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We measure the clustering of low-redshift SDSS galaxies as a function of stellar mass ($10.0<\log(M_*/M_\odot)<11.5$) and specific star formation rate (sSFR) and compare the results to models of the galaxy--halo connection. We find that the auto-correlation functions of central galaxies exhibit little dependence on sSFR, with the well-known stronger clustering of quiescent galaxies mainly attributable to satellites. Because halo assembly history is known to affect distinct halo clustering, this result implies that there is little net correlation between halo assembly history and central galaxy sSFR. However, cross-correlations with satellites are stronger for quiescent centrals than star-forming centrals, consistent with quiescent centrals having more satellites in their haloes at fixed $M_*$, as found in SDSS group catalogues. We model the galaxy--halo connection in an $N$-body simulation by assigning sSFRs to central galaxies in three different ways. Two of the models depend on halo assembly history (being based on halo accretion rate or concentration), while the third is independent of halo assembly history (being based on peak halo circular velocity, $V_\text{peak}$, a proxy for halo mass). All three models replicate the observed auto-correlations of central galaxies, while only the $V_\text{peak}$ model reproduces the observed cross-correlations with satellites. This further suggests that the effects of halo assembly history may not be easily seen in auto-correlations of centrals and implies that a more complete understanding of central galaxy clustering may require more than auto-correlations of centrals alone. Additionally, the good agreement with the $V_\text{peak}$ model supports the idea that quiescent galaxies reside in more massive haloes than star-forming galaxies at fixed $M_*$., Comment: MNRAS accepted, 26 pages

Using recent empirical constraints on the dark matter halo--galaxy--supermassive black hole (SMBH) connection from $z=0-7$, we infer how undermassive, typical, and overmassive SMBHs contribute to the quasar luminosity function (QLF) at $z=6$. We find that beyond $L_\mathrm{bol} = 5 \times 10^{46}$ erg/s, the $z=6$ QLF is dominated by SMBHs that are at least 0.3 dex above the $z=6$ median $M_\bullet-M_*$ relation. The QLF is dominated by typical SMBHs (i.e., within $\pm 0.3$ dex around the $M_\bullet-M_*$ relation) at $L_\mathrm{bol} \lesssim 10^{45}$ erg/s. At $z\sim 6$, the intrinsic $M_\bullet-M_*$ relation for all SMBHs is slightly steeper than the $z=0$ scaling, with a similar normalization at $M_* \sim 10^{11} M_\odot$. We also predict the $M_\bullet-M_*$ relation for $z=6$ bright quasars selected by different bolometric luminosity thresholds, finding very good agreement with observations. For quasars with $L_\mathrm{bol} > 3 \times 10^{46}$ ($10^{48}$) erg/s, the scaling relation is shifted upwards by $\sim0.35$ (1.0) dex for $10^{11} M_\odot$ galaxies. To accurately measure the intrinsic $M_\bullet-M_*$ relation, it is essential to include fainter quasars with $L_\mathrm{bol} \lesssim 10^{45}$ erg/s. At high redshifts, low-luminosity quasars are thus the best targets for understanding typical formation paths for SMBHs in galaxies., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to MNRAS Letters. Comments welcome!

Using the weak gravitational lensing data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC survey), we study the potential of different stellar mass estimates in tracing halo mass. We consider galaxies with $\log {M_{\star}/M_{\odot}}>11.5$ at 0.2 < z < 0.5 with carefully measured light profiles and clusters from the redMaPPer and CAMIRA richness-based algorithms. We devise a method (the "TopN" test) to evaluate the scatter in the halo mass-observable relation for different tracers and inter-compare halo mass proxies in four number density bins using stacked galaxy-galaxy lensing profiles. This test reveals three key findings. The stellar mass based on cModel photometry or aperture luminosity within R<30 kpc is a poor proxy of halo mass. In contrast, the stellar mass of the outer envelope is an excellent halo mass proxy. The stellar mass within R=[50,100] kpc, M*[50,100], has performance comparable to the state-of-the-art richness-based cluster finders at $\log{M_{\rm vir}/M_{\odot}}>14.0$ and could be a better halo mass tracer at lower halo masses. Finally, using N-body simulations, we find that the lensing profiles of massive halos selected by M*[50,100] are consistent with the expectation for a sample without projection or mis-centering effects. On the other hand, Richness-selected clusters display an excess at R~1 Mpc in their lensing profiles, which may suggest a more significant impact from selection biases. These results suggest that Mstar-based tracers have distinct advantages in identifying massive halos, which could open up new avenues for cluster cosmology., Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, 7 appendices. Submitted to MNRAS. Codes available at https://github.com/dr-guangtou/jianbing Data available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5259075

We present Trinity, a flexible empirical model that self-consistently infers the statistical connection between dark matter haloes, galaxies, and supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Trinity is constrained by galaxy observables from $0