arXiv subjects

Harald Kuntschner

Publications and source records attributed to Harald Kuntschner.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

The Atlas3D project -- I. A volume-limited sample of 260 nearby early-type galaxies: science goals and selection criteria

The Atlas3D project is a multi-wavelength survey combined with a theoretical modeling effort. The observations span from the radio to the millimeter and optical, and provide multi-colour imaging, two-dimensional kinematics of the atomic (HI), molecular (CO) and ionized gas (Hbeta, [OIII] and [NI]), together with the kinematics and population of the stars (Hbeta, Fe5015 and Mgb), for a carefully selected, volume-limited (1.16*10^5 Mpc^3) sample of 260 early-type (elliptical E and lenticular S0) galaxies (ETGs). The models include semi-analytic, N-body binary mergers and cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. Here we present the science goals for the project and introduce the galaxy sample and the selection criteria. The sample consists of nearby (D<42 Mpc) morphologically-selected ETGs extracted from a parent sample of 871 galaxies (8% E, 22% S0 and 70% spirals) brighter than M_K<-21.5 mag (stellar mass M_Star>6*10^9 M_Sun). We analyze possible selection biases and we conclude that the parent sample is essentially complete and statistically representative of the nearby galaxy population. We present the size-luminosity relation for the spirals and ETGs and show that the ETGs in the Atlas3D sample define a tight red sequence in a colour-magnitude diagram, with few objects in the transition from the blue cloud. We describe the strategy of the SAURON integral-field observations and the extraction of the stellar kinematics with the pPXF method. We give an overview of the characteristics of the other main datasets already available for our sample and of the ongoing modelling projects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Stellar properties of z ~ 1 Lyman-break galaxies from ACS slitless grism spectra

Lyman-break galaxies are now regularly found in the high redshift Universe by searching for the break in the galaxy spectrum caused by the Lyman-limit redshifted into the optical or even near-IR. At lower redshift, this break is covered by the GALEX UV channels and small samples of z ~ 1 LBGs have been presented in the literature. Here we give results from fitting the spectral energy distributions of a small sub-set of low redshift LBGs and demonstrate the advantage of including photometric points derived from HST ACS slitless grism observations. The results show these galaxies to have very young, star forming populations, while still being massive and dusty. LBGs at low and high redshift show remarkable similarities in their properties, indicating that the LBG selection method picks similar galaxies throughout the Universe.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of Starburst and Post-Starburst Galaxies in The Rich z~0.55 Cluster CL0016+16

We have used the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (LRIS) on the W.M. Keck I telescope to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopy of a small sample of six post-starburst and three dusty-starburst galaxies in the rich cluster CL0016+16 at z=0.55. We use this to measure radial profiles of the Hdelta and OII3727 lines which are diagnostic probes of the mechanisms that give rise to the abrupt changes in star-formation rates in these galaxies. In the post-starburst sample we are unable to detect any radial gradients in the Hdelta line equivalent width - although one galaxy exhibits a gradient from one side of the galaxy to the other. The absence of Hdelta gradients in these galaxies is consistent with their production via interaction with the intra-cluster medium, however, our limited spatial sampling prevents us from drawing robust conclusions. All members of the sample have early type morphologies, typical of post-starburst galaxies in general, but lack the high incidence of tidal tails and disturbances seen in local field samples. This argues against a merger origin and adds weight to a scenario where truncation by the intra-cluster medium is at work. The post-starburst spectral signature is consistent over the radial extent probed with no evidence of OII3727 emission and strong Hdelta absorption at all radii i.e. the post-starburst classification is not an aperture effect. In contrast the dusty-starburst sample shows a tendency for a central concentration of OII3727 emission. This is most straightforwardly interpreted as the consequence of a central starburst. However, other possibilities exist such as a non-uniform dust distribution (which is expected in such galaxies) and/or a non-uniform starburst age distribution. The sample exhibit late type and irregular morphologies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Early-type galaxies in different environments: an HI view

We present an analysis of deep WSRT observations of the HI in 33 nearby early-type galaxies selected from a sample studied earlier at optical wavelengths with the SAURON integral-field spectrograph. The sample covers both field environments and the Virgo cluster. Our analysis shows that gas accretion plays a role in the evolution of field early-type galaxies, but less so for those in clusters. For detection limits of a few times 10^6 Msun, HI is detected in about 2/3 of the field galaxies, while <10% of the Virgo objects are detected. In about half of the detections, the HI forms a regularly rotating disc or ring. All HI discs have counterparts of ionised gas and inner HI discs are also detected in molecular gas. The cold ISM is dominated by molecular gas (M_H2/M_HI ~ 10). We conclude that accretion of HI is common for field early-type galaxies, but the amount of material involved is usually small. Cluster galaxies appear not to accrete HI. The few galaxies with a significant young sub-population all have inner gas discs, but for the remaining galaxies there is no trend between stellar population and HI. Some early-type galaxies are very gas rich, but only have an old population. The stellar populations of field galaxies are typically younger than those in Virgo. This is likely related to differences in accretion history. In about 50% of the galaxies we detect a central continuum source. In many objects this emission is from a low-luminosity AGN, in some it is consistent with the observed star formation. Galaxies with HI in the central regions are more likely detected in continuum. This is due to a higher probability for star formation to occur in such galaxies and not to HI-related AGN fuelling. (Abridged)

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The stellar populations of early-type galaxies -- I. Observations, line-strengths and stellar population parameters

The influence of environment on the formation and evolution of early-type galaxies is, as yet, an unresolved issue. Constraints can be placed on models of early-type galaxy formation and evolution by examining their stellar populations as a function of environment. We present a catalogue of galaxies well suited to such an investigation. The magnitude-limited (b_J<19.45) sample was drawn from four clusters (Coma, A1139, A3558, and A930 at =0.04) and their surrounds. The catalogue contains luminosities, redshifts, velocity dispersions and Lick line strengths for 416 galaxies, of which 245 are classified as early-types. Luminosity-weighted ages, metallicities, and alpha-element abundance ratios have been estimated for 219 of these early-types. We also outline the steps necessary for measuring fully-calibrated Lick indices and estimating the associated stellar population parameters using up-to-date methods and stellar population models. In a subsequent paper we perform a detailed study of the stellar populations of early-type galaxies in clusters and investigate the effects of environment.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The SAURON project - XVII. Stellar population analysis of the absorption line strength maps of 48 early-type galaxies

(Abridged) We present a stellar population analysis of the absorption line strength maps for 48 early-type galaxies from the SAURON sample. Using the line strength index maps of Hbeta, Fe5015, and Mgb, measured in the Lick/IDS system and spatially binned to a constant signal-to-noise, together with predictions from up-to-date stellar population models, we estimate the simple stellar population-equivalent (SSP-equivalent) age, metallicity and abundance ratio [alpha/Fe] over a two-dimensional field extending up to approximately one effective radius. We find a large range of SSP-equivalent ages in our sample, of which ~40% of the galaxies show signs of a contribution from a young stellar population. The most extreme cases of post-starburst galaxies, with SSP-equivalent ages of <=3 Gyr observed over the full field-of-view, and sometimes even showing signs of residual star-formation, are restricted to low mass systems(sigma_e <= 100 k/ms or ~2x10^10 M_sol). Spatially restricted cases of young stellar populations in circumnuclear regions can almost exclusively be linked to the presence of star-formation in a thin, dusty disk/ring, also seen in the near-UV or mid-IR. The flattened components with disk-like kinematics previously identified in all fast rotators (Krajnović et al.) are shown to be connected to regions of distinct stellar populations. These range from the young, still star-forming circumnuclear disks and rings with increased metallicity preferentially found in intermediate-mass fast rotators, to apparently old structures with extended disk-like kinematics, which are observed to have an increased metallicity and mildly depressed [alpha/Fe] ratio compared to the main body of the galaxy. The slow rotators generally show no stellar population signatures over and above the well known metallicity gradients and are largely consistent with old (>=10 Gyr) stellar populations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

Testing Mass Determinations of Supermassive Black Holes via Stellar Kinematics

We investigate the accuracy of mass determinations M_BH of supermassive black holes in galaxies using dynamical models of the stellar kinematics. We compare 10 of our M_BH measurements, using integral-field OASIS kinematics, to published values. For a sample of 25 galaxies we confront our new M_BH derived using two modeling methods on the same OASIS data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The SAURON project XVI: On the Sources of Ionisation for the Gas in Elliptical and Lenticular Galaxies

Following our study on the incidence, morphology and kinematics of the ionised gas in early-type galaxies we now address the question of what is powering the observed nebular emission. To constrain the likely sources of gas excitation, we resort to a variety of ancillary data, draw from complementary information on the gas kinematics, stellar populations and galactic potential from the SAURON data, and use the SAURON-specific diagnostic diagram juxtaposing the [OIII]/Hb and [NI]/Hb line ratios. We find a tight correlation between the stellar surface brightness and the flux of the Hb recombination line across our sample, which points to a diffuse and old stellar source as the main contributor of ionising photons in early-type galaxies, with post-asymptotic giant branch (pAGB) stars being still the best candidate based on ionising-balance arguments. Other ionising sources such as a central AGN, OB-stars, shocks or the interaction between the hot and warm phases of the interestellar medium are found to play only a limited or localised role in powering the diffuse nebular emission observed in our sample galaxies. These results lead us to investigate the relative importance of stellar and AGN photoionisation in explaining the ionised-gas emission observed in early-type galaxies by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). By simulating how our sample galaxies would appear if placed at further distance and targeted by the SDSS, we conclude that only in very few, if any, of the SDSS early-type galaxies that display modest values for the equivalent width of the [OIII] line (less than ~2.4Å) and LINER-like [OIII]/Hb values, the nebular emission is truly powered by an AGN.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Integrated K-band spectra of old and intermediate-age globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Current stellar population models have arguably the largest uncertainties in the near-IR wavelength range, partly due to a lack of large and well calibrated empirical spectral libraries. In this paper we present a project, which aim it is to provide the first library of luminosity weighted integrated near-IR spectra of globular clusters to be used to test the current stellar population models and serve as calibrators for the future ones. Our pilot study presents spatially integrated K-band spectra of three old (>10 Gyr) and metal poor ([Fe/H]~-1.4), and three intermediate age (1-2 Gyr) and more metal rich ([Fe/H]~-0.4) globular clusters in the LMC. We measured the line strengths of the Na I, Ca I and 12CO(2-0) absorption features. The Na I index decreases with the increasing age and decreasing metallicity of the clusters. The Dco index, used to measure the 12CO(2-0) line strength, is significantly reduced by the presence of carbon-rich TP-AGB stars in the globular clusters with age ~1 Gyr. This is in contradiction with the predictions of the stellar population models of Maraston (2005). We find that this disagreement is due to the different CO absorption strength of carbon-rich Milky Way TP-AGB stars used in the models and the LMC carbon stars in our sample. For globular clusters with age >2 Gyr we find Dco index measurements consistent with the model predictions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Velocity fields of distant galaxies with FORS2 at the VLT

We describe a method to efficiently obtain two-dimensional velocity fields of distant, faint and small, emission-line galaxies with FORS2 at the VLT. They are examined for kinematic substructure to identify possible interaction processes. Numerical simulations of tidal interactions and ram-pressure effects reveal distinct signatures observable with our method. We detect a significant fraction of galaxies with irregular velocity fields both in the field and cluster environments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The SAURON project - XIII. SAURON-GALEX study of early-type galaxies: the ultraviolet colour-magnitude relations and Fundamental Planes

We present GALEX far (FUV) and near (NUV) ultraviolet imaging of 34 nearby early-type galaxies from the SAURON representative sample of 48 E/S0 galaxies, all of which have ground-based optical imaging from the MDM Observatory. The surface brightness profiles of nine galaxies show regions with blue UV-optical colours suggesting recent star formation. Five of these show blue integrated UV-optical colours that set them aside in the NUV integrated colour-magnitude relation. They also have other properties confirming they have had recent star formation, in particular H_beta absorption higher than expected for a quiescent population and a higher CO detection rate. NUV-blue galaxies are generally drawn from the lower stellar velocity dispersion and thus lower dynamical mass part of the sample. We have also constructed the first UV Fundamental Planes and show that NUV blue galaxies bias the slopes and increase the scatters. If they are eliminated the fits get closer to expectations from the virial theorem. Although our analysis is based on a limited sample, it seems that a dominant fraction of the tilt and scatter of the UV Fundamental Planes is due to the presence of young stars in preferentially low-mass early-type galaxies. Interestingly, the UV-optical radial colour profiles reveal a variety of behaviours, with many galaxies showing signs of recent star formation, a central UV-upturn phenomenon, smooth but large-scale age and metallicity gradients, and in many cases a combination of these. In addition, FUV-NUV and FUV-V colours even bluer than those normally associated with UV-upturn galaxies are observed at the centre of some quiescent galaxies. Four out of the five UV-upturn galaxies are slow rotators. These objects should thus pose interesting challenges to stellar evolutionary models of the UV-upturn.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The SAURON Project - XIV. No escape from V$_{\mathrm{esc}}$: a global and local parameter in early-type galaxy evolution

We present the results of an investigation of the local escape velocity (Vesc) - line strength index relationship for 48 early type galaxies from the SAURON sample, the first such study based on a large sample of galaxies with both detailed integral field observations and extensive dynamical modelling. Values of Vesc are computed using Multi Gaussian Expansion (MGE) photometric fitting and axisymmetric, anisotropic Jeans' dynamical modelling simultaneously on HST and ground-based images. We determine line strengths and escape velocities at multiple radii within each galaxy, allowing an investigation of the correlation within individual galaxies as well as amongst galaxies. We find a tight correlation between Vesc and the line-strength indices. For Mgb we find that this correlation exists not only between different galaxies but also inside individual galaxies - it is both a local and global correlation. The relation within individual galaxies has the same slope and offset as the global relation to a good level of agreement, though there is significant intrinsic scatter in the local gradients. We transform our line strength index measurements to the single stellar population (SSP) equivalent age (t), metallicity ([Z/H]) and enhancement ([$α$/Fe]) and carry out a principal component analysis of our SSP and Vesc data. We find that in this four-dimensional parameter space the galaxies in our sample are to a good approximation confined to a plane, given by $\log \mathrm({V}_{\mathrm{esc}}/500\mathrm{km/s}) = 0.85 \mathrm{[Z/H]} + 0.43 \log (\mathrm{t}/\mathrm{Gyrs})$ - 0.20. It is surprising that it is a combination of age and metallicity that is conserved; this may indicate a 'conspiracy' between age and metallicity or a weakness in the SSP models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2008

Gas and Stars in Galaxies - A Multi-Wavelength 3D Perspective

An overview of the ESO/Radionet workshop devoted to 3D optical/near-infrared and sub-mm/radio observations of gas and stars in galaxies is presented. There will be no published proceedings but presentations are available at http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/gal3D2008/program.html . The main aim of this ESO/Radionet workshop was to bring together the optical/ near-IR and sub-mm/radio communities working on three-dimensional (3D) extragalactic data. The meeting was attended by more than 150 scientists. This article, due to space limitations, provides a, necessarily biased, overview of the meeting.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

The Slitless Spectroscopy Data Extraction Software aXe

The methods and techniques for the slitless spectroscopy software aXe, which was designed to reduce data from the various slitless spectroscopy modes of Hubble Space Telescope instruments, are described. aXe can treat slitless spectra from different instruments such as ACS, NICMOS and WFC3 through the use of a configuration file which contains all the instrument dependent parameters. The basis of the spectral extraction within aXe are the position, morphology and photometry of the objects on a companion direct image. Several aspects of slitless spectroscopy, such as the overlap of spectra, an extraction dependent on object shape and the provision of flat-field cubes, motivate a dedicated software package, and the solutions offered within aXe are discussed in detail. The effect of the mutual contamination of spectra can be quantitatively assessed in aXe, using spectral and morphological information from the companion direct image(s). A new method named 'aXedrizzle' for 2D rebinning and co-adding spectral data, taken with small shifts or dithers, is described. The extraction of slitless spectra with optimal weighting is outlined and the correction of spectra for detector fringing for the ACS CCD's is presented. Auxiliary software for simulating slitless data and for visualizing the results of an aXe extraction is outlined.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

The Hubble Legacy Archive NICMOS Grism Data

The Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA) aims to create calibrated science data from the Hubble Space Telescope archive and make them accessible via user-friendly and Virtual Observatory (VO) compatible interfaces. It is a collaboration between the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) and the Space Telescope - European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF). Data produced by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) instruments with slitless spectroscopy modes are among the most difficult to extract and exploit. As part of the HLA project, the ST-ECF aims to provide calibrated spectra for objects observed with these HST slitless modes. In this paper, we present the HLA NICMOS G141 grism spectra. We describe in detail the calibration, data reduction and spectrum extraction methods used to produce the extracted spectra. The quality of the extracted spectra and associated direct images is demonstrated through comparison with near-IR imaging catalogues and existing near-IR spectroscopy. The output data products and their associated metadata are publicly available through a web form at http://hla.stecf.org and via VO interfaces. In total, 2470 spectra of 1923 unique targets are included in the current release.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

The SAURON project - XII. Kinematic substructures in early-type galaxies: evidence for disks in fast rotators

[Abridged] We analysed two-dimensional maps of 48 early-type galaxies obtained with the SAURON and OASIS integral-field spectrographs using kinemetry, a generalisation of surface photometry to the higher order moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD). In the SAURON sample, we find that 31% of early-type galaxies are single component systems. 91% of the multi-components systems have two kinematic subcomponents, the rest having three. In addition, 29% of galaxies have kinematically decoupled components, nuclear components with significant kinematic twists. We find that the velocity maps of fast rotators closely resemble those of inclined disks, except in the transition regions between kinematic subcomponents. In terms of E/S0 classification, this means that 74% of Es and 92% of S0s have components with disk-like kinematics. For the majority of fast rotators, the kinematic axial ratios are equal to or less than their photometric axial ratios, contrary to what is predicted with isotropic Jeans models viewed at different inclinations. The position angles of fast rotators are constant, while they vary abruptly in slow rotators. Velocity dispersion maps of face-on galaxies have shapes similar to the distribution of light. We constructed local (bin-by-bin) h3 - V/sigma and h4 - V/sigma diagrams from SAURON observations. We confirm the classical anti-correlation of h3 and Vσ, but we also find that h3 is almost zero in some objects or even weakly correlated with V/sigma. The distribution of h4 for fast and slow rotators is mildly positive on average. The difference between slow and fast rotators is traceable throughout all moments of the LOSVD, with evidence for different intrinsic shapes and orbital contents and, hence, likely different evolutionary paths.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Internal kinematics of spiral galaxies in distant clusters III. Velocity fields from FORS2/MXU spectroscopy

(Abridged) We study the impact of cluster environment on the evolution of spiral galaxies by examining their structure and kinematics. Rather than two-dimensional rotation curves, we observe complete velocity fields by placing three adjacent and parallel FORS2 MXU slits on each object, yielding several emission and absorption lines. The gas velocity fields are reconstructed and decomposed into circular rotation and irregular motions using kinemetry. To quantify irregularities in the gas kinematics, we define three parameters: sigma_{PA} (standard deviation of the kinematic position angle), Delta phi (the average misalignment between kinematic and photometric position angles) and k_{3,5} (squared sum of the higher order Fourier terms). Using local, undistorted galaxies from SINGS, these can be used to establish the regularity of the gas velocity fields. Here we present the analysis of 22 distant galaxies in the MS0451.6-0305 field with 11 members at z=0.54. In this sample we find both field (4 out of 8) and cluster (3 out of 4) galaxies with velocity fields that are both irregular and asymmetric. We show that these fractions are underestimates of the actual number of galaxies with irregular velocity fields. The values of the (ir)regularity parameters for cluster galaxies are not very different from those of the field galaxies, implying that there are isolated field galaxies that are as distorted as the cluster members. None of the deviations in our small sample correlate with photometric/structural properties like luminosity or disk scale length in a significant way. Our 3D-spectroscopic method successfully maps the velocity field of distant galaxies, enabling the importance and efficiency of cluster specific interactions to be assessed quantitatively.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Spiral Galaxies in the SAURON Survey

We discuss some recent integral field spectroscopy using the SAURON instrument of a sample consisting of 24 early-type spirals, part of the SAURON Survey, and 18 late-type spirals. Using 2-dimensional maps of their stellar radial velocity, velocity dispersion, and absorption line strength, it is now much easier to understand the nature of nearby galactic bulges. We discuss a few highlights of this work, and point out some new ideas about the formation of galactic bulges.

astro-ph↗