Stellar population gradients in Fornax Cluster S0 galaxies: connecting
  bulge and disk evolution
  We present absorption-line index gradients for a sample of S0 galaxies in the
Fornax Cluster. The sample has been selected to span a wide range in galaxy
mass, and the deep VLT-FORS2 spectroscopy allows us to explore the stellar
populations all the way to the outer disk-dominated regions of these galaxies.
We find that globally, in both bulges and disks, star formation ceased earliest
in the most massive systems, as a further manifestation of downsizing. However,
within many galaxies, we find an age gradient which indicates that star
formation ended first in the outermost regions. Metallicity gradients, when
detected, are always negative such that the galaxy centres are more metal-rich.
This finding fits with a picture in which star formation continued in the
central regions, with enriched material, after it had stopped in the outskirts.
Age and metallicity gradients are correlated, suggesting that large differences
in star formation history between the inner and outer parts of S0 galaxies
yield large differences in their chemical enrichment. In agreement with
previous results, we conclude that the radial variations in the stellar
populations of S0 galaxies are compatible with the hypothesis that these
galaxies are the descendants of spiral galaxies whose star formation has
ceased. With the addition of radial gradient information, we are able to show
that this shutdown of star formation occurred from the outside inward, with the
later star formation in the central regions offering a plausible mechanism for
enhancing the bulge light in these systems, as the transformation to more
bulge-dominated S0 galaxies requires.
