2018/10/09 by P. Francois, P. François, L. Morelli +7
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Bulge #Elliptical galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy formation and evolution #Luminous infrared galaxy #Population #Spectral line #Stellar population #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833956
published as A&A 621, A60 (2019) · accepted for publication in A&A (25 pages , 10 figures)
arxiv created 2018/10/09 · openalex created_date 2018/10/26 · openalex publication_date 2019/01/01 · arxiv updated 2019/01/09 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Context. A new generation of spectral synthesis models has been developed in recent years, but there is no matching set of template galaxy spectra, in terms of quality and resolution, for testing and refining the new models. Aims. Our main goal is to find and calibrate new near-infrared spectral indices along the Hubble sequence of galaxies which will be used to obtain additional constraints to the population analysis based on medium-resolution integrated spectra of galaxies. Methods. Spectra of previously studied and well-understood galaxies with relatively simple stellar populations (e.g., ellipticals or bulge dominated galaxies) are needed to provide a baseline data set for spectral synthesis models. Results. X-shooter spectra spanning the optical and infrared wavelengths (350–2400 nm) of bright nearby elliptical galaxies with a resolving power of R ∼ 4000–5400 were obtained. Heliocentric systemic velocity, velocity dispersion, and Mg, Fe, and H β line-strength indices are presented. Conclusions. We present a library of very-high-quality spectra of galaxies covering a large range of age, metallicity, and morphological type. Such a dataset of spectra will be crucial to addressing important questions of the modern investigation concerning galaxy formation and evolution.