Related papers: Minor vs Major Mergers: The Stellar Mass Growth of…
The growth of galaxies is a key problem in understanding the structure and evolution of the universe. Galaxies grow their stellar mass by a combination of star formation and mergers, with a relative importance that is redshift dependent.…
In this paper, we use stacking analysis to trace the mass-growth, colour evolution, and structural evolution of present-day massive galaxies ($\log(M_{*}/M_{\odot})=11.5$) out to $z=5$. We utilize the exceptional depth and area of the…
We present a comprehensive analysis of galaxy close-pair fractions and major merger rates to evaluate the importance of mergers in the hierarchical growth of galaxies over cosmic time. This study focuses on the previously poorly understood…
We measure the merger fraction of massive galaxies using the UltraVISTA/COSMOS $Ks$-band selected catalog, complemented with the deeper, higher resolution 3DHST+CANDELS catalog selected in the HST/WFC3 $H$-band, presenting the largest…
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 a large sample of $\sim 350,000$ galaxies constructed by combining the UKIDSS UDS, VIDEO/CFHT-LS, UltraVISTA/COSMOS and GAMA survey regions to probe the major merging histories of massive galaxies ($>10^{10}\ \mathrm{M}_\odot$) at…
A central challenge in observational studies of galaxy formation is how to associate progenitor galaxies with their descendants at lower redshifts. One promising approach is to link galaxies at fixed number density, rather than fixed…
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…
We measure the role of major and minor mergers in forming the stellar masses of galaxies over $0<z<3$ using a combination of $\sim 3.25$ deg$^{2}$ of the deepest ground based near-infrared imaging taken to date as part of the REFINE survey.…
We analyse the mass assembly of central galaxies in the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulations. We build merger trees to connect galaxies to their progenitors at different redshifts and characterize their assembly histories by focusing on the…
We study the growth of massive galaxies from z=2 to the present using data from the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey. The sample is selected at a constant number density of n=2x10^-4 Mpc^-3, so that galaxies at different epochs can be compared in…
We investigate the total major (> 1:4 by stellar mass) and minor (> 1:100 by stellar mass) merger history of a population of 80 massive (M_* > 10^11 M_sol) galaxies at high redshifts (z = 1.7 - 3). We utilize extremely deep and high…
The rate of major galaxy-galaxy merging is theoretically predicted to steadily increase with redshift during the peak epoch of massive galaxy development ($1{\leq}z{\leq}3$). We use close-pair statistics to objectively study the incidence…
We present a full analysis of galaxy major merger pair fractions, merger rates, and mass accretion rates, thus uncovering the role of mergers in galaxy formation at the earliest previously unexplored epoch of $4.5<z<11.5$. We target…
Galaxy evolution can be studied observationally by linking progenitor and descendant galaxies through an evolving cumulative number density selection. This procedure can reproduce the expected evolution of the median stellar mass from…
We determine the evolution of the co-moving density of the most massive ($M_* \geq 10^{12} M_\odot$) early-type galaxy population in the redshift range of $z = 0.15$ - 0.45 in different stellar mass ranges using data from the Sloan Digital…
We study the structural evolution of massive galaxies by linking progenitors and descendants at a constant cumulative number density of n_c=1.4x10^{-4} Mpc^{-3} to z~3. Structural parameters were measured by fitting Sersic profiles to high…
We investigate the origin of the evolution of the population-averaged size of quenched galaxies (QGs) through a spectroscopic analysis of their stellar ages. The two most favoured scenarios for this evolution are either the size growth of…
Using the UltraVISTA catalogs, we investigate the evolution in the 11.4~Gyr since $z=3$ of the progenitors of local ultra-massive galaxies ($\log{(M_{\rm star}/M_{\odot})}\approx11.8$; UMGs), providing a complete and consistent picture of…
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…