Rotation Curves in z ∼ 1-2 Star-forming Disks: Comparison of Dark Matter Fractions and Disk Properties for Different Fitting Methods

Astrophysical Journal 922:2 (2021)

Authors:

SH Price, TT Shimizu, R Genzel, H Übler, NM Förster Schreiber, LJ Tacconi, RI Davies, RT Coogan, D Lutz, S Wuyts, E Wisnioski, A Nestor, A Sternberg, A Burkert, R Bender, A Contursi, RL Davies, R Herrera-Camus, MJ Lee, T Naab, R Neri, A Renzini, R Saglia, A Schruba, K Schuster

Abstract:

We present a follow-up analysis examining the dynamics and structures of 41 massive, large star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 0.67 - 2.45 using both ionized and molecular gas kinematics. We fit the galaxy dynamics with models consisting of a bulge, a thick, turbulent disk, and an NFW dark matter halo, using code that fully forward-models the kinematics, including all observational and instrumental effects. We explore the parameter space using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling, including priors based on stellar and gas masses and disk sizes. We fit the full sample using extracted 1D kinematic profiles. For a subset of 14 well-resolved galaxies, we also fit the 2D kinematics. The MCMC approach robustly confirms the results from least-squares fitting presented in Paper I: the sample galaxies tend to be baryon-rich on galactic scales (within one effective radius). The 1D and 2D MCMC results are also in good agreement for the subset, demonstrating that much of the galaxy dynamical information is captured along the major axis. The 2D kinematics are more affected by the presence of noncircular motions, which we illustrate by constructing a toy model with constant inflow for one galaxy that exhibits residual signatures consistent with radial motions. This analysis, together with results from Paper I and other studies, strengthens the finding that massive, star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1 - 2 are baryon-dominated on galactic scales, with lower dark matter fractions toward higher baryonic surface densities. Finally, we present details of the kinematic fitting code used in this analysis.

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: trends in [α/Fe] as a function of morphology and environment

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 510:1 (2021) 1541-1556

Authors:

Peter J Watson, Roger L Davies, Sarah Brough, Scott M Croom, Francesco D'Eugenio, Karl Glazebrook, Brent Groves, Angel R Lopez-Sanchez, Jesse van de Sande, Nicholas Scott, Sam P Vaughan, Jakob Walcher, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Julia J Bryant, Michael Goodwin, Jon S Lawrence, Nuria PF Lorente, Matt S Owers, Samuel Richards

Abstract:

We present a new set of index-based measurements of [α/Fe] for a sample of 2093 galaxies in the SAMI Galaxy Survey. Following earlier work, we fit a global relation between [α/Fe] and the galaxy velocity dispersion σ for red sequence galaxies, [α/Fe]=(0.378±0.009)log10(σ/100)+(0.155±0.003)⁠. We observe a correlation between the residuals and the local environmental surface density, whereas no such relation exists for blue cloud galaxies. In the full sample, we find that elliptical galaxies in high-density environments are α-enhanced by up to 0.057 ± 0.014 dex at velocity dispersions σ < 100 km s−1, compared with those in low-density environments. This α-enhancement is morphology-dependent, with the offset decreasing along the Hubble sequence towards spirals, which have an offset of 0.019 ± 0.014 dex. At low velocity dispersion and controlling for morphology, we estimate that star formation in high-density environments is truncated ∼1 Gyr earlier than in low-density environments. For elliptical galaxies only, we find support for a parabolic relationship between [α/Fe] and σ, with an environmental α-enhancement of at least 0.03 dex. This suggests strong contributions from both environment and mass-based quenching mechanisms. However, there is no evidence for this behaviour in later morphological types.

Strong Lensing Science Collaboration input to the on-sky commissioning of the Vera Rubin Observatory

ArXiv 2111.09216 (2021)

Authors:

Graham P Smith, Timo Anguita, Simon Birrer, Paul L Schechter, Aprajita Verma, Tom Collett, Frederic Courbin, Brenda Frye, Raphael Gavazzi, Cameron Lemon, Anupreeta More, Dan Ryczanowski, Sherry H Suyu

SDSS-IV MaStar: Theoretical atmospheric parameters for the MaNGA stellar library

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2021)

Authors:

Lewis Hill, Daniel Thomas, Claudia Maraston, Renbin Yan, Justus Neumann, Andrew Lundgren, Daniel Lazarz, Yan-Ping Chen, Michele Cappellari, Jon A Holtzman, Julie Imig, Katia Cunha, Guy Stringfellow, Dmitry Bizyaev, David R Law, Keivan G Stassun, Niv Drory, Michael Merrifield, Timothy C Beers

Abstract:

Abstract We calculate the fundamental stellar parameters effective temperature, surface gravity and iron abundance - Teff, log g, [Fe/H] - for the final release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) Stellar Library (MaStar), containing 59,266 per-visit-spectra for 24,290 unique stars at intermediate resolution (R ∼ 1800) and high S/N (median = 96). We fit theoretical spectra from model atmospheres by both MARCS and BOSZ-ATLAS9 to the observed MaStar spectra, using the full spectral fitting code pPXF. We further employ a Bayesian approach, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to map the parameter space and obtain uncertainties. Originally in this paper, we cross match MaStar observations with Gaia photometry, which enable us to set reliable priors and identify outliers according to stellar evolution. In parallel to the parameter determination, we calculate corresponding stellar population models to test the reliability of the parameters for each stellar evolutionary phase. We further assess our procedure by determining parameters for standard stars such as the Sun and Vega and by comparing our parameters with those determined in the literature from high-resolution spectroscopy (APOGEE and SEGUE) and from lower-resolution matching template (LAMOST). The comparisons, considering the different methodologies and S/N of the literature surveys, are favourable in all cases. Our final parameter catalogue for MaStar cover the following ranges: 2592 ≤ Teff ≤ 32983 K; −0.7 ≤ log g ≤5.4 dex; −2.9 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤1.0 dex and will be available with the last SDSS-IV Data Release, in December 2021.

Cross-checking SMBH mass estimates in NGC 6958 – I. Stellar dynamics from adaptive optics-assisted MUSE observations

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 509:4 (2021) 5416-5436

Authors:

Sabine Thater, Davor Krajnović, Peter M Weilbacher, Dieu D Nguyen, Martin Bureau, Michele Cappellari, Timothy A Davis, Satoru Iguchi, Richard McDermid, Kyoko Onishi, Marc Sarzi, Glenn van de Ven

Abstract:

Supermassive black hole masses (MBH) can dynamically be estimated with various methods and using different kinematic tracers. Different methods have only been cross-checked for a small number of galaxies and often show discrepancies. To understand these discrepancies, detailed cross-comparisons of additional galaxies are needed. We present the first part of our cross-comparison between stellar- and gas-based MBH estimates in the nearby fast-rotating early-type galaxy NGC 6958. The measurements presented here are based on ground-layer adaptive optics-assisted Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) science verification data at around 0′′.6 spatial resolution. The spatial resolution is a key ingredient for the measurement and we provide a Gaussian parametrisation of the adaptive optics-assisted point spread function (PSF) for various wavelengths. From the MUSE data, we extracted the stellar kinematics and constructed dynamical models. Using an axisymmetric Schwarzschild technique, we measured an MBH of (3.6+2.7−2.4)×108M⊙ at 3σ significance taking kinematical and dynamical systematics (e.g. radially-varying mass-to-light ratio) into account. We also added a dark halo, but our data does not allow to constrain the dark matter fraction. Adding dark matter with an abundance matching prior results in a 25 per cent more massive black hole. Jeans anisotropic models return MBH of (4.6+2.5−2.7)×108M⊙ and (8.6+0.8−0.8)×108M⊙ at 3σ confidence for spherical and cylindrical alignment of the velocity ellipsoid, respectively. In a follow-up study, we will compare the stellar-based MBH with those from cold and warm gas tracers, which will provide additional constraints for the MBH for NGC 6958, and insights into assumptions that lead to potential systematic uncertainty.