Massive Quiescent Galaxy Size and Spectroscopic Evolution in the Last Six Billion Years

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 11:30 am - 11:30 am EST (GMT -05:00)

Astronomy Lunch Series

Ivana Damjanov

Canada Research Chair in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Astronomy & Physics Department, Saint Mary's University

The assembly of massive galaxies over cosmic history is a key observational test for the models of galaxy formation and evolution. At distances when the universe was just a fraction of its current age massive quiescent galaxies are on average four to five times smaller than their similarly massive quiescent counterparts in the local volume. Until recently, the most compact systems observed at high redshift were thought to disappear by z~0. Using high resolution imaging and mass-complete spectroscopic surveys, I will describe quiescent galaxy population at intermediate redshift that fills the gap between extreme high-redshift systems and passive galaxies at z~0. I will present a model that links quiescent galaxies across cosmic time by self-consistently evolving their stellar population, structural, and dynamical properties.