Assembly of the Red Sequence in Infrared-Selected Galaxy Clusters from the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey

TL;DR

This study investigates the formation and evolution of red sequence galaxies in high-redshift clusters, revealing extended star formation histories and early mass assembly, contrasting with lower-redshift galaxy evolution models.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the star formation timelines and assembly processes of massive cluster galaxies at z=1-1.5, highlighting extended formation periods and early mass buildup.

Findings

Massive cluster galaxies formed most stars around z~3.

Colors at z=1.5 and z=1 suggest similar stellar ages.

Clusters' color-magnitude slopes show little evolution.

Abstract

We present results for the assembly and star formation histories of massive (~L*) red sequence galaxies in 11 spectroscopically confirmed, infrared-selected galaxy clusters at 1.0 < z < 1.5, the precursors to present-day massive clusters with M ~ 10^15 M_sun. Using rest-frame optical photometry, we investigate evolution in the color and scatter of the red sequence galaxy population, comparing with models of possible star formation histories. In contrast to studies of central cluster galaxies at lower redshift (z < 1), these data are clearly inconsistent with the continued evolution of stars formed and assembled primarily at a single, much-earlier time. Specifically, we find that the colors of massive cluster galaxies at z = 1.5 imply that the bulk of star formation occurred at z ~ 3, whereas by z = 1 their colors imply formation at z ~ 2; therefore these galaxies exhibit approximately the same luminosity-weighted stellar age at 1 < z < 1.5. This likely reflects star formation that occurs over an extended period, the effects of significant progenitor bias, or both. Our results generally indicate that massive cluster galaxy populations began forming a significant mass of stars at z >~ 4, contained some red spheroids by z ~ 1.5, and were actively assembling much of their final mass during 1 < z < 2 in the form of younger stars. Qualitatively, the slopes of the cluster color-magnitude relations are consistent with no significant evolution relative to local clusters.