Astraeus IV: quantifying the star formation histories of galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization

We use the ASTRAEUS framework, which couples an N-body simulation with a semi-analytic model for galaxy formation and a semi-numerical model for reionization, to quantify the star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies in the first billion years. Exploring four models of radiative feedback, we fit the SFH of each galaxy at z > 5 as log(SFR(z)) = -alpha(1 + z) + beta; star formation is deemed stochastic if it deviates from this fit by more than Delta(SFR) = 0.6 dex. Our key findings are as follows: (i) The fraction of stellar mass formed and time spent in the stochastic phase decrease with increasing stellar mass and redshift z. While galaxies with stellar masses of M-* similar to 10(7)M(circle dot) at z similar to 5 (10) form similar to 70 per cent (20 per cent) of their stellar mass in the stochastic phase, this reduces to < 10 per cent at all redshifts for galaxies with M-* > 10(10)M(circle dot); (ii) the fractional mass assembled and lifetime spent in the stochastic phase do not significantly change with the radiative feedback model used; and (iii) at all redshifts, alpha increases (decreases for the strongest radiative feedback model) with stellar mass for galaxies with M-* < 10(8.5)M(circle dot) and converges to similar to 0.18 for more massive galaxies; beta always increases with stellar mass. Our proposed fits can reliably recover the stellar masses and mass-to-light ratios for galaxies with M-* similar to 10(8)-10(10.5) M-circle dot and M-UV similar to-17 to - 23 at z similar to 5-9. This physical model can therefore be used to derive the SFHs for galaxies observed by a number of forthcoming instruments.

Automated summary

Using the ASTRAEUS framework, this study quantifies the star formation histories of galaxies in the first billion years by coupling an N-body simulation with semi-analytic and semi-numerical models. Key findings include the decrease in stellar mass formed in the stochastic phase with increasing stellar mass and redshift, the stability of mass assembly and time spent in the stochastic phase with different radiative feedback models, and the variation of alpha and beta parameters with stellar mass at all redshifts. The proposed fits can reliably recover stellar mass and mass-to-light ratios for galaxies at specific ranges of stellar mass and UV magnitude at redshifts between 5-9, making this physical model useful for deriving SFHs for galaxies observed by future instruments.