D'Eugenio Fvan der Wel APO-FENG WUBarone T.Mvan Houdt JBezanson RStraatman C.M.SPacifici CMuzzin AGallazzi AWild VSobral DBell E.FZibetti SMowla LFranx M.2022-11-112022-11-11202000358711https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85097435680&doi=10.1093%2fmnras%2fstaa1937&partnerID=40&md5=92258f70053c1a1da3cf15c4ca666b30https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/624911We use deep, spatially resolved spectroscopy from the Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census Survey to study radial variations in the stellar population of 17 spectroscopically selected post-starburst (PSB) galaxies. We use spectral fitting to measure two Lick indices, H δA and Fe 4383, and find that, on average, PSB galaxies have radially decreasing H δA and increasing Fe 4383 profiles. In contrast, a control sample of quiescent, non-PSB galaxies in the same mass range shows outwardly increasing H δA and decreasing Fe 4383. The observed gradients are weak (≈−0.2 Å/Re), mainly due to seeing convolution. A two-SSP (simple stellar population) model suggests that intrinsic gradients are as strong as observed in local PSB galaxies (≈−0.8 Å/Re). We interpret these results in terms of inside-out growth (for the bulk of the quiescent population) versus star formation occurring last in the centre (for PSB galaxies). At z ≈ 0.8, central starbursts are often the result of gas-rich mergers, as evidenced by the high fraction of PSB galaxies with disturbed morphologies and tidal features (40 per cent). Our results provide additional evidence for multiple paths to quiescence: a standard path, associated with inside-out disc formation and with gradually decreasing star formation activity, without fundamental structural transformation, and a fast path, associated with centrally concentrated starbursts, leaving an inverse age gradient and smaller half-light radius. © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGalaxies: evolution; Galaxies: formation; Galaxies: fundamental parameters; Galaxies: high redshift; Galaxies: starburst; Galaxies: structurejournal article10.1093/mnras/staa19372-s2.0-85097435680