A TALE OF DWARFS AND GIANTS: USING A z = 1.62 CLUSTER TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE RED SEQUENCE GREW OVER THE LAST 9.5 BILLION YEARS
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Malott room 1082, 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States)
- Observatories, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
We study the red sequence in a cluster of galaxies at z = 1.62 and follow its evolution over the intervening 9.5 Gyr to the present day. Using deep YJK{sub s} imaging with the HAWK-I instrument on the Very Large Telescope, we identify a tight red sequence and construct its rest-frame i-band luminosity function (LF). There is a marked deficit of faint red galaxies in the cluster that causes a turnover in the LF. We compare the red-sequence LF to that for clusters at z < 0.8, correcting the luminosities for passive evolution. The shape of the cluster red-sequence LF does not evolve between z = 1.62 and z = 0.6 but at z < 0.6 the faint population builds up significantly. Meanwhile, between z = 1.62 and 0.6 the inferred total light on the red sequence grows by a factor of {approx}2 and the bright end of the LF becomes more populated. We construct a simple model for red-sequence evolution that grows the red sequence in total luminosity and matches the constant LF shape at z > 0.6. In this model the cluster accretes blue galaxies from the field whose star formation is quenched and who are subsequently allowed to merge. We find that three to four mergers among cluster galaxies during the 4 Gyr between z = 1.62 and z = 0.6 match the observed LF evolution between the two redshifts. The inferred merger rate is consistent with other studies of this cluster. Our result supports the picture that galaxy merging during the major growth phase of massive clusters is an important process in shaping the red-sequence population at all luminosities.
- OSTI ID:
- 22039184
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 755, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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