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arXiv · 2105.03766

The Shape and Scatter of The Galaxy Main Sequence for Massive Galaxies at Cosmic Noon

Sydney Sherman·Shardha Jogee·Jonathan Florez·Steven L. Finkelstein·Robin Ciardullo·Isak Wold·Matthew L. Stevans·Lalitwadee Kawinwanichakij·Casey Papovich·Caryl Gronwall
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Abstract

We present the main sequence for all galaxies and star-forming galaxies for a sample of 28,469 massive ($M_\star \ge 10^{11}$M$_\odot$) galaxies at cosmic noon ($1.5 < z < 3.0$), uniformly selected from a 17.5 deg$^2$ area (0.33 Gpc$^3$ comoving volume at these redshifts). Our large sample allows for a novel approach to investigating the galaxy main sequence that has not been accessible to previous studies. We measure the main sequence in small mass bins in the SFR-M$_{\star}$ plane without assuming a functional form for the main sequence. With a large sample of galaxies in each mass bin, we isolate star-forming galaxies by locating the transition between the star-forming and green valley populations in the SFR-M$_{\star}$ plane. This approach eliminates the need for arbitrarily defined fixed cutoffs when isolating the star-forming galaxy population, which often biases measurements of the scatter around the star-forming galaxy main sequence. We find that the main sequence for all galaxies becomes increasingly flat towards present day at the high-mass end, while the star-forming galaxy main sequence does not. We attribute this difference to the increasing fraction of the collective green valley and quiescent galaxy population from $z=3.0$ to $z=1.5$. Additionally, we measure the total scatter around the star-forming galaxy main sequence and find that it is $\sim0.5-1.0$ dex with little evolution as a function of mass or redshift. We discuss the implications that these results have for pinpointing the physical processes driving massive galaxy evolution.

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Sydney Sherman, Shardha Jogee, Jonathan Florez, Steven L. Finkelstein, Robin Ciardullo, Isak Wold, Matthew L. Stevans, Lalitwadee Kawinwanichakij, Casey Papovich, Caryl Gronwall. 2021-05-08. The Shape and Scatter of The Galaxy Main Sequence for Massive Galaxies at Cosmic Noon. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fstab1350

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