We present MUSE integral field spectroscopic data of the S0 galaxy NGC 3115 obtained during the instrument commissioning at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). We analyse the galaxy stellar kinematics and stellar populations and present two-dimensional maps of their associated quantities. We thus illustrate the capacity of MUSE to map extra-galactic sources to large radii in an efficient manner, i.e. ~4R_e_, and provide relevant constraints on its mass assembly. We probe the well-known set of substructures of NGC 3115 (nuclear disc, stellar rings, outer kpc-scale stellar disc, and spheroid) and show their individual associated signatures in the MUSE stellar kinematics and stellar populations maps. In particular, we confirm that NGC 3115 has a thin fast-rotating stellar disc embedded in a fast-rotating spheroid, and that these two structures show clear differences in their stellar age and metallicity properties. We emphasise an observed correlation between the radial stellar velocity, V, and the Gauss-Hermite moment, h_3_, which creates a butterfly shape in the central 15" of the h_3_ map. We further detect the previously reported weak spiral- and ring-like structures, and find evidence that these features can be associated with regions of younger mean stellar ages. We provide tentative evidence for the presence of a bar, although the V-h_3_ correlation can be reproduced by a simple axisymmetric dynamical model. Finally, we present a reconstruction of the two-dimensional star formation history of NGC 3115 and find that most of its current stellar mass was formed at early epochs (>12Gyr ago), while star formation continued in the outer (kpc-scale) stellar disc until recently. Since z~2 and within ~4R_e_, we suggest that NGC 3115 has been mainly shaped by secular processes.
As a new approach to the study of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies, we present a pilot study in NGC300 to demonstrate that integral field spectroscopy with high spatial resolution and excellent seeing conditions reaches an unprecedented depth in severely crowded fields. Observations by MUSE with seven pointings in NGC 300 have resulted in data cubes that are analyzed in four ways: (1) Point spread function-fitting 3D spectroscopy with PampelMUSE, as already successfully pioneered in globular clusters, yields de-blended spectra of individually distinguishable stars, thus providing a complete inventory of blue and red supergiants, and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of type M and C. The technique is also applicable to emission line point sources and provides samples of planetary nebulae (PNe) that are complete down to m_5007_=28. (2) Pseudo-monochromatic images, created at the wavelengths of the most important emission lines and corrected for continuum light with the P3D visualization tool, provide maps of HII regions, supernova remnants (SNR), and the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) at a high level of sensitivity, where also faint point sources stand out and allow for the discovery of PNe, Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, etc. (3) The use of the P3D line-fitting tool yields emission line fluxes, surface brightness, and kinematic information for gaseous objects, corrected for absorption line profiles of the underlying stellar population in the case of H{alpha}. (4) Visual inspection of the data cubes by browsing through the row-stacked spectra image in P3D is demonstrated to be efficient for data mining and the discovery of background galaxies and unusual objects. We present a catalog of luminous stars, rare stars such as WR, and other emission line stars, carbon stars, symbiotic star candidates, PNe, HII regions, SNR, giant shells, peculiar diffuse and filamentary emission line objects, and background galaxies, along with their spectra. The technique of crowded-field 3D spectroscopy, using the PampelMUSE code, is capable of deblending individual bright stars, the unresolved background of faint stars, gaseous nebulae, and the diffuse component of the ISM, resulting in unprecedented legacy value for observations of nearby galaxies with MUSE.
Because of its large angular size and proximity to the Milky Way, NGC 253, an archetypal starburst galaxy, provides an excellent laboratory to study the intricacies of this intense episode of star formation. We aim to characterize the excitation mechanisms driving the emission in NGC 253. Specifically we aim to distinguish between shock excitation and ultraviolet (UV) excitation as the dominant driving mechanism, using Br{gamma}, H_2_ and [FeII] as diagnostic emission line tracers.
Local Group (LG) Analogs (LGAs) are galaxy associations dominated by a few bright spirals reminiscent of the LG. The NGC3447/NGC3447A system is a member of the LGG 225 group, a nearby LGA. This system is considered a physical pair composed of an intermediate-luminosity late-type spiral, NGC3447 itself, and an irregular companion, NGC3447A, linked by a faint, short filament of matter. A ring-like structure in the NGC3447 outskirts has been emphasised by Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) observations. This work aims to contribute to the study of galaxy evolution in low-density environments, a favourable habitat to highly effective encounters, shedding light on the evolution of the NGC3447/NGC3447A system. We performed a multi-{lambda} analysis of the surface photometry of this system to derive its spectral energy distribution and structural properties using ultraviolet (UV), Swift UVOT, and optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images complemented with available far-IR observations. We also characterised the velocity field of the pair using two-dimensional H{alpha} kinematical observations of the system obtained with PUMA Fabry-Perot interferometer at the 2.1m telescope of San Pedro Martir (Mexico). All these data are used to constrain smooth particle hydrodynamic simulations with chemo-photometric implementation to shed light on the evolution of this system. The luminosity profiles, from UV to optical wavelengths, are all consistent with the presence of a disc extending and including NGC3447A. The overall velocity field does not emphasise any significant rotation pattern, rather a small velocity gradient between NGC3447 and NGC3447A. Our simulation, detached from a large grid explored to best-fit the global properties of the system, suggests that this arises from an encounter between two halos of equal mass.
We analyse the cluster luminosity functions (CLFs) of the youngest star clusters in two galaxies exhibiting prominent circumnuclear starburst rings. We focus specifically on NGC 1512 and NGC 6951, for which we have access to H{alpha} data that allow us to unambiguously identify the youngest sample clusters. To place our results on a firm statistical footing, we first explore in detail a number of important technical issues affecting the process from converting the observational data into the spectral energy distributions of the objects in our final catalogues. The CLFs of the young clusters in both galaxies exhibit approximate power-law behaviour down to the 90 per cent observational completeness limits, thus showing that star cluster formation in the violent environments of starburst rings appears to proceed similarly as that elsewhere in the local Universe. We discuss this result in the context of the density of the interstellar medium in our starburst-ring galaxies.
We present high quality long slit spectra along the major and minor axes out to 1.5-2R_e_ (14-22kpc) of three bright elliptical galaxies (NGC1600, NGC4125, NGC7619) obtained at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). We derive stellar kinematic profiles and Lick/IDS indices (H{beta}, Mgb, Fe_{5015}, Fe_{5270}, Fe_{5335}, Fe_{5406}). Moreover, for NGC4125 we derive gas kinematics and emission line strengths. We model the absorption line strengths using Simple Stellar Populations models that take into account the variation of {alpha}/Fe and derive ages, total metallicity and element abundances. Overall, we find that the three galaxies have old and {alpha}/Fe overabundant stellar populations with no significant gradients. The metallicity is supersolar at the center with a strong negative radial gradient. For NGC4125, several pieces of evidence point to a recent dissipational merger event. We calculate the broad band color profiles with the help of SSP models. All of the colors show sharp peaks at the center of the galaxies, mainly caused by the metallicity gradients, and agree well with the measured colors. Using the Schwarzschild's axisymmetric orbit superposition technique, we model the stellar kinematics to constrain the dark halos of the galaxies. We use the tight correlation between the Mgb strength and local escape velocity to set limits on their extent by testing different halo sizes. Logarithmic halos cut at 60kpc minimize the overall scatter of the Mgb-V_esc_ relation. Larger cutoff radii are found if the dark matter density profile is decreasing more steeply at large radii.
Near Infrared H and K' surface photometry of the three nearby galaxies NGC 2366, NGC 2403 and NGC 4236, used as local calibrators of the Tully-Fisher relation, was obtained using the 256^2^ NICMOS3 IR array MAGIC attached to the 2.2 m telescope of Calar Alto. The present measurements are compared with the aperture photometry available in the literature. Surface brightness profiles and integrated magnitudes are given.
We analyze the globular cluster (GC) systems in two very different galaxies, NGC 3115 and NGC 1399. With the papers of this series, we aim at highlighting common and different properties in the GC systems in galaxies covering a wide range of parameter space. We compare the GCs in NGC 3115 and NGC 1399 as derived from the analysis of one square degree u-, g-, and i-band images taken with the VST telescope as part of the VST early-type galaxy survey (VEGAS) and Fornax deep survey (FDS). We selected GC candidates using as reference the morpho-photometric and color properties of confirmed GCs. The surface density maps of GCs in NGC 3115 reveal a morphology similar to the light profile of field stars; the same is true when blue and red GCs are taken separately. The GC maps for NGC 1399 are richer in structure and confirm the existence of an intra-cluster GC component. We confirm the presence of a spatial offset in the NGC 1399 GC centroid and find that the centroid of the GCs for NGC 3115 coincides well with the galaxy center. Both GC systems show unambiguous color bimodality in (g-i) and (u-i); the color-color relations of the two GC systems are slightly different with NGC 3115 appearing more linear than NGC 1399. The azimuthal average of the radial density profiles in both galaxies reveals a larger spatial extent for the total GCs population with respect to the galaxy surface brightness profile. For both galaxies, the red GCs have radial density profiles compatible with the galaxy light profile, while the radial profiles for blue GCs are shallower. As for the specific frequency of GCs, SN, we find it is a factor of two higher in NGC 1399 than for NGC 3115; this is mainly the result of extra blue GCs. By inspecting the radial behavior of the specific frequency, S_N_(<r), for the total, blue, and red GCs, we find notable similarities between the trends for red GCs in the two targets. In spite of extremely different host environments, the red GCs in both cases appear closely linked to the light distribution of field stars. Blue GCs extend to larger galactocentric scales than red GCs, marking a significant difference between the two galaxies: the blue/red GCs and field stellar components of NGC 3115 appear well thermalized with each other and the blue GCs in NGC 1399 appear to fade into an unrelaxed intra-cluster GC population.
We present observations from the short-term intensive optical campaign (from September 2019 to January 2020) of the changing-look Seyfert NGC 3516. This active galactic nucleus is known to have strong optical variability and has changed its type in the past. It has been in the low-activity state in the optical since 2013, with some rebrightening from the end of 2015 to the beginning of 2016, after which it remained dormant. We aim to study the photometric and spectral variability of NGC 3516 from the new observations in U- and B-bands and examine the profiles of the optical broad emission lines in order to demonstrate that this object may be entering a new state of activity. NGC 3516 has been monitored intensively for the past 4 months with an automated telescope in U and B filters, enabling accurate photometry of 0.01 precision. Spectral observations were triggered when an increase in brightness was spotted. We support our analysis of past-episodes of violent variability with the UV and X-ray long-term light curves constructed from the archival Swift/UVOT and Swift/XRT data. An increase of the photometric magnitude is seen in both U and B filters to a maximum amplitude of 0.25mag and 0.11mag, respectively. During the flare, we observe stronger forbidden high-ionization iron lines ([FeVII] and [FeX]) than reported before, as well as the complex broad H{alpha} and H{beta} lines. This is especially seen in H{alpha}, which appears to be double-peaked. It seems that a very broad component of ~10000km/s in width in the Balmer lines is appearing. The trends in the optical, UV, and X-ray light curves are similar, with the amplitudes of variability being significantly larger in the case of UV and X-ray bands. The increase of the continuum emission, the variability of the coronal lines, and the very broad component in the Balmer lines may indicate that the AGN of NGC 3516 is finally leaving the low-activity state in which it has been for the last ~3 years.
We present positions and velocities for 796 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Fornax Brightest Cluster Galaxy NGC 1316 (Fornax A). The planetary nebulae and existing kinematics are used to explore the rotation of this merger remnant and constrain dynamical models. Using FORS2 on the VLT, the PN velocities were measured using a counter-dispersed slitless-spectroscopy technique that produced the largest-to-date sample outside of the Local Group. Spherical, non-rotating, constant-anisotropy Jeans models were con- strained by observations of the planetary nebulae and existing integrated light spectra.