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Katherine Alatalo

Publications and source records attributed to Katherine Alatalo.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

The Atlas3D project -- XXXI. Nuclear radio emission in nearby early-type galaxies

We present the results of a high-resolution, 5 GHz, Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array study of the nuclear radio emission in a representative subset of the Atlas3D survey of early-type galaxies (ETGs). We find that 51 +/- 4% of the ETGs in our sample contain nuclear radio emission with luminosities as low as 10^18 W/Hz. Most of the nuclear radio sources have compact (< 25-110 pc) morphologies, although < 10% display multi-component core+jet or extended jet/lobe structures. Based on the radio continuum properties, as well as optical emission line diagnostics and the nuclear X-ray properties, we conclude that the majority of the central 5 GHz sources detected in the Atlas3D galaxies are associated with the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, even at sub-arcsecond spatial resolution, the nuclear radio emission in some cases appears to arise from low-level nuclear star formation rather than an AGN, particularly when molecular gas and a young central stellar population is present. This is in contrast to popular assumptions in the literature that the presence of a compact, unresolved, nuclear radio continuum source universally signifies the presence of an AGN. Additionally, we examine the relationships between the 5 GHz luminosity and various galaxy properties including the molecular gas mass and - for the first time - the global kinematic state. We discuss implications for the growth, triggering, and fueling of radio AGNs, as well as AGN-driven feedback in the continued evolution of nearby ETGs.

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Next Generation Very Large Array Memo No. 8 Science Working Group 3: Galaxy Assembly through Cosmic Time

The Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will be critical for understanding how galaxies are built and evolve at the earliest epochs. The sensitivity and frequency coverage will allow for the detection of cold gas and dust in `normal' distant galaxies, including the low-J transitions of molecular gas tracers such as CO, HNC, and HCO+; synchrotron and free-free continuum emission; and even the exciting possibility of thermal dust emission at the highest (z~7) redshifts. In particular, by enabling the total molecular gas reservoirs to be traced to unprecedented sensitivities across a huge range of epochs simultaneously -- something no other radio or submillimeter facility will be capable of -- the detection of the crucial low-J transitions of CO in a diverse body of galaxies will be the cornerstone of ngVLA's contribution to high-redshift galaxy evolution science. The ultra-wide bandwidths will allow a complete sampling of radio SEDs, as well as the detection of emission lines necessary for spectroscopic confirmation of elusive dusty starbursts. The ngVLA will also deliver unique contributions to our understanding of cosmic magnetism and to science accessible through microwave polarimetry. Finally, the superb angular resolution will move the field beyond detection experiments and allow detailed studies of the morphology and dynamics of these systems, including dynamical modeling of disks/mergers, determining the properties of outflows, measuring black hole masses from gas disks, and resolving multiple AGN nuclei. We explore the contribution of a ngVLA to these areas and more, as well as synergies with current and upcoming facilities including ALMA, SKA, large single-dish submillimeter observatories, GMT/TMT, and JWST.

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X-ray Emission from the Taffy (VV254) Galaxies and Bridge

We present the first X-ray observations of the Taffy galaxies (UGC 12914/5) with the Chandra observatory, and detect soft X-ray emission in the region of the gas-rich, radio-continuum-emitting Taffy bridge. The results are compared to Herschel observations of dust and diffuse [CII] line-emitting gas. The diffuse component of the Taffy bridge has an X-ray luminosity of L(X) (0.5-8keV) =5.4 x 10^39 erg s^-1, which accounts for 19% of the luminosity of the sum for the two galaxies. The total mass in hot gas is (0.8--1.3) x 10^8 M_sun, which is approximately 1% of the total (HI~+~H2) gas mass in the bridge, and ~11% of the mass of warm molecular hydrogen discovered by Spitzer. The soft X-ray and dense CO-emitting gas in the bridge have offset distributions, with the X-rays peaking along the north-western side of the bridge in the region where stronger far-IR dust and diffuse [CII] gas is observed by Herschel. We detect nine Ultra Luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in the system, the brightest of which is found in the bridge, associated with an extragalactic HII region. We suggest that the X-ray--emitting gas has been shocked--heated to high temperatures and "splashed" into the bridge by the collision. The large amount of gas stripped from the galaxies into the bridge and its very long gas depletion timescale (>10 Gyr) may explain why this system, unlike most major mergers, is not a powerful IR emitter.

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Evidence of boosted 13CO/12CO ratio in early-type galaxies in dense environments

We present observations of $^{13}$CO(1-0) in 17 Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy (CARMA) Atlas3D early-type galaxies (ETGs), obtained simultaneously with $^{12}$CO(1-0) observations. The $^{13}$CO in six ETGs is sufficiently bright to create images. In these 6 sources, we do not detect any significant radial gradient in the $^{13}$CO/$^{12}$CO ratio between the nucleus and the outlying molecular gas. Using the $^{12}$CO channel maps as 3D masks to stack the $^{13}$CO emission, we are able to detect 15/17 galaxies to $>3σ$ (and 12/17 to at least 5$σ$) significance in a spatially integrated manner. Overall, ETGs show a wide distribution of $^{13}$CO/$^{12}$CO ratios, but Virgo cluster and group galaxies preferentially show a $^{13}$CO/$^{12}$CO ratio about 2 times larger than field galaxies, although this could also be due to a mass dependence, or the CO spatial extent ($R_{\rm CO}/R_{\rm e}$). ETGs whose gas has a morphologically-settled appearance also show boosted $^{13}$CO/$^{12}$CO ratios. We hypothesize that this variation could be caused by (i) the extra enrichment of gas from molecular reprocessing occurring in low-mass stars (boosting the abundance of $^{13}$C to $^{12}$C in the absence of external gas accretion), (ii) much higher pressure being exerted on the midplane gas (by the intracluster medium) in the cluster environment than in isolated galaxies, or (iii) all but the densest molecular gas clumps being stripped as the galaxies fall into the cluster. Further observations of $^{13}$CO in dense environments, particularly of spirals, as well as studies of other isotopologues, should be able to distinguish between these hypotheses.

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Escape, Accretion or Star Formation? The Competing Depleters of Gas in the Quasar Markarian 231

We report on high resolution CO(1-0), CS(2-1) and 3mm continuum Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy (CARMA) observations of the molecular outflow host and nearest quasar Markarian 231. We use the CS(2-1) measurements to derive a dense gas mass within Mrk231 of $1.8\pm0.3\times10^{10}~M_\odot$, consistent with previous measurements. The CS(2-1) data also seem to indicate that the molecular disk of Mrk231 is forming stars at about normal efficiency. The high resolution CARMA observations were able to resolve the CO(1-0) outflow into two distinct lobes, allowing for a size estimate to be made and further constraining the molecular outflow dynamical time, further constraining the molecular gas escape rate. We find that 15% of the molecular gas within the Mrk231 outflow actually exceeds the escape velocity in the central kiloparsec. Assuming that molecular gas is not constantly being accelerated, we find the depletion timescale of molecular gas in Mrk231 to be 49Myr, rather than 32Myr, more consistent with the poststarburst stellar population observed in the system.

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The Atlas3D Project - XXX. Star formation histories and stellar population scaling relations of early-type galaxies

We present the stellar population content of early-type galaxies from the Atlas3D survey. Using spectra integrated within apertures covering up to one effective radius, we apply two methods: one based on measuring line-strength indices and applying single stellar population (SSP) models to derive SSP-equivalent values of stellar age, metallicity, and alpha enhancement; and one based on spectral fitting to derive non-parametric star-formation histories, mass-weighted average values of age, metallicity, and half-mass formation timescales. Using homogeneously derived effective radii and dynamically-determined galaxy masses, we present the distribution of stellar population parameters on the Mass Plane (M_JAM, Sigma_e, R_maj), showing that at fixed mass, compact early-type galaxies are on average older, more metal-rich, and more alpha-enhanced than their larger counterparts. From non-parametric star-formation histories, we find that the duration of star formation is systematically more extended in lower mass objects. Assuming that our sample represents most of the stellar content of today's local Universe, approximately 50% of all stars formed within the first 2 Gyr following the big bang. Most of these stars reside today in the most massive galaxies (>10^10.5 M_sun), which themselves formed 90% of their stars by z~2. The lower-mass objects, in contrast, have formed barely half their stars in this time interval. Stellar population properties are independent of environment over two orders of magnitude in local density, varying only with galaxy mass. In the highest-density regions of our volume (dominated by the Virgo cluster), galaxies are older, alpha-enhanced and have shorter star-formation histories with respect to lower density regions.

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Observations of hydroxyl in early-type galaxies

We used Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope to observe OH in twelve early-type galaxies with known reservoirs of dense gas. We present three new detections of OH in absorption in the 1667 MHz line. One objective of our survey was to find evidence of molecular outflows, but our sensitivity, and the strength of the OH absorption, were insufficient to detect outflows. The detected sources have infrared luminosities and dust temperatures among the lowest of any galaxy detected in OH absorption. The ratio $L_{\rm HCN} / L_{\rm CO}$, a measure of the dense gas fraction in galaxies, is a powerful selector of OH megamasers for galaxies with high infrared luminosity. In early-type galaxies, which have much lower infrared luminosities, $L_{\rm HCN} / L_{\rm CO}$ is also a promising tool for discovering OH, but in absorption rather than in maser emission. In addition to dense molecular gas, a radio continuum source and a favorable line-of-sight to the observer are likely key factors in detecting OH absorbers.

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The Atlas3D project -- XXIX. The new look of early-type galaxies and surrounding fields disclosed by extremely deep optical images

Galactic archeology based on star counts is instrumental to reconstruct the past mass assembly of Local Group galaxies. The development of new observing techniques and data-reduction, coupled with the use of sensitive large field of view cameras, now allows us to pursue this technique in more distant galaxies exploiting their diffuse low surface brightness (LSB) light. As part of the Atlas3D project, we have obtained with the MegaCam camera at the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope extremely deep, multi--band, images of nearby early-type galaxies. We present here a catalog of 92 galaxies from the Atlas3D sample, that are located in low to medium density environments. The observing strategy and data reduction pipeline, that achieve a gain of several magnitudes in the limiting surface brightness with respect to classical imaging surveys, are presented. The size and depth of the survey is compared to other recent deep imaging projects. The paper highlights the capability of LSB--optimized surveys at detecting new prominent structures that change the apparent morphology of galaxies. The intrinsic limitations of deep imaging observations are also discussed, among those, the contamination of the stellar halos of galaxies by extended ghost reflections, and the cirrus emission from Galactic dust. The detection and systematic census of fine structures that trace the present and past mass assembly of ETGs is one of the prime goals of the project. We provide specific examples of each type of observed structures -- tidal tails, stellar streams and shells --, and explain how they were identified and classified. We give an overview of the initial results. The detailed statistical analysis will be presented in future papers.

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Catching Quenching Galaxies: The Nature of the WISE Infrared Transition Zone

We present the discovery of a prominent bifurcation between early-type galaxies and late-type galaxies, in [4.6]-[12] micron colors from the Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We then use an emission-line diagnostic comparison sample to explore the nature of objects found both within, and near the edges of, this WISE infrared transition zone (IRTZ). We hypothesize that this birfurcation might be due to the presence of hot dust and PAH emission features in late-type galaxies. Using a sample of galaxies selected through the Shocked Poststarburst Galaxy Survey (SPOGS), we are able to identify galaxies with strong Balmer absorption (EW(Hdelta)>5 Angstroms) as well as emission lines inconsistent with star formation (deemed SPOG candidates, or SPOGs*) that lie within the optical green valley. Seyferts and low ionization nuclear emission line regions, whose u-r colors tend to be red, are strongly represented within the IRTZ, whereas SPOGs* tend to sit near the star-forming edge. Although AGN are well-represented in the IRTZ, we argue that the dominant IRTZ population are galaxies that are in late stages of transitioning across the optical green valley, shedding the last of their remnant interstellar media.

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A Herschel and CARMA view of CO and [C II] in Hickson Compact groups

Understanding the evolution of galaxies from the starforming blue cloud to the quiescent red sequence has been revolutionized by observations taken with Herschel Space Observatory, and the onset of the era of sensitive millimeter interferometers, allowing astronomers to probe both cold dust as well as the cool interstellar medium in a large set of galaxies with unprecedented sensitivity. Recent Herschel observations of of H2-bright Hickson Compact Groups of galaxies (HCGs) has shown that [CII] may be boosted in diffuse shocked gas. CARMA CO(1-0) observations of these [CII]-bright HCGs has shown that these turbulent systems also can show suppression of SF. Here we present preliminary results from observations of HCGs with Herschel and CARMA, and their [CII] and CO(1-0) properties to discuss how shocks influence galaxy transitions and star formation.

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Connection between dynamically derived IMF normalisation and stellar population parameters

We report on empirical trends between the dynamically determined stellar initial mass function (IMF) and stellar population properties for a complete, volume-limited sample of 260 early-type galaxies from the Atlas3D project. We study trends between our dynamically-derived IMF normalisation and absorption line strengths, and interpret these via single stellar population- (SSP-) equivalent ages, abundance ratios (measured as [alpha/Fe]), and total metallicity, [Z/H]. We find that old and alpha-enhanced galaxies tend to have on average heavier (Salpeter-like) mass normalisation of the IMF, but stellar population does not appear to be a good predictor of the IMF, with a large range of normalisation at a given population parameter. As a result, we find weak IMF-[alpha/Fe] and IMF-age correlations, and no significant IMF-[Z/H] correlation. The observed trends appear significantly weaker than those reported in studies that measure the IMF normalisation via low-mass star demographics inferred through stellar spectral analysis.

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The Atlas3D project - XXIV. The intrinsic shape distribution of early-type galaxies

We use the Atlas3D sample to perform a study of the intrinsic shapes of early-type galaxies, taking advantage of the available combined photometric and kinematic data. Based on our ellipticity measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, and additional imaging from the Isaac Newton Telescope, we first invert the shape distribution of fast and slow rotators under the assumption of axisymmetry. The so-obtained intrinsic shape distribution for the fast rotators can be described with a Gaussian with a mean flattening of q=0.25 and standard deviation sigma_q = 0.14, and an additional tail towards rounder shapes. The slow rotators are much rounder, and are well described with a Gaussian with mean q = 0.63 and sigma_q =0.09. We then checked that our results were consistent when applying a different and independent method to obtain intrinsic shape distributions, by fitting the observed ellipticity distributions directly using Gaussian parametrisations for the intrinsic axis ratios. Although both fast and slow rotators are identified as early-type galaxies in morphological studies, and in many previous shape studies are therefore grouped together, their shape distributions are significantly different, hinting at different formation scenarios. The intrinsic shape distribution of the fast rotators shows similarities with the spiral galaxy population. Including the observed kinematic misalignment in our intrinsic shape study shows that the fast rotators are predominantly axisymmetric, with only very little room for triaxiality. For the slow rotators though there are very strong indications that they are (mildly) triaxial.

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The ATLAS3D Project - XXVIII. Dynamically-driven star formation suppression in early-type galaxies

We present measurements of the star formation rate (SFR) in the early-type galaxies (ETGs) of the ATLAS3D sample, based on Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) 22um and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) far-ultraviolet emission. We combine these with gas masses estimated from 12CO and HI data in order to investigate the star formation efficiency (SFE) in a larger sample of ETGs than previously available. We first recalibrate (based on WISE data) the relation between old stellar populations (traced at Ks-band) and 22um luminosity, allowing us to remove the contribution of 22um emission from circumstellar dust. We then go on to investigate the position of ETGs on the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation. Molecular gas-rich ETGs have comparable star formation surface densities to normal spiral galaxy centres, but they lie systematically offset from the KS relation, having lower star formation efficiencies by a factor of ~2.5 (in agreement with other authors). This effect is driven by galaxies where a substantial fraction of the molecular material is in the rising part of the rotation curve, and shear is high. We show here for the first time that although the number of stars formed per unit gas mass per unit time is lower in ETGs, it seems that the amount of stars formed per free-fall time is approximately constant. The scatter around this dynamical relation still correlates with galaxy properties such as the shape of the potential in the inner regions. This leads us to suggest that dynamical properties (such as shear or the global stability of the gas) may be important second parameters that regulate star formation and cause much of the scatter around star-formation relations.

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The Atlas3D project - XXVI. HI discs in real and simulated fast and slow rotators

One quarter of all nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs) outside Virgo host a disc/ring of HI with size from a few to tens of kpc and mass up to ~1e+9 solar masses. Here we investigate whether this HI is related to the presence of a stellar disc within the host making use of the classification of ETGs in fast and slow rotators (FR/SR). We find a large diversity of HI masses and morphologies within both families. Surprisingly, SRs are detected as often, host as much HI and have a similar rate of HI discs/rings as FRs. Accretion of HI is therefore not always linked to the growth of an inner stellar disc. The weak relation between HI and stellar disc is confirmed by their frequent kinematical misalignment in FRs, including cases of polar and counterrotating gas. In SRs the HI is usually polar. This complex picture highlights a diversity of ETG formation histories which may be lost in the relative simplicity of their inner structure and emerges when studying their outer regions. We find that LCDM hydrodynamical simulations have difficulties reproducing the HI properties of ETGs. The gas discs formed in simulations are either too massive or too small depending on the star formation feedback implementation. Kinematical misalignments match the observations only qualitatively. The main point of conflict is that nearly all simulated FRs and a large fraction of all simulated SRs host corotating HI. This establishes the HI properties of ETGs as a novel challenge to simulations.

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NGC1266 as a Local Candidate for Rapid Cessation of Star Formation

We present new Spectrographic Areal Unit for Research on Optical Nebulae (SAURON) integral-field spectroscopy and Swift Ultraviolet Optical Telescope (UVOT) observations of molecular outflow host galaxy NGC 1266 that indicate NGC 1266 has experienced a rapid cessation of star formation. Both the SAURON maps of stellar population age and the Swift UVOT observations demonstrate the presence of young ($< 1$ Gyr) stellar populations within the central 1 kpc, while existing Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) CO(1--0) maps indicate that the sites of current star formation are constrained to the inner few hundred parsecs of the galaxy only. The optical spectrum of NGC 1266 from Moustakas & Kennicutt (2006) reveal a characteristic post-starburst (K+A) stellar population and Davis et al. (2012) confirm that ionized gas emission in the system originate from a shock. Galaxies with K+A spectra and shock-like ionized gas line ratios may comprise an important, overlooked segment of the post-starburst population, containing exactly those objects in which the AGN is actively expelling the star-forming material. While AGN activity is not the likely driver of the post-starburst event that occurred 500 Myr ago, the faint spiral structure seen in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide-field Camera 3 (WFC3) Y-, J- and H-band imaging seems to point to the possibility of gravitational torques being the culprit. If the molecular gas were driven into the center at the same time as the larger scale galaxy disk underwent quenching, the AGN might be able to sustain the presence of molecular gas for $\gtrsim 1$ Gyr by cyclically injecting turbulent kinetic energy into the dense molecular gas via a radio jet, inhibiting star formation.

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Detection of a High Brightness Temperature Radio Core in the AGN-Driven Molecular Outflow Candidate NGC 1266

We present new high spatial resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) HI absorption and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) continuum observations of the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN)-driven molecular outflow candidate NGC 1266. Although other well-known systems with molecular outflows may be driven by star formation in a central molecular disk, the molecular mass outflow rate reported in Alatalo et al. (2011) in NGC 1266 of 13 M$_{\odot}$ year$^{-1}$ exceeds star formation rate estimates from a variety of tracers. This suggests that an additional energy source, such as an AGN, may play a significant role in powering the outflow. Our high spatial resolution HI absorption data reveal compact absorption against the radio continuum core co-located with the putative AGN, and the presence of a blueshifted spectral component re-affirms that gas is indeed flowing out of the system. Our VLBA observations at 1.65 GHz reveal one continuum source within the densest portion of the molecular gas, with a diameter d < 8 mas (1.2 pc), a radio power $P_{\mathrm{rad}}$ = 1.48 $\times$ 10$^{20}$ W Hz$^{-1}$, and a brightness temperature $T_{\mathrm{b}}$ > 1.5 x 10$^7$ K that is most consistent with an AGN origin. The radio continuum energetics implied by the compact VLBA source, as well as archival VLA continuum observations at lower spatial resolution, further support the possibility that the AGN in NGC 1266 could be driving the molecular outflow. These findings suggest that even low-level AGNs may be able to launch massive outflows in their host galaxies.

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The ATLAS3D Project -- XXIII. Angular momentum and nuclear surface brightness profiles

[Abridged and Edited] We investigate nuclear light profiles in 135 ATLAS3D galaxies for which the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging is available and compare them to the large scale kinematics obtained with the SAURON integral-field spectrograph. Specific angular momentum, lambda_R, correlates with the shape of nuclear light profiles, where cores are typically found in slow rotators and core-less galaxies are fast rotators. Cores are found only in massive galaxies and only in systems with the stellar mass M>8x10^10 Msun. Based on our sample, we, however, see no evidence for a bimodal distribution of nuclear slopes. The best predictor for finding a core is based on the stellar velocity dispersion within an effective radius, sigma_e, and specific angular momentum, where cores are found for lambda_R<0.25 and sigma_e>160 km/s. We estimate that only about 10% of nearby early-type galaxies contain cores. Furthermore, we show that there is a genuine population of fast rotators with cores. We also show that core fast rotators are morphologically, kinematically and dynamically different from core slow rotators. The cores of fast rotators could harbour black holes of similar masses to those in core slow rotators, but typically more massive than those found in core-less fast rotators. Core-less galaxies, and especially core-less fast rotators, are under-luminous in the diffuse X-ray emission, but the presence of a core does not imply high X-ray luminosities. We postulate a possible population of core-less galaxies among slow rotators, which can not be explained as face-on discs, but comprise a genuine sub-population of slow rotators. These galaxies are typically less massive and flatter than core slow rotators, and show evidence for dynamical cold structures and exponential photometric components. We discuss possible processes for formation of cores and their subsequent preservation.

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The Atlas3D project - XX. Mass-size and mass-sigma distributions of early-type galaxies: bulge fraction drives kinematics, mass-to-light ratio, molecular gas fraction and stellar initial mass function

We study the (M,sigma) and (M,Re) projections of the thin Mass Plane (MP) (M,sigma,Re) which describes the distribution of the galaxy population. The distribution of galaxy properties on the MP is characterized by: (i) a zone of exclusion described by two power-laws joined by a break at M 3e10 Msun. This results in a break in the mean M-sigma relation with Msigma^2.3 and M sigma^4.7 at small and large sigma respectively; (ii) a mass M 2e11 Msun which separates a population dominated by flat fast rotator with disks and spiral galaxies at lower masses, from one dominated by quite round slow rotators at larger masses; (iii) below that mass the distribution of ETGs properties tends to be constant along lines of constant sigma; (iv) it forms a parallel sequence with the distribution of spiral galaxies; (v) at even lower masses, the distribution of fast rotator ETGs and late spirals naturally extends to that of dwarf ETGs (Sph) and dwarf irregulars (Im) respectively. We show via dynamical models that sigma traces the bulge fraction, which drives the observed trends in M/L, Hbeta, colour, IMF and molecular gas fraction. We interpret this as due to a combination of two main effects: (i) an increase of the bulge fraction which increases sigma and greatly enhances the likelihood for a galaxy to have its star formation quenched, and (ii) dry merging, increasing galaxy mass along lines of nearly constant sigma, while leaving the population unchanged. [Abriged]

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