We present results studying the distribution and properties of the diffuse dust in the Milky Way Galaxy using large optical surveys—specifically, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 (Pan-STARRS1). This work has resulted in accurate measurements of dust reddening in regions of low extinction over large regions of sky. We present maps of reddening from dust covering the footprint of the SDSS, which covers one quarter of the sky. We present preliminary maps of dust covering the Pan-STARRS1 footprint, which covers three-quarters of the sky, including most of the plane of our Galaxy. We use these maps of dust to decisively exclude some simple parameterizations of dust extinction (Cardelli et al., 1989) in favor of others (Fitzpatrick, 1999). We show that the extinction predicted by the widely-used far-infrared dust map of Schlegel et al. (1998) is overestimated by 18%, and recalibrate that map using our extinction measurements. We further map variation in the properties of the dust, as indicated by variation in the amount of extinction relative to the amout of far-infrared dust extinction, and by variation in the ratio of dust extinction at different frequencies. We confirm these results by measuring reddening using two independent techniques and data sets, the SDSS photometry and spectroscopy. We further present the photometric calibration of the Pan-STARRS1 data—a necessary step to studying the dust with that ongoing survey. We achieve photometric precision unprecedented in a large optical survey, accurate to better than 1%. We additionally show the suitability of the calibrated photometry for studying the distribution of dust. Finally, we present preliminary three-dimensional maps of the dust in the Galaxy using our calibrated data from Pan-STARRS1. These maps will provide by far the most extensive information yet achieved about the three-dimensional distribution of extinction in the Galaxy. / Physics

In my thesis I investigate the luminous z ~ 3 Lyman break galaxies in deep wide field surveys. In the first part of the thesis, I use the LBT/LUCIFER to observe a lensed high-redshift star-forming galaxy (J0900+2234) at z = 2.03. With the high S/N near-IR spectroscopic observations, I reveal the detailed physical properties of this high-redshift galaxy, including SFR, metallicity, dust extinction, dynamical mass, and electron number density. In the second part of the thesis, I select a large sample of LBGs at z ~ 3 from our new LBT Bootes field survey, and study the bright end luminosity function (LF), stellar mass function (SMF) and clustering properties of bright LBGs (1L* < L < 2.5L*). Together with other LF and SMF measurements, the evolution of LF and SMF can be well described by continuously rising star formation history model. Using the clustering measurements in this work and other works, a tight relation between the average host galaxy halo mass and the galaxy star formation rate is found, which can be interpreted as arising from cold flow accretion. The relation also suggests that the cosmic star formation efficiency is about 5%-20% of the total cold flow mass. This cosmic star formation efficiency does not evolve with redshift (from z ~ 5 to z ~ 3), hosting dark matter halo mass (10¹¹-10¹³ M⊙), or galaxy luminosity (from 0.3L* to 3L*).In the third and fourth parts, with the spectroscopic follow-up observations of the bright LBGs, I establish a sample of spectroscopically-confirmed ultra-luminous LBGs (ULBGs) in NOAO Bootes field. With this new ULBG sample, the rest-frame UV LF of LBG at M(1700Å) = -23.0 was measured for the first time. I find that the ULBGs have larger outflow velocity, broader Lyα emission and ISM absorption line profiles, and more prominent CIV P-Cygni profile. This profile may imply a top-heavy IMF in these ULBGs. The ULBGs have larger stellar mass and SFR, but smaller dust extinction than the typical L* LBGs at z ~ 2 - 3. We proposed two evolutionary scenarios, pre-burst and post-burst. The properties of the ULBGs, especially the morphologies, prefer the pre-starburst scenario. Further high spatial resolution HST imaging and IFU spectroscopic observations will allow us to distinguish these two scenarios.

Dense cluster environment influences the properties of galaxies and their evolution. In order to understand this environmental effect and how it evolves with time, we study the infrared (IR) properties of galaxies in three rich clusters. The IR luminosities provide us with extinction-free measurements of the star formation rates (SFRs) of these cluster galaxies. We find a strong evolution in the IR luminosity function (LF) of two z ∼ 0:8 clusters when compared to two local clusters. The evolution rate of the IR LF found in these clusters is consistent with the evolution in field IR LFs. The similar evolution rate found in very different environments favors some internal mechanism, e.g., the gradual consumption of the gas fuel in galaxies, as being responsible for much of the star formation evolution. The mass-normalized integrated SFRs within 0.5R₂₀₀ of these clusters also shows an evolution trend, ∝ (1 + z)5. But this evolution has large scatter and may be affected by the mass selection effect of the sample. In the dense cluster core regions (r < 0.3 Mpc), we find evidence for enhanced SFR suppression. A substantial fraction of members in MS 1054-03 (z ∼ 0.8) are still forming stars actively. This cannot be explained by the scenario where the cluster is only passively accreting star-forming galaxies from the surrounding field, after which their star formation is quenched quickly. We also study the extended IR emission from the intracluster dust (ICD) in A2029. We only find weak signals at 24 and 70 μm and obtain upper limits for the ICD emission.

It has become clear that the global star formation rate in the Universe has been decreasing since at least z~1, and blue, star-forming galaxies are transformed into red, passive galaxies through one or more processes. The origin of this decline and transformation remains unclear. The role environment plays in all this is especially uncertain. Despite the observed domination of a passive population in the cores of clusters, in contrast to the more actively star-forming field population, whether or not, and how environment affects the properties of galaxies when they fall into clusters is an unsettled question. In this thesis, we look into these issues by examining both the passive and star-forming galaxies, from the cores out to the infall regions, in a large sample of clusters at 0.15<z<0.36 we detected from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). We find that in the cores of clusters, the red-sequence galaxies are a mixture of two populations, indicated by the inflexion in their luminosity function. There is no strong evolution in the shape of the red-sequence between z~0.4 and z~0.2; however, from z~0.2 to today, there is a rapid increase in the number of faint galaxies on the red-sequence relative to the bright ones, suggesting a rapid quenching of the faint galaxies in cluster cores within the last few billion years. At z~0.2, we find that the red fraction (star-forming fraction), at all stellar mass explored (9.0<log10(M*/M_solar)<11.5), shows no dependence on the distance from cluster centres, in the range 3<r<7Mpc; but within the inner 3 Mpc, we see a clear increase (decrease) in the red fraction (star-forming fraction). Also, for the lowest stellar mass galaxies, their red fraction has increased by a factor of 2 from z~0.3 to z~0.2 (over 1 Gyr), and yet we do not detect any difference between the star formation properties of the star-forming galaxies in clusters at all radii and that in the field. This suggests that for the low mass galaxies, it is likely that a mechanism that truncates star formation rapidly (within 1 Gyr) is at work. In the outskirts of the clusters, despite the low density contrast with the field, the red fraction is still higher than that in the field, suggesting that those galaxies have had their star formation quenched relative to the field population, supporting the pre-processing scenario.

A variety of techniques exist for three-dimensional reconstruction when multiple views are available, but less attention has been given to reconstruction when only a single view is available. Such a situation is normal in astronomy, when a galaxy (for example) is so distant that it is impossible to obtain views from significantly different angles. In this thesis I examine the problem of reconstructing the three-dimensional structure of a galaxy from this single viewpoint. I accomplish this by taking advantage of the image formation process, symmetry relationships, and other structural assumptions that may be made about galaxies. Most galaxies are approximately symmetric in some way. Frequently, this symmetry corresponds to symmetry about an axis of rotation, which allows strong statements to be made about the relationships between luminosity at each point in the galaxy. It is through these relationships that the number of unknown values needed to describe the structure of the galaxy can be reduced to the number of constraints provided by the image so the optimal reconstruction is well-defined. Other structural properties can also be described under this framework. I provide a mathematical framework and analyses that prove the uniqueness of solutions under certain conditions and to show how uncertainty may be precisely and explicitly expressed. Empirical results are shown using real and synthetic data. I also show a comparison to a state-of-the-art two-dimensional modelling technique to demonstrate the contrasts between the two frameworks and show the important advantages of the three-dimensional approach. In combination, the theoretical and experimental aspects of this thesis demonstrate that the proposed framework is versatile, practical, and novel---a contribution to both computer science and astronomy.

(Abridged) Physical processes regulating star formation in satellite galaxies represent an area of ongoing research, but the projected nature of observed coordinates makes separating different populations of satellites (with different processes at work) difficult. The present-day phase space coordinates of a satellite galaxy carry information about its orbital history, which can then be compared to its star formation history (SFH). This is expected to reveal both a trigger time and timescale for environmental quenching. Finally, this can be related back to the physical process(es) regulating star formation in high density environments. We use merger trees from the MultiDark Run 1 N-body simulation to compile a catalogue of satellite orbits in cluster environments. We parameterize the orbital history by the time since crossing within 2.5 virial radii of the cluster centre and use our catalogue to estimate the probability density over a range of this parameter given a set of projected phase space coordinates. We show that different populations of satellite haloes occupy (semi-)distinct regions of (projected) phase space. We generalize this result by producing a probability distribution function (PDF) of possible infall times at every point in projected phase space. We apply our method to determining the infall time PDFs of a large sample of observed cluster satellite candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We use galaxy colour as a proxy for SFH and model the distribution of satellite galaxy colours as two gaussian populations. We derive a Markov chain Monte-Carlo method to obtain the colour distribution as a function of the time since infall into the cluster environment. Our implementation of this method is still being tuned, but we use a second simpler (but much cruder) method to obtain an estimate of the evolution of the colour distribution. Our results are suggestive of a quenching process that begins within perhaps ±1 Gyr of virial radius crossing and which slows after pericentric passage. We stress that results obtained with this second method come with important caveats.

Current models of cosmology and galaxy formation are possibly at odds with observations of small-scale galaxies. Such is the case for the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Milky Way (MW), where tension exists in explaining their observed abundance, mass, and internal structure. Here we present an analysis of the substructure surrounding MW-sized haloes in a Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) simulation suite. Combined with a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation and evolution, we identify substructures that are expected to host dSph galaxies similar to the satellites of the MW. We subsequently use these simulations to investigate the orbital properties of dSph satellite galaxies to make contact with those orbiting the MW. After accretion into the main halo, the higher mass ``luminous'' substructure remains on highly radial orbits while the orbits of lower mass substructure, which are not expected to host stars, tend to scatter off of the luminous substructure, and thus circularize over time. The orbital ellipticity distribution of the luminous substructure shows little dependence on the mass or formation history of the main halo, making this distribution a robust prediction of LCDM. Through comparison with the ellipticity distribution computed from the positions and velocities of the nine MW dSph galaxies that currently have proper motion estimates as a function of the assumed MW mass, we present a novel means of estimating the virial mass of the Milky Way. The best match is obtained assuming a mass of 1.1 x 10^12 M_sun with 95 per cent confidence limits of (0.6 - 3.1) x 10^12 M_sun. The uncertainty in this estimate is dominated by the large uncertainties in the proper motions and small number of MW satellites used, and will improve significantly with better proper motion measurements from Gaia. We also measure the shape of the gravitational potential of subhaloes likely to host dSphs, down to radii comparable to the half-light radii of MW dSphs. Field haloes are triaxial in general, while satellite haloes become more spherical over time due to tidal interactions with the host. Thus through the determination of the shape of a MW dSph's gravitational potential via line of sight velocity measurements, one could in principle deduce the impact of past tidal interactions with the MW, and thus determine its dynamical history. Additionally, luminous subhaloes experience a radial alignment of their major axes with the direction to the host halo over time, caused by tidal torquing with the host's gravitational potential during close pericentric passages. This effect is seen at all radii, even down to the half-light radii of the satellites. Radial alignment must be taken into account when calibrating weak-lensing surveys which often assume isotropic orientations of satellite galaxies surrounding host galaxies and clusters. / Graduate / 0606

Studying how SN Ia rates (SNR) correlate with host galaxy properties is an important step in understanding the exact nature of SN Ia. Taking a sample of SNe and galaxies from the SDSS, we obtain the optimum parameter values for the A+B model for SNR, which states that SNR scale linearly with mass and star formation rate of the host, and compare them with previous work. We then proceed to show that the A+B model deviates very significantly from the SNR behaviour in our sample, demonstrate that no reasonable values for A and B could possibly match the observations, and investigate the possibility of a third-parameter correction to the generic A+B model. We find that several hypothesised models seem to match the distribution of SNRs in our sample; however, discriminating between them is a difficult task. We interpret the above to be an indicator that a new parameter may need to be taken into account when modelling SNR, and we present metallicity as a possible candidate for the new parameter. Also, by investigating decomposed bulge + disk components of the host galaxies, we find that the spatial positions of SNe Ia are correlated with bulge luminosity, but not with galaxy total luminosity or disk luminosity. It is also shown that SNe do not preferentially occur in bulge-dominated galaxies. Our interpretation of these results is that SNe arise from a population having a spatial distribution which correlates very well with bulge luminosity, but does not usually contribute to bulge luminosity. / Graduate

Current models of cosmology and galaxy formation are possibly at odds with observations of small-scale galaxies. Such is the case for the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Milky Way (MW), where tension exists in explaining their observed abundance, mass, and internal structure. Here we present an analysis of the substructure surrounding MW-sized haloes in a Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) simulation suite. Combined with a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation and evolution, we identify substructures that are expected to host dSph galaxies similar to the satellites of the MW. We subsequently use these simulations to investigate the orbital properties of dSph satellite galaxies to make contact with those orbiting the MW. After accretion into the main halo, the higher mass ``luminous'' substructure remains on highly radial orbits while the orbits of lower mass substructure, which are not expected to host stars, tend to scatter off of the luminous substructure, and thus circularize over time. The orbital ellipticity distribution of the luminous substructure shows little dependence on the mass or formation history of the main halo, making this distribution a robust prediction of LCDM. Through comparison with the ellipticity distribution computed from the positions and velocities of the nine MW dSph galaxies that currently have proper motion estimates as a function of the assumed MW mass, we present a novel means of estimating the virial mass of the Milky Way. The best match is obtained assuming a mass of 1.1 x 10^12 M_sun with 95 per cent confidence limits of (0.6 - 3.1) x 10^12 M_sun. The uncertainty in this estimate is dominated by the large uncertainties in the proper motions and small number of MW satellites used, and will improve significantly with better proper motion measurements from Gaia. We also measure the shape of the gravitational potential of subhaloes likely to host dSphs, down to radii comparable to the half-light radii of MW dSphs. Field haloes are triaxial in general, while satellite haloes become more spherical over time due to tidal interactions with the host. Thus through the determination of the shape of a MW dSph's gravitational potential via line of sight velocity measurements, one could in principle deduce the impact of past tidal interactions with the MW, and thus determine its dynamical history. Additionally, luminous subhaloes experience a radial alignment of their major axes with the direction to the host halo over time, caused by tidal torquing with the host's gravitational potential during close pericentric passages. This effect is seen at all radii, even down to the half-light radii of the satellites. Radial alignment must be taken into account when calibrating weak-lensing surveys which often assume isotropic orientations of satellite galaxies surrounding host galaxies and clusters. / Graduate / 0606

A variety of precision observations suggest that the present universe is dominated by some unknown components, the so-called dark matter and dark energy. The distribution and properties of these components are the focus of modern cosmology and we are only beginning to understand them. Gravitational lensing, the bending of light in the gravitational field of a massive object, is one of the predictions of the general theory of relativity. It has become an ever more important tool for investigating the dark universe, especially with recent and coming advances in observational data. This thesis studies gravitational lensing effects on scales ranging over ten orders of magnitude to probe very different aspects of the dark universe. Implementing a matter distribution following the predictions of recent simulations, we show that microlensing by a large population of massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) is unlikely to be the source of the observed long-term variability in quasars. We study the feasibility of detecting the so far elusive galactic dark matter substructures, the so-called “missing satellites”, via millilensing in galaxies close to the line-of-sight to distant light sources. Finally, we utilise massive galaxy clusters, some of the largest structures known in the universe, as gravitational telescopes in order to detect distant supernovae, thereby gaining insight into the expansion history of the universe. We also show, how such observations can be used to put constraints on the dark matter component of these galaxy clusters. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 6: Submitted.