Related papers: Two phase formation of massive elliptical galaxies…
The mass assembly of galaxies leaves various imprints on their surroundings, such as shells, streams and tidal tails. The frequency and properties of these fine structures depend on the mechanism driving the mass assembly: e.g. a monolithic…
Recent studies have shown that massive galaxies in the distant universe are surprisingly compact, with typical sizes about a factor of three smaller than equally massive galaxies in the nearby universe. It has been suggested that these…
Star-forming blue early-type galaxies at low redshift can give insight to the stellar mass growth of L$*$ elliptical galaxies in the local Universe. We wish to understand the reason for star formation in these otherwise passively evolving…
We present a new sample of strong gravitational lens systems where both the foreground lenses and background sources are early-type galaxies. Using imaging from HST/ACS and Keck/NIRC2, we model the surface brightness distributions and show…
I review the current status of understanding when, how long, and how giant elliptical galaxies formed, focusing on the globular clusters. Several observational evidences show that massive elliptical galaxies formed at $z>2$ ($>10$ Gyr ago).…
Aims: In this work we aim to investigate the late evolution of ETGs, both observationally and theoretically, by focusing on the stellar mass density profile inside a fixed aperture, within $10 ~\rm{kpc}$ from the galaxy center. Methods: We…
We test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies are formed by violent mergers in a universe with hierarchical structure formation. Within the framework of a semi-analytic scheme for galaxy formation, we predict the distribution of…
Massive ETGs are thought to form through a two-phase process. At early times, an intense and fast starburst forms blue and disk-dominated galaxies. After quenching, the remaining structures become red, compact and massive, i.e., 'red…
Theoretical considerations and observational data support the idea that mergers were more frequent in the past. At high redshifts, violent interactions and mergers may be implicated in the origin of Lyman-break galaxies, sub-mm starbursts,…
In the last decades, extended old stellar clusters have been observed. These extended objects cover a large range in masses, from extended clusters or faint fuzzies to ultra compact dwarf galaxies. It has been demonstrated that these…
We consider the hypothesis that the formation of elliptical galaxies includes a phase in which star formation is mostly restricted to massive stars, with the bias towards high mass stars increasing with elliptical galaxy mass. The mass…
This paper examines star formation (SF) in relatively massive, primarily early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z~0.1. A sample is drawn from bulge-dominated GALEX/SDSS galaxies on the optical red sequence with strong UV excess and yet quiescent…
Star formation in elliptical galaxies (Es) was and is mostly dominated by mergers and accretions with many suggestive examples seen among local galaxies. Present day star formation in Es is easily measurable in two thirds of Es and appears…
The characteristic size of early-type galaxies (ETGs) of given stellar mass is observed to increase significantly with cosmic time, from redshift z>2 to the present. A popular explanation for this size evolution is that ETGs grow through…
We measure the star formation rates (SFRs) of massive ($M_{\star}>10^{10.1}M_{\odot}$) early-type galaxies (ETGs) in a sample of 11 high-redshift ($1.0 < z < 1.5$) galaxy clusters drawn from the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey (ISCS). We…
How elliptical galaxies form is a key question in observational cosmology. While the formation of massive ellipticals is strongly linked to mergers, the low mass (Mstar < 10^9.5 MSun) regime remains less well explored. In particular,…
We take advantage of the largest high-resolution simulation of cosmic structure growth ever carried out -- the Millennium Simulation of the concordance LambdaCDM cosmogony -- to study how the star formation histories, ages and metallicities…
In this paper, we present a model of the formation and chemical enrichment of elliptical galaxies that differs from the conventional picture in two ways: 1)Ellipticals do not form in a single monolithic collapse and burst of star formation…
We present a determination of the two-dimensional shape parameters of the blue and red globular cluster systems (GCSs) in a large number of elliptical galaxies and lenticular galaxies (early-type galaxies, called ETGs). We use a homogeneous…
Theoretical considerations and observational data support the idea that mergers were more frequent in the past. At redshifts z = 2 to 5, violent interactions and mergers may be implicated by observations of Lyman-break galaxies, sub-mm…