arXiv subjects

Sandra M. Faber

Publications and source records attributed to Sandra M. Faber.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Evidence for a correlation between the sizes of quiescent galaxies and local environment to z ~ 2

We present evidence for a strong relationship between galaxy size and environment for the quiescent population in the redshift range 1 < z < 2. Environments were measured using projected galaxy overdensities on a scale of 400 kpc, as determined from ~ 96,000 K-band selected galaxies from the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). Sizes were determined from ground-based K-band imaging, calibrated using space-based CANDELS HST observations in the centre of the UDS field, with photometric redshifts and stellar masses derived from 11-band photometric fitting. From the resulting size-mass relation, we confirm that quiescent galaxies at a given stellar mass were typically ~ 50 % smaller at z ~ 1.4 compared to the present day. At a given epoch, however, we find that passive galaxies in denser environments are on average significantly larger at a given stellar mass. The most massive quiescent galaxies (M_stellar > 2 x 10^11 M_sun) at z > 1 are typically 50 % larger in the highest density environments compared to those in the lowest density environments. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we reject the null hypothesis that the size-mass relation is independent of environment at a significance > 4.8 sigma for the redshift range 1 < z < 2. In contrast, the evidence for a relationship between size and environment is much weaker for star-forming galaxies.

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arXiv2013

The Redshift and Mass Dependence on the Formation of The Hubble Sequence at z>1 from CANDELS/UDS

In this paper we present a detailed study of the structures and morphologies of a sample of 1188 massive galaxies with Mstar>10^10Msun between redshifts z=1-3 within the Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) region of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) field. Using this sample we determine how galaxy structure and morphology evolve with time. We visually classify our sample into disks, ellipticals and peculiar systems and correct for redshift effects on our classifications through simulations. We find evolution in the fractions of galaxies at a given visual classification as a function of redshift. The peculiar population is dominant at z>2 with a substantial spheroid population, and a negligible disk population. We compute the transition redshift, ztrans, where the combined fraction of spheroids and disks is equal to that of peculiar galaxies, as ztrans=1.86+/-0.62 for galaxies in our stellar mass range. We find that this changes as a function of stellar mass, with Hubble-type systems becoming dominant at higher redshifts for higher mass galaxies (ztrans=2.22+/-0.82), than for the lower mass galaxies (ztrans=1.73+/-0.57). Higher mass galaxies become morphologically settled before their lower mass counterparts, a form of morphological downsizing. We furthermore compare our visual classifications with Sersic index, the concentration, asymmetry and clumpiness (CAS) parameters, star formation rate and rest frame U-B colour. We find links between the colour of a galaxy, its star formation rate and how extended or peculiar it appears. Finally, we discuss the negligible z>2 disk fraction based on visual morphologies and speculate that this is an effect of forming disks appearing peculiar through processes such as violent disk instabilities or mergers. We conclude that to properly define high redshift morphology a new and more exact classification scheme is needed.

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arXiv2013

The star-forming progenitors of massive red galaxies

The link between massive red galaxies in the local Universe and star-forming galaxies at high redshift is investigated with a semi-analytic model that has proven successful in many ways, e.g. explaining the galaxy colour-magnitude bimodality and the stellar mass-age relation for red-sequence galaxies. The model is used to explore the processes that drive star formation in different types of galaxies as a function of stellar mass and redshift. We find that most z=2-4 star-forming galaxies with M_*>10^10 M_Sun evolve into red-sequence galaxies. Also, most of the massive galaxies on the red-sequence today have passed through a phase of intense star formation at z>2. Specifically, ~ 90% of today's red galaxies with M_*>10^11 M_Sun were fed during this phase by cold streams including minor mergers. Gas-rich major mergers are rare and the effects of merger-driven starbursts are ephemeral. On the other hand, major mergers are important in powering the most extreme starbursts. Gas-rich mergers also explain the tail of intermediate-mass red galaxies that form relatively late, after the epoch of peak star formation. In two thirds of the currently red galaxies that had an intense star formation event at $z<1$, this event was triggered by a merger.

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arXiv2012

Smooth(er) Stellar Mass Maps in CANDELS: Constraints on the Longevity of Clumps in High-redshift Star-forming Galaxies

We perform a detailed analysis of the resolved colors and stellar populations of a complete sample of 323 star-forming galaxies at 0.5 < z < 1.5, and 326 star-forming galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 in the ERS and CANDELS-Deep region of GOODS-South. Galaxies were selected to be more massive than 10^10 Msun and have specific star formation rates above 1/t_H. We model the 7-band optical ACS + near-IR WFC3 spectral energy distributions of individual bins of pixels, accounting simultaneously for the galaxy-integrated photometric constraints available over a longer wavelength range. We analyze variations in rest-frame color, stellar surface mass density, age, and extinction as a function of galactocentric radius and local surface brightness/density, and measure structural parameters on luminosity and stellar mass maps. We find evidence for redder colors, older stellar ages, and increased dust extinction in the nuclei of galaxies. Big star-forming clumps seen in star formation tracers are less prominent or even invisible on the inferred stellar mass distributions. Off-center clumps contribute up to ~20% to the integrated SFR, but only 7% or less to the integrated mass of all massive star-forming galaxies at z ~ 1 and z ~ 2, with the fractional contributions being a decreasing function of wavelength used to select the clumps. The stellar mass profiles tend to have smaller sizes and M20 coefficients, and higher concentration and Gini coefficients than the light distribution. Our results are consistent with an inside-out disk growth scenario with brief (100 - 200 Myr) episodic local enhancements in star formation superposed on the underlying disk. Alternatively, the young ages of off-center clumps may signal inward clump migration, provided this happens efficiently on the order of an orbital timescale.

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arXiv2012

The Nature of Extremely Red H-[4.5]>4 Galaxies revealed with SEDS and CANDELS

We have analysed a sample of 25 extremely red H-[4.5]>4 galaxies, selected using 4.5 micron data from the Spitzer SEDS survey and deep H-band data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) CANDELS survey, over ~180 square arcmin of the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field. Our aim is to investigate the nature of this rare population of mid-infrared (mid-IR) sources that display such extreme near-to-mid-IR colours. Using up to 17-band photometry (U through 8.0 microns), we have studied in detail their spectral energy distributions, including possible degeneracies in the photometric redshift/internal extinction (zphot-Av) plane. Our sample appears to include sources of very different nature. Between 45% and 75% of them are dust-obscured, massive galaxies at 3 300 microJy, which at 3 5) sources at zphot<1. Finally, we analyse in detail two zphot~6 galaxy candidates, and discuss their plausibility and implications. Overall, our red galaxy sample contains the tip of the iceberg of a larger population of z>3 galaxies to be discovered with the future James Webb Space Telescope.

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arXiv2007

AEGIS: New Evidence Linking Active Galactic Nuclei to the Quenching of Star Formation

Utilizing Chandra X-ray observations in the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) we identify 241 X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs, L > 10^{42} ergs/s) and study the properties of their host galaxies in the range 0.4 < z < 1.4. By making use of infrared photometry from Palomar Observatory and BRI imaging from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we estimate AGN host galaxy stellar masses and show that both stellar mass and photometric redshift estimates (where necessary) are robust to the possible contamination from AGNs in our X-ray selected sample. Accounting for the photometric and X-ray sensitivity limits of the survey, we construct the stellar mass function of X-ray selected AGN host galaxies and find that their abundance decreases by a factor of ~2 since z~1, but remains roughly flat as a function of stellar mass. We compare the abundance of AGN hosts to the rate of star formation quenching observed in the total galaxy population. If the timescale for X-ray detectable AGN activity is roughly 0.5-1 Gyr--as suggested by black hole demographics and recent simulations--then we deduce that the inferred AGN "trigger" rate matches the star formation quenching rate, suggesting a link between these phenomena. However, given the large range of nuclear accretion rates we infer for the most massive and red hosts, X-ray selected AGNs may not be directly responsible for quenching star formation.

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arXiv2007

Ages and Abundances of Red Sequence Galaxies as a Function of LINER Emission Line Strength

Although the spectrum of a prototypical early-type galaxy is assumed to lack emission lines, a substantial fraction (likely as high as 30%) of nearby red sequence galaxy spectra contain emission lines with line ratios characteristic of low ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs). We use spectra of ~6000 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in a narrow redshift slice (0.06 < z < 0.08) to compare the stellar populations of red sequence galaxies with and without LINER-like emission. The spectra are binned by internal velocity dispersion and by emission properties to produce high S/N stacked spectra. The recent stellar population models of R. Schiavon (2007) make it possible to measure ages, [Fe/H], and individual elemental abundance ratios [Mg/Fe], [C/Fe], [N/Fe], and [Ca/Fe] for each of the stacked spectra. We find that red sequence galaxies with strong LINER-like emission are systematically 2-3.5 Gyr (10-40%) younger than their emission-free counterparts at the same velocity dispersion. This suggests a connection between the mechanism powering the emission (whether AGN, post-AGB stars, shocks, or cooling flows) and more recent star formation in the galaxy. We find that mean stellar age and [Fe/H] increase with velocity dispersion for all galaxies. Elemental abundance [Mg/Fe] increases modestly with velocity dispersion in agreement with previous results, and [C/Fe] and [N/Fe] increase more strongly with velocity dispersion than does [Mg/Fe]. [Ca/Fe] appears to be roughly solar for all galaxies. At fixed velocity dispersion, galaxies with fainter r-band luminosities have lower [Fe/H] and older ages but similar abundance ratios compared to brighter galaxies.

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arXiv2007

On the Age and Metallicity Estimation of Spiral Galaxies Using Optical and Near-Infrared Photometry

In integrated-light, some color-color diagrams that use optical and near-infrared photometry show surprisingly orthogonal grids as age and metallicity are varied, and they are coming into common usage for estimating the average age and metallicity of spiral galaxies. In this paper we reconstruct these composite grids using simple stellar population models from several different groups convolved with some plausible functional forms of star formation histories at fixed metallicity. We find that the youngest populations present (t<2 Gyr) dominate the light, and because of their presence the age-metallicity degeneracy can be partially broken with broad-band colors, unlike older populations. The scatter among simple stellar population models by different authors is, however, large at ages t<2 Gyr. The dominant uncertainties in stellar population models arise from convective core overshoot assumptions and the treatment of the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase and helium abundance may play a significant role at higher metallicities. Real spiral galaxies are unlikely to have smooth, exponential star formation histories, and burstiness will cause a partial reversion to the single-burst case, which has even larger model-to-model scatter. Finally, it is emphasized that the current composite stellar population models need some implementation of chemical enrichment histories for the proper analysis of the observational data.

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arXiv2002

Science Objectives and Early Results of the DEEP2 Redshift Survey

The DEIMOS spectrograph has now been installed on the Keck-II telescope and commissioning is nearly complete. The DEEP2 Redshift Survey, which will take approximately 120 nights at the Keck Observatory over a three year period and has been designed to utilize the power of DEIMOS, began in the summer of 2002. The multiplexing power and high efficiency of DEIMOS enables us to target 1000 faint galaxies per clear night. Our goal is to gather high-quality spectra of \~60,000 galaxies with z>0.75 in order to study the properties and large scale clustering of galaxies at z ~ 1. The survey will be executed at high spectral resolution, $R=λ/Δλ\approx 5000$, allowing us to work between the bright OH sky emission lines and to infer linewidths for many of the target galaxies (for several thousand objects, we will obtain rotation curves as well). The linewidth data will facilitate the execution of the classical redshift-volume cosmological test, which can provide a precision measurement of the equation of state of the Universe. This talk reviews the project, summarizes our science goals and presents some early DEIMOS data.

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arXiv1999

Young galaxies: what turns them on?

Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at $z \sim 3$ exhibit number densities and clustering similar to local $L_*$ galaxies; however, their star formation rates (SFRs) are much higher. We explore the scenario in which LBGs are starburst galaxies triggered by collisions, and thus provide an explanation for these key properties. The relative paucity of starburst galaxies at low redshift can be attributed to a much higher collision rate in the past. We use high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulations and a hierarchical halo finder to estimate the galaxy collision rate as a function of time in the popular $Λ$CDM cosmological model. We find that bright collisional starbursts are frequent enough to account for most of the high-$z$ ($2.5-4.5$) LBGs. Moreover, many of the objects are of relatively small mass, but they cluster about large-mass halos. They therefore exhibit strong clustering, similar to that observed and stronger than that of the relevant massive halos.

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arXiv1998

The Deimos Spectrograph and a Planned DEEP Redshift Survey

A second generation spectrograph for the Keck telescope is under construction at the Lick Observatory shops and will be delivered to Hawaii in 1999. Starting in the Fall of 1999, we shall begin the second phase of the DEEP project: a dense redshift survey of galaxies at Z=1. With each pointing of DEIMOS we shall obtain simultaneous short slit spectra of 70-100 galaxies with $m_I(AB) < 23.0$ in a field of 15' by 2'. Four regions of the sky will be studied in detail, with dense sampling in a region of 120'x15' in each region, plus outrigger fields. The galaxies for spectroscopic analysis will be selected by flux limit and by photometric redshift estimate $Z_{photo}>0.7$. The goal is to obtain high quality spectra of perhaps 30,000 galaxies over the course of 2-3 years. We here review the status of DEIMOS and the science objectives of the survey.

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arXiv1994

Homogeneous Velocity-Distance Data for Peculiar Velocity Analysis. I. Calibration of Cluster Samples

We have combined five Tully-Fisher (TF) redshift-distance samples for peculiar velocity analysis: the cluster data of Han, Mould and coworkers (1991-93, HM) and Willick (1991, W91CL), and the field data of Aaronson et al. (1992), Willick (1991), Courteau & Faber (1992), and Mathewson et al. (1992), totaling over 3000 spiral galaxies. We treat the cluster data in this paper, which is the first of a series; in Paper II we treat the field TF samples. These data are to be combined with elliptical data (e.g., Faber et al. 1989) to form the MARK III CATALOG OF GALAXY PECULIAR VELOCITIES, which we will present in Paper III. The catalog will be used as input for POTENT reconstruction of velocity and density fields, described in later papers, as well as for alternative velocity analyses. Our main goal in Papers I & II is to place the TF data onto a self-consistent system by (i) applying a uniform set of corrections to the raw observables, (ii) determining the TF slopes and scatters separately for each sample, and (iii) adjusting the TF zeropoints to ensure mutually consistent distances. The global zeropoint is set by the HM sample, chosen because of its depth and uniformity on the sky and its substantial overlap with each of the other samples. In this paper, we calibrate the ``forward'' and ``inverse'' TF relations for HM and W91CL. We study the selection criteria for these samples and correct for the resultant statistical biases. The bias corrections are validated by comparing forward and inverse cluster distances. We find that many sample clusters are better modeled as ``expanding'' than relaxed, which significantly affects the TF calibrations. Proper corrections for internal extinction are derived self-consistently from the data.

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