Breaking the Age-Metallicity degeneracy in local early-type galaxies: clues about the formation and evolution of spheroids.

Details Breaking the Age-Metallicity degeneracy in local early-type galaxies: clues about the formation and evolution of spheroids. Breaking the Age-Metallicity degeneracy in local early-type galaxies: clues about the formation and evolution of spheroids.

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3419b&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #3419

Physics

Scientific paper

We propose to obtain Spitzer IRS (SL1, SL2 and LL2) high signal to noise (S/N~40) observations in the spectral region from 5.2 to 21.3 micron, of a sample of early-type galaxies in Virgo cluster and in the field. We present a new method that, fully exploiting the spatial resolution and sensitivity of Spitzer Space Telescope, seeks for the signatures of younger and/or more metal rich stellar populations, through the presence of the 9.7 micron silicate feature of their Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars. By combining such mid-infrared observations with optical observations, we are able to break the "age-metallicity" degeneracy that affects any estimate of age and metallicity in such galaxies. The 9.7 micron feature has been already detected by ISO in a few early type galaxies -we show the case of NGC1399-, though without the required spatial resolution and high signal to noise. We propose to apply this method to early type galaxies populating two different environments: the Virgo cluster and the local field. Spitzer Space Telescope will allow, for the first time, a ranking of these galaxies in age and metallicity unbiased by the effect of "age-metallicity" degeneracy, and thus will cast light on the processes of formation of spheroids in these two markedly different environments.

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