Taylor, EN, Hopkins, AM, Baldry, IK, Bland-Hawthorn, J, Brown, MJI, Colless, M, Driver, S, Norberg, P, Robotham, ASG, Alpaslan, M, Brough, S, Cluver, ME, Gunawardhana, M, Kelvin, LS, Liske, J, Conselice, CJ, Croom, S, Foster, C, Jarrett, TH, Lara-Lopez, M et al and Loveday, J
(2015)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): deconstructing bimodality - I. Red ones and blue ones.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 446 (2).
pp. 2144-2185.
ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
We measure the mass functions for generically red and blue galaxies, using a z < 0:12 sample of logM_ > 8:7 field galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Our motivation is that, as we show, the dominant uncertainty in existing measurements stems from how ‘red’ and ‘blue’ galaxies have been selected/defined. Accordingly, we model our data as two naturally overlapping populations, each with their own mass function and colour–mass relation, which enables us characterise the two populations without having to specify a priori which galaxies are ‘red’ and ‘blue’. Our results then provide the means to derive objective operational definitions for the terms ‘red’ and ‘blue’, which are based on the phenomenology of the colour–mass diagrams. Informed by this descriptive modelling, we show that: 1.) after accounting for dust, the stellar colours of ‘blue’ galaxies do not depend strongly on mass; 2.) the tight, flat ‘dead sequence’ does not extend much below logM_ _ 10:5; instead, 3.) the stellar colours of ‘red’ galaxies vary rather strongly with mass, such that lower mass ‘red’ galaxies have bluer stellar populations; 4.) below logM_ _ 9:3, the ‘red’ population dissolves into obscurity, and it becomes problematic to talk about two distinct populations; as a consequence, 5.) it is hard to meaningfully constrain the shape, including the existence of an upturn, of the ‘red’ galaxy mass function below logM_ _ 9:3. Points 1–4 provide meaningful targets for models, of galaxy formation and evolution to aim for.
| Item Type: |
Article
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| Additional Information: |
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record "Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): deconstructing bimodality - I. Red ones and blue ones", MNRAS, 446(2), pp.2144-2185 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu1900 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
0201 Astronomical And Space Sciences |
| Subjects: |
Q Science > QB Astronomy |
| Divisions: |
Astrophysics Research Institute |
| Publisher: |
OXFORD UNIV PRESS |
| Related URLs: |
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| Date Deposited: |
06 Jul 2015 11:01 |
| Last Modified: |
04 Sep 2021 14:14 |
| DOI or ID number: |
10.1093/mnras/stu1900 |
| URI: |
https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1519 |
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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): deconstructing bimodality - I. Red ones and blue ones. (deposited 06 Jul 2015 11:01)
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