arXiv subjects

Richard Bielby

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Bielby.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

A VLT/MUSE galaxy survey towards QSO Q1410: looking for a WHIM traced by BLAs in inter-cluster filaments

Cosmological simulations predict that a significant fraction of the low-$z$ baryon budget resides in large-scale filaments in the form of a diffuse plasma at temperatures $T \sim 10^{5} - 10^{7}$ K. However, direct observation of this so-called warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) has been elusive. In the $Λ$CDM paradigm, galaxy clusters correspond to the nodes of the cosmic web at the intersection of several large-scale filamentary threads. In previous work, we used HST/COS data to conduct the first survey of broad HI Ly$α$ absorbers (BLAs) potentially produced by WHIM in inter-cluster filaments. We targeted a single QSO, namely Q1410, whose sight-line intersects $7$ independent inter-cluster axes at impact parameters $<3$ Mpc (co-moving), and found a tentative excess of a factor of ${\sim}4$ with respect to the field. Here, we further investigate the origin of these BLAs by performing a blind galaxy survey within the Q1410 field using VLT/MUSE. We identified $77$ sources and obtained the redshifts for $52$ of them. Out of the total sample of $7$ BLAs in inter-cluster axes, we found $3$ without any galaxy counterpart to stringent luminosity limits ($\sim 4 \times 10^{8}$ L$_{\odot}$ ${\sim} 0.01$ L$_{*}$), providing further evidence that these BLAs may represent genuine WHIM detections. We combined this sample with other suitable BLAs from the literature and inferred the corresponding baryon mean density for these filaments in the range $Ω^{\rm fil}_{\rm bar}= 0.02-0.04$. Our rough estimates are consistent with the predictions from numerical simulations but still subject to large systematic uncertainties, mostly from the adopted geometry, ionization corrections and density profile.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Observations of Escaping Lyman Continuum Radiation from Galaxies and Weak AGN at Redshifts $z$$\,\simeq\,$2.3-4.1

We present observations of escaping Lyman Continuum (LyC) radiation from 34 massive star-forming galaxies and 12 weak AGN with reliably measured spectroscopic redshifts at $z$$\simeq$2.3-4.1. We analyzed Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) mosaics of the Early Release Science field in three UVIS filters to sample the rest-frame LyC over this redshift range. With our best current assessment of the WFC3 systematics, we provide 1$σ$ upper limits for the average LyC emission of galaxies at $z$=2.35, 2.75, and 3.60 to $\sim$28.5, 28.1, and 30.7 mag in image stacks of 11-15 galaxies in the WFC3/UVIS F225W, F275W, and F336W, respectively. The LyC flux of weak AGN at $z$=2.62 and 3.32 are detected at 28.3 and 27.4 mag with SNRs of $\sim$2.7 and 2.5 in F275W and F336W for stacks of 7 and 3 AGN, respectively, while AGN at $z$=2.37 are constrained to $\gtrsim$27.9 mag at 1$σ$ in a stack of 2 AGN. The stacked AGN LyC light profiles are flatter than their corresponding non-ionizing UV continuum profiles out to radii of r$\lesssim$0."9, which may indicate a radial dependence of porosity in the ISM. With synthetic stellar SEDs fit to UV continuum measurements longwards of Ly$α$ and IGM transmission models, we constrain the absolute LyC escape fractions to $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$$\simeq$$22^{+44}_{-22}$% at $z$=2.35 and $\lesssim$55% at $z$=2.75 and 3.60, respectively. All available data for galaxies, including published work, suggests a more sudden increase of $f_{\rm esc}$ with redshift at $z$$\simeq$2. Dust accumulating in (massive) galaxies over cosmic time correlates with increased HI column density, which may lead to reducing $f_{\rm esc}$ more suddenly at $z$$\lesssim$2. This may suggest that star-forming galaxies collectively contributed to maintaining cosmic reionization at redshifts $z$$\gtrsim$2-4, while AGN likely dominated reionization at $z$$\lesssim$2.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Lightcone mock catalogues from semi-analytic models of galaxy formation - I. Construction and application to the BzK colour selection

We introduce a method for constructing end-to-end mock galaxy catalogues using a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation, applied to the halo merger trees extracted from a cosmological N-body simulation. The mocks that we construct are lightcone catalogues, in which a galaxy is placed according to the epoch at which it first enters the past lightcone of the observer, and incorporate the evolution of galaxy properties with cosmic time. We determine the position between the snapshot outputs at which a galaxy enters the observer's lightcone by interpolation. As an application, we consider the effectiveness of the BzK colour selection technique, which was designed to isolate galaxies in the redshift interval 1.4<z<2.5. The mock catalogue is in reasonable agreement with the observed number counts of all BzK galaxies, as well as with the observed counts of the subsample of BzKs that are star-forming galaxies. We predict that over 75 per cent of the model galaxies with K_{AB}<=23, and 1.4<z<2.5, are selected by the BzK technique. Interloper galaxies, outside the intended redshift range, are predicted to dominate bright samples of BzK galaxies (i.e. with K_{AB}<=21). Fainter K-band cuts are necessary to reduce the predicted interloper fraction. We also show that shallow B-band photometry can lead to confusion in classifying BzK galaxies as being star-forming or passively evolving. Overall, we conclude that the BzK colour selection technique is capable of providing a sample of galaxies that is representative of the 1.4<z<2.5 galaxy population.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

An exponential decline at the bright end of the z=6 galaxy luminosity function

We present the results of a search for the most luminous star-forming galaxies at redshifts z~6 based on CFHT Legacy Survey data. We identify a sample of 40 Lyman break galaxies brighter than magnitude z'=25.3 across an area of almost 4 square degrees. Sensitive spectroscopic observations of seven galaxies provide redshifts for four, of which only two have moderate to strong Lyman alpha emission lines. All four have clear continuum breaks in their spectra. Approximately half of the Lyman break galaxies are spatially resolved in 0.7 arcsec seeing images, indicating larger sizes than lower luminosity galaxies discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope, possibly due to on-going mergers. The stacked optical and infrared photometry is consistent with a galaxy model with stellar mass ~ 10^{10} solar masses. There is strong evidence for substantial dust reddening with a best-fit A_V=0.7 and A_V>0.48 at 2 sigma confidence, in contrast to the typical dust-free galaxies of lower luminosity at this epoch. The spatial extent and spectral energy distribution suggest that the most luminous z~6 galaxies are undergoing merger-induced starbursts. The luminosity function of z=5.9 star-forming galaxies is derived. This agrees well with previous work and shows strong evidence for an exponential decline at the bright end, indicating that the feedback processes which govern the shape of the bright end are occurring effectively at this epoch.

astro-ph.CO↗