X-shooter Spectroscopy and HST Imaging of 15 Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ≳ 2
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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X-shooter Spectroscopy and HST Imaging of 15 Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ≳ 2. / Stockmann, Mikkel; Toft, Sune; Gallazzi, Anna; Zibetti, Stefano; Conselice, Christopher J.; Margalef-Bentabol, Berta; Zabl, Johannes; Jørgensen, Inger; Magdis, Georgios E.; Gómez-Guijarro, Carlos; Valentino, Francesco M.; Brammer, Gabriel B.; Ceverino, Daniel; Cortzen, Isabella; Davidzon, Iary; Demarco, Richardo; Faisst, Andreas; Hirschmann, Michaela; Krogager, Jens-Kristian; Lagos, Claudia D.; Man, Allison W. S.; Mundy, Carl J.; Peng, Yingjie; Selsing, Jonatan; Steinhardt, Charles L.; Whitaker, Kathrine E.
I: Astrophysical Journal, Bind 888, Nr. 1, 4, 01.01.2020.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - X-shooter Spectroscopy and HST Imaging of 15 Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ≳ 2
AU - Stockmann, Mikkel
AU - Toft, Sune
AU - Gallazzi, Anna
AU - Zibetti, Stefano
AU - Conselice, Christopher J.
AU - Margalef-Bentabol, Berta
AU - Zabl, Johannes
AU - Jørgensen, Inger
AU - Magdis, Georgios E.
AU - Gómez-Guijarro, Carlos
AU - Valentino, Francesco M.
AU - Brammer, Gabriel B.
AU - Ceverino, Daniel
AU - Cortzen, Isabella
AU - Davidzon, Iary
AU - Demarco, Richardo
AU - Faisst, Andreas
AU - Hirschmann, Michaela
AU - Krogager, Jens-Kristian
AU - Lagos, Claudia D.
AU - Man, Allison W. S.
AU - Mundy, Carl J.
AU - Peng, Yingjie
AU - Selsing, Jonatan
AU - Steinhardt, Charles L.
AU - Whitaker, Kathrine E.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - We present a detailed analysis of a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed massive quiescent galaxies (MQGs; log(M */M ⊙) ∼ 11.5) at z ≳ 2. This sample comprises 15 galaxies selected in the COSMOS and UDS fields by their bright K-band magnitudes and followed up with Very Large Telescope (VLT) X-shooter spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 H F160W imaging. These observations allow us to unambiguously confirm their redshifts, ascertain their quiescent nature and stellar ages, and reliably assess their internal kinematics and effective radii. We find that these galaxies are compact, consistent with the high-mass end of the stellar mass–size relation for quiescent galaxies at z = 2. Moreover, the distribution of the measured stellar velocity dispersions of the sample is consistent with the most massive local early-type galaxies from the MASSIVE Survey, showing that evolution in these galaxies is dominated by changes in size. The HST images reveal, as surprisingly high, that 40% of the sample has tidal features suggestive of mergers and companions in close proximity, including three galaxies experiencing ongoing major mergers. The absence of velocity dispersion evolution from z = 2 to 0, coupled with a doubling of the stellar mass, with a factor of 4 size increase and the observed disturbed stellar morphologies, supports dry minor mergers as the primary drivers of the evolution of the MQGs over the last 10 billion yr.
AB - We present a detailed analysis of a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed massive quiescent galaxies (MQGs; log(M */M ⊙) ∼ 11.5) at z ≳ 2. This sample comprises 15 galaxies selected in the COSMOS and UDS fields by their bright K-band magnitudes and followed up with Very Large Telescope (VLT) X-shooter spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 H F160W imaging. These observations allow us to unambiguously confirm their redshifts, ascertain their quiescent nature and stellar ages, and reliably assess their internal kinematics and effective radii. We find that these galaxies are compact, consistent with the high-mass end of the stellar mass–size relation for quiescent galaxies at z = 2. Moreover, the distribution of the measured stellar velocity dispersions of the sample is consistent with the most massive local early-type galaxies from the MASSIVE Survey, showing that evolution in these galaxies is dominated by changes in size. The HST images reveal, as surprisingly high, that 40% of the sample has tidal features suggestive of mergers and companions in close proximity, including three galaxies experiencing ongoing major mergers. The absence of velocity dispersion evolution from z = 2 to 0, coupled with a doubling of the stellar mass, with a factor of 4 size increase and the observed disturbed stellar morphologies, supports dry minor mergers as the primary drivers of the evolution of the MQGs over the last 10 billion yr.
KW - Infrared galaxies
KW - Compact galaxies
KW - Quenched galaxies
KW - Near infrared astronomy
KW - Infrared astronomy
KW - Galaxy kinematics
KW - Galaxy dynamics
KW - Stellar masses
KW - Stellar ages
KW - Stellar radii
KW - High resolution spectroscopy
KW - Hubble Space Telescope
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ab5af4
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ab5af4
M3 - Journal article
VL - 888
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 1
M1 - 4
ER -
ID: 236164757