Wilkins, Stephen M, Trentham, Neil and Hopkins, Andrew M (2008) The evolution of stellar mass and the implied star formation history. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 385 (2). pp. 687-694. ISSN 0035-8711

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Abstract

We present a compilation of measurements of the stellar mass density as a function of redshift. Using this stellar mass history we obtain a star formation history and compare it to the instantaneous star formation history. For z < 0.7 there is good agreement between the two star formation histories. At higher redshifts the instantaneous indicators suggest star formation rates larger than that implied by the evolution of the stellar mass density. This discrepancy peaks at z= 3 where instantaneous indicators suggest a star formation rate around 0.6 dex higher than those of the best fit to the stellar mass history. We discuss a variety of explanations for this inconsistency, such as inaccurate dust extinction corrections, incorrect measurements of stellar masses and a possible evolution of the stellar initial mass function.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Depositing User:	Stephen Wilkins
Date Deposited:	26 Apr 2013 11:05
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2017 05:07
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/44514

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