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ABSTRACT We present an analysis of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) of 14 known protoclusters between 2.0 < z < 2.5 in the COSMOS field, down to a mass limit of 109.5 M⊙. We use existing photometric redshifts with a statistical background subtraction, and consider star-forming and quiescent galaxies identified from (NUV − r) and (r − J) colours separately. Our fiducial sample includes galaxies within 1 Mpc of the cluster centres. The shape of the protocluster SMF of star-forming galaxies is indistinguishable from that of the general field at this redshift. Quiescent galaxies, however, show a flatter SMF than in the field, with an upturn at low mass, though this is only significant at ∼2σ. There is no strong evidence for a dominant population of quiescent galaxies at any mass, with a fraction <15 per cent at 1σ confidence for galaxies with log M*/M⊙ < 10.5. We compare our results with a sample of galaxy groups at 1 < z < 1.5, and demonstrate that a significant amount of environmental quenching must take place between these epochs, increasing the relative abundance of high-mass ($$\rm M_{\ast } \gt 10^{10.5} {\rm M}_{\odot }$$) quiescent galaxies by a factor ≳ 2. However, we find that at lower masses ($$\rm M_{\ast } \lt 10^{10.5} {\rm M}_{\odot }$$), no additional environmental quenching is required.
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Distinct origins of environmentally quenched galaxies in the core and outer virialized regions of massive clusters at 0.8 < z < 1.5
ABSTRACT High-redshift ($$z\sim 1$$) galaxy clusters are the domain where environmental quenching mechanisms are expected to emerge as important factors in the evolution of the quiescent galaxy population. Uncovering these initially subtle effects requires exploring multiple dependencies of quenching across the cluster environment, and through time. We analyse the stellar mass functions (SMFs) of 17 galaxy clusters within the GOGREEN and GCLASS surveys in the range $0.8< z<1.5$, and with $$\log {(M/{\rm {M_\odot }})}>9.5$$. The data are fit simultaneously with a Bayesian model that allows the Schechter function parameters of the quiescent and star-forming populations to vary smoothly with cluster-centric radius and redshift. The model also fits the radial galaxy number density profile of each population, allowing the global quenched fraction to be parametrized as a function of redshift and cluster velocity dispersion. We find the star-forming SMF to not depend on radius or redshift. For the quiescent population however, there is $$\sim 2\sigma$$ evidence for a radial dependence. Outside the cluster core ($$R>0.3\, R_{\rm 200}$$), the quenched fraction above $$\log {(M/{\rm {M_\odot }})}=9.5$$ is $$\sim 40{\rm\,\,per\, cent}$$, and the quiescent SMF is similar in shape to the star-forming field. In contrast, the cluster core has an elevated quenched fraction ($$\sim 70{\rm \,\,per\, cent}$$), and a quiescent SMF similar in shape to the quiescent field population. We explore contributions of ‘early mass-quenching’ and mass-independent ‘environmental-quenching’ models in each of these radial regimes. The core is well described primarily by early mass-quenching, which we interpret as accelerated quenching of massive galaxies in protoclusters, possibly through merger-driven feedback mechanisms. The non-core is better described through mass-independent environmental-quenching of the infalling field population.
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- PAR ID:
- 10612200
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 541
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 409-428
- Size(s):
- p. 409-428
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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