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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The SAURON project - XIX. Optical and near-infrared scaling relations of nearby elliptical, lenticular and Sa galaxiesWe present ground-based MDM Observatory V-band and Spitzer/InfraRed Array Camera 3.6-?m-band photometric observations of the 72 representative galaxies of the SAURON survey. Galaxies in our sample probe the elliptical E, lenticular S0 and spiral Sa populations in the nearby Universe, both in field and cluster environments. We perform apertureFalcón-Barroso, J. et al.
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112011 -
The SAURON Project - XIV. No escape from Vesc: a global and local parameter in early-type galaxy evolutionWe present the results of an investigation of the local escape velocity (Vesc) - line strength index relationship for 48 early-type galaxies from the SAURON sample, the first such study based on a large sample of galaxies with both detailed integral field observations and extensive dynamical modelling. Values of Vesc are computed using multiScott, Nicholas et al.
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102009 -
The SAURON project - XIII. SAURON-GALEX study of early-type galaxies: the ultraviolet colour-magnitude relations and Fundamental PlanesWe present Galaxy Evolution Explorer far-ultraviolet (FUV) and near-ultraviolet (NUV) imaging of 34 nearby early-type galaxies from the SAURON representative sample of 48 E/S0 galaxies, all of which have ground-based optical imaging from the MDM Observatory. The surface brightness profiles of nine galaxies (~26 per cent) show regions with blue UVJeong, Hyunjin et al.
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102009 -
The Nature of Fossil Galaxy Groups: Are They Really Fossils?We use SDSS-DR4 photometric and spectroscopic data out to redshift z ~ 0.1 combined with ROSAT All Sky Survey X-ray data to produce a sample of 25 fossil groups (FGs), defined as bound systems dominated by a single, luminous elliptical galaxy with extended X-ray emission. We examine possible biases introduced by varying the parameters used toLa Barbera, F. et al.
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42009 -
The link between the star formation history and [α/Fe ]The abundance ratios between key elements such as iron and α-process elements carry a wealth of information on the star formation history (SFH) of galaxies. So far, simple chemical evolution models have linked [α/Fe ] with the SFH time-scale, correlating large abundance ratios with short-lived SFH. The incorporation of full spectral fitting to thede la Rosa, I. G. et al.
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112011 -
The Einstein Cross: Constraint on Dark Matter from Stellar Dynamics and Gravitational LensingWe present two-dimensional line-of-sight stellar kinematics of the lens galaxy in the Einstein Cross, obtained with the GEMINI 8 m telescope, using the GMOS integral-field spectrograph. The stellar kinematics extend to a radius of 4'' (with 0farcs2 spaxels), covering about two-thirds of the effective (or half-light) radius Re ~= 6'' of this earlyvan de Ven, Glenn et al.
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82010 -
Superdense Massive Galaxies in the Nearby UniverseSuperdense massive galaxies (re ~ 1 kpc; M ~ 1011 M sun) were common in the early universe (z gsim 1.5). Within some hierarchical merging scenarios, a non-negligible fraction (1%-10%) of these galaxies is expected to survive since that epoch, retaining their compactness and presenting old stellar populations in the present universe. Using the NYUTrujillo, I. et al.
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22009 -
Stellar velocity profiles and line strengths out to four effective radii in the early-type galaxies NGC3379 and 821We use the integral-field spectrograph SAURON to measure the stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution and absorption line strengths out to four effective radii (Re) in the early-type galaxies NGC 3379 and 821. With our newly developed observing technique, we can now probe these faint regions in galaxies that were previously not accessible withWeijmans, Anne-Marie et al.
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92009 -
Stellar Kinematics in Double-Barred Galaxies: The σ-HollowsWe present SAURON integral-field stellar velocity and velocity dispersion maps for four double-barred early-type galaxies: NGC 2859, NGC 3941, NGC 4725, and NGC 5850. The presence of the inner bar does not produce major changes in the line-of-sight velocity, but it appears to have an important effect in the stellar velocity dispersion maps: we findde Lorenzo-Cáceres, A. et al.
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92008 -
On the Radial Stellar Content of Early-type Galaxies as a Function of Mass and EnvironmentUsing optical-optical and optical-NIR colors, we analyze the radial dependence of age and metallicity inside massive (M sstarf >~ 1010.5 M sun), low-redshift (z 0.1), early-type galaxies (ETGs), residing in both high-density group regions and the field. On average, internal color gradients of ETGs are mainly driven by metallicity, consistent withLa Barbera, F. et al.
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102011 -
MIUSCAT: extended MILES spectral coverage - II. Constraints from optical photometryIn this work, we show a comprehensive comparison of our new stellar population synthesis (SPS) MIUSCAT models with photometric data of globular clusters (GCs) and early-type galaxies.The models compare remarkably well with the colours of Milky Way GCs in the optical range. Likewise, the colours of M31 GCs can also be explained by the models byRicciardelli, E. et al.
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72012 -
MIUSCAT: extended MILES spectral coverage - I. Stellar population synthesis modelsWe extend the spectral range of our stellar population synthesis models based on the MILES and CaT empirical stellar spectral libraries. For this purpose, we combine these two libraries with the Indo-U.S. to construct composite stellar spectra to feed our models. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) computed with these models and the originallyVazdekis, A. et al.
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72012 -
Evolutionary stellar population synthesis with MILES - I. The base models and a new line index systemWe present synthetic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for single-age, single-metallicity stellar populations (SSPs) covering the full optical spectral range at moderately high resolution [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) = 2.3Å]. These SEDs constitute our base models, as they combine scaled-solar isochrones with an empirical stellar spectralVazdekis, A. et al.
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62010 -
Dissecting the size evolution of elliptical galaxies since z˜ 1: puffing-up versus minor-merging scenariosAt a fixed stellar mass, the size of low-redshift early-type galaxies is found to be a factor of 2 larger than that of their counterparts at z˜ 1, a result with important implications for galaxy formation models. In this paper, we have explored the buildup of the local mass-size relation of elliptical galaxies using two visually classified samplesTrujillo, I. et al.
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82011 -
Dissecting Early-type Dwarf Galaxies into Their Multiple ComponentsEarly-type dwarf galaxies, once believed to be simple systems, have recently been shown to exhibit an intriguing diversity in structure and stellar content. To analyze this further, we started the SMAKCED project (Stellar content, MAss and Kinematics of Cluster Early-type Dwarfs, http://www.smakced.net) and obtained deep H-band images for 101 earlyJanz, J. et al.
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22012 -
Discovery of an Active Galactic Nucleus Driven Molecular Outflow in the Local Early-type Galaxy NGC 1266We report the discovery of a powerful molecular wind from the nucleus of the non-interacting nearby S0 field galaxy NGC 1266. The single-dish CO profile exhibits emission to ±400 km s-1 and requires a nested Gaussian fit to be properly described. Interferometric observations reveal a massive, centrally concentrated molecular component with a massAlatalo, K. et al.
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72011 -
Constraints on Feedback Processes during the Formation of Early-type GalaxiesGalaxies are found to obey scaling relations between a number of observables. These relations follow different trends at the low- and high-mass ends. The processes driving the curvature of scaling relations remain uncertain. In this Letter, we focus on the specific family of early-type galaxies, deriving the star formation histories of a completeTrevisan, M. et al.
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62012 -
An updated MILES stellar library and stellar population modelsAims: We present a number of improvements to the MILES library and stellar population models. We correct some small errors in the radial velocities of the stars, measure the spectral resolution of the library and models more accurately, and give a better absolute flux calibration of the models. Methods: We use cross-correlation techniques toFalcón-Barroso, J. et al.
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82011 -
Estimation of Galactic Model Parameters in High Latitudes with SDSSWe estimated the Galactic model parameters for a set of 36 high-latitude fields included in the currently available Data Release 5 (DR 5) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), to explore their possible variation with the Galactic longitude. The thick disc scaleheight moves from ˜550 pc at 120°Bilir, S. et al.
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02008 -
Comparison of star formation rates from Hα and infrared luminosity as seen by HerschelWe empirically MD test the relation between the SFR(LIR) derived from the infrared luminosity, LIR, and the SFR(Hα) derived from the Hα emission line luminosity using simple conversion relations. We use a sample of 474 galaxies at z = 0.06-0.46 with both Hα detection [from 20k redshift Cosmological Evolution (zCOSMOS) survey] and new far-IRDomínguez-Sánchez, H. et al.
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102012
