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PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function from z = 0-1

Moustakas, John; Coil, Alison L.; Aird, James; Blanton, Michael R.; Cool, Richard J.; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Mendez, Alexander J.; Wong, Kenneth C.; Zhu, Guangtun; Arnouts, Stéphane

PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function from z = 0-1 Thumbnail


Authors

John Moustakas

Alison L. Coil

James Aird

Michael R. Blanton

Richard J. Cool

Daniel J. Eisenstein

Alexander J. Mendez

Kenneth C. Wong

Guangtun Zhu

Stéphane Arnouts



Abstract

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 ~40, 000 galaxies at z = 0.2-1.0 over five fields totaling ≈5.5 deg2, and from the SDSS we select ~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 ≈30% increase in the number density of ~1010 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$ galaxies since z ≈ 0.6, and a lsim 10% change in the number density of all gsim 1011 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$ galaxies since z ≈ 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 ~1010 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$ star-forming galaxies stays relatively constant since z ≈ 0.6, whereas the space density of gsim 1011 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$ star-forming galaxies decreases by ≈50% between z ≈ 1 and z ≈ 0. Meanwhile, the number density of ~1010 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$ quiescent galaxies increases steeply toward low redshift, by a factor of ~2-3 since z ≈ 0.6, while the number of massive quiescent galaxies remains approximately constant since z ≈ 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 ~1010.8 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$. 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 (gsim 1011 $\mathcal {M}_{\odot }$) quiescent galaxies.

Citation

Moustakas, J., Coil, A. L., Aird, J., Blanton, M. R., Cool, R. J., Eisenstein, D. J., …Arnouts, S. (2013). PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function from z = 0-1. Astrophysical Journal, 767(1), Article 50. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/767/1/50

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 10, 2013
Deposit Date May 15, 2013
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Astrophysical Journal
Print ISSN 0004-637X
Electronic ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 767
Issue 1
Article Number 50
DOI https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/767/1/50
Keywords Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: high-redshift, Large-scale structure of universe, Surveys.

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Copyright Statement
© 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.




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