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Abstract
Metal-poor nearby galaxies hosting massive stars have a fundamental role to play in our understanding of both high-redshift galaxies and low-metallicity stellar populations. But while much attention has been focused on their bright nebular gas emission, the massive stars that power it remain challenging to constrain. Here we present exceptionally deep Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra targeting six local (z < 0.02) galaxies that power strong nebular C iv emission approaching that encountered at z > 6. We find that the strength and spectral profile of the nebular C iv in these new spectra follow a sequence evocative of resonant scattering models, indicating that the hot circumgalactic medium likely plays a key role in regulating C iv escape locally. We constrain the metallicity of the massive stars in each galaxy by fitting the forest of photospheric absorption lines, reporting measurements driven by iron that lie uniformly below 10% solar. Comparison with the gas-phase oxygen abundances reveals evidence for enhancement in O/Fe 2-4 times above solar across the sample, robust to assumptions about the absolute gas-phase metallicity scale. This supports the idea that these local systems are more chemically similar to their primordial high-redshift counterparts than to the bulk of nearby galaxies. Finally, we find significant tension between the strong stellar wind profiles observed and our population synthesis models constrained by the photospheric forest in our highest-quality spectra. This reinforces the need for caution in interpreting wind lines in isolation at high redshift, but also suggests a unique path toward validating fundamental massive star physics at extremely low metallicity with integrated ultraviolet spectra.
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Abstract
The combination of the MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE surveys represents the largest joint investment of Keck/MOSFIRE time to date, with similar to 3000 galaxies at 1.4 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 3.8, roughly half of which are at z similar to 2. MOSDEF is photometric- and spectroscopic-redshift selected with a rest-optical magnitude limit, while KBSS-MOSFIRE is primarily selected based on rest-UV colours and a rest-UV magnitude limit. Analysing both surveys in a uniform manner with consistent spectral-energy-distribution (SED) models, we find that the MOSDEF z similar to 2 targeted sample has higher median M-* and redder rest U-V colour than the KBSS-MOSFIRE z similar to 2 targeted sample, and smaller median SED-based SFR and sSFR (SFR(SED) and sSFR(SED)). Specifically, MOSDEF targeted a larger population of red galaxies with U-V and V-J >= 1.25, while KBSS-MOSFIRE contains more young galaxies with intense star formation. Despite these differences in the z similar to 2 targeted samples, the subsets of the surveys with multiple emission lines detected and analysed in previous work are much more similar. All median host-galaxy properties with the exception of stellar population age - i.e. M-*, SFR(SED), sSFR(SED), A(V), and UVJ colours - agree within the uncertainties. Additionally, when uniform emission-line fitting and stellar Balmer absorption correction techniques are applied, there is no significant offset between both samples in the [O iii]lambda 5008/H beta versus [N ii]lambda 6585/H alpha diagnostic diagram, in contrast to previously reported discrepancies. We can now combine the MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE surveys to form the largest z similar to 2 sample with moderate-resolution rest-optical spectra and construct the fundamental scaling relations of star-forming galaxies during this important epoch.
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Abstract
We provide a new observational test for a key prediction of the Lambda CDM cosmological model: the contributions of mergers with different halo-to-main-cluster mass ratios to cluster-sized halo growth. We perform this test by dynamically analyzing 7 galaxy clusters, spanning the redshift range 0.13 < z(c) < 0.45 and caustic mass range 0.4-1.5 10(15) h(0.73)(-1) M-circle dot, with an average of 293 spectroscopically confirmed bound galaxies to each cluster. The large radial coverage (a few virial radii), which covers the whole infall region, with a high number of spectroscopically identified galaxies enables this new study. For each cluster, we identify bound galaxies. Out of these galaxies, we identify infalling and accreted halos and estimate their masses and their dynamical states. Using the estimated masses, we derive the contribution of different mass ratios to cluster-sized halo growth. For mass ratios between similar to 0.2 and 0.7, we find a similar to 1 sigma agreement with Lambda CDM expectations based on the Millennium simulations I and II. At low mass ratios, less than or similar to 0.2, our derived contribution is underestimated since the detection efficiency decreases at low masses, similar to 2 x 10(14) h(0.73)(-1) M-circle dot. At large mass ratios, greater than or similar to 0.7, we do not detect halos probably because our sample, which was chosen to be quite X-ray relaxed, is biased against large mass ratios. Therefore, at large mass ratios, the derived contribution is also underestimated.
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Abstract
We present Keck LRIS spectroscopy for a sample of 103 massive (M > 10(10.6) M-circle dot) galaxies with redshifts 0.9 < z < 1.6. Of these, 56 are quiescent with high signal-to-noise absorption line spectra, enabling us to determine robust stellar velocity dispersions for the largest sample yet available beyond a redshift of 1. Together with effective radii measured from deep Hubble Space Telescope images, we calculate dynamical masses and address key questions relating to the puzzling size growth claimed by many observers for quiescent galaxies over the redshift interval 0 < z < 2. Our large sample provides the first opportunity to carefully examine the relationship between stellar and dynamical masses at high redshift. We find this relation closely follows that determined locally. We also confirm the utility of the locally established empirical calibration which enables high-redshift velocity dispersions to be estimated photometrically, and we determine its accuracy to be 35%. To address recent suggestions that progenitor bias-the continued arrival of recently quenched larger galaxies-can largely explain the size evolution of quiescent galaxies, we examine the growth at fixed velocity dispersion assuming this quantity is largely unaffected by the merger history. Using the velocity dispersion-age relation observed in the local universe, we demonstrate that significant size and mass growth have clearly occurred in individual systems. Parameterizing the relation between mass and size growth over 0 < z < 1.6 as R alpha M-alpha , we find alpha = 1.6 +/- 0.3, in agreement with theoretical expectations from simulations of minor mergers. Relaxing the assumption that the velocity dispersion is unchanging, we examine growth assuming a constant ranking in galaxy velocity dispersion. This approach is applicable only to the large-dispersion tail of the distribution, but yields a consistent growth rate of alpha = 1.4 +/- 0.2. Both methods confirm that progenitor bias alone is insufficient to explain our new observations and that quiescent galaxies have grown in both size and stellar mass over 0 < z < 1.6.
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Abstract
We present Hubble Space Telescope imaging and grism spectroscopy in the field of the distant galaxy cluster JKCS 041 using theWide Field Camera 3. We confirm that JKCS 041 is a rich cluster and derive a redshift z = 1.80 via the spectroscopic identification of 19 member galaxies, of which 15 are quiescent. These are centered upon diffuse X-ray emission seen by the Chandra observatory. As JKCS 041 is the most distant known cluster with such a large, spectroscopically confirmed quiescent population, it provides a unique opportunity to study the effect of the environment on galaxy properties at early epochs. We construct high-quality composite spectra of the quiescent cluster members that reveal prominent Balmer and metallic absorption lines. Using these, we measure the mean stellar ages in two bins of stellar mass. The quiescent cluster members' ages agree remarkably closely with that inferred byWhitaker et al. for similarly selected samples in the field, supporting the idea that the cluster environment is more efficient at truncating star formation while not having a strong effect on the mean epoch of quenching. We find some evidence (90% confidence) for a lower fraction of disk-like quiescent systems in JKCS 041 compared to a sample of coeval field galaxies drawn from the CANDELS survey. Taking this into account, we do not detect a significant difference between the mass-radius relations of the quiescent JKCS 041 members and our z similar to 1.8 field sample. Finally, we demonstrate how differences in the morphological mixture of quenched systems can complicate measures of the environmental dependence of size growth.
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Abstract
Using the MOSFIRE near-infrared multi-slit spectrograph on the Keck 1 Telescope, we have secured high signal-to-noise ratio absorption line spectra for six massive galaxies with redshift 2 < z < 2.5. Five of these galaxies lie on the red sequence and show signatures of passive stellar populations in their rest-frame optical spectra. By fitting broadened spectral templates we have determined stellar velocity dispersions and, with broad-band Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer photometry and imaging, stellar masses and effective radii. Using this enlarged sample of galaxies, we confirm earlier suggestions that quiescent galaxies at z > 2 have small sizes and large velocity dispersions compared to local galaxies of similar stellar mass. The dynamical masses are in very good agreement with stellar masses (log M-*/M-dyn = -0.02 +/- 0.03), although the average stellar-to-dynamical mass ratio is larger than that found at lower redshift (-0.23 +/- 0.05). By assuming evolution at fixed velocity dispersion, not only do we confirm a surprisingly rapid rate of size growth but we also consider the necessary evolutionary track on the mass-size plane and find a slope alpha = d log R-e/d log M-* greater than or similar to 2 inconsistent with most numerical simulations of minor mergers. Both results suggest an additional mechanism may be required to explain the size growth of early galaxies.
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Abstract
We analyze the stellar populations of a sample of 62 massive (log M-*/M-circle dot > 10.7) galaxies in the redshift range 1 < z < 1.6, with the main goal of investigating the role of recent quenching in the size growth of quiescent galaxies. We demonstrate that our sample is not biased toward bright, compact, or young galaxies, and thus is representative of the overall quiescent population. Our high signal-to-noise ratio Keck/LRIS spectra probe the rest-frame Balmer break region that contains important absorption line diagnostics of recent star formation activity. We obtain improved measures of the various stellar population parameters, including the star formation timescale tau, age, and dust extinction, by fitting templates jointly to both our spectroscopic and broadband photometric data. We identify which quiescent galaxies were recently quenched and backtrack their individual evolving trajectories on the UVJ color-color plane finding evidence for two distinct quenching routes. By using sizes measured in the previous paper of this series, we confirm that the largest galaxies are indeed among the youngest at a given redshift. This is consistent with some contribution to the apparent growth from recent arrivals, an effect often called progenitor bias. However, we calculate that recently quenched objects can only be responsible for about half the increase in average size of quiescent galaxies over a 1.5 Gyr period, corresponding to the redshift interval 1.25 < z < 2. The remainder of the observed size evolution arises from a genuine growth of long-standing quiescent galaxies.
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Abstract
We report the discovery of RG1M0150, a massive, recently quenched galaxy at z = 2.636 that is multiply imaged by the cluster MACSJ0150.3-1005. We derive a stellar mass of log M-* = 11.49(-0.16)(+0.10) and a half-light radius of R-e,R-maj = 1.8 +/- 0.4 kpc. Taking advantage of the lensing magnification, we are able to spatially resolve a remarkably massive yet compact quiescent galaxy at z > 2 in ground-based near-infrared spectroscopic observations using Magellan/FIRE and Keck/MOSFIRE. We find no gradient in the strength of the Balmer absorption lines over 0.6R(e)-1.6R(e), which are consistent with an age of 760 Myr. Gas emission in [N II] broadly traces the spatial distribution of the stars and is coupled with weak H alpha emission (log [N II]/H alpha = 0.6 +/- 0.2), indicating that OB stars are not the primary ionizing source. The velocity dispersion within the effective radius is sigma(e,stars) = 271 +/- 41 km s(-1). We detect rotation in the stellar absorption lines for the first time beyond z similar to 1. Using a two-integral Jeans model that accounts for observational effects, we measure a dynamical mass of log M-dyn = 11.24 +/- 0.14 and V/sigma = 0.70 +/- 0.21. This is a high degree of rotation considering the modest observed ellipticity of 0.12 +/- 0.08, but it is consistent with predictions from dissipational merger simulations that produce compact remnants. The mass of RG1M0150 implies that it is likely to become a slowly rotating elliptical. If it is typical, this suggests that the progenitors of massive ellipticals retain significant net angular momentum after quenching which later declines, perhaps through accretion of satellites.
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Abstract
Observations of strong gravitational lensing, stellar kinematics, and larger-scale tracers enable accurate measures of the distribution of dark matter (DM) and baryons in massive early-type galaxies (ETGs). While such techniques have been applied to galaxy-scale and cluster-scale lenses, the paucity of intermediate-mass systems with highquality data has precluded a uniform analysis of mass-dependent trends. With the aim of bridging this gap, we present new observations and analyses of 10 group-scale lenses at < z > = 0.36, characterized by Einstein radii theta(Ein) = 2.'' 5 - 5.'' 1 and a mean halo mass of M-200 = 10(14.0) M-circle dot. We measure a mean concentration C200 = 5.0 0.8 consistent with unmodified cold dark matter halos. By combining our data with other lens samples, we analyze the mass structure of ETGs in 10(13) M-circle dot-10(15) M-circle dot halos using homogeneous techniques. We show that the slope of the total density profile gamma(tot) within the effective radius depends on the stellar surface density, as demonstrated previously, but also on the halo mass. We analyze these trends using halo occupation models and resolved stellar kinematics with the goal of testing the universality of the DM profile. Whereas the central galaxies of clusters require a shallow inner DM density profile, group-scale lenses are consistent with a Navarro Frenk White profile or one that is slightly contracted. The largest uncertainties arise from the sample size and likely radial gradients in stellar populations. We conclude that the net effect of baryons on the DM distribution may not be universal, but more likely varies with halo mass due to underlying trends in star formation efficiency and assembly history.
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Abstract
We report the discovery of a massive log(M/M-circle dot) = 10.74 (+0.18)(-0.16) galaxy at the same redshift as a carbon-monoxide-bearing sub-damped Ly alpha absorber (sub-DLA) seen in the spectrum of QSO J1439+1117. The galaxy, J1439B, is located 4.'' 7 from the QSO sightline, a projected distance of 38 physical kpc at z = 2.4189, and exhibits broad optical emission lines (sigma([O) (III]) = 303 +/- 12 km s(-1) with ratios characteristic of excitation by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The galaxy has a factor of similar to 9 lower star formation than is typical of star-forming galaxies of the same mass and redshift. The nearby sub-DLA is highly enriched, suggesting its galactic counterpart must be massive if it follows the z similar to 2 mass-metallicity relationship. Metallic absorption within the circumgalactic medium of the sub-DLA and J1439B is spread over a velocity range Delta v > 1000 km s(-1), suggesting an energetic origin. We explore the possibility that a different galaxy could be responsible for the rare absorber, and conclude that it is unlikely based on imaging, integral-field spectroscopy, and high-z massive galaxy pair statistics. We argue that the gas seen in absorption against the QSO was likely ejected from the galaxy J1439B and therefore provides a unique observational probe of AGN feedback in the distant universe.
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