Related papers: Isolated compact elliptical galaxies: Stellar syst…
Observational constraints and theoretical arguments indicate that cooled interstellar gas in bright elliptical galaxies forms into a young stellar population throughout the region within the half-light radius. The young population has a…
The sample of known star clusters, the fundamental building blocks of galaxies, in the Milky Way is still extremely incomplete for objects beyond a distance of 1-2kpc. Many of the more distant and young clusters are compact and hidden…
In models of galaxy formation in a hierarchical Universe, elliptical galaxies form through the merging of smaller disk systems. These models yield a number of testable predictions if reliable techniques for determining the relative ages and…
Small amounts of star formation in elliptical galaxies are suggested by several results: surprisingly young ages from optical line indices, cooling X-ray gas, and mid-IR dust emission. Such star formation has previously been difficult to…
Planets that form around stars born in dense stellar environments are subject to dynamical perturbations from other stars in the system. These perturbations will strip outer planets, forming a population of free-floating planets, some of…
The dynamics of an elliptical galaxy within a couple of effective radii can be probed effectively by stars. However, at larger distances planetary nebulae (PNe) replace stars as the tracer of the dynamics. Making use of the motion of PNe,…
The halo masses of nearby individual elliptical galaxies can be estimated by using the kinematics of their stars, planetary nebulae, and globular clusters -- ideally in combination. With currently improving coverage of galaxies of ordinary…
Searching for lopsided/interacting objects among ~1500 isolated galaxies yields only eight strongly disturbed galaxies which may be explained as a result of their interaction with massive dark objects. We present results of spectral and…
We use a mock galaxy catalogue based upon the Millennium Run simulation to investigate the intrinsic spatial properties of compact groups of galaxies. We find that approximately 30% of galaxy associations identified in our mock catalogue…
It is challenging to reliably identify stars that were born together outside of actively star-forming regions and bound stellar systems. However, co-natal stars should be present throughout the Galaxy, and their demographics can shed light…
A major goal of contemporary astrophysics is understanding the origin of the most massive galaxies in the universe, particularly nearby ellipticals and spirals. Theoretical models of galaxy formation have existed for many decades, although…
The formation and evolution of elliptical galaxies (EGs) is still an open question. In particular, recent observations suggest that elliptical galaxies are not only simple spheroidal systems of old stars. In this paper we analyze a sample…
The thick disc contains stars formed within the first Gyr of Galactic history, and little is known about their planetary systems. The Spitzer MIPS instrument was used to search 11 of the closest of these old low-metal stars for…
From several searches of the area common to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey, we have selected 22 luminous galaxies between $z \sim$ 0.4 and $z \sim$ 0.9 that have colors and…
Numerical simulations as well as optical and X-ray observations over the last few years have shown that poor groups of galaxies can evolve to what is called a fossil group. Dynamical friction as the driving process leads to the coalescence…
We present radial tracks for four early-type galaxies with embedded intermediate-scale discs in a modified spin-ellipticity diagram. Here, each galaxy's spin and ellipticity profiles are shown as a radial track, as opposed to a single,…
We determine the orbital eccentricities of individual small Kepler planets, through a combination of asteroseismology and transit light-curve analysis. We are able to constrain the eccentricities of 51 systems with a single transiting…
Luminous elliptical galaxies generally display a rich star cluster system, whose properties provide strong constraints on the physics of galaxy formation and evolution. Star cluster system studies, however, concentrate on galaxies located…
The nature of Compact Groups (CGs) is investigated by comparing the luminosities and morphologies of CG galaxies, CG Neighbours and Isolated galaxies. CGs turn out to include more early type galaxies than Isolated galaxies and fewer…
We present a detailed stellar population analysis of 27 massive elliptical galaxies within 4 very rich clusters at redshift z~0.2. We obtained accurate estimates of the mean luminosity-weighted ages and relative abundances of CN, Mg and Fe…