Spectral analysis of the nuclear stellar population and gas emission in nearby galaxies

Optical spectra were used to study the stellar population and the gas emission, if any, in the central parts of the elliptical galaxies NGC 6958, NGC 6851, and ESO 185-54. The latter two galaxies have no significant emission, contrary to the case of NGC 6958. The equivalent widths of the absorption lines were compared with those of galaxy templates to derive the parameters of the stellar populations. No recent star formation events were detected in any galaxy, although ESO 185-54 contains a 10% contribution from an intermediate age stellar component with metallicity above solar. For NGC 6958, the underlying stellar population was subtracted to obtain the pure emission spectrum, and line intensities revealed a typical LINER.