On the Last 10 Billion Years of Stellar Mass Growth in Star-Forming Galaxies

Abstract

The star formation rate - stellar mass relation (SFR-M*) and its evolution (i.e., the SFR main sequence) describes the growth rate of galaxies of a given stellar mass and at a given redshift. Assuming that present-day star-forming galaxies were always star-forming in the past, these growth rate observations can be integrated to calculate average star formation histories (SFHs). Using this Main Sequence Integration (MSI) approach, we trace present-day massive star-forming galaxies back to when they were 10-20% of their current stellar mass. The integration is robust throughout those epochs: the SFR data underpinning our calculations is consistent with the evolution of stellar mass density in this regime. Analytic approximations to these SFHs are provided. Integration-based results reaffirm previous suggestions that current star-forming galaxies formed virtually all of their stellar mass at z<2. It follows that massive galaxies observed at z>2 are not the typical progenitors of star-forming galaxies today. We also check MSI-based SFHs against those inferred from analysis of the fossil record -- from spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and color magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of resolved stars in dwarf irregular galaxies. Once stellar population age uncertainties are accounted for, the main sequence is in excellent agreement with SED-based SFHs (from VESPA). Extrapolating SFR main sequence observations to dwarf galaxies, we find differences between MSI results and SFHs from CMD analysis of ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury and Local Group galaxies. Resolved dwarfs appear to grow much slower than main sequence trends imply, and also slower than slightly higher mass SED-analyzed galaxies. This difference may signal problems with SFH determinations, but it may also signal a shift in star formation trends at the lowest stellar masses.

20 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (31)

• Mass and environment as drivers of galaxy evolution in SDSS and zCOSMOS and the origin of the Schechter function
• Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z=1.1 : The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling I: The relevance of uncertain aspects of stellar evolution and the IMF to the derived physical properties of galaxies
• UV Star Formation Rates in the Local Universe
• The lesser role of starbursts for star formation at z=2
• The stellar mass assembly of galaxies from z=0 to z=4. Analysis of a sample selected in the rest-frame near-infrared with Spitzer
• Galaxy Evolution from Halo Occupation Distribution Modeling of DEEP2 and SDSS Galaxy Clustering
• The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury
• Star formation in AEGIS field galaxies since z=1.1 . Staged galaxy formation, and a model of mass-dependent gas exhaustion
• The UV-Optical Color Magnitude Diagram II: Physical Properties and Morphological Evolution On and Off of a Star-Forming Sequence
• The star formation histories of galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The stellar masses of 25000 galaxies at 0.2<z<1.0 estimated by the COMBO-17 survey
• Recovering galaxy star formation and metallicity histories from spectra using VESPA
• Star Formation and the Growth of Stellar Mass
• The Evolution of Stellar Mass and the Implied Star Formation History
• The dependence of Star Formation on Galaxy Stellar Mass
• The star-formation history of K-selected galaxies
• The Different Physical Mechanisms that Drive the Star-Formation Histories of Giant and Dwarf Galaxies
• Stellar Population and Kinematic Profiles in Spiral Bulges & Disks: Population Synthesis of Integrated Spectra
• The evolution of the specific star formation rate of massive galaxies to z ~ 1.8 in the E-CDFS
• The Detailed Evolution of E+A Galaxies into Early Types
• On the Evolutionary History of Stars and their Fossil Mass and Light
• The contribution of star formation and merging to stellar mass buildup in galaxies
• The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury V. Radial Star Formation History of NGC 300
• Measuring the Average Evolution of Luminous Galaxies at z<3: The Rest-frame Optical Luminosity Density, Spectral Energy Distribution, and Stellar Mass Density
• The Spitzer Space Telescope Extra-Galactic First Look Survey: 24 micron data reduction, catalog, and source identification
• Extragalactic Constraints on the Initial Mass Function
• The VVDS-SWIRE-GALEX-CFHTLS surveys: Physical properties of galaxies at z below 1.2 from photometric data
• The Stellar Populations of M33's Outer Regions IV: Inflow History and Chemical Evolution
• The Stellar Populations of M33's Outer Regions III: Star Formation History
• The H alpha Galaxy Survey V. The star formation history of late-type galaxies

Cited by in corpus (131)

• The Average Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Dark Matter Halos from z=0-8
• A Highly Consistent Framework for the Evolution of the Star-Forming "Main Sequence" from z~0-6
• Galactic star formation and accretion histories from matching galaxies to dark matter haloes
• UniverseMachine: The Correlation between Galaxy Growth and Dark Matter Halo Assembly from z=0-10
• Modeling the Panchromatic Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies
• The Green Valley is a Red Herring: Galaxy Zoo reveals two evolutionary pathways towards quenching of star formation in early- and late-type galaxies
• How to Measure Galaxy Star Formation Histories II: Nonparametric Models
• The Star Formation Histories of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies I. Hubble Space Telescope / Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Observations
• Regularity underlying complexity: a redshift-independent description of the continuous variation of galaxy-scale molecular gas properties in the mass-star formation rate plane
• Evolution of Interstellar Medium, Star Formation, and Accretion at High Redshift
• A Budget and Accounting of Metals at z~0: Results from the COS-Halos Survey
• Baryons Matter: Why Luminous Satellite Galaxies Have Reduced Central Masses
• The Universal Relation of Galactic Chemical Evolution: The Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation
• The SFR-M* Relation and Empirical Star-Formation Histories from ZFOURGE at 0.5 < z < 4
• How to measure galaxy star-formation histories I: Parametric models
• An Older, More Quiescent Universe from Panchromatic SED Fitting of the 3D-HST Survey
• A Baryonic Solution to the Missing Satellites Problem
• Star-Forming Galaxies at Cosmic Noon
• On the interplay between star formation and feedback in galaxy formation simulations
• From dawn till disk: Milky Way's turbulent youth revealed by the APOGEE+Gaia data
• Bimodality of low-redshift circumgalactic O VI in non-equilibrium EAGLE zoom simulations
• The Neutral Hydrogen Content of Galaxies in Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations
• A chronicle of galaxy mass assembly in the EAGLE simulation
• Charting the evolution of the ages and metallicities of massive galaxies since z=0.7
• Reproducing the Stellar Mass/Halo Mass Relation in Simulated LCDM Galaxies: Theory vs Observational Estimates
• SDSS IV MaNGA - sSFR profiles and the slow quenching of discs in green valley galaxies
• The stellar mass function of star-forming galaxies and the mass-dependent SFR function since z=2.23 from HiZELS
• A Simple Technique for Predicting High-Redshift Galaxy Evolution
• EDGE: the mass-metallicity relation as a critical test of galaxy formation physics
• A Census of Oxygen in Star-Forming Galaxies: An Empirical Model Linking Metallicities, Star Formation Rates and Outflows
• A fundamental problem in our understanding of low mass galaxy evolution
• The dominant epoch of star formation in the Milky Way formed the thick disc
• Non-parametric Star Formation History Reconstruction with Gaussian Processes I: Counting Major Episodes of Star Formation
• ZFOURGE/CANDELS: On the Evolution of M* Galaxy Progenitors from z=3 to 0.5
• Using Cumulative Number Densities to Compare Galaxies across Cosmic Time
• A New Census of the 0.2< z <3.0 Universe, Part II: The Star-Forming Sequence
• Ages of Type Ia Supernovae Over Cosmic Time
• SDSS IV MaNGA: The global and local stellar mass assemby histories of galaxies
• HerMES: dust attenuation and star formation activity in UV-selected samples from z~4 to z~1.5
• The equilibrium view on dust and metals in galaxies: Galactic outflows drive low dust-to-metal ratios in dwarf galaxies
• The origin of the Milky Way globular clusters
• The Mass-Independence of Specific Star Formation Rates in Galactic Disks
• Stellar Absorption Line Analysis of Local Star-Forming Galaxies: The Relation Between Stellar Mass, Metallicity, Dust Attenuation and Star Formation Rate
• Comprehensive comparison of models for spectral energy distributions from 0.1 micron to 1 mm of nearby star-forming galaxies
• Stochastic modeling of star-formation histories I: the scatter of the star-forming main sequence
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Linking Star Formation Histories and Stellar Mass Growth
• The Progenitors of Local Ultra-massive Galaxies Across Cosmic Time: from Dusty Star-bursting to Quiescent Stellar Populations
• A Systematic Look at the Effects of Radiative Feedback on Disc Galaxy Formation
• Reconciling the observed star-forming sequence with the observed stellar mass function
• The Formation Times and Building Blocks of Milky Way-mass Galaxies in the FIRE Simulations
• Log-normal star formation histories in simulated and observed galaxies
• Tracing Galaxies Through Cosmic Time with Number Density Selection
• Delayed Star Formation in Isolated Dwarf Galaxies: HST Star Formation History of the Aquarius Dwarf Irregular
• Spitzer Local Volume Legacy (LVL) SEDs and Physical Properties
• The SINS/zC-SINF Survey of z~2 Galaxy Kinematics: Rest-frame Morphology, Structure, and Colors from Near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope Imaging
• The Intrinsic Scatter Along The Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies at z ~ 0.7
• Early- and late-stage mergers among main sequence and starburst galaxies at 0.2<z<2
• Return to [Log-]Normalcy: Rethinking Quenching, The Star Formation Main Sequence, and Perhaps Much More
• From 'bathtub' galaxy evolution models to metallicity gradients
• The spatially-resolved star formation histories of CALIFA galaxies: Implications for galaxy formation
• An Empirical Model for the Star Formation History in Dark Matter Halos
• Phylogeny of the Milky Way's inner disk and bulge populations: Implications for gas accretion, (the lack of) inside-out thick disk formation, and quenching
• On the Physical Origin of Galactic Conformity
• Counting Black Holes: The Cosmic Stellar Remnant Population and Implications for LIGO
• MOND simulation suggests the origin of some peculiarities in the Local Group
• Black-hole-regulated star formation in massive galaxies
• Low-mass galaxy assembly in simulations: regulation of early star formation by radiation from massive stars
• Inferring More from Less: Prospector as a Photometric Redshift Engine in the Era of JWST
• The origin of pseudobulges in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation
• Non-linearity and environmental dependence of the star forming galaxies Main Sequence
• Mapping a stellar disk into a boxy bulge: The outside-in part of the Milky Way bulge formation
• Stellar Populations of over one thousand $z\sim 0.8$ Galaxies from LEGA-C: Ages and Star Formation Histories from D${}_n$4000 and H$\delta$
• Optical Integral Field Spectroscopy observations applied to simulated galaxies: Testing the fossil record method
• Predicting Galaxy Star Formation Rates via the Co-evolution of Galaxies and Halos
• The evolution of the star forming sequence in hierarchical galaxy formation models
• The cumulative star-formation histories of dwarf galaxies with TNG50. I: Environment-driven diversity and connection to quenching
• Interpreting Short Gamma Ray Burst Progenitor Kicks and Time Delays Using the Host Galaxy-Dark Matter Halo Connection
• Tracking Down the Source Population Responsible for the Unresolved Cosmic 6-8 keV Background
• SDSS-IV MaNGA: The kinematic-morphology of galaxies on the mass vs star-formation relation in different environments
• Constraining the Star Formation Histories in Dark Matter Halos: I. Central Galaxies
• The gas and stellar content of a metal-poor galaxy at $z=8.496$ as revealed by JWST and ALMA
• High resolution study of the cluster complexes in a lensed spiral at redshift ~1.5; constraints on the bulge formation and disk evolution
• SFHs OF $Z\sim 1$ Galaxies in LEGA-C
• The physical nature of the cosmic accretion of baryons and dark matter into halos and their galaxies
• The SFR-M${}_{\ast }$ Correlation Extends to Low Mass at High Redshift
• The GOGREEN survey: Post-infall environmental quenching fails to predict the observed age difference between quiescent field and cluster galaxies at z>1
• The Structural Evolution of Milky Way-like Star Forming Galaxies since z~1.3
• Rejuvenated galaxies with very old bulges at the origin of the bending of the main sequence and of the "green valley"
• An analytical model for galaxy metallicity: What do metallicity relations tell us about star formation and outflow?
• The Strikingly Similar Relation between Satellite and Central Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos Since z=2
• First results from the VIRIAL survey: the stellar content of $UVJ$-selected quiescent galaxies at $1.5<z<2$ from KMOS
• Star Formation Stochasticity Measured from the Distribution of Burst Indicators
• A Predicted Correlation Between Age Gradient and Star Formation History in FIRE Dwarf Galaxies
• Green Valley galaxies as a transition population in different environments
• On the cosmic evolution of the specific star formation rate
• Forward modeling of galaxy populations for cosmological redshift distribution inference
• Using Galaxy Pairs to Probe Star Formation During Major Halo Mergers
• Exploring metallicity-dependent rates of Type Ia supernovae and their impact on galaxy formation
• Resolved Star Formation on Sub-galactic Scales in a Merger at z=1.7
• Demonstrating Diversity in Star Formation Histories with the CSI Survey
• UniverseMachine: Predicting Galaxy Star Formation over Seven Decades of Halo Mass with Zoom-in Simulations
• An empirical prediction for stellar metallicity distributions in nearby galaxies
• Redshift evolution of stellar mass versus gas fraction relation in 0<z<2 regime: observational constraint for galaxy formation models
• The global and radial stellar mass assembly of Milky Way-sized galaxies
• The (black hole mass)-(color) relations for early- and late-type galaxies: red and blue sequences
• A Uniform History for Galaxy Evolution
• Simulations of isolated dwarf galaxies formed in dark matter halos with different mass assembly histories
• pop-cosmos: A comprehensive picture of the galaxy population from COSMOS data
• On the mass assembly of low-mass galaxies in hydrodynamical simulations of structure formation
• The impact of galaxy geometry and mass evolution on the survival of star clusters
• A Framework for Empirical Galaxy Phenomenology: The Scatter in Galaxy Ages and Stellar Metallicities
• Reversal of Fortune: Increased Star Formation Efficiencies in the Early Histories of Dwarf Galaxies?
• The dominance of quenching through cosmic times
• Catalogue of model star clusters in the Milky Way and M31 galaxies
• HI Global Scaling Relations in the WISE-WHISP Survey
• More is better: Strong constraints on the stellar properties of LEGA-C z ~ 1 galaxies with Prospector
• What Regulates Galaxy Evolution? Open Questions in Our Understanding of Galaxy Formation and Evolution
• Optical-faint, Far-infrared-bright Herschel Sources in the CANDELS Fields: Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies at z>1 and the Effect of Source Blending
• The Coevolution of Massive Quiescent Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos over the Last 6 Billion Years
• The quenched mass portion of star-forming galaxies and the origin of the star formation sequence slope
• The role of major gas-rich mergers on the evolution of galaxies from the blue cloud to the red sequence
• SDSS-IV MaNGA: The MaNGA Dwarf Galaxy Sample
• Characterizing simulated galaxy stellar mass histories
• The Slow Flow Model of Dust Efflux in Local Star-Forming Galaxies
• Recent stellar mass assembly of low-mass star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.3 < z < 0.9
• CO emissions from optically selected galaxies at z~0.1-0.2: Tight anti-correlation between molecular gas fraction and 4000 Åbreak strength
• pop-cosmos: Insights from generative modeling of a deep, infrared-selected galaxy population
• A Recent Starbust in the Low Surface Brightness Galaxy UGC 628
• MIGHTEE-HI: The star-forming properties of HI selected galaxies
• Constraining galactic baryon cycle using the galaxy stellar-to-halo mass relations
• LEGA-C stellar populations scaling relations. II: Dissecting mass-complete archaeological trends and their evolution since z~0.7 with LEGA-C and SDSS