Related papers: Through the fog: a complementary optical galaxy cl…
Our goal is to develop a new and reliable statistical method to classify galaxies from large surveys. We probe the reliability of the method by comparing it with a three-dimensional classification cube, using the same set of spectral,…
Understanding the properties of the first generation of galaxies is an ongoing challenge in observational astrophysics. While advances in deep field observation have led to the identification of large numbers of galaxies within the Epoch of…
A new method for classification of galaxy spectra is presented, based on a recently introduced information theoretical principle, the `Information Bottleneck'. For any desired number of classes, galaxies are classified such that the…
Although the optical colour-magnitude diagram of galaxies allows one to select red sequence objects, neither can it be used for galaxy classification without additional observational data such as spectra or high-resolution images, nor to…
We use very deep near-infrared photometry of the Hubble Deep Field South taken with ISAAC/VLT to identify a population of high redshift galaxies with rest- frame optical colors similar to those of nearby galaxies. The galaxies are chosen by…
We select a sample of low-redshift (z ~ 0.1) E+A galaxies from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). The spectra of these objects are defined by strong hydrogen Balmer absorption lines (H-delta, H-gamma, H-beta) combined with a lack of…
In this paper we present a classification of emission-line galaxies at intermediate and high redshifts (0.52.5 for near-infrared spectra), using the Dn(4000) index as a supplementary diagnostic. Our goal is to complement the diagnostic…
We present the analysis of deep HST multi-band imaging of the BDF field specifically designed to identify faint companions around two of the few Ly-alpha emitting galaxies spectroscopically confirmed at z~7 (Vanzella et al. 2011). Although…
We present two methods for determining spectroscopic redshifts of galaxies in the DEEP2 survey which display only one identifiable feature, an emission line, in the observed spectrum ("single-line galaxies"). First, we assume each single…
The next generation of wide-field spectroscopic redshift surveys will map the large-scale galaxy distribution in the redshift range 0.7< z<2 to measure baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO). The primary optical signature used in this…
In this work, we investigate the reliability of the BPT diagram for excluding galaxies that host an AGN. We determine the prevalence of X-ray AGN in the star-forming region of the BPT diagram and discuss the reasons behind this apparent…
Emission line diagnostic diagrams probing the ionization sources in galaxies, such as the Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich (BPT) diagram, have been used extensively to distinguish AGN from purely star-forming galaxies. Yet, they remain poorly…
We investigate the physical conditions of ionized gas in high-z star-forming galaxies using diagnostic diagrams based on the rest-frame optical emission lines. The sample consists of 701 galaxies with an Ha detection at $1.4\lesssim…
We use the Random Forest (RF) algorithm to develop a tool for automated activity classification of galaxies into 5 different classes: Star-forming (SF), AGN, LINER, Composite, and Passive. We train the algorithm on a combination of mid-IR…
A scenario is explored in which Lyman alpha absorbers at low redshift arise from lines of sight through extended galaxy disks, including those of dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies. A population of galaxies is simulated based upon…
We estimate the number counts of line emitters at high redshift and their evolution with cosmic time based on a combination of photometry and spectroscopy. We predict the H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, [OII], and [OIII] line fluxes for more than…
We present the results of a photometric redshift analysis designed to identify z>6 galaxies from the near-IR HST imaging in three deep fields (HUDF, HUDF09-2 & ERS). By adopting a rigorous set of criteria for rejecting low-z interlopers,…
We present a new diagnostic diagram for mid-infrared spectra of infrared galaxies based on the equivalent width of the 6.2 micron PAH emission feature and the strength of the 9.7 micron silicate feature. Based on the position in this…
The observed colour bimodality allows a classification of the galaxies into two distinct classes: the `blue cloud' and the `red sequence'. Such classification is often carried out using empirical cuts in colour and other galaxy properties…
We propose a new diagram, the Kinematic-Excitation diagram (KEx diagram), which uses the [OIII]/H\beta\ line ratio and the [OIII]5007 emission line width (\sigma_{[OIII]}) to diagnose the ionization source and physical properties of the…