Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA): The large-scale structure of galaxies and comparison to mock universes

Mehmet Alpaslan*, Aaron S G Robotham, Simon Driver, Peder Norberg, Ivan Baldry, Amanda E. Bauer, Joss Bland-hawthorn, Michael Brown, Michelle Cluver, Matthew Colless, Caroline Foster, Andrew Hopkins, Eelco Van kampen, Lee Kelvin, Maritza A. Lara-Lopez, Jochen Liske, Angel R. Lopez-Sanchez, Jon Loveday, Tamsyn Mcnaught-Roberts, Alexander MersonKevin Pimbblet

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

84 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

From a volume-limited sample of 45 542 galaxies and 6000 groups with z ≤ 0.213, we use an adapted minimal spanning tree algorithm to identify and classify large-scale structures within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Using galaxy groups, we identify 643 filaments across the three equatorial GAMA fields that span up to 200 h-1 Mpc in length, each with an average of eight groups within them. By analysing galaxies not belonging to groups, we identify a secondary population of smaller coherent structures composed entirely of galaxies, dubbed 'tendrils' that appear to link filaments together, or penetrate into voids, generally measuring around 10 h-1 Mpc in length and containing on average six galaxies. Finally, we are also able to identify a population of isolated void galaxies. By running this algorithm on GAMA mock galaxy catalogues, we compare the characteristics of large-scale structure between observed and mock data, finding that mock filaments reproduce observed ones extremely well. This provides a probe of higher order distribution statistics not captured by the popularly used two-point correlation function.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberstt2136
Pages (from-to)177-194
Number of pages18
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume438
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Large-scale structure of universe
  • Methods:Observational
  • Surveys

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA): The large-scale structure of galaxies and comparison to mock universes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this