PRIMUS: Effects of Galaxy Environment on the Quiescent Fraction Evolution at z < 0.8

Citation:

Hahn CH, Blanton MR, Moustakas J, Coil AL, Cool RJ, Eisenstein DJ, Skibba RA, Wong KC, Zhu G. PRIMUS: Effects of Galaxy Environment on the Quiescent Fraction Evolution at z < 0.8. The Astrophysical Journal. 2015;806.

Date Published:

June 1, 2015

Abstract:

We investigate the effects of galaxy environment on the evolution of thequiescent fraction ({{f}Q}) from z=0.8 to 0.0 usingspectroscopic redshifts and multi-wavelength imaging data from the PRIsmMUlti-object Survey (PRIMUS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).Our stellar mass limited galaxy sample consists of ˜14,000 PRIMUSgalaxies within z = 0.2-0.8 and ˜64,000 SDSS galaxies within z= 0.05-0.12. We classify the galaxies as quiescent or star-forming(SF) based on an evolving specific star formation cut, and as low orhigh density environments based on fixed cylindrical apertureenvironment measurements on a volume-limited environment definingpopulation. For quiescent and SF galaxies in low or high densityenvironments, we examine the evolution of their stellar mass function(SMF). Then using the SMFs we compute{{f}Q}({{M}*}) and quantify its evolution withinour redshift range. We find that the quiescent fraction is higher athigher masses and in denser environments. The quiescent fraction riseswith cosmic time for all masses and environments. At a fiducial mass of{{10}10.5} {{M}}, from z˜ 0.7 to 0.1,

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