Main Survey/Data Papers
Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Motivation, Design and Target Catalogue
Davies, L. J. M.; et al
The Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) is a large spectroscopic campaign at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) aimed at bridging the near and distant Universe by producing the highest completeness survey of galaxies and groups at intermediate redshifts (0.3 < z < 1.0). Our sample consists of ˜60,000 galaxies to Y<21.2 mag, over ˜6 deg2 in three well-studied deep extragalactic fields (Cosmic Origins Survey field, COSMOS, Extended Chandra Deep Field South, ECDFS and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Large-Scale Structure region, XMM-LSS – all Large Synoptic Survey Telescope deep-drill fields). This paper presents the broad experimental design of DEVILS. Our target sample has been selected from deep Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Y-band imaging (VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations, VIDEO and UltraVISTA), with photometry measured by PROFOUND. Photometric star/galaxy separation is done on the basis of NIR colours, and has been validated by visual inspection. To maximise our observing efficiency for faint targets we employ a redshift feedback strategy, which continually updates our target lists, feeding back the results from the previous night’s observations. We also present an overview of the initial spectroscopic observations undertaken in late 2017 and early 2018.
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)
Publication Date: 06/2018
Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Consistent Multi-wavelength Photometry for the DEVILS Regions (COSMOS, XMMLSS & ECDFS)
Davies, L. J. M.; et al
The Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) is an ongoing high-completeness, deep spectroscopic survey of ∼60,000 galaxies to Y<21.2 mag, over ∼6 deg2 in three well-studied deep extragalactic fields: D10 (COSMOS), D02 (XMM- LSS) and D03 (ECDFS). Numerous DEVILS projects all require consistent, uniformly-derived and state-of-the-art photometric data with which to measure galaxy properties. Existing photometric catalogues in these regions either use varied photometric measurement techniques for different facilities/wavelengths leading to inconsistencies, older imaging data and/or rely on source detection and photometry techniques with known problems. Here we use the ProFound image analysis package and state-of- the-art imaging datasets (including Subaru-HSC, VST-VOICE, VISTA-VIDEO and UltraVISTA-DR4) to derive matched-source photometry in 22 bands from the FUV to 500μm. This photometry is found to be consistent, or better, in colour-analysis to previous approaches using fixed-size apertures (which are specifically tuned to derive colours), but produces superior total source photometry, essential for the derivation of stellar masses, star-formation rates, star-formation histories, etc. Our photometric catalogue is described in detail and, after internal DEVILS team projects, will be publicly released for use by the broader scientific community.
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)
Publication Date: Submitted
DOI: NA
Science Papers
Classification of 3 DES supernova with OzDES and DEVILS
Davies, L. J. M.; et al
Abstract
We report new spectroscopic classifications by OzDES and DEVILS of supernovae discovered by the Dark Energy Survey (ATEL #4668). The spectra (370-885nm) were obtained with the AAOmega Spectrograph (Saunders et al. 2004, SPIE, 5492, 389) and the 2dF fibre positioner at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT).
Publication: The Astronomer’s Telegram, No. 11717
Pub Date: June 2018
- Bibcode: 2018ATel11717….1D
GAMA/DEVILS: constraining the cosmic star formation history from improved measurements of the 0.3-2.2 μm extragalactic background light
Koushan, Soheil; et al
Abstract
We present a revised measurement of the optical extragalactic background light (EBL), based on the contribution of resolved galaxies to the integrated galaxy light (IGL). The cosmic optical background radiation (COB), encodes the light generated by star formation, and provides a wealth of information about the cosmic star formation history (CSFH). We combine wide and deep galaxy number counts from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey (GAMA) and Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS), along with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive and other deep survey data sets, in nine multiwavelength filters to measure the COB in the range from 0.35 μm to 2.2 μm. We derive the luminosity density in each band independently and show good agreement with recent and complementary estimates of the optical-EBL from very high-energy (VHE) experiments. Our error analysis suggests that the IGL and γ-ray measurements are now fully consistent to within ∼10 per cent∼10 per cent , suggesting little need for any additional source of diffuse light beyond the known galaxy population. We use our revised IGL measurements to constrain the CSFH, and place amplitude constraints on a number of recent estimates. As a consistency check, we can now demonstrate convincingly, that the CSFH, stellar mass growth, and the optical-EBL provide a fully consistent picture of galaxy evolution. We conclude that the peak of star formation rate lies in the range 0.066-0.076 M⊙ yr-1 Mpc-3 at a lookback time of 9.1 to 10.9 Gyr.
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 503, Issue 2, pp.2033-2052
Pub Date: May 2021
Deep extragalactic visible legacy survey (DEVILS): Stellar mass growth by morphological type since z = 1
Hashemizadeh, Abdolhosein; et al
Using high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging data, we perform a visual morphological classification of ∼36, 000 galaxies at z < 1 in the DEVILS/COSMOS region. As the main goal of this study, we derive the stellar mass function (SMF) and stellar mass density (SMD) sub-divided by morphological types. We find that visual morphological classification using optical imaging is increasingly difficult at z > 1 as the fraction of irregular galaxies and merger systems (when observed at rest-frame UV/blue wavelengths) dramatically increases. We determine that roughly two-thirds of the total stellar mass of the Universe today was in place by z ∼ 1. Double-component galaxies dominate the SMD at all epochs and increase in their contribution to the stellar mass budget to the present day. Elliptical galaxies are the second most dominant morphological type and increase their SMD by ∼2.5 times, while by contrast, the pure-disk population significantly decreases by ∼85 per cent . According to the evolution of both high- and low-mass ends of the SMF, we find that mergers and in-situ evolution in disks are both present at z < 1, and conclude that double-component galaxies are predominantly being built by the in-situ evolution in disks (apparent as the growth of the low-mass end with time), while mergers are likely responsible for the growth of ellipticals (apparent as the increase of intermediate/high-mass end).
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pub Date: March 2021
Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): SED Fitting in the D10-COSMOS Field and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function and SFR-M* relation
Thorne, Jessica E.; et al
We present catalogues of stellar masses, star formation rates, and ancillary stellar population parameters for galaxies spanning 0<z<9 from the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS). DEVILS is a deep spectroscopic redshift survey with very high completeness, covering several premier deep fields including COSMOS (D10). Our stellar mass and star formation rate estimates are self-consistently derived using the spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling code ProSpect, using well-motivated parameterisations for dust attenuation, star formation histories, and metallicity evolution. We show how these improvements, and especially our physically motivated assumptions about metallicity evolution, have an appreciable systematic effect on the inferred stellar masses, at the level of ∼0.2 dex. To illustrate the scientific value of these data, we map the evolving galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) and the SFR-M* relation for 0<z<4.25. In agreement with past studies, we find that most of the evolution in the SMF is driven by the characteristic density parameter, with little evolution in the characteristic mass and low-mass slopes. Where the SFR-M* relation is indistinguishable from a power-law at z>2.6, we see evidence of a bend in the relation at low redshifts (z<0.45). This suggests evolution in both the normalisation and shape of the SFR-M* relation since cosmic noon. It is significant that we only clearly see this bend when combining our new DEVILS measurements with consistently derived values for lower redshift galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey: this shows the power of having consistent treatment for galaxies at all redshifts.
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pub Date: In press
arXiv: arXiv:2011.13605