Search

We use the first systematic samples of CO millimeter emission in z>1 'main-sequence' star forming galaxies (SFGs) to study the metallicity dependence of the conversion factor {\alpha}CO, from CO line luminosity to molecular gas mass. The molecular gas depletion rate inferred from the ratio of the star formation rate (SFR) to CO luminosity, is ~1 Gyr-1 for near-solar metallicity galaxies with stellar masses above M_S~1e11 M_sun. In this regime the depletion rate does not vary more than a factor of two to three as a function of molecular gas surface density, or redshift between z~0 and 2. Below M_S the depletion rate increases rapidly with decreasing metallicity. We argue that this trend is not caused by starburst events, by changes in the physical parameters of the molecular clouds, or by the impact of the fundamental metallicity-SFR-stellar mass relation. A more probable explanation is that the conversion factor is metallicity dependent and that star formation can occur in 'CO-dark' gas. The trend is also expected theoretically from the effect of enhanced photodissociation of CO by ultraviolet radiation at low metallicity. From the available z~0 and z~1-3 samples we constrain the slope of the log({\alpha}CO) -log (metallicity) relation to range between -1 and -2, fairly insensitive to the assumed slope of the gas-star formation rate relation. Because of the lower metallicities near the peak of the galaxy formation activity at z~1-2 compared to z~0, we suggest that molecular gas masses estimated from CO luminosities have to be substantially corrected upward for galaxies below M_S., Comment: ApJ in press

We combine Herschel-PACS data from the PEP program with Spitzer 24 um and 16 um photometry and ultra deep IRS mid-infrared spectra, to measure the mid- to far-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) of 0.7

We present first results from the "Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs" (SHIELD), a multi-configuration EVLA study of the neutral gas contents and dynamics of galaxies with HI masses in the 10^6-10^7 Solar mass range detected by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey. We describe the survey motivation and concept demonstration using VLA imaging of 6 low-mass galaxies detected in early ALFALFA data products. We then describe the primary scientific goals of SHIELD and present preliminary EVLA and WIYN 3.5m imaging of the 12 SHIELD galaxies. With only a few exceptions, the neutral gas distributions of these extremely low-mass galaxies are centrally concentrated. In only 1 system have we detected HI column densities higher than 10^21 cm^-2. Despite this, the stellar populations of all of these systems are dominated by blue stars. Further, we find ongoing star formation as traced by H alpha emission in 10 of the 11 galaxies with H alpha imaging obtained to date. Taken together these results suggest that extremely low-mass galaxies are forming stars in conditions different from those found in more massive systems. While detailed dynamical analysis requires the completion of data acquisition, the most well-resolved system is amenable to meaningful position-velocity analysis. For AGC 749237, we find well-ordered rotation of 30 km/s at a distance of ~40 arcseconds from the dynamical center. At the adopted distance of 3.2 Mpc, this implies the presence of a >1x10^8 Solar mass dark matter halo and a baryon fraction < ~0.1., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters EVLA Special Edition

We conduct a deep mid-infrared census of nine massive galaxy clusters at (03 sigma level, we identify 12 that host mid-infrared selected active galactic nuclei (IR-AGN). To compare the IR-AGN across our redshift range, we define two complete samples of cluster galaxies: (1) optically-selected members with rest-frame V(AB) magnitude <-21.5 and (2) mid-IR selected members brighter than (M*+0.5), i.e. essentially a stellar mass cut. In both samples, we measure \agnfrac ~1% with a strong upper limit of ~3% at z<1. This uniformly low IR-AGN fraction at z<1 is surprising given the fraction of 24 micron sources in the same galaxy clusters is observed to increase by about a factor of four from z~0 to z~1; this indicates that most of the detected 24 micron flux is due to star formation. Only in our single galaxy cluster at z=1.24 is the IR-AGN fraction measurably higher at ~15% (all members; ~70% for late-types only). In agreement with recent studies, we find the cluster IR-AGN are predominantly hosted by late-type galaxies with blue optical colors, i.e. members with recent/ongoing star formation. The four brightest IR-AGN are also X-ray sources; these IR+X-ray AGN all lie outside the cluster core (Rproj>0.5 Mpc) and are hosted by highly morphologically disturbed members. Although our sample is limited, our results suggest that \agnfrac in massive galaxy clusters is not strongly correlated with star formation at z<1, and that IR-AGN have a more prominent role at z>1., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal

We use deep 70, 100 and 160 um observations taken with PACS, the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer on board of Herschel, as part of the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) guaranteed time, to study the relation between star formation rate and environment at redshift ~ 1 in the GOODS-S and GOODS-N fields. We use the SDSS spectroscopic catalog to build the local analog and study the evolution of the star formation activity dependence on the environment. At z ~ 1 we observe a reversal of the relation between star formation rate and local density, confirming the results based on Spitzer 24 um data. However, due to the high accuracy provided by PACS in measuring the star formation rate also for AGN hosts, we identify in this class of objects the cause for the reversal of the density-SFR relation. Indeed, AGN hosts favor high stellar masses, dense regions and high star formation rates. Without the AGN contribution the relation flattens consistently with respect to the local analog in the same range of star formation rates. As in the local universe, the specific star formation rate anti-correlates with the density. This is due to mass segregation both at high and low redshift. The contribution of AGN hosts does not affect this anti-correlation, since AGN hosts exhibit the same specific star formation rate as star forming galaxies at the same mass. The same global trends and AGN contribution is observed once the relations are studied per morphological type. We study the specific star formation rate vs stellar mass relation in three density regimes. Our data provides an indication that at M/M_{\odot} > 10^{11} the mean specific star formation rate tends to be higher at higher density, while the opposite trend is observed in the local SDSS star forming sample., Comment: 10 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication on A&A

We study the relation between molecular gas and star formation in a volume-limited sample of 222 galaxies from the COLD GASS survey, with measurements of the CO(1-0) line from the IRAM 30m telescope. The galaxies are at redshifts 0.025

We are conducting COLD GASS, a legacy survey for molecular gas in nearby galaxies. Using the IRAM 30m telescope, we measure the CO(1-0) line in a sample of ~350 nearby (D=100-200 Mpc), massive galaxies (log(M*/Msun)>10.0). The sample is selected purely according to stellar mass, and therefore provides an unbiased view of molecular gas in these systems. By combining the IRAM data with SDSS photometry and spectroscopy, GALEX imaging and high-quality Arecibo HI data, we investigate the partition of condensed baryons between stars, atomic gas and molecular gas in 0.1-10L* galaxies. In this paper, we present CO luminosities and molecular hydrogen masses for the first 222 galaxies. The overall CO detection rate is 54%, but our survey also uncovers the existence of sharp thresholds in galaxy structural parameters such as stellar mass surface density and concentration index, below which all galaxies have a measurable cold gas component but above which the detection rate of the CO line drops suddenly. The mean molecular gas fraction MH2/M* of the CO detections is 0.066+/-0.039, and this fraction does not depend on stellar mass, but is a strong function of NUV-r colour. Through stacking, we set a firm upper limit of MH2/M*=0.0016+/-0.0005 for red galaxies with NUV-r>5.0. The average molecular-to-atomic hydrogen ratio in present-day galaxies is 0.3, with significant scatter from one galaxy to the next. The existence of strong detection thresholds in both the HI and CO lines suggests that "quenching" processes have occurred in these systems. Intriguingly, atomic gas strongly dominates in the minority of galaxies with significant cold gas that lie above these thresholds. This suggests that some re-accretion of gas may still be possible following the quenching event., Comment: Accepted for publications in MNRAS. 32 pages, 25 figures

We study the scaling relations between the luminosities, sizes, and rotation velocities of disk galaxies in the SFI++, with a focus on the size-luminosity (RL) and size-rotation velocity (RV) relations. Using isophotal radii instead of disk scale-lengths as a size indicator, we find relations that are significantly tighter than previously reported: the correlation coefficients of the template RL and RV relations are r=0.97 and r=0.85, which rival that of the more widely studied LV (Tully-Fisher) relation. The scatter in the SFI++ RL relation is 2.5-4 times smaller than previously reported for various samples, which we attribute to the reliability of isophotal radii relative to disk scale-lengths. After carefully accounting for all measurement errors, our scaling relation error budgets are consistent with a constant intrinsic scatter in the LV and RV relations for velocity widths logW>2.4, with evidence for increasing intrinsic scatter below this threshold. The scatter in the RL relation is consistent with constant intrinsic scatter that is biased by incompleteness at the low-luminosity end. Possible applications of the unprecedentedly tight SFI++ RV and RL relations are investigated. Just like the Tully-Fisher relation, the RV relation can be used as a distance indicator: we derive distances to galaxies with primary Cepheid distances that are accurate to 25%, and reverse the problem to measure a Hubble constant H_0=72+/-7 km/s/Mpc. Combining the small intrinsic scatter of our RL relation (0.034+/-0.001 log(kpc/h)) with a simple model for disk galaxy formation, we find an upper limit on the range of disk spin parameters that is a factor of ~7 smaller than that of the halo spin parameters predicted by cosmological simulations. This likely implies that the halos hosting Sc galaxies have a much narrower distribution of spin parameters than previously thought., Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We study the dust properties of galaxies in the redshift range 0.10.5 with L_IR>5x10^{10} L_\odot, appears to be 2-5 K colder than that of AKARI-selected local galaxies with similar luminosities; and the dispersion in T_dust for high-z galaxies increases with L_IR due to the existence of cold galaxies that are not seen among local galaxies. We show that this large dispersion of the L_IR-T_dust relation can bridge the gap between local star-forming galaxies and high-z submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). We also find that three SMGs with very low T_dust (<20 K) covered in this study have close neighbouring sources with similar 24-\mum brightness, which could lead to an overestimation of FIR/(sub)millimeter fluxes of the SMGs., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, To appear in MNRAS

Ly-alpha emitters (LAEs) are seen everywhere in the redshift domain from local to z~7. Far-infrared (FIR) counterparts of LAEs at different epochs could provide direct clues on dust content, extinction, and spectral energy distribution (SED) for these galaxies. We search for FIR counterparts of LAEs that are optically detected in the GOODS-North field at redshift z~2.2 using data from the Herschel Space Telescope with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS). The LAE candidates were isolated via color-magnitude diagram using the medium-band photometry from the ALHAMBRA Survey, ancillary data on GOODS-North, and stellar population models. According to the fitting of these spectral synthesis models and FIR/optical diagnostics, most of them seem to be obscured galaxies whose spectra are AGN-dominated. From the analysis of the optical data, we have observed a fraction of AGN or composite over source total number of ~0.75 in the LAE population at z~2.2, which is marginally consistent with the fraction previously observed at z=2.25 and even at low redshift (0.2

We present first insights into the far-IR properties for a sample of IRAC and MIPS-24um detected Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z ~ 3, as derived from observations in the northern field of the Great Observatories Origins Survey (GOODS-N) carried out with the PACS instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory. Although none of our galaxies are detected by Herschel, we employ a stacking technique to construct, for the first time, the average spectral energy distribution of infrared luminous LBGs from UV to radio wavelengths. We derive a median IR luminosity of L_{IR} = 1.6 x 10^12 Lo, placing the population in the class of ultra luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). Complementing our study with existing multi-wavelength data, we put constraints on the dust temperature of the population and find that for their L_{IR}, MIPS-LBGs are warmer than submm-luminous galaxies while they fall in the locus of the L_{IR}-T_{d} relation of the local ULIRGs. This, along with estimates based on the average SED, explains the marginal detection of LBGs in current sub-mm surveys and suggests that these latter studies introduce a bias towards the detection of colder ULIRGs in the high-z universe, while missing high-z ULIRGS with warmer dust., Comment: Accepted for publication at ApJL

We report new observations of the galaxy UGC8802 obtained through GASS, the GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey, which show this galaxy to be in a remarkable evolutionary state. UGC8802 (GASS35981) is a disk galaxy with stellar mass M*=2x10^10 Msolar which appears to contain an additional 2.1x10^10 Msolar of HI gas. New millimeter observations with the IRAM 30m telescope indicate a molecular gas mass only a tenth this large. Using deep long-slit spectroscopy, we examine the spatially resolved star formation rate and metallicity profiles of GASS35981 for clues to its history. We find that the star formation surface density in this galaxy is low (Sigma_SFR=0.003 Msolar/yr/kpc^2) and that the star formation is spread remarkably evenly across the galaxy. The low molecular gas masses measured in our three IRAM pointings are largely consistent with the total star formation measured within the same apertures. Our MMT long-slit spectrum reveals a sharp drop in metallicity in the outer disk of GASS35981. The ratio of current star formation rate to existing stellar mass surface density in the outer disk is extremely high, implying that all the stars must have formed within the past ~1Gyr. At current star formation rates, however, GASS35981 will not consume its HI reservoir for another 5-7 Gyr. Despite its exceptionally large gas fraction for a galaxy this massive, GASS35981 has a regular rotation curve and exhibits no sign of a recent interaction or merger. We speculate that GASS35981 may have acquired its gas directly from the inter-galactic medium, and that it and other similar galaxies identified in the GASS survey may provide rare local glimpses of gas accretion processes that were more common during the prime epoch of disk galaxy formation at z~1., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, typo fixed

We present a search for Herschel-PACS counterparts of dust-obscured, high-redshift objects previously selected at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North field. We detect 22 of 56 submillimeter galaxies (39%) with a SNR of >=3 at 100 micron down to 3.0 mJy, and/or at 160 micron down to 5.7 mJy. The fraction of SMGs seen at 160 micron is higher than that at 100 micron. About 50% of radio-identified SMGs are associated with PACS sources. We find a trend between the SCUBA/PACS flux ratio and redshift, suggesting that these flux ratios could be used as a coarse redshift indicator. PACS undetected submm/mm selected sources tend to lie at higher redshifts than the PACS detected ones. A total of 12 sources (21% of our SMG sample) remain unidentified and the fact that they are blank fields at Herschel-PACS and VLA 20 cm wavelength may imply higher redshifts for them than for the average SMG population (e.g., z>3-4). The Herschel-PACS imaging of these dust-obscured starbursts at high-redshifts suggests that their far-infrared spectral energy distributions have significantly different shapes than template libraries of local infrared galaxies., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. ApJ Letters in press

We show that the Halpha line (6563 Angstrom) alone is an extremely effective criterion for identifying galaxies that are uniform in color (red), luminosity-weighted age (old), and morphology (bulge-dominated). By combining the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 6) with the New York University Value-Added Galaxy Catalog, we have photometric and spectroscopic indices for over 180,000 galaxies at (0.052 (bulge-dominated); and 3) galaxies with n>2 that are also red in (g'-r'). We find that the Halpha-selected galaxies consistently have the smallest color scatter: for example, at z~0.05 the intrinsic scatter in apparent (g'-r') for the Halpha sample is only 0.0287+/-0.0007 compared to 0.0682+/-0.0014 for the Sersic sample. Applying a color-cut to the n>2 sample does decrease the color scatter to 0.0313+/-0.0007, but there remains a measurable fraction of star-forming and/or AGN galaxies (up to 9.3%). All of the EW(Halpha)<0 Angstrom galaxies have n>2, i.e. they are bulge-dominated systems. The spectra for the three samples confirm that the Halpha-selected galaxies have the highest D4000 values and are, on average, nearly twice as old as the Sersic-selected samples. With the advent of multi-object near-infrared spectrographs, Halpha alone can be used to reliably isolate truly quiescent galaxies dominated by evolved stellar populations at any epoch from z~0 up to z~2., Comment: accepted by the Astronomical Journal

We use deep observations taken with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS), on board the Herschel satellite as part of the PACS evolutionary probe (PEP) guaranteed project along with submm ground-based observations to measure the dust mass of a sample of high-z submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). We investigate their dust content relative to their stellar and gas masses, and compare them with local star-forming galaxies. High-z SMGs are dust rich, i.e. they have higher dust-to-stellar mass ratios compared to local spiral galaxies (by a factor of 30) and also compared to local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs, by a factor of 6). This indicates that the large masses of gas typically hosted in SMGs have already been highly enriched with metals and dust. Indeed, for those SMGs whose gas mass is measured, we infer dust-to-gas ratios similar or higher than local spirals and ULIRGs. However, similarly to other strongly star-forming galaxies in the local Universe and at high-z, SMGs are characterized by gas metalicities lower (by a factor of a few) than local spirals, as inferred from their optical nebular lines, which are generally ascribed to infall of metal-poor gas. This is in contrast with the large dust content inferred from the far-IR and submm data. In short, the metalicity inferred from the dust mass is much higher (by more than an order of magnitude) than that inferred from the optical nebular lines. We discuss the possible explanations of this discrepancy and the possible implications for the investigation of the metalicity evolution at high-z., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters. One reference updated

We measure the rest-frame colors (dust-corrected), infrared luminosities, star formation rates, and stellar masses of 92 galaxies in a Spitzer-selected cluster at z=1.62. By fitting spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to 10-band photometry (0.4 micron < lambda(obs) <8 micron) and measuring 24 micron fluxes for the 12 spectroscopically confirmed and 80 photometrically selected members, we discover an exceptionally high level of star formation in the cluster core of ~1700 Msun/yr per Mpc^2. The cluster galaxies define a strong blue sequence in (U-V) color and span a range in color. We identify 17 members with L(IR)>10^(11) Lsun, and these IR luminous members follow the same trend of increasing star formation with stellar mass that is observed in the field at z~2. Using rates derived from both the 24 micron imaging and SED fitting, we find that the relative fraction of star-forming members triples from the lowest to highest galaxy density regions, e.g. the IR luminous fraction increases from ~8% at Sigma~10 gal per Mpc^2 to ~25% at Sigma>100 gal per Mpc^2. The observed increase is a reversal of the well-documented trend at z<1 and signals that we have reached the epoch when massive cluster galaxies are still forming a substantial fraction of their stars., Comment: Published in ApJ Letters

The Herschel Space Observatory enables us to accurately measure the bolometric output of starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) by directly sampling the peak of their far-infrared (IR) emission. Here we examine whether the spectral energy distribution (SED) and dust temperature of galaxies have strongly evolved since z~2.5. We use Herschel deep extragalactic surveys from 100 to 500um to compute total IR luminosities in galaxies down to the faintest levels, using PACS and SPIRE in the GOODS-North field (PEP and HerMES key programs). We show that measurements in the SPIRE bands can be used below the statistical confusion limit if information at higher spatial resolution is used to identify isolated galaxies whose flux is not boosted by bright neighbors. Below z~1.5, mid-IR extrapolations are correct for star-forming galaxies with a dispersion of only 40% (0.15dex), therefore similar to z~0 galaxies. This narrow distribution is puzzling when considering the range of physical processes that could have affected the SED of these galaxies. Extrapolations from only one of the 160um, 250um or 350um bands alone tend to overestimate the total IR luminosity. This may be explained by the lack of far-IR constraints around and above ~150um (rest-frame) on local templates. We also note that the dust temperature of luminous IR galaxies around z~1 is mildly colder by 10-15% than their local analogs and up to 20% for ULIRGs at z~1.6. Above z=1.5, distant galaxies are found to exhibit a substantially larger mid- over far-IR ratio, which could either result from stronger broad emission lines or warm dust continuum heated by a hidden AGN. Two thirds of the AGNs identified in the field with a measured redshift exhibit the same behavior as purely star-forming galaxies. Hence a large fraction of AGNs harbor star formation at very high SFR and in conditions similar to purely star-forming galaxies., Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Herschel Special Issue, in press as a Letter; 5 pages

Sensitive Herschel far-infrared observations can break degeneracies that were inherent to previous studies of star formation in high-z AGN hosts. Combining PACS 100 and 160um observations of the GOODS-N field with 2Msec Chandra data, we detect ~20% of X-ray AGN individually at >3sig. The host far-infrared luminosity of AGN with L2-10~10^43erg/s increases with redshift by an order of magnitude from z=0 to z~1. In contrast, there is little dependence of far-infrared luminosity on AGN luminosity, for L2-10<~10^44erg/s AGN at z>~1. We do not find a dependence of far-infrared luminosity on X-ray obscuring column, for our sample which is dominated by L2-10<10^44erg/s AGN. In conjunction with properties of local and luminous high-z AGN, we interpret these results as reflecting the interplay between two paths of AGN/host coevolution. A correlation of AGN luminosity and host star formation is traced locally over a wide range of luminosities and also extends to luminous high z AGN. This correlation reflects an evolutionary connection, likely via merging. For lower AGN luminosities, star formation is similar to that in non-active massive galaxies and shows little dependence on AGN luminosity. The level of this secular, non-merger driven star formation increasingly dominates over the correlation at increasing redshift., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Herschel issue. 4 pages, 6 figures

We exploit the deepest existing far-infrared (FIR) data obtained so far by Herschel at 100 and 160 um in the GOODS-N, as part of the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) survey, to derive for the first time the evolution of the rest-frame 60-um, 90-um, and total IR luminosity functions (LFs) of galaxies and AGNs from z=0 to unprecedented high redshifts (z~2-3). The PEP LFs were computed using the 1/Vmax method. The FIR sources were classified by means of a detailed broad- band SED-fitting analysis and spectral characterisation. Based on the best-fit model results, k-correction and total IR (8-1000 um) luminosity were obtained for each source. LFs (monochromatic and total) were then derived for various IR populations separately in different redshift bins and compared to backward evolution model predictions. We detect strong evolution in the LF to at least z~2. Objects with SEDs similar to local spiral galaxies are the major contributors to the star formation density (SFD) at z< 0.3, then, as redshift increases, moderate SF galaxies - most likely containing a low-luminosity AGN - start dominating up to z ~= 1.5. At >1.5 the SFD is dominated by the contributions of starburst galaxies. In agreement with previous findings, the comoving IR LD derived from our data evolves approximately as (1 + z)^(3.8+/-0.3) up to z~1, there being some evidence of flattening up to z~2., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel first results Special Issue

Gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters allows study of the population of intrinsically faint infrared galaxies that lie below the sensitivity and confusion limits of current infrared and submillimeter telescopes. We present ultra-deep PACS 100 and 160 microns observations toward the cluster lens Abell 2218, to penetrate the Herschel confusion limit. We derive source counts down to a flux density of 1 mJy at 100 microns and 2 mJy at 160 microns, aided by strong gravitational lensing. At these levels, source densities are 20 and 10 beams/source in the two bands, approaching source density confusion at 160 microns. The slope of the counts below the turnover of the Euclidean-normalized differential curve is constrained in both bands and is consistent with most of the recent backwards evolutionary models. By integrating number counts over the flux range accessed by Abell 2218 lensing (0.94-35 mJy at 100 microns and 1.47-35 mJy at 160 microns, we retrieve a cosmic infrared background (CIB) surface brightness of ~8.0 and ~9.9 nW m^-2 sr^-1, in the respective bands. These values correspond to 55% (+/- 24%) and 77% (+/- 31%) of DIRBE direct measurements. Combining Abell 2218 results with wider/shallower fields, these figures increase to 62% (+/- 25%) and 88% (+/- 32%) CIB total fractions, resolved at 100 and 160 microns, disregarding the high uncertainties of DIRBE absolute values., Comment: Accepted for publication on the A&A Herschel Special Issue, final version

We use deep observations obtained with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) onboard the Herschel space observatory to study the far-infrared (FIR) properties of submm and optically faint radio galaxies (SMGs and OFRGs). From literature we compiled a sample of 35 securely identified SMGs and nine OFRGs located in the GOODS-N and the A2218 fields. This sample is cross-matched with our PACS 100 um and 160 um multi-wavelength catalogs. About half of the galaxies in our sample are detected with PACS. The dust temperatures and the infrared luminosities of our galaxies are derived by fitting their PACS and SCUBA 850 um (only the upper limits for the OFRGs) flux densities with a single modified (beta=1.5) black body function. The median dust temperature of our SMG sample is T=36+/-8K while for our OFRG sample it is T=47+/-3K. For both samples, median dust temperatures derived from Herschel data agree well with previous estimates. In particular, Chapman et al. (2005) found a dust temperature of T=36+/-7K for a large sample of SMGs assuming the validity of the FIR/radio correlation. The agreement between our studies confirms that the local FIR/radio correlation effectively holds at high redshift even though we find =2.17+/-0.19, a slightly lower value than that observed in local systems. The median IR luminosities of SMGs and OFRGs are 4.6*10^12 Lsun and 2.6*10^12 Lsun, respectively. We note that for both samples the IR luminosity estimates from the radio part of the spectral energy distribution are accurate, while estimates from the mid-IR are considerably (x3) more uncertain. Our observations confirm the remarkably high luminosities of SMGs and thus imply median star-formation rates of 960Msun yr^-1 for SMGs with S(850um)>5mJy and 460Msun yr^-1 for SMGs with S(850um)>2mJy, assuming a Chabrier IMF and no dominant AGN contribution to the far-infrared luminosity., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue. 5 pages, 3 figures

We exploit deep observations of the GOODS-N field taken with PACS, on board of Herschel, as part of the PEP guaranteed time, to study the link between star formation and stellar mass in galaxies to z~2. Starting from a stellar mass-selected sample of ~4500 galaxies with mag[4.5mu]<23 (AB), we identify ~350 objects with a PACS detection at 100 or 160mu and ~1500 with only Spitzer 24 mu counterpart. Stellar masses and total IR luminosities (LIR) are estimated by fitting the SEDs. Consistently with other Herschel results, we find that LIR based only on 24 mu data is overestimated by a median factor ~1.8 at z~2, whereas it is underestimated (with our approach) up to a factor ~1.6 at 0.510^(11) (M_sun) galaxies from z=0 to z=2, and seems to flatten at z>1.5 in this mass range. Moreover, the most massive galaxies have the lowest SSFR at any z, implying that they have formed their stars earlier and more rapidly than their low mass counterparts., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel Special issue

The constituents of the cosmic IR background (CIB) are studied at its peak wavelengths (100 and 160 um) by exploiting Herschel/PACS observations of the GOODS-N, Lockman Hole, and COSMOS fields in the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) guaranteed-time survey. The GOODS-N data reach 3 sigma depths of ~3.0 mJy at 100 um and ~5.7 mJy at 160 um. At these levels, source densities are 40 and 18 beams/source, respectively, thus hitting the confusion limit at 160 um. Differential number counts extend from a few mJy up to 100-200 mJy, and are approximated as a double power law, with the break lying between 5 and 10 mJy. The available ancillary information allows us to split number counts into redshift bins. At z<=0.5 we isolate a class of luminous sources (L(IR)~1e11 Lsun), whose SEDs resemble late-spiral galaxies, peaking at ~130 um restframe and significantly colder than what is expected on the basis of pre-Herschel models. By integrating number counts over the whole covered flux range, we obtain a surface brightness of 6.36 +/- 1.67 and 6.58 +/-1.62 [nW m^-2 sr^-1] at 100 and 160 um, resolving ~45% and ~52% of the CIB, respectively. When stacking 24 um sources, the inferred CIB lies within 1.1 sigma and 0.5 sigma from direct measurements in the two bands, and fractions increase to 50% and 75%.Most of this resolved CIB fraction was radiated at z<=1.0, with 160 um sources found at higher redshift than 100 um ones., Comment: Accepted for publication on the A&A Herschel Special Issue

The star formation rate (SFR) is a key parameter in the study of galaxy evolution. The accuracy of SFR measurements at z~2 has been questioned following a disagreement between observations and theoretical models. The latter predict SFRs at this redshift that are typically a factor 4 or more lower than the measurements. We present star-formation rates based on calorimetric measurements of the far-infrared (FIR) luminosities for massive 1.512.2 L_sun. The SFGs and AGNs tend to exhibit the same 24 micron excess. The UV SFRs are in closer agreement with the FIR-based SFRs. Using a Calzetti UV extinction correction results in a mean excess of up to 0.3 dex and a scatter of 0.35 dex from the FIR SFRs. The previous UV SFRs are thus confirmed and the mean excess, while narrowing the gap, is insufficient to explain the discrepancy between the observed SFRs and simulation predictions., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel first results special issue. v2 Correction to the meta data only

We set out to determine the ratio, q(IR), of rest-frame 8-1000um flux, S(IR), to monochromatic radio flux, S(1.4GHz), for galaxies selected at far-IR and radio wavelengths, to search for signs that the ratio evolves with redshift, luminosity or dust temperature, and to identify any far-IR-bright outliers - useful laboratories for exploring why the far-IR/radio correlation is generally so tight when the prevailing theory suggests variations are almost inevitable. We use flux-limited 250-um and 1.4-GHz samples, obtained in GOODS-N using Herschel (HerMES; PEP) and the VLA. We determine bolometric IR output using ten bands spanning 24-1250um, exploiting data from PACS and SPIRE, as well as Spitzer, SCUBA, AzTEC and MAMBO. We also explore the properties of an L(IR)-matched sample, designed to reveal evolution of q(IR) with z, spanning log L(IR) = 11-12 L(sun) and z=0-2, by stacking into the radio and far-IR images. For 1.4-GHz-selected galaxies, we see tentative evidence of a break in the flux ratio, q(IR), at L(1.4GHz) ~ 10^22.7 W/Hz, where AGN are starting to dominate the radio power density, and of weaker correlations with z and T(d). From our 250-um-selected sample we identify a small number of far-IR-bright outliers, and see trends of q(IR) with L(1.4GHz), L(IR), T(d) and z, noting that some of these are inter-related. For our L(IR)-matched sample, there is no evidence that q(IR) changes significantly as we move back into the epoch of galaxy formation: we find q(IR) goes as (1+z)^gamma, where gamma = -0.04 +/- 0.03 at z=0-2; however, discounting the least reliable data at z<0.5 we find gamma = -0.26 +/- 0.07, modest evolution which may be related to the radio background seen by ARCADE2, perhaps driven by <10uJy radio activity amongst ordinary star-forming galaxies at z>1., Comment: A&A Herschel Special Issue, in press as a Letter. 5 pages

We study in detail how the barred galaxy fraction varies as a function of luminosity, HI gas mass, morphology and color in the Virgo cluster in order to provide a well defined, statistically robust measurement of the bar fraction in the local universe spanning a wide range in luminosity (factor of ~100) and HI gas mass. We combine multiple public data-sets (UKIDSS near-infrared imaging, ALFALFA HI gas masses, GOLDMine photometry). After excluding highly inclined systems, we define three samples where galaxies are selected by their B-band luminosity, H-band luminosity, and HI gas mass. We visually assign bars using the high resolution H-band imaging from UKIDSS. When all morphologies are included, the barred fraction is ~17-24% while for morphologically selected discs, we find that the barred fraction in Virgo is ~29-34%: it does not depend strongly on how the sample is defined and does not show variations with luminosity or HI gas mass. The barred fraction depends most strongly on the morphological composition of the sample: when the disc populations are separated into lenticulars (S0--S0/a), early-type spirals (Sa--Sb), and late-type spirals (Sbc--Sm), we find that the early-type spirals have a higher barred fraction (~45-50%) compared to the lenticulars and late-type spirals (~22-36%). This difference may be due to the higher baryon fraction of early-type discs which makes them more susceptible to bar instabilities. We do not find any evidence of barred galaxies being preferentially blue., Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures. Submitted to ApJ

We present results from our multi-wavelength study of SG1120, a super galaxy group at z=0.37, that will merge to form a galaxy cluster comparable in mass to Coma. We have spectroscopically confirmed 174 members in the four X-ray luminous groups that make up SG1120, and these groups have velocity dispersions of sigma(1D)=303-580 km/s. We find that the supergroup has an excess of 24 micron members relative to CL1358+62, a rich galaxy cluster at z=0.33. SG1120 also has an increasing fraction of 24 micron members with decreasing local galaxy density, i.e. an infrared-density relation, that is not observed in the rich cluster. We detect nine of the group galaxies in VLA 1.4 Ghz imaging, and comparison of the radio to total infrared luminosities indicates that about 30% of these radio-detected members have AGN. The radio map also reveals that one of the brightest group galaxies has radio jets. We are currently analysing the 1.4 Ghz observations to determine if AGN can significantly heat the intrahalo medium and if AGN are related to the excess of 24 micron members., Comment: 4 page proceedings, "The Monster's Fiery Breath: Feedback in Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters"

To trace how dust-obscured star formation varies with environment, we compare the fraction of 24 micron sources in a super galaxy group to the field and a rich galaxy cluster at z~0.35. We draw on multi-wavelength observations that combine Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer imaging with extensive optical spectroscopy (>1800 redshifts) to isolate galaxies in each environment and thus ensure a uniform analysis. We focus on the four galaxy groups in supergroup 1120-12 that will merge to form a galaxy cluster comparable in mass to Coma. We find that 1) the fraction of supergroup galaxies with SFR(IR)>3 Msun/yr is four times higher than in the cluster (32% vs. 7%); 2) the supergroup's infrared luminosity function confirms that it has a higher density of IR members compared to the cluster and includes bright IR sources not found in galaxy clusters at z<0.35; and 3) there is a strong trend of decreasing IR fraction with increasing galaxy density, i.e. an IR-density relation, not observed in the cluster. These dramatic differences are surprising because the early-type fraction in the supergroup is already as high as in clusters, i.e. the timescales for morphological transformation cannot be strongly coupled to when the star formation is completely quenched. The supergroup has a significant fraction (~17%) of luminous, low-mass, IR members that are outside the group cores (R>0.5 Mpc); once their star formation is quenched, most will evolve into faint red galaxies. Our analysis indicates that the supergroup's 24 micron population also differs from that in the field: 1) despite the supergroup having twice the fraction of E/S0s as the field, the fraction of IR galaxies is comparable in both environments, and 2) the supergroup's IR luminosity function has a higher L(IR)* than that previously measured for the field., Comment: Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal

We present a fourth catalog of HI sources from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey. We report 541 detections over 136 deg2, within the region of the sky having 22h < R.A. < 03h and 24 deg < Dec. < 26 deg . This complements a previous catalog in the region 26 deg < Dec. < 28 deg (Saintonge et al. 2008). We present here the detections falling into three classes: (a) extragalactic sources with S/N > 6.5, where the reliability of the catalog is better than 95%; (b) extragalactic sources 5.0 < S/N < 6.5 and a previously measured optical redshift that corroborates our detection; or (c) High Velocity Clouds (HVCs), or subcomponents of such clouds, in the periphery of the Milky Way. Of the 541 objects presented here, 90 are associated with High Velocity Clouds, while the remaining 451 are identified as extragalactic objects. Optical counterparts have been matched with all but one of the extragalactic objects., Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

We present the catalog of HI sources extracted from the ongoing Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) extragalactic HI line survey, found within the sky region bounded by 9h36m < RA < 11h36m and +08deg < DEC < +12deg. The HI catalog presented here for this 118-deg^2 region is combined with ones derived from surrounding regions also covered by the ALFALFA survey to examine the large scale structure in the complex Leo region. Because of the combination of wide sky coverage and superior sensitivity, spatial and spectral resolution, the ALFALFA HI catalog of the Leo region improves significantly on the numbers of low HI mass sources as compared with those found in previous HI surveys. The HI mass function of the Leo I group presented here is dominated by low-mass objects: 45 of the 65 Leo I members have M_HI < 10^8 Msun, yielding tight constraints on the low-mass slope of the Leo I HI mass function. The best-fit slope is alpha < -1.41 + 0.2 - 0.1. A direct comparison between the ALFALFA HI line detections and an optical search of the Leo I region proves the advantage of the ALFALFA strategy in finding low mass, gas-rich dwarfs. These results suggest the existence of a significant population of low surface brightness, gas-rich, yet still very low HI mass galaxies, and may reflect the same type of morphological segregation as is seen in the Local Group. While the low mass end slope of the Leo I HI mass function is steeper than that determined for luminosity functions of the group, the slope still falls short of the values predicted by simulations of structure formation in the LCDM paradigm., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 10 tables

We present the third installment of HI sources extracted from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA extragalactic survey. This dataset continues the work of the Virgo ALFALFA catalog. The catalogs and spectra published here consist of data obtained during the 2005 and 2006 observing sessions of the survey. The catalog consists of 578 HI detections within the range 11h 36m < R.A.(J2000) < 13h 52m and +08 deg < Dec.(J2000) < +12 deg, and cz_sun < 18000 km/s. The catalog entries are identified with optical counterparts where possible through the examination of digitized optical images. The catalog detections can be classified into three categories: (a) detections of high reliability with S/N > 6.5; (b) high velocity clouds in the Milky Way or its periphery; and (c) signals of lower S/N which coincide spatially with an optical object and known redshift. 75% of the sources are newly published HI detections. Of particular note is a complex of HI clouds projected between M87 and M49 that do not coincide with any optical counterparts. Candidate objects without optical counterparts are few. The median redshift for this sample is 6500 km/s and the cz distribution exhibits the local large scale structure consisting of Virgo and the background void and the A1367-Coma supercluster regime at cz_sun ~7000 km/s. Position corrections for telescope pointing errors are applied to the dataset by comparing ALFALFA continuum centroid with those cataloged in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. The uncorrected positional accuracy averages 27 arcsec ~(21 arcsec ~median) for all sources with S/N > 6.5 and is of order ~21 arcsec ~(16 arcsec ~median) for signals with S/N > 12. Uncertainties in distances toward the Virgo cluster can affect the calculated HI mass distribution., Comment: 25 pages, 1 Table, 8 figures, Accepted by the Astronomical Journal

We study the mid-infrared properties of 1315 spectroscopically confirmed members in eight massive (M>5x10^14 Msun) galaxy clusters covering the redshift range from 0.02 to 0.83. The selected clusters all have deep Spitzer MIPS 24um observations, Hubble and ground-based photometry, and extensive redshift catalogs. We observe for the first time an increase in the fraction of cluster galaxies with mid-infrared star formation rates higher than 4 solar masses per year from 3% at z=0.02 to 13% at z=0.83. This increase is reproduced even when considering only the most massive members (Mstars >4x10^10 Msun). The 24 micron observations reveal stronger evolution in the fraction of blue/star-forming cluster galaxies than color-selected samples: the number of red but strongly star-forming cluster galaxies increases with redshift, and combining these with the optically-defined Butcher-Oemler members increases the total fraction of blue/star-forming cluster galaxies to ~30% at z=0.83. These results, the first of our Spitzer/MIPS Infra-Red Cluster Survey (SMIRCS), support earlier studies indicating the increase in star-forming members is driven by cluster assembly and galaxy infall, as is expected in the framework of hierarchical formation., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes since v1 include additional data reduction details - this is the published version of the letter

Neutral hydrogen clouds are found in the Milky Way and Andromeda halo both as large complexes and smaller isolated clouds. Here we present a search for Hi clouds in the halo of M33, the third spiral galaxy of the Local Group. We have used two complementary data sets: a 3^o x 3^o map of the area provided by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey and deeper pointed observations carried out with the Arecibo telescope in two fields that permit sampling of the north eastern and south-western edges of the HI disc. The total amount of Hi around M33 detected by our survey is $\sim 10^7$ M$_{\odot}$. At least 50% of this mass is made of HI clouds that are related both in space and velocity to the galaxy. We discuss several scenarios for the origin of these clouds focusing on the two most interesting ones: $(a)$ dark-matter dominated gaseous satellites, $(b)$ debris from filaments flowing into M33 from the intergalactic medium or generated by a previous interaction with M31. Both scenarios seem to fit with the observed cloud properties. Some structures are found at anomalous velocities, particularly an extended HI complex previously detected by Thilker et al. (2002). Even though the ALFALFA observations seem to indicate that this cloud is possibly connected to M33 by a faint gas bridge, we cannot firmly establish its extragalactic nature or its relation to M33. Taking into account that the clouds associated with M33 are likely to be highly ionised by the extragalactic UV radiation, we predict that the total gas mass associated with them is > 5 x 10^7 M$_{\odot}$. If the gas is steadily falling towards the M33 disc it can provide the fuel needed to sustain a current star formation rate of 0.5 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$., Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

We present a second catalog of HI sources detected in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey. We report 488 detections over 135 square degrees, within the region of the sky having 22h6.5, where the reliability of the catalog is better than 95% or (b) 5.0