Matching the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function Using Log-normal Star Formation Histories

Abstract

We show that a model consisting of individual, log-normal star formation histories for a volume-limited sample of $z\approx 0$ galaxies reproduces the evolution of the total and quiescent stellar mass functions at $z\lesssim 2.5$ and stellar masses $M_{\ast }\ge 10^{10}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. This model has previously been shown to reproduce the star formation rate/stellar mass relation ($\mathrm{SFR}$--$M_{\ast }$) over the same interval, is fully consistent with the observed evolution of the cosmic $\mathrm{SFR}$ density at $z\le 8$, and entails no explicit "quenching" prescription. We interpret these results/features in the context of other models demonstrating a similar ability to reproduce the evolution of (1) the cosmic $\mathrm{SFR}$ density, (2) the total/quiescent stellar mass functions, and (3) the $\mathrm{SFR}$--$M_{\ast }$ relation, proposing that the key difference between modeling approaches is the extent to which they stress/address diversity in the (starforming) galaxy population. Finally, we suggest that observations revealing the timescale associated with dispersion in $\mathrm{SFR}(M_{\ast })$ will help establish which models are the most relevant to galaxy evolution.

5 pages, 2 figures; submitted to ApJ Letters

References in corpus (27)

• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Technical Summary
• Cosmic Star Formation History
• The physical properties of star forming galaxies in the low redshift universe
• Stellar Masses and Star Formation Histories for 10^5 Galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Average Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Dark Matter Halos from z=0-8
• 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
• Galactic star formation and accretion histories from matching galaxies to dark matter haloes
• Concentrations of Dark Halos from their Assembly Histories
• The Evolution of the Stellar Mass Functions of Star-Forming and Quiescent Galaxies to z = 4 from the COSMOS/UltraVISTA Survey
• Morphological quenching of star formation: making early-type galaxies red
• Galaxy Structure and Mode of Star Formation in the SFR-Mass Plane from z ~ 2.5 to z ~ 0.1
• PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function From z=0-1
• Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions from ZFOURGE/CANDELS: An Excess of Low-Mass Galaxies Since z=2 and the Rapid Buildup of Quiescent Galaxies
• Bulge Growth and Quenching since z = 2.5 in CANDELS/3D-HST
• The Star Formation Rate Density and Dust Attenuation Evolution over 12 Gyr with the VVDS Surveys
• The evolving relations between size, mass, surface density, and star formation in 3x10^4 galaxies since z=2
• Bulge mass is king: The dominant role of the bulge in determining the fraction of passive galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Dark Side of Galaxy Color
• The IMACS Cluster Building Survey: IV. The Log-normal Star Formation History of Galaxies
• The Mass-Independence of Specific Star Formation Rates in Galactic Disks
• The connection between galaxy structure and quenching efficiency
• Dissecting the stellar mass-SFR correlation in z=1 star-forming disk galaxies
• Bivariate Galaxy Luminosity Functions in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Strikingly Similar Relation between Satellite and Central Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos Since z=2
• The Padova-Millennium Galaxy and Group Catalogue (PM2GC): the group-finding method and the PM2GC catalogues of group, binary and single field galaxies
• The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. III. The Star Formation Histories of Field Galaxies

Cited by in corpus (35)

• UniverseMachine: The Correlation between Galaxy Growth and Dark Matter Halo Assembly from z=0-10
• How to Measure Galaxy Star Formation Histories II: Nonparametric Models
• The Confinement of Star-Forming Galaxies into a Main Sequence through Episodes of Gas Compaction, Depletion, and Replenishment
• The SFR-M* Relation and Empirical Star-Formation Histories from ZFOURGE at 0.5 < z < 4
• A redshift-independent efficiency model: star formation and stellar masses in dark matter halos at z>4
• Fast, Slow, Early, Late: Quenching Massive Galaxies at z~0.8
• A New Census of the 0.2< z <3.0 Universe, Part II: The Star-Forming Sequence
• Stochastic modelling of star-formation histories II: star-formation variability from molecular clouds and gas inflow
• The origin of scatter in the star formation rate - stellar mass relation
• Stochastic modeling of star-formation histories I: the scatter of the star-forming main sequence
• Log-normal star formation histories in simulated and observed galaxies
• Return to [Log-]Normalcy: Rethinking Quenching, The Star Formation Main Sequence, and Perhaps Much More
• The Variability of the Star Formation Rate in Galaxies: I. Star Formation Histories Traced by EW(H$\alpha$) and EW(H${\delta }_A$)
• Outshining in the Spatially Resolved Analysis of a Strongly-Lensed Galaxy at z=6.072 with JWST NIRCam
• The Star Formation Histories of Disk Galaxies: the Live, the Dead, and the Undead
• Forward modeling of galaxy populations for cosmological redshift distribution inference
• The structural properties of classical bulges and discs from z~2
• A few StePS forward in unveiling the complexity of galaxy evolution: light-weighted stellar ages of intermediate redshift galaxies with WEAVE
• PHIBSS: Exploring the Dependence of the CO-H${}_2$ Conversion Factor on Total Mass Surface Density at $z<1.5$
• Demonstrating Diversity in Star Formation Histories with the CSI Survey
• Star formation quenching imprinted on the internal structure of naked red nuggets
• pop-cosmos: A comprehensive picture of the galaxy population from COSMOS data
• More is better: Strong constraints on the stellar properties of LEGA-C z ~ 1 galaxies with Prospector
• Late Bloomer Galaxies: Growing Up in Cosmic Autumn
• A single galaxy population? statistical evidence that the Star-Forming Main Sequence might be the tip of the iceberg
• The dark side of galaxy stellar populations II: The dependence of star formation histories on halo mass and on the scatter of the main sequence
• Gravity and the Nonlinear Growth of Structure in the Carnegie-Spitzer-IMACS Redshift Survey
• The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). XII. Spatially Resolved Galaxy Star Formation Histories and True Evolutionary Paths at z > 1
• pop-cosmos: Insights from generative modeling of a deep, infrared-selected galaxy population
• ZFIRE: The Beginning of the End for Massive Galaxies at z ~ 2 and Why Environment Matters
• The effects of star formation history in the SFR-M relation of HII galaxies
• MIGHTEE-HI: The star-forming properties of HI selected galaxies
• The multi-component fitting to the star formation histories in the TNG simulation
• pop-cosmos: Star formation over 12 Gyr from generative modelling of a deep infrared-selected galaxy catalogue
• Galaxy evolution on resolved scales: ageing and quenching in CALIFA