Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model

Details Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model

2009-07-24

arxiv.org/abs/0907.4383v3

Astrophys.J.702:745-758,2009

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics

33 pages, 14 Figures; A typo in Eq.A11 is fixed. The C++/Python codes for ECGMM can be downloaded from: https://sites.google

Scientific paper

10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/745

The red sequence is an important feature of galaxy clusters and plays a crucial role in optical cluster detection. Measurement of the slope and scatter of the red sequence are affected both by selection of red sequence galaxies and measurement errors. In this paper, we describe a new error corrected Gaussian Mixture Model for red sequence galaxy identification. Using this technique, we can remove the effects of measurement error and extract unbiased information about the intrinsic properties of the red sequence. We use this method to select red sequence galaxies in each of the 13,823 clusters in the maxBCG catalog, and measure the red sequence ridgeline location and scatter of each. These measurements provide precise constraints on the variation of the average red galaxy populations in the observed frame with redshift. We find that the scatter of the red sequence ridgeline increases mildly with redshift, and that the slope decreases with redshift. We also observe that the slope does not strongly depend on cluster richness. Using similar methods, we show that this behavior is mirrored in a spectroscopic sample of field galaxies, further emphasizing that ridgeline properties are independent of environment.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence using an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-639348