A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments

We present results from a narrow-band survey of the field around the high-redshift radio galaxy MRC 2104−242. We have selected Hα emitters in a 7 arcmin2 field and compared the measured number density with that of a field sample at similar redshift. We find that MRC 2104−242 lies in an overdensity o...

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Main Authors: Cooke, E.A., Hatch, Nina A., Muldrew, S.I., Rigby, E.E., Kurk, J.D.
Format: Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2014
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37219/
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author Cooke, E.A.
Hatch, Nina A.
Muldrew, S.I.
Rigby, E.E.
Kurk, J.D.
author_facet Cooke, E.A.
Hatch, Nina A.
Muldrew, S.I.
Rigby, E.E.
Kurk, J.D.
author_sort Cooke, E.A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We present results from a narrow-band survey of the field around the high-redshift radio galaxy MRC 2104−242. We have selected Hα emitters in a 7 arcmin2 field and compared the measured number density with that of a field sample at similar redshift. We find that MRC 2104−242 lies in an overdensity of galaxies that is 8.0 ± 0.8 times the average density of a blank field, suggesting it resides in a large-scale structure that may eventually collapse to form a massive cluster. We find that there is more dust obscured star formation in the protocluster galaxies than in similarly selected control field galaxies and there is tentative evidence of a higher fraction of starbursting galaxies in the denser environment. However, on average we do not find a difference between the star formation rate (SFR)–mass relations of the protocluster and field galaxies and so conclude that the SFR of these galaxies at z ∼ 2.5 is governed predominantly by galaxy mass and not the host environment. We also find that the stellar mass distribution of the protocluster galaxies is skewed towards higher masses and there is a significant lack of galaxies at M < 1010M_ within our small field of view. Based on the level of overdensity we expect to find ∼22 star-forming galaxies below 1010M_ in the protocluster and do not detect any. This lack of low-mass galaxies affects the level of overdensity which we detect. If we only consider high-mass (M > 1010.5M_) galaxies, the density of the protocluster field increases to ∼55 times the control field density.
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spelling nottingham-372192020-05-04T16:46:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37219/ A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments Cooke, E.A. Hatch, Nina A. Muldrew, S.I. Rigby, E.E. Kurk, J.D. We present results from a narrow-band survey of the field around the high-redshift radio galaxy MRC 2104−242. We have selected Hα emitters in a 7 arcmin2 field and compared the measured number density with that of a field sample at similar redshift. We find that MRC 2104−242 lies in an overdensity of galaxies that is 8.0 ± 0.8 times the average density of a blank field, suggesting it resides in a large-scale structure that may eventually collapse to form a massive cluster. We find that there is more dust obscured star formation in the protocluster galaxies than in similarly selected control field galaxies and there is tentative evidence of a higher fraction of starbursting galaxies in the denser environment. However, on average we do not find a difference between the star formation rate (SFR)–mass relations of the protocluster and field galaxies and so conclude that the SFR of these galaxies at z ∼ 2.5 is governed predominantly by galaxy mass and not the host environment. We also find that the stellar mass distribution of the protocluster galaxies is skewed towards higher masses and there is a significant lack of galaxies at M < 1010M_ within our small field of view. Based on the level of overdensity we expect to find ∼22 star-forming galaxies below 1010M_ in the protocluster and do not detect any. This lack of low-mass galaxies affects the level of overdensity which we detect. If we only consider high-mass (M > 1010.5M_) galaxies, the density of the protocluster field increases to ∼55 times the control field density. Oxford University Press 2014-04-17 Article PeerReviewed Cooke, E.A., Hatch, Nina A., Muldrew, S.I., Rigby, E.E. and Kurk, J.D. (2014) A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 440 (4). pp. 3262-3274. ISSN 1365-2966 Cluster galaxies MRC 2104-242 High-redshift galaxies http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu522 doi:10.1093/mnras/stu522 doi:10.1093/mnras/stu522
spellingShingle Cluster galaxies
MRC 2104-242
High-redshift galaxies
Cooke, E.A.
Hatch, Nina A.
Muldrew, S.I.
Rigby, E.E.
Kurk, J.D.
A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title_full A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title_fullStr A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title_full_unstemmed A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title_short A z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy MRC 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
title_sort z = 2.5 protocluster associated with the radio galaxy mrc 2104-242: star formation and differing mass functions in dense environments
topic Cluster galaxies
MRC 2104-242
High-redshift galaxies
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37219/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37219/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37219/