Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): The sSFR-M$_{\star}$ plane part II: Starbursts, SFHs and AGN Feedback

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Davies, L. J. M., Thorne, J. E., Bellstedt, S., Cook, R. H. W., Bravo, M., Robotham, A. S. G., Lagos, C. del P., Phillipps, S., Siudek, M., Holwerda, B. W., Bremer, M. N., D'Silva, J., Driver, S. P.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866910971428077568
author Davies, L. J. M.
Thorne, J. E.
Bellstedt, S.
Cook, R. H. W.
Bravo, M.
Robotham, A. S. G.
Lagos, C. del P.
Phillipps, S.
Siudek, M.
Holwerda, B. W.
Bremer, M. N.
D'Silva, J.
Driver, S. P.
author_facet Davies, L. J. M.
Thorne, J. E.
Bellstedt, S.
Cook, R. H. W.
Bravo, M.
Robotham, A. S. G.
Lagos, C. del P.
Phillipps, S.
Siudek, M.
Holwerda, B. W.
Bremer, M. N.
D'Silva, J.
Driver, S. P.
contents In part I of this series we discussed the variation of star-formation histories (SFHs) across the specific star formation rate - stellar mass plane (sSFR-M$_{\star}$) using the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS). Here we explore the physical mechanisms that are likely driving these observational trends, by comparing the properties of galaxies with common recent SFH shapes. Overall, we find that the processes shaping the movement of galaxies through the sSFR-M$_{\star}$ plane can be be largely split into two stellar mass regimes, bounded by the minimum SFR dispersion ($σ_{SFR}$) point. At lower stellar masses we find that large $σ_{SFR}$ values are likely observed due to a combination of stochastic star-formation processes and a large variety in absolute sSFR values, but relatively constant/flat SFHs. While at higher stellar masses we see strong observational evidence that Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are associated with rapidly declining SFHs, and that these galaxies reside in the high $σ_{SFR}$ region of the plane. As such, we suggest that AGN feedback, leading to galaxy quenching, is the primary driver of the high $σ_{SFR}$ values. These results are consistent with previous theoretical interpretations of the $σ_{SFR}$-M$_{\star}$ relation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_21948
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): The sSFR-M$_{\star}$ plane part II: Starbursts, SFHs and AGN Feedback
Davies, L. J. M.
Thorne, J. E.
Bellstedt, S.
Cook, R. H. W.
Bravo, M.
Robotham, A. S. G.
Lagos, C. del P.
Phillipps, S.
Siudek, M.
Holwerda, B. W.
Bremer, M. N.
D'Silva, J.
Driver, S. P.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
In part I of this series we discussed the variation of star-formation histories (SFHs) across the specific star formation rate - stellar mass plane (sSFR-M$_{\star}$) using the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS). Here we explore the physical mechanisms that are likely driving these observational trends, by comparing the properties of galaxies with common recent SFH shapes. Overall, we find that the processes shaping the movement of galaxies through the sSFR-M$_{\star}$ plane can be be largely split into two stellar mass regimes, bounded by the minimum SFR dispersion ($σ_{SFR}$) point. At lower stellar masses we find that large $σ_{SFR}$ values are likely observed due to a combination of stochastic star-formation processes and a large variety in absolute sSFR values, but relatively constant/flat SFHs. While at higher stellar masses we see strong observational evidence that Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are associated with rapidly declining SFHs, and that these galaxies reside in the high $σ_{SFR}$ region of the plane. As such, we suggest that AGN feedback, leading to galaxy quenching, is the primary driver of the high $σ_{SFR}$ values. These results are consistent with previous theoretical interpretations of the $σ_{SFR}$-M$_{\star}$ relation.
title Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): The sSFR-M$_{\star}$ plane part II: Starbursts, SFHs and AGN Feedback
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21948