arXiv subjects

R. Merighi

Publications and source records attributed to R. Merighi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

The SWIRE-VVDS-CFHTLS surveys: stellar mass assembly over the last 10 Gyears. Evidence for a major build up of the red sequence between z=2 and z=1

(abridged abstract) We present an analysis of the stellar mass growth over the last 10 Gyrs using a large 3.6$μ$ selected sample. We split our sample into active (blue) and quiescent (red) galaxies. Our measurements of the K-LFs and LD evolution support the idea that a large fraction of galaxies is already assembled at $z\sim 1.2$. Based on the analysis of the evolution of the stellar mass-to-light ratio (in K-band) for the spectroscopic sub-sample, we derive the stellar mass density for the entire sample. We find that the global evolution of the stellar mass density is well reproduced by the star formation rate derived from UV dust corrected measurements. Over the last 8Gyrs, we observe that the stellar mass density of the active population remains approximately constant while it gradually increases for the quiescent population over the same timescale. As a consequence, the growth of the stellar mass in the quiescent population must be due to the shutoff of star formation in active galaxies that migrate into the quiescent population. From $z=2$ to $z=1.2$, we observe a major build-up of the quiescent population with an increase by a factor of 10 in stellar mass, suggesting that we are observing the epoch when an increasing fraction of galaxies are ending their star formation activity and start to build up the red sequence.

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arXiv2007

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey. The Assembly History of the Stellar Mass in Galaxies: from the Young to the Old Universe

We present a detailed analysis of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Function of galaxies up to z=2.5 as obtained from the VVDS. We estimate the stellar mass from broad-band photometry using 2 different assumptions on the galaxy star formation history and show that the addition of secondary bursts to a continuous star formation history produces systematically higher (up to 40%) stellar masses. At low redshift (z=0.2) we find a substantial population of low-mass galaxies (<10^9 Msun) composed by faint blue galaxies (M_I-M_K=0.3). In general the stellar mass function evolves slowly up to z=0.9 and more significantly above this redshift. Conversely, a massive tail is present up to z=2.5 and have extremely red colours (M_I-M_K=0.7-0.8). We find a decline with redshift of the overall number density of galaxies for all masses (59+-5% for M>10^8 Msun at z=1), and a mild mass-dependent average evolution (`mass-downsizing'). In particular our data are consistent with mild/negligible (<30%) evolution up to z=0.7 for massive galaxies (>6x10^10 Msun). For less massive systems the no-evolution scenario is excluded. A large fraction (>=50%) of massive galaxies have been already assembled and converted most of their gas into stars at z=1, ruling out the `dry mergers' as the major mechanism of their assembly history below z=1. This fraction decreases to 33% at z=2. Low-mass systems have decreased continuously in number and mass density (by a factor up to 4) from the present age to z=2, consistently with a prolonged mass assembly also at z<1.

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arXiv2007

VVDS-SWIRE: Clustering evolution from a spectroscopic sample of galaxies with redshift 0.2<z<2.1 selected from Spitzer IRAC 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron photometry

By combining the VVDS with the SWIRE data, we have built the currently largest spectroscopic sample of galaxies selected in the rest-frame near-infrared. These allow us to investigate, for the first time using spectroscopic redshifts, the clustering evolution of galaxies selected from their rest-frame near-infrared luminosity in the redshift range 0.2<z<2.1. Therefore we use the projected two-point correlation function wp(rp) to study the three dimensional clustering properties of galaxies detected at 3.6 and 4.5 microns with IRAC and for which we have spectroscopic redshifts from first epoch VVDS. We find that in the flux limited samples at 3.6 and 4.5 microns, the clustering length does not change from redshift ~2 to the present. In addition, we find that the clustering lengths are systematically higher when galaxy samples are selected from increasingly redder wavelengths. These values are larger than the typical values found for I-band selected galaxies in the same redshift range, but we find that the difference in clustering length between I-band and 3.6/4.5 microns selected samples is decreasing with increasing redshift to become comparable at z~1.5. We interpret this as evidence that galaxies with older stellar populations and galaxies actively forming stars reside in comparably overdense environments at epochs earlier than z~1.5. The increasing difference in clustering length observed between rest-frame UV-optical and infrared selected samples could then be an indication that star formation is gradually shifting to lower density regions as cosmic time increases.

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arXiv2007

The cosmic star formation rate evolution from z=5 to z=0 from the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey

We present the evolution of the comoving SFR density in the redshift range 0 < z < 5 using the first epoch data release of the VVDS, that is 11564 spectra selected at I_AB=24 over 2200 arcmin^2 in two fields of view, the VVDS-0226-04 and the VVDS-CDFS-0332-27, and the cosmological parameters (Omega_M, Omega_L, h)=(0.3, 0.7, 0.7). We study the multi-wavelength non dust-corrected luminosity densities at 0 < z < 2 from the rest-frame FUV to the optical passbands, and the rest-frame 1500A luminosity functions and densities at 2.7 < z < 5. They evolve from z=1.2 to 0.05 according to (1+z)^{x} with x = 2.05, 1.94, 1.92, 1.14, 0.73, 0.42, 0.30 in the FUV-1500, NUV-2800, U-3600, B-4400, V-5500, R-6500, and I-7900 passbands, respectively. From z = 1.2 to 0.2 the B-band density for the irregular-like galaxies decreases markedly by a factor 3.5 while it increases by a factor 1.7 for the elliptical-like galaxies. We identify several SFR periods; from z = 5 to 3.4 the FUV-band density increases by at most 0.5dex, from z=3.4 to 1.2 it decreases by 0.08dex, from z=1.2 to 0.05 it declines steadily by 0.6dex. For the most luminous M_AB(1500) < -21 galaxies the FUV-band density drops by 2dex from z = 3.9 to 1.2, and for the intermediate -21 < M_AB(1500) < -20 galaxies it drops by 2dex from z = 0.2 to 0. Comparing with dust corrected surveys, at 0.4 < z < 2 the FUV seems obscured by a constant factor of ~1.8-2 mag, while at z < 0.5 it seems progressively less obscured by up to ~0.9-1 mag when the dust-deficient early-type population is increasingly dominating the B-band density. The VVDS results agree with a downsizing picture where the most luminous sources cease to efficiently produce new stars 12 Gyrs ago (at z~4), while intermediate luminosity sources keep producing stars until 2.5 Gyrs ago (at z~0.2).(abridged)

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arXiv2007

The VVDS type-1 AGN sample: The faint end of the luminosity function

In a previous paper (Gavignaud et al. 2006), we presented the type-1 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) sample obtained from the first epoch data of the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). The sample consists of 130 faint, broad-line AGN with redshift up to z=5 and 17.5< I <24.0, selected on the basis of their spectra. In this paper we present the measurement of the Optical Luminosity Function up to z=3.6 derived from this sample, we compare our results with previous results from brighter samples both at low and at high redshift. Our data, more than one magnitude fainter than previous optical surveys, allow us to constrain the faint part of the luminosity function up to high redshift. By combining our faint VVDS sample with the large sample of bright AGN extracted from the SDSS DR3 (Richards et al., 2006b) and testing a number of different evolutionary models, we find that the model which better represents the combined luminosity functions, over a wide range of redshift and luminosity, is a luminosity dependent density evolution (LDDE) model, similar to those derived from the major X-surveys. Such a parameterization allows the redshift of the AGN space density peak to change as a function of luminosity and explains the excess of faint AGN that we find at 1.0< z <1.5. On the basis of this model we find, for the first time from the analysis of optically selected samples, that the peak of the AGN space density shifts significantly towards lower redshift going to lower luminosity objects. This result, already found in a number of X-ray selected samples of AGN, is consistent with a scenario of "AGN cosmic downsizing", in which the density of more luminous AGN, possibly associated to more massive black holes, peaks earlier in the history of the Universe, than that of low luminosity ones.

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arXiv2007

The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey. Color bimodality and the mix of galaxy populations up to z~2

In this paper we discuss the mix of star-forming and passive galaxies up to z~2, based on the first epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) data.In agreement with previous works we find that the galaxy rest-frame color distribution follows a bimodal distribution at z<=1, and we establish that this bimodality holds up to z~2. The details of the rest-frame color distribution depend however on redshift and on galaxy luminosity: faint galaxies are bluer than the luminous ones over the whole redshift range of our data, and galaxies become bluer as redshift increases. This blueing trend does not depend, to a first approximation, on galaxy luminosity. Using our spectroscopic dataset we can also separate galaxies based on a star-formation, estimated combining the equivalent width of the [OII] emission line and the strength of the Dn(4000) break. The comparison between this spectral classification and the rest-frame colors shows that about 35-40 % of the red objects are star forming galaxies. Hence we conclude that the red sequence cannot be used to effectively isolate a sample of purely passively evolving objects within a cosmological survey. We also find that the color-magnitude relations derived for the color and for the spectroscopically selected early-type galaxies have remarkably similar properties, with the contaminating star-forming galaxies within the red sequence objects introducing no significant offset in the rest frame colors. Therefore the average color of the red objects does not appear to be a very sensitive indicator for measuring the evolution of the early-type galaxy population.Finally, we use the multi-band VVDS photometric data and SED fitting to derive multi-color galaxy types, which have a slightly higher efficiency than rest-frame color in isolating the passive, non star-forming galaxies within the VVDS sample.

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arXiv2006

The VIRMOS-VLT Deep Survey: the last 10 billion years of evolution of galaxy clustering

We discuss the evolution of clustering of galaxies in the Universe from the present epoch back to z ~ 2, using the first-epoch data from the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). We present the evolution of the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies for the global galaxy population, as well as its dependence on galaxy intrinsic luminosities and spectral types. While we do not find strong variations of the correlation function parameters with redshift for the global galaxy population, the clustering of objects with different intrinsic luminosities evolved significantly during last 8-10 billion years. Our findings indicate that bright galaxies in the past traced higher density peaks than they do now and that the shape of the correlation function of most luminous galaxies is different from observed for their local counterparts, which is a supporting evidence of a non-trivial evolution of the galaxy vs. dark matter bias.

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arXiv2006

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey:The ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function and luminosity density at 3<z<4

We study the LF of the high-z galaxy population with 3<z<4 using a purely I-band magnitude-selected spectroscopic sample obtained in the framework of the VVDS. We determine the LF from the VVDS, taking care to add as few assumptions and as simple corrections as possible, and compare our results with those obtained from photometric studies, based on Lyman-break selections or photo-z measurements. We find that in the range 3<z<4, the VVDS LF is parameterized by phi*=1.24+-0.50 10-3 mag-1 Mpc-3 and M*=-21.49+-0.19, assuming a slope alpha=-1.4 consistent with most previous studies. While phi* is comparable to previously found values, M* is significantly brighter by about 0.5 mag at least. Using the conservative slope -1.4, we find a LD at 1700A rho(M<-18.5)=2.4 10 19 W Mpc-3 and rho Tot=3.1 10 19 W Mpc-3, comparable to that estimated in other studies. The unexpectedly large number of very bright galaxies found in the VVDS indicates that the color-selection and photo-z techniques that are generally used to build high-z galaxy samples may be affected by a significant fraction of color-measurement failures or by incomplete modelling of the mix of stellar emission, AGN contribution, dust absorption and intergalactic extinction assumed to identify high-z galaxies, making pure magnitude selection better able to trace the full population. Because of the difficulty to identify all low-luminosity galaxies in a spectroscopic survey, the LD could still be significantly underestimated. We also find that the relative contribution of the most luminous galaxies compared to the fainter ones is at least twice as large in the VVDS compared to former estimates. Therefore, the VVDS paints a quite different picture of the role of the most actively star-forming galaxies in the history of star formation.

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arXiv2006

Witnessing the build-up of the colour-density relation

We investigate the redshift and luminosity evolution of the galaxy colour-density relation using the data from the First Epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) on scales of R=5 h^(-1)Mpc up to redshift z ~ 1.5. While at lower redshift we confirm the existence of a steep colour-density relation, with the fraction of the reddest(/bluest) galaxies of the same luminosity increasing(/decreasing) as a function of density, this trend progressively disappears in the highest redshift bins investigated.Our results suggest the existence of an epoch (more remote for brighter galaxies) characterized by the absence of the colour-density relation on the R=5 h^(-1)Mpc scales investigated. The rest frame u*-g' colour-magnitude diagram shows a bimodal pattern in both low and high density environments up to redshift z ~ 1.5. We find that the bimodal distribution is not universal but strongly depends upon environment. Both the colour-density and colour-magnitude-density relations, on the R=5 h^(-1)Mpc scales, appear to be a transient, cumulative product of genetic and environmental factors that have been operating over at least a period of 9 Gyr. These findings support an evolutionary scenario in which star formation/gas depletion processes are accelerated in more luminous objects and in high density environments: star formation activity is progressively shifting with cosmic time towards lower luminosity galaxies (downsizing), and out of high density environments.

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arXiv2006

NIR Follow-Up of the VVDS 02hr Field

We present a new K-band survey covering 623 arcmin$^2$ in the VVDS 0226-0430 deep field down to a limiting magnitude K$_{\rm{Vega}}$ $\leq$ 20.5. We use the spectroscopic sample extracted from this new K-band catalogue to assess the effectiveness of optical-near infrared color selections in identifying extreme classes of objects at high redshift.

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arXiv2006

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey: The build-up of the colour-density relation

We investigate the redshift and luminosity evolution of the galaxy colour-density relation using the data from the First Epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). The size (6582 galaxies), depth (I_AB<=24) and redshift sampling rate of the survey enable us to reconstruct the 3D galaxy environment on relatively local scales (R=5 Mpc) up to z~1.5. Particular attention has been devoted to calibrate a density reconstruction scheme, which factors out survey selection effects and reproduces in an unbiased way the underlying `real' galaxy environment. While at lower redshift we confirm the existence of a steep colour-density relation, with the fraction of the reddest(/bluest) galaxies of the same luminosity increasing(/decreasing) as a function of density, this trend progressively disappears in the highest redshift bins investigated. The rest frame u*-g' colour-magnitude diagram shows a bimodal pattern in both low and high density environments up to z~1.5. We find that the bimodal distribution is not universal but strongly depends upon environment: at lower redshifts the colour-magnitude diagrams in low and high density regions are significantly different while the progressive weakening of the colour-density relation causes the two bimodal distributions to nearly mirror each other in the highest redshift bin investigated. Both the colour-density and the colour-magnitude-density relations appear to be a transient, cumulative product of genetic and environmental factors operating over at least a period of 9 Gyr. These findings support an evolutionary scenario in which star formation/gas depletion processes are accelerated in more luminous objects and in high density environments: star formation activity is shifting with cosmic time towards lower luminosity (downsizing), and out of high density environments.

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arXiv2006

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey: the faint type-1 AGN sample

We present the type-1 active galactic nuclei (AGN) sample extracted from the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey first observations of 21000 spectra in 1.75 square degree. This sample, which is purely magnitude limited, free of morphological or color selection biases, contains 130 broad line AGN (BLAGN) spectra with redshift up to 5. Our data are divided into a wide (Iab < 22.5) and a deep (Iab < 24) subsample containing 56 and 74 objects respectively. Because of its depth and selection criteria, this sample is uniquely suited to study the population of faint type-1 AGN. Our measured surface density (~ 472 +- 48 BLAGN per square degree with Iab < 24) is significantly higher than that of any other optically selected sample of BLAGN with spectroscopic confirmation. By applying a morphological and color analysis to our AGN sample we find that: (1)~23% of the AGN brighter than Iab=22.5 are classified as extended; this percentage increases to ~42% for those with z < 1.6; (2) a non-negligible fraction of our BLAGN are lying close to the color space area occupied by stars in u*-g' versus g'-r' color-color diagram. This leads us to the conclusion that classical optical ultraviolet preselection technique, if employed at such deep magnitudes (Iab=22.5) in conjuction with a preselection of point-like sources, can miss miss up to ~35% of the AGN population. Finally, we present a composite spectrum of our sample of objects. While the continuum shape is very similar to that of the SDSS composite at short wavelengths, it is much redder than it at lambda > 3000 A. We interpret this as due to significant contamination from emission of the host galaxies, as expected from the faint absolute magnitudes sampled by our survey.

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arXiv2006

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey - Evolution of the luminosity functions by galaxy type up to z=1.5 from first epoch data

From the first epoch observations of the VVDS up to z=1.5 we have derived luminosity functions (LF) of different spectral type galaxies. The VVDS data, covering ~70% of the life of the Universe, allow for the first time to study from the same sample and with good statistical accuracy the evolution of the LFs by galaxy type in several rest frame bands from a purely magnitude selected sample. The magnitude limit of the VVDS allows the determination of the faint end slope of the LF with unprecedented accuracy. Galaxies have been classified in four spectral classes, using their colours and redshift, and LFs have been derived in the U, B, V, R and I rest frame bands from z=0.05 to z=1.5. We find a significant steepening of the LF going from early to late types. The M* parameter is significantly fainter for late type galaxies and this difference increases in the redder bands. Within each of the galaxy spectral types we find a brightening of M* with increasing redshift, ranging from =< 0.5 mag for early type galaxies to ~1 mag for the latest type galaxies, while the slope of the LF of each spectral type is consistent with being constant with redshift. The LF of early type galaxies is consistent with passive evolution up to z~1.1, while the number of bright early type galaxies has decreased by ~40% from z~0.3 to z~1.1. We also find a strong evolution in the normalization of the LF of latest type galaxies, with an increase of more than a factor 2 from z~0.3 to z~1.3: the density of bright late type galaxies in the same redshift range increases of a factor ~6.6. These results indicate a strong type-dependent evolution and identifies the latest spectral types as responsible for most of the evolution of the UV-optical luminosity function out to z=1.5.

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arXiv2006

Galaxy luminosity function per morphological type up to z=1.2

We have computed the evolution of the rest-frame B-band luminosity function (LF) for bulge and disk-dominated galaxies since z=1.2. We use a sample of 605 spectroscopic redshifts with I_{AB}<24 in the Chandra Deep Field South from the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey, 3555 galaxies with photometric redshifts from the COMBO-17 multi-color data, coupled with multi-color HST/ACS images from the Great Observatories Origin Deep Survey. We split the sample in bulge- and disk-dominated populations on the basis of asymmetry and concentration parameters measured in the rest-frame B-band. We find that at z=0.4-0.8, the LF slope is significantly steeper for the disk-dominated population (α=-1.19 \pm 0.07) compared to the bulge-dominated population (α=-0.53 \pm 0.13). The LF of the bulge-dominated population is composed of two distinct populations separated in rest-frame color: 68% of red (B-I)_{AB}>0.9 and bright galaxies showing a strongly decreasing LF slope α=+0.55 \pm 0.21, and 32% of blue (B-I)_{AB}<0.9 and more compact galaxies which populate the LF faint-end. We observe that red bulge-dominated galaxies are already well in place at z~1, but the volume density of this population is increasing by a factor 2.7 between z~1 and z~0.6. It may be related to the building-up of massive elliptical galaxies in the hierarchical scenario. In addition, we observe that the blue bulge-dominated population is dimming by 0.7 magnitude between z~1 and z~0.6. Galaxies in this faint and more compact population could possibly be the progenitors of the local dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

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arXiv2006

Accurate photometric redshifts for the CFHT Legacy Survey calibrated using the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey

We present photometric redshifts for an uniquely large and deep sample of 522286 objects with i'_{AB}<25 in the Canada-France Legacy Survey ``Deep Survey'' fields, which cover a total effective area of 3.2 deg^2. We use 3241 spectroscopic redshifts with 0<z<5 from the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey as a calibration to derive these photometric redshifts. We devise a robust calibration method which removes systematic trends in the photometric redshifts and significantly reduces the fraction of catastrophic errors. We use our unique spectroscopic sample to present a detailed assessment of the robustness of the photometric redshift sample. For a sample selected at i'_{AB}<24, we reach a redshift accuracy of σ_{Δz/(1+z)}=0.037 with η=3.7% of catastrophic error. The reliability of our photometric redshifts is lower for fainter objects: we find σ_{Δz/(1+z)}=0.029, 0.043 and η=1.7%, 5.4% for samples selected at i'_{AB}=17.5-22.5 and 22.5-24 respectively. We find that the photometric redshifts of starburst galaxies in our sample are less reliable: although these galaxies represent only 18% of the spectroscopic sample they are responsible for 54% of the catastrophic errors. We find an excellent agreement between the photometric and the VVDS spectroscopic redshift distributions at i'_{AB}<24. Finally, we compare the redshift distributions of i' selected galaxies on the four CFHTLS deep fields, showing that cosmic variance is already present on fields of 0.8 deg^2.

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arXiv2006

The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey - The evolution of galaxy clustering per spectral type to z~1.5

We measure the evolution of clustering for galaxies with different spectral types from 6495 galaxies with 17.5<=I_AB<=24 and measured spectroscopic redshift in the first epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey. We classify our sample into 4 classes, based on the fit of well-defined galaxy spectral energy distributions on observed multi-color data. We measure the projected function wp(rp) and estimate the best-fit parameters for a power-law real-space correlation function. We find the clustering of early-spectral-type galaxies to be markedly stronger than that of late-type galaxies at all redshifts up to z<=1.2. At z~0.8, early-type galaxies display a correlation length r_0=4.8+/-0.9h^{-1}Mpc, while late types have r_0=2.5+/-0.4h^{-1}Mpc. The clustering of these objects increases up to r_0=3.42+/-0.7h^{-1}Mpc for z~1.4. The relative bias between early- and late-type galaxies within our magnitude-limited survey remains approximately constant with b~1.7-1.8 from z~=0.2 up to z~=1, with indications for a decrease at z>1.2, due to the growth in clustering of the star-forming population. We find similar results when splitting the sample into `red' and `blue' galaxies using the observed color bi-modality. When compared to the expected linear growth of mass fluctuations, a natural interpretation of these observations is that: (a) the assembly of massive early type galaxies is already mostly complete in the densest dark matter halos at z~=1; (b) luminous late-type galaxies are located in higher-density, more clustered regions of the Universe at z~=1.5 than at present, indicating that star formation activity is progressively increasing, going back in time, in the higher-density peaks that today are mostly dominated by old galaxies.

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arXiv2006

Evidence for environment-dependent galaxy Luminosity Function up to z=1.5 in the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey

We measure the evolution of the galaxy Luminosity Function as a function of large-scale environment up to z=1.5 from the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) first epoch data. The 3D galaxy density field is reconstructed using a sample of 6582 galaxies with 17.5 < I_{AB} < 24 and measured spectroscopic redshifts. We split the sample in four redshift bins up to z=1.5 and in under-dense and over-dense environments according to the average density contrast δ=0. There is a strong dependence of the Luminosity Function (LF) with large-scale environment up to z=1.2: the LF shape is observed to have a steeper slope in under-dense environments. We find a continuous brightening of ΔM* ~0.6 mag from z=0.25 to z=1.5 both in under-dense and over-dense environments. The rest-frame B-band luminosity density continuously increases in under-dense environments from z=0.25 to z=1.5 whereas its evolution in over-dense environments presents a peak at z~0.9. We interpret the peak by a complex interplay between the decrease of the star formation rate and the increasing fraction of galaxies at δ>0 due to hierarchical growth of structures. As the environmental dependency of the LF shape is already present at least up to z=1.2, we therefore conclude that either the shape of the LF is imprinted very early on in the life of the Universe, a `nature' process, or that `nurture' physical processes shaping up environment relation have already been efficient earlier than a look-back time corresponding to 30% of the current age of the Universe.

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arXiv2005

The VIMOS Integral Field Unit: data reduction methods and quality assessment

With new generation spectrographs integral field spectroscopy is becoming a widely used observational technique. The Integral Field Unit of the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph on the ESO-VLT allows to sample a field as large as 54" x 54" covered by 6400 fibers coupled with micro-lenses. We are presenting here the methods of the data processing software developed to extract the astrophysical signal of faint sources from the VIMOS IFU observations. We focus on the treatment of the fiber-to-fiber relative transmission and the sky subtraction, and the dedicated tasks we have built to address the peculiarities and unprecedented complexity of the dataset. We review the automated process we have developed under the VIPGI data organization and reduction environment (Scodeggio et al. 2005), along with the quality control performed to validate the process. The VIPGI-IFU data processing environment is available to the scientific community to process VIMOS-IFU data since November 2003.

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