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Abstract:

Strong gravitational lensing has emerged as one of the most versatile tools to explore a range of open questions in astrophysics and cosmology. In this chapter, we focus on the significant contribution of strong lensing in the fields of galaxy structure and evolution. This includes the distribution of luminous and dark matter in galaxies, dark matter substructure, the initial mass function in intermediate redshift massive galaxies and the nature of high redshift galaxies. The impact of this probe has been significant, despite the rarity of known gravitational lens systems. In the imminent era of wide-area sensitive sky surveys, that will reveal 105 strong lensing systems, the full potential of strongly lensed galaxies as an essential and versatile probe of the nature of galaxies will be realized.

Abstract:

Strong gravitational lensing at the galaxy scale is a valuable tool for various applications in astrophysics and cosmology. Some of the primary uses of galaxy-scale lensing are to study elliptical galaxies’ mass structure and evolution, constrain the stellar initial mass function, and measure cosmological parameters. Since the discovery of the first galaxy-scale lens in the 1980s, this field has made significant advancements in data quality and modeling techniques. In this review, we describe the most common methods for modeling lensing observables, especially imaging data, as they are the most accessible and informative source of lensing observables. We then summarize the primary findings from the literature on the astrophysical and cosmological applications of galaxy-scale lenses. We also discuss the current limitations of the data and methodologies and provide an outlook on the expected improvements in both areas in the near future.

Abstract:

Context

The William Herschel Telescope Enhanced Area Velocity Explorer (WEAVE) is a new, massively multiplexing spectrograph that allows us to collect about one thousand spectra over a 3 square degree field in one observation. The WEAVE Stellar Population Survey (WEAVE-StePS) in the next 5 years will exploit this new instrument to obtain high-S/N spectra for a magnitude-limited (IAB = 20.5) sample of ∼25 000 galaxies at moderate redshifts (z ≥ 0.3), providing insights into galaxy evolution in this as yet unexplored redshift range.

Aims

We aim to test novel techniques for retrieving the key physical parameters of galaxies from WEAVE-StePS spectra using both photometric and spectroscopic (spectral indices) information for a range of noise levels and redshift values.

Methods

We simulated ∼105 000 galaxy spectra assuming star formation histories with an exponentially declining star formation rate, covering a wide range of ages, stellar metallicities, specific star formation rates (sSFRs), and dust extinction values. We considered three redshifts (i.e. z = 0.3, 0.55, and 0.7), covering the redshift range that WEAVE-StePS will observe. We then evaluated the ability of the random forest and K-nearest neighbour algorithms to correctly predict the average age, metallicity, sSFR, dust attenuation, and time since the bulk of formation, assuming no measurement errors. We also checked how much the predictive ability deteriorates for different noise levels, with S/NI,obs = 10, 20, and 30, and at different redshifts. Finally, the retrieved sSFR was used to classify galaxies as part of the blue cloud, green valley, or red sequence.

Results

We find that both the random forest and K-nearest neighbour algorithms accurately estimate the mass-weighted ages, u-band-weighted ages, and metallicities with low bias. The dispersion varies from 0.08–0.16 dex for age and 0.11–0.25 dex for metallicity, depending on the redshift and noise level. For dust attenuation, we find a similarly low bias and dispersion. For the sSFR, we find a very good constraining power for star-forming galaxies, log sSFR ≳ −11, where the bias is ∼0.01 dex and the dispersion is ∼0.10 dex. However, for more quiescent galaxies, with log sSFR ≲ −11, we find a higher bias, ranging from 0.61 to 0.86 dex, and a higher dispersion, ∼0.4 dex, depending on the noise level and redshift. In general, we find that the random forest algorithm outperforms the K-nearest neighbours. Finally, we find that the classification of galaxies as members of the green valley is successful across the different redshifts and S/Ns.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that machine learning algorithms can accurately estimate the physical parameters of simulated galaxies for a WEAVE-StePS-like dataset, even at relatively low S/NI, obs = 10 per Å spectra with available ancillary photometric information. A more traditional approach, Bayesian inference, yields comparable results. The main advantage of using a machine learning algorithm is that, once trained, it requires considerably less time than other methods.

Abstract:

During the early stages of galaxy evolution, a significant fraction of galaxies undergo a transitional phase between the “blue nugget” systems, which arise from the compaction of large, active star-forming disks, and the “red nuggets,” which are red and passive compact galaxies. These objects are typically only observable with space telescopes, and detailed studies of their size, mass, and stellar population parameters have been conducted on relatively small samples. Strong gravitational lensing can offer a new opportunity to study them in detail, even with ground-based observations. In this study, we present the first six bona fide samples of strongly lensed post-blue nugget (pBN) galaxies, which were discovered in the Kilo Degree Survey. By using the lensing-magnified luminosity from optical and near-infrared bands, we have derived robust structural and stellar population properties of the multiple images of the background sources. The pBN galaxies have very small sizes of R eff < 1.3 kpc, high mass density inside 1 kpc of log(Σ1/M⊙kpc−2)>9.3 , and low specific star formation rates of log(sSFRGyr-1)≲0 , The size–mass and Σ1–mass relations of this sample are consistent with those of the red nuggets, while their sSFR is close to the lower end of compact star-forming blue nugget systems at the same redshift, suggesting a clear evolutionary link between them.