arXiv subjects

Roberto De Propris

Publications and source records attributed to Roberto De Propris.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Dynamically close galaxy pairs from the unWISE survey: Testing the merger-AGN-star formation connection

Galaxy mergers are expected to have a profound influence on the star formation histories of galaxies. It is generally expected that mergers are the main drivers of galaxy mass growth through the accretion of mass and the triggering of new star formation episodes, while the shocks and torques induced by the merger may drive gas and dust to central supermassive black holes and fuel active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity and producing both positive and negative feedback. We test whether a merger-AGN-star formation connection exists by selecting samples of galaxy pairs of stellar masses log(M/Msun) approximately 10.2 and 11.4 within the redshift of 0.25 at various projected separation and velocity differences in an increasing order, and therefore having a decreasing probability of being truly bound and interacting. We identify galaxies in close pairs and then measure their star formation rates (SFRs) (via their NUV - r colours) and the degree of AGN activity (from X-rays, radio emission at 20cm, WISE infrared colours, and emission line ratios) as a function of their projected separation and velocity difference. We find only weak evidence that galaxies in pairs have higher SFRs as galaxies become closer in projected and velocity separation, except possibly for pairs at closest separation of less than 20 kpc and velocity difference less than 500 km/s. Similarly, we see no strong evidence that AGN are more common for galaxies in closer pairs, irrespective of the method used to detect AGN. For this sample, we do not find any clear evidence that mergers and interactions may play a significant role in triggering star formation and AGN activity, opposite to expectations from theoretical models invoking feedback episodes. Secular processes may be more important, although this may depend on the selection of galaxies and indicators for star formation and AGN activity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): The Properties of Quasar Host Galaxies: Star Formation Histories and Stellar Populations

We investigated the star formation history and stellar populations of a sample of 205 Type I quasar host galaxies (0.1$<$z$<$0.35) and compared with normal (non-active) galaxies of the same mass and redshift within the volume of the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) redshift survey. We find that quasar host galaxies tend to be star-forming galaxies ($\sim$ 80%) lying on the star-forming MS; the fraction of quasar host galaxies that are quiescent ($\sim$ 20%) is lower than the fraction of quiescent galaxies in the comparison sample of normal galaxies (54%). We find that the mean star formation rate of quasar host galaxies has increased over the past 100 Myr by a factor of 2--3, but these galaxies were star-forming at all times previously. Our data are more consistent with quasar activity originating together with an increase in the star formation rate of otherwise normal galaxies, similar to episodic star formation in normal spirals. We argue that this indicates that secular processes and minor mergers may be the favored triggers of nuclear activity in the local Universe.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Evolution of Cluster Alignments as Evidence of Large-scale Structure Formation in the Universe

The universe's large-scale structure forms a vast, interconnected network of filaments, sheets, and voids known as the cosmic web. For decades, astronomers have observed that the orientations of neighboring galaxy clusters within these elongated structures are often aligned over separations of tens of Mpc. Using the largest available catalog of galaxy clusters, we show for the first time that clusters orientations are correlated over even larger scales, up to 200-300 comoving Mpc, and such alignments are seen to redshifts of at least z = 1. Comparison with numerical simulations suggests that coherent structures on similar scales may be expected in LCDM models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

INSPIRE: INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics VIII. Emission lines and UV colours in ultra-compact massive galaxies

We report the discovery of emission lines in the optical spectra of ultra-compact massive galaxies (UCMGs) from INSPIRE, including relics, which are the oldest galaxies in the Universe. Emission-lines diagnostic diagrams suggest that all these UCMGs, independently of their star formation histories, are `retired galaxies'. They are inconsistent with being star-forming but lie in the same region of shock-driven emissions or photoionisation models, incorporating the contribution from post-asymptotic giant branch (pAGB) stars. Furthermore, all but one INSPIRE objects have a high [OII]/H{\alpha} ratio, resembling what has been reported for normal-size red and dead galaxies. The remaining object (J1142+0012) is the only one to show clear evidence for strong active galactic nucleus activity from its spectrum. We also provide near-UV (far-UV) fluxes for 20 (5) INSPIRE objects that match in GALEX. Their NUV-r colours are consistent with those of galaxies lying in the UV green valley, but also with the presence of recently (<0.5 Gyr) formed stars at the sub-percent fraction level. This central recent star formation could have been ignited by gas that was originally ejected during the pAGB phases and then re-compressed and brought to the core by the ram-pressure stripping of Planetary Nebula envelopes. Once in the centre, it can be shocked and re-emit spectral lines.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

TP-AGB stars and stellar population properties of a post-starburst galaxy at $z \sim 2$ through optical and NIR spectroscopy with JWST

We present a detailed optical and NIR spectral analysis of J-138717, a post-starburst galaxy at $z = 1.8845$ observed with JWST/NIRSpec, for which we derive a stellar mass of $3.5 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{10}$ M$_\odot$ and a stellar velocity dispersion of $198 \pm 10$ km s$^{-1}$. We estimate an age of $\sim0.9$ Gyr and a sub-solar metallicity (between $-0.4$ and $-0.2$ dex). We find generally consistent results when fitting the optical and NIR wavelength ranges separately or using different model libraries. The reconstruction of the star formation history indicates that the galaxy assembled most of its mass quickly and then rapidly quenched, $\sim0.4$ Gyr prior to observation. Line diagnostics suggest that the weak emission is probably powered by residual star formation (SFR$\sim0.2$M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$) or a low-luminosity AGN, with no strong evidence for outflows in ionized or neutral gas. We perform a detailed study of the NIR spectral indices by comparing observations with predictions of several state-of-the-art stellar population models. This is unprecedented at such a high redshift. In particular, the analysis of several CO and CN features argues against a heavy contribution of Thermally Pulsating (TP-)AGB stars. Observations align better with models that include a minimal contribution from TP-AGB stars, but they are also consistent with a mild contribution from TP-AGB stars, assuming a younger age (consistent with the fits). The analysis of other NIR spectral indices shows that current models struggle to reproduce observations. This highlights the need for improved stellar population models in the NIR, especially at young ages and low metallicities, which is most relevant for studying high redshift galaxies in the JWST era.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The Galaxy Zoo Catalogs for the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) Survey

Galaxy Zoo is an online project to classify morphological features in extra-galactic imaging surveys with public voting. In this paper, we compare the classifications made for two different surveys, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) imaging survey and a part of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), in the equatorial fields of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Our aim is to cross-validate and compare the classifications based on different imaging quality and depth. We find that generally the voting agrees globally but with substantial scatter i.e. substantial differences for individual galaxies. There is a notable higher voting fraction in favor of ``smooth'' galaxies in the DESI+\rev{{\sc zoobot}} classifications, most likely due to the difference between imaging depth. DESI imaging is shallower and slightly lower resolution than KiDS and the Galaxy Zoo images do not reveal details such as disk features \rev{and thus are missed in the {\sc zoobot} training sample}. \rev{We check against expert visual classifications and find good agreement with KiDS-based Galaxy Zoo voting.} We reproduce the results from Porter-Temple+ (2022), on the dependence of stellar mass, star-formation, and specific star-formation on the number of spiral arms. This shows that once corrected for redshift, the DESI Galaxy Zoo and KiDS Galaxy Zoo classifications agree well on population properties. The zoobot cross-validation increases confidence in its ability to compliment Galaxy Zoo classifications and its ability for transfer learning across surveys.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Probing the stellar populations and star formation history of early-type galaxies at $0 < z < 1.1$ in the rest-frame ultraviolet

We measure the evolution of the rest-frame $NUV-V$ colors for early-type galaxies in clusters at $0 3$. The blue UV colors of early-type galaxies at low-intermediate redshifts are likely driven by this sub-population being enriched in helium up to $\sim44\%$. At $z>0.8$ (when the extra UV component has not yet appeared) the data allows us to constrain the star formation histories of galaxies by fitting models to the evolution of their UV colors: we find that the epoch at which the stellar populations formed ranges between $3<z_{form}<10$ (corresponding to $0.5-2.2$ Gyrs after the Big Bang) with a star-formation e-folding timescale of $τ=0.35-0.7$ Gyr, suggesting that these galaxies formed the majority of stars at very high redshift, with a brief yet intense burst of star-formation activity. The star formation history and chemical evolution of early-type galaxies resemble those of globular clusters, albeit on much larger scales.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Comparing Visually and Spectroscopically Identified Galaxy Merger Samples

We conduct a comparison of the merging galaxy populations detected by a sample of visual identification of tidal features around galaxies as well as spectroscopically-detected close pairs of galaxies to determine whether our method of selecting merging galaxies biases our understanding of galaxy interactions. Our volume-limited parent sample consists of 852 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey in the redshift range $0.04 \leq z \leq 0.20$ and stellar mass range $9.50 \leq$ log$_{10}(M_{\star}/\rm{M}_{\odot})\leq 11.0$. We conduct our comparison using images from the Ultradeep layer of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) to visually-classify galaxies with tidal features and compare these to the galaxies in the GAMA spectroscopic close-pair sample. We identify 198 galaxies possessing tidal features, resulting in a tidal feature fraction $f_{\rm{tidal}}$ = 0.23 $\pm$ 0.02. We also identify 80 galaxies involved in close pairs, resulting in a close pair fraction $f_{\rm{pair}}$ = 0.09 $\pm$ 0.01. Upon comparison of our tidal feature and close pair samples we identify 42 galaxies that are present in both samples, yielding a fraction $f_{\rm{both}}$ = 0.05 $\pm$ 0.01. We find evidence to suggest that the sample of close pairs of galaxies is more likely to detect early-stage mergers, where two separate galaxies are still visible, and the tidal feature sample detects later-stage mergers, where only one galaxy nucleus remains visible. The overlap of the close pair and tidal feature samples likely detect intermediate-stage mergers. Our results are in good agreement with the predictions of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations regarding the populations of merging galaxies detected by close pair and tidal feature samples.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

The star formation history and the nature of the mass-metallicity relation of passive galaxies at 1.0<z<1.4 from VANDELS

We derived stellar ages and metallicities [Z/H] for $\sim$70 passive early type galaxies (ETGs) selected from VANDELS survey over the redshift range 1.0$<$$z$$<$1.4 and stellar mass range 10$<$log(M$_*$/M$_\odot$)$<$11.6. We find significant systematics in their estimates depending on models and wavelength ranges considered. Using the full-spectrum fitting technique, we find that both [Z/H] and age increase with mass as for local ETGs. Age and metallicity sensitive spectral indices independently confirm these trends. According to EMILES models, for 67 per cent of the galaxies we find [Z/H]$>$0.0, a percentage which rises to $\sim$90 per cent for log(M$_*$/M$_\odot$)$>$11 where the mean metallicity is [Z/H]=0.17$\pm$0.1. A comparison with homogeneous measurements at similar and lower redshift does not show any metallicity evolution over the redshift range 0.0 $11.0 host stellar populations with [Z/H]>0.05, formed over short timescales ($Δ{t50}$$<$1 Gyr) at early epochs (t$_{form}$$<$2 Gyr), implying high star formation rates (SFR$>$100 M$_\odot$/yr) in high mass density regions (log($Σ_{1kpc}$)$>$10 M$_\odot$/kpc$^2$). This sharp picture tends to blur at lower masses: log(M$_*$/M$_\odot$)$\sim$10.6 galaxies can host either old stars with [Z/H]$<$0.0 or younger stars with [Z/H]$>$0.0, depending on the duration ($Δ{t50}$) of the SF. The relations between galaxy mass, age and metallicities are therefore largely set up ab initio as part of the galaxy formation process. Mass, SFR and SF time-scale all contribute to shape up the stellar mass-metallicity relation with the mass that modulates metals retention.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Data Release 4 and the z < 0.1 total and z < 0.08 morphological galaxy stellar mass functions

In Galaxy And Mass Assembly Data Release 4 (GAMA DR4), we make available our full spectroscopic redshift sample. This includes 248682 galaxy spectra, and, in combination with earlier surveys, results in 330542 redshifts across five sky regions covering ~250deg^2. The redshift density, is the highest available over such a sustained area, has exceptionally high completeness (95 per cent to r_KIDS=19.65mag), and is well suited for the study of galaxy mergers, galaxy groups, and the low redshift (z<0.25) galaxy population. DR4 includes 32 value-added tables or Data Management Units (DMUs) that provide a number of measured and derived data products including GALEX, ESO KiDS, ESO VIKING, WISE and Herschel Space Observatory imaging. Within this release, we provide visual morphologies for 15330 galaxies to z<0.08, photometric redshift estimates for all 18million objects to r_KIDS~25mag, and stellar velocity dispersions for 111830 galaxies. We conclude by deriving the total galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) and its sub-division by morphological class (elliptical, compact-bulge and disc, diffuse-bulge and disc, and disc only). This extends our previous measurement of the total GSMF down to 10^6.75 M_sol h^-2_70 and we find a total stellar mass density of rho_*=(2.97+/-0.04)x10^8 M_sol h_70 Mpc^-3 or Omega_*=(2.17+/-0.03)x10^-3 h^-1_70. We conclude that at z<0.1, the Universe has converted 4.9+/-0.1 per cent of the baryonic mass implied by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis into stars that are gravitationally bound within the galaxy population.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): The Weak Environmental Dependence of Quasar Activity at 0.1<z<0.35

Understanding the connection between nuclear activity and galaxy environment remains critical in constraining models of galaxy evolution. By exploiting extensive catalogued data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, we identify a representative sample of 205 quasars at 0.1 < z < 0.35 and establish a comparison sample of galaxies, closely matched to the quasar sample in terms of both stellar mass and redshift. On scales <1 Mpc, the galaxy number counts and group membership of quasars appear entirely consistent with those of the matched galaxy sample. Despite this, we find that quasars are ~1.5 times more likely to be classified as the group center, indicating a potential link between quasar activity and cold gas flows or galaxy interactions associated with rich group environments. On scales of ~a few Mpc, the clustering strength of both samples are statistically consistent and beyond 10 Mpc we find no evidence that quasars trace large scale structures any more than the galaxy control sample. Both populations are found to prefer intermediate-density sheets and filaments to either very high- or very low- density environments. This weak dependence of quasar activity on galaxy environment supports a paradigm in which quasars represent a phase in the lifetime of all massive galaxies and in which secular processes and a group-centric location are the dominant trigger of quasars at low redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Brightest Cluster Galaxies: the centre can(not?) hold

We explore the persistence of the alignment of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) with their local environment. We find that a significant fraction of BCGs do not coincide with the centroid of the X-ray gas distribution and/or show peculiar velocities (they are not at rest with respect to the cluster mean). Despite this, we find that BCGs are generally aligned with the cluster mass distribution even when they have significant offsets from the X-ray centre and significant peculiar velocities. The large offsets are not consistent with simple theoretical models. To account for these observations BCGs must undergo mergers preferentially along their major axis, the main infall direction. Such BCGs may be oscillating within the cluster potential after having been displaced by mergers or collisions, or the dark matter halo itself may not yet be relaxed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Evolution and Role of Mergers in the BCG-Cluster Alignment. A View from Cosmological Hydro-Simulations

Contradictory results have been reported on the time evolution of the alignment between clusters and their Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG). We study this topic by analyzing cosmological hydro-simulations of 24 massive clusters with $M_{200}|_{z=0} \gtrsim 10^{15}\, M_\odot$, plus 5 less massive with $1 \times 10^{14} \lesssim M_{200}|_{z=0} \lesssim 7 \times 10^{14}\, M_\odot$, which have already proven to produce realistic BCG masses. We compute the BCG alignment with both the distribution of cluster galaxies and the dark matter (DM) halo. At redshift $z=0$, the major axes of the simulated BCGs and their host cluster galaxy distributions are aligned on average within 20$^\circ$. The BCG alignment with the DM halo is even tighter. The alignment persists up to $z\lesssim2$ with no evident evolution. This result continues, although with a weaker signal, when considering the projected alignment. The cluster alignment with the surrounding distribution of matter ($3R_{200}$) is already in place at $z\sim4$ with a typical angle of $35^\circ$, before the BCG-Cluster alignment develops. The BCG turns out to be also aligned with the same matter distribution, albeit always to a lesser extent. These results taken together might imply that the BCG-Cluster alignment occurs in an outside-in fashion. Depending on their frequency and geometry, mergers can promote, destroy or weaken the alignments. Clusters that do not experience recent major mergers are typically more relaxed and aligned with their BCG. In turn, accretions closer to the cluster elongation axis tend to improve the alignment as opposed to accretions closer to the cluster minor axis.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

The Bulge Radial Velocity Assay for RR Lyrae stars (BRAVA-RR) DR2: a Bimodal Bulge?

Radial velocities of 2768 fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) toward the Southern Galactic bulge are presented, spanning the southern bulge from -8 < l < +8 and -3 < b <-6. Distances derived from the pulsation properties of the RRLs are combined with Gaia proper motions to give constraints on the orbital motions of 1389 RRLs. The majority (~75%) of the bulge RRLs have orbits consistent with these stars being permanently bound to <3.5 kpc from the Galactic Center, similar to the bar. However, unlike the bulge giants, the RRLs exhibit slower rotation and a higher velocity dispersion. The higher velocity dispersion arises almost exclusively from halo interlopers passing through the inner Galaxy. We present 82 stars with space velocities > 500 km/s and find that the majority of these high-velocity stars are halo interlopers; it is unclear if a sub-sample of these stars with similar space velocities have a common origin. Once the 25% of the sample represented by halo interlopers is cleaned, we can clearly discern two populations of bulge RRLs in the inner Galaxy. One population of RRLs is not as tightly bound to the Galaxy (but is still confined to the inner ~3.5 kpc), and is both spatially and kinematically consistent with the barred bulge. The second population is more centrally concentrated and does not trace the bar. One possible interpretation is that this population was born prior to bar formation, as its spatial location, kinematics and pulsation properties suggest, possibly from an accretion event at high redshift.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

Environmental Effects on the UV Upturn in Local Clusters of Galaxies

We explore the dependence of UV upturn colours in early type cluster galaxies on the properties of their parent clusters (such as velocity dispersion and X-ray luminosity) and on the positions and kinematics of galaxies within them. We use a sample of 24 nearby clusters with highly complete spectroscopy and optical/infrared data to select a suitable sample of red sequence galaxies, whose FUV and NUV magnitudes we measure from archival GALEX data. Our results show that the UV upturn colour has no dependence on cluster properties and has the same range in all clusters. There is also no dependence on the projected position within clusters or on line-of-sight velocity. Therefore, our conclusion is that the UV upturn phenomenon is an intrinsic feature of cluster early type galaxies, irrespective of their cluster environment.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Luminosity functions of cluster galaxies: The Near-ultraviolet luminosity function at $ \sim 0.05$

We derive NUV luminosity functions for 6471 NUV detected galaxies in 28 $0.02 < z < 0.08$ clusters and consider their dependence on cluster properties. We consider optically red and blue galaxies and explore how their NUV LFs vary in several cluster subsamples, selected to best show the influence of environment. Our composite LF is well fit by the Schechter form with $M^*_{NUV}=-18.98 \pm 0.07$ and $α=-1.87 \pm 0.03$ in good agreement with values for the Coma centre and the Shapley supercluster, but with a steeper slope and brighter $L^*$ than in Virgo. The steep slope is due to the contribution of massive quiescent galaxies that are faint in the NUV. There are significant differences in the NUV LFs for clusters having low and high X-ray luminosities and for sparse and dense clusters, though none are particularly well fitted by the Schechter form, making a physical interpretation of the parameters difficult. When splitting clusters into two subsamples by X-ray luminosity, the ratio of low to high NUV luminosity galaxies is higher in the high X-ray luminosity subsample (i.e the luminosity function is steeper across the sampled luminosity range). In subsamples split by surface density, when characterised by Schechter functions the dense clusters have an $M^*$ about a magnitude fainter than that of the sparse clusters and $α$ is steeper ($-1.9$ vs. $-1.6$ respectively). The differences in the data appear to be driven by changes in the LF of blue (star-forming) galaxies. This appears to be related to interactions with the cluster gas [abridged]

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

The rise and fall of the UV upturn: $z=0.3,\ 0.55$ and $0.7$

We have analysed the strength of the UV upturn in red sequence galaxies with luminosities reaching to below the $L^*$ point within four clusters at $z$ = 0.3, 0.55 \& 0.7. We find that the incidence and strength of the upturn remains constant up to $z=0.55$. In comparison, the prevalence and strength of the UV upturn is significantly diminished in the $z=0.7$ cluster, implying that the stellar population responsible for the upturn in a typical red sequence galaxy is only just developing at this redshift and is essentially fully-developed by $\sim 1$ Gyr later. Of all the mainstream models that seek to explain the UV upturn phenomenon, it is those that generate the upturn through the presence of a Helium-enhanced stellar subpopulation on the (hot) horizontal branch that are most consistent with this behaviour. The epoch ($z=0.7$) where the stars responsible for the upturn first evolve from the red giant branch places constraints on their age and chemical abundances. By comparing our results with the prediction made by the YEPS Helium-enhanced spectrophotometic models, we find that a solar metallicity sub-population that displays a consistent upturn between $0<z<0.55$ but then fades by $z=0.7$ would require a Helium abundance of $Y\geqslant0.45$, if formed at $z_f\sim4$. Later formation redshifts and/or higher metallicity would further increase the Helium enhancement required to produce the observed upturn in these clusters and vice versa.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Evolution of the UV upturn in cluster galaxies: Abell 1689

We have measured the strength of the UV upturn for red sequence galaxies in the Abell~1689 cluster at $z=0.18$, reaching to or below the $L^*$ level and therefore probing the general evolution of the upturn phenomenon. We find that the range of UV upturn strengths in the population as a whole has not declined over the past 2.2 Gyrs. This is consistent with a model where hot horizontal branch stars, produced by a Helium-enriched population, provide the required UV flux. Based on local counterparts, this interpretation of the result implies Helium abundances of at least 1.5 times the primordial value for this HB population, along with high formation and assembly redshifts for the galaxies and at least a subset of their stellar populations.

astro-ph.GA↗