In Han & Han (2012), we have preliminarily built BayeSED and applied it to a sample of hyperluminous infrared galaxies. The physically reasonable results obtained from Bayesian model comparison and parameter estimation show that BayeSED could be a useful tool for understanding the nature of complex systems, such as dust obscured starburst-AGN composite galaxies, from decoding their complex SEDs. In this contribution, we present a more rigorous test of BayeSED by making a mock catalog from model SEDs with the value of all parameters to be known in advance.

cD galaxies are supergiant elliptical galaxies found generally in the central parts of rich clusters, which have an extended halo-like component (envelope) in addition to the underlying de Vaucouleurs-Sérsic elliptical galaxy-like component. This envelope can extend to radial distances of > 500 kpc (Oemler 1976, Schombert 1988). There have been many theories to explain the formation of these envelopes. These include tidal stripping, where material is stripped from neighbouring galaxies; mergers and fusions, where the envelope is built up hierarchically by successive mergers with large and small galaxies; primordial origin, where the envelope is formed at the same time as the rest of the elliptical galaxy (which appears to be related to theories of early formation of the largest galaxies); and cooling flows: in clusters with X-ray emission there is often a minimum temperature in the centre interpreted as a flow of cooling gas towards the centre of the cluster, where the gas can cool sufficiently, forming stars. The colours of the stars in the envelopes will be affected by their process of formation and subsequent evolution.

Excluding those unsettled systems undergoing mergers, bright galaxies come in two flavours: with and without discs. In this work we look for photometric evidence for presence of discs and compare it with kinematic results of the ATLAS3D survey (Cappellari et al. 2011). We fit a Sérsic (1968) function to azimuthally averaged light profiles of ATLAS3D galaxies to derive single component fits and, subsequently, we fit a combination of the Sérsic function (free index n) and an exponential function (n=1) with the purpose of decomposing the light profiles into “bulge” and “disc” components (B+D model) of all non-barred sample galaxies. We compare the residuals of the B+D models with those of the single Sérsic fits and select the B+D model as preferred only when the improvement is substantial and there are no correlations within residuals. We find that the high angular momentum objects (fast rotators) are disc dominated systems with bulges of typically low n (when their light profiles can be decomposed) or are best represented with a single Sérsic function with a low Sérsic index (n<3). Single component systems with large Sérsic indices are characteristic of low angular momentum objects (slow rotators).

We present an overview of recent findings on the kinematics, age, and metallicity of globular cluster systems in nearby giant elliptical galaxies and their implications for understanding how giant elliptical galaxies formed and evolved.

We present the stellar population and velocity dispersion gradients for a sample of 24 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in the nearby Universe for which we have obtained high quality long-slit spectra at the Gemini telescopes. With the aim of studying the possible connection between the formation of the BCGs and their host clusters, we explore the relations between the stellar population gradients and properties of the host clusters, as well as the possible connections between the stellar population gradients and other properties of the galaxies. We find mean stellar population gradients (negative Δ[Z/H]/log r gradient of − 0.285 ± 0.064; small positive Δlog(age)/log r gradient of +0.069 ± 0.049; and null Δ[E/Fe]/log r gradient of -0.008 ± 0.032), that are consistent with those of normal massive elliptical galaxies. However, we find a trend between metallicity gradients and velocity dispersion (with a negative slope of − 1.616 ± 0.539), that is not found for the most massive ellipticals. Furthermore, we find trends between the metallicity gradients and K-band luminosities (with a slope of 0.173 ± 0.081) as well as the distance from the BCG to the X-ray peak of the host cluster (with a slope of − 7.546 ± 2.752). The latter indicates a possible relation between the formation of the cluster and that of the central galaxy.

We show the results of a non-parametric, fully bayesian implementation of a spectral fitting algorithm, designed to calculate the main physical parameters that govern the galaxy assembly process. In this work, we present results from a statistical treatment of SED fitting that allows for easy recovery and visualization of the galaxy physical parameters.

We present a multiwavelength photometric analysis of the innermost (3×3 kpc2) Globular Clusters (GCs) of M87. Their Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) were built with J and Ks imaging obtained with NaCo at the VLT, along with HST UV-optical archival data. Using both Galatic GC templates and stellar population models, we derived ages (> 10 Gyr) and metallicities ([Fe/H]~ −0.7) for these clusters (e.g: Cohen et al. 1998). These GCs have lower metallicities than its host galaxy. This agrees with the idea that the GC population formed earlier than the bulk of the stars.

Based on BATC and SDSS photometric data, we adopt the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting method to evaluate stellar metallicities in the Galaxy. We find that the mean metallicity shifts from metal-rich to metal-poor with the increase of distance from the Galactic Centre.

We use the full spectrum fitting ability of ULySS, with the Pegase.HR stellar population model to fit the observed spectra of 40 brightest cluster galaxies in order to determine whether a single or a composite stellar population provided the most probable representation of the star formation history (SFH). We find that some galaxies in the sample have more complex SFHs.

We study and compare the stellar populations of host galaxies of different types of supernovae (SNe): SN Ia and core collapse SN (SN II and SN Ibc) at the same time. The 234 sample galaxies are selected by cross-matching the Asiago Supernova Catalogue (ASC) and the SDSS-DR7 main galaxy sample (MGS). The STARLIGHT software is used to analyze their stellar populations by fitting the continua and absorption lines of the hosts.

We present a new method to investigate the IMF in the early universe from observations of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars. EMP stars are the low-mass survivors of stars which are formed in the early universe. We can give constraints on the IMF from statistics of the elemental abundances of the EMP stars in the Galactic halo.

Stellar bars are important internal drivers of the secular evolution of disk galaxies. Using a sample of nearby barred galaxies with weak and strong bars, we evaluate the correlations between star formation properties in different galactic structures and their associated bars, and try to interpret the complex process of bar-driven secular evolution. We find that weaker bars tend to associate with lower concentrical star formation activities, while stronger bars appear to have large scatter in the distribution of the global star formation activities. In general, the star formation activities in early- and late-type galaxies have different behavior, with similar star formation rate density distributions. In addition, there are only weak trends toward increased star formation activities in bulges and galaxies with stronger bars, which is consistent with previous works. Our results suggest that the different stages of the evolutionary sequence and many factors besides bars may contribute to the complexity of this process. Furthermore, significant correlations are found between the star formation activities in different galactic structures, in which barred galaxies with intense star formation in bulges tend to also have active star formation in their bars and disks. Most bulges have higher star formation densities than their associated bars and disks, indicating the presence of bar-driven evolution. Therefore, we derived a possible criterion (Figure 1) to quantify the different stages of a bar-driven evolutionary sequence. Future work is needed to improve on the uncertainties of this study.

Recently, massive early-type galaxies have shed their red-and-dead moniker, thanks to the discovery that many host residual star formation. As part of the ATLAS-3D project, we have conducted a complete, volume-limited survey of the molecular gas in 260 local early-type galaxies with the IRAM-30m telescope and the CARMA interferometer, in an attempt to understand the fuel powering this star formation. We find that around 22% of early-type galaxies in the local volume host molecular gas reservoirs. This detection rate is independent of galaxy luminosity and environment. Here we focus on how kinematic misalignment measurements and gas-to-dust ratios can be used to put constraints on the origin of the cold ISM in these systems. The origin of the cold ISM seems to depend strongly on environment, with misaligned, dust poor gas (indicative of externally acquired material) being common in the field but completely absent in rich groups and in the Virgo cluster. Very massive galaxies also appear to be devoid of accreted gas. This suggests that in the field mergers and/or cold gas accretion dominate the gas supply, while in clusters internal secular processes become more important. This implies that environment has a strong impact on the cold gas properties of ETGs.

Most early-type galaxies are not devoid of cold and warm gas. The origin and ionization of this gas reveal the intriguing ongoing evolution of these galaxies. In most cases, the warm ionized gas shows emission-line spectra similar to low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs). Their ionization mechanism has been hotly debated. We will present evidence from line ratio gradient that rules out AGN and shocks as the dominant ionization mechanism, and suggests the ionizing sources follow the stellar density profile. Hot evolved stars are the favorite candidates but bring new puzzles.

This finding allows us to obtain a gas-phase metallicity calibration in these early-type galaxies, using the line emission. We will show how the metallicity of the warm gas depends on stellar mass and stellar age, and what it tells us about the origin of the warm gas in these galaxies.

We have searched for dust in an optical sample of 910 Early-Type Galaxies (ETGs) in the Virgo cluster (447 of which are optically complete at mpg ≤ 18.0), extending also to the dwarf ETGs, using Herschel images at 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500 μm. Dust was found in 52 ETGs (46 are in the optically complete sample), including M87 and another 3 ETGs with strong synchrotron emisssion. Dust is detected in 17% of ellipticals, 41% of lenticulars, and in about 4% of dwarf ETGs. The dust-to-stars mass ratio increases with decreasing optical luminosity, and for some dwarf ETGs reaches values similar to those of the dusty late-type galaxies. Slowly rotating ETGs are more likely to contain dust than fast rotating ones. Only 8 ETGs have both dust and HI, while 39 have only dust and 8 have only HI, surprisingly showing that only rarely dust and HI survive together. ETGs with dust appear to be concentrated in the densest regions of the cluster, while those with HI tend to be at the periphery. ETGs with an X-ray active SMBH are more likely to have dust and vice versa the dusty ETGs are more likely to have an active SMBH.

We investigate the relationship between stellar mass, metallicity and gas content for a magnitude- and volume-limited sample of 260 nearby late-type galaxies in different environments. Combining new oxygen abundance measurements with ultraviolet to near-infrared photometry and Hi 21 cm line observations, we observe the relationship between stellar mass and metallicity. We also find that, at fixed stellar mass, galaxies with lower gas fractions typically possess higher oxygen abundances. Gas-poor galaxies are typically more metal-rich. Our results indicate that internal evolutionary processes, rather than environmental effects, play a key role in shaping the stellar mass-metallicity relation.

We gather a sample of both metal-rich and metal-poor galaxies. Both samples have oxygen abundances estimated from electron temperature (Te). The calibration of the emission-line ratio, N2(≡log([NII]6583/Hα), to oxygen abundances is then re-derived from this combined sample, finding good agreement for the wide metallicity and line-ratio ranges considered.

We presented results using the Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey (NGLS), which is being carried out with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) on Mauna Kea in Hawai'i. We have obtained CO J=3−2 data for 155 nearby galaxies to trace the dense molecular gas in which stars are believed to be born. The sample of this survey covers a wide morphological range and has been selected to include galaxies that have been thoroughly studied in the literature, and for which abundant observational data are available. In parallel, we have observed the same sample of galaxies using the Hα spectral line, which traces massive star formation.

We analyse a sample of 15,019 narrow emission-line galaxies, i.e. Seyferts, LINERs, composites and star-forming galaxies, from SDSS DR7 to study the differences between the different emission-line classes. We report two clear sequences of electron temperature (Te) and density (ne): Te-LINER ≳ Te-composite > Te-Seyfert > Te-star-forming and ne-Seyfert ≳ ne-LINER > ne-composite > ne-star-forming. General transitions of ne and Te from central regions to disks are quantitatively confirmed.

The discovery of a population of massive, compact and quiescent early-type galaxies has changed the view on plausible formation scenarios for the present day population of elliptical galaxies. Traditionally assumed formation histories dominated by 'single events' like early collapse or major mergers appear to be incomplete and have to be embedded in the context of hierarchical cosmological models with continuous gas accretion and the merging of small stellar systems (minor mergers). Once these processes are consistently taken into account the hierarchical models favor a two-phase assembly process and are in much better shape to capture the observed trends. We review some aspects of recent progress in the field.