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H. Jabran Zahid

Publications and source records attributed to H. Jabran Zahid.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The TYPHOON stellar population synthesis survey: I. The young stellar population of the Great Barred Spiral NGC 1365

We analyze TYPHOON long slit absorption line spectra of the starburst barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 obtained with the Progressive Integral Step Method covering an area of 15 square kpc. Applying a population synthesis technique, we determine the spatial distribution of ages and metallicity of the young and old stellar population together with star formation rates, reddening, extinction and the ratio R$_V$ of extinction to reddening. We detect a clear indication of inside-out growth of the stellar disk beyond 3 kpc characterized by an outward increasing luminosity fraction of the young stellar population, a decreasing average age and a history of mass growth, which was finished 2 Gyrs later in the outermost disk. The metallicity of the young stellar population is clearly super solar but decreases towards larger galactocentric radii with a gradient of -0.02 dex/kpc. On the other hand, the metal content of the old population does not show a gradient and stays constant at a level roughly 0.4 dex lower than that of the young population. In the center of NGC 1365 we find a confined region where the metallicity of the young population drops dramatically and becomes lower than that of the old population. We attribute this to infall of metal poor gas and, additionally, to interrupted chemical evolution where star formation is stopped by AGN and supernova feedback and then after several Gyrs resumes with gas ejected by stellar winds from earlier generations of stars. We provide a simple model calculation as support for the latter.

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Mass Metallicity Relationship of SDSS Star Forming Galaxies: Population Synthesis Analysis and Effects of Star Burst Length, Extinction Law, Initial Mass Function and Star Formation Rate

We investigate the mass-metallicity relationship of star forming galaxies by analysing the absorption line spectra of $\sim$200,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy spectra are stacked in bins of stellar mass and a population synthesis technique is applied yielding metallicities, ages and star formation history of the young and old stellar population together with interstellar reddening and extinction. We adopt different lengths of the initial starbursts and different initial mass functions for the calculation of model spectra of the single stellar populations contributing to the total integrated spectrum. We also allow for deviations of the ratio of extinction to reddening RV from 3.1 and determine the value from the spectral fit. We find that burst length and RV have a significant influence on the determination of metallicities whereas the effect of the initial mass function is small. RV values are larger than 3.1. The metallicities of the young stellar population agree with extragalactic spectroscopic studies of individual massive supergiant stars and are significantly higher than those of the older stellar population. This confirms galaxy evolution models where metallicity depends on the ratio of gas to stellar mass and where this ratio decreases with time. Star formation history is found to depend on galaxy stellar mass. Massive galaxies are dominated by stars formed at early times.

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Galaxy Lookback Evolution Models -- a Comparison with Magneticum Cosmological Simulations and Observations

We construct empirical models of star-forming galaxy evolution assuming that individual galaxies evolve along well-known scaling relations between stellar mass, gas mass and star formation rate following a simple description of chemical evolution. We test these models by a comparison with observations and with detailed Magneticum high resolution hydrodynamic cosmological simulations. Galaxy star formation rates, stellar masses, gas masses, ages, interstellar medium and stellar metallicities are compared. It is found that these simple lookback models capture many of the crucial aspects of galaxy evolution reasonably well. Their key assumption of a redshift dependent power law relationship between galaxy interstellar medium gas mass and stellar mass is in agreement with the outcome of the complex Magneticum simulations. Star formation rates decline towards lower redshift not because galaxies are running out of gas, but because the fraction of the cold ISM gas, which is capable of producing stars, becomes significantly smaller. Gas accretion rates in both model approaches are of the same order of magnitude. Metallicity in the Magneticum simulations increases with the ratio of stellar mass to gas mass as predicted by the lookback models. The mass metallicity relationships agree and the star formation rate dependence of these relationships is also reproduced. We conclude that these simple models provide a powerful tool for constraining and interpreting more complex models based on cosmological simulations and for population synthesis studies analyzing integrated spectra of stellar populations.

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The Coevolution of Massive Quiescent Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos over the Last 6 Billion Years

We investigate the growth of massive quiescent galaxies at $z<0.6$ based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey---two magnitude limited spectroscopic surveys of high data quality and completeness. Our three parameter model links quiescent galaxies across cosmic time by self-consistently evolving stellar mass, stellar population age sensitive $D_n4000$ index, half-light radius and stellar velocity dispersion. Stellar velocity dispersion is a robust proxy of dark matter halo mass; we use it to connect galaxies and dark matter halos and thus empirically constrain their coevolution. The typical rate of stellar mass growth is $\sim \! 10 \,\, M_\odot \,\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ and dark matter growth rates from our empirical model are remarkably consistent with N-body simulations. Massive quiescent galaxies grow by minor mergers with dark matter halos of mass $10^{10} \,\, M_\odot \lesssim M_{DM} \lesssim 10^{12} \,\, M_\odot$ and evolve parallel to the stellar mass-halo mass relation based on N-body simulations. Thus, the stellar mass-halo mass relation of massive galaxies apparently results primarily from dry minor merging.

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A Spectroscopic Census of X-ray Systems in the COSMOS Field

We investigate spectroscopic properties of galaxy systems identified based on deep X-ray observations in the COSMOS field. The COSMOS X-ray system catalog we use George et al. (2011) includes 180 X-ray systems to a limiting flux of $1.0 \times 10^{-15}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, an order of magnitude deeper than future e-ROSITA survey. We identify spectroscopic members of these X-ray systems based on the spectroscopic catalog constructed by compiling various spectroscopic surveys including 277 new measurements; 137 X-ray systems are spectroscopically identified groups with more than three spectroscopic members. We identify 1843 spectroscopic redshifts of member candidates in these X-ray systems. The X-ray luminosity ($L_{X}$) - velocity dispersion ($σ_{v}$) scaling relation of the COSMOS X-ray systems is consistent with that of massive X-ray clusters. One of the distinctive features of the COSMOS survey is that it covers the X-ray luminosity range where poor groups overlap the range for extended emission associated with individual quiescent galaxies. We assess the challenges posed by the complex morphology of the distribution of low X-ray luminosity systems, including groups and individual quiescent galaxies, in the $L_{x} - σ_{v}$ plane.

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Quiescent Galaxy Size and Spectroscopic Evolution: Combining HSC Imaging and Hectospec Spectroscopy

We explore the relations between size, stellar mass and average stellar population age (indicated by D$_n4000$ indices) for a sample of $\sim11000$ intermediate-redshift galaxies from the SHELS spectroscopic survey (Geller et al. 2014) augmented by high-resolution Subaru Telescope Hyper Suprime-Cam imaging. In the redshift interval $0.1 10^{10}\, M_\odot$ quiescent galaxies shows that the average size of a $10^{11}\, M_\odot$ quiescent galaxy increases by $\lesssim25\%$ from $z\sim0.6$ to $z\sim0.1$. This growth rate is a function of stellar mass: the most massive ($M_*>10^{11}\, M_\odot$) galaxies grow significantly more slowly in size than an order of magnitude less massive quiescent systems that grow by 70\% in the $0.1\lesssim z\lesssim0.3$ redshift interval. For $M_*<10^{11}\, M_\odot$ galaxies age and size are anti-correlated at fixed mass; more massive quiescent systems show no significant trend in size with average stellar population age. The evolution in absolute and fractional abundances of quiescent systems at intermediate redshift are also a function of galaxy stellar mass. The suite of evolutionary trends suggests that galaxies more massive than $\sim10^{11}\, M_\odot$ have mostly assembled their mass by $z\sim0.6$. Quiescent galaxies with lower stellar masses show more complex evolution that is characterized by a combination of individual quiescent galaxy size growth (through mergers) and an increase in the size of newly quenched galaxies joining the population at later times (progenitor bias). The $M_*\sim10^{10}\, M_\odot$ population grows predominantly as a result of progenitor bias. For $M_*\sim5\times10^{10}\, M_\odot$ quiescent galaxies, mergers and progenitor bias make more comparable contributions to the size growth.[abridged]

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A Complete Spectroscopic Census of Abell 2029: A Tale of Three Histories

A rich spectroscopic census of members of the local massive cluster Abell 2029 includes 1215 members of A2029 and its two infalling groups, A2033 and a Southern Infalling Group (SIG). The two infalling groups are identified in spectroscopic, X-ray and weak lensing maps. We identify active galactic nuclei (AGN), star-forming galaxies, E+A galaxies, and quiescent galaxies based on the spectroscopy. The fractions of AGN and post-starburst E+A galaxies in A2029 are similar to those of other clusters. We derive the stellar mass ($M_{*}$)-metallicity of A2029 based on 227 star-forming members; A2029 members within $10^{9} M_{\odot} < M _{*} < 10^{9.5} M_{\odot}$ are more metal rich than SDSS galaxies within the same mass range. We utilize the spectroscopic index $D_{n}4000$, a strong age indicator, to trace past and future evolution of the A2029 system. The median $D_{n}4000$ of the members decreases as the projected clustercentric distance increases for all three subsystems. The $D_{n}4000 - M_{*}$ relations of the members in A2029 and its two infalling groups differ significantly indicating the importance of stochastic effects for understanding the evolution of cluster galaxy populations. In the main cluster, an excess around $D_{n}4000 \sim 1.8$ indicates that some A2029 members became quiescent galaxies 2-3 Gyr ago consistent with the merger epoch of the X-ray sloshing pattern.

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Stellar Velocity Dispersion: Linking Quiescent Galaxies to their Dark Matter Halos

We analyze the Illustris-1 hydrodynamical cosmological simulation to explore the stellar velocity dispersion of quiescent galaxies as an observational probe of dark matter halo velocity dispersion and mass. Stellar velocity dispersion is proportional to dark matter halo velocity dispersion for both central and satellite galaxies. The dark matter halos of central galaxies are in virial equilibrium and thus the stellar velocity dispersion is also proportional to dark matter halo mass. This proportionality holds even when a line-of-sight aperture dispersion is calculated in analogy to observations. In contrast, at a given stellar velocity dispersion, the dark matter halo mass of satellite galaxies is smaller than virial equilibrium expectations. This deviation from virial equilibrium probably results from tidal stripping of the outer dark matter halo. Stellar velocity dispersion appears insensitive to tidal effects and thus reflects the correlation between stellar velocity dispersion and dark matter halo mass prior to infall. There is a tight relation (<0.2 dex scatter) between line-of-sight aperture stellar velocity dispersion and dark matter halo mass suggesting that the dark matter halo mass may be estimated from the measured stellar velocity dispersion for both central and satellite galaxies. We evaluate the impact of treating all objects as central galaxies if the relation we derive is applied to a statistical ensemble. A large fraction (>2/3) of massive quiescent galaxies are central galaxies and systematic uncertainty in the inferred dark matter halo mass is <0.1 dex thus simplifying application of the simulation results to currently available observations.

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A dependence of the tidal disruption event rate on global stellar surface mass density and stellar velocity dispersion

The rate of tidal disruption events (TDEs), $R_\text{TDE}$, is predicted to depend on stellar conditions near the super-massive black hole (SMBH), which are on difficult-to-measure sub-parsec scales. We test whether $R_\text{TDE}$ depends on kpc-scale global galaxy properties, which are observable. We concentrate on stellar surface mass density, $Σ_{M_\star}$, and velocity dispersion, $σ_v$, which correlate with the stellar density and velocity dispersion of the stars around the SMBH. We consider 35 TDE candidates, with and without known X-ray emission. The hosts range from star-forming to quiescent to quiescent with strong Balmer absorption lines. The last (often with post-starburst spectra) are overrepresented in our sample by a factor of $35^{+21}_{-17}$ or $18^{+8}_{-7}$, depending on the strength of the H$δ$ absorption line. For a subsample of hosts with homogeneous measurements, $Σ_{M_\star}=10^9$-$10^{10}~{\rm M_\odot / kpc^2}$, higher on average than for a volume-weighted control sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies with similar redshifts and stellar masses. This is because: (1) most of the TDE hosts here are quiescent galaxies, which tend to have higher $Σ_{M_\star}$ than the star-forming galaxies that dominate the control, and (2) the star-forming hosts have higher average $Σ_{M_\star}$ than the star-forming control. There is also a weak suggestion that TDE hosts have lower $σ_v$ than for the quiescent control. Assuming that $R_{\rm TDE}\propto Σ_{M_\star}^α\times σ_v^β$, and applying a statistical model to the TDE hosts and control sample, we estimate $\hatα=0.9 \pm 0.2$ and $\hatβ=-1.0 \pm 0.6$. This is broadly consistent with $R_\text{TDE}$ being tied to the dynamical relaxation of stars surrounding the SMBH.

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hCOSMOS: a dense spectroscopic survey of $r\leqslant21.3$ galaxies in the COSMOS field

We describe the hCOSMOS redshift survey of the COSMOS field conducted with the Hectospec spectrograph on the MMT. In the central 1~deg$^2$, the hCOS20.6 subset of the survey is $>90\%$ complete to a limiting $r=20.6$. The hCOSMOS survey includes 1701 new redshifts in the COSMOS field. We also use the total of 4362 new and remeasured objects to derive the age sensitive D$_n4000$ index over the entire redshift interval $0.001\lesssim z\lesssim0.6$. For $85\%$ of the quiescent galaxies in hCOS20.6, we measure the central line-of-sight velocity dispersion. To explore potential uses of this survey, we combine previously measured galaxy sizes, profiles and stellar masses with the spectroscopy. The comparison reveals the known relations among structural, kinematic, and stellar population properties. We also compare redshift and D$_n4000$ distributions of hCOS20.6 galaxies with SHELS; a complete spectroscopic survey of 4~deg$^2$ observed to the same depth. The redshift distributions in the two fields are very different but the D$_n4000$ distribution is remarkably similar. The relation between velocity dispersion and stellar mass for massive hCOS20.6 galaxies is consistent with the local relation from SDSS. Using measured velocity dispersions, we test a photometric proxy calibrated to galaxies in the local universe. The systematic differences between the measured and photometric proxy velocity dispersions are correlated with galaxy dynamical and stellar population properties highlighting the importance of direct spectroscopic measurements.

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The Fine Line Between Normal and Starburst Galaxies

Recent literature suggests that there are two modes through which galaxies grow their stellar mass - a normal mode characterized by quasi-steady star formation, and a highly efficient starburst mode possibly triggered by stochastic events such as galaxy mergers. While these differences are established for extreme cases, the population of galaxies in-between these two regimes is poorly studied and it is not clear where the transition between these two modes of star formation occurs. We utilize ALMA observations of the CO J=3-2 line luminosity in a sample of 20 infrared luminous galaxies that lie in the intermediate range between normal and starburst galaxies at z ~ 0.25-0.6 in the COSMOS field to examine the gas content and star formation efficiency of these galaxies. We compare these quantities to the galaxies' deviation from the well-studied "main sequence" correlation between star formation rate and stellar mass (MS) and find that at log($SFR/SFR_{MS}$) < 0.6, a galaxy's distance to the main sequence is mostly driven by increased gas content, and not a more efficient star formation process.

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Stellar Absorption Line Analysis of Local Star-Forming Galaxies: The Relation Between Stellar Mass, Metallicity, Dust Attenuation and Star Formation Rate

We analyze the optical continuum of star-forming galaxies in SDSS by fitting stacked spectra with stellar population synthesis models to investigate the relation between stellar mass, stellar metallicity, dust attenuation and star formation rate. We fit models calculated with star formation and chemical evolution histories that are derived empirically from multi-epoch observations of the stellar mass---star formation rate and the stellar mass---gas-phase metallicity relations, respectively. We also fit linear combinations of single burst models with a range of metallicities and ages. Star formation and chemical evolution histories are unconstrained for these models. The stellar mass---stellar metallicity relations obtained from the two methods agree with the relation measured from individual supergiant stars in nearby galaxies. These relations are also consistent with the relation obtained from emission line analysis of gas-phase metallicity after accounting for systematic offsets in the gas-phase-metallicity. We measure dust attenuation of the stellar continuum and show that its dependence on stellar mass and star formation rate is consistent with previously reported results derived from nebular emission lines. However, stellar continuum attenuation is smaller than nebular emission line attenuation. The continuum-to-nebular attenuation ratio depends on stellar mass and is smaller in more massive galaxies. Our consistent analysis of stellar continuum and nebular emission lines paves the way for a comprehensive investigation of stellar metallicities of star-forming and quiescent galaxies.

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The Velocity Dispersion Function for Quiescent Galaxies in the Local Universe

We investigate the distribution of central velocity dispersions for quiescent galaxies in the SDSS at $0.03 \leq z \leq 0.10$. To construct the field velocity dispersion function (VDF), we construct a velocity dispersion complete sample of quiescent galaxies with Dn4000$ > 1.5$. The sample consists of galaxies with central velocity dispersion larger than the velocity dispersion completeness limit of the SDSS survey. Our VDF measurement is consistent with previous field VDFs for $σ> 200$ km s$^{-1}$. In contrast with previous results, the VDF does not decline significantly for $σ< 200$ km s$^{-1}$. The field and the similarly constructed cluster VDFs are remarkably flat at low velocity dispersion ($σ< 250$ km s$^{-1}$). The cluster VDF exceeds the field for $σ> 250$ km s$^{-1}$ providing a measure of the relatively larger number of massive subhalos in clusters. The VDF is a probe of the dark matter halo distribution because the measured central velocity dispersion may be directly proportional to the dark matter velocity dispersion. Thus the VDF provides a potentially powerful test of simulations for models of structure formation.

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Velocity Dispersion, Size, Sérsic Index and $D_n4000$: The Scaling of Stellar Mass with Dynamical Mass for Quiescent Galaxies

We examine the relation between stellar mass, velocity dispersion, size, Sérsic index and $D_n4000$ for ~40,000 quiescent galaxies in the SDSS. At a fixed stellar mass, galaxies with higher $D_n4000$ have larger velocity dispersions and smaller sizes. $D_n4000$ is a proxy for stellar population age, thus these trends suggest that older galaxies typically have larger velocity dispersions and smaller sizes. We combine velocity dispersion and size into a dynamical mass estimator, $σ^2 R$. At a fixed stellar mass, $σ^2 R$ depends on $D_n4000$. The Sérsic index is also correlated with $D_n4000$. The dependence of $σ^2 R$ and Sérsic index on $D_n4000$ suggests that quiescent galaxies are not structurally homologous systems. We derive an empirical correction for non-homology which is consistent with the analytical correction derived from the virial theorem. After accounting for non-homologous galactic structure, we measure $M_\ast \propto M_d^{0.998 \pm 0.004}$ where $M_\ast$ is the stellar mass and $M_d$ is the dynamical mass derived from the velocity dispersion and size; stellar mass is directly proportional to dynamical mass. Quiescent galaxies appear to be in approximate virial equilibrium and deviations of the fundamental plane parameters from the expected virial relation may result from mass-to-light ratio variations, selection effects and the non-homology of quiescent galaxies. We infer the redshift evolution of velocity dispersion and size for galaxies in our sample assuming purely passive evolution. The inferred evolution is inconsistent with direct measurements at higher redshifts. Thus quiescent galaxies do not passively evolve. Quiescent galaxies have properties consistent with standard galaxy formation in $Λ$CDM. They form at different epochs and evolve modestly increasing their size, velocity dispersion and Sérsic index after they cease star formation.

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The Dependence of the Mass-Metallicity Relation on Large Scale Environment

We examine the relation between gas-phase oxygen abundance and stellar mass---the MZ relation---as a function of the large scale galaxy environment parameterized by the local density. The dependence of the MZ relation on the environment is small. The metallicity where the MZ relation saturates and the slope of the MZ relation are both independent of the local density. The impact of the large scale environment is completely parameterized by the anti-correlation between local density and the turnover stellar mass where the MZ relation begins to saturate. Analytical modeling suggests that the anti-correlation between the local density and turnover stellar mass is a consequence of a variation in the gas content of star-forming galaxies. Across $\sim1$ order of magnitude in local density, the gas content at a fixed stellar mass varies by $\sim5\%$. Variation of the specific star formation rate with environment is consistent with this interpretation. At a fixed stellar mass, galaxies in low density environments have lower metallicities because they are slightly more gas-rich than galaxies in high density environments. Modeling the shape of the mass-metallicity relation thus provides an indirect means to probe subtle variations in the gas content of star-forming galaxies.

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The Velocity Dispersion Function of Very Massive Galaxy Clusters: Abell 2029 and Coma

Based on an extensive redshift survey for galaxy cluster Abell 2029 and Coma, we measure the luminosity functions (LFs), stellar mass functions (SMFs) for the entire cluster member galaxies. Most importantly, we measure the velocity dispersion functions (VDFs) for quiescent members. The MMT/Hectospec redshift survey for galaxies in A2029 identifies 982 spectroscopic members; for 838 members we derive the central velocity dispersion from the spectroscopy. Coma is the only other cluster surveyed as densely. The LFs, SMFs and VDFs for A2029 and Coma are essentially identical. The SMFs of the clusters are consistent with simulations. The A2029 and Coma VDFs for quiescent galaxies have a significantly steeper slope than those of field galaxies for velocity dispersion $\lesssim 100$ km s$^{-1}$. The cluster VDFs also exceed the field at velocity dispersion $\gtrsim 250$ km s$^{-1}$. The differences between cluster and field VDFs are potentially important tests of simulations and of the formation of structure in the universe.

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The Scaling of Stellar Mass and Central Stellar Velocity Dispersion for Quiescent galaxies at z < 0.7

We examine the relation between stellar mass and central stellar velocity dispersion-the M-sigma relation-for massive quiescent galaxies at z<0.7. We measure the local relation from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the intermediate redshift relation from the Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey. Both samples are highly complete (>85%) and we consistently measure the stellar mass and velocity dispersion for the two samples. The M-sigma relation and its scatter are independent of redshift with sigma ~ M^0.3 for M>10^10.3 M_solar. The measured slope of the M-sigma relation is the same as the scaling between the total halo mass and the dark matter halo velocity dispersion obtained by N-body simulations. This consistency suggests that massive quiescent galaxies are virialized systems where the central dark matter concentration is either a constant or negligible fraction of the stellar mass. The relation between the total galaxy mass (stellar + dark matter) and the central stellar velocity dispersion is consistent with the observed relation between the total mass of a galaxy cluster and the velocity dispersion of the cluster members. This result suggests that the central stellar velocity dispersion is directly proportional to the velocity dispersion of the dark matter halo. Thus the central stellar velocity dispersion is a fundamental, directly observable property of galaxies that may robustly connect galaxies to dark matter halos in N-body simulations. To interpret the results further in the context of Lambda-CDM, it would be useful to analyze the relationship between the velocity dispersion of stellar particles and the velocity dispersion characterizing their dark matter halos in high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamic simulations.

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Compact E+A Galaxies as a Progenitor of Massive Compact Quiescent Galaxies at 0.2<z< 0.8

We search the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Baryon Oscillation Sky Survey to identify ~5500 massive compact quiescent galaxy candidates at 0.2<z<0.8. We robustly classify a subsample of 438 E+A galaxies based on their spectral properties and make this catalog publicly available. We examine sizes, stellar population ages and kinematics of galaxies in the sample and show that the physical properties of compact E+A galaxies suggest that they are a progenitor of massive compact quiescent galaxies. Thus, two classes of objects-compact E+A and compact quiescent galaxies-may be linked by a common formation scenario. The typical stellar population age of compact E+A galaxies is <1 Gyr. The existence of compact E+A galaxies with young stellar populations at 0.2<z<0.8 means that some compact quiescent galaxies first appear at intermediate redshifts. We derive a lower limit for the number density of compact E+A galaxies. Assuming passive evolution, we convert this number density into an appearance rate of new compact quiescent galaxies at 0.2<z<0.8. The lower limit number density of compact quiescent galaxies which may appear at z<0.8 is comparable to the lower limit of the total number density of compact quiescent galaxies at these intermediate redshifts. Thus, a substantial fraction of the z<0.8 massive compact quiescent galaxy population may descend from compact E+A galaxies at intermediate redshifts.

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