The ATLAS3D project - III. A census of the stellar angular momentum within the effective radius of early-type galaxies: unveiling the distribution of fast and slow rotators

We provide a census of the apparent stellar angular momentum within 1 Re of a volume-limited sample of 260 early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the nearby Universe, using integral-field spectroscopy obtained in the course of the ATLAS3D project. We exploit the LambdaR parameter to characterise the existence of two families of ETGs: Slow Rotators which exhibit complex stellar velocity fields and often include stellar kinematically Distinct Cores (KDCs), and Fast Rotators which have regular velocity fields. Our complete sample of 260 ETGs leads to a new criterion to disentangle Fast and Slow Rotators which now includes a dependency on the apparent ellipticity (Epsilon). It separates the two classes significantly better…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• AN
  Agence Nationale de la Recherche

  Award: ANR-08-BLAN-0274
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Awards: PP/D005574/1, ST/I003673/1, PP/E003427/1, PP/D005574/1, ST/H002456/1, ST/H002456/1, PP/E001114/1, ST/F009186/1, ST/G004331/1, PP/E001114/1, ST/H504862/1, ST/F009186/1, PP/E001564/1, PP/E001564/1