Advanced search
1 file | 465.24 KB Add to list
Author
Organization
Abstract
Galaxies with the mass of the Milky Way dominate the stellar mass density of the universe but it is uncertain how and when they were assembled. Here we study progenitors of these galaxies out to z = 2.5, using data from the 3D-HST and CANDELS Treasury surveys. We find that galaxies with present-day stellar masses of log(M) approximate to 10.7 built similar to 90% of their stellar mass since z = 2.5, with most of the star formation occurring before z = 1. In marked contrast to the assembly history of massive elliptical galaxies, mass growth is not limited to large radii: the mass in the central 2 kpc of the galaxies increased by a factor of 3.2(-0.7)(+0.8) between z = 2.5 and z = 1. We therefore rule out simple models in which bulges were fully assembled at high redshift and disks gradually formed around them. Instead, bulges (and black holes) likely formed in lockstep with disks, through bar instabilities, migration, or other processes. We find that after z = 1 the growth in the central regions gradually stopped and the disk continued to be built up, consistent with recent studies of the gas distributions in z similar to 1 galaxies and the properties of many spiral galaxies today.
Keywords
EXTRAGALACTIC LEGACY SURVEY, STAR-FORMATION HISTORIES, HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE, STELLAR MASS FUNCTION, DARK-MATTER HALOS, INSIDE-OUT GROWTH, DISK GALAXIES, DEPENDENT EVOLUTION, SECULAR, EVOLUTION, QUIESCENT GALAXY, cosmology: observations, galaxies: evolution, Galaxy: formation, Galaxy: structure

Downloads

  • The Assembly of Milky-Way-like Galaxies Since z ~ 2.5.pdf
    • full text
    • |
    • open access
    • |
    • PDF
    • |
    • 465.24 KB

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
van Dokkum, Pieter G., et al. “The Assembly of Milky-Way-like Galaxies since z ∼ 2.5.” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, vol. 771, no. 2, 2013, doi:10.1088/2041-8205/771/2/L35.
APA
van Dokkum, P. G., Leja, J., Nelson, E. J., Patel, S., Skelton, R. E., Momcheva, I., … Wuyts, S. (2013). The assembly of Milky-Way-like galaxies since z ∼ 2.5. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 771(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/771/2/L35
Chicago author-date
Dokkum, Pieter G van, Joel Leja, Erica June Nelson, Shannon Patel, Rosalind E Skelton, Ivelina Momcheva, Gabriel Brammer, et al. 2013. “The Assembly of Milky-Way-like Galaxies since z ∼ 2.5.” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS 771 (2). https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/771/2/L35.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
van Dokkum, Pieter G, Joel Leja, Erica June Nelson, Shannon Patel, Rosalind E Skelton, Ivelina Momcheva, Gabriel Brammer, Katherine E Whitaker, Britt Lundgren, Mattia Fumagalli, Charlie Conroy, Natascha Foerster Schreiber, Marijn Franx, Mariska Kriek, Ivo Labbe, Danilo Marchesini, Hans-Walter Rix, Arjen van der Wel, and Stijn Wuyts. 2013. “The Assembly of Milky-Way-like Galaxies since z ∼ 2.5.” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS 771 (2). doi:10.1088/2041-8205/771/2/L35.
Vancouver
1.
van Dokkum PG, Leja J, Nelson EJ, Patel S, Skelton RE, Momcheva I, et al. The assembly of Milky-Way-like galaxies since z ∼ 2.5. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS. 2013;771(2).
IEEE
[1]
P. G. van Dokkum et al., “The assembly of Milky-Way-like galaxies since z ∼ 2.5,” ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, vol. 771, no. 2, 2013.
@article{8572996,
  abstract     = {{Galaxies with the mass of the Milky Way dominate the stellar mass density of the universe but it is uncertain how and when they were assembled. Here we study progenitors of these galaxies out to z = 2.5, using data from the 3D-HST and CANDELS Treasury surveys. We find that galaxies with present-day stellar masses of log(M) approximate to 10.7 built similar to 90% of their stellar mass since z = 2.5, with most of the star formation occurring before z = 1. In marked contrast to the assembly history of massive elliptical galaxies, mass growth is not limited to large radii: the mass in the central 2 kpc of the galaxies increased by a factor of 3.2(-0.7)(+0.8) between z = 2.5 and z = 1. We therefore rule out simple models in which bulges were fully assembled at high redshift and disks gradually formed around them. Instead, bulges (and black holes) likely formed in lockstep with disks, through bar instabilities, migration, or other processes. We find that after z = 1 the growth in the central regions gradually stopped and the disk continued to be built up, consistent with recent studies of the gas distributions in z similar to 1 galaxies and the properties of many spiral galaxies today.}},
  articleno    = {{L35}},
  author       = {{van Dokkum, Pieter G and Leja, Joel and Nelson, Erica June and Patel, Shannon and Skelton, Rosalind E and Momcheva, Ivelina and Brammer, Gabriel and Whitaker, Katherine E and Lundgren, Britt and Fumagalli, Mattia and Conroy, Charlie and Schreiber, Natascha Foerster and Franx, Marijn and Kriek, Mariska and Labbe, Ivo and Marchesini, Danilo and Rix, Hans-Walter and van der Wel, Arjen and Wuyts, Stijn}},
  issn         = {{2041-8205}},
  journal      = {{ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS}},
  keywords     = {{EXTRAGALACTIC LEGACY SURVEY,STAR-FORMATION HISTORIES,HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE,STELLAR MASS FUNCTION,DARK-MATTER HALOS,INSIDE-OUT GROWTH,DISK GALAXIES,DEPENDENT EVOLUTION,SECULAR,EVOLUTION,QUIESCENT GALAXY,cosmology: observations,galaxies: evolution,Galaxy: formation,Galaxy: structure}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{7}},
  title        = {{The assembly of Milky-Way-like galaxies since z ∼ 2.5}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/771/2/L35}},
  volume       = {{771}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}

Altmetric
View in Altmetric
Web of Science
Times cited: