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Paper: Star Formation and Merging in Massive Galaxies at z < 2
Volume: 399, Panoramic Views of Galaxy Formation and Evolution
Page: 190
Authors: Conselice, C.J.
Abstract: Observing massive galaxies at various redshifts is one of the most straightforward and direct approaches towards understanding galaxy formation. There is now largely a consensus that the massive galaxy (M* > 1011 M ) population is fully formed by z ∼ 1, based on mass and luminosity functions. However, we argue that the latest data can only rule out number and mass density evolution of a factor of > 2 − 3 at z < 1.5. We furthermore show that the star formation history of M* > 1011 M galaxies reveals that 40±5% of galaxies with M* > 1011 M at z ∼ 1 are undergo star formation that effectively doubles their stellar mass between z = 0.4 − 1.4. These massive galaxies also undergo 0.9+0.7−0.5 major mergers during this same time period.
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