A Tale of Dwarfs and Giants: Using a z=1.62 Cluster to Understand How the Red Sequence Grew Over The Last 9.5 Billion Years

TL;DR

This study investigates the evolution of the red sequence in a galaxy cluster from z=1.62 to the present, revealing how galaxy merging and quenching contribute to the growth of red galaxies over 9.5 billion years.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the red sequence's luminosity function evolution over this redshift range and models galaxy mergers as a key process in its growth.

Findings

The red sequence's luminosity function shape remains constant from z=1.62 to 0.6.

The total red sequence luminosity doubles between z=1.62 and 0.6.

Galaxy mergers of 3-4 events per galaxy explain the observed evolution.

Abstract

We study the red sequence in a cluster of galaxies at z=1.62 and follow its evolution over the intervening 9.5 Gyr to the present day. Using deep YJKs imaging with the HAWK-I instrument on the VLT we identify a tight red sequence and construct its rest-frame i-band luminosity function (LF). There is a marked deficit of faint red galaxies in the cluster that causes a turnover in the LF. We compare the red sequence LF to that for clusters at z<0.8 correcting the luminosities for passive evolution. The shape of the cluster red sequence LF does not evolve between z=1.62 and z=0.6 but at z<0.6 the faint population builds up significantly. Meanwhile, between z=1.62 to 0.6 the inferred total light on the red sequence grows by a factor of about 2 and the bright end of the LF becomes more populated. We construct a simple model for red sequence evolution that grows the red sequence in total luminosity and matches the constant LF shape at z>0.6. In this model the cluster accretes blue galaxies from the field that are then quenched and subsequently allowed to merge. We find that 3--4 mergers among cluster galaxies during the 4 Gyr between z=1.62 and z=0.6 matches the observed luminosity function evolution between the two redshifts. The inferred merger rate is consistent with other studies of this cluster. Our result supports the picture that galaxy merging during the major growth phase of massive clusters is an important process in shaping the red sequence population at all luminosities.