Compact E+A Galaxies as a Progenitor of Massive Compact Quiescent
  Galaxies at 0.2<z< 0.8
  We search the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Baryon Oscillation Sky Survey
to identify ~5500 massive compact quiescent galaxy candidates at 0.2<z<0.8. We
robustly classify a subsample of 438 E+A galaxies based on their spectral
properties and make this catalog publicly available. We examine sizes, stellar
population ages and kinematics of galaxies in the sample and show that the
physical properties of compact E+A galaxies suggest that they are a progenitor
of massive compact quiescent galaxies. Thus, two classes of objects-compact E+A
and compact quiescent galaxies-may be linked by a common formation scenario.
The typical stellar population age of compact E+A galaxies is <1 Gyr. The
existence of compact E+A galaxies with young stellar populations at 0.2<z<0.8
means that some compact quiescent galaxies first appear at intermediate
redshifts. We derive a lower limit for the number density of compact E+A
galaxies. Assuming passive evolution, we convert this number density into an
appearance rate of new compact quiescent galaxies at 0.2<z<0.8. The lower limit
number density of compact quiescent galaxies which may appear at z<0.8 is
comparable to the lower limit of the total number density of compact quiescent
galaxies at these intermediate redshifts. Thus, a substantial fraction of the
z<0.8 massive compact quiescent galaxy population may descend from compact E+A
galaxies at intermediate redshifts.
