Bibcode
Martín-Navarro, I.; Lyubenova, M.; van de Ven, G.; Falcón-Barroso, J.; Coccato, L.; Corsini, E. M.; Gadotti, D. A.; Iodice, E.; La Barbera, F.; McDermid, R. M.; Pinna, F.; Sarzi, M.; Viaene, S.; de Zeeuw, P. T.; Zhu, L.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 626, id.A124, 12 pp.
Advertised on:
6
2019
Journal
Citations
38
Refereed citations
35
Description
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) regulates the baryonic cycle
within galaxies, and is a key ingredient for translating observations
into physical quantities. Although it was assumed to be universal for
decades, there is now growing observational evidence showing that the
center of massive early-type galaxies hosts a larger population of
low-mass stars than is expected based on observations from the Milky
Way. Moreover, these variations in the IMF have been found to be related
to radial metallicity variations in massive galaxies. We present here a
two-dimensional stellar population analysis of the massive lenticular
galaxy FCC 167 (NGC 1380) as part of the Fornax3D project. Using a newly
developed stellar population fitting scheme, we derive a full
two-dimensional IMF map of an early-type galaxy. This two-dimensional
analysis allows us go further than a radial analysis, showing how the
metallicity changes along a disk-like structure while the IMF follows a
distinct, less disky distribution. Thus, our findings indicate that
metallicity cannot be the sole driver of the observed radial IMF
variations. In addition, a comparison with the orbital decomposition
shows suggestive evidence of a coupling between stellar population
properties and the internal dynamical structure of FCC 167, where
metallicity and IMF maps seem to track the distribution of cold and warm
orbits, respectively.
Related projects
Traces of Galaxy Formation: Stellar populations, Dynamics and Morphology
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.
Ignacio
Martín Navarro