Star formation bimodality in early-type galaxies

Journal Article · Mon Mar 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/783/2/135· OSTI ID:22351556

Amblard, A.; Riguccini, L.; Temi, P.; Im, S.; Fanelli, M. ^[1]; Serra, P. ^[2]

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1. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (United States)
2. IAS, CNRS (UMR8617), Université Paris-Sud 11, Bâtiment 121, F-91400 Orsay (France)

We compute the properties of a sample of 221 local, early-type galaxies with a spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling software, CIGALEMC. Concentrating on the star-forming (SF) activity and dust contents, we derive parameters such as the specific star formation rate (sSFR), the dust luminosity, dust mass, and temperature. In our sample, 52% is composed of elliptical (E) galaxies and 48% of lenticular (S0) galaxies. We find a larger proportion of S0 galaxies among galaxies with a large sSFR and large specific dust emission. The stronger activity of S0 galaxies is confirmed by larger dust masses. We investigate the relative proportion of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and SF galaxies in our sample using spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey data and near-infrared selection techniques, and find a larger proportion of AGN-dominated galaxies in the S0 sample than the E one. This could corroborate a scenario where blue galaxies evolve into red ellipticals by passing through an S0 AGN active period while quenching its star formation. Finally, we find a good agreement comparing our estimates with color indicators.

• OSTI ID: 22351556
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 783, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COLOR
DUSTS
EMISSION
ENERGY SPECTRA
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
LUMINOSITY
MASS
QUENCHING
SIMULATION
SKY
STARS