{
  "abstract": "We investigate the morphology and structural properties of 246 massive compact quiescent galaxies (MCGs; log M ⋆ ∼ 10 –11, σ e ∼ 150–350 km s ⁻¹ , R e ∼ 0.7–2.5 kpc) at z ∼ 0, selected as outliers in the stellar mass–velocity dispersion and velocity dispersion–size relations, using g -, r -, and i -band Hyper Suprime-Cam images. We compare them to a control sample of average-sized quiescent galaxies (CSGs) matched in stellar mass, star formation rate, redshift, and g − i color. Both samples are dominated by S0 galaxies, comprising 93% of MCGs and 71% of CSGs, while ellipticals account for 4% and 11%, respectively. The fraction of interacting or morphologically disturbed systems is low in both samples (13% for MCGs and 16% for CSGs). Multicomponent decompositions of the g - and r -band images show that 75% of MCGs require a three-component model (bulge, disk, and envelope), while 21% are best fit by two components and 4% by a single Sérsic profile. Two-component MCGs are preferentially low-inclination systems, suggesting that the three-component fraction represents a lower limit. In contrast, only 7% of CSGs exhibit a comparable three-component structure. Bars are present in 29% of CSGs but are absent in MCGs. For three-component systems, MCGs and CSGs have similar bulge ( R e = 0.39 versus 0.45 kpc) and envelope ( R e = 6.4 versus 5.8 kpc) sizes, while MCG disks are significantly more compact ( R e = 1.9 versus 3.3 kpc). The envelope component shows a broad ellipticity distribution ( ϵ Envelope ∼ 0.0–0.6), which we interpret as corresponding to either a stellar halo or a thick disk.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul",
    "European Southern Observatory",
    "Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul",
    "Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Física"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Katia Slodkowski Clerici",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7967-3376"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Allan Schnorr-Müller",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0953-8224"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ana Carolina Santiago-Menezes"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marina Trevisan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7309-8609"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tiago Vecchi Ricci"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rafael Merib-Dias"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Felícia Palacios"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Weslley Linck Becker"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Fabricio Ferrari"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4p20c8a5wnb6g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9e25",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4p20c8a5wnb6g",
  "issns": [
    "0004-637X",
    "1538-4357"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9e25",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220432412",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9e25/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-05",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4p20c8a5wnb6g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9e25",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9e25"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Small and Complex. I. The Three-component Structure of z ∼ 0 Massive Compact Quiescent Galaxies",
  "title_text": "Small and Complex. I. The Three-component Structure of z ∼ 0 Massive Compact Quiescent Galaxies",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4p20c8a5wnb6g",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": []
}