165 research outputs found
Type-II surface brightness profiles in edge-on galaxies produced by flares
Previous numerical studies had apparently ruled out the possibility that
flares in galaxy discs could give rise to the apparent breaks in their
luminosity profiles when observed edge-on. However the studies have not, until
now, analyzed this hypothesis systematically using realistic models for the
disc, the flare, and the bulge. We revisit this theme by analyzing a series of
models which sample a wide range of observationally based structural parameters
for these three components. We have considered realistic distributions of bulge
to disc ratios, morphological parameters of bulges and discs, vertical scale
heights of discs and their radial gradients defining the flare for different
morphological types and stellar mass bins, based on observations. The surface
brightness profiles for the face-on and edge-on views of each model were
simulated to find out whether the flared disc produces a Type-II break in the
disc profile when observed edge-on, and if so under what conditions. Contrary
to previous claims, we find that discs with realistic flares can produce
significant breaks in discs when observed edge-on. Specifically a flare with
the parameters of that of the Milky Way would produce a significant break of
the disc at a Rbreak of ~8.6 kpc if observed edge-on. Central bulges have no
significant effects on the results. These simulations show that flared discs
can explain the existence of many Type-II breaks observed in edge-on galaxies,
in a range of galaxies with low-to-intermediate break strength values of
-0.25<S<-0.1.Comment: Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 5 pages, 5 figures. Language
corrections by the journal included in this new versio
Photometric scaling relations of antitruncated stellar discs in S0-Scd galaxies
It has been recently found that the characteristic photometric parameters of
antitruncated discs in S0 galaxies follow tight scaling relations. We
investigate if similar scaling relations are satisfied by galaxies of other
morphological types. We have analysed the trends in several photometric planes
relating the characteristic surface brightness and scalelengths of the breaks
and the inner and outer discs of local antitruncated S0-Scd galaxies, using
published data and fits performed to the surface brightness profiles of two
samples of Type-III galaxies in the R and Spitzer 3.6 microns bands. We have
performed linear fits to the correlations followed by different galaxy types in
each plane, as well as several statistical tests to determine their
significance. We have found that: 1) the antitruncated discs of all galaxy
types from Sa to Scd obey tight scaling relations both in R and 3.6 microns, as
observed in S0s; 2) the majority of these correlations are significant
accounting for the numbers of the available data samples; 3) the trends are
clearly linear when the characteristic scalelengths are plotted on a
logarithmic scale; and 4) the correlations relating the characteristic surface
brightnesses of the inner and outer discs and the breaks with the various
characteristic scalelengths significantly improve when the latter are
normalized to the optical radius of the galaxy. The results suggest that the
scaling relations of Type-III discs are independent of the morphological type
and the presence (or absence) of bars within the observational uncertainties of
the available datasets, although larger and deeper samples are required to
confirm this. The tight structural coupling implied by these scaling relations
impose strong constraints on the mechanisms proposed for explaining the
formation of antitruncated stellar discs in the galaxies across the whole
Hubble Sequence (Abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 18 pages, 12
figures, 7 table
Reconciling a significant hierarchical assembly of massive early-type galaxies at z<~1 with mass downsizing
Hierarchical models predict that massive early-type galaxies (mETGs) are the
latest systems to be in place into the cosmic scenario (at z<~0.5), conflicting
with the observational phenomenon of galaxy mass downsizing, which poses that
the most massive galaxies have been in place earlier that their lower-mass
counterparts (since z~0.7). We have developed a semi-analytical model to test
the feasibility of the major-merger origin hypothesis for mETGs, just
accounting for the effects on galaxy evolution of the major mergers strictly
reported by observations. The most striking model prediction is that very few
present-day mETGs have been really in place since z~1, because ~90% of the
mETGs existing at z~1 are going to be involved in a major merger between z~1
and the present. Accounting for this, the model derives an assembly redshift
for mETGs in good agreement with hierarchical expectations, reproducing
observational mass downsizing trends at the same time.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of Symposium 2 of JENAM 2010,
"Environment and the Formation of Galaxies: 30 years later", ed. I. Ferreras
and A. Pasquali, Astrophysics & Space Science Proceedings, Springe
Formation of S0 galaxies through mergers. Evolution in the Tully-Fisher relation since
(Abridged version) We explore whether a scenario that combines an origin by
mergers at 1.8-1.5 with a subsequent passive evolution of the resulting
S0 remnants since 0.8-1 is compatible with observational data of S0s in
the Tully-Fisher relation (TFR). We studied a set of major and minor merger
experiments from the GalMer database that generate massive S0 remnants. We
analysed the location of these remnants in the photometric and stellar TFRs
assuming that they correspond to galaxies. We then estimated their
evolution in these planes over the last 7 Gyr. The results were compared with
data of real S0s and spirals at different redshifts. We also tested how the use
of Vcirc or Vrot,max affects the results. We found that just after 1-2
Gyr of coalescence, major mergers generate S0 remnants that are outliers of the
local photometric and stellar TFRs at . After 4-7 Gyr of
passive evolution in isolation, the S0 remnants move towards the local TFR,
although the initial scatter among them persists. This scatter is sensitive to
the indicator used for the rotation velocity: Vcirc values yield a lower
scatter than when Vrot,max values are considered instead. In the planes
involving Vrot,max, a clear segregation of the S0 remnants in terms of the
spin-orbit coupling of the model is observed, in which the remnants of
retrograde encounters overlap with local S0s hosting counter-rotating discs.
The location of the S0 remnants at agrees well with the observed
distribution of local S0 galaxies in the -, Vcirc- and
Vrot,max- planes. Thus, massive S0 galaxies may have been formed
through major mergers that occurred at high redshift and have later evolved
towards the local TFR through passive evolution in relative isolation, a
mechanism that would also contribute to the scatter observed in this relation.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
A minor-merger origin for inner disks and rings in early-type galaxies
Nuclear disks and rings are frequent galaxy substructures, for a wide range
of morphological types (from S0 to Sc). We have investigated the possible
minor-merger origin of inner disks and rings in spiral galaxies through
collisionless N-body simulations. The models confirm that minor mergers can
drive the formation of thin, kinematically-cold structures in the center of
galaxies out of satellite material, without requiring the previous formation of
a bar. Satellite core particles tend to be deposited in circular orbits in the
central potential, due to the strong circularization experienced by the
satellite orbit through dynamical friction. The material of the satellite core
reaches the remnant center if satellites are dense or massive, building up a
thin inner disk; whereas it is fully disrupted before reaching the center in
the case of low-mass satellites, creating an inner ring instead.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the conference "Hunting for the
Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation", held in Malta, 19-23 Oct. 2009,
ed. V. Debattista and C. C. Popescu, AIP Conf. Ser., in pres
Evolution along the sequence of S0 Hubble types induced by dry minor mergers. II - Bulge-disk coupling in the photometric relations through merger-induced internal secular evolution
Galaxy mergers are considered as questionable mechanisms for the evolution of
lenticular galaxies (S0's), on the basis that even minor ones induce structural
changes that are difficult to reconcile with the strong bulge-disk coupling
observed in the photometric scaling relations of S0's. We check if the
evolution induced onto S0's by dry intermediate and minor mergers can reproduce
their photometric scaling relations, analysing the bulge-disk decompositions of
the merger simulations presented in Eliche-Moral et al. (2012). The mergers
induce an evolution in the photometric planes compatible with the data of S0's,
even in those ones indicating a strong bulge-disk coupling. The mergers drive
the formation of the observed photometric relation in some cases, whereas they
induce a slight dispersion compatible with data in others. Therefore, this
evolutionary mechanism tends to preserve these scaling relations. In those
photometric planes where the morphological types segregate, the mergers always
induce evolution towards the region populated by S0's. The structural coupling
of the bulge and the disk is preserved or reinforced because the mergers
trigger internal secular processes in the primary disk that induce significant
bulge growth, even although these models do not induce bars. Intermediate and
minor mergers can thus be considered as plausible mechanisms for the evolution
of S0's attending to their photometric scaling relations, as they can preserve
and even strengthen any pre-existing structural bulge-disk coupling, triggering
significant internal secular evolution (even in the absence of bars or
dissipational effects). This means that it may be difficult to isolate the
effects of pure internal secular evolution from those of the merger-driven one
in present-day early-type disks (abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 13 pages, 8
figures. Definitive version after proofs. Added references and corrected
typo
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