Related papers: Simulation-guided galaxy evolution inference: A ca…
The study of strong-lensing systems conventionally involves constructing a mass distribution that can reproduce the observed multiply-imaging properties. Such mass reconstructions are generically non-unique. Here, we present an alternative…
Galaxy evolution can be studied observationally by linking progenitor and descendant galaxies through an evolving cumulative number density selection. This procedure can reproduce the expected evolution of the median stellar mass from…
Explaining the formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the most challenging problems in observational cosmology. Many observations suggest that galaxies we see today could have evolved from the merging of smaller subsystems. Evolution…
A central challenge in observational studies of galaxy formation is how to associate progenitor galaxies with their descendants at lower redshifts. One promising approach is to link galaxies at fixed number density, rather than fixed…
We use gravitational lenses from the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) to constrain the evolution of galaxies since redshift $z \sim 1$ in the current $\LCDM$ cosmology. This constraint is unique as it is based on a mass-selected lens…
Strong lensing systems, expected to be abundantly discovered by next-generation surveys, offer a powerful tool for studying cosmology and galaxy evolution. The connection between galaxy structure and cosmology through distance ratios…
We propose a general framework leveraging the halo-galaxy connection to link galaxies observed at different redshift in a statistical way, and use the link to infer the redshift evolution of the galaxy population. Our tests based on…
Connecting galaxies with their descendants (or progenitors) at different redshifts can yield strong constraints on galaxy evolution. Observational studies have historically selected samples of galaxies using a physical quantity, such as…
The cumulative comoving number-density of galaxies as a function of stellar mass or central velocity dispersion is commonly used to link galaxy populations across different epochs. By assuming that galaxies preserve their number-density in…
We present an overview of galaxy evolution across cosmic time in the Illustris Simulation. Illustris is an N-body/hydrodynamical simulation that evolves 2*1820^3 resolution elements in a (106.5Mpc)^3 box from cosmological initial conditions…
Large volume cosmological simulations succeed in reproducing the large-scale structure of the Universe. However, they lack resolution and may not take into account all relevant physical processes to test if the detail properties of galaxies…
Phylogenetic methods have long been used in biology, and more recently have been extended to other fields - for example, linguistics and technology - to study evolutionary histories. Galaxies also have an evolutionary history, and fall…
Strong lensing has developed into an important astrophysical tool for probing both cosmology and galaxies (their structure, formation, and evolution). Using the gravitational lensing theory and cluster mass distribution model, we try to…
The redshift distribution of galaxy lenses in known gravitational lens systems provides a powerful test that can potentially discriminate amongst cosmological models. However, applications of this elegant test have been curtailed by two…
We introduce a framework for simultaneously investigating the structure and luminosity evolution of early-type gravitational lens galaxies. The method is based on the fundamental plane, which we interpret using the aperture mass-radius…
Comparing galaxies across redshifts at fixed cumulative number density is a popular way to estimate the evolution of specific galaxy populations. This method ignores scatter in mass accretion histories and galaxy-galaxy mergers, which can…
We explore the properties of lensing galaxies and lensed faint sources at redshifts between 1.5 and 3.0. Our sample consists of 9 carefully selected strongly-lensed galaxies discovered by the CASSOWARY survey in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey…
We present a forecast analysis on the feasibility of measuring the cosmological parameters with a large number of galaxy-galaxy scale strong gravitational lensing systems. Future wide area surveys are expected to discover and measure the…
Studying the average properties of galaxies at a fixed comoving number density over a wide redshift range has become a popular observational method, because it may trace the evolution of galaxies statistically. We test this method by…
We combine photometry and lens modeling to study the properties of 17 gravitational lens galaxies between z=0.1 and 1. Most of the lens galaxies are passively evolving early-type galaxies, with a few spirals. The colors, scale lengths, and…