arXiv subjects

Tommaso Treu

Publications and source records attributed to Tommaso Treu.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Velocity-Delay Maps from the Maximum-Entropy Method for Arp 151

We present velocity-delay maps for optical H I, He I, and He II recombination lines in Arp 151, recovered by fitting a reverberation model to spectrophotometric monitoring data using the maximum-entropy method. H I response is detected over the range 0-15 days, with the response confined within the virial envelope. The Balmer-line maps have similar morphologies but exhibit radial stratification, with progressively longer delays for Hgamma to Hbeta to Halpha. The He I and He II response is confined within 1-2 days. There is a deficit of prompt response in the Balmer-line cores but strong prompt response in the red wings. Comparison with simple models identifies two classes that reproduce these features: freefalling gas, and a half-illuminated disk with a hotspot at small radius on the receding lune. Symmetrically illuminated models with gas orbiting in an inclined disk or an isotropic distribution of randomly inclined circular orbits can reproduce the virial structure but not the observed asymmetry. Radial outflows are also largely ruled out by the observed asymmetry. A warped-disk geometry provides a physically plausible mechanism for the asymmetric illumination and hotspot features. Simple estimates show that a disk in the broad-line region of Arp 151 could be unstable to warping induced by radiation pressure. Our results demonstrate the potential power of detailed modeling combined with monitoring campaigns at higher cadence to characterize the gas kinematics and physical processes that give rise to the broad emission lines in active galactic nuclei.

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arXiv2010

Cosmic Evolution of Virial and Stellar Mass in Massive Early-Type Galaxies

We measure the average mass properties of a sample of 41 strong gravitational lenses at moderate redshift (z ~ 0.4 - 0.9), and present the lens redshift for 6 of these galaxies for the first time. Using the techniques of strong and weak gravitational lensing on archival data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope, we determine that the average mass overdensity profile of the lenses can be fit with a power-law profile (Delta_Sigma prop. to R^{-0.86 +/- 0.16}) that is within 1-sigma of an isothermal profile (Delta_Sigma prop. to R^{-1}) with velocity dispersion sigma_v = 260 +/- 20 km/s. Additionally, we use a two-component de Vaucouleurs+NFW model to disentangle the total mass profile into separate luminous and dark matter components, and determine the relative fraction of each component. We measure the average rest frame V-band stellar mass-to-light ratio (Upsilon_V = 4.0 +/- 0.6 h M_sol/L_sol) and virial mass-to-light ratio (tau_V = 300 +/- 90 h M_sol/L_sol) for our sample, resulting in a virial-to-stellar mass ratio of M_vir/M_* = 75 +/- 25. Finally, we compare our results to a previous study using low redshift lenses, to understand how galaxy mass profiles evolve over time. We investigate the evolution of M_vir/M_*(z) = alpha(1+z)^{beta}, and find best fit parameters of alpha = 51 +/- 36 and beta = 0.9 +/- 1.8, constraining the growth of virial to stellar mass ratio over the last ~7 Gigayears. We note that, by using a sample of strong lenses, we are able to constrain the growth of M_vir/M_*(z) without making any assumptions about the IMF of the stellar population.

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arXiv2010

Keck Spectroscopy of z>1 Field Spheroidals: Dynamical Constraints on the Growth Rate of Red "Nuggets"

We present deep Keck spectroscopy for 17 morphologically-selected field spheroidals in the redshift range 1.05 10^11 Msol) grew in size over 0 Mdyn > 10^10 Msol) did not grow significantly. These trends are consistent with a picture in which more massive spheroidals formed at higher redshift via "wetter" mergers involving greater dissipation. To examine growth under the favored "dry" merger hypothesis, we also examine size growth at a fixed velocity dispersion. This test, uniquely possible with our dynamical data, allows us to consider the effects of "progenitor bias." Above our completeness limit (sigma > 200 km/s), we find size growth consistent with that inferred for the mass-selected sample, thus ruling out strong progenitor bias. To maintain continuity in the growth of massive galaxies over the past 10 Gyr, our new results imply that size evolution over 1.3 2 are truly massive and compact.

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arXiv2010

The non-evolving internal structure of early-type galaxies: the case study SDSS J0728+3835 at z = 0.206

We study the internal dynamical structure of the early-type lens galaxy SDSS J0728+3835 at z = 0.206. The analysis is based on two-dimensional kinematic maps extending out to 1.7 effective radii obtained from Keck spectroscopy, on lensing geometry and on stellar mass estimates obtained from multiband Hubble Space Telescope imaging. The data are modelled under the assumptions of axial symmetry supported by a two-integral distribution function (DF), by applying the combined gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics code CAULDRON, and yielding high-quality constraints for an early-type galaxy at cosmological redshifts. Modelling the total density profile as a power-law of the form rho_tot ~ 1/r^{gamma}, we find that it is nearly isothermal (logarithmic slope gamma = 2.08^{+0.04}_{-0.02}), and quite flattened (axial ratio q = 0.60^{+0.08}_{-0.03}). The galaxy is mildly anisotropic (delta = 0.08 +/- 0.02) and shows a fair amount of rotational support, in particular towards the outer regions. We determine a dark matter fraction lower limit of 28 per cent within the effective radius. The stellar contribution to the total mass distribution is close to maximal for a Chabrier initial mass function (IMF), whereas for a Salpeter IMF the stellar mass exceeds the total mass within the galaxy inner regions. We find that the combination of a NFW dark matter halo with the maximally rescaled luminous profile provides a remarkably good fit to the total mass distribution over a broad radial range. Our results confirm and expand the findings of the SLACS survey for early-type galaxies of comparable velocity dispersion (sigma_SDSS = 214 +/- 11 km/s). The internal structure of J0728 is consistent with that of local early-type galaxies of comparable velocity dispersion as measured by the SAURON project, suggesting lack of evolution in the past two billion years.

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arXiv2010

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Reverberation Mapping of Optical Hydrogen and Helium Recombination Lines

We have recently completed a 64-night spectroscopic monitoring campaign at the Lick Observatory 3-m Shane telescope with the aim of measuring the masses of the black holes in 12 nearby (z < 0.05) Seyfert 1 galaxies with expected masses in the range ~10^6-10^7M_sun and also the well-studied nearby active galactic nucleus (AGN) NGC 5548. Nine of the objects in the sample (including NGC 5548) showed optical variability of sufficient strength during the monitoring campaign to allow for a time lag to be measured between the continuum fluctuations and the response to these fluctuations in the broad Hbeta emission, which we have previously reported. We present here the light curves for the Halpha, Hgamma, HeII 4686, and HeI 5876 emission lines and the time lags for the emission-line responses relative to changes in the continuum flux. Combining each emission-line time lag with the measured width of the line in the variable part of the spectrum, we determine a virial mass of the central supermassive black hole from several independent emission lines. We find that the masses are generally consistent within the uncertainties. The time-lag response as a function of velocity across the Balmer line profiles is examined for six of the AGNs. Finally we compare several trends seen in the dataset against the predictions from photoionization calculations as presented by Korista & Goad. We confirm several of their predictions, including an increase in responsivity and a decrease in the mean time lag as the excitation and ionization level for the species increases. Further confirmation of photoionization predictions for broad-line gas behavior will require additional monitoring programs for these AGNs while they are in different luminosity states. [abridged]

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arXiv2010

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: The MBH - sigma Relation For Reverberation-Mapped Active Galaxies

(Abridged) To investigate the black hole mass (MBH) vs. stellar velocity dispersion relation of active galaxies, we measured the velocity dispersions of a sample of local Seyfert 1 galaxies, for which we have recently determined MBH using reverberation mapping. For most objects, velocity dispersions were measured from high S/N ratio optical spectra centered on the Ca II triplet region (~8500 A), obtained at the Keck, Palomar, and Lick Observatories. For two objects, in which the Ca II triplet region was contaminated by nuclear emission, the measurement was based on high-quality H-band spectra obtained with the OSIRIS at the Keck-II Telescope. Combining our new measurements with data from the literature, we assemble a sample of 24 active galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions and reverberation-based MBH measurements in the range of black hole mass 10^6<MBH/M_sun<10^9. We use this sample to obtain reverberation mapping constraints on the slope and intrinsic scatter of the M-sigma relation of active galaxies. Assuming a constant virial coefficient f for the reverberation mapping black hole masses, we find a slope b=3.55+-0.60 and the intrinsic scatter sigma_int=0.43+-0.08 dex in the relation log (MBH/M_sun) = a + b log (sigma/200 km/s), which are consistent with those found for quiescent galaxies. We derive an updated value of the virial coefficient f by finding the value which places the reverberation masses in best agreement with the M-sigma relation of quiescent galaxies; using the quiescent M-sigma relation determined by Gultekin et al. we find log f=0.72^{+0.09-0.10} with an intrinsic scatter of 0.44+-0.07 dex. The uncertainty of the virial coefficient remains one of the main sources of the uncertainty in black hole mass determinations using reverberation mapping, and therefore also in single-epoch spectroscopic estimates of MBH in active galaxies.

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arXiv2010

AMUSE-Virgo II. Down-sizing in black hole accretion

(Abridged) We complete the census of nuclear X-ray activity in 100 early type Virgo galaxies observed by the Chandra X-ray Telescope as part of the AMUSE-Virgo survey, down to a (3sigma) limiting luminosity of 3.7E+38 erg/s over 0.5-7 keV. The stellar mass distribution of the targeted sample, which is mostly composed of formally `inactive' galaxies, peaks below 1E+10 M_Sun, a regime where the very existence of nuclear super-massive black holes (SMBHs) is debated. Out of 100 objects, 32 show a nuclear X-ray source, including 6 hybrid nuclei which also host a massive nuclear cluster as visible from archival HST images. After carefully accounting for contamination from nuclear low-mass X-ray binaries based on the shape and normalization of their X-ray luminosity function, we conclude that between 24-34% of the galaxies in our sample host a X-ray active SMBH (at the 95% C.L.). This sets a firm lower limit to the black hole occupation fraction in nearby bulges within a cluster environment. At face value, the active fraction -down to our luminosity limit- is found to increase with host stellar mass. However, taking into account selection effects, we find that the average Eddington-scaled X-ray luminosity scales with black hole mass as M_BH^(-0.62^{+0.13}_{-0.12}), with an intrinsic scatter of 0.46^({+0.08}_{-0.06}) dex. This finding can be interpreted as observational evidence for `down-sizing' of black hole accretion in local early types, that is, low mass black holes shine relatively closer to their Eddington limit than higher mass objects. As a consequence, the fraction of active galaxies, defined as those above a fixed X-ray Eddington ratio, decreases with increasing black hole mass.

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arXiv2009

Environmental Effects in the Evolution of Galactic Bulges

We investigate possible environmental trends in the evolution of galactic bulges over the redshift range 0 =0.4 and =0.54 using surface photometry based on HST imaging and velocity dispersions based on Keck spectroscopy. As a reference point for our study we include data for pure ellipticals, which we model as single-component Sersic profiles; whereas for multi-component galaxies we undertake decompositions using Sersic and exponential models for the bulge and disk respectively. Although the FP for both distant cluster and field samples are offset from the local relation, consistent with evolutionary trends found in earlier studies, we detect significant differences in the zero point of ~=0.2 dex between the field and cluster samples at a given redshift. For both clusters, the environmentally-dependent offset is in the sense expected for an accelerated evolution of bulges in dense environments. By matching the mass range of our samples, we confirm that this difference does not arise as a result of the mass-dependent downsizing effects seen in larger field samples. Our result is also consistent with the hypothesis that - at fixed mass and environment - the star formation histories of galactic bulges and pure spheroids are indistinguishable, and difficult to reconcile with the picture whereby the majority of large bulges form primarily via secular processes within spiral galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Cosmic Evolution of Black Holes and Spheroids. IV. The BH Mass - Spheroid Luminosity Relation

From high-resolution images of 23 Seyfert-1 galaxies at z=0.36 and z=0.57 obtained with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we determine host-galaxy morphology, nuclear luminosity, total host-galaxy luminosity and spheroid luminosity. Keck spectroscopy is used to estimate black hole mass (M_BH). We study the cosmic evolution of the M_BH-spheroid luminosity (L_sph) relation. In combination with our previous work, totaling 40 Seyfert-1 galaxies, the covered range in BH mass is substantially increased, allowing us to determine for the first time intrinsic scatter and correct evolutionary trends for selection effects. We re-analyze archival HST images of 19 local reverberation-mapped active galaxies to match the procedure adopted at intermediate redshift. Correcting spheroid luminosity for passive luminosity evolution and taking into account selection effects, we determine that at fixed present-day V-band spheroid luminosity, M_BH/L_sph \propto (1+z)^(2.8+/-1.2). When including a sample of 44 quasars out to z=4.5 taken from the literature, with luminosity and BH mass corrected to a self-consistent calibration, we extend the BH mass range to over two orders of magnitude, resulting in M_BH/L_sph \propto (1+z)^(1.4+/-0.2). The intrinsic scatter of the relation, assumed constant with redshift, is 0.3+/-0.1 dex (<0.6 dex at 95% CL). The evolutionary trend suggests that BH growth precedes spheroid assembly. Interestingly, the M_BH-total host-galaxy luminosity relation is apparently non-evolving. It hints at either a more fundamental relation or that the spheroid grows by a redistribution of stars. However, the high-z sample does not follow this relation, indicating that major mergers may play the dominant role in growing spheroids above z~1.

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arXiv2009

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Photometric Light Curves and Optical Variability Characteristics

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project targeted 13 nearby Seyfert 1 galaxies with the intent of measuring the masses of their central black holes using reverberation mapping. The sample includes 12 galaxies selected to have black holes with masses roughly in the range 10^6-10^7 solar masses, as well as the well-studied AGN NGC 5548. In conjunction with a spectroscopic monitoring campaign, we obtained broad-band B and V images on most nights from 2008 February through 2008 May. The imaging observations were carried out by four telescopes: the 0.76-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT), the 2-m Multicolor Active Galactic Nuclei Monitoring (MAGNUM) telescope, the Palomar 60-in (1.5-m) telescope, and the 0.80-m Tenagra II telescope. Having well-sampled light curves over the course of a few months is useful for obtaining the broad-line reverberation lag and black hole mass, and also allows us to examine the characteristics of the continuum variability. In this paper, we discuss the observational methods and the photometric measurements, and present the AGN continuum light curves. We measure various variability characteristics of each of the light curves. We do not detect any evidence for a time lag between the B- and V-band variations, and we do not find significant color variations for the AGNs in our sample.

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arXiv2009

Dry mergers and the formation of early-type galaxies: constraints from lensing and dynamics

Dissipationless (gas-free or "dry") mergers have been suggested to play a major role in the formation and evolution of early-type galaxies, particularly in growing their mass and size without altering their stellar populations. We perform a new test of the dry merger hypothesis by comparing N-body simulations of realistic systems to empirical constraints provided by recent studies of lens early-type galaxies. We find that major and minor dry mergers: i) preserve the nearly isothermal structure of early-type galaxies within the observed scatter; ii) do not change more than the observed scatter the ratio between total mass M and "virial" mass R_e*sigma/2G (where R_e is the half-light radius and sigma the projected velocity dispersion); iii) increase strongly galaxy sizes [as M^(0.85+/-0.17)] and weakly velocity dispersions [as M^(0.06+/-0.08)] with mass, thus moving galaxies away from the local observed M-R_e and M-sigma relations; iv) introduce substantial scatter in the M-R_e and M-sigma relations. Our findings imply that, unless there is a high degree of fine tuning of the mix of progenitors and types of interactions, present-day massive early-type galaxies cannot have assembled more than ~50% of their mass, and increased their size by more than a factor ~1.8, via dry merging.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Direct Observation of Cosmic Strings via their Strong Gravitational Lensing Effect: II. Results from the HST/ACS Image Archive

We have searched 4.5 square degrees of archival HST/ACS images for cosmic strings, identifying close pairs of similar, faint galaxies and selecting groups whose alignment is consistent with gravitational lensing by a long, straight string. We find no evidence for cosmic strings in five large-area HST treasury surveys (covering a total of 2.22 square degrees), or in any of 346 multi-filter guest observer images (1.18 square degrees). Assuming that simulations ccurately predict the number of cosmic strings in the universe, this non-detection allows us to place upper limits on the unitless Universal cosmic string tension of G mu/c^2 < 2.3 x 10^-6, and cosmic string density of Omega_s < 2.1 x 10^-5 at the 95% confidence level (marginalising over the other parameter in each case). We find four dubious cosmic string candidates in 318 single filter guest observer images (1.08 square degrees), which we are unable to conclusively eliminate with existing data. The confirmation of any one of these candidates as cosmic strings would imply G mu/c^2 ~ 10^-6 and Omega_s ~ 10^-5. However, we estimate that there is at least a 92% chance that these string candidates are random alignments of galaxies. If we assume that these candidates are indeed false detections, our final limits on G mu/c^2 and Omega_s fall to 6.5 x 10^-7 and 7.3 x 10^-6. Due to the extensive sky coverage of the HST/ACS image archive, the above limits are universal. They are quite sensitive to the number of fields being searched, and could be further reduced by more than a factor of two using forthcoming HST data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Broad-Line Region Radii and Black Hole Masses from Reverberation Mapping of Hbeta

We have recently completed a 64-night spectroscopic monitoring campaign at the Lick Observatory 3-m Shane telescope with the aim of measuring the masses of the black holes in 12 nearby (z < 0.05) Seyfert 1 galaxies with expected masses in the range ~10^6-10^7 M_sun and also the well-studied nearby active galactic nucleus (AGN) NGC 5548. Nine of the objects in the sample (including NGC 5548) showed optical variability of sufficient strength during the monitoring campaign to allow for a time lag to be measured between the continuum fluctuations and the response to these fluctuations in the broad Hbeta emission. We present here the light curves for the objects in this sample and the subsequent Hbeta time lags for the nine objects where these measurements were possible. The Hbeta lag time is directly related to the size of the broad-line region, and by combining the lag time with the measured width of the Hbeta emission line in the variable part of the spectrum, we determine the virial mass of the central supermassive black hole in these nine AGNs. The absolute calibration of the black hole masses is based on the normalization derived by Onken et al. We also examine the time lag response as a function of velocity across the Hbeta line profile for six of the AGNs. The analysis of four leads to ambiguous results with relatively flat time lags as a function of velocity. However, SBS 1116+583A exhibits a symmetric time lag response around the line center reminiscent of simple models for circularly orbiting broad-line region (BLR) clouds, and Arp 151 shows an asymmetric profile that is most easily explained by a simple gravitational infall model. Further investigation will be necessary to fully understand the constraints placed on physical models of the BLR by the velocity-resolved response in these objects.

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arXiv2009

Two-dimensional kinematics of SLACS lenses: II. Combined lensing and dynamics analysis of early-type galaxies at z = 0.08 - 0.33

We present the first detailed analysis of the mass and dynamical structure of a sample of six early-type lens galaxies, selected from the Sloan Lens ACS Survey, in the redshift range 0.08 < z < 0.33. Both Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/ACS high-resolution imaging and VLT VIMOS integral field spectroscopy are available for these systems. The galaxies are modelled - under the assumptions of axial symmetry and two-integral stellar distribution function - by making use of the CAULDRON code, which self-consistently combines gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics, and is fully embedded within the framework of Bayesian statistics. The principal results of this study are: (i) all galaxies in the sample are well described by a simple axisymmetric power-law profile for the total density, with a logarithmic slope gamma very close to isothermal ( = 1.98 +/- 0.05 and an intrinsic spread close to 5 per cent) showing no evidence of evolution over the probed range of redshift; (ii) the axial ratio of the total density distribution is rounder than 0.65 and in all cases, except for a fast rotator, does not deviate significantly from the flattening of the intrinsic stellar distribution; (iii) the dark matter fraction within the effective radius has a lower limit of about 15 to 30 per cent; (iv) the sample galaxies are only mildly anisotropic, with delta <= 0.16; (v) the physical distinction among slow and fast rotators, quantified by the v/sigma ratio and the intrinsic angular momentum, is already present at z > 0.1. Altogether, early-type galaxies at z = 0.08 - 0.33 are found to be markedly smooth and almost isothermal systems, structurally and dynamically very similar to their nearby counterparts. (Abridged)

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arXiv2009

Lyman Break Galaxies at z~1.8-2.8: GALEX/NUV Imaging of the Subaru Deep Field

Abridged: A photometric sample of ~7100 V<25.3 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) has been selected by combining Subaru/Suprime-Cam BVRci'z' data with deep GALEX/NUV imaging of the Subaru Deep Field. Follow-up spectroscopy confirmed 24 LBGs at 1.5<z<2.7. Among the optical spectra, 12 have Ly-alpha emission with rest-frame equivalent widths of ~5-60AA. The success rate for identifying LBGs as NUV-dropouts at 1.5<z<2.7 is 86%. The rest-frame UV (1700AA) luminosity function (LF) is constructed from the photometric sample with corrections for stellar contamination and z<1.5 interlopers. The LF is 1.7+/-0.1 times higher than those of z~2 BXs and z~3 LBGs. Three explanations were considered, and it is argued that significantly underestimating low-z contamination or effective comoving volume is unlikely: the former would be inconsistent with the spectroscopic sample at 93% confidence, and the second explanation would not resolve the discrepancy. The third scenario is that different photometric selection of the samples yields non-identical galaxy populations, such that some BX galaxies are LBGs and vice versa. This argument is supported by a higher surface density of LBGs at all magnitudes while the redshift distribution of the two populations is nearly identical. This study, when combined with other star-formation rate (SFR) density UV measurements from LBG surveys, indicates that there is a rise in the SFR density: a factor of 3-6 (3-10) increase from z~5 (z~6) to z~2, followed by a decrease to z~0. This result, along with past sub-mm studies that find a peak at z~2 in their redshift distribution, suggest that z~2 is the epoch of peak star-formation. Additional spectroscopy is required to characterize the complete shape of the z~2 LBG UV LF via measurements of contamination and accurate distances.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2008

The survival of dark matter halos in the cluster Cl0024+16

Theories of structure formation in a cold dark matter dominated Universe predict that massive clusters of galaxies assemble from the hierarchical merging of lower mass subhalos. Exploiting strong and weak gravitational lensing signals inferred from panoramic HST imaging data, we present a high resolution reconstruction of the mass distribution in the massive, lensing cluster Cl0024+16. Applying galaxy-galaxy lensing techniques we track the fate of dark matter subhalos as a function of projected cluster-centric radius out to 5 Mpc, well beyond the virial radius. We report the first detection of the statistical lensing signal of dark matter subhalos associated with late-type galaxies in clusters. The mass of a typical dark matter subhalo that hosts an L* galaxy increases with projected cluster-centric radius in line with expectations from the tidal stripping hypothesis. Early-type galaxies appear to be hosted on average in more massive dark matter subhalos compared to late-type galaxies. We interpret our findings as evidence for the active assembly of mass via tidal stripping in galaxy clusters. The mass function of dark matter subhalos as a function of projected cluster-centric radius, is compared with an equivalent mass function derived from clusters in the Millenium Run simulation populated with galaxies using semi-analytic models. The shape of the lensing determined mass functions are in very good agreement with the subhalo mass functions derived from the Millenium Run simulation. However, simulated subhalos appear to be more efficiently stripped than lensing observations suggest. (Abridged)

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Enhanced lensing rate by clustering of massive galaxies: newly discovered systems in the SLACS fields

[Abridged] We exploit the clustering of massive galaxies to perform a high efficiency imaging search for gravitational lenses. Our dataset comprises 44 fields imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), each of which is centered on a lens discovered by the Strong Lens ACS Survey (SLACS). We compare four different search methods: 1) automated detection with the HST Archive Galaxy-scale Gravitational Lens Survey (HAGGLeS) robot, 2) examining cutout images of bright galaxies (BGs) after subtraction of a smooth galaxy light distribution, 3) examining the unsubtracted BG cutouts, and 4) performing a full-frame visual inspection of the ACS images. We compute purity and completeness and consider investigator time for the four algorithms, using the main SLACS lenses as a testbed. The first and second algorithms perform the best. We present the four new lens systems discovered during this comprehensive search, as well as one other likely candidate. For each new lens we use the fundamental plane to estimate the lens velocity dispersion and predict, from the resulting lens geometry, the redshifts of the lensed sources. Two of these new systems are found in galaxy clusters, which include the SLACS lenses in the two respective fields. Overall we find that the enhanced lens abundance (30^{+24}_{-8} lenses/degree^2) is higher than expected for random fields (12^{+4}_{-2} lenses/degree^2 for the COSMOS survey). Additionally, we find that the gravitational lenses we detect are qualitatively different from those in the parent SLACS sample: this imaging survey is largely probing higher-redshift, and lower-mass, early-type galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

First Results from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project: The Mass of the Black Hole in Arp 151

We have recently completed a 64-night spectroscopic monitoring campaign at the Lick Observatory 3-m Shane telescope with the aim of measuring the masses of the black holes in 13 nearby (z < 0.05) Seyfert 1 galaxies with expected masses in the range ~10^6-10^7 M_sun. We present here the first results from this project -- the mass of the central black hole in Arp 151. Strong variability throughout the campaign led to an exceptionally clean Hbeta lag measurement in this object of 4.25(+0.68/-0.66) days in the observed frame. Coupled with the width of the Hbeta emission line in the variable spectrum, we determine a black hole mass of (7.1 +/- 1.2)x10^6 M_sun, assuming the Onken et al. normalization for reverberation-based virial masses. We also find velocity-resolved lag information within the Hbeta emission line which clearly shows infalling gas in the Hbeta-emitting region. Further detailed analysis may lead to a full model of the geometry and kinematics of broad line region gas around the central black hole in Arp 151.

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