Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:26:54.137Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The role of galaxy merging in the life of massive galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

Allison W. S. Man*
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory (Garching) email: allison.man@eso.org
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The role of galaxy mergers in the evolution of massive galaxies remains debated. While deep near-infrared surveys have enabled several independent merger rate measurements out to z~3, they are limited to small samples and results are discrepant at z=2–3. In Man et al., we use the UltraVISTA and CANDELS surveys to obtain the largest sample of photometric galaxy pairs at z>1 for measuring the galaxy merger fraction and rate of massive galaxies. We find that the discrepancy of previous studies is due to selection effect. Defining galaxy pairs by stellar mass ratio leads to a flat z-evolution of the merger fraction, while defining by flux ratio leads to an increasing trend. The implications on the evolution of massive galaxies are summarized here.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

References

Bluck, A. F. L., et al. 2009, MNRAS, 394, L51 Google Scholar
Carollo, C. M., et al. 2013, ApJ, 773, 112 Google Scholar
Grogin, N. A., et al. 2011, ApJS, 197, 35 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, P., et al. 2010, ApJ, 724, 915 Google Scholar
Ilbert, O., et al. 2013, A&A, 556, A55 Google Scholar
Kartaltepe, J. S., et al. 2010, ApJ, 721, 98 Google Scholar
Koekemoer, A. M., et al. 2011, ApJS, 197, 36 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lotz, J. M., Jonsson, P., Cox, T. J., & Primack, J. R. 2010, MNRAS, 404, 575 Google Scholar
Man, A. W. S., Toft, S., Zirm, A. W., Wuyts, S., & van der Wel, A. 2012, ApJ, 744, 85 Google Scholar
Man, A. W. S., et al. 2014, ApJ, submitted; arXiv:1410.3479Google Scholar
McCracken, H. J., et al. 2012, A&A, 544, A156 Google Scholar
Naab, T., Johansson, P. H., & Ostriker, J. P. 2009, ApJ, 699, L178 Google Scholar
Newman, A. B., Ellis, R. S., Bundy, K., & Treu, T. 2012, ApJ, 746, 162 Google Scholar
Stewart, K. R. 2009, “Invisible Major Mergers: Why the Definition of a Galaxy ‘Merger Ratio’ Matters,” in Galaxy Evolution: Emerging Insights and Future Challenges, eds. Jogee, S., Marinova, I., Hao, L., & Blanc, G. A. (ASP: San Francisco) p. 243 Google Scholar
Treister, E., Schawinski, K., Urry, C. M., & Simmons, B. D. 2012, ApJ, 758, L39 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, R. J., Quadri, R. F., & Franx, M. 2011, ApJ, 738, L25 Google Scholar
van der Wel, A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 28 Google Scholar