The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification
Despite decades of study, we still do not fully understand why some massive galaxies abruptly switch off their star formation in the early Universe, and what causes their rapid transition to the red sequence. Post-starburst galaxies provide a rare opportunity to study this transition phase, but few...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39815/ |
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| author | Maltby, David T. Almaini, Omar Wild, Vivienne Hatch, Nina A. Hartley, William G. Simpson, Chris McLure, Ross J. Dunlop, James Rowlands, Kate Cirasuolo, Michele |
| author_facet | Maltby, David T. Almaini, Omar Wild, Vivienne Hatch, Nina A. Hartley, William G. Simpson, Chris McLure, Ross J. Dunlop, James Rowlands, Kate Cirasuolo, Michele |
| author_sort | Maltby, David T. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Despite decades of study, we still do not fully understand why some massive galaxies abruptly switch off their star formation in the early Universe, and what causes their rapid transition to the red sequence. Post-starburst galaxies provide a rare opportunity to study this transition phase, but few have currently been spectroscopically identified at high redshift (z > 1). In this paper, we present the spectroscopic verification of a new photometric technique to identify post-starbursts in high-redshift surveys. The method classifies the broad-band optical–nearinfrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies using three spectral shape parameters (supercolours), derived from a principal component analysis of model SEDs. When applied to the multiwavelength photometric data in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey, this technique identified over 900 candidate post-starbursts at redshifts 0.5<z<2.0. In this study, we present deep optical spectroscopy for a subset of these galaxies, in order to confirm their post-starburst nature. Where a spectroscopic assessment was possible, we find the majority (19/24 galaxies; ∼80 per cent) exhibit the strong Balmer absorption (H δ equivalent width Wλ > 5 angstrem) and Balmer break, characteristic of post-starburst galaxies.We conclude that photometric methods can be used to select large samples of recently-quenched galaxies in the distant Universe. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:39:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-39815 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:39:44Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-398152024-08-15T15:19:26Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39815/ The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification Maltby, David T. Almaini, Omar Wild, Vivienne Hatch, Nina A. Hartley, William G. Simpson, Chris McLure, Ross J. Dunlop, James Rowlands, Kate Cirasuolo, Michele Despite decades of study, we still do not fully understand why some massive galaxies abruptly switch off their star formation in the early Universe, and what causes their rapid transition to the red sequence. Post-starburst galaxies provide a rare opportunity to study this transition phase, but few have currently been spectroscopically identified at high redshift (z > 1). In this paper, we present the spectroscopic verification of a new photometric technique to identify post-starbursts in high-redshift surveys. The method classifies the broad-band optical–nearinfrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies using three spectral shape parameters (supercolours), derived from a principal component analysis of model SEDs. When applied to the multiwavelength photometric data in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey, this technique identified over 900 candidate post-starbursts at redshifts 0.5<z<2.0. In this study, we present deep optical spectroscopy for a subset of these galaxies, in order to confirm their post-starburst nature. Where a spectroscopic assessment was possible, we find the majority (19/24 galaxies; ∼80 per cent) exhibit the strong Balmer absorption (H δ equivalent width Wλ > 5 angstrem) and Balmer break, characteristic of post-starburst galaxies.We conclude that photometric methods can be used to select large samples of recently-quenched galaxies in the distant Universe. Oxford University Press 2016-06-11 Article PeerReviewed Maltby, David T., Almaini, Omar, Wild, Vivienne, Hatch, Nina A., Hartley, William G., Simpson, Chris, McLure, Ross J., Dunlop, James, Rowlands, Kate and Cirasuolo, Michele (2016) The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 459 (1). L114-L118. ISSN 1745-3925 methods: statistical ; galaxies: fundamental parameters ; galaxies: highredshift ; galaxies: photometry ; galaxies: statistics ; galaxies: stellar content http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/459/1/L114 doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slw057 doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slw057 |
| spellingShingle | methods: statistical ; galaxies: fundamental parameters ; galaxies: highredshift ; galaxies: photometry ; galaxies: statistics ; galaxies: stellar content Maltby, David T. Almaini, Omar Wild, Vivienne Hatch, Nina A. Hartley, William G. Simpson, Chris McLure, Ross J. Dunlop, James Rowlands, Kate Cirasuolo, Michele The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title | The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title_full | The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title_fullStr | The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title_full_unstemmed | The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title_short | The identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| title_sort | identification of post-starburst galaxies at z∼1 using multiwavelength photometry: a spectroscopic verification |
| topic | methods: statistical ; galaxies: fundamental parameters ; galaxies: highredshift ; galaxies: photometry ; galaxies: statistics ; galaxies: stellar content |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39815/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39815/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39815/ |