DOI:
10.1088/2041-8205/806/2/L31
IAA authors:
García-Benito R.;Mendoza M.A.;Delgado R.G.
Authors:
Martín-Navarro I., Vazdekis A., La Barbera F., Falcón-Barroso J., Lyubenova M., Van De Ven G., Ferreras I., Sánchez S.F., Trager S.C., García-Benito R., Mast D., Mendoza M.A., Sánchez-Blázquez P., Delgado R.G., Walcher C.J.
Journal:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Abstract:
Variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) have been invoked to explain the spectroscopic and dynamical properties of early-type galaxies (ETGs). However, no observations have yet been able to disentangle the physical driver. We analyze here a sample of 24 ETGs drawn from the CALIFA survey, deriving in a homogeneous way their stellar population and kinematic properties. We find that the local IMF is tightly related to the local metallicity, becoming more bottom-heavy toward metal-rich populations. Our result, combined with the galaxy mass-metallicity relation, naturally explains previous claims of a galaxy mass-IMF relation, derived from non-IFU spectra. If we assume that - within the star formation environment of ETGs - metallicity is the main driver of IMF variations, a significant revision of the interpretation of galaxy evolution observables is necessary. © 2015. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
URL:
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2015ApJ...806L..31M/abstract
Keywords:
cD; Galaxies: elliptical and lenticular; Galaxies: evolution; Galaxies: formation; Galaxies: fundamental parameters; Galaxies: stellar content