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Discovery of Nine Intermediate-redshift Compact Quiescent Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

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Abstract

  • We identify nine galaxies with dynamical masses of M dyn >~ 1010 M as photometric point sources, but with redshifts between z = 0.2 and z = 0.6, in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectro-photometric database. All nine galaxies have archival Hubble Space Telescope images. Surface brightness profile fitting confirms that all nine galaxies are extremely compact (0.4 as photometric point sources, but with redshifts between z = 0.2 and z = 0.6, in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectro-photometric database. All nine galaxies have archival Hubble Space Telescope images. Surface brightness profile fitting confirms that all nine galaxies are extremely compact (0.4 e, c e, c = 0.74 kpc) for their velocity dispersion (110 = 0.74 kpc) for their velocity dispersion (110 = 0.74 kpc) for their velocity dispersion (110 -1 median σ = 178 km s-1). From the SDSS spectra, three systems are dominated by very young stars; the other six are older than ~1 Gyr (two are E A galaxies). The three young galaxies have disturbed morphologies and the older systems have smooth profiles consistent with a single-Sérsic function. All nine lie below the z ~ 0 velocity dispersion-half-light radius relation. The most massive system-SDSSJ123657.44 631115.4-lies right within the locus for massive compact z > 1 galaxies and the other eight objects follow the high-redshift dynamical size-mass relation.

Publication Date

  • 2013

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