Constraining the Star Formation Histories of Spiral Bulges

Abstract

Long-slit spectroscopic observations of line-strengths and kinematics made along the minor axes of four spiral bulges are reported. Comparisons are made between central line-strengths in spiral bulges and those in other morphological types. The bulges are found to have central line-strengths comparable with those of single stellar populations (SSPs) of approximately solar abundance or above. Negative radial gradients are observed in line-strengths, similar to those in elliptical galaxies. The bulge data are consistent with correlations between Mg2, and central velocity dispersion observed in elliptical galaxiess. In contrast to elliptical galaxies, central line-strengths lie within the loci defining the range of and Mg2 achieved by Worthey's (1994) solar abundance ratio, SSPs. The implication of solar abundance ratios indicates differences in the star formation histories of spiral bulges and elliptical galaxies. A ``single zone with in- fall'' model of galactic chemical evolution, using Worthey's (1994) SSPs, is used to constrain possible star formation histories in our sample. We show that , Mg2 and Hbeta line-strengths observed in these bulges cannot be reproduced using primordial collapse models of formation but can be reproduced by models with extended in-fall of gas and star formation (2-17 Gyr) in the region modelled. One galaxy (NGC 5689) shows a central population with luminosity weighted average age of ~5 Gyr, supporting the idea of extended star formation. Kinematic substructure, possibly associated with a central spike in metallicity, is observed at the centre of the Sa galaxy NGC 3623.Comment: 14 pages. MNRAS latex file. Accepted for publication in MNRA