NGC 5626: a massive fast rotator with a twist

We present a kinematic analysis of the dust-lane elliptical NGC 5626 based on MUSE observations. These data allow us to robustly classify this galaxy as a fast rotator and to infer a virial mass of 10 11.7M⊙, making it one of the most massive fast rotators known. In addition, the depth and extent of the MUSE data reveal a strong kinematic twist in the stellar velocity field (by up to 45° beyond 1.5R e). A comparison with the ATLAS 3D sample underlines the rareness of this system, although we show that such a large-scale kinematic twist could have been missed by the ATLAS3D data due to the limited spatial sampling of this survey (typically extending to 0.6R e for massive early-type galaxies). MUSE thus has the potential to unveil more examples of this type of galaxies. We discuss the environment and possible formation history of NGC 5626 and finally argue how a merger between the MilkyWay and Andromeda could produce a galaxy of the same class as NGC 5626.