Star formation quenching precedes morphological transformation in COSMOS-WEB's richest galaxy groups

Fuente: arXiv

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Ghaffari, Z., Gozaliasl, G., Biviano, A., Toni, G., Taamoli, S., Maturi, M., Moscardini, L., Zacchei, A., Gentile, F., Haas, M., Akins, H., Arango-Toro, R. C., Cheng, Y., Casey, C., Franco, M., Harish, S., Hatamnia, H., Ilbert, O., Kartaltepe, J., Khostovan, A. H., Koekemoer, A. M., Liu, D., Mamon, G. A., McCracken, H. J., McKinney, J., Rhodes, J., Robertson, B., Shuntov, M., Yang, L.
Format:	Preprint
Published:	2026
Subjects:	Astrophysics of Galaxies
Online Access:	Acceder al recurso
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author	Ghaffari, Z. Gozaliasl, G. Biviano, A. Toni, G. Taamoli, S. Maturi, M. Moscardini, L. Zacchei, A. Gentile, F. Haas, M. Akins, H. Arango-Toro, R. C. Cheng, Y. Casey, C. Franco, M. Harish, S. Hatamnia, H. Ilbert, O. Kartaltepe, J. Khostovan, A. H. Koekemoer, A. M. Liu, D. Mamon, G. A. McCracken, H. J. McKinney, J. Rhodes, J. Robertson, B. Shuntov, M. Yang, L.
author_facet	Ghaffari, Z. Gozaliasl, G. Biviano, A. Toni, G. Taamoli, S. Maturi, M. Moscardini, L. Zacchei, A. Gentile, F. Haas, M. Akins, H. Arango-Toro, R. C. Cheng, Y. Casey, C. Franco, M. Harish, S. Hatamnia, H. Ilbert, O. Kartaltepe, J. Khostovan, A. H. Koekemoer, A. M. Liu, D. Mamon, G. A. McCracken, H. J. McKinney, J. Rhodes, J. Robertson, B. Shuntov, M. Yang, L.
contents	We analyzed the 25 richest galaxy groups in COSMOS-Web at z = 0.18-3.65, identified via the AMICO algorithm. These groups contain 20-30 galaxies with high (>75%) membership probability. Our study reveals both passive-density and active-density relations: late-type galaxies (LTGs) prefer higher central overdensities than early-type galaxies (ETGs) across all groups, and many massive LTGs exhibit colors typical of quiescent galaxies. We identify red sequences (RS) in 5 groups, prominently established at z < 1, with early emergence in the RS locus up to z ~ 2.2. This suggests group environments represent a transitional phase where star formation quenching precedes morphological transformation, contrasting with the classical morphology-density relation in rich clusters. In the central regions (~33 arcsec / 100 kpc from centers), we identified 86 galaxies: 23 (~27%) ETGs and 63 (~73%) LTGs. High-mass galaxies (M_star > 10^10.5 M_sun) undergo rapid quenching over ~1 Gyr, becoming predominantly spheroidal ETGs. This indicates morphological transformation accelerates in massive systems during peak cosmic star formation. Intermediate-mass galaxies (10^9 < M_star/M_sun < 10^10.5) show mild quenching, while low-mass galaxies (M_star < 10^9 M_sun) remain largely star-forming; here, environmental processes suppress star formation without destroying disks, suggesting group quenching operates on longer timescales than mass quenching. Overall, mass-dependent quenching dominates the high-mass end, while environment shapes lower-mass systems. The HLAGN fraction for both groups and field increases with redshift, peaking at z ~ 2, with groups consistently showing higher fractions. We suggest AGN feedback partially drives rapid quenching in high-mass galaxies, while mergers may trigger AGN activity.
format	Preprint
id	arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_06297
institution	arXiv
publishDate	2026
record_format	arxiv
spellingShingle	Star formation quenching precedes morphological transformation in COSMOS-WEB's richest galaxy groups Ghaffari, Z. Gozaliasl, G. Biviano, A. Toni, G. Taamoli, S. Maturi, M. Moscardini, L. Zacchei, A. Gentile, F. Haas, M. Akins, H. Arango-Toro, R. C. Cheng, Y. Casey, C. Franco, M. Harish, S. Hatamnia, H. Ilbert, O. Kartaltepe, J. Khostovan, A. H. Koekemoer, A. M. Liu, D. Mamon, G. A. McCracken, H. J. McKinney, J. Rhodes, J. Robertson, B. Shuntov, M. Yang, L. Astrophysics of Galaxies We analyzed the 25 richest galaxy groups in COSMOS-Web at z = 0.18-3.65, identified via the AMICO algorithm. These groups contain 20-30 galaxies with high (>75%) membership probability. Our study reveals both passive-density and active-density relations: late-type galaxies (LTGs) prefer higher central overdensities than early-type galaxies (ETGs) across all groups, and many massive LTGs exhibit colors typical of quiescent galaxies. We identify red sequences (RS) in 5 groups, prominently established at z < 1, with early emergence in the RS locus up to z ~ 2.2. This suggests group environments represent a transitional phase where star formation quenching precedes morphological transformation, contrasting with the classical morphology-density relation in rich clusters. In the central regions (~33 arcsec / 100 kpc from centers), we identified 86 galaxies: 23 (~27%) ETGs and 63 (~73%) LTGs. High-mass galaxies (M_star > 10^10.5 M_sun) undergo rapid quenching over ~1 Gyr, becoming predominantly spheroidal ETGs. This indicates morphological transformation accelerates in massive systems during peak cosmic star formation. Intermediate-mass galaxies (10^9 < M_star/M_sun < 10^10.5) show mild quenching, while low-mass galaxies (M_star < 10^9 M_sun) remain largely star-forming; here, environmental processes suppress star formation without destroying disks, suggesting group quenching operates on longer timescales than mass quenching. Overall, mass-dependent quenching dominates the high-mass end, while environment shapes lower-mass systems. The HLAGN fraction for both groups and field increases with redshift, peaking at z ~ 2, with groups consistently showing higher fractions. We suggest AGN feedback partially drives rapid quenching in high-mass galaxies, while mergers may trigger AGN activity.
title	Star formation quenching precedes morphological transformation in COSMOS-WEB's richest galaxy groups
topic	Astrophysics of Galaxies
url	https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.06297