Two Classes of Quiescent Galaxies

Low-mass quiescent galaxies form a different population at cosmic noon

Jan 17, 2024

Several previous HST-based studies (including Cutler et al. 2022) have found a flattening of sizes at the low-mass end of the quiescent size-mass relation. Using the improved sensitivity and spatial resolution, and redder wavelength coverage of JWST/NIRCam, we investigate the sizes of low-mass quiescent galaxies in the PRIMER and UNCOVER Treasury surveys at cosmic noon (1<z<3). A sample of 332 7<logM<11 galaxies are selected using UVJ and sSFR criteria and modeled in both F150W and F444W using (GALFIT)[https://users.obs.carnegiescience.edu/peng/work/galfit/galfit.html]. With these measurements, we find the properties of low-mass quiescent galaxies differ dramatically from their massive counterparts and are better classified as an entirely separate population.

Publications

Two Distinct Classes of Quiescent Galaxies at Cosmic Noon Revealed by JWST PRIMER and UNCOVER

Using the JWST UNCOVER and PRIMER Treasury surveys, we measure the sizes of 332 7<logM<11 quiescent galaxies at cosmic noon (1<z<3). We find that there exist two distinct populations of quiescent galaxies at this epoch: a young, low-mass, disky population and an older, massive, spheroidal population, further highlighting the different mechanisms involved in galaxy evolution at low masses.

Sam E. Cutler, Katherine E. Whitaker, John R. Weaver, Bingjie Wang, Richard Pan, Rachel Bezanson, Lukas J. Furtak, Ivo Labbé, Joel Leja, Sedona H. Price, Yingjie Cheng, Maike Clausen, Fergus Cullen, Pratika Dayal, Anna de Graaff, Mark Dickinson, James S. Dunlop, Robert Feldmann, Marijn Franx, Mauro Giavalisco, Karl Glazebrook, Jenny E. Greene, Norman A. Grogin, Garth Illingworth, Anton M. Koekemoer, Vasily Kokorev, Danilo Marchesini, Michael V. Maseda, Tim B. Miller, Themiya Nanayakkara, Erica J. Nelson, David J. Setton, Heath Shipley, Katherine A. Suess