The XXL survey. XLIX. Linking the members star formation histories to the cluster mass assembly in the z=1.98 galaxy cluster XLSSC 122

TL;DR

This study investigates the star formation histories of galaxies in the z=1.98 galaxy cluster XLSSC 122 and links these histories to the cluster’s dark matter halo assembly, revealing early star formation episodes predating cluster virialization.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of galaxy star formation histories at high redshift and connects these to the cluster's dark matter assembly using simulations, a novel approach at this epoch.

Findings

Oldest galaxies show a wide age range from 0.5 to over 3 Gyr.

Most haloes were less than 10% assembled at star formation onset.

Star formation episodes likely began before cluster virialization.

Abstract

The most massive protoclusters virialize to become clusters at $z\sim 2$, which is also a critical epoch for the evolution of their member galaxies. XLSSC 122 is a $z=1.98$ galaxy cluster with 37 spectroscopically confirmed members. We aim to characterize their star formation histories and to put them in the context of the cluster accretion history. We measure their photometry in 12 bands and create a PSF-matched catalogue of the cluster members. We employ BAGPIPES to fit star formation histories characterized by exponentially decreasing star-forming rates. Stellar masses, metal and dust contents are also treated as free parameters. The oldest stars in the red-sequence galaxies display a range of ages, from 0.5 Gyr to over $\sim$3 Gyrs. Characteristic times are between $\sim$0.1 and $\sim$0.3 Gyr, and the oldest members present the longest times. Using MultiDark Planck 2 dark matter simulations, we calculate the assembly of XLSSC 122-like haloes, weighted by the age posteriors of the oldest members. We found that 74% of these haloes were less than 10% assembled at the onset of star formation, declining to 67% of haloes when such galaxies had formed 50% of their z=1.98 stellar masses. When 90% of their stellar masses were formed, 75% of the haloes were less than 30% assembled. The star formation histories of the red-sequence galaxies seem consistent with episodes of star formation with short characteristic times. Onset and cessation of star formation in the oldest galaxies are both likely to precede XLSSC 122 virialization.