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Sansom, AE, Thirlwall, JJ, Deakin, MA, Vaisanen, P, Kniazev, AY and van Loon, JT ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1272-3017 (2015) The stellar populations in the low-luminosity, early-type galaxy NGC 59. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 450 (2). 1338 - 1348.

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Abstract

Low-luminosity galaxies may be the building blocks of more luminous systems. Southern African Large Telescope observations of the low-luminosity, early-type galaxy NGC 59 are obtained and analysed. These data are used to measure the stellar population parameters in the centre and off-centre regions of this galaxy, in order to uncover its likely star formation history. We find evidence of older stars, in addition to young stars in the emission-line regions. The metallicity of the stellar population is constrained to be [Z/H] ∼ −1.1 to −1.6, which is extremely low, even for this low-luminosity galaxy, since it is not classed as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The measured [α/Fe] ratio is subsolar, which indicates an extended star formation history in NGC 59. If such objects formed the building blocks of more massive, early-type galaxies, then they must have been gaseous mergers, rather than dry mergers, in order to increase the metals to observed levels in luminous, early-type galaxies.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2015 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords: galaxies, abundances, elliptical and lenticular cD, individual, NGC 59, stellar content
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy > QB460 Astrophysics
Divisions: Faculty of Natural Sciences > School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 19 Oct 2015 14:32
Last Modified: 16 Oct 2018 15:09
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/1045

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