Inma Martinez-Valpuesta

Made-to-measure models of the Galactic box/peanut bulge: stellar and total mass in the bulge region

We construct dynamical models of the Milky Ways Box/Peanut (B/P) bulge, using the recently measured 3D density of Red Clump Giants (RCGs) as well as kinematic data from the BRAVA survey. We match these data using the NMAGIC Made-to-Measure method, starting with N-body models for barred discs in different dark matter haloes. We determine the total mass in the bulge volume of the RCGs measurement (+-2.2 x +- 1.4 x +- 1.2 kpc) with unprecedented accuracy and robustness to be 1.84 +- 0.07 x10^10 Msun. The stellar mass in this volume varies between 1.25-1.6 x10^10 Msun, depending on the amount of dark matter in the bulge. We evaluate the mass-to-light and mass-to-clump ratios in the bulge and compare them to theoretical predictions from population synthesis models. We find a mass-to-light ratio in the K-band in the range 0.8-1.1. The models are consistent with a Kroupa or Chabrier IMF, but a Salpeter IMF is ruled out for stellar ages of 10 Gyr. To match predictions from the Zoccali IMF derived from the bulge stellar luminosity function requires about 40% or 0.7 x10^10 Msun dark matter in the bulge region. The BRAVA data together with the RCGs 3D density imply a low pattern speed for the Galactic B/P bulge of 25-30 km.s-1.kpc-1. This would place the Galaxy among the slow rotators (R >= 1.5). Finally, we show that the Milky Ways B/P bulge has an off-centred X structure, and that the stellar mass involved in the peanut shape accounts for at least 20% of the stellar mass of the bulge, significantly larger than previously thought.

On the Curvature of Dust Lanes in Galactic Bars

We test the theoretical prediction that the straightest dust lanes in bars are found in strongly barred galaxies, or more specifically, that the degree of curvature of the dust lanes is inversely proportional to the strength of the bar. The test uses archival images of barred galaxies for which a reliable nonaxisymmetric torque parameter (Q b) and the radius at which Q b has been measured (r(Q b)) have been published in the literature. Our results confirm the theoretical prediction but show a large spread that cannot be accounted for by measurement errors. We simulate 238 galaxies with different bar and bulge parameters in order to investigate the origin of the spread in the dust lane curvature versus Q b relation. From these simulations, we conclude that the spread is greatly reduced when describing the bar strength as a linear combination of the bar parameters Q b and the quotient of the major and minor axes of the bar, a/b. Thus, we conclude that the dust lane curvature is predominantly determined by the parameters of the bar.

A cosmological context for compact massive galaxies

To provide a quantitative cosmological context to ongoing observational work on the formation histories and location of compact massive galaxies, we locate and study a sample of exceptionally compact systems in the bolshoi simulation, using the dark matter structural parameters from a real, compact massive galaxy (NGC 1277) as a basis for our working criteria. We find that over 80% of objects in this nominal compact category are substructures of more massive groups or clusters, and that the probability of a given massive substructure being this compact increases significantly with the mass of the host structure; rising to ~ 30% for the most massive clusters in the simulation. Tracking the main progenitors of this subsample back to z = 2, we find them all to be distinct structures with scale radii and densities representative of the population as a whole at this epoch. What does characterise their histories, in addition to mostly becoming substructures, is that they have almost all experienced below-average mass accretion since z = 2; a third of them barely retaining, or even losing mass during the intervening 10 Gyr.

UNVEILING THE NATURE OF M94's (NGC4736) OUTER REGION: A PANCHROMATIC PERSPECTIVE

We have conducted a deep multiwavelength analysis (0.15-160 ?m) to study the outer region of the nearby galaxy M94. We show that the non-optical data support the idea that the outskirts of this galaxy are not formed by a closed stellar ring (as traditionally claimed in the literature) but by a spiral arm structure. In this sense, M94 is a good example of a Type III (anti-truncated) disk galaxy having a very bright outer disk. The outer disk of this galaxy contains ~23% of the total stellar mass budget of the galaxy and contributes ~10% of the new stars created showing that this region of the galaxy is active. In fact, the specific star formation rate (SFR) of the outer disk (~0.012 Gyr?1) is a factor of ~2 larger (i.e., the star formation is more efficient per unit stellar mass) than in the inner disk. We have explored different scenarios to explain the enhanced star formation in the outer disk. We find that the inner disk (if considered as an oval distortion) can dynamically create a spiral arm structure in the outer disk which triggers the observed relatively high SFR as well as an inner ring similar to what is found in this galaxy.

The fate of high-redshift massive compact galaxies

Massive high-redshift quiescent compact galaxies (nicknamed red nuggets) have been traditionally connected to present-day elliptical galaxies, often overlooking the relationships that they may have with other galaxy types. We use large bulge–disc decomposition catalogues based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to check the hypothesis that red nuggets have survived as compact cores embedded inside the haloes or discs of present-day massive galaxies. In this study, we designate a compact core as the bulge component that satisfies a prescribed compactness criterion. Photometric and dynamic mass–size and mass–density relations are used to show that, in the inner regions of galaxies at z ∼ 0.1, there are abundant compact cores matching the peculiar properties of the red nuggets, an abundance comparable to that of red nuggets at z ∼ 1.5. Furthermore, the morphology distribution of the present-day galaxies hosting compact cores is used to demonstrate that, in addition to the standard channel connecting red nuggets with elliptical galaxies, a comparable fraction of red nuggets might have ended up embedded in discs. This result generalizes the inside-out formation scenario; present-day massive galaxies can begin as dense spheroidal cores (red nuggets), around which either a spheroidal halo or a disc is formed later.

Hα kinematics of S4G spiral galaxies – II. Data description and non-circular motions

We present a kinematical study of 29 spiral galaxies included in the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies, using Ha Fabry Perot (FP) data obtained with the Galaxy Ha Fabry Perot System instrument at the William Herschel Telescope in La Palma, complemented with images in the R band and in Ha. The primary goal is to study the evolution and properties of the main structural components of galaxies through the kinematical analysis of the FP data, complemented with studies of morphology, star formation and mass distribution. In this paper we describe how the FP data have been obtained, processed and analysed. We present the resulting moment maps, rotation curves, velocity model maps and residual maps. Images are available in Errs format through the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and the Centre de Donnees Stellaires. With these data products we study the non-circular motions, in particular those found along the bars and spiral arms. The data indicate that the amplitude of the non-circular motions created by the bar does not correlate with the bar strength indicators. The amplitude of those non-circular motions in the spiral arms does not correlate with either arm class or star formation rate along the spiral arms. This implies that the presence and the magnitude of the streaming motions in the arms is a local phenomenon.

Hα kinematics of S4G spiral galaxies – III. Inner rotation curves

We present a detailed study of the shape of the innermost part of the rotation curves of a sample of 29 nearby spiral galaxies, based on high angular and spectral resolution kinematic Halpha Fabry-Perot observations. In particular, we quantify the steepness of the rotation curve by measuring its slope dRvc(0). We explore the relationship between the inner slope and several galaxy parameters, such as stellar mass, maximum rotational velocity, central surface brightness ({\mu}0), bar strength and bulge-to-total ratio. Even with our limited dynamical range, we find a trend for low-mass galaxies to exhibit shallower rotation curve inner slopes than high-mass galaxies, whereas steep inner slopes are found exclusively in high-mass galaxies. This trend may arise from the relationship between the total stellar mass and the mass of the bulge, which are correlated among them. We find a correlation between the inner slope of the rotation curve and the morphological T-type, complementary to the scaling relation between dRvc(0) and {\mu}0 previously reported in the literature. Although we find that the inner slope increases with the Fourier amplitude A2 and decreases with the bar torque Qb, this may arise from the presence of the bulge implicit in both A2 and Qb. As previously noted in the literature, the more compact the mass in the central parts of a galaxy (more concretely, the presence of a bulge), the steeper the inner slopes. We conclude that the baryonic matter dominates the dynamics in the central parts of our sample galaxies.

The BaLROG project - II. Quantifying the influence of bars on the stellar populations of nearby galaxies

We continue the exploration of the BaLROG (Bars in Low Redshift Optical Galaxies) sample: 16 large mosaics of barred galaxies observed with the integral field unit Spectrographic Areal Unit for Research on Optical Nebulae. We quantify the influence of bars on the composition of the stellar component. We derive line-strength indices of H beta, Fe5015 and Mgb. Based on single stellar population (SSP) models, we calculate ages, metallicities and [Mg/Fe] abundances and their gradients along the bar major and minor axes. The high spatial resolution of our data allows us to identify breaks among index and SSP profiles, commonly at 0.13 +/- 0.06 bar length, consistent with kinematic features. Inner gradients are about 10 times steeper than outer gradients and become larger when there is a central rotating component, implying that the gradients are not independent of dynamics and orbits. Central ages appear to be younger for stronger bars. Yet, the bar regions are usually old. We find a flattening of the iron (Fe5015) and magnesium (Mgb) outer gradients along the bar major axis, translating into a flattening of the metallicity gradient. This gradient is found to be 0.03 +/- 0.07 dex kpc(-1) along the bar major axis while the mean value of the bar minor axis compares well with that of an unbarred control sample and is significantly steeper, namely -0.20 +/- 0.04 dex kpc(-1). These results confirm recent simulations and discern the important localized influence of bars. The elevated [Mg/Fe] abundances of bars and bulges compared to the lower values of discs suggest an early formation, in particular for early-type galaxies.

On the morphology of dust lanes in galactic bars

The aim of our study is to use dynamical simulations to explore the influence of two important dynamical bar parameters, bar strength and bar pattern speed, on the shape of the bar dust lanes. To quantify the shape of the dust lanes we have developed a new systematic method to measure the dust lane curvature. Previous numerical simulations have compared the curvature of bar dust lanes with the bar strength, predicting a relation between both parameters which has been supported by observational studies but with a large spread. We take into account the bar pattern speed to explore, simultaneously, the effect of both parameters on the dust lane shape. To that end, we separate our galactic bars in fast bars

Kinematic Clues to Bar Evolution for Galaxies in the Local Universe: Why the Fastest Rotating Bars are Rotating Most Slowly

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