{
  "id": "1008.5244",
  "version": "v2",
  "published": "2010-08-31T08:02:33.000Z",
  "updated": "2010-11-29T15:12:59.000Z",
  "title": "The stellar mass function of the most massive galaxies at 3<=z<5 in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey",
  "authors": [
    "K. I. Caputi",
    "M. Cirasuolo",
    "J. S. Dunlop",
    "R. J. McLure",
    "D. Farrah",
    "O. Almaini"
  ],
  "comment": "16 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.CO"
  ],
  "abstract": "We have analysed a sample of 1292 4.5 micron-selected galaxies at z>=3, over 0.6 square degrees of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Survey (UKIDSS) Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). Using photometry from the U band through 4.5 microns, we have obtained photometric redshifts and derived stellar masses for our sources. Only two of our galaxies potentially lie at z>5. We have studied the galaxy stellar mass function at 3<=z<5, based on the 1213 galaxies in our catalogue with [4.5]<= 24.0. We find that: i) the number density of M > 10^11 Msun galaxies increased by a factor > 10 between z=5 and 3, indicating that the assembly rate of these galaxies proceeded > 20 times faster at these redshifts than at 0<z<2; ii) the Schechter function slope alpha is significantly steeper than that displayed by the local stellar mass function, which is both a consequence of the steeper faint end and the absence of a pure exponential decline at the high-mass end; iii) the evolution of the comoving stellar mass density from z=0 to 5 can be modelled as log10 (rho_M) =-(0.05 +/- 0.09) z^2 - (0.22 -/+ 0.32) z + 8.69. At 3<=z<4, more than 30% of the M > 10^11 Msun galaxies would be missed by optical surveys with R<27 or z<26. Thus, our study demonstrates the importance of deep mid-IR surveys over large areas to perform a complete census of massive galaxies at high z and trace the early stages of massive galaxy assembly.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v2",
      "updated": "2010-11-29T15:12:59.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "ukidss ultra deep survey",
      "massive galaxy",
      "galaxy stellar mass function",
      "msun galaxies",
      "ukirt infrared deep survey"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "journal article"
    ],
    "publication": {
      "doi": "10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18118.x",
      "journal": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
      "year": 2011,
      "month": "May",
      "volume": 413,
      "number": 1,
      "pages": 162
    },
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 16,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable",
      "inspire": 866750,
      "adsabs": "2011MNRAS.413..162C"
    }
  }
}