GALAXY STRUCTURE AND MODE OF STAR FORMATION IN THE SFR–MASS PLANE FROM z ∼ 2.5 TO z ∼ 0.1

By S. Wuyts, N. F. Förster Schreiber, A. van der Wel, B. Magnelli, Yicheng Guo, R. Genzel, D. Lutz, H. Aussel, G. Barro, S. Berta and 16 more. 2011

491 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We analyze the dependence of galaxy structure (size and Sérsic index) and mode of star formation (ΣSFR and SFRIR/SFRUV) on the position of galaxies in the star formation rate (SFR) versus mass diagram. Our sample comprises roughly 640,000 galaxies at z ∼ 0.1, 130,000 galaxies at z ∼ 1, and 36,000 galaxies at z ∼ 2. Structural measurements for all but the z ∼ 0.1 galaxies are based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging, and SFRs are derived using a Herschel-calibrated ladder of SFR indicators. We find that a correlation between the structure and stellar population of galaxies (i.e., a “Hubble sequence”) is already in place since at least z ∼ 2.5. At all epochs, typical star-forming galaxies on the main sequence are well approximated by exponential disks, while the profiles of quiescent galaxies are better described by de Vaucouleurs profiles. In the upper envelope of the main sequence, the relation between the SFR and Sérsic index reverses, suggesting a rapid buildup of the central mass concentration in these starbursting outliers. We observe quiescent, moderately and highly star-forming systems to co-exist over an order of magnitude or more in stellar mass. At each mass and redshift, galaxies on the main sequence have the largest size. The rate of size growth correlates with specific SFR, and so does ΣSFR at each redshift. A simple model using an empirically determined star formation law and metallicity scaling, in combination with an assumed geometry for dust and stars, is able to relate the observed ΣSFR and SFRIR/SFRUV, provided a more patchy dust geometry is assumed for high-redshift galaxies.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/033801617cc28c3ae11bd94c41171a6bc6a1b1e2

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In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. P. Hopkins
2. L. Hernquist
3. R. Dav'e
4. R. Somerville
5. A. Dekel
6. P. V. van Dokkum
7. C. Conroy
8. D. M. Alexander

In Instrumentation

1. P. Hopkins
2. L. Hernquist
3. P. V. van Dokkum
4. R. Dav'e
5. C. Conroy
6. R. Somerville
7. A. Dekel
8. M. Cappellari

Citations in the corpus

• Modelling and interpreting spectral energy distributions of galaxies with BEAGLE (2016, background): “…attenuation curve and the assumption that all stars in a galaxy have the same metallicity) to describe galaxy SEDs (e.g. Bolzonella et al. 2010; Wuyts et al. 2011; Hernán-Caballero et al. 2013; Ilbert et al. 2013; Bauer et al. 2013; Muzzin et al. 2013; Lundgren et al. 2014; Kochiashvili et…”
• A HIGHLY CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE STAR-FORMING “MAIN SEQUENCE” FROM z ∼ 0–6 (2014, methodology): “If we ignore the discrepant smaller sBzK scatters (see Wuyts et al. (2011b) and K13 for discussions on extinctioncorrected UV SFRs often used by sBzK studies; see also § 3.3.3), we find that on average the Hα indicators have less scatter, with σd ∼ 0.25 compared to ∼ 0.3-0.35 for other sources.”
• The Herschel census of infrared SEDs through cosmic time (2013, background): “…the analysis presented here cannot constrain whether these systems are characterized by a merger-induced or isolated star-formation history or where they are located in the SFR–stellar mass parameter space (e.g. Reddy et al. 2006, 2010; Wuyts et al. 2011; Whitaker et al. 2012; Zahid et al. 2013).”
• A PUBLIC Ks-SELECTED CATALOG IN THE COSMOS/UltraVISTA FIELD: PHOTOMETRY, PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS, AND STELLAR POPULATION PARAMETERS, (2013, background): “The Star Formation Main Sequence Many recent studies have shown evidence for a correlation between the SFR of star forming galaxies and their Mstar (e.g., Noeske et al. 2007; Elbaz et al. 2007; Daddi et al. 2007; Wuyts et al. 2011; Whitaker et al. 2012b).”
• A STELLAR MASS THRESHOLD FOR QUENCHING OF FIELD GALAXIES (2012, result): “This rate is comparable to that expected by extrapolating the star formation rate versus stellar mass relationship seen at higher stellar masses (e.g., Wuyts et al. 2011).”
• An origin for multiphase gas in galactic winds and haloes (2015, background): “These scalings imply that radiative cooling of hot galactic winds may be prevalent both in local starbursts and in galaxies on the star forming main sequence at high redshift (Wuyts et al. 2011).”
• Galaxy morphology and star formation in the Illustris Simulation at z = 0 (2015, methodology): “Surveys have found that quiescence is strongly correlated with measures of optical structure, such as Sérsic index and compactness, albeit with large scatter (e.g., Wuyts et al. 2011; Bell et al. 2012; Barro et al. 2013).”
• THE ASSEMBLY OF MILKY-WAY-LIKE GALAXIES SINCE z ∼ 2.5 (2013, background): “Wuyts et al. (2011) and Nelson et al. (2013) find that star formation at high redshift typically occurs in disks.”
• Introducing the Illustris Project: the evolution of galaxy populations across cosmic time (2014, background): “It is well established that morphological properties, such as size, concentration, and clumpiness, correlate with properties related to star formation activity, such as sSFR, gas fraction, and colour (Strateva et al. 2001; Wuyts et al. 2011; Bell et al. 2012).”
• Evolution of density profiles in high-z galaxies: compaction and quenching inside-out (2015, unknown): “…Mendel et al. 2013; Cibinel et al. 2013a; Fang et al. 2013; Schawinski et al. 2014; Omand et al. 2014; Bluck et al. 2014; Woo et al. 2015) and at high-z (Wuyts et al. 2011, 2012; Bell et al. 2012; Cheung et al. 2012; Szomoru et al. 2012; Barro et al. 2013; Lang et al. 2014; Tacchella et al. 2015c).”
• A Herschel view of the far-infrared properties of submillimetre galaxies (2012, methodology): “Finally, Elbaz et al. (2011) and Wuyts et al. (2011) also find that∆log(SSFR)MS correlates with the compactness of the star-forming region; the SFR density of main sequence galaxies is roughly constant while it increases with increasing offset above the main sequence.”
• The SINS/zC-SINF Survey of z ∼ 2 Galaxy Kinematics: SINFONI Adaptive Optics–assisted Data and Kiloparsec-scale Emission-line Properties (2018, methodology): “The SFRUV+IR estimates were derived following the prescriptions of Wuyts et al. (2011a): the UV contribution was calculated from the rest-frame 2800 Å luminosity and the IR contribution was derived from the longest wavelength at which an object is detected.”
• The Coevolution of Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes: Insights from Surveys of the Contemporary Universe (2014, background): “This picture is predicted by numerical simulations and is consistent with observations of the evolving population of star-forming galaxies (e.g. Dekel et al. 2009, Bouche et al. 2010, Elbaz et al. 2011, Wuyts et al. 2011b, Whitaker et al. 2012, Lilly et al. 2013).”
• The Herschel* PEP/HerMES luminosity function - I. Probing the evolution of PACS selected Galaxies to z ≃ 4 (2013, background): “…an intense burst of star-formation occurring during major mergers or in dense nuclear starforming regions (Granato et al. 2001; Daddi et al. 2010; Wuyts et al. 2011), then followed by a phase of nuclear activity during which their SMBHs grow (i.e. Hopkins et al. 2008a, 2008b; Lapi et al. 2011).”
• Constraining the properties of AGN host galaxies with spectral energy distribution modelling (2015, background): “To date there are still few studies that explore and quantify the impact of AGN contamination on the determination of the underlying host galaxy properties via SED fitting (Wuyts et al. 2011; Hayward & Smith 2014).”
• SMOOTH(ER) STELLAR MASS MAPS IN CANDELS: CONSTRAINTS ON THE LONGEVITY OF CLUMPS IN HIGH-REDSHIFT STAR-FORMING GALAXIES (2012, methodology): “We adopt a Chabrier (2003) IMF, assume a uniform solar metallicity, and allow exponentially declining SFHs with efolding times down to τ = 300 Myr (see Wuyts et al. 2011a).”
• THE KMOS3D SURVEY: DESIGN, FIRST RESULTS, AND THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXY KINEMATICS FROM 0.7 ⩽ z ⩽ 2.7 (2014, methodology): “A. F. M. Moorwood & M. Iye, 1179–1186 The KMOS 3D survey 19 Skelton, R. E., Whitaker, K. E., Momcheva, I. G., et al. 2014, ArXiv e-prints, arXiv:1403.3689 Sobral, D., Swinbank, A. M., Stott, J. P., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 139 Sparre, M., Hayward, C. C., Springel, V., et al. 2014, ArXiv e-prints, arXi”