OASIS high‐resolution integral field spectroscopy of the SAURON ellipticals and lenticulars

We present a summary of high‐spatial resolution follow‐up observations of the elliptical (E) and lenticular (S0) galaxies in the SAURON survey using the OASIS integral field spectrograph. The OASIS observations explore the central 8″ × 10″ regions of these galaxies using a spatial sampling four times higher than SAURON, often revealing previously undiscovered features. Around 75% (31/48) of the SAURON E/S0s with central velocity dispersion ≳ 120 km s⁻¹ were observed with OASIS, covering well the original SAURON representative sample.We present here an overview of this follow‐up survey, and some preliminary results on individual objects, including a previously unreported counter‐rotating core in NGC4382; the decoupled stellar and gas velocity fields of NGC2768; and the strong age gradient towards the centre of NGC3489. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A SAURON look at galaxy bulges

Kinematic and population studies show that bulges are generally rotationally flattened systems similar to lowluminosity ellipticals. However, observations with state‐of‐the‐art integral field spectrographs, such as SAURON, indicate that the situation is much more complex, and allow us to investigate phenomena such as triaxiality, kinematic decoupling and population substructure, and to study their connection to current formation and evolution scenarios for bulges of early‐type galaxies. We present the examples of two S0 bulges from galaxies in our sample of nearby galaxies: one that shows all the properties expected from classical bulges (NGC5866), and another case that presents kinematic features appropriate for barred disk galaxies (NGC7332). (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Recovering the intrinsic shape of early-type galaxies

We investigate how well the intrinsic shape of early-type galaxies can be recovered when both photometric and two-dimensional stellar kinematic observations are available. We simulate these observations with galaxy models that are representative of observed oblate fast-rotator to triaxial slow-rotator early-type galaxies. By fitting realistic triaxial dynamical models to these simulated observations, we recover the intrinsic shape (and mass-to-light ratio), without making additional (ad hoc) assumptions on the orientation.
For (near) axisymmetric galaxies, the dynamical modelling can strongly exclude triaxiality, but the regular kinematics do not further tighten the constraint on the intrinsic flattening significantly, so that the inclination is nearly unconstrained above the photometric lower limit even with two-dimensional stellar kinematics. Triaxial galaxies can have additional complexity in both the observed photometry and kinematics, such as twists and (central) kinematically decoupled components, which allows the intrinsic shape to be accurately recovered. For galaxies that are very round or show no significant rotation, recovery of the shape is degenerate, unless additional constraints such as from a thin disc are available.     

The dynamics of S0 galaxies and their Tully–Fisher relation

This paper investigates the detailed dynamical properties of a relatively homogeneous sample of disc-dominated S0 galaxies, with a view to understanding their formation, evolution and structure. By using high signal-to-noise ratio long-slit spectra of edge-on systems, we have been able to reconstruct the complete line-of-sight velocity distributions of stars along the major axes of the galaxies. From these data, we have derived both model distribution functions (the phase density of their stars) and the approximate form of their gravitational potentials.
The derived distribution functions are all consistent with these galaxies being simple disc systems, with no evidence for a complex formation history. Essentially no correlation is found between the characteristic mass scalelengths and the photometric scalelengths in these galaxies, suggesting that they are dark-matter dominated even in their inner parts. Similarly, no correlation is found between the mass scalelengths and asymptotic rotation speed, implying a wide range of dark matter halo properties.
By comparing their asymptotic rotation speeds with their absolute magnitudes, we find that these S0 galaxies are systematically offset from the Tully–Fisher relation for later-type galaxies. The offset in luminosity is what one would expect if star formation had been suddenly switched off a few Gyr ago, consistent with a simple picture in which these S0s were created from ordinary later-type spirals which were stripped of their star-forming interstellar medium when they encountered a dense cluster environment.     

S0 galaxies in Fornax: data and kinematics

We have obtained long-slit spectroscopy for a sample of nine S0 galaxies in the Fornax Cluster using the FORS2 spectrograph at the 8.2-m European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). From these data, we have extracted the kinematic parameters, comprising the mean velocity, velocity dispersion and higher moment h ₃ and h ₄ coefficients, as a function of position along the major axes of these galaxies. Comparison with published kinematics indicates that earlier data are often limited by their lower signal-to-noise ratio and relatively poor spectral resolution. The greater depth and higher dispersion of the new data mean that we reach well beyond the bulges of these systems, probing their disc kinematics in some detail for the first time. Qualitative inspection of the results for individual galaxies shows that they are not entirely simple systems, perhaps indicating a turbulent past. None the less, we are able to derive reliable circular velocities for most of these systems, which points the way towards a study of their Tully–Fisher relation. This study, along with an analysis of the stellar populations of these systems out to large galactocentric distances, will form the bases of future papers exploiting these new high-quality data, hopefully shedding new light on the evolutionary history of these systems.     

Testing the nature of S0 galaxies using planetary nebula kinematics in NGC 1023

We investigate the manner in which lenticular galaxies are formed by studying their stellar kinematics: an S0 formed from a fading spiral galaxy should display similar cold outer disc kinematics to its progenitor, while an S0 formed in a minor merger should be more dominated by random motions. In a pilot study, an attempt to distinguish between these scenarios, we have measured the planetary nebula (PN) kinematics of the nearby S0 system NGC 1023. Using the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph, we have detected and measured the line-of-sight velocities of 204 candidate planetary nebulae (PNe) in the field of this galaxy. Out to intermediate radii, the system displays the kinematics of a normal rotationally supported disc system. After correction of its rotational velocities for asymmetric drift, the galaxy lies just below the spiral galaxy Tully–Fisher relation, as one would expect for a fading system. However, at larger radii the kinematics undergo a gradual but major transition to random motion with little rotation. This transition does not seem to reflect a change in the viewing geometry or the presence of a distinct halo component, since the number counts of PNe follow the same simple exponential decline as the stellar continuum with the same projected disc ellipticity out to large radii. The galaxy's small companion, NGC 1023A, does not seem to be large enough to have caused the observed modification either. This combination of properties would seem to indicate a complex evolutionary history in either the transition to form an S0 or in the past life of the spiral galaxy from which the S0 formed. More data sets of this type from both spirals and S0s are needed in order to definitively determine the relationship between these types of system.     

The shape of the dark matter halo in the early-type galaxy NGC 2974

We present H  i observations of the elliptical galaxy NGC 2974, obtained with the Very Large Array. These observations reveal that the previously detected H  i disc in this galaxy is in fact a ring. By studying the harmonic expansion of the velocity field along the ring, we constrain the elongation of the halo and find that the underlying gravitational potential is consistent with an axisymmetric shape.
We construct mass models of NGC 2974 by combining the H  i rotation curve with the central kinematics of the ionized gas, obtained with the integral-field spectrograph SAURON. We introduce a new way of correcting the observed velocities of the ionized gas for asymmetric drift, and hereby disentangle the random motions of the gas caused by gravitational interaction from those caused by turbulence. To reproduce the observed flat rotation curve of the H  i gas, we need to include a dark halo in our mass models. A pseudo-isothermal sphere provides the best model to fit our data, but we also tested an NFW halo and modified Newtonian dynamics, which fit the data marginally worse.
The mass-to-light ratio M / L _I increases in NGC 2974 from 4.3 M_⊙/L_⊙, _I at one effective radius to 8.5 M_⊙/L_{⊙, I} at 5  R _e. This increase of M / L already suggests the presence of dark matter: we find that within 5  R _e at least 55 per cent of the total mass is dark.     

Stellar velocity profiles and line strengths out to four effective radii in the early-type galaxies NGC 3379 and 821

We use the integral-field spectrograph SAURON to measure the stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution and absorption line strengths out to four effective radii ( R _e) 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 with traditional long-slit spectroscopy. We make optimal use of the large field-of-view and high throughput of the spectrograph: by adding the signal of all ∼1400 lenslets into one spectrum, we obtain sufficient signal-to-noise in a few hours of observing time to reliably measure the absorption line kinematics and line strengths out to large radius.
We find that the line strength gradients previously observed within 1 R _e remain constant out to at least 4 R _e, which puts constraints on the merger histories of these galaxies. The stellar halo populations are old and metal poor. By constructing orbit-based Schwarzschild dynamical models, we find that dark matter is necessary to explain the observed kinematics in NGC 3379 and 821, with 30–50 per cent of the total matter being dark within 4 R _e. The radial anisotropy in our best-fitting halo models is less than in our models without halo, due to differences in orbital structure. The halo also has an effect on the  Mg  b – V _esc  relation: its slope is steeper when a dark matter halo is added to the model.