Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): Exploring the WISE Cosmic Web in G12

TL;DR

This study analyzes WISE mid-infrared sources in the GAMA G12 field to map large-scale structures, characterize galaxy populations, and explore clustering behavior across different galaxy types and redshifts.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive catalog of nearly 590,000 WISE sources with detailed clustering analysis and insights into galaxy distribution and properties at various redshifts.

Findings

Bright and massive galaxies are more strongly clustered.

Spheroidal galaxies exhibit the strongest clustering.

High-redshift (z > 1) sources constitute about 27% of the sample.

Abstract

We present an analysis of the mid-infrared WISE sources seen within the equatorial GAMA G12 field, located in the North Galactic Cap. Our motivation is to study and characterize the behavior of WISE source populations in anticipation of the deep multi-wavelength surveys that will define the next decade, with the principal science goal of mapping the 3D large scale structures and determining the global physical attributes of the host galaxies. In combination with cosmological redshifts, we identify galaxies from their WISE W1 3.4um resolved emission, and by performing a star-galaxy separation using apparent magnitude, colors and statistical modeling of star-counts. The resultant galaxy catalog has ~590,000 sources in 60 deg^2, reaching a W1 5-sigma depth of 31 uJy. At the faint end, where redshifts are not available, we employ a luminosity function analysis to show that approximately 27% of all WISE extragalactic sources to a limit of 17.5 mag (31 uJy) are at high redshift, z > 1. The spatial distribution is investigated using two-point correlation functions and a 3D source density characterization at 5 Mpc and 20 Mpc scales. For angular distributions, we find brighter and more massive sources are strongly clustered relative to fainter and lower mass source; likewise, based on WISE colors, spheroidal galaxies have the strongest clustering, while late-type disk galaxies have the lowest clustering amplitudes. Along the radial direction, the strongest clustering is in the largest redshift shell, while the weakest is in the nearest redshift shell, consistent with the stellar mass and morphological type dependency results. In three dimensions, we find a number of distinct groupings, often bridged by filaments and super-structures. Using special visualization tools, we map these structures, exploring how clustering may play a role with stellar mass and galaxy type.