Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-10-22
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
ApJ Letters accepted, 5 pages emulateapj, 2 figures
Scientific paper
10.1086/524404
We present new estimates of ages and metallicities, based on FORS/VLT optical (4400-5500A) spectroscopy, of 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies (dE's) in the Fornax Cluster and in Southern Groups. These dE's are more metal-rich and younger than previous estimates based on narrow-band photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy. For our sample we find a mean metallicity [Z/H] = -0.33 dex and mean age 3.5 Gyr, consistent with similar samples of dE's in other environments (Local Group, Virgo). Three dE's in our sample show emission lines and very young ages. This suggests that some dE's formed stars until a very recent epoch and were self-enriched by a long star formation history. Previous observations of large near-infrared (~8500A) Ca II absorption strengths in these dE's are in good agreement with the new metallicity estimates, solving part of the so-called Calcium puzzle.
de Rijcke Sven
Debattista Victor P.
Dejonghe Herwig
Ferreras Ignacio
Koleva Mina
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