arXiv subjects

Robin H. W. Cook

Publications and source records attributed to Robin H. W. Cook.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Structural Abundance Crisis of Massive Galaxies in Current Cosmological Simulations

The internal structure of galaxies encodes the complex baryon cycle driven by gas accretion, star formation, and feedback, together with secular evolution and environmentally driven processes such as mergers and tidal interactions. We present a population-level census of massive nearby galaxies ($\log(M_\star/M_\odot) > 10$) by comparing Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program observations with matched mock images from IllustrisTNG, EAGLE, and SIMBA. Using a consistent, like-for-like imaging pipeline, we construct structural abundance functions (SAFs) for key morphological parameters, revealing a structural abundance crisis. Across S\'{e}rsic index, concentration, size, and ellipticity, all simulations exhibit large, systematic discrepancies ($>5\sigma$; RMSE $\sim 0.2$--$1.8$\,dex), typically corresponding to abundance differences of factors of several. While individual simulations display diverse failures---underproducing or overproducing compact spheroids, extended or round galaxies ---all underproduce highly flattened disks. Although TNG shows the closest agreement and SIMBA the largest offsets, this shared failure indicates that current models---despite matching global demographics such as the stellar mass function---do not uniquely constrain internal galaxy structure. Our results demonstrate that agreement in integrated observables can mask fundamental shortcomings in the modelling of mass and angular momentum redistribution. We therefore establish SAFs as a stringent, multidimensional, and observationally accessible benchmark for testing and calibrating next-generation galaxy formation models in the era of upcoming deep, wide-field surveys.

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arXiv2025

Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): New robust merger rates at intermediate redshifts

Mergers are fundamental to our understanding of the processes driving the evolution of the structure and morphology of galaxies, star formation, AGN activity, and the redistribution of stellar mass in the Universe. Determining the fraction and properties of mergers across cosmic time is critical to understanding the formation of the Universe we observe today. This fraction and its evolution also provide inputs and constraints for cosmological simulations, crucial for theoretical models of galaxy evolution. We present robust estimates of major close-pair fractions and merger rates at $0.2 < z < 0.9$ in the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS). We identify major mergers by selecting close-pairs with a projected spatial separation $r_{\mathrm{sep}} < 20$ h$^{-1}$ kpc and a radial velocity separation $v_{\mathrm{sep}} < 500$ km s$^{-1}$. For galaxies with stellar masses of log$_{10}$($M_\star$/$M_\odot$) = 10.66 $\pm$ 0.25 dex, we find a major close-pair fraction of $\approx 0.021$ at $0.2 < z < 0.34$ using a highly complete, unbiased spectroscopic sample. We extend these estimates to $0.2 < z < 0.9$ by combining the full probability distribution of redshifts for galaxies with high-quality spectroscopic, photometric, or grism measurements. Fitting a power-law $\gamma_{m} = A(1 + z)^m$, we find $A = 0.024 \pm 0.001$ and $m = 0.55 \pm 0.22$. Consistent with previous results, the shallow slope suggests weak redshift evolution in the merger fraction. When comparing with large hydrodynamical simulations, we also find consistent results. We convert close-pair fractions to merger rates using several literature prescriptions for merger timescales and provide all measurements for future studies.

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arXiv2024

Radio Galaxies in SIMBA: A MIGHTEE Comparison

We present a qualitative comparison between the host and black hole properties of radio galaxies in the MeerKAT GigaHertz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration~(MIGHTEE) survey with the radio galaxy population in the SIMBA suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. The MIGHTEE data includes a $\sim$1deg$^{2}$ pointing of the COSMOS field observed at 1.28GHz with the MeerKAT radio telescope and cross-matched with multi-wavelength counterparts to provide classifications of high and low excitation radio galaxies (HERGs and LERGs) along with their corresponding host properties. We compare the properties of the MIGHTEE HERGs and LERGs with that predicted by the SIMBA simulations where HERGs and LERGs are defined as radio galaxies dominated by cold or hot mode accretion respectively. We consider stellar masses $\;{M}_{*}$, star formation rates SFR, AGN bolometric luminosity $L_{\rm bol}$, and Eddington fraction $f_{\rm Edd}$, as a function of 1.4GHz radio luminosity and redshift. In both MIGHTEE and SIMBA, the properties of HERGs and LERGs are similar across all properties apart from SFRs due to differences in host cold gas content in SIMBA. We predict a population of HERGs with low $f_{\rm Edd}$ in SIMBA that are confirmed in the MIGHTEE observations and tied to the faint population at low $z$. The predictions from SIMBA with the MIGHTEE observations describe a regime where our understanding of the radio galaxy dichotomy breaks down, challenging our understanding of the role of AGN accretion and feedback in the faint population of radio galaxies.

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arXiv2024

Resolving cosmic star formation histories of present-day bulges, disks, and spheroids with ProFuse

We present the first look at star formation histories of galaxy components using ProFuse, a new technique to model the 2D distribution of light across multiple wavelengths using simultaneous spectral and spatial fitting of purely imaging data. We present a number of methods to classify galaxies structurally/morphologically, showing the similarities and discrepancies between these schemes. We show the variation in component-wise mass functions that can occur simply due to the use of a different classification method, which is most dramatic in separating bulges and spheroids. Rather than identifying the best-performing scheme, we use the spread of classifications to quantify uncertainty in our results. We study the cosmic star formation history (CSFH), forensically derived using ProFuse with a sample of ~7,000 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Remarkably, the forensic CSFH recovered via both our method (ProFuse) and traditional SED fitting (ProSpect) are not only exactly consistent with each other over the past 8 Gyr, but also with the in-situ CSFH measured using ProSpect. Furthermore, we separate the CSFH by contributions from spheroids, bulges and disks. While the vast majority (70%) of present-day star formation takes place in the disk population, we show that 50% of the stars that formed at cosmic noon (8-12 Gyr ago) now reside in spheroids, and present-day bulges are composed of stars that were primarily formed in the very early Universe, with half their stars already formed ~12 Gyr ago.

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arXiv2024

Modelling the galaxy radio continuum from star formation and active galactic nuclei in the Shark semi-analytic model

We present a model of radio continuum emission associated with star formation (SF) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) implemented in the Shark semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. SF emission includes free-free and synchrotron emission, which depend on the free-electron density and the rate of core-collapse supernovae with a minor contribution from supernova remnants, respectively. AGN emission is modelled based on the jet production rate, which depends on the black hole mass, accretion rate and spin, and includes synchrotron self-absorption. Shark reproduces radio luminosity functions (RLFs) at 1.4 GHz and 150 MHz for 0 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 4, and scaling relations between radio luminosity, star formation rate and infrared luminosity of galaxies in the local and distant universe in good agreement with observations. The model also reproduces observed number counts of radio sources from 150 MHz to 8.4 GHz to within a factor of two on average, though larger discrepancies are seen at the very bright fluxes at higher frequencies. We use this model to understand how the radio continuum emission from radio-quiet AGNs can affect the measured RLFs of galaxies. We find current methods to exclude AGNs from observational samples result in large fractions of radio-quiet AGNs contaminating the "star-forming galaxies" selection and a brighter end to the resulting RLFs. We investigate how this effects the infrared-radio correlation (IRRC) and show that AGN contamination can lead to evolution of the IRRC with redshift. Without this contamination our model predicts a redshift- and stellar mass-independent IRRC, except at the dwarf-galaxy regime.

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arXiv2024

DEVILS/MIGHTEE/GAMA/DINGO: The Impact of SFR Timescales on the SFR-Radio Luminosity Correlation

The tight relationship between infrared luminosity (L$_\mathrm{TIR}$) and 1.4 GHz radio continuum luminosity (L$_\mathrm{1.4GHz}$) has proven useful for understanding star formation free from dust obscuration. Infrared emission in star-forming galaxies typically arises from recently formed, dust-enshrouded stars, whereas radio synchrotron emission is expected from subsequent supernovae. By leveraging the wealth of ancillary far-ultraviolet - far-infrared photometry from the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) and Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) surveys, combined with 1.4 GHz observations from the MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey and Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO) projects, we investigate the impact of timescale differences between far-ultraviolet - far-infrared and radio-derived star formation rate (SFR) tracers. We examine how the SED-derived star formation histories (SFH) of galaxies can be used to explain discrepancies in these SFR tracers, which are sensitive to different timescales. Galaxies exhibiting an increasing SFH have systematically higher L$_\mathrm{TIR}$ and SED-derived SFRs than predicted from their 1.4 GHz radio luminosity. This indicates that insufficient time has passed for subsequent supernovae-driven radio emission to accumulate. We show that backtracking the SFR(t) of galaxies along their SED-derived SFHs to a time several hundred megayears prior to their observed epoch will both linearise the SFR-L$_\mathrm{1.4GHz}$ relation and reduce the overall scatter. The minimum scatter in the SFR(t)-L$_\mathrm{1.4GHz}$ is reached at 200 - 300 Myr prior, consistent with theoretical predictions for the timescales required to disperse the cosmic ray electrons responsible for the synchrotron emission.

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arXiv2022

DEVILS: Cosmic evolution of SED-derived metallicities and their connection to star-formation histories

Gas-phase metallicities of galaxies are typically measured through auroral or nebular emission lines, but metallicity also leaves an imprint on the overall spectral energy distribution (SED) of a galaxy and can be estimated through SED fitting. We use the ProSpect SED fitting code with a flexible parametric star formation history and an evolving metallicity history to self-consistently measure metallicities, stellar mass, and other galaxy properties for $\sim90\,000$ galaxies from the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) and Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. We use these to trace the evolution of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) and show that the MZR only evolves in normalisation by $\sim0.1\,$dex at stellar mass $M_\star = 10^{10.5}\,M_\odot$. We find no difference in the MZR between galaxies with and without SED evidence of active galactic nuclei emission at low redshifts ($z<0.3$). Our results suggest an anti-correlation between metallicity and star formation activity at fixed stellar mass for galaxies with $M_\star > 10^{10.5}\,M_\odot$ for $z<0.3$. Using the star formation histories extracted using ProSpect we explore higher-order correlations of the MZR with properties of the star formation history including age, width, and shape. We find that at a given stellar mass, galaxies with higher metallicities formed most of their mass over shorter timescales, and before their peak star formation rate. This work highlights the value of exploring the connection of a galaxy's current gas-phase metallicity to its star formation history in order to understand the physical processes shaping the MZR.

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arXiv2022

MIGHTEE-HI: Evolution of HI scaling relations of star-forming galaxies at $z<0.5$

We present the first measurements of HI galaxy scaling relations from a blind survey at $z>0.15$. We perform spectral stacking of 9023 spectra of star-forming galaxies undetected in HI at $0.23<z<0.49$, extracted from MIGHTEE-HI Early Science datacubes, acquired with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We stack galaxies in bins of galaxy properties ($M_*$, SFR, and sSFR, with ${\rm sSFR}\equiv M_*/{\rm SFR}$), obtaining $\gtrsim 5σ$ detections in most cases, the strongest HI-stacking detections to date in this redshift range. With these detections, we are able to measure scaling relations in the probed redshift interval, finding evidence for a moderate evolution from the median redshift of our sample $z_{\rm med}\sim 0.37$ to $z\sim 0$. In particular, low-$M_*$ galaxies ($\log_{10}(M_*/{\rm M_\odot})\sim 9$) experience a strong HI depletion ($\sim 0.5$ dex in $\log_{10}(M_{\rm HI}/{\rm M}_\odot)$), while massive galaxies ($\log_{10}(M_*/{\rm M_\odot})\sim 11$) keep their HI mass nearly unchanged. When looking at the star formation activity, highly star-forming galaxies evolve significantly in $M_{\rm HI}$ ($f_{\rm HI}$, where $f_{\rm HI}\equiv M_{\rm}/M_*$) at fixed SFR (sSFR), while at the lowest probed SFR (sSFR) the scaling relations show no evolution. These findings suggest a scenario in which low-$M_*$ galaxies have experienced a strong HI depletion during the last $\sim4$ Gyr, while massive galaxies have undergone a significant HI replenishment through some accretion mechanism, possibly minor mergers. Interestingly, our results are in good agreement with the predictions of the SIMBA simulation. We conclude that this work sets novel important observational constraints on galaxy scaling relations.

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arXiv2021

Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Identification of AGN through SED Fitting and the Evolution of the Bolometric AGN Luminosity Function

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are typically identified through radio, mid-infrared, or X-ray emission or through the presence of broad and/or narrow emission lines. AGN can also leave an imprint on a galaxy's spectral energy distribution (SED) through the re-processing of photons by the dusty torus. Using the SED fitting code ProSpect with an incorporated AGN component, we fit the far ultraviolet to far-infrared SEDs of $\sim$494,00 galaxies in the D10-COSMOS field and $\sim$230,000 galaxies from the GAMA survey. By combining an AGN component with a flexible star formation and metallicity implementation, we obtain estimates for the AGN luminosities, stellar masses, star formation histories, and metallicity histories for each of our galaxies. We find that ProSpect can identify AGN components in 91 per cent of galaxies pre-selected as containing AGN through narrow-emission line ratios and the presence of broad lines. Our ProSpect-derived AGN luminosities show close agreement with luminosities derived for X-ray selected AGN using both the X-ray flux and previous SED fitting results. We show that incorporating the flexibility of an AGN component when fitting the SEDs of galaxies with no AGN has no significant impact on the derived galaxy properties. However, in order to obtain accurate estimates of the stellar properties of AGN host galaxies, it is crucial to include an AGN component in the SED fitting process. We use our derived AGN luminosities to map the evolution of the AGN luminosity function for $0<z<2$ and find good agreement with previous measurements and predictions from theoretical models.

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arXiv2021

xGASS: characterizing the slope and scatter of the stellar mass - angular momentum relation for nearby galaxies

We present a detailed study of the stellar mass vs. specific angular momentum (AM) relation (Fall relation) for a representative sample of 564 nearby galaxies in the eXtended GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey (xGASS). We focus on the dependence of the Fall relation's slope on galaxy type and the galaxy properties regulating its scatter. Stellar specific AM is determined by combining single-dish H{\sc i} velocity widths and stellar mass profiles for all H{\sc i} detections in the xGASS sample. At fixed morphology (or bulge-to-total ratio), we find that the power law slope of the Fall relation is consistent with 2/3. However, when all galaxy types are combined, we recover a much shallower slope of $\sim$0.47. We show that this is a consequence of the change in galaxy morphology as a function of mass, highlighting that caution should be taken when using the slope of the Fall relation to constrain galaxy formation models without taking sample selection into account. We quantify the Fall relations scatter and show that H{\sc i} gas fraction is the strongest correlated parameter for low stellar masses (Spearman correlation: $ρ_{s} = 0.61$), while the bulge-to-total ratio becomes slightly more dominant at higher masses ($ρ_{s} = -0.29$). Intriguingly, when only the disc components of galaxies are considered, H{\sc i} gas fraction remains the strongest correlated parameter with the scatter of the relation (regardless of disc stellar mass). Our work provides one of the best characterisations of the Fall relation for a representative sample of galaxies in the local Universe.

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arXiv2020

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Assimilation of KiDS into the GAMA database

The Galaxy And Mass Assembly Survey (GAMA) covers five fields with highly complete spectroscopic coverage ($>95$ per cent) to intermediate depths ($r<19.8$ or $i < 19.0$ mag), and collectively spans 250 square degrees of Equatorial or Southern sky. Four of the GAMA fields (G09, G12, G15 and G23) reside in the ESO VST KiDS and ESO VISTA VIKING survey footprints, which combined with our GALEX, WISE and Herschel data provide deep uniform imaging in the $FUV\,NUV\,ugriZYJHK_s\,W1\,W2\,W3\,W4\,P100\,P160\,S250\,S350\,S500$ bands. Following the release of KiDS DR4, we describe the process by which we ingest the KiDS data into GAMA (replacing the SDSS data previously used for G09, G12 and G15), and redefine our core optical and near-IR catalogues to provide a complete and homogeneous dataset. The source extraction and analysis is based on the new ProFound image analysis package, providing matched-segment photometry across all bands. The data are classified into stars, galaxies, artefacts, and ambiguous objects, and objects are linked to the GAMA spectroscopic target catalogue. Additionally, a new technique is employed utilising ProFound to extract photometry in the unresolved MIR-FIR regime. The catalogues including the full FUV-FIR photometry are described and will be fully available as part of GAMA DR4. They are intended for both standalone science, selection for targeted follow-up with 4MOST, as well as an accompaniment to the upcoming and ongoing radio arrays now studying the GAMA $23^h$ field.

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arXiv2020

Searching for Dark Matter Signals from Local Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies at Low Radio Frequencies in the GLEAM Survey

The search for emission from weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter annihilation and decay has become a multi-pronged area of research not only targeting a diverse selection of astrophysical objects, but also taking advantage of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The decay of WIMP particles into standard model particles has been suggested as a possible channel for synchrotron emission to be detected at low radio frequencies. Here, we present the stacking analysis of a sample of 33 dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies with low-frequency (72 - 231 MHz) radio images from the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey. We produce radial surface brightness profiles of images centred upon each dSph galaxy with background radio sources masked. We remove ten fields from the stacking due to contamination from either poorly subtracted, bright radio sources or strong background gradients across the field. The remaining 23 dSph galaxies are stacked in an attempt to obtain a statistical detection of any WIMP-induced synchrotron emission in these systems. We find that the stacked radial brightness profile does not exhibit a statistically significant detection above the 95% confidence level of $\sim$1.5 mJy beam$^{-1}$. This novel technique shows the potential of using low-frequency radio images to constrain fundamental properties of particle dark matter.

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arXiv2020

xGASS: The Role of Bulges Along and Across the Local Star-Forming Main Sequence

We use our catalogue of structural decomposition measurements for the extended GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey (xGASS) to study the role of bulges both along and across the galaxy star-forming main sequence (SFMS). We show that the slope in the $sSFR$-$M_{\star}$ relation flattens by $\sim$0.1 dex per decade in $M_{\star}$ when re-normalising $sSFR$ by disc stellar mass instead of total stellar mass. However, recasting the $sSFR$-$M_{\star}$ relation into the framework of only disc-specific quantities shows that a residual trend remains against disc stellar mass with equivalent slope and comparable scatter to that of the total galaxy relation. This suggests that the residual declining slope of the SFMS is intrinsic to the disc components of galaxies. We further investigate the distribution of bulge-to-total ratios ($B/T$) as a function of distance from the SFMS ($ΔSFR_{MS}$). At all stellar masses, the average $B/T$ of local galaxies decreases monotonically with increasing $ΔSFR_{MS}$. Contrary to previous works, we find that the upper-envelope of the SFMS is not dominated by objects with a significant bulge component. This rules out a scenario in which, in the local Universe, objects with increased star formation activity are simultaneously experiencing a significant bulge growth. We suggest that much of the discrepancies between different works studying the role of bulges originates from differences in the methodology of structurally decomposing galaxies.

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arXiv2019

xGASS: The Impact of Photometric Bulges on the Scatter of HI Scaling Relations

We present a structural decomposition analysis of the galaxies in the extended GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey (xGASS) using (gri) images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Utilising the 2D Bayesian light profile fitting code ProFit, we fit single- and double-component models taking advantage of a robust Markov chain Monte Carlo optimisation algorithm in which we assume a Sersic profile for single-component models and a combination of a Sersic bulge and near-exponential disc (0.5 < n < 1.5) for double-component models. We investigate the effect of bulges on the atomic hydrogen (HI) content in galaxies by revisiting the HI-to-stellar mass scaling relations with the bulge-to-total ratio measured in the ProFit decompositions. We show that, at both fixed total and disc stellar mass, more bulge-dominated galaxies have systematically lower HI masses, implying that bulge-dominated galaxies with large HI reservoirs are rare in the local Universe. We see similar trends when separating galaxies by a bulge-to-total ratio based either on luminosity or stellar mass, however, the trends are more evident with luminosity. Importantly, when controlling for both stellar mass and star formation rate, the separation of atomic gas content reduces to within 0.3 dex between galaxies of different bulge-to-total ratios. Our findings suggest that the presence of a photometric bulge has little effect on the global HI gas reservoirs of local galaxies.

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