Related papers: A Comparison of Simple Galaxy Mass Estimators
We discuss constraints on the mass density distribution (parameterized as $\rho\propto r^{-\gamma}$) in early-type galaxies provided by strong lensing and stellar kinematics data. The constraints come from mass measurements at two `pinch'…
The purpose of this letter is to compare the quality of different methods for estimating stellar masses of galaxies. We compare the results of (a) fitting stellar population synthesis models to broad band colors from SDSS and 2MASS, (b) the…
An overview of the methods used to estimate the mass of the Galaxy and the results obtained by various authors recently according to modern data is given. In particular, the estimates obtained based on the analysis of the galactic rotation…
A powerful method to measure the mass profile of a galaxy is through the velocities of tracer particles distributed through its halo. Transforming this kind of data accurately to a mass profile M(r), however, is not a trivial problem. In…
In this paper we compare two different diagnostics for estimating stellar masses in early-type galaxies and we establish their level of reliability. In particular, we consider the well-studied sample of 15 field elliptical galaxies selected…
Cluster mass profiles are tests of models of structure formation. Only two current observational methods of determining the mass profile, gravitational lensing and the caustic technique, are independent of the assumption of dynamical…
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…
Many recent observations and numerical simulations suggest that nearby massive, early-type galaxies were formed through a "two-phase" process. In the proposed second phase, the extended stellar envelope was accumulated through many dry…
The mass distribution of galaxy clusters can be determined from the study of the projected phase-space distribution of cluster galaxies. The main advantage of this method as compared to others, is that it allows determination of cluster…
We test the methods developed in previous papers for inferring the intrinsic shapes of elliptical galaxies, using simulated objects from N-body experiments. The shapes of individual objects are correctly reproduced to within the statistical…
New mass estimates and cumulative mass profiles with Bayesian credible regions (c.r.) for the Milky Way (MW) are found using the Galactic Mass Estimator (GME) code and dwarf galaxy (DG) kinematic data from multiple sources. GME takes a…
In this study we present a simple model of elliptical galaxies aimed at interpreting the gradients in colours and narrow band indices observed across these systems. Salient features of the model are the gradients in mass density and star…
The aim of the present paper is to quantify the dependence of the estimates of luminosities and stellar mass of early-type galaxies on the different models and model parameters which can be used to analyze the observational data. The paper…
The intrinsic scatter in the ellipticities of galaxies about the mean shape, known as "shape noise," is the most important source of noise in weak lensing shear measurements. Several approaches to reducing shape noise have recently been put…
Determining the dynamical mass profiles of dispersion-supported galaxies is particularly challenging due to projection effects and the unknown shape of their velocity anisotropy profile. Our goal is to develop a machine learning algorithm…
The elliptical power-law (EPL) model of the mass in a galaxy is widely used in strong gravitational lensing analyses. However, the distribution of mass in real galaxies is more complex. We quantify the biases due to this model mismatch by…
We derive the average mass profile of elliptical galaxies from the ensemble of 161 strong gravitational lens systems selected from several surveys, assuming that the mass profile scales with the stellar mass and effective radius of each…
It is generally believed that major galaxy mergers with mass ratios in the range 1:1-3:1 result in remnants that have properties similar to elliptical galaxies, and minor mergers below 10:1 result in disturbed spiral galaxies. The…
Rotation curves are often used to estimate the mass distribution of spiral galaxies, assuming circular rotation of disks. However, non-circular motions caused by a non-axisymmetric gravitational potential, such as a stellar bar, may disturb…
Total mass is arguably the most fundamental property for cosmological studies with galaxy clusters. We investigate the present differences in the mass estimates obtained through independent X-ray, weak-lensing, and dynamical studies. We…