scholarly journals Real & Simulated IFU Observations of Low-Mass Early-Type Galaxies: Environmental Influence Probed for Cluster Galaxies

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S321) ◽  
pp. 289-289
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Sybilska ◽  
Ewa Luiza Łokas ◽  
Sylvain Fouquet

AbstractWe combine high-quality IFU data with a new set of numerical simulations to study low-mass early type galaxies (dEs) in dense environments. Our earlier study of dEs in the Virgo cluster has produced the first large-scale maps of kinematic and stellar population properties of dEs in those environments (Ryś et al. 2013, 2014, 2015). A quantitative discrimination between various (trans)formation processes proposed for these objects is, however, a complex issue, requiring a priori assumptions about the progenitors of galaxies we observe and study today. To bridge this gap between observations and theoretical predictions, we use the expertise gained in the IFU data analysis to look “through the eye of SAURON” at our new suite of high-resolution N-body simulations of dEs in the Virgo cluster. Mimicking the observers perspective as closely as possible, we can also indicate the existing instrumental and viewer limitations regarding what we are/are not able to detect as observers.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S311) ◽  
pp. 53-56
Author(s):  
Harald Kuntschner

AbstractWe present stellar population gradients of early-type galaxies from the ATLAS3D survey: a complete, volume-limited multi-wavelength survey of 260 early-type galaxies in the local 42 Mpc volume. Using emission-corrected spectra integrated within elliptical annuli we measure line-strength indices and apply single stellar population (SSP) models to derive SSP-equivalent values of stellar age, metallicity, and alpha enhancement as function of radius. For all galaxies we derive basic linear stellar population gradients versus radius logR/Re). These gradients are examined on their own and versus three mass-sensitive parameters: K-band luminosity MK, velocity dispersion within one effective radius log σe, and our dynamical mass MJAM. We find a correlation between positive age gradients (younger centre) and steeper negative metallicity gradients with a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of -0.46 and a significance of 7.65 × 10−15. Furthermore, we find a robustly estimated mean metallicity gradient of Δ[Z/H] = -0.37 ± 0.01 for the sample with a significant trend for more massive galaxies to have shallower profiles. While there is no clear distinction between fast and slow rotators or signs of environmental influence, we do detect a significantly larger range of [Z/H]-gradients towards low mass galaxies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 611 ◽  
pp. A42 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Boissier ◽  
O. Cucciati ◽  
A. Boselli ◽  
S. Mei ◽  
L. Ferrarese

Context. At low redshift, early-type galaxies often exhibit a rising flux with decreasing wavelength in the 1000–2500 Å range, called “UV upturn”. The origin of this phenomenon is debated, and its evolution with redshift is poorly constrained. The observed GALEX FUV-NUV color can be used to probe the UV upturn approximately to redshift 0.5.Aim. We provide constraints on the existence of the UV upturn up to redshift ~0.4 in the brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) located behind the Virgo cluster, using data from the GUViCS survey.Methods. We estimate the GALEX far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) observed magnitudes for BCGs from the maxBCG catalog in the GUViCS fields. We increase the number of nonlocal galaxies identified as BCGs with GALEX photometry from a few tens of galaxies to 166 (64 when restricting this sample to relatively small error bars). We also estimate a central color within a 20 arcsec aperture. By using the r-band luminosity from the maxBCG catalog, we can separate blue FUV-NUV due to recent star formation and candidate upturn cases. We use Lick indices to verify their similarity to redshift 0 upturn cases.Results. We clearly detect a population of blue FUV-NUV BCGs in the redshift range 0.10–0.35, vastly improving the existing constraints at these epochs by increasing the number of galaxies studied, and by exploring a redshift range with no previous data (beyond 0.2), spanning one more Gyr in the past. These galaxies bring new constraints that can help distinguish between assumptions concerning the stellar populations causing the UV upturn phenomenon. The existence of a large number of UV upturns around redshift 0.25 favors the existence of a binary channel among the sources proposed in the literature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S317) ◽  
pp. 153-158
Author(s):  
Eric W. Peng ◽  
Hong-Xin Zhang ◽  
Chengze Liu ◽  
Yiqing Liu

AbstractAt the center of the nearest galaxy cluster, the Virgo cluster, lies the massive cD galaxy, M87 (NGC 4486). Using data from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey, we investigate the relationship between M87, its globular clusters (GCs), and satellite dwarf galaxies. We find that the kinematics of GCs and ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) are different, indicating that UCDs are not simply massive GCs. We also identify a morphological sequence of envelope fraction around UCDs correlated with cluster-centric distance that suggest UCDs are the result of tidal stripping. Lastly, we find that the [α/Fe] abundance ratios of low-mass early-type galaxies in Virgo exhibit a strong negative gradient within ~ 400 kpc of M87, where the galaxies closest to M87 have the highest values. These satellite galaxies are likely the surviving counterparts of accreted dwarfs that contribute stars to the metal-poor, α-rich stellar halos of massive galaxies. Together, these results describe a dense environment that has had a strong and continuing impact on the evolution of its low-mass neighbors.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S262) ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
Esther Mármol-Queraltó ◽  
Nicolás Cardiel ◽  
P. Sánchez-Blázquez ◽  
S. C. Trager ◽  
R. F. Peletier ◽  
...  

AbstractA full understanding of the physical properties of integrated stellar systems demands a multiwavelength approach since each spectral window shows us the contribution of different types of stars. However, most of the observational effort in stellar population studies has been focused on the optical range. Now, the new generation of instruments allow us to explore the K band, where RGB and AGB stars dominate the light of the integrated spectra. Here we present a K-band spectroscopic analysis of early-type galaxies in different environments. Our sample comprises 12 field early-type galaxies observed with ISAAC at VLT with medium resolution, and they are compared with 11 Fornax cluster galaxies previously reported by Silva et al. (2008). The clear differences found in the infrared DCO and NaI indices between field and Fornax galaxies are discussed, trying to solve the puzzle formed by the near-infrared and optical measurements.


2008 ◽  
Vol 389 (4) ◽  
pp. 1891-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Rawle ◽  
Russell J. Smith ◽  
J. R. Lucey ◽  
A. M. Swinbank

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (3) ◽  
pp. 4090-4110 ◽  
Author(s):  
F La Barbera ◽  
A Vazdekis ◽  
I Ferreras ◽  
A Pasquali ◽  
C Allende Prieto ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Using new long-slit spectroscopy obtained with X-Shooter at ESO-VLT, we study, for the first time, radial gradients of optical and near-infrared initial mass function (IMF)-sensitive features in a representative sample of galaxies at the very high mass end of the galaxy population. The sample consists of seven early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z ∼ 0.05, with central velocity dispersion in the range 300 ≲ σ ≲ 350 km s−1. Using state-of-the-art stellar population synthesis models, we fit a number of spectral indices, from different chemical species (including TiO and Na indices), to constrain the IMF slope (i.e. the fraction of low-mass stars), as a function of galactocentric distance, over a radial range out to ∼4 kpc. ETGs in our sample show a significant correlation of IMF slope and surface mass density. The bottom-heavy population (i.e. an excess of low-mass stars in the IMF) is confined to central galaxy regions with surface mass density above $\rm \sim 10^{10}\, M_\odot \, kpc^{-2}$, or, alternatively, within a characteristic radius of ∼2 kpc. Radial distance, in physical units, and surface mass density are the best correlators to IMF variations, with respect to other dynamical (e.g. velocity dispersion) and stellar population (e.g. metallicity) properties. Our results for the most massive galaxies suggest that there is no single parameter that fully explains variations in the stellar IMF, but IMF radial profiles at z ∼ 0 rather result from the complex formation and mass accretion history of galaxy inner and outer regions.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 410-411
Author(s):  
J.A. Sellwood

The radial distribution of mass in a disk galaxy is strongly constrained by its rotation curve. The separate contributions from the individual stellar populations and dark matter (DM) are not easily disentangled, however, especially since there is generally no feature to indicate where the component dominating the central attraction switches from luminous to dark matter. Here I summarize three recent thesis projects at Rutgers University which all suggest that DM has a low density in the inner parts of bright galaxies, and that most of the mass therefore resides in the disk. In addition, I present some preliminary work on the Milky Way. If we are able to determine the M/L of a typical disk stellar population, it should provide a useful constraint on the numbers of low mass stars.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (H16) ◽  
pp. 364-364
Author(s):  
Joachim Janz ◽  
Eija Laurikainen ◽  
Thorsten Lisker ◽  
Heikki Salo

AbstractEarly-type dwarf galaxies are often thought to be either more diffuse versions of giant ellipticals or to be low-mass disk galaxies that were quenched and heated by the environment. In both cases, the picture that most astronomers have in mind probably is that of a dynamically hot, regular shaped galaxy, in which any previous substructure has either been smeared out, or has never been there. However, the early-type dwarfs are not that simple.We analyzed ~100 such objects in the Virgo cluster using deep near-infrared images and found that the majority has a multi-component structure, sometimes even with bars or lenses. The study was done by applying GALFIT to images from the SMAKCED collaboration (Stellar content, MAss and K inematics of Cluster Early-type Dwarfs, http://www.smakced.net). The sample comprises early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster in a brightness range of −19 ≤ Mr ≤ −16 mag, and the data is complete down to Mr=−16.73 mag. The images typically reach a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 per pixel of ~0.25” at a surface brightness of ~22.5 mag/arcsec2 in the H-band. The galaxies were fitted with two-dimensional models, either with a simple Sérsic model or inner and outer components, as well as bars and lenses. Only a fraction of 31% of the galaxies can be fitted with a single Sérsic function. This fraction of “simple“ galaxies turns out to be a strong function of luminosity, with a smaller fraction for brighter objects. The bar fraction is 14% and also in 14% of the galaxies lenses were fitted.When comparing the flattening distribution, the early-type dwarfs are more similar to spiral galaxies than to elliptical or lenticular galaxies. It is disputable whether or not the dwarfs follow a common relation with the bright elliptical galaxies, e.g. in the brightness versus size diagram. At the same time, they appear as smooth continuation of bright late-type galaxies in this diagram. The inner and outer components, as well as the simple galaxies have similar flattening distributions. The inner components are mostly fitted with Sérsic-n values close to~1, i.e. with nearly exponential profiles. We argue that the inner components in the early-type dwarfs are not be bulges but may form parts of the disks, in which the matter was re-distributed during the transformation process from a late-type progenitor.


2010 ◽  
Vol 401 (2) ◽  
pp. 852-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Rawle ◽  
Russell J. Smith ◽  
J. R. Lucey

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