In Galaxy And Mass Assembly Data Release 4 (GAMA DR4), we make available our full spectroscopic redshift sample. This includes 248 682 galaxy spectra, and, in combination with earlier surveys, results in 330 542 redshifts across five sky regions covering ∼250 deg². The redshift density, is the highest available over such a sustained area, has exceptionally high completeness (95 per cent to r_KiDS = 19.65 mag), and is well-suited for the study of galaxy mergers, galaxy groups, and the low redshift (z < 0.25) galaxy population. DR4 includes 32 value-added tables or Data Management Units (DMUs) that provide a number of measured and derived data products including GALEX, ESO KiDS, ESO VIKING, WISE, and HerschelSpace Observatory imaging. Within this release, we provide visual morphologies for 15 330 galaxies to z < 0.08, photometric redshift estimates for all 18 million objects to r_KiDS ∼ 25 mag, and stellar velocity dispersions for 111 830 galaxies. We conclude by deriving the total galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) and its sub-division by morphological class (elliptical, compact-bulge and disc, diffuse-bulge and disc, and disc only). This extends our previous measurement of the total GSMF down to 10^6.75 M|$_{\odot } \, h_{70}^{-2}$| and we find a total stellar mass density of ρ_* = (2.97 ± 0.04) × 10⁸ M|$_{\odot } \, h_{70}$| Mpc⁻³ or |$\Omega _*=(2.17 \pm 0.03) \times 10^{-3} \, h_{70}^{-1}$|⁠. We conclude that at z < 0.1, the Universe has converted 4.9 ± 0.1 per cent of the baryonic mass implied by big bang Nucleosynthesis into stars that are gravitationally bound within the galaxy population.

We describe new efforts to model radio active galactic nuclei (AGN) in a cosmological context using the Semi-Analytic Galaxy Evolution (SAGE) semi-analytic galaxy model. Our new method tracks the physical properties of radio jets in massive galaxies including the evolution of radio lobes and their impact on the surrounding gas. This model also self consistently follows the gas cooling–heating cycle that significantly shapes star formation and the life and death of many galaxy types. Adding jet physics to SAGE adds new physical properties to the model output, which in turn allows us to make more detailed predictions for the radio AGN population. After calibrating the model to a set of core observations we analyse predictions for jet power, radio cocoon size, radio luminosity and stellar mass. We find that the model is able to match the stellar mass-radio luminosity relation at z ∼ 0 and the radio luminosity function out to z ∼ 1. This updated model will make possible the construction of customised AGN-focused mock survey catalogues to be used for large-scale observing programs.

Radio-mode feedback is a key ingredient in galaxy formation and evolution models, required to reproduce the observed properties of massive galaxies in the local Universe. We study the cosmic evolution of radio-AGN feedback out to z ∼ 2.5 using a sample of 9485 radio-excess AGN. We combine the evolving radio luminosity functions with a radio luminosity scaling relationship to estimate AGN jet kinetic powers and derive the cosmic evolution of the kinetic luminosity density, Ω_kin (i.e. the volume-averaged heating output). Compared to all radio-AGN, low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) dominate the feedback activity out to z ∼ 2.5, with both these populations showing a constant heating output of |$\Omega _{\rm {kin}} \approx 4-5 \times 10^{32}\, \rm {W\, Mpc^{-3}}$| across 0.5 < z < 2.5. We compare our observations to predictions from semi-analytical and hydrodynamical simulations, which broadly match the observed evolution in Ω_kin, although their absolute normalisation varies. Comparison to the Semi-Analytic Galaxy Evolution (sage) model suggests that radio-AGN may provide sufficient heating to offset radiative cooling losses, providing evidence for a self-regulated AGN feedback cycle. We integrate the kinetic luminosity density across cosmic time to obtain the kinetic energy density output from AGN jets throughout cosmic history to be |$\sim 10^{50}\, \rm {J\, Mpc^{-3}}$|⁠. Compared to AGN winds, the kinetic energy density from AGN jets dominates the energy budget at z ≲ 2; this suggests that AGN jets play an important role in AGN feedback across most of cosmic history.

There have been a number of studies dedicated to identification of fossil galaxy groups, arguably groups with a relatively old formation epoch. Most of such studies identify fossil groups, primarily based on a large luminosity gap, which is the magnitude gap between the two most luminous galaxies in the group. Studies of these types of groups in the millennium cosmological simulations show that, although they have accumulated a significant fraction of their mass, relatively earlier than groups with a small luminosity gap, this parameter alone is not highly efficient in fully discriminating between the ‘old’ and ‘young’ galaxy groups, a label assigned based on halo mass accumulation history. We study galaxies drawn from the semi-analytic models of Guo et al., based on the Millennium Simulation. We establish a set of four observationally measurable parameters which can be used in combination, to identify a subset of galaxy groups which are old, with a very high probability. We thus argue that a sample of fossil groups selected based on luminosity gap will result in a contaminated sample of old galaxy groups. By adding constraints on the luminosity of the brightest galaxy, and its offset from the group luminosity centroid, we can considerably improve the age dating.

An optical monitoring survey in nearby dwarf galaxies was carried out with the 2.5 m Isaac Newton Telescope. Fifty-five dwarf galaxies and four isolated globular clusters in the Local Group were observed with the Wide Field Camera. The main aims of this survey are to identify the most evolved asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants at the end-point of their evolution based on their pulsational instability, use their distribution over luminosity to reconstruct the star formation history, quantify the dust production and mass loss from modeling the multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs), and relate this to luminosity and radius variations. In this first of a series of papers, we present the methodology of the variability survey and describe the photometric catalog of the Andromeda I (And I) dwarf galaxy as an example of the survey, and we discuss the identified long period variable (LPV) stars. We detected 5581 stars and identified 59 LPV candidates within two half-light radii of the center of And I. The amplitudes of these candidates range from 0.2 to 3 mag in the i-band. Seventy-five percent of detected sources and 98% of LPV candidates are detected at mid-infrared wavelengths. We show evidence for the presence of dust-producing AGB stars in this galaxy including five extreme AGB (x-AGB) stars, and we model some of their SEDs. A distance modulus of 24.41 mag for And I was determined based on the tip of the red giant branch. Also, a half-light radius of 3.′2 ± 0.′3 was calculated.

We compare the mean mass assembly histories of compact and fossil galaxy groups in the Millennium Dark Matter Simulation and an associated semi-analytic galaxy formation model. Tracing the halo mass of compact groups (CGs) from z = 0 to z = 1 shows that, on average, 55% of the halo mass in CGs is assembled since , compared to 40% of the halo mass in fossil groups (FGs) on the same time interval, indicating that compared to FGs, CGs are relatively younger galaxy systems. At z = 0, for a given halo mass, FGs tend to have a larger concentration than CGs. Investigating the evolution of CG’s parameters reveals that they become more compact with time. CGs at z = 0.5 see their magnitude gaps increase exponentially, but it takes ∼10 Gyr for them to reach a magnitude gap of 2 mag. The slow growth of the magnitude gap leads to only a minority (∼41%) of CGs selected at z = 0.5 turning into a FG by z = 0. Also, while three-quarters of FGs go through a compact phase, most fail to meet the CG isolation criterion, leaving only ∼30% of FGs fully satisfying the CG selection criteria. Therefore, there is no strong link of CGs turning into FGs or FGs originating from CGs. The relation between CGs and FGs is thus more complex, and in most cases, FGs and CGs follow different evolutionary tracks.