PRIMUS: CONSTRAINTS ON STAR FORMATION QUENCHING AND GALAXY MERGING, AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE STELLAR MASS FUNCTION FROM z = 0-1
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Siena College, 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211 (United States)
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Department of Physics, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
- Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States)
- MMT Observatory, University of Arizona, 1540 E Second Street, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
- Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, 65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI 96743 (United States)
We measure the evolution of the stellar mass function (SMF) from z = 0-1 using multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic redshifts from the PRism MUlti-object Survey (PRIMUS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From PRIMUS we construct an i < 23 flux-limited sample of {approx}40, 000 galaxies at z = 0.2-1.0 over five fields totaling Almost-Equal-To 5.5 deg{sup 2}, and from the SDSS we select {approx}170, 000 galaxies at z = 0.01-0.2 that we analyze consistently with respect to PRIMUS to minimize systematic errors in our evolutionary measurements. We find that the SMF of all galaxies evolves relatively little since z = 1, although we do find evidence for mass assembly downsizing; we measure a Almost-Equal-To 30% increase in the number density of {approx}10{sup 10} M{sub sun} galaxies since z Almost-Equal-To 0.6, and a {approx}< 10% change in the number density of all {approx}> 10{sup 11} M{sub sun} galaxies since z Almost-Equal-To 1. Dividing the sample into star-forming and quiescent using an evolving cut in specific star formation rate, we find that the number density of {approx}10{sup 10} M{sub sun} star-forming galaxies stays relatively constant since z Almost-Equal-To 0.6, whereas the space density of {approx}> 10{sup 11} M{sub sun} star-forming galaxies decreases by Almost-Equal-To 50% between z Almost-Equal-To 1 and z Almost-Equal-To 0. Meanwhile, the number density of {approx}10{sup 10} M{sub sun} quiescent galaxies increases steeply toward low redshift, by a factor of {approx}2-3 since z Almost-Equal-To 0.6, while the number of massive quiescent galaxies remains approximately constant since z Almost-Equal-To 1. These results suggest that the rate at which star-forming galaxies are quenched increases with decreasing stellar mass, but that the bulk of the stellar mass buildup within the quiescent population occurs around {approx}10{sup 10.8} M{sub sun}. In addition, we conclude that mergers do not appear to be a dominant channel for the stellar mass buildup of galaxies at z < 1, even among massive ({approx}> 10{sup 11} M{sub sun}) quiescent galaxies.
- OSTI ID:
- 22167400
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 767, 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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