Evidence for Significant Growth in the Stellar Mass of Brightest Cluster Galaxies over the Past 10 Billion Years

Abstract

Using new and published data, we construct a sample of 160 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) spanning the redshift interval 0.03 < z < 1.63. We use this sample, which covers 70% of the history of the universe, to measure the growth in the stellar mass of BCGs after correcting for the correlation between the stellar mass of the BCG and the mass of the cluster in which it lives. We find that the stellar mass of BCGs increase by a factor of 1.8 between z=0.9 and z=0.2. Compared to earlier works, our result is closer to the predictions of semi-analytic models. However, BCGs at z=0.9, relative to BCGs at z=0.2, are still a factor of 1.5 more massive than the predictions of these models. Star formation rates in BCGs at z~1 are generally to low to result in significant amounts of mass. Instead, it is likely that most of the mass build up occurs through mainly dry mergers in which perhaps half of the mass is lost to the intra-cluster medium of the cluster.

20 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (18)

• The hierarchical formation of the brightest cluster galaxies
• A primer on hierarchical galaxy formation: the semi-analytical approach
• Evidence for TP-AGB stars in high redshift galaxies, and their effect on deriving stellar population parameters
• How special are Brightest Group and Cluster Galaxies?
• A complete sample of twelve very X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at z>0.5
• The Galaxy Content of SDSS Clusters and Groups
• The Hierarchical Build-Up of Massive Galaxies and the Intracluster Light since z=1
• Resurrecting the Red from the Dead: Optical Properties of BCGs in X-ray Luminous Clusters
• The evolution of the brightest cluster galaxies since z~1 from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS)
• HAWK-I imaging of the X-ray luminous galaxy cluster XMMU J2235.3-2557: The red sequence at z=1.39
• Measurement of the intracluster light at z ~ 1
• Near-infrared evolution of brightest cluster galaxies in the most X-ray luminous clusters since z=1
• The Evolution of Dusty Star Formation and Stellar Mass Assembly in Clusters: Results from the IRAC 3.6um, 4.5um, 5.8um and 8.0um Cluster Luminosity Functions
• The luminosity -- halo-mass relation for brightest cluster galaxies
• Comparing dynamical and photometric-stellar masses of early-type galaxies at z ~ 1
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Relation Between Galaxy Cluster Optical Richness and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
• Near-Infrared Properties of Moderate-Redshift Galaxy Clusters: Halo Occupation Number, Mass-to-Light Ratios and Omega_m
• Multiwavelength Mass Comparisons of the z~0.3 CNOC Cluster Sample

Cited by in corpus (151)

• The Dark Energy Survey: more than dark energy - an overview
• Galaxy Clusters around radio-loud AGN at 1.3 < z < 3.2 as seen by Spitzer
• The Hydrangea simulations: galaxy formation in and around massive clusters
• Effects of Local Environment and Stellar Mass on Galaxy Quenching out to z~3
• Ubiquitous cold and massive filaments in cool core clusters
• Redshift distributions of galaxies in the DES Science Verification shear catalogue and implications for weak lensing
• Evidence for a change in the dominant satellite galaxy quenching mechanism at z=1
• Co-evolution of BCGs and ICL using CLASH
• The environmental dependence of the stellar mass function at z~1: Comparing cluster and field between the GCLASS and UltraVISTA surveys
• The importance of major mergers in the build up of stellar mass in brightest cluster galaxies at z=1
• Molecular Gas in the Halo Fuels the Growth of a Massive Cluster Galaxy at High Redshift
• The Growth in Size and Mass of Cluster Galaxies since z=2
• Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Protocluster at $z=3.37$ with a High Fraction of Quiescent Galaxies
• Stellar mass function of cluster galaxies at z $\sim$ 1.5: evidence for reduced quenching efficiency at high redshift
• The Progenitors of Local Ultra-massive Galaxies Across Cosmic Time: from Dusty Star-bursting to Quiescent Stellar Populations
• ALMA Observations of Gas-Rich Galaxies in z~1.6 Galaxy Clusters: Evidence for Higher Gas Fractions in High-Density Environments
• The GOGREEN Survey: A deep stellar mass function of cluster galaxies at 1.0<z<1.4 and the complex nature of satellite quenching
• Evidence for strong evolution in galaxy environmental quenching efficiency between z = 1.6 and z = 0.9
• The evolution of the number density of compact galaxies
• On the Origin of Intracluster Light in Massive Galaxy Clusters
• Selection bias in dynamically-measured super-massive black hole samples: consequences for pulsar timing arrays
• An analysis of the evolving comoving number density of galaxies in hydrodynamical simulations
• The Evolution of Environmental Quenching Timescales to $z\sim 1.6$
• The Stellar Mass Growth of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey
• Avoiding progenitor bias: The structural and mass evolution of Brightest Group and Cluster Galaxies in Hierarchical models since z~1
• The Effects of Environment on the Evolution of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Function
• VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS): Witnessing the Assembly of a Massive Cluster at z~3.3
• A Census of Stellar Mass in 10 Massive Haloes at z~1 from the GCLASS Survey
• Brightest cluster galaxies in cosmological simulations: achievements and limitations of AGN feedback models
• The buildup of the intracluster light of Abell 85 as seen by Subaru's Hyper Suprime-Cam
• Baryon Content of Massive Galaxy Clusters (0.57 < z < 1.33)
• Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments (GOGREEN) I: Survey Description
• Growth of brightest cluster galaxies via mergers since z = 1
• Distant galaxy clusters in the XMM Large Scale Structure survey
• The Hierarchical Origins of Observed Galaxy Morphology
• HST/WFC3 grism observations of $z\sim 1$ clusters: The cluster vs. field stellar mass-size relation and evidence for size growth of quiescent galaxies from minor mergers
• BCG Mass Evolution in Cosmological Hydro-Simulations
• The baryon content of groups and clusters of galaxies in the FABLE simulations
• An Extreme Starburst in Close Proximity to the Central Galaxy of a Rich Galaxy Cluster at z=1.7
• The Growth of Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Intracluster Light Over the Past Ten Billion Years
• Cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters with feedback from active galactic nuclei: profiles and scaling relations
• A Kinematic Approach To Assessing Environmental Effects: Star-Forming Galaxies in a z~0.9 SpARCS cluster using Spitzer 24um Observations
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Testing galaxy formation models through the most massive galaxies in the Universe
• Galaxies in X-ray Selected Clusters and Groups in Dark Energy Survey Data I: Stellar Mass Growth of Bright Central Galaxies Since z~1.2
• The GEEC2 spectroscopic survey of Galaxy Groups at $0.8<z<1$
• Rapid early coeval star formation and assembly of the most massive galaxies in the universe
• The GOGREEN and GCLASS Surveys: First Data Release
• A Relationship Between Halo Mass, Cooling, AGN Heating, and the Coevolution of Massive Black Holes
• The State of the Warm and Cold Gas in the Extreme Starburst at the Core of the Phoenix Galaxy Cluster (SPT-CLJ2344-4243)
• The evolution in the stellar mass of Brightest Cluster Galaxies over the past 10 billion years
• On the intermediate-redshift central stellar mass-halo mass relation, and implications for the evolution of the most massive galaxies since z~1
• The early phases of galaxy clusters formation in IR: coupling hydrodynamical simulations with GRASIL3D
• The most massive black holes on the Fundamental Plane of Black Hole Accretion
• 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
• Angular Momenta, Dynamical Masses, and Mergers of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• First results on the cluster galaxy population from the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam survey. III. Brightest cluster galaxies, stellar mass distribution, and active galaxies
• A joint SZ-Xray-optical analysis of the dynamical state of 288 massive galaxy clusters
• Photometric redshifts for galaxies in the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam and unWISE and a catalogue of identified clusters of galaxies
• Missing black holes in brightest cluster galaxies as evidence for the occurrence of superkicks in nature
• The Accelerated Build-up of the Red Sequence in High Redshift Galaxy Clusters
• The growth of brightest cluster galaxies in the TNG300 simulation:dissecting the contributions from mergers and in situ star formation
• Red but not dead : Unveiling the Star-forming Far-infrared Spectral Energy Distribution of SpARCS Brightest Cluster Galaxies at 0 < z < 1.8
• The XXL survey XV: Evidence for dry merger driven BCG growth in XXL-100-GC X-ray clusters
• Galaxy Merger Candidates in High-Redshift Cluster Environments
• Mergers and Star Formation: The environment and Stellar Mass Growth of the Progenitors of Ultra-Massive Galaxies since z = 2
• The Violent Youth of Bright and Massive Cluster Galaxies and their Maturation over 7 Billion Years
• Detection of a Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoir in a brightest cluster galaxy at z = 1.7
• The Impact of Environment on the Stellar Mass - Halo Mass Relation
• The dynamics of z~1 clusters of galaxies from the GCLASS survey
• The close pair fraction of BCGs since $z=0.5$: major mergers dominate recent BCG stellar mass growth
• Forward and backward galaxy evolution in comoving number density space
• A sample of 1959 massive galaxy clusters at high redshifts
• Ongoing growth of the brightest cluster galaxies via major dry mergers in the last ~6 Gyr
• The UV Luminosity Function of Protocluster Galaxies at $z\sim 4$: the Bright-end Excess and the Enhanced Star Formation Rate Density
• Implications of the Environments of Radio-detected AGN in a Complex Protostructure at z$\sim$3.3
• Stellar Mass to Halo Mass Scaling Relation for X-ray Selected Low Mass Galaxy Clusters and Groups out to Redshift $z\approx 1$
• Stellar Mass Growth of Brightest Cluster Galaxy Progenitors in COSMOS Since z ~ 3
• A Multi-Wavelength Photometric Census of AGN and Star Formation Activity in the Brightest Cluster Galaxies of X-ray Selected Clusters
• MAMMOTH: Confirmation of Two Massive Galaxy Overdensities at $z=2.24$ with H$\alpha$ Emitters
• The Inside-out Growth of the Most Massive Galaxies at 0.3<z<0.9
• The Evolution of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in the Nearby Universe I: Colours and Stellar Masses from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Wide Infrared Survey Explorer
• Quenching or Bursting: the Role of Stellar Mass, Environment, and Specific Star Formation Rate to $z$ $\sim$ 1
• A New Approach to Identifying the Most Powerful Gravitational Lensing Telescopes
• Brightest Group Galaxies: Stellar Mass and Star Formation Rate (paper I)
• Physical properties of Brightest Cluster Galaxies up to redshift 1.80 based on HST data
• The Morphological Transformation of Red Sequence Galaxies in Clusters since $z\sim 1$
• Morphological evolution of cluster red sequence galaxies in the past 9 Gyr
• On the Fe abundance peak formation in cool-core clusters of galaxies: hints from cluster WARPJ1415.1+3612 at z=1.03
• Evidence for the Universality of Properties of Red-Sequence Galaxies in X-ray- and Red-Sequence-Selected Clusters at z ~ 1
• The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: the stellar content of galaxy clusters selected using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
• Galaxy populations in the most distant SPT-SZ clusters - I. Environmental quenching in massive clusters at $1.4\lesssim z\lesssim 1.7$
• Observational Evidence for Enhanced Black Hole Accretion in Giant Elliptical Galaxies
• Star-forming fractions and galaxy evolution with redshift in rich X-ray-selected galaxy clusters
• Multi-wavelength Analysis of the Merging Galaxy Cluster A115
• Molecular gas in radio galaxies in dense Mpc-scale environments at $z=0.4-2.6$
• Dissecting the RELICS cluster SPT-CLJ0615-5746 through the intracluster light: confirmation of the multiple merging state of the cluster formation
• Environmental processing in cluster core galaxies at z=1.7
• Young stellar population gradients in central cluster galaxies from NUV and optical spectroscopy
• Galaxy size trends as a consequence of cosmology
• Star Formation in Intermediate Redshift 0.2 < z < 0.7 Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Stellar Mass Assembly of Brightest Cluster Galaxies at Late Times
• Optical Galaxy Clusters in the Deep Lens Survey
• The XXL Survey X: K-band luminosity - weak-lensing mass relation for groups and clusters of galaxies
• Setting firmer constraints on the evolution of the most massive, central galaxies from their local abundances and ages
• Revisiting the bulge-halo conspiracy II: Towards explaining its puzzling dependence on redshift
• Exploring the progenitors of brightest cluster galaxies at z~2
• A Study of Central Galaxy Rotation with Stellar Mass and Environment
• Brightest group galaxies-II: the relative contribution of BGGs to the total baryon content of groups at z<1.3
• The Impact of Environment on Late Time Evolution of the Stellar Mass - Halo Mass Relation
• The H$\alpha$ star formation main sequence in cluster and field galaxies at $z\sim 1.6$
• LARgE Survey -- III. Environments of Ultra-Massive Passive Galaxies at Cosmic Noon: BCG progenitors growing through mergers
• The High-Redshift Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN (COBRA) Survey: Radio Source Properties
• Multiwavelength radio observations of a Brightest Cluster Galaxy at z=1.71: Detection of a modest Active Galactic Nucleus and evidence for extended star formation
• A large-scale kinematic study of molecular gas in high-z cluster galaxies: Evidence for high levels of kinematic asymmetry
• The Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey V: Extended Radio Sources in Massive Galaxy Clusters at z~1
• The Rest-frame $H$-band Luminosity Function of Red Sequence Galaxies in Clusters at $1.0<z<1.3$
• Serendipitous discovery of a massive cD galaxy at z=1.096: Implications for the early formation and late evolution of cD galaxies
• Defying jet-gas alignment in two radio galaxies at z~2 with extended light profiles: Similarities to brightest cluster galaxies
• Molecular gas in distant brightest cluster galaxies
• A CO Survey of SpARCS Star-Forming Brightest Cluster Galaxies: Evidence for Uniformity in BCG Molecular Gas Processing Across Cosmic Time
• Star forming and gas rich brightest cluster galaxies at $z\sim 0.4$ in the Kilo-Degree Survey
• Isophote Shapes of Early-Type Galaxies in Massive Clusters at $z\sim 1$ and 0
• COSMOS Brightest Group Galaxies -- III: Evolution of stellar ages
• LARgE Survey. I. Dead Monsters: the Massive End of the Passive Galaxy Stellar Mass Function at Cosmic Noon
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) Survey: The Merging Potential of Brightest Group Galaxies
• Comparing galaxy populations in compact and loose groups of galaxies II: brightest group galaxies
• The XXL survey: XLII. Detection and characterization of the galaxy population of distant galaxy clusters in the XXL-N/VIDEO field: A tale of variety
• See Change: VLT spectroscopy of a sample of high-redshift Type Ia supernova host galaxies
• The Morphological Transformation of Red-Sequence Galaxies in the Distant Cluster XMMU J1229+0151
• Intra-Cluster Light as a Dynamical Clock for Galaxy Clusters: Insights from the MAGNETICUM, IllustrisTNG, Hydrangea and Horizon-AGN Simulations
• Constraining Radio Mode Feedback in Galaxy Clusters with the Cluster Radio AGN Properties to z$\sim$1
• Inquiring into the nature of the Abell 2667 Brightest Cluster Galaxy: physical properties from MUSE
• $Spitzer$-selected $z>1.3$ protocluster candidates in the LSST Deep Drilling Fields
• Star forming brightest cluster galaxies at $z\sim 0.4$ in KiDS. Further studies of cold gas and stellar properties
• Finding proto-clusters to trace galaxy evolution: I. The finder and its performance
• Stellar Mass and 3.4 $\mu$m M/L Ratio Evolution of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in COSMOS since z ~ 1.0
• The Evolution of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in the Nearby Universe II: The star-formation activity and the Stellar Mass from Spectral Energy Distribution
• Active galactic nuclei through the prism of galaxy clusters: bounds on axion-like particles
• Chandra view of Abell 407: the central compact group of galaxies and the interaction between the radio AGN and the ICM
• The SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey. The Weak-Lensing Mass Calibration and the Stellar Mass-to-Halo Mass Relation from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program
• Insights into environmental quenching at $z\sim 1$: an enhancement of faint, low-mass passive galaxies in clusters
• Detection of a Star Forming Galaxy in the Center of a Low-Mass Galaxy Cluster
• The Assembly of the Virgo Cluster, Traced by its Galaxy Halos
• Structural Analysis of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in Poor and Rich Clusters
• The HST-Hyperion Survey: Companion Fraction and Overdensity in a z ~ 2.5 Proto-supercluster
• Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: Intra-Cluster Light from Redshift 0.2 to 0.5
• HSC-XXL : Baryon budget of the 136 XXL Groups and Clusters
• Testing the key role of the stellar mass-halo mass relation in galaxy merger rates and morphologies via DECODE, a novel Discrete statistical sEmi-empiriCal mODEl
• An Assessment of the In-Situ Growth of the Intracluster Light in the High Redshift Galaxy Cluster SpARCS1049+56
• Euclid: A blue galaxy population and a brightest cluster galaxy in the making in a $z\sim 1.74$ MaDCoWS2 galaxy cluster candidate
• SDSS-IV MaNGA: Cannibalism Caught in the Act -- on the Frequency of Occurrence of Multiple Cores in Brightest Cluster Galaxies