Multi-component parametric inversion of galaxy kinematics and stellar populations using full spectral fitting

The stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) can be strongly asymmetric in regions where the light contributions of both disc and bulge in spiral and lenticular galaxies are comparable. Existing techniques for the stellar kinematics analysis do not take into account the difference of disc and bulge stellar populations. Here we present a novel approach to the analysis of stellar kinematics and stellar populations. We use a two-component model of spectra where different stellar population components are convolved with pure Gaussian LOSVDs. For this model we present Monte-Carlo simulations demonstrating degeneracies between the parameters.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the proceedings of "The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies", Preston, UK, 5-9 September 201

Analytical approximations of K-corrections in optical and near-infrared bands

To compare photometric properties of galaxies at different redshifts, the fluxes need to be corrected for the changes of effective rest-frame wavelengths of filter bandpasses, called K-corrections. Usual approaches to compute them are based on the template fitting of observed spectral energy distributions (SED) and, thus, require multi-colour photometry. Here, we demonstrate that, in cases of widely used optical and near-infrared filters, K-corrections can be precisely approximated as two-dimensional low-order polynomials of only two parameters: redshift and one observed colour. With this minimalist approach, we present the polynomial fitting functions for K-corrections in SDSS ugriz, UKIRT WFCAM YJHK, Johnson-Cousins UBVR_cI_c, and 2MASS JHK_s bands for galaxies at redshifts Z<0.5 based on empirically-computed values obtained by fitting combined optical-NIR SEDs of a set of 10^5 galaxies constructed from SDSS DR7 and UKIDSS DR5 photometry using the Virtual Observatory. For luminous red galaxies we provide K-corrections as functions of their redshifts only. In two filters, g and r, we validate our solutions by computing K-corrections directly from SDSS DR7 spectra. We also present a K-corrections calculator, a web-based service for computing K-corrections on-line.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 25 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. This version contains low-resolution figures. The "K-corrections calculator" service is available at http://kcor.sai.msu.ru

NBursts+phot: parametric recovery of galaxy star formation histories from the simultaneous fitting of spectra and broad-band spectral energy distributions

We present NBursts+phot, a novel technique for the parametric inversion of spectrophotometric data for unresolved stellar populations where high-resolution spectra and broadband SEDs are fitted simultaneously helping to break the degeneracies between parameters of multi-component stellar population models.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of the IAU Symposium 28

The matter distribution in the local Universe as derived from galaxy groups in SDSS DR12 and 2MRS

Context. Friends-of-friends algorithms are a common tool to detect galaxy groups and clusters in large survey data. In order to be as precise as possible, they have to be carefully calibrated using mock catalogues. Aims. We create an accurate and robust description of the matter distribution in the local Universe using the most up-to-date available data. This will provide the input for a specific cosmological test planned as follow-up to this work, and will be useful for general extragalactic and cosmological research. Methods. We created a set of galaxy group catalogues based on the 2MRS and SDSS DR12 galaxy samples using a friends-of-friends based group finder algorithm. The algorithm was carefully calibrated and optimised on a new set of wide-angle mock catalogues from the Millennium simulation, in order to provide accurate total mass estimates of the galaxy groups taking into account the relevant observational biases in 2MRS and SDSS. Results. We provide four different catalogues (i) a 2MRS based group catalogue; (ii) an SDSS DR12 based group catalogue reaching out to a redshift z = 0.11 with stellar mass estimates for 70% of the galaxies; (iii) a catalogue providing additional fundamental plane distances for all groups of the SDSS catalogue that host elliptical galaxies; (iv) a catalogue of the mass distribution in the local Universe based on a combination of our 2MRS and SDSS catalogues. Conclusions. While motivated by a specific cosmological test, three of the four catalogues that we produced are well suited to act as reference databases for a variety of extragalactic and cosmological science cases. Our catalogue of fundamental plane distances for SDSS groups provides further added value to this paper.Comment: 31 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in A&

SDSSJ150634.27+013331.6: the second compact elliptical galaxy in the NGC5846 group

We report the discovery of the second compact elliptical (cE) galaxy SDSSJ150634.27+013331.6 in the nearby NGC5846 group by the Virtual Observatory (VO) workflow . This object (M_B = -15.98 mag, R_e = 0.24 kpc) becomes the fifth cE where the spatially-resolved kinematics and stellar populations can be obtained. We used archival HST WFPC2 images to demonstrate that its light profile has a two-component structure, and integrated photometry from GALEX, SDSS, UKIDSS, and Spitzer to build the multi-wavelength SED to constraint the star formation history (SFH). We observed this galaxy with the PMAS IFU spectrograph at the Calar-Alto 3.5m telescope and obtained two-dimensional maps of its kinematics and stellar population properties using the full-spectral fitting technique. Its structural, dynamical and stellar population properties suggest that it had a massive progenitor heavily tidally stripped by NGC5846.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure, 1 table. Accepted to MNRAS Letter