Quiescent galaxies at $z \gtrsim 2.5$: observations vs. models

Understand

The presence of massive quiescent galaxies at high redshifts is still a challenge for most models of galaxy formation.

• The aim of this work is to compare the observed number density and properties of these galaxies with the predictions of state-of-the-art models.
• The sample of massive quiescent galaxies has been selected from the COSMOS2015 photometric catalogue with $z_{\rm phot}\geq 2.5$, $\log (M_*/M_\odot)\geq 10.5$ and $\log(\mathrm{sSFR\,[yr^{-1}]})\le -11$.
• The photometric SEDs of the selected galaxies have been thoroughly analyzed based on different stellar population synthesis models.