Keck spectroscopy of NGC 1052-DF9: stellar populations in the context of the NGC 1052 group

Gannon, Jonah S.; Buzzo, Maria Luisa; Ferré-Mateu, Anna; Forbes, Duncan A.; Brodie, Jean P.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Advertised on:
9
2023
Number of authors
6
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
4
Refereed citations
3
Description
In this study, we use Keck/Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectroscopy to measure the age, metallicity, and recessional velocity of NGC 1052-DF9 (DF9), a dwarf galaxy in the NGC 1052 group. We compare these properties to those of two other galaxies in the group, NGC 1052-DF2 and NGC 1052-DF4, which have low dark matter content. The three galaxies are proposed constituents of a trail of galaxies recently hypothesized to have formed as part of a 'bullet dwarf' collision. We show that the ages and total metallicities of the three galaxies are within uncertainties of one another which may be expected if they share a related formation pathway. However, the recessional velocity we recover for DF9 (1680 ± 10 km s-1) is higher than predicted for a linearly projected interpretation of the 'bullet dwarf' trail. DF9 is then either not part of the trail or the correlation of galaxy velocities along the trail is not linear in 2D projection due to their 3D geometry. After examining other proposed formation pathways for the galaxies, none provide a wholly satisfactory explanation for all of their known properties. We conclude further work is required to understand the formation of this interesting group of galaxies.
Related projects
Group members
Traces of Galaxy Formation: Stellar populations, Dynamics and Morphology
We are a large, diverse, and very active research group aiming to provide a comprehensive picture for the formation of galaxies in the Universe. Rooted in detailed stellar population analysis, we are constantly exploring and developing new tools and ideas to understand how galaxies came to be what we now observe.
Ignacio
Martín Navarro