arXiv subjects

Tereasa G. Brainerd

Publications and source records attributed to Tereasa G. Brainerd.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A High-Mass Size Deficit for Void Galaxies in the Complete SDSS DR7

We characterize how environment shapes the sizes, luminosity functions, and mass functions of galaxies in large-scale underdensities by comparing the NSA catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 with an identically selected TNG300 sample, both built with the void finding algorithm VoidFinder, and by assigning a local average underdensity contrast to each galaxy via a spherical top-hat smoothed density field approximation. Void galaxies have fainter characteristic magnitudes than their non-void counterparts, and, at fixed stellar mass, redshift, and color, NSA void galaxies with $M_*>10^{11}h^{-1}M_\odot$ are about $11\pm3\%$ more compact than galaxies in the field, a deficit the TNG300 simulation reproduces. The galaxies that are responsible for this effect are almost all central and predominantly early type, i.e., the systems that are most likely to grow their outer envelopes via late-time mergers. These trends hold across two redshift bins to $z\leq0.114$. Crucially, this deficit is not a fixed property of the void sample but a steep function of the underdensity contrast, deepening toward the emptiest interiors and washing out at a typical density, implying that strict density control and sample selection are imperative when conducting environmental dependency studies like these. The same environmental dependence appears in the stellar mass function, which shifts to lower masses in the deepest voids, and in the close-pair (i.e., the ongoing merger) fraction, which falls toward the emptiest regions. Together, these point to a late-time, merger-driven growth of massive galaxies that is suppressed in voids, leaving their most massive members structurally distinct today.

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arXiv2024

Properties of Voids and Void Galaxies in the TNG300 Simulation

We investigate the properties of voids and void galaxies in the \texttt{TNG300} simulation. Using a luminous galaxy catalog and a spherical void finding algorithm, we identify 5,078 voids at redshift $z = 0$. Within the voids, mass does not directly trace light. Instead, the mean radial underdensity profile as defined by the locations of void galaxies is systematically lower than the mean radial underdensity profile as defined by the dark matter (i.e., the voids are more ``devoid'' of galaxies than they are of mass). Within the voids, the integrated underdensity profiles of the dark matter and the galaxies are independent of the local background density (i.e., voids-in-voids vs.\ voids-in-clouds). Beyond the void radii, however, the integrated underdensity profiles of both the dark matter and the galaxies exhibit strong dependencies on the local background density. Compared to non-void galaxies, void galaxies are on average younger, less massive, bluer in color, less metal enriched, and have smaller radii. In addition, the specific star formation rates of void galaxies are $\sim 20$\% higher than non-void galaxies and, in the case of galaxies with central supermassive black holes with $M_{\rm BH} \gtrsim 3\times 10^6 h^{-1} M_\odot$, the fraction of active void galaxies is $\sim 25$\% higher than active non-void galaxies.

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arXiv2023

Lopsided Satellite Distributions around Isolated Host Galaxies in a LCDM Universe

A recent observational study found that the projected spatial distributions of the satellites of bright, isolated host galaxies tend to be lopsided with respect to the locations of the hosts. Here, we examine the spatial distributions of the satellites of a large number of bright, isolated host galaxies that were obtained from mock redshift surveys of a LCDM simulation. Host galaxies and their satellites were identified using selection criteria that are identical to those used in the observational study, allowing a direct comparison of the results for the simulated and observed systems. To characterize the spatial distribution of the satellites, we adopt two statistics: [1] the pairwise clustering of the satellites and [2] the Mean Resultant Length. In agreement with the observational study, we find a strong tendency for satellites in the simulation to be located on the same side of their host, and the signal is most pronounced for the satellites of blue hosts. These lopsided satellite distributions are not solely attributable to incompleteness of the observed satellite catalog or the presence of objects that have been falsely identified as satellites. In addition, satellites that joined their hosts' halos in the distant past (> 8 Gyr) show a pronounced lopsidedness in their spatial distributions and, therefore, the lopsidedness is not solely attributable to late-time accretion of satellites.

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arXiv2020

Lopsided Satellite Distributions around Isolated Host Galaxies

We investigate the spatial distribution of the satellites of bright, isolated host galaxies. In agreement with previous studies, we find that, on average, the satellites of red hosts are found preferentially close to their hosts' major axes, while the satellites of blue hosts are distributed isotropically. We compute the pairwise clustering of the satellites and find a strong tendency for pairs of satellites to be located on the same side of their host, resulting in lopsided distributions. The signal is most pronounced for the satellites of blue hosts, where the number of pairs on the same side of their host exceeds the number of pairs on opposite sides of their by a factor of 1.8 +/- 0.1. For the satellites of red hosts, the number of pairs on the same side of their host exceeds the number of pairs on opposite sides of their host by a factor of 1.08 +/- 0.03. Satellites that are far from their hosts (r_p > 300 kpc) show a strong preference for being located on the same side of their hosts; satellites that are near to their hosts (r_p < 100 kpc) show a weak preference for being located on opposite sides of their hosts. While lopsided distributions have been found previously for the satellites of bright pairs of galaxies, ours is the first study to find lopsided distributions for the satellites of isolated bright galaxies.

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arXiv2020

Fast Generation of Large-scale Structure Density Maps via Generative Adversarial Networks

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are a recent advancement in unsupervised machine learning. They are a cat-and-mouse game between two neural networks: [1] a discriminator network which learns to validate whether a sample is real or fake compared to a training set and [2] a generator network which learns to generate data that appear to belong to the training set. Both networks learn from each other until training is complete and the generator network is able to produce samples that are indistinguishable from the training set. We find that GANs are well-suited for fast generation of novel 3D density maps that are indistinguishable from those obtained from N-body simulations. In a matter of seconds, a fully trained GAN can generate thousands of density maps at different epochs in the history of the universe. These GAN-generated maps can then be used to study the evolution of large-scale structure over time.

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arXiv2019

Satellite galaxies in the Illustris-1 simulation: anisotropic locations around relatively isolated hosts

We investigate the locations of satellite galaxies in the z = 0 redshift slice of the hydrodynamical Illustris-1 simulation. As expected from previous work, the satellites are distributed anisotropically in the plane of the sky, with a preference for being located near the major axes of their hosts. Due to misalignment of mass and light within the hosts, the degree of anisotropy is considerably less when satellite locations are measured with respect to the hosts' stellar surface mass density than when they are measured with respect to the hosts' dark matter surface mass density. When measured with respect to the hosts' dark matter surface mass density, the mean satellite location depends strongly on host stellar mass and luminosity, with the satellites of the faintest, least massive hosts showing the greatest anisotropy. When measured with respect to the hosts' stellar surface mass density, the mean satellite location is essentially independent of host stellar mass and luminosity. In addition, the satellite locations are largely insensitive to the amount of stellar mass used to define the hosts' stellar surface mass density, as long as at least 50% to 70% of the hosts' total stellar mass is used. The satellite locations are dependent upon the stellar masses of the satellites, with the most massive satellites having the most anisotropic distributions.

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arXiv2018

Satellite Galaxies in the Illustris-1 Simulation: Poor Tracers of the Mass Distribution

Number density profiles are computed for the satellites of relatively isolated host galaxies in the Illustris-1 simulation. The mean total mass density of the hosts is well-fitted by an NFW profile. The number density profile for the complete satellite sample is inconsistent with NFW and, on scales < 0.5 r_200, the satellites do not trace the hosts' mass. This differs substantially from previous results from semi-analytic galaxy formation models. The shape of the satellite number density profile depends on the luminosities of the hosts and the satellites, and on the host virial mass. The number density profile for the faintest satellites is well-fitted by an NFW profile, but the concentration is much less than the mean host mass density. The number density profile for the brightest satellites exhibits a steep increase in slope for host-satellite distances < 0.1 r_200, in qualitative agreement with recent observational studies that find a steep increase in the satellite number density at small host-satellite distances. On scales > 0.1 r_200 the satellites of the faintest hosts trace the host mass reasonably well. On scales > 0.4 r_200, the satellites of the brightest hosts do not trace the host mass and the satellite number density increases steeply for host-satellite distances < 0.1 r_200. The discrepancy between the satellite number density profile and the host mass density is most pronounced for the most massive systems, with the satellite number density falling far below that of the mass density on scales < 0.5 r_200.

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arXiv2018

The Spatial Distribution of Satellite Galaxies Selected from Redshift Space

We investigate the spatial distribution of satellite galaxies using a mock redshift survey of the first Millennium Run simulation. The satellites were identified using common redshift space criteria and the sample therefore includes a large percentage of interlopers. The satellite locations are well-fitted by a combination of a Navarro, Frenk & White(NFW) density profile and a power law. At fixed stellar mass, the NFW scale parameter, r_s, for the satellite distribution of red hosts exceeds r_s for the satellite distribution of blue hosts. In both cases the dependence of r_s on host stellar mass is well-fitted by a power law. For the satellites of red hosts, r_s^{red} \propto (M_\ast / M_\sun)^{0.71 \pm 0.05} while for the satellites of blue hosts, r_s^{blue} \propto (M_\ast / M_\sun)^{0.48 \pm 0.07}$. For hosts with stellar masses greater than 4.0E+10 M_sun, the satellite distribution around blue hosts is more concentrated than is the satellite distribution around red hosts. The spatial distribution of the satellites of red hosts traces that of the hosts' halos; however, the spatial distribution of the satellites of blue hosts is more concentrated than that of the hosts' halos by a factor of ~2. Our methodology is general and applies to any analysis of satellites in a mock redshift survey. However, our conclusions necessarily depend upon the semi-analytic galaxy formation model that was adopted, and different galaxy formation models may yield different results.

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arXiv2016

The Effects of Physically Unrelated Near Neighbors on the Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing Signal

The effects of near neighbors on the galaxy-galaxy lensing signal are investigated using a suite of Monte Carlo simulations. The redshifts, luminosities, and relative coordinates for the simulated lenses were obtained from a set of galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts and known luminosities. As expected, when all lenses are assigned a single, fixed redshift, the mean tangential shear is identically equal to the excess surface mass density, scaled by the critical surface mass density: $γ_T = ΔΣ\times Σ_c^{-1}$. When the lenses are assigned their observed redshifts and $Σ_c$ is taken to be the critical surface mass density of the central lens, the relationship $γ_T = ΔΣ\times Σ_c^{-1}$ is violated because $\gtrsim 90$% of the near neighbors are located at redshifts significantly different from the central lenses. For a given central lens, physically unrelated near neighbors give rise to a ratio of $γ_T$ to $ΔΣ\times Σ_c^{-1}$ that spans a wide range of $\sim 0.5$ to $\sim 1.5$ at projected distances $r_p \sim 1$ Mpc. The magnitude and sense of the discrepancy between $γ_T$ and $ΔΣ\times Σ_c^{-1}$ are functions of both $r_p$ and the velocity dispersions of the central lenses, $σ_v$. At large $r_p$, the difference between $γ_T$ and $ΔΣ\times Σ_c^{-1}$ is, on average, much greater for low-$σ_v$ central lenses than it is for high-$σ_v$ central lenses.

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arXiv2011

Locations of Satellite Galaxies in the Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey

We compute the locations of satellite galaxies in the Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey using two sets of selection criteria and three sources of photometric data. Using the SuperCOSMOS r_F photometry, we find that the satellites are located preferentially near the major axes of their hosts, and the anisotropy is detected at a highly-significant level (confidence levels of 99.6% to 99.9%). The locations of satellites that have high velocities relative to their hosts are statistically indistinguishable from the locations of satellites that have low velocities relative to their hosts. Additionally, satellites with passive star formation are distributed anisotropically about their hosts (99% confidence level), while the locations of star-forming satellites are consistent with an isotropic distribution. These two distributions are, however, statistically indistinguishable. Therefore it is not correct to interpret this as evidence that the locations of the star-forming satellites are intrinsically different from those of the passive satellites.

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arXiv2010

Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing by Non-Spherical Haloes I:Theoretical Considerations

We use Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the theory of galaxy-galaxy lensing by non-spherical dark matter haloes. The simulations include a careful accounting of the effects of multiple deflections. In a typical data set where the mean tangential shear of sources with redshifts zs ~ 0.6 is measured with respect to the observed symmetry axes of foreground galaxies with redshifts zl ~ 0.3, the signature of anisotropic galaxy-galaxy lensing differs substantially from the expectation that one would have in the absence of multiple deflections. The observed ratio of the mean tangential shears, g+/g-, is strongly suppressed compared to the function that one would measure if the intrinsic symmetry axes of the foreground galaxies were known. Depending upon the characteristic masses of the lenses, the observed ratio of the mean tangential shears may be consistent with an isotropic signal (despite the fact that the lenses are non-spherical), or it may even be reversed from the expected signal (i.e., the mean tangential shear for sources close to the observed minor axes of the lenses may exceed the mean tangential shear for sources close to the observed major axes of the lenses). These effects are caused primarily by the fact that the lens galaxies have, themselves, been lensed and therefore the observed symmetry axes of the lenses differ from their intrinsic symmetry axes. The effects of lensing of the foreground galaxies on the observed function g+/g- cannot be eliminated by the rejection of foreground galaxies with small image ellipticities, nor by focusing the analysis on sources that are located very close to the observed symmetry axes of the foreground galaxies. We conclude that any attempt to use a measurement of g+/g- to constrain the shapes of dark matter galaxy haloes must include Monte Carlo simulations that take multiple deflections properly into account.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Multiple Weak Deflections in Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing

The frequency and effects of multiple weak deflections in galaxy-galaxy lensing are investigated via Monte Carlo simulations. The lenses in the simulations are galaxies with known redshifts and known rest-frame blue luminosities. The frequency of multiple deflections above a given threshold shear value is quantified for discrete source redshifts, as well as for a set of sources that are broadly distributed in redshift space. In general, the closest lens in projection on the sky is not the only lens for a given source. In addition, ~50% of the time the closest lens is not the most important lens for a given source. Compared to a naive single-deflection calculation in which only the lensing due to the closest weak lens is considered, a full multiple-deflection calculation yields a higher net shear for individual sources, as well as a higher mean tangential shear around the lens centers. The full multiple-deflection calculation also shows that galaxy-galaxy lensing may contribute a substantial amount to cosmic shear on small angular scales. The degree to which galaxy-galaxy lensing contributes to the small-scale cosmic shear is, however, quite sensitive to the mass adopted for the halos of L_B* galaxies. Changing the halo mass by a factor of ~2.5 changes the contribution of galaxy-galaxy lensing to the cosmic shear by a factor of ~3 on scales of order 1 arcmin. The contribution of galaxy-galaxy lensing to cosmic shear decreases rapidly with angular scale and extrapolates to zero at scales of order 5 arcmin. This last result is roughly independent of the halo mass and suggests that for scales greater than about 5 arcmin, cosmic shear is insensitive to the details of the gravitational potentials of large galaxies.

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arXiv2009

Anisotropic Locations of Satellite Galaxies: Clues to the Orientations of Galaxies within their Dark Matter Halos

We investigate the locations of the satellites of relatively isolated host galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Millennium Run simulation. Provided we use two distinct prescriptions to embed luminous galaxies within the simulated dark matter halos (ellipticals share the shapes of their halos, while disks have angular momenta that are aligned with the net angular momenta of their halos), we find a fair agreement between observation and theory. Averaged over scales r_p \le 500 kpc, the satellites of red, high-mass hosts with low star formation rates are found preferentially near the major axes of their hosts. In contrast, the satellites of blue, low-mass hosts with low star formation rates show little to no anisotropy when averaged over the same scale. The difference between the locations of the satellites of red and blue hosts cannot be explained by the effects of interlopers in the data. Instead, it is caused primarily by marked differences in the dependence of the mean satellite location, <ϕ>, on the projected distance at which the satellites are found. We also find that the locations of red, high-mass satellites with low star formation rates show considerably more anisotropy than do the locations of blue, low--mass satellites with high star formation rates. There are two contributors to this result. First, the blue satellites have only recently arrived within their hosts' halos, while the red satellites arrived in the far distant past. Second, the sample of blue satellites is heavily contaminated by interlopers, which suppresses the measured anisotropy compared to the intrinsic anisotropy.

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arXiv2009

Large-Scale Intrinsic Alignment of Galaxy Images

We compute the two-point image correlation function for bright galaxies in the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) over angular scales 0.01' <= θ<= 120' and projected separations 0.01 Mpc <= r <= 10 Mpc. We restrict our analysis to SDSS galaxies with accurate spectroscopic redshifts, and we find strong evidence for intrinsic alignment of the galaxy images. On scales greater than r ~ 40 kpc, the intrinsic alignment of the SDSS galaxy images compares well with the intrinsic alignment of galaxy images in a Lambda-CDM universe, provided we impose Gaussian-random errors on the position angles of the theoretical galaxies with a dispersion of 25 degrees. Without the inclusion of these errors, the amplitude of the two-point image correlation function for the theoretical galaxies is a factor of ~2 higher than it is for the SDSS galaxies. We interpret this as a combination of modest position angle errors for the SDSS galaxies, as well as a need for modest misalignment of mass and light in the theoretical galaxies. The intrinsic alignment of the SDSS galaxies shows no dependence on the specific star formation rates of the galaxies and, at most, a very weak dependence on the colors and stellar masses of the galaxies. At the ~3-sigma level, however, we find an indication that the images of the most luminous SDSS galaxies are more strongly aligned with each other than are the images of the least luminous SDSS galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2006

The Distribution of Satellite Galaxies in a Lambda-CDM Universe

We compute the locations of satellite galaxies with respect to their hosts using the Lambda-CDM GIF simulation. If the major axes of the hosts' images are perfectly aligned with the major axes of their projected mass, the satellites are located preferentially close to the hosts' major axes. In this case, the degree of anisotropy in the satellite locations is a good tracer of the flattening of the hosts' halos. If all hosts have luminous circular disks, the symmetry axes of the projected mass and light are not perfectly aligned, and the locations of the satellites depend upon how the hosts' disks are placed within their halos. If the disk angular momentum vectors are aligned with the major axes of the halos, the satellites show a pronounced "Holmberg effect". If the disk angular momentum vectors are aligned with the intermediate axes of the local large scale structure, the distribution of satellite locations is essentially isotropic. If the disk angular momentum vectors are aligned with either the minor axes or with the net angular momentum vectors of the halos, the satellites are distributed anisotropically about their hosts, with a preference for being found nearby the hosts' major axes. This agrees well with the observation that satellite galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey tend to be found nearby the major axes of their hosts, and suggests that the mass and light of SDSS host galaxies must be fairly well aligned in projection on the sky.

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arXiv2006

The Orientation of Satellite Galaxies: Evidence of Elongation in the Direction of the Host

We use the fourth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the orientations of 4289 satellite galaxies with respect to their hosts. The orientation of the satellites is inconsistent with a random distribution at the 99.94% confidence level, and the satellites show a preference for elongation in the direction of their hosts. Further, on scales < 50 kpc the major axes of the host galaxies and their satellites are preferentially aligned. Phrased in the terminology of weak lensing, the images of the satellites have a mean shear of gamma_T = -0.045 +/- 0.010, averaged over scales 10 kpc < r < 50 kpc. In a galaxy-galaxy lensing study where lenses and sources are separated solely on the basis of apparent magnitude, we estimate that on scales < 250 kpc satellite galaxies acount for between 10% and 15% of the objects that are identified as sources. In such studies, elongation of the satellites will cause a reduction of the galaxy-galaxy lensing shear by of order 25% to 40%. Hence, the elongation of satellite galaxies in the direction of their hosts is a potentially important effect for precision studies of galaxy-galaxy lensing and argues strongly in favor favor of the use of accurate photometric redshifts in order to identify lenses and sources in future studies.

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arXiv2005

Anisotropic Distribution of SDSS Satellite Galaxies: Planar (not Polar) Alignment

The distribution of satellite galaxies relative to isolated host galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is investigated. Host-satellite systems are selected using three different methods, yielding samples of ~3300, ~1600, and \~950 satellites. In the plane of the sky, the distributions of all three samples show highly significant deviations from circular symmetry (> 99.99%, > 99.99%, and 99.79% confidence levels, respectively), and the degree of anisotropy is a strong function of the projected radius, r_p, at which the satellites are found. For r_p < 100 kpc, the SDSS satellites are aligned preferentially with the major axes of the hosts. This is in stark contrast to the Holmberg effect, in which satellites are aligned with the minor axes of host galaxies. The degree of anisotropy in the distribution of the SDSS satellites decreases with r_p and is consistent with an isotropic distribution at of order the 1-sigma level for 250 kpc < r_p < 500 kpc.

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arXiv2004

Constraints on Field Galaxy Halos from Weak Lensing and Satellite Dynamics

Here I summarize constraints on the nature of the dark matter halos of field galaxies that have been obtained from the most recent investigations of (i) weak galaxy-galaxy lensing and (ii) the dynamics of satellite galaxies in orbit about large host galaxies. Both of these techniques are statistical in their in their nature (i.e., large samples of galaxies are required to obtain a "signal"), but since they have inherently different selection biases and systematic errors they are quite complementary to each other. Results of work over the last several years on weak lensing and satellite dynamics is revealing a remarkably consistent picture regarding the dark matter halos of bright field galaxies (L > L*). The halos extend to large physical radii (> 150 kpc/h) and are flattened in projection on the sky, there is a marked difference in the depths of the potential wells of early-type galaxies and late-type galaxies, and the velocity dispersion profiles of the halos decrease at large projected radii. All of these are expected to hold true in a cold dark matter universe and, while neither technique can address the the possible small-scale conflicts between CDM and observed galaxies, on scales > 50 kpc/h both techniques yield results that are consistent with each other and with the predictions of CDM.

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