Related papers: Superdense massive galaxies in the Nearby Universe

Massive galaxies with a half-mass radius <~ 1kpc are observed in the early universe (z~>2), but not in the local universe. In the local universe similar-mass (within a factor of two) galaxies tend to be a factor of 4 to 5 larger. Dry minor…

We spectroscopically identified 7 massive evolved galaxies with magnitudes 17.8<K<18.4 at 1.3<z<1.7 over an area of ~160 arcmin^2 of the MUNICS survey. Their rest-frame K-band absolute magnitudes are -26.8<M$_K<-26.1 (5L*<L_K<10L*) and the…

We explore the rate and impact of galaxy mergers on the massive galaxy population using the amplitude of the two-point correlation function on small scales for M > 5e10 M_sun galaxies from the COSMOS and COMBO-17 surveys. Using a pair…

We use deep NIRSpec spectroscopic data from the JADES survey to derive the star formation histories (SFHs) of a sample of 200 galaxies at 0.6$<$z$<$11 and spanning stellar masses from $\rm 10^6$ to $\rm 10^{9.5}~M_\odot$. We find that…

Stars form from cold molecular interstellar gas. Since this is relatively rare in the local Universe, galaxies like the Milky Way form only a few new stars per year. Typical massive galaxies in the distant Universe formed stars an order of…

We find a significant number of massive and compact galaxies in clusters from the ESO Distant Clusters Survey (EDisCS) at 0.4<z<1. They have similar stellar masses, ages, sizes and axial ratios to local z~0.04 compact galaxies in WINGS…

Supermassive primordial stars are expected to form in a small fraction of massive protogalaxies in the early universe, and are generally conceived of as the progenitors of the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs). Supermassive stars with…

We present the recent merger history of massive galaxies in a spectroscopically-confirmed proto-cluster at z=1.62. Using HST WFC3 near-infrared imaging from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), we…

Ultraluminous galaxies in the local universe (z$\leq$0.2) emit the bulk of their energy in the mid and far-infrared. The multiwavelength approach to these objects has shown that they are advanced mergers of gas-rich spiral galaxies.…

There is still much debate surrounding how the most massive, central galaxies in the local universe have assembled their stellar mass, especially the relative roles of in-situ growth versus later accretion via mergers. In this paper, we set…

Disk galaxies are common in our universe and this is a source of concern for hierarchical formation models like LCDM. Here we investigate this issue as motivated by raw merger statistics derived for galaxy-size dark matter halos from LCDM…

We measure and analyse the sizes of 82 massive (M >= 10^11 M_Sun) galaxies at 1.7<z<3 utilizing deep HST NICMOS data taken in the GOODS North and South fields. Our sample provides the first statistical study of massive galaxy sizes at z>2.…

We present near-infrared spectroscopic confirmations of a sample of 16 photometrically-selected galaxies with stellar masses log(M_star/M_sun) > 11 at redshift z > 3 from the XMM-VIDEO and COSMOS-UltraVISTA fields using Keck/MOSFIRE as part…

Several studies have tried to ascertain whether or not the increase in abundance of the early-type galaxies (E-S0a's) with time is mainly due to major mergers, reaching opposite conclusions. We have tested it directly through…

Observing massive galaxies at various redshifts is one of the most straightforward and direct approaches towards understanding galaxy formation. There is now largely a consensus that the massive galaxy (M_* > 10^11 M_0) population is fully…

Recent studies have shown that massive quiescent galaxies at high redshift are much more compact than present-day galaxies of the same mass. Here we compare the radial stellar density profiles and the number density of a sample of massive…

Recent studies have shown that massive galaxies in the distant universe are surprisingly compact, with typical sizes about a factor of three smaller than equally massive galaxies in the nearby universe. It has been suggested that these…

Stellar archeology shows that massive elliptical galaxies today formed rapidly about ten billion years ago with star formation rates above several hundreds solar masses per year (M_sun/yr). Their progenitors are likely the…

We have explored prevailing modes of galaxy growth for redshifts z ~ 6-14, comparing substantially overdense and normal regions of the universe, using high-resolution zoom-in cosmological simulations. Such rare overdense regions have been…

Massive quiescent galaxies have much smaller physical sizes at high redshift than today. The strong evolution of galaxy size may be caused by progenitor bias, major and minor mergers, adiabatic expansion, and/or renewed star formation, but…