Dr Anastasia Ponomareva

Abstract:

We present the first measurements of H i galaxy scaling relations from a blind survey at z > 0.15. We perform spectral stacking of 9023 spectra of star-forming galaxies undetected in H i at 0.23 < z < 0.49, extracted from MIGHTEE-H i Early Science data cubes, acquired with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We stack galaxies in bins of galaxy properties (stellar mass M *, star formation rateSFR, and specific star formation rate sSFR, with sSFR ≡ M */SFR), obtaining ≳5σ detections in most cases, the strongest H i-stacking detections to date in this redshift range. With these detections, we are able to measure scaling relations in the probed redshift interval, finding evidence for a moderate evolution from the median redshift of our sample z med ∼ 0.37 to z ∼ 0. In particular, low-M * galaxies ( log 10 ( M * / M ⊙ ) ∼ 9 ) experience a strong H i depletion (∼0.5 dex in log 10 ( M H I / M ⊙ ) ), while massive galaxies ( log 10 ( M * / M ⊙ ) ∼ 11 ) keep their H i mass nearly unchanged. When looking at the star formation activity, highly star-forming galaxies evolve significantly in M H I (f H I, where f H I ≡ M H I/M *) at fixed SFR (sSFR), while at the lowest probed SFR (sSFR) the scaling relations show no evolution. These findings suggest a scenario in which low-M * galaxies have experienced a strong H i depletion during the last ∼5 Gyr, while massive galaxies have undergone a significant H i replenishment through some accretion mechanism, possibly minor mergers. Interestingly, our results are in good agreement with the predictions of the simba simulation. We conclude that this work sets novel important observational constraints on galaxy scaling relations.

Abstract:

We study the 3D axis of rotation (3D spin) of 77 Hi galaxies from the MIGHTEE-Hi Early Science observations, and its relation to the filaments of the cosmic web. For this Hi-selected sample, the alignment between the spin axis and the closest filament (|cos ψ|) is higher for galaxies closer to the filaments, with 〈|cos ψ|〉 = 0.66 ± 0.04 for galaxies <5 Mpc from their closest filament compared to 〈|cos ψ|〉 = 0.37 ± 0.08 for galaxies at 5 < d < 10 Mpc. We find that galaxies with a low Hi-to-stellar mass ratio (log10(MHi/M∗) < 0.11) are more aligned with their closest filaments, with 〈|cos ψ|〉 = 0.58 ± 0.04; whilst galaxies with (log10(MHi/M∗) > 0.11) tend to be mis-aligned, with 〈|cos ψ|〉 = 0.44 ± 0.04. We find tentative evidence that the spin axis of Hi-selected galaxies tend to be aligned with associated filaments (d < 10 Mpc), but this depends on the gas fractions. Galaxies that have accumulated more stellar mass compared to their gas mass tend towards stronger alignment. Our results suggest that those galaxies that have accrued high gas fraction with respect to their stellar mass may have had their spin axis alignment with the filament disrupted by a recent gas-rich merger, whereas the spin vector for those galaxies in which the neutral gas has not been strongly replenished through a recent merger tend to orientate towards alignment with the filament. We also investigate the spin transition between galaxies with a high Hi content and a low Hi content at a threshold of MHI ≈ 109.5 M⊙ found in simulations; however, we find no evidence for such a transition with the current data.

Abstract:

We present the observed H I size–mass relation of 204 galaxies from the MIGHTEE Survey Early Science data. The high sensitivity of MeerKAT allows us to detect galaxies spanning more than 4 orders of magnitude in H I mass, ranging from dwarf galaxies to massive spirals, and including all morphological types. This is the first time the relation has been explored on a blind homogeneous data set that extends over a previously unexplored redshift range of 0 < z < 0.084, i.e. a period of around one billion years in cosmic time. The sample follows the same tight logarithmic relation derived from previous work, between the diameter (⁠DHI⁠) and the mass (⁠MHI⁠) of H I discs. We measure a slope of 0.501 ± 0.008, an intercept of −3.252+0.073−0.074⁠, and an observed scatter of 0.057 dex. For the first time, we quantify the intrinsic scatter of 0.054 ± 0.003 dex (⁠∼10 per cent⁠), which provides a constraint for cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution. We derive the relation as a function of galaxy type and find that their intrinsic scatters and slopes are consistent within the errors. We also calculate the DHI−MHI relation for two redshift bins and do not find any evidence for evolution with redshift. These results suggest that over a period of one billion years in look-back time, galaxy discs have not undergone significant evolution in their gas distribution and mean surface mass density, indicating a lack of dependence on both morphological type and redshift.

Abstract:

We present a novel 2D flux density model for observed H i emission lines combined with a Bayesian stacking technique to measure the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation below the nominal detection threshold. We simulate a galaxy catalogue, which includes H i lines described with either Gaussian or busy function profiles, and H i data cubes with a range of noise and survey areas similar to the MeerKAT International Giga-Hertz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey. With prior knowledge of redshifts, stellar masses, and inclinations of spiral galaxies, we find that our model can reconstruct the input baryonic Tully-Fisher parameters (slope and zero-point) most accurately in a relatively broad redshift range from the local Universe to z = 0.3 for all the considered levels of noise and survey areas and up to z = 0.55 for a nominal noise of 90 μJy/channel over 5 deg2. Our model can also determine the MHI - M∗ relation for spiral galaxies beyond the local Universe and account for the detailed shape of the H I emission line, which is crucial for understanding the dynamics of spiral galaxies. Thus, we have developed a Bayesian stacking technique for measuring the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation for galaxies at low stellar and/or H I masses and/or those at high redshift, where the direct detection of H I requires prohibitive exposure times.

Abstract:

Using a sample of 67 galaxies from the MeerKAT International GigaHertz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration Survey Early Science data, we study the H i-based baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (bTFr), covering a period of ∼1 billion years (0 ≤ z ≤ 0.081). We consider the bTFr based on two different rotational velocity measures: The width of the global H i profile and Vout, measured as the outermost rotational velocity from the resolved H i rotation curves. Both relations exhibit very low intrinsic scatter orthogonal to the best-fitting relation (σ⊥ = 0.07 ± 0.01), comparable to the SPARC sample at z 0. The slopes of the relations are similar and consistent with the z 0 studies (3.66+0.35-0.29 for W50 and 3.47+0.37-0.30 for Vout). We find no evidence that the bTFr has evolved over the last billion years, and all galaxies in our sample are consistent with the same relation independent of redshift and the rotational velocity measure. Our results set-up a reference for all future studies of the H i-based bTFr as a function of redshift that will be conducted with the ongoing deep SKA pathfinders surveys.