Scaling relations in early-type galaxies from integral-field stellar kinematics

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) satisfy a now classic scaling relation Re ∝ σ1.2eI−0.8e, the Fundamental Plane (FP; Djorgovski & Davis 1987; Dressler et al. 1987), between their size, stellar velocity dispersion and mean surface brightness. A significant effort has been devoted in the past twenty years to try to understand why the coefficients of the relation are not the ones predicted by the virial theorem Re ∝ σ2eI−1e.

Download Full-text

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: mass–kinematics scaling relations

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stz1439 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 487 (2) ◽

pp. 2924-2936 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Dilyar Barat ◽

Francesco D’Eugenio ◽

Matthew Colless ◽

Sarah Brough ◽

Barbara Catinella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Rotation Velocity ◽

Kinematic Parameter ◽

Scaling Relations ◽

Scaling Relation ◽

Early Type ◽

Dynamical Scaling ◽

Integral Field Spectroscopy ◽

Fisher Relation ◽

Integral Field

ABSTRACT We use data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field spectroscopy (SAMI) Galaxy Survey to study the dynamical scaling relation between galaxy stellar mass M∗ and the general kinematic parameter $S_K = \sqrt{K V_{\rm rot}^2 + \sigma ^2}$ that combines rotation velocity Vrot and velocity dispersion σ. We show that the log M∗ – log SK relation: (1) is linear above limits set by properties of the samples and observations; (2) has slightly different slope when derived from stellar or gas kinematic measurements; (3) applies to both early-type and late-type galaxies and has smaller scatter than either the Tully–Fisher relation (log M∗ − log Vrot) for late types or the Faber–Jackson relation (log M∗ − log σ) for early types; and (4) has scatter that is only weakly sensitive to the value of K, with minimum scatter for K in the range 0.4 and 0.7. We compare SK to the aperture second moment (the ‘aperture velocity dispersion’) measured from the integrated spectrum within a 3-arcsecond radius aperture ($\sigma _{3^{\prime \prime }}$). We find that while SK and $\sigma _{3^{\prime \prime }}$ are in general tightly correlated, the log M∗ − log SK relation has less scatter than the $\log M_* - \log \sigma _{3^{\prime \prime }}$ relation.

Download Full-text

Scaling relations of early-type galaxies in the 6dF Galaxy Survey

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921310008379 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (H15) ◽

pp. 84-84

Author(s):

C. Magoulas ◽

M. Colless ◽

H. Jones ◽

J. Mould ◽

C. Springob

Keyword(s):

Surface Brightness ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Gaussian Model ◽

Early Type ◽

Fundamental Plane ◽

Infrared Wavelengths ◽

Observational Errors ◽

Intrinsic Scatter

Over 10,000 early-type galaxies from the 6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS) (Jones, D. H. et al. (2009), Jones et al. (2004)) have been used to determine the Fundamental Plane at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. We find that a maximum likelihood fit to an explicit three-dimensional Gaussian model for the distribution of galaxies in size, surface brightness and velocity dispersion can precisely account for selection effects, censoring and observational errors, leading to precise and unbiased parameters for the Fundamental Plane and its intrinsic scatter.

Download Full-text

Fundamental Plane and Merger Scenario

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900112501 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 186 ◽

pp. 185-188

Author(s):

K. Bekki

Keyword(s):

Surface Brightness ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Evolutionary Process ◽

Elliptical Galaxies ◽

Scaling Relation ◽

Early Type ◽

Dynamical Mass ◽

Fundamental Plane ◽

Apparent Deviation ◽

The Mean

The Fundamental Plane (FP) is one of the most important universal relations in early type galaxies because it contains valuable information about the formative and evolutionary process of galaxies (Djorgovski & Davis 1987, Dressler et al. 1987). The commonly used form of the scaling relation in the FP is described as Re = σAIB, where Re, σ, and I are effective radius, central velocity dispersion, and mean surface brightness of elliptical galaxies, respectively. The exponents A, B are considered to be 1.56 ± 0.07 and −0.94 ± 0.09 in the FP derived by K band photometry, respectively, and these values deviate significantly from the values A = 2.0 and B = −1.0 expected from virial theorem (Pahre et al. 1995; Djorgovski, Pahre, & de Carvalho 1996). This apparent deviation requires that the ratio of dynamical mass (M) to luminosity of elliptical galaxies (L) depends on M as M/L ∝ Mα (α = 0.12 ± 0.03 for K band). Possible interpretations for the required dependence of M/L on M are generally considered to be divided into the following two. One is that the required dependence of M/L on M results from the fact that the mean stellar age and metalicity of elliptical galaxies depend systematically on M. The other is that the required dependence reflects the M dependence of structural and kinematical properties of elliptical galaxies (“nonhomology”). Although we should not neglect the importance of stellar populations in generating the M dependence of the M/L (Renzini & Ciotti 1993), we here consider that the origin of the required M dependence of M/L is closely associated with the structural and kinematical properties dependent on M or L in elliptical galaxies.

Download Full-text

Gas and Stellar Kinematics in NGC 6240

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900221025 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 205 ◽

pp. 220-221

Author(s):

Matthias Tecza ◽

Linda Tacconi ◽

Reinhard Genzel

Keyword(s):

Near Infrared ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Rotating Disk ◽

Stellar Kinematics ◽

Rapid Rotation ◽

Integral Field Spectroscopy ◽

Stellar Velocity ◽

Nir Emission ◽

Absorption Features ◽

Integral Field

We present results from sub-arcsecond near infrared integral field spectroscopy and millimeter IRAM-interferometry of the interacting galaxy NGC 6240. Using stellar absorption features in the NIR we determined the stellar velocity field and dispersion in NGC 6240. The two NIR emission peaks show rapid rotation and indicate a prograde encounter of the two progenitor galaxies. From the velocity dispersion an excess mass between the two nuclei is detected. This mass can be attributed to a massive rotating disk of cold CO gas located between the nuclei.

Download Full-text

Evolution of the MBH–σ and MBH–Lbulge Relations

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921310006137 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (S267) ◽

pp. 183-188

Author(s):

J.-H. Woo ◽

N. V. Bennert ◽

T. Treu ◽

M. Malkan ◽

R. Blandford

Keyword(s):

Black Hole ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Decomposition Analysis ◽

Scaling Relations ◽

High Signal ◽

The Past ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Stellar Velocity ◽

Galaxy Assembly

AbstractTo constrain the origin of scaling relations between black hole mass and galaxy properties, i.e., stellar velocity dispersion and bulge luminosity, we investigate the evolution of scaling relations in the past 6 Gyrs. Over the last three years, we have obtained high signal-to-noise ratio Keck spectra of ~ 50 intermediate luminosity broad-line AGNs at z ~ 0.4 and z ~ 0.6, to measure stellar velocity dispersion, and HST (ACS and NICMOS) images of the same objects (~ 40 so far), to measure bulge luminosity from the two-dimensional AGN-galaxy decomposition analysis. In this paper, we will summarize the main results on the MBH–σ and MBH–bulge luminosity relations and their evolution to the present-day universe. The measured scaling relations show that the relations have evolved significantly in the past 6 billion years, and that black hole growth predates the final galaxy assembly.

Download Full-text

Formation channels of slowly rotating early-type galaxies

Astronomy and Astrophysics ◽

10.1051/0004-6361/201937040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 635 ◽

pp. A129 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Davor Krajnović ◽

Ugur Ural ◽

Harald Kuntschner ◽

Paul Goudfrooij ◽

Michael Wolfe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Angular Momentum ◽

Surface Brightness ◽

Element Abundance ◽

Nuclear Surface ◽

Formation Processes ◽

Early Type ◽

Stellar Kinematics ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Light Profiles ◽

Integral Field

We study the evidence for a diversity of formation processes in early-type galaxies by presenting the first complete volume-limited sample of slow rotators with both integral-field kinematics from the ATLAS3D Project and high spatial resolution photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope. Analysing the nuclear surface brightness profiles of 12 newly imaged slow rotators, we classify their light profiles as core-less, and place an upper limit to the core size of about 10 pc. Considering the full magnitude and volume-limited ATLAS3D sample, we correlate the presence or lack of cores with stellar kinematics, including the proxy for the stellar angular momentum (λRe) and the velocity dispersion within one half-light radius (σe), stellar mass, stellar age, α-element abundance, and age and metallicity gradients. More than half of the slow rotators have core-less light profiles, and they are all less massive than 1011 M⊙. Core-less slow rotators show evidence for counter-rotating flattened structures, have steeper metallicity gradients, and a larger dispersion of gradient values (Δ[Z/H]¯ = −0.42 ± 0.18) than core slow rotators (Δ[Z/H]¯ = −0.23 ± 0.07). Our results suggest that core and core-less slow rotators have different assembly processes, where the former, as previously discussed, are the relics of massive dissipation-less merging in the presence of central supermassive black holes. Formation processes of core-less slow rotators are consistent with accretion of counter-rotating gas or gas-rich mergers of special orbital configurations, which lower the final net angular momentum of stars, but support star formation. We also highlight core fast rotators as galaxies that share properties of core slow rotators (i.e. cores, ages, σe, and population gradients) and core-less slow rotators (i.e. kinematics, λRe, mass, and larger spread in population gradients). Formation processes similar to those for core-less slow rotators can be invoked to explain the assembly of core fast rotators, with the distinction that these processes form or preserve cores.

Download Full-text

The stellar mass Fundamental Plane: the virial relation and a very thin plane for slow rotators

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa1064 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 494 (4) ◽

pp. 5148-5160 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M Bernardi ◽

H Domínguez Sánchez ◽

B Margalef-Bentabol ◽

F Nikakhtar ◽

R K Sheth

Keyword(s):

Dark Matter ◽

Surface Brightness ◽

Virial Theorem ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Stellar Mass ◽

Early Type ◽

Fundamental Plane ◽

Intrinsic Scatter ◽

Virial Relation ◽

Fast Rotating

ABSTRACT Early-type galaxies – slow and fast rotating ellipticals (E-SRs and E-FRs) and S0s/lenticulars – define a Fundamental Plane (FP) in the space of half-light radius Re, enclosed surface brightness Ie, and velocity dispersion σe. Since Ie and σe are distance-independent measurements, the thickness of the FP is often expressed in terms of the accuracy with which Ie and σe can be used to estimate sizes Re. We show that: (1) The thickness of the FP depends strongly on morphology. If the sample only includes E-SRs, then the observed scatter in Re is $\sim 16{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, of which only $\sim 9{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ is intrinsic. Removing galaxies with M* < 1011 M⊙ further reduces the observed scatter to $\sim 13{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ ($\sim 4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ intrinsic). The observed scatter increases to $\sim 25{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ usually quoted in the literature if E-FRs and S0s are added. If the FP is defined using the eigenvectors of the covariance matrix of the observables, then the E-SRs again define an exceptionally thin FP, with intrinsic scatter of only 5 per cent orthogonal to the plane. (2) The structure within the FP is most easily understood as arising from the fact that Ie and σe are nearly independent, whereas the Re−Ie and Re−σe correlations are nearly equal and opposite. (3) If the coefficients of the FP differ from those associated with the virial theorem the plane is said to be ‘tilted’. If we multiply Ie by the global stellar mass-to-light ratio M*/L and we account for non-homology across the population by using Sérsic photometry, then the resulting stellar mass FP is less tilted. Accounting self-consistently for M*/L gradients will change the tilt. The tilt we currently see suggests that the efficiency of turning baryons into stars increases and/or the dark matter fraction decreases as stellar surface brightness increases.

Download Full-text

The merger-driven evolution of massive early-type galaxies

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921320002434 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (S359) ◽

pp. 62-66

Author(s):

Carlo Cannarozzo ◽

Carlo Nipoti ◽

Alessandro Sonnenfeld ◽

Alexie Leauthaud ◽

Song Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Velocity ◽

Selection Criteria ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Scaling Relations ◽

Early Type ◽

History Of ◽

Kinematic Properties ◽

Shed Light

AbstractThe evolution of the structural and kinematic properties of early-type galaxies (ETGs), their scaling relations, as well as their stellar metallicity and age contain precious information on the assembly history of these systems. We present results on the evolution of the stellar mass-velocity dispersion relation of ETGs, focusing in particular on the effects of some selection criteria used to define ETGs. We also try to shed light on the role that in-situ and ex-situ stellar populations have in massive ETGs, providing a possible explanation of the observed metallicity distributions.

Download Full-text

Stellar Populations of the Most Massive Galaxies

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921310007015 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (S267) ◽

pp. 459-459

Author(s):

Alexander Fritz ◽

Michael D. Hoenig ◽

Ricardo P. Schiavon

Keyword(s):

High Velocity ◽

Surface Brightness ◽

Stellar Populations ◽

Spectroscopic Properties ◽

Low Density ◽

Early Type ◽

Small Surface ◽

Fundamental Plane ◽

Massive Galaxies ◽

Bona Fide

Within the hierarchical CDM framework, gas-poor mergers contribute substantially to the building of the most massive galaxies (Faber et al. 2007). We want to test this scenario by studying the fundamental plane (FP) and the stellar populations of the most massive galaxies. We investigate a well-defined sample of massive early-type galaxies at 0.1<z<0.4, identified from the SDSS database. Out of 42,000 possible targets in the SDSS database, we extracted 23 luminous early-type galaxies with bona fide high velocity dispersions of σ>350 km s−1. These systems are located either in high or low-density environments and show a variety of small surface-brightness structure. Using archival HST/ACS images and Gemini/GMOS spectroscopy, we will explore the photometric and spectroscopic properties of these galaxies.

Download Full-text