Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

N. Yasuda

Publications and source records attributed to N. Yasuda.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Subaru Deep Survey. IV. Discovery of a Large-Scale Structure at Redshift \simeq 5

We report the discovery of a large-scale structure of Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) at z=4.86 based on wide-field imaging with the prime-focus camera (Suprime-Cam) on the Subaru telescope. We observed a 25' x 45' area of the Subaru Deep Field in a narrow band (NB, lambdaC=7126 A and FWHM=73 A) together with R and i'. We isolate from these data 43 LAE candidates down to NB=25.5 mag using color criteria. Follow-up spectroscopy of five candidates suggests the contamination by low-z objects to be ~ 20%. We find that the LAE candidates are clustered in an elongated region on the sky of 20 Mpc in width and 50 Mpc in length at z=4.86, which is comparable in size to present-day large-scale structures (we adopt H0=70 km/s/Mpc, Omega0=0.3, lambda0=0.7). This elongated region includes a circular region of 12 Mpc radius of higher surface overdensity (delta=2), which may be the progenitor of a cluster of galaxies. Assuming this circular region to be a sphere with a spatial overdensity of 2, we compare our observation with predictions by Cold Dark Matter models. We find that an Omega0=0.3 flat model with sigma8=0.9 predicts the number of such spheres consistent with the observed number (one sphere in our survey volume) if the bias parameter of LAEs is b \simeq 6. This value suggests that the typical mass of dark haloes hosting LAEs at z \simeq 5 is of the order of 10^12 Msolar. Such a large mass poses an interesting question about the nature of LAEs.

astro-ph↗

The Hubble Diagram of Type Ia Supernovae as a Function of Host Galaxy Morphology

(Abridged) We present new results on the Hubble diagram of distant type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) segregated according to the type of host galaxy. This makes it possible to check earlier evidence for a cosmological constant by explicitly comparing SNe residing in galaxies likely to contain negligible dust with the larger sample. The cosmological parameters derived from these SNe Ia hosted by presumed dust-free early-type galaxies supports earlier claims for a cosmological constant, which we demonstrate at 5 sigma significance, and the internal extinction implied is small even for late-type systems (A_B<0.2). Thus, our data demonstrate that host galaxy extinction is unlikely to systematically dim distant SNe Ia in a manner that would produce a spurious cosmological constant. We classify the host galaxies of 39 distant SNe discovered by the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP) using the combination of HST STIS imaging, Keck ESI spectroscopy and ground-based broad-band photometry. We compare with a low-redshift sample of 25 SNe Ia. The scatter observed in the SNe Ia Hubble diagrams correlates closely with host galaxy morphology. We find the scatter in the SNe Ia Hubble diagram is smallest for SNe occurring in early-type hosts and largest for those occurring in late-type galaxies. Moreover, SNe residing in early-type hosts appear only ~0.14+/-0.09 mag brighter in their light-curve-width-corrected luminosity than those in late-type hosts, implying only a modest amount of dust extinction even in the late-type systems.

astro-ph↗

Narrow band imaging in [OIII] and Halpha to search for ICPNe in the Virgo cluster

We have identified intracluster planetary nebulae in a Virgo cluster core field by imaging with the Subaru Suprime-Cam through two narrow band filters centered at the redshifted wavelengths of the [OIII] $λ=5007$ Åand the H$α$ $λ= 6563$ Ålines; broad-band images in V and R were acquired to check for emission in the adjacent continuum. Emission line objects in Virgo are then selected from the two-color diagram ([OIII] -- Halpha) vs. ([OIII] -- (V+R)), which is calibrated using PNe in M84 (Jacoby et al. 1990). Using both [OIII] and Halpha allows us to distinguish bona-fide planetary nebulae from high redshift emission-line galaxies at the bright end of the [OIII] luminosity function. Spectroscopic observations of a subsample of these objects were made at the TNG and at the VLT, in a region around M84 and in an intracluster field respectively. The observations confirm the efficiency of the combined [OIII]+H$α$ imaging to identify true PNe. We also obtained the first spectrum of an intracluster PN which shows the [OIII] doublet with S/N > 10 and its Halpha emission. From the results based on the spectroscopic follow-up, we derive a lower limit to the fraction of the Virgo cluster light contributed by the intracluster stars at the surveyed position in the cluster core: it amounts to 10%.

astro-ph↗

Candidates for Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster based on the Suprime-Cam Narrow-Band Imaging in O[III] and Halpha

We have identified 38 candidates of intracluster planetary nebulae (ICPNe) in a $34'\times27'$ field in the core of the Virgo cluster based on the Suprime-Cam imaging through two narrow-band filters centered at the redshifted wavelengths of the [OIII]$λ=5007Å$ and the Halpha λ=6563Ålines. Broad-band images in V and R bands are used to check for any emissions in the adjacent continuum. We describe the method briefly and present the list of intracluster planetary nebulae candidates, together with their finding charts. The ICPN candidates show a highly inhomogeneous distribution, which may suggest an association with the M86-M84 subcluster. Fraction of diffuse intracluster light with respect to total light in galaxies is estimated to be about 10%, leading to an estimate of about 20% for the baryon fraction. Spectroscopic follow up and a wider survey are critical to reveal the nature of intracluster stellar population.

astro-ph↗

Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies at z >~ 1 Revealed from a Large, Multicolor Sample of Extremely Red Objects

We study the evolution of elliptical galaxies at z >~ 1 on the basis of a sample of 247 Extremely Red Objects (EROs) with R-Ks >= 3.35 (AB) and Ks <= 22.1 (AB) constructed from BVRi'z'JHKs multicolor data of a 114 arcmin2 area in the Subaru/XMM Deep Survey Field. By fitting template spectra of old ellipticals (OEs) and young, dusty starbursts (DSs) to the multicolor data, we classify EROs into these two classes and estimate their redshifts. We find that 58% of the EROs in our sample belong to the OE class and that 24% of the OEs are fit by a spectrum having a disk component with the B-band bulge-to-total luminosity ratio of <= 0.9. We compare the observed surface density of OEs with predictions from passive evolution models. We then derive rest-frame B-band luminosity functions (LFs) of OEs in our sample at z=1-1.5 and 1.5-2.5. We find that the LF at z=1-1.5 roughly agrees with the LF of local ellipticals if a dimming of 1.3 mag from z=1.25 to the present epoch is assumed. On the other hand, the amplitude of the LF at z=1.5-2.5 is found to be lower than that of the local LF by a factor of ~ 3 over the whole range of magnitude observed. Taking account of a strong decrease in the number density of morphologically classified early-type galaxies at z >~ 1.5 found by several authors, we conclude that the majority of ellipticals seen at present have not established either a red color or a smooth 1/4-law profile before z ~ 1.5$. (abridged)

astro-ph↗

Searching for dark matter halos in the Suprime-Cam 2 sq deg field

We report the first result of weak gravitational lensing survey on a 2.1 sq deg Rc-band image taken with a wide field camera (Suprime-Cam) on the prime focus of 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The weak lensing mass reconstruction is applied to the data to search for dark matter halos of cluster scale; M >= 10^14 solar mass. The reconstructed convergence field is divided by 1-sigma noise to obtain the signal-to-noise ratio map (S/N-map) of the detection. Local maxima and minima are searched on the S/N-map and the probability distribution function (PDF) of the peaks are created to compare with model predictions. We found excess over noise PDF created from the randomized realization on both positive and negative sides. Negative peaks imply the presence of voids in the dark matter distribution and this is the first report of the detection. Positive peaks, on the other hand, represent the dark matter halos and the number count of the halos on the 2.1 sq deg image is 4.9 +- 2.3 for S/N > 5 where the Gaussian smoothing radius of the convergence map is 1'. The result is consistent with the prediction assuming the Press-Schechter mass function and the NFW halo profile under the cluster normalized CDM cosmology. Although the present statistics is not enough due to the limited field of view, this work demonstrates that dark matter halo count via weak lensing is a promising way to test the paradigm of structure formation and cosmological model.

astro-ph↗

Subaru Deep Survey II. Luminosity Functions and Clustering Properties of Lya Emitters at z=4.86 in the Subaru Deep Field

We report on early results from deep and wide-field narrow-band imaging on a 543 arcmin^2 area of the Subaru Deep Field. We find 87 Lya emitters (LAEs) at z=4.86(+/-0.03) which are photometrically selected by a combination of two broad bands (R and i') and one narrow band (NB711; 7126A FWHM=73A). We derive the luminosity functions (LFs) of the LAEs at Lya luminosity and at UV-continuum (1700A) luminosity. The LFs show little evolution between z=3.4 and z=4.86 either in Lya or UV-continuum emission. The amplitude of the LAE LF tends to decline at the bright magnitudes more rapidly than that of the LBG LF at similar redshifts. We calculate the angular correlation function of our LAEs up to ~15 arcmin separations. The angular correlation w(theta) is found to increase with decreasing angular separations, showing a clear signal of clustering. It is also found that the distribution of LAEs shows a large density gradient with a scale of >~15 arcmin, which would indicate the existence of a large-scale structure of LAEs on >~20h^(-1) Mpc scales.We fit the observed correlation function by Aw theta^(-0.8) to find Aw=29arcsec^(0.8). The estimated correlation length is r0=3.5(+/-0.3)h^(-1)Mpc in comoving units (Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_Lambda=0.7), which is slightly larger than the value for z~4 LBGs with i'<26. We calculate the angular correlation function for two sub-samples of the 87 LAEs divided by Lya luminosity, UV-continuum luminosity, and Lya equivalent width (EW). The Lya bright sub-sample shows a larger correlation amplitude than the Lya faint sub-sample, while no significant difference is found for the sub-samples divided by UV-continuum luminosity or EW.

astro-ph↗

A photometric and spectroscopic study of dwarf and giant galaxies in the Coma cluster - V. Dependence of the spectroscopic properties on location in the cluster

We investigate the radial dependence of the spectroscopic properties, in particular the Mg2, and H beta spectroscopic indices, in a sample of galaxies spanning a wide range of absolute luminosity in the Coma cluster. After allowing for the magnitude dependence of these indices, we find a significant gradient in Mg2, in the sense that galaxies in the core of the cluster have stronger Mg2. We find only weak gradients in and H beta. Using the model grids presented in an earlier paper in this series, we attribute the Mg2 gradient to changes in metal abundance. One possible mechanism to create this abundance gradient is pressure confinement by the intracluster medium of material from Supernova driven winds early in the history of the galaxies.

astro-ph↗

A photometric and spectroscopic study of dwarf and giant galaxies in the Coma cluster -- III. Spectral ages and metallicities

(abr.) We present the analysis of the spectroscopic catalog of galaxies in the Coma cluster from Mobasher et al. This catalog comprises ~300 spectra of cluster members with magnitudes M_B=-20.5 to -14 in two areas of ~1 X 1.5 Mpc towards the center and the SW region of the cluster. In this paper the analysis is restricted to the 257 galaxies with no emission lines in their spectra. The strength of the age-sensitive indices is found to correlate with galaxy magnitude over the whole magnitude range. Similarly, the metallicity-sensitive indices anticorrelate with magnitude. By comparing the observed indices with model grids based on the Padova isochrones, we derive luminosity-weighted ages and metallicities. We present the distributions of ages and metallicities for galaxies in various magnitude bins. The mean metallicity decreases with galaxy magnitude and, at a given luminosity, appears to be generally lower for galaxies in the SW region of Coma as compared to the center of the cluster. A broad range of ages, from younger than 3 Gyr to older than 9 Gyr, is found in galaxies of any magnitude. However, systematic trends of age with luminosity are present among galaxies in the central field. In the central Mpc of Coma, a large fraction of galaxies at any luminosity (50-60% of the giants, >30 % of the dwarfs) show no evidence in their central regions of star formation occurred at redshift z<2, while the proportion of galaxies with significant star formation occurring at intermediate (0.35<z<2) and low (z<0.35) redshifts is found to depend on galaxy luminosity. Faint galaxies with young luminosity-weighted ages appear to have a bimodal metallicity distribution that, if confirmed, would point to a composite formation scenario. Finally, we present an interpretation of the index-magnitude relations observed.

astro-ph↗

Ages of S0 and elliptical galaxies in the Coma cluster

The ages of stellar populations in 52 elliptical and S0 galaxies in the Coma cluster are investigated using a new spectroscopic sample. More than 40% of the S0s are found to have experienced recent star formation in their central regions during the last ~5 Gyrs, while such activity is absent in the ellipticals. Galaxies in this sample have absolute magnitudes in the range -20.5 < M_B < -17.5, and the fraction of S0 galaxies with recent star formation is higher at fainter luminosities. The observed luminosity range of S0 galaxies with signs of recent star formation activity is consistent with them being the descendants of typical star-forming spirals at intermediate redshift whose star formation has been halted as a consequence of the dense environment.

astro-ph↗

A photometric and spectroscopic study of dwarf and giant galaxies in the Coma cluster - II. Spectroscopic observations

This is the second paper in a series studying the photometric and spectroscopic properties of galaxies of different luminosities in the Coma cluster. The sample selection, spectroscopic observations and completeness functions are presented here. To study the spectral properties of galaxies as a function of their local environment, two fields were selected for spectroscopic observations to cover both the core (Coma1) and outskirts (ie. south-west of the core and centered on NGC4839)- (Coma3) of the cluster. Medium resolution spectroscopy (6-9 Å) was carried out for a total of 490 galaxies in both fields (302 in Coma1 and 188 in Coma3), using the WYFFOS multi-fiber spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope. The galaxies cover a range of $12 < R < 20$, corresponding to -23 < M_R < -15 (H0=65 km/sec/Mpc). The redshifts are measured with an accuracy of 100 km/sec. The spectral line strengths and equivalent widths are also measured for the same galaxies and analysed in Poggianti et al (2001- paper III). A total of 189 (Coma1) and 90 (Coma3) galaxies are identified as members of the Coma cluster. An analysis of the colors show that only two members of the Coma cluster in our sample have B-R > 2. The completeness functions for the spectroscopic sample is presented.

astro-ph↗

Statistical Properties of Bright Galaxies in the SDSS Photometric System

We investigate the photometric properties of 456 bright galaxies using imaging data recorded during the commissioning phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Morphological classification is carried out by correlating results of several human classifiers. Our purpose is to examine the statistical properties of color indices, scale lengths, and concentration indices as functions of morphology for the SDSS photometric system. We find that $u'-g'$, $g'-r'$, and $r'-i'$ colors of SDSS galaxies match well with those expected from the synthetic calculation of spectroscopic energy distribution of template galaxies and with those transformed from $UBVR_CI_C$ color data of nearby galaxies. The agreement is somewhat poor, however, for $i'-z'$ color band with a discrepancy of $0.1-0.2$ mag. With the aid of the relation between surface brightness and radius obtained by Kent (1985), we estimate the averages of the effective radius of early type galaxies and the scale length of exponential disks both to be 2.6 kpc for $L^*$ galaxies. We find that the half light radius of galaxies depends slightly on the color bands, consistent with the expected distribution of star-forming regions for late type galaxies and with the known color gradient for early type galaxies. We also show that the (inverse) concentration index, defined by the ratio of the half light Petrosian radius to the 90% light Petrosian radius, correlates tightly with the morphological type; this index allows us to classify galaxies into early (E/S0) and late (spiral and irregular) types, allowing for a 15-20% contamination from the opposite class compared with eye-classified morphology.

astro-ph↗

The Morphology Dependence of Luminosity Segregation in the Coma Cluster

We carry out CCD photometry of galaxies in the 5.25 square region centered on Coma cluster down to $M_R=-16.0$, beyond the limit of conventional morphological classification. We use the angular two-point correlation function as well as radial profiles in order to characterize the luminosity segregation. We find strong luminosity segregation for our total sample over the magnitude range of $-20 \leq M_R \leq -16$, which is not entirely accounted for in terms of the morphology-density relation that is known to exist only for bright galaxies. We use a single consistent parameter, the degree of luminosity concentration, to parameterize the morphology of galaxies over the wide magnitude range, where both giant and dwarf galaxies are included. Galaxies with high central concentration (HCC) show strong luminosity segregation, i.e. their clustering strength depends strongly on luminosity while those with low central concentration (LCC) show almost no luminosity segregation. Radial density profile shows that brighter HCC-type galaxies tend to more strongly concentrate near the cluster center while LCC-type galaxies do not show such a dependence on luminosity. We show that these results are tenable against the contamination by field galaxies and uncertainties in our method of classification.

astro-ph↗

Measurement of B(D_s+ -> mu+ nu_mu)/B(D_s+ -> phi mu+ nu_mu) and Determination of the Decay Constant f_{D_s}

We have observed $23.2 \pm 6.0_{-0.9}^{+1.0}$ purely-leptonic decays of $D_s^+ -> μ^+ ν_μ$ from a sample of muonic one prong decay events detected in the emulsion target of Fermilab experiment E653. Using the $D_s^+ -> ϕμ^+ ν_μ$ yield measured previously in this experiment, we obtain $B(D_s^+ --> μ^+ ν_μ) / B(D_s^+ --> ϕμ^+ ν_μ) =0.16 \pm 0.06 \pm 0.03$. In addition, we extract the decay constant $f_{D_s}=194 \pm 35 \pm 20 \pm 14 MeV$.

hep-ex↗