• Spectroscopic Confirmation of two Extremely Massive Protoclusters BOSS1244 and BOSS1542 at $z=2.24$

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present spectroscopic confirmation of two new massive galaxy protoclusters at $z=2.24\pm0.02$, BOSS1244 and BOSS1542, traced by groups of Coherently Strong Ly$\alpha$ Absorption (CoSLA) systems imprinted in the absorption spectra of a number of quasars from the SDSS III and identified as overdensities of narrowband-selected H$\alpha$ emitters (HAEs). Using MMT/MMIRS and LBT/LUCI near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, we confirm 46 and 36 HAEs in the BOSS1244 and BOSS1542 fields, respectively. BOSS1244 displays a South-West (SW) component at $z=2.230\pm0.002$ and another North-East (NE) component at $z=2.246\pm0.001$ with the line-of-sight velocity dispersions of $405\pm202$ km s$^{-1}$ and $377\pm99$ km s$^{-1}$, respectively. Interestingly, we find that the SW region of BOSS1244 contains two substructures in redshift space, likely merging to form a larger system. In contrast, BOSS1542 exhibits an extended filamentary structure with a low velocity dispersion of $247\pm32$ km s$^{-1}$ at $z=2.241\pm0.001$, providing a direct confirmation of a large-scale cosmic web in the early Universe. The galaxy overdensities $\delta_{\rm g}$ on the scale of 15 cMpc are $22.9\pm4.9$, $10.9\pm2.5$, and $20.5\pm3.9$ for the BOSS1244 SW, BOSS1244 NE, and BOSS1542 filament, respectively. They are the most overdense galaxy protoclusters ($\delta_{\rm g}>20$) discovered to date at $z>2$. These systems are expected to become virialized at $z\sim0$ with a total mass of $M_{\rm SW}=(1.59\pm0.20)\times10^{15}$ $M_{\odot}$, $M_{\rm NE} =(0.83\pm0.11)\times10^{15}$ $M_{\odot}$ and $M_{\rm filament}=(1.42\pm0.18)\times10^{15}$ $M_{\odot}$, respectively. Together with BOSS1441 described in Cai et al. (2017a), these extremely massive overdensities at $z=2-3$ exhibit different morphologies, indicating that they are in different assembly stages in the formation of early galaxy clusters.

  • The cosmic environment overtakes the local density in shaping galaxy star formation

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The gas supply from the cosmic web is the key to sustain star formation in galaxies. It remains to be explored how the cosmic large-scale structure (LSS) effects on galaxy evolution at given local environments. We examine galaxy specific star formation rate as a function of local density in a LSS at $z=0.735$ in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South. The LSS is mapped by 732 galaxies with $R<24$\,mag and redshift at $0.72\le z \le 0.75$ collected from the literature and our spectroscopic observations with Magellan/IMACS, consisting of five galaxy clusters/groups and surrounding filaments over an area of $23.9 \times22.7$\,co-moving\,Mpc$^2$. The spread of spectroscopic redshifts corresponds a velocity dispersion of 494\,km\,s$^{-1}$, indicating the LSS likely to be a thin sheet with a galaxy density $\gtrsim 3.9$ times that of the general field. These clusters/groups in this LSS mostly exhibit elongated morphologies and multiple components connected with surrounding filaments. Strikingly, we find that star-forming galaxies in the LSS keep star formation at the same level as field, and show no dependence on local density but stellar mass. Meanwhile, an increasing fraction of quiescent galaxies is detected at increasing local density in both the LSS and the field, consistent with the expectation that galaxy mass and local dense environment hold the key to quench star formation. Combined together, we conclude that the cosmic environment of the LSS overtakes the local environment in remaining galaxy star formation to the level of the field.