Resolving Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 2$: II. Direct Measures of Rotational Support

Abstract

Stellar kinematics provide insights into the masses and formation histories of galaxies. At high redshifts, spatially resolving the stellar kinematics of quiescent galaxies is challenging due to their compact sizes. Using deep near-infrared spectroscopy, we have measured the resolved stellar kinematics of four quiescent galaxies at z=1.95-2.64, introduced in Paper I, that are gravitationally lensed by galaxy clusters. Analyses of two of these have previously been reported individually by Newman et al. and Toft et al., and for the latter we present new observations. All four galaxies show significant rotation and can be classified as "fast rotators." In the three systems for which the lensing constraints permit a reconstruction of the source, we find that all are likely to be highly flattened (intrinsic ellipticities of $\approx 0.75-0.85$) disk-dominated galaxies with rapid rotation speeds of $V_{\max }=290-352$ km/s and predominantly rotational support, as indicated by the ratio $(V/\sigma {)}_{R_e}=1.7-2.3$. Compared to coeval star-forming galaxies of similar mass, the quiescent galaxies have smaller $V/\sigma$. Given their high masses $M_{\mathrm{dyn}}\gtrsim 2\times 10^{11}{M}_{\odot }$, we argue that these galaxies are likely to evolve into "slow rotator" elliptical galaxies whose specific angular momentum is reduced by a factor of 5-10. This provides strong evidence for merger-driven evolution of massive galaxies after quenching. Consistent with indirect evidence from earlier morphological studies, our small but unique sample suggests that the kinematic transformations that produced round, dispersion-supported elliptical galaxies were not generally coincident with quenching. Such galaxies probably emerged later via mergers that increased their masses and sizes while also eroding their rotational support.

arXiv commentAccepted to ApJ

References in corpus (75)

• Stellar population synthesis at the resolution of 2003
• Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function
• Parametric Recovery of Line-of-Sight Velocity Distributions from Absorption-Line Spectra of Galaxies via Penalized Likelihood
• 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
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling III: model calibration, comparison, and evaluation
• The Atlas3D project -- I. A volume-limited sample of 260 nearby early-type galaxies: science goals and selection criteria
• The Evolution of the Stellar Mass Functions of Star-Forming and Quiescent Galaxies to z = 4 from the COSMOS/UltraVISTA Survey
• Minor mergers and the size evolution of elliptical galaxies
• The Growth of Massive Galaxies Since z=2
• The Two Phases of Galaxy Formation
• The SAURON project -- IX. A kinematic classification for early-type galaxies
• The ATLAS3D project - III. A census of the stellar angular momentum within the effective radius of early-type galaxies: unveiling the distribution of Fast and Slow Rotators
• Confirmation of the remarkable compactness of massive quiescent galaxies at z~2.3: early-type galaxies did not form in a simple monolithic collapse
• The Atlas3D project - XV. Benchmark for early-type galaxies scaling relations from 260 dynamical models: mass-to-light ratio, dark matter, Fundamental Plane and Mass Plane
• The KMOS^3D Survey: design, first results, and the evolution of galaxy kinematics from 0.7<z<2.7
• The SAURON project -- X. The orbital anisotropy of elliptical and lenticular galaxies: revisiting the (V/sigma,epsilon) diagram with integral-field stellar kinematics
• Compaction and Quenching of High-z Galaxies in Cosmological Simulations: Blue and Red Nuggets
• PRIMUS: Constraints on Star Formation Quenching and Galaxy Merging, and the Evolution of the Stellar Mass Function From z=0-1
• The Relation Between Compact, Quiescent High Redshift Galaxies and Massive Nearby Elliptical Galaxies: Evidence for Hierarchical, Inside-Out Growth
• A Merger-Driven Scenario for Cosmological Disk Galaxy Formation
• Measuring the inclination and mass-to-light ratio of axisymmetric galaxies via anisotropic Jeans models of stellar kinematics
• The size evolution of galaxies since z~3: combining SDSS, GEMS and FIRES
• Structure and Kinematics of Early-Type Galaxies from Integral-Field Spectroscopy
• Wet Disc Contraction to Galactic Blue Nuggets and Quenching to Red Nuggets
• Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions from ZFOURGE/CANDELS: An Excess of Low-Mass Galaxies Since z=2 and the Rapid Buildup of Quiescent Galaxies
• Can Minor Merging Account for the Size Growth of Quiescent Galaxies? New Results from the CANDELS Survey
• Evolutionary stellar population synthesis with MILES - II. Scaled-solar and α-enhanced models
• The ATLAS${}^{3D}$ project - XXV: Two-dimensional kinematic analysis of simulated galaxies and the cosmological origin of fast and slow rotators
• Forming Compact Massive Galaxies
• Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies
• Multiple minor mergers: formation of elliptical galaxies and constraints for the growth of spiral disks
• Newly-quenched galaxies as the cause for the apparent evolution in average size of the population
• The Formation of Massive, Compact Galaxies at z=2 in the Illustris Simulation
• Forming a Large Disc Galaxy from a z<1 Major Merger
• The Majority of Compact Massive Galaxies at z~2 are Disk Dominated
• Discriminating Between the Physical Processes that Drive Spheroid Size Evolution
• An Over-Massive Black Hole in the Compact Lenticular Galaxy NGC1277
• The MASSIVE Survey - I. A Volume-Limited Integral-Field Spectroscopic Study of the Most Massive Early-Type Galaxies within 108 Mpc
• Evidence for a clumpy, rotating gas disk in a submillimeter galaxy at z=4
• ALMA Imaging of Gas and Dust in a Galaxy Protocluster at Redshift 5.3: [CII] Emission in "Typical" Galaxies and Dusty Starbursts ~1 Billion Years after the Big Bang
• HST/WFC3 Confirmation of the Inside-Out Growth of Massive Galaxies at 0<z<2 and Identification of their Star Forming Progenitors at z~3
• Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Rich z=1.80 Galaxy Cluster JKCS 041 Using the WFC3 Grism: Environmental Trends in the Ages and Structure of Quiescent Galaxies
• The sizes, masses and specific star-formation rates of massive galaxies at 1.3<z<1.5: strong evidence in favour of evolution via minor mergers
• The Morphologies of Massive Galaxies at 1<z<3 in the CANDELS-UDS Field: Compact Bulges, and the Rise and Fall of Massive Disks
• On Sizes, Kinematics, M/L Gradients, and Light Profiles of Massive Compact Galaxies at z~2
• Dynamical properties of AMAZE and LSD galaxies from gas kinematics and the Tully-Fisher relation at z~3
• Early type galaxies have been the predominant morphological class for massive galaxies since only z~1
• Quantifying the impact of mergers on the angular momentum of simulated galaxies
• Stellar populations from spectroscopy of a large sample of quiescent galaxies at z > 1: Measuring the contribution of progenitor bias to early size growth
• NGC1277: a massive compact relic galaxy in the nearby Universe
• z~2: An Epoch of Disk Assembly
• Bulge-forming galaxies with an extended rotating disk at z~2
• A massive, dead disk galaxy in the early Universe
• The KMOS Deep Survey (KDS) I: dynamical measurements of typical star-forming galaxies at z $\simeq$ 3.5
• The MASSIVE Survey - V. Spatially-Resolved Stellar Angular Momentum, Velocity Dispersion, and Higher Moments of the 41 Most Massive Local Early-Type Galaxies
• The MASSIVE Survey - VII. The Relationship of Angular Momentum, Stellar Mass and Environment of Early-Type Galaxies
• Witnessing the birth of the red sequence: ALMA high-resolution imaging of [CII] and dust in two interacting ultra-red starbursts at z = 4.425
• MOSFIRE Spectroscopy of Quiescent Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5. I - Evolution of Structural and Dynamical Properties
• The Origin and Evolution of Fast and Slow Rotators in the Illustris Simulation
• The connection between mass, environment and slow rotation in simulated galaxies
• Structural Evolution of Early-type Galaxies to z=2.5 in CANDELS
• Two new confirmed massive relic galaxies: red nuggets in the present-day Universe
• Spatially Resolved Stellar Kinematics from LEGA-C: Increased Rotational Support in z~0.8 Quiescent Galaxies
• The Bulge-Disk Decomposed Evolution of Massive Galaxies at 1<z<3 in CANDELS
• Discovery of a Strongly Lensed Massive Quiescent Galaxy at z=2.636: Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy and Indications of Rotation
• Rotating starburst cores in massive galaxies at z=2.5
• The unorthodox evolution of major merger remnants into star-forming spiral galaxies
• Morphologies and Color Gradients of Luminous Evolved Galaxies at z~1.5
• Resolving Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 2$: I. Search for Gravitationally Lensed Sources and Characterization of their Structure, Stellar Populations, and Line Emission
• Spatially resolved kinematics in the central 1 kpc of a compact star-forming galaxy at z=2.3 from ALMA CO observations
• Morphologies of Two Massive Old Galaxies at z ~ 2.5
• Expected number of massive galaxy relics in the present-day Universe
• Shape Evolution of Massive Early-Type Galaxies: Confirmation of Increased Disk Prevalence at z>1
• VLT/X-Shooter Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and HST Imaging of Gravitationally-Lensed z~2 Compact Quiescent Galaxies
• Reconstructing the velocity dispersion profiles from the line-of-sight kinematic data in disc galaxies

Cited by in corpus (53)

• Star-Forming Galaxies at Cosmic Noon
• A massive quiescent galaxy at redshift 4.658
• MOSFIRE Spectroscopy of Quiescent Galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5. II - Star Formation Histories and Galaxy Quenching
• The Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census (LEGA-C) Data Release II: dynamical and stellar population properties of z ~< 1 galaxies in the COSMOS field
• Stellar Velocity Dispersion of a Massive Quenching Galaxy at z=4.01
• Structural evolution in massive galaxies at z~2
• Disk Growth and Quenching
• Resolving Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 2$: I. Search for Gravitationally Lensed Sources and Characterization of their Structure, Stellar Populations, and Line Emission
• The Rapid Build-up of Massive Early-type Galaxies. Supersolar Metallicity, High Velocity Dispersion and Young Age for an ETG at z=3.35
• The MAGPI Survey -- science goals, design, observing strategy, early results and theoretical framework
• X-shooter Spectroscopy and HST Imaging of 15 Ultra Massive Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 2$
• The Mass Scale of High-Redshift Galaxies: Virial Mass Estimates Calibrated with Stellar Dynamical Models from LEGA-C
• HST grism spectroscopy of z~3 massive quiescent galaxies: Approaching the metamorphosis
• Resolved Multi-element Stellar Chemical Abundances in the Brightest Quiescent Galaxy at z $\sim$ 2
• High-velocity outflows in massive post-starburst galaxies at z > 1
• JADES + JEMS: A Detailed Look at the Buildup of Central Stellar Cores and Suppression of Star Formation in Galaxies at Redshifts 3 < z < 4.5
• CNO emission of an unlensed submillimeter galaxy at z=4.3
• The kinematics of massive quiescent galaxies at $1.4<z<2.1$: dark matter fractions, IMF variation, and the relation to local early-type galaxies
• Reconstructing the Assembly of Massive Galaxies. I: The Importance of the Progenitor Effect in the Observed Properties of Quiescent Galaxies at $z\approx 2$
• The Fundamental Plane in the LEGA-C Survey: unraveling the $M/L$ variations of massive star-forming and quiescent galaxies at $z\sim 0.8$
• MAGAZ3NE: High Stellar Velocity Dispersions for Ultra-Massive Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 3$
• The Number Densities and Stellar Populations of Massive Galaxies at 3 < z < 6: A Diverse, Rapidly Forming Population in the Early Universe
• Consistent dynamical and stellar masses with potential light IMF in massive quiescent galaxies at $3<z<4$ using velocity dispersions measurements with MOSFIRE
• Compact, bulge dominated structures of spectroscopically confirmed quiescent galaxies at z~3
• Stellar Dynamical Models for 797 $z\sim 0.8$ Galaxies from LEGA-C
• Massive quiescent galaxies at $z\sim 3$: a comparison of selection, stellar population and structural properties with simulation predictions
• Chaotic and Clumpy Galaxy Formation in an Extremely Massive Reionization-Era Halo
• An exquisitely deep view of quenching galaxies through the gravitational lens: Stellar population, morphology, and ionized gas
• Towards an Understanding of the Massive Red Spiral Galaxy Formation
• REQUIEM-2D: Spatially Resolved Stellar Populations from HST 2D Grism Spectroscopy
• The dawn of disks: unveiling the turbulent ionised gas kinematics of the galaxy population at $z\sim 4-6$ with JWST/NIRCam grism spectroscopy
• GLaD: Gravitational Lensing and Dynamics, combined analysis to unveil properties of high-redshift galaxies
• Reconstructing the Assembly of Massive Galaxies. II. Galaxies Develop Massive and Dense Stellar Cores as They Evolve and Head Toward Quiescence at Cosmic Noon
• A merging pair of massive quiescent galaxies at $z=3.44$ in the Cosmic Vine
• Stellar Kinematics and Environment at z~0.8 in the LEGA-C Survey: Massive, Slow-Rotators are Built First in Overdense Environments
• A Glimpse of the Stellar Populations and Elemental Abundances of Gravitationally Lensed, Quiescent Galaxies at $z\gtrsim 1$ with Keck Deep Spectroscopy
• A Radio-to-millimeter Census of Star-forming Galaxies in Protocluster 4C~23.56 at z = 2.5 : Global and local gas kinematics
• The Puzzling Origin of Massive Compact Galaxies in MaNGA
• Cosmology with supernova Encore in the strong lensing cluster MACS J0138-2155: Lens model comparison and H0 measurement
• The Velocity Dispersion Function for Massive Quiescent and Star-Forming Galaxies at 0.6 $<$ z $\le$ 1.0
• Variation in the stellar initial mass function from the chromospheric activity of M dwarfs in early-type galaxies
• Revealing the quiescent galaxy population in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16 with deep HST/WFC3 slitless spectroscopy
• Fast Rotators at Cosmic Noon: Stellar Kinematics for 15 Quiescent Galaxies from JWST-SUSPENSE
• When relics were made: vigorous stellar rotation and low dark matter content in the massive ultra-compact galaxy GS-9209 at z=4.66
• The Differential Assembly History of the Centers and Outskirts of Main Sequence Galaxies at $z\sim 2.3$
• Enhanced strong-lensing model of MACS~J0138.0$-$2155 based on new JWST and VLT/MUSE observations
• TP-AGB stars and stellar population properties of a post-starburst galaxy at $z\sim 2$ through optical and NIR spectroscopy with JWST
• The SAMI Survey: Evidence for dynamical coupling of ionised gas and young stellar populations
• The MOSDEF Survey: A New View of a Remarkable z=1.89 Merger
• Reconstructing the Assembly of Massive Galaxies. III: Quiescent Galaxies Loose Angular Momentum as They Evolve in a Mass-dependent Fashion
• Reconstructing the mass accretion histories of nearby Red Nuggets with their globular cluster systems
• A stellar dynamical mass measurement of an inactive black hole at redshift 2
• The AGEL Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Strong Gravitational Lenses in the DES and DECaLS Fields Selected Using Convolutional Neural Networks