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arXiv 1007.4554astro-ph.CO
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遥远星系团的新星形成史和气体随时间的吸积

The Rising Star-Formation Histories of Distant Galaxies and Implications for Gas Accretion with Time

Casey Papovich, Steven L. Finkelstein, Henry C. Ferguson, Jennifer M. Lotz, Mauro Giavalisco

摘要:

遥远星系的恒星形成速率(SFR)和恒星质量之间存在相关性,这意味着它们的恒星形成历史(SFHS)非常相似。此外,观测表明,紫外光度和恒星质量从z=8到3增长,这意味着SFR随时间增加。我们比较了3 < z < 8的星系在恒定共动数密度(n = 2 x 10^-4 Mpc^-3)下的宇宙学平均演化。这使我们能够研究恒星质量的演变和恒星形成的星系的前身和后代的方式不可能使用星系选择在恒定的恒星质量或SFR,数量演变强烈的时间。我们发现这些星系的平均SFH随着SFR ~ t^alpha(α = 1.7 +/-0.2)从z=8平滑地增加到3。这与SFR是恒定的或随时间呈指数下降的假设相冲突。我们发现,在这些星系中的恒星质量增长是一致的,这个派生的SFH。这提供了证据表明,除非恒星形成的占空比远小于1,否则IMF的高质量端的斜率近似为Salpeter。我们认为,这些关系遵循气体吸积(无论是通过吸积或交付的合并),再加上星系盘生长的假设下,SFR取决于当地的气体表面密度。这就预言了,对于具有这个数密度的星系,气体分数从z=8降低到3,平均为f_gas ~(1+z)^0.9。在z > 4时,星系气体吸积速率与SFR一样快,甚至可能超过SFR:这是“气体吸积时代”。在z < 4时,SFR超过了隐含的气体吸积速率,表明星系消耗气体的速度比获得气体的速度快。在z < 3时,具有这个数量密度的星系偏离了这些关系,这意味着恒星形成和气体吸积在以后的时间里会变慢。

英文摘要:

Distant galaxies show correlations between their current star-formation rates (SFRs) and stellar masses, implying that their star-formation histories (SFHs) are highly similar. Moreover, observations show that the UV luminosities and stellar masses grow from z=8 to 3, implying that the SFRs increase with time. We compare the cosmologically averaged evolution in galaxies at 3 < z < 8 at constant comoving number density, n = 2 x 10^-4 Mpc^-3. This allows us to study the evolution of stellar mass and star formation in the galaxy predecessors and descendants in ways not possible using galaxies selected at constant stellar mass or SFR, quantities that evolve strongly in time. We show that the average SFH of these galaxies increase smoothly from z=8 to 3 as SFR ~ t^alpha with alpha = 1.7 +/- 0.2. This conflicts with assumptions that the SFR is either constant or declines exponentially in time. We show that the stellar mass growth in these galaxies is consistent with this derived SFH. This provides evidence that the slope of the high-mass end of the IMF is approximately Salpeter unless the duty cycle of star formation is much less than unity. We argue that these relations follow from gas accretion (either through accretion or delivered by mergers) coupled with galaxy disk growth under the assumption that the SFR depends on the local gas surface density. This predicts that gas fractions decrease from z=8 to 3 on average as f_gas ~ (1+z)^0.9 for galaxies with this number density. The implied galaxy gas accretion rates at z > 4 are as fast and may even exceed the SFR: this is the "gas accretion epoch". At z < 4 the SFR overtakes the implied gas accretion rate, indicating a period where galaxies consume gas faster than it is acquired. At z < 3, galaxies with this number density depart from these relations implying that star formation and gas accretion are slowed at later times.

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