Related papers: The merger-driven evolution of massive galaxies
We use Horizon-AGN, a hydrodynamical cosmological simulation, to explore the role of mergers in the evolution of massive (M > 10^10 MSun) galaxies around the epoch of peak cosmic star formation (1<z<4). The fraction of massive galaxies in…
We present a detailed analysis of predicted galaxy-galaxy merger fractions and rates in the Millennium simulation and compare these with the most up to date observations of the same quantities up to z~3. We carry out our analysis by…
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…
The contribution of major mergers to galaxy mass assembly along cosmic time is an important ingredient to the galaxy evolution scenario. We aim to measure the evolution of the merger rate for both luminosity/mass selected galaxy samples and…
We present the rest-frame optical galaxy merger fraction between 0.2<z<1.2, as a function of stellar mass and optical luminosity, as observed by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Deep Survey (CFHTLS-Deep). We developed a new…
We study the role of major and minor mergers in the mass growth of luminous red galaxies. We present small-scale ($0.01<r<8\,\hMpc$) projected cross-correlation functions of $23043$ luminous early-type galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky…
Galaxy mergers play a crucial role in shaping the morphology, the star formation, and the mass growth of galaxies across cosmic time. While mergers have been extensively investigated in the local Universe, the evolution of their frequency…
We calculate the major pair fraction and derive the major merger fraction and rate for 82 massive ($M_{*}>10^{11}M_{\odot}$) galaxies at $1.7 < z < 3.0$ utilising deep HST NICMOS data taken in the GOODS North and South fields. For the first…
Calculating the galaxy merger rate requires both a census of galaxies identified as merger candidates, and a cosmologically-averaged `observability' timescale T_obs(z) for identifying galaxy mergers. While many have counted galaxy mergers…
We have analysed a sample of 1292 4.5 micron-selected galaxies at z>=3, over 0.6 square degrees of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Survey (UKIDSS) Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). Using photometry from the U band through 4.5 microns, we have obtained…
We measure the fraction of luminous galaxies in pairs at projected separations of 5-20 kpc out to z=1.2 in the COSMOS field using ACS images and photometric redshifts derived from an extensive multiwavelength dataset. Analysis of a complete…
We present the results of a series of empirical computations regarding the role of major mergers in forming the stellar masses of modern galaxies based on measurements of galaxy merger and star formation histories from z~0.5-3. We…
We use the HiZELS narrow-band H-alpha survey in combination with CANDELS, UKIDSS and WIRDS near-infrared imaging, to investigate the morphologies, merger rates and sizes of a sample of H-alpha emitting galaxies in the redshift range z=0.40…
Aims: We study the major merger fraction in a SPITZER/IRAC-selected catalogue in the GOODS-S field up to z ~ 1 for luminosity- and mass-limited samples. Methods: We select disc-disc merger remnants on the basis of morphological asymmetries,…
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…
We report the results of a comprehensive study of the relationship between galaxy size, stellar mass and specific star-formation rate (sSFR) at redshifts 1.3<z<1.5. Based on a mass complete (M_star >= 6x10^10 Msun), spectroscopic sample…
We present an analysis of ~60 000 massive (stellar mass M_star > 10^{11} M_sun) galaxies out to z = 1 drawn from 55.2 deg2 of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey…
We derive the close, kinematic pair fraction and merger rate up to z ~ 1.2 from the initial data of the DEEP2 Redshift Survey. Assuming a mild luminosity evolution, the number of companions per luminous galaxy is found to evolve as…
We present a study on the stellar mass growth of the progenitors of local massive galaxies with a variety of number density selections with $n\le1\times10^{-4}\,\rm{Mpc^{-3}}$ (corresponding to $M_*=10^{11.24}\rm{M_{\odot}}$ at z=0.3) in…
This paper presents direct evidence for hierarchical galaxy assembly out to redshifts z ~ 3. We identify major mergers using the model-independent CAS (concentration, asymmetry, clumpiness) physical morphological system on galaxies…