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Dynamically Close Galaxy Pairs and Merger Rate Evolution in the CNOC2 Redshift Survey

, , , , , , , , , , and

© 2002. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
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Author e-mails

dpatton@trentu.ca

Author affiliations

1 Department of Physics, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, Canada

2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6, Canada

3 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8, Canada

4 Visiting Astronomer, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, le Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, and the University of Hawaii

5 Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132

6 Hubble Fellow

7 Princeton University Observatory, Princeton, NJ, 08544-1001; and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Departamento de Astronomia y Astrofisica, Facultad de Fisica, Casilla 306, Santiago 22, Chile

8 Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721

9 Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

10 Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Victoria, BC V8X 4M6, Canada

11 W. M. Keck Observatory, Kamuela, HI 96743

12 California Institute of Technology, 320-47, Pasadena, CA 91125

Dates

Received 2001 July 23
Accepted 2001 September 25

Citation

D. R. Patton et al 2002 ApJ 565 208

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/324543

Keywords

galaxies: evolution; galaxies: interactions; surveys

Journal RSS feed

0004-637X/565/1/208

Abstract

We investigate redshift evolution in the galaxy merger and accretion rates, using a well-defined sample of 4184 galaxies with 0.12 ≤ z ≤ 0.55 and RC ≤ 21.5. We identify 88 galaxies in close (5 ≤ rp ≤ 20 h-1 kpc) dynamical (Δv ≤ 500 km s-1) pairs. These galaxies are used to compute global pair statistics, after accounting for selection effects resulting from the flux limit, k-corrections, luminosity evolution, and spectroscopic incompleteness. We find that the number of companions per galaxy (for -21 ≤ Mimg1.gif ≤ -18) is Nc = 0.0321 ± 0.0077 at z = 0.3. The luminosity in companions, per galaxy, is Lc = 0.0294 ± 0.0084 × 1010 h2 L☉. We assume that Nc is proportional to the galaxy merger rate, while Lc is directly related to the mass accretion rate. After increasing the maximum pair separation to 50 h-1 kpc and comparing with the low-redshift SSRS2 pair sample, we infer evolution in the galaxy merger and accretion rates of (1 + z)2.3±0.7 and (1 + z)2.3±0.9, respectively. These are the first such estimates to be made using only confirmed dynamical pairs. When combined with several additional assumptions, this implies that approximately 15% of present epoch galaxies with -21 ≤ MB ≤ -18 have undergone a major merger since z = 1.

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