SNe Ia and the Formation History of Early-Type Galaxies

Computer Science

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Scientific paper

Using the standard prescription for the rates of supernovae type II and type Ia, we compare the predictions of a simple model of star formation in galaxies with the observed radial gradients of abundance ratios in a sample of early-type galaxies to infer the relative contribution of each type of supernova. The data suggests a correlation between the fractional contribution of Type Ia to the chemical enrichment of the stellar populations (1-xi) and central velocity dispersion of order 1-xi ~ -0.16log(sigma0)+0.40, so that the type Ia contribution in stars ranges from a negligible amount in massive (sigma0 ~ 300 km/s) galaxies up to 10% in low-mass (~100 km/s) elliptical galaxies. Our model is parametrized by a star formation timescale (tSF) which controls the duration of the starburst. A correlation with galaxy radius as a power law (tSF propto rbeta) translates into a radial gradient of the abundance ratios. The data implies a wide range of formation scenarios for a simple model that fixes the luminosity profile, ranging from inside-out (beta=2), to outside-in formation (beta=-1), as is consistent with numerical simulations of elliptical galaxy formation. An alternative scenario that links tSF to the dynamical timescale favours inside-out formation over a smaller range 0.4 < beta < 0.6. In both cases, massive galaxies are predicted to have undergone a more extended period of star formation in the outer regions with respect to their low-mass counterparts.

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