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Register a new userCold gas in a complete sample of group-dominant early-type galaxies
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We present IRAM 30m and APEX telescope observations of CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) lines in 36 group-dominant early-type galaxies, completing our molecular gas survey of dominant galaxies in the Complete Local-volume Groups Sample. We detect CO emission in 12 of the galaxies at >4sigma significance, with molecular gas masses in the range 0.01-6x10^8 Msol, as well as CO in absorption in the non-dominant group member galaxy NGC 5354. In total 21 of the 53 CLoGS dominant galaxies are detected in CO and we confirm our previous findings that they have low star formation rates (0.01-1 Msol/yr) but short depletion times (<1Gyr) implying rapid replenishment of their gas reservoirs. Comparing molecular gas mass with radio luminosity, we find that a much higher fraction of our group-dominant galaxies (60+-16%) are AGN-dominated than is the case for the general population of ellipticals, but that there is no clear connection between radio luminosity and the molecular gas mass. Using data from the literature, we find that at least 27 of the 53 CLoGS dominant galaxies contain HI, comparable to the fraction of nearby non-cluster early type galaxies detected in HI and significantly higher that the fraction in the Virgo cluster. We see no correlation between the presence of an X-ray detected intra-group medium and molecular gas in the dominant galaxy, but find that the HI-richest galaxies are located in X-ray faint groups. Morphological data from the literature suggests the cold gas component most commonly takes the form of a disk, but many systems show evidence of galaxy-galaxy interactions, indicating that they may have acquired their gas through stripping or mergers. We provide improved molecular gas mass estimates for two galaxies previously identified as being in the centres of cooling flows, NGC 4636 and NGC 5846, and find that they are relatively molecular gas poor compared to our other detected systems.
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Recent work suggests blue ellipticals form in mergers and migrate quickly from the blue cloud of star-forming galaxies to the red sequence of passively evolving galaxies, perhaps as a result of black hole feedback. Such rapid reddening of stellar populations implies that large gas reservoirs in the pre-merger star-forming pair must be depleted on short time scales. Here we present pilot observations of atomic hydrogen gas in four blue early-type galaxies that reveal increasing spatial offsets between the gas reservoirs and the stellar components of the galaxies, with advancing post-starburst age. Emission line spectra show associated nuclear activity in two of the merged galaxies, and in one case radio lobes aligned with the displaced gas reservoir. These early results suggest that a kinetic process (possibly feedback from black hole activity) is driving the quick truncation of star formation in these systems, rather than a simple exhaustion of gas supply.
Observations of neutral hydrogen (HI) and molecular gas show that 50% of all nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs) contain some cold gas. Molecular gas is always found in small gas discs in the central region of the galaxy, while neutral hydrogen is often distributed in a low-column density disc or ring typically extending well beyond the stellar body. Dust is frequently found in ETGs as well. The goal of our study is to understand the link between dust and cold gas in nearby ETGs as a function of HI content. We analyse deep optical $g-r$ images obtained with the MegaCam camera at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope for a sample of 21 HI-rich and 41 HI-poor ETGs. We find that all HI-rich galaxies contain dust seen as absorption. Moreover, in 57 percent of these HI-rich galaxies, the dust is distributed in a large-scale spiral pattern. Although the dust detection rate is relatively high in the HI-poor galaxies ($sim$59 percent), most of these systems exhibit simpler dust morphologies without any evidence of spiral structures. We find that the HI-rich galaxies possess more complex dust morphology extending to almost two times larger radii than HI-poor objects. We measured the dust content of the galaxies from the optical colour excess and find that HI-rich galaxies contain six times more dust (in mass) than HI-poor ones. In order to maintain the dust structures in the galaxies, continuous gas accretion is needed, and the substantial HI gas reservoirs in the outer regions of ETGs can satisfy this need for a long time. We find that there is a good correspondence between the observed masses of the gas and dust, and it is also clear that dust is present in regions further than 3~Reff. Our findings indicate an essential relation between the presence of cold gas and dust in ETGs and offer a way to study the interstellar medium in more detail than what is possible with HI observations.
I present an overview of new observations of atomic and molecular gas in early-type galaxies, focusing on the Atlas3D project. Our data on stellar kinematics, age and metallicity, and ionized gas kinematics allow us to place the cold gas into the broader context of early-type galaxy assembly and star formation history. The cold gas data also provide valuable constraints for numerical simulations of early-type galaxies.
Using the data products of the Chandra Galaxy Atlas (Kim et al. 2019a), we have investigated the radial profiles of the hot gas temperature in 60 early type galaxies. Considering the characteristic temperature and radius of the peak, dip, and break (when scaled by the gas temperature and virial radius of each galaxy), we propose a universal temperature profile of the hot halo in ETGs. In this scheme, the hot gas temperature peaks at RMAX = 35 +/- 25 kpc (or ~0.04 RVIR) and declines both inward and outward. The temperature dips (or breaks) at RMIN (or RBREAK) = 3 - 5 kpc (or ~0.006 RVIR). The mean slope between RMIN (RBREAK) and RMAX is 0.3 +/- 0.1. Allowing for selection effects and observational limits, we find that the universal temperature profile can describe the temperature profiles of 72% (possibly up to 82%) of our ETG sample. The remaining ETGs (18%) with irregular or monotonically declining profiles do not fit the universal profile and require another explanation. The temperature gradient inside RMIN (RBREAK) varies widely, indicating different degrees of additional heating at small radii. Investigating the nature of the hot core (HC with a negative gradient inside RMIN), we find that HC is most clearly visible in small galaxies. Searching for potential clues associated with stellar, AGN feedback, and gravitational heating, we find that HC may be related to recent star formation. But we see no clear evidence that AGN feedback and gravitational heating play any significant role for HC.
We present a study of the cold gas contents of the Atlas3D early-type galaxies, in the context of their optical colours, near-UV colours, and Hbeta absorption line strengths. Early-type (elliptical and lenticular) galaxies are not as gas-poor as previously thought, and at least 40% of local early-type galaxies are now known to contain molecular and/or atomic gas. This cold gas offers the opportunity to study recent galaxy evolution through the processes of cold gas acquisition, consumption (star formation), and removal. Molecular and atomic gas detection rates range from 10% to 34% in red sequence early-type galaxies, depending on how the red sequence is defined, and from 50% to 70% in blue early-type galaxies. Notably, massive red sequence early-type galaxies (stellar masses > 5e10 Msun, derived from dynamical models) are found to have HI masses up to M(HI)/Mstar ~ 0.06 and H_2 masses up to M(H$_2$)/Mstar ~ 0.01. Some 20% of all massive early-type galaxies may have retained atomic and/or molecular gas through their transition to the red sequence. However, kinematic and metallicity signatures of external gas accretion (either from satellite galaxies or the intergalactic medium) are also common, particularly at stellar masses <= 5e10 Msun, where such signatures are found in ~ 50% of H$_2$-rich early-type galaxies. Our data are thus consistent with a scenario in which fast rotator early-type galaxies are quenched former spiral galaxies which have undergone some bulge growth processes, and in addition, some of them also experience cold gas accretion which can initiate a period of modest star formation activity. We discuss implications for the interpretation of colour-magnitude diagrams.
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