Optical-Near-Infrared Color Gradients in Early-Type Galaxies at z<=1.0

Abstract

Recent studies based on line indices of nearby early-type galaxies suggest that stars in the galaxies' inner part may be younger and more metal-rich than stars in the outer part. If confirmed, the finding has a profound implication for the formation and evolution of early-type galaxies, since such age gradients naturally arise if merging played an important role in their formation/evolution. As an independent test for the existence of the age gradient, we investigate the optical-near-infrared color gradients of six field early-type galaxies at z~=0.4-1.0, where the age gradient is expected to be detectable when combined with z=0 calibrations. By utilizing Hubble Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer H-band imaging along with Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 optical data, we obtain a broad-wavelength baseline, giving results that are sensitive to the expected age gradient. When compared with simple model predictions, five of the objects show negligible age gradients and are metallicity gradient dominated, while the remaining object shows a color gradient consistent with the age + metallicity gradient picture. Our results suggest that stars within early-type galaxies may be coeval at z~1, but sprinkling of young stars might have occurred at z<1. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.