Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging

Details Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging

2008-07-25

arxiv.org/abs/0807.4141v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted by ApJ Letters, minor changes added to match the accepted version

Scientific paper

10.1086/592836

We measure the sizes of 82 massive (M>10^11 M_sun) galaxies at 1.72, confirming the extreme compactness of these galaxies. We split our sample into disk-like (n<2) and spheroid-like (n>2) galaxies based on their Sersic indices, and find that at a given stellar mass disk-like galaxies at z~2.3 are a factor of 2.6+/-0.3 smaller than present day equal mass systems, and spheroid-like galaxies at the same redshifts are 4.3+/-0.7 smaller than comparatively massive elliptical galaxies today. At z>2 our results are compatible with both a leveling off, or a mild evolution in size. Furthermore, the high density (~2x10^10 M_sun kpc^-3) of massive galaxies at these redshifts, which are similar to present day globular clusters, possibly makes any further evolution in sizes beyond z=3 unlikely.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS survey imaging will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-326100