English

$R_{\rm e}$. II. Understanding the IC 3475 galaxy type, including ultra-diffuse galaxy, structural scaling relations

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2025-07-24 v2

Abstract

It is explained why relatively gas-poor ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs), a subset of IC 3475 galaxy types, do not have unexpectedly large sizes but large sizes that are in line with expectations from the curved size-luminosity relation defined by brighter early-type galaxies (ETGs). These UDGs extend the faint end of the (absolute magnitude, M\mathfrak{M})-log(S\'ersic index, nn) and M\mathfrak{M}-(central surface brightness, μ0\mu_{\rm 0}) relations defined by all ETGs, leading to the large effective half-light radii, ReR_{\rm e}, in these UDGs. It is detailed how the scatter in μ0\mu_{\rm 0}, at a given M\mathfrak{M}, relates to variations in the galaxies' values of nn and effective surface brightness, μe\mu_{\rm e}. These variations map into changes in ReR_{\rm e} and produce the scatter about the M\mathfrak{M}-ReR_{\rm e} relation at fixed M\mathfrak{M}. Similarly, the scatter in M\mathfrak{M}, at fixed μ0\mu_{\rm 0} and nn, can be mapped into changes in ReR_{\rm e}. The suggestion that there may be two types of relatively gas-poor UDGs appears ill-founded, arising from the scatter about the M\mathfrak{M}-μ0\mu_{\rm 0} relation. The increased scatter about the faint end of the M\mathfrak{M}-ReR_{\rm e} relation and the smaller scatter about M\mathfrak{M}-(isophotal radii, RisoR_{\rm iso}) relations are explained. Artificial and potentially misleading size-luminosity relations for UDGs are also addressed. Finally, expected trends with dynamical mass, and evolutionary pathways towards relatively gas-rich galaxies, are briefly discussed. Hopefully, the understanding presented here will prove helpful for interpreting the many low surface brightness galaxies that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will detect.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2504.16593,
  title  = {$R_{\rm e}$. II. Understanding the IC 3475 galaxy type, including ultra-diffuse galaxy, structural scaling relations},
  author = {Alister W. Graham},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.16593},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

13 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PASA (includes two additional figures on version 1)

R2 v1 2026-06-28T23:08:22.545Z