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Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): probing the merger histories of massive galaxies via stellar populations
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 06:19 authored by I Ferreras, A M Hopkins, M L P Gunawardhana, A E Sansom, M S Owers, S Driver, L Davies, A Robotham, E N Taylor, I Konstantopoulos, S Brough, P Norberg, S Croom, Jonathan LovedayJonathan Loveday, L Wang, M BremerThe merging history of galaxies can be traced with studies of dynamically close pairs. These consist of a massive primary galaxy and a less massive secondary (or satellite) galaxy. The study of the stellar populations of secondary (lower mass) galaxies in close pairs provides a way to understand galaxy growth by mergers. Here we focus on systems involving at least one massive galaxy – with stellar mass above 1011M? in the highly complete Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Our working sample comprises 2692 satellite galaxy spectra (0.1 = z = 0.3). These spectra are combined into high S/N stacks, and binned according to both an ‘internal’ parameter, the stellar mass of the satellite galaxy (i.e. the secondary), and an ‘external’ parameter, selecting either the mass of the primary in the pair, or the mass of the corresponding dark matter halo. We find significant variations in the age of the populations with respect to environment. At fixed mass, satellites around the most massive galaxies are older and possibly more metal-rich, with age differences ~1–2 Gyr within the subset of lower mass satellites (~1010 M?). These variations are similar when stacking with respect to the halo mass of the group where the pair is embedded. The population trends in the lower mass satellites are consistent with the old stellar ages found in the outer regions of massive galaxies.
Funding
Astronomy Centre Rolling Grant; G0679; STFC-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL; ST/F002858/1
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyISSN
0035-8711Publisher
Oxford University PressExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
468Page range
607-619Department affiliated with
- Physics and Astronomy Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Astronomy Centre Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-05-19First Open Access (FOA) Date
2017-05-19First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-05-19Usage metrics
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