TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the z = 3-4 massive galaxy population with ZFOURGE
T2 - the prevalence of dusty and quiescent galaxies
AU - Spitler, Lee R.
AU - Straatman, Caroline M S
AU - Labbé, Ivo
AU - Glazebrook, Karl
AU - Tran, Kim Vy H
AU - Kacprzak, Glenn G.
AU - Quadri, Ryan F.
AU - Papovich, Casey
AU - Persson, S. Eric
AU - Van Dokkum, Pieter
AU - Allen, Rebecca
AU - Kawinwanichakij, Lalitwadee
AU - Kelson, Daniel D.
AU - McCarthy, Patrick J.
AU - Mehrtens, Nicola
AU - J. Monson, Andrew
AU - Nanayakkara, Themiya
AU - Rees, Glen
AU - Tilvi, Vithal
AU - Tomczak, Adam R.
N1 - Copyright 2014 The American Astronomical Society. Firstly published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 787(2), L36, 2014, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L36. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2014/6/1
Y1 - 2014/6/1
N2 - Our understanding of the redshift z > 3 galaxy population relies largely on samples selected using the popular "dropout" technique, typically consisting of UV-bright galaxies with blue colors and prominent Lyman breaks. As it is currently unknown if these galaxies are representative of the massive galaxy population, we here use the FOURSTAR Galaxy Evolution (ZFOURGE) survey to create a stellar mass-limited sample at z = 3-4. Uniquely, ZFOURGE uses deep near-infrared medium-bandwidth filters to derive accurate photometric redshifts and stellar population properties. The mass-complete sample consists of 57 galaxies with log M >10.6, reaching below M * at z = 3-4. On average, the massive z = 3-4 galaxies are extremely faint in the observed optical with median Rtot AB (rest-frame M 1700 = -18.05 ± 0.37). They lie far below the UV luminosity-stellar mass relation for Lyman break galaxies and are about ∼100 × fainter at the same mass. The massive galaxies are red (R-K s AB = 3.9 ± 0.2; rest-frame UV-slope β = -0.2 ± 0.3) likely from dust or old stellar ages. We classify the galaxy spectral energy distributions by their rest-frame U-V and V-J colors and find a diverse population: 46-6-17 +6+10 % of the massive galaxies are quiescent, 40-6-5+6+10 % are dusty star-forming galaxies, and only 14-3-4+3+10 % resemble luminous blue star-forming Lyman break galaxies. This study clearly demonstrates an inherent diversity among massive galaxies at higher redshift than previously known. Furthermore, we uncover a reservoir of dusty star-forming galaxies with 4 × lower specific star-formation rates compared to submillimeter-selected starbursts at z > 3. With 5 × higher numbers, the dusty galaxies may represent a more typical mode of star formation compared to submillimeter-bright starbursts.
AB - Our understanding of the redshift z > 3 galaxy population relies largely on samples selected using the popular "dropout" technique, typically consisting of UV-bright galaxies with blue colors and prominent Lyman breaks. As it is currently unknown if these galaxies are representative of the massive galaxy population, we here use the FOURSTAR Galaxy Evolution (ZFOURGE) survey to create a stellar mass-limited sample at z = 3-4. Uniquely, ZFOURGE uses deep near-infrared medium-bandwidth filters to derive accurate photometric redshifts and stellar population properties. The mass-complete sample consists of 57 galaxies with log M >10.6, reaching below M * at z = 3-4. On average, the massive z = 3-4 galaxies are extremely faint in the observed optical with median Rtot AB (rest-frame M 1700 = -18.05 ± 0.37). They lie far below the UV luminosity-stellar mass relation for Lyman break galaxies and are about ∼100 × fainter at the same mass. The massive galaxies are red (R-K s AB = 3.9 ± 0.2; rest-frame UV-slope β = -0.2 ± 0.3) likely from dust or old stellar ages. We classify the galaxy spectral energy distributions by their rest-frame U-V and V-J colors and find a diverse population: 46-6-17 +6+10 % of the massive galaxies are quiescent, 40-6-5+6+10 % are dusty star-forming galaxies, and only 14-3-4+3+10 % resemble luminous blue star-forming Lyman break galaxies. This study clearly demonstrates an inherent diversity among massive galaxies at higher redshift than previously known. Furthermore, we uncover a reservoir of dusty star-forming galaxies with 4 × lower specific star-formation rates compared to submillimeter-selected starbursts at z > 3. With 5 × higher numbers, the dusty galaxies may represent a more typical mode of star formation compared to submillimeter-bright starbursts.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84901311913&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L36
DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L36
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84901311913
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 787
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 2
M1 - L36
ER -