ZFOURGE: Using Composite Spectral Energy Distributions to Characterize Galaxy Populations at 1<z<4

Understand

We investigate the properties of galaxies as they shut off star formation over the 4 billion years surrounding peak cosmic star formation.

• To do this we categorize $\sim7000$ galaxies from $1<z<4$ into $90$ groups based on the shape of their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and build composite SEDs with $R\sim 50$ resolution.
• These composite SEDs show a variety of spectral shapes and also show trends in parameters such as color, mass, star formation rate, and emission line equivalent width.
• Using emission line equivalent widths and strength of the 4000\AA\ break, $D(4000)$, we categorize the composite SEDs into five classes: extreme emission line, star-forming, transitioning, post-starburst, and quiescent galaxies.