We present photometry and derived redshifts from up to eleven bandpasses for 9927 galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep field (UDF), covering an observed wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet (NUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) with Hubble Space Telescope observations. Our Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/UV F225W, F275W, and F336W image mosaics from the ultra-violet UDF (UVUDF) imaging campaign are newly calibrated to correct for charge transfer inefficiency, and use new dark calibrations to minimize background gradients and pattern noise. Our NIR WFC3/IR image mosaics combine the imaging from the UDF09 and UDF12 campaigns with CANDELS data to provide NIR coverage for the entire UDF field of view. We use aperture-matched point-spread function corrected photometry to measure photometric redshifts in the UDF, sampling both the Lyman break and Balmer break of galaxies atz 0.8-3.4, and one of the breaks over the rest of the redshift range. Our comparison of these results with a compilation of robust spectroscopic redshifts shows an improvement in the galaxy photometric redshifts by a factor of two in scatter and a factor three in outlier fraction (OLF) over previous UDF catalogs. The inclusion of the new NUV data is responsible for a factor of two decrease in the OLF compared to redshifts determined from only the optical and NIR data, and improves the scatter at < z 0.5 and at > z 2. The panchromatic coverage of the UDF from the NUV through the NIR yields robust photometric redshifts of the UDF, with the lowest OLF available.
Many of the results in modern astrophysics rest on the notion that the Initial Mass Function (IMF) is universal. Our observations of a sample of H I selected galaxies in the light of Hα and the far-ultraviolet (FUV) challenge this result. The extinction corrected flux ratio F Hα / f FUV from these two tracers of star formation shows strong correlations with the surface-brightness in Hα and the R band: Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies have lower F Hα / f FUV ratios compared to High Surface Brightness (HSB) galaxies as well as compared to expectations from equilibrium models of constant star formation rate (SFR) using commonly favored IMF parameters. Weaker but significant correlations of F Hα / f FUV with luminosity, rotational velocity and dynamical mass are found as well as a systematic trend with morphology. The correlated variations of F Hα / f FUV with other global parameters are thus part of the larger family of galaxy scaling relations. The F Hα / f FUV correlations can not be due to residual extinction correction errors, while systematic variations in the star formation history can not explain the trends with both Hα and R surface brightness nor with other global properties. The possibility that LSB galaxies have a higher escape fraction of ionizing photons seems inconsistent with their high gas fraction, and observations of color-magnitude diagrams of a few systems which indicate a real deficit of O stars. The most plausible explanation for the correlations is the systematic variations of the upper mass limit M u and/or the slope γ which define the upper end of the IMF. We outline a scenario of pressure driving the correlations by setting the efficiency of the formation of the dense star clusters where the highest mass stars preferentially form. Our results imply that the star formation rate measured in a galaxy is highly sensitive to the tracer used in the measurement. A non-universal IMF would also call into question interpretation of metal abundance patterns in dwarf galaxies as well star formation histories derived from color magnitude diagrams.
We use the first data release from the SINGG H survey of H iYselected galaxies to study the quantitative behavior of the diffuse, warm ionized medium ( WIM ) across the range of properties represented by these 109 galaxies. The mean fraction f WIM of diffuse ionized gas in this sample is 0:59 AE 0:19, slightly higher than found in previous samples. Since lower surface brightness galaxies tend to have higher f WIM , we believe that most of this difference is due to selection effects favoring large, optically bright, nearby galaxies with high star formation rates. As found in previous studies, there is no appreciable correlation with Hubble type or total star formation rate. However, we find that starburst galaxies, defined here by an H surface brightness >2:5 ; 10 39 erg s À1 kpc À2 within the H half-light radius, do show much lower fractions of diffuse H emission. The cause apparently is not dominated by a lower fraction of field OB stars. However, it is qualitatively consistent with an expected escape of ionizing radiation above a threshold star formation rate, predicted from our model in which the ISM is shredded by pressure-driven supernova feedback. The H i gas fractions in the starburst galaxies are also lower, suggesting that the starbursts are consuming and ionizing all the gas, and thus promoting regions of density-bounded ionization. If true, these effects imply that some amount of Lyman continuum radiation is escaping from most starburst galaxies, and that WIM properties and outflows from mechanical feedback are likely to be pressure-driven. However, in view of previous studies showing that the escape fraction of ionizing radiation is generally low, it is likely that other factors also drive the low fractions of diffuse ionized gas in starbursts.
We introduce the Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies (SINGG), a census of star formation in H iselected galaxies. The survey consists of H and R-band imaging of a sample of 468 galaxies selected from the H i Parkes All Sky Survey ( HIPASS). The sample spans three decades in H i mass and is free of many of the biases that affect other star-forming galaxy samples. We present the criteria for sample selection, list the entire sample, discuss our observational techniques, and describe the data reduction and calibration methods. This paper focuses on 93 SINGG targets whose observations have been fully reduced and analyzed to date. The majority of these show a single emission line galaxy (ELG). We see multiple ELGs in 13 fields, with up to four ELGs in a single field. All of the targets in this sample are detected in H , indicating that dormant (non-star-forming) galaxies with M H i k 3 ; 10 7 M are very rare. A database of the measured global properties of the ELGs is presented. The ELG sample spans 4 orders of magnitude in luminosity ( H and R band), and H surface brightness, nearly 3 orders of magnitude in R surface brightness and nearly 2 orders of magnitude in H equivalent width ( EW ). The surface brightness distribution of our sample is broader than that of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic sample, the EW distribution is broader than prism-selected samples, and the morphologies found include all common types of star-forming galaxies (e.g., irregular, spiral, blue compact dwarf, starbursts, merging and colliding systems, and even residual star formation in S0 and Sa spirals). Thus, SINGG presents a superior census of star formation in the local universe suitable for further studies ranging from the analysis of H ii regions to determination of the local cosmic star formation rate density.
We present a study of the infrared properties of X-ray selected, moderate-luminosity (i.e. L X = 10 42 -10 44 erg s −1 ) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) up to z ≈ 3, in order to explore the links between star formation in galaxies and accretion on to their central black holes. We use 100 and 160 µm fluxes from GOODS-Herschel -the deepest survey yet undertaken by the Herschel telescope -and show that in the vast majority of cases (i.e. >94 per cent) these fluxes are dominated by emission from the host galaxy. As such, these far-infrared bands provide an uncontaminated view of star formation in the AGN host galaxies. We find no evidence of any correlation between the X-ray and infrared luminosities of moderate AGNs at any redshift, suggesting that global star formation is decoupled from nuclear (i.e. AGN) activity in these galaxies. On the other hand, we confirm that the star formation rates of AGN hosts increase strongly with redshift, by a factor of 43 +27 −18 from z < 0.1 to z = 2-3 for AGNs with the same range of X-ray luminosities. This increase is entirely consistent with the factor of 25-50 increase in the specific star formation rates (SSFRs) of normal, star-forming (i.e. mainsequence) galaxies over the same redshift range. Indeed, the average SSFRs of AGN hosts are only marginally (i.e. ≈20 per cent) lower than those of main-sequence galaxies at all surveyed redshifts, with this small deficit being due to a fraction of AGNs residing in quiescent (i.e. low SSFR) galaxies. We estimate that 79 ± 10 per cent of moderate-luminosity AGNs are hosted in main-sequence galaxies, 15 ± 7 per cent in quiescent galaxies and <10 per cent in strongly
We present an overview of a 90-orbit Hubble Space Telescope treasury program to obtain near ultraviolet imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field using the Wide Field Camera 3 UVIS detector with the F225W, F275W, and F336W filters. This survey is designed to: (i) Investigate the episode of peak star formation activity in galaxies at 1 < z < 2.5; (ii) Probe the evolution of massive galaxies by resolving sub-galactic units (clumps); (iii) Examine the escape fraction of ionizing radiation from galaxies at z ∼ 2 − 3; (iv) Greatly improve the reliability of photometric redshift estimates; and (v) Measure the star formation rate efficiency of neutral atomic-dominated hydrogen gas at z ∼ 1 − 3. In this overview paper, we describe the survey details and data reduction challenges, including both the necessity of specialized calibrations and the effects of charge transfer inefficiency. We provide a stark demonstration of the effects of charge transfer inefficiency on resultant data products, which when uncorrected, result in uncertain photometry, elongation of morphology in the readout direction, and loss of faint sources far from the readout. We agree with the STScI recommendation that future UVIS observations that require very sensitive measurements use the instrument's capability to add background light through a "post-flash." Preliminary results on number counts of UV-selected galaxies and morphology of galaxies at z∼1 are presented. We find that the number density of UV dropouts at redshifts 1.7, 2.1, and 2.7 is largely consistent with the number predicted by published luminosity functions. We also confirm that the image mosaics have sufficient sensitivity and resolution to support the analysis of the evolution of star-forming clumps, reaching 28-29th magnitude depth at 5σ in a 0. ′′ 2 radius aperture depending on filter and observing epoch.
A number of very small isolated H ii regions have been discovered at projected distances up to 30 kpc from their nearest galaxy. These H ii regions appear as tiny emission line objects in narrow band images obtained by the NOAO Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies (SINGG). We present spectroscopic confirmation of four isolated H ii regions in two systems, both systems have tidal H i features. The results are consistent with stars forming in interactive debris due to cloud-cloud collisions. The Hα luminosities of the isolated H ii regions are equivalent to the ionizing flux of only a few O stars each. They are most likely ionized by stars formed in situ, and represent atypical star formation in the low density environment of the outer parts of galaxies. A small but finite intergalactic star formation rate will enrich and ionize the surrounding medium.In one system, NGC 1533, we calculate a star formation rate of 1.5 × 10 −3 M ⊙ yr −1 , resulting in a metal enrichment of ∼ 1 × 10 −3 solar for the continuous formation of stars. Such systems may have been more common in the past and a similar enrichment level is measured for the 'metallicity floor' in damped Lyman-α absorption systems.
We derive observed H and R-band luminosity densities of an H i-selected sample of nearby galaxies using the SINGG sample to be l 0 H ¼ (9:4 AE 1:8) ; 10 38 h 70 ergs s À1 Mpc À3 for H and l 0 R ¼ (4:4 AE 0:7) ; 10 37 h 70 ergs s À1 8 À1 Mpc À3 in the R band. This R-band luminosity density is approximately 70% of that found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This leads to a local star formation rate density of log ( SFR ½M yr À1 Mpc À3 ) ¼ À1:80 þ0:13 À0:07 (random) AE 0:03(systematic) þ log (h 70 ) after applying a mean internal extinction correction of 0.82 mag. The gas cycling time of this sample is found to be t gas ¼ 7:5 þ1:3 À2:1 Gyr, and the volume-averaged equivalent width of the SINGG galaxies is EW(H) ¼ 28:8 þ7:2 À4:7 8 (21:2 þ4:2 À3:5 8 without internal dust correction). As with similar surveys, these results imply thaṫ SFR (z) decreases drastically from z $ 1:5 to the present. A comparison of the dynamical masses of the SINGG galaxies evaluated at their optical limits with their stellar and H i masses shows significant evidence of downsizing: the most massive galaxies have a larger fraction of their mass locked up in stars compared with H i, while the opposite is true for less massive galaxies. We show that the application of the Kennicutt star formation law to a galaxy having the median orbital time at the optical limit of this sample results in a star formation rate decay with cosmic time similar to that given by the SFR (z) evolution. This implies that the SFR (z) evolution is primarily due to the secular evolution of galaxies, rather than interactions or mergers. This is consistent with the morphologies predominantly seen in the SINGG sample.
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