Kai G. Noeske

Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z = 1.1: The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-forming Galaxies

We analyze star formation (SF) as a function of stellar mass (M☉) and redshift z in the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey. For 2905 field galaxies, complete to 10^10(10^10.8 )M at z < 0.7(1), with Keck spectroscopic redshifts out to z = 1.1, we compile SF rates (SFRs) from emission lines, GALEX, and Spitzer MIPS 24 µm photometry, optical-NIR M* measurements, and HST morphologies. Galaxies with reliable signs of SF form a distinct “main sequence” (MS), with a limited range of SFRs at a given M* and z (1 σ ≾ ±0.3 dex), and log (SFR) approximately proportional to log M*. The range of log (SFR) remains constant to z > 1, while the MS as a whole moves to higher SFR as z increases. The range of the SFR along the MS constrains the amplitude of episodic variations of SF and the effect of mergers on the SFR. Typical galaxies spend ∼67%(95%) of their lifetime since z = 1 within a factor of ≾2(4) of their average SFR at a given M* and z. The dominant mode of the evolution of SF since z ∼ 1 is apparently a gradual decline of the average SFR in most individual galaxies, not a decreasing frequency of starburst episodes, or a decreasing factor by which SFRs are enhanced in starbursts. LIRGs at z ∼ 1 seem to mostly reflect the high SFR typical for massive galaxies at that epoch. The smooth MS may reflect that the same set of few physical processes governs SF prior to additional quenching processes. A gradual process like gas exhaustion may play a dominant role.

The All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) Data Sets

In this the first of a series of Letters, we present a panchromatic data set in the Extended Groth Strip region of the sky. Our survey, the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS), aims to study the physical properties and evolutionary processes of galaxies at z ~ 1. It includes the following deep, wide-field imaging data sets: Chandra/ACIS X-ray, GALEX ultraviolet, CFHT/MegaCam Legacy Survey optical, CFHT/CFH12K optical, Hubble Space Telescope/ACS optical and NICMOS near-infrared, Palomar/WIRC near-infrared, Spitzer/IRAC mid-infrared, Spitzer/MIPS far-infrared, and VLA radio continuum. In addition, this region of the sky has been targeted for extensive spectroscopy using the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) on the Keck II 10 m telescope. Our survey is compared to other large multiwavelength surveys in terms of depth and sky coverage.

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

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.

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

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 Evolution of Galaxy Mergers and Morphology at z < 1.2 in the Extended Groth Strip

We present the quantitative rest-frame B morphological evolution and galaxy merger fraction at 0.2 1011 L☉ are disk galaxies, and only ~15% are classified as major merger candidates. Edge-on and dusty disk galaxies (Sb-Ir) are almost a third of the red sequence at z ~ 1.1, while E/S0/Sa make up over 90% of the red sequence at z ~ 0.3. Approximately 2% of our full sample are red mergers. We conclude (1) the merger rate does not evolve strongly between 0.2 < z < 1.2; (2) the decrease in the volume-averaged star formation rate density since z ~ 1 is a result of declining star formation in disk galaxies rather than a disappearing population of major mergers; (3) the build-up of the red sequence at z < 1 can be explained by a doubling in the number of spheroidal galaxies since z ~ 1.2.

Star formation in AEGIS field galaxies since z = 1.1: Staged galaxy formation and a model of mass-dependent gas exhaustion

We analyze star formation (SF) as a function of stellar mass (M☉) and redshift z in the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey, for star-forming field galaxies with M* ≳ 10^10 M☉ out to z = 1.1. The data indicate that the high specific SF rates (SFRs) of many less massive galaxies do not represent late, irregular or recurrent, starbursts in evolved galaxies. They rather seem to reflect the onset (initial burst) of the dominant SF episode of galaxies, after which SF gradually declines on gigayear timescales to z = 0 and forms the bulk of a galaxy’s M*. With decreasing mass, this onset of major SF shifts to decreasing z for an increasing fraction of galaxies (staged galaxy formation). This process may be an important component of the “downsizing” phenomenon. We find that the predominantly gradual decline of SFRs described by Noeske et al. can be reproduced by exponential SF histories (τ models), if less massive galaxies have systematically longer e-folding times τ, and a later onset of SF (zf). Our model can provide a first parameterization of SFR as a function of M* and z, and quantify mass dependences of τ and z, from direct observations of M* and SFRs up to z > 1. The observed evolution of SF in galaxies can plausibly reflect the dominance of gradual gas exhaustion. The data are also consistent with the history of cosmological accretion onto dark matter halos.

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: the role of galaxy environment in the cosmic star formation history

Using galaxy samples drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between star formation and environment at z ∼ 0.1 and 1. We estimate the total star formation rate (SFR) and specific star formation rate (sSFR) for each galaxy according to the measured [O II] λ 3727 A nebular line luminosity, corrected using empirical calibrations to match more robust SFR indicators. Echoing previous results, we find that in the local Universe star formation depends on environment such that galaxies in regions of higher overdensity, on average, have lower SFRs and longer star formation time-scales than their counterparts in lower density regions. At z ∼ 1, we show that the relationship between sSFR and environment mirrors that found locally. However, we discover that the relationship between total SFR and overdensity at z ∼ 1 is inverted relative to the local relation. This observed evolution in the SFR-density relation is driven, in part, by a population of bright, blue galaxies in dense environments at z ∼ 1. This population, which lacks a counterpart at z ∼ 0, is thought to evolve into members of the red sequence from z ∼ 1 to ∼ 0. Finally, we conclude that environment does not play a dominant role in the cosmic star formation history at z < 1: the dependence of the mean galaxy SFR on local galaxy density at constant redshift is small compared to the decline in the global SFR space density over the last 7 Gyr.

SEDS: The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey: survey design, photometry, and deep IRAC source counts

The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey (SEDS) is a very deep infrared survey within five well-known extragalactic science fields: the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey, the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, COSMOS, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the Extended Groth Strip. SEDS covers a total area of 1.46 deg(2) to a depth of 26 AB mag (3s) in both of the warm Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands at 3.6 and 4.5 mu m. Because of its uniform depth of coverage in so many widely-separated fields, SEDS is subject to roughly 25% smaller errors due to cosmic variance than a single-field survey of the same size. SEDS was designed to detect and characterize galaxies from intermediate to high redshifts (z = 2-7) with a built-in means of assessing the impact of cosmic variance on the individual fields. Because the full SEDS depth was accumulated in at least three separate visits to each field, typically with six- month intervals between visits, SEDS also furnishes an opportunity to assess the infrared variability of faint objects. This paper describes the SEDS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data products. Deep IRAC counts for the more than 300,000 galaxies detected by SEDS are consistent with models based on known galaxy populations. Discrete IRAC sources contribute 5.6 +/- 1.0 and 4.4 +/- 0.8 nW m(-2) sr(-1) at 3.6 and 4.5 mu m to the diffuse cosmic infrared background (CIB). IRAC sources cannot contribute more than half of the total CIB flux estimated from DIRBE data. Barring an unexpected error in the DIRBE flux estimates, half the CIB flux must therefore come from a diffuse component.

Dependence of galaxy quenching on halo mass and distance from its centre

We study the dependence of star-formation quenching on galaxy mass and environment, in the SDSS (z~0.1) and the AEGIS (z~1). It is crucial that we define quenching by low star-formation rate rather than by red colour, given that one third of the red galaxies are star forming. We address stellar mass M*, halo mass Mh, density over the nearest N neighbours deltaN, and distance to the halo centre D. The fraction of quenched galaxies appears more strongly correlated with Mh at fixed M* than with M* at fixed Mh, while for satellites quenching also depends on D. We present the M*-Mh relation for centrals at z~1. At z~1, the dependence of quenching on M* at fixed Mh is somewhat more pronounced than at z~0, but the quenched fraction is low (10%) and the haloes are less massive. For satellites, M*-dependent quenching is noticeable at high D, suggesting a quenching dependence on sub-halo mass for recently captured satellites. At small D, where satellites likely fell in more than a few Gyr ago, quenching strongly depends on Mh, and not on M*. The Mh-dependence of quenching is consistent with theoretical wisdom where virial shock heating in massive haloes shuts down accretion and triggers ram-pressure stripping, causing quenching. The interpretation of deltaN is complicated by the fact that it depends on the number of observed group members compared to N, motivating the use of D as a better measure of local environment.

THE EPOCH OF DISK SETTLING: z ∼ 1 TO NOW

We present evidence from a sample of 544 galaxies from the DEEP2 Survey for evolution of the internal kinematics of blue galaxies with stellar masses ranging 8.0 < log M *(M ?) < 10.7 over 0.2 < z < 1.2. DEEP2 provides galaxy spectra and Hubble imaging from which we measure emission-line kinematics and galaxy inclinations, respectively. Our large sample allows us to overcome scatter intrinsic to galaxy properties in order to examine trends in kinematics. We find that at a fixed stellar mass, galaxies systematically decrease in disordered motions and increase in rotation velocity and potential well depth with time. Massive galaxies are the most well ordered at all times examined, with higher rotation velocities and less disordered motions than less massive galaxies. We quantify disordered motions with an integrated gas velocity dispersion corrected for beam smearing (? g ). It is unlike the typical pressure-supported velocity dispersion measured for early type galaxies and galaxy bulges. Because both seeing and the width of our spectral slits comprise a significant fraction of the galaxy sizes, ? g integrates over velocity gradients on large scales which can correspond to non-ordered gas kinematics. We compile measurements of galaxy kinematics from the literature over 1.2 < z < 3.8 and do not find any trends with redshift, likely for the most part, because these data sets are biased toward the most highly star-forming systems. In summary, over the last ~8 billion years since z = 1.2, blue galaxies evolve from disordered to ordered systems as they settle to become the rotation-dominated disk galaxies observed in the universe today, with the most massive galaxies being the most evolved at any time.