Galaxy evolution within the Kilo-Degree Survey

TL;DR

This paper utilizes data from the KiDS survey to study galaxy evolution, analyzing structural and photometric properties up to redshift 0.5 to understand processes like galaxy mergers.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive analysis of galaxy color and structural evolution using KiDS survey data, integrating machine learning for photometric redshifts and stellar mass estimation.

Findings

Galaxy properties vary with mass and environment up to z~0.5.

Structural parameters correlate with galaxy evolution indicators.

Results constrain galaxy merger contributions to evolution.

Abstract

The ESO Public Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) is an optical wide-field imaging survey carried out with the VLT Survey Telescope and the OmegaCAM camera. KiDS will scan 1500 square degrees in four optical filters (u, g, r, i). Designed to be a weak lensing survey, it is ideal for galaxy evolution studies, thanks to the high spatial resolution of VST, the good seeing and the photometric depth. The surface photometry have provided with structural parameters (e.g. size and S\'ersic index), aperture and total magnitudes have been used to derive photometric redshifts from Machine learning methods and stellar masses/luminositites from stellar population synthesis. Our project aimed at investigating the evolution of the colour and structural properties of galaxies with mass and environment up to redshift $z \sim 0.5$ and more, to put constraints on galaxy evolution processes, as galaxy mergers.