The Bimodal Galaxy Stellar Mass Function in the COSMOS Survey to z~1: A Steep Faint End and a New Galaxy Dichotomy

TL;DR

This study analyzes the galaxy stellar mass function in the COSMOS survey up to z~1, revealing a bimodal distribution with a steep faint end and proposing new galaxy formation dichotomies based on observed mass function features.

Contribution

It uncovers a bimodal galaxy stellar mass function at z~1 and introduces a new galaxy formation dichotomy predating the red sequence, supported by detailed mass function analysis.

Findings

Detection of a bimodal stellar mass function with a steep faint end slope of -1.7.

Identification of a dip or plateau around 10^10 Msun in the mass function.

Observation of an increase in low-mass red galaxies over time.

Abstract

We present a new analysis of stellar mass functions (MF) in the COSMOS field to fainter limits than has been previously probed to z~1. Neither the total nor the passive or star-forming MF can be well fit with a single Schechter function once one probes below 3e9 Msun. We observe a dip or plateau at masses ~1e10 Msun, and an upturn towards a steep faint-end slope of -1.7 at lower mass at any z<1. This bimodal nature of the MF is not solely a result of the blue/red dichotomy. The blue MF is by itself bimodal at z~1. This suggests a new dichotomy in galaxy formation that predates the appearance of the red sequence. We propose two interpretations for this bimodality. If the gas fraction increases towards lower mass, galaxies with M_baryon~1e10 Msun would shift to lower stellar masses, creating the observed dip. This would indicate a change in star formation efficiency, perhaps linked to supernovae feedback becoming much more efficient. Therefore, we investigate whether the dip is present in the baryonic (stars+gas) MF. Alternatively, the dip could be created by an enhancement of the galaxy assembly rate at ~1e11 Msun, a phenomenon that naturally arises if the baryon fraction peaks at M_halo ~1e12 Msun. In this scenario, galaxies occupying the bump around M* would be identified with central galaxies and the second fainter component having a steep faint-end slope with satellites. While the dip is apparent in the total MF at any z, it appears to shift from the blue to red population, likely as a result of transforming high-mass blue galaxies into red ones. At the same time, we detect a drastic upturn in the number of low-mass red galaxies. Their increase with time reflects a decrease in the number of blue systems and so we tentatively associate them with satellite dwarf galaxies that have undergone quenching.