Stellar and Dust Properties of Local Elliptical Galaxies: Clues to the Onset of Nuclear Activity

TL;DR

This study investigates the stellar and dust characteristics of local elliptical galaxies to understand how nuclear activity, like LINERs, relates to galaxy properties and the presence of cold interstellar material.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the connection between nuclear activity and galaxy features, highlighting the role of dust and stellar profiles in LINER-hosting ellipticals.

Findings

LINERs share similar luminosity and stellar populations with inactive ellipticals.

LINERs have more core-type brightness profiles and circumnuclear dust structures.

Nuclear activity correlates with the accumulation of cold interstellar material.

Abstract

We study the stellar and dust properties of a well-defined sample of local elliptical galaxies to investigate the relationship between host galaxy properties and nuclear activity. We select a complete sample of 45 ellipticals from the Palomar spectroscopic survey of nearby galaxies, which includes 20 low-luminosity active galactic nuclei classified as LINERs and 25 inactive galaxies. Using a stellar population synthesis method, we compare the derived stellar population properties of the LINER versus the inactive subsamples. We also study the dust and stellar surface brightness distributions of the central regions of these galaxies using high-resolution images obtained with the {\it Hubble Space Telescope}. Relative to the inactive subsample, ellipticals hosting LINERs share similar total optical and near-infrared luminosity, central stellar velocity dispersions, and nuclear stellar populations as judged from their luminosity-weighted ages and metallicities. LINERs, on the other hand, have a larger fraction of core-type central surface brightness profiles and a much higher frequency of circumnuclear dust structures. Our results support the suggestion that LINERs are powered by low-luminosity AGNs rather than by young or intermediate-age stars. Nuclear activity in nearby elliptical galaxies seems to occur preferentially in those systems where sufficient cold interstellar material has managed to accumulate, perhaps via cooling condensations from hot gas.