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WEAVE, the new wide-field, massively multiplexed spectroscopic survey facility for the William Herschel Telescope, saw first light in late 2022. WEAVE comprises a new 2-deg field-of-view prime-focus corrector system, a nearly 1000-multiplex fibre positioner, 20 individually deployable 'mini' integral field units (IFUs), and a single large IFU. These fibre systems feed a dual-beam spectrograph covering the wavelength range 366–959 nm at R ∼ 5000, or two shorter ranges at |$R\sim 20\, 000$|⁠. After summarizing the design and implementation of WEAVE and its data systems, we present the organization, science drivers, and design of a five- to seven-year programme of eight individual surveys to: (i) study our Galaxy's origins by completing Gaia 's phase-space information, providing metallicities to its limiting magnitude for ∼3 million stars and detailed abundances for ∼1.5 million brighter field and open-cluster stars; (ii) survey ∼0.4 million Galactic-plane OBA stars, young stellar objects, and nearby gas to understand the evolution of young stars and their environments; (iii) perform an extensive spectral survey of white dwarfs; (iv) survey ∼400 neutral-hydrogen-selected galaxies with the IFUs; (v) study properties and kinematics of stellar populations and ionized gas in z < 0.5 cluster galaxies; (vi) survey stellar populations and kinematics in |${\sim} 25\, 000$| field galaxies at 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 0.7; (vii) study the cosmic evolution of accretion and star formation using >1 million spectra of LOFAR-selected radio sources; and (viii) trace structures using intergalactic/circumgalactic gas at z > 2. Finally, we describe the WEAVE Operational Rehearsals using the WEAVE Simulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a dynamical model of galactic fountain to study the neutral extraplanar gas (EPG) in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403. We have modelled the EPG as a combination of material ejected from the disc by stellar feedback (i.e. galactic fountain) and gas accreting from the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM). This accretion is expected to occur because of cooling/condensation of the hot CGM (corona) triggered by the fountain. Our dynamical model reproduces the distribution and kinematics of the EPG H  i emission in NGC 2403 remarkably well and suggests a total EPG mass of |$4.7^{+1.2}_{-0.9}\times 10^8\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$|⁠ , with a typical scale height of around 1 kpc and a vertical gradient of the rotation velocity of |$-10.0\pm 2.7\, \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}\, kpc^{-1}}$|⁠. The best-fitting model requires a characteristic outflow velocity of |$50\pm 10\, \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}}$|⁠. The outflowing gas starts out mostly ionized and only becomes neutral later in the trajectory. The accretion rate from the condensation of the inner hot CGM inferred by the model is 0.8  |$\mathrm{M}_\odot \, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$|⁠ , approximately equal to the star-formation rate in this galaxy (0.6  |$\mathrm{M}_\odot \, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$|⁠). We show that the accretion profile, which peaks at a radius of about 4.5 kpc, predicts a disc growth rate compatible with the observed value. Our results indicate that fountain-driven corona condensation is a likely mechanism to sustain star formation, as well as the disc inside-out growth in local disc galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next-generation wide-field spectroscopic surveys will observe the infall regions around large numbers of galaxy clusters with high sampling rates for the first time. Here, we assess the feasibility of extracting the large-scale cosmic web around clusters using forthcoming observations, given realistic observational constraints. We use a sample of 324 hydrodynamic zoom-in simulations of massive galaxy clusters from TheThreeHundred project to create a mock-observational catalogue spanning 5 R 200 around 160 analogue clusters. These analogues are matched in mass to the 16 clusters targetted by the forthcoming WEAVE Wide-Field Cluster Survey (WWFCS). We consider the effects of the fibre allocation algorithm on our sampling completeness and find that we successfully allocate targets to 81.7 |${\rm {per \,cent}}\, \pm$| 1.3 of the members in the cluster outskirts. We next test the robustness of the filament extraction algorithm by using a metric, D skel, which quantifies the distance to the filament spine. We find that the median positional offset between reference and recovered filament networks is D skel = 0.13 ± 0.02 Mpc, much smaller than the typical filament radius of ∼ 1 Mpc. Cluster connectivity of the recovered network is not substantially affected. Our findings give confidence that the WWFCS will be able to reliably trace cosmic web filaments in the vicinity around massive clusters, forming the basis of environmental studies into the effects of pre-processing on galaxy evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying dimensionality reduction (DR) to large, high-dimensional data sets can be challenging when distinguishing the underlying high-dimensional data clusters in a 2D projection for exploratory analysis. We address this problem by first sharpening the clusters in the original high-dimensional data prior to the DR step using Local Gradient Clustering (LGC). We then project the sharpened data from the high-dimensional space to 2D by a user-selected DR method. The sharpening step aids this method to preserve cluster separation in the resulting 2D projection. With our method, end-users can label each distinct cluster to further analyze an otherwise unlabeled data set. Our "High-Dimensional Sharpened DR" (HD-SDR) method, tested on both synthetic and real-world data sets, is favorable to DR methods with poor cluster separation and yields a better visual cluster separation than these DR methods with no sharpening. Our method achieves good quality (measured by quality metrics) and scales computationally well with large high-dimensional data. To illustrate its concrete applications, we further apply HD-SDR on a recent astronomical catalog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The X-Shooter Spectral Library (XSL) contains more than 800 spectra of stars across the color-magnitude diagram, that extend from near-UV to near-IR wavelengths (320-2450 nm). We summarize properties of the spectra of O-rich Long Period Variables in the XSL, such as phase-related features, and we confront the data with synthetic spectra based on static and dynamical stellar atmosphere models. We discuss successes and remaining discrepancies, keeping in mind the applications to population synthesis modeling that XSL is designed for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present ALMA detections of the [CI] 1-0, CO J = 3-2, and CO J = 4-3 emission lines, as well as the ALMA band 4 continuum for a compact star-forming galaxy (cSFG) at z = 2.225, 3D-HST GS30274. As is typical for cSFGs, this galaxy has a stellar mass of 1.89 ± 0.47 × 1011M⊙, with a star formation rate (SFR) of 214 ± 44 M⊙ yr-1 putting it on the star-forming "main-sequence", but with an H-band effective radius of 2.5 kpc, making it much smaller than the bulk of "main-sequence" star-forming galaxies. The intensity ratio of the line detections yield an ISM density (~6 × 104 cm-3) and a UV-radiation field (~2 × 104G0), similar to the values in local starburst and ultra-luminous infrared galaxy environments. A starburst phase is consistent with the short depletion times (tH2,dep ≤ 140 Myr) we find in 3D-HST GS30274 using three different proxies for the H2 mass ([CI], CO, dust mass). This depletion time is significantly shorter than in more extended SFGs with similar stellar masses and SFRs. Moreover, the gas fraction of 3D-HST GS30274 is smaller than typically found in extended galaxies. We measure the CO and [CI] kinematics and find a FWHM line width of ~750 ± 41 km s-1. The CO and [CI] FWHM are consistent with a previously measured Hα FWHM for this source. The line widths are consistent with gravitational motions, suggesting we are seeing a compact molecular gas reservoir. A previous merger event, as suggested by the asymmetric light profile, may be responsible for the compact distribution of gas and has triggered a central starburst event. This event gives rise to the starburst-like ISM properties and short depletion times in 3D-HST GS30274. The centrally located and efficient star formation is quickly building up a dense core of stars, responsible for the compact distribution of stellar light in 3D-HST GS30274. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now that Atacama Large (Sub)Millimeter Array is reaching its full capabilities, observations of sub-mm emission line deep fields become feasible. We couple a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation with a radiative transfer code to make predictions for the luminosity function of CO J =1-0 out to CO J = 6-5 and [C II] at redshifts z= 0-6. We find that (1) our model correctly reproduces the CO and [C II] emission of low- and high-redshift galaxies and reproduces the available constraints on the CO luminosity function at z ≤ 2.75; (2) we find that the CO and [C II] luminosity functions of galaxies increase from z = 6 to z = 4, remain relatively constant till z = 1 and rapidly decrease towards z = 0. The galaxies that are brightest in CO and [C II] are found at z ~ 2; (3) the CO J = 3-2 emission line is most favourable to study the CO luminosity and global H2 mass content of galaxies, because of its brightness and observability with currently available sub-mm and radio instruments; (4) the luminosity functions of high-J CO lines show stronger evolution than the luminosity functions of low-J CO lines; (5) our model barely reproduces the available constraints on the CO and [C II] luminosity function of galaxies at z ≥ 1.5 and the CO luminosity of individual galaxies at intermediate redshifts. We argue that this is driven by a lack of cold gas in galaxies at intermediate redshifts as predicted by cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate predictions from semi-analytic cosmological models of galaxy formation for the properties of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and damped Ly α absorption systems (DLAS), and the relationship between these two populations. Our models reproduce fairly well the observed distributions of redshift, stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), and dust extinction for z ~ 2 SFGs. We predict that DLA hosts span a broad range of properties, with broad and relatively flat distributions of stellar and halo mass, SFR, and luminosity. The photometric colours of DLA host galaxies trace the colours of galaxies with similar luminosities, but the majority are much fainter than the limits of most existing surveys of SFGs. Generally, DLA host galaxies and SFGs at z=2 follow similar trends between stellar mass, DLA cross-section, cold gas fraction, SFR, metallicity, and dust extinction as the global population of galaxies with the same stellar mass. Since DLAS select galaxies with larger cold gas masses, they tend to have larger cold gas fractions, lower metallicities, higher SFRs, and less dust extinction than galaxies at the same stellar mass. Our models reproduce the observed relations between impact parameter, column density, and metallicity, suggesting that the sizes of the gas discs giving rise to DLAS in our models are roughly correct. We find that molecular fractions and SFRs are in general significantly lower at the location of the DLA line of sight than the galaxy-averaged value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We implement physically motivated recipes for partitioning cold gas into different phases (atomic, molecular, and ionized) in galaxies within semi-analytic models of galaxy formation based on cosmological merger trees. We then model the conversion of molecular gas into stars using empirical recipes motivated by recent observations. We explore the impact of these new recipes on the evolution of fundamental galaxy properties such as stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), and gas and stellar phase metallicity. We present predictions for stellar mass functions, stellar mass versus SFR relations, and cold gas phase and stellar mass-metallicity relations for our fiducial models, from redshift z ~ 6 to the present day. In addition we present predictions for the global SFR, mass assembly history, and cosmic enrichment history. We find that the predicted stellar properties of galaxies (stellar mass, SFR, metallicity) are remarkably insensitive to the details of the recipes used for partitioning gas into H i and H2. We see significant sensitivity to the recipes for H2 formation only in very low mass haloes (Mh~1010.5M⊙), which host galaxies with stellar masses m*~108M⊙. The properties of low-mass galaxies are also quite insensitive to the details of the recipe used for converting H2 into stars, while the formation epoch of massive galaxies does depend on this significantly. We argue that this behaviour can be interpreted within the framework of a simple equilibrium model for galaxy evolution, in which the conversion of cold gas into stars is balanced on average by inflows and outflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the evolution of atomic and molecular gas in galaxies in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation that include new modelling of the partitioning of cold gas in galactic discs into atomic, molecular, and ionized phases. We adopt two scenarios for the formation of molecules: one pressure based and one metallicity based. We find that both recipes successfully reproduce the gas fractions and gas-to-stellar mass ratios of H i and H2 in local galaxies, as well as the H i and H2 disc sizes up to z ≤ 2. We reach good agreement with the locally observed H i and H2 mass function, although both recipes slightly overpredict the low-mass end of the H i mass function. Both of our models predict that the high-mass end of the H i mass function remains nearly constant at redshifts z < 2.0. The metallicity-based recipe yields a higher cosmic density of cold gas and much lower cosmic H2 fraction over the entire redshift range probed than the pressure-based recipe. These strong differences in H i mass function and cosmic density between the two recipes are driven by low-mass galaxies (log (M*/M⊙) ≤ 7) residing in low-mass haloes (log (Mvir/M⊙) ≤ 10). Both recipes predict that galaxy gas fractions remain high from z ∼ 6to3 and drop rapidly at lower redshift. The galaxy H2 fractions show a similar trend, but drop even more rapidly. We provide predictions for the CO J = 1-0 luminosity of galaxies, which will be directly comparable with observations with sub-mm and radio instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galaxy formation models invoke the presence of strong feedback mechanisms that regulate the growth of massive galaxies at high redshifts. Providing observational evidence of these processes is crucial to justify and improve these prescriptions. In this paper we aim to (1) confirm spectroscopically the redshifts of a sample of massive galaxies selected with photometric redshifts zphot > 2.5; (2) investigate the properties of their stellar and interstellar media; (3) detect the presence of outflows and measure their velocities. To achieve this, we analysed deep, high-resolution (R ≈ 2000) FORS2 rest-frame UV spectra for 11 targets. We confirmed that 9 out of 11 have spectroscopic redshifts zspec > 2.5. We also serendipitously found two mask fillers at redshift zspec > 2.5, which originally were assigned photometric redshifts 2.0 < zphot < 2.5. In the four highest quality spectra we derived outflow velocities by fitting the absorption line profiles with models including multiple dynamical components. We found strongly asymmetric, high-ionisation lines, from which we derived outflow velocities ranging between 480 kms−1 and 1518 km s−1. The two highest velocity outflows correspond to galaxies with active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We revised the spectral energy distribution fitting U-band through 8 μm photometry, including the analysis of a power-law component subtraction to identify the possible presence of AGNs. The revised stellar masses of all but one of our targets are >∼1010 M⊙, with four having stellar masses >5×1010 M⊙. Three galaxies have significant power-law components in their spectral energy distributions, indicating that they host AGNs. We conclude that massive galaxies are characterised by significantly higher velocity outflows than the typical Lyman-break galaxies at z ∼ 3. The incidence of high-velocity outflows (∼40% within our sample) is also much higher than among massive galaxies at z < 1, consistent with the powerful star formation and nuclear activity that most massive galaxies display at z > 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the metallicities and abundance ratios of early-type galaxies in cosmological semi-analytic models (SAMs) within the hierarchical galaxy formation paradigm. To achieve this we implemented a detailed galactic chemical evolution model and can now predict abundances of individual elements for the galaxies in the semi-analytic simulations. This is the first time a SAM with feedback from active galactic nuclei has included a chemical evolution prescription that relaxes the instantaneous recycling approximation. We find that the new models are able to reproduce the observed mass–metallicity relation and, for the first time in a SAM, we reproduce the observed positive slope of the mass–abundance ratio relation. Our results indicate that in order to simultaneously match these observations of early-type galaxies, the use of both a very mildly top-heavy initial mass function (i.e. with a slope of as opposed to a standard ), and a lower fraction of binaries that explode as Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) appears to be required. We also examine the rate of SN explosions in the simulated galaxies. In early-type (non-star-forming) galaxies, our predictions are also consistent with the observed SNe rates. However, in star-forming galaxies, a higher fraction of SN Ia binaries than in our preferred model is required to match the data. If, however, we deviate from the classical model and introduce a population of SNe Ia with very short delay times, our models simultaneously produce a good match to the observed metallicities, abundance ratios and SN rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jets from accreting black holes appear remarkably similar over eight orders of magnitude in black hole mass, with more massive black holes generally launching more powerful jets. For example, there is an observed correlation, termed the fundamental plane of black hole accretion, between black hole mass, radio luminosity, and X-ray luminosity. Here, we probe the high-mass tail (108–109M⊙) of the accreting black hole distribution with BL Lac objects. We build SEDs for hundreds of SDSS BL Lacs, and we use these SEDs to test the blazar sequence, a proposed anti-correlation between jet power and peak frequency. We then show our BL Lacs fit on the fundamental plane, supporting the non-linear scaling of jet radiation with black hole mass. The subset of BL Lacs considered here compose the largest sample yet used in the above types of studies, reducing potential selection effects and biases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We observed two fields near M32 with the ACS/HRC (Program GO-10572, PI: T. Lauer) on board the Hubble Space Telescope, located at distances of about 1.8' and 5.4' (hereafter F1 and F2, respectively) from the center of M32. To obtain a very detailed and deep color-magnitude diagram (CMD) and to look for short period variability, we obtained time-series imaging of each field in 32-orbit-long exposures using the F435W (B) and F555W (V) filters, spanning a temporal range of 2 days per filter. We focus on our detection of variability on RR Lyrae variable stars, which represents the only way to obtain information about the presence of a very old population (larger than 10 Gyr) in M32 from optical data. Here we present results obtained from the detection of 31 RR Lyrae in these fields: 17 in F1 and 14 in F2. We claim we detected 7+4−3 RR Lyrae variables belonging to M32 in F1 thus indicating the presence of a metal-poor ancient population in M32. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The α-tree algorithm is a useful hierarchical representation technique which facilitates comprehension of images such as remote sensing and medical images. Most α-tree algorithms make use of priority queues to process image edges in a correct order, but because traditional priority queues are inefficient in α-tree algorithms using extreme-dynamic-range pixel dissimilarities, they run slower compared with other related algorithms such as component tree. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical heap priority queue algorithm that can process α-tree edges much more efficiently than other state-of-the-art priority queues. Experimental results using 48-bit Sentinel-2 A remotely sensed images and randomly generated images have shown that the proposed hierarchical heap priority queue improved the timings of the flooding α-tree algorithm by replacing the heap priority queue with the proposed queue: 1.68 times in 4-N and 2.41 times in 8-N on Sentinel-2 A images, and 2.56 times and 4.43 times on randomly generated images.