Oxford University Press (OUP), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2(427), p. 1666-1701
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.22087.x
Cambridge University Press (CUP), Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, S295(8), p. 49-52
DOI: 10.1017/s1743921313004237
Full text: Unavailable
AbstractWe have used high-resolution, HST WFC3/IR, near-infrared imaging to conduct a detailed bulge-disk decomposition of the morphologies of ≃ 200 of the most massive (M* > 1011 M⊙) galaxies at 1 < z < 3 in the CANDELS-UDS field. We find that, while such massive galaxies at low redshift are generally bulge-dominated, at redshifts 1<z<2 they are predominantly mixed bulge+disk systems, and by z > 2 they are mostly disk-dominated. Interestingly, we find that while most of the quiescent galaxies are bulge-dominated, a significant fraction (25–40%) of the most quiescent galaxies, have disk-dominated morphologies. Thus, our results suggest that the physical mechanisms which quench star-formation activity are not simply connected to those responsible for the morphological transformation of massive galaxies.