Dissecting the Red Sequence - III. Mass-to-Light Variations in 3D Fundamental Plane Space

TL;DR

This study investigates how mass-to-light ratio variations in early-type galaxies relate to their position in the 3D Fundamental Plane, highlighting the roles of dark matter, IMF, and structural differences.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the causes of the FP tilt and thickness, emphasizing dark matter and IMF variations over stellar population fading.

Findings

Dark matter/IMF variations likely dominate FP tilt.

Thickness due to structural differences, not stellar fading.

Galaxies with higher Mdyn/M* have older, more alpha-enhanced stellar populations.

Abstract

The Fundamental Plane has finite thickness and is tilted from the virial relation, indicating that dynamical mass-to-light ratios (Mdyn/L) vary among early type galaxies. We use a sample of 16,000 quiescent galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to map out variations in Mdyn/L through the 3D Fundamental Plane space defined by velocity dispersion (sigma), effective radius (R_e), and effective surface brightness. We consider contributions to Mdyn/L variation due to stellar population effects, IMF variations, and variations in the dark matter fraction within one R_e. Along the FP, we find that the stellar population contribution scales as M*/L ~ f(sigma), while the dark matter and/or IMF contribution scales as Mdyn/M* ~ g(Mdyn). The two contributions to the tilt of the FP rotate the plane around different axes in the 3D space, with dark matter/IMF variations likely dominating. Through the thickness of the FP, we find that Mdyn/L variations must be dominated either by IMF variations or by real differences in dark matter fraction with R_e. Thus the finite thickness of the FP is due to variations in the stellar mass surface density within R_e, not the fading of passive stellar populations. These structural variations are correlated with galaxy star formation histories such that galaxies with higher Mdyn/M* at a given sigma have higher [Mg/Fe], lower metallicities, and older mean stellar ages. It is difficult to explain the observed correlations by allowing the IMF to vary, suggesting difference in dark matter fraction dominate. These can be produced by variations in the "conversion efficiency" of baryons into stars or by the redistribution of stars and dark matter through dissipational merging. A model in which some galaxies experience low conversion efficiencies due to premature truncation of star formation provides a natural explanation for the observed trends.