Structural evolution of quiescent galaxies at intermediate redshifts at UV and red rest-frame wavelengths

Abstract

We model the wavelength dependence of structural parameters for a mass-limited sample ($M_{\star }>10^{10}{M}_{\odot }$) of $\sim 27,000$ quiescent galaxies with $0.2<z<0.6$ using $grizy$ photometry from Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam and dense spectroscopy from the HectoMAP survey. Based on Sérsic profile fits in all five bands, we estimate the circularized half-light radius $R_{e,c}$ and Sérsic index $n$ in two rest-frames: UV (3500 Å) and red (7000 Å). Combined with $M_{\star }$, $z$, and D${}_{n}4000$, $R_{e,c}$ and $n$ enable exploration of the evolution in the structural properties - stellar mass correlations for quiescent galaxies with different stellar population ages. At intermediate redshift, quiescent galaxies at all stellar masses show a systematic decline in $R_{e,c}$ and rise in $n$ with rest-frame wavelength. These structural variations are stronger for galaxies that recently joined the quiescent population (newcomers) than for the descendants of galaxies that are already quiescent at the survey limit, $z\sim 0.6$ (aging population). The combined evidence supports inside-out quenching as the dominant mechanism halting star formation during this epoch. The typical size of a $M_{\star }\sim 10^{11}{M}_{\odot }$ quiescent galaxy increases by $\sim 30\%$ between $z\sim 0.6$ and $z\sim 0.2$ in the red and remains constant in the UV; newcomers are $\sim 20\%$ larger than the aging population. In the UV, quiescent galaxies maintain a constant $n\sim 4$ for the aging population and $n\sim 2$ for newcomers; in the red, both subpopulations have de Vaucouleurs profiles. Our findings link newcomers to their direct progenitors in the star-forming population. For the aging population, we suggest minor mergers with progressively redder satellites at lower redshifts as the primary driver of quiescent galaxy evolution. Forthcoming sensitive large-area imaging surveys will allow testing this prediction.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysics. 18 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. Abstract abridged as required by arXiv submission rules

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