Person:

Ashby, Matthew

We use measurements from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) cluster survey in combination with X-ray measurements to constrain cosmological parameters. We present a statistical method that fits for the scaling relations of the SZ and X-ray cluster observables with mass while jointly fitting for cosmology. The method is generalizable to multiple cluster observables, and self-consistently accounts for the effects of the cluster selection and uncertainties in cluster mass calibration on the derived cosmological constraints. We apply this method to a data set consisting of an SZ-selected catalog of 18 galaxy clusters at z > 0.3 from the first 178 deg2 of the 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey, with 14 clusters having X-ray observations from either Chandra or XMM-Newton. Assuming a spatially flat ΛCDM cosmological model, we find the SPT cluster sample constrains σ8(Ω m /0.25)0.30 = 0.785 ± 0.037. In combination with measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum from the SPT and the seven-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data, the SPT cluster sample constrains σ8 = 0.795 ± 0.016 and Ω m = 0.255 ± 0.016, a factor of 1.5 improvement on each parameter over the CMB data alone. We consider several extensions beyond the ΛCDM model by including the following as free parameters: the dark energy equation of state (w), the sum of the neutrino masses (Σm ν), the effective number of relativistic species (N eff), and a primordial non-Gaussianity (f NL). We find that adding the SPT cluster data significantly improves the constraints on w and Σm ν beyond those found when using measurements of the CMB, supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and the Hubble constant. Considering each extension independently, we best constrain w = –0.973 ± 0.063 and the sum of neutrino masses Σm ν < 0.28 eV at 95% confidence, a factor of 1.25 and 1.4 improvement, respectively, over the constraints without clusters. Assuming a ΛCDM model with a free N eff and Σm ν, we measure N eff = 3.91 ± 0.42 and constrain Σm ν < 0.63 eV at 95% confidence. We also use the SPT cluster sample to constrain f NL = –220 ± 317, consistent with zero primordial non-Gaussianity. Finally, we discuss the current systematic limitations due to the cluster mass calibration, and future improvements for the recently completed 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey. The survey has detected ~500 clusters with a median redshift of ~0.5 and a median mass of ~2.3 × 1014 M ☉ h –1 and, when combined with an improved cluster mass calibration and existing external cosmological data sets will significantly improve constraints on w.

The galaxy cluster SPT-CL J0205–5829 currently has the highest spectroscopically confirmed redshift, z = 1.322, in the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) survey. XMM-Newton observations measure a core-excluded temperature of TX = 8.7+1.0 –0.8 keV producing a mass estimate that is consistent with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich-derived mass. The combined SZ and X-ray mass estimate of M 500 = (4.8 ± 0.8) × 1014 h –1 70 M ☉ makes it the most massive known SZ-selected galaxy cluster at z > 1.2 and the second most massive at z > 1. Using optical and infrared observations, we find that the brightest galaxies in SPT-CL J0205–5829 are already well evolved by the time the universe was <5 Gyr old, with stellar population ages >≈ Gyr, and low rates of star formation (<0.5 M ☉ yr–1). We find that, despite the high redshift and mass, the existence of SPT-CL J0205–5829 is not surprising given a flat ΛCDM cosmology with Gaussian initial perturbations. The a priori chance of finding a cluster of similar rarity (or rarer) in a survey the size of the 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey is 69%.

The total infrared (IR) luminosity is very useful for estimating the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies, but converting the IR luminosity into an SFR relies on assumptions that do not hold for all galaxies. We test the effectiveness of the IR luminosity as an SFR indicator by applying it to synthetic spectral energy distributions generated from three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of isolated disc galaxies and galaxy mergers. In general, the SFR inferred from the IR luminosity agrees well with the true instantaneous SFR of the simulated galaxies. However, for the major mergers in which a strong starburst is induced, the SFR inferred from the IR luminosity can overestimate the instantaneous SFR during the post-starburst phase by greater than two orders of magnitude. Even though the instantaneous SFR decreases rapidly after the starburst, the stars that were formed in the starburst can remain dust-obscured and thus produce significant IR luminosity. Consequently, use of the IR luminosity as an SFR indicator may cause one to conclude that post-starburst galaxies are still star forming, whereas in reality, star formation was recently quenched.

We present a catalog of galaxy clusters selected via their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signature from 2500 deg2 of South Pole Telescope (SPT) data. This work represents the complete sample of clusters detected at high significance in the 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey, which was completed in 2011. A total of 677 (409) cluster candidates are identified above a signal-to-noise threshold of ξ = 4.5 (5.0). Ground- and space-based optical and near-infrared (NIR) imaging confirms overdensities of similarly colored galaxies in the direction of 516 (or 76%) of the ξ > 4.5 candidates and 387 (or 95%) of the ξ > 5 candidates; the measured purity is consistent with expectations from simulations. Of these confirmed clusters, 415 were first identified in SPT data, including 251 new discoveries reported in this work. We estimate photometric redshifts for all candidates with identified optical and/or NIR counterparts; we additionally report redshifts derived from spectroscopic observations for 141 of these systems. The mass threshold of the catalog is roughly independent of redshift above z ~ 0.25 leading to a sample of massive clusters that extends to high redshift. The median mass of the sample is M 500c(ρcrit) $\sim 3.5\times 10^{14},M_\odot ,h_{70}^{-1}$, the median redshift is z med = 0.55, and the highest-redshift systems are at z > 1.4. The combination of large redshift extent, clean selection, and high typical mass makes this cluster sample of particular interest for cosmological analyses and studies of cluster formation and evolution.

We present a velocity-dispersion-based mass calibration of the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey (SPT-SZ) galaxy cluster sample. Using a homogeneously selected sample of 100 cluster candidates from 720 deg2 of the survey along with 63 velocity dispersion (σ v ) and 16 X-ray Y X measurements of sample clusters, we simultaneously calibrate the mass-observable relation and constrain cosmological parameters. Our method accounts for cluster selection, cosmological sensitivity, and uncertainties in the mass calibrators. The calibrations using σ v and Y X are consistent at the 0.6σ level, with the σ v calibration preferring ~16% higher masses. We use the full SPTCL data set (SZ clusters+σ v +Y X) to measure σ8(Ωm/0.27)0.3 = 0.809 ± 0.036 within a flat ΛCDM model. The SPT cluster abundance is lower than preferred by either the WMAP9 or Planck+WMAP9 polarization (WP) data, but assuming that the sum of the neutrino masses is ∑m ν = 0.06 eV, we find the data sets to be consistent at the 1.0σ level for WMAP9 and 1.5σ for Planck+WP. Allowing for larger ∑m ν further reconciles the results. When we combine the SPTCL and Planck+WP data sets with information from baryon acoustic oscillations and Type Ia supernovae, the preferred cluster masses are 1.9σ higher than the Y X calibration and 0.8σ higher than the σ v calibration. Given the scale of these shifts (~44% and ~23% in mass, respectively), we execute a goodness-of-fit test; it reveals no tension, indicating that the best-fit model provides an adequate description of the data. Using the multi-probe data set, we measure Ωm = 0.299 ± 0.009 and σ8 = 0.829 ± 0.011. Within a νCDM model we find ∑m ν = 0.148 ± 0.081 eV. We present a consistency test of the cosmic growth rate using SPT clusters. Allowing both the growth index γ and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w to vary, we find γ = 0.73 ± 0.28 and w = –1.007 ± 0.065, demonstrating that the expansion and the growth histories are consistent with a ΛCDM universe (γ = 0.55; w = –1).

Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have obtained rest-frame 9–16 μm spectra of 11 quasars and 9 radio galaxies from the 3CRR catalog at redshifts 1.0 <z< 1.4. This complete flux-limited 178 MHz selected sample is unbiased with respect to orientation and therefore suited to studying orientation-dependent effects in the most powerful active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The mean radio-galaxy spectrum shows a clear silicate absorption feature (τ9.7μm = 1.1) whereas the mean quasar spectrum shows silicates in emission. The mean radio-galaxy spectrum matches a dust-absorbed mean quasar spectrum in both shape and overall flux level. The data for individual objects conform to these results. The trend of the silicate depth to increase with decreasing core fraction of the radio source further supports that for this sample orientation is the main driver for the difference between radio galaxies and quasars, as predicted by AGN unification. However, comparing our high-z sample with lower redshift 3CRR objects reveals that the absorption of the high-z radio galaxy MIR continuum is lower than expected from a scaled-up version of lower luminosity sources, and we discuss some effects that may explain these trends.

Chandra X-ray observations of the high redshift (z = 1.532) radio-loud quasar 3C 270.1 in 2008 February show the nucleus to have a power-law spectrum, Γ = 1.66 ± 0.08, typical of a radio-loud quasar, and a marginally detected Fe Kα emission line. The data also reveal extended X-ray emission, about half of which is associated with the radio emission from this source. The southern emission is co-spatial with the radio lobe and peaks at the position of the double radio hot spot. Modeling this hot spot, including Spitzer upper limits, rules out synchrotron emission from a single power-law population of electrons, favoring inverse Compton emission with a field of ∼11 nT, roughly a third of the equipartition value. The northern emission is concentrated close to the location of a 40◦ bend where the radio jet is presumed to encounter an external medium. It can be explained by inverse Compton emission involving cosmic microwave background photons with a field of ∼3 nT, a factor of 7–10 below the equipartition value. The remaining, more diffuse X-ray emission is harder (HR = −0.09 ± 0.22). With only 22.8 ± 5.6 counts, the spectral form cannot be constrained. Assuming thermal emission with a temperature of 4 keV yields an estimate for the luminosity of 1.8×1044 erg s−1, consistent with the luminosity–temperature relation of lower-redshift clusters. However, deeper Chandra X-ray observations are required to delineate the spatial distribution and better constrain the spectrum of the diffuse emission to verify that we have detected X-ray emission from a high-redshift cluster.

Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have obtained 3.6-24 μm photometry of 38 radio galaxies and 24 quasars from the 3CR (Third Cambridge Revised Catalog of Radio Sources) at redshift 1 < z < 2.5. This 178 MHz selected sample is unbiased with respect to orientation and therefore suited to study orientation-dependent effects in the most powerful active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Quasar and radio galaxy subsamples matched in isotropic radio luminosity are compared. The quasars all have similar spectral energy distributions (SEDs), nearly constant in νFν through the rest 1.6-10 μm range, consistent with a centrally heated dust distribution that outshines the host galaxy contribution. The radio galaxy SEDs show larger dispersion, but the mean radio galaxy SED declines from rest 1.6 to 3 μm and then rises from 3 to 8 μm. The radio galaxies are on average a factor 3-10 less luminous in this spectral range than the quasars. These characteristics are consistent with composite emission from a heavily reddened AGN plus starlight from the host galaxy. The mid-infrared colors and radio to mid-infrared spectral slopes of individual galaxies are also consistent with this picture. Individual galaxies show different amounts of extinction and host galaxy starlight, consistent with the orientation-dependent unified scheme.

In the paradigm of hierarchical galaxy formation, luminous radio galaxies mark mass assembly peaks that should contain clusters of galaxies. Observations of the z = 1.53 quasar 3C 270.1 with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 3.6–24 μm and with the 6.5 m MMT in the z and Y bands allow the detection of potential cluster members via photometric redshifts. Compared with nearby control fields, there is an excess of ∼11 extremely red objects (EROs) at 1.33 zphot 1.73, consistent with a protocluster around the quasar. The spectral energy distributions of 3/4 of the EROs are better fitted with passive elliptical galaxies than with dust-reddened starbursts, and of four sources well detected on an archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) snapshot image, all have undisturbed morphologies. However, one ERO, not covered by the HST image, is a double source with 0.8 separation on the z image and a marginal (2σ) 24 μm detection indicating a dust-enshrouded starburst. The EROs are more luminous than L (H = −23.6 AB mag at z ≈ 1.5).