Zooniverse

Abstract:

We analyse the first publicly released deep field of the UK Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Deep eXtragalactic Survey to identify candidate galaxy overdensities at z ∼ 1 across ∼1 deg2 in the ELAIS-N1 field. Using I - K, J - K and K - 3.6 μm colours, we identify and spectroscopically follow up five candidate structures with Gemini/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph and confirm that they are all true overdensities with between five and 19 members each. Surprisingly, all five structures lie in a narrow redshift range at z = 0.89 ± 0.01, although they are spread across 30 Mpc on the sky. We also find a more distant overdensity at z = 1.09 in one of the spectroscopic survey regions. These five overdense regions lying in a narrow redshift range indicate the presence of a supercluster in this field and by comparing with mock cluster catalogues from N-body simulations we discuss the likely properties of this structure. Overall, we show that the properties of this supercluster are similar to the well-studied Shapley and Hercules superclusters at lower redshift. © 2007 RAS.

Abstract:

In the context of recent observational results that show massive ellipticals were in place at high redshifts, we reassess the status of monolithic collapse in a ACDM universe. Using a sample of over 2000 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, by comparing the dynamical mass and stellar mass (estimated from colors) we find that ellipticals have "cores" that are baryon-dominated within their half-light radius. These galaxies correspond to 3 σ peaks in the spherical collapse model if the total mass in the halo is assumed to be 20 times the dynamical mass within the half-light radius. This value yields stellar mass-to-total mass ratios of 8%, compared to a cosmological baryon fraction of 18% derived from the first 3 years of WMAP observations alone. We further develop a method for reconstructing the concentration halo parameter c of the progenitors of these galaxies by utilizing adiabatic contraction. Although the analysis is done within the framework of monolithic collapse, the resulting distribution of c is lognormal with a peak value of c ∼ 3-10 and a distribution width similar to the results of N-body simulations. We also derive scaling relations between stellar and dynamical mass and the velocity dispersion, and find that these are sufficient to recover the tilt of the fundamental plane. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

Observations and theoretical simulations have established a framework for galaxy formation and evolution in the young Universe. Galaxies formed as baryonic gas cooled at the centres of collapsing dark-matter haloes; mergers of haloes and galaxies then led to the hierarchical build-up of galaxy mass. It remains unclear, however, over what timescales galaxies were assembled and when and how bulges and disks - the primary components of present-day galaxies - were formed. It is also puzzling that the most massive galaxies were more abundant and were forming stars more rapidly at early epochs than expected from models. Here we report high-angular-resolution observations of a representative luminous star-forming galaxy when the Universe was only 20% of its current age. A large and massive rotating protodisk is channelling gas towards a growing central stellar bulge hosting an accreting massive black hole. The high surface densities of gas, the high rate of star formation and the moderately young stellar ages suggest rapid assembly, fragmentation and conversion to stars of an initially very gas-rich protodisk, with no obvious evidence for a major merger. © 2006 Nature Publishing Group.

Abstract:

Recent observations reveal galaxies in the early universe (2 < z < 6.4) with large reservoirs of molecular gas and extreme star formation rates. For a very large range of sources, a tight relationship exists between star formation rate and the luminosity of the HCN 7 = 1-0 spectral line, but sources at redshifts of z ∼ 2 and beyond do not follow this trend. The deficit in HCN is conventionally explained by an excess of infrared radiation due to active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We show in this Letter not only that the presence of AGNs cannot account for the excess of IR over molecular luminosity, but also that the observed abundance of HCN is in fact consistent with a population of stars forming from near-primordial gas. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.