427 research outputs found
A spectroscopic sample of massive, evolved z~2 galaxies: Implications for the evolution of the mass-size relation
We present deep, near-infrared HST/WFC3 grism spectroscopy and imaging for a
sample of 14 galaxies at z~2 selected from a mass-complete photometric catalog
in the COSMOS field. By combining the grism observations with photometry in 30
bands, we derive accurate constraints on their redshifts, stellar masses, ages,
dust extinction and formation redshifts. We show that the slope and scatter of
the z~2 mass-size relation of quiescent galaxies is consistent with the local
relation, and confirm previous findings that the sizes for a given mass are
smaller by a factor of two to three. Finally, we show that the observed
evolution of the mass-size relation of quiescent galaxies between z=2 and 0 can
be explained by quenching of increasingly larger star-forming galaxies, at a
rate dictated by the increase in the number density of quiescent galaxies with
decreasing redshift. However, we find that the scatter in the mass-size
relation should increase in the quenching-driven scenario in contrast to what
is seen in the data. This suggests that merging is not needed to explain the
evolution of the median mass-size relation of massive galaxies, but may still
be required to tighten its scatter, and explain the size growth of individual
z=2 galaxies quiescent galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
A Window On The Earliest Star Formation: Extreme Photoionization Conditions of a High-Ionization, Low-Metallicity Lensed Galaxy at z~2
We report new observations of SL2SJ021737-051329, a lens system consisting of
a bright arc at z=1.84435, magnified ~17x by a massive galaxy at z=0.65.
SL2SJ0217 is a low-mass (M <10^9 M*), low-metallicity (Z~1/20 Z*) galaxy, with
extreme star-forming conditions that produce strong nebular UV emission lines
in the absence of any apparent outflows. Here we present several notable
features from rest-frame UV Keck/LRIS spectroscopy: (1) Very strong narrow
emission lines are measured for CIV 1548,1550, HeII 1640, OIII] 1661,1666,
SiIII] 1883,1892, and CIII] 1907,1909. (2) Double-peaked LyA emission is
observed with a dominant blue peak and centered near the systemic velocity. (3)
The low- and high-ionization absorption features indicate very little or no
outflowing gas along the sightline to the lensed galaxy. The relative emission
line strengths can be reproduced with a very high-ionization, low-metallicity
starburst with binaries, with the exception of He \ii, which indicates an
additional ionization source is needed. We rule out large contributions from
AGN and shocks to the photoionization budget, suggesting that the emission
features requiring the hardest radiation field likely result from extreme
stellar populations that are beyond the capabilities of current models.
Therefore, SL2S0217 serves as a template for the extreme conditions that are
important for reionization and thought to be more common in the early Universe.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures, 8 tables, re-submitted to ApJ, comments welcom
FIREWORKS U38-to-24 micron photometry of the GOODS-CDFS: multi-wavelength catalog and total IR properties of distant Ks-selected galaxies
We present a Ks-selected catalog, dubbed FIREWORKS, for the Chandra Deep
Field South (CDFS) containing photometry in U_38, B_435, B, V, V_606, R, i_775,
I, z_850, J, H, Ks, [3.6 um], [4.5 um], [5.8 um], [8.0 um], and the MIPS [24
um] band. The imaging has a typical Ks limit of 24.3 mag (5 sigma, AB) and
coverage over 113 arcmin^2 in all bands and 138 arcmin^2 in all bands but H. We
cross-correlate our catalog with the 1 Ms X-ray catalog by Giacconi et al.
(2002) and with all available spectroscopic redshifts to date. We find and
explain systematic differences in a comparison with the 'z_850 + Ks'-selected
GOODS-MUSIC catalog that covers ~90% of the field. We exploit the U38-to-24
micron photometry to determine which Ks-selected galaxies at 1.5<z<2.5 have the
brightest total IR luminosities and which galaxies contribute most to the
integrated total IR emission. The answer to both questions is that red galaxies
are dominating in the IR. This is true no matter whether color is defined in
the rest-frame UV, optical, or optical-to-NIR. We do find however that among
the reddest galaxies in the rest-frame optical, there is a population of
sources with only little mid-IR emission, suggesting a quiescent nature.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 20 pages, 10
figures, reference to website correcte
X-ray properties of K-selected galaxies at 0.5<z<2.0: Investigating trends with stellar mass, redshift and spectral type
We examine how the total X-ray luminosity correlates with stellar mass,
stellar population, and redshift for a K-band limited sample of ~3500 galaxies
at 0.5<z<2.0 from the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey in the COSMOS field. The
galaxy sample is divided into 32 different galaxy types, based on similarities
between the spectral energy distributions. For each galaxy type, we further
divide the sample into bins of redshift and stellar mass, and perform an X-ray
stacking analysis using the Chandra COSMOS (C-COSMOS) data. We find that full
band X-ray luminosity is primarily increasing with stellar mass, and at similar
mass and spectral type is higher at larger redshifts. When comparing at the
same stellar mass, we find that the X-ray luminosity is slightly higher for
younger galaxies (i.e., weaker 4000\AA breaks), but the scatter in this
relation is large. We compare the observed X-ray luminosities to those expected
from low and high mass X-ray binaries (XRBs). For blue galaxies, XRBs can
almost fully account for the observed emission, while for older galaxies with
larger 4000\AA breaks, active galactic nuclei (AGN) or hot gas dominate the
measured X-ray flux. After correcting for XRBs, the X-ray luminosity is still
slightly higher in younger galaxies, although this correlation is not
significant. AGN appear to be a larger component of galaxy X-ray luminosity at
earlier times, as the hardness ratio increases with redshift. Together with the
slight increase in X-ray luminosity this may indicate more obscured AGNs or
higher accretion rates at earlier times.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, ApJ accepte
Evidence for non-stellar rest-frame near-IR emission associated with increased star formation in galaxies at
We explore the presence of non-stellar rest-frame near-IR () emission in galaxies at . Previous studies identified
this excess in relatively small samples and suggested that such non-stellar
emission, which could be linked to the polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons feature or hot dust emission, is associated with an
increased star formation rate (SFR). In this Letter, we confirm and quantify
the presence of an IR excess in a significant fraction of galaxies in the
3D-HST GOODS catalogs. By constructing a matched sample of galaxies with and
without strong non-stellar near-IR emission, we find that galaxies with such
emission are predominantly star-forming galaxies. Moreover, star-forming
galaxies with an excess show increased mid- and far-IR and H emission
compared to other star-forming galaxies without. While galaxies with a near-IR
excess show a larger fraction of individually detected X-ray active galactic
nuclei (AGNs), an X-ray stacking analysis, together with the IR-colors and
H profiles, shows that AGNs are unlikely to be the dominant source of
the excess in the majority of galaxies. Our results suggest that non-stellar
near-IR emission is linked to increased SFRs and is ubiquitous among
star-forming galaxies. As such, the near-IR emission might be a powerful tool
to measure SFRs in the era of the James Webb Space Telescope.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
A Public Ks-selected Catalog in the COSMOS/UltraVISTA Field: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts and Stellar Population Parameters
We present a catalog covering 1.62 deg^2 of the COSMOS/UltraVISTA field with
PSF-matched photometry in 30 photometric bands. The catalog covers the
wavelength range 0.15um - 24um including the available GALEX, Subaru, CFHT,
VISTA and Spitzer data. Catalog sources have been selected from the DR1
UltraVISTA Ks band imaging that reaches a depth of K_{s,tot} = 23.4 AB (90%
completeness). The PSF-matched catalog is generated using position-dependent
PSFs ensuring accurate colors across the entire field. Also included is a
catalog of photometric redshifts (z_phot) for all galaxies computed with the
EAZY code. Comparison with spectroscopy from the zCOSMOS 10k bright sample
shows that up to z ~ 1.5 the z_phot are accurate to dz/(1 + z) = 0.013, with a
catastrophic outlier fraction of only 1.6%. The z_phot also show good agreement
with the z_phot from the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey (NMBS) out to z ~ 3. A
catalog of stellar masses and stellar population parameters for galaxies
determined using the FAST spectral energy distribution fitting code is provided
for all galaxies. Also included are rest-frame U-V and V-J colors, L_2800 and
L_IR. The UVJ color-color diagram confirms that the galaxy bi-modality is
well-established out to z ~ 2. Star-forming galaxies also obey a star forming
"main sequence" out to z ~ 2.5, and this sequence evolves in a manner
consistent with previous measurements. The COSMOS/UltraVISTA Ks-selected
catalog covers a unique parameter space in both depth, area, and
multi-wavelength coverage and promises to be a useful tool for studying the
growth of the galaxy population out to z ~ 3 - 4.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures. Accepted to the ApJSS. Catalog data products
available for download here:
http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/galaxyevolution/ULTRAVISTA
The Evolution of the Fractions of Quiescent and Star-forming Galaxies as a Function of Stellar Mass Since z=3: Increasing Importance of Massive, Dusty Star-forming Galaxies in the Early Universe
Using the UltraVISTA DR1 and 3D-HST catalogs, we construct a
stellar-mass-complete sample, unique for its combination of surveyed volume and
depth, to study the evolution of the fractions of quiescent galaxies,
moderately unobscured star-forming galaxies, and dusty star-forming galaxies as
a function of stellar mass over the redshift interval . We
show that the role of dusty star-forming galaxies within the overall galaxy
population becomes more important with increasing stellar mass, and grows
rapidly with increasing redshift. Specifically, dusty star-forming galaxies
dominate the galaxy population with at . The ratio of dusty and non-dusty star-forming galaxies as
a function of stellar mass changes little with redshift. Dusty star-forming
galaxies dominate the star-forming population at , being a factor of 3-5 more common,
while unobscured star-forming galaxies dominate at . At , red
galaxies dominate the galaxy population at all redshift , either because
they are quiescent (at late times) or dusty star-forming (in the early
universe).Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted by Astrophysical Journal
Letters after minor revisio
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