2001/11/30 by P. Norberg, S. Cole, Shaun Cole +47 · 9 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Cosmology #Field galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Luminosity #Luminosity function #Physics #Redshift #Redshift survey #Sky #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05831.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.336:907,2002 · Revised to include additional material, requested by the MNRAS referee, on the photometric calibration of the 2dFGRS and surface brightness dependencies. Full resolution figures and additional material at http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~cole/2df_lf_selfun
arxiv created 2002/04/26 · openalex publication_date 2002/11/01 · arxiv updated 2011/03/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We use more than 110 500 galaxies from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) to estimate the bJ-band galaxy luminosity function at redshift z= 0, taking account of evolution, the distribution of magnitude measurement errors and small corrections for incompleteness in the galaxy catalogue. Throughout the interval −16.5 > − 5 log10h > −22, the luminosity function is accurately described by a Schechter function with − 5 log10h=−19.66 ± 0.07, α=−1.21 ± 0.03 and Φ★= (1.61 ± 0.08) × 10−2h3 Mpc−3, giving an integrated luminosity density of ρL= (1.82 ± 0.17) × 108h L⊙ Mpc−3 (assuming an Ω0= 0.3, Λ0= 0.7 cosmology). The quoted errors have contributions from the accuracy of the photometric zero-point, from large-scale structure in the galaxy distribution and, importantly, from the uncertainty in the appropriate evolutionary corrections. Our luminosity function is in excellent agreement with, but has much smaller statistical errors than, an estimate from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data when the SDSS data are accurately translated to the bJ band and the luminosity functions are normalized in the same way. We use the luminosity function, along with maps describing the redshift completeness of the current 2dFGRS catalogue, and its weak dependence on apparent magnitude, to define a complete description of the 2dFGRS selection function. Details and tests of the calibration of the 2dFGRS photometric parent catalogue are also presented.