The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS

Caroline M S Straatman; Ivo Labbé; Lee R. Spitler; Karl Glazebrook; Adam Tomczak; Rebecca Allen; Gabriel B. Brammer; Michael Cowley; Pieter Van Dokkum; Glenn G. Kacprzak; Lalit Kawinwanichakij; Nicola Mehrtens; Themiya Nanayakkara; Casey Papovich; S. Eric Persson; Ryan F. Quadri; Glen Rees; Vithal Tilvi; Kim Vy H Tran; Katherine E. Whitaker

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29

The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS

Caroline M S Straatman, Ivo Labbé, Lee R. Spitler, Karl Glazebrook, Adam Tomczak, Rebecca Allen, Gabriel B. Brammer, Michael Cowley, Pieter Van Dokkum, Glenn G. Kacprzak, Lalit Kawinwanichakij, Nicola Mehrtens, Themiya Nanayakkara, Casey Papovich, S. Eric Persson, Ryan F. Quadri, Glen Rees, Vithal Tilvi, Kim Vy H Tran, Katherine E. Whitaker

Faculty of Science and Engineering

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Abstract

We study the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) sizes of massive (∼0.8 × 10¹¹M_⊙) galaxies at 3.4 蠐 z < 4.2, selected from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey, by fitting single Sersic profiles to Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3/ F160W images from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Massive quiescent galaxies are very compact, with a median circularized half-light radius re = 0.63 ± 0.18 kpc. Removing 5/16 (31%) sources with signs of active galactic nucleus activity does not change the result. Star-forming galaxies have re = 2.0 ± 0.60 kpc, 3.2 ± 1.3×larger than quiescent galaxies. Quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 are on average 6.0 ± 1.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0 and 1.9 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 2. Star-forming galaxies of the same stellar mass are 2.4 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0. Overall, the size evolution at 0 < z < 4 is well described by a power law, with re 5.08 0.28(1 z) = ± + -1.44 ±0.08 kpc for quiescent galaxies and r 6.02 0.28(1 z) e = ± + -0.72 ±0.05 kpc for star-forming galaxies. Compact star-forming galaxies are rare in our sample: we find only1 14 (7%) with re (M 10 M ) 1.5 11 0.75 < _⊙ , whereas 13 16 (81%) of the quiescent galaxies are compact. The number density of compact quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 is 1.8 ± 0.8 × 10-5 Mpc-3 and increases rapidly, by >5×, between 2 < z < 4. The paucity of compact star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 and their large rest-frame UV median sizes suggest that the formation phase of compact cores is very short and/or highly dust obscured.

Original language	English
Article number	L29
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	808
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29
Publication status	Published - 20 Jul 2015

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2015 The American Astronomical Society. Firstly published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 808(1), L29, 2015, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29. 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.

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Straatman, C. M. S., Labbé, I., Spitler, L. R., Glazebrook, K., Tomczak, A., Allen, R., Brammer, G. B., Cowley, M., Dokkum, P. V., Kacprzak, G. G., Kawinwanichakij, L., Mehrtens, N., Nanayakkara, T., Papovich, C., Persson, S. E., Quadri, R. F., Rees, G., Tilvi, V., Tran, K. V. H., & Whitaker, K. E. (2015). The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 808(1), 1-8. Article L29. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29

@article{2d87eed9140c4f679a0d02565df40670,

title = "The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS",

abstract = "We study the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) sizes of massive (∼0.8 × 1011M⊙) galaxies at 3.4 蠐 z < 4.2, selected from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey, by fitting single Sersic profiles to Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3/ F160W images from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Massive quiescent galaxies are very compact, with a median circularized half-light radius re = 0.63 ± 0.18 kpc. Removing 5/16 (31\%) sources with signs of active galactic nucleus activity does not change the result. Star-forming galaxies have re = 2.0 ± 0.60 kpc, 3.2 ± 1.3×larger than quiescent galaxies. Quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 are on average 6.0 ± 1.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0 and 1.9 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 2. Star-forming galaxies of the same stellar mass are 2.4 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0. Overall, the size evolution at 0 < z < 4 is well described by a power law, with re 5.08 0.28(1 z) = ± + -1.44 ±0.08 kpc for quiescent galaxies and r 6.02 0.28(1 z) e = ± + -0.72 ±0.05 kpc for star-forming galaxies. Compact star-forming galaxies are rare in our sample: we find only1 14 (7\%) with re (M 10 M ) 1.5 11 0.75 < ⊙ , whereas 13 16 (81\%) of the quiescent galaxies are compact. The number density of compact quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 is 1.8 ± 0.8 × 10-5 Mpc-3 and increases rapidly, by >5×, between 2 < z < 4. The paucity of compact star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 and their large rest-frame UV median sizes suggest that the formation phase of compact cores is very short and/or highly dust obscured.",

author = "Straatman, \{Caroline M S\} and Ivo Labb{\'e} and Spitler, \{Lee R.\} and Karl Glazebrook and Adam Tomczak and Rebecca Allen and Brammer, \{Gabriel B.\} and Michael Cowley and Dokkum, \{Pieter Van\} and Kacprzak, \{Glenn G.\} and Lalit Kawinwanichakij and Nicola Mehrtens and Themiya Nanayakkara and Casey Papovich and Persson, \{S. Eric\} and Quadri, \{Ryan F.\} and Glen Rees and Vithal Tilvi and Tran, \{Kim Vy H\} and Whitaker, \{Katherine E.\}",

note = "Copyright 2015 The American Astronomical Society. Firstly published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 808(1), L29, 2015, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29. 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.",

year = "2015",

month = jul,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29",

language = "English",

volume = "808",

pages = "1--8",

journal = "The Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

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Straatman, CMS, Labbé, I, Spitler, LR, Glazebrook, K, Tomczak, A, Allen, R, Brammer, GB, Cowley, M, Dokkum, PV, Kacprzak, GG, Kawinwanichakij, L, Mehrtens, N, Nanayakkara, T, Papovich, C, Persson, SE, Quadri, RF, Rees, G, Tilvi, V, Tran, KVH & Whitaker, KE 2015, 'The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS', The Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 808, no. 1, L29, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29

TY - JOUR

T1 - The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS

AU - Straatman, Caroline M S

AU - Labbé, Ivo

AU - Spitler, Lee R.

AU - Glazebrook, Karl

AU - Tomczak, Adam

AU - Allen, Rebecca

AU - Brammer, Gabriel B.

AU - Cowley, Michael

AU - Dokkum, Pieter Van

AU - Kacprzak, Glenn G.

AU - Kawinwanichakij, Lalit

AU - Mehrtens, Nicola

AU - Nanayakkara, Themiya

AU - Papovich, Casey

AU - Persson, S. Eric

AU - Quadri, Ryan F.

AU - Rees, Glen

AU - Tilvi, Vithal

AU - Tran, Kim Vy H

AU - Whitaker, Katherine E.

N1 - Copyright 2015 The American Astronomical Society. Firstly published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 808(1), L29, 2015, published by IOP Publishing. The original publication is available at http://www.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29. 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 - 2015/7/20

Y1 - 2015/7/20

N2 - We study the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) sizes of massive (∼0.8 × 1011M⊙) galaxies at 3.4 蠐 z < 4.2, selected from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey, by fitting single Sersic profiles to Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3/ F160W images from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Massive quiescent galaxies are very compact, with a median circularized half-light radius re = 0.63 ± 0.18 kpc. Removing 5/16 (31%) sources with signs of active galactic nucleus activity does not change the result. Star-forming galaxies have re = 2.0 ± 0.60 kpc, 3.2 ± 1.3×larger than quiescent galaxies. Quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 are on average 6.0 ± 1.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0 and 1.9 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 2. Star-forming galaxies of the same stellar mass are 2.4 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0. Overall, the size evolution at 0 < z < 4 is well described by a power law, with re 5.08 0.28(1 z) = ± + -1.44 ±0.08 kpc for quiescent galaxies and r 6.02 0.28(1 z) e = ± + -0.72 ±0.05 kpc for star-forming galaxies. Compact star-forming galaxies are rare in our sample: we find only1 14 (7%) with re (M 10 M ) 1.5 11 0.75 < ⊙ , whereas 13 16 (81%) of the quiescent galaxies are compact. The number density of compact quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 is 1.8 ± 0.8 × 10-5 Mpc-3 and increases rapidly, by >5×, between 2 < z < 4. The paucity of compact star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 and their large rest-frame UV median sizes suggest that the formation phase of compact cores is very short and/or highly dust obscured.

AB - We study the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) sizes of massive (∼0.8 × 1011M⊙) galaxies at 3.4 蠐 z < 4.2, selected from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey, by fitting single Sersic profiles to Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3/ F160W images from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Massive quiescent galaxies are very compact, with a median circularized half-light radius re = 0.63 ± 0.18 kpc. Removing 5/16 (31%) sources with signs of active galactic nucleus activity does not change the result. Star-forming galaxies have re = 2.0 ± 0.60 kpc, 3.2 ± 1.3×larger than quiescent galaxies. Quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 are on average 6.0 ± 1.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0 and 1.9 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 2. Star-forming galaxies of the same stellar mass are 2.4 ± 0.7×smaller than at z ∼ 0. Overall, the size evolution at 0 < z < 4 is well described by a power law, with re 5.08 0.28(1 z) = ± + -1.44 ±0.08 kpc for quiescent galaxies and r 6.02 0.28(1 z) e = ± + -0.72 ±0.05 kpc for star-forming galaxies. Compact star-forming galaxies are rare in our sample: we find only1 14 (7%) with re (M 10 M ) 1.5 11 0.75 < ⊙ , whereas 13 16 (81%) of the quiescent galaxies are compact. The number density of compact quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 4 is 1.8 ± 0.8 × 10-5 Mpc-3 and increases rapidly, by >5×, between 2 < z < 4. The paucity of compact star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 and their large rest-frame UV median sizes suggest that the formation phase of compact cores is very short and/or highly dust obscured.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84937791988

U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29

DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L29

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84937791988

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 808

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JO - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 1

M1 - L29

ER -

The sizes of massive quiescent and star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 4 with ZFOURGE and CANDELS

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