DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1
We utilize ∼17,000 bright luminous red galaxies (LRGs) from the novel Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Survey Validation spectroscopic sample, leveraging its deep (∼2.5 hr galaxy ^−1 exposure time) spectra to characterize the contribution of recently quenched galaxies to the massive galaxy popul...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc9b5 |
| _version_ | 1797695340955041792 |
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| author | David J. Setton Biprateep Dey Gourav Khullar Rachel Bezanson Jeffrey A. Newman Jessica N. Aguilar Steven Ahlen Brett H. Andrews David Brooks Axel de la Macorra Arjun Dey Sarah Eftekharzadeh Andreu Font-Ribera Satya Gontcho A Gontcho Anthony Kremin Stephanie Juneau Martin Landriau Aaron Meisner Ramon Miquel John Moustakas Alan Pearl Francisco Prada Gregory Tarlé Małgorzata Siudek Benjamin Alan Weaver Zhimin Zhou Hu Zou |
| author_facet | David J. Setton Biprateep Dey Gourav Khullar Rachel Bezanson Jeffrey A. Newman Jessica N. Aguilar Steven Ahlen Brett H. Andrews David Brooks Axel de la Macorra Arjun Dey Sarah Eftekharzadeh Andreu Font-Ribera Satya Gontcho A Gontcho Anthony Kremin Stephanie Juneau Martin Landriau Aaron Meisner Ramon Miquel John Moustakas Alan Pearl Francisco Prada Gregory Tarlé Małgorzata Siudek Benjamin Alan Weaver Zhimin Zhou Hu Zou |
| author_sort | David J. Setton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We utilize ∼17,000 bright luminous red galaxies (LRGs) from the novel Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Survey Validation spectroscopic sample, leveraging its deep (∼2.5 hr galaxy ^−1 exposure time) spectra to characterize the contribution of recently quenched galaxies to the massive galaxy population at 0.4 < z < 1.3. We use Prospector to infer nonparametric star formation histories and identify a significant population of recently quenched galaxies that have joined the quiescent population within the past ∼1 Gyr. The highest-redshift subset (277 at z > 1) of our sample of recently quenched galaxies represents the largest spectroscopic sample of post-starburst galaxies at that epoch. At 0.4 < z < 0.8, we measure the number density of quiescent LRGs, finding that recently quenched galaxies constitute a growing fraction of the massive galaxy population with increasing look-back time. Finally, we quantify the importance of this population among massive ( $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/{M}_{\odot })$ > 11.2) LRGs by measuring the fraction of stellar mass each galaxy formed in the gigayear before observation, f _1 Gyr . Although galaxies with f _1 Gyr > 0.1 are rare at z ∼ 0.4 (≲0.5% of the population), by z ∼ 0.8, they constitute ∼3% of massive galaxies. Relaxing this threshold, we find that galaxies with f _1 Gyr > 5% constitute ∼10% of the massive galaxy population at z ∼ 0.8. We also identify a small but significant sample of galaxies at z = 1.1–1.3 that formed with f _1 Gyr > 50%, implying that they may be analogs to high-redshift quiescent galaxies that formed on similar timescales. Future analysis of this unprecedented sample promises to illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive the quenching of massive galaxies after cosmic noon. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:10:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41f36c3abd5946f997494f62a16b0c24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:10:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-41f36c3abd5946f997494f62a16b0c242023-09-03T14:27:11ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019472L3110.3847/2041-8213/acc9b5DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1David J. Setton0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4075-7393Biprateep Dey1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5665-7912Gourav Khullar2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3475-7648Rachel Bezanson3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5063-8254Jeffrey A. Newman4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8684-2222Jessica N. Aguilar5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0822-452XSteven Ahlen6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6098-7247Brett H. Andrews7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8085-5890David Brooks8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8458-5047Axel de la Macorra9Arjun Dey10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4928-4003Sarah Eftekharzadeh11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8281-8388Andreu Font-Ribera12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3033-7312Satya Gontcho A Gontcho13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3142-233XAnthony Kremin14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6356-7424Stephanie Juneau15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0000-2394Martin Landriau16https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1838-8528Aaron Meisner17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1125-7384Ramon Miquel18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6610-4836John Moustakas19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2733-4559Alan Pearl20https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9820-9619Francisco Prada21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7145-8674Gregory Tarlé22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1704-0781Małgorzata Siudek23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2949-2155Benjamin Alan Weaver24Zhimin Zhou25https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4135-0977Hu Zou26https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6684-3997Department of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USABoston University , 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UKInstituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Cd. de México C.P. 04510, MexicoNSF’s NOIRLab , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USASOFIA Science Center , NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USAInstitut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, SpainLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USALawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USANSF’s NOIRLab , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USALawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USANSF’s NOIRLab , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USAInstitut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, E-08010 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Siena College , 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA ; davidsetton@pitt.eduInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC) , Glorieta de la Astronomía, s/n, E-18008 Granada, SpainUniversity of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAInstitute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) , Campus UAB, Carrer de Magrans, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , E-08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), SpainNSF’s NOIRLab , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USANational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100012, People's Republic of ChinaNational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100012, People's Republic of ChinaWe utilize ∼17,000 bright luminous red galaxies (LRGs) from the novel Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Survey Validation spectroscopic sample, leveraging its deep (∼2.5 hr galaxy ^−1 exposure time) spectra to characterize the contribution of recently quenched galaxies to the massive galaxy population at 0.4 < z < 1.3. We use Prospector to infer nonparametric star formation histories and identify a significant population of recently quenched galaxies that have joined the quiescent population within the past ∼1 Gyr. The highest-redshift subset (277 at z > 1) of our sample of recently quenched galaxies represents the largest spectroscopic sample of post-starburst galaxies at that epoch. At 0.4 < z < 0.8, we measure the number density of quiescent LRGs, finding that recently quenched galaxies constitute a growing fraction of the massive galaxy population with increasing look-back time. Finally, we quantify the importance of this population among massive ( $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/{M}_{\odot })$ > 11.2) LRGs by measuring the fraction of stellar mass each galaxy formed in the gigayear before observation, f _1 Gyr . Although galaxies with f _1 Gyr > 0.1 are rare at z ∼ 0.4 (≲0.5% of the population), by z ∼ 0.8, they constitute ∼3% of massive galaxies. Relaxing this threshold, we find that galaxies with f _1 Gyr > 5% constitute ∼10% of the massive galaxy population at z ∼ 0.8. We also identify a small but significant sample of galaxies at z = 1.1–1.3 that formed with f _1 Gyr > 50%, implying that they may be analogs to high-redshift quiescent galaxies that formed on similar timescales. Future analysis of this unprecedented sample promises to illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive the quenching of massive galaxies after cosmic noon.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc9b5Post-starburst galaxiesGalaxiesE+A galaxiesGalaxy quenchingQuenched galaxiesGalaxy spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | David J. Setton Biprateep Dey Gourav Khullar Rachel Bezanson Jeffrey A. Newman Jessica N. Aguilar Steven Ahlen Brett H. Andrews David Brooks Axel de la Macorra Arjun Dey Sarah Eftekharzadeh Andreu Font-Ribera Satya Gontcho A Gontcho Anthony Kremin Stephanie Juneau Martin Landriau Aaron Meisner Ramon Miquel John Moustakas Alan Pearl Francisco Prada Gregory Tarlé Małgorzata Siudek Benjamin Alan Weaver Zhimin Zhou Hu Zou DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 The Astrophysical Journal Letters Post-starburst galaxies Galaxies E+A galaxies Galaxy quenching Quenched galaxies Galaxy spectroscopy |
| title | DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| title_full | DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| title_fullStr | DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| title_full_unstemmed | DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| title_short | DESI Survey Validation Spectra Reveal an Increasing Fraction of Recently Quenched Galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| title_sort | desi survey validation spectra reveal an increasing fraction of recently quenched galaxies at z ∼ 1 |
| topic | Post-starburst galaxies Galaxies E+A galaxies Galaxy quenching Quenched galaxies Galaxy spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc9b5 |
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