Timing the earliest quenching events Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. Carnall A.C.
  2. Walker S.
  3. McLure R.J.
  4. Dunlop J.S.
  5. McLeod D.J.
  6. Cullen F.,Wild V.
  7. Amorin R.
  8. Bolzonella M.
  9. Castellano M.
  10. Cimatti A.
  11. Cucciati O.,Fontana A.
  12. Gargiulo A.
  13. Garilli B.
  14. Jarvis M.J.
  15. Pentericci L.,Pozzetti L.
  16. Zamorani G.
  17. Calabro A.
  18. Hathi N.P.
  19. Koekemoer A.M.
  20. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

We present a sample of 151 massive (M_*_>10^10^M_{sun}_) quiescent galaxies at 2<z<5, based on a sophisticated Bayesian spectral energy distribution fitting analysis of the CANDELS UDS and GOODS-South fields. Our sample includes a robust sub-sample of 61 objects for which we confidently exclude low-redshift and star-forming solutions. We identify 10 robust objects at z>3, of which 2 are at z>4. We report formation redshifts, demonstrating that the oldest objects formed at z>6; however, individual ages from our photometric data have significant uncertainties, typically ~0.5Gyr. We demonstrate that the UVJ colours of the quiescent population evolve with redshift at z>3, becoming bluer and more similar to post-starburst galaxies at lower redshift. Based upon this, we construct a model for the time evolution of quiescent galaxy UVJ colours, concluding that the oldest objects are consistent with forming the bulk of their stellar mass at z~6-7 and quenching at z~5. We report spectroscopic redshifts for two of our objects at z=3.440 and 3.396, which exhibit extremely weak Ly{alpha} emission in ultra-deep VANDELS spectra. We calculate star formation rates based on these line fluxes, finding that these galaxies are consistent with our quiescent selection criteria, provided their Ly{alpha} escape fractions are >3 and >10 per cent, respectively. We finally report that our highest redshift robust object exhibits a continuum break at {lambda}~7000{AA} in a spectrum from VUDS, consistent with our photometric redshift of z_phot_=4.72^+0.06^_-0.04_. If confirmed as quiescent, this object would be the highest redshift known quiescent galaxy. To obtain stronger constraints on the times of the earliest quenching events, high-SNR spectroscopy must be extended to z>~3 quiescent objects.

Keywords
  1. Galaxies
  2. Redshifted
  3. Star forming regions
  4. Infrared astronomy
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2020MNRAS.496..695C
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/MNRAS/496/695
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/496/695

Access

Web browser access HTML
http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/496/695
https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/496/695
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/496/695
IVOA Table Access TAP
http://tapvizier.cds.unistra.fr/TAPVizieR/tap
Run SQL-like queries with TAP-enabled clients (e.g., TOPCAT).
IVOA Cone Search SCS
For use with a cone search client (e.g., TOPCAT).
http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/496/695/table2?
https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/496/695/table2?
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/496/695/table2?

History

2023-09-18T15:19:26Z
Resource record created
2023-09-18T14:20:09Z
Updated
2023-09-18T15:19:26Z
Created

Contact

Name
CDS support team
Postal Address
CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
E-Mail
cds-question@unistra.fr