Program: GN-2024B-Q-135

Quiescent galaxies are objects whose star formation has been quenched. High-z quiescent galaxies differ significantly from their local counterparts in morphology: they are extremely compact and flatter. How these compact quiescent galaxies form and quench is still an open question. In High resolution hydrodynamical simulations, compact quiescent galaxies are formed after an extended star-forming galaxy experiences "wet compaction" - an event in which a catastrophic loss of angular momentum drives large amounts of gas to the center triggering intense star formation after which the galaxy quenches. These simulations predict that compact quiescent galaxies have (V/sigma)_disk ~ 1, they quench inside out and they have dark matter fraction inside one effective radius of ~20-40%. We propose GMOS-IFU observations of two massive compact galaxies - local analogues of high-z compact quiescent galaxies - with the following goals: I) measuring their stellar population properties, II) measuring their stellar kinematics, III) modeling their stellar kinematics and surface brightness distribution to estimate the dark matter fraction inside r=1Re.