The multiple classes of ultra-diffuse galaxies: Can we tell them apart?

This study compiles stellar populations and internal properties of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) to highlight correlations with their local environment, globular cluster (GC) richness, and star formation histories. Complementing our sample of 88 UDGs, we include 36 low-surface brightness dwarf galax...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-12
Main Authors: Buzzo, Maria Luisa, bes, Duncan A, Jarrett, Thomas H, Marleau, Francine R, Pierre-Alain Duc, Brodie, Jean P, Romanowsky, Aaron J, Ferré-Mateu, Anna, Hilker, Michael, Gannon, Jonah S, Pfeffer, Joel, Haacke, Lydia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Clustering
Dwarf galaxies
Extreme values
Galactic clusters
Galactic evolution
Galaxy distribution
Globular clusters
Spectral energy distribution
Star & galaxy formation
Star formation
Stellar populations
Surface brightness
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Summary:This study compiles stellar populations and internal properties of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) to highlight correlations with their local environment, globular cluster (GC) richness, and star formation histories. Complementing our sample of 88 UDGs, we include 36 low-surface brightness dwarf galaxies with UDG-like properties, referred to as NUDGes (nearly-UDGs). All galaxies were studied using the same spectral energy distribution fitting methodology to explore what sets UDGs apart from other galaxies. We show that NUDGes are similar to UDGs in all properties except for being, by definition, smaller and having higher surface brightness. We find that UDGs and NUDGes show similar behaviours in their GC populations, with the most metal-poor galaxies hosting consistently more GCs on average. This suggests that GC content may provide an effective way to distinguish extreme galaxies within the low surface brightness regime alongside traditional parameters like size and surface brightness. We confirm previous results using clustering algorithms that UDGs split into two main classes, which might be associated with the formation pathways of a puffy dwarf and a failed galaxy. The clustering applied to the UDGs+NUDGes dataset yields an equivalent result. The difference in mass contained in the GC system suggests that galaxies in different environments have not simply evolved from one another but may have formed through distinct processes.
ISSN:2331-8422