The Physical Nature of Rest-UV Galaxy Morphology during the Peak Epoch of Galaxy Formation

Motivated by the irregular and little-understood morphologies of z ~ 2-3 galaxies, we use nonparametric coefficients to quantify the morphologies of 216 galaxies that have been spectroscopically confirmed to lie at redshifts z = 1.8-3.4 in the GOODS-N field. Using measurements of UV and optical spectral lines, multiband photometric data, and stellar population models, we statistically assess possible correlations between galaxy morphology and physical observables such as stellar mass, star formation rate, and the strength of galaxy-scale outflows. We find evidence that dustier galaxies have more nebulous UV morphologies and that larger, more luminous galaxies may drive stronger outflows, but we otherwise conclude that UV morphology is either statistically decoupled from the majority of physical observables or determined by too complex a combination of physical processes to provide characterizations with predictive power. Given the absence of strong correlations between UV morphology and physical parameters such as star formation rates, we are therefore unable to support the hypothesis that morphologically irregular galaxies predominantly represent major galaxy mergers. Comparing galaxy samples, we find that IR-selected BzK galaxies and radio-selected submillimeter galaxies have UV morphologies similar to the optically selected sample, while distant red galaxies are more nebulous.