18,028 research outputs found
HST Photometry and Keck Spectroscopy of the Rich Cluster MS1054-03: Morphologies, Butcher-Oemler Effect and the Color-Magnitude Relation at z=0.83
We present a study of 81 I selected, spectroscopically-confirmed members of
the X-ray cluster MS1054-03 at z=0.83. Redshifts and spectral types were
determined from Keck spectroscopy. Morphologies and accurate colors were
determined from a large mosaic of HST WFPC2 images in F606W and F814W.
Early-type galaxies constitute only 44% of this galaxy population. Thirty-nine
percent are spiral galaxies, and 17% are mergers. The early-type galaxies
follow a tight and well-defined color-magnitude relation, with the exception of
a few outliers. The observed scatter is 0.029 +- 0.005 magnitudes in restframe
U-B. Most of the mergers lie close to the CM relation defined by the early-type
galaxies. They are bluer by only 0.07 +- 0.02 magnitudes, and the scatter in
their colors is 0.07 +- 0.04 magnitudes. Spiral galaxies in MS1054-03 exhibit a
large range in their colors. The bluest spiral galaxies are 0.7 magnitudes
bluer than the early-type galaxies, but the majority is within +- 0.2
magnitudes of the early-type galaxy sequence. The red colors of the mergers and
the majority of the spiral galaxies are reflected in the fairly low
Butcher-Oemler blue fraction of MS1054-03: f_B=0.22 +- 0.05. The slope and
scatter of the CM relation of early-type galaxies are roughly constant with
redshift, confirming previous studies that were based on ground-based color
measurements and very limited membership information. However, the scatter in
the combined sample of early-type galaxies and mergers is twice as high as the
scatter of the early-type galaxies alone. This is a direct demonstration of the
``progenitor bias'': high redshift early-type galaxies seem to form a
homogeneous, old population because the progenitors of the youngest present-day
early-type galaxies are not included in the sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ. At
http://astro.caltech.edu/~pgd/cm1054/ color figures can be obtaine
Morphological Evolution and the Ages of Early-Type Galaxies in Clusters
Morphological and spectroscopic studies of high redshift clusters indicate
that a significant fraction of present-day early-type galaxies was transformed
from star forming galaxies at z<1. On the other hand, the slow luminosity
evolution of early-type galaxies and the low scatter in their color-magnitude
relation indicate a high formation redshift of their stars. In this paper we
construct models which reconcile these apparently contradictory lines of
evidence, and we quantify the effects of morphological evolution on the
observed photometric properties of early-type galaxies in distant clusters. We
show that in the case of strong morphological evolution the apparent luminosity
and color evolution of early-type galaxies are similar to that of a single age
stellar population formed at z=infinity, irrespective of the true star
formation history of the galaxies. Furthermore, the scatter in age, and hence
the scatter in color and luminosity, is approximately constant with redshift.
These results are consequences of the ``progenitor bias'': the progenitors of
the youngest low redshift early-type galaxies drop out of the sample at high
redshift. We construct models which reproduce the observed evolution of the
number fraction of early-type galaxies in rich clusters and their color and
luminosity evolution simultaneously. Our modelling indicates that approx. 50%
of early-type galaxies were transformed from other galaxy types at z<1, and
their progenitor galaxies may have had roughly constant star formation rates
prior to morphological transformation. After correcting the observed evolution
of the mean M/L_B ratio for the maximum progenitor bias we find that the mean
luminosity weighted formation redshift of stars in early-type galaxies
z_*=2.0^{+0.3}_{-0.2} for Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_Lambda=0.7. [ABRIDGED]Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 13 pages, 6
figure
The ATLAS3D project - XXVII : Cold gas and the colours and ages of early-type galaxies
Date of Acceptance: 16/12/2013We present a study of the cold gas contents of the ATLAS3D early-type galaxies, in the context of their optical colours, near-ultraviolet colours and HÎČ absorption line strengths. Early-type (elliptical and lenticular) galaxies are not as gas poor as previously thought, and at least 40 per cent of local early-type galaxies are now known to contain molecular and/or atomic gas. This cold gas offers the opportunity to study recent galaxy evolution through the processes of cold gas acquisition, consumption (star formation) and removal. Molecular and atomic gas detection rates range from 10 to 34 per cent in red sequence early-type galaxies, depending on how the red sequence is defined, and from 50 to 70 per cent in blue early-type galaxies. Notably, massive red sequence early-type galaxies (stellar masses >5 Ă 1010 Mâ, derived from dynamical models) are found to have HâI masses up to M(HâI)/M* ⌠0.06 and H2 masses up to M(H2)/M* ⌠0.01. Some 20 per cent of all massive early-type galaxies may have retained atomic and/or molecular gas through their transition to the red sequence. However, kinematic and metallicity signatures of external gas accretion (either from satellite galaxies or the intergalactic medium) are also common, particularly at stellar masses â€5 Ă 1010 Mâ, where such signatures are found in âŒ50 per cent of H2-rich early-type galaxies. Our data are thus consistent with a scenario in which fast rotator early-type galaxies are quenched former spiral galaxies which have undergone some bulge growth processes, and in addition, some of them also experience cold gas accretion which can initiate a period of modest star formation activity. We discuss implications for the interpretation of colourâmagnitude diagramsPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
The Galaxy Population of Cluster RXJ0848+4453 at z=1.27
We present a study of the galaxy population in the cluster RXJ0848+4453 at
z=1.27, using deep HST NICMOS and WFPC2 images. We morphologically classify all
galaxies to K_s=20.6 that are covered by the HST imaging, and determine
photometric redshifts using deep ground based BRIzJK_s photometry. Of 22 likely
cluster members with morphological classifications, eleven (50%) are classified
as early-type galaxies, nine (41%) as spiral galaxies, and two (9%) as
``merger/peculiar''. At HST resolution the second brightest cluster galaxy is
resolved into a spectacular merger between three red galaxies of similar
luminosity, separated from each other by ~6 kpc, with an integrated magnitude
K=17.6 (~3 L* at z=1.27). The two most luminous early-type galaxies also show
evidence for recent or ongoing interactions. Mergers and interactions between
galaxies are possible because RXJ0848+4453 is not yet relaxed. The fraction of
early-type galaxies in our sample is similar to that in clusters at 0.5<z<1,
and consistent with a gradual decrease of the number of early-type galaxies in
clusters from z=0 to z=1.3. We find evidence that the color-magnitude relation
of the early-type galaxies is less steep than in the nearby Coma cluster. This
may indicate that the brightest early-type galaxies have young stellar
populations at z=1.27, but is also consistent with predictions of single age
``monolithic'' models with a galactic wind. The scatter in the color-magnitude
relation is ~0.04 in rest frame U-V, similar to that in clusters at 0<z<1.
Taken together, these results show that luminous early-type galaxies exist in
clusters at z~1.3, but that their number density may be smaller than in the
local Universe. Additional observations are needed to determine whether the
brightest early-type galaxies harbor young stellar populations.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter
On the Size and Comoving Mass Density Evolution of Early-Type Galaxies
We present a simple, empirically motivated model that simultaneously predicts
the evolution of the mean size and the comoving mass density of massive
early-type galaxies from z=2 to the present. First we demonstrate that some
size evolution of the population can be expected simply due to the continuous
emergence of early-type galaxies. SDSS data reveal that in the present-day
universe more compact early-type galaxies with a given dynamical mass have
older stellar populations. In contrast, at a given stellar velocity dispersion,
SDSS data show that there is no relation between size and age, which implies
that the velocity dispersion can be used to estimate the epoch at which
galaxies stopped forming stars, turning into early-type galaxies. Applying such
a 'formation' criterion to a large sample of nearby early-type galaxies, we
predict the redshift evolution in the size distribution and the comoving mass
density. The resulting evolution in the mean size is roughly half of the
observed evolution. Then we include a prescription for the merger histories of
galaxies between the 'formation' redshift and the present, based on
cosmological simulations of the assembly of dark matter halos. Such mergers
after the transformation into an early-type galaxy are presumably
dissipationless ('dry'), where the increase in size is expected to be
approximately proportional to the increase in mass. This model successfully
reproduces the observed evolution since z~2 in the mean size and in the
comoving mass density of massive early-type galaxies. We conclude that the
recently measured, substantial size evolution of early-type galaxies can be
explained by the combined effect of the continuous emergence of galaxies as
early types and their subsequent growth through dry merging.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (13 pages, 5 figures), small changes
to match journal versio
Homogeneity of Stellar Populations in Early-Type Galaxies with Different X-ray Properties
We have found the stellar populations of early-type galaxies are homogeneous
with no significant difference in color or Mg2 index, despite the dichotomy
between X-ray extended early-type galaxies and X-ray compact ones. Since the
X-ray properties reflect the potential gravitational structure and hence the
process of galaxy formation, the homogeneity of the stellar populations implies
that the formation of stars in early-type galaxies predat es the epoch when the
dichotomy of the potential structure was established.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The Connection between Star-Forming Galaxies, AGN Host Galaxies and Early-Type Galaxies in the SDSS
We present a study of the connection between star-forming galaxies, AGN host
galaxies, and normal early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS). Using the SDSS DR5 and DR4plus data, we select our early-type galaxy
sample in the color versus color-gradient space, and we classify the spectral
types of the selected early-type galaxies into normal, star-forming, Seyfert,
and LINER classes, using several spectral line flux ratios. We investigate the
slope in the fundamental space for each class of early-type galaxies and find
that there are obvious differences in the slopes of the fundamental planes
(FPs) among the different classes of early-type galaxies, in the sense that the
slopes for Seyferts and star-forming galaxies are flatter than those for normal
galaxies and LINERs. This may be the first identification of the systematic
variation of the FP slope among the subclasses of early-type galaxies. The
difference in the FP slope might be caused by the difference in the degree of
nonhomology among different classes or by the difference of gas contents in
their merging progenitors. One possible scenario is that the AGN host galaxies
and star-forming galaxies are formed by gas-rich merging and that they may
evolve into normal early-type galaxies after finishing their star formation or
AGN activities.Comment: 5 pages with emulateapj, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal Letter
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