Related papers: The merger-driven evolution of massive galaxies
We use the galaxy stellar mass and halo merger tree information from the semi-analytic model galaxy catalogue of Font et al. (2009) to examine the accretion of galaxies into a large sample of groups and clusters, covering a wide range in…
A fundamental feature of galaxies is their structure, yet we are just now understanding the evolution of structural properties in quantitative ways. As such, we explore the quantitative non-parametric structural evolution of 16,778 galaxies…
We construct merger trees for galaxies identified in a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation and use them to characterize predicted merger rates as a function of redshift, galaxy mass, and merger mass ratio. At z=0.3, we find a mean rate…
We study the connection between the observed star formation rate-stellar mass (SFR-$M_*$) relation and the evolution of the stellar mass function (SMF) by means of a Subhalo Abundance Matching technique coupled to merger trees extracted…
We use semi-analytical modelling of galaxy formation to predict the redshift-size-evolution of elliptical galaxies. Using a simple model in which relative sizes of elliptical galaxies of a given mass correlate with the fraction of stars…
We present a detailed analysis of the structure and resolved stellar populations of simulated merger remnants, and compare them to observations of compact quiescent galaxies at z ~ 2. We find that major merging is a viable mechanism to…
The over-dense environments of protoclusters of galaxies in the early Universe (z>2) are expected to accelerate the evolution of galaxies, with an increased rate of stellar mass assembly and black hole accretion compared to co-eval galaxies…
Utilising optical and near-infrared broadband photometry covering $> 5\,{\rm deg}^2$ in two of the most well-studied extragalactic legacy fields (COSMOS and XMM-LSS), we measure the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) between $0.1 < z <…
Understanding the role of mergers in galaxy formation is one of the most outstanding problems in extragalactic astronomy. While we now have an idea for how the merger fraction evolves at redshifts z < 3, converting this merger fraction into…
Binary merging constitutes a complementary mode of galaxy evolution to the canonical hierarchical clustering theory. This merger-driven evolution not only influences the galaxy mass distribution function, but may drive the main galactic…
Galaxy cluster merger statistics are an important component in understanding the formation of large-scale structure. Unfortunately, it is difficult to study merger properties and evolution directly because the identification of cluster…
Interactions and mergers play an important role in regulating the physical properties of galaxies, such as their morphology, gas content, and star formation rate (SFR). Controversy exists as to the degree to which these events, even…
Recent observations of UV-/optically selected, massive star forming galaxies at z~2 indicate that the baryonic mass assembly and star formation history is dominated by continuous rapid accretion of gas and internal secular evolution, rather…
We present a comprehensive analysis of the stellar population properties (age, metallicity and the alpha-element enhancement [E/Fe]) and morphologies of red-sequence galaxies in 24 clusters and groups from z~0.75 to z~0.45. The dataset,…
We measure 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 is almost an order of magnitude larger than previous studies at these redshifts,…
Galaxy mergers are a key driver of galaxy formation and evolution, including the triggering of AGN and star formation to a still unknown degree. We thus investigate the impact of galaxy mergers on star formation and AGN activity using a…
We present an analysis of galaxies in the CDF-South. We find a tight relation to z=3 between color and size at a given mass, with red galaxies being small, and blue galaxies being large. We show that the relation is driven by stellar…
Using a sample of ~28,000 sources selected at 3.6-4.5 microns with Spitzer observations of the HDF-N, the CDF-S, and the Lockman Hole (surveyed area: ~664 arcmin^2), we study the evolution of the stellar mass content of the Universe at…
Explaining the formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the most challenging problems in observational cosmology. Many observations suggest that galaxies we see today could have evolved from the merging of smaller subsystems. Evolution…
We study how to measure the galaxy merger rate from the observed close pair count. Using a high-resolution N-body/SPH cosmological simulation, we find an accurate scaling relation between galaxy pair counts and merger rates down to a…