Distinct origins of environmentally quenched galaxies in the core and outer virialised regions of massive clusters at 0.8 < 𝑧 < 1.5

Hewitt, Guillaume; Sarron, Florian; Balogh, Michael L.; Rudnick, Gregory; Bahé, Yannick; Baxter, Devontae C.; Castignani, Gianluca; Cerulo, Pierluigi; Cooper, M C; Demarco, Ricardo; Edward, Adit H.; Finn, Rose A.; Forrest, Ben; Muzzin, Adam; Nantais, Julie; Vulcani, Benedetta; Wilson, Gillian; Zaritsky, Dennis

Abstract

High-redshift (𝑧 ∼ 1) galaxy clusters are the domain where environmental quenching mechanisms are expected to emerge as important factors in the evolution of the quiescent galaxy population. Uncovering these initially subtle effects requires exploring multiple dependencies of quenching across the cluster environment, and through time. We analyse the stellar-mass functions (SMFs) of 17 galaxy clusters within the GOGREEN and GCLASS surveys between 0.8 < 𝑧 < 1.5, and with log (𝑀/M⊙) > 9.5. The data are fit simultaneously with a Bayesian model that allows the Schechter function parameters of the quiescent and star-forming populations to vary smoothly with cluster-centric radius and redshift. The model also fits the radial galaxy number density profile of each population, allowing the global quenched fraction to be parameterised as a function of redshift and cluster velocity dispersion. We find the star-forming SMF to not depend on radius or redshift. For the quiescent population however, there is ∼ 2𝜎 evidence for a radial dependence. Outside the cluster core (𝑅 > 0.3 𝑅200), the quenched fraction above log (𝑀/M⊙) = 9.5 is ∼ 40 per cent, and the quiescent SMF is similar in shape to the star-forming field. In contrast, the cluster core has an elevated quenched fraction (∼ 70 per cent), and a quiescent SMF similar in shape to the quiescent field population. We explore contributions of ‘early mass-quenching’ and mass-independent ‘environmental-quenching’ models in each of these radial regimes. The core is well-described primarily by early mass-quenching, which we interpret as accelerated quenching of massive galaxies in protoclusters, possibly through merger-driven feedback mechanisms. The non-core is better described through mass-independent, environmental-quenching of the infalling field population.

Citation

Hewitt, G., Sarron, F., Balogh, M. L., Rudnick, G., Bahé, Y., Baxter, D. C., Castignani, G., Cerulo, P., Cooper, M. C., Demarco, R., Edward, A. H., Finn, R. A., Forrest, B., Muzzin, A., Nantais, J., Vulcani, B., Wilson, G., & Zaritsky, D. (2025). Distinct origins of environmentally quenched galaxies in the core and outer virialised regions of massive clusters at 0.8 < 𝑧 < 1.5. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf932

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 5, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Publication Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 9, 2025
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2966
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf932
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/50165536
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf932/8159017