1 research outputs found
Luminosity Functions of Elliptical Galaxies at z < 1.2
The luminosity functions of E/S0 galaxies are constructed in 3 different
redshift bins (0.2 < z < 0.55, 0.55 < z < 0.8, 0.8 < z < 1.2), using the data
from the Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey (HST MDS) and other HST
surveys. These independent luminosity functions show the brightening in the
luminosity of E/S0s by about 0.5~1.0 magnitude at z~1, and no sign of
significant number evolution.
This is the first direct measurement of the luminosity evolution of E/S0
galaxies, and our results support the hypothesis of a high redshift of
formation (z > 1) for elliptical galaxies, together with weak evolution of the
major merger rate at z < 1.Comment: To be published in ApJ Letters, 4 pages, AAS Latex, 4 figures, and 2
table