[Abridged] Aims: This work focuses on one lensed system, HATLAS J142935.3-002836 (H1429-0028), selected in the Herschel-ATLAS field. Gathering a rich, multi-wavelength dataset, we aim to confirm the lensing hypothesis and model the background sources
morphology and dynamics, as well as to provide a full physical characterisation. Methods: Multi-wavelength high-resolution data is utilised to assess the nature of the system. A lensing-analysis algorithm which simultaneously fits different wavebands is adopted to characterise the lens. The background galaxy dynamical information is studied by reconstructing the 3-D source-plane of the ALMA CO(J:4-3) transition. Near-IR imaging from HST and Keck-AO allows to constrain rest-frame optical photometry independently for the foreground and background systems. Physical parameters (such as stellar and dust masses) are estimated via modelling of the spectral energy distribution taking into account source blending, foreground obscuration, and differential magnification. Results: The system comprises a foreground edge-on disk galaxy (at z_sp=0.218) with an almost complete Einstein ring around it. The background source (at z_sp=1.027) is magnified by a factor of ~8-10 depending on wavelength. It is comprised of two components and a tens of kpc long tidal tail resembling the Antennae merger. As a whole, the system is a massive stellar system (1.32[-0.41,+0.63] x1E11 Mo) forming stars at a rate of 394+-90 Mo/yr, and has a significant gas reservoir M_ISM = 4.6+-1.7 x1E10 Mo. Its depletion time due to star formation alone is thus expected to be tau_SF=M_ISM/SFR=117+-51 Myr. The dynamical mass of one of the components is estimated to be 5.8+-1.7 x1E10 Mo, and, together with the photometric total mass estimate, it implies that H1429-0028 is a major merger system (1:2.8[-1.5,+1.8]).
A new method of determining galaxy star-formation histories (SFHs) is presented. Using the method, the feasibility of recovering SFHs with multi-band photometry is investigated. The method divides a galaxys history into discrete time intervals and re
constructs the average rate of star formation in each interval. This directly gives the total stellar mass. A simple linear inversion solves the problem of finding the most likely discretised SFH for a given set of galaxy parameters. It is shown how formulating the method within a Bayesian framework lets the data simultaneously select the optimal regularisation strength and the most appropriate number of discrete time intervals for the reconstructed SFH. The method is demonstrated by applying it to mono-metallic synthetic photometric catalogues created with different input SFHs, assessing how the accuracy of the recovered SFHs and stellar masses depend on the photometric passband set, signal-to-noise and redshift. The results show that reconstruction of SFHs using multi-band photometry is possible, being able to distinguish an early burst of star formation from a late one, provided an appropriate passband set is used. Although the resolution of the recovered SFHs is on average inferior compared to what can be achieved with spectroscopic data, the multi-band approach can process a significantly larger number of galaxies per unit exposure time.
We model the extremely massive and luminous lens galaxy in the Cosmic Horseshoe Einstein ring system, recently discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We use the semi-linear method of Warren & Dye (2003), which pixelises the source surface bright
ness distribution, to invert the Einstein ring for sets of parameterised lens models. Here, the method is refined by exploiting Bayesian inference to optimise adaptive pixelisation of the source plane and to choose between three differently parameterised models: a singular isothermal ellipsoid, a power law model and a NFW profile. The most probable lens model is the power law with a volume mass density that scales as r^(-1.96+/-0.02) and an axis ratio of ~0.8. The mass within the Einstein ring (i.e., within a cylinder with projected distance of ~30 kpc from the centre of the lens galaxy) is (5.02+/-0.09)*10^12 M_solar, and the mass-to-light ratio is ~30. Even though the lens lies in a group of galaxies, the preferred value of the external shear is almost zero. This makes the Cosmic Horseshoe unique amongst large separation lenses, as almost all the deflection comes from a single, very massive galaxy with little boost from the environment.
We present estimates of the photometric redshifts, stellar masses and star formation histories of sources in the SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES). This paper describes the 60 SCUBA sources detected in the Lockman Hole covering an area
of ~320 square arcmin. Using photometry spanning the B band to 8um, we find that the average SCUBA source forms a significant fraction of its stars in an early period of star formation and that most of the remainder forms in a shorter more intense burst around the redshift it is observed. This trend does not vary significantly with source redshift but the exact ratio of early to late mass is quite sensitive to the way extinction is treated in the modelling. However, the sources show a clear increase in stellar mass with redshift, consistent with downsizing. In terms of SED types, only two out of the 51 sources we have obtained photometric redshifts for are best fit by a quasar-like spectral energy distribution, with approximately 80 per cent of the sources being best fit with late-type spectra (Sc, Im and starburst). By including photometry at 850um, we conclude that the average SCUBA source is forming stars at a rate somewhere between 6 and 30 times the rate implied from the rest-frame optical in a dust obscured burst and that this burst creates 15-65 per cent of the total stellar mass. Using a simplistic calculation, we estimate from the average star formation history that between one in five and one in 15 bright (L_* +2 mag < L_optical < L_* -1 mag) galaxies in the field over the interval 0 < z < 3 will at some point in their lifetime experience a similar energetic dusty burst of star formation. Finally, we compute the evolution of the star formation rate density and find it peaks around z=2.
We model the mass distribution in the recently discovered Einstein ring LBG J213512.73-010143 (the `Cosmic Eye) using archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging. We reconstruct the mass density profile of the z=0.73 lens and the surface brightness distr
ibution of the z=3.07 source and find that the observed ring is best fit with a dual-component lens model consisting of a baryonic Sersic component nested within a dark matter halo. The dark matter halo has an inner slope of 1.42+/-0.23, consistent with CDM simulations after allowing for baryon contraction. The baryonic component has a B-band mass-to-light ratio of 1.71+0.28-0.38 (solar units) which when evolved to the present day is in agreement with local ellipticals. Within the Einstein radius of 0.77 (5.6 kpc), the baryons account for (46+/-11)% of the total lens mass. External shear from a nearby foreground cluster is accurately predicted by the model. The reconstructed surface brightness distribution in the source plane clearly shows two peaks. Through a generalisation of our lens inversion method, we conclude that the redshifts of both peaks are consistent with each other, suggesting that we are seeing structure within a single galaxy.
