Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data

Richard P. Williams; Ivan K. Baldry; L. S. Kelvin; P. A. James; S. P. Driver; M. Prescott; S. Brough; M. J. I. Brown; L. J. M. Davies; B. W. Holwerda; J. Liske; P. Norberg; A. J. Moffett; A. H. Wright

doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2185

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data

Richard P. Williams, Ivan K. Baldry, L. S. Kelvin, P. A. James, S. P. Driver, M. Prescott, S. Brough, M. J. I. Brown, L. J. M. Davies, B. W. Holwerda, J. Liske, P. Norberg, A. J. Moffett, A. H. Wright

International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)

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Abstract

We report on a search for new low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields. The search method consisted of masking objects detected with SDSS PHOTO, combining gri images weighted to maximize the expected signal-to-noise ratio, and smoothing the images. The processed images were then run through a detection algorithm that finds all pixels above a set threshold and groups them based on their proximity to one another. The list of detections was cleaned of contaminants such as diffraction spikes and the faint wings of masked objects. From these, selecting potentially the brightest in terms of total flux, a list of 343 LSBGs was produced having been confirmed using VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) imaging. The photometry of this sample was refined using the deeper VIKING Z band as the aperture-defining band. Measuring their g - i and J - K colours shows that most are consistent with being at redshifts less than 0.2. The photometry is carried out using an AUTO aperture for each detection giving surface brightnesses of μr ≳ 25 mag arcsec-2 and magnitudes of r > 19.8 mag. None of these galaxies are bright enough to be within the GAMA main survey limit but could be part of future deeper surveys to measure the low-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2746-2755
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	463
Issue number	3
Early online date	6 Sep 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2185
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2016

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10.1093/mnras/stw2185

Williams et.al., 2016 Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2016 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
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http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.463.2746W

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Williams, R. P., Baldry, I. K., Kelvin, L. S., James, P. A., Driver, S. P., Prescott, M., Brough, S., Brown, M. J. I., Davies, L. J. M., Holwerda, B. W., Liske, J., Norberg, P., Moffett, A. J., & Wright, A. H. (2016). Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 463(3), 2746-2755. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2185

Williams, Richard P. ; Baldry, Ivan K. ; Kelvin, L. S. ; James, P. A. ; Driver, S. P. ; Prescott, M. ; Brough, S. ; Brown, M. J. I. ; Davies, L. J. M. ; Holwerda, B. W. ; Liske, J. ; Norberg, P. ; Moffett, A. J. ; Wright, A. H. / Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data. In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2016 ; Vol. 463, No. 3. pp. 2746-2755.

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title = "Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data",

abstract = "We report on a search for new low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields. The search method consisted of masking objects detected with SDSS PHOTO, combining gri images weighted to maximize the expected signal-to-noise ratio, and smoothing the images. The processed images were then run through a detection algorithm that finds all pixels above a set threshold and groups them based on their proximity to one another. The list of detections was cleaned of contaminants such as diffraction spikes and the faint wings of masked objects. From these, selecting potentially the brightest in terms of total flux, a list of 343 LSBGs was produced having been confirmed using VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) imaging. The photometry of this sample was refined using the deeper VIKING Z band as the aperture-defining band. Measuring their g - i and J - K colours shows that most are consistent with being at redshifts less than 0.2. The photometry is carried out using an AUTO aperture for each detection giving surface brightnesses of μr ≳ 25 mag arcsec-2 and magnitudes of r > 19.8 mag. None of these galaxies are bright enough to be within the GAMA main survey limit but could be part of future deeper surveys to measure the low-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function.",

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author = "Williams, {Richard P.} and Baldry, {Ivan K.} and Kelvin, {L. S.} and James, {P. A.} and Driver, {S. P.} and M. Prescott and S. Brough and Brown, {M. J. I.} and Davies, {L. J. M.} and Holwerda, {B. W.} and J. Liske and P. Norberg and Moffett, {A. J.} and Wright, {A. H.}",

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Williams, RP, Baldry, IK, Kelvin, LS, James, PA, Driver, SP, Prescott, M, Brough, S, Brown, MJI, Davies, LJM, Holwerda, BW, Liske, J, Norberg, P, Moffett, AJ & Wright, AH 2016, 'Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 463, no. 3, pp. 2746-2755. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2185

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): detection of low-surface-brightness galaxies from SDSS data. / Williams, Richard P.; Baldry, Ivan K.; Kelvin, L. S.; James, P. A.; Driver, S. P.; Prescott, M.; Brough, S.; Brown, M. J. I.; Davies, L. J. M.; Holwerda, B. W.; Liske, J.; Norberg, P.; Moffett, A. J.; Wright, A. H.

In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 463, No. 3, 01.12.2016, p. 2746-2755.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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AU - Baldry, Ivan K.

AU - Kelvin, L. S.

AU - James, P. A.

AU - Driver, S. P.

AU - Prescott, M.

AU - Brough, S.

AU - Brown, M. J. I.

AU - Davies, L. J. M.

AU - Holwerda, B. W.

AU - Liske, J.

AU - Norberg, P.

AU - Moffett, A. J.

AU - Wright, A. H.

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N2 - We report on a search for new low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields. The search method consisted of masking objects detected with SDSS PHOTO, combining gri images weighted to maximize the expected signal-to-noise ratio, and smoothing the images. The processed images were then run through a detection algorithm that finds all pixels above a set threshold and groups them based on their proximity to one another. The list of detections was cleaned of contaminants such as diffraction spikes and the faint wings of masked objects. From these, selecting potentially the brightest in terms of total flux, a list of 343 LSBGs was produced having been confirmed using VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) imaging. The photometry of this sample was refined using the deeper VIKING Z band as the aperture-defining band. Measuring their g - i and J - K colours shows that most are consistent with being at redshifts less than 0.2. The photometry is carried out using an AUTO aperture for each detection giving surface brightnesses of μr ≳ 25 mag arcsec-2 and magnitudes of r > 19.8 mag. None of these galaxies are bright enough to be within the GAMA main survey limit but could be part of future deeper surveys to measure the low-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function.

AB - We report on a search for new low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields. The search method consisted of masking objects detected with SDSS PHOTO, combining gri images weighted to maximize the expected signal-to-noise ratio, and smoothing the images. The processed images were then run through a detection algorithm that finds all pixels above a set threshold and groups them based on their proximity to one another. The list of detections was cleaned of contaminants such as diffraction spikes and the faint wings of masked objects. From these, selecting potentially the brightest in terms of total flux, a list of 343 LSBGs was produced having been confirmed using VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) imaging. The photometry of this sample was refined using the deeper VIKING Z band as the aperture-defining band. Measuring their g - i and J - K colours shows that most are consistent with being at redshifts less than 0.2. The photometry is carried out using an AUTO aperture for each detection giving surface brightnesses of μr ≳ 25 mag arcsec-2 and magnitudes of r > 19.8 mag. None of these galaxies are bright enough to be within the GAMA main survey limit but could be part of future deeper surveys to measure the low-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function.

KW - techniques: image processing

KW - galaxies: dwarf

KW - galaxies: photometry

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DO - 10.1093/mnras/stw2185

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