arXiv subjects

Yangyao Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Yangyao Chen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Evidence for the transformation from lenticular to spiral galaxies

It is widely accepted that late-type galaxies, such as spirals, evolve into early-type systems, including elliptical and lenticular galaxies, through galaxy mergers and violent disk instability processes. Throughout this morphological transformation, star formation is typically suppressed by quenching mechanisms whose detailed nature remains the subject of active investigation. Here, we present compelling evidence for an evolutionary pathway that proceeds in the reverse direction. Using the integral field unit observations, we identify a population of spiral galaxies hosting quenched central cores (QCCs). These galaxies exhibit bimodal distributions in both their stellar population properties and their dynamical properties, along with sharp changes in radial gradients near the QCC boundary. These results indicate that the QCCs and the surrounding outer disks formed at distinct cosmic epochs and through different physical processes. Remarkably, QCCs closely resemble quiescent early-type galaxies, particularly lenticular galaxies, in their mass-size and mass-velocity dispersion scaling relations, as well as in their stellar population demographics and internal kinematics. These findings provide strong support for a rejuvenation scenario in which spiral disks are reassembled around pre-existing quiescent lenticular or early-type systems. Moreover, we show that such rejuvenation, accompanied by a reverse morphological transformation from early- to late-type appearance, is quite common. This indicates that quenching in galaxies is not invariably a terminal state and can be reversed under appropriate conditions.

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arXiv2026

An emerging baryon cycle in a galaxy 500 million years after the Big Bang

The emergence of stellar feedback as a regulator of galaxy growth marks a fundamental transition in cosmic history. At early times, rapid gas accretion and collapse may induce intense star formation before feedback becomes effective, producing feedback-free starbursts. When and how such bursts subsequently develop into self-regulated baryon cycles remain observationally unknown. Here we show that Gz9p3, a merging galaxy at $z=9.311$, is caught in this transition only 500 million years after the Big Bang. Deep JWST spectroscopy reveals a substantial neutral-gas reservoir along its merger-driven tidal structure and a multiphase outflow. Fine-structure absorption provides the first direct measurement of the electron density of the cool outflowing gas at high redshift ($\approx\,17\,{\rm cm^{-3}}$), yielding a mass-loading factor among the highest yet measured for galaxies of comparable stellar mass. The emergence of such efficient feedback after an intense burst is consistent with the delayed onset of feedback expected in feedback-free starburst models. The cool outflowing gas is unlikely to escape the host halo, implying that much of this metal-enriched material may remain available for future recycling through the circumgalactic medium. Gz9p3 therefore provides an early view of a baryon cycle being established through the interplay of merger-driven gas redistribution, bursty star formation and stellar feedback, suggesting that feedback-regulated recycling was already shaping galaxy growth during the epoch of reionization.

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arXiv2026

Observational Evidence for Anisotropic Metal Excess around Galaxies

The exchange of matter and energy between galaxies and their surroundings drives the cosmic baryon cycle, yet mapping metal transport remains an observational challenge. While simulations predict that galactic winds escape anisotropically along minor axes, evidence for chemical enrichment in neighboring galaxies is limited. We analyze 1,433 galaxy pairs from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument survey and detect a gas-phase metallicity excess of 14.6% $\pm$ 3.7% to 24.2% $\pm$ 2.6% in neighbors aligned with the minor axis of massive primary at projected separations of 15--60 kpc. This signal, qualitatively consistent with IllustrisTNG simulation, varies from a marginal detection (>92% confidence) at 15--30 kpc to a significant signal (>98% confidence) at 30--60 kpc. In this work, we show that this anisotropic metallicity excess is consistent with a scenario of enrichment via galactic outflows, providing empirical constraints on feedback models and complementing other environmental processes.

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arXiv2026

Satellite quenching by radio jets of central galaxies in galaxy groups

Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is now recognized as a key component of galaxy formation models. It plays a central role in regulating the growth and quenching of galaxies in the center of groups. However, the impact of AGN feedback from central galaxies on satellite galaxies remains largely unexplored. Here based on the largest sample to date of radio AGNs in galaxy groups (Yang et al. 2007) and a comprehensive consideration of multiple physical parameters that may influence the star formation of satellite galaxies, we demonstrate that the quiescent satellite fraction around radio AGNs is higher than that around normal galaxies. The most significant enhancement is observed around AGNs with large radio lobes. These findings demonstrate that the impact of kinetic AGN feedback beyond their host galaxies to their satellites. These results provide novel insights into the physical origins of some long-standing puzzles in extragalactic astronomy, including, e.g., galactic conformity and the strong small-scale clustering of quiescent galaxies.

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arXiv2026

Super-Eddington accretion of black holes in early nuclear bursts gives birth to Little Red Dots

In a recent paper, Chen et al. developed a framework for modeling the seeding and growth of supermassive black holes (BHs) in the context of $\Lambda$CDM cosmogony. Here, we use a set of physically motivated criteria to select a population of predicted BHs and link them to Little Red Dots (LRDs) discovered by JWST. We show that the LRD population at high redshift ($z$) emerges naturally from a subset of BHs with super-Eddington accretion during nuclear bursts. The model suggests that the observed LRDs are the "tip of the iceberg" of a much larger population of less luminous BHs in the same subset. The model makes specific predictions for the LRD population, such as the mass distributions of their BHs and host galaxies/halos, and the piece-wise redshift evolution of their number density. The cosmological context of the model also allows us to link the observed LRD population to their progenitors (their BH seeds) and lower-$z$ descendant BHs, galaxies and halos. Most LRDs at $z\sim 5$ are seeded at $z \gtrsim 20$ through direct-collapse BHs or pair-instability supernovae from Pop-III stars, and have grown to $M_{\rm BH} \approx 10^5$--$10^7\,{\rm M}_\odot$ through nuclear bursts by their observed redshift. LRDs are predicted to have diverse descendants, ranging from compact dwarf galaxies to brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) at $z=0$. These predictions are consistent with current observations and can be further tested. The success of this model indicates that the results presented here provide a robust foundation for building detailed models of the LRD population.

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arXiv2026

A Bending in the Size-mass Relation of Star-forming Galaxies across $0.5 < z < 6.0$ at a Critical Stellar Mass of $10^{10}M_\odot$ Revealed by JWST

We investigate the rest-frame optical size-stellar mass relation of galaxies at $0.5 M_{\rm p}$, an increasing fraction of SFGs decouple from halo growth and become compact, likely associated with rapid bulge (and black hole) growth in $M_{\rm h} \gtrsim 10^{12} M_{\odot}$ halos. These compact SFGs are promising progenitors of massive QGs, as evidenced by their similar masses, surface brightness profiles, and morphologies. Their high number densities can account for the observed buildup of massive QGs at $z > 2$, suggesting that the compaction pathway, rather than major mergers of extended SFGs, dominates the formation of high-z massive QGs.

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arXiv2025

Interpreting the strong clustering of ultra-diffuse galaxies by halo spin bias

We use the IllustrisTNG300-ODM simulation to investigate the spin bias of low-mass halos and its connection to the strong clustering of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) reported by Zhang et al. (2025). By comparing two halo spin definitions-one using only bound particles ($\lambda_{\rm b}$) and another including unbound particles ($\lambda_{\rm a}$)-we demonstrate that the spin bias of low-mass halos critically depends on the definition. While $\lambda_{\rm a}$ yields stronger clustering for higher-spin halos at all masses, $\lambda_{\rm b}$ produces an inverted trend below $M_{\rm h}\sim 10^{11} \rm M_{\odot}/h$. This discrepancy is driven by a subset of halos in high-density environments that have large $\lambda_{\rm a}$ but small $\lambda_{\rm b}$. Using an empirical model implemented in SDSS-like mocks, we link the stellar surface-mass-density ($\Sigma_\ast$) of a galaxy to $\lambda_{\rm a}$ of its host halo and find an anti-correlation that more diffuse dwarfs tend to reside in higher-spin halos. The model naturally reproduces the observed strong clustering of UDGs within the standard $\Lambda$CDM framework without invoking exotic assumptions such as self-interacting dark matter. The high fraction of unbound particles in UDG hosts likely originates from tidal fields in dense regions, an effect particularly significant for low-mass halos. We discuss how the angular momentum of a halo represented by $\lambda_{\rm a}$ may be transferred to the gas to affect size and surface density of the galaxy that forms in the halo.

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arXiv2025

First Statistical Detection of MgII-traced Cool Gas Outflows with JWST Towards Cosmic Dawn

Galactic-scale outflows are a crucial component of galaxy evolution, yet their properties in the early universe remain poorly constrained. We present the first statistical investigation of \ion{Mg}{2}-traced cool gas outflows in galaxies spanning a wide cosmic timeline from $z \approx 1$ to $z > 6$ (with sample coverage extending to $z \sim 10$). Using thousands of public JWST/NIRSpec spectra, we employ a signal-to-noise weighted spectral stacking technique on the \ion{Mg}{2} $\lambda\lambda2796, 2803$ absorption doublet. We robustly detect blueshifted \ion{Mg}{2} absorption in nearly all stellar mass and redshift bins, with the exception of the lowest-mass systems at $z \sim 1-2$. The outflow equivalent width exhibits a positive correlation with stellar mass ($M_*$) at all epochs, with the fitted slope of $1.21 \pm 0.35$. Our work provides the first statistical constraints on \ion{Mg}{2}-traced cool outflows in the low-mass ($M_* \lesssim 10^{9.5} \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$), high-redshift ($z > 3$) regime. We also find that the outflow velocities generally remain below the host halo escape velocities, consistent with a galactic fountain scenario. The consistency of the stellar mass-outflow equivalent width relation across $z \sim 2-6$ suggests a persistent, unevolving feedback mechanism governing the baryon cycle towards cosmic dawn.

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arXiv2025

Transition from Outside-in to Inside-Out at $z\sim 2$: Evidence from Radial Profiles of Specific Star Formation Rate based on JWST/HST

By combining high-resolution observations from JWST and HST, we have measured the stellar masses, star formation rates (SFRs), and multi-wavelength morphologies of galaxies in the CANDELS fields. Furthermore, based on rest-frame 1 $\mu$m morphologies, we have derived spatially resolved stellar mass and SFR surface density ($\Sigma_*$ and $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$) profiles for 46,313 galaxies with reliable structural measurements at $0 8$, and provide the corresponding catalogue. For star-forming galaxies (SFGs), our results show excellent consistency with previous studies in terms of the star formation main sequence and the size-mass relation, demonstrating the robustness of our stellar mass and SFR measurements. For spatially resolved profiles, we find that at higher redshifts ($z>2.5$), the median radial profile of $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ is nearly parallel to but slightly steeper than that of $\Sigma_*$. This results in mildly negative gradients in the specific SFR (sSFR) profiles across all stellar mass bins considered. These findings indicate that galaxies at $z>2.5$ cannot grow in size via only in-situ star formation, challenging the understanding of galaxy size evolution beyond the cosmic noon. In contrast, at $z<2.0$, the sSFR profiles transition to exhibit more and more positive gradients at lower redshifts, consistent with an inside-out growth scenario where star formation preferentially expands the galactic outskirts.

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arXiv2025

Radio AGN feedback sustains quiescence only in a minority of massive galaxies

Radio active galactic nuclei (AGNs) eject a huge amount of energy into the surrounding medium and are thought to potentially prevent gas cooling and maintain the quiescence of massive galaxies. The short-lived, sporadic, and anisotropic nature of radio activities, coupled with the detection of abundant cold gas around some massive quiescent galaxies, raise questions about the efficiency of radio feedback in massive galaxies. Here we present an innovative method rooted in artificial intelligence to separate galaxies in which radio feedback is effective (RFE), regardless of current radio emission, from those in which radio feedback is ineffective (RFI), according to their optical images. Galaxies categorized as RFE are all dynamically hot, whereas quiescent RFI (RFI-Q) galaxies usually have extended cold-disk components. At given stellar mass, dark matter halos hosting RFE galaxies are between four to ten times more massive than those of RFI-Q galaxies. We find, for the first time, that almost all RFE galaxies have scant cold gas, irrespective of AGN activity. In contrast, many RFI-Q galaxies are surrounded by substantial amounts of condensed atomic gas, indicating a different evolutionary path from RFE galaxies. Our finding provides direct and compelling evidence that a radio AGN has gone through about 300 on-off cycles and that radio feedback can prevent gas cooling over a timescale much longer than that of radio activity. Contrary to general belief, our analysis shows that only a small fraction of massive galaxies are influenced by strong radio AGNs, suggesting that current galaxy formation models need serious revision.

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arXiv2025

Two-phase formation of galaxies: the coevolution between galaxies and dark matter halos

We use FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the co-evolution between Milky Way-size galaxies and their host dark matter halos. We find that the formation of these galaxies follows a two-phase pattern, with an early phase featured by hot dynamics, bulge-dominated structure and bursty star formation, and a later phase featured by cold dynamics, disk-dominated structure and steady star formation. The transition times of these galaxy properties are correlated with the time when the host halo transits from fast to slow accretion, indicating the two-phase assembly of halos as a potential mechanism that drives the two-phase formation of galaxies. The physical origin of dynamical hotness can be summarized into two modes of star formation: a scattered mode in which stars form at large radii within cold gas streams associated with fast assembly of halos, and a concentrated mode in which stars form at small radii through violent fragmentation from globally self-gravitated gas when halo assembly is about to slow down. Cold gaseous and stellar disks can form when the conditions of the two modes are removed by the stall of fast halo assembly and the reduction of gas by feedback processes. The two modes of star formation leave distinct imprints on the structural properties of high-redshift galaxies, providing implications to be tested by JWST and future observations.

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arXiv2025

A two-phase model of galaxy formation: IV. Seeding and growing supermassive black holes in dark matter halos

We present a theoretical framework for seeding and growing supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in dark matter halos along their assembly histories. Seeds are bred out of Pop-III stars formed during the first collapse of pristine gas in mini-halos that have reached the $\rm H_2$-cooling limit, modulated by UV radiation from star formation and dynamical heating from fast halo assembly. Such breeding persists until the enrichment of the intergalactic medium (IGM) enables Pop-II stars to form. Post-seeding growth of black holes (BHs) is driven by distinct channels, starting with episodic super-Eddington accretion associated with nuclear bursts induced by global disturbances of galaxies, followed by sustained sub-Eddington accretion via capturing sub-clouds formed in self-gravitating gas clouds (SGCs) in halos of fast assembly, and ending with merger-dominated, quiescent growth. We implement the model in subhalo merger trees to build a coherent framework to follow SMBH-galaxy-halo co-evolution across the whole history and structural hierarchy. BH seeds are bred with a broad mass spectrum of $M_{\rm BH} = 10 - 10^5\,{\rm M}_\odot$ at $z \approx 20 - 30$ in mini-halos with masses of $10^5 - 10^8\,{\rm M}_\odot$. Nuclear bursts provide the key condition for seeds to grow into SMBHs. The $M_{\rm BH}$-$M_*$ relation is a multi-piece, redshift-dependent function shaped by the interplay among different growth channels. Our model predictions are broadly consistent with existing observations; especially, a population of BHs reminiscent of 'little red dots' (LRDs) discovered by JWST naturally results from the seeding and growing processes. Potential future tests of the model are discussed.

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arXiv2025

The Bigfoot: A footprint of a Coma cluster progenitor at z=3.98

Protoclusters, galaxy clusters' high redshift progenitors, hold the keys to understanding the formation and evolution of clusters and their member galaxies. However, their cosmological distances and spatial extensions (tens of Mpc) have inhibited complete mapping of their structure and constituent galaxies, which is key to robustly linking protoclusters to their descendants. Here we report the discovery of the Bigfoot, a tridimensional structure at $z = 3.98$ including 11 subgroups traced by 55 (700) spectroscopic (photometric) redshifts with JWST, extending over $15\times 37$ $\times 49{\rm{cMpc^3}}$ in the PRIMER-UDS field. Bigfoot's large-scale and mass function of member galaxies closely match constrained simulations' predictions for the progenitors of today's most massive clusters (${M_0} > 10^{15} {M_{_ \odot }}$). All subgroups with ${M_{\rm{h}}} > {10^{12.5}}{M_{_ \odot }}$ exhibit enhanced fractions of massive galaxies ($>{10^{10.0} {M_{_ \odot }}}$) compared to lower-mass halos and the field, demonstrating the accelerated formation of massive galaxies in massive halos. The presence of this massive protocluster with a large central halo (${10^{13.0} {M_{_ \odot }}}$) in a JWST deep field bears important cosmological implication that favors high ${\sigma _8}$ of PLANCK cosmology over low-redshift probes.

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arXiv2025

Central Concentration and Escape of Ionizing Photons in Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionization

Compact, low-mass galaxies with strong nebular emission are considered promising candidates for efficient ionizing photon production and escape. We present a spatially resolved analysis of 189 galaxies at redshifts $z \sim 6.7-7.6$ in JADES GOODS-N and GOODS-S fields and selected via JWST/NIRCam F410M filter. By employing annular photometry and spectral energy distribution fitting across rest-frame UV to optical wavelengths, we investigate the internal structure of star formation, ionizing photon production and escape, as well as the resolved star formation histories within these galaxies. We find that these galaxies exhibit compact, centrally concentrated, and bursty star formation, especially in lower-mass systems ($\log(M_*/{\rm M_{\odot}}) <9.0$). The central regions of them display extreme [OIII]+H$\beta$ equivalent widths ($>$1000 \AA), high ionizing photon production efficiencies ($\xi_{\text{ion}} \sim 10^{25.6}$ Hz erg$^{-1}$), steep UV slopes ($\sim -2.3$), and elevated escape fractions ($f_{\text{esc}} > 0.08$), with all these properties peaking in the inner regions. These findings reveal outside-in growth and rising star formation histories at $z\sim 7$, with the central regions of them playing a pivotal role in driving cosmic reionization.

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arXiv2025

Potential-Driven Metal Cycling: JADES Census of Gas-Phase Metallicity for galaxies at 1 < z < 7

The gravitational potential is established as a critical determinant of gas-phase metallicity (12+log(O/H)) in low-redshift galaxies, whereas its influence remains unconfirmed at high redshifts. We investigate the correlation between gas-phase metallicity and effective radius ($R_{\rm e}$) for a sample of galaxies with redshifts ranging from 1 to 7, drawn from JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey) Data Release 3. We calculate the metallicities using four strong-line methods: ${\rm N2S2H\alpha}$, ${\rm R23}$, ${\rm N2}$, and ${\rm O3N2}$, respectively. After taking out the evolution of size, we find that the offsets of mass-size relation ($\Delta \log R_{\rm e}$) are significantly negatively correlated with the offset of mass-metallicity relation ($\Delta \log({\rm O/H})$) for the four metallicity tracers. Regardless of the metallicity tracer used, we obtain Spearman rank $p-$values much less than 0.01, rejecting the null hypothesis that the observed correlation is statistically nonsignificant and attributable to random chance. This is also true for galaxies with $z>3$, with $p-$values less than 0.05 for the four metallicity tracers. We for the first time find evidence of size playing a key role in determining gas-phase metallicity towards cosmic dawn, suggesting that the gravitational potential influences their material-exchange processes with the surrounding environment at very early universe.

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arXiv2025

Unexpected clustering pattern in dwarf galaxies challenges formation models

The galaxy correlation function serves as a fundamental tool for studying cosmology, galaxy formation, and the nature of dark matter. It is well established that more massive, redder and more compact galaxies tend to have stronger clustering in space. These results can be understood in terms of galaxy formation in Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos of different mass and assembly history. Here, we report an unexpectedly strong large-scale clustering for isolated, diffuse and blue dwarf galaxies, comparable to that seen for massive galaxy groups but much stronger than that expected from their halo mass. Our analysis indicates that the strong clustering aligns with the halo assembly bias seen in simulations with the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology only if more diffuse dwarfs formed in low-mass halos of older ages. This pattern is not reproduced by existing models of galaxy evolution in a $\Lambda$CDM framework, and our finding provides new clues for the search of more viable models. Our results can be explained well by assuming self-interacting dark matter, suggesting that such a scenario should be considered seriously.

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arXiv2025

Central Velocity Dispersion being the Primary Driver of Abundance Patterns in Quenched Galaxies

The element abundances of galaxies provide crucial insights into their formation and evolution. Using high-resolution IFU data from the MaNGA survey, we analyze the central spectra (0-0.5 $R_{\rm e}$) of 1,185 quenched galaxies ($z = 0.012-0.15$) to study their element abundances and stellar populations. We employ the full-spectrum fitting code {\tt alf} to derive stellar ages and element abundances from synthetic spectra and empirical libraries. Our key findings are: (1) Central velocity dispersion ($\sigma_*$) is the most effective parameter correlating with (relative) element abundances, especially [Na/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [C/Fe], and [N/Fe], outperforming $M_\ast$ and $M_\ast/R_{\rm e}$. (2) When binned by $\sigma_*$, the relative abundances of Na, Mg, C, and N remain stable across different formation times ($T_{\rm form}$), suggesting these elements are primarily influenced by the burstiness of star formation (traced by $\sigma_*$) rather than prolonged evolutionary processes. (3) Fe and Ca show little variation with $\sigma_*$, indicating weaker sensitivity to $\sigma_*$-driven processes. However, $T_{\rm form}$ has a global influence on all elements, contributing to their overall chemical evolution, albeit secondary to $\sigma_*$ for most elements. These results support the primary role of $\sigma_*$ in shaping the abundance patterns, likely stemming from the connection between central massive black holes and possibly dark matter halos, which influences the burstiness of star formation histories.

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arXiv2024

Size Growth on Short Timescales of Star-Forming Galaxies: Insights from Size Variation with Rest-Frame Wavelength with JADES

We investigate size variation with rest-frame wavelength for star-forming galaxies based on the second JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey data release. Star-forming galaxies are typically smaller at longer wavelength from UV-to-NIR at $z<3.5$, especially for more massive galaxies, indicating the inside-out assembly with in-situ star formation if ignoring dust attenuation. The size variation with wavelength shows strong dependence on stellar mass, and shows little or no dependence on redshift, specific star formation rate and galaxy environment. This suggests that the size growth of star-forming galaxies is a self-regulated process primarily governed by stellar mass. We model size as a function of both mass and redshift simultaneously, obtaining $R_{\rm e} \propto M_*^{0.23} (1+z)^{-1.04}$ at a wavelength of 0.45 ${\mu \mathrm{m}}$, and $R_{\rm e} \propto M_*^{0.20} (1+z)^{-1.08}$ at 1.0 ${\mu \mathrm{m}}$. Based on this size evolution and the star formation main sequence from the literature, we obtain the locus of typical size growth for individual galaxies of different masses on the mass-size plane. The moving trend of galaxies on the mass-size plane, which indicates the slopes of their locus, strongly correlates with the size ratio between 0.45 ${\mu \mathrm{m}}$ and 1.0 ${\mu \mathrm{m}}$, supporting the idea that the size variation with wavelength provides important information on size growth of galaxies on short timescales.

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