Browsing by Author "Mihos, J. Christopher"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    An evolutionary continuum from nucleated dwarf galaxies to star clusters
    (2023) Wang, Kaixiang; Peng, Eric W.; Liu, Chengze; Mihos, J. Christopher; Cote, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Taylor, Matthew A.; Blakeslee, John P.; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Gwyn, Stephen; Ko, Youkyung; Lancon, Ariane; Lim, Sungsoon; Macarthur, Lauren A.; Puzia, Thomas; Roediger, Joel; Sales, Laura V.; Sanchez-Janssen, Ruben; Spengler, Chelsea; Toloba, Elisa; Zhang, Hongxin; Zhu, Mingcheng
    Systematic studies1-4 have revealed hundreds of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs5) in the nearby Universe. With half-light radii rh of approximately 10-100 parsecs and stellar masses M* approximate to 106-108 solar masses, UCDs are among the densest known stellar systems6. Although similar in appearance to massive globular clusters7, the detection of extended stellar envelopes4,8,9, complex star formation histories10, elevated mass-to-light ratio11,12 and supermassive black holes13-16 suggest that some UCDs are remnant nuclear star clusters17 of tidally stripped dwarf galaxies18,19, or even ancient compact galaxies20. However, only a few objects have been found in the transient stage of tidal stripping21,22, and this assumed evolutionary path19 has never been fully traced by observations. Here we show that 106 galaxies in the Virgo cluster have morphologies that are intermediate between normal, nucleated dwarf galaxies and single-component UCDs, revealing a continuum that fully maps this morphological transition and fills the 'size gap' between star clusters and galaxies. Their spatial distribution and redder colour are also consistent with stripped satellite galaxies on their first few pericentric passages around massive galaxies23. The 'ultra-diffuse' tidal features around several of these galaxies directly show how UCDs are forming through tidal stripping and that this evolutionary path can include an early phase as a nucleated ultra-diffuse galaxy24,25. These UCDs represent substantial visible fossil remnants of ancient dwarf galaxies in galaxy clusters, and more low-mass remnants probably remain to be found.
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    Dark Matter in Ultra-diffuse Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster from Their Globular Cluster Populations
    (2018) Toloba, Elisa; Lim, Sungsoon; Peng, Eric; Sales, Laura V.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Mihos, J. Christopher; Cote, Patrick; Boselli, Alessandro; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Ferrarese, Laura; Gwyn, Stephen; Lancon, Ariane; Munoz, Roberto; Puzia, Thomas H.
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    Erratum: The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. X. Properties of Ultra-compact Dwarfs in the M87, M49, and M60 Regions
    (2015) Liu, Chengze; Peng, Eric W.; Côté, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Jordán, Andrés J.; Mihos, J. Christopher; Zhang, Hong-Xin; Muñoz, Roberto P.; Puzia, Thomas H.; Lanço, Ariane
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    The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey (NGVS). XXVII. The Size and Structure of Globular Cluster Systems and Their Connection to Dark Matter Halos
    (2024) Lim, Sungsoon; Peng, Eric W.; Cote, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Roediger, Joel C.; Liu, Chengze; Spengler, Chelsea; Sola, Elisabeth; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Sales, Laura V.; Blakeslee, John P.; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Durrell, Patrick R.; Emsellem, Eric; Gwyn, Stephen D. J.; Lancon, Ariane; Marleau, Francine R.; Mihos, J. Christopher; Mueller, Oliver; Puzia, Thomas H.; Sanchez-Janssen, Ruben
    We study the size and structure of globular cluster (GC) systems of 118 early-type galaxies from the NGVS, MATLAS, and ACSVCS surveys. Fitting S & eacute;rsic profiles, we investigate the relationship between effective radii of GC systems (R-e,R-gc) and galaxy properties. GC systems are 2-4 times more extended than host galaxies across the entire stellar mass range of our sample (10(8.3)M(circle dot) < M-* < 10(11.6)M(circle dot)). The relationship between R-e,R-gc and galaxy stellar mass exhibits a characteristic "knee" at a stellar mass of M-p similar or equal to 10(10.8), similar to the galaxy R-e-stellar mass relationship. We present a new characterization of the traditional blue and red GC color subpopulations, describing them with respect to host galaxy color (Delta(gi)): GCs with similar colors to their hosts have a "red" Delta(gi), and those significantly bluer GCs have a "blue" Delta(gi). The GC populations with red Delta(gi), even in dwarf galaxies, are twice as extended as the stars, suggesting that formation or survival mechanisms favor the outer regions. We find a tight correlation between R-e,R-gc and the total number of GCs, with intrinsic scatter less than or similar to 0.1 dex spanning two and three orders of magnitude in size and number, respectively. This holds for both red and blue subpopulations, albeit with different slopes. Assuming that N-GC,N-Total correlates with M-200, we find that the red GC systems have effective radii of roughly 1%-5% R-200, while the blue GC systems in massive galaxies can have sizes as large as similar to 10% R-200. Environmental dependence on R-e,R-gc is also found, with lower-density environments exhibiting more extended GC systems at fixed mass.
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    The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey (NGVS). XXXI. The Kinematics of Intracluster Globular Clusters in the Core of the Virgo Cluster
    (2018) Longobardi, Alessia; Peng, Eric W.; Cote, Patrick; Mihos, J. Christopher; Ferrarese, Laura; Puzia, Thomas H.; Lancon, Ariane; Zhang, Hong-Xin; Munoz, Roberto P.; Blakeslee, John P.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Durrell, Patrick R.; Sanchez-Janssen, Ruben; Toloba, Elisa; Jordán Colzani, Andrés Cristóbal; Eyheramendy Duerr, Susana; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Gwyn, Stephen D. J.; Boselli, Alessandro; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Liu, Chengze; Alamo-Martinez, Karla; Powalka, Mathieu; Lim, Sungsoon
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    THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY. XXII. SHELL FEATURE EARLY-TYPE DWARF GALAXIES IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER
    (IOP PUBLISHING LTD, 2017) Paudel, Sanjaya; Smith, Rory; Duc, Pierre Alain; Cote, Patrick; Cuillandre, Jean Charles; Ferrarese, Laura; Blakeslee, John P.; Boselli, Alessandro; Cantiello, Michele; Gwyn, S. D. J.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Mei, Simona; Mihos, J. Christopher; Peng, Eric W.; Powalka, Mathieu; Sanchez Janssen, Ruben; Toloba, Elisa; Zhang, Hongxin
    The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey is a deep (with a 2 sigma detection limit mu g = 29 mag arcsec(-2) in the g-band) optical panchromatic survey targeting the Virgo cluster from its core to virial radius, for a total areal coverage of 104 square degrees. As such, the survey is well suited for the study of galaxies' outskirts, haloes, and low surface brightness features that arise from dynamical interactions within the cluster environment. We report the discovery of extremely faint (mu g > 25 mag arcsec(-2)) shells in three Virgo cluster early-type dwarf galaxies: VCC. 1361, VCC. 1447, and VCC. 1668. Among them, VCC. 1447 has an absolute magnitude Mg = -11.71 mag and is the least massive galaxy with a shell system discovered to date. We present a detailed study of these low surface brightness features. We detect between three and four shells in each of our galaxies. Within the uncertainties, we find no evidence of a color difference between the galaxy main body and shell features. The observed arcs of the shells are located up to several effective radii of the galaxies. We further explore the origin of these low surface brightness features with the help of idealized numerical simulations. We find that a near equal mass merger is best able to reproduce the main properties of the shells, including their quite symmetric appearance and their alignment along the major axis of the galaxy. The simulations provide support for a formation scenario in which a recent merger, between two near-equal mass, gas-free dwarf galaxies, forms the observed shell systems.
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    The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. XXIII. Fundamentals of Nuclear Star Clusters over Seven Decades in Galaxy Mass
    (2019) Sanchez-Janssen, Ruben; Cote, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Peng, Eric W.; Roediger, Joel; Blakeslee, John P.; Emsellem, Eric; Puzia, Thomas H.; Spengler, Chelsea; Taylor, James; Alamo-Martinez, Karla A.; Boselli, Alessandro; Cantiello, Michele; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Durrell, Patrick; Gwyn, Stephen; MacArthur, Lauren A.; Lancon, Ariane; Lim, Sungsoon; Liu, Chengze; Mei, Simona; Miller, Bryan; Munoz, Roberto; Mihos, J. Christopher; Paudel, Sanjaya; Powalka, Mathieu; Toloba, Elisa
    Using deep, high-resolution optical imaging from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey, we study the properties of nuclear star clusters (NSCs) in a sample of nearly 400 quiescent galaxies in the core of Virgo with stellar masses 10(5) less than or similar to M-*/M-circle dot less than or similar to 10(12). The nucleation fraction reaches a peak value f(n) approximate to 90% for M-* approximate to 10(9) M-circle dot galaxies and declines for both higher and lower masses, but nuclei populate galaxies as small as M-* approximate to 5 x 10(5) M-circle dot. Comparison with literature data for nearby groups and clusters shows that at the low-mass end nucleation is more frequent in denser environments. The NSC mass function peaks at M-NSC approximate to 7 x 10(5) M-circle dot, a factor 3-4 times larger than the turnover mass for globular clusters (GCs). We find a nonlinear relation between the stellar masses of NSCs and those of their host galaxies, with a mean nucleus-to-galaxy mass ratio that drops to M-NSC/M-* approximate to 3.6 x 10(-3) for M-* approximate to 5 x 10(9) M-circle dot galaxies. Nuclei in both more and less massive galaxies are much more prominent: M-NSC proportional to M-*(0.46) at the low-mass end, where nuclei are nearly 50% as massive as their hosts. We measure an intrinsic scatter in NSC masses at a fixed galaxy stellar mass of 0.4 dex, which we interpret as evidence that the process of NSC growth is significantly stochastic. At low galaxy masses we find a close connection between NSCs and GC systems, including very similar occupation distributions and comparable total masses. We discuss these results in the context of current dissipative and dissipationless models of NSC formation.