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1.
We present the results of a study of the morphology of the dwarf galaxy population in Abell 868, a rich, intermediate-redshift     cluster which has a galaxy luminosity function (LF) with a steep faint-end slope     . A statistical background subtraction method is employed to study the     colour distribution of the cluster galaxies. This distribution suggests that the galaxies contributing to the faint-end of the measured cluster LF can be split into three populations: dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs) with     dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) with     and contaminating background giant ellipticals (gEs) with     . The removal of the contribution of the background gEs from the counts only marginally lessens the faint-end slope     . However, the removal of the contribution of the dIrrs from the counts produces a flat LF     . The dEs and the dIrrs have similar spatial distributions within the cluster, except that the dIrrs appear to be totally absent within a central projected radius of about 0.2 Mpc     . The number densities of both dEs and dIrrs appear to fall off beyond a projected radius of ≃ 0.35 Mpc. We suggest that the dE and dIrr populations of A868 have been associated with the cluster for similar time-scales, but evolutionary processes such as 'galaxy harassment' tend to fade the dIrr galaxies while having a much smaller effect on the dE galaxies. The harassment would be expected to have the greatest effect on dwarfs residing in the central parts of the cluster.  相似文献   

2.
We present evidence for a new morphologically defined form of small-scale substructure in the Coma cluster, which we call galaxy aggregates. Aggregates are dominated by a central galaxy, which is on average 5 mag brighter than the smaller aggregate members, nearly all of which lie to one side of the central galaxy. We have found three such galaxy aggregates: two dominated by the S0 galaxies RB 55 and RB 60, and one by the starbursting SBb NGC 4858.   RB 55 and 60 are both equidistant between the two dominant D galaxies NGC 4874 and 4889, while NGC 4858 is located near the large E0 galaxy NGC 4860. All three central galaxies have redshifts consistent with Coma cluster membership. We describe the spatial structures of these unique objects, and suggest several possible mechanisms to explain their origin. These include: chance superpositions from background galaxies, interactions between other galaxies and with the cluster gravitational potential, and ram pressure. We conclude that the most probable scenario of creation is an interaction with the cluster through its gravitational potential.  相似文献   

3.
We present velocity dispersion measurements for 69 faint early-type galaxies in the core of the Coma cluster, spanning  −22.0 ≲ MR ≲−17.5 mag  . We examine the   L –σ  relation for our sample and compare it to that of bright elliptical galaxies (Es) from the literature. The distribution of the the faint early-type galaxies in the   L –σ  plane follows the relation   L ∝σ2.01±0.36  , which is significantly shallower from   L ∝σ4  as defined for the bright Es. While increased rotational support for fainter early-type galaxies could account for some of the difference in slope, we show that it cannot explain it. We also investigate the colour–σ relation for our Coma galaxies. Using the scatter in this relation, we constrain the range of galaxy ages as a function of their formation epoch for different formation scenarios. Assuming a strong coordination in the formation epoch of faint early-type systems in Coma, we find that most had to be formed at least 6 Gyr ago and over a short 1-Gyr period.  相似文献   

4.
We investigate the evolution of the star formation rate in cluster galaxies. We complement data from the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology 1 (CNOC1) cluster survey  (0.15 < z < 0.6)  with measurements from galaxy clusters in the Two-degree Field (2dF) galaxy redshift survey  (0.05 < z < 0.1)  and measurements from recently published work on higher-redshift clusters, up to almost   z = 1  . We focus our attention on galaxies in the cluster core, i.e. galaxies with   r < 0.7  h −170 Mpc  . Averaging over clusters in redshift bins, we find that the fraction of galaxies with strong [O  ii ] emission is ≲20 per cent in cluster cores, and the fraction evolves little with redshift. In contrast, field galaxies from the survey show a very strong increase over the same redshift range. It thus appears that the environment in the cores of rich clusters is hostile to star formation at all the redshifts studied. We compare this result with the evolution of the colours of galaxies in cluster cores, first reported by Butcher and Oemler. Using the same galaxies for our analysis of the [O  ii ] emission, we confirm that the fraction of blue galaxies, which are defined as galaxies 0.2 mag bluer in the rest-frame B – V than the red sequence of each cluster, increases strongly with redshift. Because the colours of galaxies retain a memory of their recent star formation history, while emission from the [O  ii ] line does not, we suggest that these two results can best be reconciled if the rate at which the clusters are being assembled is higher in the past, and the galaxies from which it is being assembled are typically bluer.  相似文献   

5.
We present GALEX near-ultraviolet ( NUV ) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey J -band photometry for red-sequence galaxies in local clusters. We define quiescent samples according to a strict emission threshold, removing galaxies with very recent star formation. We analyse the NUV – J colour–magnitude relation (CMR) and find that the intrinsic scatter is an order of magnitude larger than for the analogous optical CMR (∼0.35 rather than 0.05 mag), in agreement with previous studies. Comparing the NUV – J colours with spectroscopically derived stellar population parameters, we find a strong  (>5.5σ)  correlation with metallicity, only a marginal trend with age, and no correlation with the α/Fe ratio. We explore the origin of the large scatter and conclude that neither aperture effects nor the UV upturn phenomenon contribute significantly. We show that the scatter could be attributed to simple 'frosting' by either a young or a low-metallicity subpopulation.  相似文献   

6.
We present K -band observations of the low-luminosity galaxies in the Coma cluster, which are responsible for the steep upturn in the optical luminosity function at M R∼−16, discovered recently. The main results of this study are as follows.
(i) The optical–near-infrared colours of these galaxies imply that they are dwarf spheroidal galaxies. The median B − K colour for galaxies with −19.3< MK <−16.3 is 3.6 mag.
(ii) The K -band luminosity function in the Coma cluster is not well constrained, because of the uncertainties due to the field-to-field variance of the background. However, within the estimated large errors, this is consistent with the R -band luminosity function, shifted by ∼3 mag.
(iii) Many of the cluster dwarfs lie in a region of the B − K versus B − R colour–colour diagram where background galaxies are rare ( B − K <5; 1.2< B − R <1.6). Local dwarf spheroidal galaxies lie in this region too. This suggests that a better measurement of the K -band cluster luminosity can be made if the field-to-field variance of the background can be measured as a function of colour, even if it is large.
(iv) If we assume that none of the galaxies in the region of the B − K versus B − R plane given in (iii) in our cluster fields are background, and that all the cluster galaxies with 15.5< K <18.5 lie in this region of the plane, then we measure α=−1.41+0.34−0.37 for −19.3< MK −16.3, where α is the logarithmic slope of the luminosity function. The uncertainties in this number come from counting statistics.  相似文献   

7.
We have obtained U - and R -band observations of the depletion of background galaxies resulting from the gravitational lensing of the galaxy cluster CL0024+1654 ( z =0.39). The radial depletion curves show a significant depletion in both bands within a radius of 40–70 arcsec from the cluster centre. This is the first time that depletion is detected in the U band. This gives independent evidence for a break in the slope of the U -band luminosity function at faint magnitudes. The radially averaged R -band depletion curve is broader and deeper than in the U band. The differences can be attributed to the wavelength dependence of the slope of the luminosity function and to the different redshift distribution of the objects probed in the two bands. We estimate the Einstein radius, r E, of a singular isothermal sphere lens model using maximum-likelihood analysis. Adopting a slope of the number counts of α =0.2 and using the background density found beyond r =150 arcsec, we find r E=17±3 and 25±3 arcsec in the U and R bands, respectively. When combined with the redshift of the single background galaxy at z =1.675 seen as four giant arcs around 30 arcsec from the cluster centre, these values indicate a median redshift in the range 〈 z S〉≈0.7 to 1.1 for the U AB≥24 mag and R AB≥24 mag populations.  相似文献   

8.
We present near-infrared K -band spectroscopy of 21 elliptical or cD brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), for which we have measured the strength of the 2.293-μm CO stellar absorption feature. We find that the strength of this feature is remarkably uniform among these galaxies, with a smaller scatter in equivalent width than for the normal elliptical population in the field or clusters. The scatter for BCGs is 0.156 nm, compared with 0.240 nm for Coma cluster ellipticals, 0.337 nm for ellipticals from a variety of other clusters, and 0.422 nm for field ellipticals. We interpret this homogeneity as being the result of a greater age, or more uniform history of star formation in BCGs than in other ellipticals; only a small fraction of the scatter can be caused by metallicity variations, even in the BCGs. Notwithstanding the small scatter, correlations are found between CO strength and various galaxy properties, including R -band absolute magnitude, which could improve the precision of these galaxies as distance indicators in measurements of cosmological parameters and velocity flows.  相似文献   

9.
We determine the underlying shapes of spiral and elliptical galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 (SDSS DR6) from the observed distribution of projected galaxy shapes, taking into account the effects of dust extinction and reddening. We assume that the underlying shapes of spirals and ellipticals are well approximated by triaxial ellipsoids. The elliptical galaxy data are consistent with oblate spheroids, with a correlation between luminosity and ellipticity: the mean values of minor to middle axis ratios are 0.41 ± 0.03 for   M r ≈−18  ellipticals and 0.76 ± 0.04 for   M r ≈−22.5  ellipticals. Ellipticals show almost no dependence of axial ratio on galaxy colour, implying a negligible dust optical depth.
There is a strong variation of spiral galaxy shapes with colour indicating the presence of dust. The intrinsic shapes of spiral galaxies in the SDSS DR6 are consistent with flat discs with a mean and dispersion of thickness to diameter ratio of (21 ± 2) per cent, and a face-on ellipticity, e , of  ln( e ) =−2.33 ± 0.79  . Not including the effects of dust in the model leads to discs that are systematically rounder by up to 60 per cent. More luminous spiral galaxies tend to have thicker and rounder discs than lower luminosity spirals. Both elliptical and spiral galaxies tend to be rounder for larger galaxies.
The marginalized value of the edge-on r -band dust extinction E 0 in spiral galaxies is   E 0≃ 0.45  mag for galaxies of median colours, increasing to   E 0= 1  mag for   g − r > 0.9  and   E 0= 1.9  for the luminous and most compact galaxies, with half-light radii  <2  h −1 kpc  .  相似文献   

10.
The colour–magnitude relation (CMR) of cluster elliptical galaxies has been widely used to constrain their star formation histories (SFHs) and to discriminate between the monolithic collapse and merger paradigms of elliptical galaxy formation. We use a Λ cold dark matter hierarchical merger model of galaxy formation to investigate the existence and redshift evolution of the elliptical galaxy CMR in the merger paradigm. We show that the SFH of cluster ellipticals predicted by the model is quasi-monolithic , with only ∼10 per cent of the total stellar mass forming after   z ∼ 1  . The quasi-monolithic SFH results in a predicted CMR that agrees well with its observed counterpart in the redshift range  0 < z < 1.27  . We use our analysis to argue that the elliptical-only CMR can be used to constrain the SFHs of present-day cluster ellipticals only if we believe a priori in the monolithic collapse model. It is not a meaningful tool for constraining the SFH in the merger paradigm, since a progressively larger fraction of the progenitor set of present-day cluster ellipticals is contained in late-type star-forming systems at higher redshift, which cannot be ignored when deriving the SFHs. Hence, the elliptical-only CMR is not a useful discriminant between the two competing theories of elliptical galaxy evolution.  相似文献   

11.
We have determined a dust-free colour–magnitude (CM) relation for spiral galaxies, by using I  −  K colours in edge-on galaxies above the plane. We find that the scatter in this relation is small and approximately as large as can be explained by observational uncertainties. The slope of the near-IR CM relation is steeper for spirals than for elliptical galaxies. We suggest two possible explanations. First, the difference could be caused by vertical colour gradients in spiral galaxies. In that case these gradients should be similar for all galaxies, on average ∼0.15 dex in [Fe/H] per scaleheight, and should increase for later galaxy types. The most likely explanation, however, is that spirals and ellipticals have intrinsically different CM relations. This means that the stars in spirals are younger than those in ellipticals. The age, however, or the fraction of young stars in spiral galaxies would be determined solely by the luminosity of the galaxy, and not by its environment.  相似文献   

12.
In order to investigate the nature of dwarf low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies we have undertaken a deep B - and I -band CCD survey of a 14-deg2 strip in the Virgo Cluster and applied a Fourier convolution technique to explore its dwarf galaxy population down to a central surface brightness of ∼26 B mag arcsec−2 and a total absolute B mag of  ∼−10  . In this paper we carry out an analysis of their morphology, ( B − I ) colours and atomic hydrogen content. We compare these properties with those of dwarf galaxies in other environments to try and assess how the cluster environment has influenced their evolution. Field dwarfs are generally of a more irregular morphology, are bluer and contain relatively more gas. We assess the importance that various physical processes have on the evolution of cluster dwarf galaxies (ram-pressure stripping, tidal interactions, supernova-driven gas loss). We suggest that enhanced star formation triggered by tidal interactions is the major reason for the very different general properties of cluster dwarfs: they have undergone accelerated evolution.  相似文献   

13.
An analysis of the environments around a sample of 28 3CR radio galaxies with redshifts 0.6< z <1.8 is presented, based primarily upon K -band images down to K ∼20 taken using the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). A net overdensity of K -band galaxies is found in the fields of the radio galaxies, with the mean excess counts being comparable to that expected for clusters of Abell Class 0 richness. A sharp peak is found in the angular cross-correlation amplitude centred on the radio galaxies that, for reasonable assumptions about the luminosity function of the galaxies, corresponds to a spatial cross-correlation amplitude between those determined for low-redshift Abell Class 0 and 1 clusters.
These data are complemented by J -band images also from UKIRT, and by optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope . The fields of the lower redshift ( z ≲0.9) radio galaxies in the sample generally show well-defined near-infrared colour–magnitude relations with little scatter, indicating a significant number of galaxies at the redshift of the radio galaxy; the relations involving colours at shorter wavelengths than the 4000 Å break show considerably greater scatter, suggesting that many of the cluster galaxies have low levels of recent or on-going star formation. At higher redshifts the colour–magnitude sequences are less prominent owing to the increased field galaxy contribution at faint magnitudes, but there is a statistical excess of galaxies with the very red infrared colours ( J − K ≳1.75) expected of old cluster galaxies at these redshifts.
Although these results are appropriate for the mean of all of the radio galaxy fields, there exist large field-to-field variations in the richness of the environments. Many, but certainly not all, powerful z ∼1 radio galaxies lie in (proto)cluster environments.  相似文献   

14.
We use the C24668, Fe4383, H γ A and H δ A spectral absorption line indices, together with U - and V -band photometry of 101 galaxies in the Coma cluster, to investigate how mean age and metal abundance correlate with galaxy luminosity. In particular, we use the line index measurements to address the origin of the colour–magnitude relation (CMR). We find that the CMR in Coma is driven primarily by a luminosity–metallicity correlation. We additionally show evidence for a relation between age and luminosity, in the direction predicted by the semi-analytic hierarchical clustering models of Kauffmann & Charlot, but this is only present in the C24668 index models, and could be an effect of the lack of non-solar abundance ratios in the Worthey models used.
By comparing deviations from the CMR with deviations in absorption index from analogous 'index–magnitude' relations, we find that colour deviations bluewards of the mean relation are strongly correlated with the hydrogen Balmer line series absorption. We show that the properties of these blue galaxies are consistent with the presence of a young stellar population in the galaxies, rather than with a reduced metallicity.  相似文献   

15.
We present the results of a K -band imaging survey of 40 arcmin2 in fields around 14 radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN), comprising six radio galaxies and eight quasars, with z >1.5. The survey, which is 80 per cent complete to K <19.2 mag and complemented by R -band imaging, aimed at investigating whether extremely red objects are present in excess around high- z AGN, and to study the environment of z >1.5 radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars. At 18< K <19 mag, the differential galaxy counts in our fields suggest a systematic excess over the general field counts. At K <19.2 mag we find an excess of galaxies with R − K >6 in comparison with the general field. Consistently, we also find that the R − K colour distribution of all the galaxies in the AGN fields is significantly redder than the colour distribution of the field galaxies. On the other hand, the distribution of the R − K colours is indistinguishable from that of galaxies taken from literature fields around radio-loud quasars at 1< z <2. We discuss the main implications of our findings and we compare the possible scenarios that could explain our results.  相似文献   

16.
We use a  0.040 < z < 0.085  sample of 37 866 star-forming galaxies from the Fourth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the dependence of gas-phase chemical properties on stellar mass and environment. The local density, determined from the projected distances to the fourth and fifth nearest neighbours, is used as an environment indicator. Considering environments ranging from voids, i.e.  log Σ≲−0.8  , to the periphery of galaxy clusters, i.e.  log Σ≈ 0.8  , we find no dependence of the relationship between galaxy stellar mass and gas-phase oxygen abundance, along with its associated scatter, on local galaxy density. However, the star-forming gas in galaxies shows a marginal increase in the chemical enrichment level at a fixed stellar mass in denser environments. Compared with galaxies of similar stellar mass in low-density environments, they are enhanced by a few per cent for massive galaxies to about 20 per cent for galaxies with stellar masses  ≲109.5 M⊙  . These results imply that the evolution of star-forming galaxies is driven primarily by their intrinsic properties and is largely independent of their environment over a large range of local galaxy density.  相似文献   

17.
This paper explores if, and to what an extent, the stellar populations of early-type galaxies can be traced through the colour distribution of their globular cluster (GC) systems. The analysis, based on a galaxy sample from the Virgo Advanced Camera for Surveys data, is an extension of a previous approach that has been successful in the cases of the giant ellipticals NGC 1399 and NGC 4486, and assumes that the two dominant GC populations form along diffuse stellar populations sharing the cluster chemical abundances and spatial distributions. The results show that (a) integrated galaxy colours can be matched to within the photometric uncertainties and are consistent with a narrow range of ages; (b) the inferred mass to luminosity ratios and stellar masses are within the range of values available in the literature; (c) most GC systems occupy a thick plane in the volume space defined by the cluster formation efficiency, total stellar mass and projected surface mass density. The formation efficiency parameter of the red clusters shows a dependency with projected stellar mass density that is absent for the blue globulars. In turn, the brightest galaxies appear clearly detached from that plane as a possible consequence of major past mergers; (d) the stellar mass–metallicity relation is relatively shallow but shows a slope change at   M *≈ 1010 M⊙  . Galaxies with smaller stellar masses show predominantly unimodal GC colour distributions. This result may indicate that less massive galaxies are not able to retain chemically enriched interstellar matter.  相似文献   

18.
Near-infrared spectra for a sample of 31 elliptical galaxies in the Coma cluster are obtained. The galaxies are selected to be ellipticals (no lenticulars), with a large spatial distribution, covering both the core and outskirts of the cluster (i.e. corresponding to regions with large density contrasts). COsp (2.3-μm) absorption indices, measuring the contribution from intermediate-age red giant and supergiant stars to the near-infrared light of the ellipticals, are then estimated.
It is found that the strength of COsp features in elliptical galaxies increases from the core ( r <02) to the outskirts ( r >02) of the Coma cluster. Using the Mg2 strengths, it is shown that the observed effect is not caused by metallicity and is mostly caused by the presence of a younger population (giant and supergiant stars) in ellipticals in the outskirts (low-density region) of the cluster.
Using the COsp features, the origin of the scatter on the near-infrared Fundamental Plane (the relation between the effective diameter, effective surface brightness and velocity dispersion) of elliptical galaxies is studied. Correcting this relation for contributions from the red giant and supergiant stars, the rms scatter reduces from 0.077 to 0.073 dex. Although measurable, the contribution from these intermediate-age stars to the scatter on the near-infrared Fundamental Plane of ellipticals is only marginal.
A relation is found between the COsp and V − K colours of ellipticals, corresponding to a slope of 0.036±0.016, significantly shallower than that from the Mg2–( V − K ) relation. This is studied using stellar synthesis models.  相似文献   

19.
We have used a large sample of low-inclination spiral galaxies with radially resolved optical and near-infrared photometry to investigate trends in star formation history with radius as a function of galaxy structural parameters. A maximum-likelihood method was used to match all the available photometry of our sample to the colours predicted by stellar population synthesis models. The use of simplistic star formation histories, uncertainties in the stellar population models and considering the importance of dust all compromise the absolute ages and metallicities derived in this work; however, our conclusions are robust in a relative sense. We find that most spiral galaxies have stellar population gradients, in the sense that their inner regions are older and more metal rich than their outer regions. Our main conclusion is that the surface density of a galaxy drives its star formation history, perhaps through a local density dependence in the star formation law. The mass of a galaxy is a less important parameter; the age of a galaxy is relatively unaffected by its mass; however, the metallicity of galaxies depends on both surface density and mass. This suggests that galaxy‐mass-dependent feedback is an important process in the chemical evolution of galaxies. In addition, there is significant cosmic scatter suggesting that mass and density may not be the only parameters affecting the star formation history of a galaxy.  相似文献   

20.
We present BVI photometry of 190 galaxies in the central 4 ×3 deg2 region of the Fornax cluster observed with the Michigan Curtis Schmidt Telescope. Results from the Fornax Cluster Spectroscopic Survey (FCSS) and the Flair-II Fornax Surveys have been used to confirm the membership status of galaxies in the Fornax Cluster Catalogue (FCC). In our catalogue of 213 member galaxies, 92 (43 per cent) have confirmed radial velocities.
In this paper, we investigate the surface brightness–magnitude relation for Fornax cluster galaxies. Particular attention is given to the sample of cluster dwarfs and the newly discovered ultracompact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) from the FCSS. We examine the reliability of the surface brightness–magnitude relation as a method for determining cluster membership and find that at surface brightnesses fainter than 22 mag arcsec−2, it fails in its ability to distinguish between cluster members and barely resolved background galaxies. Cluster members exhibit a strong surface brightness–magnitude relation. Both elliptical (E) galaxies and dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies increase in surface brightness as luminosity decreases. The UCDs lie off the locus of the relation.
  B − V   and   V − I   colours are determined for a sample of 113 cluster galaxies and the colour–magnitude relation is explored for each morphological type. The UCDs lie off the locus of the colour–magnitude relation. Their mean   V − I   colours (∼1.09) are similar to those of globular clusters associated with NGC 1399. The location of the UCDs on both surface brightness and colour–magnitude plots supports the 'galaxy threshing' model for infalling nucleated dwarf elliptical (dE, N) galaxies.  相似文献   

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