The evolutionary sequence of post-starburst galaxies

Wilkinson, C. L.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.; Stott, John P.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2034

Cited by 19 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The preference for shorter star-forming timescales towards higher environmental densities necessarily implies a higher incidence of poststarburst galaxies in these denser environments. In the local universe post-starburst galaxies have been shown to predominantly reside in low density environments (e.g., Zabludoff et al 1996;Hogg et al 2006;Wilkinson et al 2017;Pawlik et al 2018); however, this trend reverses at higher redshifts (z 0.4) wherein post-starbursts are more commonly found in higher-density environments (e.g., Dressler et al 1999;Poggianti et al 2009;Yan et al 2009;Muzzin et al 2012;Wu et al 2014;Lemaux et al 2017). Two of these studies (Wu et al 2014;Lemaux et al 2017) are based on specific large scale structures included in the present work.…”

Section: Fitting the Model To Observationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Conditional quenching: a detailed look at the SFR−density relation at $z$ ∼ 0.9 from ORELSE

Tomczak

Lemaux

Lubin

et al. 2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We present a study of the star-formation rate (SFR)-density relation at z ∼ 0.9 using data drawn from the Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large Scale Environments (ORELSE) survey. We find that SFR does depend on environment, but only for intermediate-stellar mass galaxies (10 10.1 < M * /M < 10 10.8 ) wherein the median SFR at the highest densities is 0.2 − 0.3 dex less than at lower densities at a significance of 4σ. Interestingly, mass does not drive SFR; galaxies that are more/less massive have SFRs that vary at most by ≈ 20% across all environments showing no statistically significant dependence. We further split galaxies into low-redshift (z ∼ 0.8) and high-redshift (z ∼ 1.05) subsamples and observe nearly identical behavior. We devise a simple toy model to explore possible star-formation histories (SFHs) for galaxies evolving between these redshifts. The key assumption in this model is that star-forming galaxies in a given environment-stellar mass bin can be described as a superposition of two exponential timescales (SFR ∝ e −t/τ ): a long−τ timescale with τ = 4 Gyr to simulate "normal" star-forming galaxies, and a short−τ timescale with free τ (between 0.3 ≤ τ/Gyr ≤ 2) to simulate galaxies on a quenching trajectory. In general we find that galaxies residing in low/high environmental densities are more heavily weighted to the long−τ/short−τ pathways respectively, which we argue is a signature of environmental quenching. Furthermore, for intermediate-stellar mass galaxies this transition begins at intermediate-density environments suggesting that environmental quenching is relevant in group-like halos and/or cluster infall regions. formation in galaxies and how this changes over cosmic history. Efforts over the past several decades have found that there is no simple solution to these questions, but have instead revealed that there are many nuances that govern this aspect of galaxy evolution. This has led many investigators to take a reductionist approach to the subject by studying

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Section: Fitting the Model To Observationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Conditional quenching: a detailed look at the SFR−density relation at $z$ ∼ 0.9 from ORELSE

Tomczak

Lemaux

Lubin

et al. 2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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“…Other studies have reported non-merging galaxy-galaxy interactions are more likely to maintain spiral structure post starburst (Cales et al 2013;Wilkinson et al 2017). There are an extensive number of studies researching the link between mergers and starbursts but to what extent do non-merging interactions play on triggering starbursts?…”

Section: Triggering Mechanisms Of Starburstsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Selecting galaxies in one snapshot simplifies the analysis as the time between snapshots is not uniform. Working in a low-z regime allows for the minimum time difference between snapshots, allowing us to monitor the evolution of low-z galaxies more closely and provides ease of comparison to SDSS studies like Wilkinson et al (2017).…”

Section: Starburst Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of Starburst Galaxies in the Illustris Simulation

Wilkinson

Pimbblet

Stott

et al. 2018

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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There is a consensus in the literature that starburst galaxies are triggered by interaction events. However, it remains an open question as to what extent both merging and non-merging interactions have in triggering starbursts? In this study, we make use of the Illustris simulation to test how different triggering mechanisms can effect starburst events. We examine star formation rate, colour and environment of starburst galaxies to determine if this could be why we witness a bimodality in post-starburst populations within observational studies. Further, we briefly test the extent of quenching due to AGN feedback. From Illustris, we select 196 starburst galaxies at z = 0.15 and split them into post-merger and pre-merger/harassment driven starburst samples. We find that 55% of this sample not undergone a merger in the past 2 Gyr. Both of our samples are located in low-density environments within the filament regions of the cosmic web, however we find that pre-merger/harassment driven starburst are in higher density environments than post-merger driven starbursts. We also find that pre-merger/harassment starbursts are redder than post-merger starbursts, this could be driven by environmental effects. Both however, produce nuclear starbursts of comparable strengths.

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“…In galaxies that may be otherwise determined to be passive, the presence of an inverted H:K ratio serves as a signpost to its recent star-forming past that might otherwise go undetected through the use of classifications derived from more common analyses such as [Oii] in concert with Hδ (and/or further Balmer lines; cf. Blake et al 2004;Wilkinson et al 2017) and may offer an additional method or cut to apply to a sample to identify a transitioning post-starburst galaxy (cf. Pawlik et al 2018;Wild et al 2009).…”

Section: Heterogeneitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneity of inverted calcium ii H:K ratio cluster galaxies

Pimbblet

Crossett

Fraser-McKelvie

2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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The ratio of calcium ii H plus H to calcium ii K inverts as a galaxy stellar population moves from being dominated by older stars to possessing more A and B class stars. This ratio -the H:K ratio -can serve as an indicator of stellar populations younger than 200 Myr. In this work, we provide a new method to determine H:K, and apply it to spectra taken of cluster galaxies in Abell 3888. Although H:K is on average systematically lower for the cluster than for a wider field sample, we show that H:K does not have a simple relationship with other indices such as the equivalent widths of Hδ and [Oii] beyond having a high value for strong [Oii] emission. Moreover, strongly inverted galaxies with H:K > 1.1 have no preferred location within the cluster and are only slightly lower in their velocity dispersions around the cluster compared to strongly emitting [Oii] galaxies. Our results indicate that selecting galaxies on H:K inversion results in a heterogeneous sample formed via a mixture of pathways that likely includes, but may not be limited to, merging spiral galaxies, and quiescent galaxies accreting lower mass, gas rich companions. In concert with other selection criteria, H:K can provide a means to select a more 'pure' passive sample or to aid in the selection of highly star-forming galaxies, especially where other spectral line indicators such as Hα may not have been observed.

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The evolutionary sequence of post-starburst galaxies

Cited by 19 publications

References 54 publications

Conditional quenching: a detailed look at the SFR−density relation at $z$ ∼ 0.9 from ORELSE

Conditional quenching: a detailed look at the SFR−density relation at $z$ ∼ 0.9 from ORELSE

Evolution of Starburst Galaxies in the Illustris Simulation

Heterogeneity of inverted calcium ii H:K ratio cluster galaxies

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