Evolution of the UV Excess in Early-Type Galaxies

We examine the UV emission from luminous early-type galaxies as a function of redshift. We perform a stacking analysis using Galaxy Evolution Explorer images of galaxies in the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey Boötes field and examine the evolution in the UV colors of the average galaxy. Our sample, selected to have minimal ongoing star formation based on the optical to mid-IR spectral energy distributions of the galaxies, includes 1843 galaxies spanning the redshift range 0.05 <= z <= 0.65. We find evidence that the strength of the UV excess decreases, on average, with redshift, and our measurements also show moderate disagreement with previous models of the UV excess. Our results show little evolution in the shape of the UV continuum with redshift, consistent either with the binary model for the formation of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars or with no evolution in EHB morphology with look-back time. However, the binary formation model predicts that the strength of the UV excess should also be relatively constant, in contradiction with our measured results. Finally, we see no significant influence of a galaxy's environment on the strength of its UV excess.