arXiv subjects

Stephen Serjeant

Publications and source records attributed to Stephen Serjeant.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES) II: Structural Properties and Near-Infrared Morphologies of Faint Submillimeter Galaxies

We present structural parameters and morphological properties of faint 450-um selected submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the JCMT Large Program, STUDIES, in the COSMOS-CANDELS region. Their properties are compared to an 850um selected and a matched star-forming samples. We investigate stellar structures of 169 faint 450-um sources (S450=2.8-29.6mJy; S/N>4) at z<3 using HST near-infrared observations. Based on our spectral energy distribution fitting, half of such faint SMGs (LIR=10^11.65+-0.98Lsun) lie above the star-formation rate (SFR)/stellar mass plane. The size-mass relation shows that these SMGs are generally similar to less-luminous star-forming galaxies selected by NUV-r vs. r-J colors. Because of the intrinsic luminosity of the sample, their rest-frame optical emission is less extended than the 850um sources (S850>2mJy), and more extended than the star-forming galaxies in the same redshift range. For the stellar mass and SFR matched sample at z~=1 and z~=2, the size differences are marginal between faint SMGs and the matched galaxies. Moreover, faint SMGs have similar Sersic indices and projected axis ratios as star-forming galaxies with the same stellar mass and SFR. Both SMGs and the matched galaxies show high fractions (~70%) of disturbed features at z~=2, and the fractions depend on the SFRs. These suggest that their star formation activity is related to galaxy merging, and the stellar structures of SMGs are similar to those of star-forming galaxies. We show that the depths of submillimeter surveys are approaching the lower luminosity end of star-forming galaxies, allowing us to detect galaxies on the main sequence.

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arXiv2018

A dusty star-forming galaxy at z=6 revealed by strong gravitational lensing

Since their discovery, submillimetre-selected galaxies (SMGs) have revolutionized the field of galaxy formation and evolution. From the hundreds of square degrees mapped at submillimetre wavelengths, only a handful of sources have been confirmed to lie at z>5 and only two at z>6. All of these SMGs are rare examples of extreme starburst galaxies with star formation rates (SFRs) of >1000 M_sun/yr and therefore are not representative of the general population of dusty star-forming galaxies. Consequently, our understanding of the nature of these sources, at the earliest epochs, is still incomplete. Here we report the spectroscopic identification of a gravitationally amplified (mu = 9.3 +/- 1.0) dusty star-forming galaxy at z=6.027. After correcting for gravitational lensing, we derive an intrinsic less-extreme SFR of 380 +/- 50 M_sun/yr for this source and find that its gas and dust properties are similar to those measured for local Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), extending the local trends to a poorly explored territory in the early Universe. The star-formation efficiency of this galaxy is similar to those measured in its local analogues, despite a ~12 Gyr difference in cosmic time.

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arXiv2017

Finding bright $z \geq 6.6$ Lyman-$α$ emitters with lensing: prospects for Euclid

We model the $z \geq 6.6$ Ly$α$ luminosity function to estimate the number of lensed high$-z$ Ly$α$ emitters that may be detected by the Euclid Deep Survey. To span the whole range of possible predictions we exploit two Ly$α$ luminosity function models and two strong gravitational lensing models from the literature. We show that the planned Euclid Deep Survey observing 40 deg$^2$ over the 920-1850 nm wavelength range down to a flux limit of $F_{lim}=5\times10^{-17}\,$erg s$^{-1}\,$cm$^{-2}$ will enable us to find between $\sim 0.85$ and $\sim 1.82$ deg$^{-2}$ lensed Ly$α$ emitters at $z \geq 6.6$ depending on the adopted Ly$α$ luminosity function and strong gravitational lensing model. The obvious [OII], [OIII] and H$β$ contaminants of the Ly$α$ lensed population will be identified with the help of Euclid's spectral resolving power, while the SKA will enable the identification of the interloper population of H$α$ emitters. By combining Euclid and the SKA, we will thus be able to identify, for the first time, a sample of $\sim 34$ to $\sim 73$ lensed Ly$α$ emitters at $z \geq 6.6$.

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arXiv2017

SONS: The JCMT legacy survey of debris discs in the submillimetre

Debris discs are evidence of the ongoing destructive collisions between planetesimals, and their presence around stars also suggests that planets exist in these systems. In this paper, we present submillimetre images of the thermal emission from debris discs that formed the SCUBA-2 Observations of Nearby Stars (SONS) survey, one of seven legacy surveys undertaken on the James Clerk Maxwell telescope between 2012 and 2015. The overall results of the survey are presented in the form of 850 microns (and 450 microns, where possible) images and fluxes for the observed fields. Excess thermal emission, over that expected from the stellar photosphere, is detected around 49 stars out of the 100 observed fields. The discs are characterised in terms of their flux density, size (radial distribution of the dust) and derived dust properties from their spectral energy distributions. The results show discs over a range of sizes, typically 1-10 times the diameter of the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt in our Solar System. The mass of a disc, for particles up to a few millimetres in size, is uniquely obtainable with submillimetre observations and this quantity is presented as a function of the host stars' age, showing a tentative decline in mass with age. Having doubled the number of imaged discs at submillimetre wavelengths from ground-based, single dish telescope observations, one of the key legacy products from the SONS survey is to provide a comprehensive target list to observe at high angular resolution using submillimetre/millimetre interferometers (e.g., ALMA, SMA).

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arXiv2017

The SCUBA-2 Ambitious Sky Survey: a catalogue of beam-sized sources in the Galactic longitude range 120 to 140

The SCUBA-2 Ambitious Sky Survey (SASSy) is composed of shallow 850-$\umu$m imaging using the Sub-millimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Here we describe the extraction of a catalogue of beam-sized sources from a roughly $120\,{\rm deg}^2$ region of the Galactic plane mapped uniformly (to an rms level of about 40\,mJy), covering longitude 120\degr\,$<$\,\textit{l}\,$<$\,140\degr\ and latitude $\abs{\textit{b}}$\,$<$\,2.9\degr. We used a matched-filtering approach to increase the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in these noisy maps and tested the efficiency of our extraction procedure through estimates of the false discovery rate, as well as by adding artificial sources to the real images. The primary catalogue contains a total of 189 sources at 850\,$\umu$m, down to a S/N threshold of approximately 4.6. Additionally, we list 136 sources detected down to ${\rm S/N}=4.3$, but recognise that as we go lower in S/N, the reliability of the catalogue rapidly diminishes. We perform follow-up observations of some of our lower significance sources through small targeted SCUBA-2 images, and list 265 sources detected in these maps down to ${\rm S/N}=5$. This illustrates the real power of SASSy: inspecting the shallow maps for regions of 850-$\umu$m emission and then using deeper targeted images to efficiently find fainter sources. We also perform a comparison of the SASSy sources with the Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources and the \textit{IRAS} Point Source Catalogue, to determine which sources discovered in this field might be new, and hence potentially cold regions at an early stage of star formation.

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arXiv2016

ASTERICS : Addressing Cross-Cutting Synergies and Common Challenges for the Next Decade Astronomy Facilities

The large infrastructure projects for the next decade will allow a new quantum leap in terms of new possible science. ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, a strategic initiative to develop the scientific integration of Europe, has identified four facilities (SKA, CTA, KM3Net and E-ELT) deserving priority in support. The ASTERICS project aims to address the cross-cutting synergies and common challenges shared by the various Astronomy ESFRI and other world-class facilities. The project (22 partners across Europe) is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme with 15 MEuro in 4 years. It brings together for the first time the astronomy, astrophysics and particle astrophysics communities, in addition to other related research infrastructures.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

Synergies between SALT and Herschel, Euclid & the SKA: strong gravitational lensing & galaxy evolution

Gravitational lensing has seen a surge of interest in the past few years. The handful of strong lensing systems known in the year 2000 has now been replaced with hundreds, thanks to innovative multi-wavelength selection, and there is an imminent prospect of thousands of lenses from Herschel and other sub-millimetre surveys. Euclid and the Square Kilometre Array promise tens or even hundreds of thousands. Gravitational lensing is one of the very few probes capable of mapping dark matter halo distributions. Lensing also provides independent cosmological parameter estimates and enables the study of galaxy populations that are otherwise too faint for detailed study. SALT is extremely well placed to have an enormous impact with follow-up observations of foreground lenses and background sources from e.g. Herschel, the South Pole Telescope, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, Euclid and the Square Kilometre Array. This paper reviews the prospects for high-impact SALT science and the many constraints of galaxy evolution that can result.

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arXiv2016

Strong Gravitational Lenses and Multi-Wavelength Galaxy Surveys with AKARI, Herschel, SPICA and Euclid

Submillimetre and millimetre-wave surveys with Herschel and the South Pole Telescope have revolutionised the discovery of strong gravitational lenses. Their follow-ups have been greatly facilitated by the multi-wavelength supplementary data in the survey fields. The forthcoming Euclid optical/near-infrared space telescope will also detect strong gravitational lenses in large numbers, and orbital constraints are likely to require placing its deep survey at the North Ecliptic Pole (the natural deep field for a wide class of ground-based and space-based observatories including AKARI, JWST and SPICA). In this paper I review the current status of the multi-wavelength survey coverage in the NEP, and discuss the prospects for the detection of strong gravitational lenses in forthcoming or proposed facilities such as Euclid, FIRSPEX and SPICA.

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arXiv2016

A new VLA/e-MERLIN limit on central images in the gravitational lens system CLASS B1030+074

We present new VLA 22-GHz and e-MERLIN 5-GHz observations of CLASS B1030+074, a two-image strong gravitational lens system whose background source is a compact flat-spectrum radio quasar. In such systems we expect a third image of the background source to form close to the centre of the lensing galaxy. The existence and brightness of such images is important for investigation of the central mass distributions of lensing galaxies, but only one secure detection has been made so far in a galaxy-scale lens system. The noise levels achieved in our new B1030+074 images reach 3 microJy/beam and represent an improvement in central image constraints of nearly an order of magnitude over previous work, with correspondingly better resulting limits on the shape of the central mass profile of the lensing galaxy. Simple models with an isothermal outer power law slope now require either the influence of a central supermassive black hole, or an inner power law slope very close to isothermal, in order to suppress the central image below our detection limit. Using the central mass profiles inferred from light distributions in Virgo galaxies, moved to z=0.5, and matching to the observed Einstein radius, we now find that 45% of such mass profiles should give observable central images, 10% should give central images with a flux density still below our limit, and the remaining systems have extreme demagnification produced by the central SMBH. Further observations of similar objects will therefore allow proper statistical constraints to be placed on the central properties of elliptical galaxies at high redshift.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Evolution of mid-infrared galaxy luminosity functions from the entire AKARI NEP-Deep field with new CFHT photometry

We present infrared galaxy luminosity functions (LFs) in the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) deep field using recently-obtained, wider CFHT optical/near-IR images. AKARI has obtained deep images in the mid-infrared (IR), covering 0.6 deg$^2$ of the NEP deep field. However, our previous work was limited to the central area of 0.25 deg$^2$ due to the lack of optical coverage of the full AKARI NEP survey. To rectify the situation, we recently obtained CFHT optical and near-IR images over the entire AKARI NEP deep field. These new CFHT images are used to derive accurate photometric redshifts, allowing us to fully exploit the whole AKARI NEP deep field. AKARI's deep, continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR wavelengths (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24$μ$m) exists nowhere else, due to filter gaps of other space telescopes. It allows us to estimate restframe 8$μ$m and 12$μ$m luminosities without using a large extrapolation based on spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, which was the largest uncertainty in previous studies. Total infrared luminosity (TIR) is also obtained more reliably due to the superior filter coverage. The resulting restframe 8$μ$m, 12$μ$m, and TIR LFs at $0.15<z<2.2$ are consistent with previous works, but with reduced uncertainties, especially at the high luminosity-end, thanks to the wide field coverage. In terms of cosmic infrared luminosity density ($Ω_{\mathrm{IR}}$), we found that the $Ω_{\mathrm{IR}}$ evolves as $\propto (1+z)^{4.2\pm 0.4}$.

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arXiv2015

Rest-frame Optical Spectra and Black Hole Masses of 3<z<6 Quasars

We present the rest-frame optical spectral properties of 155 luminous quasars at 3.3<z<6.4 taken with the AKARI space telescope, including the first detection of H$α$ emission line as far out as z~6. We extend the scaling relation between the rest-frame optical continuum and line luminosity of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to the high luminosity, high redshift regime that has rarely been probed before. Remarkably, we find that a single log-linear relation can be applied to the 5100${\rm Å}$ and H$α$ AGN luminosities over a wide range of luminosity (10$^{42}$<$L_{5100}$<10$^{47}$ergs/s) or redshift (0<z<6), suggesting that the physical mechanism governing this relation is unchanged from z=0 to 6, over five decades in luminosity. Similar scaling relations are found between the optical and the UV continuum luminosities or line widths. Applying the scaling relations to the H$β$ black hole mass ($M_{\rm BH}$) estimator of local AGNs, we derive the $M_{\rm BH}$ estimators based on H$α$, MgII, and CIV lines, finding that the UV-line based masses are overall consistent with the Balmer-line based, but with a large intrinsic scatter of 0.40dex for the CIV estimates. Our 43 $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates from H$α$ confirm the existence of BHs as massive as ~10$^{10}M_{\odot}$ out to z~5, and provide a secure footing for previous MgII-line based studies that a rapid $M_{\rm BH}$ growth has occurred in the early universe.

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arXiv2014

Up to 100,000 reliable strong gravitational lenses in future dark energy experiments

The Euclid space telescope will observe ~10^5 strong galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens events in its wide field imaging survey over around half the sky, but identifying the gravitational lenses from their observed morphologies requires solving the difficult problem of reliably separating the lensed sources from contaminant populations, such as tidal tails, as well as presenting challenges for spectroscopic follow-up redshift campaigns. Here I present alternative selection techniques for strong gravitational lenses in both Euclid and the Square Kilometer Array, exploiting the strong magnification bias present in the steep end of the Halpha luminosity function and HI mass function. Around 10^3 strong lensing events are detectable with this method in the Euclid wide survey. While only ~1% of the total haul of Euclid lenses, this sample has ~100% reliability, known source redshifts, high signal-to-noise and a magnification-based selection independent of assumptions of lens morphology. With the proposed Square Kilometer Array dark energy survey, the numbers of reliable strong gravitational lenses with source redshifts can reach 10^5.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Constraints on the galaxy "main sequence" at z>5: the stellar mass of HDF850.1

We present rest-frame optical and near-infrared detections of one of the highest redshift submm-selected galaxies to date, HDF850.1. We do not detect the previously proposed counterpart HDF850.1K in new deep J and H-band HST WFC3 data, placing a strong limit of H-K>3.8, concluding that the K-band source is spurious. However, we detect 5.8um and 8um emission co-located with the submm in deblended images. After modelling and removing the flux contributions from another foreground galaxy, we constrain the stellar mass of HDF850.1 to be (2.5+/-1)x10^{11} Msun/mu for a lensing magnification mu=1.9+/-0.3, with a specific star formation rate of 8.5 Gyr^{-1}, faster than the 1-4 Gyr^{-1} observed for UV-selected galaxies at this epoch.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Optical - Near-Infrared catalogue for the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole Deep Field

Aims. We present an 8-band (u*, g', r', i', z', Y, J, Ks) optical to NIR deep photometric catalog based on the observations made with MegaCam and WIRCam at CFHT, and compute photometric redshifts, zp in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) region. Our catalog provides us to identify the counterparts, and zp for AKARI NIR/MIR sources. Results. The estimated 4sigma detection limits within an 1" aperture radius are 26.7, 25.9, 25.1, and 24.1 mag [AB] for g', r', i', and z'-bands and 23.4, 23.0, and 22.7 mag for Y, J, and Ks-bands, respectively. There are a total of 85797 sources in the band-merged catalog. An astrometric accuracy of this catalog determined by examining coordinate offsets with regard to 2MASS is 0.013" with a root mean square offset of 0.32". We distinguish 5441 secure stars from extended sources using u*-J vs. g'-Ks colors, combined with the SExtractor stellarity index of the images. Comparing with galaxy spectroscopic redshifts, we find a photometric redshift dispersion, sigma_(dz/(1+z)), of 0.032 and catastrophic failure rate, dz/(1+z)>0.15, of 5.8% at z<1, while a dispersion of 0.117 and a catastrophic failures rate of 16.6% at z>1. We extend estimate of the zp uncertainty over the full magnitude/redshift space with a redshift probability distribution function and find that our redshift are highly accurate with z'<22 at zp<2.5 and for fainter sources with z'<24 at z<1. From the investigation of photometric properties of AKARI infrared sources (23354 sources) using the g'z'Ks diagram, <5% of AKARI sources with optical counterparts are classified as high-z (1.4<z<2.5) star-forming galaxies. Among the high-z star-forming galaxies, AKARI MIR detected sources seem to be affected by stronger dust extinction compared with sources with non-detections in the AKARI MIR bands. The full, electronic version of our catalog with zp will be available at the CDS.

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arXiv2013

A tale of two feedbacks: star-formation in the host galaxies of radio-AGN

Several lines of argument support the existence of a link between activity at the nuclei of galaxies, in the form of an accreting supermassive black hole, and star-formation activity in these galaxies. The exact nature of this link is still under debate. Radio jets have long been argued to be an ideal mechanism that allows AGN to interact with their host galaxy and regulate star-formation. In this context, we are using a sample of radio sources in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) field to study the nature of the putative link between AGN activity and star-formation. This is done by means of spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. We use the excellent spectral coverage of the AKARI infrared space telescope together with the rich ancillary data available in the NEP to build SEDs extending from UV to far-IR wavelengths. Through SED fitting we constrain both the AGN and host galaxy components. We find a significant AGN component in our sample of relatively faint radio-sources ($<$mJy), that increases in power with increasing radio-luminosity. At the highest radio-luminosities, the presence of powerful jets dominates the radio emission of these sources. A positive correlation is found between the luminosity of the AGN component and that of star-formation in the host galaxy, independent of the radio luminosity. By contrast, for a given redshift and AGN luminosity, we find that increasing radio-luminosity leads to a decrease in the specific star-formation rate. The most radio-loud AGN are found to lie on the main sequence of star-formation for their respective redshifts. For the first time, such a two-sided feedback process is seen in the same sample. We conclude that radio jets do suppress star-formation in their host galaxies but appear not to totally quench it. Our results therefore support the maintenance nature of "radio-mode" feedback from radio-AGN jets.

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arXiv2013

Detection of H-alpha emission from z>3.5 submillimetre luminous galaxies with AKARI-FUHYU spectroscopy

We present tentative H-alpha emission line detections of four submillimetre-detected galaxies at z>3.5: the radio galaxies 8C1909+722 and 4C60.07 at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of 3.1 and 2.5, and two submillimetre-selected galaxies (SMGs) near the first of these at SNRs of 10.0 and 2.4, made with the AKARI Space Telescope as part of the FUHYU mission program. These are the highest-redshift H-alpha detections in such galaxies, made possible by AKARI's unique near-infrared spectroscopic capability. The two radio galaxies had known redshifts and surrounding structure, and we have detected broad H-alpha components indicating the presence of dust-shrouded quasars. We conclude that powerful AGNs at z>3.5 occur in peaks of the star-formation density fields, supporting a close connection between stellar mass build-up and black hole mass assembly at this redshift. We also show that 4C60.07 is a binary AGN. The H-alpha detections of the two SMGs are the first redshift determinations for these sources, confirming their physical association around their companion radio galaxy. The H-alpha-derived star formation rates (SFRs) for the SMGs are lower than their far-infrared derived SFRs by a factor of ~10, suggesting a level of dust obscuration similar to that found in studies at ~1<z<2.7.

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arXiv2013

A new HST/Herschel deep field at the North Ecliptic Pole: preparing the way for JWST, SPICA and Euclid

We propose a co-ordinated multi-observatory survey at the North Ecliptic Pole. This field is the natural extragalactic deep field location for most space observatories (e.g. containing the deepest Planck, WISE and eROSITA data), is in the continuous viewing zones for e.g. Herschel, HST, JWST, and is a natural high-visibility field for the L2 halo orbit of SPICA with deep and wide-field legacy surveys already planned. The field is also a likely deep survey location for the forthcoming Euclid mission. It is already a multi-wavelength legacy field in its own right (e.g. AKARI, LOFAR, SCUBA-2): the outstanding and unparalleled continuous mid-IR photometric coverage in this field and nowhere else enables a wide range of galaxy evolution diagnostics unachievable in any other survey field, by spanning the wavelengths of redshifted PAH and silicate features and the peak energy output of AGN hot dust. We argue from the science needs of Euclid and JWST, and from the comparative multiwavelength depths, that the logical approach is (1) a deep (H-UDF) UV/optical tile in the NEP over ~10 square arcminutes, and (2) an overlapping wide-field UV/optical HST survey tier covering >100 square arcminutes, with co-ordinated submm SPIRE mapping up to or beyond the submm point source confusion limit over a wider area and PACS data over the shallower HST tier.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

The local luminosity function of star-forming galaxies derived from the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue

The Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalog (ERCSC) has offered the first opportunity to accurately determine the luminosity function of dusty galaxies in the very local Universe (i.e. distances <~ 100 Mpc), at several (sub-)millimetre wavelengths, using blindly selected samples of low redshift sources, unaffected by cosmological evolution. This project, however, requires careful consideration of a variety of issues including the choice of the appropriate flux density measurement, the separation of dusty galaxies from radio sources and from Galactic sources, the correction for the CO emission, the effect of density inhomogeneities, and more. We present estimates of the local luminosity functions at 857 GHz (350 microns), 545 GHz (550 microns) and 353 GHz (850 microns) extending across the characteristic luminosity L_star, and a preliminary estimate over a limited luminosity range at 217 GHz (1382 microns). At 850 microns and for luminosities L >~ L_star our results agree with previous estimates, derived from the SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey (SLUGS), but are higher than the latter at L <~ L_star. We also find good agreement with estimates at 350 and 500 microns based on preliminary Herschel survey data.

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