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Photometric Redshifts (photometric + redshift)
Selected AbstractsThe FIRST radio survey: Panchromatic properties of FIRST radio sources identified in the Boötes and Cetus fieldsASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2009K. El Bouchefry Abstract In this paper the availability of multi-wavelength optical/infrared information of FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at 20 cm) radio sources counterparts over ,9.2 deg2 in the Boötes field and ,2.4 deg2 in the Cetus field is exploited to infer the physical properties of the faint radio population. The radio sources optically identified have been divided into resolved galaxies and stellar-like objects finding that the faint radio population is mainly composed of early-type galaxies with very red colour (Bw , R , 4.6). A total number of 57 counterparts of FIRST radio sources have extremely red colour (R , K , 5). Photometric redshift from Hyperz implies that the Extremely Red Objects (EROs) counterparts to FIRST radio sources are mostly located in the range z = 0.7,2, with the bulk of the population at z , 1. Taking advantage of the near infrared imaging with FLAMEX (FLAMINGOS Extragalactic Infrared Survey), the EROs counterparts to FIRST radio sources are separated into passively-evolving and dusty star-forming galaxies using their RJK colours; the relatively blue J , K of these galaxies suggest that most are old elliptical galaxies (18/25) rather than dusty starburst galaxies (7/25). A total of 15 Distant Red Galaxy (DRGs) have been identified as counterparts to FIRST radio sources in the Cetus field and 3 DRGs in the Boötes field with J , K > 2.3 (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] New multiply-lensed galaxies identified in ACS/NIC3 observations of Cl0024+1654 using an improved mass modelMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2009Adi Zitrin ABSTRACT We present an improved strong-lensing analysis of Cl0024+1654 (z= 0.39) using deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)/NIC3 images, based on 33 multiply-lensed images of 11 background galaxies. These are found with a model that assumes mass approximately traces light, with a low-order expansion to allow for flexibility on large scales. The model is constrained initially by the well-known five-image system (z= 1.675) and refined as new multiply-lensed systems are identified using the model. Photometric redshifts of these new systems are then used to constrain better the mass profile by adopting the standard cosmological relation between redshift and lensing distance. Our model requires only six free parameters to describe well all positional and redshift data. The resulting inner mass profile has a slope of d log M/d log r,,0.55, consistent with new weak-lensing measurements where the data overlap, at r, 200 kpc/h70. The combined profile is well fitted by a high-concentration Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) mass profile, Cvir, 8.6 ± 1.6, similar to other well-studied clusters, but larger than predicted with standard , cold dark matter (,CDM). A well-defined radial critical curve is generated by the model and is clearly observed at r, 12 arcsec, outlined by elongated images pointing towards the centre of mass. The relative fluxes of the multiply-lensed images are found to agree well with the modelled magnifications, providing an independent consistency check. [source] Photometric redshifts for weak lensing tomography from space: the role of optical and near infrared photometryMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008F. B. Abdalla ABSTRACT We study in detail the photometric redshift requirements needed for tomographic weak gravitational lensing in order to measure accurately the dark energy equation of state. In particular, we examine how ground-based photometry (u, g, r, i, z, y) can be complemented by space-based near-infrared (near-IR) photometry (J, H), e.g. onboard the planned DUNE satellite. Using realistic photometric redshift simulations and an artificial neural network photo- z method we evaluate the figure of merit for the dark energy parameters (w0, wa). We consider a DUNE -like broad optical filter supplemented with ground-based multiband optical data from surveys like the Dark Energy Survey, Pan-STARRS and LSST. We show that the dark energy figure of merit would be improved by a factor of 1.3,1.7 if IR filters are added onboard DUNE. Furthermore we show that with IR data catastrophic photo- z outliers can be removed effectively. There is an interplay between the choice of filters, the magnitude limits and the removal of outliers. We draw attention to the dependence of the results on the galaxy formation scenarios encoded into the mock galaxies, e.g. the galaxy reddening. For example, very deep u -band data could be as effective as the IR. We also find that about 105,106 spectroscopic redshifts are needed for calibration of the full survey. [source] Photometric redshifts with surface brightness priorsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008Hans F. Stabenau ABSTRACT We use galaxy surface brightness as prior information to improve photometric redshift (photo- z) estimation. We apply our template-based photo- z method to imaging data from the ground-based VVDS survey and the space-based GOODS field from HST, and use spectroscopic redshifts to test our photometric redshifts for different galaxy types and redshifts. We find that the surface brightness prior eliminates a large fraction of outliers by lifting the degeneracy between the Lyman and 4000-Å breaks. Bias and scatter are improved by about a factor of 2 with the prior in each redshift bin in the range 0.4 < z < 1.3, for both the ground and space data. Ongoing and planned surveys from the ground and space will benefit, provided that care is taken in measurements of galaxy sizes and in the application of the prior. We discuss the image quality and signal-to-noise ratio requirements that enable the surface brightness prior to be successfully applied. [source] Identifications of FIRST radio sources in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field SurveyASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6 2007K. El Bouchefry Abstract In this paper we present the results of an optical and near infrared identification of 514 radio sources from the FIRST survey (Faint Images of the Radio Sky Survey at Twenty centimetres) with a flux-density limit of 1 mJy in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) Boötes field. Using optical (Bw, R, I) and K band data with approximate limits of Bw , 25.5 mag, R , 25.8 mag, I , 25.5 mag and K , 19.4 mag, optical counterparts have been identified for 378 of 514 FIRST radio sources. This corresponds to an identification rate of 34% in four bands (BwRIK), 60% in optical bands (BwRI) and 74% in the I band. Photometric redshifts for these sources have been computed using the hyperz code. The inclusion of quasar template spectra in hyperz is investigated. We note that the photometric data are, in many cases, best matched to templates with very short star-formation timescales and the inferred ages of identified galaxies depend strongly on the assumptions about the star-formation timescale. The redshifts obtained are fairly consistent with those expected from the K - z relation for brighter radio sources but there is more scatter in the K - z diagram at z < 1. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The properties of the heterogeneous Shakhbazyan groups of galaxies in the SDSSMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2009D. Capozzi ABSTRACT We present a systematic study of the subsample of Shakhbazyan (SHK) groups covered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 (SDSS DR5). SHK groups probe an environment with characteristics which are intermediate between those of loose and very compact groups. Surprisingly, we found that several groups identifying algorithms, e.g. Berlind et al. and Tago et al., miss this type of structures. Using the SDSS DR5 spectroscopic data and the photometric redshifts derived in D'Abrusco et al., we identified possible group members in photometric redshift space and derived, for each group, several individual properties (richness, size, mean photometric redshift, fraction of red galaxies, etc.). We also combined pointed and stacked Rosat All Sky Survey (RASS) data to investigate the X-ray luminosities of these systems. Our study confirms that the majority of groups are physical entities with richness in the range 3,13 galaxies, and properties ranging between those of loose and compact groups. We confirm that SHK groups are richer in early-type galaxies than the surrounding environment and the field, as expected from the morphology,density relation and from the selection of groups of red galaxies. Furthermore, our work supports the existence of two subclasses of structures, the first one being formed by compact and isolated groups and the second formed by extended structures. We suggest that while the first class of objects dwells in less dense regions like the outer parts of clusters or the field, possibly sharing the properties of Hickson Compact Groups, the more extended structures represent a mixture of [core + halo] configurations and cores of rich clusters. X-ray luminosities for SHK groups are generally consistent with these results and with the expectations for the LX,,v relation, but also suggest the velocity dispersions reported in literature are underestimated for some of the richest systems. [source] Photometric redshifts with surface brightness priorsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008Hans F. Stabenau ABSTRACT We use galaxy surface brightness as prior information to improve photometric redshift (photo- z) estimation. We apply our template-based photo- z method to imaging data from the ground-based VVDS survey and the space-based GOODS field from HST, and use spectroscopic redshifts to test our photometric redshifts for different galaxy types and redshifts. We find that the surface brightness prior eliminates a large fraction of outliers by lifting the degeneracy between the Lyman and 4000-Å breaks. Bias and scatter are improved by about a factor of 2 with the prior in each redshift bin in the range 0.4 < z < 1.3, for both the ground and space data. Ongoing and planned surveys from the ground and space will benefit, provided that care is taken in measurements of galaxy sizes and in the application of the prior. We discuss the image quality and signal-to-noise ratio requirements that enable the surface brightness prior to be successfully applied. [source] Estimating the redshift distribution of photometric galaxy samples , II.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2009Applications, tests of a new method ABSTRACT In Lima et al. we presented a new method for estimating the redshift distribution, N(z), of a photometric galaxy sample, using photometric observables and weighted sampling from a spectroscopic subsample of the data. In this paper, we extend this method and explore various applications of it, using both simulations and real data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In addition to estimating the redshift distribution for an entire sample, the weighting method enables accurate estimates of the redshift probability distribution, p(z), for each galaxy in a photometric sample. Use of p(z) in cosmological analyses can substantially reduce biases associated with traditional photometric redshifts, in which a single redshift estimate is associated with each galaxy. The weighting procedure also naturally indicates which galaxies in the photometric sample are expected to have accurate redshift estimates, namely those that lie in regions of photometric-observable space that are well sampled by the spectroscopic subsample. In addition to providing a method that has some advantages over standard photo- z estimates, the weights method can also be used in conjunction with photo- z estimates e.g. by providing improved estimation of N(z) via deconvolution of N(zphot) and improved estimates of photo- z scatter and bias. We present a publicly available p(z) catalogue for ,78 million SDSS DR7 galaxies. [source] The properties of the heterogeneous Shakhbazyan groups of galaxies in the SDSSMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2009D. Capozzi ABSTRACT We present a systematic study of the subsample of Shakhbazyan (SHK) groups covered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 (SDSS DR5). SHK groups probe an environment with characteristics which are intermediate between those of loose and very compact groups. Surprisingly, we found that several groups identifying algorithms, e.g. Berlind et al. and Tago et al., miss this type of structures. Using the SDSS DR5 spectroscopic data and the photometric redshifts derived in D'Abrusco et al., we identified possible group members in photometric redshift space and derived, for each group, several individual properties (richness, size, mean photometric redshift, fraction of red galaxies, etc.). We also combined pointed and stacked Rosat All Sky Survey (RASS) data to investigate the X-ray luminosities of these systems. Our study confirms that the majority of groups are physical entities with richness in the range 3,13 galaxies, and properties ranging between those of loose and compact groups. We confirm that SHK groups are richer in early-type galaxies than the surrounding environment and the field, as expected from the morphology,density relation and from the selection of groups of red galaxies. Furthermore, our work supports the existence of two subclasses of structures, the first one being formed by compact and isolated groups and the second formed by extended structures. We suggest that while the first class of objects dwells in less dense regions like the outer parts of clusters or the field, possibly sharing the properties of Hickson Compact Groups, the more extended structures represent a mixture of [core + halo] configurations and cores of rich clusters. X-ray luminosities for SHK groups are generally consistent with these results and with the expectations for the LX,,v relation, but also suggest the velocity dispersions reported in literature are underestimated for some of the richest systems. [source] Photometric redshifts with surface brightness priorsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008Hans F. Stabenau ABSTRACT We use galaxy surface brightness as prior information to improve photometric redshift (photo- z) estimation. We apply our template-based photo- z method to imaging data from the ground-based VVDS survey and the space-based GOODS field from HST, and use spectroscopic redshifts to test our photometric redshifts for different galaxy types and redshifts. We find that the surface brightness prior eliminates a large fraction of outliers by lifting the degeneracy between the Lyman and 4000-Å breaks. Bias and scatter are improved by about a factor of 2 with the prior in each redshift bin in the range 0.4 < z < 1.3, for both the ground and space data. Ongoing and planned surveys from the ground and space will benefit, provided that care is taken in measurements of galaxy sizes and in the application of the prior. We discuss the image quality and signal-to-noise ratio requirements that enable the surface brightness prior to be successfully applied. [source] Radio imaging of the Subaru/XMM,Newton Deep Field , II.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2008The 37 brightest radio sources ABSTRACT We study the 37 brightest radio sources in the Subaru/XMM,Newton Deep Field. We have spectroscopic redshifts for 24 of 37 objects and photometric redshifts for the remainder, yielding a median redshift zmed for the whole sample of zmed, 1.1 and a median radio luminosity close to the ,Fanaroff,Riley type I/type II (FR I/FR II)' luminosity divide. Using mid-infrared (mid-IR) (Spitzer MIPS 24 ,m) data we expect to trace nuclear accretion activity, even if it is obscured at optical wavelengths, unless the obscuring column is extreme. Our results suggest that above the FR I/FR II radio luminosity break most of the radio sources are associated with objects that have excess mid-IR emission, only some of which are broad-line objects, although there is one clear low-accretion-rate object with an FR I radio structure. For extended steep-spectrum radio sources, the fraction of objects with mid-IR excess drops dramatically below the FR I/FR II luminosity break, although there exists at least one high-accretion-rate ,radio-quiet' QSO. We have therefore shown that the strong link between radio luminosity (or radio structure) and accretion properties, well known at z, 0.1, persists to z, 1. Investigation of mid-IR and blue excesses shows that they are correlated as predicted by a model in which, when significant accretion exists, a torus of dust absorbs ,30 per cent of the light, and the dust above and below the torus scatters ,1 per cent of the light. [source] A deep i -selected multiwaveband galaxy catalogue in the COSMOS field,MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008A. Gabasch ABSTRACT In this paper we present a deep and homogeneous i -band-selected multiwaveband catalogue in the COSMOS field covering an area of about 0.7 deg2. Our catalogue with a formal 50 per cent completeness limit for point sources of i, 26.7 comprises about 290 000 galaxies with information in 8 passbands. We combine publicly available u, B, V, r, i, z and K data with proprietary imaging in H band. We discuss in detail the observations, the data reduction, and the photometric properties of the H -band data. We estimate photometric redshifts for all the galaxies in the catalogue. A comparison with 162 spectroscopic redshifts in the redshift range 0 ,z, 3 shows that the achieved accuracy of the photometric redshifts is ,z/(zspec+ 1) , 0.035 with only ,2 per cent outliers. We derive absolute UV magnitudes and investigate the evolution of the luminosity function evaluated in the rest-frame UV (1500 Å). There is a good agreement between the luminosity functions derived here and the luminosity functions derived in the FORS Deep Field. We see a similar brightening of M* and a decrease of ,* with redshift. The catalogue including the photometric redshift information is made publicly available. [source] Evidence for a large fraction of Compton-thick quasars at high redshiftMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Alejo Martínez-Sansigre ABSTRACT Using mid-infrared and radio selection criteria, we pre-select a sample of candidate high-redshift type 2 quasars in the Subaru XMM,Newton Deep Field (SXDF). To filter out starburst contaminants, we use a Bayesian method to fit the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) between 24-,m and the B -band, obtain photometric redshifts, and identify the best candidates for high- z type 2 quasars. This leaves us with 12 zphot, 1.7 type 2 quasar candidates in an area ,0.8 deg2, of which only two have secure X-ray detections. The two detected sources have estimated column densities NH, 2 & 3 × 1027 m,2, i.e. heavily obscured but Compton-thin quasars. Given the large bolometric luminosities and redshifts of the undetected objects, the lack of X-ray detections suggests extreme absorbing columns NH, 1028 m,2 are typical. We have found evidence for a population of ,Compton-thick' high-redshift type 2 quasars, at least comparable to, and probably larger than, the type 1 quasar population, although spectroscopic confirmation of their active galactic nuclei nature is important. [source] Dust-enshrouded star formation in XMM-LSS galaxy clustersASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009S. Temporin Abstract In recent years, infrared studies of individual galaxy clusters at intermediate redshifts led to the identification of several luminous infrared galaxies (LIR > 1011 L,). These findings were interpreted as an evidence ofvigorous, dust-enshrouded star formation activity, hinting at the presence of an infrared Butcher-Oemler effect. In order to explore this effect, we have undertaken a statistical investigation based on a cluster sample drawn from the XMM-Newton Large Scale Structure survey (XMM-LSS) and exploiting the contiguous coverage of the XMM-LSS field by the Spitzer SWIRE legacy survey. We adopted a stacking technique to investigate the distribution of 24- , m sources out to the cluster periphery and compare it with the distribution of sources in a sample of control fields. Among putative cluster members, selected by means of photometric redshifts, we identified surprisingly high numbers of bright 24- , m sources toward intermediate redshift clusters (z > 0.3). Our analysis indicates the presence of an excess of bright mid-IR sources at redshift z > 0.3 at clustercentric radii ,200,500 kpc (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The K - z diagram of FIRST radio sources identified in the Boötes and Cetus fieldsASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 8 2009K. El Bouchefry Abstract This paper presents the Hubble diagram (K - z relation) for FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at 20 cm) radio sources identified in the Boötes and Cetus fields. The correlation between the K magnitude of the FIRST-NDWFS sample and the photometric redshifts found to be linear. The dispersion about the best fit line is given by 1.53 for the whole sample and 0.75 at z > 1. The paper also presents a composite K - z diagram of FIRST radio sources and low-frequency selected radio samples with progressively fainter flux-density limits (3CRR, 6C, 7CRS and the EIS-NVSS sample). The majority of FIRST radio sources lie fainter than the no evolution curve (3 L* galaxies) probably highlighting the fact that the galaxy luminosity is correlated with the radio power (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | ||||||||||