Search

The Cluster HEritage project with XMM-Newton - Mass Assembly and Thermodynamics at the Endpoint of structure formation (CHEX-MATE) is a three mega-second Multi-Year Heritage Programme to obtain X-ray observations of a minimally-biased, signal-to-noise limited sample of 118 galaxy clusters detected by Planck through the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. The programme, described in detail in this paper, aims to study the ultimate products of structure formation in time and mass. It is composed of a census of the most recent objects to have formed (Tier-1: 0.05 < z < 0.2; 2 x 10e14 M_sun < M_500 < 9 x 10e14 M_sun), together with a sample of the highest-mass objects in the Universe (Tier-2: z < 0.6; M_500 > 7.25 x 10e14 M_sun). The programme will yield an accurate vision of the statistical properties of the underlying population, measure how the gas properties are shaped by collapse into the dark matter halo, uncover the provenance of non-gravitational heating, and resolve the major uncertainties in mass determination that limit the use of clusters for cosmological parameter estimation. We will acquire X-ray exposures of uniform depth, designed to obtain individual mass measurements accurate to 15-20% under the hydrostatic assumption. We present the project motivations, describe the programme definition, and detail the ongoing multi-wavelength observational (lensing, SZ, radio) and theoretical effort that is being deployed in support of the project., 27 pages, 11 figures; A&A, in press

The mass profiles of massive dark matter halos are highly sensitive to the nature of dark matter and potential modifications of the theory of gravity on large scales. The $\Lambda$CDM paradigm makes strong predictions on the shape of dark matter halos and on the dependence of the shape parameters on halo mass, such that any deviation from the predicted universal shape would have important implications for the fundamental properties of dark matter. Here we use a set of 12 galaxy clusters with available deep X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich data to constrain the shape of the gravitational field with an unprecedented level of precision over two decades in radius. On average, we find that the NFW profile provides an excellent description of the recovered mass profiles, with deviations of less than 10% over a wide radial range. However, there appears to be more diversity in the shape of individual profiles than can be captured by the NFW model. The average NFW concentration and its scatter agree very well with the prediction of the $\Lambda$CDM framework. For a subset of systems, we disentangle the gravitational field into the contribution of baryonic components (gas, brightest cluster galaxy, and satellite galaxies) and that of dark matter. The stellar content dominates the gravitational field inside $\sim0.02R_{500}$ but is responsible for only 1-2% of the total gravitational field inside $R_{200}$. The total baryon fraction reaches the cosmic value at $R_{200}$ and slightly exceeds it beyond this point, possibly indicating a mild level of nonthermal pressure support ($10-20\%$) in cluster outskirts. Finally, the relation between observed and baryonic acceleration exhibits a complex shape that strongly departs from the radial acceleration relation in spiral galaxies, which shows that the aforementioned relation does not hold at the galaxy-cluster scale., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

Understanding the formation and evolution of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) is critical for explaining their wide-ranging properties. However, studies of LSBGs in deep photometric surveys are often hindered by a lack of distance estimates. In this work, we present a new catalogue of 479 LSBGs, identified in deep optical imaging data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). These galaxies are found across a range of environments, from the field to groups. Many are likely to be ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs). We see clear evidence for a bimodal population in colour - S\'ersic index space, and split our sample into red and blue LSBG populations. We estimate environmental densities for a subsample of 215 sources by statistically associating them with nearby spectroscopic galaxies from the overlapping GAMA spectroscopic survey. We find that the blue LSBGs are statistically consistent with being spatially randomised with respect to local spectroscopic galaxies, implying they exist predominantly in low-density environments. However, the red LSBG population is significantly spatially correlated with local structure. We find that 26+/-5% of isolated, local LSBGs belong to the red population, which we interpret as quiescent. This indicates that high environmental density plays a dominant, but not exclusive, role in producing quiescent LSBGs. Our analysis method may prove to be very useful given the large samples of LSB galaxies without distance information expected from e.g. the Vera C. Rubin observatory (aka LSST), especially in combination with upcoming comprehensive wide field spectroscopic surveys., Comment: Accepted in MNRAS

While we have learnt much about ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs) in groups and clusters, relatively little is known about them in less dense environments. More isolated UDGs are important for our understanding of UDG formation scenarios because they form via secular mechanisms, allowing us to determine the relative importance of environmentally driven formation in groups and clusters. We have used the public Kilo-Degree Survey together with the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program to constrain the abundance and properties of UDGs in the field, targeting sources with low surface brightness (24.0 ≤ $\bar{\mu }_{\mathrm{ e},r}$ ≤ 26.5) and large apparent sizes (3.0 arcsec ≤ $\bar{r}_{\mathrm{ e},r}$ ≤ 8.0 arcsec). Accounting for several sources of interlopers in our selection based on canonical scaling relations, and using an empirical UDG model based on measurements from the literature, we show that a scenario in which cluster-like red-sequence UDGs occupy a significant number of field galaxies is unlikely, with most field UDGs being significantly bluer and showing signs of localized star formation. An immediate conclusion is that UDGs are much more efficiently quenched in high-density environments. We estimate an upper limit on the total field abundance of UDGs of 8 ± 3 × 10−3 cMpc−3 within our selection range. We also compare the total field abundance of UDGs to a measurement of the abundance of H i-rich UDGs from the literature, suggesting that they occupy at least one-fifth of the overall UDG population. The mass formation efficiency of UDGs implied by this upper limit is similar to what is measured in groups and clusters.

The halo masses $M_{halo}$ of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies are critical measurements for understanding their formation processes. One promising method to estimate a galaxy's $M_{halo}$ is to exploit the empirical scaling relation between $M_{halo}$ and the number of associated globular clusters ($N_{\mathrm{GC}}$). We use a Bayesian mixture model approach to measure $N_{\mathrm{GC}}$ for 175 LSB ($23\leq\left\langle \mu_{e,r} \right\rangle [\mathrm{mag\ arcsec}^{-2}]\leq 28$) galaxies in the Fornax cluster using the Fornax Deep Survey (FDS) data; this is the largest sample of low mass galaxies so-far analysed for this kind of study. The proximity of the Fornax cluster means that we can measure galaxies with much smaller physical sizes ($0.3\leq r_{e,r}\ [\mathrm{kpc}]\leq 9.5$) compared to previous studies of the GC systems of LSB galaxies, probing stellar masses down to $M_{*}\sim10^{5}\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$. The sample also includes \nudg\ ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs), with projected $r$-band half-light radii greater than 1.5 kpc. Our results are consistent with an extrapolation of the $M_{*}-M_{halo}$ relation predicted from abundance matching. In particular, our UDG measurements are consistent with dwarf sized halos, having typical masses between $10^{10}$ and $10^{11}\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$. Overall, our UDG sample is statistically indistinguishable from smaller LSB galaxies in the same magnitude range. We do not find any candidates likely to be as rich as some of those found in the Coma cluster. We suggest that environment might play a role in producing GC-rich LSB galaxies., Comment: Accepted in MNRAS

Minor mergers have been proposed as the driving mechanism for the size growth of quiescent galaxies with decreasing redshift. The process whereby large star-forming galaxies quench and join the quiescent population at the large size end has also been suggested as an explanation for this size growth. Given the clear association of quenching with clusters, we explore this mechanism by studying the structural properties of 23 spectroscopically identified recently quenched (or "poststarburst" (PSB)) cluster galaxies at $z\sim1$. Despite clear PSB spectral signatures implying rapid and violent quenching, 87\% of these galaxies have symmetric, undisturbed morphologies in the stellar continuum. Remarkably, they follow a mass-size relation lying midway between the star-forming and quiescent field relations, with sizes $0.1$ dex smaller than $z\sim1$ star-forming galaxies at log$(M_{*}/M_{\odot})=10.5$. This implies a rapid change in the light profile without directly effecting the stellar distribution, suggesting changes in the mass-to-light ratio gradients across the galaxy are responsible. We develop fading toy models to explore how star-forming galaxies move across the mass-size plane as their stellar populations fade to match those of the PSBs. "Outside-in" fading has the potential to reproduce the contraction in size and increase in bulge-dominance observed between star-forming and PSB cluster galaxies. Since cluster PSBs lie on the large size end of the quiescent mass-size relation, and our previous work shows cluster galaxies are smaller than field galaxies, the sizes of quiescent galaxies must grow both from the quenching of star-forming galaxies and dry minor mergers., Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

With this paper we participate to the call for ideas issued by the European Space Agency to define the Science Program and plan for space missions from 2035 to 2050. In particular we present five science cases where major advancements can be achieved thanks to space-based spectroscopic observations at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. We discuss the possibility to (1) unveil the large-scale structures and cosmic web in emission at redshift, Comment: White paper submitted in response to the ESA call Voyage 2050. Accepted for publication by Experimental Astronomy

The Planck catalogues of SZ sources, PSZ1 and PSZ2, are the largest catalogues of galaxy clusters selected through their SZ signature in the full sky. In 2013, we started a long-term observational program at Canary Island observatories with the aim of validating about 500 unconfirmed SZ sources. In this work we present results of the initial pre-screening of possible cluster counterparts using photometric and spectroscopic data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR12. Our main aim is to identify previously unconfirmed PSZ2 cluster candidates and to contribute in determination of the actual purity and completeness of Planck SZ source sample. Using the latest version of the PSZ2 catalogue, we select all sources overlapping with the SDSS DR12 footprint and without redshift information. We validate these cluster fields following optical criteria (mainly distance with respect to the Planck pointing, magnitude of the brightest cluster galaxy and cluster richness) and combining them with the profiles of the Planck Compton y-maps. Together, this procedure allows for a more robust identification of optical counterparts compared to simply cross-matching with existing SDSS cluster catalogues that have been constructed from earlier SDSS Data Releases. The sample contains new redshifts for 37 Planck galaxy clusters that were not included in the original release of PSZ2 Planck catalogue. We detect three cases as possible multiple counterparts. We show that a combination of all available information (optical images and profile of SZ signal) can provide correct associations between the observed Planck SZ source and the optically identified cluster. We also show that Planck SZ detection is very sensitive even to high-z (z>0.5) clusters. In addition, we also present updated spectroscopic information for 34 Planck PSZ1 sources (33 previously photometrically confirmed and 1 new identification)., To be published in A&A. Revised by the referee and accepted for publication after minor comments

We identify new clusters and characterize previously unknown Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources from the first Planck catalogue of SZ sources (PSZ1). The results presented here correspond to an optical follow-up observational programme developed during approximately one year (2014) at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, using the 2.5m Isaac Newton telescope, the 3.5m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, the 4.2m William Herschel telescope and the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We characterize 115 new PSZ1 sources using deep optical imaging and spectroscopy. We adopt robust criteria in order to consolidate the SZ counterparts by analysing the optical richness, the 2D galaxy distribution, and velocity dispersions of clusters. Confirmed counterparts are considered to be validated if they are rich structures, well aligned with the Planck PSZ1 coordinate and show relatively high velocity dispersion. Following this classification, we confirm 53 clusters, which means that 46% of this PSZ1 subsample has been validated and characterized with this technique. Sixty-two SZ sources (54% of this PSZ1 subset) remain unconfirmed. In addition, we find that the fraction of unconfirmed clusters close to the galactic plane (at |b|25deg), which indicates contamination produced by radio emission of galactic dust and gas clouds on these SZ detections. In fact, in the majority of the cases, we detect important galactic cirrus in the optical images, mainly in the SZ target located at low galactic latitudes, which supports this hypothesis., To be published in A&A (already revised by the referee). 17 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables

We present a pilot X-ray study of the five most massive ($M_{500}>5 \times 10^{14} M_{\odot}$), distant (z~1), galaxy clusters detected via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. We optimally combine XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observations by leveraging the throughput of XMM to obtain spatially-resolved spectroscopy, and the spatial resolution of Chandra to probe the bright inner parts and to detect embedded point sources. Capitalising on the excellent agreement in flux-related measurements, we present a new method to derive the density profiles, constrained in the centre by Chandra and in the outskirts by XMM. We show that the Chandra-XMM combination is fundamental for morphological analysis at these redshifts, the Chandra resolution being required to remove point source contamination, and the XMM sensitivity allowing higher significance detection of faint substructures. The sample is dominated by dynamically disturbed objects. We use the combined Chandra-XMM density profiles and spatially-resolved temperature profiles to investigate thermodynamic quantities including entropy and pressure. From comparison of the scaled profiles with the local REXCESS sample, we find no significant departure from standard self-similar evolution, within the dispersion, at any radius, except for the entropy beyond 0.7$R_{500}$. The baryon mass fraction tends towards the cosmic value, with a weaker dependence on mass than observed in the local Universe. We compare with predictions from numerical simulations. The present pilot study demonstrates the utility and feasibility of spatially-resolved analysis of individual objects at high-redshift through the combination of XMM and Chandra observations. Observations of a larger sample will allow a fuller statistical analysis to be undertaken, in particular of the intrinsic scatter in the structural and scaling properties of the cluster population. (abridged), 15 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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. We employed 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 ($0.21.0$ is 4.1$\sigma$; for the entire cluster sample we obtained an average M$_{200}$ of $1.28^{+0.23}_{-0.21}$ $\times 10^{14} \, \textrm{M}_{\odot}$. 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., Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Dust emission at sub-millimetre wavelengths allows us to trace the early phases of star formation in the Universe. In order to understand the physical processes involved in this mode of star formation, it is essential to gain knowledge about the dark matter structures - most importantly their masses - that sub-millimetre galaxies live in. Here we use the magnification effect of gravitational lensing to determine the average mass and dust content of sub-millimetre galaxies with 250mu flux densities of S_250>15mJy selected using data from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey. The positions of hundreds of sub-millimetre foreground lenses are cross-correlated with the positions of background Lyman-break galaxies at z~3-5 selected using optical data from the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey. We detect a cross-correlation signal at the 7-sigma level over a sky area of one square degree, with ~80% of this signal being due to magnification, whereas the remaining ~20% comes from dust extinction. Adopting some simple assumptions for the dark matter and dust profiles and the redshift distribution enables us to estimate the average mass of the halos hosting the sub-millimetre galaxies to be log(M_200/M_sun)=13.17+0.05-0.08(stat.) and their average dust mass fraction (at radii of >10kpc) to be M_dust/M_200~6x10^-5. This supports the picture that sub-millimetre galaxies are dusty, forming stars at a high rate, reside in massive group-sized halos, and are a crucial phase in the assembly and evolution of structure in the Universe., 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted by MNRAS

The Planck catalogue of SZ sources limits itself to a significance threshold of 4.5 to ensure a low contamination rate by false cluster candidates. This means that only the most massive clusters at redshift z>0.5, and in particular z>0.7, are expected to enter into the catalogue, with a large number of systems in that redshift regime being expected around and just below that threshold. In this paper, we follow-up a sample of SZ sources from the Planck SZ catalogues from 2013 and 2015. In the latter maps, we consider detections around and at lower significance than the threshold adopted by the Planck Collaboration. To keep the contamination rate low, our 28 candidates are chosen to have significant WISE detections, in combination with non-detections in SDSS/DSS, which effectively selects galaxy cluster candidates at redshifts $z\gtrsim0.5$. By taking r- and z-band imaging with MegaCam@CFHT, we bridge the 4000A rest-frame break over a significant redshift range, thus allowing accurate redshift estimates of red-sequence cluster galaxies up to z~0.8. After discussing the possibility that an overdensity of galaxies coincides -by chance- with a Planck SZ detection, we confirm that 16 of the candidates have likely optical counterparts to their SZ signals, 13 (6) of which have an estimated redshift z>0.5 (z>0.7). The richnesses of these systems are generally lower than expected given the halo masses estimated from the Planck maps. However, when we follow a simplistic model to correct for Eddington bias in the SZ halo mass proxy, the richnesses are consistent with a reference mass-richness relation established for clusters detected at higher significance. This illustrates the benefit of an optical follow-up, not only to obtain redshift estimates, but also to provide an independent mass proxy that is not based on the same data the clusters are detected with, and thus not subject to Eddington bias., 13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

We study the slope, intercept, and scatter of the color-magnitude and color-mass relations for a sample of ten infrared red-sequence-selected clusters at z ~ 1. The quiescent galaxies in these clusters formed the bulk of their stars above z ~ 3 with an age spread {\Delta}t ~ 1 Gyr. We compare UVJ color-color and spectroscopic-based galaxy selection techniques, and find a 15% difference in the galaxy populations classified as quiescent by these methods. We compare the color-magnitude relations from our red-sequence selected sample with X-ray- and photometric- redshift-selected cluster samples of similar mass and redshift. Within uncertainties, we are unable to detect any difference in the ages and star formation histories of quiescent cluster members in clusters selected by different methods, suggesting that the dominant quenching mechanism is insensitive to cluster baryon partitioning at z ~ 1., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures

We present a five-band Herschel study (100-500um) of three galaxy clusters at z~1.2 from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS). With a sample of 120 spectroscopically-confirmed cluster members, we investigate the role of environment on galaxy properties utilizing the projected cluster phase space (line-of-sight velocity versus clustercentric radius), which probes the time-averaged galaxy density to which a galaxy has been exposed. We divide cluster galaxies into phase-space bins of (r/r200) x (v/sigma_v), tracing a sequence of accretion histories in phase space. Stacking optically star-forming cluster members on the Herschel maps, we measure average infrared star formation rates, and, for the first time in high-redshift galaxy clusters, dust temperatures for dynamically distinct galaxy populations---namely, recent infalls and those that were accreted onto the cluster at an earlier epoch. Proceeding from the infalling to virialized (central) regions of phase space, we find a steady decrease in the specific star formation rate and increase in the stellar age of star-forming cluster galaxies. We perform a probability analysis to investigate all acceptable infrared spectral energy distributions within the full parameter space and measure a ~4 sigma drop in the average dust temperature of cluster galaxies in an intermediate phase-space bin, compared to an otherwise flat trend with phase space. We suggest one plausible quenching mechanism which may be consistent with these trends, invoking ram-pressure stripping of the warmer dust for galaxies within this intermediate accretion phase., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in ApJ

Aims. We study the stellar mass content of massive haloes in the redshift range 0.86< z< 1.34, by measuring: (1) The stellar mass in the central galaxy versus total dynamical halo mass. (2) The total stellar mass (including satellites) versus total h alo mass. (3) The radial stellar mass and number density profiles for the ensem ble halo. Methods. We use a Ks-band selected catalogue for the 10 clusters in the Gemini Cluster Astrophysics Spectroscopic Survey (GCLASS), with photometric redshifts and stellar masses measured from 11-band SED fitting. Combining the photometric c atalogues with the deep spectroscopic component of GCLASS, we correct the cluster galaxy sample for interlopers. From a dynamical analysis of the cluster galaxies we use estimates for the vel ocity dispersionsσv and the total gravitational mass M200 of the clusters. Results. (1) We find that the central galaxy stellar mass fraction decr eases with total halo mass, and that this is in good quantitative agreement with measurements from abundance matching studies at z∼ 1. (2) The total stellar mass fractions of these systems decrease with halo mass, indicating that lower mass systems are more effi cient at transforming baryons into stars. We find the total stellar mass to be a good proxy for total halo mass, with an intrinsic scatter around the relation that is consistent with 0 . When we compare these results from GCLASS with literature measurements, we find that the stellar mass fraction at fixed halo mass s hows no significant evolution in the range 0 < z< 1. (3) We measure a relatively high NFW concentration parameter cg ∼ 7 for the stellar mass distribution in these clusters, and debate a possible s cenario to explain the evolution of the stellar mass distrib ution from the GCLASS sample to their likely descendants at lower redshift. Conclusions. The stellar mass measurements in the z∼ 1 haloes provided by GCLASS puts constraints on the stellar mass assembly history of clusters observed in the local Universe. A simple model shows that the stellar mass content of GCLASS can evolve in typical distributions observed at lower redshifts if the cl usters primarily accrete stellar mass onto the outskirts.

We investigate the velocity vs. position phase space of z ~ 1 cluster galaxies using a set of 424 spectroscopic redshifts in 9 clusters drawn from the GCLASS survey. Dividing the galaxy population into three categories: quiescent, star-forming, and poststarburst, we find that these populations have distinct distributions in phase space. Most striking are the poststarburst galaxies, which are commonly found at small clustercentric radii with high clustercentric velocities, and appear to trace a coherent ``ring" in phase space. Using several zoom simulations of clusters we show that the coherent distribution of the poststarbursts can be reasonably well-reproduced using a simple quenching scenario. Specifically, the phase space is best reproduced if satellite quenching occurs on a rapid timescale (0.1 < tau_{Q} < 0.5 Gyr) after galaxies make their first passage of R ~ 0.5R_{200}, a process that takes a total time of ~ 1 Gyr after first infall. We compare this quenching timescale to the timescale implied by the stellar populations of the poststarburst galaxies and find that the poststarburst spectra are well-fit by a rapid quenching (tau_{Q} = 0.4^{+0.3}_{-0.4} Gyr) of a typical star-forming galaxy. The similarity between the quenching timescales derived from these independent indicators is a strong consistency check of the quenching model. Given that the model implies satellite quenching is rapid, and occurs well within R_{200}, this would suggest that ram-pressure stripping of either the hot or cold gas component of galaxies are the most plausible candidates for the physical mechanism. The high cold gas consumption rates at z ~ 1 make it difficult to determine if hot or cold gas stripping is dominant; however, measurements of the redshift evolution of the satellite quenching timescale and location may be capable of distinguishing between the two., 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the ApJ

We use data from two CFHT-MegaCam photometric pencil-beam surveys in the g' and the r' bands to measure distances to the Sagittarius, the Palomar 5 and the Orphan stream. We show that, using a cross-correlation algorithm to detect the turnoff point of the main sequence, it is possible to overcome the main limitation of a two-bands pencil-beam survey, namely the lack of adjacent control-fields that can be used to subtract the foreground and background stars to enhance the signal on the colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). We describe the cross-correlation algorithm and its implementation. We combine the resulting main sequence turnoff points with theoretical isochrones to derive photometric distances to the streams. Our results (31 detections on the Sagittarius stream and one each for the Palomar 5 and the Orphan streams) confirm the findings by previous studies, expand the distance trend for the Sagittarius faint southern branch and, for the first time, trace the Sagittarius faint branch of the northern-leading arm out to 56 kpc. In addition, they show evidence for new substructure: we argue that these detections trace the continuation of the Sagittarius northern-leading arm into the southern hemisphere, and find a nearby branch of the Sagittarius trailing wrap in the northern hemisphere., 16 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables

We present an infrared study of a z=0.872 cluster, SpARCS J161314+564930, with the primary aim of distinguishing the dynamical histories of spectroscopically confirmed star-forming members to assess the role of cluster environment. We utilize deep MIPS imaging and a mass-limited sample of 85 spectroscopic members to identify 16 24um-bright sources within the cluster, and measure their 24um star formation rates (SFRs) down to ~6 Msolar/year. Based on their line-of-sight velocities and stellar ages, MIPS cluster members appear to be an infalling population that was recently accreted from the field with minimal environmental dependency on their star formation. However, we identify a double-sequenced distribution of star-forming galaxies amongst the members, with one branch exhibiting declining specific SFRs with mass. The members along this sub-main sequence contain spectral features suggestive of passive galaxies. Using caustic diagrams, we kinematically identify these galaxies as a virialized and/or backsplash population. Moreover, we find a mix of dynamical histories at all projected radii, indicating that standard definitions of environment (i.e., radius and density) are contaminated with recently accreted interlopers, which could contribute to a lack of environmental trends for star-forming galaxies. A cleaner narrative of their dynamical past begins to unfold when using a proxy for accretion histories through profiles of constant (r/r_200)x(Delta v/sigma_v); galaxies accreted at earlier times possess lower values of (r/r_200)x(Delta v/sigma_v) with minimal contamination from the distinct infalling population. Therefore, adopting a time-averaged definition for density (as traced by accretion histories) rather than an instantaneous density yields a depressed specific SFR within the dynamical cluster core., 14 pages, 10 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in ApJ

We investigate the properties of the hot gas in four fossil galaxy systems detected at high significance in the Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) survey. XMM-Newton observations reveal overall temperatures of kT ~ 5-6 keV and yield hydrostatic masses M500,HE > 3.5 x 10e14 Msun, confirming their nature as bona fide massive clusters. We measure the thermodynamic properties of the hot gas in X-rays (out to beyond R500 in three cases) and derive their individual pressure profiles out to R ~ 2.5 R500 with the SZ data. We combine the X-ray and SZ data to measure hydrostatic mass profiles and to examine the hot gas content and its radial distribution. The average Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) concentration parameter, c500 = 3.2 +/- 0.4, is the same as that of relaxed `normal' clusters. The gas mass fraction profiles exhibit striking variation in the inner regions, but converge to approximately the cosmic baryon fraction (corrected for depletion) at R500. Beyond R500 the gas mass fraction profiles again diverge, which we interpret as being due to a difference in gas clumping and/or a breakdown of hydrostatic equilibrium in the external regions. Overall our observations point to considerable radial variation in the hot gas content and in the gas clumping and/or hydrostatic equilibrium properties in these fossil clusters, at odds with the interpretation of their being old, evolved and undisturbed. At least some fossil objects appear to be dynamically young., 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

(Abridged) As the stellar X-ray and UV light penetration of a protoplanetary disk depends sensitively on the dust properties, trace molecular species like HCO+, HCN, and CN are expected to show marked differences from photoprocessing effects as the dust content in the disk evolves. We investigate the evolution of the UV irradiation of the molecular gas in a sample of classical T Tauri stars in Taurus that exhibit a wide range in grain growth and dust settling properties. We obtained HCO+ (J=3-2), HCN (J=3-2), and CN (J=2-1) observations of 13 sources with the JCMT. Our sample has 1.3mm fluxes in excess of 75mJy, indicating the presence of significant dust reservoirs; a range of dust settling as traced through their spectral slopes between 6, 13, and 25 microns; and varying degrees of grain growth as extrapolated from the strength of their 10-micron silicate emission features. We compare the emission line strengths with the sources' continuum flux and infrared features, and use detailed modeling based on two different model prescriptions to compare typical disk abundances for HCO+, HCN, and CN with the gas-line observations for our sample. We detected HCO+ (3-2) toward 6 disks, HCN (3-2) from 0 disks, and CN (2-1) toward 4 disks. For the complete sample, there is no correlation between the gas-line strengths or their ratios and either the sources' dust continuum flux or infrared slopes., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 19 pages, 13 figures

Context. The photometric observations of the OGLE-II microlens monitoring campaign have been taken in the period 1997-2000. All light curves of this campaign have recently become public. Our analysis of these data has revealed 13 low-amplitude transiting objects among ~15 700 stars in three Carina fields towards the Galactic disk. One of these objects, OGLE2-TR-L9 ($P\sim2.5$ days), turned out to be an excellent transiting-planet candidate. Aims. We report on our investigation of the true nature of OGLE2-TR-L9. By re-observing the photometric transit, we attempt to determine the transit parameters to high precision, and, by spectroscopic observations, to estimate the properties of the host star and determine the mass of the transiting object by means of radial-velocity measurements. Methods. High precision photometric observations were obtained in g', r', i', and z' band simultaneously, using the new GROND detector, mounted on the MPI/ESO 2.2 m telescope at La Silla. Eight epochs of high-dispersion spectroscopic observations were obtained using the fiber-fed FLAMES/UVES Echelle spectrograph, mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal. Results. The photometric transit, now more than 7 years after the last OGLE-II observations, was re-discovered only ~8 min from its predicted time. The primary object is a rapidly rotating F3 star with $v\sin i=39.33\pm0.38$ km s-1, $T=6933\pm58$ K, $\log\,g = 4.25\pm0.01$, and ${\rm [Fe/H]} = -0.05\pm0.20$. The transiting object is an extrasolar planet with $M_{\rm {p}}=4.5\pm1.5~M_{\rm {Jup}}$ and $R_{\rm {p}}=1.61\pm0.04~R_{\rm {Jup}}$. Since this is the first planet detected orbiting a fast rotating star, the uncertainties in both the radial-velocity measurements and the planetary mass are larger than for most other planets discovered to date. The rejection of possible blend scenarios was based on a quantitative analysis of the multi-color photometric data. A stellar-blend scenario of an early F-star with a faint eclipsing-binary system is excluded, due to 1) the consistency between the spectroscopic parameters of the star and the mean density of the transited object as determined from the photometry, and 2) the excellent agreement between the transit signal as observed at four different wavelengths. peerReviewed

In the late 1990s, the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) team conducted the second phase of their long-term monitoring programme, OGLE-II, which since has been superseded by OGLE-III. All the monitoring data of this second phase, which was primarily aimed at finding microlensing events, have recently been made public. Fields in the OGLE-II survey have typically been observed with a cadence of once per night, over a period of a few months per year. We investigated whether these radically differently sampled data can also be used to search for transiting extrasolar planets, in particular in the light of future projects such as PanSTARRS and SkyMapper, which will monitor large fields, but mostly not at a cadence typical for transit studies. We selected data for ~15700 stars with 13.0, Comment: 8 Pages LaTeX, accepted by A&A

We study the density profile and shape of the Galactic halo using deep multicolour images from the MENeaCS and CCCP projects, over 33 fields selected to avoid overlap with the Galactic plane. Using multicolour selection and PSF homogenization techniques we obtain catalogues of F stars (near-main sequence turnoff stars) out to Galactocentric distances up to 60kpc. Grouping nearby lines of sight, we construct the stellar density profiles through the halo in eight different directions by means of photometric parallaxes. Smooth halo models are then fitted to these profiles. We find clear evidence for a steepening of the density profile power law index around R=20 kpc, from -2.50 +- 0.04 to -4.85 +- 0.04, and for a flattening of the halo towards the poles with best-fit axis ratio 0.63 +- 0.02. Furthermore, we cannot rule out a mild triaxiality (w>=0.8). We recover the signatures of well-known substructure and streams that intersect our lines of sight. These results are consistent with those derived from wider but shallower surveys, and augur well for upcoming, wide-field surveys of comparable depth to our pencil beam surveys., 14 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables

We aim to determine the mass, velocity anisotropy, and pseudo phase-space density profiles (M(r), beta(r), and Q(r), respectively) of clusters of galaxies at the highest redshifts investigated in detail so far. We combine the GOGREEN and GCLASS spectroscopic data-sets for 14 clusters with mass M200 > 10^14 Msolar at redshifts 0.9 < z < 1.4. We stack these 14 clusters into an ensemble cluster of 581 member galaxies with stellar mass > 10^9.5 M_solar. We use the MAMPOSSt method and the inversion of the Jeans equation technique to determine M(r) and beta(r). We then combine the results of the M(r) and beta(r) analysis to determine Q(r) for the ensemble cluster. The concentration c200 of the ensemble cluster M(r) is in excellent agreement with predictions from LambdaCDM cosmological numerical simulations, and with previous determinations for clusters of similar mass and at similar redshifts, obtained from gravitational lensing and X-ray data. We see no significant difference between the total mass density and either the galaxy number density distributions or the stellar mass distribution. Star-forming galaxies are spatially significantly less concentrated than quiescent galaxies. The orbits of cluster galaxies are isotropic near the center and more radial outside. Star-forming galaxies and galaxies of low stellar mass tend to move on more radially elongated orbits than quiescent galaxies and galaxies of high stellar mass. Q(r), determined either using the total mass or the number density profile, is very close to the power-law behavior predicted by numerical simulations. The internal dynamics of clusters at the highest redshift probed in detail so far are very similar to those of lower-redshift clusters, and in excellent agreement with predictions of numerical simulations. The clusters in our sample have already reached a high degree of dynamical relaxation. (Abridged), Accepted for publication in A&A. 17 pages, 11 figures. New version after language editing by A&A