The merger history of massive spheroids since z ∼ 1 is size independent

Using a compilation of 379 massive (stellar mass M ≳ 10^11 M_⊙) spheroid-like galaxies from the near-infrared Palomar/DEEP-2 survey, we investigated, up to z ∼ 1, whether the presence of companions depends on the size of the host galaxy. We explored the presence of companions for mass ratios with re...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Díaz García, L. A., Mármol Queraltó, E., Trujillo, I., Cenarro, A. J., López Sanjuan, C., Pérez González, Pablo Guillermo, Barro, G.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/35209
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/35209
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:52
Early-type galaxies
Star-formation rates
Goods nicmos survey
Digital sky survey
Elliptic galaxies
Spitzer/Irac sources
Velocity-dispersion
Quiescent galaxies
Luminosity-size
Minor mergers
Astrofísica
Astronomía (Física)
Descripción
Sumario:Using a compilation of 379 massive (stellar mass M ≳ 10^11 M_⊙) spheroid-like galaxies from the near-infrared Palomar/DEEP-2 survey, we investigated, up to z ∼ 1, whether the presence of companions depends on the size of the host galaxy. We explored the presence of companions for mass ratios with respect to the central massive galaxy down to 1 : 10 and 1 : 100, and within projected distances of 30, 50 and 100 kpc of these objects. We found evidence that these companions are equally distributed around both compact and extended massive spheroid-like galaxies. This suggests that, at least since z ∼ 1, the merger activity in these objects is nearly homogeneous across the whole population and that the merger history is not affected by the size of the host galaxy. Our results could indicate that compact and extended massive spheroid-like galaxies are increasing in size at the same rate.