Space Telescope Wide Field Camera Research Articles

A meeting at z ∼ 3: Young massive galaxies and an AGN within 30 kpc of the luminous QSO LBQS 0302–0019

Context. Contrary to expectations from scenarios of black hole growth driven by galaxy interactions and mergers, dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) with kiloparsec separations are rarely observed and are very difficult to identify, in particular at high redshifts (i.e. z > 2). Aims. Focussing on the recently discovered dual AGN system LBQS 0302−0019 at z = 3.29, we seek to identify further group members in its environment and to understand their formation history through deep high-angular-resolution imaging. Methods. We present deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide-field Camera 3 near-infrared imaging of LBQS 0302−0019. In combination with ground-based VLT/HAWK-I imaging, we infer accurate sizes, colours, ages, and stellar masses of companion galaxies. Results. We clearly detect four companion objects close to LBQS 0302−0019 that also have faint signatures in the ground-based images. We constrain light-weighted ages and masses for the two most prominent companions, Jil1 and Jil2, to t⋆ = 252−109+222 Myr with log(M⋆/[M⊙]) = 11.2−0.1+0.3 and t⋆ = 19−14+74 Myr with log(M⋆/[M⊙]) = 9.4−0.4+0.9, respectively. The HST data also show that the obscured AGN, previously identified by strong nebular He II emission, is associated with the young massive companion Jil2. Because very massive stars of the starburst cannot be solely responsible for the He II emission, we strengthen our initial conclusion that Jil2 has been hosting an AGN. Conclusions. If the young starburst of Jil2 had been accompanied by sustained black hole growth, Jil2 may have contributed He II-ionising flux to create the large He II Lyα proximity zone around LBQS 0302−0019. Hence, the duration of the current luminous AGN episode of LBQS 0302−0019 may have been overestimated.

Absorption-selected galaxies trace the low-mass, late-type, star-forming population at z ∼ 2–3

ABSTRACT We report on the stellar content, half-light radii and star formation rates of a sample of 10 known high-redshift (z ≳ 2) galaxies selected on strong neutral hydrogen (H i) absorption ($\log ({\rm N_{H\, \rm {I}}\: /\: cm}^{-2})\,\gt\, 19$) towards background quasars. We use observations from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 in three broad-band filters to study the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the galaxies. Using careful quasar point spread function subtraction, we study their galactic environments, and perform the first systematic morphological characterization of such absorption-selected galaxies at high redshifts. Our analysis reveals complex, irregular hosts with multiple star-forming clumps. At a spatial sampling of 0.067 arcsec per pixel (corresponding to 0.55 kpc at the median redshift of our sample), 40 per cent of our sample requires multiple Sérsic components for an accurate modelling of the observed light distributions. Placed on the mass–size relation and the ‘main sequence’ of star-forming galaxies, we find that absorption-selected galaxies at high redshift extend known relations determined from deep luminosity-selected surveys to an order of magnitude lower stellar mass, with objects primarily composed of star-forming, late-type galaxies. We measure half-light radii in the range r1/2 ∼ 0.4 to 2.6 kpc based on the reddest band (F160W) to trace the oldest stellar populations, and stellar masses in the range log (M⋆/M⊙) ∼ 8 to 10 derived from fits to the broad-band SED. Spectroscopic and SED-based star formation rates are broadly consistent, and lie in the range $\log (\mathrm{SFR}/{\rm M}_{\odot }\, {\rm yr}^{-1}) \sim 0.0$ to 1.7.

Improved time-delay lens modelling and H0 inference with transient sources

ABSTRACT Strongly lensed explosive transients such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, fast radio bursts, and gravitational waves are very promising tools to determine the Hubble constant (H0) in the near future in addition to strongly lensed quasars. In this work, we show that the transient nature of the point source provides an advantage over quasars: The lensed host galaxy can be observed before or after the transient’s appearance. Therefore, the lens model can be derived from images free of contamination from bright point sources. We quantify this advantage by comparing the precision of a lens model obtained from the same lenses with and without point sources. Based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations with the same sets of lensing parameters, we simulate realistic mock data sets of 48 quasar lensing systems (i.e. adding AGN in the galaxy centre) and 48 galaxy–galaxy lensing systems (assuming the transient source is not visible but the time delay and image positions have been or will be measured). We then model the images and compare the inferences of the lens model parameters and H0. We find that the precision of the lens models (in terms of the deflector mass slope) is better by a factor of 4.1 for the sample without lensed point sources, resulting in an increase of H0 precision by a factor of 2.9. The opportunity to observe the lens systems without the transient point sources provides an additional advantage for time-delay cosmography over lensed quasars. It facilitates the determination of higher signal-to-noise stellar kinematics of the main deflector, and thus its mass density profile, which, in turn plays a key role in breaking the mass-sheet degeneracy and constraining H0.

The Geometry of Cold, Metal-enriched Gas around Galaxies at z ∼ 1.2

Abstract We present the first results from a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3/Infrared program, which obtained direct imaging and grism observations of galaxies near quasar sightlines with a high frequency of uncorrelated foreground Mg ii absorption. These highly efficient observations targeted 54 Mg ii absorbers along the line of sight to nine quasars at z (qso ∼ 2. We find that 89% of the absorbers in the range of 0.64 < z < 1.6 can be spectroscopically matched to at least one galaxy with an impact parameter of less than 200 kpc and ∣Δz∣/(1 + z) < 0.006. We have estimated the star formation rates and measured structural parameters for all detected galaxies with impact parameters in the range of 7–200 kpc and star formation rates greater than 1.3 M ⊙ yr−1. We find that galaxies associated with Mg ii absorption have significantly higher mean star formation rates and marginally higher mean star formation rate surface densities compared to galaxies with no detected Mg ii. Nearly half of the Mg ii absorbers match more than one galaxy, and the mean equivalent width of the Mg ii absorption is found to be greater for groups, compared to isolated galaxies. Additionally, we observe a significant redshift evolution in the physical extent of Mg ii-absorbing gas around galaxies and evidence of an enhancement of Mg ii within 50° of the minor axis, characteristic of outflows, which persists to 80 kpc around the galaxies, in agreement with recent predictions from simulations.

The Diverse Morphology, Stellar Population, and Black Hole Scaling Relations of the Host Galaxies of Nearby Quasars

Abstract We present rest-frame B and I imaging of 35 low-redshift ( ) Palomar–Green quasars using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. We perform multicomponent two-dimensional image decomposition to separate the host galaxy from its bright active nucleus, characterize its morphology, and measure its photometric properties. Special care is devoted to quantifying the structural parameters of the galaxy bulge, determining its B − I color, and estimating its stellar mass. Roughly half of the sample, comprising the less luminous ( ) but most high Eddington ratio quasars, reside in disk galaxies that are often barred and possess pseudo bulges. The large stellar masses, large effective radii, and faint surface brightnesses suggest that the host galaxies of the most luminous quasars are mostly ellipticals. Major mergers constitute only a small percentage (≲20%) of our sample. Our quasar sample roughly obeys the scaling relations between black hole mass and host galaxy (bulge, core, total) stellar mass. Hosts with black holes more massive than behave similarly to classical bulges and early-type galaxies, while those with less massive black holes, particularly the narrow-line Seyfert 1s, are consistent with pseudo bulges in late-type galaxies. The host galaxy bulges, irrespective of whether they are classical or pseudo, follow a relatively tight inverse relation between the effective radius and the mean effective surface brightness of inactive classical bulges and ellipticals. We argue that pseudo bulges experience recent or ongoing nuclear star formation.

Rise of the Titans: Gas Excitation and Feedback in a Binary Hyperluminous Dusty Starburst Galaxy at z ∼ 6

Abstract We report new observations toward the hyperluminous dusty starbursting major merger ADFS-27 (z = 5.655), using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We detect CO (J = 2 → 1), CO (J = 8 → 7), CO (J = 9 → 8), CO (J = 10 → 9), and H2O (312 → 221) emission, and a P Cygni−shaped OH+ (11 → 01) absorption/emission feature. We also tentatively detect H2O (321 → 312) and OH+ (12 → 01) emission and CH+ (J = 1 → 0) absorption. We find a total cold molecular mass of M gas = (2.1 ± 0.2) × 1011 (α CO/1.0) M ⊙. We also find that the excitation of the star-forming gas is overall moderate for a z > 5 dusty starburst, which is consistent with its moderate dust temperature. A high-density, high kinetic temperature gas component embedded in the gas reservoir is required to fully explain the CO line ladder. This component is likely associated with the “maximum starburst” nuclei in the two merging galaxies, which are separated by only 140 ± 13 km s−1 along the line of sight and 9.0 kpc in projection. The kinematic structure of both components is consistent with galaxy disks, but this interpretation remains limited by the spatial resolution of the current data. The OH+ features are only detected toward the northern component, which is also the one that is more enshrouded in dust and thus remains undetected up to 1.6 μm even in our sensitive new Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 imaging. The absorption component of the OH+ line is blueshifted and peaks near the CO and continuum emission peak, while the emission is redshifted and peaks offset by 1.7 kpc from the CO and continuum emission peak, suggesting that the gas is associated with a massive molecular outflow from the intensely star-forming nucleus that supplies 125 M ⊙ yr−1 of enriched gas to its halo.

Transmission Spectroscopy for the Warm Sub-Neptune HD 3167c: Evidence for Molecular Absorption and a Possible High-metallicity Atmosphere

Abstract We present a transmission spectrum for the warm (500−600 K) sub-Neptune HD 3167c obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 infrared spectrograph. We combine these data, which span the 1.125–1.643 μm wavelength range, with broadband transit measurements made using Kepler/K2 (0.6–0.9 μm) and Spitzer/IRAC (4–5 μm). We find evidence for absorption by at least one of H2O, HCN, CO2, and CH4 (Bayes factor 7.4; 2.5σ significance), although the data precision does not allow us to unambiguously discriminate between these molecules. The transmission spectrum rules out cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmospheres with metallicities ≤100× solar at >5.8σ confidence. In contrast, good agreement with the data is obtained for cloud-free models assuming metallicities >700× solar. However, for retrieval analyses that include the effect of clouds, a much broader range of metallicities (including subsolar) is consistent with the data, due to the degeneracy with cloud-top pressure. Self-consistent chemistry models that account for photochemistry and vertical mixing are presented for the atmosphere of HD 3167c. The predictions of these models are broadly consistent with our abundance constraints, although this is primarily due to the large uncertainties on the latter. Interior structure models suggest that the core mass fraction is >40%, independent of a rock or water core composition, and independent of atmospheric envelope metallicity up to 1000× solar. We also report abundance measurements for 15 elements in the host star, showing that it has a very nearly solar composition.

Hubble Space Telescope Snapshot Survey for Resolved Companions of Galactic Cepheids: Final Results* †

Abstract Cepheids in multiple systems provide information on the outcome of the formation of massive stars. They can also lead to exotic end-stage objects. This study concludes our survey of 70 galactic Cepheids using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) with images at two wavelengths to identify companions closer than 5″. In the entire WFC3 survey we identify 16 probable companions for 13 Cepheids. The 7 Cepheids having resolved candidate companions within 2″ all have the surprising property of themselves being spectroscopic binaries (as compared with a 29% incidence of spectroscopic binaries in the general Cepheid population). This is a strong suggestion that an inner binary is linked to the scenario of a third companion within a few hundred astronomical units. This characteristic is continued for more widely separated companions. Under a model where the outer companion is formed first, it is unlikely that it can anticipate a subsequent inner binary. Rather, it is more likely that a triple system has undergone dynamical interaction, resulting in one star moving outward to its current location. Chandra and Gaia data as well as radial velocities and HST/STIS and IUE spectra are used to derive properties of the components of the Cepheid systems. The colors of the companion candidates show a change in distribution at approximately 2000 au separations, from a range including both hot and cool colors for closer companions, to only low-mass companions for wider separations.

An Unusual Transmission Spectrum for the Sub-Saturn KELT-11b Suggestive of a Subsolar Water Abundance

Abstract We present an optical-to-infrared transmission spectrum of the inflated sub-Saturn KELT-11b measured with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 G141 spectroscopic grism, and the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) at 3.6 μm, in addition to a Spitzer 4.5 μm secondary eclipse. The precise HST transmission spectrum notably reveals a low-amplitude water feature with an unusual shape. Based on free-retrieval analyses with varying molecular abundances, we find strong evidence for water absorption. Depending on model assumptions, we also find tentative evidence for other absorbers (HCN, TiO, and AlO). The retrieved water abundance is generally ≲0.1× solar (0.001–0.7× solar over a range of model assumptions), several orders of magnitude lower than expected from planet formation models based on the solar system metallicity trend. We also consider chemical-equilibrium and self-consistent 1D radiative-convective equilibrium model fits and find that they, too, prefer low metallicities ([M/H] ≲ −2, consistent with the free-retrieval results). However, all of the retrievals should be interpreted with some caution because they either require additional absorbers that are far out of chemical equilibrium to explain the shape of the spectrum or are simply poor fits to the data. Finally, we find that the Spitzer secondary eclipse is indicative of full heat redistribution from KELT-11b’s dayside to nightside, assuming a clear dayside. These potentially unusual results for KELT-11b’s composition are suggestive of new challenges on the horizon for atmosphere and formation models in the face of increasingly precise measurements of exoplanet spectra.

Color and aerosol changes in Jupiter after a North Temperate Belt disturbance

The banded appearance of Jupiter’s atmosphere shows significant changes over time, sometimes even transforming the reflectivity of a whole latitudinal band in a few weeks, and staying for years with an aspect different from the usual one. The origin of some of these disturbances may be associated with the creation and destruction of the chromophore species that provides Jovian clouds their reddish coloration. In this work, we have focused on the North Temperate Belt (NTB) disturbance detected during the second flyby of Juno mission (NASA) on October 2016, as a series of convective storms interacted with the fastest zonal jet on Jupiter at 24∘N over months and left a quiet belt characterized by an intense red coloration Sánchez-Lavega et al. (2017). In order to determine the corresponding changes in the upper clouds and hazes we have used images taken in 2016 and 2017 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. Such images were acquired before and after the outbreak, showing an intense color change in a narrow latitude band. The images cover the wavelength range from 250 nm up to the methane absorption band at 890 nm, thus sensitive to a number of atmospheric levels from the lower stratosphere to the upper troposphere where the ammonia condensation cloud is expected to be located. Here we use the radiative transfer suite NEMESIS Irwin et al. (2008) to determine the vertical distribution and properties of the upper hazes that best match the observed dependence of reflectivity with wavelength and geometry. We use two models for the Jovian chromophore: (A) an extended layer whose imaginary refractive index is left as a free parameter; and (B) a concentrated chromophore as in Sromovsky et al. (2017) using the optical properties by Carlson et al. (2016). Both scenarios show an increase in the number of particles responsible for the blue absorption approximately by a factor of 2, and require only small changes in the rest of the atmospheric parameters. We find that, even though results provided by scenario B are also compatible with observations, the limb-darkening is better described by scenario A, where there is also an increase of the particle absorption at the shortest wavelengths. In this work, we also provide an extension of the expected imaginary refractive indices to wavelengths beyond those covered in previous laboratory works, which will be useful for future studies.

First Results from a Panchromatic HST/WFC3 Imaging Study of the Young, Rapidly Evolving Planetary Nebulae NGC 7027 and NGC 6302

We present the first results from comprehensive, near-UV-to-near-IR Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) emission-line imaging studies of two young planetary nebulae (PNe), NGC 7027 and NGC 6302. These two objects represent key sources for purposes of understanding PNe shaping processes. Both nebulae feature axisymmetric and point-symmetric (bipolar) structures and, despite hot central stars and high nebular excitation states, both harbor large masses of molecular gas and dust. The sweeping wavelength coverage of our Cycle 27 Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 imaging surveys targeting these two rapidly evolving PNe will provide a battery of essential tests for theories describing the structural and chemical evolution of evolved star ejecta. Here, we present initial color overlays for selected images, and we highlight some of the first results gleaned from the surveys.

Confirmation of water emission in the dayside spectrum of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-121b

ABSTRACT We present four new secondary eclipse observations for the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-121b acquired using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. The eclipse depth is measured to a median precision of 60 ppm across 28 spectroscopic channels spanning the 1.12–$1.64\, \mu {\rm m}$ wavelength range. This is a considerable improvement to the 90 ppm precision we achieved previously for a single eclipse observation using the same observing set-up. Combining these data with those reported at other wavelengths, a blackbody spectrum for WASP-121b is ruled out at >6σ confidence and we confirm the interpretation of previous retrieval analyses that found the data are best explained by a dayside thermal inversion. The updated spectrum clearly resolves the water emission band at 1.3–$1.6\, \mu {\rm m}$, with higher signal-to-noise than before. It also fails to reproduce a bump in the spectrum at $1.25\, \mu {\rm m}$ derived from the first eclipse observation, which had tentatively been attributed to VO emission. We conclude that the latter was either a statistical fluctuation or a systematic artefact specific to the first eclipse data set.

Detection of Na, K, and H2O in the hazy atmosphere of WASP-6b

ABSTRACT We present new observations of the transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-6b both from the ground with the Very Large Telescope FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) from 0.45 to 0.83 μm, and space with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite from 0.6 to 1.0 μm and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 from 1.12 to 1.65 μm. Archival data from the HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Spitzer are also re-analysed on a common Gaussian process framework, of which the STIS data show a good overall agreement with the overlapping FORS2 data. We also explore the effects of stellar heterogeneity on our observations and its resulting implications towards determining the atmospheric characteristics of WASP-6b. Independent of our assumptions for the level of stellar heterogeneity we detect Na i, K i, and H2O absorption features and constrain the elemental oxygen abundance to a value of [O/H] ≃ −0.9 ± 0.3 relative to solar. In contrast, we find that the stellar heterogeneity correction can have significant effects on the retrieved distributions of the [Na/H] and [K/H] abundances, primarily through its degeneracy with the sloping optical opacity of scattering haze species within the atmosphere. Our results also show that despite this presence of haze, WASP-6b remains a favourable object for future atmospheric characterization with upcoming missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Constraining the Mass of the Emerging Galaxy Cluster SpARCS1049+56 at z = 1.71 with Infrared Weak Lensing

Abstract In the hierarchical structure formation model of the universe, galaxy clusters are assembled through a series of mergers. Accordingly, it is expected that galaxy clusters in the early universe are actively forming and dynamically young. Located at a high redshift of z = 1.71, SpARCS1049+56 offers a unique look into the galaxy cluster formation process. This cluster has been shown to be rich in cluster galaxies and to have intense star formation. Its high redshift pushes a weak-lensing analysis beyond the regime of the optical spectrum into that of the infrared. Equipped with deep Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 UVIS and IR observations, we present a weak-lensing characterization of SpARCS1049+56. As few IR weak-lensing studies have been performed, we discuss the details of point-spread function modeling and galaxy shape measurement for an IR weak-lensing procedure and the systematics that come with the territory. It will be critical to understand these systematics in future weak-lensing studies in the IR with the next-generation space telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Euclid, and WFIRST. Through a careful analysis, the mass distribution of this young galaxy cluster is mapped and the convergence peak is detected at a 3.3σ level. The weak-lensing mass of the cluster is estimated to be 3.5 ± 1.2 × 1014 M ⊙ and is consistent with the mass derived from a mass–richness scaling relation. This mass is extreme for a cluster at such a high redshift and suggests that SpARCS1049+56 is rare in the standard ΛCDM universe.

The MASSIVE Survey. XV. A Stellar Dynamical Mass Measurement of the Supermassive Black Hole in Massive Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1453

Abstract We present a new stellar dynamical mass measurement ( ) of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in NGC 1453, a fast-rotating massive elliptical galaxy in the MASSIVE survey. We measure stellar kinematics in 135 spatial bins in the central 1.5 kpc × 2 kpc region of the galaxy using high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ∼ 130) spectra from the Gemini-North GMOS integral field spectrograph (IFS). Combining with wide-field IFS kinematics out to ∼3 effective radii and stellar light distributions from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 images, we perform Schwarzschild orbit-based mass modeling in the axisymmetric limit to constrain the mass components in NGC 1453. The best-fit black hole mass is ; the mass models without a central black hole are excluded at the 8.7σ level. The NGC 1453 black hole lies within the intrinsic scatter of the SMBH and galaxy scaling relations, unlike three other galaxies hosting SMBHs in the MASSIVE sample. The high-S/N GMOS spectra enable us to determine eight moments of the Gauss–Hermite expansion of the line-of-sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs), which are used as constraints in the orbit modeling. The stellar orbits in the mass models are further constrained to produce negligible h 9 through h 12 to minimize spurious behavior in the LOSVDs. We show that truncating the series at h 4, as was often done in prior work, leads to a much weaker constraint on the inferred for NGC 1453. Furthermore, we discuss precautions and modifications that are needed to achieve axisymmetry in triaxial orbit codes that use the Schwarzschild method to sample the start space of stellar orbits in triaxial gravitational potentials.

Strong Lens Models for 37 Clusters of Galaxies from the SDSS Giant Arcs Survey*

Abstract We present strong gravitational lensing models for 37 galaxy clusters from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Giant Arcs Survey. We combine data from multi-band Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) imaging, with ground-based imaging and spectroscopy from Magellan, Gemini, Apache Point Observatory, and the Multiple Mirror Telescope, in order to detect and spectroscopically confirm new multiply imaged lensed background sources behind the clusters. We report spectroscopic or photometric redshifts of sources in these fields, including cluster galaxies and background sources. Based on all available lensing evidence, we construct and present strong-lensing mass models for these galaxy clusters. The clusters span a redshift range of 0.176 < z < 0.66 with a median redshift of z = 0.45, and sample a wide range of dynamical masses, 1.5 < M 200 < 35 × 1014 , as estimated from their velocity dispersions. As these clusters were selected as lenses primarily owing to a fortuitous alignment with background galaxies that results in giant arcs, they exhibit a wide range in Einstein radii, 1.″3 < θ E < 23.″1 for a source at z = 2, with a median θ E = 10.″8. The reduced HST images and lens model outputs are made available to the scientific community as high-level data products with this publication.

Comparing Observed Stellar Kinematics and Surface Densities in a Low-latitude Bulge Field to Galactic Population Synthesis Models

Abstract We present an analysis of Galactic bulge stars from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 observations of the Stanek window (l, b = [0.25, −2.15]) from two epochs approximately two years apart. This data set is adjacent to the provisional Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) microlensing field. Proper motions are measured for approximately 115,000 stars down to 28th mag in V band and 25th mag in I band, with accuracies of 0.5 mas yr−1 (20 km s−1) at I ≈ 21. A cut on the longitudinal proper motion μ l allows us to separate disk and bulge populations and produce bulge-only star counts that are corrected for photometric completeness and efficiency of the proper-motion cut. The kinematic dispersions and surface density in the field are compared to the nearby SWEEPS sight line, finding a marginally larger-than-expected gradient in stellar density. The observed bulge star counts and kinematics are further compared to the Besançon, Galaxia, and GalMod Galactic population synthesis models. We find that most of the models underpredict low-mass bulge stars by ∼33% below the main-sequence turnoff, and upwards of ∼70% at redder J and H wavebands. While considering inaccuracies in the Galactic models, we give implications for the exoplanet yield from the WFIRST microlensing mission.

Photometric Redshift Estimation with Galaxy Morphology Using Self-organizing Maps

Abstract We use multiband optical and near-infrared photometric observations of galaxies in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey to predict photometric redshifts using artificial neural networks. The multiband observations span from 0.39 to 8.0 μm for a sample of ∼1000 galaxies in the GOODS-S field for which robust size measurements are available from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 observations. We use self-organizing maps (SOMs) to map the multidimensional photometric and galaxy size observations while taking advantage of existing spectroscopic redshifts at 0 < z < 2 for independent training and testing sets. We show that use of photometric and morphological data led to redshift estimates comparable to redshift measurements from modeling of spectral energy distributions and from SOMs without morphological measurements.

A Trio of Massive Black Holes Caught in the Act of Merging*

Abstract We report the discovery of SDSS J0849+1114 as the first known triple Type 2 Seyfert nucleus. It represents three active black holes that are identified from new spatially resolved optical slit spectroscopy using the Dual Imaging Spectrograph on the 3.5 m telescope at the Apache Point Observatory. We also present new complementary observations including the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 U- and Y-band imaging, Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer S-array X-ray 0.5–8 keV imaging spectroscopy, and NSF Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio 9.0 GHz imaging in its most extended A configuration. These comprehensive multiwavelength observations, when combined together, strongly suggest that all three nuclei are active galactic nuclei. While they are now still at kiloparsec-scale separations, where the host-galaxy gravitational potential dominates, the black holes may evolve into a bound triple system in ≲2 Gyr. These triple merger systems may explain the overly massive stellar cores that have been observed in some elliptical galaxies such as M87, which are expected to be unique gravitational wave sources. Similar systems may be more common in the early universe, when galaxy mergers are thought to have been more frequent.

Optical counterparts of an ultraluminous X-Ray Source X-1 in NGC 2500

ABSTRACT We present the results of a search for optical counterparts of ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) X-1 in the nearby galaxy NGC 2500 by using archival images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera (WFC3)/UVIS. We identified four optical sources as possible counterparts within the 2σ error radius of 0$^{\prime \prime }_{.}$3 in the images. However, only two of them were investigated as candidates for counterparts due to their point-like features and their identification in various filters. These two faint candidates have absolute magnitudes of MV ≈ −3.4 and −3.7. The spectral energy distributions of two candidates were modelled by a power-law spectrum with a photon index (α) ∼1.5, but the spectrum of one candidate shows a deviation. This may suggest that at least two components are responsible for the optical emission. The red part of the spectrum could arise from the companion star and the blue part could be interpreted as an evidence of reprocessing of the X-rays from the disc.