Timing the earliest quenching events with a robust sample of massive quiescent galaxies at 2 < z < 5

Abstract

We present a sample of 151 massive ($M_{\ast }>10^{10}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$) quiescent galaxies at $2<z<5$, based on a sophisticated Bayesian spectral energy distribution fitting analysis of the CANDELS UDS and GOODS-South fields. Our sample includes a robust sub-sample of 61 objects for which we confidently exclude low-redshift and star-forming solutions. We identify 10 robust objects at $z>3$, of which 2 are at $z>4$. We report formation redshifts, demonstrating that the oldest objects formed at $z>6$, however individual ages from our photometric data have significant uncertainties, typically $\sim 0.5$ Gyr. We demonstrate that the UVJ colours of the quiescent population evolve with redshift at $z>3$, becoming bluer and more similar to post-starburst galaxies at lower redshift. Based upon this we construct a model for the time-evolution of quiescent galaxy UVJ colours, concluding that the oldest objects are consistent with forming the bulk of their stellar mass at $z\sim 6-7$ and quenching at $z\sim 5$. We report spectroscopic redshifts for two of our objects at $z=3.440$ and $3.396$, which exhibit extremely weak Ly$\alpha$ emission in ultra-deep VANDELS spectra. We calculate star-formation rates based on these line fluxes, finding that these galaxies are consistent with our quiescent selection criteria, provided their Ly$\alpha$ escape fractions are $>3$ and $>10$ per cent respectively. We finally report that our highest-redshift robust object exhibits a continuum break at $\lambda \sim 7000$A in a spectrum from VUDS, consistent with our photometric redshift of $z_{\mathrm{phot}}=4.72_{-0.04}^{+0.06}$. If confirmed as quiescent this object would be the highest-redshift known quiescent galaxy. To obtain stronger constraints on the times of the earliest quenching events, high-SNR spectroscopy must be extended to $z\gtrsim 3$ quiescent objects.

arXiv comment14 pages, 8 figures, MNRAS accepted

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