We utilize Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging and spectroscopy of ∼53,000 star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 0.1 to study the relation between stellar mass and gas-phase metallicity. We derive gas-phase oxygen abundances and stellar masses using new techniques which make use of the latest stellar evolutionary synthesis and photoionization models. We find a tight (±0.1 dex) correlation between stellar mass and metallicity spanning over 3 orders of magnitude in stellar mass and a factor of 10 in metallicity. The relation is relatively steep from 10 8.5 -10 10.5 M ⊙ h −2 70 , in good accord with known trends between luminosity and metallicity, but flattens above 10 10.5 M ⊙ . We use indirect estimates of the gas mass based on the Hα luminosity to compare our data to predictions from simple closed box chemical evolution models. We show that metal loss is strongly anti-correlated with baryonic mass, with low mass dwarf galaxies being 5 times more metal-depleted than L * galaxies at z ∼ 0.1. Evidence for metal depletion is not confined to dwarf galaxies, but is found in galaxies with masses as high as 10 10 M ⊙ . We interpret this as strong evidence both of the ubiquity of galactic winds and of their effectiveness in removing metals from galaxy potential wells.

We measure star formation rates of ~50,000 optically-selected galaxies in the local universe (z~0.1), spanning a range from gas-rich dwarfs to massive ellipticals. We obtain dust-corrected SFRs by fitting the GALEX (UV) and SDSS (optical) photometry to a library of population synthesis models that include dust attenuation. For star-forming galaxies, our UV-based SFRs compare remarkably well with those derived from SDSS H alpha. Deviations from perfect agreement between these two methods are due to differences in the dust attenuation estimates. In contrast to H alpha, UV provides reliable SFRs for galaxies with weak or no H alpha emission, and where H alpha is contaminated with an emission from an AGN. We use full-SED SFRs to calibrate a simple prescription that uses GALEX UV magnitudes to produce good SFRs for normal star-forming galaxies. The specific SFR is considered as a function of stellar mass for (1) star-forming galaxies with no AGN, (2) those hosting an AGN, and for (3) galaxies without H alpha emission. We find that the three have distinct star formation histories, with AGN lying intermediate between the star-forming and the quiescent galaxies. Normal star forming galaxies (without an AGN) lie on a relatively narrow linear sequence. Remarkably, galaxies hosting a strong AGN appear to represent the massive continuation of this sequence. Weak AGN, while also massive, have lower SFR, sometimes extending to the realm of quiescent galaxies. We propose an evolutionary sequence for massive galaxies that smoothly connects normal star-forming galaxies to quiescent (red sequence) galaxies via strong and weak AGN. We confirm that some galaxies with no H alpha emission show signs of SF in the UV. We derive a UV-based cosmic SFR density at z=0.1 with smaller total error than previous measurements (abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (Special GALEX Supplement issue - Dec 2007). v2: Typo in Eq. 2 correcte

We develop a new method to constrain the star formation histories, dust attenuation and stellar masses of galaxies. It is based on two stellar absorption‐line indices, the 4000‐Å break strength and the Balmer absorption‐line index HδA. Together, these indices allow us to constrain the mean stellar ages of galaxies and the fractional stellar mass formed in bursts over the past few Gyr. A comparison with broad‐band photometry then yields estimates of dust attenuation and of stellar mass. We generate a large library of Monte Carlo realizations of different star formation histories, including starbursts of varying strength and a range of metallicities. We use this library to generate median likelihood estimates of burst mass fractions, dust attenuation strengths, stellar masses and stellar mass‐to‐light ratios for a sample of 122 808 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The typical 95 per cent confidence range in our estimated stellar masses is ±40 per cent. We study how the stellar mass‐to‐light ratios of galaxies vary as a function of absolute magnitude, concentration index and photometric passband and how dust attenuation varies as a function of absolute magnitude and 4000‐ Å break strength. We also calculate how the total stellar mass of the present Universe is distributed over galaxies as a function of their mass, size, concentration, colour, burst mass fraction and surface mass density. We find that most of the stellar mass in the local Universe resides in galaxies that have, to within a factor of approximately 2, stellar masses ∼5× 1010 M⊙, half‐light radii ∼3 kpc and half‐light surface mass densities ∼109 M⊙ kpc−2. The distribution of Dn(4000) is strongly bimodal, showing a clear division between galaxies dominated by old stellar populations and galaxies with more recent star formation.

We describe the calibration status and data products pertaining to the GR2 and GR3 data releases of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX ). These releases have identical pipeline calibrations that are significantly improved over the GR1 data release. GALEX continues to survey the sky in the far-ultraviolet (FUV, $154 nm) and near-ultraviolet (NUV, $232 nm) bands, providing simultaneous imaging with a pair of photon-counting, microchannel plate, delay line readout detectors. These 1.25 field of view detectors are well suited to ultraviolet observations because of their excellent red rejection and negligible background. A dithered mode of observing and photon list output pose complex requirements on the data processing pipeline, entangling detector calibrations, and aspect reconstruction algorithms. Recent improvements have achieved photometric repeatability of 0.05 and 0.03 m AB in the FUV and NUV, respectively. We have detected a long-term drift of order 1% FUV and 6% NUVover the mission. Astrometric precision is of order 0.5 00 rms in both bands. In this paper we provide the GALEX user with a broad overview of the calibration issues likely to be confronted in the current release. Improvements are likely as the GALEX mission continues into an extended phase with a healthy instrument, no consumables, and increased opportunities for guest investigations.

We present a new and independent determination of the local value of the Hubble constant based on a calibration of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) applied to Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We find a value of H 0 = 69.8 ± 0.8 (±1.1% stat) ± 1.7 (±2.4% sys) km s−1 Mpc−1. The TRGB method is both precise and accurate and is parallel to but independent of the Cepheid distance scale. Our value sits midway in the range defined by the current Hubble tension. It agrees at the 1.2σ level with that of the Planck Collaboration et al. estimate and at the 1.7σ level with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) SHoES measurement of H 0 based on the Cepheid distance scale. The TRGB distances have been measured using deep HST Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging of galaxy halos. The zero-point of the TRGB calibration is set with a distance modulus to the Large Magellanic Cloud of 18.477 ± 0.004 (stat) ± 0.020 (sys) mag, based on measurement of 20 late-type detached eclipsing binary stars, combined with an HST parallax calibration of a 3.6 μm Cepheid Leavitt law based on Spitzer observations. We anchor the TRGB distances to galaxies that extend our measurement into the Hubble flow using the recently completed Carnegie Supernova Project I ( CSP-I ) sample containing about 100 well-observed SNe Ia . There are several advantages of halo TRGB distance measurements relative to Cepheid variables; these include low halo reddening, minimal effects of crowding or blending of the photometry, only a shallow (calibrated) sensitivity to metallicity in the I band, and no need for multiple epochs of observations or concerns of different slopes with period. In addition, the host masses of our TRGB host-galaxy sample are higher, on average, than those of the Cepheid sample, better matching the range of host-galaxy masses in the CSP-I distant sample and reducing potential systematic effects in the SNe Ia measurements.

The definitive version can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Copyright Royal Astronomical SocietyThe Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey has been operating since 2008 February on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope using the AAOmega fibre-fed spectrograph facility to acquire spectra with a resolution of R approximate to 1300 for 120 862 Sloan Digital Sky Survey selected galaxies. The target catalogue constitutes three contiguous equatorial regions centred at 9h (G09), 12h (G12) and 14.5h (G15) each of 12 x 4 deg2 to limiting fluxes of r(pet) < 19.4, r(pet) < 19.8 and r(pet) < 19.4 mag, respectively (and additional limits at other wavelengths). Spectra and reliable redshifts have been acquired for over 98 per cent of the galaxies within these limits. Here we present the survey footprint, progression, data reduction, redshifting, re-redshifting, an assessment of data quality after 3 yr, additional image analysis products (including ugrizYJHK photometry, Sersic profiles and photometric redshifts), observing mask and construction of our core survey catalogue (GamaCore). From this we create three science-ready catalogues: GamaCoreDR1 for public release, which includes data acquired during year 1 of operations within specified magnitude limits (2008 February to April); GamaCoreMainSurvey containing all data above our survey limits for use by the GAMA Team and collaborators; and GamaCoreAtlasSV containing year 1, 2 and 3 data matched to Herschel-ATLAS science demonstration data. These catalogues along with the associated spectra, stamps and profiles can be accessed via the GAMA website: http://www.gama-survey.org/

We study the relations between stellar mass, star formation history, size and internal structure for a complete sample of 122 808 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We show that low‐redshift galaxies divide into two distinct families at a stellar mass of 3 × 1010 M⊙. Lower‐mass galaxies have young stellar populations, low surface mass densities and the low concentrations typical of discs. Their star formation histories are more strongly correlated with surface mass density than with stellar mass. A significant fraction of the lowest‐mass galaxies in our sample have experienced recent starbursts. At given stellar mass, the sizes of low‐mass galaxies are lognormally distributed with dispersion σ(ln R50) ∼ 0.5, in excellent agreement with the idea that they form with little angular momentum loss through cooling and condensation in a gravitationally dominant dark matter halo. Their median stellar surface mass density scales with stellar mass as μ*∝M0.54*, suggesting that the stellar mass of a disc galaxy is proportional to the three halves power of its halo mass. All of this suggests that the efficiency of the conversion of baryons into stars in low‐mass galaxies increases in proportion to halo mass, perhaps as a result of supernova feedback processes. At stellar masses above 3 × 1010 M⊙, there is a rapidly increasing fraction of galaxies with old stellar populations, high surface mass densities and the high concentrations typical of bulges. In this regime, the size distribution remains lognormal, but its dispersion decreases rapidly with increasing mass and the median stellar mass surface density is approximately constant. This suggests that the star formation efficiency decreases in the highest‐mass haloes, and that little star formation occurs in massive galaxies after they have assembled.

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