Nature versus nurture: relic nature and environment of the most massive passive galaxies at z < 0.5 : letter to the editor
Relic galaxies are thought to be the progenitors of high-redshift red - nuggets that for some reason missed the channels of size growth and - evolved passively and undisturbed since the first star formation burst - (at z > 2). These local ultracompact old galaxies are unique - laboratories for s...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) Editorial |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
23 June 2020
|
| In: |
Astronomy and astrophysics
Year: 2020, Volume: 638 |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/202038373 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038373 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020A%26A...638L..11T 
|
| Author Notes: | C. Tortora, N.R. Napolitano, M. Radovich, C. Spiniello, L. Hunt, N. Roy, L. Moscardini, D. Scognamiglio, M. Spavone, M. Brescia, S. Cavuoti, G. D`Ago, G. Longo, F. Bellagamba, M. Maturi, and M. Roncarelli |
| Summary: | Relic galaxies are thought to be the progenitors of high-redshift red - nuggets that for some reason missed the channels of size growth and - evolved passively and undisturbed since the first star formation burst - (at z > 2). These local ultracompact old galaxies are unique - laboratories for studying the star formation processes at high redshift - and thus the early stage of galaxy formation scenarios. - Counterintuitively, theoretical and observational studies indicate that - relics are more common in denser environments, where merging events - predominate. To verify this scenario, we compared the number counts of a - sample of ultracompact massive galaxies (UCMGS) selected within the - third data release of the Kilo Degree Survey, that is, systems with - sizes Re < 1.5 kpc and stellar masses M⋆ - > 8 × 1010 M⊙, with the number counts - of galaxies with the same masses but normal sizes in field and cluster - environments. Based on their optical and near-infrared colors, these - UCMGS are likely to be mainly old, and hence representative of the relic - population. We find that both UCMGS and normal-size galaxies are more - abundant in clusters and their relative fraction depends only mildly on - the global environment, with denser environments penalizing the survival - of relics. Hence, UCMGS (and likely relics overall) are not special - because of the environment effect on their nurture, but rather they are - just a product of the stochasticity of the merging processes regardless - of the global environment in which they live. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Gesehen am 21.08.2020 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/202038373 |