Start year
2006
Organizational Unit
Organizing institutions
Grants related:
General
Description
Welcome to the Traces of Galaxy Formation research group website.
We are a large, diverse, and very active research group aiming to provide a comprehensive picture for the formation of galaxies in the Universe. Rooted in detailed stellar population analysis, we are constantly exploring and developing new tools and ideas to understand how galaxies came to be what we now observe.
A complex star formation history, as the one expected to describe galaxy evolution, needs a multidisciplinary approach to be fully understood. Our group at the IAC consists of experienced researchers in cosmological simulations, dynamical studies, stellar populations and morphological properties of galaxies up to high redshift. We combine different approaches (e.g. observations and theory, secular and cosmological evolution studies) to obtain a complete view of the dominant mechanisms driving the evolution of galaxies.
Within this general framework, we are currently exploring three main areas of research:
- Stellar population synthesis models
- Development of new stellar population synthesis models
- Stellar population analysis tools
- Universality of the stellar initial mass function (IMF)
- Cosmic evolution of galaxies
- Massive galaxy evolution
- Stellar populations in different environments
- Low surface brightness science
- Machine learning and cosmological simulations
- Evolutionary processes in nearby galaxies
- The role of black holes in the evolution of galaxies
- Surveys of nearby galaxies
- Stellar kinematics and dynamical models
If you want to get in contact or work with us, please send an email to the head of the group (Ignacio Martín-Navarro ignacio.martin [at] iac.es (ignacio[dot]martin[at]iac[dot]es)).
Members
Principal investigator
Ignacio
Martín Navarro
Project staff
Ignacio
Trujillo Cabrera
Alexandre
Vazdekis Vazdekis
Ignacio Alfonso
Ferreras Páez
Jesús
Falcón Barroso
Marc
Huertas-Portocarrero Company
Adriana de
Lorenzo-Cáceres Rodríguez
Anna
Ferré Mateu
Mireia
Montes Quiles
Regina
Sarmiento
Iveth Adaena
Gaspar Gorostieta
Eirini
Angeloudi
Giulia
Golini
Laura Elizabeth
Scholz Díaz
Pablo
Rodríguez Beltrán
Results
Here you can find some of our most recent highlights:
- Local variations of the stellar velocity ellipsoid - II. The effect of the bar in the inner regions of Auriga galaxies. Walo et al. 2022, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022MNRAS.513.4587W)
- Anisotropic satellite galaxy quenching modulated by black hole activity. Martín-Navarro et al. 2021, Nature (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Natur.594..187M)
- Evaluating hydrodynamical simulations with green valley galaxies. Angthopo et al. 2021, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021MNRAS.502.3685A)
- Sub one per cent mass fractions of young stars in red massive galaxies. Salvador-Rusiñol et al. 2020, Nature Astronomy (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020NatAs...4..252S)
- Detection of young stellar populations in apparently quenched low-mass galaxies using red spectral line indices. de Lorenzo-Cáceres et al. 2020, MNRAS (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020MNRAS.498.1002D)
Scientific activity
Related publications
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Application of the Eddington inversion method to constrain the dark matter halo of galaxies using only observed surface brightness profilesContext. The halos of low-mass galaxies may allow us to constrain the nature of dark matter (DM), but the kinematic measurements needed to diagnose the required properties are technically extremely challenging. However, the photometry of these systems is doable. Aims. Using only stellar photometry, we wanted to constrain key properties of the DMSánchez Almeida, Jorge et al.
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102024 -
Exploring the nature of dark matter with the extreme galaxy AGC 114905AGC 114905 is a dwarf gas-rich ultra-diffuse galaxy seemingly in tension with the cold dark matter (CDM) model. Specifically, the galaxy appears to have an extremely low-density halo and a high baryon fraction, while CDM predicts dwarfs to have very dense and dominant dark haloes. The alleged tension relies on the galaxy's rotation curveMancera Piña, Pavel E. et al.
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92024 -
The Stellar Distribution in Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxies Suggests Deviations from the Collisionless Cold Dark Matter ParadigmUnraveling the nature of dark matter (DM) stands as a primary objective in modern physics. Here we present evidence suggesting deviations from the collisionless cold DM (CDM) paradigm. It arises from the radial distribution of stars in six ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) galaxies measured with the Hubble Space Telescope. After a trivial renormalization inSánchez Almeida, Jorge et al.
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92024 -
LIGHTS. Survey Overview and a Search for Low Surface Brightness Satellite GalaxiesWe present an overview of the LBT Imaging of Galactic Halos and Tidal Structures survey, which currently includes 25 nearby galaxies that are on average ∼1 mag fainter than the Milky Way, and a catalog of 54 low central surface brightness (24 < μ 0,g /mag arcsec ‑2 < 28) satellite galaxy candidates, most of which were previously uncatalogued. TheZaritsky, Dennis et al.
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82024 -
Ultra-deep imaging of NGC 1052-DF2 and NGC 1052-DF4 to unravel their originsA number of scenarios have been proposed to explain the low velocity dispersion (and hence possible absence of dark matter) of the low surface brightness galaxies NGC 1052-DF2 and NGC 1052-DF4. Most of the proposed mechanisms are based on the removal of dark matter via the interaction of these galaxies with other objects. A common feature of theseGolini, Giulia et al.
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42024 -
Strong size evolution of disc galaxies since z = 1. Readdressing galaxy growth using a physically motivated size indicatorOur understanding of how the size of galaxies has evolved over cosmic time is based on the use of the half-light (effective) radius as a size indicator. Although the half-light radius has many advantages for structurally parameterising galaxies, it does not provide a measure of the global extent of the objects, but only an indication of the size ofBuitrago, Fernando et al.
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22024 -
An almost dark galaxy with the mass of the Small Magellanic CloudAlmost dark galaxies are objects that have eluded detection by traditional surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The low surface brightness of these galaxies (μ r(0) > 26 mag arcsec −2), and hence their low surface stellar mass density (a few solar masses per pc 2 or less), suggest that the energy density released by baryonicMontes, Mireia et al.
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12024 -
Smooth kinematic and metallicity gradients reveal that the Milky Way's nuclear star cluster and disc might be part of the same structureContext. The innermost regions of most galaxies are characterised by the presence of extremely dense nuclear star clusters. Nevertheless, these clusters are not the only stellar component present in galactic nuclei, where larger stellar structures known as nuclear stellar discs, have also been found. Understanding the relation between nuclear starNogueras-Lara, F. et al.
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122023 -
JWST Constraints on the UV Luminosity Density at Cosmic Dawn: Implications for 21 cm CosmologyAn unprecedented array of new observational capabilities are starting to yield key constraints on models of the epoch of first light in the Universe. In this Letter we discuss the implications of the UV radiation background at cosmic dawn inferred by recent JWST observations for radio experiments aimed at detecting the redshifted 21 cm hyperfineHassan, Sultan et al.
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112023 -
A Milky Way-like barred spiral galaxy at a redshift of 3The majority of massive disk galaxies in the local Universe show a stellar barred structure in their central regions, including our Milky Way 1,2. Bars are supposed to develop in dynamically cold stellar disks at low redshift, as the strong gas turbulence typical of disk galaxies at high redshift suppresses or delays bar formation 3,4. MoreoverCostantin, Luca et al.
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112023 -
Expanding on the fundamental metallicity relation in dwarf galaxies with MUSEThe mass-metallicity relation (MZR) represents one of the most important scaling relations in the context of galaxy evolution, comprising a positive correlation between stellar mass and metallicity (Z). The fundamental metallicity relation (FMR) introduces a new parameter into the dependence, namely, the star formation rate (SFR). While severalBulichi, Teodora-Elena et al.
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112023 -
Composite Bulges. III. A Study of Nuclear Star Clusters in Nearby Spiral GalaxiesWe present photometric and morphological analyses of nuclear star clusters (NSCs)-very dense, massive star clusters present in the central regions of most galaxies-in a sample of 33 massive disk galaxies within 20 Mpc, part of the "Composite Bulges Survey." We use data from the Hubble Space Telescope including optical (F475W and F814W) and near-IRAshok, Aishwarya et al.
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112023 -
Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS): Exploring the nature of ultra-diffuse galaxies in the Hydra-I cluster. I. Project description and preliminary resultsLooking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS) is an ESO large observing programme that aims at obtaining the first homogeneous integral-field spectroscopic survey of 30 extremely low-surface-brightness (LSB) galaxies in the Hydra I cluster of galaxies with MUSE at ESO-VLT. The majority of LSB galaxies in the sample (22 in total) are ultra-diffuseIodice, Enrichetta et al.
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112023 -
Confirmation and refutation of very luminous galaxies in the early UniverseDuring the first 500 million years of cosmic history, the first stars and galaxies formed, seeding the Universe with heavy elements and eventually reionizing the intergalactic medium 1-3. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered a surprisingly high abundance of candidates for early star-forming galaxies, with distancesArrabal Haro, Pablo et al.
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102023 -
Disc galaxies are still settling. Discovery of the smallest nuclear discs and their young stellar barsWhen galactic discs settle and become massive enough, they are able to form stellar bars. These non-axisymmetric structures induce shocks in the gas, causing it to flow to the centre where nuclear structures, such as nuclear discs and rings, are formed. Previous theoretical and observational studies have hinted at the co-evolution of bars andde Sá-Freitas, Camila et al.
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102023 -
Bridging the gap in the mass-size relation of compact galaxies with MaNGAWe present the analysis of the full Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) DR17 sample to characterize its population of compact galaxies. We focus on galaxies that fill the stellar mass (M ⋆) gap between compact elliptical galaxies (cEs; 8 ≲ log (M ⋆/M ⊙) ≲ 10) and compact massive galaxies (CMGs; 10 ≲ log (M ⋆/M ⊙)). We study their stellarGrèbol-Tomàs, P. et al.
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122023 -
The star formation histories of quiescent ultra-diffuse galaxies and their dependence on environment and globular cluster richnessWe derive the stellar population parameters of 11 quiescent ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) from Keck/KCWI data. We supplement these with 14 literature UDGs, creating the largest spectroscopic sample of UDGs to date (25). We find a strong relationship between their α-enhancement and their star formation histories: UDGs that formed on very short timeFerré-Mateu, Anna et al.
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122023 -
Initial mass function variability from the integrated light of diverse stellar systemsWe present a uniform analysis of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) from integrated light spectroscopy of 15 compact stellar systems (11 globular clusters in M31 and 4 ultra compact dwarfs in the Virgo cluster, UCDs) and two brightest Coma cluster galaxies (BCGs), covering a wide range of metallicities (-1.7 < [Fe/H] < 0.01) and velocityCheng, Chloe M. et al.
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122023 -
What drives the variance of galaxy spectra?We present a study aimed at understanding the physical phenomena underlying the formation and evolution of galaxies following a data-driven analysis of spectroscopic data based on the variance in a carefully selected sample. We apply principal component analysis (PCA) independently to three subsets of continuum-subtracted optical spectraSharbaf, Zahra et al.
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112023 -
Stellar metallicity from optical and UV spectral indices: Test case for WEAVE-StePSContext. The upcoming generation of optical spectrographs on four meter-class telescopes, with their huge multiplexing capabilities, excellent spectral resolution, and unprecedented wavelength coverage, will provide high-quality spectra for thousands of galaxies. These data will allow us to examine of the stellar population properties atDitrani, F. R. et al.
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92023
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