The DEEP2 galaxy redshift survey: evolution of the colour-density relation at 0.4 < z < 1.35
Abstract
Using a sample of 19464 galaxies drawn from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we study the relationship between galaxy colour and environment at 0.4 < z < 1.35. We find that the fraction of galaxies on the red sequence depends strongly on local environment out to z > 1, being larger in regions of greater galaxy density. At all epochs probed, we also find a small population of red, morphologically early-type galaxies residing in regions of low measured overdensity. The observed correlations between the red fraction and local overdensity are highly significant, with the trend at z > 1 detected at a greater than 5σ level. Over the entire redshift regime studied, we find that the colour-density relation evolves continuously, with red galaxies more strongly favouring overdense regions at low z relative to their red-sequence counterparts at high redshift. At z >~ 1.3, the red fraction only weakly correlates with overdensity, implying that any colour dependence to the clustering of ~L* galaxies at that epoch must be small. Our findings add weight to existing evidence that the build-up of galaxies on the red sequence has occurred preferentially in overdense environments (i.e. galaxy groups) at z <~ 1.5. Furthermore, we identify the epoch (z ~ 2) at which typical ~L* galaxies began quenching and moved on to the red sequence in significant number. The strength of the observed evolutionary trends at 0 < z < 1.35 suggests that the correlations observed locally, such as the morphology-density and colour-density relations, are the result of environment-driven mechanisms (i.e. `nurture') and do not appear to have been imprinted (by `nature') upon the galaxy population during their epoch of formation.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- April 2007
- DOI:
- 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11534.x
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0607512
- Bibcode:
- 2007MNRAS.376.1445C
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: evolution;
- galaxies: fundamental parameters;
- galaxies: high-redshift;
- galaxies: statistics;
- large-scale structure of Universe;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 19 pages including 10 figures, accepted to MNRAS