Galaxy Sizes Since $z=2$ from the Perspective of Stellar Mass Distribution within Galaxies

TL;DR

This study measures the distribution of stellar mass within galaxies up to redshift 2, revealing insights into galaxy growth patterns and structural evolution over cosmic time.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive analysis of stellar mass distribution on kpc scales across a large galaxy sample up to redshift 2, using pixel-by-pixel SED fitting to derive detailed size evolution.

Findings

Star-forming galaxies grow self-similarly at fixed mass.

Massive galaxies show inside-out growth in their outskirts.

Quiescent galaxies exhibit stronger size evolution, especially in their inner regions.

Abstract

How stellar mass assembles within galaxies is still an open question. We present measurements of the stellar mass distribution on kpc-scale for $\sim5500$ galaxies with stellar masses above $\log(M_{\ast}/M_{\odot})\geqslant9.8$ up to the redshift $2.0$. We create stellar mass maps from Hubble Space Telescope observations by means of the pixel-by-pixel SED fitting method. These maps are used to derive radii encompassing $20\%$, $50\%$, and $80\%$ ($r_{20}$, $r_{50}$ and $r_{80}$) of the total stellar mass from the best-fit S\'ersic models. The reliability and limitations of the structural parameter measurements are checked extensively using a large sample ($\sim3000$) of simulated galaxies. The size-mass relations and redshift evolution of $r_{20}$, $r_{50}$ and $r_{80}$ are explored for star-forming and quiescent galaxies. At fixed mass, the star-forming galaxies do not show significant changes in their $r_{20}$, $r_{50}$ and $r_{80}$ sizes, indicating self-similar growth. Only above the pivot stellar mass of $\log(M_{\ast}/M_{\odot})\simeq10.5$, $r_{80}$ evolves as $r_{80}\propto(1+z)^{-0.85\pm0.20}$, indicating that mass builds up in the outskirts of these systems (inside-out growth). The S\'ersic values also increase for the massive star-forming galaxies towards late cosmic time. Massive quiescent galaxies show stronger size evolution at all radii, in particular the $r_{20}$ sizes. For these massive galaxies, S\'ersic values remain almost constant since at least $z\sim1.3$, indicating that the strong size evolution is related to the changes in the outer parts of these galaxies. We make all the structural parameters publicly available.