您选择的条件: Zhen-Ya Zheng
  • On the Origin of the Strong Optical Variability of Emission-line Galaxies

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Emission-line galaxies (ELGs) are crucial in understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies, while little is known about their variability. Here we report the study on the optical variability of a sample of ELGs selected in the COSMOS field, which has narrow-band observations in two epochs separated by $\gtrsim$ 12 years. This sample was observed with Suprime-Cam (SC) and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the $Subaru$ telescope in NB816 and $i'/i$ bands, respectively. After carefully removing the wing effect of a narrow-band filter, we check the optical variability in a sample of 181 spectroscopically confirmed ELGs. We find that 0 (0/68) Ha emitters, 11.9% (5/42) [OIII] emitters, and 0 (0/71) [OII] emitters show significant variability ($|\Delta m_{NB}| \geq 3\,\sigma_{\Delta m_{NB,AGN}} = 0.20\, mag$) in the two-epoch narrow-band observations. We investigate the presence of active galactic nucleus (AGN) in this variable ELG (var-ELG) sample with three methods, including X-ray luminosity, mid-infrared activity, and radio-excess. We find zero bright AGN in this var-ELG sample, but cannot rule out the contribution from faint AGN. We find that SNe could also dominate the variability of the var-ELG sample. The merger morphology shown in the HST/F814W images of all the var-ELG sample is in agreement with the enhancement of star formation, i.e., the SNe activity.

  • X-ray view of a merging supermassive black hole binary candidate SDSSJ1430+2303: Results from the first ~200 days of observations

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Recently we discovered an unprecedented supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidate in the nearby Seyfert galaxy SDSS J1430+2303, which is predicted to merge within three years. X-ray spectroscopy may bring unique kinematic evidence for the last inspiraling stage, when the binary is too close to allow each of them to hold an individual broad line region. We try to confirm the unique SMBHB merger event and understand the associated high-energy processes from a comprehensive X-ray view. We observed SDSS J1430+2303 with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, Chandra, and Swift spanning the first ~200 days since its discovery. X-ray variability, up to a factor of 7, has been detected on a timescale of a few days. The broadband spectrum from 0.2-70 keV can be well fitted with a model consisting of a power law and a relativistic reflection covered by a warm absorber. The properties of the warm absorber changed dramatically, for example, with a decrease in the line-of-sight velocity from ~0.2c to ~0.02c, between the two XMM-Newton observations separated by only 19 days, which can be naturally understood in the context of the SMBHB; although, the clumpy wind scenario cannot be completely excluded. Broad Fe Kalpha emission has been robustly detected, though its velocity shift or profile change is not yet measurable. Further longer X-ray observations are highly encouraged to detect the expected orbital motion of the binary.

  • Calibrating photometric redshift measurements with the Multi-channel Imager (MCI) of the China Space Station Telescope (CSST)

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) photometric survey aims to perform a high spatial resolution (~0.15'') photometric imaging for the targets that cover a large sky area (~17,500 deg^2) and wide wavelength range (from NUV to NIR). It expects to explore the properties of dark matter, dark energy, and other important cosmological and astronomical areas. In this work, we evaluate whether the filter design of the Multi-channel Imager (MCI), one of the five instruments of the CSST, can provide accurate photometric redshift (photo-z) measurements with its nine medium-band filters to meet the relevant scientific objectives. We generate the mock data based on the COSMOS photometric redshift catalog with astrophysical and instrumental effects. The application of upper limit information of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data is adopted in the estimation of photo-z. We investigate the dependency of photo-z accuracy on the filter parameters, such as band position and width. We find that the current MCI filter design can achieve good photo-z measurements with accuracy sigma_z~0.017 and outlier fraction f_c~2.2%. It can effectively improve the photo-z measurements of the main CSST survey using the Survey Camera (SC) to an accuracy sigma_z~0.015 and outlier fraction f_c~1.5%. It indicates that the original MCI filters are proper for the photo-z calibration.

  • The miniJPAS Survey: Detection of double-core Ly{\alpha} morphology of two high-redshift (z>3) QSOs

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The Ly$\alpha$ emission is an important tracer of neutral gas in a circum-galactic medium (CGM) around high-z QSOs. The origin of Lya emission around QSOs is still under debate which has significant implications for galaxy formation and evolution. In this paper, we study Ly$\alpha$ nebulae around two high redshift QSOs, SDSS J141935.58+525710.7 at $z=3.218$ (hereafter QSO1) and SDSS J141813.40+525240.4 at $z=3.287$ (hereafter QSO2), from the miniJPAS survey within the AEGIS field. Using the contiguous narrow-band (NB) images from the miniJPAS survey and SDSS spectra, we analyzed their morphology, nature, and origin. We report the serendipitous detection of double-core Ly\almorphology around two QSOs which is rarely seen among other QSOs. The separations of the two Ly\al~cores are 11.07 $\pm$ 2.26 kpcs (1.47 $\pm$ 0.3$^{\prime\prime}$) and 9.73 $\pm$ 1.55 kpcs (1.31 $\pm$ 0.21$^{\prime\prime}$) with Ly$\alpha$~line luminosities of $\sim$ 3.35 $\times 10^{44}$ erg s $^{-1} $ and $\sim$ 6.99 $\times$ 10$^{44}$ erg s $^{-1}$ for QSO1 and QSO2, respectively. The miniJPAS NB images show evidence of extended Ly$\alpha$ and CIV morphology for both QSOs and extended HeII morphology for QSO1. These two QSOs may be potential candidates for the new enormous Lyman alpha nebula (ELAN) found from the miniJPAS survey due to their extended morphology in the shallow depth and relatively high Ly$\alpha$ luminosities. We suggest that galactic outflows are the major powering mechanism for the double-core Ly$\alpha$ morphology. Considering the relatively shallow exposures of miniJPAS, the objects found here could be the tip of the iceberg of a promising number of such objects that will be uncovered in the upcoming full J-PAS survey and deep IFU observations with 8-10m telescopes will be essential for constraining the underlying physical mechanism that is responsible for the double-cored morphology.

  • Definitive upper bound on the negligible contribution of quasars to cosmic reionization

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Cosmic (hydrogen) reionization marks one of the major phase transitions of the universe at redshift z >= 6. During this epoch, hydrogen atoms in the intergalactic medium (IGM) were ionized by Lyman continuum (LyC) photons. However, it remains challenging to identify the major sources of the LyC photons responsible for reionization. In particular, individual contributions of quasars (or active galactic nuclei, AGNs) and galaxies are still under debate. Here we construct the far-ultraviolet (far-UV) luminosity function for type 1 quasars at z >= 6 that spans 10 magnitudes (-19 -23 mag that is critical to determine quasars' total LyC photon production but has been barely explored previously. We find that the quasar population can only provide less than 7% (95% confidence level) of the total photons needed to keep the universe ionized at z = 6.0 - 6.6. Our result suggests that galaxies, presumably low-luminosity star-forming systems, are the major sources of hydrogen reionization.

  • The Magellan M2FS Spectroscopic Survey of High-$z$ Galaxies: Ly{\alpha} Emitters at $z\approx6.6$ and the Evolution of Ly{\alpha} Luminosity Function over $z\approx5.7-6.6$

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a sample of Ly{\alpha} emitters (LAEs) at $z\approx6.6$ from our spectroscopic survey of high-redshift galaxies using the multi-object spectrograph M2FS on the Magellan Clay telescope. The sample consists of 36 LAEs selected by the narrow-band (NB921) technique over nearly 2 deg$^2$ in the sky. These galaxies generally have high Ly{\alpha} luminosities spanning a range of ${\sim}3\times10^{42}{-}7\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and include some of the most Ly{\alpha}-luminous galaxies known at this redshift. They show a positive correlation between the Ly{\alpha} line width and Ly{\alpha} luminosity, similar to the relation previously found in $z\approx5.7$ LAEs. Based on the spectroscopic sample, we calculate a sophisticated sample completeness correction and derive the Ly{\alpha} luminosity function (LF) at $z\approx6.6$. We detect a density bump at the bright end of the Ly{\alpha} LF that is significantly above the best-fit Schechter function, suggesting that very luminous galaxies tend to reside in overdense regions that have formed large ionized bubbles around them. By comparing with the $z\approx5.7$ Ly{\alpha} LF, we confirm that there is a rapid LF evolution at the faint end, but a lack of evolution at the bright end. The fraction of the neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium at $z\approx6.6$ estimated from such a rapid evolution is about $\sim0.3\pm0.1$, supporting a rapid and rather late process of cosmic reionization.

  • CDFS-6664: A candidate of Lyman-continuum Emission at z~3.8 detected by HDUV

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We report the detection of Lyman Continuum (LyC) emission from the galaxy, CDFS-6664, at z=3.797 in a sample of Lyman break galaxies with detected [OIII] emission lines. The LyC emission is detected with a significance ~$5\sigma$ in the F336W band of the Hubble Deep UV Legacy Survey, corresponding to the 650-770 Angstrom rest-frame. The light centroid of the LyC emission is offset from the galaxy center by about 0.2" (1.4 pkpc). The Hubble deep images at longer wavelengths show that the emission is unlikely provided by low-redshift interlopers. The photometric and spectroscopic data show that the possible contribution of an active galactic nucleus is quite low. Fitting the spectral energy distribution of this source to stellar population synthesis models, we find that the galaxy is young (~50 Myr) and actively forming stars with a rate of 52.1$\pm$4.9 $M_{\odot}\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$. The significant star formation and the spatially offset LyC emission support a scenario where the ionizing photons escape from the low-density cavities in the ISM excavated by massive young stars. From the nebular model, we estimate the escape fraction of LyC photons to be 38$\pm$7% and the corresponding IGM transmission to be 60%, which deviates more than 3$\sigma$ from the average transmission. The unusually high IGM transmission of LyC photons in CDFS-6664 may be related to a foreground type-2 quasar, CDF-202, at z=3.7, with a projected separation of 1.2' only. The quasar may have photoevaporated optically thick absorbers and enhance the transmission on the sightline of CDFS-6664.

  • On the Origin of the Strong Optical Variability of Emission-line Galaxies

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Emission-line galaxies (ELGs) are crucial in understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies, while little is known about their variability. Here we report the study on the optical variability of a sample of ELGs selected in the COSMOS field, which has narrow-band observations in two epochs separated by $\gtrsim$ 12 years. This sample was observed with Suprime-Cam (SC) and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the $Subaru$ telescope in NB816 and $i'/i$ bands, respectively. After carefully removing the wing effect of a narrow-band filter, we check the optical variability in a sample of 181 spectroscopically confirmed ELGs. We find that 0 (0/68) Ha emitters, 11.9% (5/42) [OIII] emitters, and 0 (0/71) [OII] emitters show significant variability ($|\Delta m_{NB}| \geq 3\,\sigma_{\Delta m_{NB,AGN}} = 0.20\, mag$) in the two-epoch narrow-band observations. We investigate the presence of active galactic nucleus (AGN) in this variable ELG (var-ELG) sample with three methods, including X-ray luminosity, mid-infrared activity, and radio-excess. We find zero bright AGN in this var-ELG sample, but cannot rule out the contribution from faint AGN. We find that SNe could also dominate the variability of the var-ELG sample. The merger morphology shown in the HST/F814W images of all the var-ELG sample is in agreement with the enhancement of star formation, i.e., the SNe activity.