate redshift (0.35<z<0.55), we find a higher normalisation, which points at a fractional increase of the richness towards lower redshift caused by the build-up of the red-sequence. The miscentring distribution is well constrained. Only ~30% of our BCGs coincide with the peak of the dark matter distribution. The distribution of the remaining BCGs are modelled with a 2D-Gaussian, whose width increases from 0.2 to 0.4 h_70^-1 Mpc towards higher masses; the ratio of width and r_200 is constant with mass and has an average value of 0.44 +- 0.01. The mass-concentration and mass-bias relation agree fairly well with literature results at low redshift, but have a higher normalisation at higher redshifts, which may be due to selection and projection effects. The concentration of the satellite distribution decreases with mass and is correlated with the concentration of the halo.

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arXiv2014

The Inside-out Growth of the Most Massive Galaxies at 0.3<z<0.9

We study the surface brightness profiles of a sample of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) with 0.3<z<0.9. The BCGs are selected from the first Red-sequence Cluster Survey and an X-ray cluster survey. The surface brightness profiles of the BCGs are measured using HST ACS images, and most of them can be well modeled by a Sersic profile with index ~ 6 and half-light radius ~ 30 kpc. Although the single Sersic model fits the profiles well, we argue that the systematics in the sky background measurement and the coupling between the model parameters make the comparison of the model parameters ambiguous. Direct comparison of the BCG profiles, on the other hand, has revealed an inside-out growth for these most massive galaxies: as the mass of a BCG increases, the central mass density of the galaxy increases slowly ($ρ_{1kpc} \propto M*^{0.39}$), while the slope of the outer profile grows continuously shallower ($α\propto M*^{-2.5}$). Such a fashion of growth continues down to the less massive early-type galaxies (ETGs), without apparent distinction between BCGs and non-BCGs. For the very massive ETGs and BCGs, the slope of the Kormendy relation starts to trace the slope of the surface brightness profiles and becomes insensitive to subtle profile evolution. These results are generally consistent with dry mergers being the major driver of the mass growth for BCGs and massive ETGs. We also find strong correlations between the richness of clusters and the properties of BCGs: the more massive the clusters are, the more massive the BCGs ($M*_{bcg} \propto M_{clusters}^{0.6}$) and the shallower their surface brightness profiles. After taking into account the bias in the cluster samples, we find the masses of the BCGs have grown by at least a factor of 1.5 from z=0.5 to z=0, in contrast to the previous findings of no evolution. Such an evolution validates the expectation from the LCDM model.

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arXiv2013

The X-ray Properties of Optically Selected Clusters of Galaxies

We present the results of Chandra and Suzaku X-ray observations of nine moderate-redshift (0.16 < z < 0.42) clusters discovered via the Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS). Surface brightness profiles are fitted to beta models, gas masses are determined, integrated spectra are extracted within R2500, and X-ray temperatures and luminosities are inferred. The Lx-Tx relationship expected from self-similar evolution is tested by comparing this sample to our previous X-ray investigation of nine high-redshift (0.6 < z < 1.0) optically selected clusters. We find that optically selected clusters are systematically less luminous than X-ray selected clusters of similar X-ray temperature at both moderate and high-z. We are unable to constrain evolution in the Lx-Tx relation with these data, but find it consistent with no evolution, within relatively large uncertainties. To investigate selection effects, we compare the X-ray properties of our sample to those of clusters in the representative X-ray selected REXCESS sample, also determined within R2500. We find that while RCS cluster X-ray properties span the entire range of those of massive clusters selected by other methods, their average X-ray properties are most similar to those of dynamically disturbed X-ray selected clusters. This similarity suggests that the true cluster distribution might contain a higher fraction of disturbed objects than are typically detected in X-ray selected surveys.

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arXiv2013

The structure of the merging RCS 231953+00 Supercluster at z ~ 0.9

The RCS 2319+00 supercluster is a massive supercluster at z=0.9 comprising three optically selected, spectroscopically confirmed clusters separated by <3 Mpc on the plane of the sky. This supercluster is one of a few known examples of the progenitors of present-day massive clusters (10^{15} Msun by z~0.5). We present an extensive spectroscopic campaign carried out on the supercluster field resulting, in conjunction with previously published data, in 1961 high confidence galaxy redshifts. We find 302 structure members spanning three distinct redshift walls separated from one another by ~65 Mpc. The component clusters have spectroscopic redshifts of 0.901, 0.905 and 0.905. The velocity dispersions are consistent with those predicted from X-ray data, giving estimated cluster masses of ~10^{14.5} - 10^{14.9} Msun. The Dressler-Shectman test finds evidence of substructure in the supercluster field and a friends-of-friends analysis identified 5 groups in the supercluster, including a filamentary structure stretching between two cluster cores previously identified in the infrared by Coppin et al. (2012). The galaxy colors further show this filamentary structure to be a unique region of activity within the supercluster, comprised mainly of blue galaxies compared to the ~43-77% red-sequence galaxies present in the other groups and cluster cores. Richness estimates from stacked luminosity function fits results in average group mass estimates consistent with ~10^{13} Msun halos. Currently, 22% of our confirmed members reside in >~10^{13} Msun groups/clusters destined to merge onto the most massive cluster, in agreement with the massive halo galaxy fractions important in cluster galaxy pre-processing in N-body simulation merger tree studies.

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arXiv2012

Stellar mass versus velocity dispersion as tracer of the lensing signal around bulge-dominated galaxies

We present the results of a weak gravitational lensing analysis to determine whether the stellar mass or the velocity dispersion is more closely related to the amplitude of the lensing signal around galaxies - and hence to the projected distribution of dark matter. The lensing signal on scales smaller than the virial radius corresponds most closely to the lensing velocity dispersion in the case of a singular isothermal profile, but is on larger scales also sensitive to the clustering of the haloes. We select over 4000 lens galaxies at a redshift z<0.2 with concentrated (or bulge-dominated) surface brightness profiles from the ~300 square degree overlap between the Red-sequence Cluster Survey 2 (RCS2) and the data release 7 (DR7) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We consider both the spectroscopic velocity dispersion and a model velocity dispersion (a combination of the stellar mass, the size and the Sersic index of a galaxy). Comparing the model and spectroscopic velocity dispersion we find that they correlate well for galaxies with concentrated brightness profiles. We find that the stellar mass and the spectroscopic velocity dispersion trace the amplitude of the lensing signal on small scales equally well. The model velocity dispersion, however, does significantly worse. A possible explanation is that the halo properties that determine the small-scale lensing signal - mainly the total mass - also depend on the structural parameters of galaxies, such as the effective radius and Sersic index, but we lack data for a definitive conclusion.

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arXiv2012

The slowly evolving role of environment in a spectroscopic survey of star formation in Mstar > 5E8 Msun galaxies since z=1

We present a deep [OII] emission line survey of faint galaxies (22.5<KAB<24) in the Chandra Deep Field South and the FIRES field. With these data we measure the star formation rate (SFR) in galaxies in the stellar mass range 8.85 < log(M*/Msun) < 9.5 at 0.62<z<0.885, to a limit of SFR = 0.1Msun/yr. The presence of a massive cluster (MS1054-03) in the FIRES field, and of significant large scale structure in the CDFS field, allows us to study the environmental dependence of SFRs amongst this population of low-mass galaxies. Comparing our results with more massive galaxies at this epoch, with our previous survey (ROLES) at the higher redshift z=1, and with SDSS Stripe 82 data, we find no significant evolution of the stellar mass function of star-forming galaxies between z=0 and z=1, and no evidence that its shape depends on environment. The correlation between specific star formation rate (sSFR) and stellar mass at z=0.75 has a power-law slope of beta=-0.2, with evidence for a steeper relation at the lowest masses. The normalization of this correlation lies as expected between that corresponding to z=1 and the present day. The global SFR density is consistent with an evolution of the form (1+z)^2 over 0<z<1, with no evidence for a dependence on stellar mass. The sSFR of these star-forming galaxies at z=0.75 does not depend upon the density of their local environment. Considering just high-density environments, the low-mass end of the sSFR-M* relation in our data is steeper than that in Stripe 82 at z=0, and shallower than that measured by ROLES at z=1. Evolution of low-mass galaxies in dense environments appears to be more rapid than in the general field.

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arXiv2012

Constraints on the shapes of galaxy dark matter haloes from weak gravitational lensing

We study the shapes of galaxy dark matter haloes by measuring the anisotropy of the weak gravitational lensing signal around galaxies in the second Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). We determine the average shear anisotropy within the virial radius for three lens samples: all galaxies with 19 =43.7 deg +/- 0.3 deg for the `all' lenses, =41.7 deg +/- 0.5 deg for the `red' lenses and =42.0 deg +/- 1.4 deg for the `blue' lenses. For the `all' sample, we find that the anisotropy of the galaxy-mass cross-correlation function =0.23 +/- 0.12, providing weak support for the view that the average galaxy is embedded in, and preferentially aligned with, a triaxial dark matter halo. Assuming an elliptical Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, we find that the ratio of the dark matter halo ellipticity and the galaxy ellipticity f_h=e_h/e_g=1.50+1.03-1.01, which for a mean lens ellipticity of 0.25 corresponds to a projected halo ellipticity of e_h=0.38+0.26-0.25 if the halo and the lens are perfectly aligned. For isolated galaxies of the `all' sample, the average shear anisotropy increases to =0.51+0.26-0.25 and f_h=4.73+2.17-2.05, whilst for clustered galaxies the signal is consistent with zero. (abridged)

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arXiv2012

Stellar Populations of Highly Magnified Lensed Galaxies: Young Starbursts at z~2

We present a comprehensive analysis of the rest-frame UV to near-IR spectral energy distributions and rest-frame optical spectra of four of the brightest gravitationally lensed galaxies in the literature: RCSGA 032727-132609 at z=1.70, MS1512-cB58 at z=2.73, SGAS J152745.1+065219 at z=2.76 and SGAS J122651.3+215220 at z=2.92. This includes new Spitzer imaging for RCSGA0327 as well as new spectra, near-IR imaging and Spitzer imaging for SGAS1527 and SGAS1226. Lensing magnifications of 3-4 magnitudes allow a detailed study of the stellar populations and physical conditions. We compare star formation rates as measured from the SED fit, the H-alpha and [OII] emission lines, and the UV+IR bolometric luminosity where 24 micron photometry is available. The SFR estimate from the SED fit is consistently higher than the other indicators, which suggests that the Calzetti dust extinction law used in the SED fitting is too flat for young star-forming galaxies at z~2. Our analysis finds similar stellar population parameters for all four lensed galaxies: stellar masses 3-7*10^9 M_sun, young ages ~ 100 Myr, little dust content E(B-V)=0.10-0.25, and star formation rates around 20-100 M_sun/yr. Compared to typical values for the galaxy population at z~2, this suggests we are looking at newly formed, starbursting systems that have only recently started the build-up of stellar mass. These results constitute the first detailed, uniform analysis of a sample of the growing number of strongly lensed galaxies known at z~2.

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arXiv2012

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: Galaxy Evolution at 0.25 < z < 0.75 Using The Second Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS-2)

We study the evolution of galaxy populations around the spectroscopic WiggleZ sample of starforming galaxies at 0.25 < z < 0.75 using the photometric catalog from the Second Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). We probe the optical photometric properties of the net excess neighbor galaxies. The key concept is that the marker galaxies and their neighbors are located at the same redshift, providing a sample of galaxies representing a complete census of galaxies in the neighborhood of star-forming galaxies. The results are compared with those using the RCS WiggleZ Spare-Fibre (RCS-WSF) sample as markers, representing galaxies in cluster environments at 0.25 < z < 0.45. By analyzing the stacked color-color properties of the WiggleZ neighbor galaxies, we find that their optical colors are not a strong function of indicators of star-forming activities such as EW([OII]) or GALEX NUV luminoisty of the markers. The galaxies around the WiggleZ markers exhibit a bimodal distribution on the color-magnitude diagram, with most of them located in the blue cloud. The optical galaxy luminosity functions (GLF) of the blue neighbor galaxies have a faint-end slope αof \sim -1.3, similar to that for galaxies in cluster environments drawn from the RCS-WSF sample. The faint-end slope of the GLF for the red neighbors, however, is \sim -0.4, significantly shallower than the \sim -0.7 found for those in cluster environments. This suggests that the build-up of the faint-end of the red sequence in cluster environments is in a significantly more advanced stage than that in the star-forming and lower galaxy density WiggleZ neighborhoods. We find that the red galaxy fraction (fred) around the star-forming WiggleZ galaxies has similar values from z \sim 0.3 to z \sim 0.6 with fred \sim 0.28, but drops to fred \sim 0.20 at z > \sim0.7. This change of fred with redshift suggests that (and more...)

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arXiv2011

Galaxy-galaxy lensing constraints on the relation between baryons and dark matter in galaxies in the Red Sequence Cluster Survey 2

We present the results of a study of weak gravitational lensing by galaxies using imaging data that were obtained as part of the second Red Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). In order to compare to the baryonic properties of the lenses we focus here on the ~300 square degrees that overlap with the DR7 of the SDSS. The depth and image quality of the RCS2 enables us to significantly improve upon earlier work for luminous galaxies at z>=0.3. Comparison with dynamical masses from the SDSS shows a good correlation with the lensing mass for early-type galaxies. For low luminosity (stellar mass) early-type galaxies we find a satellite fraction of ~40% which rapidly decreases to <10% with increasing luminosity (stellar mass). The satellite fraction of the late-types has a value in the range 0-15%. We find that early-types in the range 10^10<L_r<10^11.5 Lsun have virial masses that are about five times higher than those of late-type galaxies and that the mass scales as M_200 \propto L^2.34 +0.09 \ -0.16. We also measure the virial mass-to-light ratio, and find for L_200<10^11 Lsun a value of M_200/L_200=42+-10 for early-types, which increases for higher luminosities to values that are consistent with those observed for groups and clusters of galaxies. For late-type galaxies we find a lower value of M_200/L_200=17+-9. Our measurements also show that early- and late-type galaxies have comparable halo masses for stellar masses M_*<10^11 Msun, whereas the virial masses of early-type galaxies are higher for higher stellar masses. Finally, we determine the efficiency with which baryons have been converted into stars. Our results for early-type galaxies suggest a variation in efficiency with a minimum of ~10% for a stellar mass M_*,200=10^12 Msun. The results for the late-type galaxies are not well constrained, but do suggest a larger value. (abridged)

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arXiv2011

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: High Resolution Kinematics of Luminous Star-Forming Galaxies

We report evidence of ordered orbital motion in luminous star-forming galaxies at z~1.3. We present integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations, performed with the OH Suppressing InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (OSIRIS) system, assisted by laser guide star adaptive optics on the Keck telescope, of 13 star-forming galaxies selected from the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey. Selected via ultraviolet and [OII] emission, the large volume of the WiggleZ survey allows the selection of sources which have comparable intrinsic luminosity and stellar mass to IFS samples at z>2. Multiple 1-2 kpc size sub-components of emission, or 'clumps', are detected within the Halpha spatial emission which extends over 6-10 kpc in 4 galaxies, resolved compact emission (r<3 kpc) is detected in 5 galaxies, and extended regions of Halpha emission are observed in the remaining 4 galaxies. We discuss these data in the context of different snapshots in a merger sequence and/or the evolutionary stages of coalescence of star-forming regions in an unstable disk. We find evidence of ordered orbital motion in galaxies as expected from disk models and the highest values of velocity dispersion (σ>100 km/s) in the most compact sources. This unique data set reveals that the most luminous star-forming galaxies at z>1 are gaseous unstable disks indicating that a different mode of star formation could be feeding gas to galaxies at z>1, and lending support to theories of cold dense gas flows from the intergalactic medium.

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arXiv2011

The local star-formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [OII], Ha and UV luminosities

We explore the use of simple star-formation rate (SFR) indicators (such as may be used in high-redshift galaxy surveys) in the local Universe using [OII], Ha, and u-band luminosities from the deeper 275 deg^2 Stripe 82 subsample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) coupled with UV data from the Galaxy Evolution EXplorer satellite (GALEX). We examine the consistency of such methods using the star-formation rate density (SFRD) as a function of stellar mass in this local volume, and quantify the accuracy of corrections for dust and metallicity on the various indicators. Rest-frame u-band promises to be a particularly good SFR estimator for high redshift studies since it does not require a particularly large or sensitive extinction correction, yet yields results broadly consistent with more observationally expensive methods. We suggest that the [OII]-derived SFR, commonly used at higher redshifts (z~1), can be used to reliably estimate SFRs for ensembles of galaxies, but for high mass galaxies (log(M*/Msun)>10), a larger correction than is typically used is required to compensate for the effects of metallicity dependence and dust extinction. We provide a new empirical mass-dependent correction for the [OII]-SFR.

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arXiv2011

The Red-sequence Cluster Survey-2 (RCS-2): survey details and photometric catalog construction

The second Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS-2) is a ~1000 square degree, multi-color imaging survey using the square-degree imager, MegaCam, on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). It is designed to detect clusters of galaxies over the redshift range 0.1<~z<~1. The primary aim is to build a statistically complete, large (~10^4) sample of clusters, covering a sufficiently long redshift baseline to be able to place constraints on cosmological parameters via the evolution of the cluster mass function. Other main science goals include building a large sample of high surface brightness, strongly gravitationally-lensed arcs associated with these clusters, and an unprecedented sample of several tens of thousands of galaxy clusters and groups, spanning a large range of halo mass, with which to study the properties and evolution of their member galaxies. This paper describes the design of the survey and the methodology for acquiring, reducing and calibrating the data for the production of high-precision photometric catalogs. We describe the method for calibrating our griz imaging data using the colors of the stellar locus and overlapping Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) photometry. This yields an absolute accuracy of <0.03 mag on any color and ~0.05 mag in the r-band magnitude, verified with respect to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). RCS-2 reaches average 5 sigma point source limiting magnitudes of griz = [24.4, 24.3, 23.7, 22.8], approximately 1-2 magnitudes deeper than the SDSS. Due to the queue-scheduled nature of the observations, the data are highly uniform and taken in excellent seeing, mostly FWHM<~0.7" in the r-band. In addition to the main science goals just described, these data form the basis for a number of other planned and ongoing projects (including the WiggleZ survey), making RCS-2 an important next-generation imaging survey. [abridged]

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arXiv2011

A spectroscopic measurement of galaxy formation timescales with ROLES

We present measurements of the specific star-formation rate (SSFR)-stellar mass relation for star-forming galaxies. Our deep spectroscopic samples are based on the Redshift One LDSS3 Emission line Survey, ROLES, and European Southern Observatory, ESO, public spectroscopy at z=1, and on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at z=0.1. These datasets cover an equally deep mass range of 8.5<~log(M*/Msun)<~11 at both epochs. We find that the SSFR--mass relation evolves in a way which is remarkably independent of stellar mass, as we previously found for the star-formation rate density (SFRD)--mass relation. At higher masses, such as those probed by previous surveys, the evolution in SSFR--mass is almost independent of stellar mass. At higher masses (log(M*/Msun)>10) the shapes of the cumulative cosmic SFRDs are very similar at both z=0.1 and z=1.0, both showing 70% of the total SFRD above a mass of log(M*/Msun)>10. Mass functions are constructed for star-forming galaxies and found to evolve by only <35% between z=1 and z=0.1 over the whole mass range. The evolution is such that the mass function decreases with increasing cosmic time, confirming that galaxies are leaving the star-forming sequence/blue cloud. The observational results are extended to z~2 by adding two recent Lyman break galaxy samples, and data at these three epochs (z=0.1, 1, 2) are compared with the GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. GALFORM predicts an overall SFR density (SFRD) as a function of stellar mass in reasonable agreement with the observations. The star formation timescales inferred from 1/SSFR also give reasonable overall agreement, with the agreement becoming worse at the lowest and highest masses. [abridged]

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