Prof. Matt Jarvis

Abstract:

We investigate the star-formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass ($M_*$) relation of a star-forming (SF) galaxy sample in the XMM-LSS field to $z\sim 3.0$ using the near-infrared data from the VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations (VIDEO) survey. Combining VIDEO with broad-band photometry, we use the SED fitting algorithm CIGALE to derive SFRs and $M_*$ and have adapted it to account for the full photometric redshift PDF uncertainty. Applying a SF selection using the D4000 index, we find evidence for strong evolution in the normalisation of the SFR-$M_*$ relation out to $z\sim 3$ and a roughly constant slope of (SFR $\propto M_*^{\alpha}$) $\alpha=0.69\pm0.02$ to $z\sim 1.7$. We find this increases close to unity toward $z\sim2.65$. Alternatively, if we apply a colour selection, we find a distinct turnover in the SFR-$M_*$ relation between $0.7\lesssim z\lesssim2.0$ at the high mass end, and suggest that this is due to an increased contamination from passive galaxies. We find evolution of the specific SFR $\propto(1+z)^{2.60}$ at $\log(M_*)\sim$10.5, out to $z\lesssim2.4$ with an observed flattening beyond $z\sim$ 2 with increased stellar mass. Comparing to a range of simulations we find the analytical scaling relation approaches, that invoke an equilibrium model, a good fit to our data, suggesting that a continual smooth accretion regulated by continual outflows may be a key driver in the overall growth of SFGs.

Abstract:

A complete, flux density limited sample of 96 faint ($> 0.5$ mJy) radio sources is selected from the 10C survey at 15.7 GHz in the Lockman Hole. We have matched this sample to a range of multi-wavelength catalogues, including SERVS, SWIRE, UKIDSS and optical data; multi-wavelength counterparts are found for 80 of the 96 sources and spectroscopic redshifts are available for 24 sources. Photometric reshifts are estimated for the sources with multi-wavelength data available; the median redshift of the sample is 0.91 with an interquartile range of 0.84. Radio-to-optical ratios show that at least 94 per cent of the sample are radio loud, indicating that the 10C sample is dominated by radio galaxies. This is in contrast to samples selected at lower frequencies, where radio-quiet AGN and starforming galaxies are present in significant numbers at these flux density levels. All six radio-quiet sources have rising radio spectra, suggesting that they are dominated by AGN emission. These results confirm the conclusions of Paper I that the faint, flat-spectrum sources which are found to dominate the 10C sample below $\sim 1$ mJy are the cores of radio galaxies. The properties of the 10C sample are compared to the SKADS Simulated Skies; a population of low-redshift starforming galaxies predicted by the simulation is not found in the observed sample.

Abstract:

We apply a cross-correlation technique to infer the S > 3 mJy radio luminosity function (RLF) from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) to z ∼ 3.5. We measure Σ the over density of radio sources around spectroscopically confirmed quasars. Σ is related to the space density of radio sources at the distance of the quasars and the clustering strength between the two samples, hence knowledge of one constrains the other. Under simple assumptions we find Φ ∝ (1 + z)3.7 ± 0.7 out to z ∼ 2. Above this redshift the evolution slows and we constrain the evolution exponent to <1.01 (2σ). This behaviour is almost identical to that found by previous authors for the bright end of the RLF potentially indicating that we are looking at the same population. This suggests that the NVSS is dominated by a single population; most likely radio sources associated with high-excitation cold-mode accretion. Inversely, by adopting a previously modelled RLF we can constrain the clustering of high-redshift radio sources and find a clustering strength consistent with r0 = 15.0 ± 2.5 Mpc up to z ∼ 3.5. This is inconsistent with quasars at low redshift and some measurements of the clustering of bright FR II sources. This behaviour is more consistent with the clustering of lower luminosity radio galaxies in the local Universe. Our results indicate that the high-excitation systems dominating our sample are hosted in the most massive galaxies at all redshifts sampled.

Abstract:

We use a sample of 37 of the densest clusters and protoclusters across 1.3 ≤ z ≤ 3.2 from the Clusters Around Radio-Loud AGN (CARLA) survey to study the formation of massive cluster galaxies. We use optical i′-band and infrared 3.6 and 4.5 μm images to statistically select sources within these protoclusters and measure their median observed colours; 〈i′ − [3.6]〉. We find the abundance of massive galaxies within the protoclusters increases with decreasing redshift, suggesting these objects may form an evolutionary sequence, with the lower redshift clusters in the sample having similar properties to the descendants of the high-redshift protoclusters. We find that the protocluster galaxies have an approximately unevolving observed-frame i′ − [3.6] colour across the examined redshift range. We compare the evolution of the 〈i′ − [3.6]〉 colour of massive cluster galaxies with simplistic galaxy formation models. Taking the full cluster population into account, we show that the formation of stars within the majority of massive cluster galaxies occurs over at least 2 Gyr, and peaks at z ∼ 2–3. From the median i′ − [3.6] colours, we cannot determine the star formation histories of individual galaxies, but their star formation must have been rapidly terminated to produce the observed red colours. Finally, we show that massive galaxies at z > 2 must have assembled within 0.5 Gyr of them forming a significant fraction of their stars. This means that few massive galaxies in z > 2 protoclusters could have formed via dry mergers.

Abstract:

We present the results of a search for bright (-22.7 ≤MUV ≤-20.5) Lyman-break galaxies at z≃6 within a total of 1.65 deg < sup > 2 < /sup > of imaging in theUltraVISTA/Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) and United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) fields. The deep near-infrared imaging available in the two independent fields, in addition to deep optical (including z′-band) data, enables the sample of z ≃ 6 star-forming galaxies to be securely detected longward of the break (in contrast to several previous studies). We show that the expected contamination rate of our initial sample by cool Galactic brown dwarfs is ≲3 per cent and demonstrate that they can be effectively removed by fitting brown dwarf spectral templates to the photometry. At z ≃ 6, the galaxy surface density in the UltraVISTA field exceeds that in the UDS by a factor of ≃ 1.8, indicating strong cosmic variance even between degree-scale fields at z > 5. We calculate the bright end of the restframe Ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function (LF) at z ≃ 6. The galaxy number counts are a factor of ~1.7 lower than predicted by the recent LF determination by Bouwens et al. In comparison to other smaller area studies, we find an evolution in the characteristic magnitude between z ≃ 5 and z ≃ 7 of δM* ~ 0.4, and show that a double power law or a Schechter function can equally well describe the LF at z = 6. Furthermore, the bright end of the LF appears to steepen from z ≃ 7 to z ≃ 5, which could indicate the onset of mass quenching or the rise of dust obscuration, a conclusion supported by comparing the observed LFs to a range of theoretical model predictions.