We are upgrading the repository! A content freeze is in effect until December 6th, 2024 - no new submissions will be accepted; however, all content already published will remain publicly available. Please reach out to repository@u.library.arizona.edu with your questions, or if you are a UA affiliate who needs to make content available soon. Note that any new user accounts created after September 22, 2024 will need to be recreated by the user in November after our migration is completed.

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisorRieke, Marcia
dc.contributor.authorWoodrum, Charity
dc.creatorWoodrum, Charity
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-22T06:01:56Z
dc.date.available2024-09-22T06:01:56Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.identifier.citationWoodrum, Charity. (2024). Understanding the Stellar Mass Growth and Quenching of Massive Galaxies (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA).
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10150/675344
dc.description.abstractOne of the first remarkable studies in the field of galaxy evolution determined that there are two distinct types of galaxies based on their morphologies: spirals and ellipticals. We’ve since found that spirals tend to be blue, lower-mass, gas-rich, star-forming galaxies. On the other hand, ellipticals tend to be red, massive, gas-poor, quiescent galaxies. This “galaxybimodality” is still being studied today, as we have many unanswered questions about the origin of its existence. For example, how do star-forming galaxies grow in stellar mass? And what physical processes are responsible for the cessation of star formation in quiescent galaxies? In this dissertation, I explore the stellar mass growth and quenching of massive galaxies. I use a sample of high redshift (6.7 < z < 13.2) galaxies to study how varying the initial mass function (IMF) changes their inferred stellar masses, showing that a redshift-dependent IMF infers reduced stellar masses in the high redshift universe. Next I explore the heterogeneity ofmolecular gas reservoirs in quiescent galaxies, showing that quiescent galaxies with detectable gas reservoirs have evidence of secondary bursts of star formation, likely driven by gas-rich minor mergers. Furthermore, I explore the connection between active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity and suppressed star formation, and show that even with high quality data and gold-standard star formation history (SFH) modeling, it is difficult to find observational evidence of AGN-driven quenching. Finally, I investigate the star formation and chemical enrichment histories of massive, quiescent galaxies as a function of their structural and environmental properties, finding that galaxies are quenched through a complex interplay of physical mechanisms.
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherThe University of Arizona.
dc.rightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.titleUnderstanding the Stellar Mass Growth and Quenching of Massive Galaxies
dc.typetext
dc.typeElectronic Dissertation
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Arizona
thesis.degree.leveldoctoral
dc.contributor.committeememberKennicutt, Robert
dc.contributor.committeememberHainline, Kevin
dc.contributor.committeememberEgami, Eiichi
dc.contributor.committeememberStraughn, Amber
thesis.degree.disciplineGraduate College
thesis.degree.disciplineAstronomy
thesis.degree.namePh.D.
refterms.dateFOA2024-09-22T06:01:56Z


Files in this item

Thumbnail
Name:
azu_etd_21743_sip1_m.pdf
Size:
5.963Mb
Format:
PDF

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record