Examinando por Autor "Nantais, J."

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    A Large-scale Kinematic Study of Molecular Gas in High-z Cluster Galaxies: Evidence for High Levels of Kinematic Asymmetry
    (Astrophysical Journal, 2023-02-01) Cramer, W. J.; Noble, A. G.; Massingill, K.; Cairns, J.; Clements, D. L.; Cooper, M. C.; Demarco, R.; Matharu, J.; McDonald, M.; Muzzin, A.; Nantais, J.; Rudnick, G.; Übler, H.; van Kampen, E.; Webb, T. M. A.; Wilson, G.; Yee, H. K. C.
    We investigate the resolved kinematics of the molecular gas, as traced by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in CO (2−1), of 25 cluster member galaxies across three different clusters at a redshift of z ∼ 1.6. This is the first large-scale analysis of the molecular gas kinematics of cluster galaxies at this redshift. By separately estimating the rotation curve of the approaching and receding sides of each galaxy via kinematic modeling, we quantify the difference in total circular velocity to characterize the overall kinematic asymmetry of each galaxy. 3/14 of the galaxies in our sample that we are able to model have similar degrees of asymmetry as that observed in galaxies in the field at similar redshift based on observations of mainly ionized gas. However, this leaves 11/14 galaxies in our sample with significantly higher asymmetry, and some of these galaxies have degrees of asymmetry of up to ∼50 times higher than field galaxies observed at similar redshift. Some of these extreme cases also have one-sided tail-like morphology seen in the molecular gas, supporting a scenario of tidal and/or ram pressure interaction. Such stark differences in the kinematic asymmetry in clusters versus the field suggest the evolutionary influence of dense environments, established as being a major driver of galaxy evolution at low redshift, is also active in the high-redshift universe.
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    ALMA Observations of Gas-rich Galaxies in z ~ 1.6 Galaxy Clusters: Evidence for Higher Gas Fractions in High-density Environments
    (Institute of Physics Publishing, 2017-06) Noble, A.G.; McDonald, M.; Muzzin, A.; Nantais, J.; Rudnick, G.; Van Kampen, E.; Webb, T.M.A.; Wilson, G.; Yee, H.K.C.; Boone, K.; Cooper, M.C.; DeGroot, A.; Delahaye, A.; Demarco, R.; Foltz, R.; Hayden, B.; Lidman, C.; Manilla-Robles, A.; Perlmutter, S.
    We present ALMA CO (2-1) detections in 11 gas-rich cluster galaxies at z ∼ 1.6, constituting the largest sample of molecular gas measurements in z > 1.5 clusters to date. The observations span three galaxy clusters, derived from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey. We augment the >5σ detections of the CO (2-1) fluxes with multi-band photometry, yielding stellar masses and infrared-derived star formation rates, to place some of the first constraints on molecular gas properties in z ∼ 1.6 cluster environments. We measure sizable gas reservoirs of 0.5-2 × 1011 M in these objects, with high gas fractions (f gas) and long depletion timescales (τ), averaging 62% and 1.4 Gyr, respectively. We compare our cluster galaxies to the scaling relations of the coeval field, in the context of how gas fractions and depletion timescales vary with respect to the star-forming main sequence. We find that our cluster galaxies lie systematically off the field scaling relations at z = 1.6 toward enhanced gas fractions, at a level of ∼4σ, but have consistent depletion timescales. Exploiting CO detections in lower-redshift clusters from the literature, we investigate the evolution of the gas fraction in cluster galaxies, finding it to mimic the strong rise with redshift in the field. We emphasize the utility of detecting abundant gas-rich galaxies in high-redshift clusters, deeming them as crucial laboratories for future statistical studies.
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    Discovery of Ram-pressure Stripped Gas around an Elliptical Galaxy in Abell 2670
    (IOP Publishing, 2017-05) Sheen, Y.-K.; Smith, R.; Jaffé, Y.; Kim, M.; Yi, S.K.; Duc, P.-A.; Nantais, J.; Candlish, G.; Demarco, R.; Treister, E.
    Studies of cluster galaxies are increasingly finding galaxies with spectacular one-sided tails of gas and young stars, suggestive of intense ram-pressure stripping. These so-called "jellyfish" galaxies typically have late-type morphology. In this paper, we present Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of an elliptical galaxy in Abell 2670 with long tails of material visible in the optical spectra, as well as blobs with tadpole-like morphology. The spectra in the central part of the galaxy reveal a stellar component as well as ionized gas. The stellar component does not have significant rotation, while the ionized gas defines a clear star-forming gas disk. We argue, based on deep optical images of the galaxy, that the gas was most likely acquired during a past wet merger. It is possible that the star-forming blobs are also remnants of the merger. In addition, the direction and kinematics of the one-sided ionized tails, combined with the tadpole morphology of the star-forming blobs, strongly suggests that the system is undergoing ram pressure from the intracluster medium. In summary, this paper presents the discovery of a post-merger elliptical galaxy undergoing ram-pressure stripping
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    Galaxy Merger Candidates in High-redshift Cluster Environments
    (Institute of Physics Publishing, 2017-07) Delahaye, A.G.; Webb, T.M.A.; Nantais, J.; Degroot, A.; Wilson, G.; Muzzin, A.; Yee, H.K.C.; Foltz, R.; Noble, A.G.; Demarco, R.; Tudorica, A.; Cooper, M.C.; Lidman, C.; Perlmutter, S.; Hayden, B.; Boone, K.; Surace, J.
    We compile a sample of spectroscopically and photometrically selected cluster galaxies from four high-redshift galaxy clusters (1.59 < z < 1.71) from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS), and a comparison field sample selected from the UKIDSS Deep Survey. Using near-infrared imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope, we classify potential mergers involving massive (M∗ ≥ 3 × 1010M⊙) cluster members by eye, based on morphological properties such as tidal distortions, double nuclei, and projected near neighbors within 20 kpc. With a catalog of 23 spectroscopic and 32 photometric massive cluster members across the four clusters and 65 spectroscopic and 26 photometric comparable field galaxies, we find that after taking into account contamination from interlopers, 11+7.0-5.6% of the cluster members are involved in potential mergers, compared to 24.7+5.3-4.6% of the field galaxies. We see no evidence of merger enhancement in the central cluster environment with respect to the field, suggesting that galaxy-galaxy merging is not a stronger source of galaxy evolution in cluster environments compared to the field at these redshifts.
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    Resolving CO (2-1) in z ∼ 1.6 Gas-rich Cluster Galaxies with ALMA: Rotating Molecular Gas Disks with Possible Signatures of Gas Stripping
    (Astrophysical Journal, 2019-01-10) Noble, A.G.; Muzzin, A.; McDonald, M.; Rudnick, G.; Matharu, J.; Cooper, M.C.; Demarco, R.; Lidman, C.; Nantais, J.; Van Kampen, E.; Webb, T.M.A.; Wilson, G.; Yee, H.K.C.
    We present the first spatially resolved observations of molecular gas in a sample of cluster galaxies beyond z > 0.1. Using ALMA, we detect CO (2-1) in eight z ∼ 1.6 cluster galaxies, all within a single 70″ primary beam. The cluster, SpARCS-J0225, was discovered by the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey, and is replete with gas-rich galaxies in close proximity, thus affording an efficient multiplexing strategy to amass the first sample of resolved CO in distant clusters. Mapping out the kinematic structure and morphology of molecular gas on ∼3.5 kpc scales reveals rotating gas disks in the majority of the galaxies, and some kinematic peculiarities, including a central gas void, a merger, and one-sided gas tails. We find that the extent of the molecular gas is slightly smaller than that of the optical HST stellar component; this is even more pronounced in low-redshift Virgo cluster galaxies. However, limited by small sample sizes of spatially resolved CO, we are unable to differentiate the distribution of stellar-to-gas radii between cluster and field environments at high redshift. Thus, at first glance, while the cluster galaxies generally look like galaxies infalling from the field, with typical main-sequence star formation rates and massive molecular gas reservoirs situated in rotating disks, they have potentially remarkable attributes, including elevated gas fractions, slightly smaller CO disks, and asymmetric gas tails. Taken in tandem, these signatures are tentative evidence for gas stripping in the z ∼ 1.6 cluster, though verification of these trends will require larger samples.
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    Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Protocluster at z = 3.37 with a High Fraction of Quiescent Galaxies
    (IOP Publishing Ltd, 2022-02) McConachie, I.; Wilson, G.; Forrest, B.; Marsan, Z.; Muzzin, A.; Cooper, M.; Annunziatella, M.; Marchesini, D.; Chan, J.; Gomez, P.; Abdullah, M.; Saracco, P.; Nantais, J.
    We report the discovery of MAGAZ3NE J095924+022537, a spectroscopically confirmed protocluster at z=3.3665-0.0012+0.0009 around a spectroscopically confirmed UVJ-quiescent ultramassive galaxy (UMG; M=2.34-0.34+0.23×1011MȮ ) in the COSMOS UltraVISTA field. We present a total of 38 protocluster members (14 spectroscopic and 24 photometric), including the UMG. Notably, and in marked contrast to protoclusters previously reported at this epoch that have been found to contain predominantly star-forming members, we measure an elevated fraction of quiescent galaxies relative to the coeval field ( 73.3-16.9+26.7% versus 11.6-4.9+7.1% for galaxies with stellar mass M ≥ 1011 M Ȯ). This high quenched fraction provides a striking and important counterexample to the seeming ubiquitousness of star-forming galaxies in protoclusters at z > 2 and suggests, rather, that protoclusters exist in a diversity of evolutionary states in the early universe. We discuss the possibility that we might be observing either "early mass quenching"or nonclassical "environmental quenching."We also present the discovery of MAGAZ3NE J100028+023349, a second spectroscopically confirmed protocluster, at a very similar redshift of z=3.3801-0.0281+0.0213 . We present a total of 20 protocluster members, 12 of which are photometric and eight spectroscopic including a poststarburst UMG ( M=2.95-0.20+0.21×1011MȮ ). Protoclusters MAGAZ3NE J0959 and MAGAZ3NE J1000 are separated by 18′ on the sky (35 comoving Mpc), in good agreement with predictions from simulations for the size of "Coma"-type cluster progenitors at this epoch. It is highly likely that the two UMGs are the progenitors of Brightest Cluster Galaxies seen in massive virialized clusters at lower redshift.
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    Weak lensing magnification of SpARCS galaxy clusters
    (EDP Sciences, 2017) Tudorica, A.; Hildebrandt, H.; Tewes, M.; Hoekstra, H.; Morrison, C.B.; Muzzin, A.; Wilson, G.; Yee, H.K.C.; Lidman, C.; Hicks, A.; Nantais, J.; Erben, T.; Van Der Burg, R.F.J.; Demarco, R.
    Context. Measuring and calibrating relations between cluster observables is critical for resource-limited studies. The mass-richness relation of clusters offers an observationally inexpensive way of estimating masses. Its calibration is essential for cluster and cosmological studies, especially for high-redshift clusters. Weak gravitational lensing magnification is a promising and complementary method to shear studies, that can be applied at higher redshifts. Aims. We aim to employ the weak lensing magnification method to calibrate the mass-richness relation up to a redshift of 1.4. We used the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS) galaxy cluster candidates (0.2 < z < 1.4) and optical data from the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) to test whether magnification can be effectively used to constrain the mass of high-redshift clusters. Methods. Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) selected using the u-band dropout technique and their colours were used as a background sample of sources. LBG positions were cross-correlated with the centres of the sample of SpARCS clusters to estimate the magnification signal, which was optimally-weighted using an externally-calibrated LBG luminosity function. The signal was measured for cluster sub-samples, binned in both redshift and richness. Results. We measured the cross-correlation between the positions of galaxy cluster candidates and LBGs and detected a weak lensing magnification signal for all bins at a detection significance of 2.6-5.5σ. In particular, the significance of the measurement for clusters with z> 1.0 is 4.1σ; for the entire cluster sample we obtained an average M200 of 1.28 -0.21 +0.23 × 1014 M⊙. Conclusions. Our measurements demonstrated the feasibility of using weak lensing magnification as a viable tool for determining the average halo masses for samples of high redshift galaxy clusters. The results also established the success of using galaxy over-densities to select massive clusters at z > 1. Additional studies are necessary for further modelling of the various systematic effects we discussed.