Model independent approach for calculating galaxy rotation curves for low $S/N$ MaNGA galaxies

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for deriving galaxy rotation curves from low signal-to-noise integral field spectroscopy data, enhancing the analysis of galactic kinematics especially in upcoming large surveys.

Contribution

The authors develop a model-independent technique that improves velocity extraction from low S/N data without relying on templates, outperforming standard methods like pPXF.

Findings

Robust rotation curves obtained at S/N as low as 2.

Significant improvement over standard pPXF method.

Potential applications in future galaxy surveys and kinematic studies.

Abstract

Internal kinematics of galaxies, traced through the stellar rotation curve or two dimensional velocity map, carry important information on galactic structure and dark matter. With upcoming surveys, the velocity map may play a key role in the development of kinematic lensing as an astrophysical probe. We improve techniques for extracting velocity information from integral field spectroscopy at low signal-to-noise ($S/N$), without a template, and demonstrate substantial advantages over the standard Penalized PiXel-Fitting method (pPXF) approach. Robust rotation curves can be derived down to $S/N\approx 2$ using our method.