We investigate the growth of massive quiescent galaxies at z n 4000 index, half-light radius, and stellar velocity dispersion. Stellar velocity dispersion is a robust proxy of dark matter halo mass; we use it to connect galaxies and dark matter halos and thus empirically constrain their coevolution. The typical rate of stellar mass growth is ∼ 10 {M}ȯ {yr}}-1, and dark matter growth rates from our empirical model are remarkably consistent with N-body simulations. Massive quiescent galaxies grow by minor mergers with dark matter halos of mass {10}10 {M}ȯ ≲ {M}DM}≲ {10}12 {M}ȯ and evolve parallel to the stellar mass–halo mass (SMHM) relation based on N-body simulations. Thus, the SMHM relation of massive galaxies apparently results primarily from dry minor merging.
