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Redshift Survey (redshift + survey)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Physics and Astronomy	100%

Kinds of Redshift Survey

galaxy redshift survey

Selected Abstracts

Evolution in the discs and bulges of group galaxies since z= 0.4

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008
Sean L. McGee
ABSTRACT We present quantitative morphology measurements of a sample of optically selected group galaxies at 0.3 < z < 0.55 using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the gim2d surface brightness fitting software package. The group sample is derived from the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (CNOC2) and follow-up Magellan spectroscopy. We compare these measurements to a similarly selected group sample from the Millennium Galaxy Catalogue (MGC) at 0.05 < z < 0.12. We find that, at both epochs, the group and field fractional bulge luminosity (B/T) distributions differ significantly, with the dominant difference being a deficit of disc-dominated (B/T < 0.2) galaxies in the group samples. At fixed luminosity, z= 0.4 groups have ,5.5 ± 2 per cent fewer disc-dominated galaxies than the field, while by z= 0.1 this difference has increased to ,19 ± 6 per cent. Despite the morphological evolution we see no evidence that the group environment is actively perturbing or otherwise affecting the entire existing disc population. At both redshifts, the discs of group galaxies have similar scaling relations and show similar median asymmetries as the discs of field galaxies. We do find evidence that the fraction of highly asymmetric, bulge-dominated galaxies is 6 ± 3 per cent higher in groups than in the field, suggesting there may be enhanced merging in group environments. We replicate our group samples at z= 0.4 and 0 using the semi-analytic galaxy catalogues of Bower et al. This model accurately reproduces the B/T distributions of the group and field at z= 0.1. However, the model does not reproduce our finding that the deficit of discs in groups has increased significantly since z= 0.4. [source]

The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO survey: QSO clustering and the L,z degeneracy

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2008
J. DaÂngela
ABSTRACT We combine the quasi-stellar object (QSO) samples from the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ) and the 2dF-Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red galaxy (LRG) and QSO Survey (2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO, hereafter 2SLAQ) in order to investigate the clustering of z, 1.5 QSOs and measure the correlation function (,). The clustering signal in redshift-space and projected along the sky direction is similar to that previously obtained from the 2QZ sample alone. By fitting functional forms for ,(,, ,), the correlation function measured along and across the line of sight, we find, as expected, that ,, the dynamical infall parameter and ,0m, the cosmological density parameter, are degenerate. However, this degeneracy can be lifted by using linear theory predictions under different cosmological scenarios. Using the combination of the 2QZ and 2SLAQ QSO data, we obtain: ,QSO(z= 1.5) = 0.60+0.14,0.11, ,0m= 0.25+0.09,0.07 which imply a value for the QSO bias, b(z= 1.4) = 1.5 ± 0.2. The combination of the 2QZ with the fainter 2SLAQ QSO sample further reveals that QSO clustering does not depend strongly on luminosity at fixed redshift. This result is inconsistent with the expectation of simple ,high peaks' biasing models where more luminous, rare QSOs are assumed to inhabit higher mass haloes. The data are more consistent with models which predict that QSOs of different luminosities reside in haloes of similar mass. By assuming ellipsoidal models for the collapse of density perturbations, we estimate the mass of the dark matter haloes which the QSOs inhabit as ,3 × 1012 h,1 M,. We find that this halo mass does not evolve strongly with redshift nor depend on QSO luminosity. Assuming a range of relations which relate halo to black hole mass, we investigate how black hole mass correlates with luminosity and redshift, and ascertain the relation between Eddington efficiency and black hole mass. Our results suggest that QSOs of different luminosities may contain black holes of similar mass. [source]

The DEEP2 galaxy redshift survey: evolution of the colour,density relation at 0.4 < z < 1.35

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007
Michael C. Cooper
ABSTRACT Using a sample of 19 464 galaxies drawn from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between galaxy colour and environment at 0.4 < z < 1.35. We find that the fraction of galaxies on the red sequence depends strongly on local environment out to z > 1, being larger in regions of greater galaxy density. At all epochs probed, we also find a small population of red, morphologically early-type galaxies residing in regions of low measured overdensity. The observed correlations between the red fraction and local overdensity are highly significant, with the trend at z > 1 detected at a greater than 5, level. Over the entire redshift regime studied, we find that the colour,density relation evolves continuously, with red galaxies more strongly favouring overdense regions at low z relative to their red-sequence counterparts at high redshift. At z, 1.3, the red fraction only weakly correlates with overdensity, implying that any colour dependence to the clustering of ,L* galaxies at that epoch must be small. Our findings add weight to existing evidence that the build-up of galaxies on the red sequence has occurred preferentially in overdense environments (i.e. galaxy groups) at z, 1.5. Furthermore, we identify the epoch (z, 2) at which typical ,L* galaxies began quenching and moved on to the red sequence in significant number. The strength of the observed evolutionary trends at 0 < z < 1.35 suggests that the correlations observed locally, such as the morphology,density and colour,density relations, are the result of environment-driven mechanisms (i.e. ,nurture') and do not appear to have been imprinted (by ,nature') upon the galaxy population during their epoch of formation. [source]

Voids in the 2dFGRS and ,CDM simulations: spatial and dynamical properties

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006
L. Ceccarelli
ABSTRACT We perform a statistical study on the distribution and dynamics of voids in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). Our statistics are tested and calibrated using mock 2dFGRS catalogues. We analyse the dynamics around voids in mock and real 2dFGRS surveys. The void,galaxy cross-correlation redshift-space distortions show evidence of the continuing growth of voids, confirming another prediction of the hierarchical clustering scenario. A non-linear outflow model can be used to provide quantitative estimates of the outflow velocities around 2dFGRS voids. These results are consistent with maximum outflows of 110, 210 and 270 km s,1 for voids of ,rvoid,= 7.5, 12.5 and 17.5 Mpc h,1, assuming a galaxy bias of b= 1. As an application for future surveys, our study of the mock catalogues shows that direct measurements of the expansion of voids can be obtained using peculiar velocity data. We find that it would also be possible to detect differences in the velocity dispersion of galaxies in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the void walls. [source]

The abundance and radial distribution of satellite galaxies

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2005
Frank C. Van Den Bosch
ABSTRACT Using detailed mock galaxy redshift surveys (MGRSs) we investigate the abundance and radial distribution of satellite galaxies. The mock surveys are constructed using large numerical simulations and the conditional luminosity function (CLF), and are compared against data from the Two Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). We use Monte Carlo Markov chains to explore the full posterior distribution of the CLF parameter space, and show that the average relation between light and mass is tightly constrained and in excellent agreement with our previous models and with that of Vale & Ostriker. The radial number density distribution of satellite galaxies in the 2dFGRS reveals a pronounced absence of satellites at small projected separations from their host galaxies. This is (at least partly) owing to the overlap and merging of galaxy images in the 2dFGRS parent catalogue. Owing to the resulting close-pair incompleteness we are unfortunately unable to put meaningful constraints on the radial distribution of satellite galaxies; the data are consistent with a radial number density distribution that follows that of the dark matter particles, but we cannot rule out alternatives with a constant number density core. Marginalizing over the full CLF parameter space, we show that in a ,CDM concordance cosmology the observed abundances of host and satellite galaxies in the 2dFGRS indicate a power spectrum normalization of ,8, 0.7. The same cosmology but with ,8= 0.9 is unable to match simultaneously the abundances of host and satellite galaxies. This confirms our previous conclusions based on the pairwise peculiar velocity dispersions and the group multiplicity function. [source]

The 2dF QSO Redshift Survey , XIV.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2005
Structure, evolution from the two-point correlation function
ABSTRACT In this paper we present a clustering analysis of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) using over 20 000 objects from the final catalogue of the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ), measuring the redshift-space two-point correlation function, ,(s). When averaged over the redshift range 0.3 < z < 2.2 we find that ,(s) is flat on small scales, steepening on scales above ,25 h,1 Mpc. In a WMAP/2dF cosmology (,m= 0.27, ,,= 0.73) we find a best-fitting power law with s0= 5.48+0.42,0.48 h,1 Mpc and ,= 1.20 ± 0.10 on scales s= 1 to 25 h,1 Mpc. We demonstrate that non-linear redshift-space distortions have a significant effect on the QSO ,(s) at scales less than ,10 h,1 Mpc. A cold dark matter model assuming WMAP/2dF cosmological parameters is a good description of the QSO ,(s) after accounting for non-linear clustering and redshift-space distortions, and allowing for a linear bias at the mean redshift of bQ(z= 1.35) = 2.02 ± 0.07. We subdivide the 2QZ into 10 redshift intervals with effective redshifts from z= 0.53 to 2.48. We find a significant increase in clustering amplitude at high redshift in the WMAP/2dF cosmology. The QSO clustering amplitude increases with redshift such that the integrated correlation function, , within 20 h,1 Mpc is and . We derive the QSO bias and find it to be a strong function of redshift with bQ(z= 0.53) = 1.13 ± 0.18 and bQ(z= 2.48) = 4.24 ± 0.53. We use these bias values to derive the mean dark matter halo (DMH) mass occupied by the QSOs. At all redshifts 2QZ QSOs inhabit approximately the same mass DMHs with MDH= (3.0 ± 1.6) × 1012 h,1 M,, which is close to the characteristic mass in the Press,Schechter mass function, M*, at z= 0. These results imply that L*Q QSOs at z, 0 should be largely unbiased. If the relation between black hole (BH) mass and MDH or host velocity dispersion does not evolve, then we find that the accretion efficiency (L/LEdd) for L*Q QSOs is approximately constant with redshift. Thus the fading of the QSO population from z, 2 to ,0 appears to be due to less massive BHs being active at low redshift. We apply different methods to estimate, tQ, the active lifetime of QSOs and constrain tQ to be in the range 4 × 106,6 × 108 yr at z, 2. We test for any luminosity dependence of QSO clustering by measuring ,(s) as a function of apparent magnitude (equivalent to luminosity relative to L*Q). However, we find no significant evidence of luminosity-dependent clustering from this data set. [source]

Galaxy groups in the Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey: the luminous content of the groups

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2004
V. R. Eke
ABSTRACT The Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) Percolation-Inferred Galaxy Group (2PIGG) catalogue of ,29 000 objects is used to study the luminous content of galaxy systems of various sizes. Mock galaxy catalogues constructed from cosmological simulations are used to gauge the accuracy with which intrinsic group properties can be recovered. It is found that a Schechter function is a reasonable fit to the galaxy luminosity functions in groups of different mass in the real data, and that the characteristic luminosity L, is slightly larger for more massive groups. However, the mock data show that the shape of the recovered luminosity function is expected to differ from the true shape, and this must be allowed for when interpreting the data. Luminosity function results are presented in both the bJ and rF wavebands. The variation of the halo mass-to-light ratio, ,, with group size is studied in both of these wavebands. A robust trend of increasing , with increasing group luminosity is found in the 2PIGG data. Going from groups with bJ luminosities equal to 1010 h,2 L, to those 100 times more luminous, the typical bJ -band mass-to-light ratio increases by a factor of 5, whereas the rF -band mass-to-light ratio grows by a factor of 3.5. These trends agree well with the predictions of the simulations which also predict a minimum in the mass-to-light ratio on a scale roughly corresponding to the Local Group. The data indicate that if such a minimum exists, then it must occur at L, 1010h,2 L,, below the range accurately probed by the 2PIGG catalogue. According to the mock data, the bJ mass-to-light ratios of the largest groups are expected to be approximately 1.1 times the global value. Assuming that this correction applies to the real data, the mean bJ luminosity density of the Universe yields an estimate of ,m= 0.26 ± 0.03 (statistical error only). Various possible sources of systematic error are considered, with the conclusion that these could affect the estimate of ,m by a few tens of per cent. [source]

The environmental dependence of radio-loud AGN activity and star formation in the 2dFGRS

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2004
P. N. Best
ABSTRACT By combining the 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey with the NRAO VLA Sky Survey at 1.4 GHz, the environments of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the nearby Universe are investigated using both local projected galaxy densities and a friends-of-friends group-finding algorithm. Radio-loud AGN are preferentially located in galaxy groups and poor-to-moderate richness galaxy clusters. The AGN fraction appears to depend more strongly on the large-scale environment (group, cluster, etc.) in which a galaxy is located than on its more local environment, except at the lowest galaxy surface densities where practically no radio-loud AGN are found. The ratio of absorption-line to emission-line AGN changes dramatically with environment, with essentially all radio-loud AGN in rich environments showing no emission lines. This result could be connected with the lack of cool gas in cluster galaxies, and may have important consequences for analyses of optically selected AGN, which are invariably selected on emission-line properties. The local galaxy surface density of the absorption-line AGN is strongly correlated with radio luminosity, implying that the radio luminosities may be significantly boosted in dense environments due to confinement by the hot intracluster gas. The environments of a radio-selected sample of star-forming galaxies are also investigated to provide an independent test of optical studies. In line with those studies, the fraction of star-forming galaxies is found to decrease strongly with increasing local galaxy surface density; this correlation extends across the whole range of galaxy surface densities, with no evidence for the density threshold found in some optical studies. [source]

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: correlation functions, peculiar velocities and the matter density of the Universe

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2003
Ed Hawkins
ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of the two-point correlation function, ,(,, ,), from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). The large size of the catalogue, which contains ,220 000 redshifts, allows us to make high-precision measurements of various properties of the galaxy clustering pattern. The effective redshift at which our estimates are made is zs, 0.15, and similarly the effective luminosity, Ls, 1.4L*. We estimate the redshift-space correlation function, ,(s), from which we measure the redshift-space clustering length, s0= 6.82 ± 0.28 h,1 Mpc. We also estimate the projected correlation function, ,(,), and the real-space correlation function, ,(r), which can be fit by a power law (r/r0), with r0= 5.05 ± 0.26 h,1 Mpc, ,r= 1.67 ± 0.03. For r, 20 h,1 Mpc, , drops below a power law as, for instance, is expected in the popular , cold dark matter model. The ratio of amplitudes of the real- and redshift-space correlation functions on scales of 8,30 h,1 Mpc gives an estimate of the redshift-space distortion parameter ,. The quadrupole moment of ,(,, ,) on scales 30,40 h,1 Mpc provides another estimate of ,. We also estimate the distribution function of pairwise peculiar velocities, f(v), including rigorously the significant effect due to the infall velocities, and we find that the distribution is well fit by an exponential form. The accuracy of our ,(,, ,) measurement is sufficient to constrain a model, which simultaneously fits the shape and amplitude of ,(r) and the two redshift-space distortion effects parametrized by , and velocity dispersion, a. We find ,= 0.49 ± 0.09 and a= 506 ± 52 km s,1, although the best-fitting values are strongly correlated. We measure the variation of the peculiar velocity dispersion with projected separation, a(,), and find that the shape is consistent with models and simulations. This is the first time that , and f(v) have been estimated from a self-consistent model of galaxy velocities. Using the constraints on bias from recent estimates, and taking account of redshift evolution, we conclude that , (L=L*, z= 0) = 0.47 ± 0.08, and that the present-day matter density of the Universe, ,m, 0.3, consistent with other 2dFGRS estimates and independent analyses. [source]

The H, luminosity function and star formation rate up to z , 1

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2002
L. Tresse
Abstract We describe ISAAC/ESO-VLT observations of the H,,6563 Balmer line of 33 field galaxies from the Canada,France Redshift Survey (CFRS) with redshifts selected between 0.5 and 1.1. We detect H, in emission in 30 galaxies and compare the properties of this sample with the low-redshift sample of CFRS galaxies at z, 0.2. We find that the H, luminosity, L(H,), is tightly correlated to M(BAB) in the same way for both the low- and high-redshift samples. L(H,) is also correlated to L([O ii],3727), and again the relation appears to be similar at low and high redshifts. The ratio L(lsqb;O ii])/L(H,) decreases for brighter galaxies by as much as a factor of 2 on average. Derived from the H, luminosity function, the comoving H, luminosity density increases by a factor 12 from ,z,= 0.2 to ,z,= 1.3. Our results confirm a strong rise of the star formation rate (SFR) at z < 1.3, proportional to (1 +z)4.1±0.3 (with H0= 50 km s,1 Mpc,1, q0= 0.5). We find an average SFR(2800 Å)/SFR (H,) ratio of 3.2 using the Kennicutt SFR transformations. This corresponds to the dust correction that is required to make the near-ultraviolet data consistent with the reddening-corrected H, data within the self-contained, I -selected CFRS sample. [source]

Redshift-space distortions in the PSCz galaxy catalogue

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2001
A.N. Taylor
We apply a spherical harmonic analysis to the Point Source Redshift Survey (PSCz), to compute the real-space galaxy power spectrum and the degree of redshift distortion caused by peculiar velocities. We employ new parameter eigenvector and hierarchical data compression techniques, allowing a much larger number of harmonic modes to be included, and correspondingly smaller error bars. Using 4644 harmonic modes, compressed to 2278, we find that the IRAS redshift-space distortion parameter is and the amplitude of galaxy clustering on a scale of is . Combining these we find the amplitude of mass perturbations is . While this is compatible with results from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with a small degree of tilt, it disagrees with the amplitude of matter perturbations estimated from the abundance of clusters by a factor of 2, independent of cosmology. A preliminary model fitting analysis combining the CMB with either the PSCz or cluster abundances shows that the cosmological matter density parameter , and the IRAS bias parameter . However, the cluster abundances suggest that and , while the PSCz requires and . Given the physics of galaxy formation is poorly constrained, we conclude that IRAS galaxies and mass are only partially correlated. [source]

Cosmological implications of the PSCz PDF and its moments

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2001
Manolis Plionis
We compare the probability density function (PDF) and its low-order moments (variance and skewness) of the smoothed IRAS Point Source Catalogue Redshift Survey (PSCz) galaxy density field and of the corresponding simulated PSCz look-alikes, generated from N -body simulations of six different dark matter models: four structure-normalized with and , one COBE -normalized, and the old standard cold dark matter model. The galaxy distributions are smoothed with a Gaussian window at three different smoothing scales, , 10 and 15 h,1 Mpc. We find that the simulation PSCz look-alike PDFs are sensitive only to the normalization of the power spectrum, probably owing to the shape similarity of the simulated galaxy power spectrum on the relevant scales. We find that the only models that are consistent, at a high significance level, with the observed PSCz PDF are models with a relatively low power spectrum normalization . From the phenomenologically derived ,8,moments relation, fitted from the simulation data, we find that the PSCz moments suggest . [source]

Comparison of the ENEAR peculiar velocities with the PSCz gravity field

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2001
Adi Nusser
We present a comparison between the peculiar velocity field measured from the ENEAR all-sky Dn,, catalogue and that derived from the galaxy distribution of the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey (PSCz). The analysis is based on a modal expansion of these data in redshift space by means of spherical harmonics and Bessel functions. The effective smoothing scale of the expansion is almost linear with redshift reaching 1500 km s,1 at 3000 km s,1. The general flow patterns in the filtered ENEAR and PSCz velocity fields agree well within 6000 km s,1, assuming a linear biasing relation between the mass and the PSCz galaxies. The comparison allows us to determine the parameter where , is the cosmological density parameter and b is the linear biasing factor. A likelihood analysis of the ENEAR and PSCz modes yields in good agreement with values obtained from Tully,Fisher surveys. [source]

Voids in the Las Campanas Redshift Survey versus cold dark matter models

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2000
V. Müller
We analysed the distribution of void sizes in the two-dimensional slices of the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). Fourteen volume-limited subsamples were extracted from the six slices to cover a large part of the survey and to test the robustness of the results against cosmic variance. Thirteen samples were randomly culled to produce homogeneously selected samples. We then studied the relationship between the cumulative area covered by voids and the void size as a property of the void hierarchy. We found that the distribution of void sizes scaled with the mean galaxy separation, ,. In particular, we found that the size of voids covering half of the area is given by Dmed,,+(12±3) h,1 Mpc. Next, by employing an environmental density threshold criterion to identify mock galaxies, we were able to extend this analysis to mock samples from dynamical N -body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) models. To reproduce the observed void statistics, overdensity thresholds of ,th,0,,,1 are necessary. We compared standard (SCDM), open (OCDM), vacuum energy dominated (,CDM) and broken scale invariant CDM models (BCDM): we found that both the void size distribution and the two-point correlation function provided important and complementary information on the large-scale matter distribution. The dependence of the void statistics on the threshold criterion for the mock galaxy identification showed that the galaxy biasing was more crucial for the void size distribution than were differences between the cosmological models. [source]

Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the CFRS and LDSS redshift surveys , IV.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2000
Influence of mergers in the evolution of faint field galaxies from z
Hubble Space Telescope images of a sample of 285 galaxies with measured redshifts from the Canada,France Redshift Survey (CFRS) and Autofib,Low Dispersion Spectrograph Survey (LDSS) redshift surveys are analysed to derive the evolution of the merger fraction out to redshifts z,1. We have performed visual and machine-based merger identifications, as well as counts of bright pairs of galaxies with magnitude differences ,m,1.5 mag. We find that the pair fraction increases with redshift, with up to ,20 per cent of the galaxies being in physical pairs at z,0.75,1. We derive a merger fraction varying with redshift as ,(1+z)3.2±0.6, after correction for line-of-sight contamination, in excellent agreement with the merger fraction derived from the visual classification of mergers for which m=3.4±0.6. After correcting for seeing effects on the ground-based selection of survey galaxies, we conclude that the pair fraction evolves as ,(1+z)2.7±0.6. This implies that an average L* galaxy will have undergone 0.8,1.8 merger events from z=1 to z=0, with 0.5 to 1.2 merger events occuring in a 2-Gyr time-span at around z,0.9. This result is consistent with predictions from semi-analytical models of galaxy formation. From the simple coaddition of the observed luminosities of the galaxies in pairs, physical mergers are computed to lead to a brightening of 0.5 mag for each pair on average, and a boost in star formation rate of a factor of 2, as derived from the average [O ii] equivalent widths. Mergers of galaxies are therefore contributing significantly to the evolution of both the luminosity function and luminosity density of the Universe out to z,1. [source]

Luminous red galaxy clustering at z, 0.7 , first results using AAOmega

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2008
Nicholas P. Ross
ABSTRACT We report on the AAT-AAOmega LRG Pilot observing run to establish the feasibility of a large spectroscopic survey using the new AAOmega instrument. We have selected luminous red galaxies (LRGs) using single epoch SDSS riz -photometry to i < 20.5 and z < 20.2. We have observed in three fields including the COSMOS field and the COMBO-17 S11 field, obtaining a sample of ,600 redshift z, 0.5 LRGs. Exposure times varied from 1,4 h to determine the minimum exposure for AAOmega to make an essentially complete LRG redshift survey in average conditions. We show that LRG redshifts to i < 20.5 can be measured in ,1.5 h exposures and present comparisons with 2SLAQ and COMBO-17 (photo)redshifts. Crucially, the riz selection coupled with the three to four times improved AAOmega throughput is shown to extend the LRG mean redshift from z= 0.55 for 2SLAQ to z= 0.681 ± 0.005 for riz -selected LRGs. This extended range is vital for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio for the detection of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs). Furthermore, we show that the amplitude of LRG clustering is s0= 9.9 ± 0.7h,1 Mpc, as high as that seen in the 2SLAQ LRG Survey. Consistent results for this clustering amplitude are found from the projected and semi-projected correlation functions. This high amplitude is consistent with a long-lived population whose bias evolves as predicted by a simple ,high-peak' model. We conclude that a redshift survey of 360 000 LRGs over 3000 deg2, with an effective volume some four times bigger than previously used to detect BAO with LRGs, is possible with AAOmega in 170 nights. [source]

Galaxy redshift surveys selected by neutral hydrogen using the Five-hundred metre Aperture Spherical Telescope

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008
Alan R. Duffy
ABSTRACT We discuss the possibility of performing a substantial spectroscopic galaxy redshift survey selected via the 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen using the Five-hundred metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to be built in China. We consider issues related to the estimation of the source counts and optimizations of the survey, and discuss the constraints on cosmological models that such a survey could provide. We find that a survey taking around two years could detect ,107 galaxies with an average redshift of ,0.15 making the survey complementary to those already carried out at optical wavelengths. These conservative estimates have used the z= 0 H i mass function and have ignored the possibility of evolution. The results could be used to constrain ,=,mh to 5 per cent and the spectral index, ns, to 7 per cent independent of cosmic microwave background data. If we also use simulated power spectra from the Planck satellite, we can constrain w to be within 5 per cent of ,1. [source]

Consistent , values from density,density and velocity,velocity comparisons

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2002
Saleem Zaroubi
Abstract We apply a new algorithm, called the unbiased minimal variance (hereafter UMV) estimator, to reconstruct the cosmic density and peculiar velocity fields in our local Universe from the SEcat catalogue of peculiar velocities comprising both early- (ENEAR) and late-type (SFI) galaxies. The reconstructed fields are compared with those predicted from the IRAS PSCz galaxy redshift survey to constrain the value of ,=,0.6m/b, where ,m and b are the mass density and the bias parameters. The comparison of the density and velocity fields is carried out within the same methodological framework, and leads, for the first time, to consistent values of ,, yielding ,= 0.57+0.11,0.13 and ,= 0.51 ± 0.06, respectively. We find that the distribution of the density and velocity residuals, relative to their respective errors, is consistent with a Gaussian distribution with ,, 1, indicating that the density field predicted from the PSCz is an acceptable fit to that deduced from the peculiar velocities of the SEcat galaxies. [source]

Cluster correlations in redshift space

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2002
N.D. Padilla
We test an analytic model for the two-point correlations of galaxy clusters in redshift space using the Hubble volume N -body simulations. The correlation function of clusters shows no enhancement along the line of sight, owing to the lack of any virialized structures in the cluster distribution. However, the distortion of the clustering pattern arising from coherent bulk motions is clearly visible. The distribution of cluster peculiar motions is well described by a Gaussian, except in the extreme high-velocity tails. The simulations produce a small but significant number of clusters with large peculiar motions. The form of the redshift-space power spectrum is strongly influenced by errors in measured cluster redshifts in extant surveys. When these errors are taken into account, the model reproduces the power spectrum recovered from the simulation to an accuracy of 15 per cent or better over a decade in wavenumber. We compare our analytic predictions with the power spectrum measured from the APM cluster redshift survey. The cluster power spectrum constrains the amplitude of density fluctuations, as measured by the linear rms variance in spheres of radius 8 h,1 Mpc, denoted by ,8. When combined with the constraints on ,8 and the density parameter , derived from the local abundance of clusters, we find a best-fitting cold dark matter model with and , for a power spectrum shape that matches that measured for galaxies. However, for the best-fitting value of , and given the value of Hubble's constant from recent measurements, the assumed shape of the power spectrum is incompatible with the most readily motivated predictions from the cold dark matter paradigm. [source]

The luminosity dependence of clustering and higher order correlations in the PSCz survey

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2000
István Szapudi
We investigate the spatial clustering of galaxies in the PSCz galaxy redshift survey, as revealed by the two-point correlation function, the luminosity mark correlations and the moments of counts-in-cells. We construct volume-limited subsamples at different depths and search for a luminosity dependence of the clustering pattern. We find no statistically significant effect in either the two-point correlation function or the mark correlations and so we take each subsample (of different characteristic luminosity) as representing the same statistical process. We then carry out a counts-in-cells analysis of the volume-limited subsamples, including a rigorous error calculation based on the recent theory of Szapudi, Colombi & Bernardeau. In this way, we derive the best estimates to date of the skewness and kurtosis of IRAS galaxies in redshift space. Our results agree well with previous measurements in both the parent angular catalogue and the derived redshift surveys. This is in contrast with smaller, optically selected surveys, where there is a discrepancy between the redshift space and projected measurements. Predictions from cold dark matter theory, obtained using the recent semi-analytical model of galaxy formation of Benson et al., provide an excellent description of our clustering data. [source]

A composite K -band luminosity function for cluster galaxies

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009
R. De Propris
Abstract We present a composite K -band luminosity function for 10 clusters at low redshift, where member galaxies are identified from an existing spectroscopic survey (the 2dF galaxy redshift survey). Our kinematically selected K -band luminosity function is well fitted by a Schechter function with MK * = ,24.50 + 5 log h and , = ,0.98 over ,27 , MK ,5 log h < ,22. This is very similar to the 2dF field value and suggests that the integrated mass accretion history of galaxies does not vary strongly with environment (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

GAMA: towards a physical understanding of galaxy formation

ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 5 2009
Simon P Driver
Simon P Driver, Peder Norberg, Ivan K Baldry, Steven P Bamford, Andrew M Hopkins, Jochen Liske, Jon Loveday, John A Peacock and the GAMA Survey Team (Galaxy and Mass Assembly) review progress on the latest large galaxy redshift survey now underway on the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope. [source]

Galaxy redshift surveys selected by neutral hydrogen using the Five-hundred metre Aperture Spherical Telescope

Universal fitting formulae for baryon oscillation surveys

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006
Chris Blake
ABSTRACT The next generation of galaxy surveys will attempt to measure the baryon oscillations in the clustering power spectrum with high accuracy. These oscillations encode a preferred scale which may be used as a standard ruler to constrain cosmological parameters and dark energy models. In this paper we present simple analytical fitting formulae for the accuracy with which the preferred scale may be determined in the tangential and radial directions by future spectroscopic and photometric galaxy redshift surveys. We express these accuracies as a function of survey parameters such as the central redshift, volume, galaxy number density and (where applicable) photometric redshift error. These fitting formulae should greatly increase the efficiency of optimizing future surveys, which requires analysis of a potentially vast number of survey configurations and cosmological models. The formulae are calibrated using a grid of Monte Carlo simulations, which are analysed by dividing out the overall shape of the power spectrum before fitting a simple decaying sinusoid to the oscillations. The fitting formulae reproduce the simulation results with a fractional scatter of 7 per cent (10 per cent) in the tangential (radial) directions over a wide range of input parameters. We also indicate how sparse-sampling strategies may enhance the effective survey area if the sampling scale is much smaller than the projected baryon oscillation scale. [source]

The abundance and radial distribution of satellite galaxies

Populating dark matter haloes with galaxies: comparing the 2dFGRS with mock galaxy redshift surveys

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2004
Xiaohu Yang
ABSTRACT In two recent papers, we developed a powerful technique to link the distribution of galaxies to that of dark matter haloes by considering halo occupation numbers as a function of galaxy luminosity and type. In this paper we use these distribution functions to populate dark matter haloes in high-resolution N -body simulations of the standard ,CDM cosmology with ,m= 0.3, ,,= 0.7 and ,8= 0.9. Stacking simulation boxes of 100 h,1 Mpc and 300 h,1 Mpc with 5123 particles each we construct mock galaxy redshift surveys out to a redshift of z= 0.2 with a numerical resolution that guarantees completeness down to 0.01L*. We use these mock surveys to investigate various clustering statistics. The predicted two-dimensional correlation function ,(rp, ,) reveals clear signatures of redshift space distortions. The projected correlation functions for galaxies with different luminosities and types, derived from ,(rp, ,), match the observations well on scales larger than ,3 h,1 Mpc. On smaller scales, however, the model overpredicts the clustering power by about a factor two. Modelling the ,finger-of-God' effect on small scales reveals that the standard ,CDM model predicts pairwise velocity dispersions (PVD) that are ,400 km s,1 too high at projected pair separations of ,1 h,1 Mpc. A strong velocity bias in massive haloes, with bvel,,gal/,dm, 0.6 (where ,gal and ,dm are the velocity dispersions of galaxies and dark matter particles, respectively) can reduce the predicted PVD to the observed level, but does not help to resolve the overprediction of clustering power on small scales. Consistent results can be obtained within the standard ,CDM model only when the average mass-to-light ratio of clusters is of the order of 1000 (M/L), in the B -band. Alternatively, as we show by a simple approximation, a ,CDM model with ,8, 0.75 may also reproduce the observational results. We discuss our results in light of the recent WMAP results and the constraints on ,8 obtained independently from other observations. [source]

Non-linear redshift distortions: the two-point correlation function

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2001
Somnath Bharadwaj
We consider a situation where the density and peculiar velocities in real space are linear, and we calculate ,s, the two-point correlation function in redshift space, incorporating all non-linear effects which arise as a consequence of the map from real to redshift space. Our result is non-perturbative and it includes the effects of possible multi-streaming in redshift space. We find that the deviations from the predictions of the linear redshift distortion analysis increase for the higher spherical harmonics of ,s. While the deviations are insignificant for the monopole ,0, the hexadecapole ,4 exhibits large deviations from the linear predictions. For a COBE normalized , cold dark matter (CDM) power spectrum, our results for ,4 deviate from the linear predictions by a factor of two on the scale of ,10 h,1 Mpc. The deviations from the linear predictions depend separately on f(,) and b. This holds the possibility of removing the degeneracy that exists between these two parameters in the linear analysis of redshift surveys which yields only . We also show that the commonly used phenomenological model, where the non-linear redshift two-point correlation function is calculated by convolving the linear redshift correlation function with an isotropic pair velocity distribution function, is a limiting case of our result. [source]