Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Open Access Articles

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : The Stellar Mass Budget Of Galaxy Spheroids And Discs., Amanda J. Moffett, Rebecca Lange, Simon P. Driver, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Lee S. Kelvin, Mehmet Alpaslan, Stephen K. Andrews, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Sarah Brough, Michelle E. Cluver, Matthew Colless, Luke J. M. Davies, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Prajwal R. Kafle, Jochen Liske, Martin Meyer

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We build on a recent photometric decomposition analysis of 7506 Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey galaxies to derive stellar mass function fits to individual spheroid and disc component populations down to a lower mass limit of log(M*/M⊙) = 8. We find that the spheroid/disc mass distributions for individual galaxy morphological types are well described by single Schechter function forms. We derive estimates of the total stellar mass densities in spheroids (ρspheroid = 1.24 ± 0.49 × 108 M⊙ Mpc −3h0.7) and discs (ρdisc = 1.20 ± 0.45 × 108 M⊙ Mpc −3h0.7), which translates to approximately 50 …

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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : M–Re Relations Of Z = 0 Bulges, Discs And Spheroids., Rebecca Lange, Amanda J. Moffett, Simon P. Driver, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Claudia Del P. Lagos, Lee S. Kelvin, Christopher Conselice, Berta Margalef-Bentabol, Mehmet Alpaslan, Ivan K. Baldry, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Malcolm Bremer, Sarah Brough, Michelle Cluver, Matthew Colless, Luke J. M. Davies, Boris Haußler, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Prajwal R. Kafle, Rebecca Kennedy, Jochen Liske, Steven Phillipps, Cristina C. Popescu, Edward N. Taylor, Richard Tuffs, Eelco Van Kampen, Angus H. Wright

Faculty Scholarship

We perform automated bulge + disc decomposition on a sample of ∼7500 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey in the redshift range of 0.002 < z < 0.06 using Structural Investigation of Galaxies via Model Analysis, a wrapper around GALFIT3. To achieve robust profile measurements, we use a novel approach of repeatedly fitting the galaxies, varying the input parameters to sample a large fraction of the input parameter space. Using this method, we reduce the catastrophic failure rate significantly and verify the confidence in the fit independently of χ2. Additionally, using the median of the final fitting values and the 16th and 84th percentile produces more realistic error estimates than those provided by GALFIT, which are known to be underestimated. We use the results of our decompositions to analyse the stellar mass – half-light radius relations of bulges, discs and spheroids. We further investigate the association of components with a parent disc or elliptical relation to provide definite z = 0 disc and spheroid M–Re relations. We conclude by comparing our local disc and spheroid M–Re to simulated data from EAGLE and high-redshift data from Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey-Ultra Deep Survey. We show the potential of using the M–Re relation to study galaxy evolution in both cases but caution that for a fair comparison, all data sets need to be processed and analysed in the same manner.

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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : Galaxy Colour Gradients Versus Colour, Structure, And Luminosity., Rebecca Kennedy, Steven P. Bamford, Boris Haußler, Sarah Brough, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Marina Vika, Benedetta Vulcani

Faculty Scholarship

Using single-component fits to SDSS/UKIDSS images of galaxies in the G09 region of the GAMA survey we study radial colour gradients across the galaxy population. We use the multi-wavelength information provided by MegaMorph analysis of galaxy light profiles to calculate intrinsic colour gradients, and divide into six subsamples split by overall Sérsic index (n) and galaxy colour. We find a bimodality in the colour gradients of high- and low-n galaxies in all wavebands which varies with overall galaxy luminosity. Global trends in colour gradients therefore result from combining the contrasting behaviour of a number of different galaxy populations. The ubiquity …

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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : Understanding The Wavelength Dependence Of Galaxy Structure With Bulge-Disc Decompositions., Rebecca Kennedy, Steven P. Bamford, Boris Haußler, Ivan K. Baldry, Malcolm Bremer, Sarah Brough, Michael J. I. Brown, Simon P. Driver, Kenneth Duncan, Alister W. Graham, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Lee S. Kelvin, Rebecca Lange, Steven Phillipps, Marina Vika, Benedetta Vulcani

Faculty Scholarship

With a large sample of bright, low-redshift galaxies with optical–near-IR imaging from the GAMA survey we use bulge-disc decompositions to understand the wavelength-dependent behaviour of single-Sérsic structural measurements. We denote the variation in single-Sérsic index with wavelength as N N , likewise for effective radius we use R R . We find that most galaxies with a substantial disc, even those with no discernable bulge, display a high value of N N . The increase in Sérsic index to longer wavelengths is therefore intrinsic to discs, apparently resulting from radial variations in stellar population and/or dust reddening. Similarly, low values …

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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : The Stellar Mass Budget By Galaxy Type., Amanda J. Moffett, Stephen A. Ingarfield, Simon P. Driver, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Lee S. Kelvin, Rebecca Lange, Uros Mestric, Mehmet Alpaslan, Ivan K. Baldry, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Sarah Brough, Michelle Cluver, Luke J. M. Davies, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Prajwal R. Kafle, Rebecca Kennedy, Peder Norberg, Edward N. Taylor

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We report an expanded sample of visual morphological classifications from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey phase two, which now includes 7556 objects (previously 3727 in phase one). We define a local (z < 0.06) sample and classify galaxies into E, S0-Sa, SB0-SBa, Sab-Scd, SBab-SBcd, Sd-Irr, and ‘little blue spheroid’ types. Using these updated classifications, we derive stellar mass function fits to individual galaxy populations divided both by morphological class and more general spheroid- or disc-dominated categories with a lower mass limit of log(M*/M⊙) = 8 (one dex below earlier morphological mass function determinations). We find that all individual morphological classes and the combined spheroid-/bulge-dominated classes are well described by single Schechter stellar mass function forms. We find that the total stellar mass densities for individual galaxy populations and for the entire galaxy population are bounded within our stellar mass limits and derive an estimated total stellar mass …

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The Aimss Project – Iii. The Stellar Populations Of Compact Stellar Systems, Joachim Janz, Mark Norris, Duncan Forbes, Avon Huxor, Aaron Romanowsky, Matthias Frank, Carlos Escudero, Favio Faifer, Juan Forte, Sheila Kannappan, Claudia Maraston, Jean Brodie, Jay Strader, Bradley Thompson

Faculty Publications

In recent years, a growing zoo of compact stellar systems (CSSs) have been found whose physical properties (mass, size, velocity dispersion) place them between classical globular clusters (GCs) and true galaxies, leading to debates about their nature. Here we present results using a so far underutilized discriminant, their stellar population properties. Based on new spectroscopy from 8–10m telescopes, we derive ages, metallicities, and [α/Fe] of 29 CSSs. These range from GCs with sizes of merely a few parsec to compact ellipticals (cEs) larger than M32. Together with a literature compilation, this provides a panoramic view of the stellar population characteristics …

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Stellar Populations Across The Black Hole Mass–Velocity Dispersion Relation, Ignacio Martín-Navarro, Jean Brodie, Remco Van Den Bosch, Aaron Romanowsky, Duncan Forbes

Faculty Publications

Coevolution between supermassive black holes (BH) and their host galaxies is universally adopted in models for galaxy formation. In the absence of feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs), simulated massive galaxies keep forming stars in the local universe. From an observational point of view, however, such coevolution remains unclear. We present a stellar population analysis of galaxies with direct BH mass measurements and the BH mass–σ relation as a working framework. We find that over-massive BH galaxies, i.e., galaxies lying above the best-fitting BH mass–σ line, tend to be older and more α-element-enhanced than under-massive BH galaxies. The scatter in …

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Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : Galaxy Colour Gradients Versus Colour, Structure, And Luminosity., Rebecca Kennedy, Steven P. Bamford, Boris Haußler, Sarah Brough, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Marina Vika, Benedetta Vulcani

Faculty Scholarship

Faculty Scholarship

Faculty Scholarship

The Aimss Project – Iii. The Stellar Populations Of Compact Stellar Systems, Joachim Janz, Mark Norris, Duncan Forbes, Avon Huxor, Aaron Romanowsky, Matthias Frank, Carlos Escudero, Favio Faifer, Juan Forte, Sheila Kannappan, Claudia Maraston, Jean Brodie, Jay Strader, Bradley Thompson

Faculty Publications

Stellar Populations Across The Black Hole Mass–Velocity Dispersion Relation, Ignacio Martín-Navarro, Jean Brodie, Remco Van Den Bosch, Aaron Romanowsky, Duncan Forbes

Faculty Publications