The early-type galaxies NGC 1407 and NGC 1400 - II: star formation and chemical evolutionary history

Abstract

We present a possible star formation and chemical evolutionary history for two early-type galaxies NGC 1407 and NGC 1400. They are the two brightest galaxies of the NGC 1407 (or Eridanus-A) group, one of the 60 groups studied as part of the Group Evolution Multi-wavelength Study (GEMS). Our analysis is based on new high signal-to-noise spatially resolved integrated spectra obtained at the ESO 3.6m telescope, out to 0.6 (NGC 1407) and 1.3 (NGC 1400) effective radii. Using Lick/IDS indices we estimate luminosity-weighted ages, metallicities and $\alpha$-element abundance ratios. Colour radial distributions from HST/ACS and Subaru Suprime-Cam multi-band wide-field imaging are compared to colours predicted from spectroscopically determinated ages and metallicities using single stellar population models. The galaxies formed over half of their mass in a single short-lived burst of star formation (> 100 M(sun)/year) at redshift z>5. This likely involved an outside-in mechanism with supernova-driven galactic winds, as suggested by the flatness of the alpha-element radial profiles and the strong negative metallicity gradients. Our results support the predictions of the revised version of the monolithic collapse model for galaxy formation and evolution. We speculate that, since formation the galaxies have evolved quiescently and that we are witnessing the first infall of NGC 1400 in the group.

arXiv comment14 pages, 9 tables, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (50)

• Simulating the joint evolution of quasars, galaxies and their large-scale distribution
• The many lives of active galactic nuclei: cooling flows, black holes and the luminosities and colours of galaxies
• The hierarchical formation of the brightest cluster galaxies
• The epochs of early-type galaxy formation as a function of environment
• The formation history of elliptical galaxies
• A Recipe for Galaxy Formation Shaun Cole
• Stellar population models of Lick indices with variable element abundance ratios
• Extragalactic Globular Clusters and Galaxy Formation
• The Centers of Early-Type Galaxies with HST. IV. Central Parameter Relations
• Old Stellar Populations. VI. Absorption-Line Spectra of Galaxy Nuclei and Globular Clusters
• The Stellar Population Histories of Local Early-Type Galaxies. I. Population Parameters
• Statistical Properties of Collisionless Equal- and Unequal-Mass Merger Remnants of Disk Galaxies
• Evolution of the Hubble Sequence in Hierarchical Models for Galaxy Formation
• The GEMS project: X-ray analysis and statistical properties of the group sample
• GALEX UV Color-Magnitude Relations and Evidence for Recent Star Formation in Early-type Galaxies
• GRAPE-SPH Chemodynamical Simulation of Elliptical Galaxies I: Evolution of Metallicity Gradients
• The influence of gas on the structure of merger remnants
• Spatially resolved spectroscopy of Coma cluster early -- type galaxies: III. The stellar population gradients
• GCD+: A New Chemodynamical Approach to Modeling SNe and Chemical Enrichment
• Constraints on galaxy formation from alpha-enhancement in luminous elliptical galaxies
• Unequal-mass galaxy mergers and the creation of cluster S0 galaxies
• Evolution and environment of early-type galaxies
• A comparison of stellar populations in galaxy populations across a wide range of Hubble types
• Photo-Chemical Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies I. The high-redshift formation scenario
• Spatially resolved spectroscopy of early-type galaxies over a range in mass
• Gradients of Absorption Line Strengths in Elliptical Galaxies
• A Chandra Survey of Early-Type Galaxies, I: Metal Enrichment in the ISM
• A Robust Method for the Analysis of Integrated Spectra from Globular Clusters using Lick Indices
• Ages and Metallicities of Hickson Compact Group Galaxies
• Abundance ratios in hierarchical galaxy formation
• GALEX UV Color Relations for Nearby Early-Type Galaxies
• Spatially resolved kinematics and stellar populations of brightest cluster and group galaxies
• Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies II. Global trends from nuclear data
• Stellar populations of early-type galaxies in different environments III. Line-strength gradients
• Detection of Radial Surface Brightness Fluctuation and Color Gradients in elliptical galaxies with ACS
• Galactic Winds and the Photo-chemical Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies: The Classic Model Revisited
• Stellar populations in gas-rich galaxy mergers II. Feedback effects of Type Ia and II supernovae
• Stellar populations of Globular Clusters in the Elliptical galaxy NGC1407
• A possible theoretical explanation of metallicity gradients in elliptical galaxies
• Gemini/GMOS Spectroscopy of the Spheroid and Globular Cluster System of NGC 3923
• The spatially resolved stellar populations of isolated early-type galaxies
• An Imaging Study of the Globular Cluster Systems of NGC 1407 and NGC 1400
• Spatially resolved stellar populations in the isolated elliptical NGC 821
• Gemini/GMOS Imaging of Globular Clusters in the Virgo Galaxy NGC 4649 (M60)
• The outside-in formation of elliptical galaxies
• The formation of S0 galaxies: evidence from globular clusters
• The Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS): the Sample and Datasets
• Star Formation Histories of Nearby Elliptical Galaxies: I. Volume Limited Sample
• Photo-chemical evolution of elliptical galaxies II. The impact of merging-induced starbursts
• Probing the Mass Distributions in NGC 1407 and Its Associated Group with the X-ray Imaging Spectroscopic and Optical Photometric and Line-strength Indices Data

Cited by in corpus (39)

• SDSS-IV MaNGA: Spatially resolved star formation histories in galaxies as a function of galaxy mass and type
• The SLUGGS Survey: Kinematics for over 2500 Globular Clusters in Twelve Early-type Galaxies
• The Stellar Initial Mass Function in Early-Type Galaxies from Absorption Line Spectroscopy. III. Radial Gradients
• Early-type galaxies at large galactocentric radii - II. Metallicity gradients, and the [Z/H]--mass, [alpha/Fe]--mass relations
• The mass-metallicity gradient relation of early-type galaxies
• Evidence for Two Phases of Galaxy Formation from Radial Trends in the Globular Cluster System of NGC 1407
• The Influence of Dark Matter Halos on Dynamical Estimates of Black Hole Mass: Ten New Measurements for High-sigma Early-Type Galaxies
• Mapping the Dark Side with DEIMOS: Globular Clusters, X-ray Gas, and Dark Matter in the NGC 1407 Group
• Abundance gradient slopes versus mass in spheroids: predictions by monolithic models
• The SLUGGS survey: Exploring the metallicity gradients of nearby early-type galaxies to large radii
• Temperature and abundance profiles of hot gas in galaxy groups - II. Implications for feedback and ICM enrichment
• The SLUGGS Survey: Dark matter fractions at large radii and assembly epochs of early-type galaxies from globular cluster kinematics
• Stellar population and the origin of intra-cluster stars around brightest cluster galaxies: the case of NGC 3311
• The SLUGGS Survey: stellar masses and effective radii of early-type galaxies from Spitzer Space Telescope 3.6$\mu$m imaging
• Abundance patterns in early-type galaxies: is there a 'knee' in the [Fe/H] vs. [alpha/Fe] relation?
• The SLUGGS Survey: Measuring globular cluster ages using both photometry and spectroscopy
• Metallicity Gradients at Large Galactocentric Radii Using the Near-infrared Calcium Triplet
• Age and metallicity gradients support hierarchical formation for M87
• The stellar population and initial mass function of NGC 1399 with MUSE
• The early-type galaxies NGC 1407 and NGC 1400 - I: spatially resolved radial kinematics and surface photometry
• The central dark matter content of early-type galaxies: scaling relations and connections with star formation histories
• Old age and super-solar metallicity in a massive z~1.4 early-type galaxy from VLT/X-Shooter spectroscopy
• The Optical Colors of Giant Elliptical Galaxies and their Metal-Rich Globular Clusters Indicate a Bottom-Heavy Initial Mass Function
• The spatial distribution and origin of the FUV excess in early-type galaxies
• The SLUGGS Survey: The Assembly Histories of Individual Early-type Galaxies
• The Hydra I cluster core. I. Stellar populations in the cD galaxy NGC 3311
• Stellar population properties of individual massive early-type galaxies at 1.4 < z < 2
• Kinematics and line strength indices in the halos of the Coma Brightest Cluster Galaxies NGC 4874 and NGC 4889
• Early-type galaxies at large galactocentric radii - I. Stellar kinematics and photometric properties
• Calibrated, cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with variable IMFs III: Spatially-resolved properties and evolution
• Secular evolution in action: central values and radial trends in the stellar populations of boxy bulges
• Tracing the Assembly History of NGC 1395 through its Globular Cluster System
• The ALHAMBRA survey: 2-D analysis of the stellar populations in massive early-type galaxies at z < 0.3
• The anatomy of the NGC 5044 group -- II. Stellar populations and star-formation histories
• Mapping the Kinematically Decoupled Core in NGC 1407 with MUSE
• Spatially-resolved stellar populations and kinematics with KCWI: probing the assembly history of the massive early-type galaxy NGC 1407
• Variation in the stellar initial mass function from the chromospheric activity of M dwarfs in early-type galaxies
• Galaxy archaeology for wet mergers: Globular cluster age distributions in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. IX. Different Radial Number Density Profiles between Blue and Red Clusters