In this work we have studied the relationship between the kinematics and shapes of Early Type Galaxies (ETGs) in rich clusters. In particular we were interested to extend the kinematic morphology density relation to the richest clusters. We obtained data from FLAMES/GIRAFFE to probe the stellar kinematics of a sample of 30 ETGs in the massive cluster Abell 1689 at z = 0.183, to classify them as Slow Rotators (SRs) or Fast Rotators (Frs). To date, this is the highest redshift cluster studied in this way. We simulated FLAMES/GIRAFFE observations of the local SAURON galaxies to account for the bias introduced compared to the ATLAS3D sample, which we used as a local comparison. We find that the luminosity function of SRs in Abell 1689 is the same as that in ATLAS^3D, down to the faintest objects probed (M_K ≈ -23). The number fraction of SRs over the ETG population in Abell 1689 is f_SR = 0.15 +/- 0.03, consistent with the value found in the Virgo Cluster. However, within the cluster, f_SR rises sharply with the projected number density of galaxies, rising from f_SR = 0.01 in the least dense bin to f_SR = 0.58 in the densest bin. We conclude that the fraction of SRs is not determined by the local number density of galaxies, but rather by the physical location within the cluster. This might be due to dynamical processes which cause SRs (on average more massive) to sink in the gravitational potential of the cluster. Next we explore the distribution of projected ellipticity &epsilon; in galaxies belonging to a sample of clusters from SDSS (z </~ 0.1) and the CLASH survey (z ≈ 0.2). We were interested to establish whether the fraction of galaxies flatter than &epsilon; = 0.4 (a proxy for FRs) varies from cluster to cluster. We find some significant variations. We go on to probe the projected shape as a function of projected cluster-centric radius. In both samples we find that on average galaxies have progressively rounder projected shapes at lower cluster-centric projected distance. In the SDSS sample we show that this trend exists above and beyond the trend for brighter galaxies to be more common near the centre of clusters (bright galaxies are on average rounder). In order to disentangle the trend for SRs (which are rounder) to be more common near the centre of clusters, we isolate a subsample of FRs only, by considering only galaxies with &epsilon; > 0.4. We find that even the intrinsically flat FRs are on average rounder at lower projected cluster-centric distance. We conclude that the observed trend is due either to the dynamic heating of the stellar discs being strongest near the centre of clusters, or due to an anti-correlation of the bulge fractions with the cluster-centric distance.

We present an update to the ultraviolet-to-radio database of global broadband photometry for the 79 nearby galaxies that comprise the union of the KINGFISH (Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel) and SINGS (Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey) samples. The 34-band data set presented here includes contributions from observational work carried out with a variety of facilities including GALEX, SDSS, Pan-STARRS1, NOAO, 2MASS, Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, Spitzer, Herschel, Planck, JCMT, and the VLA. Improvements of note include recalibrations of previously published SINGS BVRCIC and KINGFISH farinfrared/submillimeter photometry. Similar to previous results in the literature, an excess of submillimeter emission above model predictions is seen primarily for low-metallicity dwarf or irregular galaxies. This 33-band photometric data set for the combined KINGFISH+SINGS sample serves as an important multiwavelength reference for the variety of galaxies observed at low redshift. A thorough analysis of the observed spectral energy distributions is carried out in a companion paper.

In the era of high-precision astrometry, space observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Gaia are providing unprecedented 6D phase-space information of satellite galaxies. Such measurements can shed light on the structure and assembly history of the Local Group, but improved statistical methods are needed to use them efficiently. Here we illustrate such a method using analogues of the Local Group's two most massive satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Triangulum (M33), from the Illustris dark-matter-only cosmological simulation. We use a Bayesian inference scheme combining measurements of positions, velocities and specific orbital angular momenta (j) of the LMC/M33 with importance sampling of their simulated analogues to compute posterior estimates of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda's (M31) halo masses. We conclude that the resulting host halo mass is more susceptible to bias when using measurements of the current position and velocity of satellites, especially when satellites are at short-lived phases of their orbits (i.e. at pericentre). Instead, the j value of a satellite is well conserved over time and provides a more reliable constraint on host mass. The inferred virial mass of the MW(M31) using j of the LMC (M33) is M-vir,M- MW = 1.02(-0.55)(+0.77) x 10(12) M-circle dot (M-vir,M- M31 = 1.37(-0.75)(+1.39) x 10(12) M-circle dot). Choosing simulated analogues whose j values are consistent with the conventional picture of a previous (<3 Gyr ago), close encounter (<100 kpc) of M33 about M31 results in a very low virial mass for M31 (similar to 10(12) M-circle dot). This supports the new scenario put forth in Patel, Besla & Sohn, wherein M33 is on its first passage about M31 or on a long-period orbit. We conclude that this Bayesian inference scheme, utilizing satellite j, is a promising method to reduce the current factor of 2 spread in the mass range of the MW and M31. This method is easily adaptable to include additional satellites as new 6D phase-space information becomes available from HST, Gaia and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Context. Over the past few years, on several occasions, large, continuous rotations of the electric vector position angle (EVPA) of linearly polarized optical emission from blazars have been reported. These events are often coincident with high energy gamma-ray flares and they have attracted considerable attention, since they could allow us to probe the magnetic field structure in the gamma-ray emitting region of the jet. The flat-spectrum radio quasar 3C 279 is one of the most prominent examples showing this behaviour. Aims. Our goal is to study the observed EVPA rotations and to distinguish between a stochastic and a deterministic origin of the polarization variability. Methods. We have combined multiple data sets of R-band photometry and optical polarimetry measurements of 3C 279, yielding exceptionally well-sampled flux density and polarization curves that cover a period of 2008-2012. Several large EVPA rotations are identified in the data. We introduce a quantitative measure for the EVPA curve smoothness, which is then used to test a set of simple random walk polarization variability models against the data. Results. 3C 279 shows different polarization variation characteristics during an optical low-flux state and a flaring state. The polarization variation during the flaring state, especially the smooth similar to 360 degrees rotation of the EVPA in mid-2011, is not consistent with the tested stochastic processes. Conclusions. We conclude that, during the two different optical flux states, two different processes govern polarization variation, which is possibly a stochastic process during the low-brightness state and a deterministic process during the flaring activity.

We present the discovery of nine quasars at z similar to 6 identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data. This completes our survey of z similar to 6 quasars in the SDSS footprint. Our final sample consists of 52 quasars at 5.7 < z << 6.4, including 29 quasars with z(AB) <= 20 mag selected from 11,240 deg(2) of the SDSS single-epoch imaging survey (the main survey), 10 quasars with 20 <= z(AB) <= 20.5 selected from 4223 deg2 of the SDSS overlap regions (regions with two or more imaging scans), and 13 quasars down to z(AB) approximate to 22 mag from the 277 deg2 in Stripe 82. They span a wide luminosity range of -29.0 <= M-1450 <= -24.5. This well-defined sample is used to derive the quasar luminosity function (QLF) at z similar to 6. After combining our SDSS sample with two faint (M-1450 >= -23 mag) quasars from the literature, we obtain the parameters for a double power-law fit to the QLF. The bright-end slope beta of the QLF is well constrained to be beta = -2.8 +/- 0.2. Due to the small number of low-luminosity quasars, the faint-end slope a and the characteristic magnitude M*(1450) are less well constrained, with alpha = -1.90(-0.44)(+0.58) and M* = -25.2(-3.8)(+1.2) mag. The spatial density of luminous quasars, parametrized as rho(M-1450 < -26, z) = rho(z = 6)10(k(z-6)), drops rapidly from z similar to 5 to 6, with k = -0.72 +/- 0.11. Based on our fitted QLF and assuming an intergalactic medium (IGM) clumping factor of C = 3, we find that the observed quasar population cannot provide enough photons to ionize the z similar to 6 IGM at similar to 90% confidence. Quasars may still provide a significant fraction of the required photons, although much larger samples of faint quasars are needed for more stringent constraints on the quasar contribution to reionization.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc

The halos of galaxies - consisting of gas, stars, and satellite galaxies - are formed and shaped by the most fundamental processes: hierarchical merging and the flow of gas into and out of galaxies. While these processes are hard to disentangle, metals are tied to the gas that fuels star formation and entrained in the wind that the deaths of these stars generate. As such, they can act as important indicators of the star formation, the chemical enrichment, and the outflow histories of galaxies. Thus, this thesis aims to take advantage of such metal signatures in the stars and gas to place observational constraints on current theories of galaxy evolution as implemented in cosmological simulations. The first two chapters consider the metallicities of stars in the stellar halo of the Milky Way and its surviving satellite dwarf galaxies. Chapter 2 pairs an N-body simulation with a semi-analytic model for supernova-driven winds to examine the early environment of a Milky Way-like galaxy. At z=10, progenitors of surviving z=0 satellite galaxies are found to sit preferentially on the outskirts of progenitor halos of the eventual main halo. The consequence of these positions is that main halo progenitors are found to more effectively cross-pollute each other than satellite progenitors. Thus, inhomogeneous cross-pollution as a result of different high-z spatial locations of different progenitors can help to explain observed differences in abundance patterns measured today. Chapter 3 expands this work into the analysis of a cosmological, hydrodynamical simulation of dwarf galaxies in the early universe. We find that simple assumptions for modeling the extent of supernova-driven winds used in Chapter 2 agree well with the simulation whereas the presence of inhomogeneous mixing in the simulation has a large effect on the stellar metallicities. Furthermore, the star-forming halos show both bursty and continuous SFHs, two scenarios proposed by stellar metallicity data. However, the metallicity distribution functions of the simulated halos are both too metal rich and too peaked when compared to the data. This comparison reveals that a complex SFH and a broad metallicity distribution can develop rapidly in the early Universe. The third chapter moves to the present day with a consideration of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) around nearby Milky Way-like galaxies. We compare a cosmological simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy to recent absorption line data and find that a reduced extragalactic ultraviolet background brings the column density predictions into better agreement with the data. Similarly, when the observationally derived physical properties of the gas are compared to the simulation, we find that the simulation gas is always at temperatures approximately 0.5 dex higher. Thus, similar column densities can be produced from fundamentally different gas. Metal-line emission is then considered as a complementary approach to studying the CGM. From the simulations, we find that the brightest emission is less sensitive to the extragalactic background and that it closely follows the fundamental filamentary structure of the halo. This becomes increasingly true as the galaxy evolves from z = 1 to z = 0 and the majority of the gas transitions to a hotter, more diffuse phase. Finally, resolution is a limiting factor for the conclusions we can draw from emission observations but with moderate resolution and reasonable detection limits, upcoming instrumentation should place constraints on the physical properties of the CGM. Future work advancing the techniques in this thesis remain promising for putting new observational constraints on our theories of galaxy evolution.

La détermination de ces processus et de leur efficacité est parmi les questions les plus importantes dans notre compréhension de la formation d'étoiles. Le présent travail étudie les lois de formation d'étoiles dans un large éventail de conditions physiques et dynamiques, y compris dans des environnements de faible densité et jusqu'à des échelles de nuages moléculaires, ainsi que des galaxies à grand redshift, pour explorer l'histoire cosmique de la formation des étoiles.Les environnements à faible densité, comme les parties externes des disques des galaxies, imitent les conditions physiques des galaxies naines et aussi celle des galaxies de l'Univers primordial. Au cours du temps de Hubble, il y a eu un pic dans le taux de formation d'étoiles, à z ~ 1-2, il y a environ dix milliards d'années. Ensuite, le taux moyen de formation d'étoiles a chuté drastiquement d'un facteur 20 jusqu'au taux actuel. Cette thèse se concentre sur l'efficacité de la formation des étoiles dans deux contextes : dans les environnements de faible densité, comme les disques externes des galaxies et à l'époque du maximum de la formation d'étoiles cosmique. / Perhaps one of the most enigmatic domains of astrophysics is that of galaxy formation and evolution.A galaxy is defined by its stellar and gas contents. Hence, any theory of galaxy formation has to address the question of the formation of stars.Observations show that star formation takes place in dense molecular clouds.Therefore, the efficiency of star formation of a galaxy is determined by its ability to form molecular clouds.The determination of these processes and their efficiency is among the most important issues in our understanding of star formation.The present work studies the star formation laws in a wide range of physical and dynamical conditions, even in low density environmentsand down to molecular cloud scales, as well as high redshift galaxies, to explore the cosmic star formation history.Low density environments, like the outermost disk of galaxies mimic the physical conditions of dwarf galaxies and also that of galaxiesin the early Universe. Across the Hubble time, there was a peak in the star formation rate, at z ~1-2, about ten billions years ago. Then the average star formation rate dropped by a factor 20 down to the present rate. This Ph.D focuses on the star formation efficiency in two contexts: in low environments, like outer galaxy disks and at the epoch the near the peak of star formation.

A thesis submitted to the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, June 2015. / Galaxy clusters are the largest virialised and most recently formed cosmic structures. Their study is therefore a powerful mechanism to probe the large scale properties of the universe. A full understanding of the non-thermal properties of galaxy clusters has not yet been achieved. In particular, the origin of radio halos in galaxy clusters is still a topic of debate today. Several models have been proposed to explain the origin of radio halos but all of these models present some problems either in reproducing observations or in predicting the values of their parameters. Recent observations of radio halos in clusters have shown that in some clusters the morphology of the radio emission appears to be more correlated with the distribution of galaxies than it is with the thermal gas. It has also been observed that while most clusters exhibit a correlation between the radio and X-ray luminosities, there are clear exceptions to this rule. Motivated by these observations, we propose a new theory to explain the origin of radio halos in clusters: that the radio emission observed in clusters is produced by electrons injected by different galaxies and di using in the intra cluster medium. In developing our theory, we study the diffusion of relativistic electrons in galaxies by obtaining a very general solution of the diffusion equation which describes the transport of cosmic rays. This solution allows us to study the spatial, spectral and temporal properties of relativistic electrons and their radio emission for a wide range of cosmic objects. We test this model by applying it to the radio galaxy M51 and reproduce its spatial and spectral properties. We also study the evolution of M51-like galaxies. The model is then applied to study radio halos in clusters of galaxies. We investigate how the properties of these radio halos change when the number and types of sources in a cluster are varied. We compare the results of this model with the observed radio map and density flux spectrum for several galaxy clusters, specifically the low-luminosity cluster CL1446+26 and other clusters with a range of luminosities. Our model provides a very promising explanation of the properties of radio halos in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The observed properties like the morphology of radio maps in galaxy clusters, the ux spectrum and the correlation between radio and X-ray luminosities, can be reproduced by our model. This is done by considering the combination and evolution of galactic sources having radio properties similar to those of M51. Our model is simple and nevertheless very promising and therefore refining it can lead to a better understanding of the origin of radio halos.

The WiggleZ Dark Energy survey is currently being carried out using the AAOmega instrument on the AAT. It is measuring redshifts for 240,000 emission line galaxies with high star-formation rates over 1,000 sq. degrees of sky. These galaxies are selected for spectroscopic observation from a combination of optical and ultraviolet imaging. The target selection criterion applied to these datasets is highly optimised to select high redshift emission line galaxies. The redshift distribution of these galaxies peaks at z