Search

We present observations of the dwarf galaxies GALFA Dw3 and GALFA Dw4 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These galaxies were initially discovered as optical counterparts to compact HI clouds in the GALFA survey. Both objects resolve into stellar populations which display an old red giant branch, younger helium burning, and massive main sequence stars. We use the tip of the red giant branch method to determine the distance to each galaxy, finding distances of 7.61$_{-0.29}^{+0.28}$ Mpc and 3.10$_{-0.17}^{+0.16}$ Mpc, respectively. With these distances we show that both galaxies are extremely isolated, with no other confirmed objects within ~1.5 Mpc of either dwarf. GALFA Dw4 is also found to be unusually compact for a galaxy of its luminosity. GALFA Dw3 and Dw4 contain HII regions with young star clusters and an overall irregular morphology; they show evidence of ongoing star formation through both ultraviolet and H$��$ observations and are therefore classified as dwarf irregulars (dIrrs). The star formation histories of these two dwarfs show distinct differences: Dw3 shows signs of a recently ceased episode of active star formation across the entire dwarf, while Dw4 shows some evidence for current star formation in spatially limited HII regions. Compact HI sources offer a promising method for identifying isolated field dwarfs in the Local Volume, including GALFA Dw3 & Dw4, with the potential to shed light on the driving mechanisms of dwarf galaxy formation and evolution., 18 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, submitted to ApJ

Globular clusters (GCs) are often used to estimate the dark matter content of galaxies, especially dwarfs, where other kinematic tracers are lacking. These estimates typically assume spherical symmetry and dynamical equilibrium, assumptions that may not hold for the sparse GC population of dwarfs in galaxy clusters. We use a catalog of GCs tagged onto the Illustris simulation to study the accuracy of GC-based mass estimates. We focus on galaxies in the stellar mass range 10$^{8} - 10^{11.8}$ M$_{\odot}$ identified in $9$ simulated Virgo-like clusters. Our results indicate that mass estimates are, on average, quite accurate in systems with GC numbers $N_{\rm GC} \geq 10$ and where the uncertainty of individual GC line-of-sight velocities is smaller than the inferred velocity dispersion, $\sigma_{\rm GC}$. In cases where $N_{\rm GC} \leq 10$, however, biases may result depending on how $\sigma_{\rm GC}$ is computed. We provide calibrations that may help alleviate these biases in methods widely used in the literature. As an application, we find a number of dwarfs with $M_{*} \sim 10^{8.5}\, M_{\odot}$ (comparable to the ultradiffuse galaxy DF2, notable for the low $\sigma_{GC}$ of its $10$ GCs) with $\sigma_{\rm GC} \sim 7$ - $15\; \rm km \rm s^{-1}$. These DF2 analogs correspond to relatively massive systems at their infall time ($M_{200} \sim 1$ - $3 \times 10^{11}$ $M_{\odot}$) which have retained only $3$-$17$ GCs and have been stripped of more than 95$\%$ of their dark matter. Our results suggest that extreme tidal mass loss in otherwise normal dwarf galaxies may be a possible formation channel for ultradiffuse objects like DF2., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to MNRAS Dec. 11 2020

The Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE) is a blind narrow-band H$\alpha$+[NII] imaging survey carried out with MegaCam at the CFHT. During pilot observations we have observed NGC 4330, an intermediate mass, edge-on star forming spiral currently falling into the core of the Virgo cluster. New deep observations revealed a low surface brightness 10 kpc tail exhibiting a peculiar filamentary structure. The filaments are remarkably parallel one another and clearly indicate the direction of motion of the galaxy in the Virgo potential. Motivated by the detection of these features, indicating ongoing gas stripping, we collected literature photometry in 15 bands from the far-UV to the far-IR and deep optical long slit spectroscopy using the FORS2 instrument at the ESO Very Large Telescope. Using a newly developed Monte Carlo code that jointly fits spectroscopy and photometry, we reconstructed the star formation histories in apertures along the major axis of the galaxy. Our results have been validated against the output of CIGALE, a fitting code which has been previously used for similar studies. We found a clear outside-in gradient with radius of the time when the quenching event started: the outermost radii have been stripped 500 Myr ago, while the stripping has reached the inner 5 kpc from the center in the last 100 Myr. Regions at even smaller radii are currently still forming stars fueled by the presence of HI and H2 gas. When compared to statistical studies of the quenching timescales in the local Universe we find that ram pressure stripping of the cold gas is an effective mechanism to reduce the transformation times for galaxies falling into massive clusters. Future systematic studies of all the active galaxies observed by VESTIGE in the Virgo cluster will extend these results to a robust statistical framework., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, A&A in press

Substructure in globular cluster (GC) populations around large galaxies is expected in galaxy formation scenarios that involve accretion or merger events, and it has been searched for using direct associations between GCs and structure in the diffuse galaxy light, or with GC kinematics. Here, we present a search for candidate substructures in the GC population around the Virgo cD galaxy M87 through the analysis of the spatial distribution of the GC colors.~The study is based on a sample of $\sim\!1800$ bright GCs with high-quality $u,g,r,i,z,K_s$ photometry, selected to ensure a low contamination by foreground stars or background galaxies.~The spectral energy distributions of the GCs are associated with formal estimates of age and metallicity, which are representative of its position in a 4-D color-space relative to standard single stellar population models.~Dividing the sample into broad bins based on the relative formal ages, we observe inhomogeneities which reveal signatures of GC substructures.~The most significant of these is a spatial overdensity of GCs with relatively young age labels, of diameter $\sim\!0.1$\,deg ($\sim\!30\,$kpc), located to the south of M87.~The significance of this detection is larger than about 5$\sigma$ after accounting for estimates of random and systematic errors.~Surprisingly, no large Virgo galaxy is present in this area, that could potentially host these GCs.~But candidate substructures in the M87 halo with equally elusive hosts have been described based on kinematic studies in the past.~The number of GC spectra available around M87 is currently insufficient to clarify the nature of the new candidate substructure., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

We determine abundance ratios of 37 dwarf ellipticals (dEs) in the nearby Virgo cluster. This sample is representative of the early-type population of galaxies in the absolute magnitude range -19.0 < Mr < -16.0. We analyze their absorption line-strength indices by means of index-index diagrams and scaling relations and use the stellar population models to interpret them. We present ages, metallicities and abundance ratios obtained from these dEs within an aperture size of Re/8. We calculate [Na/Fe] from NaD, [Ca/Fe] from Ca4227 and [Mg/Fe] from Mgb. We find that [Na/Fe] is under-abundant with respect to solar while [Mg/Fe] is around solar. This is exactly opposite to what is found for giant ellipticals, but follows the trend with metallicity found previously for the Fornax dwarf NGC 1396. We discuss possible formation scenarios that can result in such elemental abundance patterns and we speculate that dEs have disk-like SFH favouring them to originate from late-type dwarfs or small spirals. Na-yields appear to be very metal-dependent, in agreement with studies of giant ellipticals, probably due to the large dependence on the neutron-excess in stars. We conclude that dEs have undergone a considerable amount of chemical evolution, they are therefore not uniformly old, but have extended SFH, similar to many of the Local Group galaxies., 15 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

The Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS) is constructing a wide-field map of the resolved stellar populations in the extended halos of these two nearby, prominent galaxies. We present new Magellan/Megacam imaging of a $\sim3$ deg$^2$ area around Centaurus A (Cen A), which filled in much of our coverage to its south, leaving a nearly complete halo map out to a projected radius of $\sim$150 kpc and allowing us to identify two new resolved dwarf galaxies. We have additionally obtained deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical imaging of eleven out of the thirteen candidate dwarf galaxies identified around Cen A and presented in Crnojevi\'c et al. (2016): seven are confirmed to be satellites of Cen A, while four are found to be background galaxies. We derive accurate distances, structural parameters, luminosities and photometric metallicities for the seven candidates confirmed by our HST/ACS imaging. We further study the stellar population along the $\sim$60 kpc long (in projection) stream associated with Dw3, which likely had an initial brightness of $M_{V}$$\sim$$-$15 and shows evidence for a metallicity gradient along its length. Using the total sample of eleven dwarf satellites discovered by the PISCeS survey, as well as thirteen brighter previously known satellites of Cen A, we present a revised galaxy luminosity function for the Cen A group down to a limiting magnitude of $M_V\sim-8$, which has a slope of $-1.14\pm0.17$, comparable to that seen in the Local Group and in other nearby groups of galaxies., Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures; ApJ in press

During pilot observations of the Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Galaxy Evolution (VESTIGE), a blind narrow-band Halpha+[NII] imaging survey of the Virgo cluster carried out with MegaCam at the CFHT, we have observed the spiral galaxy NGC 4254 (M99). Deep Halpha+[NII] narrow-band and GALEX UV images revealed the presence of 60 compact (70-500 pc radius) star forming regions up to ~ 20 kpc outside the optical disc of the galaxy. These regions are located along a tail of HI gas stripped from the disc of the galaxy after a rapid gravitational encounter with another Virgo cluster member that simulations indicate occurred 280-750 Myr ago. We have combined the VESTIGE data with multifrequency data from the UV to the far-infrared to characterise the stellar populations of these regions and study the star formation process in an extreme environment such as the tails of stripped gas embedded in the hot intracluster medium. The colour, spectral energy distribution (SED), and linear size consistently indicate that these regions are coeval and have been formed after a single burst of star formation that occurred ~< 100 Myr ago. These regions might become free floating objects within the cluster potential well, and be the local analogues of compact sources produced after the interaction of gas-rich systems that occurred during the early formation of clusters., Accepted for publication on Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present an analysis of 39 nuclei and their early-type hosts in the Virgo Cluster using ten broadband filters: F300W, F475W, F850LP, F160W, $u^*griz$, and $K_s$. We describe the Virgo Redux program, which provides high-resolution UV and NIR imaging. Combining this data with optical and NIR imaging from the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey and the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey, we estimate masses, metallicities and ages using simple stellar population (SSP) models. For 19 nuclei, we compare to SSP parameters derived from Keck and Gemini spectra and find reasonable agreement between the photometric and spectroscopic metallicity: the RMS scatter is 0.3 dex. We reproduce the nucleus-galaxy mass fraction of $0.33^{+0.09}_{-0.07}$ percent for galaxy stellar masses $10^{8.4}-10^{10.3} M_\odot$ with a typical precision of $\sim$35% for the nuclei masses. Based on available model predictions, there is no single preferred formation scenario for nuclei, suggesting that nuclei are formed stochastically through a mix of processes. Nuclei metallicities are statistically identical to those of their hosts, appearing $0.07 \pm 0.3$ dex more metal-rich on average -- although, omitting galaxies with unusual origins, nuclei are $0.20\pm0.28$ dex more metal-rich. Nuclei appear to be $0.56 \pm 0.12$ dex more metal rich than ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) at fixed mass. We find no clear age difference between nuclei and their galaxies, with nuclei displaying a broad range of ages. Interestingly, we find that the most massive nuclei may be flatter and more closely aligned with the semi-major axes of their hosts, suggesting that they formed through predominantly dissipative processes., Comment: 46 pages, 25 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Large samples of globular clusters (GC) with precise multi-wavelength photometry are becoming increasingly available and can be used to constrain the formation history of galaxies. We present the results of an analysis of Milky Way (MW) and Virgo core GCs based on five optical-near-infrared colors and ten synthetic stellar population models. For the MW GCs, the models tend to agree on photometric ages and metallicities, with values similar to those obtained with previous studies. When used with Virgo core GCs, for which photometry is provided by the Next Generation Virgo cluster Survey (NGVS), the same models generically return younger ages. This is a consequence of the systematic differences observed between the locus occupied by Virgo core GCs and models in panchromatic color space. Only extreme fine-tuning of the adjustable parameters available to us can make the majority of the best-fit ages old. Although we cannot exclude that the formation history of the Virgo core may lead to more conspicuous populations of relatively young GCs than in other environments, we emphasize that the intrinsic properties of the Virgo GCs are likely to differ systematically from those assumed in the models. Thus, the large wavelength coverage and photometric quality of modern GC samples, such as used here, is not by itself sufficient to better constrain the GC formation histories. Models matching the environment-dependent characteristics of GCs in multi-dimensional color space are needed to improve the situation., Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

International audience; Early‐type dwarf galaxies are not simply featureless, old objects, but were found to be much more diverse, hosting substructures and a variety of stellar population properties. To explore the stellar content of faint early‐type galaxies, and to investigate in particular those with recent central star formation, we study colours and colour gradients within one effective radius in optical (g‐r) and near‐infrared (i‐H) bands for 120 Virgo cluster early‐type galaxies with 19 mag < M‐r < 16 mag. Twelve galaxies turn out to have blue cores, when defined as g‐r colour gradients larger than 0.10 mag/R‐eff, which represents the positive tail of the gradient distribution. For these galaxies, we find that they have the strongest age gradients, and that even outside the blue core, their mean stellar population is younger than the mean of ordinary faint early‐type galaxies. The metallicity gradients of these blue‐cored early‐type dwarf galaxies are, however, in the range of most normal faint early‐type galaxies, which we find to have non‐zero gradients with higher central metallicity. The blue central regions are consistent with star formation activity within the last few 100 Myr. We discuss whether these galaxies could be explained by environmental quenching of star formation in the outer galaxy regions while the inner star formation activity continued.

We report the discovery of DGSAT I, an ultra-diffuse, quenched galaxy located 10.4 degrees in projection from the Andromeda galaxy (M31). This low-surface brightness galaxy (mu_V = 24.8 mag/arcsec), found with a small amateur telescope, appears unresolved in sub-arcsecond archival Subaru/Suprime-Cam images, and hence has been missed by optical surveys relying on resolved star counts, in spite of its relatively large effective radius (R_e(V) = 12 arcsec) and proximity (15 arcmin) to the well-known dwarf spheroidal galaxy And II. Its red color (V-I = 1.0), shallow Sersic index (n_V=0.68), and the absence of detectable H-alpha emission are typical properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and suggest that it is mainly composed of old stars. Initially interpreted as an interesting case of an isolated dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the local universe, our radial velocity measurement obtained with the BTA 6-meter telescope (V_h=5450 +/- 40 km/s) shows that this system is an M31-background galaxy associated with the filament of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster. At the distance of this cluster (~78 Mpc), DGSAT I would have an R_e ~ 4.7 kpc and M_V ~-16.3$. Its properties resemble those of the ultra-diffuse galaxies recently discovered in the Coma cluster. DGSAT I is the first case of these rare ultra-diffuse galaxies found in this galaxy cluster. Unlike the ultra-diffuse galaxies associated with the Coma and Virgo clusters, DGSAT I is found in a much lower density environment, which provides a fresh constraint on the formation mechanisms for this intriguing class of galaxy., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. 18 pages, 8 figures, 2 Tables

We model the dynamics of dwarf early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster when subject to a variety of environmental processes. We focus on how these processes imprint trends in dynamical state (rotational vs. pressure support as measured by the $\lambda^*_{\rm Re/2}$ statistic) with projected distance from the cluster center, and compare these results to observational estimates. We find a large scatter in the gradient of $\lambda^*_{\rm Re/2}$ with projected radius. A statistical analysis shows that models with no environmental effects produce gradients as steep as those observed in none of the 100 cluster realizations we consider, while in a model incorporating tidal stirring by the cluster potential 34% of realizations produce gradients as steep as that observed. Our results suggest that tidal stirring may be the cause of the observed radial dependence of dwarf early-type dynamics in galaxy clusters., Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ

We analyze the optical counterpart to the ultra-compact high velocity cloud AGC 226067, utilizing imaging taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color magnitude diagram of the main body of AGC 226067 reveals an exclusively young stellar population, with an age of $\sim$7--50 Myr, and is consistent with a metallicity of [Fe/H]$\sim$$-$0.3 as previous work has measured via HII region spectroscopy. Additionally, the color magnitude diagram is consistent with a distance of $D$$\approx$17 Mpc, suggesting an association with the Virgo cluster. A secondary stellar system located $\sim$1.6' ($\sim$8 kpc) away in projection has a similar stellar population. The lack of an old red giant branch ($\gtrsim$5 Gyr) is contrasted with a serendipitously discovered Virgo dwarf in the ACS field of view (Dw J122147+132853), and the total diffuse light from AGC~226067 is consistent with the luminosity function of the resolved $\sim$7--50 Myr stellar population. The main body of AGC~226067 has a $M_{V}$=$-$11.3$\pm$0.3, or $M_{stars}$=5.4$\pm$1.3$\times$10$^4$ $M_{\odot}$ given the stellar population. We searched 20 deg$^2$ of imaging data adjacent to AGC~226067 in the Virgo Cluster, and found two similar stellar systems dominated by a blue stellar population, far from any massive galaxy counterpart -- if this population has similar star formation properties as AGC~226067, it implies $\sim$0.1 $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ in Virgo intracluster star formation. Given its unusual stellar population, AGC~226067 is likely a stripped remnant and is plausibly the result of compressed gas from the ram pressure stripped M86 subgroup ($\sim$350 kpc away in projection) as it falls into the Virgo Cluster., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal

The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey is an optical imaging survey covering 104 deg^2 centered on the Virgo cluster. Currently, the complete survey area has been observed in the u*giz-bands and one third in the r-band. We present the photometric redshift estimation for the NGVS background sources. After a dedicated data reduction, we perform accurate photometry, with special attention to precise color measurements through point spread function-homogenization. We then estimate the photometric redshifts with the Le Phare and BPZ codes. We add a new prior which extends to iAB = 12.5 mag. When using the u*griz-bands, our photometric redshifts for 15.5 \le i \lesssim 23 mag or zphot \lesssim 1 galaxies have a bias |\Delta z| < 0.02, less than 5% outliers, and a scatter \sigma_{outl.rej.} and an individual error on zphot that increase with magnitude (from 0.02 to 0.05 and from 0.03 to 0.10, respectively). When using the u*giz-bands over the same magnitude and redshift range, the lack of the r-band increases the uncertainties in the 0.3 \lesssim zphot \lesssim 0.8 range (-0.05 < \Delta z < -0.02, \sigma_{outl.rej} ~ 0.06, 10-15% outliers, and zphot.err. ~ 0.15). We also present a joint analysis of the photometric redshift accuracy as a function of redshift and magnitude. We assess the quality of our photometric redshifts by comparison to spectroscopic samples and by verifying that the angular auto- and cross-correlation function w(\theta) of the entire NGVS photometric redshift sample across redshift bins is in agreement with the expectations., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJS. 24 pages, 21 Figures (some with degraded quality to fit the arxiv size limit), 6 Tables

As part of the Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS) we report the discovery of a pair of faint dwarf galaxies (CenA-MM-Dw1 and CenA-MM-Dw2) at a projected distance of $\sim$90 kpc from the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC5128 (CenA). We measure a tip of the red giant branch distance to each dwarf, finding $D=3.63 \pm 0.41$ Mpc for CenA-MM-Dw1 and $D=3.60 \pm 0.41$ Mpc for CenA-MM-Dw2, both of which are consistent with the distance to NGC5128. A qualitative analysis of the color magnitude diagrams indicates stellar populations consisting of an old, metal-poor red giant branch ($\gtrsim 12$ Gyr, [Fe/H]$\sim-1.7$ to -1.9). In addition, CenA-MM-Dw1 seems to host an intermediate-age population as indicated by its candidate asymptotic giant branch stars. The derived luminosities ($M_V=-10.9\pm0.3$ for CenA-MM-Dw1 and $-8.4\pm0.6$ for CenA-MM-Dw2) and half-light radii ($r_{h}=1.4\pm0.04$ kpc for CenA-MM-Dw1 and $0.36\pm0.08$ kpc for CenA-MM-Dw2) are consistent with those of Local Group dwarfs. CenA-MM-Dw1's low central surface brightness ($\mu_{V,0}=27.3\pm0.1$ mag/arcsec$^2$) places it among the faintest and most extended M31 satellites. Most intriguingly, CenA-MM-Dw1 and CenA-MM-Dw2 have a projected separation of only 3 arcmin ($\sim3$ kpc): we are possibly observing the first, faint satellite of a satellite in an external group of galaxies., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; ApJL submitted

The fraction of star-forming to quiescent dwarf galaxies varies from almost infinity in the field to zero in the centers of rich galaxy clusters. What is causing this pronounced morphology-density relation? What do quiescent dwarf galaxies look like when studied in detail, and what conclusions can be drawn about their formation mechanism? Here we study a nearly magnitude-complete sample (-19 < M_r < -16 mag) of 121 Virgo cluster early types with deep near-infrared images from the SMAKCED project. We fit two-dimensional models with optional inner and outer components, as well as bar and lens components (in ~15% of the galaxies), to the galaxy images. While a single S��rsic function may approximate the overall galaxy structure, it does not entirely capture the light distribution of two-thirds of our galaxies, for which multi-component models provide a better fit. This fraction of complex galaxies shows a strong dependence on luminosity, being larger for brighter objects. We analyze the global and component-specific photometric scaling relations of early-type dwarf galaxies and discuss similarities with bright early and late types. The dwarfs' global galaxy parameters show scaling relations that are similar to those of bright disk galaxies. The inner components are mostly fitted with S��rsic n values close to 1. At a given magnitude they are systematically larger than the bulges of spirals, suggesting that they are not ordinary bulges. We argue that the multi-component structures in early-type dwarfs are mostly a phenomenon inherent to the disks, and may indeed stem from environmental processing., Accepted for publication in ApJS, 34 pages, 30 figures. Online figures: http://www.smakced.net/data.html

We study the role of the environment on galaxy evolution using a sample of 868 galaxies in the Virgo cluster and in its surrounding regions selected from the GUViCS Survey with the purpose of understanding the origin of the red sequence in dense environments. We collected multifrequency data covering the whole electromagnetic spectrum for most of the galaxies. We identify the different dynamical substructures composing the Virgo cluster and we calculate the local density of galaxies using different methods. We then study the distribution of galaxies belonging to the red sequence, the green valley, and the blue cloud within the different cluster substructures. Our analysis indicates that all the most massive galaxies are slow rotators and are the dominant galaxies of the different cluster substructures generally associated with a diffuse X-ray emission. They are probably the result of major merging events that occurred at early epochs. Slow rotators of lower stellar mass are also preferentially located within the different high-density substructures of the cluster. They are virialised within the cluster, thus Virgo members since its formation. They have been shaped by gravitational perturbations occurring within the infalling groups that later formed the cluster. On the contrary, low-mass star-forming systems are extremely rare in the inner regions of the Virgo cluster A, where the density of the intergalactic medium is at its maximum. Our ram pressure stripping models consistently indicate that these star-forming systems can be rapidly deprived of their interstellar medium during their interaction with the intergalactic medium. The lack of gas quenches their star formation activity transforming them into quiescent dwarf ellipticals. This mild transformation does not perturb the kinematic properties of these galaxies which still have rotation curves typical of star-forming systems., Comment: Submitted for publication on Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present spatially resolved kinematics and global stellar populations and mass-to-light ratios for a sample of 39 dwarf early-type (dE) galaxies in the Virgo cluster studied as part of the SMAKCED stellar absorption-line spectroscopy and imaging survey. This sample is representative of the early-type population in the absolute magnitude range -19.0 < M_r < -16.0. For each dE, we measure the rotation curve and velocity dispersion profile and fit an analytic function to the rotation curve. We study the significance of the departure of the rotation curve from the best fit analytic function (poorly fit) and of the difference between the approaching and receding sides of the rotation curve (asymmetry). We find that 62 +/- 8 % (23 out of the 39) of the dEs have a significant anomaly in their rotation curve. Analysis of the images reveals photometric anomalies for most galaxies. However, there is no clear correlation between the significance of the photometric and kinematic anomalies. We measure age-sensitive and metallicity-sensitive Lick spectral indices and find a wide range of ages and metallicities. We also find that 4 dEs have emission partially filling in the Balmer absorption lines. Finally, we estimate the total masses and dark matter fractions of the dEs. They have a median total mass and dark matter fraction within the Re of log Me = 9.1 +/- 0.2 and f_DM = 46 +/- 18 %. We plot several scaling relations and show that dEs seem to be the bridge between massive early-type and dwarf spheroidal galaxies., Accepted for publication in ApJS. 49 pages, 71 figures, 8 tables

We report the discovery of a new faint dwarf galaxy, which we dub Scl-MM-Dw1, at a projected distance of $\sim$65 kpc from the spiral galaxy NGC 253. The discovery results from the Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS), a program with the Magellan/Megacam imager to study faint substructure in resolved stellar light around massive galaxies outside of the Local Group. We measure a tip of the red giant branch distance to Scl-MM-Dw1 of $D$=3.9$\pm$0.5 Mpc, consistent with that of NGC 253, making their association likely. The new dwarf's stellar population is complex, with an old, metal poor red giant branch ($\gtrsim$10 Gyr, [Fe/H]$\sim$$-$2), and an asymptotic giant branch with an age of $\sim$500 Myr. Scl-MM-Dw1 has a half-light radius of $r_{h}$=340$\pm$50 pc and an absolute magnitude of $M_{V}$=$-$10.3$\pm$0.6 mag, comparable to the Milky Way's satellites at the same luminosity. Once complete, our imaging survey of NGC 253 and other nearby massive galaxies will provide a census of faint substructure in halos beyond the Local Group, both to put our own environment into context and to confront models of hierarchical structure formation., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, ApJL submitted

We obtained using MegaCam at the CFHT a deep narrow band Halpha+[NII] wide field image of NGC 4569, the brightest late-type galaxy in the Virgo cluster. The image reveals the presence of long tails of diffuse ionised gas without any associated stellar component extending from the disc of the galaxy up to ~ 80 kpc (projected distance) with a typical surface brightness of a few 10^-18 erg s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2. These features provide direct evidence that NGC 4569 is undergoing a ram presure stripping event. The image also shows a prominent 8 kpc spur of ionised gas associated to the nucleus that spectroscopic data identify as an outflow. With some assumptions on the 3D distribution of the gas, we use the Halpha surface brightness of these extended low surface brightness features to derive the density and the mass of the gas stripped during the interaction of the galaxy with the ICM. The comparison with ad-hoc chemo-spectrophotometric models of galaxy evolution indicates that the mass of the Halpha emitting gas in the tail is comparable to that of the cold phase stripped from the disc, suggesting that the gas is ionised within the tail during the stripping process. The lack of star forming regions suggests that mechanisms other than photoionisation are responsible for the excitation of the gas (shocks, heat conduction, magneto hydrodynamic waves). This analysis indicates that ram pressure stripping is efficient in massive (M_star ~ 10^10.5 Mo) galaxies located in intermediate mass (~ 10^14 Mo) clusters under formation. It also shows that the mass of gas expelled by the nuclear outflow is ~ 1 % than that removed during the ram pressure stripping event. All together these results indicate that ram pressure stripping, rather than starvation through nuclear feedback, can be the dominant mechanism responsible for the quenching of the star formation activity of galaxies in high density environments., Comment: Accepted for publication on Astronomy & Astrophysics

Early-type dwarf galaxies, once believed to be simple systems, have recently been shown to exhibit an intriguing diversity in structure and stellar content. To analyze this further, we started the SMAKCED project, and obtained deep H-band images for 101 early-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster in a brightness range of -19 \leq M_r \leq -16 mag, typically reaching a signal-to-noise of 1 per pixel of \sim0.25" at surface brightnesses \sim22.5 mag/arcsec^2 in the H-band. Here we present the first results of decomposing their two-dimensional light distributions. This is the first study dedicated to early-type dwarf galaxies using the two-dimensional multi-component decomposition approach, which has been proven to be important for giant galaxies. Armed with this new technique, we find more structural components than previous studies: only a quarter of the galaxies fall into the simplest group, namely those represented by a single S\'ersic function, optionally with a nucleus. Furthermore, we find a bar fraction of 18%. We detect also a similar fraction of lenses which appear as shallow structures with sharp outer edges. Galaxies with bars and lenses are found to be more concentrated towards the Virgo galaxy center than the other sample galaxies., Comment: Accepted by ApJL, 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

We present evidence for kinematically decoupled cores (KDCs) in two dwarf early-type (dE) galaxies in the Virgo cluster, VCC 1183 and VCC 1453, studied as part of the SMAKCED stellar absorption-line spectroscopy and imaging survey. These KDCs have radii of 1.8'' (0.14 kpc) and 4.2'' (0.33 kpc), respectively. Each of these KDCs is distinct from the main body of its host galaxy in two ways: (1) inverted sense of rotation; and (2) younger (and possibly more metal-rich) stellar population. The observed stellar population differences are probably associated with the KDC, although we cannot rule out the possibility of intrinsic radial gradients in the host galaxy. We describe a statistical analysis method to detect, quantify the significance of, and characterize KDCs in long-slit rotation curve data. We apply this method to the two dE galaxies presented in this paper and to five other dEs for which KDCs have been reported in the literature. Among these seven dEs, there are four significant KDC detections, two marginal KDC detections, and one dE with an unusual central kinematic anomaly that may be an asymmetric KDC.The frequency of occurence of KDCs and their properties provide important constraints on the formation history of their host galaxies. We discuss different formation scenarios for these KDCs in cluster environments and find that dwarf-dwarf wet mergers or gas accretion can explain the properties of these KDCs. Both of these mechanisms require that the progenitor had a close companion with a low relative velocity. This suggests that KDCs were formed in galaxy pairs residing in a poor group environment or in isolation whose subsequent infall into the cluster quenched star formation., 14 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ

What happens to dwarf galaxies as they enter the cluster potential well is one of the main unknowns in studies of galaxy evolution. Several evidence suggests that late-type galaxies enter the cluster and are transformed to dwarf early-type galaxies (dEs). We study the Virgo cluster to understand which mechanisms are involved in this transformation. We find that the dEs in the outer parts of Virgo have rotation curves with shapes and amplitudes similar to late-type galaxies of the same luminosity. These dEs are rotationally supported, have disky isophotes, and younger ages than those dEs in the center of Virgo, which are pressure supported, often have boxy isophotes and are older. Ram pressure stripping, thus, explains the properties of the dEs located in the outskirts of Virgo. However, the dEs in the central cluster regions, which have lost their angular momentum, must have suffered a more violent transformation. A combination of ram pressure stripping and harassment is not enough to remove the rotation and the spiral/disky structures of these galaxies. We find that on the the Faber-Jackson and the Fundamental Plane relations dEs deviate from the trends of massive elliptical galaxies towards the position of dark matter dominated systems such as the dwarf spheroidal satellites of the Milky Way and M31. Both, rotationally and pressure supported dEs, however, populate the same region in these diagrams. This indicates that dEs have a non-negligible dark matter fraction within their half light radius., Comment: Proceeding of the XXVIII IAU General Assembly, Special Session 3: Galaxy Evolution through Secular Processes. Edts: R. Buta and D. Pfenniger