arXiv subjects

Zeljko Ivezic

Publications and source records attributed to Zeljko Ivezic.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

A Survey of z>5.8 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey I: Discovery of Three New Quasars and the Spatial Density of Luminous Quasars at z~6

We present the results from a survey of i-dropout objects selected from ~1550 deg^2 of multicolor imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to search for luminous quasars at z>5.8. Objects with i*-z*>2.2 and z*<20.2 are selected, and follow-up J band photometry is used to separate L and T type cool dwarfs from high-redshift quasars. We describe the discovery of three new quasars, at z=5.82, 5.99 and 6.28, respectively. Their spectra show strong and broad Ly alpha+NV emission lines, and very strong Ly alpha absorption, with a mean continuum decrement D_A > 0.90. The ARC 3.5m spectrum of the z=6.28 quasar shows that over a range of 300 A immediately blueward of the Ly alpha emission, the average transmitted flux is only 0.003 +/-0.020 times that of the continuum level, consistent with zero flux, and suggesting a tentative detection of the complete Gunn-Peterson trough. The existence of strong metal lines suggests early chemical enrichment in the quasar enviornment. The three new objects, together with the previously published z=5.8 quasar form a complete color-selected flux-limited sample at z>5.8. We estimate that at $z=6$, the comoving density of luminous quasars at M_1450 < -26.89 (h=0.5, Omega=1)is 1.1x10^-9 Mpc^-3. This is a factor of ~2 lower than that at z~5, and is consistent with an extrapolation of the observed quasar evolution at low-z. We discuss the contribution of quasars to the ionizing background at z~6. The luminous quasars discussed in the paper have central black hole masses of several times 10^9 M_sun by the Eddington argument. Their observed space density provides a sensitive test of models of quasar and galaxy formation at high redshift. (Abridged)

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arXiv2001

Dusty winds: I. Self-similar solutions

We address the dusty wind problem, from the point where dust formation has been completed and outward. Given grain properties, both radiative transfer and hydrodynamics components of the problem are fully defined by four additional input parameters. The wind radiative emission and the shape of its velocity profile are both independent of the actual magnitude of the velocity and are determined by just three dimensionless free parameters. Of the three, only one is always significant---for most of phase space the solution is described by a set of similarity functions of a single independent variable, which can be chosen as the overall optical depth at visual \tV. The self-similarity implies general scaling relations among mass loss rate (\Mdot), luminosity ($L$) and terminal velocity (\vf). Systems with different \Mdot, $L$ and \vf but the same combination $\Mdot/L^{3/4}$ necessarily have also the same $\Mdot\vf/L$. ... Eliminating \tV produces $\vf^3 = A \Mdot(1 + B \Mdot^{4/3}/L)^{-1.5}$, where $A$ and $B$ are coefficients that contain the only dependence of this universal correlation on chemical composition. At a given $L$, the maximal velocity of a dusty wind is $v\sub{max} \propto L^{1/4}$ attained at $\Mdot \propto L^{3/4}$, with proportionality coefficients derived from $A$ and $B$.

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arXiv2001

Galaxy Mass and Luminosity Scaling Laws Determined by Weak Gravitational Lensing

We present new measurements of scaling laws relating the luminosity of galaxies to the amplitude and shape of their dark matter halos. Early imaging and spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are used to make weak lensing measurements of the surface mass density contrast Delta Sigma_+ around classes of lens objects. This surface mass density contrast as a function of radius is a measure of the galaxy-mass correlation function (GMCF). Because spectroscopic redshifts are available for all lens objects, the mass and distance scales are well constrained. The GMCF measured around ~31,000 lenses is well fit by a power law of the form Delta Sigma_+ = (2.5+0.7-0.6) (R/1 Mpc)^{-0.8+-0.2} h M_sun pc^-2. We compare this GMCF to galaxy luminosity, type, and environment, and find that it varies strongly with all three. We quantify these variations by comparing the normalization of a fit to the inner 260 h^-1 kpc, M_260, to the galaxy luminosity. While M_260 is not strongly related to luminosity in bluest band u', there is a simple, linear relation between M_260 and luminosity in redder bands (g', r', i', and z'). We test the universality of these mass-to-light scalings by independently measuring them for spiral and elliptical galaxies,and for galaxies in a variety of environments. We find remarkable consistency in these determinations in the red bands, especially i' and z'. This consistency across a wide range of systems suggests that the measured scaling represents an excellent cosmic average, and that the integrated star formation history of galaxies is strongly related to the dark matter environments in which they form.

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arXiv2001

Color Separation of Galaxy Types in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Imaging Data

We study the optical colors of 147,920 galaxies brighter than g* = 21, observed in five bands by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) over ~100 sq. deg. of high Galactic latitude sky along the Celestial Equator. The distribution of galaxies in the g*-r* vs. u*-g* color--color diagram is strongly bimodal, with an optimal color separator of u*-r* = 2.22. We use visual morphology and spectral classification of subsamples of 287 and 500 galaxies respectively, to show that the two peaks correspond roughly to early (E, S0, Sa) and late (Sb, Sc, Irr) type galaxies, as expected from their different stellar populations. We also find that the colors of galaxies are correlated with their radial profiles, as measured by the concentration index and by the likelihoods of exponential and de Vaucouleurs' profile fits. While it is well known that late type galaxies are bluer than early type galaxies, this is the first detection of a local minimum in their color distribution. In all SDSS bands, the counts vs. apparent magnitude relations for the two color types are significantly different, and indicate that the fraction of blue galaxies increases towards the faint end.

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arXiv2001

Broad Absorption Line Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with VLA-FIRST Radio Detections

We present 13 Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasars, including 12 new objects, which were identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and matched within 2'' to sources in the FIRST radio survey catalog. The surface density of this sample of radio-detected BAL quasars is 4.5 +- 1.2 per 100 deg^2, i.e. approximately 4 times larger than previously found by the shallower FIRST Bright Quasar Survey (FBQS). A majority of these radio-detected BAL quasars are moderately radio-loud objects. The fraction of BAL quasars in the entire radio quasar sample, 4.8 +- 1.3 %, is comparable to the fraction of BAL quasars among the SDSS optical quasar sample (ignoring selection effects). We estimate that the true fraction of BAL quasars (mostly HiBALs) in the radio sample is 9.2 +- 2.6 % once selection effects are accounted for. We caution that the absorption troughs of 4 of the 13 radio-detected quasars considered do not strictly satisfy the standard BALnicity criterion. One or possibly two of the new radio-detected BAL quasars are of the rare ``iron LoBAL'' type. BAL quasars are generally redder than the median SDSS quasar at the same redshift.

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arXiv2001

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Multicolor Observations of GRB010222

The discovery of an optical counterpart to GRB010222 (detected by BeppoSAX; Piro 2001) was announced 4.4 hrs after the burst by Henden (2001a). The Sloan Digital Sky Survey's 0.5m photometric telescope (PT) and 2.5m survey telescope were used to observe the afterglow of GRB010222 starting 4.8 hours after the GRB. The 0.5m PT observed the afterglow in five, 300 sec g' band exposures over the course of half an hour, measuring a temporal decay rate in this short period of F_nu \propto t^{-1.0+/-0.5}. The 2.5m camera imaged the counterpart nearly simultaneously in five filters (u' g' r' i' z'), with r' = 18.74+/-0.02 at 12:10 UT. These multicolor observations, corrected for reddening and the afterglow's temporal decay, are well fit by the power-law F_nu \propto nu^{-0.90+/-0.03} with the exception of the u' band UV flux which is 20% below this slope. We examine possible interpretations of this spectral shape, including source extinction in a star forming region.

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arXiv2001

Galaxy Number Counts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data

We present bright galaxy number counts in five broad bands ($u', g', r', i', z'$) from imaging data taken during the commissioning phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The counts are derived from two independent stripes of imaging scans along the Celestial Equator, one each toward the North and the South Galactic cap, covering about 230 and 210 square degrees, respectively. A careful study is made to verify the reliability of the photometric catalog. For galaxies brighter than $r^* = 16$, the catalog produced by automated software is examined against eye inspection of all objects. Statistically meaningful results on the galaxy counts are obtained in the magnitude range $12 \le r^* \le 21$, using a sample of 900,000 galaxies. The counts from the two stripes differ by about 30% at magnitudes brighter than $r^*= 15.5$, consistent with a local $2σ$ fluctuation due to large scale structure in the galaxy distribution. The shape of the number counts-magnitude relation brighter than $r^* = 16$ is well characterized by $N \propto 10^{0.6m}$, the relation expected for a homogeneous galaxy distribution in a ``Euclidean'' universe. In the magnitude range $ 16 < r^* < 21$, the galaxy counts from both stripes agree very well, and follow the prediction of the no-evolution model, although the data do not exclude a small amount of evolution. We use empirically determined color transformations to derive the galaxy number counts in the $B$ and $I_{814}$ bands. We compute the luminosity density of the universe at zero redshift in the five SDSS bands and in the $B$ band. We find ${\cal L}_{B} = 2.4 \pm 0.4 \times 10^8L_\odot h $Mpc$^{-3}$, for a reasonably wide range of parameters of the Schechter luminosity function in the $B$ band.

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arXiv2001

The SDSS Imaging Pipelines

We summarise the properties of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) project, discuss our software infrastructure, and outline the architecture of the SDSS image processing pipelines. We then discuss two of the algorithms used in the SDSS image processing; the KL-transform based modelling of the spatial variation of the PSF, and the use of galaxy models in star/galaxy separation. We conclude with the first author's personal opinions on the challenges that the astronomical community faces with major software projects.

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arXiv2001

Weak Lensing Measurements of 42 SDSS/RASS Galaxy Clusters

We present a lensing study of 42 galaxy clusters imaged in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) commissioning data. Cluster candidates are selected optically from SDSS imaging data and confirmed for this study by matching to X-ray sources found independently in the ROSAT all sky survey (RASS). Five color SDSS photometry is used to make accurate photometric redshift estimates that are used to rescale and combine the lensing measurements. The mean shear from these clusters is detected to 2 h-1 Mpc at the 7-sigma level, corresponding to a mass within that radius of 4.2 +/- 0.6 x 10^14 h-1 M_sun. The shear profile is well fit by a power law with index -0.9 +/- 0.3, consistent with that of an isothermal density profile. This paper demonstrates our ability to measure ensemble cluster masses from SDSS imaging data.

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arXiv2000

Discovery of a Close Pair of z = 4.25 Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We report the discovery of a pair of z = 4.25 quasars with a separation of 33 arcseconds. The brighter of the two objects was identified as a high-redshift quasar candidate from Sloan Digital Sky Survey multicolor imaging data, and the redshift was measured from a spectrum obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The slit orientation of this observation {\it by chance} included another quasar, approximately one magnitude fainter and having the same redshift as the target. This is the third serendipitous discovery of a z > 4 quasar. The differences in the relative strengths and profiles of the emission lines suggest that this is a quasar pair and not a gravitational lens. The two objects are likely to be physically associated; the projected physical separation is approximately 210 $h_{50}^{-1}$ kpc and the redshifts are identical to $\approx$ 0.01, implying a radial physical separation of 950 $h_{50}^{-1}$ kpc or less. The existence of this pair is strong circumstantial evidence that $z \sim 4$ quasars are clustered.

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arXiv2000

Infrared Classification of Galactic Objects

Unbiased analysis shows that IRAS data reliably differentiate between the early and late stages of stellar evolution because objects at these stages clearly segregate in infrared color-color diagrams. Structure in these diagrams is primarily controlled by the density distribution of circumstellar dust. The density profile around older objects is the steepest, declining as $r^{-2}$, while young objects have profiles that vary as $r^{-3/2}$ and flatter. The different density profiles reflect the different dynamics that govern the different environments. Our analysis also shows that high mass star formation is strongly concentrated within \about 5 kpc around the Galactic center, in support of other studies.

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arXiv1999

User Manual for DUSTY

DUSTY solves the problem of radiation transport in a dusty environment. The code can handle both spherical and planar geometries. The user specifies the properties of the radiation source and dusty region, and the code calculates the dust temperature distribution and the radiation field in it. The solution method is based on a self-consistent equation for the radiative energy density, including dust scattering, absorption and emission, and does not introduce any approximations. The solution is exact to within the specified numerical accuracy. DUSTY has built in optical properties for the most common types of astronomical dust and comes with a library for many other grains. It supports various analytical forms for the density distribution, and can perform a full dynamical calculation for radiatively driven winds around AGB stars. The spectral energy distribution of the source can be specified analytically as either Planckian or broken power-law. In addition, arbitrary dust optical properties, density distributions and external radiation can be entered in user supplied files. Furthermore, the wavelength grid can be modified to accommodate spectral features. A single DUSTY run can process an unlimited number of models, with each input set producing a run of optical depths, as specified. The user controls the detail level of the output, which can include both spectral and imaging properties as well as other quantities of interest.

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arXiv1998

Link between Mass-loss and Variability Type for AGB Stars?

We find that AGB stars separate in the 25-12 vs. 12-K color-color diagram according to their chemistry (O, S vs. C) and variability type (Miras vs. SRb/Lb). While discrimination according to the chemical composition is not surprising, the separation of Miras from SRb/Lb variables is unexpected. We show that ``standard'' steady-state radiatively driven models provide excellent fits to the color distribution of Miras of all chemical types. However, these models are incapable of explaining the dust emission from O-rich SRb/Lb stars. The models can be altered to fit the data by postulating different optical properties for silicate grains, or by assuming that the dust temperature at the inner envelope radius is significantly lower (300-400 K) than typical condensation temperatures (800-1000 K), a possibility which is also supported by the detailed characteristics of LRS data. The absence of hot dust for SRb/Lb stars can be interpreted as a recent (order of 100 yr) decrease in the mass-loss rate. The distribution of O-rich SRb/Lb stars in the 25-12 vs. K-12 color-color diagram shows that the mass-loss rate probably resumes again, on similar time scales. It cannot be ruled out that the mass-loss rate is changing periodically on such time scales, implying that the stars might oscillate between the Mira and SRb/Lb phases during their AGB evolution as proposed by Kerschbaum et al. (1996). Such a possibility appears to be supported by numerous recent observations.

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arXiv1998

Spectroscopy of Quasar Candidates from SDSS Commissioning Data

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has obtained images in five broad-band colors for several hundred square degrees. We present color-color diagrams for stellar objects, and demonstrate that quasars are easily distinguished from stars by their distinctive colors. Follow-up spectroscopy in less than ten nights of telescope time has yielded 22 new quasars, 9 of them at $z> 3.65$, and one with $z = 4.75$, the second highest-redshift quasar yet known. Roughly 80% of the high-redshift quasar candidates selected by color indeed turn out to be high-redshift quasars.

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arXiv1996

Self-similarity and scaling behavior of IR emission from radiatively heated dust: I. Theory

Dust infrared emission possesses scaling properties. Overall luminosity is never an input parameter of the radiative transfer problem, spectral shape is the only relevant property of the heating radiation when the inner boundary of the dusty region is controlled by dust sublimation. Similarly, the absolute scales of densities and distances are irrelevant; the geometry enters only through angles, relative thicknesses and aspect ratios, and the actual magnitudes of densities and distances enter only through one independent parameter, the overall optical depth. Dust properties enter only through dimensionless, normalized distributions that describe the spatial variation of density and the wavelength dependence of scattering and absorption efficiencies. Scaling enables a systematic approach to modeling and classification of IR spectra. We develop a new, fully scale-free method for solving radiative transfer, present exact numerical results, and derive approximate analytical solutions for spherical geometry, covering the entire range of parameter space relevant to observations. Scaling implies tight correlations among the SEDs of various members of the same class of sources such as young stellar objects, late-type stars, etc. In particular, all members of the same class occupy common, well defined regions in color-color diagrams. The observational data corroborate the existence of these correlations.

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arXiv1996

On Protostellar Disks in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

The spectral shape of IR emission from Herbig Ae/Be stars has been invoked as evidence for accretion disks around high-mass protostars. Instead, we present here models based on spherical envelopes with $r^{-1.5}$ dust density profile that successfully explain the observed spectral shapes. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of eight primary candidates for protostellar disks are fitted in detail for all wavelengths available, from visual to far IR. The only envelope property adjusted in individual sources is the overall visual optical depth, and it ranges from 0.3 to 3. In each case, our models properly reproduce the data for both IR excess, visual extinction and reddening. The success of our models shows that accretion disks cannot make a significant contribution to the radiation observed in these pre-main sequence stars.

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arXiv1996

IR Emission from dusty winds --- Scaling and self-similarity properties

Infrared emission from radiatively heated dust possesses general scaling properties. The spectral shape is independent of overall luminosity when the inner boundary of the dusty region is controlled by dust sublimation; the only relevant property of the heating radiation is its frequency profile. For a given type of dust grains, the emission from red giants and supergiants is essentially controlled by a single parameter --- the overall dust optical depth. This leads to tight correlations among different spectral properties that explain many available observations and enable systematic studies of large data bases.

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arXiv1996

Infrared Imaging of Late-Type Stars

Infrared imaging properties of dusty winds around late-type stars are investigated in detail, employing a self-consistent model that couples the equations of motion and radiative transfer. Because of general scaling properties, the angular profiles of surface brightness are self-similar. In any given star, the profile shape is determined essentially by overall optical depth at each wavelength and it is self-similarly scaled by the size of the dust condensation zone. We find that the mid-IR is the best wavelength range to measure directly the angular size of this zone, and from {\it IRAS} data we identify the 15 best candidates for such future observations. We also show that the visibility function at short wavelengths ($\la$ 2 \mic) directly determines the scattering optical depth, and produce theoretical visibility curves for various characteristic wavelengths and the entire parameter range relevant to late-type stars. The infrared emission should display time variability because of cyclical changes in overall optical depth, reflecting luminosity-induced movement of the dust condensation point. Calculations of the wavelength dependence of photometric amplitudes and time variability of envelope sizes are in agreement with observations; envelopes are bigger and bluer at maximum light.

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