Related papers: The distinguishing factor for gravity models: stel…
We use stellar and dynamical mass profiles, combined with a stellar population analysis, of 32 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) at redshifts of 0.05 $\leq z \leq$ 0.30, to place constraints on their stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF). We…
Given a flurry of recent claims for systematic variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF), we carry out the first inventory of the observational evidence using different approaches. This includes literature results, as well as…
From time to time, and quite more frequently in recent years, claims appear favoring a variable Initial Mass Function (IMF), one way or another, either in time or space. In this chapter we add our two pennies of wisdom, illustrating how the…
Stellar population synthesis (SPS) provides the link between the stellar and dust content of galaxies and their observed spectral energy distributions. In the present work we perform a comprehensive calibration of our own flexible SPS…
We present new mathematical alternatives for explaining rotation curves of spiral galaxies in the MOND context. For given total masses, it is shown that various mathematical alternatives to MOND, while predicting flat rotation curves for…
The Lambda-CDM cosmological model is succesful at reproducing various independent sets of observations concerning the large-scale Universe. This model is however currently, and actually in principle, unable to predict the gravitational…
The observed dynamical mass-to-light (M/L) ratios of globular clusters (GCs) are systematically lower than those expected from `canonical' simple stellar population models, which do not account for the preferential loss of low-mass stars…
In this empirical work, we aim to quantify the systematic uncertainties in stellar mass $(M_\star)$ estimates made from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting through stellar population synthesis (SPS), for galaxies in the local…
Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and similar proposals can (at least partially) explain the excess rotation of galaxies or the equivalent mass-discrepancy acceleration, without (or by reducing) the requirement of dark matter halos. This…
Galaxy groups, which have hardly been looked at in MOND, afford probing the acceleration discrepancies in regions of system-parameter space that are not accessible in well-studied galactic systems, such as galaxies, galaxy clusters, and…
We use a sample of about 48,000 SDSS early-type galaxies to show that older galaxies have smaller half-light radii re and larger velocity dispersions sigma than younger ones of the same stellar mass Mstar. We use the age-corrected…
We present the first constraints on stellar mass-to-light ratio gradients in an early-type galaxy (ETG) using multiple dynamical tracer populations to model the dark and luminous mass structure simultaneously. We combine the kinematics of…
MONDian dark matter (MDM) is a new form of dark matter quantum that naturally accounts for Milgrom's scaling, usually associated with modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), and theoretically behaves like cold dark matter (CDM) at cluster and…
We show that different stellar-mass estimation methods yield overall mass scales that disagree by factors up to ~2 for the z=0 galaxy population, and more importantly, relative mass scales that sometimes disagree by factors >~3 between…
A recent study has claimed that the rotation curve shapes and mass densities of Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies are largely consistent with $\Lambda$CDM predictions, in contrast to a large body of observational work. I demonstrate…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a key parameter to study galaxy evolution. Here we measure the IMF mass normalization for a sample of 68 field galaxies in the redshift range 0.7 to 0.9 within the Extended Groth Strip. To do this…
We use spiral galaxy evolution models to argue that there are substantial variations in stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) within and among galaxies. Our models show a strong correlation between stellar M/L and galaxy color. We compare the…
We have used a suite of simplified spectrophotometric spiral galaxy evolution models to argue that there are substantial variations in stellar mass-to-light ratios (M/Ls) within and among galaxies, amounting to factors of between 3 and 7 in…
The works in this portfolio test the hypothesis that it is not possible to extrapolate the Newtonian inverse square law of gravity from Solar System to galaxy scales. In particular, I look into various tests of Modified Newtonian Dynamics…
Lo, Sargent, and Young (1993) have recently concluded that the masses of some dwarf galaxies, as deduced by the modified dynamics (MOND) from the observed velocity dispersions, are systematically smaller than the observed masses, by a…