Mapping the Dark Matter From UV Light at High Redshift: An Empirical Approach to Understand Galaxy Statistics
We present a simple formalism to interpret the observations of two galaxy statistics, the UV luminosity function (LF) and two-point correlation functions for star-forming galaxies at z {approx} 4, 5 and 6 in the context of {Lambda}CDM cosmology. Both statistics are the result of how star formation takes place in dark matter halos, and thus are used to constrain how UV light depends on halo properties, in particular halo mass. The two physical quantities we explore are the star formation duty cycle, and the range of UV luminosity that a halo of mass M can have (mean and variance). The former directly addresses the typical duration of star formation activity in halos while the latter addresses the averaged star formation history and regularity of gas inflow into these systems. In the context of this formalism, we explore various physical models consistent with all the available observational data, and find the following: (1) the typical duration of star formation observed in the data is {approx}< 0.4 Gyr (1{sigma}), (2) the inferred scaling law between the observed L{sub UV} and halo mass M from the observed faint-end slope of the luminosity functions is roughly linear out to M {approx} 10{sup 11.5} - 10{sup 12} h{sup -1} M{sub {circle_dot}} at all redshifts probed in this work, and (3) the observed L{sub UV} for a fixed halo mass M decreases with time, implying that the star formation efficiency (after dust extinction) is higher at earlier times. We explore several different physical scenarios relating star formation to halo mass, but find that these scenarios are indistinguishable due to the limited range of halo mass probed by our data. In order to discriminate between different scenarios, we discuss the possibility of using the bright-faint galaxy cross-correlation functions and more robust determination of luminosity-dependent galaxy bias for future surveys.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 962091
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-13733; arXiv:0808.1727; TRN: US200916%%43
- Journal Information:
- Astrophys.J.695:368-390,2009, Journal Name: Astrophys.J.695:368-390,2009
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
FROM GALAXY CLUSTERS TO ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDALS: A FUNDAMENTAL CURVE CONNECTING DISPERSION-SUPPORTED GALAXIES TO THEIR DARK MATTER HALOS
A CONDITIONAL LUMINOSITY FUNCTION MODEL OF THE COSMIC FAR-INFRARED BACKGROUND ANISOTROPY POWER SPECTRUM