Secular evolution in action: central values and radial trends in the
  stellar populations of boxy bulges
  We determine central values and radial trends in the stellar populations of
the bulges of a sample of 28 edge-on S0-Sb disk galaxies, 22 of which are
boxy/peanut-shaped (and therefore barred). Our principal findings are the
following. (1) At a given velocity dispersion, the central stellar populations
of galaxies with boxy/peanut-shaped bulges are indistinguishable from those of
early-type (elliptical and S0) galaxies. Either secular evolution affects
stellar populations no differently to monolithic collapse or mergers, or
secular evolution is not important in the central regions of these galaxies,
despite the fact that they are barred. (2) The radial metallicity gradients of
boxy/peanut-shaped bulges are uncorrelated with velocity dispersion and are, on
average, shallower than those of unbarred early-type galaxies. This is
qualitatively consistent with chemodynamical models of bar formation, in which
radial inflow and outflow smears out pre-existing gradients.
