arXiv subjects

Richard M. McDermid

Publications and source records attributed to Richard M. McDermid.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Disentangling the formation history of galaxies via population-orbit superposition: method validation

We present population-orbit superposition models for external galaxies based on Schwarzschild's orbit-superposition method, by tagging the orbits with age and metallicity. The models fit the density distributions, as well as kinematic, age and metallicity maps from Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy observations. We validate the method and demonstrate its power by applying it to mock data, similar to those obtained by the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) IFU on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). These mock data are created from Auriga galaxy simulations, viewed at three different inclination angles ($\vartheta=40^o, 60^o, 80^o$). Constrained by MUSE-like mock data, our model can recover the galaxy's stellar orbit distribution projected in orbital circularity $λ_z$ vs. radius $r$, the intrinsic stellar population distribution in age $t$ vs. metallicity $Z$, and the correlation between orbits' circularity $λ_z$ and stellar age $t$. A physically motivated age-metallicity relation improves recovering the intrinsic stellar population distributions. We decompose galaxies into cold, warm and hot + counter-rotating components based on their orbit circularity distribution, and find that the surface density, mean velocity, velocity dispersion, age and metallicity maps of each component from our models well reproduce those from simulation, especially for projections close to edge-on. These galaxies exhibit strong global age vs. $σ_z$ relation, which is well recovered by our model. The method has the power to reveal the detailed build-up of stellar structures in galaxies, and offers a complement to local resolved, and high-redshift studies of galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Formation channels of slowly rotating early-type galaxies

We study the evidence for a diversity of formation processes in early-type galaxies by presenting the first complete volume-limited sample of slow rotators with both integral-field kinematics from the ATLAS3D Project and high spatial resolution photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope. Analysing the nuclear surface brightness profiles of 12 newly imaged slow rotators, we classify their light profiles as core-less, and place an upper limit to the core size of ~10 pc. Considering the full magnitude and volume-limited ATLAS3D sample, we correlate the presence or lack of cores with stellar kinematics, including the proxy for the stellar angular momentum and the velocity dispersion within one half-light radius, stellar mass, stellar age, $α$-element abundance, and age and metallicity gradients. More than half of the slow rotators have core-less light profiles, and they are all less massive than $10^{11}$ Msun. Core-less slow rotators show evidence for counter-rotating flattened structures, have steeper metallicity gradients, and a larger dispersion of gradient values than core slow rotators. Our results suggest that core and core-less slow rotators have different assembly processes, where the former are the relics of massive dissipation-less merging in the presence of central supermassive black holes. Formation processes of core-less slow rotators are consistent with accretion of counter-rotating gas or gas-rich mergers of special orbital configurations, which lower the final net angular momentum of stars, but support star formation. We also highlight core fast rotators as galaxies that share properties of core slow rotators and core-less slow rotators. Formation processes similar to those for core-less slow rotators can be invoked to explain the assembly of core fast rotators, with the distinction that these processes form or preserve cores.[Abridged]

astro-ph.GA↗

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.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Spatially-resolved stellar populations and kinematics with KCWI: probing the assembly history of the massive early-type galaxy NGC 1407

Using the newly commissioned KCWI instrument on the Keck-II telescope, we analyse the stellar kinematics and stellar populations of the well-studied massive early-type galaxy (ETG) NGC 1407. We obtained high signal-to-noise integral-field-spectra for a central and an outer (around one effective radius towards the south-east direction) pointing with integration times of just 600s and 2400s, respectively. We confirm the presence of a kinematically distinct core also revealed by VLT/MUSE data of the central regions. While NGC 1407 was previously found to have stellar populations characteristic of massive ETGs (with radially constant old ages and high alpha-enhancements), it was claimed to show peculiar super-solar metallicity peaks at large radius that deviated from an otherwise strong negative metallicity gradient, which is hard to reconcile within a `two-phase' formation scenario. Our outer pointing confirms the near-uniform old ages and the presence of a steep metallicity gradient, but with no evidence for anomalously high metallicity values at large galactocentric radii. We find a rising outer velocity dispersion profile and high values of the 4th-order kinematic moment -- an indicator of possible anisotropy. This coincides with the reported transition from a bottom-heavy to a Salpeter initial mass function, which may indicate that we are probing the transition region from the `in-situ' to the accreted phase. With short exposures, we have been able to derive robust stellar kinematics and stellar populations in NGC 1407 to about 1 effective radius. This experiment shows that future work with KCWI will enable 2D kinematics and stellar populations to be probed within the low surface brightness regions of galaxy halos in an effective way.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Combining Stellar Populations with Orbit-Superposition Dynamical Modelling - the Formation History of the Lenticular Galaxy NGC 3115

We present a combination of the Schwarzschild orbit-superposition dynamical modelling technique with the spatially-resolved mean stellar age and metallicity maps to uncover the formation history of galaxies. We apply this new approach to a remarkable 5-pointing mosaic of VLT/MUSE observations obtained by Guérou et al. (2016) extending to a maximum galactocentric distance of $120''$ ($\sim 5.6\ {\rm kpc}$) along the major axis, corresponding to $\sim 2.5\ {\rm R}_e$. Our method first identifies `families' of orbits from the dynamical model that represent dynamically-distinct structures of the galaxy. Individual ages and metallicities of these components are then fit for using the stellar-population information. Our results highlight components of the galaxy that are distinct in the combined stellar dynamics/populations space, which implies distinct formation paths. We find evidence for a dynamically-cold, metal-rich disk, consistent with a gradual in-situ formation. This disk is embedded in a generally-old population of stars, with kinematics ranging from dispersion-dominated in the centre to an old, diffuse, metal-poor stellar halo at the extremities. We find also a direct correlation between the dominant dynamical support of these components, and their associated age, akin to the relation observed in the Milky Way. This approach not only provides a powerful model for inferring the formation history of external galaxies, but also paves the way to a complete population-dynamical model.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

A metal-poor ultra compact dwarf galaxy at a kiloparsec distance from the low-mass elliptical galaxy FCC47

Photometric surveys of galaxy clusters have revealed a large number of ultra compact dwarfs (UCDs) around predominantly massive elliptical galaxies. Their origin is still debated as some UCDs are considered to be the remnant nuclei of stripped dwarf galaxies while others seem to mark the high-mass end of the star cluster population. We aim to characterise the properties of a UCD found at very close projected distance (1.1 kpc) from the centre of the low-mass (M~10^10 M_sun) early-type galaxy FCC47. This is a serendipitous discovery from MUSE adaptive optics science verification data. We explore the potential origin of this UCD as either a massive cluster or the remnant nucleus of a dissolved galaxy. We use archival Hubble Space Telescope data to study the photometric and structural properties of FCC47-UCD1. In the MUSE data, the UCD is unresolved, but we use its spectrum to determine the radial velocity and metallicity. FCC47-UCD1's surface brightness is best described by a single King profile with low concentration C = R_t/R_c ~ 10 and large effective radius (r_e = 24pc). Its integrated magnitude and a blue colour (G = -10.6 mag, g-z = 1.46 mag) combined with with a metallicity of [M/H] = -1.12+-0.10 dex and an age > 8 Gyr obtained from the full fitting of the MUSE spectrum suggests a stellar population mass of M_star = 4.87x10^6 M_sun. The low S/N of the MUSE spectrum prevents detailed stellar population analysis. Due to the limited spectral resolution of MUSE, we can only give an upper limit on the velocity dispersion (sig < 17km/s), and consequently on its dynamical mass (M_dyn < 1.3x10^7 M_sun). The origin of the UCD cannot be constrained with certainty. The low metallicity, old age and magnitude are consistent with a star cluster origin, whereas the extended size is consistent with an origin as the stripped nucleus of a dwarf galaxy with a initial stellar mass of a few 10^8 M_sun.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Six new supermassive black hole mass determinations from adaptive-optics assisted SINFONI observations

Different massive black hole mass - host galaxy scaling relations suggest that the growth of massive black holes is entangled with the evolution of their host galaxies. The number of measured black hole masses is still limited, and additional measurements are necessary to understand the underlying physics of this apparent co-evolution. We add six new black hole mass (MBH) measurements of nearby fast rotating early-type galaxies to the known black hole mass sample, namely NGC 584, NGC 2784, NGC 3640, NGC 4570, NGC 4281 and NGC 7049. Our target galaxies have effective velocity dispersions (σe) between 170 and 245 km s^(-1), and thus this work provides additional insight into the black hole properties of intermediate-mass early-type galaxies. We combine high-resolution adaptive-optics SINFONI data with large-scale MUSE, VIMOS and SAURON data from ATLAS3D to derive two-dimensional stellar kinematics maps. We then build both Jeans Anisotropic Models and axisymmetric Schwarzschild models to measure the central black hole masses. Our Schwarzschild models provide black hole masses which are consistent with recent MBH-σe scaling relations. NGC 3640 has a velocity dispersion dip and NGC 7049 a constant velocity dispersion in the center, but we can clearly constrain their lower black hole mass limit. We conclude our analysis with a test on NGC 4570 taking into account a variable mass-to-light ratio (M/L) when constructing dynamical models. When considering M/L variations linked mostly to radial changes in the stellar metallicity, we find that the dynamically determined black hole mass from NGC 4570 decreases by 30%. Further investigations are needed in the future to account for the impact of radial M/L gradients on dynamical modeling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Quenching of star formation in clusters I. Transition galaxies

We use integral field spectroscopy from the SAMI Galaxy Survey to identify galaxies that show evidence for recent quenching of star formation. The galaxies exhibit strong Balmer absorption in the absence of ongoing star formation in more than 10% of their spectra within the SAMI field of view. These $\rm{H}δ$-strong galaxies (HDSGs) are rare, making up only $\sim 2$% (25/1220) of galaxies with stellar mass ${\rm log(}M_*/M_{\odot})>10$. The HDSGs make up a significant fraction of non-passive cluster galaxies (15%; 17/115) and a smaller fraction (2.0%; 8/387) of the non-passive population in low-density environments. The majority (9/17) of cluster HDSGs show evidence for star formation at their centers, with the HDS regions found in the outer parts of the galaxy. Conversely, the $\rm{H}δ$-strong signal is more evenly spread across the galaxy for the majority (6/8) of HDSGs in low-density environments, and is often associated with emission lines that are not due to star formation. We investigate the location of the HDSGs in the clusters, finding that they are exclusively within 0.6$R_{200}$ of the cluster centre, and have a significantly higher velocity dispersion relative to the cluster population. Comparing their distribution in projected-phase-space to those derived from cosmological simulations indicates that the cluster HDSGs are consistent with an infalling population that have entered the central 0.5$r_{200, 3D}$ cluster region within the last $\sim 1\,$Gyr. In the 8/9 cluster HDSGs with central star formation, the extent of star formation is consistent with that expected of outside-in quenching by ram-pressure stripping. Our results indicate that the cluster HDSGs are currently being quenched by ram-pressure stripping on their first passage through the cluster.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

History and destiny of an emerging early-type galaxy: New IFU insights on the major-merger remnant NGC7252

NGC7252, which is one of the nearest major-merger galaxy remnants, is an ideal laboratory to study the processes inherent to the transformation of disc galaxies to ellipticals as observed about ~1Gyr after the collision. We obtained wide-field IFU spectroscopy with the VLT-VIMOS integral-field spectrograph covering the central 50"x50" of NGC7252 to map the stellar and ionised gas kinematics, and the distribution and conditions of the ionised gas, revealing the extent of ongoing star formation and recent star formation history. We find that the inner gas disc is not counter-rotating with respect to the stars and that the stellar kinematics appear complex with a clear indication of a prolate-like rotation component suggesting a polar merger configuration. The ongoing star formation rate is 2.2+-0.6 M_sun/yr and implies a typical depletion time of 2Gyr given the molecular gas content. Furthermore, the spatially-resolved star formation history suggests a slight radial dependence, moving outwards at later times. We confirm a large AGN-ionised gas cloud previously discovered 5kpc south of the nucleus, and find higher ionisation also at the galaxy centre relative to the surrounding gas disc. Although the higher ionisation towards the centre is potentially degenerate within the central star forming ring, it may be associated with a low-luminosity AGN. Although NGC7252 has been classified as post-starburst galaxy at the centre, the elliptical-like major-merger remnant still appears very active. A central kpc-scale gas disc has presumably re-formed quickly within the last 100Myr after final coalescence. The disc features ongoing star formation, implying Gyr long timescale to reach the red sequence through gas consumption alone. While NGC7252 is useful to probe the transformation from discs to ellipticals, it is not well-suited to study the transformation from blue to red at this point.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

A relation between characteristic stellar age of galaxies and their intrinsic shape

Stellar population and stellar kinematic studies provide unique but complementary insights into how galaxies build-up their stellar mass and angular momentum. A galaxy's mean stellar age reveals when stars were formed, but provides little constraint on how the galaxy's mass was assembled. Resolved stellar dynamics trace the change in angular momentum and orbital distribution of stars due to mergers, but major mergers tend to obscure the effect of earlier interactions. With the rise of large multi-object integral field spectroscopic (IFS) surveys, such as SAMI and MaNGA, and single-object IFS surveys (e.g., ATLAS$^{\rm{3D}}$, CALIFA, MASSIVE), it is now feasible to connect a galaxy's star formation and merger history on the same resolved physical scales, over a large range in galaxy mass, and across the full range of optical morphology and environment. Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey, here we present the first study of spatially-resolved stellar kinematics and global stellar populations in a large IFS galaxy survey. We find a strong correlation of stellar population age with location in the ($V / σ$, $ε_{\rm{e}}$) diagram that links the ratio of ordered rotation to random motions in a galaxy to its observed ellipticity. For the large majority of galaxies that are oblate rotating spheroids, we find that characteristic stellar age follows the intrinsic ellipticity of galaxies remarkably well. This trend is still observed when galaxies are separated into early-type and late-type samples.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

A quartet of black holes and a missing duo: probing the low-end of the Mbh - sigma relation with the adaptive optics assisted integral-field spectroscopy

We present mass estimates of supermassive black holes in six nearby fast rotating early-type galaxies (NGC4339, NGC4434, NGC4474, NGC4551, NGC4578 and NGC4762) with effective stellar velocity dispersion around 100 km/s. We use near-infrared laser-guide adaptive optics observations with the GEMINI/NIFS to derive stellar kinematics in the galactic nuclei, and SAURON observations from the ATLAS3D Survey for large-scale kinematics. We build axisymmetric Jeans anisotropic models and axisymmetric Schwarzschild dynamical models. Both modelling approaches recover consistent orbital anisotropies and black hole masses within 1-2sigma confidence level, except for one galaxy for which the difference is just above the 3sigma level. Two black holes (NGC4339 and NGC4434) are amongst the largest outliers from the current black hole mass - velocity dispersion relation, with masses of $(4.3^{+4.8}_{-2.3})\times10^7$ and $(7.0^{+2.0}_{-2.8})\times10^7$ M$_\odot$, respectively ($3σ$ confidence level). The black holes in NGC4578 and NGC4762 lie on the scaling relation with masses of $(1.9^{+0.6}_{-1.4})\times10^7$ and $(2.3^{+0.9}_{-0.6})\times10^7$ M$_\odot$, respectively (3sigma confidence level). For two galaxies (NGC4474 and NGC4551) we are able to place upper limits on their black holes masses ($<7\times10^6$ and $<5\times10^6$ M$_\odot$, respectively, $3σ$ confidence level). The kinematics for these galaxies clearly indicate central velocity dispersion drops within a radius of 35 pc and 80 pc, respectively. These drops cannot be associated with cold stellar structures and our data do not have the resolution to exclude black holes with masses an order of magnitude smaller than the predictions. Parametrizing the orbital distribution in spherical coordinates, the vicinity of the black holes is characterized by isotropic or mildly tangential anisotropy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

The Black Hole in the Most Massive Ultracompact Dwarf Galaxy M59-UCD3

We examine the internal properties of the most massive ultracompact dwarf galaxy (UCD), M59-UCD3, by combining adaptive optics assisted near-IR integral field spectroscopy from Gemini/NIFS, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging. We use the multi-band HST imaging to create a mass model that suggests and accounts for the presence of multiple stellar populations and structural components. We combine these mass models with kinematics measurements from Gemini/NIFS to find a best-fit stellar mass-to-light ratio ($M/L$) and black hole (BH) mass using Jeans Anisotropic Models (JAM), axisymmetric Schwarzschild models, and triaxial Schwarzschild models. The best fit parameters in the JAM and axisymmetric Schwarzschild models have black holes between 2.5 and 5.9 million solar masses. The triaxial Schwarzschild models point toward a similar BH mass, but show a minimum $χ^2$ at a BH mass of $\sim 0$. Models with a BH in all three techniques provide better fits to the central $V_{rms}$ profiles, and thus we estimate the BH mass to be $4.2^{+2.1}_{-1.7} \times 10^{6}$ M$_\odot$ (estimated 1$σ$ uncertainties). We also present deep radio imaging of M59-UCD3 and two other UCDs in Virgo with dynamical BH mass measurements, and compare these to X-ray measurements to check for consistency with the fundamental plane of BH accretion. We detect faint radio emission in M59cO, but find only upper limits for M60-UCD1 and M59-UCD3 despite X-ray detections in both these sources. The BH mass and nuclear light profile of M59-UCD3 suggests it is the tidally stripped remnant of a $\sim$10$^{9-10}$ M$_\odot$ galaxy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Two channels of supermassive black hole growth as seen on the galaxies mass-size plane

We investigate the variation of black hole masses (Mbh) as a function of their host galaxy stellar mass (Mstar) and half-light radius (Re). We confirm that the scatter in Mbh within this plane is essentially the same as that in the Mbh - sigma relation, as expected from the negligible scatter reported in the virial mass estimator sigma_v^2=GxMstar/(5xRe). All variation in Mbh happens along lines of constant sigma_v on the (Mstar, Re) plane, or Mstar $\propto$ Re for Mstar <2x10^11 Msun. This trend is qualitatively the same as those previously reported for galaxy properties related to stellar populations, like age, metallicity, alpha enhancement, mass-to-light ratio and gas content. We find evidence for a change in the Mbh variation above the critical mass of Mcrit ~ 2x10^11 Msun. This behaviour can be explained assuming that Mbh in galaxies less massive than Mcrit can be predicted by the Mbh - sigma relation, while Mbh in more massive galaxies follow a modified relation which is also dependent on Mstar once Mstar >Mcrit. This is consistent with the scenario where the majority of galaxies grow through star formation, while the most massive galaxies undergo a sequence of dissipation-less mergers. In both channels black holes and galaxies grow synchronously, giving rise to the black hole - host galaxy scaling relations, but there is no underlying single relation that is universal across the full range of galaxy masses.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Data Release One with Emission-line Physics Value-Added Products

We present the first major release of data from the SAMI Galaxy Survey. This data release focuses on the emission-line physics of galaxies. Data Release One includes data for 772 galaxies, about 20% of the full survey. Galaxies included have the redshift range 0.004 < z < 0.092, a large mass range (7.6 < log(Mstellar/M$_\odot$) < 11.6), and star-formation rates of 10^-4 to 10^1\ M$_\odot$/yr. For each galaxy, we include two spectral cubes and a set of spatially resolved 2D maps: single- and multi-component emission-line fits (with dust extinction corrections for strong lines), local dust extinction and star-formation rate. Calibration of the fibre throughputs, fluxes and differential-atmospheric-refraction has been improved over the Early Data Release. The data have average spatial resolution of 2.16 arcsec (FWHM) over the 15~arcsec diameter field of view and spectral (kinematic) resolution R=4263 (sigma=30km/s) around Halpha. The relative flux calibration is better than 5\% and absolute flux calibration better than $\pm0.22$~mag, with the latter estimate limited by galaxy photometry. The data are presented online through the Australian Astronomical Observatory's Data Central.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The WAGGS project - I. The WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra

We present the WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra, a library of integrated spectra of Milky Way and Local Group globular clusters. We used the WiFeS integral field spectrograph on the Australian National University 2.3 m telescope to observe the central regions of 64 Milky Way globular clusters and 22 globular clusters hosted by the Milky Way's low mass satellite galaxies. The spectra have wider wavelength coverage (3300 Å to 9050 Å) and higher spectral resolution (R = 6800) than existing spectral libraries of Milky Way globular clusters. By including Large and Small Magellanic Cloud star clusters, we extend the coverage of parameter space of existing libraries towards young and intermediate ages. While testing stellar population synthesis models and analysis techniques is the main aim of this library, the observations may also further our understanding of the stellar populations of Local Group globular clusters and make possible the direct comparison of extragalactic globular cluster integrated light observations with well understood globular clusters in the Milky Way. The integrated spectra are publicly available via the project website.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Revisiting Galaxy Classification Through High-Order Stellar Kinematics

Recent cosmological hydrodynamical simulations suggest that integral field spectroscopy can connect the high-order stellar kinematic moments h3 (~skewness) and h4 (~kurtosis) in galaxies to their cosmological assembly history. Here, we assess these results by measuring the stellar kinematics on a sample of 315 galaxies, without a morphological selection, using 2D integral field data from the SAMI Galaxy Survey. A proxy for the spin parameter ($λ_{R_e}$) and ellipticity ($ε_e$) are used to separate fast and slow rotators; there exists a good correspondence to regular and non-regular rotators, respectively, as also seen in earlier studies. We confirm that regular rotators show a strong h3 versus $V/σ$ anti-correlation, whereas quasi-regular and non-regular rotators show a more vertical relation in h3 and $V/σ$. Motivated by recent cosmological simulations, we develop an alternative approach to kinematically classify galaxies from their individual h3 versus $V/σ$ signatures. We identify five classes of high-order stellar kinematic signatures using Gaussian mixture models. Class 1 corresponds to slow rotators, whereas Classes 2-5 correspond to fast rotators. We find that galaxies with similar $λ_{R_e}-ε_e$ values can show distinctly different h3-$V/σ$ signatures. Class 5 objects are previously unidentified fast rotators that show a weak h3 versus $V/σ$ anti-correlation. These objects are predicted to be disk-less galaxies formed by gas-poor mergers. From morphological examination, however, there is evidence for large stellar disks. Instead, Class 5 objects are more likely disturbed galaxies, have counter-rotating bulges, or bars in edge-on galaxies. Finally, we interpret the strong anti-correlation in h3 versus $V/σ$ as evidence for disks in most fast rotators, suggesting a dearth of gas-poor mergers among fast rotators.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

A low upper mass limit for the central black hole in the late-type galaxy NGC 4414

We present our mass estimate of the central black hole in the isolated spiral galaxy NGC 4414. Using natural guide star adaptive optics assisted observations with the Gemini Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) and the natural seeing Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs-North (GMOS), we derived two-dimensional stellar kinematic maps of NGC 4414 covering the central 1.5 arcsec and 10 arcsec, respectively, at a NIFS spatial resolution of 0.13 arcsec. The kinematic maps reveal a regular rotation pattern and a central velocity dispersion dip down to around 105 km/s. We constructed dynamical methods using two different methods: Jeans anisotropic dynamical modeling and axisymmetric Schwarzschild modeling. Both modeling methods give consistent results, but we cannot constrain the lower mass limit and only measure an upper limit for the black hole mass of Mbh= 1.56 x 10^6 Msun(at 3 sigma level) which is at least 1 sigma below the recent Mbh-sigma_e relations. Further tests with dark matter, mass-to-light ratio variation and different light models confirm that our results are not dominated by uncertainties. The derived upper limit mass is not only below the Mbh-sigma_e relation, but is also five times lower than the lower limit black hole mass anticipated from the resolution limit of the sphere of influence. This proves that via high quality integral field data we are now able to push black hole measurements down to at least five times less than the resolution limit.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Spatially resolved variations of the IMF mass normalisation in early-type galaxies as probed by molecular gas kinematics

We here present the first spatially-resolved study of the IMF in external galaxies derived using a dynamical tracer of the mass-to-light ratio. We use the kinematics of relaxed molecular gas discs in seven early-type galaxies (ETGs) selected from the ATLAS3D survey to dynamically determine mass-to-light ratio (M/L) gradients. These M/L gradients are not very strong in the inner parts of these objects, and galaxies that do show variations are those with the highest specific star formation rates. Stellar population parameters derived from star formation histories are then used in order to estimate the stellar initial mass function function (IMF) mismatch parameter, and shed light on its variation within ETGs. Some of our target objects require a light IMF, otherwise their stellar population masses would be greater than their dynamical masses. In contrast, other systems seem to require heavier IMFs to explain their gas kinematics. Our analysis again confirms that IMF variation seems to be occurring within massive ETGs. We find good agreement between our IMF normalisations derived using molecular gas kinematics and those derived using other techniques. Despite this, we do not see find any correlation between the IMF normalisation and galaxy dynamical properties or stellar population parameters, either locally or globally. In the future larger studies which use molecules as tracers of galaxy dynamics can be used to help us disentangle the root cause of IMF variation.

astro-ph.GA↗