Abstract details

By mapping both the stellar kinematics and absorption-line strengths in a two-dimensional area, integral-field spectroscopy allows us to directly associate dynamical structures, such as disks or counter-rotating components, to changes in the stellar population. Using data from both the SAURON survey and OASIS follow-up survey, we explore the connection between stellar populations and dynamics in E/S0 galaxies, and in particular, find a number of galaxies which show young stars associated to compact counter-rotating components. Of the galaxies in our sample with global ages younger than 5 Gyr, more than half show such a counter-rotating core, suggesting that these components (which probably indicate a recent interaction) are important in driving the spread in age of early-type galaxies. Moreover, the formation of these counter-rotating structures may give rise to more vigorous star formation than their co-rotating counterparts.