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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will, over a period of 10 yr, repeatedly survey the southern sky. To ensure that images generated by Rubin meet the quality requirements for precision science, the observatory will use an active-optics system (AOS) to correct for alignment and mirror surface perturbations introduced by gravity and temperature gradients in the optical system. To accomplish this, Rubin will use out-of-focus images from sensors located at the edge of the focal plane to learn and correct for perturbations to the wave front. We have designed and integrated a deep-learning (DL) model for wave-front estimation into the AOS pipeline. In this paper, we compare the performance of this DL approach to Rubin’s baseline algorithm when applied to images from two different simulations of the Rubin optical system. We show the DL approach is faster and more accurate, achieving the atmospheric error floor both for high-quality images and low-quality images with heavy blending and vignetting. Compared to the baseline algorithm, the DL model is 40× faster, the median error 2× better under ideal conditions, 5× better in the presence of vignetting by the Rubin camera, and 14× better in the presence of blending in crowded fields. In addition, the DL model surpasses the required optical quality in simulations of the AOS closed loop. This system promises to increase the survey area useful for precision science by up to 8%. We discuss how this system might be deployed when commissioning and operating Rubin.

We use velocity dispersion measurements of 21 individual cluster members in the core of Abell 383, obtained with Multiple Mirror Telescope Hectospec, to separate the galaxy and the smooth dark halo (DH) lensing contributions. While lensing usually constrains the overall, projected mass density, the innovative use of velocity dispersion measurements as a proxy for masses of individual cluster members breaks inherent degeneracies and allows us to (a) refine the constraints on single galaxy masses and on the galaxy mass-to-light scaling relation and, as a result, (b) refine the constraints on the DM-only map, a high-end goal of lens modelling. The knowledge of cluster member velocity dispersions improves the fit by 17 per cent in terms of the image reproduction χ², or 20 per cent in terms of the rms. The constraints on the mass parameters improve by ~10 per cent for the DH, while for the galaxy component, they are refined correspondingly by ~50 per cent, including the galaxy halo truncation radius. For an L* galaxy with MB* = -20.96, for example, we obtain best-fitting truncation radius rtr* = 20.5-6.7+9.6 kpc and velocity dispersion σ* = 324 ± 17kms-1. Moreover, by performing the surface brightness reconstruction of the southern giant arc, we improve the constraints on rtr of two nearby cluster members, which have measured velocity dispersions, by more than ~30 per cent. We estimate the stripped mass for these two galaxies, getting results that are consistent with numerical simulations. In the future, we plan to apply this analysis to other galaxy clusters for which velocity dispersions of member galaxies are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The performance of interferometers has been much increased over the past ten years. But the number of observable objects is still limited by the low sensitivity and imaging capability of the current facilities. Studies have been conducted with the aim to propose a new generation of interferometers. Aims. The Carlina concept studied at the Haute-Provence Observatory consists of an optical interferometer configured as a diluted version of the Arecibo radio telescope: above the diluted primary mirror made of fixed co-spherical segments, a helium balloon or cables that are suspended between two mountains and/or pylons carry a gondola containing the focal optics. This concept does not require delay lines. Methods. Since 2003, we have been building a technical demonstrator of this diluted telescope. The main goals of this project were to find opto-mechanical solutions to stabilize the optics attached to cables at several tens of meters above the ground, and to characterize this diluted telescope under real conditions. In 2012, we obtained metrology fringes, and co-spherized the primary mirrors within one micron accuracy. In 2013, we tested the whole optical train: servo loop, metrology, and the focal gondola. Results. We obtained stellar fringes on Deneb in September 2013. We here present the characteristics of these observations: quality of the guiding, signal-to-noise ratio reached, and possible improvements for a future system. Conclusions. By detecting fringes on Deneb, we confirm that the entire system conceptually has worked correctly. It also proves that when the primary mirrors are aligned using the metrology system, we can directly record fringes in the focal gondola, even in blind operation. It is an important step that demonstrates the feasibility of building a diluted telescope using cables strained between cliffs or pylons. Carlina, like the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) or Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), could be one of the first members of a new class of telescopes named large diluted telescopes. Its optical architecture has many advantages for future projects: Planet Formation Imager (PFI), post-ELTs, interferometer in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong gravitational lenses are now being routinely discovered in wide-field surveys at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths. We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) high-spatial resolution imaging and Gemini-South and Multiple Mirror Telescope optical spectroscopy of strong lens candidates discovered in the two widest extragalactic surveys conducted by the Herschel Space Observatory: the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) and the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). From a sample of 30 Herschel sources with S500 > 100 mJy, 21 are strongly lensed (i.e., multiply imaged), 4 are moderately lensed (i.e., singly imaged), and the remainder require additional data to determine their lensing status. We apply a visibility-plane lens modeling technique to the SMA data to recover information about the masses of the lenses as well as the intrinsic (i.e., unlensed) sizes (rhalf) and far-infrared luminosities (LFIR) of the lensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). The sample of lenses comprises primarily isolated massive galaxies, but includes some groups and clusters as well. Several of the lenses are located at zlens > 0.7, a redshift regime that is inaccessible to lens searches based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy. The lensed SMGs are amplified by factors that are significantly below statistical model predictions given the 500 μm flux densities of our sample. We speculate that this may reflect a deficiency in our understanding of the intrinsic sizes and luminosities of the brightest SMGs. The lensed SMGs span nearly one decade in LFIR (median LFIR = 7.9 × 1012L☼) and two decades in FIR luminosity surface density (median ΣFIR = 6.0 × 1011L☼ kpc–2). The strong lenses in this sample and others identified via (sub-)mm surveys will provide a wealth of information regarding the astrophysics of galaxy formation and evolution over a wide range in redshift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the Hectospec 6.5 m Multiple Mirror Telescope and the 2.16 m telescope of the National Astronomical Observatories, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we obtained 188 high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of regions in the nearby galaxy M101, which is the largest spectroscopic sample of regions for this galaxy so far. These spectra cover a wide range of regions on M101, which enables us to analyze two-dimensional distributions of its physical properties. The physical parameters are derived from emission lines or stellar continua, including stellar population age, electron temperature, oxygen abundance, etc. The oxygen abundances are derived using two empirical methods based on O3N2 and R23 indicators, as well as the direct method when is available. By applying the harmonic decomposition analysis to the velocity field, we obtained a line-of-sight rotation velocity of 71 and a position angle of 36°. The stellar age profile shows an old stellar population in the galaxy center and a relatively young stellar population in outer regions, suggesting an old bulge and a young disk. The oxygen abundance profile exhibits a clear break at ∼18 kpc, with a gradient of −0.0364 dex kpc−1 in the inner region and −0.00686 dex kpc−1 in the outer region. Our results agree with the “inside-out” disk growth scenario of M101. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectra of 413 star-forming (or H ii) regions in M33 (NGC 598) were observed using the multifiber spectrograph of Hectospec at the 6.5 m Multiple Mirror Telescope. Using this homogeneous spectra sample, we measured the intensities of emission lines and some physical parameters, such as electron temperatures, electron densities, and metallicities. Oxygen abundances were derived via the direct method (when available) and two empirical strong-line methods, namely, O3N2 and N2. At the high-metallicity end, oxygen abundances derived from the O3N2 calibration were higher than those derived from the N2 index, indicating an inconsistency between O3N2 and N2 calibrations. We present a detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of gas-phase oxygen abundances in M33 and confirm the existence of the axisymmetric global metallicity distribution that is widely assumed in the literature. Local variations were also observed and subsequently associated with spiral structures to provide evidence of radial migration driven by arms. Our O/H gradient fitted out to 1.1 R25 resulted in slopes of −0.17 ± 0.03, −0.19 ± 0.01, and −0.16 ± 0.17 dex , utilizing abundances from O3N2, N2 diagnostics, and a direct method, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measure the three components of velocity dispersion, σR, σθ, σϕ, for stars within 6 < R < 30 kpc of the Milky Way using a new radial velocity sample from the MMT telescope. We combine our measurements with previously published data so that we can more finely sample the stellar halo. We use a maximum likelihood statistical method for estimating mean velocities, dispersions, and covariances assuming only that velocities are normally distributed. The alignment of the velocity ellipsoid is consistent with a spherically symmetric gravitational potential. From the spherical Jeans equation, the mass of the Milky Way is with an uncertainty of 40%. We also find a region of discontinuity, 15 ≲ R ≲ 25 kpc, where the estimated velocity dispersions and anisotropies diverge from their anticipated values, confirming the break observed by others. We argue that this break in anisotropy is physically explained by coherent stellar velocity structure in the halo, such as the Sgr stream. To significantly improve our understanding of halo kinematics will require combining radial velocities with future Gaia proper motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]