The Evolution of the Optical Galaxy Luminosity Function -
Abstract
Description
The optical luminosity function is a fundamental characterization of the galaxy population. A combination of earlier redshift surveys with two new surveys allows the first accurate determination of the evolution of the luminosity function with redshift, and reveals a marked steepening of the faint end slope. This effect is more profound for star-forming galaxies - there are 5-10 times as many star-forming galaxies at z~0.5 as there are locally. These results, together with high-resolution imaging and linewidth velocity measurements, support the view that the excess of star-forming galaxies at moderate redshift represents a general increase in the star-formation rate of normal galaxies rather than a distinct new population. This increase in star-formation appears in lower-L galaxies at lower redshift and only appears in L* galaxies at z>0.5. Imaging studies provide indirect evidence which suggests that interactions are responsible for a large part of this increased activity.
Invited review, 35th Herstmonceux Conference, "Wide Field Spectroscopy and the Distant Universe", 11 pages, uuencoded compressed Postscript file, also via anonymous ftp from mso.anu.edu.au as pub/colless/hx35.ps.Z
Invited review, 35th Herstmonceux Conference, "Wide Field Spectroscopy and the Distant Universe", 11 pages, uuencoded compressed Postscript file, also via anonymous ftp from mso.anu.edu.au as pub/colless/hx35.ps.Z