2,767 research outputs found
The evolution of the galactic morphological types in clusters
The morphological types of galaxies in nine clusters in the redshift range
0.1<z<0.25 are derived from very good seeing images taken at the NOT and the La
Silla Danish telescopes. With the purpose of investigating the evolution of the
fraction of different morphological types with redshift, we compare our results
with the morphological content of nine distant clusters studied by the MORPHS
group, five clusters observed with HST-WFPC2 at redshift z = 0.2-0.3, and
Dressler's (1980) large sample of nearby clusters. After having checked the
reliability of our morphological classification both in an absolute sense and
relative to the MORPHS scheme, we analyze the relative occurrence of
elliptical, S0 and spiral galaxies as a function of the cluster properties and
redshift. We find a large intrinsic scatter in the S0/E ratio, mostly related
to the cluster morphology. In particular, in our cluster sample, clusters with
a high concentration of ellipticals display a low S0/E ratio and, vice-versa,
low concentration clusters have a high S0/E. At the same time, the trend of the
morphological fractions and ratios with redshift clearly points to a
morphological evolution: as the redshift decreases, the S0 population tends to
grow at the expense of the spiral population, whereas the frequency of Es
remains almost constant. We also analyze the morphology-density (MD) relation
in our clusters and find that -similarly to higher redshift clusters- a good MD
relation exists in the high-concentration clusters, while it is absent in the
less concentrated clusters. Finally, the comparison of the MD relation in our
clusters with that of the D97 sample suggests that the transformation of
spirals into S0 galaxies becomes more efficient with decreasing local density.Comment: 24 pages including 11 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication
in Ap
Far-Ultraviolet Radiation from Elliptical Galaxies
Far-ultraviolet radiation is a ubiquitous, if unanticipated, phenomenon in
elliptical galaxies and early-type spiral bulges. It is the most variable
photometric feature associated with old stellar populations. Recent
observational and theoretical evidence shows that it is produced mainly by
low-mass, small-envelope, helium-burning stars in extreme horizontal branch and
subsequent phases of evolution. These are probably descendents of the dominant,
metal rich population of the galaxies. Their lifetime UV outputs are remarkably
sensitive to their physical properties and hence to the age and the helium and
metal abundances of their parents. UV spectra are therefore exceptionally
promising diagnostics of old stellar populations, although their calibration
requires a much improved understanding of giant branch mass loss, helium
enrichment, and atmospheric diffusion.Comment: 46 pages; includes LaTeX text file, 9 PS figures, 1 JPG figure, 2
style files. Full resolution figures and PS version available at
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~rwo/araa99/. Article to appear in Annual
Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 199
Multi-wavelength study of XMMU J2235.3-2557: the most massive galaxy cluster at z > 1
[Abridged] XMMU J2235.3-2557 is one of the most distant X-ray selected
clusters, spectroscopically confirmed at z=1.39. We characterize the galaxy
populations of passive members, the thermodynamical properties of the hot gas,
its metal abundance and the total mass of the system using imaging data with
HST/ACS (i775 and z850 bands) and VLT/ISAAC (J and K_s bands), extensive
spectroscopic data obtained with VLT/FORS2, and deep Chandra observations. Out
of a total sample of 34 spectroscopically confirmed cluster members, we
selected 16 passive galaxies within the central 2' (or 1 Mpc) with ACS
coverage, and inferred star formation histories for a sub-sample of galaxies
inside and outside the core by modeling their spectro-photometric data with
spectral synthesis models, finding a strong mean age radial gradient. Chandra
data show a regular elongated morphology, closely resembling the distribution
of core galaxies, with a significant cool core. We measure a global X-ray
temperature of kT=8.6(-1.2,+1.3) keV (68% c.l.). By detecting the rest-frame
6.7 keV Iron K line, we measure a metallicty Z= 0.26(+0.20,-0.16) Zsun. In the
likely hypothesis of hydrostatic equilibrium, we obtain a total mass of Mtot(<1
Mpc)=(5.9+-1.3)10^14 Msun. Overall, our analysis implies that XMM2235 is the
hottest and most massive bona-fide cluster discovered to date at z>1, with a
baryonic content, both its galaxy population and intra-cluster gas, in a
significantly advanced evolutionary stage at 1/3 of the current age of the
Universe.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (v2:
typos/language style corrections, updated references
EVOLUTION OF IR-SELECTED GALAXIES IN Z~0.4 CLUSTERS
Wide-field optical and near--IR () imaging is presented for two rich
galaxy clusters: Abell~370 at and Abell~851 (Cl0939+47) at .
Galaxy catalogs selected from the near--IR images are 90\% complete to
approximately 1.5 mag below resulting in samples with 100
probable member galaxies per cluster in the central 2 Mpc. Comparison
with WFPC images yields subsamples of 70 galaxies in each cluster
with morphological types. Analysis of the complete samples and the
subsamples shows that the E/S0s are bluer than those in the Bower
et al.\ (1992) Coma sample in the optical color by ~mag for Abell~370
and by ~mag for Abell~851. If real, the bluing of the E/S0 populations at
moderate redshift is consistent with that calculated from the Bruzual and
Charlot (1993) models of passive elliptical galaxy evolution. In both clusters
the intrinsic scatter of the known E/S0s about their optical color--mag
relation is small ( mag) and not significantly different from that
of Coma E/S0s as given by Bower et al.\ (1992), indicating that the galaxies
within each cluster formed at the same time at an early epoch.Comment: uuencoded gzipped tar file containing latex files of manuscript (42
pages) plus tables (9 pages); figures available by anonymous ftp at
ftp://ipac.caltech.edu//pub/pickup/sed ; accepted for publication in the Ap
Environmental effects on the bright end of the galaxy luminosity function in galaxy clusters
The dependence of the luminosity function of cluster galaxies on the
evolutionary state of the parent cluster is still an open issue, in particular
as concern the formation/evolution of the brightest cluster galaxies. We plan
to study the bright part of the LFs of a sample of very unrelaxed clusters
("DARC" clusters showing evidence of major, recent mergers) and compare them to
a reference sample of relaxed clusters spanning a comparable mass and redshift
range. Our analysis is based on the SDSS DR7 photometric data of ten, massive,
and X-ray luminous clusters (0.2<z<0.3), always considering physical radii
(R_200 or its fractions). We consider r' band LFs and use the color-magnitude
diagrams (r'-i',r') to clean our samples as well to consider separately red and
blue galaxies. We find that DARC and relaxed clusters give similar LF
parameters and blue fractions. The two samples differ for their content of
bright galaxies BGs, M_r<-22.5, since relaxed clusters have fewer BGs, in
particular when considering the outer cluster region 0.5R_200<R<R_200 (by a
factor two). However, the cumulative light in BGs is similar for relaxed and
DARC samples. We conclude that BGs grow in luminosity and decrease in number as
the parent clusters grow hierarchically in agreement with the BG formation by
merging with other luminous galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures and 9 table
The Properties of the Heterogeneous Shakhbazyan Groups of Galaxies in the SDSS
We present a systematic study of the sub-sample of Shakhbazyan groups (SHKs)
covered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release--5 (SDSS-5). SHKs probe an
environment with characteristics which are intermediate between those of loose
and very compact groups. Surprisingly, we found that several groups identifying
algorithms (e.g. Berlind et al. 2006, Tago et al. 2008) miss this type of
structures. Using the SDSS-5 spectroscopic data and the photometric redshifts
derived in D'Abrusco et al. 2007, we identified possible group members in
photometric redshift space and derived, for each group, several individual
properties. We also combined pointed and stacked Rosat All Sky Survey data to
investigate the X-ray luminosities of these systems. Our study confirms that
the majority of groups are physical entities with richness in the range 3--13
galaxies, and properties ranging between those of loose and compact groups. We
confirm that SHK groups are richer in early-type galaxies than the surrounding
environment and the field, as expected from the morphology-density relation and
from the selection of groups of red galaxies. Furthermore, our work supports
the existence of two sub-classes of structures, the first one being formed by
compact and isolated groups and the second formed by extended structures. We
suggest that while the first class of objects dwells in less dense regions like
the outer parts of clusters or the field, possibly sharing the properties of
Hickson Compact Groups, the more extended structures represent a mixture of
[core+halo] configurations and cores of rich clusters. X-ray luminosities for
SHKs are generally consistent with these results and with the expectations for
the L_X-sigma_v relation, but also suggest the velocity dispersions reported in
literature are underestimated for some of the richest systems.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication by MNRA
Morphological transformation of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group
In the Local Group there are three main types of dwarf galaxies: Dwarf Irregulars, Dwarf Spheroidals, and Dwarf Ellipticals. Intermediate/transitional types are present as well. This contribution reviews the idea that the present day variety of dwarf galaxy morphologies in the Local Group might reveal the existence of a transformation chain of events, of which any particular dwarf galaxy represents a manifestation of a particular stage. In other words, all dwarf galaxies that now are part of the Local Group would have formed identically in the early universe, but then evolved differently because of morphological transformations induced by dynamical processes like galaxy harassment, ram pressure stripping, photo-evaporation, and so forth. We start describing the population of dwarf galaxies and their spatial distribution in the LG. Then, we describe those phenomena that can alter the morphology of a dwarf galaxies, essentially by removing, partially or completely, their gas content. Lastly, we discuss morphological signatures in the Local Group Dwarf Galaxies that can be attributed to different dynamical phenomena. While it is difficult to identify a unique and continuous transformation sequence, we have now a reasonable understanding of the basic evolutionary paths that lead to the various dwarf galaxy type
Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies : Keystones of Galaxy Evolution
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are the most insignificant extragalactic stellar
systems in terms of their visibility, but potentially very significant in terms
of their role in the formation and evolution of much more luminous galaxies. We
discuss the present observational data and their implications for theories of
the formation and evolution of both dwarf and giant galaxies. The putative dark
matter content of these low-surface-brightness systems is of particular
interest, as is their chemical evolution. Surveys for new dwarf spheroidals
hidden behind the stars of our Galaxy and those which are not bound to giant
galaxies may give new clues as to the origins of this unique class of galaxy.Comment: 41 pages, plain tex (no figures included -- available by snail mail).
review to appear in PAS
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