Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userOn the central stellar mass density and the inside-out growth of early-type galaxies
124
0
0.0
(
0
)
Authors
P. Saracco
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
[Abridged] In this paper we derive the central stellar mass density within a fixed radius and the effective stellar mass density within the effective radius for a complete sample of 34 ETGs morphologically selected at 0.9<z_{spec}<2 and compare them with those derived for a sample of ~900 local ETGs in the same mass range. We find that the central stellar mass density of high-z ETGs spans just an order of magnitude and it is similar to the one of local ETGs as actually found in previous studies.However, we find that the effective stellar mass density of high-z ETGs spans three orders of magnitude, exactly as the local ETGs and that it is similar to the effective stellar mass density of local ETGs showing that it has not changed since z~1.5, in the last 9-10 Gyr. Thus, the wide spread of the effective stellar mass density observed up to z~1.5 must originate earlier, at z>2. Also, we show that the small scatter of the central mass density of ETGs compared to the large scatter of the effective mass density is simply a peculiar feature of the Sersic profile hence, independent of redshift and of any assembly history experienced by galaxies. Thus, it has no connection with the possible inside-out growth of ETGs. Finally, we find a tight correlation between the central stellar mass density and the total stellar mass of ETGs in the sense that the central mass density increases with mass as M^{~0.6}. This implies that the fraction of the central stellar mass of ETGs decreases with the mass of the galaxy. These correlations are valid for the whole population of ETGs considered independently of their redshift suggesting that they originate in the early-phases of their formation.
rate research
Read More
We determine the evolution of the co-moving density of the most massive ($M_* geq 10^{12} M_odot$) early-type galaxy population in the redshift range of $z = 0.15$ - 0.45 in different stellar mass ranges using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR7) catalog. We find that the co-moving number density of these galaxies grew exponentially, weakly depending on the stellar mass range, as a function of cosmic time with a time-scale of $tau simeq 1.16 pm 0.16$ Gyr for at least 4 Gyr ending around $z simeq 0.15$. This is about a factor of ten of growth between $z=0.5$ - 0.15. Since $z simeq 0.15$ a constant co-moving number density can be measured. According to theoretical models the most massive early-type galaxies gain most of their stellar mass via dry merging but the major merger rate measured by others cannot account for the high growth in number density we measured thus, stellar mass gain from minor mergers and slow, smooth accretion seems to play an important role. We outline a simple analytic model that explains the observed evolution based on the exponential decline of the luminosity function and sets constraints on the time dependence of the close-pair fraction of merger candidate galaxies.
We study the radial number density and stellar mass density distributions of satellite galaxies in a sample of 60 massive clusters at 0.04<z<0.26 selected from the Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey (MENeaCS) and the Canadian Cluster Comparison Project (CCCP). In addition to ~10,000 spectroscopically confirmed member galaxies, we use deep ugri-band imaging to estimate photometric redshifts and stellar masses, and then statistically subtract fore-, and background sources using data from the COSMOS survey. We measure the galaxy number density and stellar mass density distributions in logarithmically spaced bins over 2 orders of magnitude in radial distance from the BCGs. For projected distances in the range 0.1<R/R200<2.0, we find that the stellar mass distribution is well-described by an NFW profile with a concentration of c=2.03+/-0.20. However, at smaller radii we measure a significant excess in the stellar mass in satellite galaxies of about $10^{11}$ Msun per cluster, compared to these NFW profiles. We do obtain good fits to generalized NFW profiles with free inner slopes, and to Einasto profiles. To examine how clusters assemble their stellar mass component over cosmic time, we compare this local sample to the GCLASS cluster sample at z~1, which represents the approximate progenitor sample of the low-z clusters. This allows for a direct comparison, which suggests that the central parts (R<0.4 Mpc) of the stellar mass distributions of satellites in local galaxy clusters are already in place at z~1, and contain sufficient excess material for further BCG growth. Evolving towards z=0, clusters appear to assemble their stellar mass primarily onto the outskirts, making them grow in an inside-out fashion.
We use color gradients to explore the evolution of early-type galaxies in the core of the massive galaxy cluster MACS J1206.2-0847 at z = 0.44. We used data from the CLASH and CLASH-VLT surveys to perform multiwavelength optimized model fitting using Galapagos-2 from the MegaMorph project to measure their photometric parameters. We derive color gradients for $g_{475} - I_{814}$, $r_{625} - Y_{105}$, $I_{814} - H_{160}$ , and $Y_{105} - H_{160}$ at radii ranging between 0.1 - 2 $r_e$ for 79 early-type cluster galaxies. From synthetic spectral models that use simple star formation recipes, we inferred ages and metallicities of the stellar population at different locations within each galaxy and characterized their influence on the radial color trends. We measure that galaxy sizes are $sim$ 25% smaller in the red $H_{160}$ filter than in the blue $r_{625}$ filter but maintain a constant (within 3$sigma$) S{e}rsic index $n$ with wavelength. We find negative color gradients in all colors with slopes ranging between -0.07 and -0.17 mag dex$^{-1}$ and with no obvious dependence on total magnitude, stellar mass, or location inside the cluster core. We explain the observed radial trends of color gradients as a result of the ages and metallicities of the respective stellar populations. Red galaxy cores are typically $sim$ 3 Gyr older and more enriched in metals than the galaxy outskirts, which are of solar metallicity.
We study the total density distribution in the central regions (~ 1 effective radius, $R_e$) of early-type galaxies (ETGs), using data from SPIDER and $rm ATLAS^{3D}$. Our analysis extends the range of galaxy stellar mass ($M_{star}$) probed by gravitational lensing, down to ~ $10^{10}, rm M_{odot}$. We model each galaxy with two components (dark matter halo + stars), exploring different assumptions for the dark matter (DM) halo profile (i.e. NFW, NFW-contracted, and Burkert profiles), and leaving stellar mass-to-light ($M_{star}/L$) ratios as free fitting parameters to the data. For all plausible halo models, the best-fitting $M_{star}/L$, normalized to that for a Chabrier IMF, increases systematically with galaxy size and mass. For an NFW profile, the slope of the total mass profile is non-universal, independently of several ingredients in the modeling (e.g., halo contraction, anisotropy, and rotation velocity in ETGs). For the most massive ($M_{star}$ ~ $10^{11.5} , M_{odot}$) or largest ($R_{rm e}$ ~ $15 , rm kpc$) ETGs, the profile is isothermal in the central regions (~$R_{rm e}/2$), while for the low-mass ($M_{star}$ ~ $10^{10.2} , M_odot$) or smallest ($R_{rm e}$ ~ $0.5 , rm kpc$) systems, the profile is steeper than isothermal, with slopes similar to those for a constant-$M/L$ profile. For a steeper concentration-mass relation than that expected from simulations, the correlation of density slope with galaxy mass tends to flatten, while correlations with $R_{rm e}$ and velocity dispersions are more robust. Our results clearly point to a non-homology in the total mass distribution of ETGs, which simulations of galaxy formation suggest may be related to a varying role of dissipation with galaxy mass.
Using optical-optical and optical-NIR colors, we analyze the radial dependence of age and metallicity inside massive (M* > 10^10.5 MSun), low-redshift (z<0.1), early-type galaxies (ETGs), residing in both high-density group regions and the field. On average, internal color gradients of ETGs are mainly driven by metallicity, consistent with previous studies. However, we find that group galaxies feature positive age gradients, Nabla_t, i.e. a younger stellar population in the galaxy center, and steeper metallicity gradients, compared to the field sample, whose Nabla_t ranges from negative in lower mass galaxies, to positive gradients at higher mass. These dependencies yield new constraints to models of galaxy formation and evolution. We speculate that age and metallicity gradients of group ETGs result from (either gas-rich or minor-dry) mergers and/or cold-gas accretion, while field ETGs exhibit the characteristic flatter gradients expected from younger, more metal-rich, stars formed inside--out by later gas-cooling.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
