• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 2010

The core and global properties of the early-type ("red sequence") galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax clusters are examined using high-quality HST/ACS imaging for 143 galaxies. Rather than dividing neatly into disparate populations having distinct formation and/or evolution histories, many of the core and global properties of these galaxies show smooth and systematic variations along the galaxy luminosity function. The few examples of the rare class of compact elliptical galaxies in our sample all show properties that are strongly suggestive of tidal stripping by massive galaxies; if so, then these systems should not be viewed as populating the low-luminosity extension of so-called "normal" elliptical sequences. These results demonstrate that complete and/or unbiased samples are a pre-requisite for identifying the physical mechanisms that gave rise to the early-type galaxies we observe locally, and how these mechanisms varied with mass and environment.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.401-403
• /
• 2015

We present the results of the analysis of FLS 1718+59, a galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens system in the Spitzer First Look Survey (FLS) field. A background galaxy ($z_s=0.245$) is severely distorted by a nearby elliptical galaxy ($z_l=0.08$), via gravitational lensing. The system is analysed by several methods, including surface brightness fitting, gravitational lens modeling, and spectral energy distribution fitting. From Galfit and Ellipse we measure basic parameters of the galaxy, such as the effective radius and the average surface brightness within it. gravlens yields the total mass inside the Einstein radius ($R_{Ein}$), and MAGPHYS gives us an estimate of the stellar mass inside $R_{Ein}$. By comparing these parameters, we confirm that the lens galaxy is an elliptical galaxy on the Fundamental Plane and calculate the stellar mass fraction inside $R_{Ein}$, and discuss the results with regards to the initial mass function.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.193-198
• /
• 2016

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are supposed to follow the virial relation $M=k_e{\sigma}^2R_e/G$, with M being the mass, σ_* being the stellar velocity dispersion, R_e being the effective radius, G being Newton's constant, and k_e being the virial factor, a geometry factor of order unity. Applying this relation to (a) the ATLAS^3D sample of Cappellari et al. (2013) and (b) the sample of Saglia et al. (2016) gives ensemble-averaged factors 〈k_e〉 = 5.15 ± 0.09 and 〈k_e〉 = 4.01 ± 0.18, respectively, with the difference arising from different definitions of effective velocity dispersions. The two datasets reveal a statistically significant tilt of the empirical relation relative to the theoretical virial relation such that $M{\propto}({\sigma}^2_*R_e)^{0.92}$. This tilt disappears when replacing R_e with the semi-major axis of the projected half-light ellipse, a. All best-fit scaling relations show zero intrinsic scatter, implying that the mass plane of ETGs is fully determined by the virial relation. Whenever a comparison is possible, my results are consistent with, and confirm, the results by Cappellari et al. (2013). The difference between the relations using either a or R_e arises from a known lack of highly elliptical high-mass galaxies; this leads to a scaling (1 - ϵ ) ∝ M^0.12, with ϵ being the ellipticity and $R_e=a\sqrt[]{1-{\epsilon}}$. 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 published results from modeling based on kinematics and light distributions.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.487-488
• /
• 2015

In type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) cosmology, a well-established correlation exists between the mass of host galaxies and the Hubble residual (HR) of SNe Ia. In order to investigate the origin of this correlation, we used low-resolution spectroscopic data of early-type host galaxies obtained from our YOnsei Nearby Supernovae Evolution Investigation (YONSEI) project. We measured velocity dispersions and Lick/IDS absorption line indices from these fully calibrated spectra. These indices were used to estimate the luminosity-weighted mean age, metallicity and mass of host galaxies. We found a tight correlation between host mass and population age, which is consistent with the "downsizing" trend in early-type galaxies. This suggests that the well-established correlation between HR and host mass is most likely due to the difference in population age. More observations, which are in progress, are required to understand the impact of luminosity evolution on SNe Ia cosmology.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.389-392
• /
• 2015

We identify a strong lensing galaxy in the cluster IRC 0218 that is spectroscopically confirmed to be at z = 1.62, making it the highest-redshift strong lens galaxy known. The lens is one of the two brightest cluster galaxies and lenses a background source galaxy into an arc and a counterimage. With Hubble Space Telescope (HST) grism and Keck/LRIS spectroscopy, we measure the source redshift to be $z_S=2.26$. Using HST imaging, we model the lens mass distribution with an elliptical power-law profile and account for the effects of the cluster halo and nearby galaxies. The Einstein radius is $^{\theta}E=0.38^{+0.02{\prime}{\prime}}_{-0.01}$ ($3.2^{+0.2}_{-0.1}kpc$) and the total enclosed mass is $M_{tot}(<^{\theta}_E)=1.8^{+0.2}_{-0.1}{\times}10^{11}M_{\odot}$. We estimate that the cluster environment contributes ~ 10% of this total mass. Assuming a Chabrier IMF, the dark matter fraction within $^{\theta}E$ is $f^{Chab}_{DM}=0.3^{+0.1}_{-0.3}$, while a Salpeter IMF is marginally inconsistent with the enclosed mass ($f^{Salp}_{DM}=-0.3^{+0.2}_{-0.5}$).

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.151-153
• /
• 2017

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are generally dominated by old low-mass stars, which are not very productive of dust, and hot interstellar plasmas, which are very destructive of dust. Thus ETGs provide harsh environments for survival of dust. It has been found that some ETGs contain a large amount of dust, and yet its supply mechanism is not understood well. We present the result of a systematic study of dust in ETGs with the AKARI mid- and far-infrared all-sky surveys. From the AKARI result and the Ks band data obtained by ground-based telescopes, we find that there is a global correlation between the dust mass and stellar luminosity. We also compare the AKARI all-sky survey result with the CO data to discuss origins of dust in ETGs.