Program: GS-2023A-Q-702

Title:The assembly of massive elliptical galaxies in the local universe: the case of NGC 5018
PI:Favio Faifer
Co-I(s): Arianna Cortesi, Carlos Escudero, Thiago Gonçalves, Marco Grossi, Luis Gutierrez Soto, Karim Menéndez-Delmestre, Leandro Sesto, Victoria Reynaldi

Abstract

Although it is known that massive elliptical galaxies formed their stars and clusters in the early stages of the Universe, and that their evolution probably later go through the dry accretion of small fragments and clusters of stars, there are several examples of galaxies in the local Universe that show clear signs of being the result of recent wet mergers. These objects, decades ago, motivated the hypothesis that early-type galaxies were the result of binary mergers of that type. We therefore wonder whether these "young" and early-appearing galaxies have properties that will make them typical ellipticals in the future or not. This proposal is part of a larger study that includes several such galaxies where we have begun to study different tracers of their evolutionary history (globular clusters, gas, etc.). In this context, we request here deep spectroscopy GMOS data in MOS mode of the galaxy NGC 5018. The objective is to obtain reliable information on the ages, metallicities and abundances of both the stellar components in different zones of the galaxy and its brightest clusters. This will allow us to resolve once and for all the doubts that exist about the history of star formation and assembly of this enigmatic object, and to conclude whether or not it will be a typical elliptical galaxy in the future.