Do Red Galaxies Form More Stars than Blue Galaxies?

Abstract A new model is proposed in which typical galaxies form most of their stellar mass in a phase with an intrinsically red stellar population. In the standard picture, galaxies with intrinsically red stellar populations are believed to have old stellar populations, so that only galaxies with blue stellar populations have significant star formation, and subsequent changes to the stellar population come predominantly from aging and merging populations that have already formed. However, several observational puzzles have developed that are difficult to reconcile with this standard scenario. The most massive blue star-forming galaxies, presumed to be at the end of their stellar mass growth, are ∼1 dex less massive, have a ∼1 dex lower M * / M BH ratio, and have a bottom-lighter IMF than local quiescent galaxies. Here, a new solution is proposed: at low temperature and high metallicity, galaxies can continue to form stars efficiently without being able to form O and B stars. These red star-forming galaxies would have many of the same properties of the population currently described as post-starburst galaxies, allowing a new interpretation of their origin. Finally, additional falsifiable observational predictions of this model are also discussed.