arXiv subjects

M. Stiavelli

Publications and source records attributed to M. Stiavelli.

96 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv1998

Globular Clusters in Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies

Globular clusters (GCs) provide one way of determining when the most important periods of star formation in dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies occurred. Thus, they are also useful for comparing the star formation histories of dwarf and giant galaxies. We present results on the GC systems of 24 nearby dE galaxies imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope. We find that the specific GC frequency, S_N, increases with M_V. Also, S_N in dEs is more like the values found in giant ellipticals rather than in spirals, and the mean S_N for nucleated dEs is roughly a factor of 2 higher than for non-nucleated dEs. The colors suggest that most of the GCs formed before the bulk of the stars in the galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Spiral galaxies with WFPC2: III. Nuclear Cusp Slopes

In this paper, the third of a series dedicated to the investigation of the nuclear properties of spiral galaxies, we have (i) modelled the WFPC2 F606W nuclear surface brightness profiles of 41 spiral galaxies presented in Carollo et al. 1997c, 1998 with the analytical law introduced by Lauer et al. 1995, and (ii) deprojected these surface brightness profiles and their analytical fits, so as to estimate the nuclear stellar densities of bulges of spiral galaxies. We find that the nuclear stellar cusps (quantified by the average logarithmic slope of the surface brightness profiles within 0.1''-0.5'') are significantly different for R^1/4-law and exponential bulges. The former have nuclear properties similar to those of early-type galaxies, i.e. similar values of nuclear cusps for comparable luminosities, and increasingly steeper stellar cusps with decreasing luminosity. By contrast, exponential bulges have (underlying the light contribution from photometrically distinct, central compact sources) comparative shallower stellar cusps, and likely lower nuclear densities, than R^1/4-law bulges.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Spiral galaxies with WFPC2: II. The Nuclear Properties of 40 objects

We report the analysis of HST WFPC2 F606W images of 40 spirals belonging to the sample introduced in Carollo et al. (paper I), where 35 other targets were discussed. We describe the optical morphology of the new 40 galaxies, derive the surface brightness profiles for 25 of them, and present the results of photometric decompositions of these profiles into a ``bulge'' (R^1/4 or exponential) and a disk component. The analysis of the sample of 75 galaxies puts on a statistically more solid ground the main results presented in paper I. Furthermore, the analysis of the sample of 75 objects shows that: A. Several of the non-classical inner structures are well fitted by an exponential profile. These ``exponential bulges'' are fainter than R^1/4 bulges for given total galaxy luminosity and (catalog) Hubble type later than Sab. B. Irregular/exponential bulges typically host central compact sources. C. The central sources are present in all types of disk galaxies, starting with systems as early as S0a. About 60 % of Sb to Sc galaxies host a central compact source. Many of the galaxies which host compact sources contain a barred structure. D. Galaxies with apparent nuclear star formation and the brightest compact sources, are preferentially the early- and intermediate- type (S0a-Sb) systems. E. None of the features depends on environment: isolated and not isolated galaxies show indistinguishable properties. Independently from the physical nature of the non-classical inner structures, our main conclusion is that a significant fraction of galaxies classified from the ground as relatively early-type shows a rich variety of central properties, and little or no morphological/photometric evidence for a smooth, R^1/4-law bulge.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Violent Relaxation Around a Massive Black Hole

I present galaxy models resulting from violent relaxation in the presence of a pre-existing black hole. The models are computed by maximizing the entropy of the stellar dynamical system. I show that their properties are very similar to those of adiabatic growth models for a suitable choice of parameters. This suggests that observations of nuclear light profiles and kinematics alone may not be sufficient to discriminate between scenarios where a black hole grows adiabatically in the core of a galaxy, and scenarios where the black hole formation preceeds galaxy formation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

WFPC2 Observations of NGC 454: an Interacting Pair of Galaxies

We present WFPC2 images in the F450W, F606W and F814W filters of the interacting pair of galaxies NGC 454. Our data indicate that the system is in the early stages of interaction. A population of young star-clusters has formed around the late component, and substantial amounts of gas have sunk into the center of the earlier component, where it has not yet produced significant visible star formation or nuclear activity. We have photometric evidence that the star-clusters have strong line emission, which indicate the presence of a substantial component of hot, massive stars which formed less than 5-10 Myrs ago.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1995

RECOVERING THE INTRINSIC METALLICITY DISTRIBUTION OF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES

We address the problem of deriving, from the observed projected metallicity gradients, the intrinsic metallicity distribution of elliptical galaxies as a function of their integrals of motion. The method is illustrated by an application to anisotropic spherical Hernquist models. We also compare the derived metallicity distribution with those expected from two very simple models of galaxy formation and find that the more dissipative scheme agrees better with the typical metallicity distribution of ellipticals.

astro-ph↗