The structure of stellar disks in isolated lenticular galaxies

TL;DR

This study analyzes the structure of stellar disks in 42 isolated lenticular galaxies, revealing environmental influences on disk profile types and suggesting different dynamical histories based on galaxy surroundings.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of stellar disk structures in isolated S0 galaxies and compares them with cluster S0s, highlighting environmental effects on disk profiles.

Findings

Type II disks are rare in isolated environments.

Environmental differences influence the prevalence of disk truncations.

Isolated S0s show different disk profile distributions compared to cluster S0s.

Abstract

We have obtained imaging data in two photometric bands, g and r, for a sample of 42 isolated lenticular galaxies with the Las Cumbres Observatory one-meter telescope network. We have analyzed the structure of their large-scale stellar disks. The parameters of surface brightness distributions have been determined including the radial profile shapes and disk thicknesses. After inspecting the radial brightness profiles, all the galaxies have been classified into pure exponential (Type I), truncated (Type II), and antitruncated (Type III) disks. By comparing the derived statistics of the radial profiles shapes with our previous sample of the cluster S0s, we noted a prominent difference between stellar disks of S0s galaxies in quite rarefied environments and in clusters: it is only in sparse environments that Type II disks, with profile truncations, can be found. This finding implies probable different dynamical history of S0 galaxies in different environments.