Assembly of the Red Sequence in Infrared-Selected Galaxy Clusters from the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey

Abstract

We present results for the assembly and star formation histories of massive (~L*) red sequence galaxies in 11 spectroscopically confirmed, infrared-selected galaxy clusters at 1.0 < z < 1.5, the precursors to present-day massive clusters with M ~ 10^15 M_sun. Using rest-frame optical photometry, we investigate evolution in the color and scatter of the red sequence galaxy population, comparing with models of possible star formation histories. In contrast to studies of central cluster galaxies at lower redshift (z < 1), these data are clearly inconsistent with the continued evolution of stars formed and assembled primarily at a single, much-earlier time. Specifically, we find that the colors of massive cluster galaxies at z = 1.5 imply that the bulk of star formation occurred at z ~ 3, whereas by z = 1 their colors imply formation at z ~ 2; therefore these galaxies exhibit approximately the same luminosity-weighted stellar age at 1 < z < 1.5. This likely reflects star formation that occurs over an extended period, the effects of significant progenitor bias, or both. Our results generally indicate that massive cluster galaxy populations began forming a significant mass of stars at z >~ 4, contained some red spheroids by z ~ 1.5, and were actively assembling much of their final mass during 1 < z < 2 in the form of younger stars. Qualitatively, the slopes of the cluster color-magnitude relations are consistent with no significant evolution relative to local clusters.

24 pages, 9 figures, accepted to ApJ

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• Star-forming blue ETGs in two newly discovered galaxy overdensities in the HUDF at z=1.84 and 1.9: unveiling the progenitors of passive ETGs in cluster cores
• Galaxy population properties of the massive X-ray luminous galaxy cluster XDCP J0044.0-2033 at z=1.58: red-sequence formation, massive galaxy assembly, and central star formation activity
• The red sequence at birth in the galaxy cluster ClJ1449+0856 at z=2
• HST Grism Confirmation of Two $z\sim 2$ Structures from the Clusters Around Radio-Loud AGN (CARLA) Survey
• Candidate Clusters of Galaxies at $z>1.3$ Identified in the Spitzer SPT Deep Field Survey
• Morphological evolution in situ: Disk-dominated cluster red sequences at z ~ 1.25
• The Evolution of Star Formation Activity in Cluster Galaxies Over $0.15<z<1.5$
• The structure of the merging RCS 231953+00 Supercluster at z ~ 0.9
• Star Formation in High-Redshift Cluster Ellipticals