No Arabic abstract
We use multi-wavelength data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to explore the cause of red optical colours in nearby (0.002<z<0.06) spiral galaxies. We show that the colours of red spiral galaxies are a direct consequence of some environment-related mechanism(s) which has removed dust and gas, leading to a lower star formation rate. We conclude that this process acts on long timescales (several Gyr) due to a lack of morphological transformation associated with the transition in optical colour. The sSFR and dust-to-stellar mass ratio of red spiral galaxies is found to be statistically lower than blue spiral galaxies. On the other hand, red spirals are on average $0.9$ dex more massive, and reside in environments 2.6 times denser than their blue counterparts. We find no evidence of excessive nuclear activity, or higher inclination angles to support these as the major causes for the red optical colours seen in >= 47% of all spirals in our sample. Furthermore, for a small subsample of our spiral galaxies which are detected in HI, we find that the SFR of gas-rich red spiral galaxies is lower by ~1 dex than their blue counterparts.
We derive the close pair fractions and volume merger rates as a function of luminosity and morphology for galaxies in the GAMA survey with -23 < M(r) < -17 at 0.01 < z < 0.22. The merger fraction is about 0.015 at all luminosities (assuming 1/2 of pairs merge) and the volume merger rate is about 0.00035 per cubic Mpc per Gyr. Dry mergers (between red or spheroidal galaxies) are uncommon and decrease with decreasing luminosity. Fainter mergers are wet, between blue or disky galaxies. Damp mergers (one of each type) follow the average of dry and wet mergers. In the brighter luminosity bin (-23 < M(r) < -20) the merger rate evolution is flat, irrespective of colour or morphology. The makeup of the merging population does not change since z = 0.2. Major mergers and dry mergers appear comparatively unimportant in the buildup of the red sequence over the past 2 Gyr. We compare the colour, morphology, environmental density and degree of activity of galaxies in pairs to those of more isolated objects in the same volume. Galaxies in close pairs tend to be both redder and slightly more spheroid-dominated. This may be due to harassment in multiple previous passes prior to the current interaction. Galaxy pairs do not appear to prefer significantly denser environments. There is no evidence of an enhancement in the AGN fraction in pairs, compared to other galaxies in the same volume.
We investigate the properties of satellite galaxies that surround isolated hosts within the redshift range 0.01 < z < 0.15, using data taken as part of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. Making use of isolation and satellite criteria that take into account stellar mass estimates, we find 3514 isolated galaxies of which 1426 host a total of 2998 satellites. Separating the red and blue populations of satellites and hosts, using colour-mass diagrams, we investigate the radial distribution of satellite galaxies and determine how the red fraction of satellites varies as a function of satellite mass, host mass and the projected distance from their host. Comparing the red fraction of satellites to a control sample of small neighbours at greater projected radii, we show that the increase in red fraction is primarily a function of host mass. The satellite red fraction is about 0.2 higher than the control sample for hosts with 11.0 < log M_* < 11.5, while the red fractions show no difference for hosts with 10.0 < log M_* < 10.5. For the satellites of more massive hosts the red fraction also increases as a function of decreasing projected distance. Our results suggest that the likely main mechanism for the quenching of star formation in satellites hosted by isolated galaxies is strangulation.
We measure the projected 2-point correlation function of galaxies in the 180 deg$^2$ equatorial regions of the GAMA II survey, for four different redshift slices between z = 0.0 and z=0.5. To do this we further develop the Cole (2011) method of producing suitable random catalogues for the calculation of correlation functions. We find that more r-band luminous, more massive and redder galaxies are more clustered. We also find that red galaxies have stronger clustering on scales less than ~3 $h^{-1}$ Mpc. We compare to two differe
We explore the clustering of galaxy groups in the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to investigate the dependence of group bias and profile on separation scale and group mass. Due to the inherent uncertainty in estimating the group selection function, and hence the group auto-correlation function, we instead measure the projected galaxy--group cross-correlation function. We find that the group profile has a strong dependence on scale and group mass on scales $r_bot lesssim 1 h^{-1} mathrm{Mpc}$. We also find evidence that the most massive groups live in extended, overdense, structures. In the first application of marked clustering statistics to groups, we find that group-mass marked clustering peaks on scales comparable to the typical group radius of $r_bot approx 0.5 h^{-1} mathrm{Mpc}$. While massive galaxies are associated with massive groups, the marked statistics show no indication of galaxy mass segregation within groups. We show similar results from the IllustrisTNG simulations and the L-Galaxies model, although L-Galaxies shows an enhanced bias and galaxy mass dependence on small scales.
The Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey furnishes a deep redshift catalog that, when combined with the Wide-field Infrared Explorer ($WISE$), allows us to explore for the first time the mid-infrared properties of $> 110, 000$ galaxies over 120 deg$^2$ to $zsimeq 0.5$. In this paper we detail the procedure for producing the matched GAMA-$WISE$ catalog for the G12 and G15 fields, in particular characterising and measuring resolved sources; the complete catalogs for all three GAMA equatorial fields will be made available through the GAMA public releases. The wealth of multiwavelength photometry and optical spectroscopy allows us to explore empirical relations between optically determined stellar mass (derived from synthetic stellar population models) and 3.4micron and 4.6micron WISE measurements. Similarly dust-corrected Halpha-derived star formation rates can be compared to 12micron and 22micron luminosities to quantify correlations that can be applied to large samples to $z<0.5$. To illustrate the applications of these relations, we use the 12micron star formation prescription to investigate the behavior of specific star formation within the GAMA-WISE sample and underscore the ability of WISE to detect star-forming systems at $zsim0.5$. Within galaxy groups (determined by a sophisticated friends-of-friends scheme), results suggest that galaxies with a neighbor within 100$,h^{-1} $kpc have, on average, lower specific star formation rates than typical GAMA galaxies with the same stellar mass.