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PhD Thesis

HOPCAT, a complete Southern Sky Neutral Hydrogen-Optical Galaxy Catalogue and the Star Formation Rate-Density Relation.


Marianne. T. Doyle


Abstract:  We investigate the star formation rate (SFR)-density relation using a neutral hydrogen (HI) galaxy sample. The SFR-density relation is the observation that the SFR decreases with increasing local galaxy density. We determine which of the two main alternatives explains what causes the cessation of star formation in regions with high galaxy density. Is it that fewer star forming HI galaxies are present in galaxy dense regions or are galaxies capable of star formation present but some physical process is suppressing their star formation?  We use the HI Parkes All Sky survey catalogue (HICAT) and find the optical counterparts for the HI detections.  We produce the HICAT Optical Catalogue, HOPCAT which contains 4315 HI detections.  Of these we find optical counterparts for 3618 (84 per cent) galaxies. For 481 (11 per cent), multiple galaxies are present but no single optical counterpart can be chosen and 216 (5 per cent) have no obvious optical galaxy present.  We conduct a search for possible isolated dark galaxies in HOPCAT and find no isolated optically dark galaxies within the limits of the HI Parkes All Sky survey. A compact disk copy of HOPCAT is provided with this thesis.

The SFR-density relation is investigated using the optically matched HOPCAT galaxies. We use these galaxies along with 2 background catalogues, one optical and one k-band, to calculate the local surface density, Sigma10.  To calculate the SFRs we use infrared (IR) and radio flux.  We have 4 data sets: two with densities calculated using the optical background catalogue each with IR and radio SFRs, and two with densities calculated using the K-band background catalogue with IR and radio SFRs.

Using the largest HI detected data set of the whole southern sky we investigate the relationship between HI mass and the SFR and find that, for nearby (velocity<10000 km/s) HI galaxies, we find a strong correlation. We find a larger population of HI galaxies compared to optical galaxies for Sigma10<2 galaxies Mpc-2. We also find the number of HI galaxies decreases by 50 per cent over a Sigma10 range between 0 and 11 galaxies Mpc-2.  For the same density range the optical galaxy population only decrease by 2.9 per cent. We do not find a change in the HI content of our galaxy sample with increasing local galaxy density. 

For HI galaxies (1000<velocity<6000 km s-1) there is no significant change in the star formation rate or the efficiency of star formation with respect to local surface density. We find that the SFR-density relation as reported in previous studies can be explained by their optical data sample.  Their samples contain galaxies detected by their stellar population and not their star formation potential.  The SFR is less in regions of high local galaxy density because the galaxies present in these regions are predominately elliptical galaxies that display little or no star formation.  This density/morphology mix is confirmed by the morphology-density relation.

For the first time we can explain the reasons behind the SFR-density relation and we find that the decrease in the SFR with increasing local galaxy density is explained by a decrease in the population of HI star forming galaxies and not due to the suppression of star formation in the HI galaxies.

First Author Papers



The effect of local galaxy surface density on star formation for HI selected galaxies (MNRAS 2006, 372, 977-991pp)

M. T. Doyle & M. J. Drinkwater

 Abstract:  We present the result of investigations into two theories to explain the star formation rate (SFR)-density relationship. For regions of high galaxy density, either there are fewer star-forming galaxies or galaxies capable of forming stars are present but some physical process is suppressing their star formation. We use HI Parkes All-Sky Survey's (HIPASS) HI detected galaxies and infrared and radio fluxes to investigate SFRs and efficiencies with respect to local surface density. For nearby (vel < 10000 km s-1) HI galaxies, we find a strong correlation between HI mass and SFR. The number of HI galaxies decreases with increasing local surface density. For HI galaxies (1000 < vel < 6000 km s-1), there is no significant change in the SFR or the efficiency of star formation with respect to local surface density. We conclude that the SFR-density relation is due to a decrease in the number of HI star-forming galaxies in regions of high galaxy density and not to the suppression of star formation.


The HIPASS Catalogue: III - Optical Counterparts and Isolated Dark Galaxies (MNRAS 2005, 361, 34-44pp)

M. T. Doyle,  M. J. Drinkwater, D. J. Rohde, K. A. Pimbblet, M. Read, M. J. Meyer,  M. A. Zwaan, E. Ryan-Weber,  J. Stevens,  B. S. Koribalski, R. L. Webster,  L. Staveley-Smith,  D. G. Barnes,  M. Howlett, V. A. Kilborn, M. Waugh, M. J. Pierce, R. Bhathal, W. J. G. de Blok, M. J. Disney, R. D. Ekers,  K. C. Freeman,  D. A. Garcia,  B. K. Gibson, J. Harnett, P. A. Henning, H. Jerjen, M. J. Kesteven, P. M. Knezek, S. Mader,  M. Marquarding,  R. F. Minchin,  J. O'Brien, T. Oosterloo, R. M. Price, M. E. Putman, S. D. Ryder, E. M. Sadler, I. M. Stewart, F. Stootman and A. E. Wright

Abstract:  We present the largest catalogue to date of optical counterparts for HI radio-selected galaxies, HOPCAT. Of the 4315 HI radio-detected sources from the HI Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) catalogue, we find optical counterparts for 3618 (84 per cent) galaxies. Of these, 1798 (42 per cent) have confirmed optical velocities and 848 (20 per cent) are single matches without confirmed velocities. Some galaxy matches are members of galaxy groups. From these multiple galaxy matches, 714 (16 per cent) have confirmed optical velocities and a further 258 (6 per cent) galaxies are without confirmed velocities. For 481 (11 per cent), multiple galaxies are present but no single optical counterpart can be chosen and 216 (5 per cent) have no obvious optical galaxy present. Most of these `blank fields' are in crowded fields along the Galactic plane or have high extinctions.

Isolated `dark galaxy' candidates are investigated using an extinction cut of ABj < 1mag and the blank-fields category. Of the 3692 galaxies with an ABj extinction <1mag, only 13 are also blank fields. Of these, 12 are eliminated either with follow-up Parkes observations or are in crowded fields. The remaining one has a low surface brightness optical counterpart. Hence, no isolated optically dark galaxies have been found within the limits of the HIPASS survey.

HIPASS III Images

HIPASS Papers

HOPCAT On-line Searchable Catalogue

Download Complete HOPCAT From MNRAS


The Chemical Composition of α Cen A: Strong Lines and the ABO Theory of Collisional Line Broadening (PASA 2005, 22, 1-7p)
Marianne T. Doyle, Bernard J O'Mara,  John E. Ross and Michael S. Bessell

Abstract:  The mean abundances of Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, and Fe based on both strong and weak lines of α Cen A are determined by matching the observed line profiles with those synthesised from stellar atmospheric models and comparing these results with a similar analysis for the Sun. There is good agreement between the abundances from strong and weak lines. Strong lines should generally be an excellent indicator of abundance and far easier to measure than the weak lines normally used. Until the development of the Anstee, Barklem, and O'Mara (ABO) theory for collisional line broadening, the uncertainty in the value of the damping constant prevented strong lines being used for abundance determinations other than in close differential analyses. We found that α Cen A has a mean overabundance of 0.12 +/- 0.06 dex compared to solar mean abundances. This result agrees remarkably well with previous studies that did not use strong lines or the ABO theory for collisional line broadening. Our result supports the conclusion that reliable abundances can be derived from strong lines provided this new theory for line broadening is used to calculate the van der Waals damping.


Co-author Papers

The large peculiar velocity of the cD galaxy in Abell 3653(MNRAS, 2006, 368, 651–658pp)

Kevin A. Pimbblet, Isaac G. Roseboom and Marianne T. Doyle

Abstract:  We present a catalogue of galaxies in Abell 3653 from observations made with the 2-degree field (2dF) spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Of the 391 objects observed, we find 111 are bona fide members of Abell 3653. We show that the cluster has a velocity of cz = 32 214 ± 83 km s−1 (z = 0.10 738 ± 0.00 027), with a velocity dispersion typical of rich, massive clusters of σ cz = 880+66 −54.We find that the cD galaxy has a peculiar velocity of 683 ± 96 km s−1 in the cluster rest frame – some 7σ away from the mean cluster velocity, making it one of the largest and most significant peculiar velocities found for a cD galaxy to date. We investigate the cluster for signs of substructure, but do not find any significant groupings on any length scale. We consider the implications of our findings on cD formation theories.


Applying machine learning to catalogue matching in astrophysics
(
MNRAS 2005, 360, 69)

D. J. Rohde,  M. J. Drinkwater, M. R. Gallagher, T. Downs and M. T.   Doyle

Abstract:  We present the results of applying automated machine learning techniques to the problem of matching different object catalogues in astrophysics. In this study, we take two partially matched catalogues where one of the two catalogues has a large positional uncertainty. The two catalogues we used here were taken from the HI Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) and SuperCOSMOS optical survey. Previous work had matched 44 per cent (1887 objects) of HIPASS to the SuperCOSMOS catalogue.

A supervised learning algorithm was then applied to construct a model of the matched portion of our catalogue. Validation of the model shows that we achieved a good classification performance (99.12 per cent correct).  

Applying this model to the unmatched portion of the catalogue found 1209 new matches. This increases the catalogue size from 1887 matched objects to 3096. The combination of these procedures yields a catalogue that is 72 per cent matched.

Galaxy Groups: Proceedings from a Swinburne University Workshop (PASA, 2005, 22, 326-334pp)

Virginia A. Kilborn, Kenji Bekki, Sarah Brough, Marianne T. Doyle, Ekaterina A. Evstigneeva, Duncan A. Forbes, Bärbel S. Koribalski, Matthew S. Owers, Chris Power, Michael J. Drinkwater, David J. Rohde, Christopher A. Blake, Warrick J. Couch, Michael B. Pracy and Brad K. Gibson

Abstract:   We present the proceedings from a two-day workshop held at Swinburne University on 2005 May 24–25. The workshop participants highlighted current Australian research on both theoretical and observational aspects of galaxy groups. These proceedings include short one-page summaries of a number of the talks presented at the workshop. The talks presented ranged from reconciling N-body simulations with observations, to the Hi content of galaxies in groups and the existence of 'dark galaxies'. The formation and existence of ultra-compact dwarfs in groups, and a new supergroup in Eridanus were also discussed.

Machine Learning for Matching Astronomy Catalogues (Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 3177, 2004, 702pp)
(Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning - IDEAL 2004: 5th International Conference, Exeter, UK. August 25-27, 2004.  Proceedings Editors:  Zheng Rong Yang, Hujun Yin, Richard Everson)

D. J. Rohde,  M. J. Drinkwater, M. R. Gallagher, T. Downs and M. T.   Doyle

Abstract:   An emerging issue in the field of astronomy is the integration, management and utilization of databases from around the world to facilitate scientific discovery. In this paper, we investigate application of the machine learning techniques of support vector machines and neural networks to the problem of amalgamating catalogues of galaxies as objects from two disparate data sources: radio and optical. Formulating this as a classification problem presents several challenges, including dealing with a highly unbalanced data set. Unlike the conventional approach to the problem (which is based on a likelihood ratio) machine learning does not require density estimation and is shown here to provide a significant improvement in performance. We also report some experiments that explore  the importance of the radio and optical data features for the matching problem.


Multiple Co-Author Papers

The Northern HIPASS catalogue - data presentation, completeness and reliability measures (MNRAS, 2006, 371, 1855-1864pp)

NGC922 – a new drop-through ring galaxy (MNRAS, 2006, 370, 1607–1611pp)

The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. I. Description and Initial Results (AJSS, 2006,  165, 307–337pp)

The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. II The Star Formation Rate Density of the Local Universe (ApJ, 2006, 649, 150-162pp)

Posters

Star Formation Efficiency VS Environment (2003IAUS..216E.129D)
(Maps of the Cosmos, International Astronomical Union. Symposium no. 216, held 14-17 July, 2003 in Sydney, Australia, meeting abstract)
Marianne T. Doyle, Michael J. Drinkwater, Bärbel S. Koribalski and The HIPASS Team

Abstract: Star formation in galaxies is very sensitive to local environment almost ceasing in regions of high galaxy density. This morphology-density relation has been recognized for decades but its underlying physical cause is still unclear. The new HI Parkes All-Sky 21cm Survey (HIPASS) allows us to investigate the morphology-density  relation effect for the first time with a very large galaxy sample selected purely by neutral hydrogen content. The 5000 HIPASS galaxies span a range in local galaxy density from 0.02 to 1.4 galaxies per cubic Mpc. We estimate star formation rates using optical photometry (SuperCOSMOS) and spectroscopy (6dF) as well as radio continuum measurements (ATCA). We introduce a new parameter the efficiency of star formation which is the ratio of current star formation to measured HI mass. We present measurements of how this varies with local galaxy density in the HIPASS sample and compare the results to models of the morphology-density  relation.

Bright & Dark Galaxies from the HIPASS Radio Survey
(Annual Scientific Meeting of the Astronomical Society of Australia, Brisbane 5-8th July,2004)
Marianne T. Doyle, Michael J. Drinkwater, David J. Rohde, Mike Read, Baerbel S Koribalski and The HIPASS Team

*    We have searched for optical counterparts for the 4315 HI Parkes All-Sky 21cm Survey (HIPASS4) detections.
*    We used images from the SuperCOSMOS optical southern sky survey
*    We have identified 84% of the 4315 HI detected sources
*    We have identified 3 possible candidates for “Dark Galaxies”
*    Using the HIPASS catalogue we are investigating:
    *    Estimators of Star Formation Rates (SFR)
    *    Star Formation Efficiency (SFE)
    *    Dependence of Star Formation on local galaxy density


Talks

Star Formation & the Morphology-Density Relation in the Local Universe
Astrophysics Group, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, June, 2004
Marianne T. Doyle , University of Queensland

The HICAT Optical Catalogue - HOPCAT
Astrophysics Group, University of Melbourne, August, 2004
Marianne T. Doyle , University of Queensland

HOPCAT, 6dFGS & Star Formation Rates
6dF Workshop, Australian Telescope National Facility, Sydney,  April 2005
Marianne T. Doyle , University of Queensland

HOPCAT, 6dFGS & Star Formation Rates
Galaxy Group Workshop, Swinburne University, Melbourne, May 2005
Marianne T. Doyle , University of Queensland

HOPCAT, Dark Galaxies & Star Formation
ASA 2005 Mapping the Universe Session - Wed 6th July
Marianne T. Doyle, PhD Student , University of Queensland
(Winner of a PASA-ASA Oral Presentation "Highly Commended" Student Talk Award)

I present the largest catalogue to date of optical counterparts for HI radio-selected galaxies, HOPCAT. Of the 4315 HI radio-detected sources from the HI Parkes All Sky Survey HIPASS catalogue, we find optical counterparts for a large majority of the radio HI detections.  We use multiple radio-optical match categories to identify not only various kinds of matches but the reliability level of the resulting magnitudes.  We also investigate whether isolated ‘dark galaxies’ are present within the HIPASS survey.

Using HOPCAT, star formation rates, star formation efficiency and galaxy density will be investigated to test two theories for the Morphology-Density relation, that, either fewer “star forming galaxies” actually form in regions of high galaxy density or there are physical processes that directly suppresses star formation.

HI Galaxies and the SFR-Density Relation
ASA 2007 - Mon 2nd July
Dr. Marianne T. Doyle , University of Queensland
We present the result of investigations into two theories to explain the star formation rate-density relationship. For regions of high galaxy density, either there are fewer star-forming galaxies or galaxies capable of forming stars are present but some physical process is suppressing their star formation. We use HI Parkes All Sky Survey's (HIPASS) HI detected galaxies, their optical counterparts and IR and radio fluxes to investigate SFRs and efficiencies with respect to local surface density.

General Publications

UQ astrophysicists shed light on dark galaxies  (Published: 19 September 2005, UQ News)
Marianne T. Doyle

Dark Galaxies: Do they Exist? (Published: October 2006, Australasian Science)
Marianne T. Doyle

General Public Talks
HOPCAT & Dark Galaxies
Brisbane Astronomical Society, March 2007

Created : July 11th 2005 | Last Updated : June 26th 2007 | VERSION : 1.0