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Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): The environmental dependence of the galaxy main sequence

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posted on 2023-06-09, 15:53 authored by L. Wang, P Norberg, S Brough, M J I Brown, E da Cunha, L J Davies, S P Driver, B W Holwerda, A M Hopkins, M A Lara-Lopez, J Liske, Jonathan LovedayJonathan Loveday, M W Grootes, C C Popescu, A H Wright
Aims: We aim to investigate if the environment (characterised by the host dark matter halo mass) plays any role in shaping the galaxy star formation main sequence (MS). Methods: The Galaxy and Mass Assembly project (GAMA) combines a spectroscopic survey with photometric information in 21 bands from the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to the far-infrared (FIR). Stellar masses and dust-corrected star-formation rates (SFR) are derived from spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling using MAGPHYS. We use the GAMA galaxy group catalogue to examine the variation of the fraction of star-forming galaxies (SFG) and properties of the MS with respect to the environment. Results: We examine the environmental dependence for stellar mass selected samples without preselecting star-forming galaxies and study any dependence on the host halo mass separately for centrals and satellites out to z ~ 0.3. We find the SFR distribution at fixed stellar mass can be described by the combination of two Gaussians (referred to as the star-forming Gaussian and the quiescent Gaussian). Using the observed bimodality to define SFG, we investigate how the fraction of SFG F(SFG) and properties of the MS change with environment. For centrals, the position of the MS is similar to the field but with a larger scatter. No significant dependence on halo mass is observed. For satellites, the position of the MS is almost always lower (by ~0.2 dex) compared to the field and the width is almost always larger. F(SFG) is similar between centrals (in different halo mass bins) and field galaxies. However, for satellites F(SFG) decreases with increasing halo mass and this dependence is stronger towards lower redshift.

Funding

GAMA observing 2012 - PATT travel grant; G0978; STFC-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL; ST/K003577/1

Science and Technology Facilities Council; ST/L00075X/1

The European Research Council; DEGAS-259586

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Astronomy and Astrophysics

ISSN

0004-6361

Publisher

EDP Sciences

Volume

618

Page range

1183-1194

Department affiliated with

  • Physics and Astronomy Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Astronomy Centre Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-11-19

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-11-19

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-11-12

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