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arXiv 0810.5558astro-ph
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后发座星系团矮星系的光谱巡天:恒星星族、环境和缩小

A spectroscopic survey of dwarf galaxies in the Coma Cluster: Stellar populations, environment and downsizing

Russell J. Smith, John R. Lucey, Michael J. Hudson, Steven P. Allanson, Terry J. Bridges, Ann E. Hornschemeier, Ronald O. Marzke, Neal A. Miller

摘要:

利用MMT的高信噪比光谱研究了后发座星系团中89个暗(M*+2至M*+4)红星系的恒星星族。我们的样本是从两个1度的领域,一个集中在集群的核心和其他位于一定程度的集群中心的西南。作为比较样本,我们使用已发表的沙普利超星系团中红序列星系的高信噪比数据。我们使用最先进的恒星星族模型来推断每个星系的SSP等效年龄和金属丰度(Fe/H),以及轻元素Mg,Ca,C和N的丰度。后发座矮星的年龄跨度很大,从<2 Gyr to >10 Gyr开始,具有很强的环境依赖性。最古老的星系只在核心被发现,而大多数在西南外区域的星系年龄约为3 Gyr。这些星系的金属丰度范围为-1.0 &lt; [Fe/H] &lt; 0.0,并遵循与高质量星系相同的年龄-金属丰度-质量平面,但增加了内在散射。Mg/Fe丰度比平均略高于太阳,范围为-0.1 &lt; [Mg/Fe] &lt;+0.4。最高的镁增强只发现在集群的核心,而太阳能的比例占主导地位的郊区。根据假设的恒星形成历史(猝灭与爆发主导),后发座核心红色序列上的矮星系数量自z~0.4-0.7以来翻了一番。这些估计包括了通过对遥远星系团的直接研究发现的红序增长时间尺度。在西南区,红色序列仅在z~0.1-0.2处建立。我们的观测证实了之前的迹象,即在星团的这一部分中,最近出现了淬灭恒星的形成。我们的研究结果支持的图片中,大部分的集群被动矮人口产生的环境驱动的转变的晚型星系。

英文摘要:

We investigate the stellar populations in a sample of 89 faint (M*+2 to M*+4) red galaxies in the Coma cluster, using high S/N spectroscopy from the MMT. Our sample is drawn from two 1-degree fields, one centred on the cluster core and the other located a degree to the south west of the cluster centre. For a comparison sample we use published high-S/N data for red-sequence galaxies in the Shapley Supercluster. We use state-of-the-art stellar population models to infer the SSP-equivalent age and metallicity (Fe/H) for each galaxy, as well as the abundances of the light elements Mg, Ca, C and N. The ages of the Coma dwarfs span a wide range from <2 Gyr to >10 Gyr, with a strong environmental dependence. The oldest galaxies are found only in the core, while most of the galaxies in the outer south-west field have ages ~3 Gyr. The galaxies have a metallicity range -1.0 < [Fe/H] < 0.0, and follow the same age-metallicity-mass plane as high-mass galaxies, but with increased intrinsic scatter. The Mg/Fe abundance ratios are on average slightly super-solar, and span a range -0.1 < [Mg/Fe] < +0.4. The highest Mg enhancements are found only in the cluster core, while solar ratios predominate in the outskirts. Depending on the assumed star-formation history (quenched versus burst-dominated), the number of dwarf galaxies on the red sequence in the Coma core has doubled since z~0.4-0.7. These estimates bracket the red-sequence growth timescales found by direct studies of distant clusters. In the south-west field, the red sequence was established only at z~0.1-0.2. Our observations confirm previous indications of very recently quenched star formation in this part of the cluster. Our results support the picture in which much of the cluster passive dwarf population was generated by environment-driven transformation of infalling late-type galaxies.

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