The Multiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC): Wide K-Band Imaging, Photometric Catalogs, Clustering, and Physical Properties of Galaxies at z {approx} 2
- Departamento de AstronomIa, Universidad de Chile, Santiago (Chile)
- Departamento de AstronomIa, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile)
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands)
- Astronomy Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, Toronto, ON (Canada)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC (Canada)
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ (United States)
We present K-band imaging of two {approx}30{sup '} x 30{sup '} fields covered by the Multiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC) Wide NIR Survey. The SDSS 1030+05 and Cast 1255 fields were imaged with the Infrared Side Port Imager (ISPI) on the 4 m Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) to a 5 {sigma} point-source limiting depth of K {approx} 20 (Vega). Combining these data with the MUSYC optical UBVRIz imaging, we created multiband K-selected source catalogs for both fields. These catalogs, together with the MUSYC K-band catalog of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDF-S) field, were used to select K < 20 BzK galaxies over an area of 0.71 deg{sup 2}. This is the largest area ever surveyed for BzK galaxies. We present number counts, redshift distributions, and stellar masses for our sample of 3261 BzK galaxies (2502 star-forming [sBzK] and 759 passively evolving [pBzK]), as well as reddening and star formation rate estimates for the star-forming BzK systems. We also present two-point angular correlation functions and spatial correlation lengths for both sBzK and pBzK galaxies and show that previous estimates of the correlation function of these galaxies were affected by cosmic variance due to the small areas surveyed. We have measured correlation lengths r{sub 0} of 8.89 {+-} 2.03 and 10.82 {+-} 1.72 Mpc for sBzK and pBzK galaxies, respectively. This is the first reported measurement of the spatial correlation function of passive BzK galaxies. In the {lambda}CDM scenario of galaxy formation, these correlation lengths at z {approx} 2 translate into minimum masses of {approx}4 x 10{sup 12} and {approx}9 x 10{sup 12} M{sub sun} for the dark matter halos hosting sBzK and pBzK galaxies, respectively. The clustering properties of the galaxies in our sample are consistent with their being the descendants of bright Lyman break galaxies at z {approx} 3, and the progenitors of present-day >1L{sup *} galaxies.
- OSTI ID:
- 21255758
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 681, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1086/588018; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
THE COSMOS-WIRCam NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING SURVEY. I. BzK-SELECTED PASSIVE AND STAR-FORMING GALAXY CANDIDATES AT z approx> 1.4
CLUSTERING PROPERTIES OF BzK-SELECTED GALAXIES IN GOODS-N: ENVIRONMENTAL QUENCHING AND TRIGGERING OF STAR FORMATION AT z {approx} 2