A mass threshold in the number density of passive galaxies at<i>z</i>~ 2

Sommariva, V.; Fontana, A.; Lamastra, Alessandra; Santini, P.; Dunlop, James; Nonino, M.; Castellano, M.; Ferguson, Henry C.; McLure, R. J.; Galametz, A.; Giavalisco, Mauro; Grazian, A.; Lu, Yu; Menci, Nicola; Merson, Alex; Paris, D.; Pentericci, L.; Somerville, Rachel S.; Targett, T. A.; Koekemoer, Anton M.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322301

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, we obtain that quiescent sources constitute only ∼ 10% of these galaxies at z = 2 − 6, which suggests that star-formation quenching and evolution into quiescence is a much slower process among intermediate-mass galaxies than among massive ones. Our findings are consistent with the results of Sommariva et al (2014), who reported a decline in the fraction of quiescent galaxies at faint near-IR magnitudes, corresponding to stellar masses < ∼ 10 10.8 M .…”

Section: Intermediate-mass Galaxiessupporting

confidence: 93%

The Spitzer Matching Survey of the UltraVISTA Ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS): The Evolution of Dusty and Nondusty Galaxies with Stellar Mass at z = 2–6

Deshmukh

Caputi

Ashby

et al. 2018

ApJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Spitzer Matching Survey of the UltraVISTA Ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS) has obtained the largest ultra-deep Spitzer maps to date in a single field of the sky. We considered the sample of about 66,000 SMUVS sources at z = 2 − 6 to investigate the evolution of dusty and non-dusty galaxies with stellar mass through the analysis of the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF), extending previous analyses about one decade in stellar mass and up to z = 6. We further divide our non-dusty galaxy sample with rest-frame optical colours to isolate red quiescent ('passive') galaxies. At each redshift, we identify a characteristic stellar mass in the GSMF above which dusty galaxies dominate, or are at least as important as non-dusty galaxies. Below that stellar mass, non-dusty galaxies comprise about 80% of all sources, at all redshifts except at z = 4 − 5. The percentage of dusty galaxies at z = 4 − 5 is unusually high: 30-40% for M * = 10 9 − 10 10.5 M and > 80% at M * > 10 11 M , which indicates that dust obscuration is of major importance in this cosmic period. The overall percentage of massive (log 10 (M * /M ) > 10.6) galaxies that are quiescent increases with decreasing redshift, reaching > 30% at z ∼ 2. Instead, the quiescent percentage among intermediate-mass galaxies (with log 10 (M * /M ) = 9.7 − 10.6) stays roughly constant at a ∼ 10% level. Our results indicate that massive and intermediate-mass galaxies clearly have different evolutionary paths in the young Universe, and are consistent with the scenario of galaxy downsizing.

show abstract

Section: Intermediate-mass Galaxiessupporting

confidence: 93%

The Spitzer Matching Survey of the UltraVISTA Ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS): The Evolution of Dusty and Nondusty Galaxies with Stellar Mass at z = 2–6

Deshmukh

Caputi

Ashby

et al. 2018

ApJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For both star-forming and passive galaxies, our results are in good agreement with the recent BzK number counts of McCracken et al (2010) and Sommariva et al (2014), as shown in Fig. 5.…”

Section: Number Countssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Blue symbols represent gzK galaxies that were classified as star-forming, red symbols are for passive galaxies, orange for low-redshift galaxies and cyan for stars, classified as described in the text. Spectroscopy, along with morphological studies, support the validity of BzK-selected passive and star-forming galaxies (Daddi et al 2004(Daddi et al , 2005Ravindranath et al 2007;Hayashi et al 2009;Onodera et al 2010;Mancini et al 2010), and the simplicity and relative frugality of the technique (only three passbands are needed) continues to make it a popular choice for selecting star-forming and quiescent samples of distant galaxies (e.g., McCracken et al 2010;Furusawa et al 2011;Yuma et al 2011;Kurczynski et al 2012;McCracken et al 2012;Yuma et al 2012;Lee et al 2013;Rangel et al 2013;Sommariva et al 2014;Fang et al 2015;Ishikawa et al 2015Ishikawa et al , 2016. In Arcila-Osejo & Sawicki (2013) we adapted the classic BzK technique to the gzK s bandbasses available in CFHTLS fields by noting how the Daddi et al (2004) spectral synthesis models shift when redrawn in the g−z vs. z−K s plane (the shifts are small given the similarity of the filter sets).…”

Section: High-z Object Selection and Number Countsmentioning

confidence: 99%

LARgE Survey – I. Dead monsters: the massive end of the passive galaxy stellar mass function at cosmic noon

Arcila-Osejo

Sawicki

Arnouts

et al. 2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We introduce the largest to date survey of massive quiescent galaxies at redshift z∼1.6. With these data, which cover 27.6 deg 2 , we can find significant numbers of very rare objects such as ultra-massive quiescent galaxies that populate the extreme massive end of the galaxy mass function, or dense environments that are likely to become present-day massive galaxy clusters. In this paper, the first in a series, we apply our gzK s adaptation of the BzK technique to select our z∼1.6 galaxy catalog and then study the quiescent galaxy stellar mass function with good statistics over M ∼ 10 10.2 -10 11.7 M -a factor of 30 in mass -including 60 ultra-massive z∼1.6 quiescent galaxies with M > 10 11.5 M . We find that the stellar mass function of quiescent galaxies at z∼1.6 is well represented by the Schechter function over this large mass range. This suggests that the mass quenching mechanism observed at lower redshifts must have already been well established by this epoch, and that it is likely due to a single physical mechanism over a wide range of mass. This close adherence to the Schechter shape also suggests that neither merging nor gravitational lensing significantly affect the observed quenched population. Finally, comparing measurements of M * parameters for quiescent and star-forming populations (ours and from the literature), we find hints of an offset (M * SF > M * PE ), that could suggest that the efficiency of the quenching process evolves with time.

show abstract

“…sSFR< 10 −11 yr −1 ). For this reason, in an attempt to define a safe area for passively evolving galaxies, both the (rest-frame) UV J and the (observed) BzK diagrams adopt models in which the passive phase is well established and has been lasting for at least 1 Gyr, as we extensively discuss below (see also Sommariva et al 2014). These models can adequately describe the SFH of passively evolving galaxies even at redshifts z 2 − 3, with τ ≤ 0.5 Gyr; however, this requirement becomes difficult to match at high redshifts.…”

Section: The τ-Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chasing passive galaxies in the early Universe: a critical analysis in CANDELS GOODS-South

Merlin

Fontana

Castellano

et al. 2017

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We search for passive galaxies at z>3 in the GOODS-South field, using different techniques based on photometric data, and paying attention to develop methods that are sensitive to objects that have become passive shortly before the epoch of observation. We use CANDELS HST catalogues, ultra-deep K s data and new IRAC photometry, performing spectral energy distribution fitting using models with abruptly quenched star formation histories. We then single out galaxies which are best fitted by a passively evolving model, and having only low probability (<5%) star-forming solutions. We verify the effects of including nebular lines emission, and we consider possible solutions at different redshifts. The number of selected sources dramatically depends on the models used in the SED fitting. Without including emission lines and with photometric redshifts fixed at the CANDELS estimate, we single out 30 candidates; the inclusion of nebular lines emission reduces the sample to 10 objects; allowing for solutions at different redshifts, only 2 galaxies survive as robust candidates. Most of the candidates are not far-infrared emitters, corroborating their association with passive galaxies. Our results translate into an upper limit in the number density of ∼0.173 arcmin 2 above the detection limit. However, we conclude that the selection of passive galaxies at z>3 is still subject to significant uncertainties, being sensitive to assumptions in the SED modeling adopted and to the relatively low S/N of the objects. By means of dedicated simulations, we show that JWST will greatly enhance the accuracy, allowing for a much more robust classification.

show abstract

A mass threshold in the number density of passive galaxies atz~ 2

Cited by 7 publications

References 50 publications

The Spitzer Matching Survey of the UltraVISTA Ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS): The Evolution of Dusty and Nondusty Galaxies with Stellar Mass at z = 2–6

The Spitzer Matching Survey of the UltraVISTA Ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS): The Evolution of Dusty and Nondusty Galaxies with Stellar Mass at z = 2–6

LARgE Survey – I. Dead monsters: the massive end of the passive galaxy stellar mass function at cosmic noon

Chasing passive galaxies in the early Universe: a critical analysis in CANDELS GOODS-South

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About