Decoding NGC 7252 as a blue elliptical galaxy

George, Koshy

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202345837

Decoding NGC 7252 as a blue elliptical galaxy

Journal Article · Tue Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202345837· OSTI ID:2422917

^[1]

Ludwig Maximilian Univ. of Munich, Munich (Germany)

Elliptical galaxies with blue optical colours and significant star formation are hypothesised to be major merger remnants of gas-rich spiral galaxies or normal elliptical galaxies with a sudden burst of star formation. We present here a scenario in which blue elliptical galaxies identified in shallow imaging surveys may fail to recover faint features that are indicative of past merger activity using a nearby major merger remnant. Based on deep optical imaging data of the post-merger galaxy, NGC 7252, we demonstrate that the galaxy can appear as an elliptical galaxy if it is observed at higher redshifts. The main body and the low surface brightness merger features found at the outskirts of the galaxy are blue in the optical g – r colour map. We argue that the higher-redshift blue elliptical galaxies discovered in surveys as shallow as the SDSS or DECaLS may be advanced mergers whose defining tidal features fall below the detection limits of the surveys. This should be taken into consideration during the morphological classification of these systems in future and ongoing surveys.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2422917

Journal Information:: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Journal Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Vol. 671; ISSN 0004-6361

Publisher:: EDP SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (44)

Evolution of blue E/S0 galaxies from z ~ 1: merger remnants or disk-rebuilding galaxies? Huertas-Company, M.; Aguerri, J. A. L.; Tresse, L. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 515 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200913188	journal	May 2010
Lifetime of merger features of equal-mass disk mergers Ji, Inchan; Peirani, Sébastien; Yi, Sukyoung K. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 566 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201423530	journal	June 2014
Revealing the nature of star forming blue early-type galaxies at low redshift George, Koshy; Zingade, Kshama Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 583 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424826	journal	November 2015
Structural analysis of star-forming blue early-type galaxies: Merger-driven star formation in elliptical galaxies George, Koshy Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 598 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201629667	journal	January 2017
History and destiny of an emerging early-type galaxy: New IFU insights on the major-merger remnant NGC 7252 Weaver, J.; Husemann, B.; Kuntschner, H. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 614 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732448	journal	June 2018
Dissecting star formation in the “Atoms-for-Peace” galaxy George, K.; Joseph, P.; Côté, P. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 614 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832705	journal	June 2018
UVIT observations of the star-forming ring in NGC 7252: Evidence of possible AGN feedback suppressing central star formation George, K.; Joseph, P.; Mondal, C. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 613 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833232	journal	May 2018
Star-forming early-type galaxies and quiescent late-type galaxies in the local Universe Paspaliaris, E. -D.; Xilouris, E. M.; Nersesian, A. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 669 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244796	journal	December 2022
The reversal of the star formation-density relation in the distant universe Elbaz, D.; Daddi, E.; Le Borgne, D. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 468, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20077525	journal	April 2007
Hubble Space Telescope discovery of candidate young globular clusters in the merger remnant NGC 7252 Whitmore, Bradley C.; Schweizer, Francois; Leitherer, Claus The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 106 https://doi.org/10.1086/116732	journal	October 1993
Cold, warm, and hot gas in the late-stage merger NGC 7252 Hibbard, J. E.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; van Gorkom, J. H. The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 107 https://doi.org/10.1086/116835	journal	January 1994
Dynamical Modeling of NGC 7252 and the Return of Tidal Material Hibbard, J. E.; Mihos, J. Christopher The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 110 https://doi.org/10.1086/117502	journal	July 1995
Galactic Bridges and Tails Toomre, Alar; Toomre, Juri The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 178 https://doi.org/10.1086/151823	journal	December 1972
Colliding and merging galaxies. I - Evidence for the recent merging of two disk galaxies in NGC 7252 Schweizer, F. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 252 https://doi.org/10.1086/159573	journal	January 1982
A dynamical study of merger remnants Lake, George; Dressler, Alan The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 310 https://doi.org/10.1086/164713	journal	November 1986
High-resolution CO observations of NGC 7252 - A counterrotating central molecular gas disk Wang, Zhong; Schweizer, Francois; Scoville, Nicholas Z. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 396 https://doi.org/10.1086/171737	journal	September 1992
Luminosity Profiles of Merger Remnants Hibbard, J. E.; Yun, Min. S. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 522, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/312241	journal	September 1999
Ultraluminous Infrared Mergers: Elliptical Galaxies in Formation? Genzel, R.; Tacconi, L. J.; Rigopoulou, D. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 563, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/323772	journal	December 2001
Quantifying the Bimodal Color‐Magnitude Distribution of Galaxies Baldry, Ivan K.; Glazebrook, Karl; Brinkmann, Jon The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 600, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/380092	journal	January 2004
Actively Star-forming Elliptical Galaxies at Low Redshifts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Fukugita, Masataka; Nakamura, Osamu; Turner, Edwin L. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 601, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/382151	journal	January 2004
Nearly 5000 Distant Early‐Type Galaxies in COMBO‐17: A Red Sequence and Its Evolution since z ∼ 1 Bell, Eric F.; Wolf, Christian; Meisenheimer, Klaus The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 608, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/420778	journal	June 2004
A Survey of Merger Remnants. II. The Emerging Kinematic and Photometric Correlations Rothberg, B.; Joseph, R. D. The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 131, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/498452	journal	January 2006
The Evolving Luminosity Function of Red Galaxies Brown, Michael J. I.; Dey, Arjun; Jannuzi, Buell T. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 654, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/509652	journal	January 2007
Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z = 1.1: The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-forming Galaxies Noeske, K. G.; Weiner, B. J.; Faber, S. M. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 660, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/517926	journal	April 2007
UV Star Formation Rates in the Local Universe Salim, Samir; Rich, R. Michael; Charlot, Stephane The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 173, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/519218	journal	December 2007
Galaxy Luminosity Functions to z ∼1 from DEEP2 and COMBO‐17: Implications for Red Galaxy Formation Faber, S. M.; Willmer, C. N. A.; Wolf, C. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 665, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/519294	journal	August 2007
Multiwavelength Study of Massive Galaxies at z ∼2. I. Star Formation and Galaxy Growth Daddi, E.; Dickinson, M.; Morrison, G. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 670, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/521818	journal	November 2007
E/S0 GALAXIES ON THE BLUE COLOR-STELLAR MASS SEQUENCE AT z = 0: FADING MERGERS OR FUTURE SPIRALS? Kannappan, Sheila J.; Guie, Jocelly M.; Baker, Andrew J. The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 138, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/138/2/579	journal	July 2009
THE MAJOR AND MINOR GALAXY MERGER RATES AT z < 1.5 Lotz, Jennifer M.; Jonsson, Patrik; Cox, T. J. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 742, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/742/2/103	journal	November 2011
SEVEN-YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE ( WMAP ) OBSERVATIONS: COSMOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION Komatsu, E.; Smith, K. M.; Dunkley, J. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 192, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/192/2/18	journal	January 2011
Witnessing the star formation quenching in L* ellipticals Dhiwar, Suraj; Saha, Kanak; Dekel, Avishai Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 518, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3369	journal	November 2022
Relaxed blue ellipticals: accretion-driven stellar growth is a key evolutionary channel for low mass elliptical galaxies Lazar, I.; Kaviraj, S.; Martin, G. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 520, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad224	journal	January 2023
A new population of recently quenched elliptical galaxies in the SDSS McIntosh, Daniel H.; Wagner, Cory; Cooper, Andrew Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 442, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu808	journal	June 2014
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Panchromatic Data Release (far-UV–far-IR) and the low- z energy budget Driver, Simon P.; Wright, Angus H.; Andrews, Stephen K. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 455, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2505	journal	December 2015
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): blue spheroids within 87 Mpc Mahajan, Smriti; Drinkwater, Michael J.; Driver, S. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 475, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx3202	journal	December 2017
Star-forming, rotating spheroidal galaxies in the GAMA and SAMI surveys Moffett, Amanda J.; Phillipps, Steven; Robotham, Aaron S. G. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 489, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2237	journal	August 2019
The physical properties of star-forming galaxies in the low-redshift Universe Brinchmann, J.; Charlot, S.; White, S. D. M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 351, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07881.x	journal	July 2004
The formation history of elliptical galaxies De Lucia, G.; Springel, V.; White, S. D. M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 366, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09879.x	journal	February 2006
Strong size evolution of the most massive galaxies since z ∼ 2 Trujillo, Ignacio; Conselice, C. J.; Bundy, Kevin Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 382, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12388.x	journal	October 2007
Galaxy Zoo: a sample of blue early-type galaxies at low redshift Schawinski, Kevin; Lintott, Chris; Thomas, Daniel Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 396, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14793.x	journal	June 2009
Dynamically driven star formation in models of NGC 7252 Chien, L. -H.; Barnes, J. E. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 407, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16903.x	journal	August 2010
Dissecting the size evolution of elliptical galaxies since z∼ 1: puffing-up versus minor-merging scenarios: Dissecting the size evolution of the ellipticals Trujillo, Ignacio; Ferreras, Ignacio; de la Rosa, Ignacio G. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 415, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19017.x	journal	June 2011
Overview of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys Dey, Arjun; Schlegel, David J.; Lang, Dustin The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 157, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab089d	journal	April 2019
The Origin of Faint Tidal Features around Galaxies in the RESOLVE Survey Hood, Callie E.; Kannappan, Sheila J.; Stark, David V. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 857, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab719	journal	April 2018

Similar Records

Deep optical imaging of star-forming blue early-type galaxies: Color map structures and faint features indicative of recent mergers

Journal Article · Mon Sep 25 20:00:00 EDT 2023 · Astronomy and Astrophysics · OSTI ID:2422920

A merger scenario for NGC 7252 - A tale of two tails

Journal Article · Thu Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 1991 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA) · OSTI ID:5756894

Mergers in galaxy groups. I. Structure and properties of elliptical remnants

Journal Article · Tue Nov 19 23:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22341983

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Elliptical and lenticular
Evolution
Galaxies
Interactions
Star formation

Decoding NGC 7252 as a blue elliptical galaxy

Citation Formats

References (44)

Similar Records

Related Subjects