Fast and slow paths to quiescence: ages and sizes of 400 quiescent galaxies from the LEGA-C survey

TL;DR

This study examines the ages and sizes of quiescent galaxies at z~0.7, revealing complex relationships and multiple evolutionary pathways to quiescence, including slow and rapid quenching processes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of stellar age indicators and sizes of quiescent galaxies, uncovering nuanced correlations and evidence for diverse quenching mechanisms.

Findings

Larger galaxies tend to be slightly younger at fixed mass.

Galaxies with recent rapid quenching are generally smaller.

Significant scatter in age indicators suggests multiple evolutionary pathways.

Abstract

We analyze stellar age indicators (D$_n$4000 and EW(H$\delta$)) and sizes of 467 quiescent galaxies with $M_\ast \geq 10^{10} M_\odot$ at $z\sim0.7$ drawn from DR2 of the LEGA-C survey. Interpreting index variations in terms of equivalent single stellar population age, we find that the median stellar population is younger for larger galaxies at fixed stellar mass. The effect is significant, yet small; the ages of the larger and the smaller subsets differ by only $<500$ Myr, much less than the age variation among individual galaxies ($\sim1.5$ Gyr). At the same time, quiescent galaxies with the strongest H$\delta$ absorption --- those experienced recent and rapid quenching events --- tend to be smaller than the average. These co-existing trends unify seemingly contradictory results in the literature; the complex correlations between size and age indicators revealed by our large sample of galaxies with high-quality spectra suggest that there are multiple evolutionary pathways to quiescence. Regardless of the specific physical mechanisms responsible for the cessation of star formation in massive galaxies, the large scatter in D$_n$4000 and EW(H$\delta$) immediately implies that galaxies follow a large variety in evolutionary pathways. On the one hand, we see evidence for a process that slowly shuts off star-formation and transforms star-forming galaxies to quiescent galaxies without necessarily changing their structures. On the other hand, there is likely a mechanism that rapidly quenches galaxies, an event that coincides with dramatic structural changes, producing small post-starburst galaxies.