Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the dependence of the galaxy luminosity function on environment, redshift and colour

Tamsyn McNaught-Roberts*, Peder Norberg, Carlton Baugh, Cedric Lacey, J. Loveday, J. Peacock, I. Baldry, J. Bland-Hawthorn, S. Brough, Simon P. Driver, A. S. G. Robotham, J. A. Vazquez-Mata

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We use 80 922 galaxies in the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to measure the galaxy luminosity function (LF) in different environments over the redshift range 0.04 <z <0.26. The depth and size of GAMA allows us to define samples split by colour and redshift to measure the dependence of the LF on environment, redshift and colour. We find that the LF varies smoothly with overdensity, consistent with previous results, with little environmental dependent evolution over the last 3 Gyr. The modified GALFORM model predictions agree remarkably well with our LFs split by environment, particularly in the most overdense environments. The LFs predicted by the model for both blue and red galaxies are consistent with GAMA for the environments and luminosities at which such galaxies dominate. Discrepancies between the model and the data seen in the faint end of the LF suggest too many faint red galaxies are predicted, which is likely to be due to the over-quenching of satellite galaxies. The excess of bright blue galaxies predicted in underdense regions could be due to the implementation of AGN feedback not being sufficiently effective in the lower mass haloes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2125-2145
Number of pages21
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume445
Issue number2
Early online date15 Oct 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014

Keywords

  • Galaxies: evolution
  • Galaxies: luminosity function, mass function
  • Galaxies: structure
  • Digital-sky-survey
  • Cluster galaxies
  • Special type
  • Evolution
  • Density
  • Catalog
  • Field
  • Bimodality
  • Morphology
  • Universe

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