Submillimetre-wave gravitational lenses and cosmology

One of the most direct routes for investigating the geometry of the Universe is provided by the numbers of strongly magnified gravitationally lensed galaxies as compared with those that are either weakly magnified or de-magnified. In the submillimetre waveband the relative abundance of strongly lensed galaxies is expected to be larger as compared with the optical or radio wavebands, both in the field and in clusters of galaxies. The predicted numbers depend on the properties of the population of faint galaxies in the submillimetre waveband, which was formerly very uncertain; however, recent observations of lensing clusters have reduced this uncertainty significantly and confirm that a large sample of galaxy–galaxy lenses could be detected and investigated using forthcoming facilities, including the FIRST and Planck Surveyor space missions and a large ground-based millimetre/submillimetre-wave interferometer array (MIA). We discuss how this sample could be used to impose limits on the values of cosmological parameters and the total density and form of evolution of the mass distribution of bound structures, even in the absence of detailed lens modelling for individual members of the sample. The effects of different world models on the form of the magnification bias expected in sensitive submillimetre-wave observations of clusters are also discussed, because an MIA could resolve and investigate images in clusters in detail.     

Evolution of peaks in weakly non-linear density field and dark halo profiles

Using the two-point Edgeworth series up to second order in the linear rms density fluctuation we construct the weakly non-linear conditional probability distribution function for the density field around an overdense region. This requires calculating the two-point analogues of the skewness parameter S ₃. We test the dependence of the two-point skewness on distance from the peak for scale-free power spectra and Gaussian smoothing. The statistical features of such a conditional distribution are given as the values obtained within linear theory corrected by the terms that arise as a result of weakly non-linear evolution. The expected density around the peak is found to be always below the linear prediction while its dispersion is always larger than in the linear case. For large enough overdensities the weakly non-linear corrections can be more significant than the peak constraint introduced by Bardeen et al. We apply these results to the spherical model of collapse as developed by Hoffman & Shaham and find that in general the effect of weakly non-linear interactions is to decrease the scale from which a peak gathers mass and therefore also the mass itself. In the case of an open universe this results in steepening of the final profile of the virialized proto-object.     

Observational limits to source confusion in the millimetre/submillimetre waveband

The first observations to detect a population of distant galaxies directly in the submillimetre waveband have recently been made using the new Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The results indicate that a large number of distant galaxies are radiating strongly in this waveband. Here we discuss their significance for source confusion in future millimetre/submillimetre-wave observations of both distant galaxies and cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) anisotropies. Earlier estimates of such confusion involved significant extrapolation of the results of observations of galaxies at low redshifts; our new estimates do not, as they are derived from direct observations of distant galaxies in the submillimetre waveband. The results have important consequences for the design and operation of existing and proposed millimetre/submillimetre-wave telescopes: the Planck Surveyor survey will be confusion-limited at frequencies greater than 350 GHz, even in the absence of Galactic dust emission; a 1σ confusion noise limit of about 0.44 mJy beam⁻¹ is expected for the JCMT/SCUBA at a wavelength of 850 μm; and the subarcsecond resolution of large millimetre/submillimetre-wave interferometer arrays will be required in order to execute very deep galaxy surveys.     

Clustering of galaxies at high redshifts

Recent observations show a large concentration of galaxies at high redshift. At first sight, strong clustering of galaxies at high redshifts seems to be in contradiction with the models of structure formation. In this paper we show that such structures are a manifestation of the strong clustering of rare peaks in the density field. We compute the frequency of occurrence of such large concentrations of galaxies in some models of structure formation.     

On the physical connections between galaxies of different types

Galaxies can be classified in two broad sequences which are likely to reflect their formation mechanism. The 'main sequence', consisting of spirals, irregulars and all dwarf galaxies, is probably produced by gas settling within dark matter haloes. We show that the sizes and surface densities along this sequence are primarily determined by the distributions of the angular momentum and formation time of dark haloes. They are well reproduced by current cosmogonies provided that galaxies form late, at z  ≲ 2. In this scenario, dwarf ellipticals were small 'discs' at z  ∼ 1 and become 'ellipticals' after they fall into cluster environments. The strong clustering of dwarf ellipticals is then a natural by-product of the merging and transformation process. The number of dwarf galaxies predicted in a cluster such as Virgo is in good agreement with the observed number. On the other hand, the 'giant branch', consisting of giant ellipticals and bulges, is probably produced by the merging of disc galaxies. Based on the observed phase-space densities of galaxies, we show that the main bodies of all giant ellipticals can be produced by dissipationless mergers of high-redshift discs. However, high-redshift discs, although denser than present-day ones, are still not compact enough to produce the high central phase-space density of some low-luminosity ellipticals. Dissipation must have occurred in the central parts of these galaxies during the merger which formed them.     

Comparison of the SFI peculiar velocities with the IRAS 1.2-Jy gravity field

We present a comparison between the peculiar velocity fields measured from a recently completed l -band Tully–Fisher survey of field spirals (SFI) and that derived from the IRAS 1.2-Jy redshift survey galaxy distribution. The analysis is based on the expansion of these data in redshift space using smooth orthonormal functions, and is performed using low- and high-resolution expansions, with an effective smoothing scale which increases almost linearly with redshift. The effective smoothing scales at 3000 km s⁻¹ are 1500 and 1000 km s⁻¹ for the low- and high-resolution filters. The agreement between the high- and low-resolution SFI velocity maps is excellent. The general features in the filtered SFI and IRAS velocity fields agree remarkably well within 6000 km s⁻¹. This good agreement between the fields allows us to determine the parameter β = Ω^0.6 / b , where Ω is the cosmological density parameter, and b is the linear biasing factor. From a likelihood analysis on the SFI and IRAS modes we find that β = 0.6 ± 0.1, independently of the resolution of the modal expansion. For this value of β, the residual fields for the two filters show no systematic variations within 6000 km s⁻¹. Most remarkable is the lack of any coherent, redshift-dependent dipole flow in the residual field.     

Proper motions and variability of the H2 knots in the HH 111 and 121 protostellar outflows

We discuss the formation of spectral features in the decelerating ejecta of gamma-ray bursts, including the possible effect of inhomogeneities. These should lead to blueshifted and broadened absorption edges and resonant features, especially from H and He. An external neutral ISM could produce detectable H and He, as well as Fe X-ray absorption edges and lines. Hypernova scenarios may be diagnosed by Fe Kα and H Lyα emission lines.