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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The stellar mass function of star-forming galaxies and the mass-dependent SFR function since z = 2.23 from HiZELS
AU - Sobral, David
AU - Best, Philip N.
AU - Smail, Ian
AU - Mobasher, Bahram
AU - Stott, John
AU - Nisbet, David
PY - 2014/2/1
Y1 - 2014/2/1
N2 - We explore a large uniformly selected sample of Ha selected star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at z = 0.40, 0.84, 1.47, 2.23 to unveil the evolution of the star formation rate (SFR) function and the stellar mass function. We find strong evolution in the SFR function, with the typical SFR of SFGs declining exponentially in the last 11 Gyr as SFR*(T[Gyr]) = 104.23/T + 0.37 M⊙ yr-1, but with no evolution in the faint-end slope, α ̃ -1.6. The stellar mass function of SFGs, however, reveals little evolution: α ̃ -1.4, M* ̃ 1011.2 ± 0.2 M⊙ and just a slight increase of ̃2.3× in φ * from z = 2.23 to z = 0.4. The stellar mass density within SFGs has been roughly constant since z = 2.23 at ̃107.65 ± 0.08 M⊙ Mpc-3, comprising 100 per cent of the stellar mass density in all galaxies at z = 2.23, and declining to ̃20 per cent by z = 0.40, driven by the rise of the passive population.We find that SFGs with ̃1010.0 ± 0.2 M⊙ contribute most to the ρSFR density (ρSFR) per d log10M, and that there is no significant evolution in the fractional contribution from SFGs of different masses to ρSFR or ρSFR(d log10M)-1 since z = 2.23. Instead, we show that the decline of SFR* and of ρSFR is primarily driven by an exponential decline in SFRs at all masses. Our results have important implications not only on how SFGs need to be quenched across cosmic time, but also on the driver(s) of the exponential decline in SFR* from ̃66 M⊙ yr-1 to 5 ⊙; yr-1 since z ̃ 2.23.
AB - We explore a large uniformly selected sample of Ha selected star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at z = 0.40, 0.84, 1.47, 2.23 to unveil the evolution of the star formation rate (SFR) function and the stellar mass function. We find strong evolution in the SFR function, with the typical SFR of SFGs declining exponentially in the last 11 Gyr as SFR*(T[Gyr]) = 104.23/T + 0.37 M⊙ yr-1, but with no evolution in the faint-end slope, α ̃ -1.6. The stellar mass function of SFGs, however, reveals little evolution: α ̃ -1.4, M* ̃ 1011.2 ± 0.2 M⊙ and just a slight increase of ̃2.3× in φ * from z = 2.23 to z = 0.4. The stellar mass density within SFGs has been roughly constant since z = 2.23 at ̃107.65 ± 0.08 M⊙ Mpc-3, comprising 100 per cent of the stellar mass density in all galaxies at z = 2.23, and declining to ̃20 per cent by z = 0.40, driven by the rise of the passive population.We find that SFGs with ̃1010.0 ± 0.2 M⊙ contribute most to the ρSFR density (ρSFR) per d log10M, and that there is no significant evolution in the fractional contribution from SFGs of different masses to ρSFR or ρSFR(d log10M)-1 since z = 2.23. Instead, we show that the decline of SFR* and of ρSFR is primarily driven by an exponential decline in SFRs at all masses. Our results have important implications not only on how SFGs need to be quenched across cosmic time, but also on the driver(s) of the exponential decline in SFR* from ̃66 M⊙ yr-1 to 5 ⊙; yr-1 since z ̃ 2.23.
KW - Evolution - galaxies
KW - Fundamental parameters - galaxies
KW - Galaxies
KW - High-redshift - galaxies
KW - Luminosity function, mass function - galaxies
KW - Observations
KW - Star formation - cosmology
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stt2159
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stt2159
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84891501473
VL - 437
SP - 3516
EP - 3528
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 4
ER -