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| WINGS survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | WINGS survey |
| Type | Astronomical survey |
| Acronym | WINGS |
| Established | 2000s |
| Wavelength | Optical, near-infrared |
| Area | Galaxy clusters |
WINGS survey
The WINGS survey is a multiwavelength observational program targeting nearby galaxy clusters to study galaxy properties, environmental effects, and cluster evolution. It combines imaging and spectroscopy from ground-based observatories with supplemental space-based measurements to analyze morphological, photometric, and spectroscopic characteristics across cluster populations. The survey results informed work on galaxy morphology, star formation, and stellar populations in relation to cluster-centric position and global cluster properties.
The survey concentrated on X-ray selected clusters, connecting cluster lists from the Einstein Observatory and ROSAT catalogs with optical imaging from facilities including European Southern Observatory instruments and northern campaigns involving W. M. Keck Observatory and Calar Alto Observatory. It built upon earlier studies such as the Dressler 1980 morphology-density relation, the Madau plot of cosmic star formation history, and follow-up programs linked to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey. The project targeted clusters with redshifts comparable to samples used by Gunn & Gott ram-pressure stripping models, and provided a low-redshift baseline complementary to high-redshift surveys like the Hubble Deep Field and the COSMOS project.
The design combined wide-field imaging with multi-object spectroscopy, drawing on instruments and techniques developed for programs such as the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, the DEEP2 Redshift Survey, and the CNOC cluster surveys. Imaging employed broadband filters similar to the systems used by Johnson–Cousins and matched calibrations referenced to standards from Landolt catalogs and photometric systems adopted by SDSS pipelines. Spectroscopic target selection used magnitude limits and color cuts informed by templates from Bruzual & Charlot stellar population models and emission-line diagnostics pioneered by Baldwin, Phillips & Terlevich to separate active nuclei like Seyfert galaxies from star-forming galaxies such as M82 analogs. Morphological classification leveraged algorithms refined in studies of Hubble Space Telescope imaging and ground-based morphological catalogs originally compiled by researchers associated with Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
Public data releases included calibrated images, photometric catalogs, redshift catalogs, and derived structural parameters such as Sersic fits following methods used by teams behind the GALFIT and GIM2D packages. Data reduction pipelines adapted practices from the IRAF community and from processing flows developed at observatories like European Southern Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory. Spectral analysis provided measurements of line indices including Lick indices tied to work by Worthey and velocity dispersions comparable to findings from the Fundamental Plane studies by Dressler, Djorgovski, and collaborators. Cross-matching efforts tied WINGS datasets to external catalogs such as those from ROSAT, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and GALEX for ultraviolet constraints, as well as infrared overlaps with Spitzer Space Telescope programs.
WINGS produced numerous insights into morphology-density trends, star formation quenching, and the role of cluster-centric radius in shaping galaxy properties, building on paradigms discussed in papers by Dressler, Poggianti, and Blanton. Results quantified the fractions of early-type systems in relation to cluster mass measurements derived from X-ray scaling relations established by Arnaud and Vikhlinin, and addressed environmental processes such as ram-pressure stripping modeled by Gunn & Gott and harassment frameworks developed by Moore et al.. Spectroscopic analyses revealed emission-line galaxies with properties compared against classifications from Kauffmann and Kewley, while stellar population ages and metallicities were interpreted using synthesis results akin to those from Bruzual & Charlot and Thomas et al.. WINGS outcomes informed comparisons with high-redshift cluster programs like EDisCS and surveys of cluster assembly studied through observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and facilities like ALMA.
The survey’s legacy includes extensive catalogs used in studies of galaxy transformation pathways, cluster scaling relations, and intracluster light investigations tied to work by Zibetti and Gonzalez. Its data were incorporated into meta-analyses alongside results from SDSS, 2MASS, and the GAMA survey, influencing models of galaxy evolution developed by theorists at institutions such as Institute for Advanced Study research groups and numerical simulation teams like those behind the Millennium Simulation and Illustris projects. WINGS provided a benchmark for subsequent observational campaigns with Subaru Telescope, Very Large Telescope, and space missions including Euclid and the James Webb Space Telescope.
The collaboration brought together researchers affiliated with observatories and institutions such as INAF, University of Padova, University of Trieste, University of Oxford, and international partners connected to facilities like Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes and MPG/ESO 2.2m Telescope. Instrumentation contributions included wide-field imagers and multi-object spectrographs similar to Wide Field Camera systems, fiber-fed spectrographs akin to those used by 2dF and slitmask systems exemplified by DEIMOS at Keck Observatory. The project interfaced with X-ray teams using ROSAT and Chandra observations and worked with archival data from missions like GALEX and Spitzer Space Telescope.
Category:Astronomical surveys