arXiv subjects

J. Mendez-Abreu

Publications and source records attributed to J. Mendez-Abreu.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

The relation between bar formation, galaxy luminosity, and environment

We derive the bar fraction in three different environments ranging from the field to Virgo and Coma clusters, covering an unprecedentedly large range of galaxy luminosities (or, equivalently, stellar masses). We confirm that the fraction of barred galaxies strongly depends on galaxy luminosity. We also show that the difference between the bar fraction distributions as a function of galaxy luminosity (and mass) in the field and Coma cluster are statistically significant, with Virgo being an intermediate case. We interpret this result as a variation of the effect of environment on bar formation depending on galaxy luminosity. We speculate that brighter disk galaxies are stable enough against interactions to keep their cold structure, thus, the interactions are able to trigger bar formation. For fainter galaxies the interactions become strong enough to heat up the disks inhibiting bar formation and even destroying the disks. Finally, we point out that the controversy regarding whether the bar fraction depends on environment could be resolved by taking into account the different luminosity ranges of the galaxy samples studied so far.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

The nature and nurture of bars and disks

The effects that interactions produce on galaxy disks and how they modify the subsequent formation of bars need to be distinguished to fully understand the relationship between bars and environment. To this aim we derive the bar fraction in three different environments ranging from the field to Virgo and Coma clusters, covering an unprecedentedly large range of galaxy luminosities (or, equivalently, stellar masses). We confirm that the fraction of barred galaxies strongly depends on galaxy luminosity. We also show that the difference between the bar fraction distributions as a function of galaxy luminosity (and mass) in the field and Coma cluster are statistically significant, with Virgo being an intermediate case. The fraction of barred galaxies shows a maximum of about 50% at $M_r\,\simeq\,-20.5$ in clusters, whereas the peak is shifted to $M_r\,\simeq\,-19$ in the field. We interpret this result as a variation of the effect of environment on bar formation depending on galaxy luminosity. We speculate that brighter disk galaxies are stable enough against interactions to keep their cold structure, thus, the interactions are able to trigger bar formation. For fainter galaxies the interactions become strong enough to heat up the disks inhibiting bar formation and even destroying the disks. Finally, we point out that the controversy regarding whether the bar fraction depends on environment could be resolved by taking into account the different luminosity ranges probed by the galaxy samples studied so far.

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arXiv2012

Flux calibrated emission line imaging of extended sources using GTC/OSIRIS Tunable Filters

We investigate the utility of the Tunable Filters (TFs) for obtaining flux calibrated emission line maps of extended objects such as galactic nebulae and nearby galaxies, using the OSIRIS instrument at the 10.4-m GTC. Despite a relatively large field of view of OSIRIS (8'x8'), the change in the wavelength across the field (~80 Ang) and the long-tail of Tunable Filter (TF) spectral response function, are hindrances for obtaining accurate flux calibrated emission-line maps of extended sources. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that emission-line maps useful for diagnostics of nebula can be generated over the entire field of view of OSIRIS, if we make use of theoretically well-understood characteristics of TFs. We have successfully generated the flux-calibrated images of the nearby, large late-type spiral galaxy M101 in the emission lines of Halpha, [NII]6583, [SII]6716 and [SII]6731. We find that the present uncertainty in setting the central wavelength of TFs (~1 Ang), is the biggest source of error in the emission-line fluxes. By comparing the Halpha fluxes of HII regions in our images with the fluxes derived from Halpha images obtained using narrow-band filters, we estimate an error of ~11% in our fluxes. The flux calibration of the images was carried out by fitting the SDSS griz magnitudes of in-frame stars with the stellar spectra from the SDSS spectral database. This method resulted in an accuracy of 3% in flux calibration of any narrow-band image, which is as good as, if not better, to that is feasible using the observations of spectrophotometric standard stars. Thus time-consuming calibration images need not be taken. A user-friendly script under the IRAF environment was developed and is available on request.

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arXiv2012

Bar pattern speed evolution over the last 7 Gyr

The tumbling pattern of a bar is the main parameter characterising its dynamics. From numerical simulations, its evolution since bar formation is tightly linked to the dark halo in which the bar is formed through dynamical friction and angular momentum exchange. Observational measurements of the bar pattern speed with redshift can restrict models of galaxy formation and bar evolution. We aim to determine, for the first time, the bar pattern speed evolution with redshift based on morphological measurements. We have selected a sample of 44 low inclination ringed galaxies from the SDSS and COSMOS surveys covering the redshift range 0 <z< 0.8 to investigate the evolution of the bar pattern speed. We have derived morphological ratios between the deprojected outer ring radius (R_{ring}) and the bar size (R_{bar}). This quantity is related to the parameter {\cal R}=R_{CR}/R_{bar} used for classifiying bars in slow and fast rotators, and allow us to investigate possible differences with redshift. We obtain a similar distribution of $R$ at all redshifts. We do not find any systematic effect that could be forcing this result. The results obtained here are compatible with both, the bulk of the bar population (~70%) being fast-rotators and no evolution of the pattern speed with redshift. We argue that if bars are long-lasting structures, the results presented here imply that there has not been a substantial angular momentum exchange between the bar and halo, as predicted by numerical simulations. In consequence, this might imply that the discs of these high surface-brightness galaxies are maximal.

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arXiv2011

CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey: I. Survey presentation

We present here the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey, which has been designed to provide a first step in this direction.We summarize the survey goals and design, including sample selection and observational strategy.We also showcase the data taken during the first observing runs (June/July 2010) and outline the reduction pipeline, quality control schemes and general characteristics of the reduced data. This survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopic information of a diameter selected sample of $\sim600$ galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005< z <0.03). CALIFA has been designed to allow the building of two-dimensional maps of the following quantities: (a) stellar populations: ages and metallicities; (b) ionized gas: distribution, excitation mechanism and chemical abundances; and (c) kinematic properties: both from stellar and ionized gas components. CALIFA uses the PPAK Integral Field Unit (IFU), with a hexagonal field-of-view of $\sim1.3\sq\arcmin'$, with a 100% covering factor by adopting a three-pointing dithering scheme. The optical wavelength range is covered from 3700 to 7000 Å, using two overlapping setups (V500 and V1200), with different resolutions: R\sim850 and R\sim1650, respectively. CALIFA is a legacy survey, intended for the community. The reduced data will be released, once the quality has been guaranteed. The analyzed data fulfill the expectations of the original observing proposal, on the basis of a set of quality checks and exploratory analysis. We conclude from this first look at the data that CALIFA will be an important resource for archaeological studies of galaxies in the Local Universe.

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arXiv2011

Fossil groups origins II. Unveiling the formation of the brightest group galaxies through their scaling relations

(Abridged) Fossil systems are galaxy associations dominated by a relatively isolated, bright elliptical galaxy, surrounded by a group of smaller galaxies lacking L* objects. We analyzed the near-infrared photometric and structural properties of a sample of 20 BGGs present in FGs in order to better understand their formation mechanisms. Their surface-brightness distribution was fitted to a Sersic profile using the GASP2D algorithm. Then, the standard scaling relations were derived for the first time for these galaxies and compared with those of normal ellipticals and brightest cluster galaxies in non-fossil systems. The BGGs presented in this study represent a subset of the most massive galaxies in the Universe. We found that their ellipticity profiles are continuously increasing with the galactocentric radius. Our fossil BCGs follow closely the fundamental plane described by normal ellipticals. However, they depart from both the log σ_0 vs. log L_{K_{s}} and log r_{\rm e} vs. log L_{K_{s}} relations described by intermediate mass ellipticals. This occurs in the sense that our BGGs have larger effective radii and smaller velocity dispersions than those predicted by these relations. We also found that more elliptical galaxies systematically deviate from the previous relations while more rounder object do not. No similar correlation was found with the Sersic index. The derived scaling relations can be interpreted in terms of the formation scenario of the BGGs. Because our BGGs follow the fundamental plane tilt but they have larger effective radii than expected for intermediate mass ellipticals, we suggest that they only went through dissipational mergers in a early stage of their evolution and then assembled the bulk of their mass through subsequent dry mergers, contrary to previous claims that BGGs in FGs were formed mainly by the merging of gas-rich galaxies.

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arXiv2011

Wavelength calibration for OSIRIS/GTC* tunable filters

OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) is the first light instrument of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It provides a flexible and competitive tunable filter (TF). Since it is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer working in collimated beam, the TF transmission wavelength depends on the position of the target with respect to the optical axis. This effect is non-negligible and must be accounted for in the data reduction. Our paper establishes a wavelength calibration for OSIRIS TF with the accuracy required for spectrophotometric measurements using the full field of view (FOV) of the instrument. The variation of the transmission wavelength $λ(R)$ across the FOV is well described by $λ(R)=λ(0)/\sqrt{1+(R/f_2)^2}$, where $λ(0)$ is the central wavelength, $R$ represents the physical distance from the optical axis, and $f_2=185.70\pm0.17\,$mm is the effective focal length of the camera lens. This new empirical calibration yields an accuracy better than 1\,Å across the entire OSIRIS FOV ($\sim$8\arcmin$\times$8\arcmin), provided that the position of the optical axis is known within 45 $μ$m ($\equiv$ 1.5 binned pixels). We suggest a calibration protocol to grant such precision over long periods, upon re-alignment of OSIRIS optics, and in different wavelength ranges. This calibration differs from the calibration in OSIRIS manual which, nonetheless, provides an accuracy $\lesssim1$Å\, for $R\lesssim 2\arcmin$.

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arXiv2010

The intrinsic shape of bulges

The structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0-Sb galaxies were derived using the GASP2D algorithm and then analyzed to derive the intrinsic shape of their bulges. We developed a new method to derive the intrinsic shape of bulges based on photometric data and on the geometrical relationships between the apparent and intrinsic shapes of bulges and disks. The method is conceived as completely independent of the studied class of objects, and it can be applied whenever a triaxial ellipsoid embedded in an axisymmetric component is considered. We found that the intrinsic shape is well constrained for a subsample of 115 bulges with favorable viewing angles. A large fraction of them is characterized by an elliptical section (B/A<0.9). This fraction is 33%, 55%, and 43% if using their maximum, mean, or median equatorial ellipticity, respectively. Most of them are flattened along their polar axis. The distribution of triaxiality is strongly bimodal. This bimodality is driven by bulges with Sersic index n>2, or equivalently, by the bulges of galaxies with a bulge-to-total ratio B/T>0.3. Bulges with n<2 and with B/T<0.3 follow a similar distribution, which is different from that of bulges with n>2 and with B/T>0.3. In particular, bulges with n<2 and with B/T<0.3 show a larger fraction of oblate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) bulges, a smaller fraction of triaxial bulges, and fewer prolate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) bulges with respect to bulges with n>2 and with B/T>0.3, respectively. According to the numerical simulations of bulge formation, bulges with n<2, which show a high fraction of oblate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) shapes and have B/T<0.3, could be the result of dissipational minor mergers. Both major dissipational and dissipationless mergers seem to be required to explain the variety of shapes found for bulges with n>2 and B/T>0.3.

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arXiv2010

On the lack of stellar bars in Coma dwarf galaxies

We present a study of the bar fraction in the Coma cluster galaxies based on a sample of ~190 galaxies selected from the SDSS-DR6 and observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Survey (ACS). The unprecedented resolution of the HST-ACS images allows us to explore the presence of bars, detected by visual classification, throughout a luminosity range of 9 mag (-23 < M_r < -14), permitting us to study the poor known region of dwarf galaxies. We find that bars are hosted by galaxies in a tight range of both luminosities (-22 < M_r < -17) and masses (10^9 < M*/Msun < 10^11). In addition, we find that the bar fraction does not vary significantly when going from the center to the cluster outskirts, implying that cluster environment plays a second-order role in bar formation/evolution. The shape of the bar fraction distribution with respect to both luminosity and mass is well matched by the luminosity distribution of disk galaxies in Coma, indicating that bars are good tracers of cold stellar disks.

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arXiv2010

Structural properties of disk galaxies. II. Intrinsic shape of bulges

(Abridged) The structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0-Sb galaxies were analyzed to derive the intrinsic shape of their bulges. We developed a new method to derive the intrinsic shape of bulges based on the geometrical relationships between the apparent and intrinsic shapes of bulges and disks. The equatorial ellipticity and intrinsic flattening of bulges were obtained from the length of the apparent major and minor semi-axes of the bulge, twist angle between the apparent major axis of the bulge and the galaxy line of nodes, and galaxy inclination. We found that the intrinsic shape is well constrained for a subsample of 115 bulges with favorable viewing angles. A large fraction of them is characterized by an elliptical section (B/A<0.9). This fraction is 33%, 55%, and 43% if using their maximum, mean, or median equatorial ellipticity, respectively. Most are flattened along their polar axis (C<(A+B)/2). The distribution of triaxiality is strongly bimodal. This bimodality is driven by bulges with Sersic index n>2, or equivalently, by the bulges of galaxies with a bulge-to-total ratio B/T>0.3. In particular, bulges with n\leq2 and with B/T\leq0.3 show a larger fraction of oblate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) bulges, a smaller fraction of triaxial bulges, and fewer prolate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) bulges with respect to bulges with n>2 and with B/T>0.3, respectively. According to predictions of the numerical simulations of bulge formation, bulges with n\leq2, which show a high fraction of oblate axisymmetric (or nearly axisymmetric) shapes and have B/T\leq0.3, could be the result of dissipational minor mergers. Both major dissipational and dissipationless mergers seem to be required to explain the variety of shapes found for bulges with n>2 and B/T>0.3.

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arXiv2010

Thin discs, thick dwarfs and the effects of stellar feedback

We investigate the role of stellar mass in shaping the intrinsic thickness of galaxy discs by determining the probability distribution of apparent axis ratios (b/a) for two different samples that probe the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. We find that the b/a distribution has a characteristic 'U-shape' and identify a limiting mass M_* ~ 2x10^9 M_sun below which low-mass galaxies start to be systematically thicker. This tendency holds for very faint (M_B ~ -8) dwarfs in the Local Volume, which are essentially spheroidal systems. We argue that galaxy shape is the result of the complex interplay between mass, specific angular momentum and stellar feedback effects. Thus, the increasing importance of turbulent motions in lower mass galaxies leads to the formation of thicker systems, a result supported by the latest hydrodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxy formation and other theoretical expectations. We discuss several implications of this finding, including the formation of bars in faint galaxies, the deprojection of HI line profiles and simulations of environmental effects on the dwarf galaxy population.

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arXiv2010

Peanut-shaped bulges in face-on disk galaxies

We present high resolution absorption-line spectroscopy of 3 face-on galaxies, NGC 98, NGC 600, and NGC 1703 with the aim of searching for box/peanut (B/P)-shaped bulges. These observations test and confirm the prediction of Debattista et al. (2005) that face-on B/P-shaped bulges can be recognized by a double minimum in the profile of the fourth-order Gauss-Hermite moment h_4. In NGC 1703, which is an unbarred control galaxy, we found no evidence of a B/P bulge. In NGC 98, a clear double minimum in h_4 is present along the major axis of the bar and before the end of the bar, as predicted. In contrast, in NGC 600, which is also a barred galaxy but lacks a substantial bulge, we do not find a significant B/P shape.

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arXiv2010

Which galaxies host bars and disks? A study of the Coma cluster

We present a study of the bar fraction in the Coma cluster galaxies based on a sample of $\sim 190$ galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 (SDSS-DR6) and observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Survey (ACS). The unprecedented resolution of the HST-ACS images allow us to explore the presence of bars, detected by visual classification, throughout a luminosity range of 9 magnitudes ($-23 \lesssim$ M$_{r} \lesssim -14$), permitting us to study the poor known region of dwarf galaxies. We find that bars are hosted by galaxies in a tight range of both luminosities ($-22 \lesssim$ M$_{r} \lesssim -17$) and masses ($10^{9} \lesssim {\cal M_{*}}/{\cal M}_{\sun} \lesssim 10^{11}$). This result holds when comparing with a sample of bright/massive field galaxies. In addition, we find that the bar fraction does not vary significantly when going from the center to the cluster outskirts, implying that cluster environment plays a second order role in bar formation/evolution. The shape of the bar fraction distribution with respect to both luminosity and mass is well matched by the luminosity distribution of disk galaxies in Coma, indicating that bars are good tracers of cold stellar disks. We discuss the implications of our results for the formation and evolution scenarios of bars and disks.

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arXiv2009

The influence of the environment on bar formation

Galaxy mergers and interactions are mechanisms which could drive the formation of bars. Therefore, we could expect that the fraction of barred galaxies increases with the local density. Here we show the first results of an extensive search for barred galaxies in different environments. We conclude that the bar fraction on bright (L>L*) field, Virgo, and Coma cluster galaxies is compatible. These results point towards an scenario where the formation and/or evolution of bars depend mostly on internal galaxy processes rather than external ones.

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arXiv2009

The population of barred galaxies in the local universe I. Detection and characterisation of bars

(Abridge) Bars are very common in the centre of the disc galaxies, and they drive the evolution of their structure. A volume-limited sample of 2106 disc galaxies extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 was studied to derive the bar fraction, length, and strength as a function of the morphology, size, local galaxy density, light concentration, and colour of the host galaxy. The bars were detected using the ellipse fitting method and Fourier analysis method. The ellipse fitting method was found to be more efficient in detecting bars in spiral galaxies. The fraction of barred galaxies turned out to be 45%. A bar was found in 29% of the lenticular galaxies, in 55% and 54% of the early- and late-type spirals, respectively. The bar length (normalised by the galaxy size) of late-type spirals is shorter than in early-type or lenticular ones. A correlation between the bar length and galaxy size was found with longer bars hosted by larger galaxies. The bars of the lenticular galaxies are weaker than those in spirals. Moreover, the unimodal distribution of the bar strength found for all the galaxy types argues against a quick transition between the barred and unbarred statues. There is no difference between the local galaxy density of barred and unbarred galaxies. Besides, neither the length nor strength of the bars are correlated with the local density of the galaxy neighbourhoods. In contrast, a statistical significant difference between the central light concentration and colour of barred and unbarred galaxies was found. Bars are mostly located in less concentrated and bluer galaxies. These results indicate that the properties of bars are strongly related to those of their host galaxies, but do not depend on the local environment.

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arXiv2008

Confirmation of a Kinematic Diagnostic for Face-On B/P Bulges

We present the results of high resolution absorption-line spectroscopy of 3 face-on galaxies, NGC 98, NGC 600, and NGC 1703 with the aim of searching for box/peanut (B/P)-shaped bulges. These observations test and confirm, for the first, time the prediction that face-on B/P-shaped bulges can be recognized by two minima in the profile along the bar's major axis of the fourth Gauss-Hermite moment h_4 of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD). In NGC 98, a clear double minimum in h_4 is present along the major axis of the bar and before the end of the bar, as predicted. In contrast, in NGC 600, which is also a barred galaxy but lacks a substantial bulge, we do not find any significant kinematic signature for a B/P-shaped bulge. In NGC 1703, which is an unbarred control galaxy, we found no evidence of a B/P bulge. We also show directly that the LOSVD is broader at the location of the h_4 minimum in NGC 98 than elsewhere. This more direct method avoids possible artifacts associated with the degeneracy between the measurement of line-of-sight velocity dispersion and h_4.

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arXiv2008

Structure and dynamics of galaxies with a low surface brightness disc. I. The stellar and ionised-gas kinematics

(abridged) Photometry and long-slit spectroscopy are presented for a sample of 6 galaxies with a low surface brightness stellar disc and a bulge. The stellar and ionised-gas kinematics were measured along the major and minor axis in half of the sample galaxies, whereas the other half was observed only along two diagonal axes. Spectra along two diagonal axes were obtained also for one of the objects with major and minor axis spectra. The kinematic measurements extend in the disc region out to a surface-brightness level mu_R~24mag/arcsec^2 reaching in all cases the flat part of the rotation curve. The stellar kinematics turns out to be more regular and symmetric than the ionised-gas kinematics, which often shows the presence of non-circular, off-plane, and non-ordered motions. This raises the question about the reliability of the use of the ionised gas as the tracer of the circular velocity in the modeling of the mass distribution, in particular in the central regions of low surface brightness galaxies.

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arXiv2007

Structural properties of disk galaxies I. The intrinsic ellipticity of bulges

(Abridged) A variety of formation scenarios was proposed to explain the diversity of properties observed in bulges. Studying their intrinsic shape can help in constraining the dominant mechanism at the epochs of their assembly. The structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0--Sb galaxies were derived in order to study the correlations between bulges and disks as well as the probability distribution function (PDF) of the intrinsic equatorial ellipticity of bulges. It is presented a new fitting algorithm (GASP2D) to perform the two-dimensional photometric decomposition of galaxy surface-brightness distribution. This was assumed to be the sum of the contribution of a bulge and disk component characterized by elliptical and concentric isophotes with constant (but possibly different) ellipticity and position angles. Bulge and disk parameters of the sample galaxies were derived from the J-band images which were available in the Two Micron All Sky Survey. The PDF of the equatorial ellipticity of the bulges was derived from the distribution of the observed ellipticities of bulges and misalignments between bulges and disks. Strong correlations between the bulge and disk parameters were found. About 80% of bulges in unbarred lenticular and early-to-intermediate spiral galaxies are not oblate but triaxial ellipsoids. Their mean axial ratio in the equatorial plane is = 0.85. There is not significant dependence of their PDF on morphology, light concentration, and luminosity. The interplay between bulge and disk parameters favors scenarios in which bulges assembled from mergers and/or grew over long times through disk secular evolution. But all these mechanisms have to be tested against the derived distribution of bulge intrinsic ellipticities.

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