• Title/Summary/Keyword: elliptical galaxy

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A Survey of Globular Cluster Systems of Massive Compact Elliptical Galaxies in the Local Universe

  • Kang, Jisu;Lee, Myung Gyoon
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.45 no.1
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    • pp.32.2-32.2
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    • 2020
  • Massive Compact Elliptical Galaxies (MCEGs) found in the local universe are as massive as normal galaxies but extremely compact (M∗ > 1011 Msun, Reff < 1.5 kpc). They are considered to be the relics of red nugget galaxies found at high redshift. They are not likely to have undergone many mergers, keeping their original mass and size. Moreover, it is expected that they host a dominant population of red (metal-rich) globular clusters rather than blue (metal-poor) ones. Indeed, Beasley et al. (2018) found that the color distribution of the cluster system of NGC 1277 is unimodal, showing only a red population. However, NGC 1277 is the only case whose cluster system was studied among MCEGs. In this study, we investigate globular cluster systems of 14 nearby MCEGs with a homogeneous data set of HST/WFC3 F814W/F160W archive images. We detect tens to hundreds of globular clusters in each galaxy and examine their color distributions. Surprisingly, the fractions of red globular clusters are similar to those of normal galaxies, and are much lower than that of NGC 1277. We additionally obtain Gemini/GMOS-N g'r'i' images of PGC 70520, one of the 14 nearby MCEGs, to detect more globular clusters from deeper and wider images. We will discuss the results from the Gemini data combined with the results from the HST data in relation with the formation of MCEGs.

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Constraints on Cosmological Models from the Large-Scale Velocity Field

  • Doh, Jean-Gyung;Park, Changbom-;Chun, Mun-Suk
    • Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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    • 1993.04a
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    • pp.16-16
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    • 1993
  • The Cosmic Mach number M is the ratio of the bulk flow velocity of the galaxrvelocity field on some scale R to the unall scale velocity dispersion within refcions of scale R. Because M is the ratio of two velocities, it is inn-dimansionat and the Here, independent of the amplitude of the power specHim and of the biasplnmeter in the linear theory. We have measured the Mach rnlmber for two observational samples: a spiral galaxy sample(AHM) of Aaronson and hiscoBlaborators with absolute distances measured by the infrared Ttillr-Fisher relatioa and an elliptical galaxy sample(EGALS) of Faber or 0, with distances determined by the relation. The effective depths distances of galaxies from the Local Group of these samples are 1639 km/s and 2862 e/s, respectivelr. The Machnumbers from these observed peculiar velocity Selds He fund as M=0.95 for AHMand M=0.59 for EGALS. We comPBre these calculated Mach numbers with thosefrom meck surweys drawn fuom three cosnulogical medels: the stand8rd biased nh=0.5 CDM modet an open CDM rrudel with gh=0.2, and a medd with thepower-law power specelm P(k)-k-1 and n=1. The Mach rnlmber test can give robust constraints on these cosmelogical nudels whose power spectra have very different shapes at large scales.

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The JHKS Magnitudes of the Red Giant Branch Tip and the Distance Moduli of Nearby Dwarf Galaxy NGC 205

  • Jung, M.Y.;Chun, S.H.;Chang, C.R.;Han, M.;Lim, D.;Han, W.;Sohn, Y.J.
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.417-420
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    • 2009
  • We have used the near-infrared $JHK_S$ photometric data of resolved stars in a nearby dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 205 to determine the magnitudes of the red giant branch tip (TRGB). By applying Savitzky-Golay filter to the observed luminosity functions (LFs) in each band, we derived the second derivatives of the LFs so as to determine the magnitudes of the TRGB. Absolute magnitudes of the TRGB in $JHK_S$ bands were measured from the Yonsei-Yale isochrones. By comparing the determined apparent magnitudes and the theoretical absolute magnitudes of the TRGB, we estimated the distance moduli of NGC 205 to be (m - M) = $24.10{\pm}0.08$, $24.08{\pm}0.12$ and $24.14{\pm}0.14$ in J, H, and $K_S$ bands, respectively.

Tracing the Giant Metal-poor Halo Around the Sombrero

  • Kang, Jisu;Lee, Myung Gyoon;Jang, In Sung;Ko, Youkyung;Sohn, Jubee;Hwang, Narae
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.30.2-30.2
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    • 2016
  • M104 (NGC 4594, the Sombrero) is an intriguing disk galaxy classified as an elliptical galaxy nowadays. It hosts a luminous bulge and a massive disk, but it is still mysterious how M104 acquired such peculiar structures. Globular clusters are an useful tracer to investigate the formation history of early-type galaxies. In this study we present a wide field imaging study of the globular clusters in M104. Using wide ($1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$) and deep ugi images of M104 obtained with the CFHT/MegaCam observations, we detect a large number of globular clusters. The color distribution of these globular clusters shows that there are two subpopulations: a metal-poor system and a metal-rich system. The radial number density of the metal-poor globular clusters shows a long tail reaching R ~ 30' (~ 80 kpc), indicating clearly the existence of a giant metal-poor halo in M104. This result is consistent with the previous studies on the dual halos of massive early-type galaxies. We will discuss implications of these results in relation with the formation history of M104.

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Ultraviolet Color-Magnitude Relations of Early-type Dwarf Galaxies in the Viro Cluster

  • Kim, Suk;Rey, Soo-Chang;Sung, Eon-Chang;Jerjen, Helmut;Lisker, Thorsten;Lee, Youngdae;Chung, Jiwon;Yi, Wonhyeong;Park, Mina
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.47.2-47.2
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    • 2013
  • We present ultraviolet (UV) color-magnitude relations (CMRs) of early-type dwarf galaxies in the Viro cluster, combining Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) UV data with SDSS optical data, based on the Extended Virgo Cluster catalog (EVCC). We find that dwarf lenticular galaxies (dS0s) show a surprisingly distinct and tight locus separated from that of ordinary dEs, which is not clearly seen in previous CMRs. The dS0s in UV CMRs follow a steeper sequence than dEs and show bluer UV-optical color at a given magnitude. We explore the observed CMRs with population models of a luminosity-dependent delayed exponential star formation history. The observed CMR of dS0s is well matched by models with relatively long delayed star formation. The dS0s are most likely transitional objects at the stage of subsequent transformation of late-type progenitors to ordinary red dEs in the cluster environment. Most early type dwarf galaxies with blue UV colors (FUV-r < 6 and NUV-r < 4) are identified as those showing spectroscopic hints of recent or ongoing star formation activities. In any case UV photometry provides a powerful teel to disentangle the diverse subpopulations of early-type dwarf galaxies and uncover their evolutionary histories. lenticular galaxies, and irregular high surface brightness (HSB) galaxies, respectively. Dwarf elliptical galaxies and dwarf irregular LSB galaxies occupy the similar structural parameter spaces. We suggest that giant elliptical galaxies and dwarf elliptical galaxies may have different origin.

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Exploring the Formation of Galaxies through Metallicities of Globular Clusters

  • Kim, Sooyoung
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.36-36
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    • 2013
  • Globular clusters (GCs) are among the oldest stellar objects in the universe and provide valuable constraints on many aspects of galaxy evolution. GC systems typically exhibit bimodal color distributions the phenomenon of which has been a major topic in the area of GC research. GC color bimodality established a paradigm where scenarios to explain its origin require two GC groups with different formation origins. The GC division, asserted mainly by photometric color bimodality so far, has been viewed as the presence of two distinct metallicity subgroups within individual galaxies. In this study, we make use of spectroscopy of GC systems associated with two giant galaxies, M31 (the Andromeda) and M87 (NGC 4486), to investigate the GC bimodality and the underlying metallicity distributions. Recent spectroscopy on the globular cluster (GC) system of M31 with unprecedented precision witnessed a clear bimodality in absorption-line index distributions of old GCs. Given that spectroscopy is a more detailed probe into stellar population than photometry; the discovery of index bimodality may point to the very existence of dual GC populations. However, here we show that the observed spectroscopic dichotomy of M31 GCs emerges due to the nonlinear nature of metallicity-to-index conversion and thus one does not necessarily have to invoke two separate GC subsystems. We present spectra of 130 old globular clusters (GCs) associated with the Virgo giant elliptical galaxy M87, obtained using the Multi-Object Spectrography (MOS) mode of Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS) on the Subaru telescope. M87 GCs with reliable metallicity measurements exhibit significant inflection along the color-metallicity relations, through which observed color bimodality is reproduced from a broad, unimodal metallicity distribution. Our findings lend further support to this new interpretation of the GC color bimodality, which could change much of the current thought on the formation of GC systems and their host galaxies.

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UV Perspective for Dynamically Old and Young Clusters of Galaxies: Fornax and Virgo

  • Lee, Young-Dae;Rey, Soo-Chang;Pak, Min-A;Kim, Suk;Sung, Eon-Chang;Yi, Won-Hyeong;Chung, Ji-Won
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.76.1-76.1
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    • 2011
  • We present ultraviolet (UV) photometric properties of galaxies in two clusters, the Fornax and Virgo, with different dynamical conditions. We construct UV color-magnitude relations (CMRs) of galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo clusters using GALEX UV data matching with optical B band data. Elliptical and lenticular galaxies locate on red sequence in UV CMRs and show UV upturn phenomenon in both clusters. While dwarf lenticular galaxies (dS0s) in the Fornax also follow the extension of red sequence of giant early type galaxies, they are redder than dS0s in the Virgo at a given magnitude. We also investigated the effect of neighbor galaxies and cluster environment to the UV properties. In the space of projected clustercentric radius and projected nearest neighbor galaxy distance, we found that red (NUV-B>3) galaxy fraction of the Fornax depends entirely on clustercentric radius. However, in the case of Virgo, galaxy colors are also affected by interactions between galaxies outside the cluster virial radius. We suggest that UV properties of early-type galaxies in the Fornax cluster is likely consistent with its dynamically evolved system compared to the Virgo cluster.

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KaVA Q-band Monitoring of Sgr A* in 2013-2014

  • Zhao, Guang-Yao;Akiyama, Kazunori;Kino, Motoki;Sohn, Bong Won
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.38.4-39
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    • 2015
  • We have been monitoring Sgr A*, the radio source at the center of our galaxy, continuously since G2 encounter was predicted. KaVA is a powerful High resolution imaging array at K and Q band, and it has a excellent uv-coverage for Sgr A*. Together with 1-Gbps recording, our observations have provided high-quality images of Sgr A* at Q-band. Our images reveal a scatter-broadened, elliptical Gaussian structure of the source. We found no significant flux or structural variation of Sgr A* in 2013-2014, which is consistent with recent simulations by Kawashima et al. Continuous monitoring in the coming few years would be able to capture the possible flux increase in the source caused by G2, which will lead to better understanding of the accretion process around supermassive black holes.

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The Virial Relation and Intrinsic Shape of Elliptical Galaxies

  • Trippe, Sascha
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.32.1-32.1
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    • 2016
  • Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are supposed to follow the virial relation M ~ sigma^2 * R_e, with M being the galaxy mass, sigma being the stellar velocity dispersion, and R_e being the (2D) effective radius. I apply this relation to (a) the ATLAS3D sample and (b) the sample of Saglia et al. (2016). The two datasets reveal a statistically significant tilt of the empirical relation relative to the theoretical virial relation such that M ~ (sigma^2 * R_e)^0.92 with zero intrinsic scatter. This tilt disappears when replacing R_e with the semi-major axis of the projected half-light ellipse, a. Accordingly, a, not R_e, is the correct proxy for the scale radius of ETGs. By geometry, this implies that early-type galaxies are axisymmetric and oblate in general, in agreement with recent results from modeling based on kinematics and light distributions.

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