arXiv subjects

James E. Gunn

Publications and source records attributed to James E. Gunn.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Cosmic homogeneity demonstrated with luminous red galaxies

We test the homogeneity of the Universe at $z\sim 0.3$ with the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) spectroscopic sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. First, the mean number $N(R)$ of LRGs within completely surveyed LRG-centered spheres of comoving radius $R$ is shown to be proportional to $R^3$ at radii greater than $R\sim 70 h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$. The test has the virtue that it does not rely on the assumption that the LRG sample has a finite mean density; its results show, however, that there \emph{is} such a mean density. Secondly, the survey sky area is divided into 10 disjoint solid angular regions and the fractional rms density variations of the LRG sample in the redshift range $0.2<z<0.35$ among these ($\sim 2\times10^7 h^{-3} \mathrm{Mpc^3}$) regions is found to be 7 percent of the mean density. This variance is consistent with typical biased \lcdm models and puts very strong constraints on the quality of SDSS photometric calibration.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

An Empirical Algorithm for Broad-band Photometric Redshifts of Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present an empirical algorithm for obtaining photometric redshifts of quasars using 5-band Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry. Our algorithm generates an empirical model of the quasar color-redshift relation, compares the colors of a quasar candidate with this model, and calculates possible photometric redshifts. Using the 3814 quasars of the SDSS Early Data Release Quasar Catalog to generate a median color-redshift relation as a function of redshift we find that, for this same sample, 83% of our predicted redshifts are correct to within |Delta z|<0.3. The algorithm also determines the probability that the redshift is correct, allowing for even more robust photometric redshift determination for smaller, more restricted samples. We apply this technique to a set of 8740 quasar candidates selected by the final version of the SDSS quasar-selection algorithm. The photometric redshifts assigned to non-quasars are restricted to a few well-defined values. In addition, 90% of the objects with spectra that have photometric redshifts between 0.8 and 2.2 are quasars with accurate (|Delta z|<0.3) photometric redshifts. Many of these quasars lie in a single region of color space; judicious application of color-cuts can effectively select quasars with accurate photometric redshifts from the SDSS database. When the SDSS is complete, this technique will allow the determination of photometric redshifts for ~10^6 faint SDSS quasar candidates, enabling advances in our knowledge of the quasar luminosity function, gravitational lensing of quasars, and correlations among quasars and between galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Efficient Photometric Selection of Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: 100,000 z<3 Quasars from Data Release One

We present a catalog of 100,563 unresolved, UV-excess (UVX) quasar candidates to g=21 from 2099 deg^2 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release One (DR1) imaging data. Existing spectra of 22,737 sources reveals that 22,191 (97.6%) are quasars; accounting for the magnitude dependence of this efficiency, we estimate that 95,502 (95.0%) of the objects in the catalog are quasars. Such a high efficiency is unprecedented in broad-band surveys of quasars. This ``proof-of-concept'' sample is designed to be maximally efficient, but still has 94.7% completeness to unresolved, g<~19.5, UVX quasars from the DR1 quasar catalog. This efficient and complete selection is the result of our application of a probability density type analysis to training sets that describe the 4-D color distribution of stars and spectroscopically confirmed quasars in the SDSS. Specifically, we use a non-parametric Bayesian classification, based on kernel density estimation, to parameterize the color distribution of astronomical sources -- allowing for fast and robust classification. We further supplement the catalog by providing photometric redshifts and matches to FIRST/VLA, ROSAT, and USNO-B sources. Future work needed to extend the this selection algorithm to larger redshifts, fainter magnitudes, and resolved sources is discussed. Finally, we examine some science applications of the catalog, particularly a tentative quasar number counts distribution covering the largest range in magnitude (14.2<g<21.0) ever made within the framework of a single quasar survey.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

A Survey of z>5.7 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III: Discovery of Five Additional Quasars

We present the discovery of five new quasars at z>5.7, selected from the multicolor imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Three of them, at redshifts 5.93, 6.07, and 6.22, were selected from ~1700 deg^2 of new SDSS Main Survey imaging in the Northern Galactic Cap. An additional quasar, at redshift 5.85, was discovered by coadding the data obtained in the Fall Equatorial Stripe in the SDSS Southern Survey Region. The fifth object, at redshift 5.80, is selected from a non-standard SDSS scan in the Southern Galactic Cap outside the Main Survey area. The spectrum of SDSS J162331.81+311200.5 (z=6.22) shows a complete Gunn-Peterson trough at z_abs > 5.95, similar to the troughs detected in other three z>6.2 quasars known. We present a composite spectrum of the z>5.7 quasars discovered in the SDSS to date. The average emission line and continuum properties of z~6 quasars exhibit no significant evolution compared to those at low redshift. Using a complete sample of nine z>5.7 quasars, we find that the density of quasars with M_1450 < -26.7 at z~6 is (6+/-2) x 10^-10 per Mpc^3 consistent with our previous estimates. The luminosity distribution of the sample is fit with a power law luminosity function Psi(L) ~ L^(-3.2+/-0.7), somewhat steeper than but consistent with our previous estimates.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Cosmological Parameters from Eigenmode Analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Galaxy Redshifts

We present estimates of cosmological parameters from the application of the Karhunen-Loeve transform to the analysis of the 3D power spectrum of density fluctuations using Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy redshifts. We use Omega_m*h and f_b = Omega_b/Omega_m to describe the shape of the power spectrum, sigma8 for the (linearly extrapolated) normalization, and beta to parametrize linear theory redshift space distortions. On scales k < 0.16 h/Mpc, our maximum likelihood values are Omega_m*h = 0.264 +/-0.043, f_b = 0.286 +/- 0.065, sigma8 = 0.966 +/- 0.048, and beta = 0.45 +/- 0.12. When we take a prior on Omega_b from WMAP, we find Omega_m*h = 0.207 +/- 0.030, which is in excellent agreement with WMAP and 2dF. This indicates that we have reasonably measured the gross shape of the power spectrum but we have difficulty breaking the degeneracy between Omega_m*h and f_b because the baryon oscillations are not resolved in the current spectroscopic survey window function.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Spatial Variations of Galaxy Number Counts in the SDSS I.: Extinction, Large-Scale Structure and Photometric Homogeneity

We study the spatial variation of galaxy number counts using five band photometric images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The spatial variation of this sample of 46 million galaxies collected from 2200 sq. degrees can be understood as the combination of Galactic extinction and large-scale clustering. With the use of the reddening map of Schlegel, Finkbeiner & Davis (1998), the standard extinction law is verified for the colour bands from u to z within 5% in the region of small extinction values, E(B-V)<0.15. The residual spatial variations of the number counts suggests that the error of global calibration for SDSS photometry is smaller than 0.02 mag.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Richness-Dependent Cluster Correlation Function: Early SDSS Data

The cluster correlation function and its richness dependence are determined from 1108 clusters of galaxies -- the largest sample of clusters studied so far -- found in 379 deg^2 of Sloan Digital Sky Survey early data. The results are compared with previous samples of optically and X-ray selected clusters. The richness-dependent correlation function increases monotonically from an average correlation scale of ~ 12 h^{-1} Mpc for poor clusters to ~ 25 h^{-1} Mpc for the richer, more massive clusters with a mean separation of ~ 90 h^{-1} Mpc. X-ray selected clusters suggest slightly stronger correlations than optically selected clusters (~ 2-σ). The results are compared with large-scale cosmological simulations. The observed richness-dependent cluster correlation function is well represented by the standard flat LCDM model (Ω_m ~= 0.3, h ~= 0.7), and is inconsistent with the considerably weaker correlations predicted by Ω_m = 1 models. An analytic relation for the correlation scale versus cluster mean separation, r_0 - d, that best describes the observations and the LCDM prediction is r_0 ~= 2.6 \sqrt{d} (for d ~= 20 - 90 h^{-1} Mpc). Data from the complete Sloan Digital Sky Survey, when available, will greatly enhance the accuracy of the results and allow a more precise determination of cosmological parameters.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog II. First Data Release

We present the second edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of 16713 objects in the SDSS First Data Release (DR1) that have luminosities larger than M_i=-22 (H_0=70 km/s, Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km/s, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered is ~1360 deg^2 and the redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.43. Each object has positions accurate to better than 0.2" rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method, in addition to radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large area surveys. Calibrated digital spectra covering 3800-9200 Angstroms at a spectral resolution 1800-2100, are available. This publication supersedes the first SDSS Quasar Catalog, which was based on material from the SDSS Early Data Release. A summary of corrections to current quasar databases is provided. The majority of the objects were found in SDSS commissioning data using a multicolor selection technique. Since the quasar selection algorithm was undergoing testing during the entire DR1 observational period, care must be taken when assembling samples for use in statistical studies. A total of 15786 objects (94%) in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS; 12,173 of which are reported here for the first time, including five quasars brighter than i=16.0 and 17 quasars with redshifts larger than 4.5.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The dependence on environment of the color-magnitude relation of galaxies

The distribution in color and absolute magnitude is presented for 55,158 galaxies taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the redshift range $0.08<z<0.12$, as a function of galaxy number overdensity in a line-of-sight cylinder of transverse radius $1 h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$. In all environments, bulge-dominated galaxies (defined to be those with radial profiles best fit with large Sérsic indices) form a narrow, well defined color--magnitude relation. Although the most luminous galaxies reside preferentially in the highest density regions, there is only a barely detectable variation in the color (zero-point) or slope of the color--magnitude relation ($<0.02 \mathrm{mag}$ in $^{0.1}[g-r]$ or $[B-V]$). These results constrain variations with environmental density in the ages or metallicities of typical bulge-dominated galaxies to be under 20 percent.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Selection and photometric properties of K+A galaxies

Two different simple measurements of galaxy star formation rate with different timescales are compared empirically on $156,395$ fiber spectra of galaxies with $r<17.77$ mag taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the redshift range $0.05<z<0.20$: a ratio $\Aamp / \Kamp$ found by fitting a linear sum of an average old stellar poplulation spectrum (\Kamp) and average A-star spectrum (\Aamp) to the galaxy spectrum, and the equivalent width (EW) of the $\Halpha$ emission line. The two measures are strongly correlated, but there is a small clearly separated population of outliers from the median correlation that display excess $\Aamp /\Kamp$ relative to \Halpha EW. These ``K+A'' (or ``E+A'') galaxies must have dramatically decreased their star-formation rates over the last $\sim 1$ Gyr. The K+A luminosity distribution is very similar to that of the total galaxy population. The K+A population appears to be bulge-dominated, but bluer and higher surface-brightness than normal bulge-dominated galaxies; it appears that K+A galaxies will fade with time into normal bulge-dominated galaxies. The inferred rate density for K+A galaxy formation is $\sim 10^{-4} h^3 Mpc^{-3} Gyr^{-1}$ at redshift $z\sim 0.1$. These events are taking place in the field; K+A galaxies don't primarily lie in the high-density environments or clusters typical of bulge-dominated populations.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Angular Clustering with Photometric Redshifts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Bimodality in the Clustering Properties of Galaxies

Understanding the clustering of galaxies has long been a goal of modern observational cosmology. Utilizing our photometric redshift technique a volume limited sample containing more than 2 million galaxies is constructed from the SDSS galaxy catalog. In the largest such analysis to date, we study the angular clustering as a function of luminosity and spectral type. Using Limber's equation we calculate the clustering length for the full data set as r0=5.77+/-0.10 Mpc/h. We find that r0 increases with luminosity by a factor of 1.6 over the sampled luminosity range, in agreement with previous redshift surveys. We also find that both the clustering length and the slope of the correlation function depend on the galaxy type. In particular, by splitting the galaxies in four groups by their rest-frame type we find a bimodal behavior in their clustering properties. Galaxies with spectral types similar to elliptical galaxies have a correlation length of 6.59 +/- 0.17 Mpc/h and a slope of the angular correlation function of 0.96 +/- 0.05 while blue galaxies have a clustering length of 4.51 +/- 0.19 Mpc/h and a slope of 0.68 +/- 0.09. The two intermediate color groups behave like their more extreme 'siblings', rather than showing a gradual transition in slope. We discuss these correlations in the context of current cosmological models for structure formation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A Merged Catalog of Clusters of Galaxies from Early SDSS Data

We present a catalog of 799 clusters of galaxies in the redshift range z_est = 0.05 - 0.3 selected from ~400 deg^2 of early SDSS commissioning data along the celestial equator. The catalog is based on merging two independent selection methods -- a color-magnitude red-sequence maxBCG technique (B), and a Hybrid Matched-Filter method (H). The BH catalog includes clusters with richness Λ>= 40 (Matched-Filter) and N_gal >= 13 (maxBCG), corresponding to typical velocity dispersion of σ_v >~ 400 km s^{-1} and mass (within 0.6 h^{-1) Mpc radius) >~ 5*10^{13} h^{-1} M_sun. This threshold is below Abell richness class 0 clusters. The average space density of these clusters is 2*10^{-5} h^3 Mpc^{-3}. All NORAS X-ray clusters and 53 of the 58 Abell clusters in the survey region are detected in the catalog; the 5 additional Abell clusters are detected below the BH catalog cuts. The cluster richness function is determined and found to exhibit a steeply decreasing cluster abundance with increasing richness. We derive observational scaling relations between cluster richness and observed cluster luminosity and cluster velocity dispersion; these scaling relations provide important physical calibrations for the clusters. The catalog can be used for studies of individual clusters, for comparisons with other sources such as X-ray clusters and AGNs, and, with proper correction for the relevant selection functions, also for statistical analyses of clusters.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A Survey of z>5.7 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II: Discovery of Three Additional Quasars at z>6

We present the discovery of three new quasars at z>6 in 1300 deg^2 of SDSS imaging data, J114816.64+525150.3 (z=6.43), J104845.05+463718.3 (z=6.23) and J163033.90+401209.6 (z=6.05). The first two objects have weak Ly alpha emission lines; their redshifts are determined from the positions of the Lyman break. They are only accurate to 0.05 and could be affected by the presence of broad absorption line systems. The last object has a Ly alpha strength more typical of lower redshift quasars. Based on a sample of six quasars at z>5.7 that cover 2870 deg^2 presented in this paper and in Paper I, we estimate the comoving density of luminous quasars at z 6 and M_{1450} < -26.8 to be (8 +/- 3)x10^{-10} Mpc^{-3} (for H_0 = 50 km/s/Mpc, Omega = 1). HST imaging of two z>5.7 quasars and high-resolution ground-based images (seeing 0.4'') of three additional z>5.7 quasars show that none of them is gravitationally lensed. The luminosity distribution of the high-redshfit quasar sample suggests the bright end slope of the quasar luminosity function at z 6 is shallower than Psi L^{-3.5} (2-sigma), consistent with the absence of strongly lensed objects.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A Catalog of Broad Absorption Line Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release

We present a catalog of 224 broad absorption line quasars (BALQSOs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Early Data Release Quasar Catalog, including a relatively complete and homogeneous subsample of 131 BALQSOs. Since the identification of BALQSOs is subject to considerable systematic uncertainties, we attempt to create a complete sample of SDSS BALQSOs by combining the results of two automated selection algorithms and a by-eye classification scheme. One of these automated algorithms finds broad absorption line troughs by comparison with a composite quasar spectrum. We present the details of this algorithm and compare this method to that which uses a power-law fit to the continuum. The BALQSOs in our sample are further classified as high-ionization BALQSOs (HiBALs), low-ionization BALQSOs (LoBALs), and BALQSOs with excited iron absorption features (FeLoBALs); composite spectra of each type are presented. We further present a study of the properties of the BALQSOs in terms of the balnicity distribution, which rises with decreasing balnicity. This distribution of balnicities suggests that the fraction of quasars with intrinsic outflows may be significantly underestimated.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

The overdensities of galaxy environments as a function of luminosity and color

We study the mean environments of galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as a function of rest-frame luminosity and color. Overdensities in galaxy number are estimated in $8 h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$ and $1 h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$ spheres centered on $125,000$ galaxies taken from the SDSS spectroscopic sample. We find that, at constant color, overdensity is independent of luminosity for galaxies with the blue colors of spirals. This suggests that, at fixed star-formation history, spiral-galaxy mass is a very weak function of environment. Overdensity does depend on luminosity for galaxies with the red colors of early types; both low-luminosity and high-luminosity red galaxies are found to be in highly overdense regions.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Average spectra of massive galaxies in the SDSS

We combine Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra of 22,000 luminous, red, bulge-dominated galaxies to get high S/N average spectra in the rest-frame optical and ultraviolet (2600A to 7000A). The average spectra of these massive, quiescent galaxies are early-type with weak emission lines and with absorption lines indicating an apparent excess of alpha elements over solar abundance ratios. We make average spectra of subsamples selected by luminosity, environment and redshift. The average spectra are remarkable in their similarity. What variations do exist in the average spectra as a function of luminosity and environment are found to form a nearly one-parameter family in spectrum space. We present a high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum of the variation. We measure the properties of the variation with a modified version of the Lick index system and compare to model spectra from stellar population syntheses. The variation may be a combination of age and chemical abundance differences, but the conservative conclusion is that the quality of the data considerably exceeds the current state of the models.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Estimating Fixed Frame Galaxy Magnitudes in the SDSS

Broad-band measurements of flux for galaxies at different redshifts measure different regions of the rest-frame galaxy spectrum. Certain astronomical questions, such as the evolution of the luminosity function of galaxies, require transforming these magnitudes into redshift-independent quantities. To prepare to address these astronomical questions, investigated in detail in subsequent papers, we fit spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to broad band photometric observations, in the context of the optical observations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Linear combinations of four spectral templates can reproduce the five SDSS magnitudes of all galaxies to the precision of the photometry. Expressed in the appropriate coordinate system, the locus of the coefficients multiplying the templates is planar, and in fact nearly linear. The resulting reconstructed SEDs can be used to recover fixed frame magnitudes over a range of redshifts. This process yields consistent results, in the sense that within each sample the intrinsic colors of similar type galaxies are nearly constant with redshift. We compare our results to simpler interpolation methods and galaxy spectrophotometry from the SDSS. The software that generates these results is publicly available and easily adapted to handle a wide range of galaxy observations.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Analysis of Systematic Effects and Statistical Uncertainties in Angular Clustering of Galaxies from Early SDSS Data

The angular distribution of galaxies encodes a wealth of information about large scale structure. Ultimately, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) will record the angular positions of order 10^8 galaxies in five bands, adding significantly to the cosmological constraints. This is the first in a series of papers analyzing a rectangular stripe 2.5x90 degrees from early SDSS data. We present the angular correlation function for galaxies in four separate magnitude bins on angular scales ranging from 0.003 degrees to 15 degrees. Much of the focus of this paper is on potential systematic effects. We show that the final galaxy catalog -- with the mask accounting for regions of poor seeing, reddening, bright stars, etc. -- is free from external and internal systematic effects for galaxies brighter than r* = 22. Our estimator of the angular correlation function includes the effects of the integral constraint and the mask. The full covariance matrix of errors in these estimates is derived using mock catalogs with further estimates using a number of other methods.

astro-ph↗