Day 658

Friday.

1405.3660
3-dimensional spherical analyses of cosmological spectroscopic surveys
Nicola, Refregier, Amara, Paranjape

Compare spherical harmonic tomography (SHT) power spectrum C^{ij}_ell and the spherical Fourier Bessel (SFB) power spectrm C_ell(k,k').  Show that overlapping redshift bins may improve cosmological constraints using the SHT statistics when then number of bins is small, and that the SFB constraints are quite robust to changes in the assumed redshift-distance relation.  Also find that the SHT can be tailored to be more sensitive to modes at redshifts close to the survey boundary and may yield somewhat tighter constraints.  In this context, discuss the pros and cons of the different techniques and their impact on the design and analysis of future wide field spectroscopic surveys.

1405.3661
Discovery of a strong lensing galaxy embedded in a cluster at z=1.62
Wong et al

The highest redshift strong lens known to date; the source is at z=2.26.

1405.3749
The Illustris Simulation: the evolution of galaxy populations across cosmic time
Genel, Vogelsberger, Springel, … Hernquist, et al

Present an overview of galaxy evolution across cosmic time in the Illustris Simulation.  (106.5 Mpc)^3 box, 2*1820^3 particles, down to z=0 using REPO moving-mesh code.  Reproduces galaxy populations across various redshifts.  Discuss (a) the buildup of galactic mass, showing stellar MFs and the relations between stellar mass and halo mass from z=7 to 0, (b) galaxy number density profiles around massive central galaxies out to z=4, (c) the gas and total baryon content of both galaxies and their haloes for different z, and as a function of mass and radius, and (d) the evolution of galaxy specific star-formation rates up to z=8.  In addition, (i) present a qualitative analysis of galaxy morphologies from z=5 to 0, for the stellar as well as the gaseous components, and their appearance in HST mock observations, (ii) follow galaxies selected at z=2 to their z=0 descendants, and quantify their growth and merger histories, and (iii) track massive z=0 galaxies to high z and study their joint evolution in SF activity and compactness.  Conclude with a discussion of several disagreements with observations, and lay out a possible directions for future research.