The progenitor set of present-day early-type galaxies

Internet publication

We present a comprehensive theoretical study, within a fully realistic semi-analytical framework, of the photometric properties of early-type progenitors in the redshift range 00.7) spirals have ~75-95 percent chance of being a progenitor, while the corresponding probability for large blue spirals (M_B<-21.5, B-V<0.7) is ~50-75 percent. Finally, we explore the correspondence between the true progenitor set of present-day early-types and the commonly used `red-sequence', defined as the set of galaxies within the part of the colour-magnitude space which is dominated by early-type objects. While large members (M_V<-22) of the `red sequence' trace the progenitor set accurately in terms of numbers and mass, the relationship breaks down severely at fainter luminosities (M_V>-21). Hence the red sequence is generally not a good proxy for the progenitor set of early-type galaxies.

Authors: Kaviraj, S; Devriendt, J; Ferreras, i; Yi, SK; Silk, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Not peer reviewed
• Publication date: 2006-02-15
• DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.astro-ph/0602347
• Language: English
• Keywords: cD; galaxies: evolution; galaxies: fundamental parameters; galaxies: formation; galaxies: elliptical and lenticular