The Evolution of Stellar Mass in Galaxies in the NICMOS Ultra Deep Field

Abstract

We measure the buildup of the stellar mass of galaxies from z=6 down to z=1. Using 15 band multicolor imaging data in the NICMOS Ultra Deep Field we derive photometric redshifts and masses for 796 galaxies down to H_AB=26.5 mag. The derived evolution of the global stellar mass density of galaxies is consistent with previous star formation rate density measurements over the observed range of redshifts. Beyond the observed range, maintaining consistency between the global stellar mass and the observed star formation rate suggests the epoch of galaxy formation was z=16.