We study the orientations of satellite galaxies in redMaPPer clusters constructed from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at 0.1 < z < 0.35 to determine whether there is any preferential tendency for satellites to point radially towards cluster centres. We analyse the satellite alignment (SA) signal based on three shape measurement methods (re-Gaussianization, de Vaucouleurs, and isophotal shapes), which trace galaxy light profiles at different radii. The measured SA signal depends on these shape measurement methods. We detect the strongest SA signal in isophotal shapes, followed by de Vaucouleurs shapes. While no net SA signal is detected using re-Gaussianization shapes across the entire sample, the observed SA signal reaches a statistically significant level when limiting to a subsample of higher luminosity satellites. We further investigate the impact of noise, systematics, and real physical isophotal twisting effects in the comparison between the SA signal detected via different shape measurement methods. Unlike previous studies, which only consider the dependence of SA on a few parameters, here we explore a total of 17 galaxy and cluster properties, using a statistical model averaging technique to naturally account for parameter correlations and identify significant SA predictors. We find that the measured SA signal is strongest for satellites with the following characteristics: higher luminosity, smaller distance to the cluster centre, rounder in shape, higher bulge fraction, and distributed preferentially along the major axis directions of their centrals. Finally, we provide physical explanations for the identified dependences and discuss the connection to theories of SA.

Une fraction non négligeable de l'histoire de la formation stellaire a lieu dans des environnements très affectés par la poussière. Il est donc naturel de se demander si on arrive à bien contraindre cette activité de formation d'étoiles. En effet, une part importante de cette activité pourrait être manquée due à la présence de poussière. C'est dans ce contexte que s'inscrit le travail que je vais présenter.Dans la première partie de ma thèse, j'ai eu pour but de déterminer la fraction de galaxies lumineuses formant des étoiles à haut redshift (i.e. 1.5<z<3) sélectionnées à partir des observations MIPS-24μm du champs COSMOS manquées par les critères UV/optique que je détaille ci-après. J'ai appliqué à mon échantillon de galaxies les critères BzK et BM/BX, ainsi que la sélection des «IRAC peakers» et celle des sources optiquement faibles mais brillantes en IR (OFIR, de l'anglais «Optically Faint IR-bright sources»). J'ai ensuite quantifié la contribution de ces différentes sous-populations à la fonction de luminosité à 8μm au repos ainsi qu'à la densité de taux de formation d'étoiles à z~2. Les résultats obtenus soulignent le danger d'utiliser des sélections couleurs de ce type lorsque l'on cherche à quantifier la formation stellaire enfouie dans la poussière. En effet, si le critère BzK offre une identification quasi-complète (~90%) de l'échantillon 24μm, il n'en est pas de même des autres critères. Par exemple, la sélection BM/BX manque 50% des sources considérées et celle des «IRAC peakers» ne sélectionne que 64% de l'échantillon d'étude. Il faut par conséquent être prudent lorsqu'on décide d'utiliser de telles méthodes de sélection qui entraînent nécessairement des extrapolations incertaines, pouvant ainsi fausser notre compréhension de la contribution des galaxies fortement affectées par l'extinction.Dans une seconde partie, je cherche à comprendre la nature composite des sources OFIR les plus brillantes. Cette démarche vise à apporter une compréhension supplémentaire à la connexion AGN/galaxie à flambée de formation stellaire. En se basant sur les données PACS à 100 et 160 μm du satellite herschel, je peux mieux contraindre les distributions spectrales d'énergie de mes sources. Je souhaite déterminer la fraction de la luminosité de ces sources due à la présence d'un AGN ou à la forte activité de formation stellaire dans le but de mieux comprendre le lien entre ces deux phénomènes. Ces sources OFIR brillantes (F_24μm> 1mJy) présentent des couleurs 100/24 et 160/24 plus faibles que les autres sources du champ COSMOS et leur luminosité semble donc provenir majoritairement d'un AGN. Les avancées technologiques et l'exploration des longueurs d'ondes en infra-rouge lointain et en submillimétrique, avec notamment Herschel, SCUBA-2, Alma, JWST, permettront de mieux comprendre la connexion AGN/ flambée de formation stellaire au sein des galaxies jusqu'à des hauts redshifts. / A non-negligible fraction of the star formation across cosmic time occurred within dust-enshrouded environment. One question of the main interest is then do we really know the exact amount of star formation activity. Indeed, this amount could be strongly biased by the effect of dust extinction.This features the context of the work I will discuss here.First of all, I focused my work on determining the number of luminous star-forming galaxies at 1.5<z<3 that are potentially missed by traditional UV/optical selections. I based my work on 24μm sources brighter than 80μJy in the COSMOS field. I applied to this mid-IR selected sample the BzK and BM/BX criteria, as well as the selections of the "IRAC Peakers" and the "Optically Faint-IR bright" galaxies (OFIR). I also quantified the contribution of these sub-populations to the IR luminosity and cosmic star formation density at z~2. I found that the BzK criterion offers an almost complete (~90%) identification of the 24μm sources at 1.4<z<2.5. In contrast, the BM/BX criterion misses 50% of the MIPS sources and the "IRAC Peakers" one only selects 64% of my sample. Color selections of distant star-forming galaxies must be indeed used with a lot of caution given the substantial bias they can suffer. In particular, the effect of dust extinction strongly affects the completeness of identifications at the bright end of the bolometric luminosity function, which could lead to large and uncertain extrapolations in order to account for the contribution of dusty galaxies missed by these selections.In a second time, I was interested in the composite nature of ultra-luminous infra-red galaxies presenting extreme optical/mid-IR colors at z∼2. I here try to better understand the Starburst/AGN connection in the brightest sources of my OFIR sample. Using PACS 100 and 160 μm from the Herschel Telescope, I have better constraints on the spectral energy distributions of the sources. The goal here is to determine the fraction of the IR luminosity due to the AGN and the fraction due to a strong star-forming activity. Theses really bright (F_24μm> 1mJy) OFIR sources present fainter 100/24 and 160/24 colors than the rest of the 24μm-selected sources. Their luminosity might then come from a strong AGN activity. The forthcoming facilities that will operate at long wavelengths (e.g., JWST, AKMA, SCUBA-2, etc.) will allow a better understanding of the link between the AGN activity and the star-forming one, up to high redshifts.

L'époque de la Réionisation est la transition d'un Univers rempli d'hydrogène neutre et relativement froid à un Univers rempli de gaz chaud et ionisé. Cette transition intervient à peine un milliard d'années après le Big Bang. Le processus de réionisation est dû à l'émission de photons ionisants par les premières étoiles et premières galaxies à se former. Le travail de cette thèse consiste en l'étude de la formation des galaxies pendant et après la Réionisation, et en particulier de l'impact de cette dernière sur la formation stellaire. En utilisant des modèles et des simulations numériques, il est possible d'étudier le processus de Réionisation de l'Univers en détail, avec comme contraintes les observations du milieu inter-galactique et des galaxies à haut redshift. Dans cette thèse, je me suis concentré dans un premier temps sur les effets de coupure de la formation stellaire pendant et après la Réionisation de manière globale. J'ai eu accès à des simulations d'un nouveau type, qui modélisent la propagation du rayonnement ionisant couplé avec la dynamique et avec l'évolution des propriétés de la matière dans un volume cosmologique. J’ai aussi étudié en détail l'impact de la Réionisation sur les plus petites galaxies, en particulier, le cas de leur distribution spatiale dans l'Univers local, dans le but de reproduire et comprendre certaines observations. / The Epoch of Reionization is the transition from a Universe full of cold and neutral hydrogen to a hot and ionized Universe: it occurs one billion years after the Big Bang. The Reionization is driven by the ionizing photons emitted by the first stars and galaxies. This thesis analyses the galaxy formation during and after the Reionization. Focusing on the feedback of the Reionization on the stellar formation. Using models and numerical simulations, we can study in details the Reionization process. Observations of galaxies and intergalactic medium at high redshift constrain those models, as well as observations of the local Universe, which is the only place where low luminosity galaxies can be observed. In this thesis, I focus on the radiative suppression of stellar formation caused by the Reionization. For this purpose, I used a new generation of simulations, able to take into account the radiative transfer as well as the hydrodynamics in a cosmological volume. I also studied in details the Reionization of the smallest galaxies, focusing on their spatial distribution in the local Universe to understand and reproduce the observations. I looked in particular at the distribution of satellites around M31-like galaxies and find that the observed vast plane of satellites can be reproduced in our models.

According to the current cosmological paradigm, ``Lambda Cold Dark Matter'' (LambdaCDM), only ~20% of the gravitating matter in the universe is made up of ordinary (i.e. baryonic) matter, while the rest consists of invisible dark matter (DM) particles, which existence can be inferred from their gravitational influence on baryonic matter and light. Despite the large success of the LambdaCDM model in explaining the large scale structure of the Universe and the conditions of the early Universe, there has been debate on whether this model can fully explain the observations of low mass (dwarf) galaxies. The Local Group (LG), which hosts most of the known dwarf galaxies, is a unique laboratory to test the predictions of the LambdaCDM model on small scales. I analyze the kinematics of LG members, including the Milky~Way-Andromeda (MW-M31) pair and dwarf galaxies, in order to constrain the mass of the LG. I construct samples of LG analogs from large cosmological N-body simulations, according to the following kinematics constraints: (a) the separation and relative velocity of the MW-M31 pair; (b) the receding velocity of dwarf galaxies in the outskirts of the LG. I find that these constraints yield a median total mass of 2*10^{12} solar masses for the MW and M31, but with a large uncertainty. Based on the mass and the kinematics constraints, I select twelve LG candidates for the APOSTLE simulations project. The APOSTLE project consists of high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the LG candidates, using the EAGLE galaxy formation model. I show that dwarf satellites of MW and M31 analogs in APOSTLE are in good agreement with observations, in terms of number, luminosity and kinematics. There have been tensions between the observed masses of LG dwarf spheroidals and the predictions of N-body simulations within the LambdaCDM framework; simulations tend to over-predict the mass of dwarfs. This problem is known as the ``too-big-to-fail'' problem. I find that the enclosed mass within the half-light radii of Galactic classical dwarf spheroidals, is in excellent agreement with the simulated satellites in APOSTLE, and that there is no too-big-to-fail problem in APOSTLE simulations. A few factors contribute in solving the problem: (a) the mass of haloes in hydrodynamical simulations are lower compared to their N-body counterparts; (b) stellar mass-halo mass relation in APOSTLE is different than the ones used to argue for the too-big-to-fail problem; (c) number of massive satellites correlates with the virial mass of the host, i.e. MW analogs with virial masses above ~ 3*10^{12} solar masses would have faced too-big-to-fail problems; (d) uncertainties in observations were underestimated in previous works. Stellar mass-halo mass relation in APOSTLE predicts that all isolated dwarf galaxies should live in haloes with maximum circular velocity (V_max) above 20 km/s. Satellite galaxies, however, can inhabit lower mass haloes due to tidal stripping which removes mass from the inner regions of satellites as they orbit their hosts. I examine all satellites of the MW and M31, and find that many of them live in haloes less massive than V_max=20 km/s. I additionally show that the low mass population is following a different trend in stellar mass-size relation compared to the rest of the satellites or field dwarfs. I use stellar mass-halo mass relation of APOSTLE field galaxies, along with tidal stripping trajectories derived in Penarrubia et al., in order to predict the properties of the progenitors of the LG satellites. According to this prediction, some satellites have lost a significant amount of dark matter as well as stellar mass. Cra~II, And~XIX, XXI, and XXV have lost 99 per-cent of their stellar mass in the past. I show that the mass discrepancy-acceleration relation of dwarf galaxies in the LG is at odds with MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) predictions, whereas tidal stripping can explain the observations very well. I compare observed velocity dispersion of LG satellites with the predicted values by MOND. The observations and MOND predictions are inconsistent, in particular in the regime of ultra faint dwarf galaxies. / Graduate

In the formation of galaxy groups and clusters, the dark matter haloes containing satellite galaxies are expected to be tidally stripped in gravitational interactions with the host. We use galaxy-galaxy weak lensing to measure the average mass of dark matter haloes of satellite galaxies as a function of projected distance to the centre of the host, since stripping is expected to be greater for satellites closer to the centre of the cluster. We further classify the satellites according to their stellar mass: Assuming that the stellar component of the galaxy is less disrupted by tidal stripping, stellar mass can be used as a proxy of the infall mass. We study the stellar-to-halo mass relation of satellites as a function of the cluster-centric distance to measure tidal stripping. We use the shear catalogues of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) science verification archive, the Canada-France-Hawaii Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS) and the CFHT Stripe 82 surveys, and we select satellites from the redMaPPer catalogue of clusters. For galaxies located in the outskirts of clusters, we find a stellar-to-halo mass relation in good agreement with the theoretical expectations from Moster et al. for central galaxies. In the centre of the cluster, we find that this relation is shifted to smaller halo mass for a given stellar mass. We interpret this finding as further evidence for tidal stripping of dark matter haloes in high-density environments.

The gas kinetic temperature (T-K) of various interstellar environments is often inferred from observations that can deduce level populations of atoms, ions, or molecules using spectral line observations; H I 21 cm is perhaps the most widely used, and has a long history. Usually the H I 21 cm line is assumed to be in thermal equilibrium. and the populations are given by the Boltzmann distribution. A variety of processes, many involving Ly alpha, can affect the 21 cm line. Here we show how this is treated in the spectral simulation code Cloudy, and present numerical simulations of environments where this temperature indicator is used, with a detailed treatment of the physical processes that determine level populations within H-0. We discuss situations where this temperature indicator traces TK, cases where it fails, as well as the effects of Lya pumping on the 21 cm spin temperature. We also show that the Lya excitation temperature rarely traces the gas kinetic temperature.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis, we present a multi-wavelength analysis of star-forming galaxies to shed new light on the evolution of the far-IR-radio relations in intermediate redshift (0.3 < z < 0.6) galaxy clusters and galaxy groups. The far-infrared (far-IR) emission from galaxies is dominated by thermal dust emission. The radio emission at 1.4 GHz is predominantly produced by non-thermal synchrotron radiation. The underlying mechanisms, which drive the far-IR-radio correlation, are believed to arise from massive star formation. A number of studies have investigated the relationship as a function of redshift in the field and have found no evolution out to at least z _ 2, however few works have been done in galaxy clusters. In nearby clusters, the median logarithmic ratio of the far-IR to radio luminosity is qFIR = 2.07_0.74, which is lower than the value found in the field, and there is an indication of an enhancement of radio emission relative to the far-IR emission. Understanding the properties of the far-IR-radio correlation in a sample of distant and massive cluster and groups plays an important role in understanding the physical processes in these systems. We have derived total infrared luminosities for a sample of cluster, group, and field galaxies through an empirical relation based on Spitzer MIPS 24 _m photometry. The radio flux densities were measured from deep Very Large Array 1.4 GHz radio continuum observations. We have studied the properties of the far-IR-radio correlation of galaxies at intermediate redshift clusters by comparing the relationship of these galaxies to that of low redshift clusters. We have also examined the properties of the galaxies showing radio excess to determine the extent that galaxy type or environment may explain the radio excess in galaxy clusters. We find that the ratio of far-IR to radio luminosity for galaxies in an intermediate redshift cluster to be qFIR = 1.72_0.63. This value is comparable to that measured in low redshift clusters. A higher fraction of galaxies in clusters show an excess in their radio fluxes when compared to low redshift clusters, and corroborates previous evidence of a cluster enhancement of radio excess sources at this earlier epoch as well. We have also investigated the properties of the far-IR-radio correlation for a sample of galaxy groups in the COSMOS field. We find a lower percentage of radio-excess sources in groups as compared to clusters. This provides preliminary evidence that the number of radioexcess sources may depend on galaxy environment. We also find that a larger fraction of radio-excess sources in clusters are red sequence galaxies.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There have been a number of attempts to measure the expansion rate of the Universe using age-dating of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). Assuming that stars in LRGs form at the same time, age-dating of two populations of LRGs at different redshifts can provide an estimate of the time different associated with the corresponding redshift interval (dz/dt). This gives a direct estimate of the Hubble parameter H (z) at the average redshift of the two populations. In this thesis, we explore the validity of this method by using two different sets of data. Firstly, we select a homogeneous sample of passively evolving galaxies over 0.10 < z < 0.40 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Seven (SDSS-DR7) catalogue by applying a refined criteria, which is based on absolute magnitude. Secondly, we carry out series of observations on the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) to obtain spectra of LRGs at two narrow redshift ranges z ' 0.40 and z ' 0.55 in order to calculate the Hubble parameter H(z) at z ' 0.47. We utilise two distinct methods of age-dating including the use of absorption Lick index lines and full spectral fitting on high signal-to-noise galaxy spectra from our sample. By establishing the age-redshift relation of the quiescent, passively evolving galaxies from SDSS, we obtain three improved new observational H(z) data points which are H(z) = 76.8 5.3 km s􀀀1Mpc􀀀1 at z ' 0.28, H(z) = 78.5 6.8 km s􀀀1Mpc􀀀1 at z ' 0.30 and H(z) = 86.3 7.6 km s􀀀1Mpc􀀀1 at z ' 0.32 respectively. We also find another H(z) value of 105 39 km s􀀀1Mpc􀀀1 at z ' 0.47 when age-dating LRGs observed with SALT. Combining all 4 data points with another 25 data points in the literature, we place better constraints on cosmological models and find the matter density parameter to be constrained by m = 0:32+0:05 􀀀0:06 and the Hubble constant to be H0 =68.5 2.4. These results are very consistent with other studies. Through this work, we are able to demonstrate that the cosmic chronometers approach can potentially be used to explore the evolution of the Universe.

Strong gravitational lensing provides an independent measurement of the Hubble parameter (H-0). One remaining systematic is a bias from the additional mass due to a galaxy group at the lens redshift or along the sightline. We quantify this bias for more than 20 strong lenses that have well-sampled sightline mass distributions, focusing on the convergence kappa and shear gamma. In 23% of these fields, a lens group contributes >= 1% convergence bias; in 57%, there is a similarly significant line-of-sight group. For the nine time-delay lens systems, H-0 is overestimated by 11(-2)(+3)% on average when groups are ignored. In 67% of fields with total kappa >= 0.01, line-of-sight groups contribute greater than or similar to 2x more convergence than do lens groups, indicating that the lens group is not the only important mass. Lens environment affects the ratio of four (quad) to two (double) image systems; all seven quads have lens groups while only 3 of 10 doubles do, and the highest convergences due to lens groups are in quads. We calibrate the gamma-kappa relation: log(kappa(tot)) = (1.94 +/- 0.34)log(gamma(tot)) + (1.31 +/- 0.49) with an rms scatter of 0.34 dex. Although shear can be measured directly from lensed images, unlike convergence, it can be a poor predictor of convergence; for 19% of our fields, kappa is greater than or similar to 2 gamma. Thus, accurate cosmology using strong gravitational lenses requires precise measurement and correction for all significant structures in each lens field.

The formation of stars from interstellar gas is the cornerstone of galaxy evolution. This thesis represents work undertaken in order to characterise the role of cool interstellar gas, and its relation to star formation, in galaxy evolution across cosmic time. In particular, it concentrates on star forming galaxies at the extremes of the galaxy assembly spectrum - extremely faint dwarfs, and extremely luminous starbursts - in an attempt to test the limits of galaxy evolution models. The thesis falls into two complimentary halves, addressing topics in the low redshift and high redshift Universe respectively. In the low redshift Universe, I discuss multi-wavelength studies of large samples of z rv O galaxies, which include extremely faint dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume. Using these samples, it is possible to derive a multitude of physical parameters (including star formation rates, stellar masses, and gas masses) which allow the interrelationship between star formation and gas content to be assessed in a statistically significant manner. In particular, modern wide field surveys (combined with deep, volume-limited data) allow trends to be analysed across many orders of magnitude in galaxy mass and star formation rate, shedding light on the global properties of galaxies in the local Universe. Moving to higher redshift, I discuss targeted observations of molecular gas in extreme star forming galaxies in the early Universe. These 'sub-millimetre' galaxies number amongst the most luminous objects ever discovered, and molecular gas observations have the power to uncover many of their physical properties, including their morphologies, kinematics, and star formation behaviour. I begin by presenting high-resolution observations of a small number of these galaxies at z rv 2, and discussing the implications for galaxy evolution studies. The final chapter of this thesis consists of the results of a survey for molecular gas in sub-millimetre galaxies conducted over the last decade, which represents the largest single study of molecular gas in the early Universe to date.