Cosmic Flows

Details Cosmic Flows Cosmic Flows

May 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011sptz.prop80072t&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #80072

Computer Science

Scientific paper

It is astonishing that only 30% of the motion of our Galaxy is understood, a fact that highlights a fundamental deficiency in our understanding of the composition of the Universe. Spitzer Cosmic Flows is the photometric component of a program to map the peculiar motions and large-scale flows of galaxies out to 200 Mpc in order to constrain the distribution of mass. This task requires measuring the peculiar velocity of galaxies, a response to the distribution of both baryonic and dark matter, densely sampled over the full sky. With an independent distance measurement, an observed galaxy redshift can be separated into cosmic expansion and peculiar velocity components. Spitzer Cosmic Flows will use IRAC 3.6 micron imaging to obtain independent distances using the correlation between galaxy luminosity and rotation rate (the mid-IR Tully-Fisher relation). The rotational velocity data is being acquired through the Cosmic Flows Large Program on the NRAO Green Bank Telescope and a complementary program of southern targets with the Parkes Telescope. Spitzer Cosmic Flows consists of five distinct samples totaling 4642 galaxies. New observations are required for 3531 galaxies and archival data exists for 1111 galaxies. Each of the samples serves a distinct purpose and/or domain while overlapping to assure a connectivity over a wide range of distances. The photometry of galaxies directly drives the peculiar velocity accuracy of this program. Spitzer IRAC 3.6 micron imaging provides the ability of a single instrument to perform the required imaging over the full sky with exquisite quality. The mid-IR traces the dominant stellar population with negligible extinction. Most importantly, the backgrounds are low from space enabling surface photometry to be extended to many exponential scale-lengths, capturing essentially all the light from the target.

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