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Title: The role of galaxy interaction in the SFR-M {sub *} relation: characterizing morphological properties of Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5

Abstract

Galaxy interactions/mergers have been shown to dominate the population of IR-luminous galaxies (L {sub IR} ≳ 10{sup 11.6} L {sub ☉}) in the local universe (z ≲ 0.25). Recent studies based on the relation between galaxies' star formation rates and stellar mass (the SFR-M {sub *} relation or the {sup g}alaxy main sequence{sup )} have suggested that galaxy interaction/mergers may only become significant when galaxies fall well above the galaxy main sequence. Since the typical SFR at a given M {sub *} increases with redshift, the existence of the galaxy main sequence implies that massive, IR-luminous galaxies at high z may not necessarily be driven by galaxy interactions. We examine the role of galaxy interactions in the SFR-M {sub *} relation by carrying out a morphological analysis of 2084 Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5 in the COSMOS field. Using a detailed visual classification scheme, we show that the fraction of 'disk galaxies' decreases and the fraction of 'irregular' galaxies increases systematically with increasing L {sub IR} out to z ≲ 1.5 and z ≲ 1.0, respectively. At L {sub IR} >10{sup 11.5} L {sub ☉}, ≳ 50% of the objects show evident features of strongly interacting/merger systems,more » where this percentage is similar to the studies of local IR-luminous galaxies. The fraction of interacting/merger systems also systematically increases with the deviation from the SFR-M {sub *} relation, supporting the view that galaxies falling above the main sequence are more dominated by mergers than the main-sequence galaxies. Meanwhile, we find that ≳ 18% of massive IR-luminous 'main-sequence galaxies' are classified as interacting systems, where this population may not evolve through the evolutionary track predicted by a simple gas exhaustion model.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]
  1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
  2. Spitzer Science Center, MS 314-6, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
  3. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
  4. UMR AIM (CEA-UP7-CNRS), CEA-Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, bât. 709, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)
  5. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (United States)
  6. California Institute of Technology, MC 249-17, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22341921
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 778; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CLASSIFICATION; EVOLUTION; GALAXIES; INFRARED RADIATION; INTERACTIONS; LUMINOSITY; MASS; RED SHIFT; STARS; UNIVERSE

Citation Formats

Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Casey, C. M., Lee, N., Barnes, J. E., Koss, M., Larson, K. L., Lockhart, K., Man, A. W. S., Mann, A. W., Capak, P., Kartaltepe, J. S., Le Floc'h, E., Riguccini, L., Scoville, N., and Symeonidis, M., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. The role of galaxy interaction in the SFR-M {sub *} relation: characterizing morphological properties of Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/778/2/129.
Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Casey, C. M., Lee, N., Barnes, J. E., Koss, M., Larson, K. L., Lockhart, K., Man, A. W. S., Mann, A. W., Capak, P., Kartaltepe, J. S., Le Floc'h, E., Riguccini, L., Scoville, N., & Symeonidis, M., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. The role of galaxy interaction in the SFR-M {sub *} relation: characterizing morphological properties of Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/778/2/129
Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Casey, C. M., Lee, N., Barnes, J. E., Koss, M., Larson, K. L., Lockhart, K., Man, A. W. S., Mann, A. W., Capak, P., Kartaltepe, J. S., Le Floc'h, E., Riguccini, L., Scoville, N., and Symeonidis, M., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. 2013. "The role of galaxy interaction in the SFR-M {sub *} relation: characterizing morphological properties of Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/778/2/129.
@article{osti_22341921,
title = {The role of galaxy interaction in the SFR-M {sub *} relation: characterizing morphological properties of Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5},
author = {Hung, Chao-Ling and Sanders, D. B. and Casey, C. M. and Lee, N. and Barnes, J. E. and Koss, M. and Larson, K. L. and Lockhart, K. and Man, A. W. S. and Mann, A. W. and Capak, P. and Kartaltepe, J. S. and Le Floc'h, E. and Riguccini, L. and Scoville, N. and Symeonidis, M., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu},
abstractNote = {Galaxy interactions/mergers have been shown to dominate the population of IR-luminous galaxies (L {sub IR} ≳ 10{sup 11.6} L {sub ☉}) in the local universe (z ≲ 0.25). Recent studies based on the relation between galaxies' star formation rates and stellar mass (the SFR-M {sub *} relation or the {sup g}alaxy main sequence{sup )} have suggested that galaxy interaction/mergers may only become significant when galaxies fall well above the galaxy main sequence. Since the typical SFR at a given M {sub *} increases with redshift, the existence of the galaxy main sequence implies that massive, IR-luminous galaxies at high z may not necessarily be driven by galaxy interactions. We examine the role of galaxy interactions in the SFR-M {sub *} relation by carrying out a morphological analysis of 2084 Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5 in the COSMOS field. Using a detailed visual classification scheme, we show that the fraction of 'disk galaxies' decreases and the fraction of 'irregular' galaxies increases systematically with increasing L {sub IR} out to z ≲ 1.5 and z ≲ 1.0, respectively. At L {sub IR} >10{sup 11.5} L {sub ☉}, ≳ 50% of the objects show evident features of strongly interacting/merger systems, where this percentage is similar to the studies of local IR-luminous galaxies. The fraction of interacting/merger systems also systematically increases with the deviation from the SFR-M {sub *} relation, supporting the view that galaxies falling above the main sequence are more dominated by mergers than the main-sequence galaxies. Meanwhile, we find that ≳ 18% of massive IR-luminous 'main-sequence galaxies' are classified as interacting systems, where this population may not evolve through the evolutionary track predicted by a simple gas exhaustion model.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/778/2/129},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22341921}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 778,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2013},
month = {Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2013}
}