We trace the assembly history of red galaxies since z=1, by measuring their evolving space density with the B-band luminosity function. Our sample of 39599 red galaxies, selected from 6.96 square degrees of imaging from the NOAO Deep Wide-Field and Spitzer IRAC Shallow surveys, is an order of magnitude larger, in size and volume, than comparable samples in the literature. We measure a higher space density of z=0.9 red galaxies than some of the recent literature, in part because we account for the faint yet significant galaxy flux which falls outside of our photometric aperture. The B-band luminosity density of red galaxies, which effectively measures the evolution of ~L* galaxies, increases by only 36 percent from z=0 to z=1. If red galaxy stellar populations have faded by 1.24 B-band magnitudes since z=1, the stellar mass contained within the red galaxy population has roughly doubled over the past 8 Gyr. This is consistent with star-forming galaxies being transformed into ~L* red galaxies after a decline in their star formation rates. In contrast, the evolution of 4L* red galaxies differs only slightly from a model with negligible star formation and no galaxy mergers since z=1. If this model approximates the luminosity evolution of red galaxy stellar populations, then 80 percent of the stellar mass contained within today's 4L* red galaxies was already in place at z=0.7. While red galaxy mergers have been observed, such mergers do not produce rapid growth of 4L* red galaxy stellar masses between z=1 and the present day.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ. 30 pages, 18 figures. (Several typos corrected and slight change to Figure 8.
The Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed a significant population of high-redshift (z $ 2) dust-obscured galaxies with large mid-infrared to ultraviolet luminosity ratios. Due to their optical faintness, these galaxies have been previously missed in traditional optical studies of the distant universe. We present a simple method for selecting this high-redshift population based solely on the ratio of the observed mid-infrared 24 m to optical R-band flux density. We apply this method to observations of the %8.6 deg 2 NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Boötes field, and uncover %2600 dust-obscured galaxy candidates [i.e., 0.089 arcmin À2 ) with 24 m flux densities F 24 m ! 0:3 mJy and (R À ½24) ! 14 (i.e., F (24 m)/F (R) k1000]. These galaxies have no counterparts in the local universe. They represent 7% AE 0:6% of the 24 m source population at F 24 m ! 1 mJy but increase to %13% AE 1% of the population at %0.3 mJy. These galaxies exhibit evidence of both star formation and AGN activity, with the brighter 24 m sources being more AGN-dominated. We have measured spectroscopic redshifts for 86 of these galaxies, and find a broad redshift distribution centered atz % 1:99 AE 0:05. The space density of this population is AE DOG (F 24m ! 0:3 mJy) ¼ (2:82 AE 0:05) ; 10 À5 h 3 70 Mpc À3 , similar to that of bright submillimeter-selected galaxies at comparable redshifts. These redshifts imply large luminosities, with median L (8 m) % 4 ; 10 11 L . The infrared luminosity density contributed by this relatively rare dust-obscured galaxy population is log (IRLD) % 8:23 þ0:18 À0:30 . This is %60 þ40 À15 % of that contributed by z $ 2 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs, with L IR > 10 12 L ); our simple selection thus identifies a significant fraction of z $ 2 ULIRGs. This IRLD is %26% AE 14% of the total contributed by all z $ 2 galaxies. We suggest that these dust-obscured galaxies are the progenitors of luminous ($4L Ã ) present-day galaxies, seen undergoing an extremely luminous, short-lived phase of both bulge and black hole growth. They may represent a brief evolutionary phase between submillimeter-selected galaxies and less obscured quasars or galaxies.
We have traced the past 7 Gyr of red galaxy stellar mass growth within dark
matter halos. We have determined the halo occupation distribution, which
describes how galaxies reside within dark matter halos, using the observed
luminosity function and clustering of 40,696 0.2
The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) is a four-epoch infrared survey of 10 deg 2 in the Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey using the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope. SDWFS, a Spitzer Cycle 4 Legacy project, occupies a unique position in the area-depth survey space defined by other Spitzer surveys. The four epochs that make up SDWFS permit-for the first time-the selection of infrared-variable and high proper motion objects over a wide field on timescales of years. Because of its large survey volume, SDWFS is sensitive to galaxies out to z ∼ 3 with relatively little impact from cosmic variance for all but the richest systems. The SDWFS data sets will thus be especially useful for characterizing galaxy evolution beyond z ∼ 1.5. This paper explains the SDWFS observing strategy and data processing, presents the SDWFS mosaics and source catalogs, and discusses some early scientific findings. The publicly released, full-depth catalogs contain 6.78, 5.23, 1.20, and 0.96 × 10 5 distinct sources detected to the average 5σ , 4 -diameter, aperture-corrected limits of 19.77, 18.83, 16.50, and 15.82 Vega mag at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm, respectively. The SDWFS number counts and color-color distribution are consistent with other, earlier Spitzer surveys. At the 6 minute integration time of the SDWFS IRAC imaging, > 50% of isolated Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm radio sources and > 80% of on-axis XBoötes sources are detected out to 8.0 μm. Finally, we present the four highest proper motion IRAC-selected sources identified from the multi-epoch imaging, two of which are likely field brown dwarfs of mid-T spectral class.
Accurate photometric redshifts are calculated for nearly 200,000 galaxies to
a 4.5 micron flux limit of ~13 uJy in the 8.5 deg^2 Spitzer/IRAC Shallow
survey. Using a hybrid photometric redshift algorithm incorporating both
neural-net and template-fitting techniques, calibrated with over 15,000
spectroscopic redshifts, a redshift accuracy of \sigma = 0.06(1+z) is achieved
for 95% of galaxies at 0
We report the discovery of a very large, spatially extended Lyα-emitting nebula at z = 2.656 associated with a luminous mid-infrared source. The bright mid-infrared source (F 24µm = 0.86 mJy) was first detected in observations made using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Existing broad-band imaging data from the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey revealed the mid-infrared source to be associated with a diffuse, spatially extended, optical counterpart in the B W band. Spectroscopy and further imaging of this target reveals that the optical source is an almost purely line-emitting nebula with little, if any, detectable diffuse continuum emission. The Lyα nebula has a luminosity of L Lyα ≈ 1.7 × 10 44 erg s −1 and an extent of at least 20 ′′ (160 kpc). Its central ≈ 8 ′′ shows an ordered, monotonic velocity profile; interpreted as rotation, this region encloses a mass M ≈ 6 ×10 12 M ⊙ . Several sources lie within the nebula. The central region of the nebula shows narrow (≈ 365 km s −1 ) emission lines of C IV and He II. The midinfrared source is a compact object lying within the nebula, but offset from the center by a projected distance of ≈ 2. ′′ 5 (20 kpc), and likely to be an enshrouded AGN. A young star-forming galaxy lies near the northern end of the nebula. We suggest that the nebula is a site of recent multiple galaxy and AGN formation, with the spatial distribution of galaxies within the nebula perhaps tracking the formation history of the system.
We identify a population of 640 obscured and 839 unobscured AGNs at redshifts 0:7 < z P 3 using multiwavelength observations of the 9 deg 2 NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey ( NDWFS) region in Boötes. We select AGNs on the basis of Spitzer IRAC colors obtained by the IRAC Shallow Survey. Redshifts are obtained from optical spectroscopy or photometric redshift estimators. We classify the IR-selected AGNs as IRAGN 1 (unobscured) and IRAGN 2 (obscured) using a simple criterion based on the observed optical to mid-IR color, with a selection boundary of R À ½4:5 ¼ 6:1, where R and [4.5] are the Vega magnitudes in the R and IRAC 4.5 m bands, respectively. We verify this selection using X-ray stacking analyses with data from the Chandra XBoötes survey, as well as optical photometry from NDWFS and spectroscopy from MMT/AGES. We show that (1) these sources are indeed AGNs, and (2) the optical /IR color selection separates obscured sources (with average N H $ 3 ; 10 22 cm À2 obtained from X-ray hardness ratios, and optical colors and morphologies typical of galaxies) and unobscured sources (with no X-ray absorption, and quasar colors and morphologies), with a reliability of k80%. The observed numbers of IRAGNs are comparable to predictions from previous X-ray, optical, and IR luminosity functions, for the given redshifts and IRAC flux limits. We observe a bimodal distribution in R À ½4:5 color, suggesting that luminous IR-selected AGNs have either low or significant dust extinction, which may have implications for models of AGN obscuration.
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