Surface photometry and structure of high redshift disk galaxies in the HDF-S NICMOS field

Abstract

A photometric study of 22 disk galaxies at redshifs z=0.5-2.6 is conducted, using deep NICMOS J and H band and STIS open mode observations of the HDF-S NICMOS parallel field. Rest-frame B-profiles and (U-V) color profiles are constructed. A number of disks show steeper decrease of luminosity than exponential, referring to disk truncation. Shape of the luminosity profiles does not vary with redshift, but galactic sizes decrease significantly. (U-V) colors and color gradients suggest more intense and centrally concentrated star formation at earlier epochs. On the basis of (U-V) color and chemical evolution models, the disks at z~2.5 have formed between z=3.5-7. The studied parameters are idependent of absolute B luminosity within the sample.