arXiv subjects

Yougang Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Yougang Wang.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Classifying globular clusters and applying them to estimate the mass of the Milky Way

We combine the kinematics of 159 globular clusters (GCs) provided by the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) with other observational data to classify the GCs, and to estimate the mass of the Milky Way (MW). We use the age-metallicity relation, integrals of motion, action space and the GC orbits to identify the GCs as either formed in-situ (Bulge and Disk) or ex situ (via accretion). We find that $45.3\%$ have formed in situ, $38.4\%$ may be related to known merger events: Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, the Helmi streams, the Sequoia galaxy, and the Kraken galaxy. We also further identify three new sub-structures associated with the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. The remaining $16.3\%$ of GCs are unrelated to the known mergers and thought to be from small accretion events. We select 46 GCs which have radii $8.0<r<37.3$ kpc and obtain the anisotropy parameter $β=0.315_{-0.049}^{+0.055}$, which is lower than the recent result using the sample of GCs in Gaia Data Release 2, but still in agreement with it by considering the error bar. By using the same sample, we obtain the MW mass inside the outermost GC as $M(<37.3 kpc)=0.423_{-0.02}^{+0.02}\times10^{12}M_{\odot}$, and the corresponding $M_{200}=1.11_{-0.18}^{+0.25}\times10^{12}M_{\odot}$. The estimated mass is consistent with the results in many recent studies. We also find that the estimated $β$ and mass depend on the selected sample of GCs. However, it is difficult to determine whether a GC fully traces the potential of the MW.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

A Fast Transient Backend to Detect FRBs with the Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array

The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder array is a radio interferometer array consisting of 16 six meter dish antennas. The original digital backend integration time is at the seconds level, designed for HI intensity mapping experiment. A new digital backend with millisecond response is added to enable it to search for fast radio burst (FRB) during its observations. The design and calibration of this backend, and the real time search pipeline for it are described in this paper. It is capable of forming 16 digital beams for each linear polarisation, covering an area of 19.6 square degrees. The search pipeline is capable of searching for, recording and classifying FRBs automatically in real time. In commissioning, we succeeded in capturing the signal pulses from the pulsars PSR B0329+54 and B2021+51.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Forecasting the Cross-Correlation of the CSST galaxy survey with the FAST HI Intensity Map

The cross-correlation of optical galaxies with the neutral hydrogen (HI) radiation intensity can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the HI intensity measurement. In this paper, we investigate the cross-correlation of the galaxy samples obtained by the spectroscopic survey of the China Space Station Telescope (CSST) with the HI Intensity mapping (IM) survey of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). Using the IllusitrisTNG simulation result at redshift $0.2 \sim 0.3$, we generate mock data of the CSST survey and a FAST L-band drift scan survey. The CSST spectroscopic survey can yield a sample of galaxies with a high comoving number density of $10^{-2} (\unit{Mpc}/h)^{-3}$ at $z \sim 0.3$. We cross-correlate the foreground-removed radio intensity with the CSST galaxies, including both the whole sample, and red and blue galaxy sub-samples separately. We find that in all cases the HI and optical galaxies are well correlated. The total HI abundance can be measured with a high precision from this correlation. A relative error of $\sim 0.6\%$ for $Ω_{\rm HI}$ could be achieved at $z\sim 0.3$ for an overlapping survey area of $10000 \unit{deg}^2$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The Tianlai dish array low-z surveys forecasts

We present the science case for surveys with the Tianlai dish array interferometer tuned to the $\left[ 1300, 1400 \right] \mathrm{MHz}$ frequency range. Starting from a realistic generation of mock visibility data according to the survey strategy, we reconstruct a map of the sky and perform a foreground subtraction. We show that a survey of the North Celestial Polar cap during a year of observing time and covering an area of $150 \, \mathrm{deg^2}$ would reach a sensitivity of $ 1.5-2 \, \mathrm{mK} $ per $1 \, \mathrm{MHz} \times 0.25^2 \, \mathrm{deg^2 }$ voxel and be marginally impacted by mode-mixing. Tianlai would be able to detect a handful $(\sim 10)$ of nearby massive \HI clumps as well as a very strong cross-correlation signal of 21\,cm intensity maps with the North Celestial Cap Survey optical galaxies. We have also studied the performance of a mid-latitude survey, covering $\sim 1500 \, \mathrm{deg^2}$ centered on a declination of $δ=55^\circ$, which overlaps the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint. Despite a higher noise level for the mid-latitude survey, as well as significant distortions due to mode mixing, Tianlai would be able to detect a highly significant cross-correlation between the 21\,cm signal and the Sloan spectroscopic galaxy sample. Using the extragalactic signals from either or both of these surveys, it will be possible to assess the impact of calibration uncertainties, antenna pattern uncertainties, sources of noise, and mode mixing for future surveys requiring higher sensitivity.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The Electromagnetic Characteristics of the Tianlai Cylindrical Pathfinder Array

A great challenge for 21 cm intensity mapping experiments is the strong foreground radiation which is orders of magnitude brighter than the 21cm signal. Removal of the foreground takes advantage of the fact that its frequency spectrum is smooth while the redshifted 21cm signal spectrum is stochastic. However, a complication is the non-smoothness of the instrument response. This paper describes the electromagnetic simulation of the Tianlai cylinder array, a pathfinder for 21 cm intensity mapping experiments. Due to the vast scales involved, a direct simulation requires large amount of computing resources. We have made the simulation practical by using a combination of methods: first simulate a single feed, then an array of feed units, finally with the feed array and a cylindrical reflector together, to obtain the response for a single cylinder. We studied its radiation pattern, bandpass response and the effects of mutual coupling between feed units, and compared the results with observation. Many features seen in the measurement result are well reproduced in the simulation, especially the oscillatory features which are associated with the standing waves on the reflector. The mutual coupling between feed units is quantified with S-parameters, which decrease as the distance between the two feeds increases. Based on the simulated S-parameters, we estimate the correlated noise which has been seen in the visibility data, the results show very good agreement with the data in both magnitude and frequency structures. These results provide useful insights on the problem of 21cm signal extraction for real instruments.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Constraining Brans-Dicke cosmology with the CSST galaxy clustering spectroscopic survey

The Brans-Dicke (BD) theory is the simplest Scalar-Tensor theory of gravity, which can be considered as a candidate of modified Einstein's theory of general relativity. In this work, we forecast the constraints on BD theory in the CSST galaxy clustering spectroscopic survey with a magnitude limit $\sim 23$ AB mag for point-source 5$σ$ detection. We generate mock data based on the zCOSMOS catalog and consider the observational and instrumental effects of the CSST spectroscopic survey. We predicate galaxy power spectra in the BD theory from $z=0$ to 1.5, and the galaxy bias and other systematical parameters are also included. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique is employed to find the best-fits and probability distributions of the cosmological and systematical parameters. A Brans-Dicke parameter $ζ$ is introduced, which satisfies $ζ=\ln \left(1+\frac{1}ω\right)$. We find that the CSST spectroscopic galaxy clustering survey can give $|ζ|<10^{-2}$, or equivalently $|ω|>\mathcal{O}(10^2)$ and $|\dot{G}/G|<10^{-13}$, under the assumption $ζ= 0$. These constraints are almost at the same order of magnitude compared to the joint constraints using the current cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), and Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data, indicating that the CSST galaxy clustering spectroscopic survey would be powerful to constrain the BD theory and other modified gravity theories.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

1/f Noise Analysis for FAST HI Intensity Mapping Drift-Scan Experiment

We investigate the 1/f noise of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) receiver system using drift-scan data from an intensity mapping pilot survey. All the 19 beams have 1/f fluctuations with similar structures. Both the temporal and the 2D power spectrum densities are estimated. The correlations directly seen in the time series data at low frequency $f$ are associated with the sky signal, perhaps due to a coupling between the foreground and the system response. We use Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to subtract the foreground. By removing the strongest components, the measured 1/f noise power can be reduced significantly. With 20 modes subtraction, the knee frequency of the 1/f noise in a 10 MHz band is reduced to $1.8 \times 10^{-3}\Hz$, well below the thermal noise over 500-seconds time scale. The 2D power spectra show that the 1/f-type variations are restricted to a small region in the time-frequency space and the correlations in frequency can be suppressed with SVD modes subtraction. The residual 1/f noise after the SVD mode subtraction is uncorrelated in frequency, and a simple noise diode frequency-independent calibration of the receiver gain at 8s interval does not affect the results. The 1/f noise can be important for HI intensity mapping, we estimate that the 1/f noise has a knee frequency $(f_{k}) \sim$ 6 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$Hz, and time and frequency correlation spectral indices $(α) \sim 0.65$, $(β) \sim 0.8$ after the SVD subtraction of 30 modes. This can bias the HI power spectrum measurement by 10 percent.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array: design, operation and performance of a prototype transit radio interferometer

The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array is a radio interferometer designed to test techniques for 21~cm intensity mapping in the post-reionization universe as a means for measuring large-scale cosmic structure. It performs drift scans of the sky at constant declination. We describe the design, calibration, noise level, and stability of this instrument based on the analysis of about $\sim 5 \%$ of 6,200 hours of on-sky observations through October, 2019. Beam pattern determinations using drones and the transit of bright sources are in good agreement, and compatible with electromagnetic simulations. Combining all the baselines, we make maps around bright sources and show that the array behaves as expected. A few hundred hours of observations at different declinations have been used to study the array geometry and pointing imperfections, as well as the instrument noise behaviour. We show that the system temperature is below 80~K for most feed antennas, and that noise fluctuations decrease as expected with integration time, at least up to a few hundred seconds. Analysis of long integrations, from 10 nights of observations of the North Celestial Pole, yielded visibilities with amplitudes of 20-30~mK, consistent with the expected signal from the NCP radio sky with $<10\,$mK precision for $1 ~\mathrm{MHz} \times 1~ \mathrm{min}$ binning. Hi-pass filtering the spectra to remove smooth spectrum signal yields a residual consistent with zero signal at the $0.5\,$mK level.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

AlgoSCR: An algorithm for Solar Contamination Removal from radio interferometric data

Hydrogen intensity mapping is a new field in astronomy that promises to make three-dimensional maps of the matter distribution of the Universe using the redshifted $21\,\textrm{cm}$ line of neutral hydrogen gas (HI). Several ongoing and upcoming radio interferometers, such as Tianlai, CHIME, HERA, HIRAX, etc. are using this technique. These instruments are designed to map large swaths of the sky by drift scanning over periods of many months. One of the challenges of the observations is that the daytime data is contaminated by strong radio signals from the Sun. In the case of Tianlai, this results in almost half of the measured data being unusable. We try to address this issue by developing an algorithm for solar contamination removal (AlgoSCR) from the radio data. The algorithm is based on an eigenvalue analysis of the visibility matrix, and hence is applicable only to interferometers. We apply AlgoSCR to simulated visibilities, as well as real daytime data from the Tianlai dish array. The algorithm can remove most of the solar contamination without seriously affecting other sky signals and thus makes the data usable for certain applications.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

The conformity of HI galaxies in ALFALFA-SDSS sample

The conformity effect, indicating the evolution of a galaxy is related to its surrounding neighbour galaxies as far as a few Mpc, is an interesting phenomenon in the modeling of galaxy and evolution. Here we study the conformity effect of HI galaxies in a matched galaxy sample between SDSS DR7 and ALFALFA surveys. By checking the probability difference for the detected HI galaxies as a function of distance around a normal or an HI galaxy, we find that this effect is significant out to 5 Mpc. It also shows a dependence on the stellar mass of galaxies, with the strength the strongest in the stellar mass range of 10^10~10^10.5. However, when the sample is confined to central galaxies in groups with virial radii smaller than 1 Mpc, the 1-halo conformity signal is still evident, while the 2-halo conformity signal is reduced to a very weak amplitude. Our results confirm the previous study in the optical band that the 2-halo term is possibly caused by the bias effect in the sample selection. Furthermore, we confirm the existence of the 1-halo conformity discovered in the optical and radio band in previous lectures. Our results provide another viewpoint of the conformity effect and hope to shed the light on the co-evolution of the galaxies and their neighbours in the current galaxy formation models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Reflections and Standing Waves on the Tianlai Cylinder Array

In 21~cm intensity mapping, the spectral smoothness of the foreground is exploited to separate it from the much weaker 21~cm signal. However, the non-smooth frequency response of the instrument complicates this process. Reflections and standing waves generate modulations on the frequency response. Here we report the analysis of the standing waves in the bandpass of the signal channels of the Tianlai Cylinder Array. By Fourier transforming the bandpass into the delay time domain, we find various standing waves generated on the telescope. A standing wave with time delay at about 142 ns is most clearly identified which is produced in the 15 meter feed cable. We also find a strong peak at a shorter delay of $τ< 50 \ns$, which may be a mix of the standing wave between the reflector and feed, and the standing wave on the 4 m intermediate frequency (IF) cable. We also show that a smoother frequency response could be partially recovered by removing the reflection-inducted modulations. However, the standing wave on the antenna is direction-dependent, which poses a more difficult challenge for high precision calibration.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Differential rotation of the halo traced by the K-giant stars

We use K-giant stars selected from the LAMOST DR5 to study the variation of the rotational velocity of the galactic halo at different space positions. Modelling the rotational velocity distribution with both the halo and disk components, we find that the rotational velocity of the halo population decreases almost linearly with increasing vertical distance to the galactic disk plane, $Z$, at fixed galactocentric radius, $R$. The samples are separated into two parts with $6<R<12$ kpc and $12<R<20$ kpc. We derive that the decreasing rates along $Z$ for the two subsamples are $-3.07\pm0.63$ and $-1.89\pm0.37$ km s$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-1}$, respectively. Compared with the TNG simulations, we suggest that this trend is probably caused by the interaction between the disk and halo. The results from the simulations show that only the oblate halo can provide a decreasing rotational velocity with an increasing $Z$. This indicates that the Galactic halo is oblate with galactocentric radius $R<20$ kpc. On the other hand, the flaring of the disk component (mainly the thick disk) is clearly traced by this study, with $R$ between 12 and 20 kpc, the disk can vertically extend to $6\sim10$ kpc above the disk plane. What is more interesting is that, we find the Gaia-Enceladus-Sausage (GES) component has a significant contribution only in the halo with $R<12$ kpc, i.e. a fraction of 23$-$47\%. While in the outer subsample, the contribution is too low to be well constrained.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

The Tianlai Cylinder Pathfinder Array: System Functions and Basic Performance Analysis

The Tianlai Cylinder Pathfinder is a radio interferometer array designed to test techniques for 21 cm intensity mapping in the post-reionization Universe, with the ultimate aim of mapping the large scale structure and measuring cosmological parameters such as the dark energy equation of state. Each of its three parallel cylinder reflectors is oriented in the north-south direction, and the array has a large field of view. As the Earth rotates, the northern sky is observed by drift scanning. The array is located in Hongliuxia, a radio-quiet site in Xinjiang, and saw its first light in September 2016. In this first data analysis paper for the Tianlai cylinder array, we discuss the sub-system qualification tests, and present basic system performance obtained from preliminary analysis of the commissioning observations during 2016-2018. We show typical interferometric visibility data, from which we derive the actual beam profile in the east-west direction and the frequency band-pass response. We describe also the calibration process to determine the complex gains for the array elements, either using bright astronomical point sources, or an artificial on site calibrator source, and discuss the instrument response stability, crucial for transit interferometry. Based on this analysis, we find a system temperature of about 90 K, and we also estimate the sensitivity of the array.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Basis function expansions for galactic dynamics: Spherical versus cylindrical coordinates

Aims. The orbital structure of galaxies is strongly influenced by the accuracy of the force calculation during orbit integration. We explore the accuracy of force calculations for two expansion methods and determine which one is preferable for orbit integration. Methods. We specifically compare two methods, one was introduced by Hernquist \& Ostriker (HO), which uses a spherical coordinate system and was built specifically for the Hernquist model, and the other by Vasiliev \& Athanassoula (CylSP) has a cylindrical coordinate system. Our comparisons include the Dehnen profile, its triaxial extension (of which the Hernquist profile is a special case) and a multicomponent system including a bar and disk density distributions for both analytical models and $N$-body realizations.We specifically compare two methods, one was introduced by Hernquist \& Ostriker (HO), which uses a spherical coordinate system and was built specifically for the Hernquist model, and the other by Vasiliev \& Athanassoula (CylSP) has a cylindrical coordinate system. Our comparisons include the Dehnen profile, its triaxial extension (of which the Hernquist profile is a special case) and a multicomponent system including a bar and disk density distributions for both analytical models and $N$-body realizations. Results. For the generalized Dehnen density, the CylSP method is more accurate than the HO method for nearly all inner power-law indices and shapes at all radii. For $N$-body realizations of the Dehnen model, or snapshots of an $N$-body simulation, the CylSP method is more accurate than the HO method in the central region for the oblate, prolate, and triaxial Hernquist profiles if the particle number is more than $5\times 10^5$. For snapshots of the Hernquist models with spherical shape, the HO method is preferred. (Abridged)

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Forecast for FAST: from Galaxies Survey to Intensity Mapping

The Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST) is the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world. In this paper, we make forecast on the FAST HI large scale structure survey by mock observations. We consider a drift scan survey with the L-band 19 beam receiver, which may be commensal with the pulsar search and Galactic HI survey. We also consider surveys at lower frequency, either using the current single feed wide band receiver, or a future multi-beam phased array feed (PAF) in the UHF band. We estimate the number density of detected HI galaxies and the measurement error in positions, the precision of the surveys are evaluated using both Fisher matrix and simulated observations. The measurement error in the HI galaxy power spectrum is estimated, and we find that the error is relatively large even at moderate redshifts, as the number of positively detected galaxies drops drastically with increasing redshift. However, good cosmological measurement could be obtained with the intensity mapping technique where the large scale HI distribution is measured without resolving individual galaxies. The figure of merit (FoM) for the dark energy equation of state with different observation times are estimated, we find that with the existing L-band multi-beam receiver, a good measurement of low redshift large scale structure can be obtained, which complements the existing optical surveys. With a PAF in the UHF band, the constraint can be much stronger, reaching the level of a dark energy task force (DETF) stage IV experiment.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Stages of Reionization as revealed by the Minkowski Functionals

We study the evolution of the hydrogen ionization field during the epoch of reionization (EoR) using semi-numerical simulations. By calculating the Minkowski functionals (MFs) of the 21cm brightness temperature field, which provides a quantitative description of topology of the neutral and ionized regions, we find that the reionization process can be divided into five stages, each with different topological structures, corresponding to isolated ionized regions ("bubbles"); connected ionized region ("ionized fibers") which percolate through the cosmic volume; a sponge-like configuration with intertwined neutral and ionized regions after the overlap of bubbles; connected neutral regions ("neutral fibers") when the ionized region begin to surround the remaining neutral region; and isolated neutral regions ("islands"), before the whole space is ionized except for the rare dense clumps in galaxies and minihalos and the reionization process is completed. We use the MFs and the size statistics on the ionized or neutral regions to distinguish these different stages, and find the neutral fractions at which the transition of the different stages occur. At the later stages of reionization the neutral regions are more isolated than the ionized regions, this is the motivation for the island model description of reionization. We compare the late stage topological evolution in the island model and the bubble model, showing that in the island model the neutral fibers are more easily broken into multiple pieces due to the ionizing background.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

A study of stellar orbit fractions: simulated IllustrisTNG galaxies compared to CALIFA observations

Motivated by the recently discovered kinematic "Hubble sequence" shown by the stellar orbit-circularity distribution of 260 CALIFA galaxies, we make use of a comparable galaxy sample at z = 0 with a stellar mass range from 5E9 to 5E11 solar masses, selected from the IllustrisTNG simulation and study their stellar orbit compositions in relation to a number of other fundamental galaxy properties.We find that the TNG100 simulation broadly reproduces the observed fractions of different orbital components and their stellar mass dependencies. In particular, the mean mass dependencies of the luminosity fractions for the kinematically warm and hot orbits are well reproduced within model uncertainties of the observed galaxies. The simulation also largely reproduces the observed peak and trough features at a stellar mass of 1-2E10 solar masses, in the mean distributions of the cold- and hot-orbit fractions, respectively, indicating fewer cooler orbits and more hotter orbits in both more- and less-massive galaxies beyond such a mass range. Several marginal disagreements are seen between the simulation and observations: the average cold-orbit (counter-rotating) fractions of the simulated galaxies below (above) a stellar mass of 6E10 solar masses, are systematically higher than the observational data by < 10% (absolute orbital fraction); the simulation also seems to produce more scatter for the cold-orbit fraction and less so for the non-cold orbits at any given galaxy mass. Possible causes that stem from the adopted heating mechanisms are discussed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Orbit properties of massive prolate galaxies in the Illustris simulation

We explore orbit properties of 35 prolate-triaxial galaxies selected from the Illustris cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We present a detailed study of their orbit families, and also analyse relations between the relative abundance of the orbit families and the spin parameter, triaxiality, the ratio of the angular momentum and the baryon fraction. We find that box orbits dominate the orbit structure for most prolate-triaxial galaxies, especially in the central region. The fraction of irregular orbits in the prolate-triaxial galaxies is small, and it increases with galaxy radius. Both the x-tube and z-tube orbits are important in prolate-triaxial galaxies, especially in the outer regions. The fraction of box orbits for prolate-triaxial galaxies ($0.7<T<1$) decreases with the triaxiality of the stars, while the fraction of x-tube orbits increases with the triaxiality for a given axis ratio. The fraction of box orbits increases and the fractions of x-tube and z-tube orbits weakly decrease with increasing baryon fraction. These results help to understand the structure of prolate-triaxial galaxies and provide cross-checks for constructing dynamical models of prolate-triaxial galaxies by using the Schwarzschild or the Made-to-Measure methods.

astro-ph.GA↗