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The star-formation histories of early-type galaxies from ATLAS3D

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2012

Richard M. McDermid ,
Katherine Alatalo ,
Leo Blitz ,
Maxime Bois ,
Frédéric Bournaud ,
Martin Bureau ,
Michele Cappellari ,
Alison F. Crocker ,
Roger L. Davies  and
Tim A. Davis
...Show all authors
Richard M. McDermid
Affiliation:
Gemini North Observatory, Hilo HI, USA (email: rmcdermid@gemini.edu)
Katherine Alatalo
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Leo Blitz
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Maxime Bois
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France
Frédéric Bournaud
Affiliation:
Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Martin Bureau
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Michele Cappellari
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Alison F. Crocker
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
Roger L. Davies
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Tim A. Davis
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
P.T. de Zeeuw
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany Sterrewacht Leiden, the Netherlands
Pierre-Alain Duc
Affiliation:
Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Eric Emsellem
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany Observatoire de Lyon, Saint-Genis Laval, France
Sadegh Khochfar
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany
Davor Krajnović
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
Harald Kuntschner
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
Pierre-Yves Lablanche
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany Observatoire de Lyon, Saint-Genis Laval, France
Rafaella Morganti
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Dwingeloo, The Netherlands University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Thorsten Naab
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Garching, Germany
Tom Oosterloo
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Dwingeloo, The Netherlands University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Marc Sarzi
Affiliation:
University of Hertfordshire, UK
Nic Scott
Affiliation:
Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Paolo Serra
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
Anne-Marie Weijmans
Affiliation:
Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Toronto, Canada
Lisa M. Young
Affiliation:
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, USA
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Abstract

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We present an exploration of the integrated stellar populations of early-type galaxies (ETGs) from the ATLAS3D survey. We use two approaches: firstly the application of line-indices interpreted through single stellar population (SSP) models, which provide a single value of age, metallicity and abundance ratio. And secondly, by fitting a linear combination of SSP spectra to our data, smoothly weighted in the free parameters of age and metallicity, thereby inferring a star-formation history of these galaxies. Despite the significant differences in these approaches, we obtain generally consistent results, such that galaxies that are more massive appear older with enhanced abundance ratios using line indices, and have shorter star-formation histories weighted to early times. We highlight two limitations of the index-SSP approach. Firstly the SSP-equivalent ages belie the fact that ETGs are overwhelmingly composed of ancient stars. Secondly, the young stellar contributions implied in our star formation histories are required to obtain realistic UV-optical colours. We remark that, even fitting solar-abundance models, we can recover a star-formation duration that correlates with the measured alpha-enhancement, in agreement with other recent work.

Keywords

galaxies: elliptical and lenticularcD; evolution; formation; stellar content
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 7 , Symposium S284: The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies , September 2011 , pp. 244 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2012

References

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