Late-type Spirals Research Articles

BUDDI-MaNGA

The many unique properties of galaxies are shaped by physical processes that affect different components of the galaxy – such as their bulges and discs – in different ways, and they leave characteristic imprints on the light and spectra of these components. Disentangling these spectra reveals vital clues that can be traced back in time to understand how galaxies, and their components, form and evolve throughout their lifetimes. With BUDDI, we have decomposed the integral field unit (IFU) datacubes in SDSS-MaNGA DR17 into Sérsic bulge and exponential disc components and extracted clean bulge and disc spectra. BUDDI-MaNGA is the first large statistical sample of such decomposed spectra of 1452 galaxies covering morphologies from ellipticals to late-type spirals. We derive stellar masses of the individual components with spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting using BAGPIPES and estimate their mean mass-weighted stellar metallicities and stellar ages using PPXF. With this information, we reconstruct the mass assembly histories of the bulges and discs of 968 spiral galaxies (Sa-Sm types). Our results show a clear downsizing effect especially for the bulges, with more massive components assembling earlier and faster than the less massive ones. Additionally, we compare the stellar populations of the bulges and discs in these galaxies, and find that a majority of the bulges host more metal-rich and older stars than their disc counterparts. Nevertheless, we also find a non-negligible fraction of the spiral galaxy population in our sample contains bulges that are younger and more metal-enhanced than their discs. We interpret these results, taking into account how their formation histories and current stellar populations depend on stellar mass and morphology.

PROBES. I. A Compendium of Deep Rotation Curves and Matched Multiband Photometry

We present the Photometry and Rotation Curve Observations from Extragalactic Surveys (PROBES) compendium of extended rotation curves for 3163 late-type spirals, with matching homogeneous multiband photometry for 1677 of them. PROBES rotation curves originally extracted from Hα long-slit spectra and aperture synthesis H i (21cm) velocity maps typically extend out to a median 2 R e (or 1 R 23.5,r ). Our uniform photometry takes advantage of GALEX, DESI-LIS, and WISE images and the software AutoProf to yield multiband azimuthally averaged surface brightness profiles that achieve depths greater than 25 mag arcsec−2 (FUV, NUV), 27 mag arcsec−2 (g, r), and 26 mag arcsec−2 (z, W1, and W2). With its library of spatially resolved profiles and an extensive table of structural parameters, the versatile PROBES data set will benefit studies of galaxy structure and formation.

A multiwavelength study of nearby star-forming spiral galaxies and the clustering of star formation in M63

ABSTRACT This multiwavelength study of the star formation and star formation history (SFH) trends in the nearby universe looks at nine nearby late-type spirals. Spectral energy distributions fitted with measurements from the far-ultraviolet (FUV) to the mid-infrared are used to estimate parameters in a double-exponential SFH. Azimuthally averaged radial trends in the SFHs are shown and discussed for each galaxy. In addition to the radial analysis, catalogues of UV-selected sources are identified for each galaxy. An analysis of the clustering of the UV sources in M63 (NGC 5055) is done using a two-point correlation function. There is evidence for hierarchical star formation and clustering out to scales of several kpc. We then discuss the level of clustering in M63’s sources with differing FUV − NUV colours, and how spiral arms may play a role in the organization of star formation even in the low surface brightness regions of a galaxy.

Studying the ISM at ∼10 pc scale in NGC 7793 with MUSE

Context.Studies of nearby galaxies reveal that around 50% of the total Hαluminosity in late-type spirals originates from diffuse ionised gas (DIG), which is a warm, diffuse component of the interstellar medium that can be associated with various mechanisms, the most important ones being “leaking” HII regions, evolved field stars, and shocks.Aims.Using MUSE Wide Field Mode adaptive optics-assisted data, we study the condition of the ionised medium in the nearby (D = 3.4 Mpc) flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 7793 at a spatial resolution of ∼10 pc. We construct a sample of HII regions and investigate the properties and origin of the DIG component.Methods.We obtained stellar and gas kinematics by modelling the stellar continuum and fitting the Hαemission line. We identified the boundaries of resolved HII regions based on their Hαsurface brightness. As a way of comparison, we also selected regions according to the Hα/[SII] line ratio; this results in more conservative boundaries. Using characteristic line ratios and the gas velocity dispersion, we excluded potential contaminants, such as supernova remnants (SNRs) and planetary nebulae (PNe). The continuum subtracted HeII map was used to spectroscopically identify Wolf Rayet stars (WR) in our field of view. Finally, we computed electron densities and temperatures using the line ratio [SII]6716/6731 and [SIII]6312/9069, respectively. We studied the properties of the ionised gas through “BPT” emission line diagrams combined with velocity dispersion of the gas.Results.We spectroscopically confirm two previously detected WR and SNR candidates and report the discovery of the other seven WR candidates, one SNR, and two PNe within our field of view. The resulting DIG fraction is between ∼27 and 42% depending on the method used to define the boundaries of the HII regions (flux brightness cut in Hα= 6.7 × 10−18erg s−1cm−2or Hα/[SII] = 2.1, respectively). In agreement with previous studies, we find that the DIG exhibits enhanced [SII]/Hαand [NII]/Hαratios and a median temperature that is ∼3000 K higher than in HII regions. We also observe an apparent inverse correlation between temperature and Hαsurface brightness. In the majority of our field of view, the observed [SII]6716/6731 ratio is consistent within 1σwithne < 30 cm−3, with an almost identical distribution for the DIG and HII regions. The velocity dispersion of the ionised gas indicates that the DIG has a higher degree of turbulence than the HII regions. Comparison with photoionisation and shock models reveals that, overall, the diffuse component can only partially be explained via shocks and that it is most likely consistent with photons leaking from density bounded HII regions or with radiation from evolved field stars. Further investigation will be conducted in a follow-up paper.

The Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey. IX. Classification of Bulge Types and Statistical Properties of Pseudo Bulges

Abstract We study the statistical properties of 320 bulges of disk galaxies in the Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey, using robust structural parameters of galaxies derived from image fitting. We apply the Kormendy relation to classify classical and pseudo bulges and characterize the bulge dichotomy with respect to the structural properties of the bulges and the physical properties of the host galaxies. We confirm previous findings that pseudo bulges on average have smaller Sérsic indices, lower bulge-to-total ratios, and fainter surface brightnesses than classical bulges. Our sizable sample statistically shows that pseudo bulges are more intrinsically flattened than classical bulges. Pseudo bulges are most frequent (incidence ≳80%) in late-type spirals (later than Sc). Our measurements support the picture in which pseudo bulges arose from star formation induced by inflowing gas, while classical bulges were born out of violent processes such as mergers and coalescence of clumps. We reveal differences with the literature that warrant attention: (1) the bimodal distribution of Sérsic indices presented by previous studies is not reproduced in our study; (2) classical and pseudo bulges have similar relative bulge sizes; and (3) the pseudo bulge fraction is considerably smaller in early-type disks than reported in previous studies based on one-dimensional surface brightness profile fitting. We attribute these differences to our improved image quality, more robust bulge-to-disk decomposition technique, and to the different classification criteria that we applied. Moreover, we find that barred galaxies do not host more pseudo bulges or more prominent pseudo bulges than unbarred galaxies. Various implications of these findings are discussed.

Study of AGN contribution on morphological parameters of their host galaxies

AbstractWe tested how the AGN contribution (5%–75% of the total flux) may affect different morphological parameters commonly used in galaxy classification. We carried out all analysis at z ∼ 0 and at higher redshifts that correspond to the COSMOS field. Using a local training sample of >2000 visually classified galaxies, we carried out all measurements with and without the central source, and quantified how the contribution of a bright nuclear point source could affect different morphological parameters, such as: Abraham and Concelice-Bershady indices, Gini, Asymmetry, M20 moment of light, and Smoothness. We found that concentration indexes are less sensitive to both redshift and brightness in comparison to the other parameters. We also found that all parameters change significantly with AGN contribution. At z ∼ 0, up to a 10% of AGN contribution the morphological classification will not be significantly affect, but for ⩾ 25% of AGN contribution late-type spirals follow the range of parameters of elliptical galaxies and can therefore be misclassified early types.

Bar Fraction in Early- and Late-type Spirals

Abstract Bar fractions depend on the properties of the host galaxies, which are closely related to the formation and evolution of bars. However, observational studies do not provide consistent results. We investigate the bar fraction and its dependence on the properties of the host galaxies by using three bar classification methods: visual inspection, an ellipse fitting method, and Fourier analysis. Our volume-limited sample consists of 1698 spiral galaxies brighter than M r = −15.2 with z < 0.01 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/DR7 visually classified by Ann et al. We first compare the consistency of classification among the three methods. Automatic classifications detect visually determined, strongly barred galaxies with the concordance of 74% to 85%. However, they have some difficulty in identifying bars, in particular in bulge-dominated galaxies, which affects the distribution of bar fraction as a function of Hubble type. We obtain, for the same sample, different bar fractions of 63%, 48%, and 36% by visual inspection, ellipse fitting, and Fourier analysis, respectively. The difference is mainly due to how many weak bars are included. Moreover, we find a different dependence of bar fraction on Hubble type for strong versus weak bars: SBs are preponderant in early-type spirals, whereas SABs are in late-type spirals. This causes a contradictory dependence on host galaxy properties when different classification methods are used. We propose that strong bars and weak bars experience different processes for their formation, growth, and dissipation by interacting with different inner galactic structures of early-type and late-type spirals.

Star Formation in Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

We report the measured H$\alpha$ fluxes and images of 66 nearby objects observed with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Three of these objects: IC2233, UGC4704, and NGC3432 are late-type spiral galaxies, six objects are distant globular clusters of the M31 galaxy, and the remaining ones are dwarf galaxies. We used the measured H$\alpha$ fluxes to estimate the integrated and specific star-formation rates and analyzed some of the main features of star formation in dwarf galaxies and late-type spirals based on a sample of more than 500 Local volume galaxies.

GHASP: an H α kinematics survey of spiral galaxies – XII. Distribution of luminous and dark matter in spiral and irregular nearby galaxies using Rc-band photometry

Mass models of 100 nearby spiral and irregular galaxies, covering morphological types from Sa to Irr, are computed using H$\alpha$ rotation curves and R$_c$-band surface brightness profiles. The kinematics was obtained using a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer. One of the aims is to compare our results with those from Korsaga et al. (2018), which used mid-infrared (MIR) WISE W1 (3.4 $\mu$m) photometric data. For the analysis, the same tools were used for both bands. Pseudo-Isothermal (ISO) core and Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) cuspy models have been used. We test Best Fit Models (BFM), Maximum Disc Models (MDM) and models for which M/L is fixed using the B - V colors. Similarly to what was found in the MIR 3.4 $\mu$m band, most of the observed rotation curves are better described by a central core density profile (ISO) than a cuspy one (NFW) when using the optical R$_c$-band. In both bands, the dispersion in the (M/L) values is smaller for the fixed M/L fits. As for the W1 photometry, the derived DM halos' parameters depend on the morphological types. We find similar relations than those in the literature, only when we compare our results for the bulge-poor sub-sample because most of previous results were mainly based on late-type spirals. Because the dispersion in the model parameters is smaller and because stellar masses are better defined in that band, MIR photometry should be preferred, when possible, to the optical bands. It is shown that for high-z galaxies, sensible results can still be obtained without full profile decomposition.

The Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey. VII. Constraints on the Origin of S0 Galaxies from Their Photometric Structure

Abstract Using high-quality optical images from the Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey, we perform multicomponent decompositions of S0 galaxies (S0s) to derive accurate structural parameters to constrain their physical origin. Many S0s do not host prominent bulges. S0s have a broad distribution of bulge-to-total ratios (B/T) and Sérsic indices (n), with average values of B/T = 0.34 ± 0.15 and n = 2.62 ± 1.02, qualitatively consistent with the notion that S0s define a parallel sequence with and may have evolved from spiral galaxies. This is further reinforced by the incidence of bars and lenses in S0s, which, when compared with the statistics in spirals, supports the idea that lenses are demised bars. However, despite their wide range of prominence, the bulges of S0s form a surprisingly uniform sequence on both the Kormendy and fundamental plane relations. There is no evidence for population dichotomy or other indications of differentiation into classical and pseudo bulges. Most of the S0s reside in the field and in groups; cluster environment is not a necessary condition for S0 production. The properties of S0 bulges show little correlation with environmental indicators, after the dependence of galaxy stellar mass on environment is taken into account. As the bulges of late-type spirals and S0s are intrinsically different, and environmental effects that may account for such evolution appear to be minimal, we conclude that late-type spirals are not plausible progenitors of S0s. The bulges of S0s likely formed at an early epoch, after which secular processes contributed little to their subsequent evolution.

Stellar populations and star formation histories of the nuclear star clusters in six nearby galaxies★

The majority of spiral and elliptical galaxies in the Universe host very dense and compact stellar systems at their centres known as nuclear star clusters (NSCs). In this work we study the stellar populations and star formation histories (SFH) of the NSCs of six nearby galaxies with stellar masses ranging between $2$ and $8\times10^9~{\rm M_{\odot}}$ (four late-type spirals and two early-types) with high resolution spectroscopy. Our observations are taken with the X-Shooter spectrograph at the VLT. We make use of an empirical simple stellar population (SSP) model grid to fit composite stellar populations to the data and recover the SFHs of the nuclei. We find that the nuclei of all late-type galaxies experienced a prolonged SFH, while the NSCs of the two early-types are consistent with SSPs. The NSCs in the late-type galaxies sample appear to have formed a significant fraction of their stellar mass already more than $10$ Gyr ago, while the NSCs in the two early-type galaxies are surprisingly younger. Stars younger than $100$ Myr are present in at least two nuclei: NGC 247 and NGC 7793, with some evidence for young star formation in NGC 300's NSC. The NSCs of the spirals NGC 247 and NGC 300 are consistent with prolonged \in situ star formation with a gradual metallicity enrichment from $\sim-1.5$ dex more than $10$ Gyr ago, reaching super-Solar values few hundred Myr ago. NGC 3621 appears to be very metal rich already in the early Universe and NGC 7793 presents us with a very complex SFH, likely dominated by merging of various massive star clusters coming from different environments.

A Multi-Frequency Study of the Milky Way-Like Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744

AbstractWe present a multi-frequency study of the intermediate spiral SAB(r)bc type galaxy NGC 6744, using available data from the Chandra X-Ray telescope, radio continuum data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Murchison Widefield Array, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared observations. We identify 117 X-ray sources and 280 radio sources. Of these, we find nine sources in common between the X-ray and radio catalogues, one of which is a faint central black hole with a bolometric radio luminosity similar to the Milky Way’s central black hole. We classify 5 objects as supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, 2 objects as likely SNRs, 17 as H ii regions, 1 source as an AGN; the remaining 255 radio sources are categorised as background objects and one X-ray source is classified as a foreground star. We find the star-formation rate (SFR) of NGC 6744 to be in the range 2.8–4.7 M⊙~yr − 1 signifying the galaxy is still actively forming stars. The specific SFR of NGC 6744 is greater than that of late-type spirals such as the Milky Way, but considerably less that that of a typical starburst galaxy.

Diffuse ionized gas in galaxies across the Hubble sequence at the CALIFA resolution

We use spatially resolved spectroscopy from the Calar Alto Legacy Field Area (CALIFA) survey to study the nature of the line emitting gas in galaxies of different Hubble types, focusing on the separation of star-forming (SF) regions from those better characterized as diffuse ionized gas (DIG). The diagnosis is carried out in terms of the equivalent width of ${\rm H}\alpha$ ($W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$). Three nebular regimes are identified. Regions where $W_{{\rm H}\alpha} < 3\ \AA$ define what we call the hDIG, the component of the DIG where photoionization is dominated by hot, low-mass, evolved stars. Regions where $W_{{\rm H}\alpha} > 14\ \AA$ trace SF complexes. $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$ values in the intermediate 3--14 $\AA$ range reflect a mixed regime (mDIG) where more than one process contributes. This three-tier scheme is inspired both by theoretical and empirical considerations. Its application to CALIFA galaxies of different types and inclinations leads to the following results: $\textit{(i)}$ the hDIG component is prevalent throughout ellipticals and S0's as well as in bulges, and explains the strongly bimodal distribution of $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$ both among and within galaxies. $\textit{(ii)}$ Early-type spirals have some hDIG in their discs, but this component becomes progressively less relevant for later Hubble types. $\textit{(iii)}$ hDIG emission is also present above and below galactic discs, as seen in several edge-on spirals in our sample. $\textit{(iv)}$ The SF/mDIG proportion grows steadily from early- to late-type spirals, and from inner to outer radii. $\textit{(v)}$ Besides circumventing basic inconsistencies in conventional DIG/SF separation criteria based on the ${\rm H}\alpha$ surface brightness, our $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$-based method produces results in agreement with a classical excitation diagram analysis.

Galaxy And Mass Assembly: automatic morphological classification of galaxies using statistical learning

We apply four statistical learning methods to a sample of $7941$ galaxies ($z<0.06$) from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to test the feasibility of using automated algorithms to classify galaxies. Using $10$ features measured for each galaxy (sizes, colours, shape parameters \& stellar mass) we apply the techniques of Support Vector Machines (SVM), Classification Trees (CT), Classification Trees with Random Forest (CTRF) and Neural Networks (NN), returning True Prediction Ratios (TPRs) of $75.8\%$, $69.0\%$, $76.2\%$ and $76.0\%$ respectively. Those occasions whereby all four algorithms agree with each other yet disagree with the visual classification (`unanimous disagreement') serves as a potential indicator of human error in classification, occurring in $\sim9\%$ of ellipticals, $\sim9\%$ of Little Blue Spheroids, $\sim14\%$ of early-type spirals, $\sim21\%$ of intermediate-type spirals and $\sim4\%$ of late-type spirals \& irregulars. We observe that the choice of parameters rather than that of algorithms is more crucial in determining classification accuracy. Due to its simplicity in formulation and implementation, we recommend the CTRF algorithm for classifying future galaxy datasets. Adopting the CTRF algorithm, the TPRs of the 5 galaxy types are : E, $70.1\%$; LBS, $75.6\%$; S0-Sa, $63.6\%$; Sab-Scd, $56.4\%$ and Sd-Irr, $88.9\%$. Further, we train a binary classifier using this CTRF algorithm that divides galaxies into spheroid-dominated (E, LBS \& S0-Sa) and disk-dominated (Sab-Scd \& Sd-Irr), achieving an overall accuracy of $89.8\%$. This translates into an accuracy of $84.9\%$ for spheroid-dominated systems and $92.5\%$ for disk-dominated systems.

No evidence for small disk-like bulges in a sample of late-type spirals

About 20% of low-redshift galaxies are late-type spirals with a small or no bulge component. Although they are the simplest disk galaxies in terms of structure and dynamics, the role of the different physical processes driving their formation and evolution is not yet fully understood. We investigated whether small bulges of late-type spirals follow the same scaling relations traced by ellipticals and large bulges and if they are disk-like or classical bulges. We derived the photometric and kinematic properties of 9 nearby late-type spirals. To this aim, we analyzed the surface brightness distribution from the i-band images of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and obtained the structural parameters of the galaxies from a two-dimensional photometric decomposition. We measured the line-of-sight stellar velocity distribution within the bulge effective radius from the long-slit spectra taken with high spectral resolution at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. We used the photometric and kinematic properties of the sample bulges to study their location in the Fundamental Plane, Kormendy, and Faber-Jackson relations defined for ellipticals and large bulges. We found that our sample bulges satisfy some of the photometric and kinematic prescriptions for being considered disk-like bulges such as small sizes and masses with nearly exponential light profiles, small bulge-to-total luminosity ratios, low stellar velocity dispersions, and ongoing star formation. However, each of them follows the same scaling relations of ellipticals, massive bulges, and compact early-type galaxies so they cannot be classified as disk-like systems. We find a single population of galaxy spheroids that follow the same scaling relations, where the mass seems to lead to a smooth transition in the photometric and kinematic properties from less massive bulges to more massive bulges and ellipticals.

Stellar kinematics across the Hubble sequence in the CALIFA survey: general properties and aperture corrections

We present the stellar kinematic maps of a large sample of galaxies from the integral-field spectroscopic survey CALIFA. The sample comprises 300 galaxies displaying a wide range of morphologies across the Hubble sequence, from ellipticals to late-type spirals. This dataset allows us to homogeneously extract stellar kinematics up to several effective radii. In this paper, we describe the level of completeness of this subset of galaxies with respect to the full CALIFA sample, as well as the virtues and limitations of the kinematic extraction compared to other well-known integral-field surveys. In addition, we provide averaged integrated velocity dispersion radial profiles for different galaxy types, which are particularly useful to apply aperture corrections for single aperture measurements or poorly resolved stellar kinematics of high-redshift sources. The work presented in this paper sets the basis for the study of more general properties of galaxies that will be explored in subsequent papers of the survey.

Near-infrared imaging of barred halo-dominated low surface brightness galaxies

We present a near-infrared (NIR) imaging study of barred low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies using the TIFR near-infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC). LSB galaxies are dark matter dominated, late type spirals that have low luminosity stellar disks but large neutral hydrogen (HI) gas disks. Using SDSS images of a very large sample of LSB galaxies derived from the literature, we found that the barred fraction is only 8.3%. We imaged twenty five barred LSB galaxies in the J, H, K$_S$ wavebands and twenty nine in the K$_S$ band. Most of the bars are much brighter than their stellar disks, which appear to be very diffuse. Our image analysis gives deprojected mean bar sizes of $R_{b}/R_{25}$ = 0.40 and ellipticities $e$ $\approx$ 0.45, which are similar to bars in high surface brightness galaxies. Thus, although bars are rare in LSB galaxies, they appear to be just as strong as bars found in normal galaxies. There is no correlation of $R_{b}/R_{25}$ or $e$ with the relative HI or stellar masses of the galaxies. In the (J-K$_S$) color images most of the bars have no significant color gradient which indicates that their stellar population is uniformly distributed and confirms that they have low dust content.

Star formation along the Hubble sequence

The aim of this paper is to characterize the radial structure of the star formation rate (SFR) in galaxies in the nearby Universe as represented by the CALIFA survey. The sample under study contains 416 galaxies observed with IFS, covering a wide range of Hubble types and stellar masses. Spectral synthesis techniques are applied to obtain radial profiles of the intensity of the star formation rate in the recent past, and the local sSFR. To emphasize the behavior of these properties for galaxies that are on and off the main sequence of star formation (MSSF) we stack the individual radial profiles in bins of galaxy morphology and stellar masses. Our main results are: a) The intensity of SFR shows declining profiles that exhibit very little differences between spirals. The dispersion between the profiles is significantly smaller in late type spirals. This confirms that the MSSF is a sequence of galaxies with nearly constant intensity of SFR b) sSFR values scale with Hubble type and increase radially outwards, with a steeper slope in the inner 1 HLR. This behavior suggests that galaxies are quenched inside-out, and that this process is faster in the central, bulge-dominated part than in the disks. c) As a whole, and at all radii, E and S0 are off the MSSF. d) Applying the volume-corrections for the CALIFA sample, we obtain a density of star formation in the local Universe of 0.0105 Msun/yr/Mpc^{-3}. Most of the star formation is occurring in the disks of spirals. e) The volume averaged birthrate parameter, b'=0.39, suggests that the present day Universe is forming stars at 1/3 of its past average rate. E, S0, and the bulge of early type spirals contribute little to the recent SFR of the Universe, which is dominated by the disks of later spirals. f) There is a tight relation between the intensity of the SFR and stellar mass, defining a local MSSF relation with a logarithmic slope of 0.8.

Studying the evolution of galaxies in compact groups over the past 3 Gyr – II. The importance of environment in the suppression of star formation

We present an in depth study on the evolution of galaxy properties in compact groups over the past 3 Gyr. We are using the largest multi-wavelength sample to-date, comprised 1770 groups (containing 7417 galaxies), in the redshift range of 0.01<z<0.23. To derive the physical properties of the galaxies we rely on ultraviolet (UV)-to-infrared spectral energy distribution modeling, using CIGALE. Our results suggest that during the 3 Gyr period covered by our sample, the star formation activity of galaxies in our groups has been substantially reduced (3-10 times). Moreover, their star formation histories as well as their UV-optical and mid-infrared colors are significantly different from those of field and cluster galaxies, indicating that compact group galaxies spend more time transitioning through the green valley. The morphological transformation from late-type spirals into early-type galaxies occurs in the mid-infrared transition zone rather than in the UV-optical green valley. We find evidence of shocks in the emission line ratios and gas velocity dispersions of the late-type galaxies located below the star forming main sequence. Our results suggest that in addition to gas stripping, turbulence and shocks might play an important role in suppressing the star formation in compact group galaxies.

A Spitzer Study of Pseudobulges in S0 Galaxies: Secular Evolution of Disks

AbstractA comparison of pseudobulges in S0 and spiral galaxies is presented using structural parameters derived from 2-d decomposition of mid-infrared images taken at 3.6 μm by Spitzer IRAC. The position of the bulges on the Kormendy diagram has been used as an initial classification criterion for determining the nature of the bulge. To make the classification more secure, the criterion proposed by Fisher and Drory (2008) has also been used, which involves using the n = 2 division line on Sérsic index. We find that among the 185 S0 galaxies, 27 are pseudobulge hosts while 160 are classical. Of these 25 pseudobulge hosts, only two belong to the bright luminosity class (MK &lt; 22.66, AB system) while rest belong to the faint luminosity class (MK &gt; 22.66, AB system). We find that among spiral galaxies, 77 % (24 of 31) of the bulges are classified as pseudobulges. As pointed out by various studies, the presence of such a large fraction poses problems to our current picture of galaxy formation. How ever, our primary result is that the disk scale length of pseudobulge hosting S0s is significantly smaller on average than that of their spiral counterparts. This can be explained as a lowered disk luminosity which in turn implies that S0s have evolved from spiral progenitors. We also argue that early type spirals are more likely to be the progenitors based on bulge and total luminosity arguments. We speculate that if late type spirals hosting pseudobulges have to evolve into S0s, an additional mechanism along with gas stripping of spirals is needed. We have also investigated the effect of environment on pseudobulges in the two samples, but no significant trends were found in the properties of the pseudobulges as a function of the various structural parameters. The study is made more difficult because of the low number statistics one deals with when the sample is sub-divided based on whether it is in a field or group/cluster environment. The study of pseudobulges based on environment, however, is an interesting one and is something that can be considered for the future by carefully selecting a sample with statistically meaningful number of objects from diverse environments.