# Publications

## The relation between the diffuse X-ray luminosity and the radio power of the central AGN in galaxy groups

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 497 (2020) 2163-2174

T Pasini, M Bruggen, F De Gasperin, L Bîrzan, E O'Sullivan, A Finoguenov, M Jarvis, M Gitti, F Brighenti, IH Whittam, JD Collier, I Heywood, G Gozaliasl

© 2020 The Author(s). Our understanding of how active galactic nucleus feedback operates in galaxy clusters has improved in recent years owing to large efforts in multiwavelength observations and hydrodynamical simulations. However, it is much less clear how feedback operates in galaxy groups, which have shallower gravitational potentials. In this work, using very deep Very Large Array and new MeerKAT observations from the MIGHTEE survey, we compiled a sample of 247 X-ray selected galaxy groups detected in the COSMOS field. We have studied the relation between the X-ray emission of the intra-group medium and the 1.4 GHz radio emission of the central radio galaxy. For comparison, we have also built a control sample of 142 galaxy clusters using ROSAT and NVSS data. We find that clusters and groups follow the same correlation between X-ray and radio emission. Large radio galaxies hosted in the centres of groups and merging clusters increase the scatter of the distribution. Using statistical tests and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the correlation is not dominated by biases or selection effects. We also find that galaxy groups are more likely than clusters to host large radio galaxies, perhaps owing to the lower ambient gas density or a more efficient accretion mode. In these groups, radiative cooling of the intra-cluster medium could be less suppressed by active galactic nucleus heating. We conclude that the feedback processes that operate in galaxy clusters are also effective in groups.

## Augmenting machine learning photometric redshifts with Gaussian mixture models

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2020)

P Hatfield, I Almosallam, M Jarvis, N Adams, R Bowler, Z Gomes, S Roberts, C Schreiber

&lt;jats:title&gt;Abstract&lt;/jats:title&gt; &lt;jats:p&gt;Wide-area imaging surveys are one of the key ways of advancing our understanding of cosmology, galaxy formation physics, and the large-scale structure of the Universe in the coming years. These surveys typically require calculating redshifts for huge numbers (hundreds of millions to billions) of galaxies - almost all of which must be derived from photometry rather than spectroscopy. In this paper we investigate how using statistical models to understand the populations that make up the colour-magnitude distribution of galaxies can be combined with machine learning photometric redshift codes to improve redshift estimates. In particular we combine the use of Gaussian Mixture Models with the high performing machine learning photo-z algorithm GPz and show that modelling and accounting for the different colour-magnitude distributions of training and test data separately can give improved redshift estimates, reduce the bias on estimates by up to a half, and speed up the run-time of the algorithm. These methods are illustrated using data from deep optical and near infrared data in two separate deep fields, where training and test data of different colour-magnitude distributions are constructed from the galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts, derived from several heterogeneous surveys.&lt;/jats:p&gt;

## The origin of radio emission in broad absorption line quasars: Results from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (Corrigendum)

ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS 640 (2020) ARTN C4

LK Morabito, JH Matthews, PN Best, G Gurkan, MJ Jarvis, I Prandoni, KJ Duncan, MJ Hardcastle, M Kunert-Bajraszewska, AP Mechev, S Mooney, J Sabater, HJA Rottgering, TW Shimwell, DJB Smith, C Tasse, WL Williams

## K-CLASH: Strangulation and ram pressure stripping in galaxy cluster members at 0.3 &lt; z &lt; 0.6

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) 496 (2020) 3841-3861

SP Vaughan, AL Tiley, RL Davies, LJ Prichard, SM Croom, M Bureau, JP Stott, A Bunker, M Cappellari, B Ansarinejad, MJ Jarvis

&lt;jats:title&gt;ABSTRACT&lt;/jats:title&gt; &lt;jats:p&gt;Galaxy clusters have long been theorized to quench the star formation of their members. This study uses integral-field unit observations from the K-band MultiObject Spectrograph (KMOS) &#x2013; Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) survey (K-CLASH) to search for evidence of quenching in massive galaxy clusters at redshifts 0.3 &amp;amp;lt; z &amp;amp;lt; 0.6. We first construct mass-matched samples of exclusively star-forming cluster and field galaxies, then investigate the spatial extent of their H&#x2009;&#x3B1; emission and study their interstellar medium conditions using emission line ratios. The average ratio of H&#x2009;&#x3B1; half-light radius to optical half-light radius ($r_{\mathrm{e}, {\rm {H}\,\alpha }}/r_{\mathrm{e}, R_{\mathrm{c} } }$) for all galaxies is 1.14&#xA0;&#xB1;&#xA0;0.06, showing that star formation is taking place throughout stellar discs at these redshifts. However, on average, cluster galaxies have a smaller $r_{\mathrm{e}, {\rm {H}\alpha }}/r_{\mathrm{e}, R_{\mathrm{c} } }$ ratio than field galaxies: &#x2329;$r_{\mathrm{e}, {\rm {H}\alpha }}/r_{\mathrm{e}, R_{\mathrm{c} } }$&#x232A;&#xA0;= 0.96&#xA0;&#xB1;&#xA0;0.09 compared to 1.22&#xA0;&#xB1;&#xA0;0.08 (smaller at a 98&#x2009;per&#x2009;cent credibility level). These values are uncorrected for the wavelength difference between H&#x2009;&#x3B1; emission and Rc-band stellar light but implementing such a correction only reinforces our results. We also show that whilst the cluster and field samples follow indistinguishable mass&#x2013;metallicity (MZ) relations, the residuals around the MZ relation of cluster members correlate with cluster-centric distance; galaxies residing closer to the cluster centre tend to have enhanced metallicities (significant at the 2.6&#x3C3; level). Finally, in contrast to previous studies, we find no significant differences in electron number density between the cluster and field galaxies. We use simple chemical evolution models to conclude that the effects of disc strangulation and ram-pressure stripping can quantitatively explain our observations.&lt;/jats:p&gt;

## K-CLASH: spatially-resolving star-forming galaxies in field and cluster environments at z ≈ 0.2-0.6

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (2020)

AL Tiley, JP Stott, R Davies, LJ Prichard, A Bunker, M Bureau, M Cappellari, M Jarvis, A Robotham, L Cortese, S Bellstedt, B Ansarinejad

We present the KMOS-CLASH (K-CLASH) survey, a K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph (KMOS) survey of the spatially-resolved gas properties and kinematics of 191 (predominantly blue) Hα-detected galaxies at 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 0.6 in field and cluster environments. K-CLASH targets galaxies in four Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) fields in the KMOS IZ-band, over 7′ radius (≈2–3 Mpc) fields-of-view. K-CLASH aims to study the transition of star-forming galaxies from turbulent, highly star-forming disc-like and peculiar systems at z ≈ 1–3, to the comparatively quiescent, ordered late-type galaxies at z ≈ 0, and to examine the role of clusters in the build-up of the red sequence since z ≈ 1. In this paper, we describe the K-CLASH survey, present the sample, and provide an overview of the K-CLASH galaxy properties. We demonstrate that our sample comprises star-forming galaxies typical of their stellar masses and epochs, residing both in field and cluster environments. We conclude K-CLASH provides an ideal sample to bridge the gap between existing large integral-field spectroscopy surveys at higher and lower redshifts. We find that star-forming K-CLASH cluster galaxies at intermediate redshifts have systematically lower stellar masses than their star-forming counterparts in the field, hinting at possible “downsizing” scenarios of galaxy growth in clusters at these epochs. We measure no difference between the star-formation rates of Hα-detected, star-forming galaxies in either environment after accounting for stellar mass, suggesting that cluster quenching occurs very rapidly during the epochs probed by K-CLASH, or that star-forming K-CLASH galaxies in clusters have only recently arrived there, with insufficient time elapsed for quenching to have occured.

## S2COSMOS: Evolution of Gas Mass with Redshift Using Dust Emission

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2020)

HS Hwang, M Michałowski, A Babul, L Ho, Y Ao, JS Millard, SA Eales, M Smith, J Simpson, H Gomez, K Małek, Y Peng, A Bunker, M Sawicki, R Beeston, Y Toba, N Scoville, H Shim

&lt;jats:title&gt;Abstract&lt;/jats:title&gt; &lt;jats:p&gt;We investigate the evolution of the gas mass fraction for galaxies in the COSMOS field using submillimetre emission from dust at 850μm. We use stacking methodologies on the 850 μm S2COSMOS map to derive the gas mass fraction of galaxies out to high redshifts, 0 ≤ z ≤ 5, for galaxies with stellar masses of $10^{9.5} &amp;amp;lt; M_* ~(\rm M_{\odot }) &amp;amp;lt; 10^{11.75}$. In comparison to previous literature studies we extend to higher redshifts, include more normal star-forming galaxies (on the main sequence), and also investigate the evolution of the gas mass fraction split by star-forming and passive galaxy populations. We find our stacking results broadly agree with scaling relations in the literature. We find tentative evidence for a peak in the gas mass fraction of galaxies at around z ∼ 2.5 − 3, just before the peak of the star formation history of the Universe. We find that passive galaxies are particularly devoid of gas, compared to the star-forming population. We find that even at high redshifts, high stellar mass galaxies still contain significant amounts of gas.&lt;/jats:p&gt;

## The rest-frame UV luminosity function at z≃4 : a significant contribution of AGN to the bright-end of the galaxy population

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 494 (2020) 1771-1783

N Adams, R Bowler, M Jarvis, B Haussler, R McLure, A Bunker, J Dunlop, A Verma

We measure the rest-frame UV luminosity function (LF) at z ∼ 4 self-consistently over a wide range in absolute magnitude (−27 . MUV . −20). The LF is measured with 46,904 sources selected using a photometric redshift approach over ∼ 6 deg2 of the combined COSMOS and XMM-LSS fields. We simultaneously fit for both AGN and galaxy LFs using a combination of Schechter or Double Power Law (DPL) functions alongside a single power law for the faint-end slope of the AGN LF. We find a lack of evolution in the shape of the bright-end of the LBG component when compared to other studies at z ' 5 and evolutionary recipes for the UV LF. Regardless of whether the LBG LF is fit with a Schechter function or DPL, AGN are found to dominate at MUV < −23.5. We measure a steep faint-end slope of the AGN LF with αAGN = −2.09+0.35 −0.38 (−1.66+0.29 −0.58) when fit alongside a Schechter function (DPL) for the galaxies. Our results suggest that if AGN are morphologically selected it results in a bias to lower number densities. Only by considering the full galaxy population over the transition region from AGN to LBG domination can an accurate measurement of the total LF be attained.

## A flexible method for estimating luminosity functions via kernel density estimation

Astrophysical Journal Supplement American Astronomical Society 248 (2020)

Z Yuan, MJ Jarvis, J Wang

We propose a flexible method for estimating luminosity functions (LFs) based on kernel density estimation (KDE), the most popular nonparametric density estimation approach developed in modern statistics, to overcome issues surrounding the binning of LFs. One challenge in applying KDE to LFs is how to treat the boundary bias problem, as astronomical surveys usually obtain truncated samples predominantly due to the flux-density limits of surveys. We use two solutions, the transformation KDE method ( ) and the transformation–reflection KDE method ( ) to reduce the boundary bias. We develop a new likelihood cross-validation criterion for selecting optimal bandwidths, based on which the posterior probability distribution of the bandwidth and transformation parameters for and are derived within a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling procedure. The simulation result shows that and perform better than the traditional binning method, especially in the sparse data regime around the flux limit of a survey or at the bright end of the LF. To further improve the performance of our KDE methods, we develop the transformation–reflection adaptive KDE approach ( ). Monte Carlo simulations suggest that it has good stability and reliability in performance, and is around an order of magnitude more accurate than using the binning method. By applying our adaptive KDE method to a quasar sample, we find that it achieves estimates comparable to the rigorous determination in a previous work, while making far fewer assumptions about the LF. The KDE method we develop has the advantages of both parametric and nonparametric methods.

## The faint radio source population at 15.7 GHz – IV. The dominance of core emission in faint radio galaxies

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 493 (2020) 2841-2853

I Whittam, DA Green, M Jarvis, JM Riley

We present 15-GHz Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations of a complete sample of radio galaxies selected at 15.7 GHz from the Tenth Cambridge (10C) survey. 67 out of the 95 sources (71 per cent) are unresolved in the new observations and lower frequency radio observations, placing an upper limit on their angular size of ∼2 arcsec. Thus, compact radio galaxies, or radio galaxies with very faint jets, are the dominant population in the 10C survey. This provides support for the suggestion in our previous work that low-luminosity (⁠L<1025W~Hz−1⁠) radio galaxies are core dominated, although higher resolution observations are required to confirm this directly. The 10C sample of compact, high-frequency selected radio galaxies is a mixture of high-excitation and low-excitation radio galaxies and displays a range of radio spectral shapes, demonstrating that they are a mixed population of objects.

## A lack of evolution in the very bright-end of the galaxy luminosity function from z ≃ 8-10

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 493 (2020) 2059-2084

R Bowler, M Jarvis, JS Dunlop, HJ McCracken

We utilize deep near-infrared survey data from the UltraVISTA fourth data release (DR4) and the VIDEO survey, in combination with overlapping optical and Spitzer data, to search for bright star-forming galaxies at z ≳ 7.5. Using a full photometric redshift fitting analysis applied to the ∼6 deg2 of imaging searched, we find 27 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs), including 20 new sources, with best-fitting photometric redshifts in the range 7.4 < z < 9.1. From this sample, we derive the rest-frame UV luminosity function at z = 8 and z = 9 out to extremely bright UV magnitudes (MUV ≃ −23) for the first time. We find an excess in the number density of bright galaxies in comparison to the typically assumed Schechter functional form derived from fainter samples. Combined with previous studies at lower redshift, our results show that there is little evolution in the number density of very bright (MUV ∼ −23) LBGs between z ≃ 5 and z ≃ 9. The tentative detection of an LBG with best-fitting photometric redshift of z = 10.9 ± 1.0 in our data is consistent with the derived evolution. We show that a double power-law fit with a brightening characteristic magnitude (ΔM*/Δz ≃ −0.5) and a steadily steepening bright-end slope (Δβ/Δz ≃ −0.5) provides a good description of the z > 5 data over a wide range in absolute UV magnitude (−23 < MUV < −17). We postulate that the observed evolution can be explained by a lack of mass quenching at very high redshifts in combination with increasing dust obscuration within the first ∼1Gyr of galaxy evolution.

## The optically-selected 1.4-GHz quasar luminosity function below 1 mJy

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 492 (2020) 5297-5312

E Malefahlo, MG Santos, M Jarvis, SV White, JTL Zwart

We present the radio luminosity function (RLF) of optically selected quasars below 1 mJy, constructed by applying a Bayesian-fitting stacking technique to objects well below the nominal radio flux density limit. We test the technique using simulated data, confirming that we can reconstruct the RLF over three orders of magnitude below the typical 5σ detection threshold. We apply our method to 1.4-GHz flux densities from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) survey, extracted at the positions of optical quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey over seven redshift bins up to z = 2.15, and measure the RLF down to two orders of magnitude below the FIRST detection threshold. In the lowest redshift bin (0.2 < z < 0.45), we find that our measured RLF agrees well with deeper data from the literature. The RLF for the radio-loud quasars flattens below log10[L1.4/WHz−1]≈25.5 and becomes steeper again below log10[L1.4/WHz−1]≈24.8⁠, where radio-quiet quasars start to emerge. The radio luminosity where radio-quiet quasars emerge coincides with the luminosity where star-forming galaxies are expected to start dominating the radio source counts. This implies that there could be a significant contribution from star formation in the host galaxies, but additional data are required to investigate this further. The higher redshift bins show a similar behaviour to the lowest z bin, implying that the same physical process may be responsible.

## The performance of photometric reverberation mapping at high redshift and the reliability of damped random walk models

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 492 (2019) 3940-3959

M JARVIS, SC Read, DJB Smith, MJ Jarvis, G Gürkan

&lt;jats:title&gt;ABSTRACT&lt;/jats:title&gt; &lt;jats:p&gt;Accurate methods for reverberation mapping using photometry are highly sought after since they are inherently less resource intensive than spectroscopic techniques. However, the effectiveness of photometric reverberation mapping for estimating black hole masses is sparsely investigated at redshifts higher than z ≈ 0.04. Furthermore, photometric methods frequently assume a damped random walk (DRW) model, which may not be universally applicable. We perform photometric reverberation mapping using the javelin photometric DRW model for the QSO SDSS-J144645.44+625304.0 at z = 0.351 and estimate the Hβ lag of $65^{+6}_{-1}$ d and black hole mass of $10^{8.22^{+0.13}_{-0.15}}\, \mathrm{M_{\odot }}$. An analysis of the reliability of photometric reverberation mapping, conducted using many thousands of simulated CARMA process light curves, shows that we can recover the input lag to within 6 per cent on average given our target’s observed signal-to-noise of &amp;amp;gt;20 and average cadence of 14 d (even when DRW is not applicable). Furthermore, we use our suite of simulated light curves to deconvolve aliases and artefacts from our QSO’s posterior probability distribution, increasing the signal-to-noise on the lag by a factor of ∼2.2. We exceed the signal-to-noise of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project (SDSS-RM) campaign with a quarter of the observing time per object, resulting in a ∼200 per cent increase in signal-to-noise efficiency over SDSS-RM.&lt;/jats:p&gt;

## The Karl G. Jansky very large array sky survey (VLASS). Science case and survey design

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 132 (2020)

M Lacy, SA Baum, CJ Chandler, S Chatterjee, TE Clarke, S Deustua, J English, J Farnes, BM Gaensler, N Gugliucci, G Hallinan, BR Kent, A Kimball, CJ Law, TJW Lazio, J Marvil, SA Mao, D Medlin, K Mooley, EJ Murphy, S Myers, R Osten, GT Richards, E Rosolowsky, L Rudnick

© 2020. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution (≈2.″5), sensitivity (a 1σ goal of 70 μJy/beam in the coadded data), full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2–4 GHz). The first observations began in 2017 September, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hr of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (decl. &gt; −40°), a total of 33 885 deg2. The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an “on the fly” interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations.

## Non-Gaussianity constraints using future radio continuum surveys and the multitracer technique

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 492 (2019) 1513-1522

Z Gomes, S Camera, M Jarvis, C Hale, J Fonseca

Tighter constraints on measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) will allow the differentiation of inflationary scenarios. The cosmic microwave background bispectrum – the standard method of measuring the local non-Gaussianity – is limited by cosmic variance. Therefore, it is sensible to investigate measurements of non-Gaussianity using the large-scale structure. This can be done by investigating the effects of non-Gaussianity on the power spectrum on large scales. In this study, we forecast the constraints on the local PNG parameter fNL that can be obtained with future radio surveys. We utilize the multitracer method that reduces the effect of cosmic variance and takes advantage of the multiple radio galaxy populations that are differently biased tracers of the same underlying dark matter distribution. Improvements on previous work include the use of observational bias and halo mass estimates, updated simulations, and realistic photometric redshift expectations, thus producing more realistic forecasts. Combinations of Square Kilometre Array simulations and radio observations were used as well as different redshift ranges and redshift bin sizes. It was found that in the most realistic case the 1σ error on fNL falls within the range 4.07–6.58, rivalling the tightest constraints currently available.

## Disentangling magnification in combined shear-clustering analyses

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 491 (2019) 1756-1758

L Thiele, C Duncan, D Alonso

## Using sparse Gaussian processes for predicting robust inertial confinement fusion implosion yields

IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science IEEE (2019) 1-6

P Hatfield, S Rose, R Scott, I Almosallam, S Roberts, M Jarvis

## Measuring the H I mass function below the detection threshold

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 491 (2019) 1227-1242

H Pan, M Jarvis, I Heywood, N Maddox, BS Frank, X Kang

We present a Bayesian stacking technique to directly measure the H i mass function (HIMF) and its evolution with redshift using galaxies formally below the nominal detection threshold. We generate galaxy samples over several sky areas given an assumed HIMF described by a Schechter function and simulate the H i emission lines with different levels of background noise to test the technique. We use Multinest to constrain the parameters of the HIMF in a broad redshift bin, demonstrating that the HIMF can be accurately reconstructed, using the simulated spectral cube far below the H i mass limit determined by the 5σ flux-density limit, i.e. down to MHI = 107.5 M⊙ over the redshift range 0 &lt; z &lt; 0.55 for this particular simulation, with a noise level similar to that expected for the MIGHTEE survey. We also find that the constraints on the parameters of the Schechter function, φ⋆, M⋆ and α can be reliably fit, becoming tighter as the background noise decreases as expected, although the constraints on the redshift evolution are not significantly affected. All the parameters become better constrained as the survey area increases. In summary, we provide an optimal method for estimating the H i mass at cosmological distances that allows us to constrain the H i mass function below the detection threshold in forthcoming H i surveys. This study is a first step towards the measurement of the HIMF at high (z &gt; 0.1) redshifts.

## Extracting the global signal from 21-cm fluctuations: The multi-tracer approach

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (2019)

A Fialkov, R Barkana, M Jarvis

The multi-tracer technique employs a ratio of densities of two differently biased galaxy samples that trace the same underlying matter density field, and was proposed to alleviate the cosmic variance problem. Here we propose a novel application of this approach, applying it to two different tracers one of which is the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen from the epochs of reionization and comic dawn. The second tracer is assumed to be a sample of high-redshift galaxies, but the approach can be generalized and applied to other high-redshift tracers. We show that the anisotropy of the ratio of the two density fields can be used to measure the sky-averaged 21-cm signal, probe the spectral energy distribution of radiative sources that drive this signal, and extract large-scale properties of the second tracer, e.g., the galaxy bias. Using simulated 21-cm maps and mock galaxy samples, we find that the method works well for an idealized galaxy survey. However, in the case of a more realistic galaxy survey which only probes highly biased luminous galaxies, the inevitable Poisson noise makes the reconstruction far more challenging. This difficulty can be mitigated with the greater sensitivity of future telescopes along with larger survey volumes.

## A few StePS forward in unveiling the complexity of galaxy evolution: light-weighted stellar ages of intermediate-redshift galaxies with WEAVE

Astronomy and Astrophysics EDP Sciences 632 (2019) A9

L Costantin, A Iovino, S Zibetti, M Longhetti, A Gallazzi, A Mercurio, I Lonoce, M Balcells, M Bolzonella, G Busarello, G Dalton, A Ferre-Mateu, R Garcia-Benito, S Jin, F La Barbera, P Merluzzi, DNA Murphy, PDAL de Arriba, P Sanchez-Blazquez, M Talia, C Tortora, SC Trager, A Vazdekis, D Vergani, B Vulcani

<br><strong><i>Context. </strong></i>The upcoming new generation of optical spectrographs on four-meter-class telescopes, with their huge multiplexing capabilities, excellent spectral resolution, and unprecedented wavelength coverage, will provide invaluable information for reconstructing the history of star formation in individual galaxies up to redshifts of about 0.7.</br> <br><strong><i>Aims. </strong></i>We aim at defining simple but robust and meaningful physical parameters that can be used to trace the coexistence of widely diverse stellar components: younger stellar populations superimposed on the bulk of older ones.</br> <br><strong><i>Methods. </strong></i>We produced spectra of galaxies closely mimicking data from the forthcoming Stellar Populations at intermediate redshifts Survey (StePS), a survey that uses the WEAVE spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope. First, we assessed our ability to reliably measure both ultraviolet and optical spectral indices in galaxies of different spectral types for typically expected signal-to-noise ratios. We then analyzed such mock spectra with a Bayesian approach, deriving the probability density function of r- and u-band light-weighted ages as well as of their difference.</br> <br><strong><i>Results. </strong></i>We find that the ultraviolet indices significantly narrow the uncertainties in estimating the r- and u-band light-weighted ages and their difference in individual galaxies. These diagnostics, robustly retrievable for large galaxy samples even when observed at moderate signal-to-noise ratios, allow us to identify secondary episodes of star formation up to an age of ∼0.1 Gyr for stellar populations older than ∼1.5 Gyr, pushing up to an age of ∼1 Gyr for stellar populations older than ∼5 Gyr.</br> <br><strong><i>Conclusions. </strong></i>The difference between r-band and u-band light-weighted ages is shown to be a powerful diagnostic to characterize and constrain extended star-formation histories and the presence of young stellar populations on top of older ones. This parameter can be used to explore the interplay between different galaxy star-formation histories and physical parameters such as galaxy mass, size, morphology, and environment.</br>

## Comparing Galaxy Clustering in Horizon-AGN Simulated Lightcone Mocks and VIDEO Observations

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2019)

P Hatfield, C Laigle, M Jarvis, JULIEN Devriendt, I Davidzon, O Ilbert, C Pichon, Y Dubois

Hydrodynamical cosmological simulations have recently made great advances in reproducing galaxy mass assembly over cosmic time - as often quantified from the comparison of their predicted stellar mass functions to observed stellar mass functions from data. In this paper we compare the clustering of galaxies from the hydrodynamical cosmological simulated lightcone Horizon-AGN, to clustering measurements from the VIDEO survey observations. Using mocks built from a VIDEO-like photometry, we first explore the bias introduced into clustering measurements by using stellar masses and redshifts derived from SED-fitting, rather than the intrinsic values. The propagation of redshift and mass statistical and systematic uncertainties in the clustering measurements causes us to underestimate the clustering amplitude. We find then that clustering and halo occupation distribution (HOD) modelling results are qualitatively similar in Horizon-AGN and VIDEO. However at low stellar masses Horizon-AGN underestimates the observed clustering by up to a factor of ~3, reflecting the known excess stellar mass to halo mass ratio for Horizon-AGN low mass haloes, already discussed in previous works. This reinforces the need for stronger regulation of star formation in low mass haloes in the simulation. Finally, the comparison of the stellar mass to halo mass ratio in the simulated catalogue, inferred from angular clustering, to that directly measured from the simulation, validates HOD modelling of clustering as a probe of the galaxy-halo connection.