Open AccessCold gas in elliptical galaxies
Author(s) -
Georgakakis A.,
Hopkins A.M.,
Caulton A.,
Wiklind T.,
Terlevich A.I.,
Forbes Duncan A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2001.04677.x
Subject(s) - physics , elliptical galaxy , astrophysics , galaxy , star formation , lenticular galaxy , galaxy formation and evolution , astronomy
We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutral hydrogen) of elliptical galaxies and merger remnants ordered into a time sequence on the basis of spectroscopic age estimates. We find that the fraction of cold gas in early merger remnants decreases significantly for ≈ 1–2 Gyr , but subsequent evolution toward evolved elliptical systems sees very little change. This trend can be attributed to an initial gas depletion by strong star formation, which subsequently declines to quiescent rates. This explanation is consistent with the merger picture for the formation of elliptical galaxies. We also explore the relation between the H i ‐to‐H 2 mass ratio and spectroscopic galaxy age, but find no evidence for a statistically significant trend. This suggests little net H i ‐to‐H 2 conversion for the systems in the present sample.