Dynamical models of elliptical galaxies in z=0.5 clusters. I. Data-model comparison and evolution of galaxy rotation

We present spatially resolved stellar rotation velocity and velocity dispersion profiles from Keck/LRIS absorption-line spectra for 25 galaxies, mostly visually classified ellipticals, in three clusters at z approximate to 0.5. We interpret the kine-matical data and HST photometry using oblate axisymmetric two-integral f(E,L-z) dynamical models based on the Jeans equations. This yields good fits, provided that the seeing and observational characteristics are carefully modeled. The fits yield for each galaxy the dynamical mass-to-light ratio (M/L) and a measure of the galaxy rotation rate. Paper II addresses the implied M/L evolution. Here we study the rotation-rate evolution by comparison to a sample of local elliptical galaxies of similar present-day luminosity. The brightest galaxies in the sample all rotate too slowly to account for their flattening, as is also observed at z = 0. But the average rotation rate is higher at z approximate to 0: 5 than locally. This may be due to a higher fraction of misclassified S0 galaxies (although this effect is insufficient to explain the observed strong evolution of the cluster S0 fraction with redshift). Alternatively, dry mergers between early-type galaxies may have decreased the average rotation rate over time. It is unclear whether such mergers are numerous enough in clusters to explain the observed trend quantitatively. Disk-disk mergers may affect the comparison through the so-called progenitor bias, but this cannot explain the direction of the observed rotation-rate evolution. Additional samples are needed to constrain possible environmental dependencies and cosmic variance in galaxy rotation rates. Either way, studies of the internal stellar dynamics of distant galaxies provide a valuable new approach for exploring galaxy evolution.