arXiv subjects

Richard G. Bower

Publications and source records attributed to Richard G. Bower.

143 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

Exploring the Selection of Galaxy Clusters and Groups: An Optical Survey for X-ray Dark Clusters

Data from a new, wide field, coincident optical and X-ray survey, the X-ray Dark Cluster Survey (XDCS) are presented. This survey comprises simultaneous and independent searches for clusters of galaxies in the optical and X-ray passbands. Optical cluster detection algorithms implemented on the data are detailed. Two distinct optically selected catalogues are constructed, one based on I-band overdensity, the other on overdensities of colour-selected galaxies. The superior accuracy of the colour-selection technique over that of the single passband method is demonstrated, via internal consistency checks and comparison with external spectroscopic redshift information. This is compared with an X-ray selected cluster catalogue. In terms of gross numbers, the survey yields 185 I-band selected, 290 colour selected and 15 X-ray selected systems, residing in ~11deg^2 of optical + X-ray imaging. The relationship between optical richness/ luminosity and X-ray luminosity is examined, by measuring X-ray luminosities at the positions of our 290 colour-selected systems. Power law correlations between the optical richness/ luminosity versus X-ray luminosity are fitted, both exhibiting approximately 0.2 dex of intrinsic scatter. Interesting outliers in these correlations are discussed in greater detail. Spectroscopic follow up of a subsample of X-ray underluminous systems confirms their reality.

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arXiv2003

On the Origin of Intracluster Entropy

The entropy distribution of the intracluster medium and the shape of its confining potential well completely determine the X-ray properties of a relaxed cluster of galaxies, motivating us to explore the origin of intracluster entropy and to describe how it develops in terms of some simple models. We present an analytical model for smooth accretion, including both preheating and radiative cooling, that links a cluster's entropy distribution to its mass accretion history and shows that smooth accretion overproduces the entropy observed in massive clusters by a factor ~2-3, depending on the mass accretion rate. Any inhomogeneity in the accreting gas reduces entropy production at the accretion shock; thus, smoothing of the gas accreting onto a cluster raises its entropy level. Because smooth accretion produces more entropy than hierarchical accretion, we suggest that some of the observed differences between clusters and groups may arise because preheating smooths the smaller-scale lumps of gas accreting onto groups more effectively than it smooths the larger-scale lumps accreting onto clusters. This effect may explain why entropy levels at the outskirts of groups are ~2-3 times larger than expected from self-similar scaling arguments. The details of how the density distribution of accreting gas affects the entropy distribution of a cluster are complex, and we suggest how to explore the relevant physics with numerical simulations.

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arXiv2003

The Evolutionary Status of Early-type Galaxies in Abell 2390

We explore the evolution of the early-type galaxy population in the rich cluster Abell 2390 at z=0.23. For this purpose, we have obtained spectroscopic data of 51 elliptical and lenticular galaxies with MOSCA at the 3.5 m telescope on Calar Alto Observatory. As our investigation spans both a broad range in luminosity (-22.3<M_B<-19.3) and a wide field of view (10'x10'), the environmental dependence of different formation scenarios can be analysed in detail as a function of radius from the cluster center. In this paper, we present first results on the Faber-Jackson relation and, for a subsample of 14 galaxies with morphological and structural parameters from HST, we also investigate the evolution of the Kormendy relation and the Fundamental Plane. We find a mild luminosity evolution of the early-type galaxies in Abell 2390: our objects are on average brighter by m_B~0.4 mag.

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arXiv2002

Modified-Entropy Models for the Intracluster Medium

We present a set of cluster models that link the present-day properties of clusters to the processes that govern galaxy formation. These models treat the entropy distribution of the intracluster medium as its most fundamental property. Because convection strives to establish an entropy gradient that rises with radius, the observable properties of a relaxed cluster depend entirely on its dark-matter potential and the entropy distribution of its uncondensed gas. Guided by simulations, we compute the intracluster entropy distribution that arises in the absence of radiative cooling and supernova heating by assuming that the gas-density distribution would be identical to that of the dark matter. The lowest-entropy gas would then fall below a critical entropy threshold at which the cooling time equals a Hubble time. Radiative cooling and whatever feedback is associated with it must modify the entropy of that low-entropy gas, changing the overall entropy distribution function and thereby altering the observable properties of the cluster. Using some phenomenological prescriptions for entropy modification based on the existence of this cooling threshold, we construct a remarkably realistic set of cluster models. The surface-brightness profiles, mass-temperature relation, and luminosity-temperature relation of observed clusters all naturally emerge from these models. By introducing a single adjustable parameter related to the amount of intracluster gas that can cool within a Hubble time, we can also reproduce the observed temperature gradients of clusters and the deviations of cooling-flow clusters from the standard luminosity-temperature relation.

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arXiv2002

An H-alpha survey of the rich cluster A1689

(Abridged) We present results of an H-alpha survey in the rich cluster A1689 at z=0.18, using the LDSS++ spectrograph on the AAT. We obtained spectra covering redshifted H-alpha for 522 galaxies brighter than I=22.5, covering a field of 8.7'X8.7'. We detect H-alpha emission in 46 of these galaxies; accounting for selection effects due to sampling and cluster membership, we determine that 24% of cluster members brighter than M_R=-16.5+5log(h) are detected with H-alpha flux greater than 4h^{-2}X 10^{38} ergs/s. This corresponds to a limiting star formation rate of 0.008 h^{-2} Msun/yr, assuming 1 magnitude of dust extinction. From a Hubble Space Telescope mosaic covering 7.5' X 10.0', we determine morphologies for 199 galaxies brighter than I=21, and find that 20% of the cluster members are of type Sa or later. More than 90% of cluster spirals show H-alpha emission, compared with less than 10% of E and S0 galaxies. The cluster H-alpha luminosity function has a low normalisation relative to the z~0.2 field, by ~50%, after accounting for the different fraction of spiral galaxies in the two environments. When compared with local field galaxies, this suggests that star formation activity is suppressed in early-type cluster galaxies, relative to their field counterparts. Our sample includes 29 galaxies previously observed with ISOCAM at 6 and 15 microns. We detect all 15-micron sources at H-alpha, so there is no evidence for any star formation completely hidden at H-alpha. Comparing the 15-micron and H-alpha fluxes, we find evidence that some mid-infrared-detected galaxies could be obscured by as much as 3 magnitudes of extinction at H-alpha, although this depends on the largely unknown contribution from any AGN-heated dust to the mid-infrared flux.

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arXiv2001

Bubbles, feedback and the intra-cluster medium: three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations

We use a three dimensional hydrodynamical code to simulate the effect of energy injection on cooling flows in the intracluster medium. Specifically, we compare a simulation of a 10$^{15}$ $M_\odot$ cluster with radiative cooling only, with a second simulation in which thermal energy is injected 31 $\kpc$ off-centre, over 64 kpc$^{3}$ at a rate of $4.9\times 10^{44} \ergs$ for 50 Myr. The heat injection forms a hot, low density bubble which quickly rises, dragging behind it material from the cluster core. The rising bubble pushes with it a shell of gas which expands and cools. We find the appearance of the bubble in X-ray temperature and luminosity to be in good qualitative agreement with recent {\it Chandra} observations of cluster cores. Toward the end of the simulation, at 600 Myr, the displaced gas begins to fall back toward the core, and the subsequent turbulence is very efficient at mixing the low and high entropy gas. The result is that the cooling flow is disrupted for up to $\sim 50$ Myr after the injection of energy ceases. Thus, this mechanism provides a very efficient method for regulating cooling flows, if the injection events occur with a 1:1 duty cycle.

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arXiv2000

A low global star formation rate in the rich galaxy cluster AC114 at z=0.32

We present the results of a wide-field survey for H-alpha emitting galaxies in the cluster AC114 at z=0.32. Spectra centred on H-alpha at the cluster redshift have been obtained for 586 galaxies to I~22 out to a radius around 2Mpc. At most, only ~10% of these were found to be H-alpha-emitting cluster members. These objects are predominantly blue and of late-type spiral morphology, consistent with them hosting star formation. However, ~65% of the cluster members classified morphologically as spirals (with HST), have no detectable H-alpha emission; star-formation and morphological evolution in cluster galaxies appear to be largely decoupled. Changes in the H-alpha detection rate and the strength of H-alpha emission with environment are found to be weak within the region studied. Star formation within the cluster members is also found to be strongly and uniformly suppressed, with the rates inferred from the H-alpha emission not exceeding 4Mo/yr, and AC114's H-alpha luminosity function being an order of magnitude below that observed for field galaxies at the same redshift. None of the galaxies detected have the high star formation rates associated with `starburst' galaxies; however, this may still be reconciliable with the known (8+/-3%) fraction of `post-starburst' galaxies within AC114, given the poorly determined but short lifetimes of starbursts and the possibility that much of the associated star formation is obscured by dust.

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arXiv2000

Exploring the evolution of spiral galaxies

We have constructed a family of simple models for spiral galaxy evolution to allow us to investigate observational trends in star formation history with galaxy parameters. The models are used to generate broad band colours from which ages and metallicities are derived in the same way as the data. We generate a grid of model galaxies and select only those which lie in regions of parameter space covered by the sample. The data are consistent with the proposition that the star formation history of a region within a galaxy depends primarily on the local surface density of the gas but that one or two additional ingredients are required to fully explain the observational data. The observed age gradients appear steeper than those produced by the density dependent star formation law, indicating that the star formation law or infall history must vary with galactocentric radius. Furthermore, the metallicity-magnitude and age-magnitude correlations are not reproduced by a local density dependence alone. These correlations require one or both of the following: (i) a combination of mass dependent infall and metal enriched outflow, or (ii) a mass dependent galaxy formation epoch. Distinguishing these possibilities on the basis of current data is extremely difficult.

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arXiv1999

The star formation histories of low surface brightness galaxies

We have performed deep imaging of a diverse sample of 26 low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) in the optical and the near-infrared. Using stellar population synthesis models, we find that it is possible to place constraints on the ratio of young to old stars (which we parameterise in terms of the average age of the galaxy), as well as the metallicity of the galaxy, using optical and near-infrared colours. LSBGs have a wide range of morphologies and stellar populations, ranging from older, high metallicity earlier types to much younger and lower metallicity late type galaxies. Despite this wide range of star formation histories, we find that colour gradients are common in LSBGs. These are most naturally interpreted as gradients in mean stellar age, with the outer regions of LSBGs having younger ages than their inner regions. In an attempt to understand what drives the differences in LSBG stellar populations, we compare LSBG average ages and metallicities with their physical parameters. Strong correlations are seen between a LSBG's star formation history and its K band surface brightness, K band absolute magnitude and gas fraction. These correlations are consistent with a scenario in which the star formation history of a LSBG primarily correlates with its surface density and its metallicity correlates both with its mass and surface density.

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arXiv1999

Measuring Ω_0 from the Entropy Evolution of Clusters

In this paper, we have extended the entropy-driven model of cluster evolution developed by Bower (1997) in order to be able to predict the evolution of galaxy clusters for a range of cosmological scenarios. We have applied this model to recent measurements of the evolution of the L_x-T normalisation and X-ray luminosity function in order to place constraints on cosmological parameters. We find that these measurements alone do not select a particular cosmological frame-work. An additional constraint is required on the effective slope of the power spectrum to break the degeneracy that exists between this and the background cosmology. We have therefore included a theoretical calculation of the Ω_0 dependence on the power spectrum, based on the cold dark matter paradigm, which infers Ω_0<0.55 (0.1<Ω_0<0.7 for Ω_0+Λ_0=1), at the 95% confidence level. Alternatively, an independent measurement of the slope of the power spectrum from galaxy clustering requires Ω_0<0.6 (Ω_0<0.65 for Ω_0+Λ_0=1), again to 95% confidence. The rate of entropy evolution is insensitive to the values of Ω_0 considered, although is sensitive to changes in the distribution of the intracluster medium.

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arXiv1999

Ram Pressure Stripping of Spiral Galaxies in Clusters

We use 3-dimensional SPH/N-BODY simulations to study ram pressure stripping of gas from spiral galaxies orbiting in clusters. We find that the analytic expectation of Gunn & Gott (1972) relating the gravitational restoring force provided by the disk to the ram pressure force, provides a good approximation to the radius that gas will be stripped from a galaxy. However, at small radii it is also important to consider the potential provided by the bulge component. A spiral galaxy passing through the core of a rich cluster such as Coma, will have its gaseous disk truncated to $\sim 4$ kpc, thus losing $\sim 80%$ of its diffuse gas mass. The timescale for this to occur is a fraction of a crossing time $\sim 10^7$ years. Galaxies orbiting within poorer clusters, or inclined to the direction of motion through the intra-cluster medium will lose significantly less gas. We conclude that ram-pressure alone is insufficient to account for the rapid and widespread truncation of star-formation observed in cluster galaxies, or the morphological transformation of Sab's to S0's that is necessary to explain the Butcher-Oemler effect.

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arXiv1998

A Bayesian Classifier for Photometric Redshifts: Identification of high redshift clusters

Photometric redshift classifiers provide a means of estimating galaxy redshifts from observations using a small number of broad-band filters. However, the accuracy with which redshifts can be determined is sensitive to the star formation history of the galaxy, for example the effects of age, metallicity and on-going star formation. We present a photometric classifier that explicitly takes into account the degeneracies implied by these variations, based on the flexible stellar population synthesis code of Kodama & Arimoto. The situation is encouraging since many of the variations in stellar populations introduce colour changes that are degenerate. We use a Bayesian inversion scheme to estimate the likely range of redshifts compatible with the observed colours. When applied to existing multi-band photometry for Abell 370, most of the cluster members are correctly recovered with little field contamination. The inverter is focussed on the recovery of a wide variety of galaxy populations in distant (z~1) clusters from broad band colours covering the 4000 angstrom break. It is found that this can be achieved with impressive accuracy ($|Δz| < 0.1$), allowing detailed investigation into the evolution of cluster galaxies with little selection bias.

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arXiv1998

The Colour-Magnitude Relation of Early-Type Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field

We present the rest-frame colour-magnitude diagram for 35 early-type galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field with median redshift 0.9. Although with considerable scatter, a red sequence well-described by the passive evolution of an intrinsically old stellar population is observed. Comparison with the passively evolved colour-magnitude relation of the rich Coma cluster ($z=0.023$) indicates that around half of the early-type galaxies in the field at this redshift are as old as those in rich clusters.

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arXiv1998

The Formation History of Early-Type Galaxies: An Observational Perspective

This talk investigates the formation of early-type galaxies from a deliberately observational view point. I begin by reviewing the conclusions that can be reached by comparing the detailed properties of galaxies in present-day clusters, focusing on the colour-magnitude relation in particular. The overriding picture is one of homogeneity, implying a remarkable uniformity in the formation of these galaxies. This picture contrasts with the increasing activity seen in clusters as a function of redshift, creating an apparent paradox been the obvious diversity of star formation histories in distant cluster galaxies and their uniformity in local systems. A resolution is feasible so long as star formation occurs over an extended epoch. In addition to placing limits on variations in star formation history the existence of a tight `fundamental relations', such as the colour-magnitude relation, can be used to investigate galaxy mergers and to set limits on the degree to which present-day clusters galaxies are built by combining systems of stars formed in smaller units. The final part of this talk turns to early-type galaxies in the field, and tries to apply the same techniques that have been successful in clusters. This is an emerging field in which appropriate data-sets are only just becoming available; however, comparison of the formation histories of galaxies in a wide variety of environments is key to distinguishing between the Classical and Hierarchical models for galaxy formation.

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arXiv1998

The Colour-Magnitude Relation as a Constraint on the Formation of Rich Cluster Galaxies

In this paper, we examine the role that the colour-magnitude relation (CMR) can play in constraining the formation history of rich cluster galaxies. Firstly, we consider the colour evolution of galaxies after star formation ceases. We show that the scatter of the CMR places a strong constraint on the spread in age of the bulk of the stellar population. However, although the bulk of stars must be formed in a short period, continuing formation of stars in a fraction of the galaxies is not so strongly constrained. We examine a model in which star formation occurs over an extended period of time in most galaxies. An extension of this type of star formation history allows us to reconcile the small present-day scatter of the CMR with the observed blue galaxy fractions of intermediate redshift galaxy clusters. Secondly, the CMR can also be used to constrain the degree of merging between pre-existing stellar systems. This test relies on the slope of the CMR. We show that random mergers between galaxies very rapidly remove any well-defined CMR. However, we prefer to examine the merger process using a self-consistent merger tree. In such a model there are two effects: massive galaxies preferentially merge with systems of similar mass; and the rate of mass growth is considerably smaller than for the random merger case. As a result of both of these effects, the CMR persists through a larger number of merger steps. The passive evolution of galaxy colours and their averaging in dissipationless mergers provide opposing constraints on the formation of cluster galaxies in a hierarchical model; but at the level of current constraints, a compromise solution appears possible.

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arXiv1997

A Dynamical Study of Optically Selected Distant Clusters

We present a programme of spectroscopic observations of galaxies in a sample of optically-selected clusters taken from the catalogue of Couch et al (1991). Previous ROSAT observations of these clusters have shown them to have lower X-ray luminosities, given their optical richness, than might be expected on the basis of local samples. In the present paper we extend this work by determining velocity dispersions of a subsample of the clusters. We confirm the dynamical reality of all but one of the original sample, and find velocity dispersions comparable with present-day clusters of equivalent comoving space density. Thus, in the context of the $L_X-σ$ relation for present-day clusters, there is evidence for a higher velocity dispersion at fixed X-ray luminosity. A key question is whether the high velocity dispersions are indicative of the gravitational potential. If they are, the X-ray luminosities measured in Bower et al., 1994 (Paper I), would then imply an implausibly low efficiency of X-ray generation. Alternatively, the discrepancy could be explained if the clusters were systems of lower virial temperature, in which the apparent velocity dispersion is inflated by an infalling, unrelaxed halo. This might result either from an increase with redshift in the infall rate for clusters, or from the preferential selection of clusters embedded in filaments oriented along the line of sight. Since clusters with similar properties can be found in local optically selected catalogues, we suggest that the latter explanation is more likely.

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arXiv1996

A Weak Lensing Survey in the Fields of z~1 Luminous Radio Sources

In this paper we present weak lensing observations of the fields around 8 z~1 luminous radio sources. These data are searched for the lensing signatures of clusters that are either physically associated with the radio objects, or are foreground systems projected along the line of sight. The radio sources were all imaged with WFPC-2/HST providing high quality shape information on large numbers of faint galaxies around them. Statistical analysis of the coherent shear field visible in the shapes of the faint galaxies indicates that we have detected a weak lensing signal close to one of the targets, 3C336 at z=0.927, with a high level of confidence. A second, independent WFPC-2 observation of this target reinforces this detection. Our results support the earlier suggestion of weak lensing in this field by Fort et al (1996) using ground-based data. We also combined the shear distributions in the remaining 7 field to improve our sensitivity to weak shear signals from any structure typically associated with these sources. We find no detectable signal and estimate an upper limit on the maximum shear allowed by our observations. Using an N(z) estimated from lensing analyses we convert our observed lensing signal and limits into estimates of the masses of the various structures. We suggest that further lensing observations of distant radio sources and their host environments may allow the cluster L_X-mass relationship to be mapped at high-z. This is crucial for interpreting the results of the next generation of deep X-ray surveys, and thus constraining the redshift evolution of the cluster mass function out to z=1.

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