arXiv subjects

Ruixiang Chang

Publications and source records attributed to Ruixiang Chang.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

When Galaxies Refuel: Evolution of the Perturbed Spiral Galaxy NGC1385

The spiral galaxy NGC 1385 is characterized by a vigorous and protracted history of star formation, particularly in its central regions, leading to a current star formation rate that surpasses those of comparable systems. We analyze the evolution history of the galaxy using spatially resolved optical and submillimeter spectroscopy obtained from the PHANGS survey combined with WALLABY radio survey data. We construct radial distributions of star formation rate and the interstellar medium (ISM) neutral and molecular gas mass surface densities and measure the metallicity distribution of the stellar populations using a refined full-spectral fitting population synthesis method together with a determination of ISM oxygen abundances using H\,II region emission lines. The metallicities of the young stars and the ISM are similar and show an almost flat distribution. This is crucially different from previous work which had found a positive gradient for the average metallicities of the stars. We fit a chemical evolution model (incorporating gas infall, outflow, and radial inflow) to the observed data of NGC\,1385. Based on this fit, the evolution of NGC\,1385 is characterized by the typical inside-out disk formation of spiral galaxies -- even though our model does not assume an a priori shorter gas infall timescale for the inner disk than for the outer disk. However, the galaxy has experienced sustained star formation over gigayear timescales with a star formation efficiency a factor of two higher than normal. This explains the high metallicity of the young stars of 0.15 to 0.2\,dex higher than solar and the flat distribution of metallicity across the disk. The model predictions for the metallicities of the stars align well with the observed values, supporting the robustness of both our refined spectral fitting analysis and the inferred evolutionary scenario.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Physical Origins of Double-Peaked Narrow Emission-Line Spaxels in Barred Galaxies

The physical origins of double-peaked narrow emission-line spaxels (DPSs) in barred galaxies are explored through the analysis of a sample of 72 barred double-peaked emission-line galaxies (DPGs) extracted from the MaNGA dataset. In this study, we examine two potential scenarios: the gas inflow along the bar and the formation of a bar-induced gaseous nuclear ring. By applying a classical galactic dynamics model, we calculate the radii and rotational velocities of the nuclear rings for all barred DPGs, and compare them with the observed properties of their DPSs. Our analysis reveals a significant correlation between the predicted radii of the nuclear rings and the maximum centric distances of the DPSs, as well as a marginal correlation between the predicted rotational velocities of the nuclear rings and the observed maximum velocity differences of the DPSs. These findings provide strong evidence to support the hypothesis that the DPSs of a barred DPG in MaNGA primarily originate from the convolution of the PSF effect with its bar-induced fast-rotating gaseous nuclear ring.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Double-peaked Narrow Emission-Line Galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA

Narrow emission lines in a galaxy's spectrum that show double peaks indicate the presence of distinct gas components with different velocities, and its physical origin remains uncertain. This study uses galaxies from the final MaNGA data release to detect double-peaked narrow emission-line spaxels (DPSs) by examining the double Gaussian profiles of the H$ \alpha $-[N \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral2}] doublets across all MaNGA spaxels. A total of 5,420 DPSs associated with 304 double-peaked narrow emission-line galaxies (DPGs) are identified, each DPG containing a minimum of 5 DPSs and being free from overlap with other galaxies. We find that DPSs can be categorized into three groups according to their central distance $r/R_e$ and the velocity difference $\Delta v$ between their two components: the inner low-$\Delta v$, inner high-$\Delta v$ and outer DPSs. By incorporating the physical characteristics of the DPGs into their DPSs, we demonstrate for the first time the existence of statistical correlations between barred DPGs and inner low-$\Delta v$ DPSs, AGN-hosting DPGs and inner high-$\Delta v$ DPSs, as well as tidal DPGs and outer DPSs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Breaking the degeneracy between gas inflow and outflows with stellar metallicity: Insights on M101

An analytical chemical evolution model is constructed to investigate the radial distribution of gas-phase and stellar metallicity for star-forming galaxies. By means of the model, the gas-phase and stellar metallicity can be obtained from the stellar-to-gas mass ratio. Both the gas inflow and outflow processes play an important role in building the final gas-phase metallicity, and there exists degeneracy effect between the gas inflow and outflow rates for star-forming galaxies. On the other hand, stellar metallicity is more sensitive to the gas outflow rate than to the gas inflow rate, and this helps to break the parameter degeneracy for star-forming galaxies. We apply this analysis method to the nearby disc galaxy M\,101 and adopting the classical $χ^{2}$ methodology to explore the influence of model parameters on the resulted metallicity. It can be found that the combination of gas-phase and stellar metallicity is indeed more effective for constraining the gas inflow and outflow rates. Our results also show that the model with relatively strong gas outflows but weak gas inflow describes the evolution of M\,101 reasonably well.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Exploring the Galactic Anticenter substructure with LAMOST & Gaia DR2

We characterize the kinematic and chemical properties of 589 Galactic Anticenter Substructure Stars (GASS) with K-/M- giants in Integrals-of-Motion space. These stars likely include members of previously identified substructures such as Monoceros, A13, and the Triangulum-Andromeda cloud (TriAnd). We show that these stars are on nearly circular orbits on both sides of the Galactic plane. We can see velocity($V_{Z}$) gradient along Y-axis especially for the south GASS members. Our GASS members have similar energy and angular momentum distributions to thin disk stars. Their location in [$α$/M] vs. [M/H] space is more metal poor than typical thin disk stars, with [$α$/M] \textbf{lower} than the thick disk. We infer that our GASS members are part of the outer metal-poor disk stars, and the outer-disk extends to 30 kpc. Considering the distance range and $α$-abundance features, GASS could be formed after the thick disk was formed due to the molecular cloud density decreased in the outer disk where the SFR might be less efficient than the inner disk.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Exploring the Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Different Environments from MaNGA Spectra

The star formation history (SFH) of galaxies allow us to investigate when galaxies formed their stars and assembled their mass. We can constrain the SFH with high level of precision from galaxies with resolved stellar populations, since we are able to discriminate between stars of different ages from the spectrum they emit. However, the relative importance of secular evolution (nature) over nurture is not yet clear, and separating the effects of interaction-driven evolution in the observed galaxy properties is not trivial. The aim of this study is to use MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO) Integral Field Unit (IFU) data, in combination with multi-wavelength data, to constrain the SFH of nearby isolated galaxies. We present here the new techniques we are developing to constrain the SFH with high level of precision from Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting. This study is part of a China-Chile collaboration program where we are applying these new techniques to investigate how galaxies formed and evolve in different environments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

The role of environment on the star formation history of disc galaxies

NGC\,2403, NGC\,300 and M33 are three nearby pure-disc galaxies with similar stellar mass in different environments, they are benchmarks for understanding late-type spiral galaxies in different environments. The chemical evolution and growth of their discs are investigated by using the simple chemical evolution model, in which their discs are assumed to originate and grow through the accretion of the primordial gas, and the gas outflow process is also taken into account. Through comparative study of the best-fitting model predicted star formation histories for them, we hope to derive a picture of the local environment on the evolution and star formation histories of galaxies and whether or not the isolated galaxies follow similar evolution history. Our results show that these three galaxies accumulated more than 50 percent of their stellar mass at $z\,<\,1$. It can be also found that the metallicity gradients in isolated spiral galaxies NGC\,2403 and NGC\,300 are similar and obviously steeper than that in M33, when the metallicity gradients are expressed in ${\rm dex}\,R_{\rm 25}^{-1}$. The similar metallicity gradients in NGC\,2403 and NGC\,300 indicate that they may experience similar chemical evolutionary histories. The principal epoch of star formation on the discs of NGC\,2403 and NGC\,300 is earlier than that on the disc of M33, and the mean age of stellar populations along the discs of both NGC\,2403 and NGC\,300 is older than that of M33. Our results indicates that the evolution and star formation history of a galaxy indeed depends on its local environment, at least for galaxies with stellar mass of $10^{9.2}\,\rm M_{\odot}\sim10^{9.7}\,\rm M_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The star-formation history of low-mass disk galaxies: a case study of NGC\,300

Since NGC300 is a bulge-less, isolated low-mass galaxy and has not experienced radial migration during its evolution history, it can be treated as an ideal laboratory to test simple galactic chemical evolution models. By assuming its disk forms gradually from continuous accretion of primordial gas and including the gas-outflow process, we construct a simple chemical evolution model for NGC300 to build a bridge between its SFH and its observed data, especially the present-day radial profiles and global observed properties (e.g., cold gas mass, star-formation rate and metallicity). By means of comparing the model predictions with the corresponding observations, we adopt the classical $χ^{2}$ methodology to find out the best combination of free parameters $a$, $b$ and $b_{\rm out}$. Our results show that, by assuming an inside-out formation scenario and an appropriate outflow rate, our model reproduces well most of the present-day observational values, not only the radial profiles but also the global observational data for the NGC300 disk. Our results suggest that NGC300 may experience a rapid growth of its disk. Through comparing the best-fitting model predicted SFH of NGC300 with that of M33, we find that the mean stellar age of NGC300 is older than that of M33 and there is a lack of primordial gas infall onto the disk of NGC300 recently. Our results also imply that the local environment may paly a key role in the secular evolution of NGC300.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Evolutionary Stages and Disk Properties of Young Stellar Objects in the Perseus Cloud

We investigated the evolutionary stages and disk properties of 211 Young stellar objects (YSOs) across the Perseus cloud by modeling the broadband optical to mid-infrared (IR) spectral energy distribution (SED). By exploring the relationships among the turnoff wave bands lambda_turnoff (longward of which significant IR excesses above the stellar photosphere are observed), the excess spectral index alpha_excess at lambda <~ 24 microns, and the disk inner radius R_in (from SED modeling) for YSOs of different evolutionary stages, we found that the median and standard deviation of alpha_excess of YSOs with optically thick disks tend to increase with lambda_turnoff, especially at lambda_turnoff >= 5.8 microns, whereas the median fractional dust luminosities L_dust/L_star tend to decrease with lambda_turnoff. This points to an inside-out disk clearing of small dust grains. Moreover, a positive correlation between alpha_excess and R_in was found at alpha_excess > ~0 and R_in > ~10 $\times$ the dust sublimation radius R_sub, irrespective of lambda_turnoff, L_dust/L_star and disk flaring. This suggests that the outer disk flaring either does not evolve synchronously with the inside-out disk clearing or has little influence on alpha_excess shortward of 24 microns. About 23% of our YSO disks are classified as transitional disks, which have lambda_turnoff >= 5.8 microns and L_dust/L_star >10^(-3). The transitional disks and full disks occupy distinctly different regions on the L_dust/L_star vs. alpha_excess diagram. Taking L_dust/L_star as an approximate discriminator of disks with (>0.1) and without (<0.1) considerable accretion activity, we found that 65% and 35% of the transitional disks may be consistent with being dominantly cleared by photoevaporation and dynamical interaction respectively. [abridged]

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2015

The Evolution of Interacting Spiral Galaxy NGC 5194

NGC 5194 (M51a) is a grand-design spiral galaxy and undergoing interactions with its companion. Here we focus on investigating main properties of its star-formation history (SFH) by constructing a simple evolution model, which assumes that the disc builds up gradually by cold gas infall and the gas infall rate can be parameterizedly described by a Gaussian form. By comparing model predictions with the observed data, we discuss the probable range for free parameter in the model and then know more about the main properties of the evolution and SFH of M51a. We find that the model predictions are very sensitive to the free parameter and the model adopting a constant infall-peak time $t_{\rm p}\,=\,7.0{\rm Gyr}$ can reproduce most of the observed constraints of M51a. Although our model does not assume the gas infall time-scale of the inner disc is shorter than that of the outer disc, our model predictions still show that the disc of M51a forms inside-out. We find that the mean stellar age of M51a is younger than that of the Milky Way, but older than that of the gas-rich disc galaxy UGC 8802. In this paper, we also introduce a 'toy' model to allow an additional cold gas infall occurred recently to imitate the influence of the interaction between M51a and its companion. Our results show that the current molecular gas surface density, the SFR and the UV-band surface brightness are important quantities to trace the effects of recent interaction on galactic SF process.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

The Evolution and Star Formation History of M33

We construct a parameterized model to explore the main properties of the star formation history of M33. We assume that the disk originates and grows by the primordial gas infall and adopt the simple form of gas accretion rate with one free parameter, the infall time-scale. We also include the contribution of gas outflow process. A major update of the model is that we adopt a molecular hydrogen correlated star formation law and calculate the evolution of the atomic and molecular gas separately. Comparisons between the model predictions and the observational data show that the model predictions are very sensitive to the adopted infall time-scale, while the gas outflow process mainly influences the metallicity profile. The model adopting a moderate outflow rate and an inside-out formation scenario can be in good agreement with most of observed constraints of M33 disk. We also compare the model predictions based on the molecular hydrogen correlated star formation law and that based on the Kennicutt star formation law. Our results imply that the molecular hydrogen correlated star formation law should be preferred to describe the evolution of the M33 disk, especially the radial distributions of both the cold gas and the stellar population.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Modelling the dynamical friction timescale of sinking satellite

When a satellite galaxy falls into a massive dark matter halo, it suffers the dynamical friction force which drag it into the halo center and finally it merger with the central galaxy. The time interval between entry and merger is called as the dynamical friction timescale (T_df). Many studies have been dedicated to derive T_df using analytical models or N-body simulations. These studies have obtained qualitative agreements on how T_df depends on the orbit parameters, and mass ratio between satellite and host halo. However, there are still disagreements on the accurate form of T_df . In this paper, we present a semi-analytical model to predict T_df and we focus on interpreting the discrepancies among different studies. We find that the treatment of mass loss from satellite by tidal stripping dominates the behavior of T_df . We also identify other model parameters which affect the predicted T_df.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The morphological dependent Tully-Fisher relation of spiral galaxies

The Tully-Fisher relation of spiral galaxies shows notable dependence on morphological types, with earlier type spirals having systematically lower luminosity at fixed maximum rotation velocity $V_{max}$. This decrement of luminosity is more significant in shorter wavelengths. By modeling the rotation curve and stellar population of different morphological type spiral galaxies in combination, we find the $V_{max}$ of spiral galaxies is weakly dependent on the morphological type, whereas the difference of the stellar population originating from the bulge disk composition effect mainly account for the morphological type dependence of the Tully-Fisher relation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Estimating the H I gas fractions of galaxies in the local Universe

We use a sample of 800 galaxies with H I mass measurements from the HyperLeda catalogue and optical photometry from the fourth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to calibrate a new photometric estimator of the H I to-stellar mass ratio for nearby galaxies. Our estimator, which is motivated by the Kennicutt-Schmidt star formation law, is log(G_{HI}/S) = -1.73238(g-r) + 0.215182mu_i - 4.08451, where mu_i is the i-band surface brighteness and g-r is the optical colour estimated from the g- and r-band Petrosian apparent agnitudes. This estimator has a scatter of sigma = 0.31 dex in log(G_{HI}/S), compared to sigma ~ 0.4 dex for previous estimators that were based on colour alone. We investigate whether the residuals in our estimate of log(G_{HI}/S) depend in a systematic way on a variety of different galaxy properties. We find no effect as a function of stellar mass or 4000A break strength, but there is a systematic effect as a function of the concentration index of the light. We then apply our estimator to a sample of 10^5 emission-line galaxies in the SDSS DR4 and derive an estimate of the H I mass function, which is in excellent agreement with recent results from H I blind surveys. Finally, we re-examine the well-known relation between gas-phase metallicity and stellar mass and ask whether there is a dependence on H I-to-stellar mass ratio, as predicted by chemical evolution models. We do find that gas-poor galaxies are more metal rich at fixed stellar mass. We compare our results with the semi-analytic models of De Lucia & Blaizot, which include supernova feedback, as well as the cosmological infall of gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2006

Color-magnitude relations of late-type galaxies

We use a large sample of galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Two Micro All Sky Survey (2MASS) to present Color-Magnitude Relations (CMRs) for late-type galaxies in both optical and optical-infrared bands. A sample from SDSS Data Release 4 (DR4) is selected to investigate the optical properties. Optical-infrared colors are estimated from a position matched sample of DR4 and 2MASS, in which the photometric aperture mismatch between these two surveys is carefully corrected. It is shown that, after correcting the dust attenuation, the optical colors for faint galaxies (i.e. $M_r > -21$) have very weak correlation with the luminosity, while the optical colors for bright galaxies (i.e. $M_r < -21$) are redder for more luminous galaxies. All (optical, optical-infrared and infrared) colors show similar but stronger correlations with stellar mass than with absolute magnitude. The optical colors correlate more strongly with stellar mass surface density than with stellar mass, while optical-infrared and infrared colors show stronger correlations with stellar mass. By comparing the observed colors of our sample galaxies with the colors predicted by stellar population synthesis model, we find that massive late-type galaxies have older and higher metallicity stellar population than less massive galaxies. This suggests that CMRs for late-type galaxies are trends defined by the combination of stellar mean age and metallicity. Moreover, our results suggest that the stellar mean metallicity of late-type galaxy is mainly determined by its stellar mass, while the star formation history is mainly regulated by the stellar mass surface density.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The Colours of Elliptical galaxies

We have compiled a sample of 2728 nearby ($z<0.08$) elliptical galaxies with photometry in the $g,r,i,z$ bands from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and $J,H,K$ photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Stellar masses, stellar velocity dispersions and structural parameters such as sizes and surface mass densities are also available for these objects. In order to correct the aperture mismatch between SDSS and 2MASS, we correct the SDSS magnitudes to the isophotal circular radius where the 2MASS magnitudes are measured. We compare the correlations between optical, optical-infrared and infrared colours and galaxy luminosity, stellar mass, velocity dispersion and surface mass density. We find that all galaxy colours correlate more strongly with stellar mass and velocity dispersion than with any other structural parameter. The dispersion about these two relations is also smaller. We also study the correlations between a variety of stellar absorption line indices and the same set of galaxy parameters and we reach very similar conclusions. Finally, we analyze correlations between absorption line indices and colour. Our results suggest that the optical colours of elliptical galaxies are sensitive to a combination of age, metallicity and $α$-enhancement, while the optical-infrared colours are sensitive to metallicity and to $α$-enhancement, but are somewhat less sensitive to age.

astro-ph↗