No Arabic abstract
We study the environmental dependence of stellar population properties at z ~ 1.3. We derive galaxy properties (stellar masses, ages and star formation histories) for samples of massive, red, passive early-type galaxies in two high-redshift clusters, RXJ0849+4452 and RXJ0848+4453 (with redshifts of z = 1.26 and 1.27, respectively), and compare them with those measured for the RDCS1252.9-2927 cluster at z=1.24 and with those measured for a similarly mass-selected sample of field contemporaries drawn from the GOODS-South Field. Robust estimates of the aforementioned parameters have been obtained by comparing a large grid of composite stellar population models with extensive 8-10 band photometric coverage, from the rest-frame far-ultraviolet to the infrared. We find no variations of the overall stellar population properties among the different samples of cluster early-type galaxies. However, when comparing cluster versus field stellar population properties we find that, even if the (star formation weighted) ages are similar and depend only on galaxy mass, the ones in the field do employ longer timescales to assemble their final mass. We find that, approximately 1 Gyr after the onset of star formation, the majority (75%) of cluster galaxies have already assembled most (> 80%) of their final mass, while, by the same time, fewer (35%) field ETGs have. Thus we conclude that while galaxy mass regulates the timing of galaxy formation, the environment regulates the timescale of their star formation histories.
We examine the star formation rates (SFRs) of galaxies in a redshift slice encompassing the z=0.834 cluster RX J0152.7-1357. We used a low-dispersion prism in the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) to identify galaxies with z<23.3 AB mag in diverse environments around the cluster out to projected distances of ~8 Mpc from the cluster center. We utilize a mass-limited sample (M>2x10^{10} M_sun) of 330 galaxies that were imaged by Spitzer MIPS at 24 micron to derive SFRs and study the dependence of specific SFR (SSFR) on stellar mass and environment. We find that the SFR and SSFR show a strong decrease with increasing local density, similar to the relation at z~0. Our result contrasts with other work at z~1 that find the SFR-density trend to reverse for luminosity-limited samples. These other results appear to be driven by star-formation in lower mass systems (M~10^{10} M_sun). Our results imply that the processes that shut down star-formation are present in groups and other dense regions in the field. Our data also suggest that the lower SFRs of galaxies in higher density environments may reflect a change in the ratio of star-forming to non-star-forming galaxies, rather than a change in SFRs. As a consequence, the SFRs of star-forming galaxies, in environments ranging from small groups to clusters, appear to be similar and largely unaffected by the local processes that truncate star-formation at z~0.8.
Differences in the stellar populations of galaxies can be used to quantify the effect of environment on the star formation history. We target a sample of early-type galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in two different environmental regimes: close pairs and a general sample where environment is measured by the mass of their host dark matter halo. We apply a blind source separation technique based on principal component analysis, from which we define two parameters that correlate, respectively, with the average stellar age (eta) and with the presence of recent star formation (zeta) from the spectral energy distribution of the galaxy. We find that environment leaves a second order imprint on the spectra, whereas local properties - such as internal velocity dispersion - obey a much stronger correlation with the stellar age distribution.
We compare multi-wavelength SFR indicators out to z~3 in GOODS-South. Our analysis uniquely combines U-to-8um photometry from FIREWORKS, MIPS 24um and PACS 70, 100, and 160um photometry from the PEP survey, and Ha spectroscopy from the SINS survey. We describe a set of
We have derived masses and ages for 79 early-type galaxies (ETGs) in different environments at z~1.3 in the Lynx supercluster and in the GOODS/CDF-S field using multiwavelength (0.6-4.5 $mu$m; KPNO, Palomar, Keck, HST, Spitzer) datasets. At this redshift the contribution of the TP-AGB phase is important for ETGs, and the mass and age estimates depend on the choice of the stellar population model used in the spectral energy distribution fits. We describe in detail the differences among model predictions for a large range of galaxy ages, showing the dependence of these differences on age. Current models still yield large uncertainties. While recent models from Maraston and Charlot & Bruzual offer better modeling of the TP-AGB phase with respect to less recent Bruzual & Charlot models, their predictions do not often match. The modeling of this TP-AGB phase has a significant impact on the derived parameters for galaxies observed at high-redshift. Some of our results do not depend on the choice of the model: for all models, the most massive galaxies are the oldest ones, independent of the environment. When using Maraston and Charlot & Bruzual models, the mass distribution is similar in the clusters and in the groups, whereas in our field sample there is a deficit of massive (M $gtrsim$ 10^11 Msun) ETGs. According to those last models, ETGs belonging to the cluster environment host on average older stars with respect to group and field populations. This difference is less significant than the age difference in galaxies of different masses.
[Abridged]We present a study based on a sample of 62 early-type galaxies (ETGs) at 0.9<z_spec<2 aimed at constraining their past star formation and mass assembly histories. The sample is composed of normal ETGs having effective radii comparable to the mean radius of local ones and of compact ETGs having effective radii from two to six times smaller. We do not find evidence of a dependence of the compactness of ETGs on their stellar mass. We find that the stellar mass of normal ETGs formed at z_form<3 while the stellar content of compact ETGs formed at 2<z_form<10 with a large fraction of them characterized by z_form>5. Earlier stars formed at z_form>5 are assembled in compact and more massive (M_*>10^11 M_sun) ETGs while stars later formed (z_form<3) or resulting from subsequent episodes of star formation are assembled both in compact and normal ETGs. Thus, the older the stellar population the higher the mass of the hosting galaxy but not vice versa. This suggests that the epoch of formation may play a role in the formation of massive ETGs rather than the mass itself. The possible general scheme in which normal <z>~1.5 ETGs are descendants of high-z compact spheroids enlarged through subsequent dry mergers is not compatible with the current models which predict a number of dry mergers two orders of magnitude lower than the one needed. Moreover, we do not find evidence supporting a dependence of the compactness of galaxies on their redshift of assembly. Finally, we propose a simple scheme of formation and assembly of the stellar mass of ETGs based on dissipative gas-rich merger which can qualitatively account for the co-existence of normal and compact ETGs observed at <z>~1.5 in spite of the same stellar mass, the lack of normal ETGs with high z_form and the absence of correlation between compactness, stellar mass and formation redshift.