Observing the build-up of the colour-magnitude relation at redshift ∼0.8
Abstract
We analyse the rest-frame (U-V) colour-magnitude relation for 2 clusters at redshift 0.7 and 0.8, drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey. By comparing them with the population of red galaxies in the Coma cluster, we show that the high redshift clusters exhibit a deficit of passive faint red galaxies. Our results show that the red-sequence population cannot be explained in terms of a monolithic and synchronous formation scenario. A large fraction of faint passive galaxies in clusters today has moved onto the red sequence relatively recently as a consequence of the fact that their star formation activity has come to an end at z<0.8.
- Publication:
-
IAU Colloq. 195: Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters: Intense Life in the Suburbs
- Pub Date:
- July 2004
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0404084
- Bibcode:
- 2004ogci.conf..473D
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Proc. of IAU Colloq. 195: "Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters: Intense Life in the Suburbs" -- minor typos corrected