Iris P. Breda
Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço

Abstract
Understanding the formation of disk galaxies requires disentangling their different structural components. Traditional approaches often extrapolate the outer exponential disk inwards, but recent high-resolution observations suggest a more complex picture. We developed GLANCE (Galactic archaeoLogy via chronochemicAl and dyNamiCal modElling), a comprehensive and automated pipeline that integrates stellar population synthesis, kinematic extraction, and dynamical modelling for integral-field spectroscopy data. Applied to eight high-resolution MUSE galaxies, by decomposing orbits into cold, warm, hot, and counter-rotating components, Dynamite@GLANCE has revealed surprising structural diversity in the dynamically cold central component: while one galaxy shows a pure exponential profile, most exhibit either a central drop (doughnut-like) or a compact inner disk steeper than the outer disk. Notably, galaxies with nuclear disks tend to be classified as classical bulges (hot, old, red), whereas those with a central cold-component deficit tend to be hosted by lower mass galaxies and display younger stellar ages. Beyond the bulge, cold plus warm orbits never dominate the total, implying *that the disk also includes a non-negligible contribution from hot and counter-rotating stellar orbits. Together, these results highlight the composite nature of galaxy centres and the need for decomposition methods that avoid extrapolating the outer disk inwards. GLANCE is publicly available and offers a powerful tool for galactic archaeology, helping to refine our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.

2026 June 23, 13:30

IA/U.Porto
Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (Auditorium)
Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto