arXiv subjects

Jeremy Mould

Publications and source records attributed to Jeremy Mould.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

WALLABY Pre-Pilot and Pilot Survey: the Tully Fisher Relation in Eridanus, Hydra, Norma and NGC4636 fields

The WALLABY pilot survey has been conducted using the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). The integrated 21-cm HI line spectra are formed in a very different manner compared to usual single-dish spectra Tully-Fisher measurements. It is thus extremely important to ensure that slight differences (e.g. biases due to missing flux) are quantified and understood in order to maximise the use of the large amount of data becoming available soon. This article is based on four fields for which the data are scientifically interesting by themselves. The pilot data discussed here consist of 614 galaxy spectra at a rest wavelength of 21cm. Of these spectra, 472 are of high enough quality to be used to potentially derive distances using the Tully-Fisher relation. We further restrict the sample to the 251 galaxies whose inclination is sufficiently close to edge-on. For these, we derive Tully-Fisher distances using the deprojected WALLABY velocity widths combined with infrared (WISE W1) magnitudes. The resulting Tully-Fisher distances for the Eridanus, Hydra, Norma and NGC 4636 clusters are 21.5, 53.5, 69.4 and 23.0 Mpc respectively, with uncertainties of 5--10\%, which are better or equivalent to the ones obtained in studies using data obtained with giant single dish telescopes. The pilot survey data show the benefits of WALLABY over previous giant single-dish telescope surveys. WALLABY is expected to detect around half a million galaxies with a mean redshift of $z = 0.05 (200 Mpc)$. This study suggests that about 200,000 Tully-Fisher distances might result from the survey.

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arXiv2021

The Southern Hemisphere Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Infrared Survey

We present a near-infrared spectroscopic survey of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies in the southern hemisphere (using the SOFI instrument on the ESO-NTT telescope), sampled from optical surveys. We examine the kinematics of the broad-line region, probed by the emission line width of hydrogen (Pa$α$ and H$β$). We observed 57 objects, of which we could firmly measure Pa$α$ in 49 cases. We find that a single Lorentzian fit (preferred on theoretical grounds) is preferred over multi-component Gaussian fits to the line profiles; a lack of narrow-line region emission, overwhelmed by the pole-on view of the broad line region (BLR) light, supports this. We recompute the catalog black hole (BH) mass estimates, using the values of FWHM and luminosity of H$β$, both from catalog values and re-fitted Lorentzian values. We find a relationship slope greater than unity compared to the catalog values. We ascribe this to contamination by galactic light or difficulties with line flux measurements. However, the comparison of masses computed by the fitted Lorentzian and Gaussian measurements show a slope close to unity. Comparing the BH masses estimated from both Pa$α$ and H$β$, the line widths and fluxes shows deviations from expected; in general, however, the computed BH masses are comparable. We posit a scenario where an intermixture of dusty and dust-free clouds (or alternately a structured atmosphere) differentially absorbs the line radiation of the BLR, due to dust absorption and hydrogen bound-free absorption.

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arXiv2020

Understanding the Fundamental Plane and the Tully Fisher Relation

The relation between early type galaxy size, surface brightness and velocity dispersion, "the fundamental plane", has long been understood as resulting from equilibrium in their largely pressure supported stellar dynamics. The dissipation and feedback involved in reaching such an equilibrium through merger formation of these galaxies over cosmic time can be responsible for the orientation of the plane. We see a correlation between surface brightness enhancement and youth in the 6dF Galaxy Survey. Correlations of this `tilt' with stellar mass, age, concentration, shape and metallicity now point the direction for further work on the resolved kinematics and structure of these nearby galaxies and on their initial mass function and dark matter component. On the face of it, the Tully Fisher relation is a simpler one dimensional scaling relation. However, as late type galaxies have bulges as well as disks, and, as the surface density of disks is only standard for the more massive galaxies, additional parameters are involved.

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arXiv2020

An AGB Star with a Thick Circumstellar Shell

The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) is the terminal phase of red giant evolution with timescales of millions of years and a total mass lost from the star that is a significant fraction of the initial mass. Investigation of one of these stars, WISEA J173046.10-344455.5, a kpc in the direction of the center of the Galaxy, reveals a cool oxygen rich star with a dust shell of black-body temperature 1305 K.

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arXiv2019

The metallicity sensitivity of a surface brightness temperature scale

To obtain the accuracy now sought in the extragalactic distance scale through standard candles and rulers, calibration of stellar photometry must be improved. The sensitivity of the V-K color surface brightness relation is examined here by means of model atmosphere fluxes. It has previously been neglected, but is shown here to be a significant term in the error budget of a recent high precision distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud, an anchor in galaxy distances based on Cepheids.

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arXiv2019

The intermediate age population of the Galactic halo

We have learned recently that the inner halo of the Milky Way contains a kinematically coherent component (Gaia-Enceladus) from a significant merger 10 Gyrs ago. By contrast the inner halo (defined to exclude the Magellanic Stream) contains no similar intruder stellar population of billion year age. The tracer we use to set the corresponding upper limit is Gaia asymptotic giant branch stars, rather than Gaia kinematics. The primary sample is drawn from Gaia DR2 with SkyMapper photometry. This is supplemented with PanSTARRS and 2MASS photometry. As the Gaia mission proceeds, a star formation history in the galactic halo should emerge.

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arXiv2019

Exoplanets in the Antarctic sky. II. 116 Transiting Exoplanet Candidates Found by AST3-II (CHESPA) within the Southern CVZ of TESS

We report first results from the CHinese Exoplanet Searching Program from Antarctica (CHESPA)---a wide-field high-resolution photometric survey for transiting exoplanets carried out using telescopes of the AST3 (Antarctic Survey Telescopes times 3) project. There are now three telescopes (AST3-I, AST3-II, and CSTAR-II) operating at Dome A---the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau---in a fully automatic and remote mode to exploit the superb observing conditions of the site, and its long and uninterrupted polar nights. The search for transiting exoplanets is one of the key projects for AST3. During the Austral winters of 2016 and 2017 we used the AST3-II telescope to survey a set of target fields near the southern ecliptic pole, falling within the continuous viewing zone of the TESS mission \citep{Ricker10}. The first data release of the 2016 data, including images, catalogs and lightcurves of 26578 bright stars ($7.5\le i \le15$) was presented in \citet{Zhang18}. The best precision, as measured by the RMS of the lightcurves at the optimum magnitude of the survey ($i=10$), is around 2\,mmag. We detect 222 objects with plausible transit signals from these data, 116 of which are plausible transiting exoplanet candidates according to their stellar properties as given by the TESS Input Catalog \citep{Stassun17}, Gaia DR2 \citep{Gaia18} and TESS-HERMES spectroscopy \citep{Sharma18}. With the first data release from TESS expected in late 2018, this candidate list will be a timely for improving the rejection of potential false positives.

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arXiv2018

Exoplanets in the Antarctic Sky. I. The First Data Release of AST3-II (CHESPA) and New Found Variables within the Southern CVZ of TESS

Located at Dome A, the highest point of the Antarctic plateau, the Chinese Kunlun station is considered to be one of the best ground-based photometric sites because of its extremely cold, dry, and stable atmosphere(Saunders et al. 2009). A target can be monitored from there for over 40 days without diurnal interruption during a polar winter. This makes Kunlun station a perfect site to search for short-period transiting exoplanets. Since 2008, an observatory has been built at Kunlun station and three telescopes are working there. Using these telescopes, the AST3 project has been carried out over the last six years with a search for transiting exoplanets as one of its key programs (CHESPA). In the austral winters of 2016 and 2017, a set of target fields in the Southern CVZ of TESS (Ricker et al. 2009) were monitored by the AST3-II telescope. In this paper, we introduce the CHESPA and present the first data release containing photometry of 26,578 bright stars (m_i < 15). The best photometric precision at the optimum magnitude for the survey is around 2 mmag. To demonstrate the data quality, we also present a catalog of 221 variables with a brightness variation greater than 5 mmag from the 2016 data. Among these variables, 179 are newly identified periodic variables not listed in the AAVSO databasea), and 67 are listed in the Candidate Target List(Stassun et al. 2017). These variables will require careful attention to avoid false-positive signals when searching for transiting exoplanets. Dozens of new transiting exoplanet candidates will be also released in a subsequent paper(Zhang et al. 2018b).

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arXiv2018

The AGN Ionization Cones of NGC 5728 : II - Kinematics

We explore the gas morphology and excitation mechanisms of the ionization cones of the Type II Seyfert galaxy NGC~5728. Kinematics derived from near-IR and optical data from the SINFONI and MUSE IFUs on the VLT reveal AGN-driven outflows powered by a super-massive black hole (SMBH) of mass 3.4$\times$10$^2$ M$_\odot$, bolometric luminosity of 1.46$\times$10$^{44}$ erg/s, Eddington ratio 3.3$\times$10$^{-2}$ and an accretion rate of 2.7$\times$10$^2$ M$_\odot$/yr. The symmetric bicone outflows show rapid acceleration to $\pm$250 km/s at $\sim$250 pc, then decelerating to $\sim$130 km/s at 500 pc from the AGN, with an estimated mass outflow rate of 38 M$_\odot$/yr, the mass ratio of outflows to accretion is 1415. The kinetic power is 1.5$\times$10$^{42}$ erg/s, 1$\%$ of the bolometric luminosity. Over the AGN active lifetime of $\sim$10$^7$ years, 1.6$\times$10$^8$ M$_\odot$ of gas can become gravitationally unbound from the galaxy, a large proportion of the gas mass available for star formation in the nuclear region. The bicone internal opening angle (50°.2) and the inclination to the LOS (47°.6) were determined from [Fe II] line profiles, the outflow axis is nearly parallel to the plane of the galaxy. This geometry supports the Unified Model of AGN, as these angles preclude seeing the accretion disk, which is obscured by the dusty torus.

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arXiv2018

Galactic Calibration of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch

Indications from Gaia data release 2 (DR2) are that the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB, a population II standard candle related to the helium flash in low mass stars) is close to -4 in absolute I magnitude in the Cousins photometric system. Our sample is high latitude southern stars from the thick disk and inner halo, and our result is consistent with longstanding findings from globular clusters, whose distances were calibrated with RR Lyrae stars. As the Gaia mission proceeds, there is every reason to think an accurate Galactic geometric calibration of TRGB will be a significant outcome.

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arXiv2018

The AGN Ionization Cones of NGC 5728 : I - Excitation and Nuclear Structure

We explore the gas morphology and excitation mechanisms of the ionization cones of the Type II Seyfert galaxy NGC 5728. Near-IR and optical data from the SINFONI and MUSE IFUs on the VLT are combined with $HST$ optical images, $Chandra$ X-ray data and VLA radio observations. The complex nuclear structure has a star-forming (SF) ring with a diameter of 2 kpc. A radio jet impacts on the ISM at about 200 pc from the nucleus, with the SN remnants in the SF ring also present. Emission-line ratios of [Fe II] and H II show heavy extinction towards the nucleus, moderate extinction in the SF ring and reduced extinction in the ionization cones. The AGN is hidden by a dust bar with up to 19 magnitudes of visual extinction; the dust temperature at the nuclear position is ~870 K. An X-ray jet is aligned with the ionization cones, and associated with high-excitation emission lines of [Si VI] in a coronal-line region extending 300 pc from the nucleus. Molecular hydrogen is spatially independent of the cones, concentrated in a disk equatorial to the star-forming ring, but also showing entrainment along the sides of the bicone. Gas masses for warm and cold H$_2$, H I and H II are estimated, and the excitation mechanisms for ionized and molecular gas are elucidated, from both optical (which shows a clean SF-AGN mixing sequence) and infrared diagnostics (which show more complicated, multi-component excitation regimes).

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arXiv2018

The Taipan Galaxy Survey: Scientific Goals and Observing Strategy

Taipan is a multi-object spectroscopic galaxy survey starting in 2017 that will cover 2pi steradians over the southern sky, and obtain optical spectra for about two million galaxies out to z<0.4. Taipan will use the newly-refurbished 1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory with the new TAIPAN instrument, which includes an innovative 'Starbugs' positioning system capable of rapidly and simultaneously deploying up to 150 spectroscopic fibres (and up to 300 with a proposed upgrade) over the 6-deg diameter focal plane, and a purpose-built spectrograph operating from 370 to 870nm with resolving power R>2000. The main scientific goals of Taipan are: (i) to measure the distance scale of the Universe (primarily governed by the local expansion rate, H_0) to 1% precision, and the structure growth rate of structure to 5%; (ii) to make the most extensive map yet constructed of the mass distribution and motions in the local Universe, using peculiar velocities based on improved Fundamental Plane distances, which will enable sensitive tests of gravitational physics; and (iii) to deliver a legacy sample of low-redshift galaxies as a unique laboratory for studying galaxy evolution as a function of mass and environment. The final survey, which will be completed within 5 years, will consist of a complete magnitude-limited sample (i<17) of about 1.2x10^6 galaxies, supplemented by an extension to higher redshifts and fainter magnitudes (i<18.1) of a luminous red galaxy sample of about 0.8x10^6 galaxies. Observations and data processing will be carried out remotely and in a fully-automated way, using a purpose-built automated 'virtual observer' software and an automated data reduction pipeline. The Taipan survey is deliberately designed to maximise its legacy value, by complementing and enhancing current and planned surveys of the southern sky at wavelengths from the optical to the radio.

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arXiv2017

Average Spectral Properties of Type Ia Supernova Host Galaxies

We construct average spectra of host galaxies of slower, faster, bluer, and redder Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) from the SDSS-II supernova survey. The average spectrum of slower declining (broader light-curve width or higher stretch) SN Ia hosts shows stronger emission lines compared to the average spectrum of faster declining (narrower light-curve width or lower stretch) SN Ia hosts. Using pPXF, we find that hosts of slower declining SNe Ia have metallicities that are, on average, 0.24 dex lower than average metallicities of faster declining SN Ia hosts. Similarly, redder SN Ia hosts have slightly higher metallicities than bluer SN Ia hosts. Lick index analysis of metallic lines and Balmer lines show that faster declining SN Ia hosts have relatively higher metal content and have relatively older stellar populations compared with slower declining SN Ia hosts. We calculate average $\rm H_α$ Star Formation Rate (SFR), stellar mass, and the specific-SFR (sSFR) of host galaxies in these subgroups of SNe Ia. We find that slower declining SN Ia hosts have significantly higher ($>5σ$) sSFR than faster declining SN Ia hosts. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test shows that these two types of hosts originate from different parent distributions. Our results, when compared with the models of \cite{childress14}, indicate that slower declining SNe Ia, being hosted in actively star-forming galaxies, are young (prompt) SNe Ia, originating from similar progenitor age groups.

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arXiv2017

A hybrid type Ia supernova with an early flash triggered by helium-shell detonation

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) arise from the thermonuclear explosion of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs. Though the uniformity of their light curves makes them powerful cosmological distance indicators, long-standing issues remain regarding their progenitors and explosion mechanisms. Recent detection of the early ultraviolet pulse of a peculiar subluminous SN Ia has been claimed as new evidence for the companion-ejecta interaction through the single-degenerate channel. Here, we report the discovery of a prominent but red optical flash at $\sim$ 0.5 days after the explosion of a SN Ia which shows hybrid features of different SN Ia sub-classes: a light curve typical of normal-brightness SNe Ia, but with strong titanium absorptions, commonly seen in the spectra of subluminous ones. We argue that the early flash of such a hybrid SN Ia is different from predictions of previously suggested scenarios such as the companion-ejecta interaction. Instead it can be naturally explained by a SN explosion triggered by a detonation of a thin helium shell either on a near-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf ($\gtrsim$ 1.3 M$_{\odot}$) with low-yield $^{56}$Ni or on a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf ($\sim$ 1.0 M$_{\odot}$) merging with a less massive white dwarf. This finding provides compelling evidence that one branch of the previously proposed explosion models, the helium-ignition scenario, does exist in nature, and such a scenario may account for explosions of white dwarfs in a wider mass range in contrast to what was previously supposed.

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arXiv2017

The influence of Host Galaxies in Type Ia Supernova Cosmology

We use a sample of 1338 spectroscopically confirmed and photometrically classified Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia), sourced from the CSP, CfA, SDSS-II, and SNLS supernova samples, to examine the relationships between SNe Ia and the galaxies that host them. Our results provide confirmation with improved statistical significance that SNe Ia, after standardization, are on average more luminous in massive hosts (significance $\rm > 5 σ$), and decline more rapidly in massive hosts (significance $\rm > 9σ$) and in hosts with low specific star formation rates (significance $\rm > 8σ$). We study the variation of these relationships with redshift and detect no evolution. We split SNe Ia into pairs of subsets that are based on the properties of the hosts, and fit cosmological models to each subset. Including both systematic and statistical uncertainties, we do not find any significant shift in the best-fit cosmological parameters between the subsets. Among different SN Ia subsets, we find that SNe Ia in hosts with high specific star formation rates have the least intrinsic scatter ($\rm σ_{int}=0.08\pm0.01$) in luminosity after standardization.

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arXiv2017

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Data Release One with Emission-line Physics Value-Added Products

We present the first major release of data from the SAMI Galaxy Survey. This data release focuses on the emission-line physics of galaxies. Data Release One includes data for 772 galaxies, about 20% of the full survey. Galaxies included have the redshift range 0.004 < z < 0.092, a large mass range (7.6 < log(Mstellar/M$_\odot$) < 11.6), and star-formation rates of 10^-4 to 10^1\ M$_\odot$/yr. For each galaxy, we include two spectral cubes and a set of spatially resolved 2D maps: single- and multi-component emission-line fits (with dust extinction corrections for strong lines), local dust extinction and star-formation rate. Calibration of the fibre throughputs, fluxes and differential-atmospheric-refraction has been improved over the Early Data Release. The data have average spatial resolution of 2.16 arcsec (FWHM) over the 15~arcsec diameter field of view and spectral (kinematic) resolution R=4263 (sigma=30km/s) around Halpha. The relative flux calibration is better than 5\% and absolute flux calibration better than $\pm0.22$~mag, with the latter estimate limited by galaxy photometry. The data are presented online through the Australian Astronomical Observatory's Data Central.

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arXiv2017

Detection of a possible superluminous supernova in the epoch of reionization

An interesting transient has been detected in one of our three Dark Energy Camera deep fields. Observations of these deep fields take advantage of the high red sensitivity of DECam on the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory Blanco telescope. The survey includes the Y band with rest wavelength 1430Å at z = 6. Survey fields (the Prime field 0555-6130, the 16hr field 1600-75 and the SUDSS New Southern Field) are deeper in Y than other infrared surveys. They are circumpolar, allowing all night to be used efficiently, exploiting the moon tolerance of 1 micron observations to minimize conflict with the Dark Energy Survey. As an i-band dropout (meaning that the flux decrement shortward of Lyman alpha is in the i bandpass), the transient we report here is a supernova candidate with z ~ 6, with a luminosity comparable to the brightest known current epoch superluminous supernova (i.e., ~ 2 x 10^11 solar luminosities).

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arXiv2017

IC 630: Piercing the Veil of the Nuclear Gas

IC 630 is a nearby early-type galaxy with a mass of $6 \times 10^{10} M_{\odot}$ with an intense burst of recent (6 Myr) star formation. It shows strong nebular emission lines, with radio and X-ray emission, which classifies it as an AGN. With VLT-SINFONI and Gemini North-NIFS adaptive optics observations (plus supplementary ANU 2.3m WiFeS optical IFU observations), the excitation diagnostics of the nebular emission species show no sign of standard AGN engine excitation; the stellar velocity dispersion also indicate that a super-massive black hole (if one is present) is small ($M_{\bullet} = 2.25 \times 10^{5}~M_{\odot}$). The luminosity at all wavelengths is consistent with star formation at a rate of about $1-2 M_{\odot}$/yr. We measure gas outflows driven by star formation at a rate of $0.18 M_{\odot}$/yr in a face-on truncated cone geometry. We also observe a nuclear cluster or disk and other clusters. Photo-ionization from young, hot stars is the main excitation mechanism for [Fe II] and hydrogen, whereas shocks are responsible for the H$_2$ excitation. Our observations are broadly comparable with simulations where a Toomre-unstable, self-gravitating gas disk triggers a burst of star formation, peaking after about 30 Myr and possibly cycling with a period of about 200 Myr.

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