540 research outputs found
Galactic cannibalism in the galaxy cluster C0337-2522 at z=0.59
According to the galactic cannibalism model, cD galaxies are formed in the
center of galaxy clusters by merging of massive galaxies and accretion of
smaller stellar systems: however, observational examples of the initial phases
of this process are lacking. We have identified a strong candidate for this
early stage of cD galaxy formation: a group of five elliptical galaxies in the
core of the X-ray cluster C0337-2522 at redshift z=0.59. With the aid of
numerical simulations, in which the galaxies are represented by N-body systems,
we study their dynamical evolution up to z=0; the cluster dark matter
distribution is also described as a N-body system. We find that a multiple
merging event in the considered group of galaxies will take place before z=0
and that the merger remnant preserves the Fundamental Plane and the
Faber-Jackson relations, while its behavior with respect to the Mbh-sigma
relation is quite sensitive to the details of black hole merging [abridged].Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS (accepted
Bipotential precursors of putative fibrous astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in rat cerebellar cultures express distinct surface features and "neuron-like" gamma-aminobutyric acid transport.
The stellar initial mass function of early-type galaxies from low to high stellar velocity dispersion: homogeneous analysis of ATLAS 3D and Sloan Lens ACS galaxies
We present an investigation about the shape of the initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies (ETGs), based on a joint lensing and dynamical analysis, and on stellar population synthesis models, for a sample of 55 lens ETGs identified by the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys (SLACS). We construct axisymmetric dynamical models based on the Jeans equations which allow for orbital anisotropy and include a dark matter halo. The models reproduce in detail the observed Hubble Space Telescope photometry and are constrained by the total projected mass within the Einstein radius and the stellar velocity dispersion (\u3c3 ) within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey fibres. Comparing the dynamically-derived stellar mass-to-light ratios (M 17/L)dyn, obtained for an assumed halo slope \u3c1h 1d r 121, to the stellar population ones (M 17/L)Salp, derived from full-spectrum fitting and assuming a Salpeter IMF, we infer the mass normalization of the IMF. Our results confirm the previous analysis by the SLACS team that the mass normalization of the IMF of high-\u3c3 galaxies is consistent on average with a Salpeter slope. Our study allows for a fully consistent study of the trend between IMF and \u3c3 for both the SLACS and atlas3D samples, which explore quite different \u3c3 ranges. The two samples are highly complementary, the first being essentially \u3c3 selected, and the latter volume- limited and nearly mass selected. We find that the two samples merge smoothly into a single trend of the form log\u3b1 = (0.38 \ub1 0.04)
7 log(\u3c3e/200kms 121) + ( 12 0.06 \ub1 0.01), where \u3b1 = (M 17/L)dyn/(M 17/L)Salp and \u3c3e is the luminosity averaged \u3c3 within one effective radius Re. This is consistent with a systematic variation of the IMF normalization from Kroupa to Salpeter in the interval \u3c3 e 48 90\u2013270 km s 121
The internal structure and formation of early-type galaxies: the gravitational--lens system MG2016+112 at z=1.004
[Abridged] We combine our measurements of the velocity dispersion and the
surface brightness profile of the lens galaxy D in the system MG2016+112
(z=1.004) with constraints from gravitational lensing to study its internal
mass distribution. We find that: (i) dark matter accounts for >50% of the total
mass within the Einstein radius (99% CL), excluding at the 8-sigma level that
mass follows light inside the Einstein radius with a constant mass-to-light
ratio (M/L). (ii) the total mass distribution inside the Einstein radius is
well-described by a density profile ~r^-gamma' with an effective slope
gamma'=2.0+-0.1+-0.1, including random and systematic uncertainties. (iii) The
offset of galaxy D from the local Fundamental Plane independently constrains
the stellar M/L, and matches the range derived from our models, leading to a
more stringent lower limit of >60% on the fraction of dark matter within the
Einstein radius (99%CL).
Under the assumption of adiabatic contraction, the inner slope of the dark
matter halo before the baryons collapsed is gamma_i<1.4 (68 CL), marginally
consistent with the highest-resolution cold dark matter simulations that
indicate gamma_i~1.5. This might indicate that either adiabatic contraction is
a poor description of E/S0 formation or that additional processes play a role
as well. Indeed, the apparently isothermal density distribution inside the
Einstein radius, is not a natural outcome of adiabatic contraction models,
where it appears to be a mere coincidence. By contrast, we argue that
isothermality might be the result of a stronger coupling between luminous and
dark-matter, possibly the result of (incomplete) violent relaxation processes.
Hence, we conclude that galaxy D appears already relaxed 8 Gyr ago.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, ApJ, in press, minor change
Dynamical and photometric imprints of feedback processes on the early evolution of E/S0 galaxies
We show that the observed Velocity Dispersion Function of E/S0 galaxies
matches strikingly well the distribution function of virial velocities of
massive halos virializing at z > 1.5, as predicted by the standard hierarchical
clustering scenario in a \LambdaCDM cosmology, for a constant ratio sigma/V_vir
= 0.55 \pm 0.05, close to the value expected at virialization if it typically
occurred at z > 3. This strongly suggests that dissipative processes and later
merging events had little impact on the matter density profile. Adopting the
above sigma/V_vir ratio, the observed relationships between photometric and
dynamical properties which define the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies,
such as the luminosity-sigma (Faber-Jackson) and the luminosity-effective
radius relations, as well as the M_BH-sigma relation, are nicely reproduced.
Their shapes turn out to be determined by the mutual feedback of star-formation
(and supernova explosions)and nuclear activity, along the lines discussed by
Granato et al. (2004). To our knowledge, this is the first semi-analytic model
for which simultaneous fits of the fundamental plane relations and of the
epoch-dependent luminosity function of spheroidal galaxies have been presented.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap
Can dry merging explain the size evolution of early-type galaxies?
The characteristic size of early-type galaxies (ETGs) of given stellar mass
is observed to increase significantly with cosmic time, from redshift z>2 to
the present. A popular explanation for this size evolution is that ETGs grow
through dissipationless ("dry") mergers, thus becoming less compact. Combining
N-body simulations with up-to-date scaling relations of local ETGs, we show
that such an explanation is problematic, because dry mergers do not decrease
the galaxy stellar-mass surface-density enough to explain the observed size
evolution, and also introduce substantial scatter in the scaling relations.
Based on our set of simulations, we estimate that major and minor dry mergers
increase half-light radius and projected velocity dispersion with stellar mass
(M) as M^(1.09+/-0.29) and M^(0.07+/-0.11), respectively. This implies that: 1)
if the high-z ETGs are indeed as dense as estimated, they cannot evolve into
present-day ETGs via dry mergers; 2) present-day ETGs cannot have assembled
more than ~45% of their stellar mass via dry mergers. Alternatively, dry
mergers could be reconciled with the observations if there was extreme fine
tuning between merger history and galaxy properties, at variance with our
assumptions. Full cosmological simulations will be needed to evaluate whether
this fine-tuned solution is acceptable.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
The Sloan-Lens ACS Survey II: stellar populations and internal structure of early-type lens galaxies
We derive Fundamental Plane parameters of 15 early-type lens galaxies
identified by the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey. The size of the sample allows
us to investigate for the first time the distribution of lens galaxies in the
FP space. After correcting for evolution, we find that lens galaxies occupy a
subset of the local FP. The edge-on projection (approximately M vs M/L) is
indistinguishable from that of normal early-type galaxies. However -- within
the fundamental plane -- the lens galaxies appear to concentrate at the edge of
the region populated by normal early-type galaxies. We show that this is a
result of our selection procedure (approximately velocity dispersion
sigma>240km/s). We conclude that SLACS lenses are a fair sample of high
velocity dispersion early-type galaxies. By comparing the central stellar
velocity dispersion that of the best fit lens model, we find
== =1.01+-0.02 with 0.065 rms scatter. We conclude that
within the Einstein radii the SLACS lenses are very well approximated by
isothermal ellipsoids, requiring a fine tuning of the stellar and dark matter
distribution (bulge-halo ``conspiracy''). Interpreting the offset from the
local FP in terms of evolution of the stellar mass-to-light ratio, we find for
the SLACS lenses d log M/L_B/dz=-0.69+-0.08 (rms 0.11) consistent with the rate
found for field early-type galaxies and with a scenario where most of the stars
were formed at high redshift (>2) with secondary episodes of star formation
providing less than ~10% of the stellar mass below z=1. We discuss star
formation history and structural homogeneity in the context of formation
mechanisms such as collisionless (``dry'') mergers. [Abridged]Comment: 2006, ApJ, 604, 622; 13 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Replaced Table 2,
since the previous version was incorrectly sorted. Updated references. No
changes in plots or content. More info available at SLACS website
www.slacs.or
Prevalence and Properties of Dark Matter in Elliptical Galaxies
Given the recently deduced relationship between X-ray temperatures and
stellar velocity dispersions (the "T-sigma relation") in an optically complete
sample of elliptical galaxies (Davis & White 1996), we demonstrate that L>L_*
ellipticals contain substantial amounts of dark matter in general. We present
constraints on the dark matter scale length and on the dark-to-luminous mass
ratio within the optical half-light radius and within the entire galaxy. For
example, we find that minimum values of dark matter core radii scale as r_dm >
4(L_V/3L_*)^{3/4}h^{-1}_80 kpc and that the minimum dark matter mass fraction
is >~20% within one optical effective radius r_e and is >~39-85% within 6r_e,
depending on the stellar density profile and observed value of beta_spec. We
also confirm the prediction of Davis & White (1996) that the dark matter is
characterized by velocity dispersions that are greater than those of the
luminous stars: sigma_dm^2 ~ 1.4-2 sigma_*^2. The T-sigma relation implies a
nearly constant mass-to-light ratio within six half-light radii: M/L_V ~ 25h_80
M_sun/L_V_sun. This conflicts with the simplest extension of CDM theories of
large scale structure formation to galactic scales; we consider a couple of
modifications which can better account for the observed T-sigma relation.Comment: 27 pages AASTeX; 15 PostScript figures; to appear in Ap
Atomic Force Microscopy of Neuron Networks
We imaged uncoated neuron networks by an atomic force microscope in the repulsive regime of contact mode. Images of granule cells and their axons have been clearly revealed with details smaller than 20 nm. The good stability of the sample and the mechanical reproducibility of the microscope allowed the imaging of a neuron culture area of several square microns. By combining tens of images, we were able to reconstruct a highly defined neuronal network. Furthermore, the images were very reproducible over repeated scanning acquisition, demonstrating the mechanical and thermal stability of the instrument-sample system
A comparison of the strong lensing properties of the Sersic and the NFW profiles
We investigate the strong lensing properties of the Sersic profile as an
alternative to the NFW profile, focusing on applications to lens modelling of
clusters. Given an underlying Sersic dark matter profile, we study whether an
NFW profile can provide an acceptable fit to strong lensing constraints in the
form of single or multiple measured Einstein radii. We conclude that although
an NFW profile that fits the lensing constraints can be found in many cases,
the derived parameters may be biased. In particular, we find that for n~2,
which corresponds to massive clusters, the mass at r_200 of the best fit NFW is
overestimated (by a factor of ~2) and the concentration is very low (c~2). The
differences are important enough to warrant the inclusion of Sersic profile for
future analysis of strong lensing clusters.Comment: 19 pages (single column format), 11 figures. Accepted for publication
by JCA
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