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The evolution of the star-forming sequence in hierarchical galaxy formation models

Mitchell, P.D.; Lacey, C.G.; Cole, S.; Baugh, C.M.

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Authors

P.D. Mitchell

S. Cole



Abstract

It has been argued that the specific star formation rates of star-forming galaxies inferred from observational data decline more rapidly below z = 2 than is predicted by hierarchical galaxy formation models. We present a detailed analysis of this problem by comparing predictions from the galform semi-analytic model with an extensive compilation of data on the average star formation rates of star-forming galaxies. We also use this data to infer the form of the stellar mass assembly histories of star-forming galaxies. Our analysis reveals that the currently available data favour a scenario where the stellar mass assembly histories of star-forming galaxies rise at early times and then fall towards the present day. In contrast, our model predicts stellar mass assembly histories that are almost flat below z = 2 for star-forming galaxies, such that the predicted star formation rates can be offset with respect to the observational data by factors of up to 2–3. This disagreement can be explained by the level of coevolution between stellar and halo mass assembly that exists in contemporary galaxy formation models. In turn, this arises because the standard implementations of star formation and supernova feedback used in the models result in the efficiencies of these process remaining approximately constant over the lifetime of a given star-forming galaxy. We demonstrate how a modification to the time-scale for gas ejected by feedback to be reincorporated into galaxy haloes can help to reconcile the model predictions with the data.

Citation

Mitchell, P., Lacey, C., Cole, S., & Baugh, C. (2014). The evolution of the star-forming sequence in hierarchical galaxy formation models. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 444(3), 2637-2664. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu1639

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 9, 2014
Online Publication Date Sep 11, 2014
Publication Date Nov 1, 2014
Deposit Date May 16, 2014
Publicly Available Date Sep 18, 2014
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 444
Issue 3
Pages 2637-2664
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu1639
Keywords Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: formation, Galaxies: star formation.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1454965
Related Public URLs http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014arXiv1403.1585M

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.






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