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Submillimeter Galaxies as Progenitors of Compact Quiescent GalaxiesThree billion years after the big bang (at redshift z = 2), half of the most massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an order of magnitude larger than in low-redshift ellipticals, their descendants. Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr earlier (at 3 < z < 6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise to such starbursts, which produce dense remnants. Submillimeter-selected galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich starbursts.With a new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact, quiescent galaxies at z = 2 and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z = 3-6 SMGs are consistent with being the progenitors of z = 2 quiescent galaxies, matching their formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses, and internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42(sup+40) −29 Myr (consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of star formation. These results suggest a coherent picture of the formation history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst of violent star formation through their appearance as high stellar-density galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.
Document ID
20140011275
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Toft, S.
(Copenhagen Univ. Denmark)
Smolcic, V.
(Zagreb Univ. Zagreb, Croatia)
Magnelli, B.
(Argelander Inst. for Astronomy Bonn, Germany)
Karim, A.
(Argelander Inst. for Astronomy Bonn, Germany)
Zirm, A.
(Copenhagen Univ. Denmark)
Michalowski, M.
(Edinburgh Univ. United Kingdom)
Capak, P.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sheth, K.
(National Radio Astronomy Observatory Charlottesville, VA, United States)
Schawinski, K.
(Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Switzerland)
Krogager, J.-K.
(Copenhagen Univ. Denmark)
Wuyts, S.
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Extraterrestrische Physik Garching, Germany)
Sanders, D.
(Hawaii Univ. Honolulu, HI, United States)
Man, A. W. S.
(Copenhagen Univ. Denmark)
Lutz, D.
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Extraterrestrische Physik Garching, Germany)
Staguhn, J.
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Extraterrestrische Physik Garching, Germany)
Berta, S.
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Extraterrestrische Physik Garching, Germany)
McCracken, H.
(Paris VI Univ. France)
Krpan, J.
(Zagreb Univ. Zagreb, Croatia)
Riechers, D.
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
September 2, 2014
Publication Date
January 29, 2014
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: iopScience
Volume: 782
Issue: 2
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN13068
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: EU-229517
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATI-1106284
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATI-1020981
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX09AC98A
CONTRACT_GRANT: SNSF-PP00P2_138979/1
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Cosmology - Observations
Galaxies - Evolution
Galaxies - High Redshift
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