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Context. According to numerical simulations, stars are not always kept at their birth galactocentric distances but they have a tendency to migrate. The importance of this radial migration in shaping galactic light distributions is still unclear. However, if radial migration is indeed important, galaxies with different surface brightness (SB) profiles must display differences in their stellar population properties. Aims. We investigate the role of radial migration in the light distribution and radial stellar content by comparing the inner colour, age, and metallicity gradients for galaxies with different SB profiles. We define these inner parts, avoiding the bulge and bar regions and up to around three disc scale lengths (type I, pure exponential) or the break radius (type II, downbending; type III, upbending). Methods. We analysed 214 spiral galaxies from the CALIFA survey covering different SB profiles. We made use of GASP2D and SDSS data to characterise the light distribution and obtain colour profiles of these spiral galaxies. The stellar age and metallicity profiles were computed using a methodology based on full-spectrum fitting techniques (pPXF, GANDALF, and STECKMAP) to the Integral Field Spectroscopic CALIFA data. Results. The distributions of the colour, stellar age, and stellar metallicity gradients in the inner parts for galaxies displaying different SB profiles are unalike as suggested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Anderson-Darling tests. We find a trend in which type II galaxies show the steepest profiles of all, type III show the shallowest, and type I display an intermediate behaviour. Conclusions. These results are consistent with a scenario in which radial migration is more efficient for type III galaxies than for type I systems, where type II galaxies present the lowest radial migration efficiency. In such a scenario, radial migration mixes the stellar content, thereby flattening the radial stellar properties and shaping different SB profiles. However, in light of these results we cannot further quantify the importance of radial migration in shaping spiral galaxies, and other processes, such as recent star formation or satellite accretion, might play a role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. At high redshift, starburst galaxies present irregular morphologies with 10−20% of their star formation occurring in giant clumps. These clumpy galaxies are considered the progenitors of local disk galaxies. To understand the properties of starbursts at intermediate and low redshift, it is fundamental to track their evolution and the possible link with the systems at higher z. Aims. We present an extensive, systematic, and multiband search and analysis of the starburst galaxies at redshift (0 < z < 0.5) in the COSMOS field, as well as detailed characteristics of their star-forming clumps by using Hubble Space Telescope/Advance Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS) images. Methods. The starburst galaxies are identified using a tailor-made intermediate-band color excess selection, tracing the simultaneous presence of Hα and [OIII] emission lines in the galaxies. Our methodology uses previous information from the zCOSMOS spectral database to calibrate the color excess as a function of the equivalent width of both spectral lines. This technique allows us to identify 220 starburst galaxies at redshift 0 < z < 0.5 using the SUBARU intermediate-band filters. Combining the high spatial resolution images from the HST/ACS with ground-based multi-wavelength photometry, we identify and parametrize the star-forming clumps in every galaxy. Their principal properties, sizes, masses, and star formation rates are provided. Results. The mass distribution of the starburst galaxies is remarkably similar to that of the whole galaxy sample with a peak around M/M ∼ 2 × 108 and only a few galaxies with M/M > 1010. We classify galaxies into three main types, depending on their HST morphology: single knot (Sknot), single star-forming knot plus diffuse light (Sknot+diffuse), and multiple star-forming knots (Mknots/clumpy) galaxy. We found a fraction of Mknots/clumpy galaxy fclumpy = 0.24 considering out total sample of starburst galaxies up to z ∼ 0.5. The individual star-forming knots in our sample follows the same L(Hα) vs. size scaling relation as local giant HII regions. However, they slightly differ from the one provided using samples at high redshift. This result highlights the importance of spatially resolving the star-forming regions for this kind of study. Star-forming clumps in the central regions of Mknots galaxies are more massive, and present higher star formation rates, than those in the outskirts. This trend is less clear when we consider either the mass surface density or surface star formation rate. Sknot galaxies do show properties similar to both dwarf elliptical and irregulars in the surface brightness (µ) versus Mhost diagram in the B-band, and to spheroidals and ellipticals in the µ versus Mhost diagram in the V-band. Conclusions. The properties of our star-forming knots in Sknot+diffuse and Mknots/clumpy galaxies support the predictions of recent numerical simulations claiming that they have been produced by violent disk instabilities. We suggest that the evolution of these knots means that large and massive clumps at the galaxy centers represent the end product of the coalescence of surviving smaller clumps from the outskirts. Our results support this mechanism and make it unlikely that mergers are the reason behind the observed starburst knots. Sknot galaxies might be transitional phases of the Blue Compact Dwarfs (BCD) class, with their properties consistent with spheroidal-like, but blue structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. In nature we observe galaxy aggregations that span a wide range of magnitude gaps between the two first-ranked galaxies of a system (Am12). Thus, there are systems with gaps close to zero (e.g., the Coma cluster), and at the other extreme of the distribution, the largest gaps are found among the so-called fossil systems. The observed distribution of magnitude gaps is thought to be a consequence of the orbital decay of M* galaxies in massive halos and the associated growth of the central object. As a result, to first order the amplitude of this gap is a good statistical proxy for the dynamical age of a system of galaxies. Fossil and non-fossil systems could therefore have different galaxy populations that should be reflected in their luminosity functions. Aims. In this work we study, for the first time, the dependence of the luminosity function parameters on Am12 using data obtained by the fossil group origins (FOGO) project. Methods. We constructed a hybrid luminosity function for 102 groups and clusters at z < 0.25 using both photometric data from the SDSS-DR7 and redshifts from the DR7 and the FOGO surveys. The latter consists of ~1200 new redshifts in 34 fossil system candidates. We stacked all the individual luminosity functions, dividing them into bins of Am12, and studied their best-fit Schechter parameters. We additionally computed a ''relative'' luminosity function, expressed as a function of the central galaxy luminosity, which boosts our capacity to detect differences - especially at the bright end. Results. We find trends as a function of Am12 at both the bright and faint ends of the luminosity function. In particular, at the bright end, the larger the magnitude gap, the fainter the characteristic magnitude M*. The characteristic luminosity in systems with negligible gaps is more than a factor three brighter than in fossil-like ones. Remarkably, we also find differences at the faint end. In this region, the larger the gap, the flatter the faint-end slope a. Conclusions. The differences found at the bright end support a dissipationless, dynamical friction-driven merging model for the growth of the central galaxy in group- and cluster-sized halos. The differences in the faint end cannot be explained by this mechanism. Other processes - such as enhanced tidal disruption due to early infall and/or prevalence of eccentric orbits - may play a role. However, a larger sample of systems with Am12 > 1.5 is needed to establish the differences at the faint end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Ionized gas kinematics provide important clues to the dynamical structure of galaxies and hold constraints to the processes driving their evolution. Aims. The motivation of this work is to provide an overall characterization of the kinematic behavior of the ionized gas of the galaxies included in the Calar Alto Legacy Integral field Area (CALIFA), offering kinematic clues to potential users of the CALIFA survey for including kinematical criteria in their selection of targets for specific studies. From the first 200 galaxies observed by CALIFA survey in its two configurations, we present the two-dimensional kinematic view of the 177 galaxies satisfaying a gas content/detection threshold. Methods. After removing the stellar contribution, we used the cross-correlation technique to obtain the radial velocity of the dominant gaseous component for each spectrum in the CALIFA data cubes for different emission lines (namely, [O ii] λλ3726, 3729, [OIII] λλ4959, 5007, Hα+[N II] λλ6548, 6584, and [SII]λλ6716, 6730). The main kinematic parameters measured on the plane of the sky were directly derived from the radial velocities with no assumptions on the internal prevailing motions. Evidence of the presence of several gaseous components with different kinematics were detected by using [OIII] λλ4959, 5007 emission line profiles. Results. At the velocity resolution of CALIFA, most objects in the sample show regular velocity fields, although the ionized-gas kinematics are rarely consistent with simple coplanar circular motions. Thirty-five percent of the objects present evidence of a displacement between the photometric and kinematic centers larger than the original spaxel radii. Only 17% of the objects in the sample exhibit kinematic lopsidedness when comparing receding and approaching sides of the velocity fields, but most of them are interacting galaxies exhibiting nuclear activity (AGN or LINER). Early-type (E+S0) galaxies in the sample present clear photometric-kinematic misaligments. There is evidence of asymmetries in the emission line profiles in 117 out of the 177 analyzed galaxies, suggesting the presence of kinematically distinct gaseous components located at different distances from the optical nucleus. The kinematic decoupling between the dominant and secondary component/s suggested by the observed asymmetries in the profiles can be characterized by a limited set of parameters. Conclusions. This work constitutes the first determination of the ionized gas kinematics of the galaxies observed in the CALIFA survey. The derived velocity fields, the reported kinematic distortions/peculiarities and the identification of the presence of several gaseous components in different regions of the objects might be used as additional criteria for selecting galaxies for specific studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Virialized halos grow by the accretion of smaller ones in the cold dark matter scenario. The rate of accretion depends on the different properties of the host halo. Those halos for which this accretion rate was very fast and efficient resulted in systems dominated by a central galaxy surrounded by smaller galaxies that were at least two magnitudes fainter. These galaxy systems are called fossil systems, and they can be the fossil relics of ancient galaxy structures. Aims. We started an extensive observational program to characterize a sample of 34 fossil group candidates spanning a broad range of physical properties. Methods. Deep r-band images were obtained with the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope and Nordic Optic Telescope. Optical spectroscopic observations were performed at the 3.5-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo for ∼1200 galaxies. This new dataset was completed with Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 archival data to obtain robust cluster membership and global properties of each fossil group candidate. For each system, we recomputed the magnitude gaps between the two brightest galaxies (Δm12) and the first and fourth ranked galaxies (Δm14) within 0.5 R200. We consider fossil systems to be those with Δm12 ≥ 2 mag or Δm14 ≥ 2.5 mag within the errors. Results. We find that 15 candidates turned out to be fossil systems. Their observational properties agree with those of non-fossil systems. Both follow the same correlations, but the fossil systems are always extreme cases. In particular, they host the brightest central galaxies, and the fraction of total galaxy light enclosed in the brightest group galaxy is larger in fossil than in non-fossil systems. Finally, we confirm the existence of genuine fossil clusters. Conclusions. Combining our results with others in the literature, we favor the merging scenario in which fossil systems formed from mergers of L∗ galaxies. The large magnitude gap is a consequence of the extreme merger ratio within fossil systems and therefore it is an evolutionary effect. Moreover, we suggest that at least one fossil group candidate in our sample could represent a transitional fossil stage. This system could have been a fossil in the past, but not now owing to the recent accretion of another group of galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. This study is part of the Fossil group origins (FOGO) project which aims to carry out a systematic and multiwavelength study of a large sample of fossil systems. Here we focus on the relation between the optical luminosity (Lopt) and X-ray luminosity (LX). Methods. Out of a total sample of 28 candidate fossil systems, we consider a sample of 12 systems whose fossil classification has been confirmed by a companion study. They are compared with the complementary sample of 16 systems whose fossil nature has not been confirmed and with a subsample of 102 galaxy systems from the RASS-SDSS galaxy cluster survey. Fossil and normal systems span the same redshift range 0 < z < 0.5 and have the same LX distribution. For each fossil system, the LX in the 0.1-2.4 keV band is computed using data from the ROSAT All Sky Survey to be comparable to the estimates of the comparison sample. For each fossil and normal system we homogeneously compute Lopt in the r-band within the characteristic cluster radius, using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. Results. We sample the LX-Lopt relation over two orders of magnitude in LX. Our analysis shows that fossil systems are not statistically distinguishable from the normal systems through the 2D Kolmogorov-Smirnov test nor the fit of the LX-Lopt relation. Thus, the optical luminosity of the galaxy system does strongly correlate with the X-ray luminosity of the hot gas component, independently of whether the system is fossil or not. We discuss our results in comparison with previous literature. Conclusions. We conclude that our results are consistent with the classical merging scenario of the brightest galaxy formed via merger/cannibalism of other group galaxies with conservation of the optical light. We find no evidence for a peculiar state of the hot intracluster medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Fossil systems are galaxy associations dominated by a relatively isolated, bright elliptical galaxy, surrounded by a group of smaller galaxies lacking L" objects. Because of this extreme environment, fossil groups (FGs) are ideal laboratories for studying the mass assembly of brightest group galaxies (BGGs). Aims. We analyzed the near-infrared photometric and structural properties of a sample of 20 BGGs present in FGs to better understand their formation mechanisms. They represent the largest sample studied to date. Methods. Ks-band deep images were used to study the structural properties of our sample galaxies. Their surface-brightness distribution was fitted to a Sérsic profile using the GASP2D algorithm. Then, the standard scaling relations were derived for the first time for these galaxies and compared with those of normal ellipticals and brightest cluster galaxies in non-fossil systems. Results. The BGGs presented in this study represent a subset of the most massive galaxies in the Universe. We find that their ellipticity profiles are continuously increasing with the galactocentric radius. Our fossil BCGs follow closely the fundamental plane described by normal ellipticals. However, they depart from both the log σ0 vs. log LKs and log re vs. log LKs relations described by intermediate-mass ellipticals. This occurs in the sense that our BGGs have larger effective radii and smaller velocity dispersions than those predicted by these relations. We also find that more elliptical galaxies systematically deviate from the previous relations, while rounder objects do not. No similar correlation was found with the Sérsic index. Conclusions. The derived scaling relations can be interpreted in terms of the formation scenario of the BGGs. Because our BGGs follow the fundamental plane tilt but have larger effective radii than expected for intermediate-mass ellipticals, we suggest that they only went through dissipational mergers in an early stage of their evolution and then assembled the bulk of their mass through subsequent dry mergers, contrary to previous claims that BGGs in FGs were mainly formed by the merging of gas-rich galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]