arXiv subjects

Raymond G. Carlberg

Publications and source records attributed to Raymond G. Carlberg.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Simulating tidal streams in a high resolution dark matter halo

We simulate tidal streams in the presence and absence of substructures inside the zero redshift snapshot of the Via Lactea II (VL-2) simulation. A halo finder is used to remove and isolate the subhalos found inside the high resolution dark matter halo of VL-2, and the potentials for both the main halo and all the subhalos are constructed individually using the self-consistent field (SCF) method. This allows us to make direct comparison of tidal streams between a smooth halo and a lumpy halo without assuming idealized profiles or triaxial fits. We simulate the kinematics of a star cluster starting with the same orbital position but two different velocities. Although these two orbits are only moderately eccentric and have similar apo- and pericentric distances, we find that the two streams have very different morphologies. We conclude that our model of the potential of VL-2 can provide insights about tidal streams that have not been explored by previous studies using idealized or axisymmetric models.

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arXiv2014

Dynamical Properties of Collisionless Star Streams

A sufficiently extended satellite in the tidal field of a host galaxy loses mass to create nearly symmetric leading and trailing tidal streams. We study the case in which tidal heating drives mass loss from a low mass satellite. The stream effectively has two dynamical components, a common angular momentum core superposed with episodic pulses with a broader angular momentum distribution. The pulses appear as spurs on the stream, oscillating above and below the stream centerline, stretching and blurring in configuration space as they move away from the cluster. Low orbital eccentricity streams are smoother and have less differential motion than high eccentricity streams. The tail of a high eccentricity stream can develop a fan of particles which wraps around at apocenter in a shell feature. We show that scaling the essentially stationary action-angle variables with the cube root of the satellite mass allows a low mass satellite stream to accurately predict the features in the stream from a satellite a thousand times more massive. As a practical astrophysical application, we demonstrate that narrow gaps in a moderate eccentricity stream, such as GD-1, blur out to 50\% contrast over approximately 6 radial periods. A high eccentricity stream, such as Pal~5, will blur small gaps in only radial 2 orbits as can be understood from the much larger dispersion of angular momentum in the stream.

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arXiv2014

Using gaps in N-body tidal streams to probe missing satellites

We use N-body simulations to model the tidal disruption of a star cluster in a Milky-Way-sized dark matter halo, which results in a narrow stream comparable to (but slightly wider than) Pal-5 or GD-1. The mean Galactic dark matter halo is modeled by a spherical Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) potential with subhalos predicted by the LCDM cosmological model. The distribution and mass function of the subhalos follow the results from the Aquarius simulation. We use a matched filter approach to look for "gaps" in tidal streams at 12 length scales from 0.1 kpc to 5 kpc, which appear as characteristic dips in the linear densities along the streams. We find that, in addition to the subhalos' perturbations, the epicyclic overdensities (EOs) due to the coherent epicyclic motions of particles in a stream also produce gap-like signals near the progenitor. We measure the gap spectra - the gap formation rates as functions of gap length - due to both subhalo perturbations and EOs, which have not been accounted for together by previous studies. Finally, we project the simulated streams onto the sky to investigate issues when interpreting gap spectra in observations. In particular, we find that gap spectra from low signal-to-noise observations can be biased by the orbital phase of the stream. This indicates that the study of stream gaps will benefit greatly from high-quality data from future missions.

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arXiv2013

The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey - Infrared (NGVS-IR): I. A new Near-UV/Optical/Near-IR Globular Cluster selection tool

The NGVS-IR project (Next Generation Virgo Survey - Infrared) is a contiguous near-infrared imaging survey of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. It complements the optical wide-field survey of Virgo (NGVS). The current state of NGVS-IR consists of Ks-band imaging of 4 deg^2 centered on M87, and J and Ks-band imaging of 16 deg^2 covering the region between M49 and M87. In this paper, we present the observations of the central 4 deg^2 centered on Virgo's core region. The data were acquired with WIRCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the total integration time was 41 hours distributed in 34 contiguous tiles. A survey-specific strategy was designed to account for extended galaxies while still measuring accurate sky brightness within the survey area. The average 5σlimiting magnitude is Ks=24.4 AB mag and the 50% completeness limit is Ks=23.75 AB mag for point source detections, when using only images with better than 0.7" seeing (median seeing 0.54"). Star clusters are marginally resolved in these image stacks, and Virgo galaxies with μ_Ks=24.4 AB mag arcsec^-2 are detected. Combining the Ks data with optical and ultraviolet data, we build the uiK color-color diagram which allows a very clean color-based selection of globular clusters in Virgo. This diagnostic plot will provide reliable globular cluster candidates for spectroscopic follow-up campaigns needed to continue the exploration of Virgo's photometric and kinematic sub-structures, and will help the design of future searches for globular clusters in extragalactic systems. Equipped with this powerful new tool, future NGVS-IR investigations based on the uiK diagram will address the mapping and analysis of extended structures and compact stellar systems in and around Virgo galaxies.

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arXiv2013

Gaps in the GD-1 Star Stream

GD-1 is a long, thin, Milky Way star stream that has readily visible density variations along its length. We quantify the locations, sizes and statistical significance of the density structure, i.e. gaps, using a set of scaled filters. The shapes of the filters are based on the gaps that develop in simulations of dark matter sub-halos crossing a star stream. The high Galactic latitude 8.4 kpc long segment of GD-1 that we examine has 8+/-3 gaps of 99% significance or greater, with the error estimated on the basis of tests of the gap-filtering technique. The cumulative distribution of gaps more than 3 times the width of the stream is in good agreement with predictions for dark matter sub-halo encounters with cold star streams. The number of gaps narrower than 3 times the width of the GD-1 stream falls well below the cold stream prediction which is taken into account for the gap creation rate integrated over all sizes. Simple warm stream simulations scaled to GD-1 show that the falloff in gaps is expected for sub-halos below a mass of 10^6 M_sun. The GD-1 gaps requires 100 sub-halos >10^6 M_sun within 30 kpc, the apocenter of GD-1 orbit. These results are consistent with LCDM sub-halo predictions but further improvements in stream signal-to-noise and gap modeling will be welcome.

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arXiv2012

Super-luminous supernovae at redshifts of 2.05 and 3.90

A rare class of `super-luminous' supernovae that are about ten or more times more luminous at their peaks than other types of luminous supernovae has recently been found at low to intermediate redshifts. A small subset of these events have luminosities that evolve slowly and result in radiated energies of around 10^51 ergs or more. Therefore, they are likely examples of `pair-instability' or `pulsational pair-instability' supernovae with estimated progenitor masses of 100 - 250 times that of the Sun. These events are exceedingly rare at low redshift, but are expected to be more common at high redshift because the mass distribution of the earliest stars was probably skewed to high values. Here we report the detection of two super-luminous supernovae, at redshifts of 2.05 and 3.90, that have slowly evolving light curves. We estimate the rate of events at redshifts of 2 and 4 to be approximately ten times higher than the rate at low redshift. The extreme luminosities of super-luminous supernovae extend the redshift limit for supernova detection using present technology, previously 2.36, and provide a way of investigating the deaths of the first generation of stars to form after the Big Bang.

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arXiv2012

Counting Dark Sub-halos with Star Stream Gaps

The Cold Dark Matter paradigm predicts vast numbers of dark matter sub-halos to be orbiting in galactic halos. The sub-halos are detectable through the gaps they create gaps in stellar streams. The gap-rate is an integral over the density of sub-halos, their mass function, velocity distribution and the dynamical age of the stream. The rate of visible gap creation is a function of the width of the stream. The available data for four streams: the NW stream of M31, the Pal~5 stream, the Orphan Stream and the Eastern Banded Structure, are compared to the LCDM predicted relation. We find a remarkably good agreement, although there remains much to be done to improve the quality of the result. The narrower streams require that there is a total population of order 10^5 sub-halos above 10^5 M_sun to create the gaps.

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arXiv2011

Dark Matter Sub-Halo Counts via Star Stream Crossings

Dark matter sub-halos create gaps in the stellar streams orbiting in the halos of galaxies. We evaluate the sub-halo stream crossing integral with the guidance of simulations to find that the linear rate of gap creation, R_gap, in a typical Cold Dark Matter (CDM) galactic halo at 100 kpc is R_gap = 0.0066 M_8^-0.35 kpc^-1 Gyr^-1$, where M_8 = M/10^8 M_sun, is the minimum mass halo that creates a visible gap. The relation can be recast entirely in terms of observables, as R_gap= 0.059 w^-0.85 kpc^-1 Gyr^-1, for w in kpc, normalized at 100 kpc. Using published data, the density of gaps is estimated for M31's NW stream and the Milky Way Pal 5 stream, Orphan stream, and Eastern Banded Structure. The estimated rates of gap creation all have errors of 50% or more due to uncertain dynamical ages and the relatively noisy stream density measurements. The gap rate-width data are in good agreement with the CDM predicted relation. The high density of gaps in the narrow streams require a total halo population of 10^5 sub-halos above a minimum mass of 10^5 M_sun.

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arXiv2011

Red Nuggets at High Redshift: Structural Evolution of Quiescent Galaxies Over 10 Gyr of Cosmic History

We present an analysis of the size growth seen in early-type galaxies over 10 Gyr of cosmic time. Our analysis is based on a homogeneous synthesis of published data from 17 spectroscopic surveys observed at similar spatial resolution, augmented by new measurements for galaxies in the Gemini Deep Deep Survey. In total, our sample contains structural data for 465 galaxies (mainly early-type) in the redshift range 0.2<z<2.7. The size evolution of passively-evolving galaxies over this redshift range is gradual and continuous, with no evidence for an end or change to the process around z~1, as has been hinted at by some surveys which analyze subsets of the data in isolation. The size growth appears to be independent of stellar mass, with the mass-normalized half-light radius scaling with redshift as R_e (1+z)^(-1.62 +/- 0.34). Surprisingly, this power law seems to be in good agreement with the recently reported continuous size evolution of UV-bright galaxies in the redshift range z~0.5-3.5. It is also in accordance with the predictions from recent theoretical models.

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arXiv2010

The CFHTLS Deep Catalog of Interacting Galaxies I. Merger Rate Evolution to z=1.2

We present the rest-frame optical galaxy merger fraction between 0.2 4sigma level of confidence. A mild trend, where massive galaxies with M>10^10.7 M_sun are undergoing fewer mergers than less massive systems M~10^10 M_sun), consistent with the expectations of galaxy assembly downsizing is observed. Our results also show that interacting galaxies have on average SFRs double that found in non-interacting field galaxies. We conclude that (1) the optical galaxy merger fraction does evolve with redshift, (2) the merger fraction depends mildly on stellar mass, with lower mass galaxies having higher merger fractions at z<1, and (3) star formation is triggered at all phases of a merger, with larger enhancements at later stages, consistent with N-body simulations.

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arXiv2006

The type Ia supernova SNLS-03D3bb from a super-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf star

The acceleration of the expansion of the universe, and the need for Dark Energy, were inferred from the observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). There is consensus that SNe Ia are thermonuclear explosions that destroy carbon-oxygen white dwarf stars that accrete matter from a companion star, although the nature of this companion remains uncertain. SNe Ia are thought to be reliable distance indicators because they have a standard amount of fuel and a uniform trigger -- they are predicted to explode when the mass of the white dwarf nears the Chandrasekhar mass -- 1.4 solar masses. Here we show that the high redshift supernova SNLS-03D3bb has an exceptionally high luminosity and low kinetic energy that both imply a super-Chandrasekhar mass progenitor. Super-Chandrasekhar mass SNe Ia should preferentially occur in a young stellar population, so this may provide an explanation for the observed trend that overluminous SNe Ia only occur in young environments. Since this supernova does not obey the relations that allow them to be calibrated as standard candles, and since no counterparts have been found at low redshift, future cosmology studies will have to consider contamination from such events.

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arXiv2006

Towards a Cosmological Hubble Diagram for Type II-P Supernovae

We present the first high-redshift Hubble diagram for Type II-P supernovae (SNe II-P) based upon five events at redshift up to z~0.3. This diagram was constructed using photometry from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey and absorption line spectroscopy from the Keck observatory. The method used to measure distances to these supernovae is based on recent work by Hamuy & Pinto (2002) and exploits a correlation between the absolute brightness of SNe II-P and the expansion velocities derived from the minimum of the Fe II 516.9 nm P-Cygni feature observed during the plateau phases. We present three refinements to this method which significantly improve the practicality of measuring the distances of SNe II-P at cosmologically interesting redshifts. These are an extinction correction measurement based on the V-I colors at day 50, a cross-correlation measurement for the expansion velocity and the ability to extrapolate such velocities accurately over almost the entire plateau phase. We apply this revised method to our dataset of high-redshift SNe II-P and find that the resulting Hubble diagram has a scatter of only 0.26 magnitudes, thus demonstrating the feasibility of measuring the expansion history, with present facilities, using a method independent of that based upon supernovae of Type Ia.

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arXiv2005

Catalog of Galaxy Morphology in Four Rich Clusters: Luminosity Evolution of Disk Galaxies at 0.33<z<0.83

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of four rich, X-ray luminous, galaxy clusters (0.33<z<0.83) is used to produce quantitative morphological measurements for galaxies in their fields. Catalogs of these measurements are presented for 1642 galaxies brighter than F814W(AB)=23.0 . Galaxy luminosity profiles are fitted with three models: exponential disk, de Vaucouleurs bulge, and a disk-plus-bulge hybrid model. The best fit is selected and produces a quantitative assessment of the morphology of each galaxy: the principal parameters derived being B/T, the ratio of bulge to total luminosity, the scale lengths and half-light radii, axial ratios, position angles and surface brightnesses of each component. Cluster membership is determined using a statistical correction for field galaxy contamination, and a mass normalization factor (mass within boundaries of the observed fields) is derived for each cluster. In the present paper, this catalog of measurements is used to investigate the luminosity evolution of disk galaxies in the rich-cluster environment. Examination of the relations between disk scale-length and central surface brightness suggests, under the assumption that these clusters represent a family who share a common evolutionary history and are simply observed at different ages, that there is a dramatic change in the properties of the small disks (h < 2 kpc). This change is best characterized as a change in surface brightness by about 1.5 magnitude between z=0.3 and z=0.8 with brighter disks at higher redshifts.

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arXiv2004

Evolved Galaxies at z > 1.5 from the Gemini Deep Deep Survey: The Formation Epoch of Massive Stellar Systems

We present spectroscopic evidence from the Gemini Deep Deep Survey (GDDS) for a significant population of color-selected red galaxies at 1.3 < z < 2.2 whose integrated light is dominated by evolved stars. Unlike radio-selected objects, the z > 1.5 old galaxies have a sky density > 0.1 per sq. arcmin. Conservative age estimates for 20 galaxies with z > 1.3; = 1.49, give a median age of 1.2 Gyr and = 2.4. One quarter of the galaxies have inferred z_f > 4. Models restricted to abundances less than or equal to solar give median ages and z_f of 2.3 Gyr and 3.3, respectively. These galaxies are among the most massive and contribute approximately 50% of the stellar mass density at 1 < z < 2. The derived ages and most probable star formation histories suggest a high star-formation-rate (300-500 solar masses per year) phase in the progenitor population. We argue that most of the red galaxies are not descendants of the typical z=3 Lyman break galaxies. Galaxies associated with luminous sub-mm sources have the requisite star formation rates to be the progenitor population. Our results point toward early and rapid formation for a significant fraction of present day massive galaxies.

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