An official website of the United States government
ABSTRACT Simulations predict that the galaxy populations inhabiting protoclusters may contribute considerably to the total amount of stellar mass growth of galaxies in the early universe. In this study, we test these predictions observationally, using the Taralay protocluster (formerly PCl J1001+0220) at z ∼ 4.57 in the COSMOS field. With the Charting Cluster Construction with VUDS and ORELSE (C3VO) survey, we spectroscopically confirmed 44 galaxies within the adopted redshift range of the protocluster (4.48 < z < 4.64) and incorporate an additional 18 galaxies from ancillary spectroscopic surveys. Using a density mapping technique, we estimate the total mass of Taralay to be ∼1.7 × 1015 M⊙, sufficient to form a massive cluster by the present day. By comparing the star formation rate density (SFRD) within the protocluster (SFRDpc) to that of the coeval field (SFRDfield), we find that SFRDpc surpasses the SFRDfield by Δlog (SFRD/M⊙yr−1 Mpc−3) = 1.08 ± 0.32 (or ∼12 ×). The observed contribution fraction of protoclusters to the cosmic SFRD adopting Taralay as a proxy for typical protoclusters is $$33.5~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}^{+8.0~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}}_{-4.3~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}}$$, a value ∼2σ higher than the predictions from simulations. Taralay contains three peaks that are 5σ above the average density at these redshifts. Their SFRD is ∼0.5 dex higher than the value derived for the overall protocluster. We show that 68 per cent of all star formation in the protocluster takes place within these peaks, and that the innermost regions of the peaks encase $$\sim 50~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ of the total star formation in the protocluster. This study strongly suggests that protoclusters drive stellar mass growth in the early universe and that this growth may proceed in an inside-out manner.
more »
« less
Spitzer -selected z > 1.3 protocluster candidates in the LSST Deep Drilling Fields
ABSTRACT We have identified 189 candidate z > 1.3 protoclusters and clusters in the LSST Deep Drilling Fields. This sample will enable the measurement of the metal enrichment and star formation history of clusters during their early assembly period through the direct measurement of the rate of supernovae identified through the LSST. The protocluster sample was selected from galaxy overdensities in a Spitzer/IRAC colour-selected sample using criteria that were optimized for protocluster purity using a realistic light-cone. Our tests reveal that $$60\!-\!80~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ of the identified candidates are likely to be genuine protoclusters or clusters, which is corroborated by a ∼4σ stacked X-ray signal from these structures. We provide photometric redshift estimates for 47 candidates which exhibit strong peaks in the photo-z distribution of their candidate members. However, the lack of a photo-z peak does not mean a candidate is not genuine, since we find a stacked X-ray signal of similar significance from both the candidates that exhibit photo-z peaks and those that do not. Tests on the light-cone reveal that our pursuit of a pure sample of protoclusters results in that sample being highly incomplete ($$\sim 4~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$) and heavily biased towards larger, richer, more massive, and more centrally concentrated protoclusters than the total protocluster population. Most ($$\sim 75~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$) of the selected protoclusters are likely to have a maximum collapsed halo mass of between 1013 and 1014 M⊙, with only $$\sim 25~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ likely to be collapsed clusters above 1014 M⊙. However, the aforementioned bias ensures our sample is $$\sim 50~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ complete for structures that have already collapsed into clusters more massive than 1014 M⊙.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10484084
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 527
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 10680-10696
- Size(s):
- p. 10680-10696
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
ABSTRACT We measure the 850-μm source densities of 46 candidate protoclusters selected from the Planck high-z catalogue (PHz) and the Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources (PCCS) that were followed up with Herschel-SPIRE and SCUBA-2. This paper aims to search for overdensities of 850-μm sources in order to select the fields that are most likely to be genuine protoclusters. Of the 46 candidate protoclusters, 25 have significant overdensities (>5 times the field counts), 11 have intermediate overdensities (3–5 times the field counts), and 10 have no overdensity (<3 times the field counts) of 850-μm sources. We find that the enhanced number densities are unlikely to be the result of sample variance. Compared with the number counts of another sample selected from Planck’s compact source catalogues, this [PHz + PCCS]-selected sample has a higher fraction of candidate protoclusters with significant overdensities, though both samples show overdensities of 850-μm sources above intermediate level. Based on the estimated star formation rate densities (SFRDs), we suggest that both samples can efficiently select protoclusters with starbursting galaxies near the redshift at which the global field SFRD peaks (2 < z < 3). Based on the confirmation of overdensities found here, future follow-up observations on other PHz targets may greatly increase the number of genuine dusty star-forming galaxy-rich clusters/protoclusters.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT High-redshift ($$z\sim 1$$) galaxy clusters are the domain where environmental quenching mechanisms are expected to emerge as important factors in the evolution of the quiescent galaxy population. Uncovering these initially subtle effects requires exploring multiple dependencies of quenching across the cluster environment, and through time. We analyse the stellar mass functions (SMFs) of 17 galaxy clusters within the GOGREEN and GCLASS surveys in the range $0.8< z<1.5$, and with $$\log {(M/{\rm {M_\odot }})}>9.5$$. The data are fit simultaneously with a Bayesian model that allows the Schechter function parameters of the quiescent and star-forming populations to vary smoothly with cluster-centric radius and redshift. The model also fits the radial galaxy number density profile of each population, allowing the global quenched fraction to be parametrized as a function of redshift and cluster velocity dispersion. We find the star-forming SMF to not depend on radius or redshift. For the quiescent population however, there is $$\sim 2\sigma$$ evidence for a radial dependence. Outside the cluster core ($$R>0.3\, R_{\rm 200}$$), the quenched fraction above $$\log {(M/{\rm {M_\odot }})}=9.5$$ is $$\sim 40{\rm\,\,per\, cent}$$, and the quiescent SMF is similar in shape to the star-forming field. In contrast, the cluster core has an elevated quenched fraction ($$\sim 70{\rm \,\,per\, cent}$$), and a quiescent SMF similar in shape to the quiescent field population. We explore contributions of ‘early mass-quenching’ and mass-independent ‘environmental-quenching’ models in each of these radial regimes. The core is well described primarily by early mass-quenching, which we interpret as accelerated quenching of massive galaxies in protoclusters, possibly through merger-driven feedback mechanisms. The non-core is better described through mass-independent environmental-quenching of the infalling field population.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT We present an analysis of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) of 14 known protoclusters between 2.0 < z < 2.5 in the COSMOS field, down to a mass limit of 109.5 M⊙. We use existing photometric redshifts with a statistical background subtraction, and consider star-forming and quiescent galaxies identified from (NUV − r) and (r − J) colours separately. Our fiducial sample includes galaxies within 1 Mpc of the cluster centres. The shape of the protocluster SMF of star-forming galaxies is indistinguishable from that of the general field at this redshift. Quiescent galaxies, however, show a flatter SMF than in the field, with an upturn at low mass, though this is only significant at ∼2σ. There is no strong evidence for a dominant population of quiescent galaxies at any mass, with a fraction <15 per cent at 1σ confidence for galaxies with log M*/M⊙ < 10.5. We compare our results with a sample of galaxy groups at 1 < z < 1.5, and demonstrate that a significant amount of environmental quenching must take place between these epochs, increasing the relative abundance of high-mass ($$\rm M_{\ast } \gt 10^{10.5} {\rm M}_{\odot }$$) quiescent galaxies by a factor ≳ 2. However, we find that at lower masses ($$\rm M_{\ast } \lt 10^{10.5} {\rm M}_{\odot }$$), no additional environmental quenching is required.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT We introduce a probabilistic approach to select 6 ≤ $$z$$ ≤ 8 quasar candidates for spectroscopic follow-up, which is based on density estimation in the high-dimensional space inhabited by the optical and near-infrared photometry. Densities are modelled as Gaussian mixtures with principled accounting of errors using the extreme deconvolution (XD) technique, generalizing an approach successfully used to select lower redshift ($$z$$ ≤ 3) quasars. We train the probability density of contaminants on 1902 071 7-d flux measurements from the 1076 deg2 overlapping area from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS) ($$z$$), VIKING (YJHKs), and unWISE (W1W2) imaging surveys, after requiring they dropout of DECaLS g and r, whereas the distribution of high-$$z$$ quasars are trained on synthetic model photometry. Extensive simulations based on these density distributions and current estimates of the quasar luminosity function indicate that this method achieves a completeness of $$\ge 56{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ and an efficiency of $$\ge 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$ for selecting quasars at 6 < $$z$$ < 8 with JAB < 21.5. Among the classified sources are 8 known 6 < $$z$$ < 7 quasars, of which 2/8 are selected suggesting a completeness $$\simeq 25{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$, whereas classifying the 6 known (JAB < 21.5) quasars at $$z$$ > 7 from the entire sky, we select 5/6 or a completeness of $$\simeq 80{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$. The failure to select the majority of 6 < $$z$$ < 7 quasars arises because our quasar density model is based on an empirical quasar spectral energy distribution model that underestimates the scatter in the distribution of fluxes. This new approach to quasar selection paves the way for efficient spectroscopic follow-up of Euclid quasar candidates with ground-based telescopes and James Webb Space Telescope.more » « less
