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A. J. Romanowsky, N. G. Douglas, K. Kuijken (Kapteyn), M. R. Merrifield (Nottingham), M. Arnaboldi (Capodimonte), K. C. Freeman (RSAA), K. Taylor (Caltech)
Knowledge about the dynamical properties of the halos of early-type galaxies (S0's and ellipticals) has been slow to progress because of the dearth of suitable tracers. To address this shortcoming, we have embarked upon a program to obtain kinematics of planetary nebulae (PNe) around nearby galaxies, using general-purpose multi-object spectrographs on 4-8m class telescopes, and using the newly commissioned Planetary Nebula Spectrograph, a specialized binocular instrument for counter-dispersed imaging.
We present measurements of ~100-200 PN velocities to large radii around the galaxies NGC 821, NGC 4472, NGC 4486, and NGC 7457. From these, we derive the galaxies' mass distributions and stellar angular momenta. We compare these to predictions from cosmological simulations, and to results from globular cluster system kinematics and X-ray halo constraints.
Based on observations made at the European Southern Observatory, Chile (ESO No. 67.B-0464), and with the William Herschel Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.
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