The Galaxy Structure-Redshift Relationship

Abstract

There exists a gradual, but persistent, evolutionary effect in the galaxy population such that galaxy structure and morphology change with redshift. This galaxy structure-redshift relationship is such that an increasingly large fraction of all bright and massive galaxies at redshifts 2 < z < 3 are morphologically peculiar at wavelengths from rest-frame ultraviolet to rest-frame optical. There are however examples of morphologically selected spirals and ellipticals at all redshifts up to z ~ 3. At lower redshift, the bright galaxy population smoothly transforms into normal ellipticals and spirals. The rate of this transformation strongly depends on redshift, with the swiftest evolution occurring between 1 < z < 2. This review characterizes the galaxy structure-redshift relationship, discusses its various physical causes, and how these are revealing the mechanisms responsible for galaxy formation.

20 pages, 8 figures. Invited Review to appear in "Penetrating Bars Through Masks of Cosmic Dust: The Hubble Tuning Fork Strikes A New Note", ed. D. Block et al

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• The Fundamental Properties of Galaxies and a New Galaxy Classification System
• The BOSS Emission-Line Lens Survey V. Morphology and Substructure of Lensed Lyman-$\alpha$ Emitters at redshift $z\approx 2.5$ in the BELLS GALLERY
• Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Stellar Mass Growth by Morphological Type since $z=1$
• On the Number of Cosmic Strings