The Role of Environment on Star Formation Activity to z ~ 5
Abstract
One of the key questions in galaxy formation and evolution is understanding the role of environment on star formation activity. To address this question, we need large samples of galaxies with deep, multi-wavelength photometric data to accurately measure the physical parameters in galaxies (e.g. stellar mass and star formation rates). The sample should also cover large comoving volumes to probe different environments spanning a wide range in redshift. In this talk, I present recent results using the latest CANDELS data covering 5 separate fields and consisting of > 150,000 galaxies to investigate the role of environment on star formation activity. I will present a unique method to assess density measurements which combines a weighted Gaussian kernel density estimator taking into account boundary effects. We find that not taking boundary/edge effects into account can result in significant underestimation of the density measurement. With our new approach, we make accurate density catalogs. We then use these to explore the star formation rate-density relation at high redshifts, especially at the peak of cosmic star formation activity (z ~ 2). We find strong correlations between these two physical properties for both star-forming and quiescent galaxies. I will conclude my talk with a discussion regarding the implications of these results in regard to the environmental quenching of star-forming galaxies and its efficiency in halting star formation at different epochs.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23340905C