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THE XMM CLUSTER SURVEY: THE BUILD-UP OF STELLAR MASS IN BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES AT HIGH REDSHIFT

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 07:51 authored by J P Stott, C A Collins, M Sahlen, M Hilton, E Lloyd-Davies, D Capozzi, M Hosmer, A R Liddle, N Mehrtens, C J Miller, Kathy RomerKathy Romer, S A Stanford, P T P Viana, M Davidson, B Hoyle, S T Kay, R C Nichol
We present deep J-and K-s-band photometry of 20 high redshift galaxy clusters between z = 0.8 and 1.5, 19 of which are observed with the MOIRCS instrument on the Subaru telescope. By using near-infrared light as a proxy for stellar mass we find the surprising result that the average stellar mass of Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) has remained constant at similar to 9 x 10(11) M-circle dot since z similar to 1.5. We investigate the effect on this result of differing star formation histories generated by three well-known and independent stellar population codes and find it to be robust for reasonable, physically motivated choices of age and metallicity. By performing Monte Carlo simulations we find that the result is unaffected by any correlation between BCG mass and cluster mass in either the observed or model clusters. The large stellar masses imply that the assemblage of these galaxies took place at the same time as the initial burst of star formation. This result leads us to conclude that dry merging has had little effect on the average stellar mass of BCGs over the last 9-10 Gyr in stark contrast to the predictions of semi-analytic models, based on the hierarchical merging of dark matter halos, which predict a more protracted mass build-up over a Hubble time. However, we discuss that there is potential for reconciliation between observation and theory if there is a significant growth of material in the intracluster light over the same period.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Astrophysical Journal

ISSN

0004-637X

Publisher

Institute of Physics

Issue

1

Volume

718

Page range

23-30

Department affiliated with

  • Physics and Astronomy Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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