4.6 Article

Spatially resolved gas and stellar kinematics in compact starburst galaxies

Journal

ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 666, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243739

Keywords

galaxies: kinematics and dynamics; galaxies: starburst; galaxies: ISM; infrared: galaxies; ISM: kinematics and dynamics; stars: kinematics and dynamics

Funding

  1. Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet)
  2. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  3. National Science Foundation
  4. US Department of Energy Office of Science
  5. University of Arizona
  6. Brazilian Participation Group
  7. Brookhaven National Laboratory
  8. Carnegie Mellon University
  9. French Participation Group
  10. German Participation Group
  11. Harvard University
  12. Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias
  13. Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group
  14. Johns Hopkins University
  15. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  16. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
  17. Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
  18. University of Florida
  19. New Mexico State University
  20. New York University
  21. Ohio State University
  22. Pennsylvania State University
  23. University of Portsmouth
  24. Princeton University
  25. Spanish Participation Group
  26. University of Tokyo
  27. University of Utah
  28. Vanderbilt University
  29. University of Virginia
  30. University of Washington
  31. Yale University

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This study investigates the kinematics of nearby starburst galaxies selected from SDSS data. The results show a correlation between the rotational velocity and velocity dispersion of the gas and stellar components, and propose a scenario where gravitational instabilities determine the global kinematics of galaxies. The study highlights the importance of understanding the physics and assembly history of galaxies.
Context. The kinematics of galaxies provide valuable insights into their physics and assembly history. Kinematics are governed not only by the gravitational potential, but also by merger events and stellar feedback processes such as stellar winds and supernova explosions. Aims. We aim to identify what governs the kinematics in a sample of SDSS-selected nearby starburst galaxies, by obtaining spatially resolved measurements of the gas and stellar kinematics. Methods. We obtained near-infrared integral-field K-band spectroscopy with VLT/SINFONI for 15 compact starburst galaxies. We derived the integrated as well as spatially resolved stellar and gas kinematics. The stellar kinematics were derived from the CO absorption bands, and Paa and Bry emission lines were used for the gas kinematics. Results. Based on the integrated spectra, we find that the majority of galaxies have gas and stellar velocity dispersion that are comparable. A spatially resolved comparison shows that the six galaxies that deviate show evidence for a bulge or stellar feedback. Two galaxies are identified as mergers based on their double-peaked emission lines. In our sample, we find a negative correlation between the ratio of the rotational velocity over the velocity dispersion (v(rot)/sigma) and the star formation rate surface density. Conclusions. We propose a scenario where the global kinematics of the galaxies are determined by gravitational instabilities that affect both the stars and gas. This process could be driven by mergers or accretion events. Effects of stellar feedback on the ionised gas are more localised and detected only in the spatially resolved analysis. The mass derived from the velocity dispersion provides a reliable mass even if the galaxy cannot be spatially resolved. The technique used in this paper is applicable to galaxies at low and high redshift with the next generation of infrared-focussed telescopes (JWST and ELT).

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