arXiv subjects

Joseph Silk

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Silk.

At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources

arXiv1998

Cloning Hubble Deep Fields II: Models for Evolution by Bright Galaxy Image Transformation

In a companion paper we outlined a methodology for generating parameter-free, model-independent ``no-evolution'' fields of faint galaxy images, demonstrating the need for significant evolution in the HDF at faint magnitudes. Here we incorporate evolution into our procedure, by transforming the input bright galaxy images with redshift, for comparison with the HDF at faint magnitudes. Pure luminosity evolution is explored assuming that galaxy surface brightness evolves uniformly, at a rate chosen to reproduce the I-band counts. This form of evolution exacerbates the size discrepancy identified by our no-evolution simulations, by increasing the area of a galaxy visible to a fixed isophote. Reasonable dwarf-augmented models are unable to generate the count excess invoking moderate rates of stellar evolution. A plausible fit to the counts and sizes is provided by `mass-conserving' density-evolution, consistent with small-scale hierarchical growth, where the product of disk area and space density is conserved with redshift. Here the increased surface brightness generated by stellar evolution is accomodated by the reduced average galaxy size, for a wide range of geometries. These models are useful for assessing the limitations of the HDF images, by calculating their rates of incompleteness and the degree of over-counting. Finally we demonstrate the potential for improvement in quantifying evolution at fainter magnitudes using the HST Advanced Camera, with its superior UV and optical performance.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Cloning Hubble Deep Fields: A Model-Independent Measurement of Galaxy Evolution

We present a model-independent method of quantifying galaxy evolution in high- resolution images, which we apply to the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). Our procedure is to k-correct the pixels belonging to the images of a complete set of bright galaxies and then to replicate each galaxy image to higher redshift by the product of its space density, 1/V_{max}, and the cosmological volume. The set of bright galaxies is itself selected from the HDF because presently the HDF provides the highest quality UV images of a redshift-complete sample of galaxies (31 galaxies with I<21.9, \bar{z}=0.5, and for which V/V_{max} is spread fairly). These galaxies are bright enough to permit accurate pixel-by-pixel k-corrections into the restframe UV (\sim 2000 A). We match the shot noise, spatial sampling and PSF smoothing of the HDF, resulting in entirely empirical and parameter free ``no-evolution'' deep fields of galaxies for direct comparison with the HDF. We obtain the following results. Faint HDF galaxies (I>24) are much smaller, more numerous, and less regular than our ``no-evolution'' extrapolation, for any relevant geometry. A higher proportion of HDF galaxies ``dropout'' in both U and B, indicating that some galaxies were brighter at higher redshifts than our ``cloned'' z\sim0.5 population. By simple image transformations we demonstrate that bolometric luminosity evolution generates galaxies which are too large and the contribution of any evolving dwarf population is uninterestingly small. A plausible fit is provided by `mass-conserving' density-evolution, consistent with hierarchical growth of small-scale structure. Finally, we show the potential for improvement using the Advanced Camera, with its superior UV and optical performance.

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arXiv1998

How the Universe got its Spots

The universe displays a three-dimensional pattern of hot and cold spots in the radiation remnant from the big bang. The global geometry of the universe can be revealed in the spatial distribution of these spots. In a topologically compact universe, distinctive patterns are especially prominent in spatial correlations of the radiation temperature. Whereas these patterns are usually washed out in statistical averages, we propose a scheme which uses the universe's spots to observe global geometry in a manner analogous to the use of multiple images of a gravitationally lensed quasar to study the geometry of the lens. To demonstrate how the geometry of space forms patterns in observations of the microwave sky, we develop a simple real-space approximation to estimate temperature correlations for any set of cosmological parameters and any global geometry. We present correlated spheres which clearly show geometric pattern formation for compact flat universes as well as for the compact negatively curved space introduced by Weeks and another discovered by Best. These examples illustrate how future satellite-based observations of the microwave background can determine the full geometry of the universe.

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arXiv1998

Extracting Primordial Density Fluctuations

The combination of detections of anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation and observations of the large-scale distribution of galaxies probes the primordial density fluctuations of the universe on spatial scales varying by three orders of magnitude. These data are found to be inconsistent with the predictions of several popular cosmological models. Agreement between the data and the Cold + Hot Dark Matter model, however, suggests that a significant fraction of the matter in the universe may consist of massive neutrinos.

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arXiv1998

Quasar outflows and the formation of dwarf galaxies

We propose a scenario for the formation of a population of baryon-rich, dark matter-deficient dwarf galaxies at high redshift that form from the mass swept out in the Intergalactic Medium (IGM) by energetic outflows from luminous quasars. We predict the intrinsic properties of these galaxies, and examine the prospects for their observational detection in the optical, X-ray and radio wavebands. Detectable thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich decrements (cold spots) on arc-minute scales in the cosmic microwave background radiation maps are expected during the shock-heated expanding phase from these hot bubbles. We conclude that the optimal detection strategy for these dwarfs is via narrow-band Lyman-$α$ imaging of regions around high redshift quasars. An energetically scaled-down version of the same model is speculated upon as a possible mechanism for forming pre-galactic globular clusters.

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arXiv1998

Australia Telescope Search for Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy

We have made an 8.7 GHz image of a sky region with a resolution of 8 arcmin and high brightness sensitivity using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). in an ultra compact configuration. The foreground discrete-source confusion was estimated from observations with higher resolution at the same frequency and in a scaled array at a lower frequency. Following the subtraction of the foreground confusion, the field shows no features in excess of the instrument noise. This limits the CMB anisotropy flat-band power to Q_flat < 23.6 microK with 95 per cent confidence; the ATCA filter function F_l in multipole l-space peaks at l_eff = 4700 and has half maximum values at l = 3350 and 6050.

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arXiv1998

A Simultaneous Constraint on the Amplitude and Gaussianity of Mass Fluctuations in the Universe

We consider constraints on the amplitude of mass fluctuations in the universe, sigma_8, derived from two simple observations: the present number density of clusters and the amplitude of their correlation function. Allowing for the possibility that the primordial fluctuations are non-gaussian introduces a degeneracy in the value of sigma_8 preferred by each of these constraints. However, when the constraints are taken together this degeneracy is broken, yielding a precise determination of sigma_8 and the degree of non-gaussianity for a given background cosmology. For a flat, Omega_m=1 universe with a power spectrum parameterized by a CDM shape parameter Gamma=0.2, we find that the perturbations are consistent with a gaussian distribution with sigma_8=0.49(+0.08-0.07) (95% limits). For some popular choices of background model, including the favored low matter density models, the hypothesis that the primordial fluctuations are gaussian is ruled out with a high degree of confidence.

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arXiv1998

The topology of the universe: the biggest manifold of them all

Clues as to the geometry of the universe are encoded in the cosmic background radiation. Hot and cold spots in the primordial radiation may be randomly distributed in an infinite universe while in a universe with compact topology distinctive patterns can be generated. With improved vision, we could actually see if the universe is wrapped into a hexagonal prism or a hyperbolic horn. We discuss the search for such geometric patterns in predictive maps of the microwave sky.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1998

Spectral Features from the Reionization Epoch

Emission lines in hydrogen can be used to measure the approximate redshift of the reionization of the universe. This is an important measurement given the lack of a convincing theoretical prediction of this epoch. There is a rapid change in absorption at the reionization event, which can leave sharp features in the spectrum of recombining hydrogen. These features in the near infrared background permit us to measure the redshift at which reionization occurs. We have calculated these signals based on numerical simulations of the Lambda-CDM cosmogony.

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arXiv1998

Is The Universe Infinite Or Is It Just Really Big?

The global geometry of the universe is in principle as observable an attribute as local curvature. Previous studies have established that if the universe is wrapped into a flat hypertorus, the simplest compact space, then the fundamental domain must be at least 0.4 times the diameter of the observable universe. Despite a standard lore that the other five compact, orientable flat spaces are more weakly constrained, we find the same bound holds for all. Our analysis provides the first limits on compact cosmologies built from the identifications of hexagonal prisms.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Quasars and Galaxy Formation

The formation of massive black holes may precede the epoch that characterises the peak of galaxy formation, as characterized by the star formation history in luminous galaxies. Hence protogalactic star formation may be profoundly affected by quasar-like nuclei and their associated extensive energetic outflows. We derive a relation between the mass of the central supermassive black hole and that of the galaxy spheroidal component, and comment on other implications for galaxy formation scenarios.

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arXiv1997

On Breaking Cosmic Degeneracy

It has been argued that the power spectrum of the anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) may be effectively degenerate, namely that the observable spectrum does not determine a unique set of cosmological parameters. We describe the physical origin of this degeneracy and show that at small angular scales it is broken by gravitational lensing: effectively degenerate spectra become distinguishable at l ~ 3000 because lensing causes their damping tails to fall at different rates with increasing l. This effect also helps in distinguishing nearly degenerate power spectra such as those of mixed dark matter models. Forthcoming interferometer experiments should provide the means of measuringotherwise degenerate parameters at the 5-25% level.

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arXiv1997

Can Baryonic Features Produce the Observed 100 Mpc Clustering?

We assess the possibility that baryonic acoustic oscillations in adiabatic models may explain the observations of excess power in large-scale structure on 100h^-1 Mpc scales. The observed location restricts models to two extreme areas of parameter space. In either case, the baryon fraction must be large (Omega_b/Omega_0 > 0.3) to yield significant features. The first region requires Omega_0 < 0.2h to match the location, implying large blue tilts (n>1.4) to satisfy cluster abundance constraints. The power spectrum also continues to rise toward larger scales in these models. The second region requires Omega_0 near 1, implying Omega_b well out of the range of big bang nucleosynthesis constraints; moreover, the peak is noticeably wider than the observations suggest. Testable features of both solutions are that they require moderate reionization and thereby generate potentially observable (about 1 uK) large-angle polarization, as well as sub-arc-minute temperature fluctuations. In short, baryonic features in adiabatic models may explain the observed excess only if currently favored determinations of cosmological parameters are in substantial error or if present surveys do not represent a fair sample of 100h^-1 Mpc structures.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

Inside-Out Infall Formation of Disk Galaxies: Do Predictions Differ from Models without Size Evolution?

We develop an idealized inside-out formation model for disk galaxies to include a realistic mix of galaxy types and luminosities that provides a fair match to the traditional observables. The predictions of our infall models are compared against identical models with no-size evolution by generating fully realistic simulations of the HDF, from which we recover the angular size distributions. We find that our infall models produce nearly identical angular size distributions to those of our no-size evolution models in the case of a Omega = 0 geometry but produce slightly smaller sizes in the case of a Omega = 1 geometry, a difference we associate with the fact that there is a different amount of cosmic time in our two models for evolving to relatively low redshifts (z \approx 1-2). Our infall models also predict a slightly smaller (11% - 29%) number of large (disk scale lengths > 4 h_{50} ^{-1} kpc) galaxies at z \approx 0.7 for the CFRS as well as different increases in the central surface brightness of the disks for early-type spirals, the infall model predicting an increase by 1.2 magnitudes out to z \approx 2 (Omega = 0), 1 (Omega = 1), while our no-size evolution models predict an increase of only 0.5 magnitude. This result suggests that infall models could be important for explaining the 1.2-1.6 magnitude increase in surface brightness reported by Schade et al. (1995, 1996a, 1996b).

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arXiv1997

Molecular Lines as Diagnostics of High Redshift Objects

Models are presented for CO rotational line emission by high redshift starburst galaxies. The influence of the cosmic microwave background on the thermal balance and the level populations of atomic and molecular species is explicitly included. Predictions are made for the observability of starburst galaxies through line and continuum emission between z=5 and z=30. It is found that the Millimeter Array could detect a starburst galaxy with ~10^5 Orion regions, corresponding to a star formation rate of about 30 Mo yr^{-1}, equally well at z=5 or z=30 due to the increasing cosmic microwave background temperature with redshift. Line emission is a potentially more powerful probe than dust continuum emission of very high redshift objects.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

Gravitational Magnification of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Some aspects of gravitational lensing by large scale structure (LSS) are investigated. We show that lensing causes the damping tail of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum to fall less rapidly with decreasing angular scale than previously expected. This is due to a transfer of power from larger to smaller angular scales which produces a fractional change in power spectrum that increases rapidly beyond $\ell \sim 2000$. We also find that lensing produces a nonzero mean magnification of structures on surfaces of constant redshift if weighted by area on the sky. This is a result of the fact that light-rays that are evenly distributed on the sky oversample overdense regions. However this mean magnification has a negligible affect on the CMB power spectrum. A new expression for the lensed power spectrum is derived and it is found that future precision observations the high-$\ell$ tail of the power spectrum will need to take into account lensing when determining cosmological parameters.

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arXiv1997

Cumulants as non-Gaussian qualifiers

We discuss the requirements of good statistics for quantifying non-Gaussianity in the Cosmic Microwave Background. The importance of rotational invariance and statistical independence is stressed, but we show that these are sometimes incompatible. It is shown that the first of these requirements prefers a real space (or wavelet) formulation, whereas the latter favours quantities defined in Fourier space. Bearing this in mind we decide to be eclectic and define two new sets of statistics to quantify the level of non-Gaussianity. Both sets make use of the concept of cumulants of a distribution. However, one set is defined in real space, with reference to the wavelet transform, whereas the other is defined in Fourier space. We derive a series of properties concerning these statistics for a Gaussian random field and show how one can relate these quantities to the higher order moments of temperature maps. Although our frameworks lead to an infinite hierarchy of quantities we show how cosmic variance and experimental constraints give a natural truncation of this hierarchy. We then focus on the real space statistics and analyse the non-Gaussian signal generated by points sources obscured by large scale Gaussian fluctuations. We conclude by discussing the practical implementations of these techniques.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

Flat Spots: topological signatures of an open universe in COBE sky maps

We investigate the behaviour of light rays in an open universe with a partly periodic horn topology. The geodesics can be solved exactly and the periodic topology creates characteristic new effects in temperature maps of the microwave background. Large flat regions appear in COBE sky maps even when multiple images of astronomical sources are unobservable.

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