The majority of galaxy formation studies which explore beyond local redshifts do not typically probe down to the dwarf galaxy stellar mass range of ∼ 10^9 Msun . Thus trends in the observed evolution or characteristics of galaxy formation at a particular epoch are based upon populations of massive galaxies. However the currently favored Λ-Cold Dark Matter (Λ-CDM) theory is based upon hierarchical clustering and merging of lower mass systems, which proceed to make the higher mass, complex morphology of galaxies we observe. Thus it is clear that within the dwarf galaxy mass regime there should be a significant phase of galaxy formation and evolution. This work aims to uncover the influence of local environment on the formation and evolution of dwarf and massive galaxies beyond local redshift, probing down to a mass range lower than that which has been explored by previous studies. A previously successful study titled the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey (ROLES), released results for a redshift of z ∼ 1, which compared the [OII] luminosity and galaxy stellar mass functions ([OII] LF and GSMF respectively), star formation rate density (SFRD), and specific star formation rate (sSFR) relations, with a local SDSS dataset. This led to the expansion of the study to lower redshift (this work) which explored low stellar mass galaxies at a redshift of z ∼ 0.75. This follow-up study referred to as ROLES75 (z ∼ 0.75) targeted the same two deep fields explored by the z ∼ 1 study (GOODS-South, MS1054-03 FIRES), which have extensive public photometry. Low mass targets were selected for study by their K-magnitudes (22.5 < KAB < 24) leading to a dwarf mass range of 8.5 < Log(M∗/Msun) < 9.5, and which were most likely to be within our redshift range (0.62 < z < 0.885). Follow-up multi-object spectroscopy targeted the [OII]λ3727A emission line star formation tracer in these targets allowing us to identify and obtain secure spectroscopic redshifts, SED-fit stellar masses and observed [OII] luminosity calibrated star formation rates down to limits of Log(M∗/Msun) ∼ 8.85 and SFR ∼ 0.1 Msun/yr . Science results presented here are similar to those published by the ROLES z ∼ 1 study, however we also studied the influence of the high versus low density environment in which the galaxy populations reside. This study confirmed that while the [OII] luminosity was higher in earlier times, environment does not influence galaxy formation at z ∼ 0.75. The faint-end slope of the [OII] LF, α ∼ 1.25 measured here, is also observed to become increasingly more steep with increasing redshift. The [OII] luminous GSMF is observed to not have significantly evolved since z ∼ 2.75, confirming the result of the previous ROLES work. However the impact of environment on the GSMF is apparent in the high mass end where the imprint of structure from the CDFS field enhances the stellar mass function above the field population. There is also weak evidence of a bi-modal [OII] luminous GSMF indicated by an ‘upturn’ near ∼ 10^9 Msun in the low density field population. The SFRD at z ∼ 0.75 does not confirm the picture presented by the ROLES z ∼ 1 study where a constant scale factor was applicable to the local SDSS SFRD to obtain the z ∼ 1 SFRD. The SFRD in the high mass end at z ∼ 0.75 is lower than would be expected based upon a constant scale factor, while the low stellar mass end exhibits some consistency with this picture. In the high density environment, this dominant SFRD (over the low density field population) is driven by the high density [OII] luminous GSMF in the high stellar mass end, rather than through an enhancement of the SFR. The normalization of the sSFR − M∗ relation at z ∼ 0.75 is found to lie between those corresponding to z ∼ 1 and present day. There is a subtle ‘upturn’ in the sSFR − M∗ relation confirming this observation which was also present in the ROLES z ∼ 1 study but not present in the local SDSS sSFR − M∗ relation. The sSFR of active galaxies does not depend upon the local density in which they are forming, confirming the same conclusion based upon the [OII] LF. However, there is redshift evolution of the sSFR − M∗ relation with respect to local density. The high density sSFR − M∗ relation for star forming galaxies was dominant over its low density counterpart at early times, with the opposite the case at present day. There is suggestion of the crossover or rollover transition occurring at z ∼ 0.75.

The majority of galaxy formation studies which explore beyond local redshifts do not typically probe down to the dwarf galaxy stellar mass range of ∼ 10^9 Msun . Thus trends in the observed evolution or characteristics of galaxy formation at a particular epoch are based upon populations of massive galaxies. However the currently favored Λ-Cold Dark Matter (Λ-CDM) theory is based upon hierarchical clustering and merging of lower mass systems, which proceed to make the higher mass, complex morphology of galaxies we observe. Thus it is clear that within the dwarf galaxy mass regime there should be a significant phase of galaxy formation and evolution. This work aims to uncover the influence of local environment on the formation and evolution of dwarf and massive galaxies beyond local redshift, probing down to a mass range lower than that which has been explored by previous studies. A previously successful study titled the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey (ROLES), released results for a redshift of z ∼ 1, which compared the [OII] luminosity and galaxy stellar mass functions ([OII] LF and GSMF respectively), star formation rate density (SFRD), and specific star formation rate (sSFR) relations, with a local SDSS dataset. This led to the expansion of the study to lower redshift (this work) which explored low stellar mass galaxies at a redshift of z ∼ 0.75. This follow-up study referred to as ROLES75 (z ∼ 0.75) targeted the same two deep fields explored by the z ∼ 1 study (GOODS-South, MS1054-03 FIRES), which have extensive public photometry. Low mass targets were selected for study by their K-magnitudes (22.5 < KAB < 24) leading to a dwarf mass range of 8.5 < Log(M∗/Msun) < 9.5, and which were most likely to be within our redshift range (0.62 < z < 0.885). Follow-up multi-object spectroscopy targeted the [OII]λ3727A emission line star formation tracer in these targets allowing us to identify and obtain secure spectroscopic redshifts, SED-fit stellar masses and observed [OII] luminosity calibrated star formation rates down to limits of Log(M∗/Msun) ∼ 8.85 and SFR ∼ 0.1 Msun/yr . Science results presented here are similar to those published by the ROLES z ∼ 1 study, however we also studied the influence of the high versus low density environment in which the galaxy populations reside. This study confirmed that while the [OII] luminosity was higher in earlier times, environment does not influence galaxy formation at z ∼ 0.75. The faint-end slope of the [OII] LF, α ∼ 1.25 measured here, is also observed to become increasingly more steep with increasing redshift. The [OII] luminous GSMF is observed to not have significantly evolved since z ∼ 2.75, confirming the result of the previous ROLES work. However the impact of environment on the GSMF is apparent in the high mass end where the imprint of structure from the CDFS field enhances the stellar mass function above the field population. There is also weak evidence of a bi-modal [OII] luminous GSMF indicated by an ‘upturn’ near ∼ 10^9 Msun in the low density field population. The SFRD at z ∼ 0.75 does not confirm the picture presented by the ROLES z ∼ 1 study where a constant scale factor was applicable to the local SDSS SFRD to obtain the z ∼ 1 SFRD. The SFRD in the high mass end at z ∼ 0.75 is lower than would be expected based upon a constant scale factor, while the low stellar mass end exhibits some consistency with this picture. In the high density environment, this dominant SFRD (over the low density field population) is driven by the high density [OII] luminous GSMF in the high stellar mass end, rather than through an enhancement of the SFR. The normalization of the sSFR − M∗ relation at z ∼ 0.75 is found to lie between those corresponding to z ∼ 1 and present day. There is a subtle ‘upturn’ in the sSFR − M∗ relation confirming this observation which was also present in the ROLES z ∼ 1 study but not present in the local SDSS sSFR − M∗ relation. The sSFR of active galaxies does not depend upon the local density in which they are forming, confirming the same conclusion based upon the [OII] LF. However, there is redshift evolution of the sSFR − M∗ relation with respect to local density. The high density sSFR − M∗ relation for star forming galaxies was dominant over its low density counterpart at early times, with the opposite the case at present day. There is suggestion of the crossover or rollover transition occurring at z ∼ 0.75.

Abstract The discs in galaxies are radially extended, rotationally supported, flattened systems. In the cosmological Lambda Cold Dark Matter model the formation of the discs is intimately connected with galaxy formation. Generally it is assumed that the discs have exponentially decreasing stellar surface brightness profiles, but completely satisfactory theoretical explanation for this has not been presented. Large number of studies in the past decade have challenged this view, and have found a change in the slope of the surface brightness profile in the outer regions of many galaxies discs: the surface brightness can decrease more, or less, steeply than in the inner regions. The transition between the two slopes is often called a disc break. Consequently, the discs are divided in three major categories: single exponential Type I, down-bending break Type II, and up-bending break Type III. Formation of these break features has been linked to the initial formation of the discs, internal evolution, and also with the interactions between galaxies. By studying the detailed properties of the disc break features, the evolutionary history of discs, and galaxies in general, can be better understood. The thesis work focuses on the structural analysis of the galaxies in the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G), which consists of 2352 galaxies observed in the 3.6 and 4.5 µm mid-infrared wavelengths with the Spitzer space telescope. Work has been carried out as a part of the data-analysis pipelines of the S4G survey, utilizing surface photometry. In addition, special emphasis has been put on the study of the disc and disc break properties in a wide range of galaxy morphological types and stellar masses. The thesis work attempts to at least partially understand how galaxy stellar mass and observed wavelength affect the properties of the discs and breaks, and how galaxy structural components are connected with the breaks. The data comprises mainly of the 3.6 µm infrared data, providing a view to the stellar mass distribution of galaxies. We find that the Type II breaks are the most common disc profile type, found in 45 ± 2% of the sample galaxies, consisting of 759 galaxies in the stellar mass range 8.5 ≲ log10(M*/M⊙) ≲ 11. Type I discs are found in 31 ± 2%, and the Type III breaks in 23 ± 2% of the sample. The fraction of the profile types also depends of the galaxy stellar mass: fractions of the Types II and III increase, while Type I fraction decreases, with increasing stellar mass. We attribute these changes with stellar mass to the increased frequency of bar resonance structures in higher mass galaxies, which are commonly associated with a Type II break, and to the increased fraction of Type III profiles in generally more massive early-type disc galaxies. In addition to the Type II breaks associated with bar resonance structures, we find that nearly half of these breaks relate to the visual spiral outer edge, confirming previous results of the Type II break connection with galaxy structure, and thus the internal evolution rather than initial formation of discs. Complementary data in optical wavelengths from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey shows a strong change in the properties of the discs inside the Type II breaks, indicating that the inner discs are evolving via star formation. In late-type spiral galaxies (T ≳ 4) with a Type II break, possible evidence of radial stellar migration is found in the outer disc: the slope of the surface brightness profile is shallower in the infrared compared to optical wavelengths, indicating that older stellar populations are more evenly spread throughout the disc. Formation of the Type I and III profiles remain poorly understood. However, indication that some of the Type III profiles are formed by environmentally driven processes is found, with a correlation between the properties of the local environment and the disc profile parameters. Furthermore, indication of star formation possibly causing the up-bends in spiral galaxies is found through a presence of young stellar population in the outer disc section.

We use Integral Field Unit (IFU) data for a subset of galaxies in the MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) sample to investigate the environmental dependence of H-alpha properties for nearby star-forming galaxies. We characterize the non-AGN H-alpha emission for galaxies living in different host environments with radial gradient measurements, half-light radii, as well as measures of concentration and asymmetry. We find that global specific star formation rates (sSFR) are lower in nearby star-forming galaxies in groups and clusters compared to those in the field, and the lowest in high density environments such as group or cluster centres. From the resolved data we find that the overall reduction in H-alpha emission in star-forming galaxies in denser environments occurs across the face of these galaxies, suggesting starvation as a primary quenching mechanism. We further find that H-alpha disks are truncated in group galaxies that live nearer the center of the halo compared to those in the outer halo or field, which may be due to ram pressure stripping in these dense environments. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / In order to understand the evolution of galaxies over time, it is necessary to determine the relative importance of external and internal factors that affect galaxy star formation. We know that galaxies in dense environments have less star formation (are quenched) compared to galaxies in the field. However, the mechanisms that dominate this quenching are less well constrained. We use a sample of galaxies in the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey to investigate the dependence of star formation on other galaxy properties as well as properties of the host environment. We find that galaxies have reduced H-alpha emission, a signature of star formation, across the entire face of the galaxy in groups and clusters compared to galaxies in the field. We further find that galaxies nearer the centre of the group or cluster halo have truncated H-alpha disks compared to galaxies in the outer part of the halo or in the field.