分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We report the first results of a high-redshift ($z$ >~ 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at $z$ >~ 5, up to redshift 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and $J$-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until May 2022. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 = 5, more than one third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at $z$ > 4.7. The current spectral dataset has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Ly$\alpha$ absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey's completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at $z$ ~ 3.8-5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: While many Lyman-alpha Blobs (LABs) are found in and around several well-known protoclusters at high redshift, how they trace the underlying large-scale structure is still poorly understood. In this work, we utilize 5,352 Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs) and 129 LABs at z=3.1 identified over a $\sim$ 9.5 sq. degree area in early data from the ongoing One-hundred-deg$^2$ DECam Imaging in Narrowbands (ODIN) survey to investigate this question. Using LAEs as tracers of the underlying matter distribution, we identify overdense structures as galaxy groups, protoclusters, and filaments of the cosmic web. We find that LABs preferentially reside in regions of higher-than-average density and are located in closer proximity to overdense structures, which represent the sites of protoclusters and their substructures. Moreover, protoclusters hosting one or more LABs tend to have a higher descendant mass than those which do not. Blobs are also strongly associated with filaments of the cosmic web, with $\sim$ 70% of the population being within a projected distance of 2.4 pMpc from a filament. We show that the proximity of LABs to protoclusters is naturally explained by their association with filaments as large cosmic structures are where many filaments converge. The contiguous wide-field coverage of the ODIN survey allows us for the first time to firmly establish a connection between LABs as a population and their environment.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: The discovery and spectroscopic confirmation of Hyperion, a proto-supercluster at z~2.47, provides an unprecedented opportunity to study distant galaxies in the context of their large-scale environment. We carry out deep narrow-band imaging of a ~1*1 deg^2 region around Hyperion and select 157 Lya emitters (LAEs). The inferred LAE overdensity is delta_g~40 within an effective volume of 30*20*15 cMpc^3, consistent with the fact that Hyperion is composed of multiple protoclusters and will evolve into a super-cluster with a total mass of M_tot ~1.4*10^15 M_sun at z=0. The distribution of LAEs closely mirrors that of known spectroscopic members, tracing the protocluster cores and extended filamentary arms connected to them, suggesting that they trace the same large-scale structure. By cross-correlating the LAE positions with HI tomography data, we find weak evidence that LAEs may be less abundant in the highest HI regions, perhaps because Lya is suppressed in such regions. The Hyperion region hosts a large population of active galactic nuclei (AGN), ~12 times more abundant than that in the field. The prevalence of AGN in protocluster regions hints at the possibility that they may be triggered by physical processes that occur more frequently in dense environments, such as galaxy mergers. Our study demonstrates LAEs as reliable markers of the largest cosmic structures. When combined with ongoing and upcoming imaging and spectroscopic surveys, wide-field narrow-band imaging has the potential to advance our knowledge in the formation and evolution of cosmic structures and of their galaxy inhabitants.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We present DESI observations of the inner halo of M31, which reveal the kinematics of a recent merger - a galactic immigration event - in exquisite detail. Of the 11,416 sources studied in 3.75 hour of on-sky exposure time, 7,438 are M31 sources with well measured radial velocities. The observations reveal intricate coherent kinematic structure in the positions and velocities of individual stars: streams, wedges, and chevrons. While hints of coherent structures have been previously detected in M31, this is the first time they have been seen with such detail and clarity in a galaxy beyond the Milky Way. We find clear kinematic evidence for shell structures in the Giant Stellar Stream, the Northeast Shelf and Western Shelf regions. The kinematics are remarkably similar to the predictions of dynamical models constructed to explain the spatial morphology of the inner halo. The results are consistent with the interpretation that much of the substructure in the inner halo of M31 is produced by a single galactic immigration event 1 - 2 Gyr ago. Significant numbers of metal-rich stars ([Fe/H]$>-0.5$) are present in all of the detected substructures, suggesting that the immigrating galaxy had an extended star formation history. We also investigate the ability of the shells and Giant Stellar Stream to constrain the gravitational potential of M31, and estimate the mass within a projected radius of 125 kpc to be ${\rm log_{10}}\, M_{\rm NFW}(<125\,{\rm kpc})/M_\odot = 11.80_{-0.10}^{+0.12}$. The results herald a new era in our ability to study stars on a galactic scale and the immigration histories of galaxies.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We describe the Milky Way Survey (MWS) that will be undertaken with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Over the next 5 yr DESI MWS will observe approximately seven million stars at Galactic latitudes |b|>20 degrees, with an inclusive target selection scheme focused on the thick disk and stellar halo. MWS will also include several high-completeness samples of rare stellar types, including white dwarfs, low-mass stars within 100pc of the Sun, and horizontal branch stars. We summarize the potential of DESI to advance understanding of Galactic structure and stellar evolution. We introduce the final definitions of the main MWS target classes and estimate the number of stars in each class that will be observed. We describe our pipelines for deriving radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, and chemical abundances. We use ~500,000 spectra of unique stellar targets from the DESI Survey Validation program (SV) to demonstrate that our pipelines can measure radial velocities to ~1 km/s and [Fe/H] accurate to ~0.2 dex for typical stars in our main sample. We find the stellar parameter distributions from ~100 sq. deg of SV observations with >90% completeness on our main sample are in good agreement with expectations from mock catalogs and previous surveys.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We describe the target selection and characteristics of the DESI Peculiar Velocity Survey, the largest survey of peculiar velocities (PVs) using both the fundamental plane (FP) of galaxies and the Tully-Fisher (TF) relationship planned to date. We detail how we identify suitable early-type galaxies for the FP and suitable late-type galaxies for the TF relation using the photometric data provided by the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey DR9. Subsequently, we provide targets for 373 533 early-type galaxies and 118 637 late-type galaxies within the DESI 5-year footprint. We validate these photometric selections using existing morphological classifications. Furthermore, we demonstrate using survey validation data that DESI is able to measure the spectroscopic properties to sufficient precision to obtain PVs for our targets. Based on realistic DESI fiber assignment simulations and spectroscopic success rates, we predict the final DESI Peculiar Velocity Survey will obtain $\sim$133 000 FP-based and $\sim$53 000 TF-based PV measurements over an area of 14 000 $\mathrm{deg^{2}}$. Each of these components will be a factor of 4--5 larger than other recent samples. We forecast the ability of using these data to measure the clustering of galaxy positions and peculiar velocities from the combined DESI PV and Bright Galaxy Surveys (BGS), which allows for cancellation of cosmic variance at low redshifts. With these forecasts, we anticipate a $4\%$ statistical measurement on the growth rate of structure at $z<0.15$. This is over two times better than achievable with redshifts from the BGS alone. The combined DESI PV and Bright Galaxy surveys will enable the most precise tests to date of the time and scale dependence of large-scale structure growth at $z<0.15$.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We present the first result in exploring the gaseous halo and galaxy correlation using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey validation data in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) field. We obtain the multiphase gaseous halo properties in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) by using 115 quasar spectra (S/N > 3). We detect MgII absorption at redshift 0.6 < z < 2.5, CIV absorption at 1.6 < z < 3.6, and HI absorption associated with the MgII and CIV. The CGM is mixed by a higher density phase of detectable MgII and CIV and a lower density of CIV-only phase. By cross-matching the COSMOS2020 catalog, we identify the MgII and CIV host galaxies at 0.9 < z < 3.1 in ten quasar fields. We find that within the impact parameter of 250 kpc, a tight correlation is seen between strong MgII equivalent width and the host galaxy star formation rate. The covering fraction fc of strong MgII selected galaxies, which is the ratio of absorbing galaxy in a certain galaxy population, shows significant evolution in the main-sequence galaxies and marginal evolution in all the galaxy populations within 250 kpc at 0.9 < z < 2.2. The fc increase in the main-sequence galaxies likely suggests the co-evolution of strong MgII absorbing gas and the main-sequence galaxies at the cosmic noon. Furthermore, several MgII and CIV absorbing gas is detected out of the galaxy virial radius, tentatively indicating the feedback produced by the star formation and/or the environmental effects.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: In 2021 May, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) began a 5 yr survey of approximately 50 million total extragalactic and Galactic targets. The primary DESI dark-time targets are emission line galaxies (ELGs), luminous red galaxies (LRGs) and quasars (QSOs). In bright time, DESI will focus on two surveys known as the Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) and the Milky Way Survey (MWS). DESI also observes a selection of "secondary" targets for bespoke science goals. This paper gives an overview of the publicly available pipeline (desitarget) used to process targets for DESI observations. Highlights include details of the different DESI survey targeting phases, the targeting ID (TARGETID) used to define unique targets, the bitmasks used to indicate a particular type of target, the data model and structure of DESI targeting files, and examples of how to access and use the desitarget code base. This paper will also describe "supporting" DESI target classes, such as standard stars, sky locations, and random catalogs that mimic the angular selection function of DESI targets. The DESI target selection pipeline is complex and sizable; this paper attempts to summarize the most salient information required to understand and work with DESI targeting data.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We present a detailed characterization of the Lya properties for 93 Lya emitters (LAEs) at z~3.1 selected from the D1 field of the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope Legacy Survey, including 24 members of a massive protocluster. The median-stacked Lya image shows an extended Lya halo (LAH) surrounding the galaxy with the exponential scale length 4.9+/-0.7kpc, which accounts for roughly half of the total line flux. Accounting for the LAH contribution, the total Lya escape fraction, f_esc, is 40+/-26%. Combining the dataset with existing measurements, we find a dependence of f_esc on the galaxy's UV slope (beta) and UV luminosity (L_UV). The simultaneous use of both parameters allows prediction of f_esc within 0.18dex, a substantial improvement over 0.23dex when only beta is used. The correlation between f_esc and E(B-V) suggests that Lya photons undergo interstellar dust attenuation in a similar manner to continuum photons. Yet, Lya transmission is typically higher than that expected for continuum photons at similar wavelength by a factor, which depends on UV luminosity, up to 2 in the samples we studied. These results hint at complex geometries and physical conditions of the interstellar medium, which affect the Lya transmission or production. Alternatively, the dust law may change with luminosity leading to over-or under-estimation of f_esc. Finally, we report that protocluster member LAEs tend to be bluer and more UV-luminous than their field cousins, resulting in systematically higher f_esc values. We speculate that it may be due to the widespread formation of young low-mass galaxies in dense gas-rich environments.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: We utilize $\sim17000$ bright Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) from the novel Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Survey Validation spectroscopic sample, leveraging its deep ($\sim2.5$ hour/galaxy exposure time) spectra to characterize the contribution of recently quenched galaxies to the massive galaxy population at $0.41$) of our sample of recently quenched galaxies represents the largest spectroscopic sample of post-starburst galaxies at that epoch. At $0.411.2$) LRGs by measuring the fraction of stellar mass each galaxy formed in the Gyr before observation, $f_{\mathrm{1 Gyr}}$. Although galaxies with $f_{\mathrm{1 Gyr}}>0.1$ are rare at $z\sim0.4$ ($\lesssim 0.5\%$ of the population), by $z\sim0.8$ they constitute $\sim3\%$ of massive galaxies. Relaxing this threshold, we find that galaxies with $f_\mathrm{1 Gyr}>5\%$ constitute $\sim10\%$ of the massive galaxy population at $z\sim0.8$. We also identify a small but significant sample of galaxies at $z=1.1-1.3$ that formed with $f_{\mathrm{1 Gyr}}>50\%$, implying that they may be analogues to high-redshift quiescent galaxies that formed on similar timescales. Future analysis of this unprecedented sample promises to illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive the quenching of massive galaxies after cosmic noon.
分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19
摘要: Mergers and tidal interactions between massive galaxies and their dwarf satellites are a fundamental prediction of the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter cosmology. These events are thought to provide important observational diagnostics of nonlinear structure formation. Stellar streams in the Milky Way and Andromeda are spectacular evidence for ongoing satellite disruption. However, constructing a statistically meaningful sample of tidal streams beyond the Local Group has proven a daunting observational challenge, and the full potential for deepening our understanding of galaxy assembly using stellar streams has yet to be realised. Here we introduce the Stellar Stream Legacy Survey, a systematic imaging survey of tidal features associated with dwarf galaxy accretion around a sample of ~3100 nearby galaxies within z~0.02, including about 940 Milky Way analogues. Our survey exploits public deep imaging data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, which reach surface brightness as faint as ~29 mag/arcsec^2 in the r band. As a proof of concept of our survey, we report the detection and broad-band photometry of 24 new stellar streams in the local Universe. We discuss how these observations can yield new constraints on galaxy formation theory through comparison to mock observations from cosmological galaxy simulations. These tests will probe the present-day mass assembly rate of galaxies, the stellar populations and orbits of satellites, the growth of stellar halos and the resilience of stellar disks to satellite bombardment.