Superdense and normal early-type galaxies at 1<z<2

We combined proprietary and archival HST observations to collect a sample of 62 early-type galaxies (ETGs) at 0.9<z<2 with spectroscopic confirmation of their redshift and spectral type. The whole sample is covered by ACS or NICMOS observations and partially by Spitzer and AKARI observations. We derived morphological parameters by fitting their HST light profiles and physical parameters by fitting their spectral energy distributions. The study of the size-mass and the size-luminosity relations of these early-types shows that a large fraction of them (~50) follows the local relations. These 'normal' ETGs are not smaller than local counterparts with comparable mass. The remaining half of the sample is composed of compact ETGs with sizes (densities) 2.5-3 (15-30) times smaller (higher) than local counterparts and, most importantly, than the other normal ETGs at the same redshift and with the same stellar mass. This suggests that normal and superdense ETGs at z~2 come from different histories of mass assembly.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation", Malta, 19-23 Oct. 2009, eds. V.P. Debattista and C.C. Popescu, AIP Conf. (in press

The SDSS-GALEX viewpoint of the truncated red sequence in field environments at z~0

We combine GALEX near-UV photometry with a volume-limited sample of local (0.005<z<0.037) SDSS DR4 galaxies to examine the composition and the environmental dependencies of the optical and UV-optical colour-magnitude (C-M) diagrams. We find that ~30% of red sequence galaxies in the optical C-M diagram show signs of ongoing star-formation from their spectra having EW(Halpha)>2A. This contamination is greatest at faint magnitudes (Mr>-19) and in field regions where as many as three-quarters of red sequence galaxies are star-forming, and as such has important consequences for following the build-up of the red sequence. We find that the NUV-r colour instead allows a much more robust separation of passively-evolving and star-forming galaxies, which allows the build-up of the UV-selected red sequence with redshift and environment to be directly interpreted in terms of the assembly of stellar mass in passively-evolving galaxies. We find that in isolated field regions the number density of UV-optical red sequence galaxies declines rapidly at magnitudes fainter than Mr~-19 and appears completely truncated at Mr~-18. This confirms the findings of Haines et al. (2007) that no passively-evolving dwarf galaxies are found more than two virial radii from a massive halo, whether that be a group, cluster or massive galaxy. These results support the downsizing paradigm whereby the red sequence is assembled from the top down, being already largely in place at the bright end by z~1, and the faint end filled in at later epochs in clusters and groups through environment-related processes such as ram-pressure stripping or galaxy harassment.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS submitte

Cluster and field elliptical galaxies at z~1.3. The marginal role of the environment and the relevance of the galaxy central regions

We compared the properties of 56 elliptical galaxies selected from three clusters at $1.2<z<1.4$ with those of field galaxies in the GOODS-S (~30), COSMOS (~180) and CANDELS (~220) fields. We studied the relationships among effective radius, surface brightness, stellar mass, stellar mass density $\Sigma_{Re}$ and central mass density $\Sigma_{1kpc}$ within 1 kpc radius. We find that cluster ellipticals do not differ from field ellipticals: they share the same structural parameters at fixed mass and the same scaling relations. On the other hand, the population of field ellipticals at $z\sim1.3$ shows a significant lack of massive ($M_*> 2\times 10^{11}$ M$_\odot$) and large (R$_e > 4-5$ kpc) ellipticals with respect to the cluster. Nonetheless, at $M*<2\times 10^{11}$ M$_\odot$, the two populations are similar. The size-mass relation of ellipticals at z~1.3 defines two different regimes, above and below a transition mass $m_t\sim 2-3\times10^{10}$ M$_\odot$: at lower masses the relation is nearly flat (R$_e\propto M_*^{-0.1\pm 0.2}$), the mean radius is constant at ~1 kpc and $\Sigma_{Re}\sim \Sigma_{1kpc}$ while, at larger masses, the relation is R$_e\propto M*^{0.64\pm0.09}$. The transition mass marks the mass at which galaxies reach the maximum $\Sigma_{Re}$. Also the $\Sigma_{1kpc}$-mass relation follows two different regimes, $\Sigma_{1kpc}\propto M*^{0.64\ >m_t}_{1.07\ <m_t}$, defining a transition mass density $\Sigma_{1kpc}\sim 2-3\times10^3$ M$_\odot$ pc$^{-2}$. The mass density $\Sigma_{Re}$ does not correlate with mass, dense/compact galaxies can be assembled over a wide mass regime, independently of the environment. The central mass density, $\Sigma_{1kpc}$, besides to be correlated with the mass, is correlated to the age of the stellar population: the higher the central stellar mass density, the higher the mass, the older the age of the stellar population. [Abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 20 pages, 13 figures (replaced to match the A&A version

Density distribution of particles upon jamming after an avalanche in a 2D silo

We present a complete analysis of the density distribution of particles in a two dimensional silo after discharge. Simulations through a pseudo-dynamic algorithm are performed for filling and subsequent discharge of a plane silo. Particles are monosized hard disks deposited in the container and subjected to a tapping process for compaction. Then, a hole of a given size is open at the bottom of the silo and the discharge is triggered. After a clogging at the opening is produced, and equilibrium is restored, the final distribution of the remaining particles at the silo is analyzed by dividing the space into cells with different geometrical arrangements to visualize the way in which the density depression near the opening is propagated throughout the system. The different behavior as a function of the compaction degree is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Measuring Areas on Large Scale Nautical Charts on Mercator-Secant

This short paper presents a highly accurate module of surface deformation which permit to calculate, once and for all, the ellipsoid area corresponding to the area measured on nautical charts on Mercator-Secant. The accuracy of the measured surface increases together with the increase of the scale because it depends on the graphic error