Abstract
It is evident that considerable information exists in astronomical data below the threshold for the detection of individual sources (perhaps set for a '5 sigma' total detection, or for isophotal detection thresholds of '2 sigma' above the sky background), and that such information, if descriptive of an underlying population of objects characterized by a relatively small parameter set, could in principle be used to set constraints on these parameters. We therefore derive a general theoretical framework for fluctuation analysis (after the radio astronomers' 'P(D)' analysis) of optical imaging data on faint galaxy fields, in particular; on fields containing rich clusters of galaxies, in an attempt to determine the Schechter luminosity function of the dwarf galaxies that dominate the statistics at this magnitude range.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 591-605 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 319 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2000 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher: Blackwell ScienceKeywords
- techniques : image processing
- galaxies : clusters : general
- galaxies : luminosity function, mass function
- LUMINOSITY FUNCTION
- REDSHIFT SURVEY
- CONFUSION
- DENSITY
- DWARFS