We study nine S0-Sb galaxies with (photometric) bulges consisting of two distinct components. The outer component is a flattened, kinematically cool, disklike structure: a disky pseudobulge. Embedded inside is a rounder, kinematically hot spheroid: a
classical bulge. This indicates that pseudobulges and classical bulges are not mutually exclusive: some galaxies have both. The disky pseudobulges almost always have an exponential disk (scale lengths = 125-870 pc, mean $sim 440$ pc) with disk-related subcomponents: nuclear rings, bars, and/or spiral arms. They constitute 11-59% of the galaxy stellar mass (mean PB/T = 0.33), with stellar masses $sim 7 times 10^{9}$-$9 times 10^{10} M_{odot}$. Classical-bulge components have Sersic indices of 0.9-2.2, effective radii of 25-430 pc and stellar masses of $5 times 10^{8}$-$3 times 10^{10} M_{odot}$ (usually < 10% of the galaxys stellar mass; mean B/T = 0.06). The classical bulges show rotation, but are kinematically hotter than the disky pseudobulges. Dynamical modeling of three systems indicates that velocity dispersions are isotropic in the classical bulges and equatorially biased in the disky pseudobulges. In the mass--radius and mass--stellar mass density planes, classical-bulge components follow sequences defined by ellipticals and (larger) classical bulges. Disky pseudobulges also fall on this sequence; they are more compact than similar-mass large-scale disks. Although some classical bulges are quite compact, they are distinct from nuclear star clusters in both size and mass, and coexist with nuclear clusters in at least two galaxies. Since almost all the galaxies in this study are barred, they probably also host boxy/peanut-shaped bulges (vertically thickened inner parts of bars). NGC 3368 shows evidence for such a zone outside its disky pseudobulge, making it a galaxy with all three types of bulge.
Detailed imaging and spectroscopic analysis of the centers of nearby S0 and spiral galaxies shows the existence of composite bulges, where both classical bulges and disky pseudobulges coexist in the same galaxy. As part of a search for supermassive b
lack holes in nearby galaxy nuclei, we obtained VLT-SINFONI observations in adaptive-optics mode of several of these galaxies. Schwarzschild dynamical modeling enables us to disentangle the stellar orbital structure of the different central components, and to distinguish the differing contributions of kinematically hot (classical bulge) and kinematically cool (pseudobulge) components in the same galaxy.
I describe a new, open-source astronomical image-fitting program called Imfit, specialized for galaxies but potentially useful for other sources, which is fast, flexible, and highly extensible. A key characteristic of the program is an object-oriente
d design which allows new types of image components (2D surface-brightness functions) to be easily written and added to the program. Image functions provided with Imfit include the usual suspects for galaxy decompositions (Sersic, exponential, Gaussian), along with Core-Sersic and broken-exponential profiles, elliptical rings, and three components which perform line-of-sight integration through 3D luminosity-density models of disks and rings seen at arbitrary inclinations. Available minimization algorithms include Levenberg-Marquardt, Nelder-Mead simplex, and Differential Evolution, allowing trade-offs between speed and decreased sensitivity to local minima in the fit landscape. Minimization can be done using the standard chi^2 statistic (using either data or model values to estimate per-pixel Gaussian errors, or else user-supplied error images) or Poisson-based maximum-likelihood statistics; the latter approach is particularly appropriate for cases of Poisson data in the low-count regime. I show that fitting low-S/N galaxy images using chi^2 minimization and individual-pixel Gaussian uncertainties can lead to significant biases in fitted parameter values, which are avoided if a Poisson-based statistic is used; this is true even when Gaussian read noise is present.
We present an analysis of the z ~ 0 morphology-environment relation for 911 bright (M_B < -19) galaxies, matching classical RC3 morphologies to the SDSS-based group catalog of Yang et al. We study how the relative fractions of spirals, lenticulars, a
nd ellipticals depend on halo mass over a range of 10^11.7-10^14.8 h^-1 Msol. We pay particular attention to how morphology relates to central (most massive) vs satellite galaxy status. The fraction of galaxies which are elliptical is a strong function of stellar mass; it is also a strong function of halo mass, but only for central galaxies. We interpret this in a scenario where elliptical galaxies are formed, probably via mergers, as central galaxies within their halos; satellite ellipticals are previously central galaxies accreted onto larger halos. The overall fraction of S0 galaxies increases strongly with halo mass, from ~10% to ~70%. We find striking differences between the central and satellites: 20+/-2% of central M_* > 10^10.5 Msol galaxies are S0 regardless of halo mass, but satellite S0 galaxies are only found in massive (> 10^13 h^-1 Msol) halos, where they are 69+/-4% of the M_* > 10^10.5 Msol satellite population. This suggests two channels for S0 formation: one for central galaxies, and another which transforms lower mass (M_* <~ 10^11 Msol) accreted spirals into satellite S0 galaxies in massive halos. Analysis of finer morphological structure (bars and rings in disk galaxies) shows some trends with stellar mass, but none with halo mass; this is consistent with other recent studies which indicate that bars are not strongly influenced by galaxy environment. Radio sources in high-mass central galaxies are common, similarly so for elliptical and S0 galaxies, with a frequency that increases with halo mass. Emission-line AGN (mostly LINERs) are more common in S0s, but show no strong environmental trends (abridged).
Studies have suggested that there is a strong correlation between the masses of nuclear star clusters (NSCs) and their host galaxies, a correlation which said to be an extension of the well-known correlations between supermassive black holes (SMBHs)
and their host galaxies. But careful analysis of disk galaxies -- including 2D bulge/disk/bar decompositions -- shows that while SMBHs correlate with the stellar mass of the bulge component of galaxies, the masses of NSCs correlate much better with the total galaxy stellar mass. In addition, the mass ratio M_nsc/M_star,tot for NSCs in spirals (at least those with Hubble types Sc and later) is typically an order of magnitude smaller than the mass ratio M_bh/M_star, bulge of SMBHs. The absence of a universal central massive object correlation argues against common formation and growth mechanisms for both SMBHs and NSCs. We also discuss evidence for a break in the NSC-host galaxy correlation: galaxies with Hubble types earlier than Sbc appear to host systematically more massive NSCs than do types Sc and later.
We present a study of 66 barred, early-type (S0-Sb) disk galaxies, focused on the disk surface brightness profile outside the bar region and the nature of Freeman Type I and II profiles, their origins, and their possible relation to disk truncations.
This paper discusses the data and their reduction, outlines our classification system, and presents $R$-band profiles and classifications for all galaxies in the sample. The profiles are derived from a variety of different sources, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 5). For about half of the galaxies, we have profiles derived from more than one telescope; this allows us to check the stability and repeatability of our profile extraction and classification. The vast majority of the profiles are reliable down to levels of mu_R ~ 27 mag arcsec^-2; in exceptional cases, we can trace profiles down to mu_R > 28. We can typically follow disk profiles out to at least 1.5 times the traditional optical radius R_25; for some galaxies, we find light extending to ~ 3 R_25. We classify the profiles into three main groups: Type I (single-exponential), Type II (down-bending), and Type III (up-bending). The frequencies of these types are approximately 27%, 42%, and 24%, respectively, plus another 6% which are combinations of Types II and III. We further classify Type II profiles by where the break falls in relation to the bar length, and in terms of the postulated mechanisms for breaks at large radii (classical trunction of star formation versus the influence of the Outer Lindblad Resonance of the bar). We also classify the Type III profiles by the probable morphology of the outer light (disk or spheroid). Illustrations are given for all cases. (Abridged)
Surface-brightness profiles for early-type (S0-Sb) disks exhibit three main classes (Type I, II, and III). Type II profiles are more common in barred galaxies, and most of the time appear to be related to the bars Outer Lindblad Resonance. Roughly ha
lf of barred galaxies in the field have Type II profiles, but almost none in the Virgo Cluster do; this might be related to ram-pressure stripping in clusters. A strong textit{anti}correlation is found between Type III profiles (antitruncations) and bars: Type III profiles are most common when there is no bar, and least common when there is a strong bar.
