ESO Telescope Bibliography - KMOS^3D Reveals Low-level Star Formation Activity in Massive Quiescent Galaxies at 0.7 〈 z 〈 2.7

Belli, Sirio 0000-0002-5615-6018; Genzel, Reinhard 0000-0002-2767-9653; Förster Schreiber, Natascha M.; Wisnioski, Emily; Wilman, David J. 0000-0002-1822-4462; Wuyts, Stijn 0000-0003-3735-1931; Mendel, J. Trevor 0000-0002-6327-9147; Beifiori, Alessandra; Bender, Ralf 0000-0001-7179-0626; Brammer, Gabriel B. 0000-0003-2680-005X; Burkert, Andreas 0000-0001-6879-9822; Chan, Jeffrey; Davies, Rebecca L. 0000-0002-3324-4824; Davies, Ric 0000-0003-4949-7217; Fabricius, Maximilian; Fossati, Matteo 0000-0002-9043-8764; Galametz, Audrey; Lang, Philipp 0000-0002-5681-3575; Lutz, Dieter; Momcheva, Ivelina G. 0000-0003-1665-2073

Belli, Sirio 0000-0002-5615-6018; Genzel, Reinhard 0000-0002-2767-9653; Förster Schreiber, Natascha M.; Wisnioski, Emily; Wilman, David J. 0000-0002-1822-4462; Wuyts, Stijn 0000-0003-3735-1931; Mendel, J. Trevor 0000-0002-6327-9147; Beifiori, Alessandra; Bender, Ralf 0000-0001-7179-0626; Brammer, Gabriel B. 0000-0003-2680-005X; Burkert, Andreas 0000-0001-6879-9822; Chan, Jeffrey; Davies, Rebecca L. 0000-0002-3324-4824; Davies, Ric 0000-0003-4949-7217; Fabricius, Maximilian; Fossati, Matteo 0000-0002-9043-8764; Galametz, Audrey; Lang, Philipp 0000-0002-5681-3575; Lutz, Dieter; Momcheva, Ivelina G. 0000-0003-1665-2073; Nelson, Erica J.; Saglia, Roberto P. 0000-0003-0378-7032; Tacconi, Linda J. 0000-0002-1485-9401; Tadaki, Ken-ichi 0000-0001-9728-8909; Übler, Hannah; van Dokkum, Pieter 0000-0002-8282-9888

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We explore the Hα emission in the massive quiescent galaxies observed by the KMOS^3D survey at 0.7 〈 z 〈 2.7. The Hα line is robustly detected in 20 out of 120 UVJ-selected quiescent galaxies, and we classify the emission mechanism using the Hα line width and the [N ii]/Hα line ratio. We find that AGNs are likely to be responsible for the line emission in more than half of the cases. We also find robust evidence for star formation activity in nine quiescent galaxies, which we explore in detail. The Hα kinematics reveal rotating disks in five of the nine galaxies. The dust-corrected Hα star formation rates are low (0.2─7 M _☉ yr⁻¹), and place these systems significantly below the main sequence. The 24 μm-based, infrared luminosities, instead, overestimate the star formation rates. These galaxies present a lower gas-phase metallicity compared to star-forming objects with similar stellar mass, and many of them have close companions. We therefore conclude that the low-level star formation activity in these nine quiescent galaxies is likely to be fueled by inflowing gas or minor mergers, and could be a sign of rejuvenation events. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory under programs 092.A-0091, 093.A-0079, 094.A-0217, 095.A-0047, 096.A-0025, and 097.A-0028.
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2017ApJ...841L...6B