红移畸变对宇宙学空洞的影响

为探索红移畸变对空洞性质的影响, 利用了一组星系形成半解析模拟星表数据, 采用VIDE (Void Identification and Examination toolkit)算法寻找真实空间和红移空间的宇宙学空洞, 根据空洞外围墙结构处的星系运动速度将空洞分为``塌缩型''和``膨胀型''. 结果表明: ``塌缩型''空洞所占比例会随着空洞的尺度变大而减少, ``膨胀型''空洞则与之相反, 两类空洞的平均有效半径在实空间中相差20%, ``塌缩型''空洞的平均径向密度轮廓显著高于``膨胀型''空洞. 利用成员星系将两种空间中的空洞进行匹配, 通过比较实空间和红移空间中空洞的数目分布, 发现实空间和红移空间中空洞的数目差异与空洞大小有关, 并且红移空间中有一半左右的空洞无法对应到实空间. 对匹配空洞, 红移畸变对``塌缩型''空洞的密度影响更大; 对未匹配空洞, 其密度轮廓与匹配空洞存在明显区别, 并且实空间中未匹配空洞其壳层星系向空洞内部运动的趋势更加明显.     

宇宙大尺度结构空洞的演化研究

为了研究空洞的演化以及暗物质空洞和星系空洞的差别,使用一组高精度的N体模拟数据以及基于此给出的半解析模拟星系数据,在红移2.03到红移0之间取了6个红移的数据,并使用VIDE (Void Identification and Examination toolkit)算法来找空洞,对星系空洞和暗物质空洞的统计性质比如丰度、数目、大小、形状、叠加密度轮廓等演化的比较的结果表明,随着红移的减小,空洞的数目逐渐减少、内部密度逐渐变小、体积逐渐增大、空洞的形状越来越扁.暗物质空洞和星系空洞的数目、平均大小、平均椭率的比值与红移呈线性关系.此外,不论是暗物质空洞还是星系空洞,小的空洞密度比在分布上比大空洞的低,更容易贯通并合,演化效应更明显.另外由于星系总是形成于暗物质密度场的高密度区域,使其不容易示踪暗物质空洞的一些薄弱的墙结构,导致星系空洞提前贯通.而对于已经形成的星系空洞而言,即便是其墙上最薄弱的地方也往往堆积着显著的暗物质,使得星系的位置保持稳定,甚至形成新的星系,从而抑制星系空洞的贯通.整体上暗物质空洞的演化要比星系空洞的演化更加明显.     

On an analytical framework for voids: their abundances, density profiles and local mass functions

We present a general analytical procedure for computing the number density of voids with radius above a given value within the context of gravitational formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe out of Gaussian initial conditions. To this end, we develop an accurate (under generally satisfied conditions) extension of the unconditional mass function to constrained environments, which allows us both to obtain the number density of collapsed objects of certain mass at any distance from the centre of the void, and to derive the number density of voids defined by collapsed objects. We have made detailed calculations for the spherically averaged mass density and halo number density profiles for particular voids. We also present a formal expression for the number density of voids defined by galaxies of a given type and luminosity. This expression contains the probability for a collapsed object of certain mass to host a galaxy of that type and luminosity (i.e. the conditional luminosity function) as a function of the environmental density. We propose a procedure to infer this function, which may provide useful clues as to the galaxy formation process, from the observed void densities.     

Void statistics and void galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey

In the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the properties of voids and of fainter galaxies within voids that are defined by brighter galaxies. Our results are compared with simulated galaxy catalogues from the Millennium simulation coupled with a semi-analytical galaxy formation recipe. We derive the void size distribution and discuss its dependence on the faint magnitude limit of the galaxies defining the voids. While voids among faint galaxies are typically smaller than those among bright galaxies, the ratio of the void sizes to the mean galaxy separation reaches larger values. This is well reproduced in the mock galaxy samples studied. We provide analytic fitting functions for the void size distribution. Furthermore, we study the galaxy population inside voids defined by galaxies with   B _J− 5 log  h < −20  and diameter larger than  10  h ⁻¹ Mpc  . We find a clear bimodality of galaxies inside voids and in the average field but with different characteristics. The abundance of blue cloud galaxies inside voids is enhanced. There is an indication of a slight blueshift of the blue cloud. Furthermore, galaxies in void centres have slightly higher specific star formation rates as measured by the η parameter. We determine the radial distribution of the ratio of early- and late-type galaxies through the voids. We find and discuss some differences between observations and the Millennium catalogues.     

Where do 'red and dead' early-type void galaxies come from?

Void regions of the Universe offer a special environment for studying cosmology and galaxy formation, which may expose weaknesses in our understanding of these phenomena. Although galaxies in voids are observed to be predominately gas rich, star forming and blue, a subpopulation of bright-red void galaxies can also be found, whose star formation was shutdown long ago. Are the same processes that quench star formation in denser regions of the Universe also at work in voids?
We compare the luminosity function of void galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, to those from a galaxy formation model built on the Millennium simulation. We show that a global star formation suppression mechanism in the form of low-luminosity 'radio-mode' active galactic nuclei (AGN) heating is sufficient to reproduce the observed population of void early types. Radio-mode heating is environment independent other than its dependence on dark matter halo mass, where, above a critical mass threshold of approximately   M _vir∼ 10^12.5 M_⊙  , gas cooling on to the galaxy is suppressed and star formation subsequently fades. In the Millennium simulation, the void halo mass function is shifted with respect to denser environments, but still maintains a high-mass tail above this critical threshold. In such void haloes, radio-mode heating remains efficient and red galaxies are found; collectively these galaxies match the observed space density without any modification to the model. Consequently, galaxies living in vastly different large-scale environments but hosted by haloes of similar mass are predicted to have similar properties, consistent with observations.     

The non-linear redshift-space power spectrum of galaxies

We study the power spectrum of galaxies in redshift space, with third-order perturbation theory to include corrections that are absent in linear theory. We assume a local bias for the galaxies: i.e., the galaxy density is sampled from some local function of the underlying mass distribution. We find that the effect of the non-linear bias in real space is to introduce two new features: first, there is a contribution to the power which is constant with wavenumber, whose nature we reveal as essentially a shot-noise term. In principle this contribution can mask the primordial power spectrum, and could limit the accuracy with which the latter might be measured on very large scales. Secondly, the effect of second- and third-order bias is to modify the effective bias (defined as the square root of the ratio of galaxy power spectrum to matter power spectrum). The effective bias is almost scale-independent over a wide range of scales. These general conclusions also hold in redshift space. In addition, we have investigated the distortion of the power spectrum by peculiar velocities, which may be used to constrain the density of the Universe. We look at the quadrupole-to-monopole ratio, and find that higher order terms can mimic linear theory bias, but the bias implied is neither the linear bias, nor the effective bias referred to above. We test the theory with biased N -body simulations, and find excellent agreement in both real and redshift space, providing the local biasing is applied on a scale whose fractional rms density fluctuations are < 0.5.     

A case devoid of bias: Optical Redshift Survey voids versus IRAS voids

We present a comparison between the voids in two nearly all-sky redshift surveys: the Optical Redshift Survey (ORS) and the IRAS 1.2-Jy survey. While the galaxies in these surveys are selected differently and their populations are known to be biased relative to each other, the two void distributions are similar. We compare the spatial distribution of the two void populations and demonstrate the correlation between them. The voids also agree with regard to the overall void statistics a filling factor of 0.45 of the volume, an average void diameter and an average galaxy underdensity in the voids Our measurements of the underdensities of the voids in the two surveys enable us to estimate the relative bias in the voids between optical and IRAS samples. We find ( b _opt b _IRAS )^void1, showing that on average there is little or no biasing between the two void populations.     

On the emptiness of voids

The observability of a galaxy population inside of voids is estimated by assuming a void population similar to the one of nearby field galaxies in density as well as in morphological mixture. Obviously an extension to apparent magnitudes beyond m = 22 for a complete sample of galaxies in a sufficient large field is needed to get reliable information on a void population.     

基于红移畸变测量宇宙结构增长率的进展

星系红移巡天的一个主要目标是依据光谱红移测距,详细刻画宇宙中星系的三维空间分布。由于星系本动速度的存在,红移空间的星系分布存在着严重畸变,在大小尺度上有着不同模式的各向同性偏离。通过对红移畸变的观测研究,人们可从中获取速度场的信息,因此,红移畸变已成为暗能量探测的重要探针之一,为检验宇宙学尺度上的引力模型提供帮助。当前星系红移巡天项目已经取得了非凡成功,为人们提供了详细的星系空间分布数据。人们据此测量了星系的相关函数和功率谱,提取了精确的红移畸变信号,并通过模型拟合限制出了一批不同红移处宇宙结构增长率的估值,为探索宇宙尺度的引力模式提供了数据支持。主要介绍红移畸变模型、星系红移巡天观测和宇宙结构增长率测量等研究进展。     

Voids in the SDSS galaxy survey

Using the method of searching for arbitrary shaped voids in the distribution of volume-limited samples of galaxies from the DR5 SDSS survey, we have identified voids and investigated their characteristics and the change in these characteristics with decreasing M _lim (from ?19.7 to ?21.2, H ₀ = 100 km s^?1 Mpc^?1)—the upper limit on the absolute magnitude of the galaxies involved in the construction of voids. The total volume of the 50 largest voids increases with decreasing M _lim with a break near M* = ?20.44—the characteristic value of the luminosity function for SDSS galaxies. The mean overdensity in voids increases with decreasing M _lim also with a weak break near M*. The exponent of the dependence of the volume of a void on its rank increases significantly with decreasing M _lim starting from M _lim ～ ?20.4 in the characteristic range of volumes, which reflects the tendency for greater clustering of brighter galaxies. The averaged profile of the galaxy overdensity in voids has a similar pattern almost at all M _lim. The galaxies mostly tend to gravitate toward the void boundaries and to avoid the central void regions; the overdensity profile is flat in the intermediate range of distances from the void boundaries. The axial ratios of the ellipsoids equivalent to the voids are, on average, retained with changing M _lim and correspond to elongated and nonoblate void shapes, but some of the voids can change their shape significantly. The directions of the greatest void elongations change chaotically and are distributed randomly at a given M _lim. The void centers show correlations reflecting the correlations of the galaxy distribution on scales (35–70)h ^?1 Mpc. The galaxy distribution in the identified voids is nonrandom—groups and filaments can be identified. We have compared the properties of the galaxies in voids (in our case, the voids are determined by the galaxies with absolute magnitudes M _abs < M _lim = ?20.44, except for the isolated galaxies) and galaxies in structures identified using the minimum spanning tree. A bimodal color distribution of the galaxies in voids has been obtained. A noticeable difference is observed in the mean color indices and star formation rates per unit stellar mass of the galaxies in dense regions (structures)—as expected, the galaxies in voids are, on average, bluer and have higher log (SFR/M _star). These tendencies become stronger toward the central void regions.     

Large-scale bias in the Universe — II. Redshift-space bispectrum

The determination of the density parameter Ω₀ from the large-scale distribution of galaxies is one of the major goals of modern cosmology. However, if galaxies are biased tracers of the underlying mass distribution, linear perturbation theory leads to a degeneracy between Ω₀ and the linear bias parameter b , and the density parameter cannot be estimated. In Matarrese, Verde &38; Heavens we developed a method based on second-order perturbation theory to use the bispectrum to lift this degeneracy by measuring the bias parameter in an Ω₀-independent way. The formalism was developed assuming that one has perfect information on the positions of galaxies in three dimensions. In galaxy redshift surveys, the three-dimensional information is imperfect, because of the contaminating effects of peculiar velocities, and the resulting clustering pattern in redshift space is distorted. In this paper we combine second-order perturbation theory with a model for collapsed, virialized structures, to extend the method to redshift space, and demonstrate that the method should be successful in determining with reasonable accuracy the bias parameter from state-of-the-art surveys such as the Anglo-Australian 2 degree Field Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.     

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: luminosity dependence of galaxy clustering

We investigate the dependence of the strength of galaxy clustering on intrinsic luminosity using the Anglo-Australian two degree field galaxy redshift survey (2dFGRS). The 2dFGRS is over an order of magnitude larger than previous redshift surveys used to address this issue. We measure the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies in a series of volume-limited samples. The projected correlation function is free from any distortion of the clustering pattern induced by peculiar motions and is well described by a power law in pair separation over the range     . The clustering of     galaxies in real space is well-fitted by a correlation length     and power-law slope     . The clustering amplitude increases slowly with absolute magnitude for galaxies fainter than M *, but rises more strongly at higher luminosities. At low luminosities, our results agree with measurements from the Southern Sky Redshift Survey 2 by Benoist et al. However, we find a weaker dependence of clustering strength on luminosity at the highest luminosities. The correlation function amplitude increases by a factor of 4.0 between     and −22.5, and the most luminous galaxies are 3.0 times more strongly clustered than L * galaxies. The power-law slope of the correlation function shows remarkably little variation for samples spanning a factor of 20 in luminosity. Our measurements are in very good agreement with the predictions of the hierarchical galaxy formation models of Benson et al.     

Tracing the nature of dark energy with galaxy distribution

Dynamical dark energy (DE) is a viable alternative to the cosmological constant. Constructing tests to discriminate between Λ and dynamical DE models is difficult, however, because the differences are not large. In this paper we explore tests based on the galaxy mass function, the void probability function (VPF), and the number of galaxy clusters. At high z , the number density of clusters shows large differences between DE models, but geometrical factors reduce the differences substantially. We find that detecting a model dependence in the cluster redshift distribution is a significant challenge. We show that the galaxy redshift distribution is potentially a more sensitive characteristic. We do this by populating dark matter haloes in N -body simulations with galaxies using well-tested halo occupation distributions. We also estimate the VPF and find that samples with the same angular surface density of galaxies, in different models, exhibition almost model-independent VPF which therefore cannot be used as a test for DE. Once again, geometry and cosmic evolution compensate each other. By comparing VPFs for samples with fixed galaxy mass limits, we find measurable differences.     

A catalogue of M51 type galaxy associations

A catalog of 232 apparently interacting galaxy pairs of the M51 class is presented. Catalog members were identified from visual inspection of multi-band images in the IRSA archive. The major findings in the compilation of this catalog are (1) A surprisingly low number of the main galaxies in M51 systems are early type spirals and barred spirals. (2) Over 70% of the main galaxies in M51 systems are 2-armed spirals. (3) Some systems that were classified as M51 types in previous studies are not M51 types as defined in this catalog. There were a number of systems previously classified as M51 systems for which the “companion” is identified as an HII region within the main galaxy or foreground star within the Milky Way. (4) It was found that only 18% of the M51 type companions have redshift measurements in the literature. There is a significant need for spectroscopic study of the companions in order to improve the value of the catalog as a sample for studying the effects of M51 type interaction on galaxy dynamics, morphology, and star formation. Further spectroscopy will also help constrain the statistics of possible chance projections between foreground and background galaxies in the catalog. The catalog also contains over 430 additional systems which are classified as “possible M51” systems. The reasons for classifying certain systems as possible M51 systems are discussed.     

First Results from Viper: Detection of Small-scale Anisotropy at 40 GHz

Using all available major samples of Seyfert galaxies and their corresponding closely matched control samples of nonactive galaxies, we find that the bar ellipticities (or axial ratios) in Seyfert galaxies are systematically different from those in nonactive galaxies. Overall, there is a deficiency of bars with large ellipticities (i.e., "thin" or "strong" bars) in Seyfert galaxies compared to nonactive galaxies. Accompanied with a large dispersion due to small number statistics, this effect is strictly speaking at the 2 sigma level. To obtain this result, the active galaxy samples of near-infrared surface photometry were matched to those of normal galaxies in type, host galaxy ellipticity, absolute magnitude, and, to some extent, redshift. We discuss possible theoretical explanations of this phenomenon within the framework of galactic evolution, and, in particular, of radial gas redistribution in barred galaxies. Our conclusions provide further evidence that Seyfert hosts differ systematically from their nonactive counterparts on scales of a few kiloparsecs.     

The clustering evolution of the galaxy distribution

We follow the evolution of the galaxy population in a ΛCDM cosmology by means of high-resolution N -body simulations in which the formation of galaxies and their observable properties are calculated using a semi-analytic model. We display images of the spatial distribution of galaxies in the simulations that illustrate its evolution and provide a qualitative understanding of the processes responsible for the various biases that develop. We consider three specific statistical measures of clustering at     and     : the correlation length (in both real and redshift space) of galaxies of different luminosity, the morphology–density relation and the genus curve of the topology of galaxy isodensity surfaces. For galaxies with luminosity below L ∗, the     correlation length depends very little on the luminosity of the sample, but for brighter galaxies it increases very rapidly, reaching values in excess of 10  h ⁻¹ Mpc. The 'accelerated' dynamical evolution experienced by galaxies in rich clusters, which is partly responsible for this effect, also results in a strong morphology–density relation. Remarkably, this relation is already well-established at     . The genus curves of the galaxies are significantly different from the genus curves of the dark matter, however this is not a result of genuine topological differences but rather of the sparse sampling of the density field provided by galaxies. The predictions of our model at     will be tested by forthcoming data from the 2dF and Sloan galaxy surveys, and those at     by the DEEP and VIRMOS surveys.     

Structure through colour: a pixel approach towards understanding galaxies

We present a study of pixel colour–magnitude diagrams (pCMDs) for a sample of 69 nearby galaxies chosen to span a wide range of Hubble types. Our goal is to determine how useful a pixel approach is for studying galaxies according to their stellar light distributions and content. The galaxy images were analysed on a pixel-by-pixel basis to reveal the structure of the individual pCMDs. We find that the average surface brightness (or projected mass density) in each pixel varies according to galaxy type. Early-type galaxies exhibit a clear 'prime sequence' and some pCMDs of face-on spirals reveal 'inverse-L' structures. We find that the colour dispersion at a given magnitude is found to be approximately constant in early-type galaxies but this quantity varies in the mid and late types. We investigate individual galaxies and find that the pCMDs can be used to pick out morphological features. We discuss the discovery of 'Red Hooks' in the pCMDs of six early-type galaxies and two spirals and postulate their origins. We develop quantitative methods to characterize the pCMDs, including measures of the blue-to-red light ratio and colour distributions of each galaxy and we organize these by morphological type. We compare the colours of the pixels in each galaxy with the stellar population models of Bruzual & Charlot to calculate star formation histories for each galaxy type and compare these to the stellar mass within each pixel. Maps of pixel stellar mass and mass-to-light ratio are compared to galaxy images. We apply the pCMD technique to three galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field to test the usefulness of the analysis at high redshift. We propose that these results can be used as part of a new system of automated classification of galaxies that can be applied at high redshift.     

The Aspen–Amsterdam void finder comparison project

Despite a history that dates back at least a quarter of a century, studies of voids in the large-scale structure of the Universe are bedevilled by a major problem: there exist a large number of quite different void-finding algorithms, a fact that has so far got in the way of groups comparing their results without worrying about whether such a comparison in fact makes sense. Because of the recent increased interest in voids, both in very large galaxy surveys and in detailed simulations of cosmic structure formation, this situation is very unfortunate. We here present the first systematic comparison study of 13 different void finders constructed using particles, haloes, and semi-analytical model galaxies extracted from a subvolume of the Millennium simulation. This study includes many groups that have studied voids over the past decade. We show their results and discuss their differences and agreements. As it turns out, the basic results of the various methods agree very well with each other in that they all locate a major void near the centre of our volume. Voids have very underdense centres, reaching below 10 per cent of the mean cosmic density. In addition, those void finders that allow for void galaxies show that those galaxies follow similar trends. For example, the overdensity of void galaxies brighter than   m _B =−20  is found to be smaller than about −0.8 by all our void finding algorithms.     

Galaxy star formation in different environments

We use a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation to study signatures of large-scale modulations in the star formation (SF) activity in galaxies. In order to do this, we carefully define local and global estimators of the density around galaxies. The former are computed using a voronoi tessellation technique and the latter are parametrized by the normalized distance to haloes and voids, in terms of the virial and void radii, respectively. As a function of local density, galaxies show a strong modulation in their SF, a result that is in agreement with those from several authors. When taking subsamples of equal local density at different large-scale environments, we find relevant global effects whereby the fraction of red galaxies diminishes for galaxies in equal local density environments farther away from clusters and closer to voids. In general, the semi-analytic simulation is in good agreement with the available observational results, and offers the possibility to disentangle many of the processes responsible for the variation of galaxy properties with the environment; we find that the changes found in samples of galaxies with equal local environment but different distances to haloes or voids come from the variations in the underlying mass function of dark matter (DM) haloes. There is an additional possible effect coming from the host DM halo ages, indicating that halo assembly also plays a small but significant role (1.14σ) in shaping the properties of galaxies, and in particular, hints at a possible spatial correlation in halo/stellar mass ages. An interesting result comes from the analysis of the coherence of flows in different large-scale environments of fixed local densities; the neighbourhoods of massive haloes are characterized by lower coherences than control samples, except for galaxies in filament-like regions, which show highly coherent motions.