arXiv subjects

Mari Polletta

Publications and source records attributed to Mari Polletta.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Paper 1: The JWST PEARLS View of the El Gordo Galaxy Cluster and of the Structure It Magnifies

The massive galaxy cluster El Gordo (z=0.87) imprints multitudes of gravitationally lensed arcs onto James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images. Eight bands of NIRCam imaging were obtained in the ``Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science'' (``PEARLS'') program. PSF-matched photometry across Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and NIRCam filters supplies new photometric redshifts. A new light-traces-mass lens model based on 56 image multiplicities identifies the two mass peaks and yields a mass estimate within 500 kpc of ~(7.0 +/- 0.30) x 10^14 Msun. A search for substructure in the 140 cluster members with spectroscopic redshifts confirms the two main mass components. The southeastern mass peak that contains the BCG is more tightly bound than the northwestern one. The virial mass within 1.7 Mpc is (5.1 +/- 0.60) x 10^14 Msun, lower than the lensing mass. A significant transverse velocity component could mean the virial mass is underestimated. We contribute one new member to the previously known z=4.32 galaxy group. Intrinsic (delensed) positions of the five secure group members span a physical extent of ~60 kpc. Thirteen additional candidates selected by spectroscopic/photometric constraints are small and faint with a mean intrinsic luminosity ~2.2 mag fainter than L*. NIRCam imaging admits a fairly wide range of brightnesses and morphologies for the group members, suggesting a more diverse galaxy population in this galaxy overdensity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Detection of Iron Kα Emission from a Complete Sample of Submillimeter Galaxies

We present an X-ray stacking analysis of a sample of 38 submillimeter galaxies with =2.6 discovered at >4σ significance in the Lockman Hole North with the MAMBO array. We find a 5σ detection in the stacked soft band (0.5-2.0 keV) image, and no significant detection in the hard band (2.0-8 keV). We also perform rest-frame spectral stacking based on spectroscopic and photometric redshifts and find a ~4σ detection of Fe Kα emission with an equivalent width of EW>1 keV. The centroid of the Fe Kα emission lies near 6.7 keV, indicating a possible contribution from highly ionized Fe XXV or Fe XXVI; there is also a slight indication that the line emission is more spatially extended than the X-ray continuum. This is the first X-ray analysis of a complete, flux-limited sample of SMGs with statistically robust radio counterparts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

A Deep 1.2 mm Map of the Lockman Hole North Field

We present deep 1.2 mm continuum mapping of a 566 arcmin^2 area within the Lockman Hole North field, previously a target of the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) survey and extremely deep 20 cm mapping with the Very Large Array, which we have obtained using the Max-Planck millimeter bolometer (MAMBO) array on the IRAM 30 m telescope. After filtering, our full map has an RMS sensitivity ranging from 0.45 to 1.5 mJy/beam, with an average of 0.75 mJy/beam. Using the pixel flux distribution in a map made from our best data, we determine the shape, normalization, and approximate flux density cutoff for 1.2 mm number counts well below our nominal sensitivity and confusion limits. After validating our full dataset through comparison with this map, we successfully detect 41 1.2 mm sources with S/N > 4.0 and S(1.2 mm)\simeq 2-5 mJy. We use the most significant of these detections to directly determine the integral number counts down to 1.8 mJy, which are consistent with the results of the pixel flux distribution analysis. 93% of our 41 individual detections have 20 cm counterparts, 49% have Spitzer/MIPS 24 micron counterparts, and one may have a significant Chandra X-ray counterpart. We resolve \simeq 3% of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) at 1.2 mm into significant detections, and directly estimate a 0.05 mJy faint-end cutoff for the counts that is consistent with the full intensity of the 1.2 mm CIB. The median redshift of our 17 detections with spectroscopic or robust photometric redshifts is z(median)=2.3, and rises to z(median)=2.9 when we include redshifts estimated from the radio/far-infrared spectral index. By using a nearest neighbor and angular correlation function analysis, we find evidence that our S/N>4.0 detections are clustered at the 95% confidence level.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Mid-infrared spectroscopy of Spitzer-selected ultra-luminous starbursts at z~2

We want to study the mid-infrared properties and the starburst and AGN contributions, of 24um sources at z~2, through analysis of mid-infrared spectra combined with millimeter, radio, and infrared photometry. Mid-infrared spectroscopy allows us to recover accurate redshifts. A complete sample of 16 Spitzer-selected sources (ULIRGs) believed to be starbursts at z~2 ("5.8um-peakers") was selected in the (0.5 sq.deg.) J1064+56 SWIRE Lockman Hole field. These sources have S(24um)>0.5mJy, a stellar emission peak redshifted to 5.8um, and r'(Vega)>23. The entire sample was observed with the low resolution units of the Spitzer/IRS infrared spectrograph. These sources have 1.2mm observations with IRAM 30m/MAMBO and very deep 20cm observations from the VLA. Nine of our sources also benefit from 350um observation and detection from CSO/SHARC-II. The entire sample shows good quality IRS spectra dominated by strong PAH features. The main PAH features at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.3um have high S/N average luminosities of 2.90, 10.38, 3.62, and 2.29x10^{10}Lsun, respectively. We derived accurate redshifts spanning from 1.75 to 2.28. The average of these redshifts is 2.017. This result confirms that the selection criteria of "5.8um-peakers" associated with a strong detection at 24um are reliable to select sources at z~2. We have analyzed the different correlations between PAH emission and infrared, millimeter, and radio emission. Practically all our sources are strongly dominated by starburst emission. We have also defined two subsamples based on the equivalent width at 7.7um to investigate AGN contributions. Our sample contains strong starbursts and represents a particularly 24um-bright class of SMGs. The very good correlation between PAH and far-IR luminosities is now confirmed in high-z starburst ULIRGs. These sources show a small AGN contribution to the mid-IR, around ~20% in most cases.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The SWIRE/Chandra Survey: The X-ray Sources

We report a moderate-depth (70 ksec), contiguous 0.7 sq.deg, Chandra survey, in the Lockman Hole Field of the Spitzer/SWIRE Legacy Survey coincident with a completed, ultra-deep VLA survey with deep optical and near-infrared imaging in-hand. The primary motivation is to distinguish starburst galaxies and AGN, including the significant, highly obscured (log N_H >23) subset. Chandra has detected 775 X-ray sources to a limiting broad band (0.3-8 keV) flux ~4E-16 erg/cm^2/s. We present the X-ray catalog, fluxes, hardness ratios and multi-wavelength fluxes. The log N vs. log S agrees with those of previous surveys covering similar flux ranges. The Chandra and Spitzer flux limits are well matched: 771 (99%) of the X-ray sources have IR or optical counterparts, and 333 have MIPS 24 um detections. There are 4 optical-only X-ray sources and 4 with no visible optical/IR counterpart. The very deep (~2.7 uJy rms) VLA data yields 251 (> 4 sigma) radio counterparts, 44% of the X-ray sources in the field. We confirm that the tendency for lower X-ray flux sources to be harder is primarily due to absorption. As expected, there is no correlation between observed IR and X-ray flux. Optically bright, Type 1 and red AGN lie in distinct regions of the IR vs X-ray flux plots, demonstrating the wide range of SEDs in this sample and providing the potential for classification/source selection. The classical definition of radio-loudness, R_L, is not effective at selecting strong radio sources for red and relatively optically faint AGN. Using the 24 um to radio flux ratio (q_24) results in the usual ~10% radio-loud AGN (13 of 147).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2006

Deep ATLAS radio observations of the CDFS-SWIRE field

We present the first results from the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS), which consist of deep radio observations of a 3.7 square degree field surrounding the Chandra Deep Field South, largely coincident with the infrared Spitzer Wide-Area Extragalactic (SWIRE) Survey. We also list cross-identifications to infrared and optical photometry data from SWIRE, and ground-based optical spectroscopy. A total of 784 radio components are identified, corresponding to 726 distinct radio sources, nearly all of which are identified with SWIRE sources. Of the radio sources with measured redshifts, most lie in the redshift range 0.5-2, and include both star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN). We identify a rare population of infrared-faint radio sources which are bright at radio wavelengths but are not seen in the available optical, infrared, or X-ray data. Such rare classes of sources can only be discovered in wide, deep surveys such as this.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Optical and Infrared Diagnostics of SDSS galaxies in the SWIRE Survey

We present the rest-frame optical and infrared colours of a complete sample of 1114 z<0.3 galaxies from the Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic Legacy Survey (SWIRE) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We discuss the optical and infrared colours of our sample and analyse in detail the contribution of dusty star-forming galaxies and AGN to optically selected red sequence galaxies. We propose that the optical (g-r) colour and infrared log(L_{24}/L_{3.6}) colour of galaxies in our sample are determined primarily by a bulge-to-disk ratio. The (g-r) colour is found to be sensitive to the bulge-to-disk ratio for disk-dominated galaxies, whereas the log(L_{24}/L_{3.6}) colour is more sensitive for bulge-dominated systems. We identify ~18% (195 sources) of our sample as having red optical colours and infrared excess. Typically, the infrared luminosities of these galaxies are found to be at the high end of star-forming galaxies with blue optical colours. Using emission line diagnostic diagrams, 78 are found to have an AGN contribution, and 117 are identified as star-forming systems. The red (g-r) colour of the star-forming galaxies could be explained by extinction. However, their high optical luminosities cannot. We conclude that they have a significant bulge component. The number densities of optically red star-forming galaxies are found to correspond to ~13% of the total number density of our sample. In addition, these systems contribute ~13% of the total optical luminosity density, and 28% of the total infrared luminosity density of our SWIRE/SDSS sample. These objects may reduce the need for "dry-mergers".

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

The spatial clustering of ultraluminous infrared galaxies over 1.5<z<3

We present measurements of the spatial clustering of galaxies with stellar masses >10^11Msun, infrared luminosities >10^12 Lsun, and star formation rates >200Msun per year in two redshift intervals; 1.5 1, both starbursts and AGN. Adopting plausible models for the growth of DM haloes with redshift, then the haloes hosting the 2 1 signpost stellar buildup in galaxies that will reside in clusters at z=0, with ULIRGs at increasing redshifts signposting the buildup of stars in galaxies that will reside in increasingly rich clusters.

astro-ph↗