SDSSJ150634.27+013331.6: the second compact elliptical galaxy in the NGC5846 group

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and detailed analysis of the second compact elliptical galaxy in the NGC5846 group, revealing its structure, stellar populations, and evidence of tidal stripping from a massive progenitor.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed kinematic and stellar population maps of this cE galaxy, demonstrating its two-component structure and tidal stripping history.

Findings

The galaxy has a two-component light profile.

It shows signs of heavy tidal stripping.

Its stellar populations indicate a complex star formation history.

Abstract

We report the discovery of the second compact elliptical (cE) galaxy SDSSJ150634.27+013331.6 in the nearby NGC5846 group by the Virtual Observatory (VO) workflow . This object (M_B = -15.98 mag, R_e = 0.24 kpc) becomes the fifth cE where the spatially-resolved kinematics and stellar populations can be obtained. We used archival HST WFPC2 images to demonstrate that its light profile has a two-component structure, and integrated photometry from GALEX, SDSS, UKIDSS, and Spitzer to build the multi-wavelength SED to constraint the star formation history (SFH). We observed this galaxy with the PMAS IFU spectrograph at the Calar-Alto 3.5m telescope and obtained two-dimensional maps of its kinematics and stellar population properties using the full-spectral fitting technique. Its structural, dynamical and stellar population properties suggest that it had a massive progenitor heavily tidally stripped by NGC5846.