Here we describe the first results of the Advanced Large Homogeneous Area Medium-Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) survey, which provides cosmic tomography of the evolution of the contents of the universe over most of cosmic history. Our novel approach employs 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band filters covering from 3500 Å to 9700 Å, plus

Context: A variety of formation scenarios have been proposed to explain the diversity of properties observed in bulges. Studying their intrinsic shape can help to constrain the dominant mechanisms at the epochs of their assembly. Aims: The structural parameters of a magnitude-limited sample of 148 unbarred S0-Sb galaxies were derived in order to

The ALHAMBRA photometric system was specifically designed to perform a tomography of the Universe in some selected areas. Although mainly designed for extragalactic purposes, its 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band photometric system in the optical wavelength range, shows a great capacity for stellar classification. In this contribution we

We examine the metallicity and age of a large set of Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Data Release 6 galaxies that may be blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies during quiescence (QBCDs). The individual spectra are first classified and then averaged to reduce noise. The metallicity inferred from emission lines (tracing ionized gas) exceeds by ~0.35 dex the

We present an automated morphological classification in 4 types (E, S0, Sab, Scd) of ~700 000 galaxies from the SDSS DR7 spectroscopic sample based on support vector machines. The main new property of the classification is that we associate a probability to each galaxy of being in the four morphological classes instead of assigning a single class

Context. Even the spectroscopic capabilities of today's ground and space-based observatories can not keep up with the enormous flow of detections (>105 deg-2) unveiled in modern cosmological surveys as: i) would be required enormous telescope time to perform the spectroscopic follow-ups and ii) spectra remain unattainable for the fainter detected

After almost one century since their definition, the origin of lenticular galaxies is still a matter of debate. Several formation processes have been proposed in order to explain the wide variety of their observational properties. These properties could indicate that the class of lenticulars is a family formed by galaxies with different formations

We present the observational properties of the dwarf galaxy population (Mr>M*r+1) corresponding to one of the largest samples of spectroscopically confirmed nearby galaxy cluster members reported in the literature. We have observed that red dwarf galaxies (u-r>2.22) share the same cluster environment as the brightest cluster members (Mr

In the coming years, several cosmological surveys will rely on imaging data to estimate the redshift of galaxies, using traditional filter systems with 4-5 optical broad bands; narrower filters improve the spectral resolution, but strongly reduce the total system throughput. We explore how photometric redshift performance depends on the number of

Context: Early-type dwarf (dE) galaxies are the most common type of galaxies observed in the Universe. Their study has important cosmological implications because according to hierarchical galaxy evolution theories they are the progenitors of brighter galaxies. Nevertheless, the origin of this kind of system is still not well understood. Aims: The

The ALHAMBRA survey aims to cover 4 deg2 using a system of 20 contiguous, equal width, medium-band filters spanning the range 3500 Å-9700 Å plus the standard JHKs filters. Here we analyze deep near-IR number counts of one of our fields (ALH08) for which we have a relatively large area (0.5 deg2) and faint photometry (J = 22.4, H = 21.3, and K = 20

Aims: The intracluster light (ICL) is a faint diffuse stellar component of clusters made of stars that are not bound to individual galaxies. We have carried out a large scale study of this component in the nearby Virgo cluster. Methods: The diffuse light is traced using planetary nebulae (PNe). The surveyed areas were observed with a narrow-band

Early-type dwarfs (dEs) are by far the most abundant galaxy population in nearby clusters. Whether these objects are primordial, or the recent end products of the different physical mechanisms that can transform galaxies once they enter these high-density environments, is still a matter of debate. Here we present a novel approach to test these

Context. The most accepted scenario for the origin of fossil groups is that they are galaxy associations in which the merging rate was fast and efficient. These systems have assembled half of their mass at early epoch of the Universe, subsequently growing by minor mergers, and therefore could contain a fossil record of the galaxy structure

Context. Fossil systems are galaxy associations dominated by a relatively isolated, bright elliptical galaxy, surrounded by a group of smaller galaxies lacking L∗ objects. Because of this extreme environment, fossil groups (FGs) are ideal laboratories for studying the mass assembly of brightest group galaxies (BGGs). Aims: We analyzed the near

The line-of-sight velocities and [O III] 5007 Å expansion velocities are measured for 11 planetary nebulae (PNs) in the Virgo Cluster core, at 15 Mpc distance, with the FLAMES spectrograph on the ESO VLT. These PNs are located about halfway between the two giant elliptical galaxies M87 and M86. From the [O III] 5007 Å line profile widths, the

We present results on the evolution of the structural parameters of two samples of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in the last 6 Gyr. The nearby sample of BCGs consists of 69 galaxies from the WINGS survey spanning a redshift range of 0.04 < z < 0.07. The intermediate-redshift (0.3 < z < 0.6) sample is formed by 20 BCGs extracted from the Hubble

Aims: We revisit the scaling relations and star-forming histories of local elliptical galaxies using a novel selection method applied to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7. Methods: We combine two probability-based automated spectroscopic and morphological classifications of ~600 000 galaxies with z < 0.25 to isolate true elliptical galaxies. Our

Double-barred galaxies are common in the local Universe, with approximately one-third of barred spirals hosting a smaller, inner bar. Nested bars have been proposed as a mechanism to transport gas to the very central regions of the galaxy, trigger star formation and contribute to the growth of the bulge. To test this idea, we perform for the first

We present the results of high-resolution absorption-line spectroscopy of three face-on galaxies, NGC 98, NGC 600, and NGC 1703, with the aim of searching for box/peanut (B/P) shaped bulges. These observations test and confirm, for the first time, the prediction that face-on B/P-shaped bulges can be recognized by two minima in the profile along the