Thursday

We present a new analysis of a sample of galaxies from the GOODS North and South fields of CANDELS using distance independent relative surface brightness metrics to determine an unbiased measure of the size evolution over the redshift range 1z7. We introduce a new method of removing background objects from images of galaxies, used in order to reduce the effect extraneous objects have on measuring the size of a galaxy. Using the Petrosian radius, we are able to determine whether the size of a galaxy increases most in the inner or outer regions. We find a slower evolution of the inner regions of galaxies compared to the outer regions which implies mass is added to the outer edges of a galaxy as it evolves and therefore suggests inside-out formation. Our results place new limits on the history of galaxy structural evolution through the past 12 Gyr of cosmic evolution.