VIPERS view of the star formation history of early-type galaxies

Abstract

We present studies over the relations between stellar mass, redshift and star formation history for a high quality sample of early-type galaxies (ETGs) observed by the by the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). VIPERS is an ongoing Large Programme to map in detail the large-scale distribution of galaxies at 0:5 < z < 1:2 with a unique volume (24 deg<SUP>2</SUP>) and sampling rate (~= 45%). At this redshift, IPERS fills a unique niche in galaxy surveys, provides a exceptional opportunity to study galaxies and their evolution at an epoch when the Universe had approximately half its current age. VIPERS data set will become the z ~ 1 equivalent of current state-of-the-art local (z < 0:2) surveys, allowing us to compare measurements at these two different epochs on equal statistical footing. The final sample of this survey is going to reach nearly 100,000 galaxies. As the VIPERS sample contains ~ 15% of the early type galaxies with known spectroscopic redshift and a very good quality spectra, it is a perfect sample to study the star formation history based on their spectroscopic features. We show that there the age of stellar population is depending on the stellar mass and the redshift. Our results show that lower mass galaxies have young stellar populations, while higher mass ETGs are populated with old stars. This suggest that marginal star formation occurs in massive galaxies. This result is consistent with the observations of the local Universe. Moreover, this trend of evolution is preserved for the different redshift range between 0:4 < z < 1:2.