Related papers: A simple model for the size-evolution of elliptica…
High-resolution numerical simulations of galaxy mergers are analysed. The global structure and isophotal shapes of the merger remnants are in good agreement with the observations. Whereas equal-mass mergers lead to anisotropic, boxy…
Using a mass-selected ($M_{\star} \ge 10^{11} M_{\odot}$) sample of 198 galaxies at 0 < z < 3.0 with HST/NICMOS $H_{160}$-band images from the COSMOS survey, we find evidence for the evolution of the pair fraction above z ~ 2, an epoch in…
The observational data of high redshift galaxies become increasingly abundant, especially since the operation of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which allows us to verify and optimize the galaxy formation model at high redshifts. In…
Understanding the formation history of massive galaxies is one of most popular and longstanding problems in astronomy, with observations and theory addressing how and when these systems assembled. Since the most massive galaxies in today's…
Studying the average properties of galaxies at a fixed comoving number density over a wide redshift range has become a popular observational method, because it may trace the evolution of galaxies statistically. We test this method by…
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…
[Abridged] We studied the size-surface brightness and the size-mass relations of a sample of 16 cluster elliptical galaxies in the mass range 10^{10}-2x10^{11} M_sun which were morphologically selected in the cluster RDCS J0848+4453 at…
Recent work suggests that galaxy evolution, and the build-up of stellar mass (M*) over cosmic time, is characterized by changes with redshift of star formation rate (SFR) and oxygen abundance (O/H). In a companion paper, we have compiled a…
The modern merger hypothesis offers a method of forming a new elliptical galaxy through merging two equal-mass, gas-rich disk galaxies fuelling a nuclear starburst followed by efficient quenching and dynamical stabilization. A key…
How stellar mass assembles within galaxies is still an open question. We present measurements of the stellar mass distribution on kpc-scale for $\sim5500$ galaxies with stellar masses above $\log(M_{\ast}/M_{\odot})\geqslant9.8$ up to 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 examine how the atomic and molecular gas components of galaxies evolve to higher redshifts using the semi-analytic galaxy formation models of Fu et al. (2010) in which we track the surface density profiles of gas in disks. We adopt two…
Mergers of gas-poor galaxies, so-called dry mergers, may play a fundamental role in the assembly of the most massive galaxies, and therefore, in galaxy formation theories. Using the SDSS, we have serendipitously discovered a rare system in…
ABRIDGED: We study the evolution since z~1 of the rest-frame B luminosity function of the early-type galaxies (ETGs) in ~0.7 deg^2 in the COSMOS field. In order to identify ALL progenitors of local ETGs we construct the sample of high-z…
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.…
The bimodal globular cluster (GC) metallicity distributions of many giant elliptical galaxies are often cited as evidence for the formation of such galaxies through mergers involving gas-rich spirals. In such models, the metal- rich GCs are…
We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutral hydrogen) of elliptical galaxies and merger remnants ordered into a time sequence on the basis of spectroscopic age estimates. We find that the fraction of cold gas in early…
We present the results of a numerical code that combines multi-zone chemical evolution with 1-D hydrodynamics to follow in detail the evolution and radial behaviour of gas and stars during the formation of elliptical galaxies. We use the…
We measure the size-mass relation and its evolution between redshifts 1$<z<$3, using galaxies lensed by six foreground Hubble Frontier Fields clusters. The power afforded by strong gravitation lensing allows us to observe galaxies with…
A popular formation scenario for giant elliptical galaxies proposes that they might have formed from binary mergers of disk galaxies. Difficulties with the scenario that emerged from earlier studies included providing the necessary stellar…