Tracing the Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey
Abstract
The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey will image a total of 18 square degrees in 3 optical bands (Bw, R, and I) and 3 near-infrared bands (J, H, and K). One of the prominent features in the Bw-R vs. R-I color-color diagram resulting from the preliminary NDWFS data is a `loop' which we hypothesize traces the evolution of the reddest elliptical galaxies. We investigate the evolution of these ellipticals in the optical color-color and color-magnitude planes as predicted by the Bruzual & Charlot (1999) evolutionary spectral synthesis models and compare the predictions with the preliminary NDWFS data. We find that the evolution of the red ellipticals is reproduced by Bruzual-Charlot models with an exponentially decreasing star formation rate and a moderately high formation redshift (zf > 5). Preliminary spectroscopy of the reddest Bw-R populations confirms the basic predictions of the models. The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey is being supported by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. C. Greer's research was supported by the NOAO/KPNO REU Program, funded by the National Science Foundation.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2000
- Bibcode:
- 2000AAS...197.7710D