Evolution in the Colors of Lyman Break Galaxies from
                    <i>z</i>
                    ~ 4 to
                    <i>z</i>
                    ~ 3

Papovich, Casey; Dickinson, Mark; Ferguson, Henry C.; Giavalisco, Mauro; Lotz, Jennifer M.; Madau, Piero; Idzi, R.; Kretchmer, C.; Moustakas, Leonidas A.; Mello, D. F. de; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Rieke, M. J.; Somerville, Rachel S.; Stern, Daniel

doi:10.1086/381075

Cited by 43 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…These studies suggest a general trend of decreasing dust content of galaxies to earlier cosmic times, to lower luminosities, and to lower masses (though the observed trends may be enhanced by changes in the ages or metallicities). Similar trends are found as a function of the rest-frame optical luminosity of galaxies, as seen with Spitzer/IRAC (Oesch et al 2013b; see also Papovich et al 2004) and also in large cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (e.g., Finlator et al 2011: see Bouwens et al 2012aFinkelstein et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

UV-CONTINUUM SLOPES OF >4000z∼ 4-8 GALAXIES FROM THE HUDF/XDF, HUDF09, ERS, CANDELS-SOUTH, AND CANDELS-NORTH FIELDS

Bouwens

Illingworth

Oesch

et al. 2014

ApJ

442

536

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We measure the UV-continuum slope β for over 4000 high-redshift galaxies over a wide range of redshifts z ∼ 4-8 and luminosities from the HST HUDF/XDF, HUDF09-1, HUDF09-2, ERS, CANDELS-N, and CANDELS-S data sets. Our new β results reach very faint levels at z ∼ 4 (−15.5 mag: 0.006 L * z=3 ), z ∼ 5 (−16.5 mag: 0.014 L * z=3 ), and z ∼ 6 and z ∼ 7 (−17 mag: 0.025 L * z=3 ). Inconsistencies between previous studies led us to conduct a comprehensive review of systematic errors and develop a new technique for measuring β that is robust against biases that arise from the impact of noise. We demonstrate, by object-by-object comparisons, that all previous studies, including our own and those done on the latest HUDF12 data set, suffered from small systematic errors in β. We find that after correcting for the systematic errors (typically Δβ ∼ 0.1-0.2) all β results at z ∼ 7 from different groups are in excellent agreement. The mean β we measure for faint (−18 mag: 0.1 L * z=3 ) z ∼ 4, z ∼ 5, z ∼ 6, and z ∼ 7 galaxies is −2.03 ± 0.03 ± 0.06 (random and systematic errors), −2.14 ± 0.06 ± 0.06, −2.24 ± 0.11 ± 0.08, and −2.30 ± 0.18 ± 0.13, respectively. Our new β values are redder than we have reported in the past, but bluer than other recent results. Our previously reported trend of bluer β's at lower luminosities is confirmed, as is the evolution to bluer β's at high redshifts. β appears to show only a mild luminosity dependence faintward of M UV,AB ∼ −19 mag, suggesting that the mean β asymptotes to ∼ −2.2 to −2.4 for faint z 4 galaxies. At z ∼ 7, the observed β's suggest non-zero, but low dust extinction, and they agree well with values predicted in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

UV-CONTINUUM SLOPES OF >4000z∼ 4-8 GALAXIES FROM THE HUDF/XDF, HUDF09, ERS, CANDELS-SOUTH, AND CANDELS-NORTH FIELDS

Bouwens

Illingworth

Oesch

et al. 2014

ApJ

442

536

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“…The interpretation of this relation depends on which color is used. If the color is between the rest-frame UV and the rest-frame optical (e.g., Papovich et al 2004) and spans the 4000 Å/Balmer break, then it is strongly dependent on the stellar population age, while if the color is blue-ward of the 4000 Å break (e.g., Finkelstein et al 2012) then it is more sensitive to the dust extinction than age. Here we use rest-frame UV colors (i.e., UV spectral slope, β) to infer the color-magnitude relation for SFGs at 2 < z < 2.5.…”

Section: β Versus M 1500mentioning

confidence: 99%

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey: Lyαemission and stellar populations of star-forming galaxies at 2 < z < 2.5

Fèvre

Ilbert

Cassata

et al. 2016

A&A

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The aim of this paper is to investigate spectral and photometric properties of 854 faint (i AB < ∼ 25 mag) star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 2 < z < 2.5 using the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS) spectroscopic data and deep multi-wavelength photometric data in three extensively studied extragalactic fields (ECDFS, VVDS, COSMOS). These SFGs were targeted for spectroscopy as a result of their photometric redshifts. The VUDS spectra are used to measure the UV spectral slopes (β) as well as Lyα equivalent widths (EW). On average, the spectroscopically measured β (-1.36 ± 0.02), is comparable to the photometrically measured β (-1.32 ± 0.02), and has smaller measurement uncertainties. The positive correlation of β with the spectral energy distribution (SED)-based measurement of dust extinction E s (B − V) emphasizes the importance of β as an alternative dust indicator at high redshifts. To make a proper comparison, we divide these SFGs into three subgroups based on their rest-frame Lyα EW: SFGs with no Lyα emission (SFG N ; EW ≤ 0 Å), SFGs with Lyα emission (SFG L ; EW > 0 Å), and Lyα emitters (LAEs; EW ≥ 20 Å). The fraction of LAEs at these redshifts is ∼10%, which is consistent with previous observations. We compared best-fit SED-estimated stellar parameters of the SFG N , SFG L and LAE samples. For the luminosities probed here (∼L * ), we find that galaxies with and without Lyα in emission have small but significant differences in their SED-based properties. We find that LAEs have less dust, and lower star-formation rates (SFR) compared to non-LAEs. We also find that LAEs are less massive compared to non-LAEs, though the difference is smaller and less significant compared to the SFR and E s (B − V). When we divide the LAEs according to their Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm fluxes, we find that the fraction of IRAC-detected (m 3.6 < ∼ 25 mag) LAEs is much higher than the fraction of IRAC-detected narrow band (NB)-selected LAEs at z 2-3. This could imply that UV-selected LAEs host a more evolved stellar population, which represents a later stage of galaxy evolution, compared to NB-selected LAEs.

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“…While we cannot solve these degeneracies on an object-by-object basis without deep multi-wavelength photometry, we can use recent results from literature to explain the general trends observed. Deep studies of dropouts covering a wide range in both redshift and UV luminosity have now clearly demonstrated that starforming galaxies become bluer in the UV continuum with increasing redshift and with decreasing luminosity (Papovich et al 2004;Stanway et al 2005;Hathi et al 2008;Bouwens et al 2009), in some contrast with earlier results that indicated no clear correlation between the slope of the UV continuum and UV luminosity (e.g., Meurer et al 1999;Adelberger & Steidel 2000;Ouchi et al 2004). As shown by Bouwens et al (2009), these results can be fully explained by the relatively limited range in redshift and/or UV luminosity probed by earlier surveys.…”

Section: Interpreting the Relation Between M * And The Z-[36] Colormentioning

confidence: 99%

STELLAR MASSES OF LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES, Lyα EMITTERS, AND RADIO GALAXIES IN OVERDENSE REGIONS ATz= 4-6

Overzier

Shu

Zheng

et al. 2009

ApJ

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We present new information on galaxies in the vicinity of luminous radio galaxies (RGs) and quasars at z 4, 5, and 6. These fields were previously found to contain overdensities of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) or spectroscopic Lyα emitters, which were interpreted as evidence for clusters-in-formation ("protoclusters"). We use Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer data to infer stellar masses from stellar synthesis models calibrated against the Millennium Run simulations, and contrast our results with large samples of LBGs in more average environments as probed by the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS). The following results were obtained. First, LBGs in both overdense regions and in the field at z = 4-5 lie on a very similar sequence in a z -[3.6] versus 3.6 μm color-magnitude diagram. This is interpreted as a sequence in stellar mass (M * ∼ 10 9 -10 11 M ) in which galaxies become increasingly red due to dust and age as their star formation rate (SFR) increases, while their specific SFR stays constant. Second, the two RGs are among the most massive objects (M * ∼ 10 11 M ) known to exist at z 4-5, and are extremely rare based on the low number density of such objects as estimated from the ∼25× larger area GOODS survey. We suggest that the presence of the massive (radio) galaxies and associated supermassive black holes has been boosted through rapid accretion of gas or merging inside overdense regions. Third, the total stellar mass found in the z = 4 protocluster TN1338 accounts for <30% of the stellar mass on the cluster red sequence expected to have formed at z 4, based on a comparison with the massive X-ray cluster Cl1252 at z = 1.2. Although future near-infrared observations should determine whether any massive galaxies are currently being missed by our UV/Lyα selections, one possible explanation for this mass difference is that TN1338 evolves into a smaller cluster than Cl1252. This raises the interesting question of whether the most massive protocluster regions at z > 4 remain yet to be discovered.

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Evolution in the Colors of Lyman Break Galaxies from z ~ 4 to z ~ 3

Cited by 43 publications

References 20 publications

UV-CONTINUUM SLOPES OF >4000z∼ 4-8 GALAXIES FROM THE HUDF/XDF, HUDF09, ERS, CANDELS-SOUTH, AND CANDELS-NORTH FIELDS

UV-CONTINUUM SLOPES OF >4000z∼ 4-8 GALAXIES FROM THE HUDF/XDF, HUDF09, ERS, CANDELS-SOUTH, AND CANDELS-NORTH FIELDS

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey: Lyαemission and stellar populations of star-forming galaxies at 2 < z < 2.5

STELLAR MASSES OF LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES, Lyα EMITTERS, AND RADIO GALAXIES IN OVERDENSE REGIONS ATz= 4-6

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