The Cosmological Unimportance of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Hayward, Christopher C.; Irwin, Jimmy A.; Bregman, Joel N.

doi:10.1086/497565

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The difficulty in detecting LSB galaxies makes their cosmological significance challenging to estimate; studies based on optical surveys (McGaugh et al 1995;O'Neil & Bothun 2000;Trachternach et al 2006) indicate that LSB galaxies account for up to 50% of the galaxy-bound baryons in the universe, while Hayward et al (2005) use supernovae to estimate that fraction closer to 10%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of star formation and metals in the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 628

Young¹,

Naray²,

Wang³

2015

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

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We introduce the MUSCEL Program (MUltiwavelength observations of the Structure, Chemistry and Evolution of LSB galaxies), a project aimed at determining the starformation histories of low surface brightness galaxies. MUSCEL utilizes ground-based optical spectra and space-based UV and IR photometry to fully constrain the starformation histories of our targets with the aim of shedding light on the processes that led low surface brightness galaxies down a different evolutionary path from that followed by high surface brightness galaxies, such as our Milky Way. Here we present the spatially-resolved optical spectra of UGC 628, observed with the VIRUS-P IFU at the 2.7-m Harlen J. Smith Telescope at the McDonald Observatory, and utilize emission-line diagnostics to determine the rate and distribution of star formation as well as the gas-phase metallicity and metallicity gradient. We find highly clustered star formation throughout UGC 628, excluding the core regions, and a log(O/H) metallicity around −4.2, with more metal rich regions near the edges of the galactic disk. Based on the emission-line diagnostics alone, the current mode of star formation, slow and concentrated in the outer disk, appears to have dominated for quite some time, although there are clear signs of a much older stellar population formed in a more standard inside-out fashion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of star formation and metals in the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 628

Young¹,

Naray²,

Wang³

2015

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

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“…Consequently, the contribution of LSB galaxies to both the total baryon density of the universe and their contribution to the galaxy number density are still uncertain. For example, Hayward et al (2005) argued that LSB galaxies contain only a small fraction of the baryons and are therefore "cosmologically unimportant", whereas Minchin et al (2004) found that LSB galaxies account for 62 ± 37% of gas-rich galaxies by number.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supernovae without host galaxies?

Zinn

Stritzinger

Braithwaite

et al. 2012

A&A

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Context. A remarkable fraction of supernovae (SNe) have no obvious host galaxy. Two possible explanations are that (i) the host galaxy is simply not detected within the sensitivity of the available data or that (ii) the progenitor is a hypervelocity star that has escaped its parent galaxy. Aims. We use the Type IIb SN 2009Z as a prototype of case (i), an example of how a very faint (here low surface brightness; LSB) galaxy can be discovered via the observation of a seemingly host-less SN. By identifying and studying LSB galaxies that host SNe related to the death of massive stars, we can place constraints on the stellar population and environment of LSB galaxies, which at present are poorly understood. Methods. We use archival ultraviolet (UV) and optical imaging, as well as an H I spectrum taken with the 100 m Effelsberg Radio Telescope to measure various parameters of the host galaxy, in particular its redshift, stellar and H I mass, and metallicity. Results. From the Effelsberg spectrum, a redshift z = 0.02513 ± 0.00001 and an H I mass of 2.96 ± 0.12 × 10 9 M are computed. This redshift is consistent with that obtained from optical emission lines of SN 2009Z. Furthermore, a gas mass fraction of f g = 0.87±0.04 is obtained, one of the highest fractions ever measured. The host galaxy shows signs of recently enhanced star formation activity with a far-UV derived extinction-corrected star formation rate (SFR) of 0.44 ± 0.34 M yr −1 . Based on the B-band luminosity we estimate an extinction-corrected metallicity following the calibration by Pilyugin (2001) of 12 + log O H = 8.24 ± 0.70. Conclusions. The presence of a Type IIb SN in an LSB galaxy suggests, contrary to popular belief, that massive stars can be formed in this type of galaxies. Furthermore, our results imply that LSB galaxies undergo phases of small, local burst activity intermittent with longer phases of inactivity, rather than a continuous but very low SFR. Discovering faint (LSB) galaxies via bright supernova events happening in them offers an excellent opportunity to improve our understanding of the nature of LSB galaxies.

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“…They may also account for a significant fraction of the dynamical mass budget (∼ 15 per cent) (e.g. Driver 1999;O'Neil & Bothun 2000;Minchin et al 2004) and the neutral hydrogen density (Minchin et al 2004) in today's Universe, although they are thought to contribute a minority (a few per cent) of the local luminosity and stellar mass density (Bernstein et al 1995;Driver 1999;Hayward et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

The formation and evolution of low-surface-brightness galaxies

Martin

Kaviraj

Laigle

et al. 2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

124

123

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Our statistical understanding of galaxy evolution is fundamentally driven by objects that lie above the surface-brightness limits of current wide-area surveys (µ ∼ 23 mag arcsec −2 ). While both theory and small, deep surveys have hinted at a rich population of lowsurface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) fainter than these limits, their formation remains poorly understood. We use Horizon-AGN, a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation to study how LSBGs, and in particular the population of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs; µ > 24.5 mag arcsec −2 ), form and evolve over time. For M * >10 8 M , LSBGs contribute 47, 7 and 6 per cent of the local number, mass and luminosity densities respectively (∼85/11/10 per cent for M * >10 7 M ). Today's LSBGs have similar dark-matter fractions and angular momenta to high-surface-brightness galaxies (HSBGs; µ < 23 mag arcsec −2 ), but larger effective radii (×2.5 for UDGs) and lower fractions of dense, star-forming gas (more than ×6 less in UDGs than HSBGs). LSBGs originate from the same progenitors as HSBGs at z > 2. However, LSBG progenitors form stars more rapidly at early epochs. The higher resultant rate of supernova-energy injection flattens their gas-density profiles, which, in turn, creates shallower stellar profiles that are more susceptible to tidal processes. After z ∼ 1, tidal perturbations broaden LSBG stellar distributions and heat their cold gas, creating the diffuse, largely gas-poor LSBGs seen today. In clusters, ram-pressure stripping provides an additional mechanism that assists in gas removal in LSBG progenitors. Our results offer insights into the formation of a galaxy population that is central to a complete understanding of galaxy evolution, and which will be a key topic of research using new and forthcoming deep-wide surveys.

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The Cosmological Unimportance of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

The distribution of star formation and metals in the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 628

The distribution of star formation and metals in the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 628

Supernovae without host galaxies?

The formation and evolution of low-surface-brightness galaxies

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