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Constraining quenching timescales in galaxy clusters by forward-modelling stellar ages and quiescent fractions in projected phase space

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We forward-model mass-weighted stellar ages (MWAs) and quiescent fractions (fQ) in projected phase space (PPS), using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to jointly constrain an infall quenching model… Click to show full abstract

We forward-model mass-weighted stellar ages (MWAs) and quiescent fractions (fQ) in projected phase space (PPS), using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to jointly constrain an infall quenching model for galaxies in log (Mvir/M⊙) > 14 galaxy clusters at z ∼ 0. We find the average deviation in MWA from the MWA-M⋆ relation depends on position in PPS, with a maximum difference between the inner cluster and infalling interloper galaxies of ∼1 Gyr. Our model employs infall information from N-body simulations and stochastic star-formation histories from the Universe Machine model. We find total quenching times of tQ = 3.7 ± 0.4 Gyr and tQ = 4.0 ± 0.2 Gyr after first pericentre, for 9 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10 and 10 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10.5 galaxies, respectively. By using MWAs, we break the degeneracy in time of quenching onset and timescale of star formation rate (SFR) decline. We find that time of quenching onset relative to pericentre is $t_{\mathrm{delay}}=3.5^{+0.6}_{-0.9}$ Gyr and $t_{\mathrm{delay}}=-0.3^{+0.8}_{-1.0}$ Gyr for 9 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10 and 10 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10.5 galaxies, respectively, and exponential SFR suppression timescales are τenv ≤ 1.0 Gyr for 9 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10 galaxies and τenv ∼ 2.3 Gyr for 10 < log (M⋆/M⊙) < 10.5 galaxies. Stochastic star formation histories remove the need for rapid infall quenching to maintain the bimodality in the SFR of cluster galaxies; the depth of the green valley prefers quenching onsets close to first pericentre and a longer quenching envelope, in slight tension with the MWA-driven results. Taken together these results suggest that quenching begins close to, or just after pericentre, but the timescale for quenching to be fully complete is much longer and therefore ram-pressure stripping is not complete on first pericentric passage.

Keywords: projected phase; phase space; log; fractions projected; stellar ages; quiescent fractions

Journal Title: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Year Published: 2022

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