Gamma Analytical Modelling Evolution – I. The physical implications of deriving the stellar mass functions from <i>z</i> = 0 to <i>z</i> = 8

ABSTRACT The $\Gamma$ growth model is an effective parametrization employed across various scientific disciplines and scales to depict growth. It has been demonstrated that the cosmic star formation rate density (CSFRD) can also be described broadly by this pattern, i.e. $\frac{{\rm d}M(T)}{{\rm d}T} = M_{z,0}\, \times \frac{\beta ^{\alpha }}{\Gamma (\alpha)} \, T^{\alpha -1} {\rm e}^{-\beta \, T }$ M$_{\odot }$ Gyr$^{-1}$, where $M_{z,0}$ is the stellar mass at z = 0, $\alpha = 3.0$, $\beta = 0.5$ Gyr$^{-1}$ and T describes time. We use the identical $\Gamma$ growth pattern given by the CSFRD to extend the present-day (z = 0) stellar mass bins $M_{\ast }(T)$ of the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) and investigate if we are able to reproduce observations for the high-redshift GSMFs. Surprisingly, our scheme describes successfully the evolution of the GSMF over 13.5 Gyr, especially for objects with intermediate and low masses. We observe some deviations that manifest solely at very high redshifts ($z &amp;gt; 1.5$, i.e. more than 9.5 Gyr ago) and specifically for very small and exceedingly massive objects. We discuss the possible solutions (e.g. impacts of mergers) for these offsets. Our formalism suggests that the evolution of the GSMF is set by simple (few parameters) and physically motivated arguments. The parameters $\beta$ and $\alpha$ are theoretically consistent within a multiscale context and are determined from the dynamical time-scale ($\beta$) and the radial distribution of the accreting matter ($\alpha$). We demonstrate that both our formalism and state-of-the-art simulations are consistent with recent GSMFs derived from JWST data at high redshifts.

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Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-05-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf755
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.15

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article

Gamma Analytical Modelling Evolution – I. The physical implications of deriving the stellar mass functions from z = 0 to z = 8

N. R. Napolitano, Weipeng Lin, Xianzhong Zheng, Nicolás Tejos et al.
1 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
1.15
article

Gamma Analytical Modelling Evolution – I. The physical implications of deriving the stellar mass functions from z = 0 to z = 8

N. R. Napolitano, Weipeng Lin, Xianzhong Zheng, Nicolás Tejos, Q. Jane Wang, Antonios Katsianis, Xiaohu Yang, Hung-Yi Pu, Weishan Zhu, Pedro Cataldi, Junde Li, Weiguang Cui, Y Li, Cheng Li, Ying Tang, Long-Long Feng
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The $\Gamma$ growth model is an effective parametrization employed across various scientific disciplines and scales to depict growth. It has been demonstrated that the cosmic star formation rate density (CSFRD) can also be described broadly by this pattern, i.e. $\frac{{\rm d}M(T)}{{\rm d}T} = M_{z,0}\, \times \frac{\beta ^{\alpha }}{\Gamma (\alpha)} \, T^{\alpha -1} {\rm e}^{-\beta \, T }$ M$_{\odot }$ Gyr$^{-1}$, where $M_{z,0}$ is the stellar mass at z = 0, $\alpha = 3.0$, $\beta = 0.5$ Gyr$^{-1}$ and T describes time. We use the identical $\Gamma$ growth pattern given by the CSFRD to extend the present-day (z = 0) stellar mass bins $M_{\ast }(T)$ of the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) and investigate if we are able to reproduce observations for the high-redshift GSMFs. Surprisingly, our scheme describes successfully the evolution of the GSMF over 13.5 Gyr, especially for objects with intermediate and low masses. We observe some deviations that manifest solely at very high redshifts ($z &amp;gt; 1.5$, i.e. more than 9.5 Gyr ago) and specifically for very small and exceedingly massive objects. We discuss the possible solutions (e.g. impacts of mergers) for these offsets. Our formalism suggests that the evolution of the GSMF is set by simple (few parameters) and physically motivated arguments. The parameters $\beta$ and $\alpha$ are theoretically consistent within a multiscale context and are determined from the dynamical time-scale ($\beta$) and the radial distribution of the accreting matter ($\alpha$). We demonstrate that both our formalism and state-of-the-art simulations are consistent with recent GSMFs derived from JWST data at high redshifts.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 540(1)
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (CL), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (IT), Purple Mountain Observatory (CN), Royal Observatory (GB), Federico II University Hospital (IT), Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics (AR), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), University of Naples Federico II (IT), University of Edinburgh (GB), Tsinghua University (CN)
National Science Foundation, Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, Comunidad de Madrid, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
1.15
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