CLEAR. II. Evidence for Early Formation of the Most Compact Quiescent Galaxies at High Redshift
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CLEAR. II. Evidence for Early Formation of the Most Compact Quiescent Galaxies at High Redshift. / Estrada-Carpenter, Vicente; Papovich, Casey; Momcheva, Ivelina; Brammer, Gabriel; Simons, Raymond; Bridge, Joanna; Cleri, Nikko J.; Ferguson, Henry; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Giavalisco, Mauro; Jung, Intae; Matharu, Jasleen; Trump, Jonathan R.; Weiner, Benjamin.
In: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 898, No. 2, 171, 2020.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - CLEAR. II. Evidence for Early Formation of the Most Compact Quiescent Galaxies at High Redshift
AU - Estrada-Carpenter, Vicente
AU - Papovich, Casey
AU - Momcheva, Ivelina
AU - Brammer, Gabriel
AU - Simons, Raymond
AU - Bridge, Joanna
AU - Cleri, Nikko J.
AU - Ferguson, Henry
AU - Finkelstein, Steven L.
AU - Giavalisco, Mauro
AU - Jung, Intae
AU - Matharu, Jasleen
AU - Trump, Jonathan R.
AU - Weiner, Benjamin
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The origin of the correlations between mass, morphology, quenched fraction, and formation history in galaxies is difficult to define, primarily due to the uncertainties in galaxy star formation histories (SFHs). SFHs are better constrained for higher redshift galaxies, observed closer to their formation and quenching epochs. Here we use nonparametric SFHs and a nested sampling method to derive constraints on the formation and quenching timescales of quiescent galaxies at 0.7 < z 7 < 2.5. We model deep HST grism spectroscopy and photometry from the CLEAR (CANDELS L50 Emission at Reionization) survey. The galaxy formation redshifts, z50 (defined as the point where they had formed 50% of their stellar mass) range from z50 ∼ 2 (shortly prior to the observed epoch) up to z50 ≂ 5 - 8. We find that early formation redshifts are correlated with high stellar-mass surface densities, logS1 M kpc- < 10.25 ( 2) Σ, where U1 is the stellar mass within 1 Qpkpc (proper kpc). Quiescent galaxies with the highest stellar-mass surface density, logS1 M kpc- > 10.25 (2) Σ0 , show a minimum formation redshift: all such objects in our sample have z50 > 2.9. Quiescent galaxies with lower surface density, logS1 M kpc- = 9.5 - 10.25 (2) Σ0, show a range of formation epochs (z50 Σ 1.58), implying these galaxies experienced a range of formation and assembly histories. We argue that the surface density threshold logS1 M kpc- > 10.25 (2) Σ uniquely identifies galaxies that formed in the first few Gyr after the big bang, and we discuss the implications this has for galaxy formation models.
AB - The origin of the correlations between mass, morphology, quenched fraction, and formation history in galaxies is difficult to define, primarily due to the uncertainties in galaxy star formation histories (SFHs). SFHs are better constrained for higher redshift galaxies, observed closer to their formation and quenching epochs. Here we use nonparametric SFHs and a nested sampling method to derive constraints on the formation and quenching timescales of quiescent galaxies at 0.7 < z 7 < 2.5. We model deep HST grism spectroscopy and photometry from the CLEAR (CANDELS L50 Emission at Reionization) survey. The galaxy formation redshifts, z50 (defined as the point where they had formed 50% of their stellar mass) range from z50 ∼ 2 (shortly prior to the observed epoch) up to z50 ≂ 5 - 8. We find that early formation redshifts are correlated with high stellar-mass surface densities, logS1 M kpc- < 10.25 ( 2) Σ, where U1 is the stellar mass within 1 Qpkpc (proper kpc). Quiescent galaxies with the highest stellar-mass surface density, logS1 M kpc- > 10.25 (2) Σ0 , show a minimum formation redshift: all such objects in our sample have z50 > 2.9. Quiescent galaxies with lower surface density, logS1 M kpc- = 9.5 - 10.25 (2) Σ0, show a range of formation epochs (z50 Σ 1.58), implying these galaxies experienced a range of formation and assembly histories. We argue that the surface density threshold logS1 M kpc- > 10.25 (2) Σ uniquely identifies galaxies that formed in the first few Gyr after the big bang, and we discuss the implications this has for galaxy formation models.
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aba004
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aba004
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85090447728
VL - 898
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 2
M1 - 171
ER -
ID: 270667969