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Growth of the structure in the Universe manifest as accretion flows of galaxies onto groups and clusters. Thus, the present day properties of groups and their member galaxies are influenced by the characteristics of this continuous infall pattern. Several works both theoretical, in numerical simulations, and in observations, study this process and provide useful steps for a better understanding of galaxy systems and their evolution. We aim at exploring the streaming flow of galaxies onto groups using observational peculiar velocity data. The effects of distance uncertainties are also analyzed as well as the relation between the infall pattern and group and environment properties.This work deals with analysis of peculiar velocity data and their projection on the direction to group centers, to determine the mean galaxy infall flow. We applied this analysis to the galaxies and groups extracted from the Cosmicflows-3 catalog. We also use mock catalogs derived from numerical simulations to explore the effects of distance uncertainties on the derivation of the galaxy velocity flow onto groups. We determine the infalling velocity field onto galaxy groups with cz < 0.033 using peculiar velocity data. We measure the mean infall velocity onto group samples of different mass range, and also explore the impact of the environment where the group reside. Well beyond the group virial radius, the surrounding large-scale galaxy overdensity may impose additional infalling streaming amplitudes in the range 200 to 400 km s$^{-1}$. Also, we find that groups in samples with a well controlled galaxy density environment show an increasing infalling velocity amplitude with group mass, consistent with the predictions of the linear model. These results from observational data are in excellent agreement with those derived from the mock catalogs., Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Studies of large-scale structures in the Universe, such as superstructures or cosmic voids, have been widely used to characterize the properties of the cosmic web through statistical analyses. On the other hand, the 2-point correlation function of large-scale tracers such as galaxies or halos provides a reliable statistical measure. However, this function applies to the spatial distribution of point-like objects, and therefore it is not appropriate for extended large structures which strongly depart from spherical symmetry. Here we present an analysis based on the standard correlation function formalism that can be applied to extended objects exhibiting arbitrary shapes. Following this approach, we compute the probability excess $\Xi$ of having spheres sharing parts of cosmic structures with respect to a realization corresponding to a distribution of the same structures in random positions. For this aim, we identify superstructures defined as Future Virialized Structures (FVSs) in semi-anaytic galaxies on the MPDL2 MultiDark simulation. We have also identified cosmic voids to provide a joint study of their relative distribution with respect to the superstructures. Our analysis suggests that $\Xi$ provides useful characterizations of the large scale distribution, as suggested from an analysis of sub-sets of the simulation. Even when superstructure properties may exhibit negligible variations across the sub-sets, $\Xi$ has the sensitivity to statistically distinguish sub-boxes that departs from the mean at larger scales. Thus, our methods can be applied in analysis of future surveys to provide characterizations of large-scale structure suitable to distinguish different theoretical scenarios., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We aim at defining homogeneous selection criteria of small galaxy systems in order to build catalogues suitable to compare main properties of pairs, triplets, and groups with four or more members. To this end we use spectroscopic and photometric SDSS data to identify systems with a low number of members. We study global properties of these systems and the properties of their member galaxies finding that galaxies in groups are systematically redder and with lower star formation activity indicators than galaxies in pairs which have a higher fraction of star forming galaxies. Triplet galaxies present intermediate trends between pairs and groups. We also find an enhancement of star formation activity for galaxies in small systems with companions closer than 100kpc, irrespective the number of members. We have tested these analysis on SDSS mock catalogues derived from the Millennium simulation, finding as conservative thresholds 76% completeness and a contamination of 23% in small galaxy systems, when considering an extreme case of incompleteness due to fiber collisions. Nevertheless, we also found that the results obtained are not likely affected by projection effects. Our studies suggest that an extra galaxy in a system modify the properties of the member galaxies. In pairs, galaxy-galaxy interactions increases gas density and trigger starbursts. However, repeated interactions in triplets and groups can generate gas stripping, turbulence and shocks quenching the star formation in these systems.

We present an analysis of the spatial distribution of gas and galaxies using new X-Shooter observations of $z\sim3-4$ quasars. Adding the X-Shooter data to an existing dataset of high resolution quasar spectroscopy, we use a total sample of 29 quasars alongside $\sim1700$ Lyman Break Galaxies in the redshift range $2

This Supplement provides supporting material for arXiv:1602.08492 . We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands., Comment: For the main Letter, see arXiv:1602.08492

We identify isolated galaxy triplets in a volume-limited sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 10. Our final sample has 80 galaxy systems in the redshift range 0.04$\le$z$\le$0.1, brighter than $M_r = -20.5 + 5\log h_{70}$. Spectral synthesis results and WHAN and BPT diagnostic diagrams were employed to classify the galaxies in these systems as star-forming, active nuclei, or passive/retired. Our results suggest that the brightest galaxies drive the triplet evolution, as evidenced by the strong correlations between properties as mass assembly and mean stellar population age with triplet properties. Galaxies with intermediate luminosity or the faintest one within the triplet seem to play a secondary role. Moreover, the relation between age and stellar mass of galaxies is similar for these galaxies but different for the brightest galaxy in the system. Most of the triplet galaxies are passive or retired, according to the WHAN classification. Low mass triplets present different fractions of WHAN classes when compared to higher mass triplets. A census of WHAN class combinations shows the dominance of star-forming galaxies in low mass triplets while retired and passive galaxies prevail in high-mass systems. We argue that these results suggest that the local environment, through galaxy interactions driven by the brightest galaxy, is playing a major role in triplet evolution., Comment: accepted in MNRAS

A gravitational-wave (GW) transient was identified in data recorded by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on 2015 September 14. The event, initially designated G184098 and later given the name GW150914, is described in detail elsewhere. By prior arrangement, preliminary estimates of the time, significance, and sky location of the event were shared with 63 teams of observers covering radio, optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths with ground- and space-based facilities. In this Letter we describe the low-latency analysis of the GW data and present the sky localization of the first observed compact binary merger. We summarize the follow-up observations reported by 25 teams via private Gamma-ray Coordinates Network circulars, giving an overview of the participating facilities, the GW sky localization coverage, the timeline and depth of the observations. As this event turned out to be a binary black hole merger, there is little expectation of a detectable electromagnetic (EM) signature. Nevertheless, this first broadband campaign to search for a counterpart of an Advanced LIGO source represents a milestone and highlights the broad capabilities of the transient astronomy community and the observing strategies that have been developed to pursue neutron star binary merger events. Detailed investigations of the EM data and results of the EM follow-up campaign are being disseminated in papers by the individual teams., Comment: For Supplement, see https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.07864

We study the dependence of the properties of group galaxies on the surrounding large-scale environment, using SDSS-DR7 data. Galaxies are ranked according to their luminosity within each group and classified morphologically by the S\'ersic index. We have considered samples of the host groups in superstructures of galaxies, and elsewhere. We find a significant dependence of the properties of late-type brightest group galaxies on the large-scale environment: they show statistically significant higher luminosities and stellar masses, redder u-r colours, lower star formation activity and longer star-formation time-scale when embedded in superstructures. By contrast, the properties of the early-type brightest group galaxies are remarkably similar regardless of the group global environment. The other group member galaxies exhibit only the local influence of the group they inhabit. Our analysis comprises tests against the dependence on the host group luminosity and we argue that group brightest member properties are not only determined by the host halo, but also by the large-scale structure which can influence the accretion process onto their late-type brightest galaxies., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Inspired on the well known dynamical dichotomy predicted in voids, where some underdense regions expand whereas others collapse due to overdense surrounding regions, we explored the interplay between the void inner dynamics and its large scale environment. The environment is classified depending on its density as in previous works. We analyse the dynamical properties of void-centered spherical shells at different void-centric distances depending on this classification. The above dynamical properties are given by the angular distribution of the radial velocity field, its smoothness, the field dependence on the tracer density and shape, and the field departures from linear theory. We found that the velocity field in expanding voids follows more closely the linear prediction, with a more smooth velocity field. However when using velocity tracers with large densities such deviations increase. Voids with sizes around $18\,h^{-1}\,Mpc$ are in a transition regime between regions with expansion overpredicted and underpredicted from linear theory. We also found that velocity smoothness increases as the void radius, indicating the laminar flow dominates the expansion of larger voids (more than $18\,h^{-1}\,Mpc$). The correlations observed suggest that nonlinear dynamics of the inner regions of voids could be dependent on the evolution of the surrounding structures. These also indicate possible scale couplings between the void inner expansion and the large scale regions where voids are embedded. These results shed some light to the origin of nonlinearities in voids, going beyond the fact that voids just quickly becomes nonlinear as they become emptier., Comment: 12 pages, 8 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Until now, rings have been detected in the Solar System exclusively around the four giant planets. Here we report the discovery of the first minor-body ring system around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo, a body with equivalent radius 124$\pm$9 km. A multi-chord stellar occultation revealed the presence of two dense rings around Chariklo, with widths of about 7 km and 3 km, optical depths 0.4 and 0.06, and orbital radii 391 and 405 km, respectively. The present orientation of the ring is consistent with an edge-on geometry in 2008, thus providing a simple explanation for the dimming of Chariklo's system between 1997 and 2008, and for the gradual disappearance of ice and other absorption features in its spectrum over the same period. This implies that the rings are partially composed of water ice. These rings may be the remnants of a debris disk, which were possibly confined by embedded kilometre-sized satellites.

We analyse properties of galaxy groups and their dependence on the large scale environment as defined by superstructures. We find that group galaxy cross correlations depend only on group properties regardless the groups reside in superstructures. This indicates that the total galaxy density profile around groups is independent of the global environment. At a given global luminosity, a proxy to group total mass, groups have a larger stellar mass content by a factor 1.3, a relative excess independent of the group luminosity. Groups in superstructures have 40 per cent higher velocity dispersions and systematically larger minimal enclosing radii. We also find that the stellar population of galaxies in groups in superstructures is systematically older as infered from the galaxy spectra Dn4000 parameter. Although the galaxy number density profile of groups is independent of environment, the star formation rate and stellar mass profile of the groups residing in superstructures differs from groups elsewhere. For groups residing in superstructures, the combination of a larger stellar mass content and star formation rate produces a larger time scale for star formation regardless the distance to the group center. Our results provide evidence that groups in superstructures formed earlier than elsewhere, as expected in the assembly bias scenario., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal

We study the relative fraction of low and high surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs and HSBGs) at void walls in the SDSS DR7. We focus on galaxies in equal local density environments. We assume that the host dark-matter halo mass (for which we use SDSS group masses) is a good indicator of local density. This analysis allows to examine the behavior of the abundance of LSBG and HSBG galaxies at a fixed local density and distinguish the large-scale environment defined by the void geometry. We compare galaxies in the field, and in the void walls; the latter are defined as the volume of void shells of radius equal to that of the void. We find a significant decrement, a factor $\sim 4$, of the relative fraction of blue, active star-forming LSBGs in equal mass groups at the void walls and the field. This decrement is consistent with an increase of the fraction of blue, active star-forming HSBGs. By contrast, red LSBGs and HSBGs show negligible changes. We argue that these results are consistent with a scenario where LSBGs with blue colors and strong star formation activity at the void walls are fueled by gas from the expanding void regions. This process could lead to LSBG to HSBG transformations., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We present a catalogue of 2135 galaxy redshifts from the VLT LBG Redshift Survey (VLRS), a spectroscopic survey of z ~ 3 galaxies in wide fields centred on background quasi-stellar objects. We have used deep optical imaging to select galaxies via the Lyman-break technique. Spectroscopy of the Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) was then made using the Visible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS), giving a mean redshift of z=2.79. We analyse the clustering properties of the VLRS sample and also of the VLRS sample combined with the smaller area Keck-based survey of Steidel et al. From the semiprojected correlation function, wp({\sigma}) we find that the results are well fit with a single power-law model, with clustering scale lengths of r0=3.46+-0.41 and 3.83+-0.24 Mpc/h, respectively. We note that the corresponding combined {\xi}(r) slope is flatter than for local galaxies at {\gamma} = 1.5-1.6 rather than {\gamma}=1.8. This flat slope is confirmed by the z-space correlation function, {\xi}(s), and in the range 10

The GALEX Ultraviolet Virgo Cluster Survey (GUViCS) is a complete blind survey of the Virgo cluster covering about 40 sq. deg. in the far UV (FUV, lambda_eff=1539A, Delta-lambda=442A) and about 120 sq. deg. in the near UV (NUV, lambda_eff=2316A, Delta-lambda=1060A). The goal of the survey is to study the ultraviolet (UV) properties of galaxies in a rich cluster environment, spanning a wide luminosity range from giants to dwarfs, and regardless of prior knowledge of their star formation activity. The UV data will be combined with those in other bands (optical: NGVS; far-infrared - submm: HeViCS; HI: ALFALFA) and with our multizone chemo-spectrophotometric models of galaxy evolution to make a complete and exhaustive study of the effects of the environment on the evolution of galaxies in high density regions. We present here the scientific objectives of the survey, describing the observing strategy and briefly discussing different data reduction techniques. Using UV data already in-hand for the central 12 sq. deg. we determine the FUV and NUV luminosity functions of the Virgo cluster core for all cluster members and separately for early- and late-type galaxies and compare it to the one obtained in the field and other nearby clusters (Coma, A1367). This analysis shows that the FUV and NUV luminosity functions of the core of the Virgo clusters are flatter (alpha about -1.1) than those determined in Coma and A1367. We discuss the possible origin of this difference, Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, accepted in A&A, high resolution version of figure 1 and 2 and other information available at http://galex.oamp.fr/guvics/observations.html

We analyze photometric data in SDSS-DR7 to infer statistical properties of faint satellites associated to isolated bright galaxies (M_r<-20.5) in the redshift range 0.03

We have measured redshifts for 243 z ~3 quasars in nine VLT VIMOS LBG redshift survey areas, each of which is centred on a known bright quasar. Using spectra of these quasars, we measure the cross-correlation between neutral hydrogen gas causing the Lya forest and 1020 Lyman-break galaxies at z ~3. We find an increase in neutral hydrogen absorption within 5 h^-1 Mpc of a galaxy in agreement with the results of Adelberger et al. (2003, 2005). The Lya-LBG cross-correlation can be described by a power-law on scales larger than 3 h^-1 Mpc. When galaxy velocity dispersions are taken into account our results at smaller scales (<2 h^-1 Mpc) are also in good agreement with the results of Adelberger et al. (2005). There is little immediate indication of a region with a transmission spike above the mean IGM value which might indicate the presence of star-formation feedback. To measure the galaxy velocity dispersions, which include both intrinsic LBG velocity dispersion and redshift errors, we have used the LBG-LBG redshift space distortion measurements of Bielby et al. (2010). We find that the redshift-space transmission spike implied in the results of Adelberger et al. (2003) is too narrow to be physical in the presence of the likely LBG velocity dispersion and is likely to be a statistical fluke. Nevertheless, neither our nor previous data can rule out the presence of a narrow, real-space transmission spike, given the evidence of the increased Lya absorption surrounding LBGs which can mask the spike's presence when convolved with a realistic LBG velocity dispersion. Finally, we identify 176 CIV systems in the quasar spectra and find an LBG-CIV correlation strength on scales of 10 h^-1 Mpc consistent with the relation measured at ~Mpc scales., Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures, accepted by MNRAS

We present the initial imaging and spectroscopic data acquired as part of the VLT VIMOS Lyman-break galaxy Survey. UBR (or UBVI) imaging covers five 36'x36' fields centred on bright z>3 QSOs, allowing ~21,000 22 LBGs and 10 z>2 QSOs from a total of 19 VIMOS pointings. From the galaxy spectra, we observe a 625+-510 km/s velocity offset between the ISM absorption and Ly-alpha emission line redshifts. Using the photometric and spectroscopic catalogues, we have analysed the galaxy clustering at z~3. In the photometric case, the angular correlation function, w(theta), is well fit by a double power-law with clustering scale-length, r_0 = 3.19+0.32-0.54 Mpc/h for r < 1 Mpc/h and r_0 = 4.59+0.31-0.33 Mpc/h at larger scales. Using the redshift sample we estimate the semi-projected correlation function, w_p(sigma) and find r_0 = 3.67+0.23-0.24 Mpc/h for the VLT sample and r_0 = 3.98+0.14-0.15 Mpc/h for a combined VLT+Keck sample. From the z-space correlation functions and assuming the above xi(r) models, we find that the combined VLT and Keck surveys require a galaxy velocity dispersion, ^1/2 ~ 700 km/s, higher than the ~400 km/s found by previous authors. We also measure a value for the gravitational growth rate parameter of beta(z=3) = 0.48+-0.17, implying a low value for the bias of b = 2.06+1.1-0.5. This value is consistent with the galaxy clustering amplitude which gives b = 2.22+-0.16, assuming the standard cosmology, implying that the evolution of the gravitational growth rate is also consistent with Einstein gravity. We have compared our LBG clustering amplitudes with lower redshift measurements and find that the clustering strength is not inconsistent with that of low-redshift L* spirals for simple 'long-lived' galaxy models., Comment: 27 pages, 25 figures, accepted in MNRAS

We focus on an analysis of galaxies of high stellar mass and low metallicity. We cross-correlated the Millenium Galaxy Catalogue (MGC) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy catalogue to provide a sample of MGC objects with high resolution imaging and both spectroscopic and photometric information available in the SDSS database. For each galaxy in our sample, we conducted a systematic morphological analysis by visual inspection of MGC images using their luminosity contours. The galaxies are classified as either disturbed or undisturbed objects. We divide the sample into three metallicity regions, within wich we compare the properties of disturbed and undisturbed objects. We find that the fraction of galaxies that are strongly disturbed, indicative of being merger remnants, is higher when lower metallicity objects are considered. The three bins analysed consist of approximatively 15%, 20%, and 50% disturbed galaxies (for high, medium, and low metallicity, respectively). Moreover, the ratio of the disturbed to undisturbed relative distributions of the population age indicator, Dn(4000), in the low metallicity bin, indicates that the disturbed objects have substantially younger stellar populations than their undisturbed counterparts. In addition, we find that an analysis of colour distributions provides similar results, showing that low metallicity galaxies with a disturbed morphology are bluer than those that are undisturbed. The bluer colours and younger populations of the low metallicity, morphologically disturbed objects suggest that they have experienced a recent merger with an associated enhanced star formation rate. [abridged], Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

We study the mass-metallicity relation of galaxies in pairs and in isolation taken from the SDSS-DR4 using the stellar masses and oxygen abundances derived by Tremonti et al. (2004). Close galaxy pairs, defined by projected separation r_p < 25kpc/h and radial velocity Delta_V < 350 km/s, are morphologically classified according to the strength of the interaction signs. We find that only for pairs showing signs of strong interactions, the mass-metallicity relation differs significantly from that of galaxies in isolation. In such pairs, the mean gas-phase oxygen abundances of galaxies with low stellar masses (Mstar ~< 10^9 Msun/h) exhibit an excess of 0.2 dex. Conversely, at larger masses (Mstar >~ 10^10 Msun/h) galaxies have a systematically lower metallicity, although with a smaller difference (-0.05 dex). Similar trends are obtained if g-band magnitudes are used instead of stellar masses. In minor interactions, we find that the less massive member is systematically enriched, while a galaxy in interaction with a comparable stellar mass companion shows a metallicity decrement with respect to galaxies in isolation. We argue that metal-rich starbursts triggered by a more massive component, and inflows of low metallicity gas induced by comparable or less massive companion galaxies, provide a natural scenario to explain our findings., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We use a semianalytic galaxy catalogue constructed from the Millennium Simulation to study the satellites of isolated galaxies in the LCDM cosmogony. This sample (~80,000$ bright primaries, surrounded by ~178,000 satellites) allows the characterization, with minimal statistical uncertainty, of the dynamical properties of satellite/primary galaxy systems in a LCDM universe. We find that, overall, the satellite population traces the dark matter rather well: its spatial distribution and kinematics may be approximated by an NFW profile with a mildly anisotropic velocity distribution. Their spatial distribution is also mildly anisotropic, with a well-defined ``anti-Holmberg'' effect that reflects the misalignment between the major axis and angular momentum of the host halo. The isolation criteria for our primaries picks not only galaxies in sparse environments, but also a number of primaries at the centre of ''fossil'' groups. We find that the abundance and luminosity function of these unusual systems are in reasonable agreement with the few available observational constraints. We recover the expected L_{host} \sigma_{sat}^3 relation for LCDM models for truly-isolated primaries. Less strict primary selection, however, leads to substantial modification of the scaling relation. Our analysis also highlights a number of difficulties afflicting studies that rely on blind stacking of satellite systems to constrain the mean halo mass of the primary galaxies., Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, MNRAS in press. Accepted version with minor changes. Version with high resolution figures available at: http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~lsales/SatPapers/SatPapers.html

We developed a Monte Carlo code to generate long-duration gamma ray burst (LGRB) events within cosmological hydrodynamical simulations consistent with the concordance model. As structure is assembled, LGRBs are generated in the substructure that formed galaxies today. We adopted the collapsar model so that LGRBs are produced by single, massive stars at the final stage of their evolution. We found that the observed properties of the LGRB host galaxies (HGs) are reproduced if LGRBs are also required to be generated by low metallicity stars. The low metallicity condition imposed on the progenitor stars of LGRBs selects a sample of HGs with mean gas abundances of 12 + log O/H \~ 8.6. For z<1 the simulated HGs of low metallicity LGRB progenitors tend to be faint, slow rotators with high star formation efficiency, compared with the general galaxy population, in agreement with observations. At higher redshift, our results suggest that larger systems with high star formation activity could also contribute to the generation of LGRBs from low metallicity progenitors since the fraction of low metallicity gas available for star formation increases for all systems with look-back time. Under the hypothesis of our LGRB model, our results support the claim that LGRBs could be unbiased tracers of star formation at high redshifts., Comment: Final revised version with minor changes. 9 pages, 9 figures, mn2e.cls. To appear in MNRAS

We analyze photometric properties of 1384 cluster galaxies as a function of the normalized distance to cluster center. These galaxies were selected in the central region ($r/r_{200} \leq$ 0.8) of 14 southern Abell clusters chosen from the Southern Abell Cluster Redshifts Survey (SARS). For 507 of these galaxies we also obtained their luminosity profiles. We have studied the morphology-clustercentric distance relation on the basis of the shape parameter $n$ of the S\'ersic's law. We also have analyzed the presence of a possible segregation in magnitude for both, the galaxy total luminosity and that of their components (i.e. the bulge and the disk). Results show a marginal ($2\sigma$ level) decrease of the total luminosity as a function of normalized radius. However, when bulges are analyzed separately, a significant luminosity segregation is found ($3\sigma$ and $2\sigma$ for galaxies in projection and member galaxies respectively). The fraction of bulges brighter than $M_B \leq -22$ is three times larger in the core of clusters than in the outer region. Our analysis of the disk component suggests that disks are, on average, less luminous in the cluster core than at $r/r_{200} \sim 0.8$. In addition, we found that the magnitude-size relation as a function of $r/r_{200}$ indicates (at $2\sigma$ level) that disks are smaller and centrally brighter in the core of clusters. However, the Kormendy relation (the bulge magnitude-size relation) appears to be independent of environment., Comment: To appear in the AJ

Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) belong to the most energetic events in the Universe. Recently, the extragalactic nature of these sources has been confirmed with the discovery of several host galaxies (HGs) and the measurement of their redshifts. To explain the origin of GRBs various models have been proposed, among which the coalescence of compact objects and the "collapsar" scenarios are the most representative, being the collapsar model one of the most accepted to explain the long duration GRBs. A natural consequence of this model is that the GRBs would trace the star formation rate (SFR) of their HGs. In this contributed paper we present preliminary results of the development of a Montecarlo-based code for collapsar event formation which is coupled to chemical-cosmological simulations aiming at studying the properties of HGs in a hierarchical scenario., Comment: Minor changes after referee report. To appear in the 48th Bulletin of the Argentine Astronomical Society (BAAA 48, 2005). 4 pages, baaa-eng.sty

The Southern Abell Redshift Survey contains 39 clusters of galaxies with redshifts in the range 0.0 < z < 0.31 and a median redshift depth of z = 0.0845. SARS covers the region 0 < decl < -65 deg, R.A. < 5h, R.A. > 21h (while avoiding the LMC and SMC) with b > 40. Cluster locations were chosen from the Abell and Abell-Corwin-Olowin catalogs while galaxy positions were selected from the Automatic Plate Measuring Facility galaxy catalog with extinction-corrected magnitudes in the range 15 <= b_j < 19. SARS utilized the Las Campanas 2.5 m duPont telescope, observing either 65 or 128 objects concurrently over a 1.5 sq deg field. New redshifts for 3440 galaxies are reported in the fields of these 39 clusters of galaxies., Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, Table 2 can be downloaded in its entirety from http://trotsky.arc.nasa.gov/~mway/SARS1/sars1-table2.csv

We perform statistical analyses to study the infall of galaxies onto groups and clusters in the nearby Universe. The study is based on the UZC and SSRS2 group catalogs and peculiar velocity samples. We find a clear signature of infall of galaxies onto groups over a wide range of scales 5 h^{-1} Mpc10^{13} M_{\odot} a larger infall is observed, V_{infall} \simeq 200 km s^{-1}. Similarly, we find that galaxies surrounding groups with L_{g}<10^{15} L_{\odot} have V_{infall} \simeq 100 km s^{-1}, whereas for L_{g}>10^{15} L_{\odot} groups, the amplitude of the galaxy infall can be as large as V_{infall} \simeq 250 km s^{-1}. The observational results are compared with the results obtained from mock group and galaxy samples constructed from numerical simulations, which include galaxy formation through semianalytical models. We obtain a general agreement between the results from the mock catalogs and the observations. The infall of galaxies onto groups is suitably reproduced in the simulations and, as in the observations, larger virial mass and luminosity groups exhibit the largest galaxy infall amplitudes. We derive estimates of the integrated mass overdensities associated with groups by applying linear theory to the infall velocities after correcting for the effects of distance uncertainties obtained using the mock catalogs. The resulting overdensities are consistent with a power law with \delta \sim 1 at r \sim 10 h^{-1}Mpc., Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures

We study the properties of the 3-dimensional and projected shapes of haloes using high resolution numerical simulations and observational data where the latter comes from the 2PIGG (Eke et al. 2004) and SDSS-DR3GC group catalogues (Merchan & Zandivarez 2005). We investigate the dependence of halo shape on characteristics such as mass and number of members. In the 3-dimensional case, we find a significant correlation between the mass and halo shape; massive systems are more prolate than small haloes. We detect a source of strong systematics in estimates of the triaxiality of a halo, which is found to be a strong function of the number of members; LCDM haloes usually characterised by triaxial shapes, slightly bent toward prolate forms, appear more oblate when taking only a small subset of the halo particles. The ellipticities of observed 2PIGG and SDSS-DR3GC groups are found to be strongly dependent on the number of group members, so that poor groups appear more elongated than rich ones. However, this is again an artifact caused by poor statistics and not an intrinsic property of the galaxy groups, nor an effect from observational biases. We interpret these results with the aid of a GALFORM mock 2PIGG catalogue. When comparing the group ellipticities in mock and real catalogues, we find an excellent agreement between the trends of shapes with number of group members. When carefully taking into account the effects of low number statistics, we find that more massive groups are consistent with more elongated shapes. Finally, our studies find no significant correlations between the shape of observed 2PIGG or SDSS-DR3GC groups with the properties of galaxy members such as colour or spectral type index., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We study statistical properties of voids in the distribution of mass, dark-matter haloes and galaxies (B_J<-16) in a LCDM numerical simulation populated with galaxies using a semi-analytic galaxy formation model(GALFORM, Cole et al. 2000). We find that the properties of voids selected from GALFORM galaxies are compatible with those of voids identified from a population of haloes with mass M>10^11.5 M_sun/h, similar to the median halo mass, M_med=10^11.3 M_sun/h. We also find that the number density of galaxy- and halo-defined voids can be up to two orders of magnitude higher than mass-defined voids for large void radii. As expected, there are outflow velocities which show their maximum at larger void-centric distances for larger voids (well described by a linear relation). The void-centric distance where this maximum occurs, follows a suitable power law fit of the form, log(d_vmax)=(r_void/A)^B. At sufficiently large distances, we find mild infall motions onto the sub-dense regions. We find that a similar analysis in redshift space would make both outflows and infalls to appear with a lower amplitude. We also find that the velocity dispersion of galaxies and haloes is larger in the direction parallel to the void walls by ~10-20%. We analyse the void-tracer cross-correlation functions in real- and redshift-space as a function of separation, and also as a function of separations parallel and perpendicular to the line of sight. The distortion pattern observed in xi(sigma,pi) is that of an elongation along the line of sight which extends out to large separations. Positive xi contours evidence finger-of-god motions at the void walls. Elongations along the line of sight are roughly comparable between galaxy-, halo- and mass-defined voids. (Abridged), Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, accepted for Publication in MNRAS

We compute the galaxy luminosity function in spectroscopically selected nearby groups and clusters. Our sample comprises 728 systems extracted from the third release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the redshift range $0.03 < z < 0.06$ with virial mass range $10^{11}M_\odot < M_{vir} < 2\times 10^{14}M_\odot$. In order to compute the galaxy luminosity function, we apply a statistical background subtraction method following usually adopted techniques. In the $r$ band, the composite galaxy luminosity function shows a slope $\alpha=-1.3$ in the bright--end, and an upturn of the slope in the faint--end, $M_r\ga -18+5log(h)$, to slopes $-1.9<\alpha<-1.6$. We find that this feature is present also in the $i,g$ and $z$ bands, and for all explored group subsamples, irrespective of the group mass, number of members, integrated color or the presence of a hot intra-cluster gas associated to X-ray emission., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics

We have analyzed CCD images of 14 Abell clusters in the R filter of the SARS survey (Way et al 2004), with cz<40000kms^{-1}. We have obtained the luminosity profiles for 507 galaxies of which 232 (46%) have known redshifts. In order to fit the luminosity profiles we used the de Vaucouleurs law for bulge systems, an exponential profile for disk systems and we have also fitted the Sersic's law (r^n) to all galaxy profiles. We have found that 162 (32%) galaxies in the sample have pure r^{1/4} profiles, 168 (33%) have pure exponential profiles, while 93 (18%) galaxies have luminosity profiles that are well fitted by a combination of both bulge and disk profiles. On the other hand, we could not fit the classical bulge + disk profile to the remaining 84 (17%) galaxies of the sample. For such cases we have only used the Sersic law. We have also analyzed how seeing and sky cleaning affect the structural and photometric parameters obtained through profile fitting. In addition, we have studied several relations between these parameters. We have found that bulges and disks show consistency with a unique relation in the \mu_e - log(r_e) plane. We also found that bulges and disks obey a magnitude-size relation in the sense that large bulges and disks (large r_e values) have high luminosities. On the other hand, Sersic law fitting parameters n, $rs$ and \mu_s show a strong correlation in agreement with other authors suggesting the idea that not only ellipticals but all galaxies are likely to be understood as a one parameter family., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in AJ

We have performed a systematic analysis of the dynamics of different galaxy populations in galaxy groups from the 2dFGRS. For this purpose we have combined all the groups into a single system, where velocities v and radius r are expressed adimensionally. We have used several methods to compare the distributions of relative velocities of galaxies with respect to the group centre for samples selected according to their spectral type (as defined by Madgwick et al., 2002), bj band luminosity and B-R colour index. We have found strong segregation effects: spectral type I objects show a statistically narrower velocity distribution than that of galaxies with a substantial star formation activity (type II-IV). Similarly, the same behavior is observed for galaxies with colour index B-R>1 compared to galaxies with B-R<1. Bright (Mb<-19) and faint (Mb>-19) galaxies show the same segregation. It is not important once the sample is restricted to a given spectral type. These effects are particularly important in the central region (Rp

We carried out a comprehensive analysis of the chemical properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the stellar population (SP) of current normal galaxies and their progenitors in a hierarchical clustering scenario. We compared the results with observations of Damped Lyman-$\alpha$ systems (DLAs) under the hypothesis that, at least, part of the observed DLAs could originate in the building blocks of today normal galaxies. We used a hydrodynamical cosmological code which includes star formation and chemical enrichment. Galaxy-like objects are identified at $z=0$ and then followed back in time. Random line-of-sights (LOS) are drawn through these structures in order to mimic Damped Lyman $\alpha$ systems. We then analysed the chemical properties of the ISM and SP along the LOS. We found that the progenitors of current galaxies in the field with mean $L <0.5 L^* $ and virial circular velocity of $100-250 {\rm km/sec}$ could be the associated DLA galaxies. For these systems we detected a trend for $$ to increase with redshift.(Abridged), Comment: 15 pages, 11 Postscript figures. Accepted to MNRAS

We analyse the correlation function of mock galaxy clusters in redshift space. We constructed several mock catalogues designed to mimic the selection biases inherent in a variety of observational surveys. We explore different effects that contribute to the distortion of the clustering pattern; the pairwise velocity distribution of galaxy systems, coherent bulk motions, redshift errors and systematics in cluster identification. Our tests show that the redshift-space clustering pattern of galaxy systems is highly influenced by effects associated with the identification procedure from two dimensional surveys. These systems show a spuriously large correlation amplitude, an effect that is present and even stronger in a subsample whose angular positions coincide with 3-dimensional identified clusters. The use of a small number of redshift measurements in the determination of the cluster distance has a smaller impact on the measured correlation function. We show that an angular incompleteness in redshift surveys, such as that present in the 2dFGRS 100k public release, has no significant effect in the results. We suggest that the nature of projection effects arise mainly from structures along the line of sight in the filamentary large-scale clustering pattern. Thus spectroscopic surveys are the only means of providing unbiased cluster samples., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Revised version re-submitted to MNRAS. Info and high resolution figures can be found at http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~nelsonp/anisotropies

We study the redshift space correlation function of galaxy clusters for observational samples constructed in different surveys. We explore correlation amplitudes, pairwise velocity distributions and bias factors. Systematics in cluster identification procedures are the main source of biased estimates of the correlation amplitude and inferred velocity dispersions. By comparing our results with those of numerical simulations we explore the strong influence on the clustering distortion pattern in redshift space from effects associated with the cluster identification procedure from two dimensional surveys as is the case of Abell and APM clusters. The identification of clusters in X-ray surveys improves this situation, although there are still systematic effects which are probably due to identification of optical sources in the determination of cluster redshifts. These systematics are particularly strong for the most luminous X-ray selected clusters in the Extended Bright Cluster Survey, which exhibits very large anisotropies, comparable to those present in the Abell catalogue. Our results demonstrate that forthcoming large redshift surveys will be extremely important for the construction of new samples of groups and clusters as well as improving the determination of optical and X-ray selected cluster distances, essential for reliable analyses of the large scale structure., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Revised version re-submitted to MNRAS. Info and figures can be found at http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~nelsonp/anisotropies

We study galaxy pairs in the field selected from the 100 K public release of the 2dF galaxy redshift survey. Our analysis provides a well defined sample of 1258 galaxy pairs, a large database suitable for statistical studies of galaxy interactions in the local universe, $z \le 0.1$. Galaxy pairs where selected by radial velocity ($\Delta V$) and projected separation ($r_{\rm p}$) criteria determined by analyzing the star formation activity within neighbours (abridged). The ratio between the fractions of star forming galaxies in pairs and in isolation is a useful tools to unveil the effects of having a close companion. We found that about fifty percent of galaxy pairs do not show signs of important star formation activity (independently of their luminosities) supporting the hypothesis that the internal properties of the galaxies play a crucial role in the triggering of star formation by interactions., Comment: 9 pages, 11 Postscript figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Revised version

The combined enrichment of Supernovae II and I in a hierarchical clustering scenario could produce regions with low N content respect to $\alpha$-elements consistent with observed values measured in Damped Ly-$\alpha$ (DLAs). We have studied the formation of DLAs in a hierarchical clustering scenario under the hypothesis that the building blocks of current field galaxies could be part of the structures mapped by DLAs. In our models the effects of the non-linear evolution of the structure (which produces bursty star formation histories, gas infall, etc.) and the contributions of SNIa and SNII are found to be responsible of producing these N regions with respect to the $\alpha$-elements. Although SNIa are not main production sites for Si or O, because of the particular timing Consistently, we found the simulated low nitrogen DLAs to have sub-solar [Fe/H]. We show that low nitrogen DLAs have experienced important star formation activity in the past with higher efficiency than normal DLAs. Our chemical model suggests that SNIa play a relevant role in the determination of the abundance pattern of DLA and, that the observed low nitrogen DLA frequency could be explained taking into account the time-delay of $\approx $ 0.5 Gyr introduced by these supernova to release metals., Comment: 4 pages, 2 Postscript figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS (pink pages)

We develop a new method to determine the linear mass power spectrum using the mass function of galaxy clusters. We obtain the rms mass fluctuation sigma (M) using the expression for the mass function in the Press & Schechter (1974), Sheth, Mo & Tormen (2001) and Jenkins et al. (2001) formalisms. We apply different techniques to recover the adimensional power spectrum Delta ^{2}(k) from sigma (M) namely the k_{eff} approximation, the singular value decomposition and the linear regularization method. The application of these techniques to the tCDM and LCDM GIF simulations shows a high efficiency in recovering the theoretical power spectrum over a wide range of scales. We compare our results with those derived from the power spectrum of the spatial distribution of the same sample of clusters in the simulations obtained by application of the classical Feldman, Kaiser & Peacock (1994), FKP, method. We find that the mass function based method presented here can provide a very accurate estimate of the linear power spectrum, particularly for low values of k. This estimate is comparable, or even better behaved, than the FKP solution. The principal advantage of our method is that it allows the determination of the linear mass power spectrum using the joint information of objects of a wide range of masses without dealing with specific assumptions on the bias relative to the underlying mass distribution., Comment: 12 pages, 13 poscript figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The behaviour of the relative fraction of galaxies with different spectral types in groups is analysed as a function of projected local galaxy density and the group-centric distance. The group sample was taken from the 2dF Group Galaxy Calatogue constructed by Merch\'an & Zandivarez. Our group sample was constrained to have a homogeneous virial mass distribution with redshift. Galaxies belonging to this group sample were selected in order to minimize possible biases such as preferential selection of high luminosity objects. We find a clear distinction between high virial mass groups ($M_V\gsim 10^{13.5} M_{\odot}$) and the less massive ones. While the massive groups show a significant dependence of the relative fraction of low star formation galaxies on local galaxy density and group-centric radius,groups with lower masses show no significant trends. We also cross-correlate our group subsample with the previously identified clusters finding that this sample shows a very similar behaviour as observed in the high virial mass group subsample., Comment: 3 figures replaced, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We estimate the fraction of star forming galaxies in a catalogue of groups, constructed from the 2dF galaxy redshift survey by Merch\'an & Zandivarez. We use the $\eta$ spectral type parameter of galaxies and subdivide the sample of galaxies in groups into four types depending on the values of the $\eta$ parameter following Madgwick et al. We obtain a strong correlation between the relative fraction of galaxies with high star formation and the parent group virial mass. We find that even in the environment of groups with low virial mass $M \sim 10^{13} M_{\odot}$ the star formation of their member galaxies is significantly suppressed. The relation between the fraction of early-type galaxies and the group virial mass obeys a simple power law spanning over three orders of magnitude in virial mass. Our results show quantitatively the way that the presence of galaxies with high star formation rates is inhibited in massive galaxy systems., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Pink Pages 3 figures

We present preliminary results on the effects of mergers on the chemical properties of galactic objects in hierarchical clustering scenarios. We adopt a hydrodynamical chemical code that allows to describe the coupled evolution of dark matter and baryons within a cosmological context. We found that disk-like and spheroid-like objects have distinctive metallicity patterns that may be the result of different evolution., Comment: 2 pages, 1 Postscript figures. Proceeding of Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies, Rome, 2000

We develop a model to implement metal enrichment in a cosmological context based on the hydrodynamical AP3MSPH code described by Tissera, Lambas and Abadi (1997).The star formation model is based on the Schmidt law and has been modified in order to describe the transformation of gas into stars in more detail. The enrichment of the interstellar medium due to supernovae I and II explosions is taken into account by assuming a Salpeter Initial Mass Function and different nucleosynthesis models.The different chemical elements are mixed within the gaseous medium according to the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics technique. We present tests of the code that assess the effects of resolution and model parameters on the results. scenario and we present results of the analysis of the star formation and chemical properties of the interstellar medium and stellar population of the simulated galactic objects. We show that these systems reproduce abundance ratios for primary and secondary elements of the interstellar medium, and the correlation between the (O/H) abundance and the gas fraction of galaxies. The numerical simulations performed provide a detailed description of the chemical properties of galactic objects formed in hierarchical clustering scenarios and proved to be useful tools to deepen our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution., Comment: 36 pages, 9 Postscript figures. Final version (few changes),Acepted MNRAS

We report first results of an implementation of a chemical model in a cosmological code, based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) technique. We show that chemical SPH simulations are a promising tool to provide clues for the understanding of the chemical properties of galaxies in relation to their formation and evolution in a cosmological framework., Comment: 4 pages, 1 Postscript figure, 1jpg figure. To appear in ASP, Conference Series. Proceeding of 'Stars, Gas and Dust in Galaxies: Exploring the Links'

We report preliminar results on a chemical model implemented in a hydrodynamical cosmological code. We compute the metallicity of the gaseous component in galactic halos at different redshifts. The results compare reasonably well to observations. In particular, we show the predicted metallicity content of today-galaxy progenitors as a function of redshift and confront them with those observed in DLA systems., Comment: 2 pages, 1 PS figures. To be published as an ASP Conference Series: Proceedings of Clustering at High Redshift, Les Rencontres Internationales de l'IGRAP

We compute quasar-galaxy and AGN-galaxy cross-correlation functions for samples taken from the \cite{VCV98} catalog of quasars and active galaxies, using tracer galaxies taken from the Edinburgh/Durham Southern Catalog. The sample of active galaxy targets shows positive correlation at projected separations $r_p < 6 h^{-1} Mpc$ consistent with the usual power-law. On the other hand, we do not find a statistically significant positive quasar-galaxy correlation signal except in the range $3 h^{-1} Mpc < r_p < 6 h^{-1} Mpc$ where we find similar AGN-galaxy and quasar-galaxy correlation amplitudes. At separations $r_p<3 h^{-1} Mpc$ a strong decline of quasar-galaxy correlations is observed, suggesting a significant local influence of quasars in galaxy formation. In an attempt to reproduce the observed cross-correlation between quasars and galaxies, we have performed CDM cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and tested the viability of a scenario based on the model developed by \cite{silkrees98}. In this scheme a fraction of the energy released by quasars is considered to be transferred into the baryonic component of the intergalactic medium in the form of winds. The results of the simulations suggest that the shape of the observed quasar-galaxy cross-correlation function could be understood in a scenario where a substantial amount of energy is transferred to the medium at the redshift of maximum quasar activity., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We study the ability of COBE-normalized CDM models to reproduce observed properties of the distribution of galaxies and clusters using N-body numerical simulations. We analyze the galaxy-galaxy and cluster-galaxy two-point correlation functions, $\xi_{gg}$ and $\xi_{cg}$, in open ($\Omega_{0}=0.4, \Omega_{\Lambda}=0, \sigma_8=0.75$), and flat ($\Omega_{0}=0.3, \Omega_{\Lambda}=0.7, \sigma_8=1.05$) CDM models which both reproduce the observed abundances of rich clusters of galaxies. To compare models with observations we compute projected cross-correlation functions $\omega_{gg}$ and $\omega_{cg}$ to derive the corresponding $\xi_{gg}$ and $\xi_{cg}$. We use target galaxies selected from Las Campanas Redshift Survey, target clusters selected from the APM Cluster Survey and tracer galaxies from the Edinburgh Durham Sky Survey catalog., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, to appear in: The Astrophysical Journal

We present a hydrodynamical code based on the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics technique implemented in an AP3M code aimed at solving the hydrodynamical and gravitational equations in a cosmological frame. We analyze the ability of the code to reproduce standard tests and perform numerical simulations to study the formation of galaxies in a typical region of a CDM model. These numerical simulations include gas and dark matter particles and take into account physical processes such as shock waves, radiative cooling, and a simplified model of star formation. Several observed properties of normal galaxies such as $M_{gas}/M_{total}$ ratios, the luminosity function and the Tully-Fisher relation are analyzed within the limits imposed by numerical resolution., Comment: 21 pages, 2 postscript tables. Submitted MNRAS 04.03.96