FIGS: spectral fitting constraints on the star formation history of massive galaxies since the cosmic noon

We constrain the stellar population properties of a sample of 52 massive galaxies - with stellar mass log (M-s/M-circle dot) greater than or similar to 10.5 - over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 2 by use of observer-frame optical and near-infrared slitless spectra from Hubble Space Telescope's ACS and WFC3 grisms. The deep exposures (similar to 100 ks) allow us to target individual spectra of massive galaxies to F160W = 22.5AB. Our spectral fitting approach uses a set of six base models adapted to the redshift and spectral resolution of each observation, and fits the weights of the base models, including potential dust attenuation, via a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. Our sample comprises a mixed distribution of quiescent (19) and star-forming galaxies (33). We quantify the width of the age distribution (Delta t) that is found to dominate the variance of the retrieved parameters according to principal component analysis. The population parameters follow the expected trend towards older ages with increasing mass, and Delta t appears to weakly anticorrelate with stellar mass, suggesting a more efficient star formation at the massive end. As expected, the redshift dependence of the relative stellar age (measured in units of the age of the Universe at the source) in the quiescent sample rejects the hypothesis of a single burst (aka monolithic collapse). Radial colour gradients within each galaxy are also explored, finding a wider scatter in the star-forming subsample, but no conclusive trend with respect to the population parameters.ASI [I/023/12/0]; MIUR PRIN 2015 'Cosmology and Fundamental Physics: Illuminating the Dark Universe with Euclid'; Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA [NAS 5-26555]; NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute [NAS 5-26555, 13779]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu