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1. Two Massive, Compact, and Dust-obscured Candidate z ≃ 8 Galaxies Discovered by JWST

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acef21  

   Akins, Hollis B. ; Casey, Caitlin M. ; Allen, Natalie ; Bagley, Micaela B. ; Dickinson, Mark ; Finkelstein, Steven L. ; Franco, Maximilien ; Harish, Santosh ; Arrabal Haro, Pablo ; Ilbert, Olivier ; et al ( October 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present a search for extremely red, dust-obscured,z> 7 galaxies with JWST/NIRCam+MIRI imaging over the first 20 arcmin²of publicly available Cycle 1 data from the COSMOS-Web, CEERS, and PRIMER surveys. Based on their red color in F277W−F444W (∼2.5 mag) and detection in MIRI/F770W (∼25 mag), we identify two galaxies, COS-z8M1 and CEERS-z7M1, that have best-fit photometric redshifts of$z={8.4}_{-0.4}^{+0.3}$and${7.6}_{-0.1}^{+0.1}$, respectively. We perform spectral energy distribution fitting with a variety of codes (includingbagpipes,prospector,beagle, andcigale) and find a >95% probability that these indeed lie atz> 7. Both sources are compact (R_eff≲ 200 pc) and highly obscured (A_V∼ 1.5–2.5) and, at our best-fit redshift estimates, likely have strong [Oiii]+Hβemission contributing to their 4.4μm photometry. We estimate stellar masses of ∼10¹⁰M_⊙for both sources; by virtue of detection in MIRI at 7.7μm, these measurements are robust to the inclusion of bright emission lines, for example, from an active galactic nucleus. We identify a marginal (2.9σ) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detection at 2 mm within 0.″5 of COS-z8M1, which, if real, would suggest a remarkably high IR luminosity of ∼10¹²L_⊙. These two galaxies, if confirmed atz∼ 8, would be extreme in their stellar and dust masses and may be representative of a substantial population of highly dust-obscured galaxies at cosmic dawn.

    

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2. The Spitzer–HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area Survey. IV. Model-based Multiwavelength Photometric Catalog

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acfe78  

   Leung, Gene C. K. ; Finkelstein, Steven L. ; Weaver, John R. ; Papovich, Casey ; Larson, Rebecca L. ; Chworowsky, Katherine ; Ciardullo, Robin ; Gawiser, Eric ; Gronwall, Caryl ; Jogee, Shardha ; et al ( November 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series)

   We present a 0.3–4.5μm 16-band photometric catalog for the Spitzer/HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area (SHELA) survey. SHELA covers an ∼27 deg²field within the footprint of the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Here we present new DECam imaging and anrizK_sband–selected catalog of four million sources extracted using a fully model-based approach. We validate our photometry by comparing with the model-based DECam Legacy Survey. We analyze the differences between model-based and aperture photometry by comparing with the previous SHELA catalog, finding that our model-based photometry can measure point sources to fainter fluxes and better capture the full emission of resolved sources. The catalog is 80% (50%) complete atriz∼ 24.7 (25.1) AB mag, and the optical photometry reaches a 5σdepth of ∼25.5 AB mag. We measure photometric redshifts and achieve a 1σscatter of Δz/(1 +z) of 0.04 with available spectroscopic redshifts at 0 ≤z≤ 1. This large-area, multiwavelength photometric catalog, combined with spectroscopic information from HETDEX, will enable a wide range of extragalactic science investigations.

    

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3. Identification of Galaxy–Galaxy Strong Lens Candidates in the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey Using Machine Learning

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace4ba  

   Zaborowski, E. A. ; Drlica-Wagner, A. ; Ashmead, F. ; Wu, J. F. ; Morgan, R. ; Bom, C. R. ; Shajib, A. J. ; Birrer, S. ; Cerny, W. ; Buckley-Geer, E. J. ; et al ( August 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We perform a search for galaxy–galaxy strong lens systems using a convolutional neural network (CNN) applied to imaging data from the first public data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey, which contains ∼520 million astronomical sources covering ∼4000 deg²of the southern sky to a 5σpoint–source depth ofg= 24.3,r= 23.9,i= 23.3, andz= 22.8 mag. Following the methodology of similar searches using Dark Energy Camera data, we apply color and magnitude cuts to select a catalog of ∼11 million extended astronomical sources. After scoring with our CNN, the highest-scoring 50,000 images were visually inspected and assigned a score on a scale from 0 (not a lens) to 3 (very probable lens). We present a list of 581 strong lens candidates, 562 of which are previously unreported. We categorize our candidates using their human-assigned scores, resulting in 55 Grade A candidates, 149 Grade B candidates, and 377 Grade C candidates. We additionally highlight eight potential quadruply lensed quasars from this sample. Due to the location of our search footprint in the northern Galactic cap (b> 10 deg) and southern celestial hemisphere (decl. < 0 deg), our candidate list has little overlap with other existing ground-based searches. Where our search footprint does overlap with other searches, we find a significant number of high-quality candidates that were previously unidentified, indicating a degree of orthogonality in our methodology. We report properties of our candidates including apparent magnitude and Einstein radius estimated from the image separation.

    

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4. The DESI Bright Galaxy Survey: Final Target Selection, Design, and Validation

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/accff8  

   Hahn, ChangHoon ; Wilson, Michael J. ; Ruiz-Macias, Omar ; Cole, Shaun ; Weinberg, David H. ; Moustakas, John ; Kremin, Anthony ; Tinker, Jeremy L. ; Smith, Alex ; Wechsler, Risa H. ; et al ( May 2023 , The Astronomical Journal)

   Over the next 5 yr, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will use 10 spectrographs with 5000 fibers on the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to conduct the first Stage IV dark energy galaxy survey. Atz< 0.6, the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) will produce the most detailed map of the universe during the dark-energy-dominated epoch with redshifts of >10 million galaxies spanning 14,000 deg². In this work, we present and validate the final BGS target selection and survey design. From the Legacy Surveys, BGS will target anr< 19.5 mag limited sample (BGS Bright), a fainter 19.5 <r< 20.175 color-selected sample (BGS Faint), and a smaller low-zquasar sample. BGS will observe these targets using exposure times scaled to achieve homogeneous completeness and cover the footprint three times. We use observations from the Survey Validation programs conducted prior to the main survey along with simulations to show that BGS can complete its strategy and make optimal use of “bright” time. BGS targets have stellar contamination <1%, and their densities do not depend strongly on imaging properties. BGS Bright will achieve >80% fiber assignment efficiency. Finally, BGS Bright and BGS Faint will achieve >95% redshift success over any observing condition. BGS meets the requirements for an extensive range of scientific applications. BGS will yield the most precise baryon acoustic oscillation and redshift-space distortion measurements atz< 0.4. It presents opportunities for new methods that require highly complete and dense samples (e.g.,N-point statistics, multitracers). BGS further provides a powerful tool to study galaxy populations and the relations between galaxies and dark matter.

    

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5. The One-hundred-deg 2 DECam Imaging in Narrowbands (ODIN): Survey Design and Science Goals

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad165e  

   Lee, Kyoung-Soo ; Gawiser, Eric ; Park, Changbom ; Yang, Yujin ; Valdes, Francisco ; Lang, Dustin ; Ramakrishnan, Vandana ; Moon, Byeongha ; Firestone, Nicole ; Appleby, Stephen ; et al ( February 2024 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We describe the survey design and science goals for One-hundred-deg²DECam Imaging in Narrowbands (ODIN), a NOIRLab survey using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) to obtain deep (AB ∼ 25.7) narrowband images over an unprecedented area of sky. The three custom-built narrowband filters,N419,N501, andN673, have central wavelengths of 419, 501, and 673 nm and respective FWHM of 7.5, 7.6, and 10.0 nm, corresponding to Lyαatz= 2.4, 3.1, and 4.5 and cosmic times of 2.8, 2.1, and 1.4 Gyr, respectively. When combined with even deeper, public broadband data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam, DECam, and in the future, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, the ODIN narrowband images will enable the selection of over 100,000 Lyα-emitting (LAE) galaxies at these epochs. ODIN-selected LAEs will identify protoclusters as galaxy overdensities, and the deep narrowband images enable detection of highly extended Lyαblobs (LABs). Primary science goals include measuring the clustering strength and dark matter halo connection of LAEs, LABs, and protoclusters, and their respective relationship to filaments in the cosmic web. The three epochs allow for the redshift evolution of these properties to be determined during the period known as Cosmic Noon, where star formation was at its peak. The narrowband filter wavelengths are designed to enable interloper rejection and further scientific studies by revealing [Oii] and [Oiii] atz= 0.34, Lyαand Heii1640 atz= 3.1, and Lyman continuum plus Lyαatz= 4.5. Ancillary science includes similar studies of the lower-redshift emission-line galaxy samples and investigations of nearby star-forming galaxies resolved into numerous [Oiii] and [Sii] emitting regions.

    

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