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The Pan-STARRS1 Medium-deep Survey: Star Formation Quenching in Group and Cluster Environments

Jian, Hung-Yu; Lin, Lihwai; Lin, Kai-Yang; Foucaud, Sebastien; Chen, Chin-Wei; Chiueh, Tzihong; Bower, R.G.; Cole, Shaun; Chen, Wen-Ping; Burgett, W.S.; Draper, P.W.; Flewelling, H.; Huber, M.E.; Kaiser, N.; Kudritzki, R.-P.; Magnier, E.A.; Metcalfe, N.; Wainscoat, R.J.; Waters, C.

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Authors

Hung-Yu Jian

Lihwai Lin

Kai-Yang Lin

Sebastien Foucaud

Chin-Wei Chen

Tzihong Chiueh

R.G. Bower

Wen-Ping Chen

W.S. Burgett

H. Flewelling

M.E. Huber

N. Kaiser

R.-P. Kudritzki

E.A. Magnier

R.J. Wainscoat

C. Waters



Abstract

We make use of a catalog of 1600 Pan-STARRS1 groups produced by the probability friends-of-friends algorithm to explore how the galaxy properties, i.e., the specific star formation rate (SSFR) and quiescent fraction, depend on stellar mass and group-centric radius. The work is the extension of Lin et al. In this work, powered by a stacking technique plus a background subtraction for contamination removal, a finer correction and more precise results are obtained than in our previous work. We find that while the quiescent fraction increases with decreasing group-centric radius, the median SSFRs of star-forming galaxies in groups at fixed stellar mass drop slightly from the field toward the group center. This suggests that the main quenching process in groups is likely a fast mechanism. On the other hand, a reduction in SSFRs by ~0.2 dex is seen inside clusters as opposed to the field galaxies. If the reduction is attributed to the slow quenching effect, the slow quenching process acts dominantly in clusters. In addition, we also examine the density–color relation, where the density is defined by using a sixth-nearest-neighbor approach. Comparing the quiescent fractions contributed from the density and radial effect, we find that the density effect dominates the massive group or cluster galaxies, and the radial effect becomes more effective in less massive galaxies. The results support mergers and/or starvation as the main quenching mechanisms in the group environment, while harassment and/or starvation dominate in clusters.

Citation

Jian, H., Lin, L., Lin, K., Foucaud, S., Chen, C., Chiueh, T., …Waters, C. (2017). The Pan-STARRS1 Medium-deep Survey: Star Formation Quenching in Group and Cluster Environments. Astrophysical Journal, 845(1), Article 74. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa7de2

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 3, 2017
Online Publication Date Aug 11, 2017
Publication Date Aug 11, 2017
Deposit Date Sep 1, 2017
Publicly Available Date Sep 1, 2017
Journal Astrophysical Journal
Print ISSN 0004-637X
Electronic ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 845
Issue 1
Article Number 74
DOI https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa7de2

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Copyright Statement
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society





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