We present an integral field study of the internal structure, kinematics and stellar population of the almost edge-on, intermediate luminosity ($L_ {*}$) elliptical galaxy NGC 4697. We build extended 2-dimensional (2D) maps of the stellar kinematics
and line-strengths of the galaxy up to $sim 0.7 $ effective radii (R$_{eff}$) using a mosaic of 8 VIMOS (VIsible Multi-Objects Spectrograph on the VLT) integral-field unit pointings. We find clear evidence for a rotation-supported structure along the major axis from the 2D kinematical maps, confirming the previous classification of this system as a `fast-rotator. We study the correlations between the third and fourth Gauss-Hermite moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) $h_3$ and $h_4$ with the rotation parameter ($V/sigma$), and compare our findings to hydrodynamical simulations. We find remarkable similarities to predictions from gas-rich mergers. Based on photometry, we perform a bulge/disk decomposition and study the stellar population properties of the two components. The bulge and the disk show different stellar populations, with the stars in the bulge being older (age$_{rm bulge}=13.5^{+1.4}_{-1.4}$ Gyr, age$_{rm disk}=10.5^{+1.6}_{-2.0}$Gyr) and more metal-poor ($mathrm{[M/H]_{bulge}} = -0.17^{+0.12}_{-0.1}$, $mathrm{[M/H]_{disk}}=-0.03^{+0.02}_{-0.1}$). The evidence of a later-formed, more metal-rich disk embedded in an older, more metal-poor bulge, together with the LOSVD structure, supports a mass assembly scenario dominated by gas-rich minor mergers and possibly with a late gas-rich major merger that left a previously rapidly rotating system unchanged. The bulge and the disk do not show signs of different stellar Initial Mass Function slopes, and both match well with a Milky Way-like IMF.
Context. The prototype of Polar Ring Galaxies NGC 4650A contains two main structural components, a central spheroid, which is the host galaxy, and an extended polar disk. Both photometric and kinematic studies revealed that these two components co-ex
ist on two different planes within the central regions of the galaxy. Aims. The aim of this work is to study the spectroscopic and kinematic properties of the host galaxy and the polar disk in the central regions of NGC 4650A by disentangling their contributions to the observed galaxy spectrum. Methods. We applied the spectral decomposition technique introduced in previous works to long-slit spectroscopic observations in the CaII triplet region. We focused the analysis along the PA = 152 that corresponds to the photometric minor axis of the host galaxy, where the superimposition of the two components is more relevant and the spectral decomposition is necessary. We aim to disentangle the stars that move in the equatorial plane of the host galaxy from those that move in the meridan plane, which is along the polar disk. Results. We successfully disentangled the spectra of the two structural components of NGC 4650A and measured their line-of-sight velocity and velocity dispersion profiles, and the stellar content along PA = 152. The host galaxy shows significant rotation along its photometric minor axis, indicating that the gravitational potential is not axisymmetric. The polar disk shows a kinematic decoupling: the inner regions counter-rotating with respect the outer-regions and the host spheroid. This suggests a complex formation history for the polar disk, characterised by mass accretion with decoupled angular momenta.
We present a spectral decomposition technique and its applications to a sample of galaxies hosting large-scale counter-rotating stellar disks. Our spectral decomposition technique allows to separate and measure the kinematics and the properties of th
e stellar populations of both the two counter-rotating disks in the observed galaxies at the same time. Our results provide new insights on the epoch and mechanism of formation of these galaxies.
The stellar kinematics of the spheroids and discs of S0 galaxies contain clues to their formation histories. Unfortunately, it is difficult to disentangle the two components and to recover their stellar kinematics in the faint outer parts of the gala
xies using conventional absorption line spectroscopy. This paper therefore presents the stellar kinematics of six S0 galaxies derived from observations of planetary nebulae (PNe), obtained using the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph. To separate the kinematics of the two components, we use a maximum-likelihood method that combines the discrete kinematic data with a photometric component decomposition. The results of this analysis reveal that: the discs of S0 galaxies are rotationally supported; however, the amount of random motion in these discs is systematically higher than in comparable spiral galaxies; and the S0s lie around one magnitude below the Tully--Fisher relation for spiral galaxies, while their spheroids lie nearly one magnitude above the Faber--Jackson relation for ellipticals. All of these findings are consistent with a scenario in which spirals are converted into S0s through a process of mild harassment or pestering, with their discs somewhat heated and their spheroid somewhat enhanced by the conversion process. In such a scenario, one might expect the properties of S0s to depend on environment. We do not see such an effect in this fairly small sample, although any differences would be diluted by the fact that the current location does not necessarily reflect the environment in which the transformation occurred. Similar observations of larger samples probing a broader range of environments, coupled with more detailed modelling of the transformation process to match the wide range of parameters that we have shown can now be measured, should take us from these first steps to the definitive answer as to how S0 galaxies form.
The origins of S0 galaxies remain obscure, with various mechanisms proposed for their formation, likely depending on environment. These mechanisms would imprint different signatures in the galaxies stellar kinematics out to large radii, offering a me
thod for distinguishing between them. We aim to study a sample of six S0 galaxies from a range of environments, and use planetary nebulae (PNe) as tracers of their stellar populations out to very large radii, to determine their kinematics in order to understand their origins. Using a special-purpose instrument, the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph, we observe and extract PNe catalogues for these six systems*. We show that the PNe have the same spatial distribution as the starlight, that the numbers of them are consistent with what would be expected in a comparable old stellar population in elliptical galaxies, and that their kinematics join smoothly onto those derived at smaller radii from conventional spectroscopy. The high-quality kinematic observations presented here form an excellent set for studying the detailed kinematics of S0 galaxies, in order to unravel their formation histories. We find that PNe are good tracers of stellar kinematics in these systems. We show that the recovered kinematics are largely dominated by rotational motion, although with significant random velocities in most cases.
We present the results of integral-field spectroscopic observations of the two disk galaxies NGC 3593 and NGC 4550 obtained with VIMOS/VLT. Both galaxies are known to host 2 counter-rotating stellar disks, with the ionized gas co-rotating with one of
them. We measured in each galaxy the ionized gas kinematics and metallicity, and the surface brightness, kinematics, mass surface density, and the stellar populations of the 2 stellar components to constrain the formation scenario of these peculiar galaxies. We applied a novel spectroscopic decomposition technique to both galaxies, to separate the relative contribution of the 2 counter-rotating stellar and one ionized-gas components to the observed spectrum. We measured the kinematics and the line strengths of the Lick indices of the 2 counter-rotating stellar components. We modeled the data of each stellar component with single stellar population models that account for the alpha/Fe overabundance. In both galaxies we successfully separated the main from the secondary stellar component that is less massive and rotates in the same direction of the ionized-gas component. The 2 stellar components have exponential surface-brightness profiles. In both galaxies, the two counter-rotating stellar components have different stellar populations: the secondary stellar disk is younger, more metal poor, and more alpha-enhanced than the main galaxy stellar disk. Our findings rule out an internal origin of the secondary stellar component and favor a scenario where it formed from gas accreted on retrograde orbits from the environment fueling an in situ outside-in rapid star formation. The event occurred ~ 2 Gyr ago in NGC 3593, and ~ 7 Gyr ago in NGC 4550. The binary galaxy merger scenario cannot be ruled out, and a larger sample is required to statistically determine which is the most efficient mechanism to build counter-rotating stellar disks (abridged).
We have compared the halo kinematics traced by globular clusters (GCs) and planetary nebulae (PNe) for two elliptical galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo clusters NGC 1399 and NGC 4649, and for the merger remnant NGC 5128 (Centaurus A). We find differen
ces in the rotational properties of the PN, red GC, and blue GC systems in all these three galaxies. NGC 1399 PNe and GCs show line of sight velocity distributions in specific regions that are significantly different, based on Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. The PN system shows multi-spin components, with nearly opposite direction of rotation in the inner and the outer parts. The GCs velocity field is not point-symmetric in the outer regions of the galaxy, indicating that the system has not reached dynamical equilibrium yet. In NGC 4649 PNe, red and blue GCs have different rotation axes and rotational velocities. Finally, in NGC 5128 both PNe and GCs deviate from equilibrium in the outer regions of the galaxy, and in the inner regions the PN system is rotationally supported, whereas the GC system is dominated by velocity dispersion. The observed different kinematic properties, including deviations from point-symmetry, between PNe and GCs suggest that these systems are accreted at different times by the host galaxy, and the most recent accretion took place only few Gyr ago.We discuss two scenarios which may explain some of these differences: i) tidal stripping of loosely-bound GCs, and ii) multiple accretion of low luminosity and dwarf galaxies. Because these two mechanisms affect mostly the GC system, differences with the PNe kinematics can be expected.
Context. We investigate the stellar population and the origin of diffuse light around brightest cluster galaxies. Aims. We study the stellar population of the dynamically hot stellar halo of NGC 3311, the brightest galaxy in the Hydra I cluster, an
d that of photometric substructures in the diffuse light to constrain the origin of these components. Methods. We analyze absorption lines in medium-resolution, long-slit spectra in the wavelength range 4800-5800 angstrom obtained with FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope. We measure the equivalent width of Lick indices out to 20 kpc from the center of NGC 3311 and fit them with stellar population models that account for the [alpha/Fe] overabundance. Results. Stars in the dynamically hot halo of NGC 3311 are old (age > 13 Gyr), metal-poor ([Z/H] ~ -0.35), and alpha-enhanced ([alpha/Fe] ~ 0.48). Together with the high velocity dispersion, these measurements indicate that the stars in the halo were accreted from the outskirts of other early-type galaxies, with a possible contribution from dwarf galaxies. We identify a region in the halo of NGC 3311 associated with a photometric substructure where the stellar population is even more metal-poor ([Z/H] ~ -0.73). In this region, our measurements are consistent with a composite stellar population superposed along the line of sight, consisting of stars from the dynamically hot halo of NGC 3311 and stars stripped from dwarf galaxies. The latter component contributes < 28% to the local surface brightness. Conclusions. The build-up of diffuse light around NGC 3311 is on-going. Based on the observed stellar population properties, the dominant part of these stars may have come from the outskirts of bright early-type galaxies, while stars from stripped dwarf galaxies are presently being added.
We present new planetary nebulae (PNe) positions, radial velocities, and magnitudes for 6 early-type galaxies obtained with the Planetary Nebulae Spectrograph, their two-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion fields. We extend this study to inc
lude an additional 10 early-type galaxies with PNe radial velocity measurements available from the literature, to obtain a broader description of the outer-halo kinematics in early-type galaxies. These data extend the information derived from stellar kinematics to typically up to ~8 Re. The combination of photometry, stellar and PNe kinematics shows: i) good agreement between the PNe number density and the stellar surface brightness in the region where the two data sets overlap; ii) good agreement between PNe and stellar kinematics; iii) that the mean rms velocity profiles fall into two groups: with of the galaxies characterized by slowly decreasing profiles and the remainder having steeply falling profiles; iv) a larger variety of velocity dispersion profiles; v) that twists and misalignments in the velocity fields are more frequent at large radii, including some fast rotators; vi) that outer haloes are characterised by more complex radial profiles of the specific angular momentum-related lambda_R parameter than observed within 1Re; vii) that many objects are more rotationally dominated at large radii than in their central parts; and viii) that the halo kinematics are correlated with other galaxy properties, such as total luminosity, isophotal shape, total stellar mass, V/sigma, and alpha parameter, with a clear separation between fast and slow rotators.
We present first results of a study of the halo kinematics for a sample of early type galaxies using planetary nebulae (PNe) as kinematical tracers. PNe allow to extend up to several effective radii (Re) the information from absorption line kinematic
s (confined to within 1 or 2 Re), providing valuable information and constraints for merger simulations and galaxy formation models. We find that the specific angular momentum per unit mass has a more complex radial dependence when the halo region is taken into account and that the halo velocity dispersion is related to the total galaxy luminosity, isophotal shape, and number of PNe per unit of luminosity
