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LEGA-C: Analysis of Dynamical Masses from Ionized Gas and Stellar Kinematics at z ∼0.8

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Abstract

We compare dynamical mass estimates based on spatially extended stellar and ionized gas kinematics (Mdyn,∗ and Mdyn,eml, respectively) of 157 star forming galaxies at 0.6≤z<1. Compared to z∼0, these galaxies have enhanced star formation rates, with stellar feedback likely affecting the dynamics of the gas. We use LEGA-C DR3, the highest redshift dataset providing sufficiently deep measurements of a Ksband limited sample. For Mdyn,∗ we use Jeans Anisotropic Multi-Gaussian Expansion models. For Mdyn,eml we first fit a custom model of a rotating exponential disk with uniform dispersion, whose light is projected through a slit and corrected for beam smearing. We then apply an asymmetric drift correction based on assumptions common in the literature to the fitted kinematic components to obtain the circular velocity, assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. Within the half-light radius, Mdyn,eml is on average lower than Mdyn,∗, with a mean offset of −0.15±0.016 dex and galaxy-to-galaxy scatter of 0.19 dex, reflecting the combined random uncertainty. While data of higher spatial resolution are needed to understand this small offset, it supports the assumption that the galaxy-wide ionized gas kinematics do not predominantly originate from disruptive events such as star formation driven outflows. However, a similar agreement can be obtained without modeling from the integrated emission line dispersions for axis ratios q<0.8. This suggests that our current understanding of gas kinematics is not sufficient to efficiently apply asymmetric drift corrections to improve dynamical mass estimates compared to observations lacking the S/N required for spatially extended dynamics.

Description

Keywords

astro-ph.GA, astro-ph.GA

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0004-637X
1538-4357

Volume Title

928

Publisher

American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
European Research Council (695671)