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K -corrections – a necessary ingredient for converting between flux in observed bands to flux in rest-frame bands – are critical for comparing galaxies at differing redshifts. These corrections often rely on fits to empirical or theoretical spectral energy distribution (SED) templates of galaxies. However, templates can only produce reliable K -corrections in regimes where SED models are robust. For instance, the templates utilized in some popular software packages are not well-constrained in some bands (e.g. WISE W 4 in Kcorrect), which results in ill-behaved K -corrections. We address this shortcoming by developing an empirically driven approach to K -corrections that limits the dependence on SED templates. We perform a polynomial fit for the K -correction as a function of a galaxy's rest-frame colour determined in a pair of well-constrained bands (e.g. 0(g − r)) and redshift, exploiting the fact that galaxy SEDs can be approximated as a one-parameter family at low redshift. For bands well-constrained by SED templates, our empirically driven K -corrections yield results comparable to the SED fitting methods used by Kcorrect and the GSWLC-M2 catalogue (the updated medium-deep GALEX–SDSS–WISE Legacy Catalogue). However, our method dramatically outperforms Kcorrect derived K -corrections for WISE W 4. Our method is also robust to incorrect template assumptions outside of the optical bands and enforces that the K -correction must be zero at z  = 0. Our K -corrected photometry and code are publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large imaging surveys, such as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, rely on photometric redshifts and tomographic binning for 3 × 2 pt analyses that combine galaxy clustering and weak lensing. In this paper, we propose a method for optimizing the tomographic binning choice for the lens sample of galaxies. We divide the CosmoDC2 and Buzzard simulated galaxy catalogs into a training set and an application set, where the training set is nonrepresentative in a realistic way, and then estimate photometric redshifts for the application sets. The galaxies are sorted into redshift bins covering equal intervals of redshift or comoving distance, or with an equal number of galaxies in each bin, and we consider a generalized extension of these approaches. We find that bins of equal comoving distance produce the highest dark energy figure of merit of the initial binning choices, but that the choice of bin edges can be further optimized. We then train a neural network classifier to identify galaxies that are either highly likely to have accurate photometric redshift estimates or highly likely to be sorted into the correct redshift bin. The neural network classifier is used to remove poor redshift estimates from the sample, and the results are compared to the case when none of the sample is removed. We find that the neural network classifiers are able to improve the figure of merit by ∼13% and are able to recover ∼25% of the loss in the figure of merit that occurs when a nonrepresentative training sample is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of cosmology, galaxy evolution, and astronomical transients with current and next-generation wide-field imaging surveys like the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time are all critically dependent on estimates of photometric redshifts. Capsule networks are a new type of neural network architecture that is better suited for identifying morphological features of the input images than traditional convolutional neural networks. We use a deep capsule network trained on ugriz images, spectroscopic redshifts, and Galaxy Zoo spiral/elliptical classifications of ∼400 000 Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies to do photometric redshift estimation. We achieve a photometric redshift prediction accuracy and a fraction of catastrophic outliers that are comparable to or better than current methods for SDSS main galaxy sample-like data sets (r ≤ 17.8 and z spec ≤ 0.4) while requiring less data and fewer trainable parameters. Furthermore, the decision-making of our capsule network is much more easily interpretable as capsules act as a low-dimensional encoding of the image. When the capsules are projected on a two-dimensional manifold, they form a single redshift sequence with the fraction of spirals in a region exhibiting a gradient roughly perpendicular to the redshift sequence. We perturb encodings of real galaxy images in this low-dimensional space to create synthetic galaxy images that demonstrate the image properties (e.g. size, orientation, and surface brightness) encoded by each dimension. We also measure correlations between galaxy properties (e.g. magnitudes, colours, and stellar mass) and each capsule dimension. We publicly release our code, estimated redshifts, and additional catalogues at https://biprateep.github.io/encapZulate-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present measurements of the redshift-dependent clustering of a DESI-like luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample selected from the Legacy Survey imaging data set, and use the halo occupation distribution (HOD) framework to fit the clustering signal. The photometric LRG sample in this study contains 2.7 million objects over the redshift range of 0.4 < z < 0.9 over 5655 deg2. We have developed new photometric redshift (photo- z) estimates using the Legacy Survey DECam and WISE photometry, with σNMAD = 0.02 precision for LRGs. We compute the projected correlation function using new methods that maximize signal-to-noise ratio while incorporating redshift uncertainties. We present a novel algorithm for dividing irregular survey geometries into equal-area patches for jackknife resampling. For a five-parameter HOD model fit using the MultiDark halo catalogue, we find that there is little evolution in HOD parameters except at the highest redshifts. The inferred large-scale structure bias is largely consistent with constant clustering amplitude over time. In an appendix, we explore limitations of Markov chain Monte Carlo fitting using stochastic likelihood estimates resulting from applying HOD methods to N -body catalogues, and present a new technique for finding best-fitting parameters in this situation. Accompanying this paper, we have released the Photometric Redshifts for the Legacy Surveys catalogue of photo- z 's obtained by applying the methods used in this work to the full Legacy Survey Data Release 8 data set. This catalogue provides accurate photometric redshifts for objects with z < 21 over more than 16 000 deg2 of sky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measure the clustering of quasars of the final data release (DR16) of eBOSS. The sample contains |$343\, 708$| quasars between redshifts 0.8 ≤ z ≤ 2.2 over |$4699\, \mathrm{deg}^2$|⁠. We calculate the Legendre multipoles (0,2,4) of the anisotropic power spectrum and perform a BAO and a Full-Shape (FS) analysis at the effective redshift z eff = 1.480. The errors include systematic errors that amount to 1/3 of the statistical error. The systematic errors comprise a modelling part studied using a blind N -body mock challenge and observational effects studied with approximate mocks to account for various types of redshift smearing and fibre collisions. For the BAO analysis, we measure the transverse comoving distance D M(z eff)/ r drag = 30.60 ± 0.90 and the Hubble distance D H(z eff)/ r drag = 13.34 ± 0.60. This agrees with the configuration space analysis, and the consensus yields: D M(z eff)/ r drag = 30.69 ± 0.80 and D H(z eff)/ r drag = 13.26 ± 0.55. In the FS analysis, we fit the power spectrum using a model based on Regularised Perturbation Theory, which includes redshift space distortions and the Alcock–Paczynski effect. The results are D M(z eff)/ r drag = 30.68 ± 0.90 and D H(z eff)/ r drag = 13.52 ± 0.51 and we constrain the linear growth rate of structure f (z eff)σ8(z eff) = 0.476 ± 0.047. Our results agree with the configuration space analysis. The consensus analysis of the eBOSS quasar sample yields: D M(z eff)/ r drag = 30.21 ± 0.79, D H(z eff)/ r drag = 3.23 ± 0.47, and f (z eff)σ8(z eff) = 0.462 ± 0.045 and is consistent with a flat ΛCDM cosmological model using Planck results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photometric redshift sample of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) obtained from the DECam Legacy Survey (DECaLS) is analyzed to probe cosmic distances by exploiting the wedge approach of the two-point correlation function. Although the cosmological information is highly contaminated by the uncertainties existing in the photometric redshifts from the galaxy map, an angular diameter distance can be probed at the perpendicular configuration in which the measured correlation function is minimally contaminated. An ensemble of wedged correlation functions selected up to a given threshold based on having the least contamination was studied in previous work (Sridhar & Song 2019) using simulations, and the extracted cosmological information was unbiased within this threshold. We apply the same methodology for analyzing the LRG sample from DECaLS, which will provide the optical imaging for targeting two-thirds of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument footprint and measure the angular diameter distances at z = 0.69 and z = 0.87 to be and with a fractional error of 4.77% and 6.09%, respectively. We obtain a value of H0 = 66.58 ± 5.31 km s−1 Mpc−1, which supports the H0 measured by all other baryon acoustic oscillation results and is consistent with the ΛCDM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hubble Space Telescope observations show that low-mass (⁠|$M_*=10^9\!-\!10^{10}\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$|⁠) galaxies at high redshift (z  = 1.0–2.5) tend to be elongated (prolate) rather than disky (oblate) or spheroidal. This is explained in zoom-in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations by the fact that these galaxies are forming in cosmic web filaments where accretion happens preferentially along the direction of elongation. We ask whether the elongated morphology of these galaxies allows them to be used as effective tracers of cosmic web filaments at high redshift via their intrinsic alignments. Using mock light cones and spectroscopically confirmed galaxy pairs from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), we test two types of alignments: (1) between the galaxy major axis and the direction to nearby galaxies of any mass and (2) between the major axes of nearby pairs of low-mass, likely prolate, galaxies. The mock light cones predict strong signals in 3D real space, 3D redshift space, and 2D projected redshift space for both types of alignments (assuming prolate galaxy orientations are the same as those of their host prolate haloes), but we do not detect significant alignment signals in CANDELS observations. However, we show that spectroscopic redshifts have been obtained for only a small fraction of highly elongated galaxies, and accounting for spectroscopic incompleteness and redshift errors significantly degrades the 2D mock signal. This may partly explain the alignment discrepancy and highlights one of several avenues for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present catalogues of calibrated photometry and spectroscopic redshifts in the Extended Groth Strip, intended for studies of photometric redshifts (photo- z 's). The data includes ugriz photometry from Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) and Y -band photometry from the Subaru Suprime camera, as well as spectroscopic redshifts from the DEEP2, DEEP3, and 3D-HST surveys. These catalogues incorporate corrections to produce effectively matched-aperture photometry across all bands, based upon object size information available in the catalogue and Moffat profile point spread function fits. We test this catalogue with a simple machine learning-based photometric redshift algorithm based upon Random Forest regression, and find that the corrected aperture photometry leads to significant improvement in photo- z accuracy compared to the original SExtractor catalogues from CFHTLS and Subaru. The deep ugrizY photometry and spectroscopic redshifts are well suited for empirical tests of photometric redshift algorithms for LSST. The resulting catalogues are publicly available at http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/36064/. We include a basic summary of the strategy of the DEEP3 Galaxy Redshift Survey to accompany the recent public release of DEEP3 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents stellar mass functions and i -band luminosity functions for Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies with i < 21 using clustering redshifts. From these measurements, we also compute targeting completeness measurements for the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Clustering redshifts is a method of obtaining the redshift distribution of a sample of galaxies with only photometric information by measuring the angular cross-correlation with a spectroscopic sample in different redshift bins. We construct a spectroscopic sample containing data from the BOSS + eBOSS surveys, allowing us to recover redshift distributions from photometric data out to z ≃ 2.5. We produce k -corrected i -band luminosity functions and stellar mass functions by applying clustering redshifts to SDSS DR8 galaxies in small bins of colour and magnitude. There is little evolution in the mass function between 0.2 < z < 0.8, implying that the most massive galaxies form most of their mass before z  = 0.8. These mass functions are used to produce stellar mass completeness estimates for the BOSS, giving a stellar mass completeness of |$80{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| above M ⋆ > 1011.4 between 0.2 < z < 0.7, with completeness falling significantly at redshifts higher than 0.7, and at lower masses. Large photometric data sets will be available in the near future (DECaLS, DES, Euclid), so this and similar techniques will become increasingly useful in order to fully utilize these data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of major galaxy-galaxy merging is theoretically predicted to steadily increase with redshift during the peak epoch of massive galaxy development (1 ≤ z ≤ 3). We use close-pair statistics to objectively study the incidence of massive galaxies (stellar M1 > 2 × 1010M☉) hosting major companions (1 ≤ M1/M2 ≤ 4; i.e. <4:1) at six epochs spanning 0 < z < 3. We select companions from a nearly complete, mass-limited (≥5 × 109M☉) sample of 23 696 galaxies in the five Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey fields and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Using 5-50 kpc projected separation and close redshift proximity criteria, we find that the major companion fraction fmc(z) based on stellar mass-ratio (MR) selection increases from 6 per cent (z~0) to 16 per cent (z~0.8), then turns over at z~1 and decreases to 7 per cent (z ~ 3). Instead, if we use a major F160W flux-ratio (FR) selection, we find that fmc(z) increases steadily until z = 3 owing to increasing contamination from minor (MR > 4:1) companions at z > 1. We show that these evolutionary trends are statistically robust to changes in companion proximity. We find disagreements between published results are resolved when selection criteria are closely matched. If we compute merger rates using constant fraction-to-rate conversion factors (Cmerg,pair = 0.6 and Tobs,pair = 0.65 Gyr), we find that MR rates disagree with theoretical predictions at z > 1.5. Instead, if we use an evolving Tobs,pair(z) ∝ (1 + z)-2 from Snyder et al., our MR-based rates agree with theory at 0 < z < 3. Our analysis underscores the need for detailed calibration of Cmerg,pair and Tobs,pair as a function of redshift, mass, and companion selection criteria to better constrain the empirical major merger history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a science forecast for the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) survey. Focusing on discrete tracers, we forecast the expected accuracy of the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO), the redshift-space distortion (RSD) measurements, the fNL parameter quantifying the primordial non-Gaussianity, the dark energy and modified gravity parameters. We also use the line-of-sight clustering in the Lyman α forest to constrain the total neutrino mass. We find that eBOSS luminous red galaxies, emission line galaxies and clustering quasars can achieve a precision of 1, 2.2 and 1.6 per cent, respectively, for spherically averaged BAO distance measurements. Using the same samples, the constraint on fσ8 is expected to be 2.5, 3.3 and 2.8 per cent, respectively. For primordial non-Gaussianity, eBOSS alone can reach an accuracy of σ(fNL) ∼ 10-15. eBOSS can at most improve the dark energy figure of merit by a factor of 3 for the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parametrization, and can well constrain three eigenmodes for the general equation-of-state parameter. eBOSS can also significantly improve constraints on modified gravity parameters by providing the RSD information, which is highly complementary to constraints obtained from weak lensing measurements. A principal component analysis shows that eBOSS can measure the eigenmodes of the effective Newton's constant to 2 per cent precision; this is a factor of 10 improvement over that achievable without eBOSS. Finally, we derive the eBOSS constraint (combined with Planck, Dark Energy Survey and BOSS) on the total neutrino mass, σ(Σmν) = 0.03 eV (68 per cent CL), which in principle makes it possible to distinguish between the two scenarios of neutrino mass hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing and near-future imaging-based dark energy experiments are critically dependent upon photometric redshifts (a.k.a. photo- z ’s): i.e., estimates of the redshifts of objects based only on flux information obtained through broad filters. Higher-quality, lower-scatter photo- z ’s will result in smaller random errors on cosmological parameters; while systematic errors in photometric redshift estimates, if not constrained, may dominate all other uncertainties from these experiments. The desired optimization and calibration is dependent upon spectroscopic measurements for secure redshift information; this is the key application of galaxy spectroscopy for imaging-based dark energy experiments. Hence, to achieve their full potential, imaging-based experiments will require large sets of objects with spectroscopically-determined redshifts, for two purposes: • Training : Objects with known redshift are needed to map out the relationship between object color and z (or, equivalently, to determine empirically-calibrated templates describing the rest-frame spectra of the full range of galaxies, which may be used to predict the color- z relation). The ultimate goal of training is to minimize each moment of the distribution of differences between photometric redshift estimates and the true redshifts of objects, making the relationship between them as tight as possible. The larger and more complete our “training set” of spectroscopic redshifts is, the smaller the RMS photo- z errors should be, increasing the constraining power of imaging experiments. Requirements: Spectroscopic redshift measurements for ∼30,000 objects over >∼15 widely-separated regions, each at least ∼20 arcmin in diameter, and reaching the faintest objects used in a given experiment, will likely be necessary if photometric redshifts are to be trained and calibrated with conventional techniques. Larger, more complete samples (i.e., with longer exposure times) can improve photo- z algorithms and reduce scatter further, enhancing the science return from planned experiments greatly (increasing the Dark Energy Task Force figure of merit by up to ∼50%). Options: This spectroscopy will most efficiently be done by covering as much of the optical and near-infrared spectrum as possible at modestly high spectral resolution ( λ /Δ λ > ∼3000), while maximizing the telescope collecting area, field of view on the sky, and multiplexing of simultaneous spectra. The most efficient instrument for this would likely be either the proposed GMACS/MANIFEST spectrograph for the Giant Magellan Telescope or the OPTIMOS spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope, depending on actual properties when built. The PFS spectrograph at Subaru would be next best and available considerably earlier, c. 2018; the proposed ngCFHT and SSST telescopes would have similar capabilities but start later. Other key options, in order of increasing total time required, are the WFOS spectrograph at TMT, MOONS at the VLT, and DESI at the Mayall 4 m telescope (or the similar 4MOST and WEAVE projects); of these, only DESI, MOONS, and PFS are expected to be available before 2020. Table 2-3 of this white paper summarizes the observation time required at each facility for strawman training samples. To attain secure redshift measurements for a high fraction of targeted objects and cover the full redshift span of future experiments, additional near-infrared spectroscopy will also be required; this is best done from space, particularly with WFIRST-2.4 and JWST . Calibration: The first several moments of redshift distributions (the mean, RMS redshift dispersion, etc.), must be known to high accuracy for cosmological constraints not to be systematics-dominated (equivalently, the moments of the distribution of differences between photometric and true redshifts could be determined instead). The ultimate goal of calibration is to characte [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incredible variety of galaxy shapes cannot be summarized by human defined discrete classes of shapes without causing a possibly large loss of information. Dictionary learning and sparse coding allow us to reduce the high dimensional space of shapes into a manageable low dimensional continuous vector space. Statistical inference can be done in the reduced space via probability distribution estimation and manifold estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We use the Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) GOODS-S multi-wavelength catalog to identify counterparts for 20 Lyα emitting (LAE) galaxies at z = 2.1. We build several types of stacked spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these objects. We combine photometry to form average and median flux-stacked SEDs, and postage-stamp images to form average and median image-stacked SEDs. We also introduce scaled flux stacks that eliminate the influence of variation in overall brightness. We use the SED fitting code SpeedyMC to constrain the physical properties of individual objects and stacks. Our LAEs at z = 2.1 have stellar masses ranging from 2 × 107M☼ to 8 × 109M☼ (median = 3 × 108M☼), ages ranging from 4 Myr to 500 Myr (median = 100 Myr), and E(B – V) between 0.02 and 0.24 (median = 0.12). Although still low, this represents significantly more dust reddening than has been reported for LAEs at higher redshifts. We do not observe strong correlations between Lyα equivalent width (EW) and age or E(B – V). The Lyα radiative transfer (q) factors of our sample are predominantly close to one and do not correlate strongly with EW or E(B – V). The absence of strong correlations with EW or q implies that Lyα radiative transfer is highly anisotropic and/or prevents Lyα photons from scattering in dusty regions. The SED parameters of the flux stacks match the average and median values of the individual objects, with the flux-scaled median SED performing best with uncertainties reduced by a factor of two. Median image-stacked SEDs provide a poor representation of the median individual object, and none of the stacking methods capture the large dispersion of LAE properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) photometric redshift methods investigation. In this investigation, the results from 11 participants, each using a different combination of photometric redshift code, template spectral energy distributions (SEDs), and priors, are used to examine the properties of photometric redshifts applied to deep fields with broadband multi-wavelength coverage. The photometry used includes U-band through mid-infrared filters and was derived using the TFIT method. Comparing the results, we find that there is no particular code or set of template SEDs that results in significantly better photometric redshifts compared to others. However, we find that codes producing the lowest scatter and outlier fraction utilize a training sample to optimize photometric redshifts by adding zero-point offsets, template adjusting, or adding extra smoothing errors. These results therefore stress the importance of the training procedure. We find a strong dependence of the photometric redshift accuracy on the signal-to-noise ratio of the photometry. On the other hand, we find a weak dependence of the photometric redshift scatter with redshift and galaxy color. We find that most photometric redshift codes quote redshift errors (e.g., 68% confidence intervals) that are too small compared to that expected from the spectroscopic control sample. We find that all codes show a statistically significant bias in the photometric redshifts. However, the bias is in all cases smaller than the scatter; the latter therefore dominates the errors. Finally, we find that combining results from multiple codes significantly decreases the photometric redshift scatter and outlier fraction. We discuss different ways of combining data to produce accurate photometric redshifts and error estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the environmental dependence of color, stellar mass, and morphology by comparing galaxies in a forming cluster to those in the field at z = 1.6 with Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared imaging in the CANDELS/UDS field. We quantify the morphology of the galaxies using the effective radius, reff , and Sérsic index, n. In both the cluster and field, approximately half of the bulge-dominated galaxies (n > 2) reside on the red sequence of the color-magnitude diagram, and most disk-dominated galaxies (n < 2) have colors expected for star-forming galaxies. There is weak evidence that cluster galaxies have redder rest-frame U-B colors and higher stellar masses compared to the field. Star-forming galaxies in both the cluster and field show no significant differences in their morphologies. In contrast, there is evidence that quiescent galaxies in the cluster have larger median effective radii and smaller Sérsic indices compared to the field with a significance of 2σ. These differences are most pronounced for galaxies at clustercentric distances 1Mpc< Rproj < 1.5Mpc, which have low Sérsic indices and possibly larger effective radii, more consistent with star-forming galaxies at this epoch and in contrast to other quiescent galaxies. We argue that star-forming galaxies are processed under the influence of the cluster environment at distances greater than the cluster-halo virial radius. Our results are consistent with models where gas accretion onto these galaxies is suppressed from processes associated with the cluster environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-correlation techniques provide a promising avenue for calibrating photometric redshifts and determining redshift distributions using spectroscopy, which is systematically incomplete (e.g., current deep spectroscopic surveys fail to obtain secure redshifts for 30%-50% or more of the galaxies targeted). In this paper, we improve on the redshift distribution reconstruction methods from our previous work by incorporating full covariance information into our correlation function fits. Correlation function measurements are strongly covariant between angular or spatial bins, and accounting for this in fitting can yield substantial reduction in errors. However, frequently the covariance matrices used in these calculations are determined from a relatively small set (dozens rather than hundreds) of subsamples or mock catalogs, resulting in noisy covariance matrices whose inversion is ill-conditioned and numerically unstable. We present here a method of conditioning the covariance matrix known as ridge regression, which results in a better-behaved inversion than other techniques common in large-scale structure studies. We demonstrate that ridge regression significantly improves the determination of correlation function parameters. We then apply these improved techniques to the problem of reconstructing redshift distributions. By incorporating full covariance information, applying ridge regression, and changing the weighting of fields in obtaining average correlation functions, we obtain reductions in the mean redshift distribution reconstruction error of as much as ~40% compared to previous methods. We provide a description of POWERFIT, an IDL code for performing power-law fits to correlation functions with ridge regression conditioning that we are making publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Using data drawn from the DEEP2 and DEEP3 Galaxy Redshift Surveys, we investigate the relationship between the environment and the structure of galaxies residing on the red sequence at intermediate redshift. Within the massive (10 < log10( M★/ h−2 M⊙) < 11) early-type population at 0.4 < z < 1.2, we find a significant correlation between local galaxy overdensity (or environment) and galaxy size, such that early-type systems in higher density regions tend to have larger effective radii (by ∼0.5 h−1 kpc or 25 per cent larger) than their counterparts of equal stellar mass and Sérsic index in lower density environments. This observed size-density relation is consistent with a model of galaxy formation in which the evolution of early-type systems at z < 2 is accelerated in high-density environments such as groups and clusters and in which dry, minor mergers (versus mechanisms such as quasar feedback) play a central role in the structural evolution of the massive, early-type galaxy population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The 'Eagle' galaxy at a redshift of 0.77 is studied with the Oxford Short Wavelength Integral Field Spectrograph (SWIFT) and multiwavelength data from the All-wavelength Extended Groth strip International Survey (AEGIS). It was chosen from AEGIS because of the bright and extended emission in its slit spectrum. 3D kinematic maps of the Eagle reveal a gradient in velocity dispersion which spans 35-75 ± 10 km s−1 and a rotation velocity of 25 ± 5 km s−1 uncorrected for inclination. Hubble Space Telescope images suggest it is close to face-on. In comparison with galaxies from AEGIS at similar redshifts, the Eagle is extremely bright and blue in the rest-frame optical, highly star forming, dominated by unobscured star formation and has a low metallicity for its size. This is consistent with its selection. The Eagle is likely undergoing a major merger and is caught in the early stage of a starburst when it has not yet experienced metal enrichment or formed the mass of dust typically found in star-forming galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We study the evolution of the scaling relations between the maximum circular velocity, stellar mass and optical half-light radius of star-forming disc-dominated galaxies in the context of Λ cold dark matter-based galaxy formation models. Using data from the literature combined with new data from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2 (DEEP2) and All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) surveys, we show that there is a consistent picture for the evolution of these scaling relations from z∼ 2 to z= 0, both observationally and theoretically. The evolution of the observed stellar scaling relations is weaker than that of the virial scaling relations of dark matter haloes, which can be reproduced, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with a simple, cosmologically motivated model for disc evolution inside growing Navarro-Frenk-White dark matter haloes. In this model optical half-light radii are smaller, both at fixed stellar mass and at maximum circular velocity, at higher redshifts. This model also predicts that the scaling relations between baryonic quantities (baryonic mass, baryonic half-mass radii and maximum circular velocity) evolve even more weakly than the corresponding stellar relations. We emphasize, though, that this weak evolution does not imply that individual galaxies evolve weakly. On the contrary, individual galaxies grow strongly in mass, size and velocity but in such a way that they move largely along the scaling relations. Finally, recent observations have claimed surprisingly large sizes for a number of star-forming disc galaxies at z≃ 2, which has caused some authors to suggest that high-redshift disc galaxies have abnormally high spin parameters. However, we argue that the disc scalelengths in question have been systematically overestimated by a factor of ∼2 and that there is an offset of a factor of ∼1.4 between H α sizes and optical sizes. Taking these effects into account, there is no indication that star-forming galaxies at high redshifts ( z≃ 2) have abnormally high spin parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the discovery of seven X-ray emitting groups of galaxies selected as extended X-ray sources in the 200-ks Chandra coverage of the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). In addition, we report on active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity associated with these systems. For the six extended sources which lie within the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2 (DEEP2) Galaxy Redshift Survey coverage, we identify optical counterparts and determine velocity dispersions. In particular, we find three massive high-redshift groups at , one of which is at , the first X-ray detections of spectroscopically selected DEEP2 groups. We also present a first look at the and scaling relations for high-redshift massive groups. We find that the properties of these X-ray selected systems agree well with the scaling relations of similar systems at low redshift, although there are X-ray undetected groups in the DEEP2 catalogue with similar velocity dispersions. The other three X-ray groups with identified redshifts are associated with lower mass groups at and together form part of a large structure or ‘supergroup’ in the southern portion of the AEGIS field. Similar to other X-ray-luminous groups, all of the low-redshift systems are centred on massive elliptical galaxies, and all of the high-redshift groups have likely central galaxies or galaxy pairs. Interestingly, the central galaxies in the highest redshift system show indications of ongoing star formation. All of the central group galaxies host X-ray point sources, radio sources and/or show optical AGN emission. Particularly interesting examples of central AGN activity include a bent-double radio source plus X-ray point source at the centre of a group at , extended radio and double X-ray point sources associated with the central galaxy in the lowest redshift group at , and a bright green valley galaxy (part of a pair) in the group which shows optical AGN emission lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-starburst (also known as K+A) galaxies exhibit spectroscopic signatures indicating that their star formation was recently quenched; they are candidates for galaxies in transition from a star-forming phase to a passively evolving phase. We have spectroscopically identified large samples of post-starburst galaxies both in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at and in the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey at , using a uniform and robust selection method based on a cut in Hβ line emission rather than the more problematic [O ii]λ3727. Based on measurements of the overdensity of galaxies around each object, we find that post-starburst galaxies brighter than at low redshift have a similar, statistically indistinguishable environment distribution as blue galaxies, preferring underdense environments, but dramatically different from that of red galaxies. However, at higher- z, the environment distribution of post-starburst galaxies is more similar to red galaxies than to blue galaxies. We conclude that the quenching of star formation and the build-up of the red sequence through the K+A phase is happening in relatively overdense environments at but in relatively underdense environments at . Although the relative environments where quenching occurs are decreasing with time, the corresponding absolute environment may have stayed the same along with the quenching mechanisms, because the mean absolute environments of all galaxies has to grow with time. In addition, we do not find any significant dependence on luminosity in the environment distribution of K+As. The existence of a large K+A population in the field at both redshifts indicates that cluster-specific mechanisms cannot be the dominant route by which these galaxies are formed. Our work also demonstrates that studying post-starburst–environment relations by measuring the K+A fraction in different environments, as is the common practice, is highly non-robust; modest changes in the comparison population used to define the fraction can drastically alter conclusions. Statistical comparisons of the overall environment distributions of different populations are much better behaved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using galaxy samples drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between star formation and environment at and 1. We estimate the total star formation rate (SFR) and specific star formation rate (sSFR) for each galaxy according to the measured [O ii]λ 3727 Å nebular line luminosity, corrected using empirical calibrations to match more robust SFR indicators. Echoing previous results, we find that in the local Universe star formation depends on environment such that galaxies in regions of higher overdensity, on average, have lower SFRs and longer star formation time-scales than their counterparts in lower density regions. At , we show that the relationship between sSFR and environment mirrors that found locally. However, we discover that the relationship between total SFR and overdensity at is inverted relative to the local relation. This observed evolution in the SFR–density relation is driven, in part, by a population of bright, blue galaxies in dense environments at . This population, which lacks a counterpart at , is thought to evolve into members of the red sequence from to ∼0. Finally, we conclude that environment does not play a dominant role in the cosmic star formation history at : the dependence of the mean galaxy SFR on local galaxy density at constant redshift is small compared to the decline in the global SFR space density over the last 7 Gyr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the behaviour of the blue galaxy fraction over the redshift range in the DEEP2 Survey, both for field galaxies and for galaxies in groups. The primary aim is to determine the role that groups play in driving the evolution of galaxy colour at high z. In pursuing this aim, it is essential to define a galaxy sample that does not suffer from redshift-dependent selection effects in colour–magnitude space. We develop four such samples for this study: at all redshifts considered, each one is complete in colour–magnitude space, and the selection also accounts for evolution in the galaxy luminosity function. These samples will also be useful for future evolutionary studies in DEEP2. The colour segregation observed between local group and field samples is already in place at z∼ 1: DEEP2 groups have a significantly lower blue fraction than the field. At fixed z, there is also a correlation between blue fraction and galaxy magnitude, such that brighter galaxies are more likely to be red, both in groups and in the field. In addition, there is a negative correlation between blue fraction and group richness. In terms of evolution, the blue fraction in groups and the field remains roughly constant from to 1, but beyond this redshift the blue fraction in groups rises rapidly with z, and the group and field blue fractions become indistinguishable at z∼ 1.3. Careful tests indicate that this effect does not arise from known systematic or selection effects. To further ensure the robustness of this result, we build on previous mock DEEP2 catalogues to develop mock catalogues that reproduce the colour–overdensity relation observed in DEEP2 and use these to test our methods. The convergence between the group and field blue fractions at z∼ 1.3 implies that DEEP2 galaxy groups only became efficient at quenching star formation at z∼ 2; this result is broadly consistent with other recent observations and with current models of galaxy evolution and hierarchical structure growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of 19 464 galaxies drawn from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between galaxy colour and environment at . We find that the fraction of galaxies on the red sequence depends strongly on local environment out to , being larger in regions of greater galaxy density. At all epochs probed, we also find a small population of red, morphologically early-type galaxies residing in regions of low measured overdensity. The observed correlations between the red fraction and local overdensity are highly significant, with the trend at detected at a greater than 5σ level. Over the entire redshift regime studied, we find that the colour–density relation evolves continuously, with red galaxies more strongly favouring overdense regions at low z relative to their red-sequence counterparts at high redshift. At , the red fraction only weakly correlates with overdensity, implying that any colour dependence to the clustering of galaxies at that epoch must be small. Our findings add weight to existing evidence that the build-up of galaxies on the red sequence has occurred preferentially in overdense environments (i.e. galaxy groups) at . Furthermore, we identify the epoch at which typical galaxies began quenching and moved on to the red sequence in significant number. The strength of the observed evolutionary trends at suggests that the correlations observed locally, such as the morphology–density and colour–density relations, are the result of environment-driven mechanisms (i.e. ‘nurture’) and do not appear to have been imprinted (by ‘nature’) upon the galaxy population during their epoch of formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the mean environment of galaxies in the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey as a function of rest-frame colour, luminosity, and [O ii] 3727 Å equivalent width. The local galaxy overdensity for >14 000 galaxies at is estimated using the projected third-nearest-neighbour surface density. Of the galaxy properties studied, mean environment is found to depend most strongly on galaxy colour; all major features of the correlation between mean overdensity and rest-frame colour observed in the local universe were already in place at . In contrast to local results, we find a substantial slope in the mean dependence of environment on luminosity for blue, star forming galaxies at , with brighter blue galaxies being found on average in regions of greater overdensity. We discuss the roles of galaxy clusters and groups in establishing the observed correlations between environment and galaxy properties at high redshift, and we also explore the evidence for a ‘downsizing of quenching’ from to ∼0. Our results add weight to existing evidence that the mechanism(s) that result in star formation quenching are efficient in group environments as well as clusters. This work is the first of its kind at high redshift and represents the first in a series of papers addressing the role of environment in galaxy formation at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a public catalog of galaxy groups constructed from the spectroscopic sample of galaxies in the fourth data release from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2 (DEEP2) Galaxy Redshift Survey, including the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). The catalog contains 1165 groups with two or more members in the EGS over the redshift range 0 < z < 1.5 and 1295 groups at z > 0.6 in the rest of DEEP2. Twenty-five percent of EGS galaxies and fourteen percent of high-z DEEP2 galaxies are assigned to galaxy groups. The groups were detected using the Voronoi-Delaunay method (VDM) after it has been optimized on mock DEEP2 catalogs following similar methods to those employed in Gerke et al. In the optimization effort, we have taken particular care to ensure that the mock catalogs resemble the data as closely as possible, and we have fine-tuned our methods separately on mocks constructed for the EGS and the rest of DEEP2. We have also probed the effect of the assumed cosmology on our inferred group-finding efficiency by performing our optimization on three different mock catalogs with different background cosmologies, finding large differences in the group-finding success we can achieve for these different mocks. Using the mock catalog whose background cosmology is most consistent with current data, we estimate that the DEEP2 group catalog is 72% complete and 61% pure (74% and 67% for the EGS) and that the group finder correctly classifies 70% of galaxies that truly belong to groups, with an additional 46% of interloper galaxies contaminating the catalog (66% and 43% for the EGS). We also confirm that the VDM catalog reconstructs the abundance of galaxy groups with velocity dispersions above ∼300 km s–1 to an accuracy better than the sample variance, and this successful reconstruction is not strongly dependent on cosmology. This makes the DEEP2 group catalog a promising probe of the growth of cosmic structure that can potentially be used for cosmological tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the spatially resolved, multi-band photometry in the GOODS South field acquired by the CANDELS project to constrain the nature of candidate Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters at redshift z ∼ 3.7 identified using ultradeep imaging below the Lyman limit (1σ limit of ≈30 AB in a 2″ diameter aperture). In 19 candidates out of a sample of 20 with flux detected at >3σ level, the light centroid of the candidate LyC emission is offset from that of the Lyman break galaxy (LBG) by up to 1.″5. We fit the spectral energy distribution of the LyC candidates to spectral population synthesis models to measure photometric redshifts and the stellar population parameters. We also discuss the differences in the UV colors between the LBG and the LyC candidates, and how to estimate the escape fraction of ionizing radiation (fesc) in cases, like in most of our galaxies, where the LyC emission is spatially offset from the host galaxy. In all but one case we conclude that the candidate LyC emission is most likely due to lower redshift interlopers. Based on these findings, we argue that the majority of similar measurements reported in the literature need further investigation before it can be firmly concluded that LyC emission is detected. Our only surviving LyC candidate is an LBG at z = 3.795, which shows the bluest (B – V) color among LBGs at similar redshift, a stellar mass of M ∼ 2 × 109M☼, weak interstellar absorption lines, and a flat UV spectral slope with no Lyα in emission. We estimate its fesc to be in the range 25%-100%, depending on the dust and intergalactic attenuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]