Star formation in a stellar mass-selected sample of galaxies to z= 3 from the GOODS-NICMOS Survey

Abstract

We present a study of the star‐forming properties of a stellar mass‐selected sample of galaxies in the GOODS (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey) NICMOS Survey (GNS), based on deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the GOODS North and South fields. Using a stellar mass‐selected sample, combined with HST/ACS and Spitzer data to measure both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared‐derived star formation rates (SFRs), we investigate the star forming properties of a complete sample of ∼1300 galaxies down to log M*= 9.5 at redshifts 1.5 < z < 3. Eight per cent of the sample is made up of massive galaxies with M*≥ 1011 M⊙. We derive optical colours, dust extinctions and UV and infrared SFR to determine how the SFR changes as a function of both stellar mass and time. Our results show that SFR increases at higher stellar mass such that massive galaxies nearly double their stellar mass from star formation alone over the redshift range studied, but the average value of SFR for a given stellar mass remains constant over this ∼2 Gyr period. Furthermore, we find no strong evolution in the SFR for our sample as a function of mass over our redshift range of interest; in particular we do not find a decline in the SFR among massive galaxies, as is seen at z < 1. The most massive galaxies in our sample (log M*≥ 11) have high average SFRs with values SFRUV, corr= 103 ± 75 M⊙ yr−1, and yet exhibit red rest‐frame (U−B) colours at all redshifts. We conclude that the majority of these red high‐redshift massive galaxies are red due to dust extinction. We find that A2800 increases with stellar mass, and show that between 45 and 85 per cent of massive galaxies harbour dusty star formation. These results show that even just a few Gyr after the first galaxies appear, there are strong relations between the global physical properties of galaxies, driven by stellar mass or another underlying feature of galaxies strongly related to the stellar mass.

Data Release of UV to Submillimeter Broadband Fluxes for Simulated Galaxies from the EAGLE Project

“…We may also further investigate the K-band contribution of dust emission and extinction. Other authors have indicated their intent to study the SFR-stellar mass relation for higher redshifts and the various SFR indicators in use, in an attempt to help clarify the tension between observed results, especially at redshifts z 1  (Bauer et al 2011;Katsianis et al 2016Katsianis et al , 2017). There are many more possible areas of study, and we invite interested readers to employ the published data in any way they see fit.…”

The Carina Project. Ix. On Hydrogen and Helium Burning Variables

“…They outnumber giant stellar systems in the nearby universe and at low redshift (see, e.g., Mateo et al 1998;McConnachie 2012), but it seems that the number is steadily decreasing at large redshifts (Baldry et al 2012;Mortlock et al 2013). The current empirical evidence indicates that the luminosity function does not peak at low-surface brightness systems at redshifts larger than z = 2 (Bauer et al 2011;Weinzirl et al 2011). It is clear that in this context the age distribution of the old stellar populations in nearby dwarf galaxies plays a crucial role in constraining their early formation and evolution (Salvadori et al 2010).…”

“…The above empirical evidence suggests that low-mass dark matter halos started assembling baryons at about the same time as the giant halos (Springel et al 2005;Bauer et al 2011;Duncan et al 2014). Detailed constraints on the formation of these systems require detailed investigations into their starformation histories.…”

Star formation sustained by gas accretion

“…Glazebrook et al 1995;Abraham et al 1996a,b;van den Bergh et al 1996;Cowie et al 1995;Im et al 1999;Elmegreen et al 2004Elmegreen et al , 2005Elmegreen et al , 2007bElmegreen et al , 2009Förster Schreiber et al 2009 with large SFR in excess of 100 M year −1 (e.g. Bauer et al 2011). If mergers were responsible for the enhanced star formation, observations should show double nuclei and tidal features, which are indeed observed in some galaxies but not in these clumpy types (Elmegreen et al 2007a).…”