Engineering topics

Connolly, Natalia

Publications and source records attributed to Connolly, Natalia.

4 records

DOE OSTI2012

THE NINTH DATA RELEASE OF THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY: FIRST SPECTROSCOPIC DATA FROM THE SDSS-III BARYON OSCILLATION SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z {approx} 0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z {approx} 2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T{sub eff} < 5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H] > -0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SEGUE-2. The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the APOGEE along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in 2014 December.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

THE BOSS EMISSION-LINE LENS SURVEY. II. INVESTIGATING MASS-DENSITY PROFILE EVOLUTION IN THE SLACS+BELLS STRONG GRAVITATIONAL LENS SAMPLE

We present an analysis of the evolution of the central mass-density profile of massive elliptical galaxies from the SLACS and BELLS strong gravitational lens samples over the redshift interval z Almost-Equal-To 0.1-0.6, based on the combination of strong-lensing aperture mass and stellar velocity-dispersion constraints. We find a significant trend toward steeper mass profiles (parameterized by the power-law density model with {rho}{proportional_to}r {sup -{gamma}}) at later cosmic times, with magnitude d < {gamma} > /dz = -0.60 {+-} 0.15. We show that the combined lens-galaxy sample is consistent with a non-evolving distribution of stellar velocity dispersions. Considering possible additional dependence of <{gamma} > on lens-galaxy stellar mass, effective radius, and Sersic index, we find marginal evidence for shallower mass profiles at higher masses and larger sizes, but with a significance that is subdominant to the redshift dependence. Using the results of published Monte Carlo simulations of spectroscopic lens surveys, we verify that our mass-profile evolution result cannot be explained by lensing selection biases as a function of redshift. Interpreted as a true evolutionary signal, our result suggests that major dry mergers involving off-axis trajectories play a significant role in the evolution of the average mass-density structure of massive early-type galaxies over the past 6 Gyr. We also consider an alternative non-evolutionary hypothesis based on variations in the strong-lensing measurement aperture with redshift, which would imply the detection of an 'inflection zone' marking the transition between the baryon-dominated and dark-matter halo-dominated regions of the lens galaxies. Further observations of the combined SLACS+BELLS sample can constrain this picture more precisely, and enable a more detailed investigation of the multivariate dependences of galaxy mass structure across cosmic time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

THE BOSS EMISSION-LINE LENS SURVEY (BELLS). I. A LARGE SPECTROSCOPICALLY SELECTED SAMPLE OF LENS GALAXIES AT REDSHIFT {approx}0.5

We present a catalog of 25 definite and 11 probable strong galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens systems with lens redshifts 0.4 {approx}< z {approx}< 0.7, discovered spectroscopically by the presence of higher-redshift emission lines within the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of luminous galaxies, and confirmed with high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of 44 candidates. Our survey extends the methodology of the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys survey (SLACS) to higher redshift. We describe the details of the BOSS spectroscopic candidate detections, our HST ACS image processing and analysis methods, and our strong gravitational lens modeling procedure. We report BOSS spectroscopic parameters and ACS photometric parameters for all candidates, and mass-distribution parameters for the best-fit singular isothermal ellipsoid models of definite lenses. Our sample to date was selected using only the first six months of BOSS survey-quality spectroscopic data. The full five-year BOSS database should produce a sample of several hundred strong galaxy-galaxy lenses and in combination with SLACS lenses at lower redshift, strongly constrain the redshift evolution of the structure of elliptical, bulge-dominated galaxies as a function of luminosity, stellar mass, and rest-frame color, thereby providing a powerful test for competing theories of galaxy formation and evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Reducing Zero-point Systematics in Dark Energy Supernova Experiments

We study the effect of filter zero-point uncertainties on future supernova dark energy missions. Fitting for calibration parameters using simultaneous analysis of all Type Ia supernova standard candles achieves a significant improvement over more traditional fit methods. This conclusion is robust under diverse experimental configurations (number of observed supernovae, maximum survey redshift, inclusion of additional systematics). This approach to supernova fitting considerably eases otherwise stringent mission cali- bration requirements. As an example we simulate a space-based mission based on the proposed JDEM satellite; however the method and conclusions are general and valid for any future supernova dark energy mission, ground or space-based.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗