Bryan W. Miller

The sauron project. I. the panoramic integral-field spectrograph

A new integral-field spectrograph, SAURON, is described. It is based on the TIGER principle, and uses a lenslet array. SAURON has a large field of view and high throughput, and allows simultaneous sky subtraction. Its design is optimized for studies of the stellar kinematics, gas kinematics, and line-strength distributions of nearby early-type galaxies. The instrument design and specifications are described, as well as the extensive analysis software which was developed to obtain fully calibrated spectra, and the associated kinematic and line-strength measurements. A companion paper will report on the first results obtained with SAURON on the William Herschel Telescope.

The SAURON project – II. Sample and early results

Early results are reported from the SAURON survey of the kinematics and stellar populations of a representative sample of nearby E, S0 and Sa galaxies. The survey is aimed at determining the intrinsic shape of the galaxies, their orbital structure, the mass-to-light ratio as a function of radius, the age and metallicity of the stellar populations, and the frequency of kinematically decoupled cores and nuclear black holes. The construction of the representative sample is described, and its properties are illustrated. A comparison with long-slit spectroscopic data establishes that the SAURON measurements are comparable to, or better than, the highest-quality determinations. Comparisons are presented for NGC 3384 and 4365, where stellar velocities and velocity dispersions are determined to a precision of 6 km s - 1 , and the h 3 and h 4 parameters of the line-of-sight velocity distribution to a precision of better than 0.02. Extraction of accurate gas emission-line intensities, velocities and linewidths from the data cubes is illustrated for NGC 5813. Comparisons with published line strengths for NGC 3384 and 5813 reveal uncertainties of 0.1 A on the measurements of the Hβ, Mg b and Fe5270 indices. Integral-field mapping uniquely connects measurements of the kinematics and stellar populations to the galaxy morphology. The maps presented here illustrate the rich stellar kinematics, gaseous kinematics, and line-strength distributions of early-type galaxies. The results include the discovery of a thin, edge-on, disc in NGC 3623, confirm the axisymmetric shape of the central region of M32, illustrate the LINER nucleus and surrounding counter-rotating star-forming ring in NGC 7742, and suggest a uniform stellar population in the decoupled core galaxy NGC 5813.

The Luminosity Function of Young Star Clusters in “the Antennae” Galaxies (NGC 4038/4039)*

The Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain high-resolution images of NGC 4038/4039 that go roughly 3 mag deeper in V than previous observations made during cycle 2. These new images allow us to measure the luminosity functions (LFs) of clusters and stars over a range of 8 mag (-14 < MV < -6). To first order, the LF is a power law, with exponent α = -2.12 ± 0.04. However, using a variety of different techniques to decouple the cluster and stellar LFs, which overlap in the range -9 MV -6, we find an apparent bend in the young cluster LF at approximately MV = -10.4. Brightward of this magnitude the LF has a power-law exponent α = -2.6 ± 0.2, while faintward the slope is α = -1.7 ± 0.2. The bend corresponds to a mass ≈ 1 × 105 M⊙, only slightly lower than the characteristic mass of globular clusters in the Milky Way (≈2 × 105 M⊙). It is currently not feasible to determine the cluster LF fainter than MV ≈ -8, where individual stars are likely to dominate. The stellar LF in the range -9 < MV < -6 is much steeper, with α = -2.9 ± 0.1, and is dominated by young red and blue supergiants. The star clusters of the Antennae appear slightly resolved, with median effective radii of 4 ± 1 pc, similar to or perhaps slightly larger than those of globular clusters in our Galaxy. However, the radial extents of some of the very young clusters (ages less than 10 Myr) are much larger than those of old globular clusters (e.g., the outer radius of knot S exceeds 450 pc). This may indicate that the tidal forces from the galaxies have not had time to remove some of the outer stars from the young clusters. A combination of the UBVI colors, Hα morphology, and Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) spectra enables us to age date the clusters in different regions of the Antennae. Star clusters around the edge of the dust overlap region appear to be the youngest, with ages 5 Myr, while clusters in the western loop appear to be 5–10 Myr old. Many star clusters in the northeastern star formation region appear to be ~100 Myr old, with an LF in V that has shifted faintward by ~1.0 mag relative to the younger (0–20 Myr) clusters that dominate over most of the rest of the galaxy. A third cluster population consists of intermediate-age clusters (~500 Myr) that probably formed during the initial encounter responsible for ejecting the tails. A handful of old globular clusters from the progenitor galaxies are also identified. Most of these lie around NGC 4039, where the lower background facilitates their detection. Age estimates derived from GHRS spectroscopy yield 3 ± 1 Myr for knot K (just south of the nucleus of NGC 4038) and 7 ± 1 Myr for knot S in the western loop, in good agreement with ages derived from the UBVI colors. Effective gas outflow velocities from knots S and K are estimated to be about 25–30 km s-1, based on the above cluster ages and the sizes of the surrounding Hα bubbles. However, the measured widths of the interstellar absorption lines suggest dispersion velocities of ~400 km s-1 along the lines of sight to knots S and K.

The Kinematics and Distribution of H I in IC 10

We present the results of an extensive study of the neutral hydrogen content of IC 10, a dwarf irregular in the Local Group that is rightly considered a starburst. The H I content of IC 10 is characterized by a regularly rotating disk embedded within an extended and complex distribution of gas. The distribution of gas within the disk is dominated by holes and shells and has been and continues to be shaped by stellar winds associated with the numerous Wolf-Rayet and O stars. The stellar winds have likely triggered secondary generations of star formation within the shells surrounding many of the holes. We have detected the kinematic signature of the previously reported young superbubble in a large H I cloud at the southeastern tip of the optical galaxy. Finally, the complex distribution and kinematics of the extended gas around IC 10 suggest that this is a galaxy that is still forming via the accretion of the surrounding gas.

Galaxy Mapping with the SAURON Integral-Field Spectrograph: The Star Formation History of NGC 4365

We report the first wide-field mapping of the kinematics and stellar populations in the E3 galaxy NGC 4365. The velocity maps extend previous long-slit work. They show two independent kinematic subsystems: the central 300 pc ? 700 pc rotates about the projected minor axis, and the main body of the galaxy, 3 kpc ? 4 kpc, rotates almost at right angles to this. The line strength maps show that the metallicity of the stellar population decreases from a central value greater than solar to one-half solar at a radius of 2 kpc. The decoupled core and main body of the galaxy have the same luminosity-weighted age, ?14 Gyr, and the same elevated magnesium-to-iron ratio. The two kinematically distinct components have thus shared a common star formation history. We infer that the galaxy underwent a sequence of mergers associated with dissipative star formation that ended 12 Gyr ago. The misalignment between the photometric and kinematic axes of the main body is unambiguous evidence of triaxiality. The similarity of the stellar populations in the two components suggests that the observed kinematic structure has not changed substantially in 12 Gyr.

THE HST/ACS COMA CLUSTER SURVEY. II. DATA DESCRIPTION AND SOURCE CATALOGS ∗

The Coma cluster, Abell 1656, was the target of an HST-ACS Treasury program designed for deep imaging in the F475W and F814W passbands. Although our survey was interrupted by the ACS instrument failure in early 2007, the partially completed survey still covers ~50% of the core high-density region in Coma. Observations were performed for 25 fields that extend over a wide range of cluster-centric radii (~1.75 Mpc or 1°) with a total coverage area of 274 arcmin2. The majority of the fields are located near the core region of Coma (19/25 pointings) with six additional fields in the southwest region of the cluster. In this paper, we present reprocessed images and SEXTRACTOR source catalogs for our survey fields, including a detailed description of the methodology used for object detection and photometry, the subtraction of bright galaxies to measure faint underlying objects, and the use of simulations to assess the photometric accuracy and completeness of our catalogs. We also use simulations to perform aperture corrections for the SEXTRACTOR Kron magnitudes based only on the measured source flux and its half-light radius. We have performed photometry for ~73,000 unique objects; approximately one-half of our detections are brighter than the 10σ point-source detection limit at F814W = 25.8 mag (AB). The slight majority of objects (60%) are unresolved or only marginally resolved by ACS. We estimate that Coma members are 5%-10% of all source detections, which consist of a large population of unresolved compact sources (primarily globular clusters but also ultra-compact dwarf galaxies) and a wide variety of extended galaxies from a cD galaxy to dwarf low surface brightness galaxies. The red sequence of Coma member galaxies has a color-magnitude relation with a constant slope and dispersion over 9 mag (–21 < M F814W < –13). The initial data release for the HST-ACS Coma Treasury program was made available to the public in 2008 August. The images and catalogs described in this study relate to our second data release.

The HST/ACS Coma Cluster Survey : IV. Intergalactic Globular Clusters and the Massive Globular Cluster System at the Core of the Coma Galaxy Cluster

Intracluster stellar populations are a natural result of tidal interactions in galaxy clusters. Measuring these populations is difficult, but important for understanding the assembly of the most massive galaxies. The Coma cluster of galaxies is one of the nearest truly massive galaxy clusters and is host to a correspondingly large system of globular clusters (GCs). We use imaging from the HST/ACS Coma Cluster Survey to present the first definitive detection of a large population of intracluster GCs (IGCs) that fills the Coma cluster core and is not associated with individual galaxies. The GC surface density profile around the central massive elliptical galaxy, NGC 4874, is dominated at large radii by a population of IGCs that extend to the limit of our data (R <520 kpc). We estimate that there are 47, 000 ± 1600 (random) +4000 -5000 (systematic) IGCs out to this radius, and that they make up ~70% of the central GC system, making this the largest GC system in the nearby universe. Even including the GC systems of other cluster galaxies, the IGCs still make up ~30%-45% of the GCs in the cluster core. Observational limits from previous studies of the intracluster light (ICL) suggest that the IGC population has a high specific frequency. If the IGC population has a specific frequency similar to high-SN dwarf galaxies, then the ICL has a mean surface brightness of μ V ≈ 27 mag arcsec-2 and a total stellar mass of roughly 10^{12} {M}_⊙ within the cluster core. The ICL makes up approximately half of the stellar luminosity and one-third of the stellar mass of the central (NGC 4874+ICL) system. The color distribution of the IGC population is bimodal, with blue, metal-poor GCs outnumbering red, metal-rich GCs by a ratio of 4:1. The inner GCs associated with NGC 4874 also have a bimodal distribution in color, but with a redder metal-poor population. The fraction of red IGCs (20%), and the red color of those GCs, implies that IGCs can originate from the halos of relatively massive, L* galaxies, and not solely from the disruption of dwarf galaxies. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

The Globular Cluster Luminosity Function and Specific Frequency in Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies

The globular cluster luminosity function, specific globular cluster frequency, SN, specific globular cluster mass, TMP, and globular cluster mass fraction in dwarf elliptical galaxies are explored using the full 69 galaxy sample of the HST WFPC2 Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy Snapshot Survey. The GCLFs of the dEs are well represented with a t5 function with a peak at M(dE,HST) = -7.3 ± 0.1. This is ~0.3 mag fainter than the GCLF peaks in giant spiral and elliptical galaxies, but the results are consistent within the uncertainties. The bright-end slope of the luminosity distribution has a power-law form with slope α = -1.9 ± 0.1. The trend of increasing SN or TMP with decreasing host galaxy luminosity is confirmed. The mean value for TMP in dE,N galaxies is about a factor of 2 higher than the mean value for nonnucleated galaxies and the distributions of TMP in dE,N and dE,noN galaxies are statistically different. These data are combined with results from the literature for a wide range of galaxy types and environments. At low host galaxy masses the distribution of TMP for dE,noN and dI galaxies are similar. This supports the idea that one pathway for forming dE,noN galaxies is by the stripping of dIs. The formation of nuclei and the larger values of TMP in dE,N galaxies may be due to higher star formation rates and star cluster formation efficiencies due to interactions in galaxy cluster environments.

Gemini Spectroscopic Survey of Young Star Clusters in Merging/Interacting Galaxies. II. NGC 3256 Clusters

We present Gemini optical spectroscopy of 23 young star clusters in NGC 3256. We find that the cluster ages range from few to ~150 Myr. All these clusters are relatively massive [(2-40) × 105 M☉] and appear to be of roughly 1.5 Z☉ metallicity. The majority of the clusters in our sample follow the same rotation curve as the gas and hence were presumably formed in the molecular-gas disk. However, a western subsample of five clusters has velocities that deviate significantly from the gas rotation curve. These clusters may either belong to the second spiral galaxy of the merger or may have formed in tidal-tail gas falling back into the system. We discuss our observations in light of other known cluster populations in merging galaxies, and suggest that NGC 3256 is similar to Arp 220, and hence may become an ultraluminous infrared galaxy as the merger progresses and the star formation rate increases. Some of the clusters that appeared as isolated in our ground-based images are clearly resolved into multiple subcomponents in the HST ACS images. The same effect has been observed in the Antennae galaxies, showing that clusters are often not formed in isolation, but instead tend to form in larger groups or cluster complexes.

The Nuclear Cusp Slopes of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies

We derive the light profiles for a sample of 25 dwarf elliptical galaxies observed by us with Hubble Space Telescopes Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in F555W and F814W. These profiles are fitted with Nuker, R1/4, exponential, and Sersic laws and are also used to derive the nuclear cusp slopes γ. We discuss the correlation of nuclear cusp slope with galactic luminosity, the presence of a nucleus, and the type of light profile. The results are compared with those found in the literature for elliptical galaxies and the bulges of spiral galaxies. We find that, as a class, the nuclear regions of dwarf ellipticals are very similar to those of the exponential bulges of spiral galaxies and have nuclear cusp slopes shallower than those of bulges with the same luminosity that were well fitted by a de Vaucouleurs R1/4 profile. For the 14 nucleated galaxies in our sample, this conclusion is less certain than for the 11 nonnucleated objects, since it relies on an extrapolation of galaxy light under the nucleus. In terms of their light profiles and nuclear properties, most spheroidal stellar systems can be broadly divided into two subclasses: the exponential shallow cusp objects and the R1/4 steep cusp objects. Membership of a class does not appear to correlate with the presence of a massive stellar disk.