Morphological and Star Formation Properties of Cosmic Noon Massive Quiescent Galaxies

[2605.02493] Morphological and Star Formation Properties of Cosmic Noon Massive Quiescent Galaxies Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search Astrophysics > Astrophysics of Galaxies arXiv:2605.02493 (astro-ph) [Submitted on 4 May 2026 ( v1 ), last revised 14 Aug 2026 (this version, v2)] Title: Morphological and Star Formation Properties of Cosmic Noon Massive Quiescent Galaxies Authors: Vaidik Prasal , Yogesh Wadadekar , Pralay Biswas , Rashi Jain View a PDF of the paper titled Morphological and Star Formation Properties of Cosmic Noon Massive Quiescent Galaxies, by Vaidik Prasal and 3 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: We analyze the star formation and morphological properties of massive quiescent galaxies at cosmic noon ($2 < z < 3$) in the Abell 2744 field, using deep JWST NIRCam broadband and medium-band imaging from the UNCOVER Treasury program and the MegaScience survey, complemented by archival HST data. Using BAGPIPES SED modeling, we select 14 unique massive quiescent galaxies ($M_* \gtrsim 10^{10}$ M$_\odot$, $\mathrm{sSFR} < 0.2/t_\mathrm{age}$). Morphological analysis with statmorph and pysersic reveals that most galaxies are intermediate type or S0s with a median Sérsic index $n \sim 4$, consistent with bulge-dominated systems. This value remains constant over $z \sim 1.5$--$4$, indicating that the morphology of massive galaxies is linked to their quiescence since at least $z \sim 4$. Spatially resolved SED modeling with piXedfit shows that 11 out of 14 galaxies exhibit positive radial sSFR gradients, providing direct evidence for inside-out quenching, with the mean sSFR increasing by $\sim2$ dex from $R/R_e = 0.5$ to $4.5$. Formation time ($t_{50}$) profiles confirm that inner regions formed $\approx 0.5$ Gyr earlier, on average, than the outer regions, and quenching timescale profiles show that the cores were quenched more rapidly than the outskirts. Most galaxies are compact, with a mean half-mass radius of $R_e = 1.95 \pm 0.13$ kpc. The observed inside-out quenching pattern is consistent with quenching driven by AGN feedback, while the bulge-dominated morphologies suggest morphological quenching may also contribute. Comments: 28 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) Cite as: arXiv:2605.02493 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2605.02493v2 [astro-ph.GA] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.02493 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Vaidik Prasal [ view email ] [v1] Mon, 4 May 2026 11:43:26 UTC (10,886 KB) [v2] Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:23:21 UTC (10,891 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Morphological and Star Formation Properties of Cosmic Noon Massive Quiescent Galaxies, by Vaidik Prasal and 3 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: astro-ph.GA < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-05 Change to browse by: astro-ph References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... 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