arXiv subjects

Jesús Falcón-Barroso

Publications and source records attributed to Jesús Falcón-Barroso.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

CALIFA reveals Prolate Rotation in Massive Early-type Galaxies: A Polar Galaxy Merger Origin?

We present new evidence for eight early-type galaxies (ETGs) from the CALIFA Survey that show clear rotation around their major photometric axis ("prolate rotation"). These are LSBCF560-04, NGC 0647, NGC 0810, NGC 2484, NGC 4874, NGC 5216, NGC 6173 and NGC 6338. Including NGC 5485, a known case of an ETG with stellar prolate rotation, as well as UGC 10695, a further possible candidate for prolate rotation, we report ten CALIFA galaxies in total that show evidence for such a feature in their stellar kinematics. Prolate rotators correspond to ~9% of the volume-corrected sample of CALIFA ETGs, a fraction much higher than previously reported. We find that prolate rotation is more common among the most massive ETGs. We investigate the implications of these findings by studying N-body merger simulations, and show that a prolate ETG with rotation around its major axis could be the result of a major polar merger, with the amplitude of prolate rotation depending on the initial bulge-to-total stellar mass ratio of its progenitor galaxies. Additionally, we find that prolate ETGs resulting from this formation scenario show a correlation between their stellar line-of-sight velocity and higher order moment h_3, opposite to typical oblate ETGs, as well as a double peak of their stellar velocity dispersion along their minor axis. Finally, we investigate the origin of prolate rotation in polar galaxy merger remnants. Our findings suggest that prolate rotation in massive ETGs might be more common than previously expected, and can help towards a better understanding of their dynamical structure and formation origin.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The hELENa project - I. Stellar populations of early-type galaxies linked with local environment and galaxy mass

We present the first in a series of papers in T$h$e role of $E$nvironment in shaping $L$ow-mass $E$arly-type $N$earby g$a$laxies (hELENa) project. In this paper we combine our sample of 20 low-mass early types (dEs) with 258 massive early types (ETGs) from the ATLAS$^{\mathrm{3D}}$ survey - all observed with the SAURON integral field unit (IFU) - to investigate early-type galaxies' stellar population scaling relations and the dependence of the population properties on local environment, extended to the low-σ regime of dEs. The ages in our sample show more scatter at lower σ values, indicative of less massive galaxies being affected by the environment to a higher degree. The shape of the age-σ relation for cluster vs. non-cluster galaxies suggests that cluster environment speeds up the placing of galaxies on the red sequence. While the scaling relations are tighter for cluster than for the field/group objects, we find no evidence for a difference in average population characteristics of the two samples. We investigate the properties of our sample in the Virgo cluster as a function of number density (rather than simple clustrocentric distance) and find that dE ages negatively correlate with the local density, likely because galaxies in regions of lower density are later arrivals to the cluster or have experienced less pre-processing in groups, and consequently used up their gas reservoir more recently. Overall, dE properties correlate more strongly with density than those of massive ETGs, which was expected as less massive galaxies are more susceptible to external influences.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The imprints of bars on the vertical stellar population gradients of galactic bulges

This is the second paper of a series aimed to study the stellar kinematics and population properties of bulges in highly-inclined barred galaxies. In this work, we carry out a detailed analysis of the stellar age, metallicity and [Mg/Fe] of 28 highly-inclined ($i > 65^{o}$) disc galaxies, from S0 to S(B)c, observed with the SAURON integral-field spectrograph. The sample is divided into two clean samples of barred and unbarred galaxies, on the basis of the correlation between the stellar velocity and h$_3$ profiles, as well as the level of cylindrical rotation within the bulge region. We find that while the mean stellar age, metallicity and [Mg/Fe] in the bulges of barred and unbarred galaxies are not statistically distinct, the [Mg/Fe] gradients along the minor axis (away from the disc) of barred galaxies are significantly different than those without bars. For barred galaxies, stars that are vertically further away from the midplane are in general more [Mg/Fe]--enhanced and thus the vertical gradients in [Mg/Fe] for barred galaxies are mostly positive, while for unbarred bulges the [Mg/Fe] profiles are typically negative or flat. This result, together with the old populations observed in the barred sample, indicates that bars are long-lasting structures, and therefore are not easily destroyed. The marked [Mg/Fe] differences with the bulges of unbarred galaxies indicate that different formation/evolution scenarios are required to explain their build-up, and emphasizes the role of bars in redistributing stellar material in the bulge dominated regions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The inner mass distribution of late-type spiral galaxies from SAURON stellar kinematic maps

We infer the central mass distributions within 0.4-1.2 disc scale lengths of 18 late-type spiral galaxies using two different dynamical modelling approaches - the Asymmetric Drift Correction (ADC) and axisymmetric Jeans Anisotropic Multi-gaussian expansion (JAM) model. ADC adopts a thin disc assumption, whereas JAM does a full line-of-sight velocity integration. We use stellar kinematics maps obtained with the integral-field spectrograph SAURON to derive the corresponding circular velocity curves from the two models. To find their best-fit values, we apply Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. ADC and JAM modelling approaches are consistent within 5% uncertainty when the ordered motions are significant comparable to the random motions, i.e, $\overline{v_ϕ}/σ_R$ is locally greater than 1.5. Below this value, the ratio $v_\mathrm{c,JAM}/v_\mathrm{c,ADC}$ gradually increases with decreasing $\overline{v_ϕ}/σ_R$, reaching $v_\mathrm{c,JAM}\approx 2 \times v_\mathrm{c,ADC}$. Such conditions indicate that the stellar masses of the galaxies in our sample are not confined to their disk planes and likely have a non-negligible contribution from their bulges and thick disks.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Faint quenched galaxies I- Sample selection and evidence for environmental quenching

Using kinematic maps from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, we reveal that the majority of low-mass quenched galaxies exhibit coherent rotation in their stellar kinematics. Our sample includes all 39 quenched low-mass galaxies observed in the first year of MaNGA. The galaxies are selected with $M_{r} > -19.1$, stellar masses $10^{9}$ M$_{\odot} < M_{\star} < 5\times10^{9}$ M$_{\odot}$, EW$_{Hα} <2$ Å, and all have red colours $(u-r)>1.9$. They lie on the size-magnitude and $σ$-luminosity relations for previously studied dwarf galaxies. Just six ($15\pm5.7$ per cent) are found to have rotation speeds $v_{e,rot} < 15$ km s$^{-1}$ at $\sim1$ $R_{e}$, and may be dominated by pressure support at all radii. Two galaxies in our sample have kinematically distinct cores in their stellar component, likely the result of accretion. Six contain ionised gas despite not hosting ongoing star formation, and this gas is typically kinematically misaligned from their stellar component. This is the first large-scale Integral Field Unit (IFU) study of low mass galaxies selected without bias against low-density environments. Nevertheless, we find the majority of these galaxies are within $\sim1.5$ Mpc of a bright neighbour ($M_{K} < -23$; or M$_{\star} > 5\times10^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$), supporting the hypothesis that galaxy-galaxy or galaxy-group interactions quench star formation in low-mass galaxies. The local bright galaxy density for our sample is $ρ_{proj} = 8.2\pm2.0$ Mpc$^{-2}$, compared to $ρ_{proj} = 2.1\pm0.4$ Mpc$^{-2}$ for a star forming comparison sample, confirming that the quenched low mass galaxies are preferentially found in higher density environments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The BaLROG project - II. Quantifying the influence of bars on the stellar populations of nearby galaxies

We continue the exploration of the BaLROG (Bars in Low Redshift Optical Galaxies) sample: 16 large mosaics of barred galaxies observed with the integral field unit SAURON. We quantify the influence of bars on the composition of the stellar component. We derive linestrength indices of H$β$, Fe5015 and Mgb. Based on single stellar population (SSP) models, we calculate ages, metallicities and [Mg/Fe] abundances and their gradients along the bar major and minor axes. The high spatial resolution of our data allows us to identify breaks among index and SSP profiles, commonly at 0.13$\pm$0.06 bar length, consistent with kinematic features. Inner gradients are about ten times steeper than outer gradients and become larger when there is a central rotating component, implying that the gradients are not independent of dynamics and orbits. Central ages appear to be younger for stronger bars. Yet, the bar regions are usually old. We find a flattening of the iron (Fe5015) and magnesium (Mgb) outer gradients along the bar major axis, translating into a flattening of the metallicity gradient. This gradient is found to be 0.03$\pm$0.07 dex/kpc along the bar major axis while the mean value of the bar minor axis compares well with that of an unbarred control sample and is significantly steeper, namely -0.20$\pm$0.04 dex/kpc. These results confirm recent simulations and discern the important localized influence of bars. The elevated [Mg/Fe] abundances of bars and bulges compared to the lower values of discs suggest an early formation, in particular for early type galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Creating lenticular galaxies with major mergers

Lenticular galaxies (S0s) represent the majority of early-type galaxies in the local Universe, but their formation channels are still poorly understood. While galaxy mergers are obvious pathways to suppress star formation and increase bulge sizes, the marked parallelism between spiral and lenticular galaxies (e.g. photometric bulge-disc coupling) seemed to rule out a potential merger origin. Here, we summarise our recent work in which we have shown, through N-body numerical simulations, that disc-dominated lenticulars can emerge from major mergers of spiral galaxies, in good agreement with observational photometric scaling relations. Moreover, we show that mergers simultaneously increase the light concentration and reduce the angular momentum relative to their spiral progenitors. This explains the mismatch in angular momentum and concentration between spirals and lenticulars recently revealed by CALIFA observations, which is hard to reconcile with simple fading mechanisms (e.g. ram-pressure stripping).

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Creating S0s with major mergers: a 3D view

A number of simulators have argued that major mergers can sometimes preserve discs (e.g. Springel & Hernquist 2005), but the possibility that they could explain the emergence of lenticular galaxies (S0s) has been generally neglected. In fact, observations of S0s reveal a strong structural coupling between their bulges and discs, which seems difficult to reconcile with the idea that they come from major mergers. However, in Querejeta et al. (2015a) we have used N-body simulations of binary mergers to show that, under favourable conditions, discs are first destroyed but soon regrow out of the leftover debris, matching observational photometric scaling relations (e.g. Laurikainen et al. 2010). Additionally, in Querejeta et al. (2015b) we have shown how the merger scenario agrees with the recent discovery that S0s and most spirals are not compatible in an angular momentum--concentration plane. This important result from CALIFA constitutes a serious objection to the idea that spirals transform into S0s mainly by fading (e.g. via ram-pressure stripping, as that would not explain the observed simultaneous change in $λ_\mathrm{Re}$ and concentration), but our simulations of major mergers do explain that mismatch. From such a 3D comparison we conclude that mergers must be a relevant process in the build-up of the current population of S0s.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Which galaxy mass estimator can we trust?

We address the problem that dynamical masses of high-redshift massive galaxies, derived using virial scaling, often come out lower than stellar masses inferred from population fitting to multi-band photometry. We compare dynamical and stellar masses for various samples spanning ranges of mass, compactness and redshift, including the SDSS. The discrepancy between dynamical and stellar masses occurs both at low and high redshifts, and systematically increases with galaxy compactness. Because it is unlikely that stellar masses show systematic errors with galaxy compactness, the correlation of mass discrepancy with compactness points to errors in the dynamical mass estimates which assume homology with massive, nearby ellipticals. We quantify the deviations from homology and propose specific non-virial scaling of dynamical mass with effective radius and velocity dispersion.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Virgo cluster and field dwarf ellipticals in 3D: III. Spatially and temporally resolved stellar populations

We present the stellar population analysis of a sample of 12 dwarf elliptical galaxies, observed with the SAURON integral field unit, using the full-spectrum fitting method. We show that star formation histories (SFHs) resolved into two populations can be recovered even within a limited wavelength range, provided that high S/N data is used. We confirm that dEs have had complex SFHs, with star formation extending to (more) recent epochs: for the majority of our galaxies star formation activity was either still strong a few ($\lesssim$ 5) Gyr ago or they experienced a secondary burst of star formation roughly at that time. This latter possibility is in agreement with the proposed dE formation scenario where tidal harassment drives the gas remaining in their progenitors inwards and induces a star formation episode. For one of our field galaxies, ID0918, we find a correlation between its stellar population and kinematic properties, pointing to a possible merger origin of its kinematically-decoupled core. One of our cluster objects, VCC1431, appears to be composed exclusively of an old population ($\gtrsim$ 10-12 Gyr). Combining this with our earlier dynamical results, we conclude that the galaxy was either ram-pressure stripped early on in its evolution in a group environment and subsequently tidally heated, or that it evolved in situ in the cluster's central parts, compact enough to avoid tidal disruption. These are only two of the examples illustrating the SFH richness of these objects confirmed with our data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

IMF - metallicity: a tight local relation revealed by the CALIFA survey

Variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) have been invoked to explain the spectroscopic and dynamical properties of early-type galaxies. However, no observations have yet been able to disentangle the physical driver. We analyse here a sample of 24 early-type galaxies drawn from the CALIFA survey, deriving in a homogeneous way their stellar population and kinematic properties. We find that the local IMF is tightly related to the local metallicity, becoming more bottom-heavy towards metal-rich populations. Our result, combined with the galaxy mass-metallicity relation, naturally explains previous claims of a galaxy mass-IMF relation, derived from non-IFU spectra. If we assume that - within the star formation environment of early-type galaxies - metallicity is the main driver of IMF variations, a significant revision of the interpretation of galaxy evolution observables is necessary.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Formation of S0 galaxies through mergers: Explaining angular momentum and concentration change from spirals to S0s

The CALIFA team has recently found that the stellar angular momentum and concentration of late-type spiral galaxies are incompatible with those of lenticular galaxies (S0s), concluding that fading alone cannot satisfactorily explain the evolution from spirals into S0s. Here we explore whether major mergers can provide an alternative way to transform spirals into S0s by analysing the spiral-spiral major mergers from the GalMer database that lead to realistic, relaxed S0-like galaxies. We find that the change in stellar angular momentum and concentration can explain the differences in the $λ_\mathrm{Re}$--$R_{90}/R_{50}$ plane found by the CALIFA team. Major mergers thus offer a feasible explanation for the transformation of spirals into S0s.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The Stellar Kinematics of Extragalactic Bulges

Galactic bulges are complex systems. Once thought to be small-scale versions of elliptical galaxies, advances in astronomical instrumentation (spectroscopy in particular) has revealed a wealth of photometric and kinematic substructure in otherwise simple-looking components. This review provides an overview of how our perspective on galactic bulges has changed over the years. While it is mainly focused on aspects related to the dynamical state of their stars, there will be natural connections to other properties (e.g. morphology, stellar populations) discussed in other reviews in this volume.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

An Integral View of Fast Shocks around Supernova 1006

Supernova remnants are among the most spectacular examples of astrophysical pistons in our cosmic neighborhood. The gas expelled by the supernova explosion is launched with velocities ~ 1000 km/s into the ambient, tenuous interstellar medium, producing shocks that excite hydrogen lines. We have used an optical integral-field spectrograph to obtain high-resolution spatial-spectral maps that allow us to study in detail the shocks in the northwestern rim of supernova 1006. The two-component Hα line is detected at 133 sky locations. Variations in the broad line widths and the broad-to-narrow line intensity ratios across tens of atomic mean free paths suggest the presence of suprathermal protons, the potential seed particles for generating high-energy cosmic-rays.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Radial variations in the stellar initial mass function of early-type galaxies

The hypothesis of a universal initial mass function (IMF) -- motivated by observations in nearby stellar systems -- has been recently challenged by the discovery of a systematic variation of the IMF with the central velocity dispersion, σ, of early-type galaxies (ETGs), towards an excess of low-mass stars in high-σ galaxies. This trend has been derived so far from integrated spectra, and remains unexplained at present. To test whether such trend depends on the local properties within a galaxy, we have obtained new, extremely deep, spectroscopic data, for three nearby ETGs, two galaxies with high σ (~300 km/s), and one lower mass system, with σ ~ 100 km/s. From the analysis of IMF-sensitive spectral features, we find that the IMF depends significantly on galactocentric distance in the massive ETGs, with the enhanced fraction of low-mass stars f mostly confined to their central regions. In contrast, the low-σ galaxy does not show any significant radial gradient in the IMF, well described by a shallower distribution, relative to the innermost regions of massive galaxies, at all radii. Such a result indicates that the IMF should be regarded as a local (rather than global) property, and suggests a significant difference between the formation process of the core and the outer regions of massive ETGs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Angular Momentum across the Hubble sequence from the CALIFA survey

We investigate the stellar angular momentum of galaxies across the Hubble sequence from the CALIFA survey. The distribution of CALIFA elliptical and lenticular galaxies in the $λ_{\rm Re}-ε_{\rm e}$ diagram is consistent with that shown by the Atlas$^\mathrm{3D}$ survey. Our data, however, show that the location of spiral galaxies in this diagram is significantly different. We have found two families of spiral galaxies with particularly peculiar properties: (a) spiral galaxies with much higher $λ_{\rm Re}$ values than any elliptical and lenticular galaxy; (b) low-mass spiral galaxies with observed $λ_{\rm Re}$ values much lower than expected for their apparent flattening. We use these two families of objects to argue that (1) fading alone cannot explain the transformation of spiral to lenticular galaxies, and (2) that those low-mass spiral galaxies are in fact dark matter dominated, which explains the unusually low angular momentum.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Virgo Cluster and field dwarf ellipticals in 3D - II. Internal dynamics points to tidal harassment?

We present the dynamical analysis of a sample of 12 dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies for which we have obtained SAURON large-scale two-dimensional spectroscopic data. We construct Jeans axisymmetric models and obtain total dynamical masses enclosed within one effective radius. We use the obtained values to show that the validity of the dynamical scaling relations of massive early-type galaxies can be extended to these low-mass systems, except that dEs seem to contain relatively larger fraction of dark matter in their inner parts. We then demonstrate that dE galaxies have lower angular momenta than the present-day analogues of their presumed late-type progenitors and we show that dE circular velocity curves are steeper than the rotation curves of galaxies with equal and up to an order of magnitude higher luminosity. This requires a transformation mechanism that is not only able to lower the angular momentum but also one that needs to account for increased stellar concentration. Additionally, we match the dark matter fraction of our galaxies to their location in the Virgo Cluster and see that galaxies in the cluster outskirts tend to have a higher dark-to-stellar matter ratio. Transformation due to tidal harassment is able to expain all of the above, unless the dE progenitors were already compact and had lower angular momenta at higher redshifts.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Bottom-heavy initial mass function in a nearby compact L*-galaxy

We present orbit-based dynamical models and stellar population analysis of galaxy SDSS J151741.75-004217.6, a low-redshift (z=0.116) early-type galaxy (ETG) which, for its moderate luminosity, has an exceptionally high velocity dispersion. We aim to determine the central black hole mass (M_bh), the i-band stellar mass-to-light ratio, and the low-mass slope of the initial mass function (IMF). Combining constraints from HST imaging and longslit kinematic data with those from fitting the SDSS spectrum with stellar populations models of varying IMF, we show that this galaxy has a large fraction of low-mass stars, significantly higher than implied even by a Salpeter IMF. We exclude a Chabrier/Kroupa as well as a unimodal (i.e. single-segment) IMF, while a bimodal (low-mass tapered) shape is consistent with the dynamical constraints. Thereby, our study demonstrates that a very bottom-heavy IMF can exist even in an L* ETG. We place an upper limit of ~10^{10.5}M_sun on M_bh, which still leaves open the possibility of an extremely massive BH.

astro-ph.CO↗