Bibcode
DOI
Labbé, Ivo; Huang, Jiasheng; Franx, Marijn; Rudnick, Gregory; Barmby, Pauline; Daddi, Emanuele; van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Fazio, Giovanni G.; Schreiber, Natascha M. Förster; Moorwood, Alan F. M.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Röttgering, Huub; Trujillo, I.; van der Werf, Paul
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 624, Issue 2, pp. L81-L84.
Advertised on:
5
2005
Journal
Citations
325
Refereed citations
307
Description
We present deep 3.6-8 μm imaging of the Hubble Deep Field-South with
the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We
study distant red galaxies (DRGs) at z>2 selected by
Js-Ks>2.3 and compare them with a sample of
Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at z=2-3. The observed UV-to-8 μm
spectral energy distributions are fitted with stellar population models
to constrain star formation histories and derive stellar masses. We find
that 70% of the DRGs are best described by dust-reddened star-forming
models and 30% are very well fitted with old and ``dead'' models. Using
only the I-Ks and Ks-4.5 μm colors, we can
effectively separate the two groups. The dead systems are among the most
massive at z~2.5 (mean stellar mass =
0.8×1011 Msolar) and likely formed most of
their stellar mass at z>5. To a limit of 0.5×1011
Msolar, their number density is ~10 times lower than that of
local early-type galaxies. Furthermore, we use the IRAC photometry to
derive rest-frame near-infrared J, H, and K fluxes. The DRGs and LBGs
together show a large variation (a factor of 6) in the rest-frame K-band
mass-to-light ratios (M/LK), implying that even a Spitzer 8
μm-selected sample would be very different from a mass-selected
sample. The average M/LK of the DRGs is about 3 times higher
than that of the LBGs, and DRGs dominate the high-mass end. The
M/LK values and ages of the two samples appear to correlate
with derived stellar mass, with the most massive galaxies being the
oldest and having the highest mass-to-light ratios, similar to what is
found in the low-redshift universe.
Based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is
operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology, under NASA contract 1407. Support for this work was provided
by NASA through contract 125790 issued by JPL/Caltech. Based on
service-mode observations collected at the European Southern
Observatory, Paranal, Chile (program 164.O-0612). Based on observations
with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space
Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS
5-26555