Post-starburst galaxies: more than just an interesting curiosity
Wild, V. and Walcher, C.~J. and Johansson, P.~H. and Tresse, L. and Charlot, S. and Pollo, A. and Le F`evre, O. and de Ravel, L.
Keywords
methods: statistical , galaxies: evolution , galaxies: high redshift , galaxies: stellar content
Abstract
From the VIMOS VLT DEEP Survey (VVDS) we select a sample of 16 galaxies with spectra which identify them as having recently undergone a strong starburst and subsequent fast quenching of star formation. These post-starburst galaxies lie in the redshift range 0.5Q, PSB) = 0.0038Msun/Mpc^3/yr, assuming the defining spectroscopic features are detectable for 0.35Gyr. If the galaxies subsequently remain on the red sequence, this accounts for 38(_s164/-11)% of the growth rate of the red sequence. Finally, we compare our high redshift results with a sample of galaxies with 0.05
