Unbiased Differential Size Evolution and the Inside-Out Growth of Galaxies in the Deep CANDELS GOODS Fields at $1 \leq z \leq 7$

TL;DR

This study analyzes the size evolution of galaxies from redshift 1 to 7 using an unbiased, surface brightness-based method, revealing inside-out growth with stronger outer radius expansion at higher redshifts.

Contribution

Introduces a novel 2-D Lyman-Break Imaging technique and uses Petrosian radii to accurately measure galaxy sizes, demonstrating differential inside-out growth across cosmic time.

Findings

Outer galaxy radii grow faster than inner radii with decreasing redshift.

Inside-out growth is more pronounced in number density selected samples.

Results are validated through comprehensive image simulations.

Abstract

We present a size analysis of a sample of $\sim$ 49,000 galaxies from the CANDELS GOODS North and South fields using redshift-independent relative surface brightness metrics to determine an unbiased measure of the differential size evolution of galaxies at $1 \leq z \leq 7$. We introduce a novel method of removing foreground objects from distant galaxy ($z > 3$) images that makes use of the Lyman-break at 912{\AA}, in what we call `2-D Lyman-Break Imaging'. The images used are in the rest-frame optical at $z < 3$ and progressively bluer bands at $z > 3$. They are therefore subject to K-correction and cosmological dimming effects which are tested and corrected for. We separately consider a mass-selected sample (with masses in the range 10$^9$M$_{\odot}$$\leq$M$_*$$\leq$10$^{10.5}$M$_{\odot}$) and a number density selected sample (using a constant number density of $n = 1\times10^{-4}$Mpc$^{-3}$). Instead of utilising the commonly used, but potentially biased, effective radii for size measurements, we measure the redshift-independent Petrosian radius, defined by the parameter $\eta$, for each galaxy for three values of $\eta$ and use this as a proxy for size. The evolution of the measured radii can be described by a power-law of the form $R_{Petr} = \alpha(1+z)^\beta$kpc where $\beta < 0$. We find that the outer radius increases more rapidly, suggesting that as a galaxy grows mass is added to its outer regions via an inside-out growth. This growth is stronger for the number density selected sample, with a growth rate of nearly three in the outer radii compared to the inner. We test and confirm these results using a series of image simulations.