SDSS-IV MaNGA: environmental dependence of stellar age and metallicity gradients in nearby galaxies

TL;DR

This study analyzes stellar age and metallicity gradients in 1105 nearby galaxies, finding they are mostly unaffected by large-scale environment but strongly correlated with galaxy mass and color.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of how stellar population gradients relate to galaxy environment and mass using MaNGA data, highlighting the minimal environmental impact on gradients.

Findings

Age and metallicity gradients are close to zero, slightly negative.

Gradients show weak or no correlation with environment.

Stellar age and metallicity at effective radii depend on mass and environment.

Abstract

We present a study on the stellar age and metallicity distributions for 1105 galaxies using the STARLIGHT software on MaNGA integral field spectra. We derive age and metallicity gradients by fitting straight lines to the radial profiles, and explore their correlations with total stellar mass M*, NUV-r colour and environments, as identified by both the large scale structure (LSS) type and the local density. We find that the mean age and metallicity gradients are close to zero but slightly negative, which is consistent with the inside-out formation scenario. Within our sample, we find that both the age and metallicity gradients show weak or no correlation with either the LSS type or local density environment. In addition, we also study the environmental dependence of age and metallicity values at the effective radii. The age and metallicity values are highly correlated with M* and NUV-r and are also dependent on LSS type as well as local density. Low-mass galaxies tend to be younger and have lower metallicity in low-density environments while high-mass galaxies are less affected by environment.