Charlie Conroy

The Average Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Dark Matter Halos from

We present a robust method to constrain average galaxy star formation rates (SFRs), star formation histories (SFHs), and the intracluster light (ICL) as a function of halo mass. Our results are consistent with observed galaxy stellar mass functions, specific star formation rates (SSFRs), and cosmic star formation rates (CSFRs) from z = 0 to z = 8. We consider the effects of a wide range of uncertainties on our results, including those affecting stellar masses, SFRs, and the halo mass function at the heart of our analysis. As they are relevant to our method, we also present new calibrations of the dark matter halo mass function, halo mass accretion histories, and halo-subhalo merger rates out to z = 8. We also provide new compilations of CSFRs and SSFRs; more recent measurements are now consistent with the buildup of the cosmic stellar mass density at all redshifts. Implications of our work include: halos near 1012 M ☉ are the most efficient at forming stars at all redshifts, the baryon conversion efficiency of massive halos drops markedly after z ~ 2.5 (consistent with theories of cold-mode accretion), the ICL for massive galaxies is expected to be significant out to at least z ~ 1-1.5, and dwarf galaxies at low redshifts have higher stellar mass to halo mass ratios than previous expectations and form later than in most theoretical models. Finally, we provide new fitting formulae for SFHs that are more accurate than the standard declining tau model. Our approach places a wide variety of observations relating to the SFH of galaxies into a self-consistent framework based on the modern understanding of structure formation in ΛCDM. Constraints on the stellar mass-halo mass relationship and SFRs are available for download online.

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The stellar masses, mean ages, metallicities, and star formation histories of galaxies are now commonly estimated via stellar population synthesis (SPS) techniques. SPS relies on stellar evolution calculations from the main sequence to stellar death, stellar spectral libraries, phenomenological dust models, and stellar initial mass functions (IMFs) to translate the evolution of a multimetallicity, multi-age set of stars into a prediction for the time-evolution of the integrated light from that set of stars. Each of these necessary inputs carries significant uncertainties that have until now received little systematic attention. The present work is the first in a series that explores the impact of uncertainties in key phases of stellar evolution and the IMF on the derived physical properties of galaxies and the expected luminosity evolution for a passively evolving set of stars. A Monte Carlo Markov Chain approach is taken to fit near-UV through near-IR photometry of a representative sample of low- and high-redshift galaxies with this new SPS model. Significant results include the following. (1) Including uncertainties in stellar evolution, stellar masses at z ~ 0 carry errors of ~0.3 dex at 95% CL with little dependence on luminosity or color, while at z ~ 2, the masses of bright red galaxies are uncertain at the ~0.6 dex level. (2) Either current stellar evolution models, current observational stellar libraries, or both, do not adequately characterize the metallicity-dependence of the thermally pulsating AGB phase. (3) Conservative estimates on the uncertainty of the slope of the IMF in the solar neighborhood imply that luminosity evolution per unit redshift is uncertain at the ~0.4 mag level in the K band, which is a substantial source of uncertainty for interpreting the evolution of galaxy populations across time. Any possible evolution in the IMF, as suggested by several independent lines of evidence, will only exacerbate this problem. (4) Assuming a distribution of stellar metallicities within a galaxy, rather than a fixed value as is usually assumed, can yield important differences when considering bands blueward of V, but is not a concern for redder bands. Spectroscopic information may alleviate some of these concerns, though uncertainties in the stellar spectral libraries and the importance of nonsolar abundance ratios have not yet been systematically investigated in the SPS context.

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We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between central galaxies and their host dark matter halos, as characterized by the stellar mass-halo mass (SM-HM) relation, with rigorous consideration of uncertainties. Our analysis focuses on results from the abundance matching technique, which assumes that every dark matter halo or subhalo above a specific mass threshold hosts one galaxy. We provide a robust estimate of the SM-HM relation for 0 < z < 1 and discuss the quantitative effects of uncertainties in observed galaxy stellar mass functions (including stellar mass estimates and counting uncertainties), halo mass functions (including cosmology and uncertainties from substructure), and the abundance matching technique used to link galaxies to halos (including scatter in this connection). Our analysis results in a robust estimate of the SM-HM relation and its evolution from z = 0 to z = 4. The shape and the evolution are well constrained for z < 1. The largest uncertainties at these redshifts are due to stellar mass estimates (0.25 dex uncertainty in normalization); however, failure to account for scatter in stellar masses at fixed halo mass can lead to errors of similar magnitude in the SM-HM relation for central galaxies in massive halos. We also investigate the SM-HM relation to z = 4, although the shape of the relation at higher redshifts remains fairly unconstrained when uncertainties are taken into account. We find that the integrated star formation at a given halo mass peaks at 10%-20% of available baryons for all redshifts from 0 to 4. This peak occurs at a halo mass of 7 × 1011 M ☉ at z = 0 and this mass increases by a factor of 5 to z = 4. At lower and higher masses, star formation is substantially less efficient, with stellar mass scaling as M * ~ M 2.3 h at low masses and M * ~ M 0.29 h at high masses. The typical stellar mass for halos with mass less than 1012 M ☉ has increased by 0.3-0.45 dex for halos since z ~ 1. These results will provide a powerful tool to inform galaxy evolution models.

THE PROPAGATION OF UNCERTAINTIES IN STELLAR POPULATION SYNTHESIS MODELING. I. THE RELEVANCE OF UNCERTAIN ASPECTS OF STELLAR EVOLUTION AND THE INITIAL MASS FUNCTION TO THE DERIVED PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF GALAXIES

We employ high-resolution dissipationless simulations of the concordance ΛCDM cosmology (Ω0 = 1 - ΩΛ = 0.3, h = 0.7, σ8 = 0.9) to model the observed luminosity dependence and evolution of galaxy clustering through most of the age of the universe, from z ~ 5 to z ~ 0. We use a simple, nonparametric model, which monotonically relates galaxy luminosities to the maximum circular velocity of dark matter halos (Vmax) by preserving the observed galaxy luminosity function in order to match the halos in simulations with observed galaxies. The novel feature of the model is the use of the maximum circular velocity at the time of accretion, V, for subhalos, the halos located within virial regions of larger halos. We argue that for subhalos in dissipationless simulations, V reflects the luminosity and stellar mass of the associated galaxies better than the circular velocity at the epoch of observation, V. The simulations and our model L-Vmax relation predict the shape, amplitude, and luminosity dependence of the two-point correlation function in excellent agreement with the observed galaxy clustering in the SDSS data at z ~ 0 and in the DEEP2 samples at z ~ 1 over the entire probed range of projected separations, 0.1 < rp/(h-1 Mpc) < 10.0. In particular, the small-scale upturn of the correlation function from the power-law form in the SDSS and DEEP2 luminosity-selected samples is reproduced very well. At z ~ 3-5, our predictions also match the observed shape and amplitude of the angular two-point correlation function of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) on both large and small scales, including the small-scale upturn. This suggests that, like galaxies in lower redshift samples, the LBGs are fair tracers of the overall halo population and that their luminosity is tightly correlated with the circular velocity (and hence mass) of their dark matter halos.

A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF UNCERTAINTIES AFFECTING THE STELLAR MASS-HALO MASS RELATION FOR 0 < z < 4

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) describes the mass distribution of stars at the time of their formation and is of fundamental importance for many areas of astrophysics. The IMF is reasonably well constrained in the disk of the Milky Way but we have very little direct information on the form of the IMF in other galaxies and at earlier cosmic epochs. Here we report observations of the Na i doublet and the Wing–Ford molecular FeH band in the spectra of elliptical galaxies. These lines are strong in stars with masses less than 0.3M⊙ (where M⊙ is the mass of the Sun) and are weak or absent in all other types of stars. We unambiguously detect both signatures, consistent with previous studies that were based on data of lower signal-to-noise ratio. The direct detection of the light of low-mass stars implies that they are very abundant in elliptical galaxies, making up over 80% of the total number of stars and contributing more than 60% of the total stellar mass. We infer that the IMF in massive star-forming galaxies in the early Universe produced many more low-mass stars than the IMF in the Milky Way disk, and was probably slightly steeper than the Salpeter form in the mass range 0.1M⊙ to 1M⊙.

Modeling Luminosity-dependent Galaxy Clustering through Cosmic Time

The evolution of the B-band galaxy luminosity function is measured using a sample of more than 11,000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts from the DEEP2 Redshift Survey. The rest-frame MB versus U - B color-magnitude diagram of DEEP2 galaxies shows that the color-magnitude bimodality seen in galaxies locally is still present at redshifts z > 1. Dividing the sample at the trough of this color bimodality into predominantly red and blue galaxies, we find that the luminosity function of each galaxy color type evolves differently. Blue counts tend to shift to brighter magnitudes at constant number density, while the red counts remain largely constant at a fixed absolute magnitude. Using Schechter functions with fixed faint-end slopes we find that M for blue galaxies brightens by ~1.3 ? 0.14 mag per unit redshift, with no significant evolution in number density. For red galaxies M brightens somewhat less with redshift, while the formal value of * declines. When the population of blue galaxies is subdivided into two halves using the rest-frame color as the criterion, the measured evolution of both blue subpopulations is very similar.The evolution of the B-band galaxy luminosity function is measured using a sample of more than 11,000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts from the DEEP2 Redshift Survey. The rest-frame M_B versus U-B color-magnitude diagram of DEEP2 galaxies shows that the color-magnitude bi-modality seen in galaxies locally is still present at redshifts z > 1. Dividing the sample at the trough of this color bimodality into predominantly red and blue galaxies, we find that the luminosity function of each galaxy color type evolves differently. Blue counts tend to shift to brighter magnitudes at constant number density, while the red counts remain largely constant at a fixed absolute magnitude. Using Schechter functions with fixed faint-end slopes we find that M*_B for blue galaxies brightens by ~ 1.3 magnitudes per unit redshift, with no significant evolution in number density. For red galaxies M*_B brightens somewhat less with redshift, while the formal value of phi* declines. When the population of blue galaxies is subdivided into two halves using the rest-frame color as the criterion, the measured evolution of both blue subpopulations is very similar.

A substantial population of low-mass stars in luminous elliptical galaxies

We describe the design and data analysis of the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, the densest and largest high-precision redshift survey of galaxies at z ~ 1 completed to date. The survey was designed to conduct a comprehensive census of massive galaxies, their properties, environments, and large-scale structure down to absolute magnitude M_B = −20 at z ~ 1 via ~90 nights of observation on the Keck telescope. The survey covers an area of 2.8 deg^2 divided into four separate fields observed to a limiting apparent magnitude of R_(AB) = 24.1. Objects with z ≾0.7 are readily identifiable using BRI photometry and rejected in three of the four DEEP2 fields, allowing galaxies with z > 0.7 to be targeted ~2.5 times more efficiently than in a purely magnitude-limited sample. Approximately 60% of eligible targets are chosen for spectroscopy, yielding nearly 53,000 spectra and more than 38,000 reliable redshift measurements. Most of the targets that fail to yield secure redshifts are blue objects that lie beyond z ~ 1.45, where the [O ii] 3727 A doublet lies in the infrared. The DEIMOS 1200 line mm^(−1) grating used for the survey delivers high spectral resolution (R ~ 6000), accurate and secure redshifts, and unique internal kinematic information. Extensive ancillary data are available in the DEEP2 fields, particularly in the Extended Groth Strip, which has evolved into one of the richest multiwavelength regions on the sky. This paper is intended as a handbook for users of the DEEP2 Data Release 4, which includes all DEEP2 spectra and redshifts, as well as for the DEEP2 DEIMOS data reduction pipelines. Extensive details are provided on object selection, mask design, biases in target selection and redshift measurements, the spec2d two-dimensional data-reduction pipeline, the spec1d automated redshift pipeline, and the zspec visual redshift verification process, along with examples of instrumental signatures or other artifacts that in some cases remain after data reduction. Redshift errors and catastrophic failure rates are assessed through more than 2000 objects with duplicate observations. Sky subtraction is essentially photon-limited even under bright OH sky lines; we describe the strategies that permitted this, based on high image stability, accurate wavelength solutions, and powerful B-spline modeling methods. We also investigate the impact of targets that appear to be single objects in ground-based targeting imaging but prove to be composite in Hubble Space Telescope data; they constitute several percent of targets at z ~ 1, approaching ~5%–10% at z > 1.5. Summary data are given that demonstrate the superiority of DEEP2 over other deep high-precision redshift surveys at z ~ 1 in terms of redshift accuracy, sample number density, and amount of spectral information. We also provide an overview of the scientific highlights of the DEEP2 survey thus far.

The Deep Evolutionary Exploratory Probe 2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: The Galaxy Luminosity Function to z ~ 1*

The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies are shaped by nearly every physical property of the system, including the star-formation history, metal content, abundance pattern, dust mass, grain size distribution, star-dust geometry, and interstellar radiation field. The principal goal of stellar population synthesis (SPS) is to extract these variables from observed SEDs. In this review I provide an overview of the SPS technique and discuss what can be reliably measured from galaxy SEDs. Topics include stellar masses, star-formation rates and histories, metallicities and abundance patterns, dust properties, and the stellar initial mass function.

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: Design, Observations, Data Reduction, and Redshifts

We use a set of simulation-based models for the dissipationless evolution of galaxies since z = 1 to constrain the fate of accreted satellites embedded in dark matter subhalos. These models assign stellar mass to dark matter halos at z = 1 by relating the observed galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) to the halo + subhalo mass function monotonically. The evolution of the stellar mass content is then followed using halo merger trees extracted from N-body simulations. Our models are differentiated only in the fate assigned to satellite galaxies once subhalos, within which satellites are embedded, disrupt. These models are confronted with the observed evolution in the massive end of the GSMF, the z ~ 0 brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) to cluster mass relation, and the combined BCG and intracluster light (ICL) luminosity distribution—all observables expected to evolve approximately dissipationlessly since z = 1. The combined observational constraints favor a model in which the vast majority (80%) of satellite stars from disrupted subhalos go into the ICL (operationally defined here as light below a surface brightness cut of μi ≈ 23 mag arcsec-2). Conversely, models that leave behind a significant population of satellite galaxies once the subhalo has disrupted are strongly disfavored, as are models that put a significant fraction of satellite stars into the BCG. Our results show that observations of the ICL provide useful and unique constraints on models of galaxy merging and the dissipationless evolution of galaxies in groups and clusters.

Modeling the Panchromatic Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies

This is the first of a series of papers presenting the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) project, a new comprehensive set of stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones computed using MESA, a state-of-the-art open-source 1D stellar evolution package. In this work, we present models with solar-scaled abundance ratios covering a wide range of ages (