80 research outputs found
On The Age Estimation of LBDS 53W091
The recent spectral analysis of LBDS 53W091 by Spinrad and his collaborators
has suggested that this red galaxy at z=1.55 is at least 3.5 Gyr old. This
imposes an important constraint on cosmology, suggesting that this galaxy
formed at z > 6.5, assuming recent estimates of cosmological parameters. We
have performed chi^2 tests to the continuum of this galaxy using its UV
spectrum and photometric data (RJHK). We have used the updated Yi models that
are based on the Yale tracks. We find it extremely difficult to reproduce such
large age estimates, under the assumption of the most probable input
parameters. Using the same configuration as in Spinrad et al. (solar abundance
models), our analysis suggests an age of approximately 1.4 -- 1.8 Gyr. The
discrepancy between Spinrad et al.'s age estimate (based on the 1997 Jimenez
models) and ours originates from the large difference in the model integrated
spectrum: the Jimenez models are much bluer than the Yi models and the Bruzual
\& Charlot (BC) models. Preliminary tests favor the Yi and BC models. The
updated age estimate of LBDS 53W091 would suggest that this galaxy formed
approximately at z=2-3.Comment: LaTeX, 18 eps files Accepted for publication in ApJ (Feb 10, 2000,
vol 530), uses emulateapj.st
Intrinsic Axis Ratio Distribution of Early-type Galaxies From Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5, we have investigated the
intrinsic axis ratio distribution (ARD) for early-type galaxies. We have
constructed a volume-limited sample of 3,922 visually-inspected early-type
galaxies at carefully considering sampling biases
caused by the galaxy isophotal size and luminosity. We attempt to de-project
the observed ARD into three-dimensional types (oblate, prolate, and triaxial),
which are classified in terms of triaxiality. We confirm that no linear
combination of -distributed axis ratios of the three types can
reproduce the observed ARD. However, using Gaussian intrinsic distributions, we
have found reasonable fits to the data with preferred mean axis ratios for
oblate, prolate, and triaxial (triaxials in two axis ratios), where the fractions of
oblate, prolate and triaxial types are
\textrm{O:P:T}=0.29^{\pm0.09}:0.26^{\pm0.11}:0.45^{\pm0.13}-23.3 < M_r \leq -21.2-21.2 < M_r <-19.3$) sample does. Oblate is
relatively more abundant among the less luminous galaxies. Interestingly, the
preferences of axis ratios for triaxial types in the two luminosity classes are
remarkably similar. We have not found any significant influence of the local
galaxy number density on ARD. We show that the results can be seriously
affected by the details in the data selection and type classification scheme.
Caveats and implications on galaxy formation are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
The SAURON project - XXI : The spatially resolved UV-line strength relations of early-type galaxies
The unexpected rising flux of early-type galaxies at decreasing ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths is a long-standing mystery. One important observational constraint is the correlation between UVoptical colours and Mg2 line strengths found by Burstein et al. The simplest interpretation of this phenomenon is that the UV strength is related to the Mg line strength. Under this assumption, we expect galaxies with larger Mg gradients to have larger UV colour gradients. By combining UV imaging from GALEX, optical imaging from MDM and SAURON integral-field spectroscopy, we investigate the spatially resolved relationships between UV colours and stellar population properties of 34 early-type galaxies from the SAURON survey sample. We find that galaxies with old stellar populations show tight correlations between the far-UV (FUV) colours (FUV -V and FUV - NUV) and the Mg b index, H beta index and metallicity [Z/H]. The equivalent correlations for the Fe5015 index, a-enhancement [a/Fe] and age are present but weaker. We have also derived logarithmic internal radial colour, measured line strength and derived stellar population gradients for each galaxy and again found a strong dependence of the FUV -V and FUV - NUV colour gradients on both the Mg b line strength and the metallicity gradients for galaxies with old stellar populations. In particular, global gradients of Mg b and [Z/H] with respect to the UV colour [e.g. ?(Mg b)/(FUV - NUV) and ?[Z/H]/?(FUV - NUV)] across galaxies are consistent with their local gradients within galaxies, suggesting that the global correlations also hold locally. From a simple model based on multiband colour fits of UV upturn and UV-weak galaxies, we have identified a plausible range of parameters that reproduces the observed radial colour profiles. In these models, the centres of elliptical galaxies, where the UV flux is strong, are enhanced in metals by roughly 60 per cent compared to UV-weak regions.Peer reviewe
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Revising the Fraction of Slow Rotators in IFS Galaxy Surveys
The fraction of galaxies supported by internal rotation compared to galaxies
stabilized by internal pressure provides a strong constraint on galaxy
formation models. In integral field spectroscopy surveys, this fraction is
biased because survey instruments typically only trace the inner parts of the
most massive galaxies. We present aperture corrections for the two most widely
used stellar kinematic quantities and . Our
demonstration involves integral field data from the SAMI Galaxy Survey and the
ATLAS Survey. We find a tight relation for both and
when measured in different apertures that can be used as a linear
transformation as a function of radius, i.e., a first-order aperture
correction. We find that and radial growth curves are
well approximated by second order polynomials. By only fitting the inner
profile (0.5), we successfully recover the profile out to one
if a constraint between the linear and quadratic parameter in the
fit is applied. However, the aperture corrections for and
derived by extrapolating the profiles perform as well as applying
a first-order correction. With our aperture-corrected
measurements, we find that the fraction of slow rotating galaxies increases
with stellar mass. For galaxies with 11, the fraction
of slow rotators is percent, but is underestimated if galaxies
without coverage beyond one are not included in the sample
( percent). With measurements out to the largest aperture radius
the slow rotator fraction is similar as compared to using aperture corrected
values ( percent). Thus, aperture effects can significantly bias
stellar kinematic IFS studies, but this bias can now be removed with the method
outlined here.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society. 16 pages and 11 figures. The key figures of the paper
are: 1, 4, 9, and 1
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Global stellar populations on the size-mass plane
We present an analysis of the global stellar populations of galaxies in the
SAMI Galaxy Survey. Our sample consists of 1319 galaxies spanning four orders
of magnitude in stellar mass and includes all morphologies and environments. We
derive luminosity-weighted, single stellar population equivalent stellar ages,
metallicities and alpha enhancements from spectra integrated within one
effective radius apertures. Variations in galaxy size explain the majority of
the scatter in the age--mass and metallicity--mass relations. Stellar
populations vary systematically in the plane of galaxy size and stellar mass,
such that galaxies with high stellar surface mass density are older, more
metal-rich and alpha-enhanced than less dense galaxies. Galaxies with high
surface mass densities have a very narrow range of metallicities, however, at
fixed mass, the spread in metallicity increases substantially with increasing
galaxy size (decreasing density). We identify residual correlations with
morphology and environment. At fixed mass and size, galaxies with late-type
morphologies, small bulges and low Sersic n are younger than early-type, high
n, high bulge-to-total galaxies. Age and metallicity both show small residual
correlations with environment; at fixed mass and size, galaxies in denser
environments or more massive halos are older and somewhat more metal rich than
those in less dense environments. We connect these trends to evolutionary
tracks within the size--mass plane.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, MNRAS in press Corrected typo in author lis
A Spectro-photometric Search for Galaxy Clusters in SDSS
Recent large-scale galaxy spectroscopic surveys, such as the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS), enable us to execute a systematic, relatively-unbiased
search for galaxy clusters. Such surveys make it possible to measure the 3-d
distribution of galaxies but are hampered by the incompleteness problem due to
fiber collisions. In this study we aim to develop a density measuring technique
that alleviates the problem and derives densities more accurately by adding
additional cluster member galaxies that follow optical color-magnitude
relations for the given redshift. The new density measured with both
spectroscopic and photometric data shows a good agreement with apparent
information on cluster images and is supported by follow-up observations. By
adopting this new method, a total of 924 galaxy clusters are found
from the SDSS DR5 database in the redshift range , of which 212 are
new. Local maximum-density galaxies successfully represent cluster centers. We
provide the cluster catalogue including a number of cluster parameters.Comment: Web-page address has been revised and minor corrections are don
The Diverse Properties of the Most Ultraviolet Luminous Galaxies Discovered by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer
We report on the properties of a sample of ultraviolet luminous galaxies
(UVLGs) selected by matching the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Surveys with
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Third Data Release. Out of 25362 galaxies between
0.02x10^10 L_solar at
1530 Angstroms (observed wavelength). The properties of this population are
well correlated with ultraviolet surface brightness. We find that the galaxies
with low UV surface brightness are primarily large spiral systems with a
mixture of old and young stellar populations, while the high surface brightness
galaxies consist primarily of compact starburst systems. In terms of the
behavior of surface brightness with luminosity, size with luminosity, the
mass-metallicity relation, and other parameters, the compact UVLGs clearly
depart from the trends established by the full sample of galaxies. The subset
of compact UVLGs with the highest surface brightness (``supercompact UVLGs'')
have characteristics that are remarkably similar to Lyman Break Galaxies at
higher redshift. They are much more luminous than typical local
ultraviolet-bright starburst galaxies and blue compact dwarf galaxies. They
have metallicities that are systematically lower than normal galaxies of the
same stellar mass, indicating that they are less chemically evolved. In all
these respects, they are the best local analogs for Lyman Break Galaxies.Comment: Fixed error in ObjID column of Table 1. 30 pages, 12 figures.
Accepted for the GALEX special issue of ApJS. Abstract abridge
Extinction Corrected Star Formation Rates Empirically Derived from Ultraviolet-Optical Colors
Using a sample of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopic
catalog with measured star-formation rates (SFRs) and ultraviolet (UV)
photometry from the GALEX Medium Imaging Survey, we derived empirical linear
correlations between the SFR to UV luminosity ratio and the UV-optical colors
of blue sequence galaxies. The relations provide a simple prescription to
correct UV data for dust attenuation that best reconciles the SFRs derived from
UV and emission line data. The method breaks down for the red sequence
population as well as for very blue galaxies such as the local ``supercompact''
UV luminous galaxies and the majority of high redshift Lyman Break Galaxies
which form a low attenuation sequence of their own.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJS GALEX
special issu
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