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ABSTRACT We use comparisons between the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral Field Spectrograph (SAMI) Galaxy Survey and equilibrium galaxy models to infer the importance of disc fading in the transition of spirals into lenticular (S0) galaxies. The local S0 population has both higher photometric concentration and lower stellar spin than spiral galaxies of comparable mass and we test whether this separation can be accounted for by passive aging alone. We construct a suite of dynamically self-consistent galaxy models, with a bulge, disc, and halo using the galactics code. The dispersion-dominated bulge is given a uniformly old stellar population, while the disc is given a current star formation rate putting it on the main sequence, followed by sudden instantaneous quenching. We then generate mock observables (r-band images, stellar velocity, and dispersion maps) as a function of time since quenching for a range of bulge/total (B/T) mass ratios. The disc fading leads to a decline in measured spin as the bulge contribution becomes more dominant, and also leads to increased concentration. However, the quantitative changes observed after 5 Gyr of disc fading cannot account for all of the observed difference. We see similar results if we instead subdivide our SAMI Galaxy Survey sample by star formation (relative to the main sequence). We use EAGLE simulations to also take into account progenitor bias, using size evolution to infer quenching time. The EAGLE simulations suggest that the progenitors of current passive galaxies typically have slightly higher spin than present day star-forming disc galaxies of the same mass. As a result, progenitor bias moves the data further from the disc fading model scenario, implying that intrinsic dynamical evolution must be important in the transition from star-forming discs to passive discs.
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Probabilistic model for dynamic galaxy decomposition
ABSTRACT In the era of precision cosmology and ever-improving cosmological simulations, a better understanding of different galaxy components such as bulges and discs will give us new insight into galactic formation and evolution. Based on the fact that the stellar populations of the constituent components of galaxies differ by their dynamical properties, we develop two simple models for galaxy decomposition using the TNG100 cosmological hydrodynamical simulation from the IllustrisTNG project. The first model uses a single dynamical parameter and can distinguish four components: thin disc, thick disc, counter-rotating disc, and bulge. The second model uses one more dynamical parameter, was defined in a probabilistic manner, and distinguishes two components: bulge and disc. We demonstrate the improved robustness of these models compared to a widely used method in literature involving cuts on the circularity parameter. The number fraction of disc-dominated galaxies at a given stellar mass obtained by our models agrees well with observations for masses exceeding log10(M*/M⊙) = 10. The galaxies classified as bulge-dominated by the second model are mostly red; however, the population classified as disc-dominated contains significant number of red galaxies alongside the blue population. The contributions of the different galaxy components to the total stellar mass budget exhibits similar trends with stellar mass compared to the observational data, although there is a quantitative disagreement at high and low masses. The Sérsic indices and half-mass radii for the bulge and disc components agree well with those of real galaxies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2020295
- PAR ID:
- 10344393
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 509
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1764 to 1778
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab3104
