Radial constraints on the initial mass function from TiO features and Wing–Ford band in early-type galaxies

Journal article

At present, the main challenge to the interpretation of variations in gravity-sensitive line strengths as driven by a non-universal initial mass function (IMF) lies in understanding the effect of the other population parameters. Most notably, [a/Fe]-enhanced populations or even departures in the individual element abundances with respect to the solar-scaled ratio may lead to similar observational results. We combine various TiO-based, IMF-sensitive indicators in the optical and NIR spectral windows, along with the FeH-based Wing-Ford band to break this degeneracy. We obtain a significant radial trend of the IMF slope in XSG1, a massive early-type galaxy (ETG), with velocity dispersion σ ~ 300 km s-1, observed with the Very Large Telescope/X-shooter instrument. In addition, we constrain - for the first time - both the shape and normalization of the IMF, using only a stellar population analysis. We robustly rule out a single power law to describe the IMF, whereas a power law tapered off to a constant value at low masses (defined as a bimodal IMF) is consistent with all the observational spectroscopic data and with the stellarM/L constraints based on the Jeans anisotropic modelling method. The IMF in XSG1 is bottom-heavy in the central regions (corresponding to a bimodal IMF slope Γb ~ 3, or a mass normalization mismatch parameter α ~ 2), changing towards a standard Milky Way-like IMF (Γb ~ 1.3; α ~ 1) at around one half of the effective radius. This result, combined with previous observations of local IMF variations in massive ETGs, reflects the varying processes underlying the formation of the central core and the outer regions in this type of galaxies.

Authors: La Barbera, F; Vazdekis, A; Ferreras, I; Pasquali, A; Cappellari, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Volume: 457
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1468–1489
• Publication date: 2016-02-04
• Acceptance date: 2015-12-22
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2996
• ISSN: 1365-2966 and 0035-8711
• Keywords: galaxies: formation; SBTMR; galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD; galaxies: fundamental parameters; galaxies: stellar content