PRIMUS: CONSTRAINTS ON STAR FORMATION QUENCHING AND GALAXY MERGING, AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE STELLAR MASS FUNCTION FROMz= 0-1

We measure the evolution of the stellar mass function (SMF) from z = 0-1 using multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic redshifts from the PRism MUlti-object Survey (PRIMUS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From PRIMUS we construct an i < 23 flux-limited sample of ~40, 000 galaxies at z = 0. 2-1. 0 over five fields totaling ≈5. 5 deg2, and from the SDSS we select ~170, 000 galaxies at z = 0. 01-0. 2 that we analyze consistently with respect to PRIMUS to minimize systematic errors in our evolutionary measurements. We find that the SMF of all galaxies evolves relatively little since z = 1, although we do find evidence for mass assembly downsizing; we measure a ≈30% increase in the number density of ~1010 \ M\ galaxies since z ≈ 0. 6, and a lsim 10% change in the number density of all gsim 1011 \ M\ galaxies since z ≈ 1. Dividing the sample into star-forming and quiescent using an evolving cut in specific star formation rate, we find that the number density of ~1010 \ M\ star-forming galaxies stays relatively constant since z ≈ 0. 6, whereas the space density of gsim 1011 \ M\ star-forming galaxies decreases by ≈50% between z ≈ 1 and z ≈ 0. Meanwhile, the number density of ~1010 \ M\ quiescent galaxies increases steeply toward low redshift, by a factor of ~2-3 since z ≈ 0. 6, while the number of massive quiescent galaxies remains approximately constant since z ≈ 1. These results suggest that the rate at which star-forming galaxies are quenched increases with decreasing stellar mass, but that the bulk of the stellar mass buildup within the quiescent population occurs around ~1010. 8 \ M\. In addition, we conclude that mergers do not appear to be a dominant channel for the stellar mass buildup of galaxies at z < 1, even among massive (gsim 1011 \ M\) quiescent galaxies.