Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21711403k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #114.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Using Spitzer MIPS 24um imaging and extensive Keck spectroscopy we have found evidence for environmentally triggered starburst activity within six clusters and groups at z 0.9. I will show that the density of 24um-detected galaxies in the cluster environment is nearly twice that of the surrounding field at this redshift and that this overdensity scales with the cluster's dynamical state. The 24um-bright members often appear optically unremarkable and exhibit only moderate [OII] line emission due to severe obscuration. Although their spatial distribution suggests they are an infalling population, a close examination of their spectral properties, morphologies and optical colors indicate they are not simply analogs of the field population that have yet to be quenched. Using stacked DEIMOS spectra, we find the 24um-detected cluster and group galaxies exhibit elevated levels of Balmer absorption compared to galaxies undergoing normal, continuous star formation. A similar excess is not observed in field galaxies with equivalent infrared luminosities, indicating a greater fraction of the detected cluster and group members have experienced a burst of star formation in the recent past compared to their counterparts in the field. Our results suggest that gas-rich galaxies at high redshift experience a temporary increase in their star formation activity as they assemble into denser environments. Using HST ACS imaging we find that disturbed morphologies are common among the obscured starburst population and become more prevalent in regions of higher galaxy density. We conclude that mergers are the dominant triggering mechanism responsible for the enhanced star formation found in the group galaxies, while a mix of harassment and mergers are likely driving the activity of the cluster galaxies.
Gal Roy R.
Kocevski Dale D.
Lemaux Brian
Lubin Lori
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