arXiv subjects

David Sobral

Publications and source records attributed to David Sobral.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Stellar Dynamics and Star-Formation Histories of z $\sim$ 1 Radio-loud Galaxies

We investigate the stellar kinematics and stellar populations of 58 radio-loud galaxies of intermediate luminosities (L$_{3 GHz}$ $>$ 10$^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$ ) at 0.6 < z < 1. This sample is constructed by cross-matching galaxies from the deep VLT/VIMOS LEGA-C spectroscopic survey with the VLA 3 GHz dataset. The LEGA-C continuum spectra reveal for the first time stellar velocity dispersions and age indicators of z $\sim$ 1 radio galaxies. We find that $z\sim 1$ radio-loud AGN occur exclusively in predominantly old galaxies with high velocity dispersions: $σ_*>$ 175 km s$^{-1}$, corresponding to black hole masses in excess of $10^8$ M$_{\odot}$. Furthermore, we confirm that at a fixed stellar mass the fraction of radio-loud AGN at z $\sim$ 1 is 5 - 10 times higher than in the local universe, suggesting that quiescent, massive galaxies at z $\sim$ 1 switch on as radio AGN on average once every Gyr. Our results strengthen the existing evidence for a link between high black-hole masses, radio loudness and quiescence at z $\sim$ 1.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Spectroscopic properties of luminous Lyman-α emitters at $z \approx 6 - 7$ and comparison to the Lyman-break population

We present spectroscopic follow-up of candidate luminous Ly$α$ emitters (LAEs) at $z=5.7-6.6$ in the SA22 field with VLT/X-SHOOTER. We confirm two new luminous LAEs at $z=5.676$ (SR6) and $z=6.532$ (VR7), and also present {\it HST} follow-up of both sources. These sources have luminosities L$_{\rm Lyα} \approx 3\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$, very high rest-frame equivalent widths of EW$_0\gtrsim 200$ Å and narrow Ly$α$ lines (200-340 km s$^{-1}$). VR7 is the most UV-luminous LAE at $z>6.5$, with M$_{1500} = -22.5$, even brighter in the UV than CR7. Besides Ly$α$, we do not detect any other rest-frame UV lines in the spectra of SR6 and VR7, and argue that rest-frame UV lines are easier to observe in bright galaxies with low Ly$α$ equivalent widths. We confirm that Ly$α$ line-widths increase with Ly$α$ luminosity at $z=5.7$, while there are indications that Ly$α$ lines of faint LAEs become broader at $z=6.6$, potentially due to reionisation. We find a large spread of up to 3 dex in UV luminosity for $>L^{\star}$ LAEs, but find that the Ly$α$ luminosity of the brightest LAEs is strongly related to UV luminosity at $z=6.6$. Under basic assumptions, we find that several LAEs at $z\approx6-7$ have Ly$α$ escape fractions $\gtrsim100$ \%, indicating bursty star-formation histories, alternative Ly$α$ production mechanisms, or dust attenuating Ly$α$ emission differently than UV emission. Finally, we present a method to compute $ξ_{ion}$, the production efficiency of ionising photons, and find that LAEs at $z\approx6-7$ have high values of log$_{10}(ξ_{ion}$/Hz erg$^{-1}) \approx 25.51\pm0.09$ that may alleviate the need for high Lyman-Continuum escape fractions required for reionisation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

A ${\bf 1.4}$ deg${\bf ^2}$ blind survey for CII], CIII] and CIV at ${\bf z\sim0.7-1.5}$. I: nature, morphologies and equivalent widths

While traditionally associated with active galactic nuclei (AGN), the properties of the CII] ($λ=2326$\,Å), CIII] ($λ,λ=1907,1909$\,Å) and CIV ($λ,λ=1549, 1551$\,Å) emission lines are still uncertain as large, unbiased samples of sources are scarce. We present the first blind, statistical study of CII], CIII] and CIV emitters at $z\sim0.68,1.05,1.53$, respectively, uniformly selected down to a flux limit of $\sim4\times10^{-17}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-1}$ through a narrow band survey covering an area of $\sim1.4$ deg$^2$ over COSMOS and UDS. We detect 16 CII], 35 CIII] and 17 CIV emitters, whose nature we investigate using optical colours as well as HST, X-ray, radio and far infra-red data. We find that $z\sim0.7$ CII] emitters are consistent with a mixture of blue (UV slope $β=-2.0\pm0.4$) star forming galaxies with disky HST structure and AGN with Seyfert-like morphologies. Bright CII] emitters have individual X-ray detections as well as high average black hole accretion rates (BHAR) of $\sim0.1$ $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. CIII] emitters at $z\sim1.05$ trace a general population of SF galaxies, with $β=-0.8\pm1.1$, a variety of optical morphologies, including isolated and interacting galaxies and low BHAR ($<0.02$ $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$). Our CIV emitters at $z\sim1.5$ are consistent with young, blue quasars ($β\sim-1.9$) with point-like optical morphologies, bright X-ray counterparts and large BHAR ($0.8$ $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$). We also find some surprising CII], CIII] and CIV emitters with rest-frame equivalent widths which could be as large as $50-100$ Å. AGN or spatial offsets between the UV continuum stellar disk and the line emitting regions may explain the large EW. These bright CII], CIII] and CIV emitters are ideal candidates for spectroscopic follow up to fully unveil their nature.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

A ${\bf 1.4}$ deg${\bf ^2}$ blind survey for CII], CIII] and CIV at ${\bf z\sim0.7-1.5}$. II: luminosity functions and cosmic average line ratios

Recently, the CIII] and CIV emission lines have been observed in galaxies in the early Universe ($z>5$), providing new ways to measure their redshift and study their stellar populations and AGN. We explore the first blind CII], CIII] and CIV survey ($z\sim0.68, 1.05, 1.53$, respectively) presented in Stroe et al. (2017). We derive luminosity functions (LF) and study properties of CII], CIII] and CIV line emitters through comparisons to the LFs of H$α$ and Ly$α$ emitters, UV selected star forming (SF) galaxies and quasars at similar redshifts. The CII] LF at $z\sim0.68$ is equally well described by a Schechter or a power-law LF, characteristic of a mixture of SF and AGN activity. The CIII] LF ($z\sim1.05$) is consistent to a scaled down version of the Schechter H$α$ and Ly$α$ LF at their redshift, indicating a SF origin. In stark contrast, the CIV LF at $z\sim1.53$ is well fit by a power-law, quasar-like LF. We find that the brightest UV sources ($M_{UV}<-22$) will universally have CIII] and CIV emission. However, on average, CIII] and CIV are not as abundant as H$α$ or Ly$α$ emitters at the same redshift, with cosmic average ratios of $\sim0.02-0.06$ to H$α$ and $\sim0.01-0.1$ to intrinsic Ly$α$. We predict that the CIII] and CIV lines can only be truly competitive in confirming high redshift candidates when the hosts are intrinsically bright and the effective Ly$α$ escape fraction is below 1 per cent. While CIII] and CIV were proposed as good tracers of young, relatively low-metallicity galaxies typical of the early Universe, we find that, at least at $z\sim1.5$, CIV is exclusively hosted by AGN/quasars, especially at large line equivalent widths.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Boötes-HiZELS: an optical to near-infrared survey of emission-line galaxies at $\bf z=0.4-4.7$

We present a sample of $\sim 1000$ emission line galaxies at $z=0.4-4.7$ from the $\sim0.7$deg$^2$ High-$z$ Emission Line Survey (HiZELS) in the Boötes field identified with a suite of six narrow-band filters at $\approx 0.4-2.1$ $μ$m. These galaxies have been selected on their Ly$α$ (73), {\sc [Oii]} (285), H$β$/{\sc [Oiii]} (387) or H$α$ (362) emission-line, and have been classified with optical to near-infrared colours. A subsample of 98 sources have reliable redshifts from multiple narrow-band (e.g. [O{\sc ii}]-H$α$) detections and/or spectroscopy. In this survey paper, we present the observations, selection and catalogs of emitters. We measure number densities of Ly$α$, [O{\sc ii}], H$β$/{\sc [Oiii]} and H$α$ and confirm strong luminosity evolution in star-forming galaxies from $z\sim0.4$ to $\sim 5$, in agreement with previous results. To demonstrate the usefulness of dual-line emitters, we use the sample of dual [O{\sc ii}]-H$α$ emitters to measure the observed [O{\sc ii}]/H$α$ ratio at $z=1.47$. The observed [O{\sc ii}]/H$α$ ratio increases significantly from 0.40$\pm0.01$ at $z=0.1$ to 0.52$\pm0.05$ at $z=1.47$, which we attribute to either decreasing dust attenuation with redshift, or due to a bias in the (typically) fiber-measurements in the local Universe which only measure the central kpc regions. At the bright end, we find that both the H$α$ and Ly$α$ number densities at $z\approx2.2$ deviate significantly from a Schechter form, following a power-law. We show that this is driven entirely by an increasing X-ray/AGN fraction with line-luminosity, which reaches $\approx 100$ \% at line-luminosities $L\gtrsim3\times10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The clustering of H$β$+[OIII] and [OII] emitters since $z \sim 5$: dependencies with line luminosity and stellar mass

We investigate the clustering properties of $\sim 7000$ H$β$+[OIII] and [OII] narrowband-selected emitters at $z \sim 0.8 - 4.7$ from the High-$z$ Emission Line Survey. We find clustering lengths, $r_0$, of $1.5 - 4.0h^{-1}$ Mpc and minimum dark matter halo masses of $10^{10.7 - 12.1}\rm{M}_\odot$ for our $z = 0.8 - 3.2$ H$β$+[OIII] emitters and $r_0 \sim 2.0 - 8.3h^{-1}$ Mpc and halo masses of $10^{11.5 - 12.6}\rm{M}_\odot$ for our $z = 1.5 - 4.7$ [OII] emitters. We find $r_0$ to strongly increase both with increasing line luminosity and redshift. By taking into account the evolution of the characteristic line luminosity, $L^\star(z)$, and using our model predictions of halo mass given $r_0$, we find a strong, redshift-independent increasing trend between $L/L^\star(z)$ and minimum halo mass. The faintest H$β$+[OIII] emitters are found to reside in $10^{9.5}\rm{M}_\odot$ halos and the brightest emitters in $10^{13.0}\rm{M}_\odot$ halos. For [OII] emitters, the faintest emitters are found in $10^{10.5} \rm{M}_\odot$ halos and the brightest emitters in $10^{12.6}\rm{M}_\odot$ halos. A redshift-independent stellar mass dependency is also observed where the halo mass increases from $10^{11}\rm{M}_\odot$ to $10^{12.5} \rm{M}_\odot$ for stellar masses of $10^{8.5}\rm{M}_\odot$ to $10^{11.5}\rm{M}_\odot$, respectively. We investigate the interdependencies of these trends by repeating our analysis in a $L_\textrm{line} - \rm{M}_\textrm{star}$ grid space for our most populated samples (H$β$+[OIII] $z = 0.84$ and [OII] $z = 1.47$) and find that the line luminosity dependency is stronger than the stellar mass dependency on halo mass. For $L > L^\star$ emitters at all epochs, we find a relatively flat trend with halo masses of $10^{12.5 - 13}\rm{M}_\odot$ which may be due to quenching mechanisms in massive halos which is consistent with a transitional halo mass predicted by models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Evolution of Dust-Obscured Star Formation and Gas to z=2.2 from HiZELS

We investigate the far-infrared properties of galaxies selected via deep, narrow-band imaging of the H$α$ emission line in four redshift slices from $z=0.40$--$2.23$ over $\sim 1$deg$^2$ as part of the High-redshift Emission Line Survey (HiZELS). We use a stacking approach in the Herschel PACS/SPIRE bands, along with $850\,μ$m imaging from SCUBA-2 to study the evolution of the dust properties of H$α$-emitters selected above an evolving characteristic luminosity threshold, $0.2L^\star_{{\rm H}α}(z)$. We investigate the relationship between the dust temperatures and the far-infrared luminosities of our stacked samples, finding that H$α$-selection identifies cold, low-$L_{\rm IR}$ galaxies ($T_{\rm dust}\sim 14$k; $\log[L_{\rm IR}/{\rm L}_\odot]\sim 9.9$) at $z=0.40$, and more luminous, warmer systems ($T_{\rm dust}\sim 34$k; $\log[L_{\rm IR}/{\rm L}_\odot]\sim 11.5$) at $z=2.23$. Using a modified greybody model, we estimate "characteristic sizes" for the dust-emitting regions of HiZELS galaxies of $\sim 0.5$kpc, nearly an order of magnitude smaller than their stellar continuum sizes, which may provide indirect evidence of clumpy ISM structure. Lastly, we measure the dust masses from our far-IR SEDs along with metallicity-dependent gas-to-dust ratios ($δ_{\rm GDR}$) to measure typical molecular gas masses of $\sim 10^{10}$M$_\odot$ for these bright H$α$-emitters. The gas depletion timescales are shorter than the Hubble time at each redshift, suggesting probable replenishment of their gas reservoirs from the intergalactic medium. Based on the number density of H$α$-selected galaxies, we find that typical star-forming galaxies brighter than $0.2L^{\star}_{{\rm H}α}(z)$ host a significant fraction ($35\pm10$%) of the total gas content of the Universe, consistent with the predictions of the latest cosmological simulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Angular momentum evolution of galaxies over the past 10-Gyr: A MUSE and KMOS dynamical survey of 400 star-forming galaxies from z=0.3-1.7

We present a MUSE and KMOS dynamical study 405 star-forming galaxies at redshift z=0.28-1.65 (median redshift z=0.84). Our sample are representative of star-forming, main-sequence galaxies, with star-formation rates of SFR=0.1-30Mo/yr and stellar masses M=10^8-10^11Mo. For 49+/-4% of our sample, the dynamics suggest rotational support, 24+/-3% are unresolved systems and 5+/-2% appear to be early-stage major mergers with components on 8-30kpc scales. The remaining 22+/-5% appear to be dynamically complex, irregular (or face-on systems). For galaxies whose dynamics suggest rotational support, we derive inclination corrected rotational velocities and show these systems lie on a similar scaling between stellar mass and specific angular momentum as local spirals with j*=J/M*\propto M^(2/3) but with a redshift evolution that scales as j*\propto M^{2/3}(1+z)^(-1). We identify a correlation between specific angular momentum and disk stability such that galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum, log(j*/M^(2/3))>2.5, are the most stable, with Toomre Q=1.10+/-0.18, compared to Q=0.53+/-0.22 for galaxies with log(j*/M^(2/3))<2.5. At a fixed mass, the HST morphologies of galaxies with the highest specific angular momentum resemble spiral galaxies, whilst those with low specific angular momentum are morphologically complex and dominated by several bright star-forming regions. This suggests that angular momentum plays a major role in defining the stability of gas disks: at z~1, massive galaxies that have disks with low specific angular momentum, appear to be globally unstable, clumpy and turbulent systems. In contrast, galaxies with high specific angular have evolved in to stable disks with spiral structures.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The Case for Electron Re-Acceleration at Galaxy Cluster Shocks

On the largest scales, the Universe consists of voids and filaments making up the cosmic web. Galaxy clusters are located at the knots in this web, at the intersection of filaments. Clusters grow through accretion from these large-scale filaments and by mergers with other clusters and groups. In a growing number of galaxy clusters, elongated Mpc-size radio sources have been found, so-called radio relics. These relics are thought to trace relativistic electrons in the intracluster plasma accelerated by low-Mach number collisionless shocks generated by cluster-cluster merger events. A long-standing problem is how low-Mach number shocks can accelerate electrons so efficiently to explain the observed radio relics. Here we report on the discovery of a direct connection between a radio relic and a radio galaxy in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 3411-3412. This discovery indicates that fossil relativistic electrons from active galactic nuclei are re-accelerated at cluster shocks. It also implies that radio galaxies play an important role in governing the non-thermal component of the intracluster medium in merging clusters.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

A large H$α$ survey of star formation in relaxed and merging galaxy cluster environments at $z\sim0.15-0.3$

We present the first results from the largest H$α$ survey of star formation and AGN activity in galaxy clusters. Using 9 different narrow band filters, we select $>3000$ H$α$ emitters within $19$ clusters and their larger scale environment over a total volume of $1.3\times10^5$ Mpc$^3$. The sample includes both relaxed and merging clusters, covering the $0.15-0.31$ redshift range and spanning from $5\times10^{14}$ $M_{\odot}$ to $30\times10^{14}$ $M_{\odot}$. We find that the H$α$ luminosity function (LF) for merging clusters has a higher characteristic density $ϕ^*$ compared to relaxed clusters. $ϕ^*$ drops from cluster core to cluster outskirts for both merging and relaxed clusters, with the merging cluster values $\sim0.3$ dex higher at each projected radius. The characteristic luminosity $L^*$ drops over the $0.5-2.0$ Mpc distance from the cluster centre for merging clusters and increases for relaxed objects. Among disturbed objects, clusters hosting large-scale shock waves (traced by radio relics) are overdense in H$α$ emitters compared to those with turbulence in their intra-cluster medium (traced by radio haloes). We speculate that the increase in star formation activity in disturbed, young, massive galaxy clusters can be triggered by interactions between gas-rich galaxies, shocks and/or the intra-cluster medium, as well as accretion of filaments and galaxy groups. Our results indicate that disturbed clusters represent vastly different environments for galaxy evolution compared to relaxed clusters or average field environments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The CALYMHA survey: Lya luminosity function and global escape fraction of Lya photons at z=2.23

We present the CAlibrating LYMan-$α$ with H$α$ (CALYMHA) pilot survey and new results on Lyman-$α$ (Lya) selected galaxies at z~2. We use a custom-built Lya narrow-band filter at the Isaac Newton Telescope, designed to provide a matched volume coverage to the z=2.23 Ha HiZELS survey. Here we present the first results for the COSMOS and UDS fields. Our survey currently reaches a 3$σ$ line flux limit of ~4x10$^{-17}$ erg/s/cm$^{2}$, and a Lya luminosity limit of ~10$^{42.3}$ erg/s. We find 188 Lya emitters over 7.3x10$^5$ Mpc$^{3}$, but also find significant numbers of other line emitting sources corresponding to HeII, CIII] and CIV emission lines. These sources are important contaminants, and we carefully remove them, unlike most previous studies. We find that the Lya luminosity function at z=2.23 is very well described by a Schechter function up to L~10$^{43}$ erg/s with L$^*=10^{42.59+-0.05}$ erg/s, $ϕ^*=10^{-3.09+-0.08}$ Mpc$^{-3}$ and $α$=-1.75+-0.15. Above L~10$^{43}$ erg/s the Lya luminosity function becomes power-law like, driven by X-ray AGN. We find that Lya-selected emitters have a high escape fraction of 37+-7%, anti-correlated with Lya luminosity and correlated with Lya equivalent width. Lya emitters have ubiquitous large (~40 kpc) Lya haloes, 2x larger than their Ha extents. By directly comparing our Lya and Ha luminosity functions we find that the global/overall escape fraction of Lya photons (within a 13 kpc radius) from the full population of star-forming galaxies is 5.1+-0.2% at the peak of the star formation history. An extra 3.3+-0.3% of Lya photons likely still escape, but at larger radii.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Cosmic Web of Galaxies in the COSMOS Field: Public Catalog and Different Quenching for Centrals and Satellites

We use a mass complete (log($M/M_{\odot}$) $\geqslant$ 9.6) sample of galaxies with accurate photometric redshifts in the COSMOS field to construct the density field and the cosmic web to $z$=1.2. The comic web extraction relies on the density field Hessian matrix and breaks the density field into clusters, filaments and the field. We provide the density field and cosmic web measures to the community. We show that at $z$ $\lesssim$ 0.8, the median star-formation rate (SFR) in the cosmic web gradually declines from the field to clusters and this decline is especially sharp for satellites ($\sim$ 1 dex vs. $\sim$ 0.5 dex for centrals). However, at $z$ $\gtrsim$ 0.8, the trend flattens out for the overall galaxy population and satellites. For star-forming galaxies only, the median SFR is constant at $z$ $\gtrsim$ 0.5 but declines by $\sim$ 0.3-0.4 dex from the field to clusters for satellites and centrals at $z$ $\lesssim$ 0.5. We argue that for satellites, the main role of the cosmic web environment is to control their star-forming fraction, whereas for centrals, it is mainly to control their overall SFR at $z$ $\lesssim$ 0.5 and to set their fraction at $z$ $\gtrsim$ 0.5. We suggest that most satellites experience a rapid quenching mechanism as they fall from the field into clusters through filaments, whereas centrals mostly undergo a slow environmental quenching at $z$ $\lesssim$ 0.5 and a fast mechanism at higher redshifts. Our preliminary results highlight the importance of the large-scale cosmic web on galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The structural and size evolution of star-forming galaxies over the last 11 Gyrs

We present new results on the evolution of rest-frame blue/UV sizes and Sersic indices of H$α$-selected star-forming galaxies over the last 11 Gyrs. We investigate how the perceived evolution can be affected by a range of biases and systematics such as cosmological dimming and resolution effects. We use GALFIT and an artificial redshifting technique, which includes the luminosity evolution of H$α$-selected galaxies, to quantify the change on the measured structural parameters with redshift. We find typical sizes of 2 to 3 kpc and Sersic indices of n~1.2, close to pure exponential disks all the way from z=2.23 to z=0.4. At z=0 we find typical sizes of 4-5 kpc. Our results show that, when using GALFIT, cosmological dimming has a negligible impact on the derived effective radius for galaxies with <10 kpc, but we find a ~20% bias on the estimate of the median Sersic indices, rendering galaxies more disk-like. Star-forming galaxies have grown on average by a factor of 2-3 in the last 11 Gyrs with $r_e\propto(1+z)^{-0.75}$. By exploring the evolution of the stellar mass-size relation we find evidence for a stronger size evolution of the most massive star-forming galaxies since z~2, as they grow faster towards z~0 when compared to the lower stellar mass counterparts. As we are tracing the rest-frame blue/UV, we are likely witnessing the growth of disks where star formation is ongoing in galaxies while their profiles remain close to exponential disks, n<1.5, across the same period.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The production and escape of Lyman-Continuum radiation from star-forming galaxies at z~2 and their redshift evolution

We study the production rate of ionizing photons of a sample of 588 H$α$ emitters (HAEs) and 160 Lyman-$α$ emitters (LAEs) at $z=2.2$ in the COSMOS field in order to assess the implied emissivity from galaxies, based on their UV luminosity. By exploring the rest-frame Lyman Continuum (LyC) with GALEX/$NUV$ data, we find f$_{\rm esc} < 2.8\, (6.4)$% through median (mean) stacking. By combining the H$α$ luminosity density with IGM emissivity measurements from absorption studies, we find a globally averaged $\langle$f$_{\rm esc}\rangle$ of $5.9^{+14.5}_{-4.2}$ % at $z=2.2$ if we assume HAEs are the only source of ionizing photons. We find similarly low values of the global $\langle$f$_{\rm esc}\rangle$ at $z\approx3-5$, also ruling out a high $\langle$f$_{\rm esc}\rangle$ at $z<5$. These low escape fractions allow us to measure $ξ_{ion}$, the number of produced ionizing photons per unit UV luminosity, and investigate how this depends on galaxy properties. We find a typical $ξ_{ion} \approx 10^{24.77\pm0.04}$ Hz erg$^{-1}$ for HAEs and $ξ_{ion} \approx 10^{25.14\pm0.09}$ Hz erg$^{-1}$ for LAEs. LAEs and low mass HAEs at $z=2.2$ show similar values of $ξ_{ion}$ as typically assumed in the reionization era, while the typical HAE is three times less ionizing. Due to an increasing $ξ_{ion}$ with increasing EW(H$α$), $ξ_{ion}$ likely increases with redshift. This evolution alone is fully in line with the observed evolution of $ξ_{ion}$ between $z\approx2-5$, indicating a typical value of $ξ_{ion} \approx 10^{25.4}$ Hz erg$^{-1}$ in the reionization era.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The growth of typical star-forming galaxies and their super massive black holes across cosmic time since z~2

Understanding galaxy formation and evolution requires studying the interplay between the growth of galaxies and the growth of their black holes across cosmic time. Here we explore a sample of Ha-selected star-forming galaxies from the HiZELS survey and use the wealth of multi-wavelength data in the COSMOS field (X-rays, far-infrared and radio) to study the relative growth rates between typical galaxies and their central supermassive black holes, from z=2.23 to z=0. Typical star-forming galaxies at z~1-2 have black hole accretion rates (BHARs) of 0.001-0.01 Msun/yr and star formation rates (SFRs) of ~10-40 Msun/yr, and thus grow their stellar mass much quicker than their black hole mass (~3.3 orders of magnitude faster). However, ~3% of the sample (the sources detected directly in the X-rays) show a significantly quicker growth of the black hole mass (up to 1.5 orders of magnitude quicker growth than the typical sources). BHARs fall from z=2.23 to z=0, with the decline resembling that of star formation rate density or the typical SFR. We find that the average black hole to galaxy growth (BHAR/SFR) is approximately constant for star-forming galaxies in the last 11 Gyrs. The relatively constant BHAR/SFR suggests that these two quantities evolve equivalently through cosmic time and with practically no delay between the two.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The Lyman-alpha luminosity function at z=5.7-6.6 and the steep drop of the faint end: implications for reionization

We present new results from the widest narrow band survey search for Lyman-alpha (Lya) emitters at z=5.7, just after reionization. We survey a total of 7 deg$^2$ spread over the COSMOS, UDS and SA22 fields. We find over 11,000 line emitters, out of which 514 are robust Lya candidates at z=5.7 within a volume of 6.3x10$^6$ Mpc$^3$. Our Lya emitters span a wide range in Lya luminosities, from faint to bright (L$_{\rm Lyα}\sim10^{42.5-44}$ erg s$^{-1}$) and rest-frame equivalent widths (EW$_0$~25-1000 Å) in a single, homogeneous data-set. By combining all our fields we find that the faint end slope of the z=5.7 Lya luminosity function is very steep, with $α=-2.3^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$. We also present an updated z=6.6 Lya luminosity function, based on comparable volumes and obtained with the same methods, which we directly compare with that at z=5.7. We find a significant decline of the number density of faint Lya emitters from z=5.7 to z=6.6 (by $0.5\pm0.1$ dex), but no evolution at the bright end/no evolution in L*. Faint Lya emitters at z=6.6 show much more extended haloes than those at z=5.7, suggesting that neutral Hydrogen plays an important role, increasing the scattering and leading to observations missing faint Lya emission within the epoch of reionization. All together, our results suggest that we are observing patchy reionization which happens first around the brightest Lya emitters, allowing the number densities of those sources to remain unaffected by the increase of neutral Hydrogen fraction from z~5 to z~7.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Effects of Local Environment and Stellar Mass on Galaxy Quenching out to z~3

We study the effects of local environment and stellar mass on galaxy properties using a mass complete sample of quiescent and star-forming systems in the COSMOS field at $z\lesssim$ 3. We show that at $z\lesssim$ 1, the median star-formation rate (SFR) and specific SFR (sSFR) of all galaxies depend on environment, but they become independent of environment at $z\gtrsim$ 1. However, we find that only for \textit{star-forming} galaxies, the median SFR and sSFR are similar in different environments, regardless of redshift and stellar mass. We find that the quiescent fraction depends on environment at $z\lesssim$ 1, and on stellar mass out to $z\sim$ 3. We show that at $z\lesssim$ 1, galaxies become quiescent faster in denser environments and that the overall environmental quenching efficiency increases with cosmic time. Environmental and mass quenching processes depend on each other. At $z\lesssim$ 1, denser environments more efficiently quench galaxies with higher masses (log($M/M_{\odot}$)$\gtrsim$ 10.7), possibly due to a higher merger rate of massive galaxies in denser environments, and that mass quenching is more efficient in denser regions. We show that the overall mass quenching efficiency ($ε_{mass}$) for more massive galaxies (log($M/M_{\odot}$)$\gtrsim$ 10.2) rises with cosmic time until $z\sim$ 1 and flattens out since then. However, for less massive galaxies, the rise in $ε_{mass}$ continues to the present time. Our results suggest that environmental quenching is only relevant at $z\lesssim$ 1, likely a fast process, whereas mass quenching is the dominant mechanism at $z\gtrsim$ 1, with a possible stellar feedback physics.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS): The Tully-Fisher Relation at z ~ 1

We present the stellar mass ($M_{*}$), and K-corrected $K$-band absolute magnitude ($M_{K}$) Tully-Fisher relations (TFRs) for sub-samples of the 584 galaxies spatially resolved in H$α$ emission by the KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS). We model the velocity field of each of the KROSS galaxies and extract a rotation velocity, $V_{80}$ at a radius equal to the major axis of an ellipse containing 80% of the total integrated H$α$ flux. The large sample size of KROSS allowed us to select 210 galaxies with well measured rotation speeds. We extract from this sample a further 56 galaxies that are rotationally supported, using the stringent criterion $V_{80}/σ> 3$, where $σ$ is the flux weighted average velocity dispersion. We find the $M_{K}$ and $M_{*}$ TFRs for this sub-sample to be $M_{K} / \rm{mag}= (-7.3 \pm 0.9) \times [(\log(V_{80}/\rm{km\ s^{-1}})-2.25]- 23.4 \pm 0.2$ , and $\log(M_{*} / M_{\odot})= (4.7 \pm 0.4) \times [(\log(V_{80}/\rm{km\ s^{-1}}) - 2.25] + 10.0 \pm 0.3$, respectively. We find an evolution of the $M_{*}$ TFR zero-point of $-0.41 \pm 0.08$ dex over the last $\sim $8 billion years. However, we measure no evolution in the $M_{K}$ TFR zero-point over the same period. We conclude that rotationally supported galaxies of a given dynamical mass had less stellar mass at $z \sim 1$ than the present day, yet emitted the same amounts of $K$-band light. The ability of KROSS to differentiate, using integral field spectroscopy with KMOS, between those galaxies that are rotationally supported and those that are not explains why our findings are at odds with previous studies without the same capabilities.

astro-ph.GA↗