Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21934008m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #340.08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We present the rest-frame V-band luminosity function (LF) of galaxies at 0.4≤z<4.0, measured from a near-infrared selected sample constructed from the NMBS, the FIRES, the GOODS-CDFS FIREWORKS, the ultra-deep NICMOS observations in the HDFN, and the ultra-deep WFC3 observations in the HUDF and GOODS-South, all having very high-quality optical to mid-infrared data. This sample is unique in that it combines data from surveys with a large range of depths and areas in a self-consistent way, allowing us to (1) minimize the uncertainties due to cosmic variance; and (2) simultaneously constrain the bright and faint ends over the entire targeted redshift range, probing the LF down to 0.02L* at z˜3. We find that (1) the faint-end slope is fairly flat and constant from z=4, with α=-1.27±0.04 (2) the characteristic magnitude has dimmed by 1.3 mag from z˜3.7 to z=0.1; (3) the characteristic density has increased by a factor of ˜8 from z˜3.7 to z=0.1; and (4) the luminosity density peaks at z≈1-1.5, increasing by a factor of ˜44 from z=4.0 to z≈1-1.5, and subsequently decreasing to z=0.1 by a factor of ˜1.5. We find no evidence for a steepening of the rest-frame optical faint-end slope with redshift out to z=4, in contrast with previous observational claims and theoretical predictions. This suggests that the stellar feedback efficiency, responsible for shaping the faint end, might evolve with time (being larger at earlier times) to compensate for the steepening with redshift of the dark matter halo mass function slope.
We gratefully acknowledge grant support for this research from programs HST-AR-11764 and HST-AR-12141, provided by NASA.
Marchesini Danilo
Stefanon Mauro
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