Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The effects of photoionization on galaxy formation - III. Environmental dependence in the luminosity function

Benson, A.J.; Frenk, C.S.; Baugh, C.M.; Cole, S.; Lacey, C.G.

The effects of photoionization on galaxy formation - III. Environmental dependence in the luminosity function Thumbnail


Authors

A.J. Benson



Abstract

Using semi-analytic modelling techniques, we calculate the luminosity function of galaxy populations residing in cold dark matter haloes of different masses. We pay particular attention to the influence of the re-ionization of the Universe on the number of faint galaxies, and to the effects of dynamical friction and tidal limitation of satellites on the number of bright galaxies. We find substantial differences in the shapes of the galaxy luminosity functions in haloes of different mass, which reflect generic features of the cold dark matter model of galaxy formation, and thus offer the opportunity to test it. We then consider how the individual halo luminosity functions combine to produce the global luminosity function. Surprisingly, the global function ends up having a shallower faint-end slope than those of the constituent halo luminosity functions. We compare our model predictions with the limited observational data sets compiled by Trentham & Hodgkin. We find good agreement with the luminosity functions measured in the Virgo and Coma clusters, but find significant disagreement with the luminosity functions measured in the Local Group and Ursa Minor cluster. We speculate on possible inadequacies in our modelling and in the existing observational samples. The luminosity functions of galaxies in groups and clusters that have been identified in the Two Degree Field (2dF) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy redshift surveys offer the prospect of testing galaxy formation models in detail.

Citation

Benson, A., Frenk, C., Baugh, C., Cole, S., & Lacey, C. (2003). The effects of photoionization on galaxy formation - III. Environmental dependence in the luminosity function. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 343(2), 679-691. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06709.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Aug 1, 2003
Deposit Date Feb 20, 2015
Publicly Available Date Feb 24, 2015
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 343
Issue 2
Pages 679-691
DOI https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06709.x
Keywords Galaxies: formation, Galaxies: luminosity function, mass function, Cosmology: theory.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1610060

Files

Published Journal Article (642 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2003 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.






You might also like



Downloadable Citations