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Register a new userOn the (Lack of) Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function of Massive Galaxies from $z$=1.5 to 0.4
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Lalitwadee Kawinwanichakij Miss
Publication date
2020
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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We study the evolution in the number density of the highest mass galaxies over $0.4<z<1.5$ (covering 9 Gyr). We use the Spitzer/HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area (SHELA) Survey, which covers 17.5 $mathrm{deg}^2$ with eight photometric bands spanning 0.3-4.5 $mu$m within the SDSS Stripe 82 field. This size produces the lowest counting uncertainties and cosmic variance yet for massive galaxies at $zsim1.0$. We study the stellar mass function (SMF) for galaxies with $log(M_ast/M_odot)>10.3$ using a forward-modeling method that fully accounts for statistical and systematic uncertainties on stellar mass. From $z$=0.4 to 1.5 the massive end of the SMF shows minimal evolution in its shape: the characteristic mass ($M^ast$) evolves by less than 0.1 dex ($pm$0.05 dex); the number density of galaxies with $log (M_ast/M_odot) >11$ stays roughly constant at $log (n/mathrm{Mpc}^{-3})$ $simeq$ $-$3.4 ($pm$0.05), then declines to $log (n/mathrm{Mpc}^{-3})$=$-$3.7 ($pm$0.05) at $z$=1.5. We discuss the uncertainties in the SMF, which are dominated by assumptions in the star formation history and details of stellar population synthesis models for stellar mass estimations. For quiescent galaxies, the data are consistent with no (or slight) evolution ($lesssim0.1$ dex) in the characteristic mass nor number density from $zsim 1.5$ to the present. This implies that any mass growth (presumably through dry mergers) of the quiescent massive galaxy population must balance the rate of mass losses from late-stage stellar evolution and the formation of quenching galaxies from the star-forming population. We provide a limit on this mass growth from $z=1.0$ to 0.4 of $Delta M_ast/M_astleq$ 45% (i.e., $simeq0.16$ dex) for quiescent galaxies more massive than $10^{11}$ $M_odot$.
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We utilize deep near-infrared survey data from the UltraVISTA fourth data release (DR4) and the VIDEO survey, in combination with overlapping optical and Spitzer data, to search for bright star-forming galaxies at $z gtrsim 7.5$. Using a full photometric redshift fitting analysis applied to the $sim 6,{rm deg}^2$ of imaging searched, we find 27 Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs), including 20 new sources, with best-fitting photometric redshifts in the range $7.4 < z < 9.1$. From this sample we derive the rest-frame UV luminosity function (LF) at $z = 8$ and $z = 9$ out to extremely bright UV magnitudes ($M_{rm UV} simeq -23$) for the first time. We find an excess in the number density of bright galaxies in comparison to the typically assumed Schechter functional form derived from fainter samples. Combined with previous studies at lower redshift, our results show that there is little evolution in the number density of very bright ($M_{rm UV} sim -23$) LBGs between $z simeq 5$ and $zsimeq 9$. The tentative detection of an LBG with best-fit photometric redshift of $z = 10.9 pm 1.0$ in our data is consistent with the derived evolution. We show that a double power-law fit with a brightening characteristic magnitude ($Delta M^*/Delta z simeq -0.5$) and a steadily steepening bright-end slope ($Delta beta/Delta z simeq -0.5$) provides a good description of the $z > 5$ data over a wide range in absolute UV magnitude ($-23 < M_{rm UV} < -17$). We postulate that the observed evolution can be explained by a lack of mass quenching at very high redshifts in combination with increasing dust obscuration within the first $sim 1 ,{rm Gyr}$ of galaxy evolution.
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