scholarly journals Exploring the star formation history of elliptical galaxies: beyond simple stellar populations with a new line strength estimator

2009 ◽  
Vol 402 (1) ◽  
pp. 447-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Rogers ◽  
Ignacio Ferreras ◽  
Reynier Peletier ◽  
Joseph Silk

Author(s):  
M. Cignoni ◽  
S. Degl'Innocenti ◽  
P. G. Prada Moroni ◽  
S. N. Shore


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S262) ◽  
pp. 153-163
Author(s):  
Ivo Labbé

AbstractHow did galaxies evolve from primordial fluctuations to the well-ordered but diverse population of disk and elliptical galaxies that we observe today? Stellar populations synthesis models have become a crucial tool in addressing this question by helping us to interpret the spectral energy distributions of present-day galaxies and their high redshift progenitors in terms of fundamental characteristics such as stellar mass and age. I will review our current knowledge on the evolution of stellar populations in early- and late type galaxies at z < 1 and the tantalizing – but incomplete – view of the stellar populations in galaxies at 1 < z < 3, during the global peak of star formation. Despite great progress, many fundamental questions remain: what processes trigger episodes of galaxy-scale star formation and what quenches them? To what degree does the star formation history of galaxies depend on the merger history, (halo) mass, or local environment? I will discuss some of the challenges posed in interpreting current data and what improved results might be expected from new observational facilities in the near- and more distant future.



2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S245) ◽  
pp. 81-82
Author(s):  
Habib G. Khosroshahi ◽  
Louisa A. Nolan

AbstractWe study the structure and stellar populations of the luminous elliptical galaxies dominating fossil groups and compare them with the brightest galaxies in ordinary groups. Despite being over-luminous, the fossil central galaxies do not show boxy stellar isophotes which are usually associated with luminous elliptical galaxies. Boxy isophotes, according to the numerical simulations, are produced in gas poor mergers. The isophotal shapes of the fossil central galaxies, therefore, suggest a gas rich merger for fossil central galaxies. Using a two-component spectral fitting, we show that the dominant stellar population of the fossil and non-fossil galaxies is old and the second population is either old or intermediate age. However, the second stellar component (recently-formed stars) in fossil central galaxies is significantly more metal poor than that in the brightest galaxies of non-fossil groups.



Nature ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 428 (6983) ◽  
pp. 625-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Heavens ◽  
Benjamin Panter ◽  
Raul Jimenez ◽  
James Dunlop


1999 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 202-202
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Shioya ◽  
Kenji Bekki

We investigate the nature of stellar populations of major galaxy mergers between late-type spirals considerably abundant in interstellar medium by performing numerical simulations designed to solve both the dynamical and chemical evolution in a self-consistent manner. We particularly consider that the star formation history of galaxy mergers is a crucial determinant for the nature of stellar populations of merger remnants, and therefore investigate how the difference in star formation history between galaxy mergers affects the chemical evolution of galaxy mergers.



1996 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Roger L. Davies

There is a growing body of evidence indicating young ages, 8 ± 3 Gyrs, for elliptical galaxies and significant age gradients with a younger population residing at the centre. The data appear to be consistent with a scenario where elliptical galaxies are assembled hierarchically with low luminosity galaxies forming first. Late star formation, associated with the last merging event and usually involving only a small fraction of the galaxy mass, could then account for the low age estimates of some luminous galaxies.



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