Avoiding progenitor bias: The structural and mass evolution of Brightest Group and Cluster Galaxies in Hierarchical models since z~1

Abstract

The mass and structural evolution of massive galaxies is one of the hottest topics in galaxy formation. This is because it may reveal invaluable insights into the still debated evolutionary processes governing the growth and assembly of spheroids. However, direct comparison between models and observations is usually prevented by the so-called "progenitor bias", i.e., new galaxies entering the observational selection at later epochs, thus eluding a precise study of how pre-existing galaxies actually evolve in size. To limit this effect, we here gather data on high-redshift brightest group and cluster galaxies, evolve their (mean) host halo masses down to z=0 along their main progenitors, and assign as their "descendants" local SDSS central galaxies matched in host halo mass. At face value, the comparison between high redshift and local data suggests a noticeable increase in stellar mass of a factor of >2 since z~1, and of >2.5 in mean effective radius. We then compare the inferred stellar mass and size growth with those predicted by hierarchical models for central galaxies, selected at high redshifts to closely match the halo and stellar mass bins as in the data. Only hierarchical models characterized by very limited satellite stellar stripping and parabolic orbits are capable of broadly reproducing the stellar mass and size increase of a factor ~2-4 observed in cluster galaxies since z ~1. The predicted, average (major) merger rate since z~1 is in good agreement with the latest observational estimates.

9 pages, 5 figures. ApJ, in press. Additional (minor) editing included in text and figure captions

References in corpus (18)

• 3D-HST+CANDELS: The Evolution of the Galaxy Size-Mass Distribution since $z=3$
• Galaxy Groups in the SDSS DR4: I. The Catalogue and Basic Properties
• The XMM-Newton wide-field survey in the COSMOS field: VI. Statistical properties of clusters of galaxies
• Search for TeV Gamma-ray Emission from GRB 100621A, an extremely bright GRB in X-rays, with H.E.S.S
• A catalogue of 2D photometric decompositions in the SDSS-DR7 spectroscopic main galaxy sample: preferred models and systematics
• The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO survey: evolution of the clustering of luminous red galaxies since z = 0.6
• The stellar-to-halo mass relations of local galaxies segregates by color
• Understanding the Structural Scaling Relations of Early-Type Galaxies
• Late-stage galaxy mergers in COSMOS to z~1
• Constraints on the correlation between QSO luminosity and host halo mass from high-redshift quasar clustering
• Minor vs Major Mergers: The Stellar Mass Growth of Massive Galaxies from z=3 using Number Density Selection Techniques
• Testing the predictions of the cold dark matter model for the sizes, colours, morphologies and luminosities of galaxies with the SDSS
• 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
• A forming, dust enshrouded disk at z=0.43: the first example of a late type disk rebuilt after a major merger?
• The Role of Dissipation in the Scaling Relations of Cosmological Merger Remnants
• Ongoing growth of the brightest cluster galaxies via major dry mergers in the last ~6 Gyr
• Evidence for (and Against) Progenitor Bias in the Size Growth of Compact Red Galaxies
• Stellar Mass Assembly of Brightest Cluster Galaxies at Late Times

Cited by in corpus (57)

• Selection bias in dynamically-measured super-massive black hole samples: its consequences and the quest for the most fundamental relation
• Effects of Local Environment and Stellar Mass on Galaxy Quenching out to z~3
• Semi-Analytic Galaxies - I. Synthesis of environmental and star-forming regulation mechanisms
• Black Hole and Galaxy Coevolution from Continuity Equation and Abundance Matching
• The morphologies of massive galaxies from z~3 - Witnessing the 2 channels of bulge growth
• 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
• BCG Mass Evolution in Cosmological Hydro-Simulations
• The baryon content of groups and clusters of galaxies in the FABLE simulations
• Sizes, Colour gradients and Resolved Stellar Mass Distributions for the Massive Cluster Galaxies in XMMUJ2235-2557 at z = 1.39
• 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
• Massive galaxies on the road to quenching: ALMA observations of powerful high redshift radio galaxies
• Rapid early coeval star formation and assembly of the most massive galaxies in the universe
• The evolution in the stellar mass of Brightest Cluster Galaxies over the past 10 billion years
• Pathways to quiescence: SHARDS view on the Star Formation Histories of massive quiescent galaxies at 1.0 < z < 1.5
• The growth of brightest cluster galaxies in the TNG300 simulation:dissecting the contributions from mergers and in situ star formation
• Revisiting the bulge-halo conspiracy I: Dependence on galaxy properties and halo mass
• A Detection of the Environmental Dependence of the Sizes and Stellar Haloes of Massive Central Galaxies
• The massive end of the luminosity and stellar mass functions and clustering from CMASS to SDSS: Evidence for and against passive evolution
• Mergers and Star Formation: The environment and Stellar Mass Growth of the Progenitors of Ultra-Massive Galaxies since z = 2
• A Statistical Semi-Empirical Model: Satellite galaxies in Groups and Clusters
• The Impact of Environment on the Stellar Mass - Halo Mass Relation
• A combined VANDELS and LEGA-C study: the evolution of quiescent galaxy size, stellar mass and age from $\text{z}=0.6$ to $\text{z}=1.3$
• On the evolution of the central density of quiescent galaxies
• Forward and backward galaxy evolution in comoving number density space
• Evolution of the brightest cluster galaxies: the influence of morphology, stellar mass and environment
• The Observed Evolution of the Stellar Mass - Halo Mass Relation for Brightest Central Galaxies
• Stellar Mass Growth of Brightest Cluster Galaxy Progenitors in COSMOS Since z ~ 3
• The KMOS Cluster Survey (KCS) II - The Effect of Environment on the Structural Properties of Massive Cluster Galaxies at Redshift $1.39<z<1.61$
• 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
• Brightest Group Galaxies: Stellar Mass and Star Formation Rate (paper I)
• The galaxy mass-size relation in CARLA clusters and proto-clusters at 1.4 < z < 2.8: larger cluster galaxy sizes
• Cosmic CARNage II: the evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function in observations and galaxy formation models
• AGN accretion and black hole growth across compact and extended galaxy evolution phases
• Star Formation in Intermediate Redshift 0.2 < z < 0.7 Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• The Halo Occupation Distribution of Obscured Quasars: Revisiting the Unification Model
• Mass and size growth of early-type galaxies by dry mergers in cluster environments
• The evolution of compact massive quiescent and starforming galaxies derived from the $R_e-R_h$ and $M_{\mathrm{star}}-M_h$ relations
• 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
• The half mass radius of MaNGA galaxies: Effect of IMF gradients
• Exploring the progenitors of brightest cluster galaxies at z~2
• A Study of Central Galaxy Rotation with Stellar Mass and Environment
• The Impact of Environment on Late Time Evolution of the Stellar Mass - Halo Mass Relation
• Bimodal morphologies of massive galaxies at the core of a protocluster at z=3.09 and the strong size growth of a brightest cluster galaxy
• Identifying the progenitors of present-day early-type galaxies in observational surveys: correcting `progenitor bias' using the Horizon-AGN simulation
• Implications of Increased Central Mass Surface Densities for the Quenching of Low-mass Galaxies
• The weak dependence of velocity dispersion on disk fractions, mass-to-light ratio and redshift: Implications for galaxy and black hole evolution
• The differences between mass- and light-derived structural parameters over time for MaNGA Elliptical galaxies
• Accretion of satellites onto central galaxies in clusters: merger mass ratios and orbital parameters
• An HSC view of the CMASS galaxy sample. Halo mass as a function of stellar mass, size and Sérsic index
• Isophote Shapes of Early-Type Galaxies in Massive Clusters at $z\sim 1$ and 0
• Stellar Mass and 3.4 $\mu$m M/L Ratio Evolution of Brightest Cluster Galaxies in COSMOS since z ~ 1.0
• The LEGA-C galaxy survey: multiple quenching channels for quiescent galaxies at $z\sim 1$
• The Journey to Dominance: How BCGs Evolve Differently from Other Massive Galaxies
• 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