arXiv subjects

Lodovico Coccato

Publications and source records attributed to Lodovico Coccato.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

On the accretion of a new group of galaxies onto Virgo: I. Internal kinematics of nine in-falling dEs

Galaxy environment has been shown to play an important role in transforming late-type, star-forming galaxies to quiescent spheroids. This transformation is expected to be more severe for low-mass galaxies (M < $10^{10}$ $M_\odot$) in dense galaxy groups and clusters, mostly due to the influence of their past host halos (also known as pre-processing) and their present-day environments. For the first time, in this study, we investigate a sample of nine early-type dwarf galaxies (dEs) that were accreted as a likely bound group onto the Virgo galaxy cluster about 2-3 Gyr ago. Considering this special condition, these nine dEs may provide a test bed for distinguishing between the influence of the Virgo galaxy cluster and the effects of the previous host halo on their current properties. Specifically, we use VLT/MUSE integral-field unit spectra to derive their kinematics and specific angular momentum ($λ_{R}$) profiles. We observe a spread in the $λ_{R}$ profiles of our sample dEs, finding that the $λ_{R}$ profiles of half of them are as high as those of low-mass field galaxies. The remaining dEs exhibit $λ_{R}$ profiles as low as those of Virgo dEs that were likely accreted longer ago. Moreover, we detect nebular emission in one dE with a gas velocity offset suggesting ongoing gas stripping in Virgo. We suggest that the low-$λ_{R}$ dEs in our sample were processed by their previous host halo, prior to their infall to Virgo, and that the high-$λ_{R}$ dEs may be experiencing ram pressure stripping in Virgo.

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arXiv2019

Formation of S0s in extreme environments I: clues from kinematics and stellar populations

Despite numerous efforts, it is still unclear whether lenticular galaxies (S0s) evolve from spirals whose star formation was suppressed, or formed trough mergers or disk instabilities. In this paper we present a pilot study of 21 S0 galaxies in extreme environments (field and cluster), and compare their spatially-resolved kinematics and global stellar populations. Our aim is to identify whether there are different mechanisms that form S0s in different environments. Our results show that the kinematics of S0 galaxies in field and cluster are, indeed, different. Lenticulars in the cluster are more rotationally supported, suggesting that they are formed through processes that involve the rapid consumption or removal of gas (e.g. starvation, ram pressure stripping). In contrast, S0s in the field are more pressure supported, suggesting that minor mergers served mostly to shape their kinematic properties. These results are independent of total mass, luminosity, or disk-to-bulge ratio. On the other hand, the mass-weighted age, metallicity, and star formation time-scale of the galaxies correlate more with mass than with environment, in agreement with known relations from previous work such as the one between mass and metallicity. Overall, our results re-enforce the idea that there are multiple mechanisms that produce S0s, and that both mass $and$ environment play key roles. A larger sample is highly desirable to confirm or refute the results and the interpretation of this pilot study.

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arXiv2019

The Data Analysis Pipeline for the SDSS-IV MaNGA IFU Galaxy Survey: Overview

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) is acquiring integral-field spectroscopy for the largest sample of galaxies to date. By 2020, the MaNGA Survey --- one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) --- will have observed a statistically representative sample of 10$^4$ galaxies in the local Universe ($z\lesssim0.15$). In addition to a robust data-reduction pipeline (DRP), MaNGA has developed a data-analysis pipeline (DAP) that provides higher-level data products. To accompany the first public release of its code base and data products, we provide an overview of the MaNGA DAP, including its software design, workflow, measurement procedures and algorithms, performance, and output data model. In conjunction with our companion paper Belfiore et al., we also assess the DAP output provided for 4718 observations of 4648 unique galaxies in the recent SDSS Data Release 15 (DR15). These analysis products focus on measurements that are close to the data and require minimal model-based assumptions. Namely, we provide stellar kinematics (velocity and velocity dispersion), emission-line properties (kinematics, fluxes, and equivalent widths), and spectral indices (e.g., D4000 and the Lick indices). We find that the DAP provides robust measurements and errors for the vast majority ($>$99%) of analyzed spectra. We summarize assessments of the precision and accuracy of our measurements as a function of signal-to-noise, and provide specific guidance to users regarding the limitations of the data. The MaNGA DAP software is publicly available and we encourage community involvement in its development.

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arXiv2019

MUSE library of stellar spectra

Empirical stellar spectral libraries have applications in both extragalactic and stellar studies, and they have an advantage over theoretical libraries because they naturally include all relevant chemical species and physical processes. During recent years we see a stream of new high quality sets of spectra, but increasing the spectral resolution and widening the wavelength coverage means resorting to multi-order echelle spectrographs. Assembling the spectra from many pieces results in lower fidelity of their shapes. We aim to offer the community a library of high signal-to-noise spectra with reliable continuum shapes. Furthermore, the using an integral field unit (IFU) alleviates the issue of slit losses. Our library was build with the MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) IFU instrument. We obtained spectra over nearly the entire visual band (lambda~4800-9300 Ang). We assembled a library of 35 high-quality MUSE spectra for a subset of the stars from the X-shooter Spectral Library. We verified the continuum shape of these spectra with synthetic broad band colors derived from the spectra. We also report some spectral indices from the Lick system, derived from the new observations. We offer a high-fidelity set of stellar spectra that covers the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. It can be useful for both extragalactic and stellar work and demonstrates that the IFUs are excellent tools for building reliable spectral libraries.

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arXiv2019

Constraining nuclear star cluster formation using MUSE-AO observations of the early-type galaxy FCC47

Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are found in at least 70% of all galaxies, but their formation path is still unclear. In the most common scenarios, NSCs form in-situ from the galaxy's central gas reservoir, through merging of globular clusters (GCs), or through a combination of the two. As the scenarios pose different expectations for angular momentum and stellar population properties of the NSC in comparison to the host galaxy and the GC system, it is necessary to characterise the stellar light, NSC and GCs simultaneously. The large NSC (r$_\rm{eff} = 66$ pc) and rich GC system of the early-type Fornax cluster galaxy FCC47 (NGC1336) render this galaxy an ideal laboratory to constrain NSC formation. Using MUSE science verification data assisted by adaptive optics, we obtained maps for the stellar kinematics and for stellar-population properties of FCC47. We extracted the spectra of the central NSC and determined line-of-sight velocities of 24 GCs and metallicities of five. FCC47 shows two decoupled components (KDCs): a rotating disk and the NSC. Our orbit-based dynamical Schwarzschild model revealed that the NSC is a distinct kinematic feature and it constitutes the peak of metallicity and old ages in the galaxy. The main body consists of two counter-rotating populations and is dominated by a more metal-poor population. The GC system is bimodal with a dominant metal-poor population and the total GC system mass is $\sim 17\%$ of the NSC mass ($\sim$ 7 $\times$ $10^8 M_\odot$). The rotation, high metallicity and high mass of the NSC cannot be uniquely explained by GC-inspiral and most likely requires additional, but quickly quenched, in-situ formation. The presence of two KDCs most probably are evidence of a major merger that has altered the structure of FCC47 significantly, indicating the important role of galaxy mergers in forming the complex kinematics in the galaxy-NSC system.

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arXiv2018

The extended Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (ePN.S) early type galaxy survey: the kinematic diversity of stellar halos

In this contribution we report on a kinematic study for 33 early type galaxies (ETGs) into their outer halos (average 6 effective radii, Re). We use planetary nebulae (PNe) as tracers of the main stellar population at large radii, where absorption line spectroscopy is no longer feasible. The ePN.S survey is the largest survey to-date of ETG kinematics with PNe, based on data from the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (PN.S), counter-dispersed imaging, and high-resolution PN spectroscopy. We find that ETGs typically show a kinematic transition between inner regions and halos. Slow rotators have increased rotational support at large radii. Most of the ePN.S fast rotators show a decrease in rotation, due to the fading of the stellar disk in the outer, more slowly rotating spheroid. 30% of these fast rotators are dominated by rotation also at large radii, 40% show kinematic twists or misalignments, indicating a transition from oblate to triaxial in the halo. Despite this variety of kinematic behaviors, the ePN.S ETG halos have similar angular momentum content, independently of fast/slow rotation of the central regions. Estimated kinematic transition radii in units of Re are ~1-3 Re and anti-correlate with stellar mass. These results are consistent with cosmological simulations and support a two-phase formation scenario for ETGs.

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arXiv2018

Mapping the Kinematically Decoupled Core in NGC 1407 with MUSE

Studies of the kinematics of NGC 1407 have revealed complex kinematical structure, consisting of the outer galaxy, an embedded disc within a radius of $\sim60$ arcsec, and a kinematically decoupled core (KDC) with a radius of less than 30arcsec. However, the size of the KDC and the amplitude of the kinematic misalignment it induces have not yet been determined. In this paper, we explore the properties of the KDC using observations from the MUSE Integral Field Spectrograph to map out the kinematics in the central arcminute of NGC 1407. Velocity and kinemetry maps of the galaxy reveal a twist of $\sim$148 degree in the central $10$ arcseconds of the galaxy, and the higher-order moments of the kinematics reveal that within the same region, this slowly-rotating galaxy displays no net rotation. Analysis of the stellar populations across the galaxy found no evidence of younger stellar populations in the region of the KDC, instead finding uniform age and super-solar $α$-enhancement across the galaxy, and a smoothly decreasing metallicity gradient with radius. We therefore conclude that NGC 1407 contains a triaxial, kiloparsec-scale KDC with distinct kinematics relative to the rest of the galaxy, and which is likely to have formed through either a major merger or a series of minor mergers early in the lifetime of the galaxy. With a radius of $\sim$5 arcseconds or $\sim0.6$ kpc, NGC 1407 contains the smallest KDC mapped by MUSE to date in terms of both its physical and angular size.

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arXiv2018

Chromodynamical Analysis of Lenticular Galaxies using Globular Clusters and Planetary Nebulae

Recovering the origins of lenticular galaxies can shed light on the understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, since they present properties that can be found in both elliptical and spiral galaxies. In this work we study the kinematics of the globular cluster (GC) systems of three lenticular galaxies located in low density environments (NGC 2768, NGC 3115 and NGC 7457), and compare them with the kinematics of planetary nebulae (PNe). The PNe and GC data come from the Planetary Nebulae Spectrograph and the SLUGGS Surveys. Through photometric spheroid-disc decomposition and PNe kinematics we find the probability for a given GC to belong to either the spheroid or the disc of its host galaxy or be rejected from the model. We find that there is no correlation between the components that the GCs are likely to belong to and their colours. Particularly, for NGC 2768 we find that its red GCs display rotation preferentially at inner radii (Re<1). In the case of the GC system of NGC 3115 we find a group of GCs with similar kinematics that are not likely to belong to either its spheroid nor disc. For NGC 7457 we find that 70% of its GCs are likely to belong to the disc. Overall, our results suggest that these galaxies assembled into S0s through different evolutionary paths. Mergers seem to have been very important for NGC 2768 and NGC 3115 while NGC 7457 is more likely to have experienced secular evolution.

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arXiv2018

Evidence for the formation of the young counter-rotating stellar disk from gas acquired by IC 719

The formation scenario of extended counter-rotating stellar disks in galaxies is still debated. In this paper, we study the S0 galaxy IC 719 known to host two large-scale counter-rotating stellar disks in order to investigate their formation mechanism. We exploit the large field of view and wavelength coverage of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectrograph to derive two-dimensional (2D) maps of the various properties of the counter-rotating stellar disks, such as age, metallicity, kinematics, spatial distribution, the kinematical and chemical properties of the ionized gas, and the dust map. Due to the large wavelength range, and in particular to the presence of the Calcium Triplet 8498, 8542, 8662Å(CaT hereafter), the spectroscopic analysis allows us to separate the two stellar components in great detail. This permits precise measurement of both the velocity and velocity dispersion of the two components as well as their spatial distribution. We derived a 2D map of the age and metallicity of the two stellar components as well as the star formation rate and gas-phase metallicity from the ionized gas emission maps. The main stellar disk of the galaxy is kinematically hotter, older, thicker and with larger scale-length than the secondary disk. There is no doubt that the latter is strongly linked to the ionized gas component: they have the same kinematics and similar vertical and radial spatial distribution. This result is in favor of a gas accretion scenario over a binary merger scenario to explain the origin of counter-rotation in IC 719. One source of gas that may have contributed to the accretion process is the cloud that surrounds IC 719.

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arXiv2018

Spectroscopic decomposition of NGC 3521: unveiling the properties of the bulge and disc

We study the kinematics and the stellar populations of the bulge and disc of the spiral galaxy NGC 3521. At each position in the field of view, we separate the contributions of the bulge and the disc from the total observed spectrum and study their kinematics, age, and metallicities independently. Their properties are clearly distinct: the bulge rotates more slowly, has a higher velocity dispersion, and is less luminous than the disc. We identify three main populations of stars in NGC 3521: old ($\geq7$ Gyr), intermediate ($\approx$ 3 Gyr), and young ($\leq$1 Gyr). The mass and light of NGC 3521 are dominated by the intermediate stellar population. The youngest population contributes mostly to the disc component and its contribution increases with radius. We also study the luminosity-weighed properties of the stars in NGC 3521. Along the photometric major axis, we find: i) no age gradient for the stars in the bulge, and a negative age gradient for the stars in the disc; ii) negative metallicity gradients and sub-solar $α$-enhancement for both the bulge and the disc. We propose the following picture for the formation of NGC 3521: initial formation a long time ago ($\geq 7$ Gyr), followed by a second burst of star formation or a merger ($\approx$ 3 Gyrs ago), which contributed predominantly to the mass-build up of the bulge. Recently ($\leq 1$ Gyr), the disc of NGC 3521 experienced an additional episode of star formation that started in the innermost regions.

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arXiv2017

MUSE observations of the counter-rotating nuclear ring in NGC 7742

We present results from MUSE observations of the nearly face-on disk galaxy NGC 7742. This galaxy hosts a spectacular nuclear ring of enhanced star formation, which is unusual in that it is hosted by a non-barred galaxy, and also because this star formation is most likely fuelled by externally accreted gas that counter-rotates with respect to its main stellar body. We use the MUSE data to derive the star-formation history (SFH) and accurately measure the stellar and ionized-gas kinematics of NGC7742 in its nuclear, bulge, ring, and disk regions. We map the previously known gas counter-rotation well outside the ring region and deduce the presence of a slightly warped inner disk, which is inclined ~6 degrees compared to the outer disk. The gas-disk inclination is well constrained from the kinematics; the derived inclination 13.7 $\pm$ 0.4 degrees agrees well with that derived from photometry and from what one expects using the inverse Tully-Fisher relation. We find a prolonged SFH in the ring with stellar populations as old as 2-3 Gyr and an indication that the star formation triggered by the minor merger event was delayed in the disk compared to the ring. There are two separate stellar components: an old population that counter-rotates with the gas, and a young one, concentrated to the ring, that co-rotates with the gas. We recover the kinematics of the old stars from a two-component fit, and show that combining the old and young stellar populations results in the erroneous average velocity of nearly zero found from a one-component fit. The superior spatial resolution and large field of view of MUSE allow us to establish the kinematics and SFH of the nuclear ring in NGC 7742. We show further evidence that this ring has its origin in a minor merger event, possibly 2-3 Gyr ago.

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arXiv2017

Sloshing in its cD halo: MUSE kinematics of the central galaxy NGC 3311

Early-type galaxies show a strong size evolution with redshift. This evolution is explained by fast "in-situ" star formation at high-$z$ followed by a late mass assembly mostly driven by minor mergers that deposit stars primarily in the outer halo. We aim to identify structural components of the Hydra I cD galaxy NGC 3311 to investigate the connection between the central galaxy and the surrounding stellar halo. We map the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) using MUSE pointings covering NGC 3311 out to $25$ kpc. Combining photometric and spectroscopic data, we model the LOSVD maps using a finite mixture distribution, including four non-concentric, nearly isothermal spheroids, with different line-of-sight systemic velocities $V$, velocity dispersions $σ$, and higher order Gauss-Hermite moments $h_3$ and $h_4$. The comparison of the correlations between $h_3$ and $h_4$ with $V/σ$ with simulations indicates that NGC 3311 assembled mainly through dry mergers. The $σ$ profile rises to $\simeq 400$ km s$^{\text -1}$ at 20 kpc indicating that stars there were stripped from progenitors orbiting in the cluster core. The finite mixture distribution modeling supports three inner components related to the central galaxy and a fourth component with large effective radius ($51$ kpc) and velocity dispersion ($327$ km s$^{\text{-1}}$) consistent with a cD envelope. We find that the cD envelope is offset from the center of NGC 3311 both spatially (8.6 kpc) and in velocity ($ΔV = 204$ kms$^{-1}$), but coincide with the cluster core X-ray isophotes and the mean velocity of galaxies. Also, the envelope contributes to the broad wings of the LOSVD measured by large $h_4$ within 10 kpc. The cD envelope of NGC 3311 is dynamically associated with the cluster core, which in Hydra I is in addition displaced from the cluster center, presumably due to a recent subcluster merger.

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arXiv2016

Planetary nebulae as kinematic tracers of galaxy stellar halos

The kinematic and dynamical properties of galaxy stellar halos are difficult to measure because of the faint surface brightness that characterizes these regions. Spiral galaxies can be probed using the radio HI emission; on the contrary, early-type galaxies contain less gas, therefore alternative kinematic tracers need to be used. Planetary nebulae (PNe) can be easily detected far out in the halo thanks to their bright emission lines. It is therefore possible to map the halo kinematics also in early-type galaxies, typically out to 5 effective radii or beyond. Thanks to the recent spectroscopic surveys targeting extra-galactic PNe, we can now rely on a few tens of galaxies where the kinematics of the stellar halos are measured. Here, I will review the main results obtained in this field in the last decades.

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arXiv2016

The Hydra I cluster core. I. Stellar populations in the cD galaxy NGC 3311

(Abridged for arXiv) The history of the mass assembly of brightest cluster galaxies may be studied by the mapping the stellar populations at large radial distances from the galaxy centre. We provide extended and robust measurements of the stellar population parameters in NGC 3311, the cD galaxy at the centre of the Hydra I cluster and out to three effective radii. Using seven absorption-features defined in the Lick/IDS system and single stellar populations models, we obtained luminosity-weighted ages, metallicities and alpha element abundances. The trends in the Lick indices and the distribution of the stellar population parameters indicate that the stars of NGC 3311 may be divided into two radial regimes, one within and the another beyond one effective radius, $R_e = 8.4$ kpc, similar to the distinction between inner galaxy and external halo derived from the NGC 3311 velocity dispersion profile. The inner galaxy ($R\leq R_e$) is old (age $\sim 14$ Gyr), have negative metallicity gradients and positive alpha element gradients. The external halo is also very old, but the metal and element abundances of the external halo have both a large scatter, indicating that stars from a variety of satellites with different masses have been accreted. The region in the extended halo associated with the off-centred envelope at 0$^o$ < P.A.< 90$^o$ (Arnaboldi et al. 2012) has higher metallicity with respect to the symmetric external halo. The different stellar populations in the inner galaxy and extended halo reflect the dominance of in situ stars in the former and the accreted origin for the large majority of the stars in the latter. These results provide supporting evidence to the recent theoretical models of formation of massive ellipticals as a two-phase process.

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arXiv2016

Nuclear discs as clocks for the assembly history of early-type galaxies: the case of NGC4458

Approximately 20% of early-type galaxies host small nuclear stellar discs that are tens to a few hundred parsecs in size. Such discs are expected to be easily disrupted during major galactic encounters, hence their age serve to constrain their assembly history. We use VIMOS integral-field spectroscopic observations for the intermediate-mass E0 galaxy NGC4458 and age-date its nuclear disc via high-resolution fitting of various model spectra. We find that the nuclear disc is at least 6 Gyr old. A clue to gain narrow limits to the stellar age is our knowledge of the nuclear disc contribution to the central surface brightness. The presence of an old nuclear disk, or the absence of disruptive encounters since z~0.6, for a small galaxy such as NGC4458 which belongs to the Virgo cluster, may be consistent with a hierarchical picture for galaxy formation where the smallest galaxies assembles earlier and the crowded galactic environments reduce the incidence of galaxy mergers. On the other hand, NGC4458 displays little or no bulk rotation except for a central kpc-scale kinematically-decoupled core. Slow rotation and decoupled core are usually explained in terms of mergers. The presence and age of the nuclear disc constraint these mergers to have happened at high redshift.

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arXiv2015

The SLUGGS survey: chromo-dynamical modelling of the lenticular galaxy NGC 1023

Globular clusters (GCs) can be considered discrete, long-lived, dynamical tracers that retain crucial information about the assembly history of their parent galaxy. In this paper, we present a new catalogue of GC velocities and colours for the lenticular galaxy NGC 1023, we study their kinematics and spatial distribution, in comparison with the underlying stellar kinematics and surface brightness profile, and we test a new method for studying GC properties. Specifically, we decompose the galaxy light into its spheroid (assumed to represent the bulge + halo components) and disk components and use it to assign to each GC a probability of belonging to one of the two components. Then we model the galaxy kinematics, assuming a disk and spheroidal component, using planetary nebulae (PNe) and integrated stellar light. We use this kinematic model and the probability previously obtained from the photometry to recalculate for each GC its likelihood of being associated with the disk, the spheroid, or neither. We find that the reddest GCs are likely to be associated with the disk, as found for faint fuzzies in this same galaxy, suggesting that the disk of this S0 galaxy originated at z ~ 2. The majority of blue GCs are found likely to be associated with the spheroidal (hot) component. The method also allows us to identify objects that are unlikely to be in equilibrium with the system. In NGC1023 some of the rejected GCs form a substructure in phase space that is connected with NGC 1023 companion galaxy.

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arXiv2015

The properties and the formation mechanism of the stellar counter-rotating components in NGC 4191

We disentangle two counter-rotating stellar components in NGC 4191 and characterize their physical properties (kinematics, morphology, age, metallicity, and abundance ratio). We performed a spectroscopic decomposition on integral field data to separate the contribution of two stellar components to the observed galaxy spectrum across the field of view. We also performed a photometric decomposition, modelling the galaxy with a Sérsic bulge and two exponential disks of different scale length, with the aim of associating these structural components with the kinematic components. We measured the equivalent width of the absorption line indices on the best fit that represent the kinematic components and compared our measurements to the predictions of stellar population models. We have evidence that the line-of-sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs) are consistent with the presence of two distinct kinematic components. The combined information of the intensity of the LOSVDs and photometry allows us to associate the Sérsic bulge and the outer disk with the main kinematic component, and the inner disk with the secondary kinematic component. The two kinematic stellar components counter-rotate with respect to each other. The main component is the most luminous and massive, and it rotates slower than the secondary component, which rotates along the same direction as the ionized gas. We also found that the two kinematic components have the same solar metallicity and sub-solar abundance ratio, without the presence of significant radial gradients. On the other hand, their ages show strong negative gradients and the possible indication that the secondary component is the youngest. We interpret our results in light of recent cosmological simulations and suggest gas accretion along two filaments as the formation mechanism of the stellar counter-rotating components in NGC 4191 (Abridged).

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arXiv2015

P-MaNGA: Full spectral fitting and stellar population maps from prototype observations

MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is a 6-year SDSS-IV survey that will obtain resolved spectroscopy from 3600 $Å$ to 10300 $Å$ for a representative sample of over 10,000 nearby galaxies. In this paper, we derive spatially resolved stellar population properties and radial gradients by performing full spectral fitting of observed galaxy spectra from P-MaNGA, a prototype of the MaNGA instrument. These data include spectra for eighteen galaxies, covering a large range of morphological type. We derive age, metallicity, dust and stellar mass maps, and their radial gradients, using high spectral-resolution stellar population models, and assess the impact of varying the stellar library input to the models. We introduce a method to determine dust extinction which is able to give smooth stellar mass maps even in cases of high and spatially non-uniform dust attenuation. With the spectral fitting we produce detailed maps of stellar population properties which allow us to identify galactic features among this diverse sample such as spiral structure, smooth radial profiles with little azimuthal structure in spheroidal galaxies, and spatially distinct galaxy sub-components. In agreement with the literature, we find the gradients for galaxies identified as early-type to be on average flat in age, and negative (- 0.15 dex / R$_e$ ) in metallicity, whereas the gradients for late-type galaxies are on average negative in age (- 0.39 dex / R$_e$ ) and flat in metallicity. We demonstrate how different levels of data quality change the precision with which radial gradients can be measured. We show how this analysis, extended to the large numbers of MaNGA galaxies, will have the potential to shed light on galaxy structure and evolution.

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