Possible identification of massive and evolved galaxies At z > 5

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We report on the identification of the old stellar population galaxy candidates at z > 5. We developed a new infrared color selection scheme to isolate galaxies with the strong Balmer breaks at z > 5, and applied it to the ultra-deep and wide infrared survey data from the Spitzer Extended Deep Survey (SEDS) and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey. The eight objects satisfying K - [3.6] > 1.3 and K - [3.6] > 2.4 ([3.6] - [4.5]) + 0.6 are selected in the 0.34 deg² SEDS Ultra Deep Survey field. Rich multi-wavelength imaging data from optical to far-infrared are also used to reject blending sources and strong nebular line emitters, and we finally obtained the three most likely evolved galaxies at z > 5. Their stacked spectral energy distribution is fitted well with the old stellar population template with M* = (7.5+-1.5) x 10¹⁰ Msun, star formation rate = 0.9 +- 0.2 Msun yr⁻¹, dust Aᵥ < 1, and age = 0.7+-0.4 Gyr at z = 5.7+-0.6, where the dusty star-forming galaxies at z 2.8 are disfavored because of the faintness in the 24um. The stellar mass density of these evolved galaxy candidates, (6+-4) x 10⁴ Msun Mpc⁻³, is much lower than that of star-forming galaxies, but the non-zero fraction suggests that initial star-formation and quenching have been completed by z 6.