The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) --
  Environment-size relation of massive passive galaxies at 0.5 < z < 0.8
  We use the statistics of the VIPERS survey to investigate the relation
between the surface mean stellar mass density Sigma=Mstar/(2*pi*Re^2) of
massive passive galaxies (MPGs, Mstar>10^11 Msun) and their environment in the
redshift range 0.5<z<0.8. Passive galaxies were selected on the basis of their
NUVrK colors (~900 objects), and the environment was defined as the galaxy
density contrast, delta, using the fifth nearest-neighbor approach. The
analysis of Sigma vs. delta was carried out in two stellar mass bins. In
galaxies with Mstar<2*10^11 Msun, no correlation between Sigma and delta is
observed. This implies that the accretion of satellite galaxies, which is more
frequent in denser environments and efficient in reducing the galaxy Sigma, is
not relevant in the formation and evolution of these systems. Conversely, in
galaxies with Mstar>2*10^11 Msun, we find an excess of MPGs with low Sigma and
a deficit of high-Sigma MPGs in the densest regions wrt other environments. We
interpret this result as due to the migration of some high-Sigma MPGs (<1% of
the total population of MPGs) into low-Sigma MPGs, probably through mergers or
cannibalism of small satellites. In summary, our results imply that the
accretion of satellite galaxies has a marginal role in the mass-assembly
history of most MPGs.
  We have previously found that the number density of VIPERS massive
star-forming galaxies (MSFGs) declines rapidily from z=0.8 to z=0.5, which
mirrors the rapid increase in the number density of MPGs. This indicates that
the MSFGs at z>0.8 migrate to the MPG population. Here, we investigate the
Sigma-delta relation of MSFGs at z>0.8 and find that it is consistent within 1
sigma with that of low-Sigma MPGs at z<0.8. Thus, the results of this and our
previous paper show that MSFGs at z>0.8 are consistent in terms of number and
environment with being the progenitors of low-Sigma MPGs at z<0.8.
