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A massive, quiescent, population II galaxy at a redshift of 2.1
Mariska Kriek1, Charlie Conroy2, Pieter G van Dokkum3
1Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Massive elliptical galaxies formed most stars early in the Universe. Studying a galaxy at redshift z=2.1 revealed a high magnesium-to-iron ratio ([Mg/Fe]), indicating rapid early star formation.
Area of Science:
- Cosmic evolution of galaxies
- Stellar nucleosynthesis and chemical enrichment
Background:
- Massive elliptical galaxies primarily formed stars early in the Universe, unlike spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
- The magnesium-to-iron ratio ([Mg/Fe]) in galaxy spectra measures the duration of early star formation, reflecting supernova enrichment.
- Previous [Mg/Fe] measurements in distant galaxies had large uncertainties, limiting conclusions about early star formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To precisely measure the [Mg/Fe] abundance in a massive quiescent galaxy at an early cosmic epoch (z=2.1).
- To constrain the star formation timescale of massive galaxies shortly after their major star-forming phase.
- To compare the chemical enrichment of early massive galaxies with local galaxies and Milky Way stars.
Main Methods:
- Acquired deep spectra of a massive quiescent galaxy at redshift z=2.1.
- Analyzed spectra using full spectral fitting techniques for precise abundance measurements.
- Measured the magnesium-to-iron ratio ([Mg/Fe]) from the spectral data.
Main Results:
- Measured [Mg/Fe] = 0.59 ± 0.11 for the galaxy at z=2.1, the highest value found for a massive galaxy to date.
- This [Mg/Fe] value is twice that of similar-mass galaxies observed today.
- The abundance pattern suggests enrichment solely by core-collapse supernovae and a star formation timescale of 0.1–0.5 billion years.
Conclusions:
- The studied galaxy experienced extremely rapid early star formation, consistent with a short formation timescale.
- Its chemical abundance pattern is similar to Population II stars in the Milky Way.
- Massive galaxies at z=2.1 were among the most vigorous star-forming systems in the Universe, with rates of 600–3,000 solar masses per year.
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