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Aims. The formation scenario of extended counter-rotating stellar disks in galaxies is still debated. In this paper, we study the S0 galaxy IC 719 known to host two large-scale counter-rotating stellar disks in order to investigate their formation mechanism. Methods. We exploit the large field of view and wavelength coverage of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectrograph to derive two-dimensional (2D) maps of the various properties of the counter-rotating stellar disks, such as age, metallicity, kinematics, spatial distribution, the kinematical and chemical properties of the ionized gas, and the dust map. Results. Due to the large wavelength range, and in particular to the presence of the Calcium Triplet λλ8498, 8542, 8662 Å (CaT hereafter), the spectroscopic analysis allows us to separate the two stellar components in great detail. This permits precise measurement of both the velocity and velocity dispersion of the two components as well as their spatial distribution. We derived a 2D map of the age and metallicity of the two stellar components, as well as the star formation rate and gas-phase metallicity from the ionized gas emission maps. Conclusions. The main stellar disk of the galaxy is kinematically hotter, older, thicker and with larger scale-length than the secondary disk. There is no doubt that the latter is strongly linked to the ionized gas component: they have the same kinematics and similar vertical and radial spatial distribution. This result is in favor of a gas accretion scenario over a binary merger scenario to explain the origin of counter-rotation in IC 719. One source of gas that may have contributed to the accretion process is the cloud that surrounds IC 719. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decomposition of the rotation curve of galaxies into contribution from the disc and dark halo remains uncertain and depends on the adopted mass-to-light ratio (M/L) of the disc. Given the vertical velocity dispersion of stars and disc scale height, the disc surface mass density and hence the M/L can be estimated. We address a conceptual problem with previous measurements of the scale height and dispersion. When using this method, the dispersion and scale height must refer to the same population of stars. The scale height is obtained from near-infrared (IR) studies of edge-on galaxies and is weighted towards older kinematically hotter stars, whereas the dispersion obtained from integrated light in the optical bands includes stars of all ages. We aim to extract the dispersion for the hotter stars, so that it can then be used with the correct scale height to obtain the disc surface mass density. We use a sample of planetary nebulae (PNe) as dynamical tracers in the face-on galaxy NGC 628. We extract two different dispersions from its velocity histogram - representing the older and younger PNe. We also present complementary stellar absorption spectra in the inner regions of this galaxy and use a direct pixel fitting technique to extract the two components. Our analysis concludes that previous studies, which do not take account of the young disc, underestimate the disc surface mass density by a factor of ~2. This is sufficient to make a maximal disc for NGC 628 appear like a submaximal disc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. As the nearest large spiral galaxy, M31 provides a unique opportunity to study the structure and evolutionary history of this galaxy type in great detail. Among the many observing programs aimed at M31 are microlensing studies, which require good threedimensional models of the stellar mass distribution. Possible non-axisymmetric structures like a bar need to be taken into account. Due to M31's high inclination, the bar is difficult to detect in photometry alone. Therefore, detailed kinematic measurements are needed to constrain the possible existence and position of a bar in M31. Methods. We obtained ≈220 separate fields with the optical integral-field unit spectrograph VIRUS-W, covering the whole bulge region of M31 and parts of the disk. We derived stellar line-of-sight velocity distributions from the stellar absorption lines, as well as velocity distributions and line fluxes of the emission lines Hβ, [O III] and [N I]. Our data supersede any previous study in terms of spatial coverage and spectral resolution. Results. We find several features that are indicative of a bar in the kinematics of the stars, we see intermediate plateaus in the velocity and the velocity dispersion and correlation between the higher moment h3 and the velocity. The gas kinematics is highly irregular, but is consistent with non-triaxial streaming motions caused by a bar. The morphology of the gas shows a spiral pattern, with seemingly lower inclination than the stellar disk. We also look at the ionization mechanisms of the gas, which happens mostly through shocks and not through starbursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We here distinguish two counter-rotating stellar components in NGC 4191 and characterize their physical properties such as kinematics, morphology, age, and metallicity. Methods. We obtained integral field spectroscopic observations with VIRUS-W and used a spectroscopic decomposition technique to separate the contribution of two stellar components to the observed galaxy spectrum. We also performed a photometric decomposition, modeling the galaxy with a Sérsic bulge and two exponential disks of different scale length, with the aim of associating these structural components with the kinematic components. We then measured the equivalent width of the absorption line indices on the best-fit models that represent the kinematic components and compared our measurements to the predictions of stellar population models that also account for the variable abundance ratio of a elements. Results. We have evidence that the line-of-sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs) are bimodal and asymmetric, consistent with the presence of two distinct kinematic components. The combined information of the intensity of the peaks of the LOSVDs and the photometric decomposition allows us to associate the Sérsic bulge and the outer disk with the main kinematic component and to associate the inner disk with the secondary kinematic component. We find that the two kinematic stellar components counter-rotate with respect to each other. The main component is the most luminous and massive; the secondary component rotates along the same direction as the ionized gas. The study of the stellar populations reveals that the two kinematic components have the same solar metallicity and subsolar abundance ratio, without significant radial gradients. On the other hand, their ages show negative gradients and the possible indication that the secondary component is the younger. We interpret our results in light of recent cosmological simulations and suggest gas accretion along two filaments as the formation mechanism of the stellar counter-rotating components in NGC 4191. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]