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We study the evolution of the number density, as a function of the size, of passive early-type galaxies (ETGs) with a wide range of stellar masses (1010M☼ < M* ≲ 1011.5M☼) from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 1, exploiting the unique data set available in the GOODS-South field, including the recently obtained WFC3 images as part of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. In particular, we select a sample of ∼107 massive (M* > 1010M☼), passive (SSFR < 10–2 Gyr–1), and morphologically spheroidal galaxies at 1.2 < z < 3, taking advantage of the panchromatic data set available for GOODS, including VLT, CFHT, Spitzer, Chandra, and HST ACS+WFC3 data. We find that at 1 < z < 3 the passively evolving ETGs are the reddest and most massive objects in the universe, and we prove that a correlation between mass, morphology, color, and star formation activity is already in place at that epoch. We measure a significant evolution in the mass-size relation of passive ETGs from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 1, with galaxies growing on average by a factor of two in size in a 3 Gyr timescale only. We also witness an increase in the number density of passive ETGs of 50 times over the same time interval. We find that the first ETGs to form at z ≳ 2 are all compact or ultra-compact, while normal-sized ETGs (meaning ETGs with sizes comparable to those of local counterparts of the same mass) are the most common ETGs only at z < 1. The increase of the average size of ETGs at 0 < z < 1 is primarily driven by the appearance of new large ETGs rather than by the size increase of individual galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey (SEDS) is a very deep infrared survey within five well-known extragalactic science fields: the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey, the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, COSMOS, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the Extended Groth Strip. SEDS covers a total area of 1.46 deg2 to a depth of 26 AB mag (3σ) in both of the warm Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands at 3.6 and 4.5μm. Because of its uniform depth of coverage in so many widely-separated fields, SEDS is subject to roughly 25% smaller errors due to cosmic variance than a single-field survey of the same size. SEDS was designed to detect and characterize galaxies from intermediate to high redshifts (z = 2–7) with a built-in means of assessing the impact of cosmic variance on the individual fields. Because the full SEDS depth was accumulated in at least three separate visits to each field, typically with six-month intervals between visits, SEDS also furnishes an opportunity to assess the infrared variability of faint objects. This paper describes the SEDS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data products. Deep IRAC counts for the more than 300,000 galaxies detected by SEDS are consistent with models based on known galaxy populations. Discrete IRAC sources contribute 5.6 ± 1.0 and 4.4 ± 0.8 nW m−2 sr−1 at 3.6 and 4.5μm to the diffuse cosmic infrared background (CIB). IRAC sources cannot contribute more than half of the total CIB flux estimated from DIRBE data. Barring an unexpected error in the DIRBE flux estimates, half the CIB flux must therefore come from a diffuse component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the public release of the stellar mass catalogs for the GOODS-S and UDS fields obtained using some of the deepest near-IR images available, achieved as part of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey project. We combine the effort from 10 different teams, who computed the stellar masses using the same photometry and the same redshifts. Each team adopted their preferred fitting code, assumptions, priors, and parameter grid. The combination of results using the same underlying stellar isochrones reduces the systematics associated with the fitting code and other choices. Thanks to the availability of different estimates, we can test the effect of some specific parameters and assumptions on the stellar mass estimate. The choice of the stellar isochrone library turns out to have the largest effect on the galaxy stellar mass estimates, resulting in the largest distributions around the median value (with a semi interquartile range larger than 0.1 dex). On the other hand, for most galaxies, the stellar mass estimates are relatively insensitive to the different parameterizations of the star formation history. The inclusion of nebular emission in the model spectra does not have a significant impact for the majority of galaxies (less than a factor of 2 for ∼80% of the sample). Nevertheless, the stellar mass for the subsample of young galaxies (age <100 Myr), especially in particular redshift ranges (e.g., 2.2 < z < 2.4, 3.2 < z < 3.6, and 5.5 < z < 6.5), can be seriously overestimated (by up to a factor of 10 for <20 Myr sources) if nebular contribution is ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use data taken as part of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) to identify massive and evolved galaxies at 3 < z < 4.5. This is performed using the strength of the Balmer break feature at rest-frame 3648 Å, which is a diagnostic of the age of the stellar population in galaxies. Using the WFC3 H-band-selected catalog for the CANDELS GOODS-S field and deep multi-waveband photometry from optical (HST) to mid-infrared (Spitzer) wavelengths, we identify a population of old and evolved post-starburst galaxies based on the strength of their Balmer breaks (Balmer break galaxies, BBGs). The galaxies are also selected to be bright in rest-frame near-IR wavelengths and hence massive. We identify a total of 16 BBGs. Fitting the spectral energy distribution of the BBGs shows that the candidate galaxies have average estimated ages of ∼800 Myr and average stellar masses of ∼5 × 1010M☼, consistent with being old and massive systems. Two of our BBG candidates are also identified by the criteria that are sensitive to star-forming galaxies (Lyman break galaxy selection). We find a number density of ∼3.2 × 10–5 Mpc–3 for the BBGs, corresponding to a mass density of ∼2.0 × 106M☼ Mpc–3 in the redshift range covering the survey. Given the old age and the passive evolution, it is argued that some of these objects formed the bulk of their mass only a few hundred million years after the big bang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the star-forming and structural properties of 45 massive (log(M/M☼) >10) compact star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 2 < z < 3 to explore whether they are progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 2. The optical/NIR and far-IR Spitzer/Herschel colors indicate that most compact SFGs are heavily obscured. Nearly half (47%) host an X-ray-bright active galactic nucleus (AGN). In contrast, only about 10% of other massive galaxies at that time host AGNs. Compact SFGs have centrally concentrated light profiles and spheroidal morphologies similar to quiescent galaxies and are thus strikingly different from other SFGs, which typically are disk-like and sometimes clumpy or irregular. Most compact SFGs lie either within the star formation rate (SFR)-mass main sequence (65%) or below it (30%), on the expected evolutionary path toward quiescent galaxies. These results show conclusively that galaxies become more compact before they lose their gas and dust, quenching star formation. Using extensive HST photometry from CANDELS and grism spectroscopy from the 3D-HST survey, we model their stellar populations with either exponentially declining (τ) star formation histories (SFHs) or physically motivated SFHs drawn from semianalytic models (SAMs). SAMs predict longer formation timescales and older ages ∼2 Gyr, which are nearly twice as old as the estimates of the τ models. Both models yield good spectral energy distribution fits, indicating that the systematic uncertainty in the age due to degeneracies in the SFH is of that order of magnitude. However, SAM SFHs better match the observed slope and zero point of the SFR-mass main sequence. Contrary to expectations, some low-mass compact SFGs (log(M/M☼) =10-10.6) have younger ages but lower specific SFRs than that of more massive galaxies, suggesting that the low-mass galaxies reach the red sequence faster. If the progenitors of compact SFGs are extended SFGs, state-of-the-art SAMs show that mergers and disk instabilities (DIs) are both able to shrink galaxies, but DIs are more frequent (60% versus 40%) and form more concentrated galaxies. We confirm this result via high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectroscopic+photometric redshifts, stellar mass estimates, and rest-frame colors from the 3D-HST survey are combined with structural parameter measurements from CANDELS imaging to determine the galaxy size-mass distribution over the redshift range 0 < z < 3. Separating early- and late-type galaxies on the basis of star-formation activity, we confirm that early-type galaxies are on average smaller than late-type galaxies at all redshifts, and we find a significantly different rate of average size evolution at fixed galaxy mass, with fast evolution for the early-type population, Reff∝(1 + z)–1.48, and moderate evolution for the late-type population, Reff∝(1 + z)–0.75. The large sample size and dynamic range in both galaxy mass and redshift, in combination with the high fidelity of our measurements due to the extensive use of spectroscopic data, not only fortify previous results but also enable us to probe beyond simple average galaxy size measurements. At all redshifts the slope of the size-mass relation is shallow, , for late-type galaxies with stellar mass >3 × 109M☼, and steep, , for early-type galaxies with stellar mass >2 × 1010M☼. The intrinsic scatter is ≲0.2 dex for all galaxy types and redshifts. For late-type galaxies, the logarithmic size distribution is not symmetric but is skewed toward small sizes: at all redshifts and masses, a tail of small late-type galaxies exists that overlaps in size with the early-type galaxy population. The number density of massive (∼1011M☼), compact (Reff < 2 kpc) early-type galaxies increases from z = 3 to z = 1.5-2 and then strongly decreases at later cosmic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shutdown of star formation in galaxies is generally termed “quenching.” Quenching may occur through a variety of processes, e.g., active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, stellar feedback, or the shock heating of gas in the dark matter halo. However, which mechanism(s) is, in fact, responsible for quenching is still in question. This paper addresses quenching by searching for traces of possible quenching processes through their effects on galaxy structural parameters such as stellar mass (M*), M*/re, surface stellar mass density (∼M*/r2e), and Sérsic index (n). We analyze the rest-frame U – B color correlations versus these structural parameters using a sample of galaxies in the redshift range 0.5 ⩽ z < 0.8 from the DEEP2/AEGIS survey. In addition to global radii, stellar masses, and Sérsic parameters, we also use “bulge” and “disk” photometric measurements from GIM2D fits to HST/ACS V and I images. We assess the tightness of the color relationships by measuring their “overlap regions,” defined as the area in color-parameter space in which red and blue galaxies overlap; the parameter that minimizes these overlap regions is considered to be the most effective color discriminator. We find that Sérsic index (n) has the smallest overlap region among all tested parameters and resembles a step function with a threshold value of n = 2.3. There exists, however, a significant population of outliers with blue colors yet high n values that seem to contradict this behavior; they make up ≈40% of n > 2.3 galaxies. We hypothesize that their Sérsic values may be distorted by bursts of star formation, AGNs, and/or poor fits, leading us to consider central surface stellar mass density, Σ*1 kpc, as an alternative to Sérsic index. Not only does Σ*1 kpc correct the outliers, but it also forms a tight relationship with color, suggesting that the innermost structure of galaxies is most physically linked with quenching. Furthermore, at z ∼ 0.65, the majority of the blue cloud galaxies cannot simply fade onto the red sequence since their GIM2D bulge masses are only half as large on average as the bulge masses of similar red sequence galaxies, thus demonstrating that stellar mass must absolutely increase at the centers of galaxies as they quench. We discuss a two-stage model for quenching in which galaxy star formation rates are controlled by their dark halos while they are still in the blue cloud and a second quenching process sets in later, associated with the central stellar mass buildup. The mass buildup is naturally explained by any non-axisymmetric features in the potential, such as those induced by mergers and/or disk instabilities. However, the identity of the second quenching agent is still unknown. We have placed our data catalog online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]