The stellar content of brightest cluster galaxies

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.     

Velocity dispersion measurements of dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster – implications for the structure of the fundamental plane

We present intermediate-resolution spectroscopic data for a set of dwarf and giant galaxies in the Coma cluster, with  −20.6 < M_R < −15.7.  The photometric and kinematic properties of the brighter galaxies can be cast in terms of parameters which present little scatter with respect to a set of scaling relations known as the fundamental plane. To determine the form of these fundamental scaling relations at lower luminosities, we have measured velocity dispersions for a sample comprising 69 galaxies on the border of the dwarf and giant regime. Combining these data with our photometric survey, we find a tight correlation of luminosity and velocity dispersion,   L ∝σ^2.0  , substantially flatter than the Faber–Jackson relation characterizing giant elliptical galaxies. In addition, the variation of mass-to-light ( M / L ) ratio with velocity dispersion is quite weak in our dwarf sample:   M / L ∝σ^0.2.  Our overall results are consistent with theoretical models invoking large-scale mass removal and subsequent structural readjustment, e.g. as a result of galactic winds.     

Feedback and late star formation in elliptical galaxies

We present a one-zone model of star formation in elliptical galaxies that includes thermal feedback from supernovae and a temperature dependent star formation efficiency. The modulation of feedback with the total mass results in the triggering of late episodes of star formation in low-mass galaxies. These small `bursts' can occur as late as at redshifts z ∼ 0.5 but they do not change significantly the optical and NIR color-magnitude relation (CMR) of cluster galaxies, both locally and out to moderate redshifts, in agreement with the observations. However, they introduce a large scatter at the faint end of the NUV-Optical CMR, as recently found in cluster Abell 851 (z = 0.41). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Recent star-forming activity in local elliptical galaxies

The formation and evolution of elliptical galaxies (EGs) are still an open question. In particular, recent observations suggest that EGs are not only simple spheroidal systems of old stars. In this paper, we analyse a sample of EGs selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in order to study the star-forming activity in local EGs. Among these 487 ellipticals, we find that 13 EGs show unambiguous evidence of recent star formation activity betrayed by conspicuous nebular emission lines. Using the evolutionary stellar population synthesis models and Lick absorption line indices, we derive stellar ages, metallicities and α-element abundances, and thus reconstruct the star formation and chemical evolution history of the star-forming elliptical galaxies (SFEGs) in our sample.
We find that SFEGs have relative younger stellar population age, higher metallicity and lower stellar mass, and that their star formation history can be well described by a recent minor and short starburst superimposed on old stellar component. We also detect 11 E+A galaxies whose stellar population properties are closer to those of quiescent (normal) ellipticals than to star-forming ones. However, from the analysis of their absorption line indices, we note that our E+A galaxies show a significant fraction of intermediate-age stellar populations, remarkably different from the quiescent galaxies. This might suggest an evolutionary link between E+As and star-forming ellipticals. Finally, we confirm the relations between age, metallicity, α-element abundance and stellar mass for local EGs.     

Stellar populations in the centres of brightest cluster galaxies

This paper is part of a series devoted to the study of the stellar populations in brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), aimed at setting constraints on the formation and evolution of these objects. We have obtained high signal-to-noise ratio, long-slit spectra of 49 BCGs in the nearby Universe. Here, we derive single stellar population (SSP)-equivalent ages, metallicities and α-abundance ratios in the centres of the galaxies using the Lick system of absorption line indices. We systematically compare the indices and derived parameters for the BCGs with those of large samples of ordinary elliptical galaxies in the same mass range. We find no significant differences between the index-velocity dispersion relations of the BCG data and those of normal ellipticals, but we do find subtle differences between the derived SSP parameters. The BCGs show, on average, higher metallicity ([ Z /H]) and α-abundance ([E/Fe]) values. We analyse possible correlations between the derived parameters and the internal properties of the galaxies (velocity dispersion, rotation, luminosity) and those of the host clusters (density, mass, distance from BCG to X-ray peak, presence of cooling flows), with the aim of dissentangling if the BCG properties are more influenced by their internal or host cluster properties. The SSP parameters show very little dependence on the mass or luminosity of the galaxies, or the mass or density of the host clusters. Of this sample, 26 per cent show luminosity-weighted ages younger than 6 Gyr, probably a consequence of recent – if small – episodes of star formation. In agreement with previous studies, the BCGs with intermediate ages tend to be found in cooling-flow clusters with large X-ray excess.     

How special are brightest group and cluster galaxies?

We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to construct a sample of 625 brightest group and cluster galaxies (BCGs) together with control samples of non-BCGs matched in stellar mass, redshift and colour. We investigate how the systematic properties of BCGs depend on stellar mass and on their privileged location near the cluster centre. The groups and clusters that we study are drawn from the C4 catalogue of Miller et al. but we have developed improved algorithms for identifying the BCG and for measuring the cluster velocity dispersion. Since the SDSS photometric pipeline tends to underestimate the luminosities of large galaxies in dense environments, we have developed a correction for this effect which can be readily applied to the published catalogue data. We find that BCGs are larger and have higher velocity dispersions than non-BCGs of the same stellar mass, which implies that BCGs contain a larger fraction of dark matter. In contrast to non-BCGs, the dynamical mass-to-light ratio of BCGs does not vary as a function of galaxy luminosity. Hence BCGs lie on a different Fundamental Plane than ordinary elliptical galaxies. BCGs also follow a steeper Faber–Jackson relation than non-BCGs, as suggested by models in which BCGs assemble via dissipationless mergers along preferentially radial orbits. We find tentative evidence that this steepening is stronger in more massive clusters. BCGs have similar mean stellar ages and metallicities to non-BCGs of the same mass, but they have somewhat higher α/Fe ratios, indicating that star formation may have occurred over a shorter time-scale in the BCGs. Finally, we find that BCGs are more likely to host radio-loud active galactic nuclei than other galaxies of the same mass, but are less likely to host an optical active galactic nucleus (AGN). The differences we find are more pronounced for the less massive BCGs, i.e. they are stronger at the galaxy group level.     

Kinematic properties and stellar populations of faint early-type galaxies – I. Velocity dispersion measurements of central Coma galaxies

We present velocity dispersion measurements for 69 faint early-type galaxies in the core of the Coma cluster, spanning  −22.0 ≲ M_R ≲−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 ∝σ^2.01±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.     

The poor cluster of galaxies S639

We have studied the poor southern cluster of galaxies S639. Based on new Strömgren photometry of stars in the direction of the cluster, we confirm that the Galactic extinction affecting the cluster is large. We find the extinction in Johnson B to be A_B =0.75±0.03. We have obtained new photometry in Gunn r for E and S0 galaxies in the cluster. If the Fundamental Plane is used for determination of the relative distance and the peculiar velocity of the cluster, we find a distance, in velocity units, of (5706±350) km s⁻¹, and a substantial peculiar velocity, (839±350) km s⁻¹. However, the colours and the absorption line indices of the E and S0 galaxies indicate that the stellar populations in these galaxies are different from those in similar galaxies in the two rich clusters Coma and Hydra I. This difference may severely affect the distance determination and the derived peculiar velocity. The data are consistent with a non-significant peculiar velocity for S639 and the galaxies in the cluster being on average 0.2 dex younger than similar galaxies in Coma and Hydra I. The results for S639 caution that some large peculiar velocities may be spurious and caused by unusual stellar populations.     

The colour–magnitude relation for galaxies in the Coma cluster

We present a new photometric catalogue of the Coma galaxy cluster in the Johnson U and V bands. We cover an area of 3360 arcmin² of sky, to a depth of     in a 13-arcsec diameter aperture, and produce magnitudes for ∼1400 extended objects in metric apertures from 8.8- to 26-arcsec diameters. The mean internal rms scatter in the photometry is 0.014 mag in V , and 0.026 mag in U , for     .
We place new limits on the levels of scatter in the colour–magnitude relation (CMR) in the Coma cluster, and investigate how the slope and scatter of the CMR depend on galaxy morphology, luminosity and position within the cluster. As expected, the lowest levels of scatter are found in the elliptical galaxies, while the late-type galaxies have the highest numbers of galaxies bluewards of the CMR. We investigate whether the slope of the CMR is an artefact of colour gradients within galaxies, and show that it persists when the colours are measured within a diameter that scales with galaxy size. Looking at the environmental dependence of the CMR, we find a trend of systematically bluer galaxy colours with increasing projected radius from the centre of the cluster. Surprisingly, this is accompanied by a decreased scatter of the CMR. We investigate whether this gradient could be caused by dust in the cluster potential, however the reddening required would produce too large a scatter in the colours of the central galaxies. The gradient appears to be better reproduced by a gradient in the mean galactic ages with projected radius.     

Constraints on the merger models of elliptical galaxies from their globular cluster systems

The discovery of protoglobular cluster candidates in many present-day mergers allows us to understand better the possible effects of a merger event on the globular cluster system of a galaxy, and to foresee the properties of the end-product. By comparing these expectations with the properties of globular cluster systems of elliptical galaxies at the present time we can constrain merger models. The observational data indicate that (i) every gaseous merger induces the formation of new star clusters, and (ii) the number of new clusters formed in such a merger increases with the gas content of the progenitor galaxies. Low-luminosity (about M _V  > −21), discy ellipticals are generally thought to be the result of a gaseous merger. As such, new globular clusters are expected to form but have not been detected to date. We investigate various reasons for the non-detection of subpopulations in low-luminosity ellipticals, i.e. absence of an old population, absence of a new population, destruction of one of the populations and, finally, an age–metallicity conspiracy that allows old and new globular clusters to appear indistinguishable at the present epoch. All of these possibilities lead us to a similar conclusion, namely that low-luminosity ellipticals did not form recently ( z  < 1) in a gas-rich merger, and might not have formed in a major merger of stellar systems at all. High-luminosity ellipticals do reveal globular cluster subpopulations. However, it is difficult to account for the two populations in terms of mergers alone and, in particular, we can rule out scenarios in which the second subpopulation is the product of a recent, gas-poor merger.     

Regularized orbit models unveiling the stellar structure and dark matter halo of the Coma elliptical NGC 4807

This is the second in a series of papers dedicated to unveiling the mass structure and orbital content of a sample of flattened early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster. The ability of our orbit libraries to reconstruct internal stellar motions and the mass composition of a typical elliptical in the sample is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations of isotropic rotator models. The simulations allow a determination of the optimal amount of regularization needed in the orbit superpositions. It is shown that under realistic observational conditions and with the appropriate regularization, internal velocity moments can be reconstructed to an accuracy of ≈15 per cent; the same accuracy can be achieved for the circular velocity and dark matter fraction. In contrast, the flattening of the halo remains unconstrained. Regularized orbit superpositions are applied to a first galaxy in our sample, NGC 4807, for which stellar kinematical observations extend to  3  r _eff  . The galaxy seems dark-matter dominated outside   r > 2  r _eff  . Logarithmic dark matter potentials are consistent with the data, as well as NFW profiles, mimicking logarithmic potentials over the observationally sampled radial range. In both cases, the derived stellar mass-to-light ratio ϒ agrees well with independently obtained mass-to-light ratios from stellar population analysis. The achieved accuracy is  Δϒ≈ 0.5  . Kinematically, NGC 4807 is characterized by mild radial anisotropy outside   r > 0.5  r _eff  , becoming isotropic towards the centre. Our orbit models hint at either a distinct stellar component or weak triaxiality in the outer parts of the galaxy.