From starburst to quiescence: post-starburst galaxies and their large-scale clustering over cosmic time
Abstract
We present the first study of the large-scale clustering of post-starburst (PSB) galaxies in the high-redshift Universe (0.5 < z < 3.0). We select ~4000 PSB galaxies photometrically, the largest high-redshift sample of this kind, from two deep large-scale near-infrared surveys: the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Data Release 11 and the Cosmic Evolution Survey. Using angular cross-correlation techniques, we estimate the halo masses for this large sample of PSB galaxies and compare them with quiescent and star-forming galaxies selected in the same fields. We find that low-mass, low-redshift (0.5 < z < 1.0) PSB galaxies preferentially reside in very high mass dark matter haloes (Mhalo > 1014 M⊙), suggesting that they are likely to be infalling satellite galaxies in cluster-like environments. High-mass PSB galaxies are more weakly clustered at low redshifts, but they reside in higher mass haloes with increasing look-back time, suggesting strong redshift-dependent halo downsizing. These key results are consistent with previous results, suggesting that two main channels are responsible for the rapid quenching of galaxies. While high-redshift (z > 1) galaxies appear to be quenched by secular feedback mechanisms, processes associated with dense environments are likely to be the key driver of rapid quenching in the low-redshift Universe (z < 1). Finally, we show that the clustering of photometrically selected PSBs is consistent with them being direct descendants of highly dust-enshrouded submillimetre galaxies, providing tantalizing evidence for the oft-speculated evolutionary pathway from starburst to quiescence.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- July 2021
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/stab965
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2104.07676
- Bibcode:
- 2021MNRAS.504.4533W
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: evolution;
- galaxies: formation;
- galaxies: high-redshift;
- galaxies: starburst;
- cosmology: large-scale structure of Universe;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 19 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables