[en] We quantify the effect of the galaxy group environment (for group masses of 10^12.5–10^14.0 M _⊙) on the current star formation rate (SFR) of a pure, morphologically selected sample of disk-dominated (i.e., late-type spiral) galaxies with redshift ≤0.13. The sample embraces a full representation of quiescent and star-forming disks with stellar mass M _* ≥ 10^9.5 M _⊙. We focus on the effects on SFR of interactions between grouped galaxies and the putative intrahalo medium (IHM) of their host group dark matter halos, isolating these effects from those induced through galaxy–galaxy interactions, and utilizing a radiation transfer analysis to remove the inclination dependence of derived SFRs. The dependence of SFR on M _* is controlled for by measuring offsets Δlog(ψ _*) of grouped galaxies about a single power-law relation in specific SFR, ${\mathrm{\psi <!--\; ??\; -->}}_{\ast <!--\; ???\; -->}\propto <!--\; ???\; -->M_{\ast <!--\; ???\; -->}^{-<!--\; ???\; -->0.45\pm <!--\; ??\; -->0.01}$, exhibited by non-grouped “field” galaxies in the sample. While a small minority of the group satellites are strongly quenched, the group centrals and a large majority of satellites exhibit levels of ψ _* statistically indistinguishable from their field counterparts, for all M _*, albeit with a higher scatter of 0.44 dex about the field reference relation (versus 0.27 dex for the field). Modeling the distributions in Δlog(ψ _*), we find that (i) after infall into groups, disk-dominated galaxies continue to be characterized by a similar rapid cycling of gas into and out of their interstellar medium shown prior to infall, with inflows and outflows of ∼1.5–5 x SFR and ∼1–4 x SFR, respectively; and (ii) the independence of the continuity of these gas flow cycles on M _* appears inconsistent with the required fueling being sourced from gas in the circumgalactic medium on scales of ∼100 kpc. Instead, our data favor ongoing fueling of satellites from the IHM of the host group halo on ∼Mpc scales, i.e., from gas not initially associated with the galaxies upon infall. Consequently, the color–density relation of the galaxy population as a whole would appear to be primarily due to a change in the mix of disk- and spheroid-dominated morphologies in the denser group environment compared to the field, rather than to a reduced propensity of the IHM in higher-mass structures to cool and accrete onto galaxies. We also suggest that the required substantial accretion of IHM gas by satellite disk-dominated galaxies will lead to a progressive reduction in the specific angular momentum of these systems, thereby representing an efficient secular mechanism to transform morphology from star-forming disk-dominated types to more passive spheroid-dominated types.

[en] We present an analysis of the mid-infrared Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) sources seen within the equatorial GAMA G12 field, located in the North Galactic Cap. Our motivation is to study and characterize the behavior of WISE source populations in anticipation of the deep multiwavelength surveys that will define the next decade, with the principal science goal of mapping the 3D large-scale structures and determining the global physical attributes of the host galaxies. In combination with cosmological redshifts, we identify galaxies from their WISE W1 (3.4 μm) resolved emission, and we also perform a star-galaxy separation using apparent magnitude, colors, and statistical modeling of star counts. The resulting galaxy catalog has ≃590,000 sources in 60 deg², reaching a W1 5σ depth of 31 μJy. At the faint end, where redshifts are not available, we employ a luminosity function analysis to show that approximately 27% of all WISE extragalactic sources to a limit of 17.5 mag (31 μJy) are at high redshift, $z><!--\; >\; -->1$. The spatial distribution is investigated using two-point correlation functions and a 3D source density characterization at 5 Mpc and 20 Mpc scales. For angular distributions, we find that brighter and more massive sources are strongly clustered relative to fainter sources with lower mass; likewise, based on WISE colors, spheroidal galaxies have the strongest clustering, while late-type disk galaxies have the lowest clustering amplitudes. In three dimensions, we find a number of distinct groupings, often bridged by filaments and superstructures. Using special visualization tools, we map these structures, exploring how clustering may play a role with stellar mass and galaxy type.

[en] The Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey furnishes a deep redshift catalog that, when combined with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), allows us to explore for the first time the mid-infrared properties of >110, 000 galaxies over 120 deg² to z ≅ 0.5. In this paper we detail the procedure for producing the matched GAMA-WISE catalog for the G12 and G15 fields, in particular characterizing and measuring resolved sources; the complete catalogs for all three GAMA equatorial fields will be made available through the GAMA public releases. The wealth of multiwavelength photometry and optical spectroscopy allows us to explore empirical relations between optically determined stellar mass (derived from synthetic stellar population models) and 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm WISE measurements. Similarly dust-corrected Hα-derived star formation rates can be compared to 12 μm and 22 μm luminosities to quantify correlations that can be applied to large samples to z < 0.5. To illustrate the applications of these relations, we use the 12 μm star formation prescription to investigate the behavior of specific star formation within the GAMA-WISE sample and underscore the ability of WISE to detect star-forming systems at z ∼ 0.5. Within galaxy groups (determined by a sophisticated friends-of-friends scheme), results suggest that galaxies with a neighbor within 100 h ^–1 kpc have, on average, lower specific star formation rates than typical GAMA galaxies with the same stellar mass.