The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey

Erica June Nelson; Pieter G. Van Dokkum; Ivelina Momcheva; Gabriel Brammer; Britt Lundgren; Rosalind E. Skelton; Katherine E. Whitaker; Elisabete Da Cunha; Natascha Förster Schreiber; Marijn Franx; Mattia Fumagalli; Mariska Kriek; Ivo Labbe; Joel Leja; Shannon Patel; Hans Walter Rix; Kasper B. Schmidt; Arjen Van Der Wel; Stijn Wuyts

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey

Erica June Nelson
, Pieter G. Van Dokkum
, Ivelina Momcheva
, Gabriel Brammer
, Britt Lundgren
, Rosalind E. Skelton
, Katherine E. Whitaker
, Elisabete Da Cunha
, Natascha Förster Schreiber
, Marijn Franx
, Mattia Fumagalli
, Mariska Kriek
, Ivo Labbe
, Joel Leja
, Shannon Patel
, Hans Walter Rix
, Kasper B. Schmidt
, Arjen Van Der Wel
, Stijn Wuyts

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

The assembly of galaxies can be described by the distribution of their star formation as a function of cosmic time. Thanks to the WFC3 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) it is now possible to measure this beyond the local Universe. Here we present the spatial distribution of Hα emission for a sample of 54 strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 in the 3D-HST Treasury survey. By stacking the Hα emission, we find that star formation occurred in approximately exponential distributions at z ∼ 1, with a median Sérsic index of n = 1.0 ± 0.2. The stacks are elongated with median axis ratios of b/a = 0.58 ± 0.09 in Hα consistent with (possibly thick) disks at random orientation angles. Keck spectra obtained for a subset of eight of the galaxies show clear evidence for rotation, with inclination corrected velocities of 90-330 km s^-1. The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that star formation in strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 generally occurred in disks. The disks appear to be "scaled-up" versions of nearby spiral galaxies: they have EW(Hα) ∼ 100 Å out to the solar orbit and they have star formation surface densities above the threshold for driving galactic scale winds.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	L16
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	763
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16
State	Published - Jan 20 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

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Nelson, E. J., Van Dokkum, P. G., Momcheva, I., Brammer, G., Lundgren, B., Skelton, R. E., Whitaker, K. E., Da Cunha, E., Förster Schreiber, N., Franx, M., Fumagalli, M., Kriek, M., Labbe, I., Leja, J., Patel, S., Rix, H. W., Schmidt, K. B., Van Der Wel, A., & Wuyts, S. (2013). The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 763(1), Article L16. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

@article{9caf205db1924b529a080e7fba22366d,

title = "The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey",

abstract = "The assembly of galaxies can be described by the distribution of their star formation as a function of cosmic time. Thanks to the WFC3 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) it is now possible to measure this beyond the local Universe. Here we present the spatial distribution of Hα emission for a sample of 54 strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 in the 3D-HST Treasury survey. By stacking the Hα emission, we find that star formation occurred in approximately exponential distributions at z ∼ 1, with a median S{\'e}rsic index of n = 1.0 ± 0.2. The stacks are elongated with median axis ratios of b/a = 0.58 ± 0.09 in Hα consistent with (possibly thick) disks at random orientation angles. Keck spectra obtained for a subset of eight of the galaxies show clear evidence for rotation, with inclination corrected velocities of 90-330 km s-1. The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that star formation in strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 generally occurred in disks. The disks appear to be {"}scaled-up{"} versions of nearby spiral galaxies: they have EW(Hα) ∼ 100 {\AA} out to the solar orbit and they have star formation surface densities above the threshold for driving galactic scale winds.",

author = "Nelson, \{Erica June\} and \{Van Dokkum\}, \{Pieter G.\} and Ivelina Momcheva and Gabriel Brammer and Britt Lundgren and Skelton, \{Rosalind E.\} and Whitaker, \{Katherine E.\} and \{Da Cunha\}, Elisabete and \{F{\"o}rster Schreiber\}, Natascha and Marijn Franx and Mattia Fumagalli and Mariska Kriek and Ivo Labbe and Joel Leja and Shannon Patel and Rix, \{Hans Walter\} and Schmidt, \{Kasper B.\} and \{Van Der Wel\}, Arjen and Stijn Wuyts",

year = "2013",

month = jan,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "763",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

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Nelson, EJ, Van Dokkum, PG, Momcheva, I, Brammer, G, Lundgren, B, Skelton, RE, Whitaker, KE, Da Cunha, E, Förster Schreiber, N, Franx, M, Fumagalli, M, Kriek, M, Labbe, I, Leja, J, Patel, S, Rix, HW, Schmidt, KB, Van Der Wel, A & Wuyts, S 2013, 'The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 763, no. 1, L16. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

TY - JOUR

T1 - The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey

AU - Nelson, Erica June

AU - Van Dokkum, Pieter G.

AU - Momcheva, Ivelina

AU - Brammer, Gabriel

AU - Lundgren, Britt

AU - Skelton, Rosalind E.

AU - Whitaker, Katherine E.

AU - Da Cunha, Elisabete

AU - Förster Schreiber, Natascha

AU - Franx, Marijn

AU - Fumagalli, Mattia

AU - Kriek, Mariska

AU - Labbe, Ivo

AU - Leja, Joel

AU - Patel, Shannon

AU - Rix, Hans Walter

AU - Schmidt, Kasper B.

AU - Van Der Wel, Arjen

AU - Wuyts, Stijn

PY - 2013/1/20

Y1 - 2013/1/20

N2 - The assembly of galaxies can be described by the distribution of their star formation as a function of cosmic time. Thanks to the WFC3 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) it is now possible to measure this beyond the local Universe. Here we present the spatial distribution of Hα emission for a sample of 54 strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 in the 3D-HST Treasury survey. By stacking the Hα emission, we find that star formation occurred in approximately exponential distributions at z ∼ 1, with a median Sérsic index of n = 1.0 ± 0.2. The stacks are elongated with median axis ratios of b/a = 0.58 ± 0.09 in Hα consistent with (possibly thick) disks at random orientation angles. Keck spectra obtained for a subset of eight of the galaxies show clear evidence for rotation, with inclination corrected velocities of 90-330 km s-1. The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that star formation in strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 generally occurred in disks. The disks appear to be "scaled-up" versions of nearby spiral galaxies: they have EW(Hα) ∼ 100 Å out to the solar orbit and they have star formation surface densities above the threshold for driving galactic scale winds.

AB - The assembly of galaxies can be described by the distribution of their star formation as a function of cosmic time. Thanks to the WFC3 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) it is now possible to measure this beyond the local Universe. Here we present the spatial distribution of Hα emission for a sample of 54 strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 in the 3D-HST Treasury survey. By stacking the Hα emission, we find that star formation occurred in approximately exponential distributions at z ∼ 1, with a median Sérsic index of n = 1.0 ± 0.2. The stacks are elongated with median axis ratios of b/a = 0.58 ± 0.09 in Hα consistent with (possibly thick) disks at random orientation angles. Keck spectra obtained for a subset of eight of the galaxies show clear evidence for rotation, with inclination corrected velocities of 90-330 km s-1. The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that star formation in strongly star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 generally occurred in disks. The disks appear to be "scaled-up" versions of nearby spiral galaxies: they have EW(Hα) ∼ 100 Å out to the solar orbit and they have star formation surface densities above the threshold for driving galactic scale winds.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84872312031

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84872312031#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/763/1/L16

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84872312031

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 763

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 1

M1 - L16

ER -

The radial distribution of star formation in galaxies at z ∼ 1 from the 3D-HST survey

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