A Survey of the Interstellar Medium in Early-Type Galaxies. III. Stellar and Gas Kinematics

Caon, N.; Macchetto, Duccio; Pastoriza, Miriani
Bibliographical reference

The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 127, Issue 1, pp. 39-58.

Advertised on:
3
2000
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
102
Refereed citations
92
Description
We present gaseous and stellar kinematics for 14 gas-rich early-type galaxies. Half of the sample exhibit irregular gaseous velocity profiles; gas/star counter-rotation is visible in five galaxies. We also find five counter-rotating stellar cores, while five more galaxies display inner components kinematically decoupled from the main stellar body. We interpret our results as an indication that the ionized gas is of external origin, is generally not in equilibrium, and may have been acquired recently. The merging or accretion events that brought the gas into the galaxy have also affected the stellar kinematics. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory.