We make publicly available a catalog of calibrated environmental measures for galaxies in the five 3D-Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/CANDELS deep fields. Leveraging the spectroscopic and grism ...redshifts from the 3D-HST survey, multiwavelength photometry from CANDELS, and wider field public data for edge corrections, we derive densities in fixed apertures to characterize the environment of galaxies brighter than mag in the redshift range . By linking observed galaxies to a mock sample, selected to reproduce the 3D-HST sample selection and redshift accuracy, each 3D-HST galaxy is assigned a probability density function of the host halo mass, and a probability that it is a central or a satellite galaxy. The same procedure is applied to a z = 0 sample selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We compute the fraction of passive central and satellite galaxies as a function of stellar and halo mass, and redshift, and then derive the fraction of galaxies that were quenched by environment specific processes. Using the mock sample, we estimate that the timescale for satellite quenching is it is longer at lower stellar mass or lower redshift, but remarkably independent of halo mass. This indicates that, in the range of environments commonly found within the 3D-HST sample ( ), satellites are quenched by exhaustion of their gas reservoir in the absence of cosmological accretion. We find that the quenching times can be separated into a delay phase, during which satellite galaxies behave similarly to centrals at fixed stellar mass, and a phase where the star formation rate drops rapidly ( Gyr), as shown previously at z = 0. We conclude that this scenario requires satellite galaxies to retain a large reservoir of multi-phase gas upon accretion, even at high redshift, and that this gas sustains star formation for the long quenching times observed.
Abstract
We derive 2D dust attenuation maps at ∼1 kpc resolution from the UV continuum for 10 galaxies on the
z
∼ 2 star-forming main sequence (SFMS). Comparison with IR data shows that 9 out of 10 ...galaxies do not require further obscuration in addition to the UV-based correction, though our sample does not include the most heavily obscured, massive galaxies. The individual rest-frame
V
-band dust attenuation (
A
V
) radial profiles scatter around an average profile that gently decreases from ∼1.8 mag in the center down to ∼0.6 mag at ∼3–4 half-mass radii. We use these maps to correct UV- and H
α
-based star formation rates (SFRs), which agree with each other. At masses
, the dust-corrected specific SFR (sSFR) profiles are on average radially constant at a mass-doubling timescale of ∼300 Myr, pointing at a synchronous growth of bulge and disk components. At masses
, the sSFR profiles are typically centrally suppressed by a factor of ∼10 relative to the galaxy outskirts. With total central obscuration disfavored, this indicates that at least a fraction of massive
z
∼ 2 SFMS galaxies have started their inside-out star formation quenching that will move them to the quenched sequence. In combination with other observations, galaxies above and below the ridge of the SFMS relation have, respectively, centrally enhanced and centrally suppressed sSFRs relative to their outskirts, supporting a picture where bulges are built owing to gas “compaction” that leads to a high central SFR as galaxies move toward the upper envelope of the SFMS.
We present the completed KMOS3D survey, an integral field spectroscopic survey of 739 \(\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/{M}_{\odot })\gt 9\) galaxies at 0.6 < z < 2.7 using the K-band Multi Object ...Spectrograph (KMOS) at the Very Large Telescope. The KMOS3D survey provides a population-wide census of kinematics, star formation, outflows, and nebular gas conditions both on and off the star-forming galaxy main sequence through the spatially resolved and integrated properties of Hα, N ii, and S ii emission lines. We detect Hα emission for 91% of galaxies on the main sequence of star formation and 79% overall. The depth of the survey has allowed us to detect galaxies with star formation rates below 1 M ⊙ yr−1, as well as to resolve 81% of detected galaxies with ≥3 resolution elements along the kinematic major axis. The detection fraction of Hα is a strong function of both color and offset from the main sequence, with the detected and nondetected samples exhibiting different spectral energy distribution shapes. Comparison of Hα and UV+IR star formation rates reveal that dust attenuation corrections may be underestimated by 0.5 dex at the highest masses (\(\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/{M}_{\odot })\gt 10.5\)). We confirm our first year results of a high rotation-dominated fraction (monotonic velocity gradient and v rot/\({\sigma }_{0}\gt \sqrt{3.36}\)) of 77% for the full KMOS3D sample. The rotation-dominated fraction is a function of both stellar mass and redshift, with the strongest evolution measured over the redshift range of the survey for galaxies with \(\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/{M}_{\odot })\lt 10.5\). With this paper, we include a final data release of all 739 observed objects (http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ir/KMOS3D).
Most present-day galaxies with stellar masses ≥1011 solar masses show no ongoing star formation and are dense spheroids. Ten billion years ago, similarly massive galaxies were typically forming stars ...at rates of hundreds solar masses per year. It is debated how star formation ceased, on which time scales, and how this "quenching" relates to the emergence of dense spheroids. We measured stellar mass and star-formation rate surface density distributions in star-forming galaxies at redshift 2.2 with ∼1-kiloparsec resolution. We find that, in the most massive galaxies, star formation is quenched from the inside out, on time scales less than 1 billion years in the inner regions, up to a few billion years in the outer disks. These galaxies sustain high star-formation activity at large radii, while hosting fully grown and already quenched bulges in their cores.
We report high-quality, H or CO rotation curves (RCs) to several Re for 41 large, massive, star-forming disk galaxies (SFGs) across the peak of cosmic galaxy evolution (z ∼ 0.67-2.45), taken with the ...ESO-VLT, the LBT and IRAM-NOEMA. Most RC41 SFGs have reflection-symmetric RCs plausibly described by equilibrium dynamics. We fit the major axis position-velocity cuts using beam-convolved forward modeling generated in three dimensions, with models that include a bulge and turbulent disk component embedded in a dark matter (DM) halo. We include priors for stellar and molecular gas masses, optical light effective radii and inclinations, and DM masses from abundance-matching scaling relations. Two-thirds or more of the z ≥ 1.2 SFGs are baryon dominated within a few Re of typically 5.5 kpc and have DM fractions less than maximal disks (median 〈 f DM ( R e ) 〉 = 0.12 ). At lower redshift (z < 1.2), that fraction is less than one-third. DM fractions correlate inversely with the baryonic angular momentum parameter, baryonic surface density, and bulge mass. Inferred low DM fractions cannot apply to the entire disk and halo but more plausibly reflect a flattened, or cored, inner DM density distribution. The typical central "DM deficit" in these cores relative to Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) distributions is ∼30% of the bulge mass. The observations are consistent with rapid radial transport of baryons in the first-generation massive gas-rich halos forming globally gravitationally unstable disks and leading to efficient build-up of massive bulges and central black holes. A combination of heating due to dynamical friction and AGN feedback may drive DM out of the initial cusps.
Nuclear outflows driven by accreting massive black holes are one of the main feedback mechanisms invoked at high-z to reproduce the distinct separation between star-forming disk galaxies and ...quiescent spheroidal systems. Yet our knowledge of feedback at high-z remains limited by the lack of observations of the multiple gas phases in galaxy outflows. In this work, we use new deep, high spatial resolution ALMA CO(3-2) and archival Very Large Telescope/SINFONI H observations to study the molecular and ionized components of the active galactic nucleus (AGN)-driven outflow in zC400528, a massive main-sequence galaxy at z = 2.3 in the process of quenching. We detect a powerful molecular outflow that shows a positive velocity gradient before a turnover and extends for at least ∼10 kpc from the nuclear region, about three times the projected size of the ionized wind. The molecular gas in the outflow does not reach velocities high enough to escape the galaxy and is therefore expected to be reaccreted. Keeping in mind the various assumptions involved in the analysis, we find that the mass and energetics of the outflow are dominated by the molecular phase. The AGN-driven outflow in zC400528 is powerful enough to deplete the molecular gas reservoir on a timescale comparable to that needed to exhaust it by star formation. This suggests that the nuclear outflow is one of the main quenching engines at work in the observed suppression of the central star formation activity in zC400528.
In this paper, we follow up on our previous detection of nuclear ionized outflows in the most massive (log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) > or =, slanted 10.9) z ~ 1-3 star-forming galaxies by ...increasing the sample size by a factor of six (to 44 galaxies above log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) > or =, slanted 10.9) from a combination of the SINS/zC-SINF, LUCI, GNIRS, and KMOS super(3D) spectroscopic surveys. We find a fairly sharp onset of the incidence of broad nuclear emission (FWHM in the Halpha, NII, and SII lines ~450-5300 km s super(-1)), with large NII/Halpha ratios, above log(M sub(*)/M sub(middot in circle)) ~ 10.9, with about two-thirds of the galaxies in this mass range exhibiting this component. Broad nuclear components near and above the Schechter mass are similarly prevalent above and below the main sequence of star-forming galaxies, and at z ~ 1 and ~2. The line ratios of the nuclear component are fit by excitation from active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or by a combination of shocks and photoionization. The incidence of the most massive galaxies with broad nuclear components is at least as large as that of AGNs identified by X-ray, optical, infrared, or radio indicators. The mass loading of the nuclear outflows is near unity. Our findings provide compelling evidence for powerful, high-duty cycle, AGN-driven outflows near the Schechter mass, and acting across the peak of cosmic galaxy formation.
Abstract
We investigate the relationship between star formation activity and outflow properties on kiloparsec scales in a sample of 28 star-forming galaxies at
z
∼ 2–2.6, using adaptive optics ...assisted integral field observations from SINFONI on the Very Large Telescope. The narrow and broad components of the H
α
emission are used to simultaneously determine the local star formation rate surface density (
), and the outflow velocity
and mass outflow rate
, respectively. We find clear evidence for faster outflows with larger mass loading factors at higher
. The outflow velocities scale as
∝
0.34±0.10
, which suggests that the outflows may be driven by a combination of mechanical energy released by supernova explosions and stellar winds, as well as radiation pressure acting on dust grains. The majority of the outflowing material does not have sufficient velocity to escape from the galaxy halos, but will likely be re-accreted and contribute to the chemical enrichment of the galaxies. In the highest
regions the outflow component contains an average of ∼45% of the H
α
flux, while in the lower
regions only ∼10% of the H
α
flux is associated with outflows. The mass loading factor,
η
=
/SFR, is positively correlated with
but is relatively low even at the highest
:
η
≲ 0.5 × (380 cm
−3
/
n
e
). This may be in tension with the
η
≳ 1 required by cosmological simulations, unless a significant fraction of the outflowing mass is in other gas phases and has sufficient velocity to escape the galaxy halos.
Abstract
Galaxy interactions are thought to be one of the main triggers of active galactic nuclei (AGN), especially at high luminosities, where the accreted gas mass during the AGN lifetime is ...substantial. Evidence for a connection between mergers and AGN, however, remains mixed. Possible triggering mechanisms remain particularly poorly understood for luminous AGN, which are thought to require triggering by major mergers, rather than secular processes. We analyse the host galaxies of a sample of 20 optically and X-ray selected luminous AGN (log(L
bol erg s−1) > 45) at z ∼ 0.6 using Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 data in the F160W/H band. 15/20 sources have resolved host galaxies. We create a control sample of mock AGN by matching the AGN host galaxies to a control sample of non-AGN galaxies. Visual signs of disturbances are found in about 25 per cent of sources in both the AGN hosts and control galaxies. Using both visual classification and quantitative morphology measures, we show that the levels of disturbance are not enhanced when compared to a matched control sample. We find no signs that major mergers play a dominant role in triggering AGN at high luminosities, suggesting that minor mergers and secular processes dominate AGN triggering up to the highest AGN luminosities. The upper limit on the enhanced fraction of major mergers is ≤20 per cent. While major mergers might increase the incidence of luminous AGN, they are not the prevalent triggering mechanism in the population of unobscured AGN.
We present a census of ionized gas outflows in 599 normal galaxies at redshift 0.6 < z < 2.7, mostly based on integral field spectroscopy of Hα, N ii, and S ii line emission. The sample fairly ...homogeneously covers the main sequence of star-forming galaxies with masses 9.0 < log(M */M ⊙) < 11.7, and probes into the regimes of quiescent galaxies and starburst outliers. About one-third exhibits the high-velocity component indicative of outflows, roughly equally split into winds driven by star formation (SF) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The incidence of SF-driven winds correlates mainly with SF properties. These outflows have typical velocities of ∼450 km s−1, local electron densities of n e ∼ 380 cm−3, modest mass loading factors of ∼0.1–0.2 at all galaxy masses, and energetics compatible with momentum driving by young stellar populations. The SF-driven winds may escape from log(M */M ⊙) ≲ 10.3 galaxies, but substantial mass, momentum, and energy in hotter and colder outflow phases seem required to account for low galaxy formation efficiencies in the low-mass regime. Faster AGN-driven outflows (∼1000–2000 km s−1) are commonly detected above log(M */M ⊙) ∼ 10.7, in up to ∼75% of log(M */M ⊙) ≳ 11.2 galaxies. The incidence, strength, and velocity of AGN-driven winds strongly correlates with stellar mass and central concentration. Their outflowing ionized gas appears denser (n e ∼ 1000 cm−3), and possibly compressed and shock-excited. These winds have comparable mass loading factors as the SF-driven winds but carry ∼10 (∼50) times more momentum (energy). The results confirm our previous findings of high-duty-cycle, energy-driven outflows powered by AGN above the Schechter mass, which may contribute to SF quenching.
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