Reconciling the results of the z ∼2 MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE Surveys

Authors

• Jordan N. Runco, University of California, Los Angeles
• Naveen A. Reddy, University of California, Riverside
• Alice E. Shapley, University of California, Los Angeles
• Charles C. Steidel, California Institute of Technology
• Ryan L. Sanders, University of California, Davis
• Allison L. Strom, Princeton University
• Alison L. Coil, Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences
• Mariska Kriek, University of California, Berkeley
• Bahram Mobasher, University of California, Riverside
• Max Pettini, University of Cambridge
• Gwen C. Rudie, Carnegie Observatories
• Brian Siana, University of California, Riverside
• Michael W. Topping, University of California, Los Angeles
• Ryan F. Trainor, Franklin & Marshall College
• William R. Freeman, University of California, Riverside
• Irene Shivaei, The University of Arizona
• Mojegan Azadi, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Sedona H. Price, Max-Planck Institut für extr aterrestrisc he Physik
• Gene C.K. Leung, The University of Texas at Austin
• Tara Fetherolf, University of California, Riverside
• Laura De Groot, The College of Wooster
• Tom Zick, University of California, Berkeley
• Guillermo Barro, University of the PacificFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Department

Physics

ISSN

13652966

Volume

513

Issue

3

DOI

10.1093/mnras/stac1115

First Page

3871

Last Page

3892

Publication Date

4-29-2022

Abstract

The combination of the MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE surveys represents the largest joint investment of Keck/MOSFIRE time to date, with ∼3000 galaxies at 1.4 z 3.8, roughly half of which are at z ∼2. MOSDEF is photometric- and spectroscopic-redshift selected with a rest-optical magnitude limit, while KBSS-MOSFIRE is primarily selected based on rest-UV colours and a rest-UV magnitude limit. Analysing both surveys in a uniform manner with consistent spectral-energy- distribution (SED) models, we find that the MOSDEF z ∼2 targeted sample has higher median M ∗and redder rest U −V colour than the KBSS-MOSFIRE z ∼2 targeted sample, and smaller median SED-based SFR and sSFR (SFR(SED) and sSFR(SED)). Specifically, MOSDEF tar geted a larger population of red galaxies with U −V and V −J >1.25, while KBSS-MOSFIRE contains more young galaxies with intense star formation. Despite these differences in the z ∼2 targeted samples, the subsets of the surveys with multiple emission lines detected and analysed in previous work are much more similar. All median host-galaxy properties with the exception of stellar population age -i.e. M ∗, SFR(SED), sSFR(SED), A V , and UVJ colours -agree within the uncertainties. Additionally, when uniform emission-line fitting and stellar Balmer absorption correction techniques are applied, there is no significant offset between both samples in the [O III ] λ5008/H βversus [N II ] λ6585/H αdiagnostic diagram, in contrast to previously reported discrepancies. We can now combine the MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE surv e ys to form the largest z ∼2 sample with moderate-resolution rest-optical spectra and construct the fundamental scaling relations of star-forming galaxies during this important epoch.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Runco, Jordan N.; Reddy, Naveen A.; Shapley, Alice E.; Steidel, Charles C.; Sanders, Ryan L.; Strom, Allison L.; Coil, Alison L.; Kriek, Mariska; Mobasher, Bahram; Pettini, Max; Rudie, Gwen C.; Siana, Brian; Topping, Michael W.; Trainor, Ryan F.; Freeman, William R.; Shivaei, Irene; Azadi, Mojegan; Price, Sedona H.; Leung, Gene C.K.; Fetherolf, Tara; De Groot, Laura; Zick, Tom; and Barro, Guillermo, "Reconciling the results of the z ∼2 MOSDEF and KBSS-MOSFIRE Surveys" (2022). Pacific Faculty Work. 203.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/all-faculty/203