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High-Resolution Optical Velocity Fields of 11 Low Surface Brightness Galaxies
We present high-resolution two-dimensional velocity fields from integralfield spectroscopy, along with derived rotation curves for 11 lowsurface brightness galaxies. We fit NFW and pseudoisothermal halo modelsto the new data combined with previous long-slit and H I data. In mostcases, we find the pseudoisothermal halo to better represent the datathan the NFW halo, as the NFW concentrations are often lower thanexpected for a ΛCDM cosmology. We also compare our results toprevious studies and find that including the new two-dimensional opticaldata does not significantly alter the halo parameters but does decreasethe uncertainties by roughly a factor of 2.
| Objective Classification of Spiral Galaxies Having Extended Rotation Curves Beyond the Optical Radius
We carry out an objective classification of four samples of spiralgalaxies having extended rotation curves beyond the optical radius. Amultivariate statistical analysis (viz., principal component analysis[PCA]) shows that about 96% of the total variation is due to twocomponents, one being the combination of absolute blue magnitude andmaximum rotational velocity beyond the optical region and the otherbeing the central density of the halo. On the basis of PCA a fundamentalplane has been constructed that reduces the scatter in the Tully-Fisherrelation up to a maximum of 16%. A multiple stepwise regression analysisof the variation of the overall shape of the rotation curves shows thatit is mainly determined by the central surface brightness, while theshape purely in the outer part of the galaxy (beyond the optical radius)is mainly determined by the size of the galactic disk.
| GHASP: an Hα kinematic survey of spiral and irregular galaxies - IV. 44 new velocity fields. Extension, shape and asymmetry of Hα rotation curves
We present Fabry-Perot observations obtained in the frame of the GHASPsurvey (Gassendi HAlpha survey of SPirals). We have derived the Hαmap, the velocity field and the rotation curve for a new set of 44galaxies. The data presented in this paper are combined with the datapublished in the three previous papers providing a total number of 85 ofthe 96 galaxies observed up to now. This sample of kinematical data hasbeen divided into two groups: isolated (ISO) and softly interacting(SOFT) galaxies. In this paper, the extension of the Hα discs, theshape of the rotation curves, the kinematical asymmetry and theTully-Fisher relation have been investigated for both ISO and SOFTgalaxies. The Hα extension is roughly proportional toR25 for ISO as well as for SOFT galaxies. The smallestextensions of the ionized disc are found for ISO galaxies. The innerslope of the rotation curves is found to be correlated with the centralconcentration of light more clearly than with the type or thekinematical asymmetry, for ISO as well as for SOFT galaxies. The outerslope of the rotation curves increases with the type and with thekinematical asymmetry for ISO galaxies but shows no special trend forSOFT galaxies. No decreasing rotation curve is found for SOFT galaxies.The asymmetry of the rotation curves is correlated with themorphological type, the luminosity, the (B-V) colour and the maximalrotational velocity of galaxies. Our results show that the brightest,the most massive and the reddest galaxies, which are fast rotators, arethe least asymmetric, meaning that they are the most efficient withwhich to average the mass distribution on the whole disc. Asymmetry inthe rotation curves seems to be linked with local star formation,betraying disturbances of the gravitational potential. The Tully-Fisherrelation has a smaller slope for ISO than for SOFT galaxies.
| UBVR and Hubble Space Telescope Mid-Ultraviolet and Near-Infrared Surface Photometry and Radial Color Gradients of Late-Type, Irregular, and Peculiar Galaxies
We introduce a data set of 142 mostly late-type spiral, irregular, andpeculiar (interacting or merging) nearby galaxies observed in UBVR atthe Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), and we present ananalysis of their radial color gradients. We confirm that nearbyelliptical and early- to mid-type spiral galaxies show either no or onlysmall color gradients, becoming slightly bluer with radius. In contrast,we find that late-type spiral, irregular, peculiar, and merging galaxiesbecome on average redder with increasing distance from the center. Thescatter in radial color gradient trends increases toward later Hubbletype. As a preliminary analysis of a larger data set obtained with theHubble Space Telescope (HST), we also analyze the color gradients of sixnearby galaxies observed with NICMOS in the near-IR (H) and with WFPC2in the mid-UV (F300W) and red (F814W). We discuss the possibleimplications of these results on galaxy formation and compare our nearbygalaxy color gradients to those at high redshift. We present examples ofimages and UBVR radial surface brightness and color profiles, as well asof the tables of measurements; the full atlas and tables are publishedin the electronic edition only.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., underNASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated withprograms 8645, 9124, and 9824.
| The Molecular Interstellar Medium of Dwarf Galaxies on Kiloparsec Scales: A New Survey for CO in Northern, IRAS-detected Dwarf Galaxies
We present a new survey for CO in dwarf galaxies using the ARO Kitt Peak12 m telescope. This survey consists of observations of the centralregions of 121 northern dwarfs with IRAS detections and no known COemission. We detect CO in 28 of these galaxies and marginally detectanother 16, increasing by about 50% the number of such galaxies known tohave significant CO emission. The galaxies we detect are comparable instellar and dynamical mass to the Large Magellanic Cloud, althoughsomewhat brighter in CO and fainter in the far-IR. Within dwarfs, wefind that the CO luminosity LCO is most strongly correlatedwith the K-band and the far-infrared luminosities. There are also strongcorrelations with the radio continuum (RC) and B-band luminosities andlinear diameter. Conversely, we find that far-IR dust temperature is apoor predictor of CO emission within the dwarfs alone, although a goodpredictor of normalized CO content among a larger sample of galaxies. Wesuggest that LCO and LK correlate well because thestellar component of a galaxy dominates the midplane gravitational fieldand thus sets the pressure and density of the atomic gas, which controlthe formation of H2 from H I. We compare our sample with moremassive galaxies and find that dwarfs and large galaxies obey the samerelationship between CO and the 1.4 GHz RC surface brightness. Thisrelationship is well described by a Schmidt law withΣRC~Σ1.3CO. Therefore,dwarf galaxies and large spirals exhibit the same relationship betweenmolecular gas and star formation rate (SFR). We find that this result isrobust to moderate changes in the RC-to-SFR and CO-to-H2conversion factors. Our data appear to be inconsistent with large (orderof magnitude) variations in the CO-to-H2 conversion factor inthe star-forming molecular gas.
| GHASP: an Hα kinematic survey of spiral and irregular galaxies - III. 15 new velocity fields and study of 46 rotation curves
We present Fabry-Pérot observations obtained in the frame of theGHASP survey (Gassendi Hα survey of SPirals). We have derived theHα maps, the velocity fields and the rotation curves for a set of15 galaxies. The data presented in this paper are combined with the datapublished in our two previous papers in order to make a preliminaryanalysis of the rotation curves obtained for 46 galaxies. We check theconsistency of our data with the Tully-Fisher relationship and concludethat our Hα rotation curves reach the maximum velocity in most ofthe cases, even with solid-body rotating galaxies. We find that ourrotation curves, on average, almost reach the isophotal radiusR25. We confirm the trend, already mentioned by Rubin,Waterman & Kenney and Márquez et al., that the maximumextension of the Hα rotation curves increases with the type of thespiral galaxy, up to t~ 7-8 and we find that it decreases for magellanicand irregular galaxies. We also confirm the trend seen by Márquezet al. that later types tend to have lower values of the internal slopeof the rotation curve, in agreement with Rubin et al.
| [O II] as a Star Formation Rate Indicator
We investigate the [O II] emission line as a star formation rate (SFR)indicator using integrated spectra of 97 galaxies from the Nearby FieldGalaxies Survey (NFGS). The sample includes all Hubble types andcontains SFRs ranging from 0.01 to 100 Msolaryr-1. We compare the Kennicutt [O II] and Hα SFRcalibrations and show that there are two significant effects thatproduce disagreement between SFR([O II]) and SFR(Hα): reddeningand metallicity. Differences in the ionization state of the interstellarmedium do not contribute significantly to the observed differencebetween SFR([O II]) and SFR(Hα) for the NFGS galaxies withmetallicities log(O/H)+12>~8.5. The Kennicutt [O II]-SFR relationassumes a typical reddening for nearby galaxies; in practice, thereddening differs significantly from sample to sample. We derive a newSFR([O II]) calibration that does not contain a reddening assumption.Our new SFR([O II]) calibration also provides an optional correction formetallicity. Our SFRs derived from [O II] agree with those derived fromHα to within 0.03-0.05 dex. We show that the reddening, E(B-V),increases with intrinsic (i.e., reddening-corrected) [O II] luminosityfor the NFGS sample. We apply our SFR([O II]) calibration withmetallicity correction to two samples: high-redshift 0.8
| The Hα galaxy survey. I. The galaxy sample, Hα narrow-band observations and star formation parameters for 334 galaxies
We discuss the selection and observations of a large sample of nearbygalaxies, which we are using to quantify the star formation activity inthe local Universe. The sample consists of 334 galaxies across allHubble types from S0/a to Im and with recession velocities of between 0and 3000 km s-1. The basic data for each galaxy are narrowband H\alpha +[NII] and R-band imaging, from which we derive starformation rates, H\alpha +[NII] equivalent widths and surfacebrightnesses, and R-band total magnitudes. A strong correlation is foundbetween total star formation rate and Hubble type, with the strongeststar formation in isolated galaxies occurring in Sc and Sbc types. Moresurprisingly, no significant trend is found between H\alpha +[NII]equivalent width and galaxy R-band luminosity. More detailed analyses ofthe data set presented here will be described in subsequent papers.Based on observations made with the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias.The full version of Table \ref{tab3} is available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/414/23 Reduced image datafor this survey can be downloaded fromhttp://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/HaGS/
| GHASP: A 3-D Survey of Spiral and Irregular Galaxies at Hα
Not Available
| The Hα and Infrared Star Formation Rates for the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey
We investigate the Hα and infrared star formation rate (SFR)diagnostics for galaxies in the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey (NFGS). Forthe 81 galaxies in our sample, we derive Hα fluxes (included here)from integrated spectra. There is a strong correlation between the ratioof far-infrared to optical luminosities L(FIR)/L(Hα) and theextinction E(B-V) measured with the Balmer decrement. Before reddeningcorrection, the SFR(IR) and SFR(Hα) are related to each other by apower law: SFR(IR)=(2.7+/-0.3)SFR(Hα)1.30+/-0.06.Correction of the SFR(Hα) for extinction using the Balmerdecrement and a classical reddening curve both reduces the scatter inthe SFR(IR)-SFR(Hα) correlation and results in a much closeragreement between the two SFR indicators;SFR(IR)=(0.91+/-0.04)SFR(Hαcorr)1.07+/-0.03.SFR(IR) and SFR(Hα) agree to ~10%. This SFR relationship spans 4orders of magnitude and holds for all Hubble types with IRAS detectionsin the NFGS. A constant ratio between the SFR(IR) and SFR(Hα) forall Hubble types, including early types (S0-Sab), suggests that the IRemission in all these objects results from a young stellar population.
| The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. II. R-band surface photometry of late-type dwarf galaxies
R-band surface photometry is presented for 171 late-type dwarf andirregular galaxies. For a subsample of 46 galaxies B-band photometry ispresented as well. We present surface brightness profiles as well asisophotal and photometric parameters including magnitudes, diameters andcentral surface brightnesses. Absolute photometry is accurate to 0.1 magor better for 77% of the sample. For over 85% of the galaxies the radialsurface brightness profiles are consistent with published data withinthe measured photometric uncertainty. For most of the galaxies in thesample H I data have been obtained with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope. The galaxies in our sample are part of the WHISP project(Westerbork H I Survey of Spiral and Irregular Galaxies), which aims atmapping about 500 nearby spiral and irregular galaxies in H I. Theavailability of H I data makes this data set useful for a wide range ofstudies of the structure, dark matter content and kinematics oflate-type dwarf galaxies. Based on observations made with INT operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisicade Canarias. The tables in Appendix A are only available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/390/863. Thefigures in Appendix B are only available in electronic formhttp://www.edpsciences.org
| The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. I. HI imaging of late-type dwarf galaxies
Neutral hydrogen observations with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope are presented for a sample of 73 late-type dwarf galaxies.These observations are part of the WHISP project (Westerbork H I Surveyof Spiral and Irregular Galaxies). Here we present H I maps, velocityfields, global profiles and radial surface density profiles of H I, aswell as H I masses, H I radii and line widths. For the late-typegalaxies in our sample, we find that the ratio of H I extent to opticaldiameter, defined as 6.4 disk scale lengths, is on average 1.8 +/- 0.8,similar to that seen in spiral galaxies. Most of the dwarf galaxies inthis sample are rich in H I, with a typical Mion {Hi}/L_B of1.5. The relative H I content M_ion {HI}/L_R increases towards fainterabsolute magnitudes and towards fainter surface brightnesses. Dwarfgalaxies with lower average H I column densities also have lower averageoptical surface brightnesses. We find that lopsidedness is as commonamong dwarf galaxies as it is in spiral galaxies. About half of thedwarf galaxies in our sample have asymmetric global profiles, a thirdhas a lopsided H I distribution, and about half shows signs of kinematiclopsidedness.
| Dwarf galaxy rotation curves and the core problem of dark matter haloes
The standard cold dark matter (CDM) model has recently been challengedby the claim that dwarf galaxies have dark matter haloes withconstant-density cores, whereas CDM predicts haloes with steeply cuspeddensity distributions. Consequently, numerous alternative dark mattercandidates have recently been proposed. In this paper we scrutinize theobservational evidence for the incongruity between dwarf galaxies andthe CDM model. To this end, we analyse the rotation curves of 20late-type dwarf galaxies studied by Swaters. Taking the effects of beamsmearing and adiabatic contraction into account, we fit mass models tothese rotation curves with dark matter haloes with different cuspslopes, ranging from constant-density cores to r-2 cusps.Even though the effects of beam smearing are small for these data, theuncertainties in the stellar mass-to-light ratio and the limited spatialsampling of the halo's density distribution hamper a unique massdecomposition. Consequently, the rotation curves in our sample cannot beused to discriminate between dark haloes with constant-density cores andr-1 cusps. We show that the dwarf galaxies analysed here areconsistent with CDM haloes in a ΛCDM cosmology, and that there isthus no need to abandon the idea that dark matter is cold andcollisionless. However, the data are also consistent with anyalternative dark matter model that produces dark matter haloes withcentral cusps less steep than r-1.5. In fact, we argue thatbased on existing Hi rotation curves alone, at best weak limits can beobtained on cosmological parameters and/or the nature of the darkmatter. In order to make progress, rotation curves with higher spatialresolution and independent measurements of the mass-to-light ratio ofthe disc are required.
| The Evolutionary Status of Isolated Dwarf Irregular Galaxies. II. Star Formation Histories and Gas Depletion
The results of UBV and Hα imaging of a large sample of isolateddwarf irregular galaxies are interpreted in the context of compositestellar population models. The observed optical colors are best fittedby composite stellar populations that have had approximately constantstar formation rates for at least 10 Gyr. The galaxies span a range ofcentral surface brightness, from 20.5 to 25.0 mag arcsec-2there is no correlation between surface brightness and star formationhistory. Although the current star formation rates are low, it ispossible to reproduce the observed luminosities without a majorstarburst episode. The derived gas depletion timescales are long,typically ~20 Gyr. These results indicate that dwarf irregular galaxies(dI's) will be able to continue with their slow, but constant, starformation activity for at least another Hubble time. The sample ofisolated dI's is compared with a sample of starbursting dwarf galaxiestaken from the literature. The starbursting dwarf galaxies have manysimilar properties; the main difference between these two types ofgas-rich dwarf galaxies is that the current star formation isconcentrated in the center of the starbursting systems, while it is muchmore distributed in the quiescent dI's. This results in pronounced colorgradients for the starbursting dwarf galaxies, while the majority of thequiescent dwarf irregular galaxies have minor or nonexistent colorgradients. Thus, the combination of low current star formation rates,blue colors, and the lack of significant color gradients indicates thatstar formation percolates slowly across the disks of normal dwarfgalaxies in a quasi-continuous manner.
| Spectrophotometry of Nearby Field Galaxies: The Data
We have obtained integrated and nuclear spectra as well as U, B, Rsurface photometry for a representative sample of 196 nearby galaxies.These galaxies span the entire Hubble sequence in morphological type, aswell as a wide range of luminosities (MB=-14 to -22). Here wepresent the spectrophotometry for these galaxies. The selection of thesample and the U, B, R surface photometry is described in a companionpaper. Our goals for the project include measuring the current starformation rates and metallicities of these galaxies, and elucidatingtheir star formation histories, as a function of luminosity andmorphology. We thereby extend the work of Kennicutt to lower luminositysystems. We anticipate that our study will be useful as a benchmark forstudies of galaxies at high redshift. We describe the observing, datareduction, and calibration techniques and demonstrate that ourspectrophotometry agrees well with that of Kennicutt. The spectra spanthe range 3550-7250 Å at a resolution (FWHM) of ~6 Å andhave an overall relative spectrophotometric accuracy of ~+/-6%. Wepresent a spectrophotometric atlas of integrated and nuclear rest-framespectra as well as tables of equivalent widths and synthetic colors. Theatlas and tables of measurements will be made available electronically.We study the correlations of galaxy properties determined from thespectra and images. Our findings include: (1) galaxies of a givenmorphological class display a wide range of continuum shapes andemission-line strengths if a broad range of luminosities are considered,(2) emission-line strengths tend to increase and continua tend to getbluer as the luminosity decreases, and (3) the scatter on the generalcorrelation between nuclear and integrated Hα emission-linestrengths is large.
| Surface Photometry of Nearby Field Galaxies: The Data
We have obtained integrated spectra and multifilter photometry for arepresentative sample of ~200 nearby galaxies. These galaxies span theentire Hubble sequence in morphological type, as well as a wide range ofluminosities (MB=-14 to -22) and colors (B-R=0.4-1.8). Herewe describe the sample selection criteria and the U, B, R surfacephotometry for these galaxies. The spectrophotometric results will bepresented in a companion paper. Our goals for the project includemeasuring the current star formation rates and metallicity of thesegalaxies, and elucidating their star formation histories, as a functionof luminosity and morphology. We thereby extend the work of Kennicutt tolower luminosity systems. We anticipate that our study will be useful asa benchmark for studies of galaxies at high redshift. We discuss theobserving, data reduction, and calibration techniques and show that ourphotometry agrees well with previous work in those cases in whichearlier data are available. We present an atlas of images, radialsurface brightness profiles, and color profiles as well as tables ofderived parameters. The atlas and tables of measurements will be madeavailable electronically. We study the correlations of galaxy propertiesdetermined from the galaxy images. Our findings include the following:(1) colors determined within the effective radius correlate better withmorphological type than with MB and (2) 50% of thelow-luminosity galaxies are bluest in their centers.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| The Evolutionary Status of Isolated Dwarf Irregular Galaxies. I. UBV and Hα Imaging Observations
The results of UBV and Hα imaging of a large sample of gas-rich,isolated, dwarf irregular galaxies are presented. The majority of thelow-luminosity systems in this sample have no known neighbors within200-400 kpc and thus are unlikely to have had significant interactionswithin the last several gigayears. The new observations confirm thatdwarf irregular galaxies are blue systems, with median values for thesample of 0.42+/-0.040.05 in B-V and-0.22+/-0.040.07 in U-B. Analysis of the derivedsurface photometry indicates that most of these systems can be wellfitted by single exponential disks and have only minor color gradients.Furthermore, the observed H II regions are distributed sparsely acrossthe optical disk. H II region luminosity functions were constructed forthose systems with a sufficient number of H II regions; the derivedpower-law indices are generally shallow, with a median value of-1.61+/-0.310.24.
| Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.
| The HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project. XXIII. The Discovery of Cepheids in NGC 3319
The distance to NGC 3319 has been determined from Cepheid variable starsas part of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the ExtragalacticDistance Scale. Thirteen and four epochs of observations, using filtersF555W (V) and F814W (I), respectively, were made with the Wide FieldPlanetary Camera 2. Thirty-three Cepheid variables between periods of 8and 47 days were discovered. Adopting a Large Magellanic Cloud distancemodulus of 18.50+/-0.10 mag and extinction of E(V-I)=0.13 mag, a truereddening-corrected distance modulus (based on an analysis employing theALLFRAME software package) of 30.78+/-0.14 (random)+/-0.10 (systematic)mag and the extinction of E(V-I)=0.06 mag were determined for NGC 3319.This galaxy is the last galaxy observed for the HST H_0 Key Project.
| The Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. XIX. The Discovery of Cepheids in and a New Distance to NGC 3198
We report the detection of Cepheid variable stars and a new distance tothe Sc spiral NGC 3198. NGC 3198 is one of 25 galaxies that have beenobserved with the WFPC2 of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for thepurpose of measuring Cepheid distances. Eighteen of these galaxies weretargeted by the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale,whose objective is to calibrate a variety of secondary distantindicators and determine the Hubble constant to an accuracy of 10%. NGC3198 was selected as part of this sample because its type andorientation make it very suitable as a Tully-Fisher calibrator. TheWFPC2 data are comprised of 13 epochs in F555W (~V) and five epochs inF814W (~I). Two different crowded-field photometry packages(DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME and DoPHOT) were used. The magnitudes derived fromthese two packages agree to within a few percent. We identified 78Cepheid candidates in the period range from eight to >50 days, ofwhich 52 were selected for establishing the distance modulus.Period-luminosity relations were constructed in Johnson V andKron-Cousins I by transforming the F555W and F814W to the standardsystem. We adopted a distance modulus of mu_0=18.50+/-0.10 mag and meanreddening of E(B-V)= 0.10 mag to the Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheids andfound a true distance modulus to NGC 3198 of mu_0=30.80+/-0.16(random)+/-0.12 (systematic) mag. This modulus corresponds to a distanceof 14.5 Mpc, with random and systematic errors of +/-1.2 and +/-0.9 Mpc,respectively.
| Asymmetry in high-precision global H I profiles of isolated spiral galaxies
New high-SNR 21 cm H I line profiles have been obtained for 104 galaxieswith the Green Bank 43 m telescope. The primary sample is composed ofisolated spirals with no known optical companions within a 1 radius anda median ratio of optical diameter to beamwidth of 0.17. An effort wasmade to ensure linearity of baseline fitting and precise flux densitycalibration to better than 5 percent. Two quantitative measures ofasymmetry are applied to assess the occurrence of lopsidedness in theglobal H I profiles. In agreement with previous estimates, half thegalaxies show significant H I profile asymmetries. The lopsidednesscannot be explained by pointing offsets but, rather, must result fromnoncircular motions, confusion with unidentified companions within thetelescope beam, or true distortions in the H I distribution.
| The Absence of X-Ray Flashes from Nearby Galaxies and the Gamma-Ray Burst Distance Scale
If typical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have X-ray counterparts similar tothose detected by Ginga, then sensitive-focusing X-ray telescopes willbe able to detect GRBs 3 orders of magnitude fainter than the detectionlimit of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). If asubstantial portion of the burst population detected by BATSE originatesin a Galactic halo at distances greater than or equal to 150 kpc,existing X-ray telescopes will be able to detect GRBs in externalgalaxies out to a distance of at least 4.5 Mpc. As reported in Gotthelf,Hamilton, & Helfand, the imaging proportional counter (IPC) on boardthe Einstein Observatory detected 42 transient events with pointlikespatial characteristics and timescales of less than 10 s. These eventsare distributed isotropically on the sky; in particular, they are notconcentrated in the directions of nearby external galaxies. For halomodels of the BATSE bursts with radii of 150 kpc or greater, we wouldexpect to see several burst events in observations pointed toward nearbygalaxies. We see none. We therefore conclude that if the Gingadetections are representative of the population of GRBs sampled byBATSE, GRBs cannot originate in a Galactic halo population with limitingradii between 150 and 400 kpc. Inasmuch as halos with limiting radiioutside of this range have been excluded by the BATSE isotropymeasurements, our result indicates that all halo models are excluded.This result is independent of whether the flashes we do detect have anastronomical origin.
| A near-infrared imaging survey of interacting galaxies - The small angular-size ARP systems
Near-IR images of a large sample of interacting galaxies selected fromthe Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies by Arp (1966) have been obtained.Approximately 180 systems have been imaged in at least two, and usuallythree of the standard JHK bands. The survey and the observing and datareduction procedures, are described, and contour plots and aperturephotometry are presented. Future papers will analyze the imaging data bygroupings based on interaction type, stage, and progenitors. The goalsof the analysis are to explore the relationships between galaxyinteractions, activity, and morphology by studying the structure of thenear-IR luminosity distribution, where extinction effects are muchreduced relative to the optical and the major stellar mass component ofgalaxies dominates the observed light.
| Far-infrared luminosity functions of normal galaxies
A volume-limited sample is constructed from the Zwicky catalog and IRASdata base to examine the FIR luminosity functions of normal galaxies,and to investigate possible relationships between FIR emission andgalaxy morphology. Quantitative and unbiased treatment is provided by'survival analysis' statistical methods. It is found that the FIRdistributions of normal galaxies are better fit by lognormal thanSchechter functions. The total FIR emissivity (8 to 115 microns) ofnormal galaxies is approximately equal to half their emission in the Bplus V optical bands. Normal galaxy FIR emission is uncorrelated withthe basic S0-Sm Hubble sequence of spiral galaxy morphology, but appearsto be affected by de Vaucouleurs' (1959) revised morphologicalclassifications based on inner rings and S-shaped arms. Spirals withbars and inner rings are systematically fainter than unbarred spirals.It is suggested that bars and rings reduce the amount or spatiallyconfine the dust in spiral disks, resulting in lower efficiencyconversion of optical and UV photons into the IR.
| The far-infrared properties of the CfA galaxy sample. I - The catalog
IRAS flux densities are presented for all galaxies in the Center forAstrophysics magnitude-limited sample (mB not greater than 14.5)detected in the IRAS Faint Source Survey (FSS), a total of 1544galaxies. The detection rate in the FSS is slightly larger than in thePSC for the long-wavelength 60- and 100-micron bands, but improves by afactor of about 3 or more for the short wavelength 12- and 25-micronbands. This optically selected sample consists of galaxies which are, onaverage, much less IR-active than galaxies in IR-selected samples. Itpossesses accurate and complete redshift, morphological, and magnitudeinformation, along with observations at other wavelengths.
| An extragalactic database. I - The Catalogue of Principal Galaxies
The Catalogue of Principal Galaxies is described, which lists equatorialcoordinates (for the equinoxes 1950 and 2000) and cross-identificationsfor 73,197 galaxies. The 40,932 coordinates have standard deviationssmaller than 10 arcsec. A total of 131,601 names from the 38 most commonsources are listed. In addition, mean data for each object are givenwhen available: 49,102 morphological descriptions, 52,954 apparent majorand minor axes, 67,116 apparent magnitudes, 20,046 radial velocities and24,361 position angles. This information was used for facilitatingproper identification. Finally, distribution options are explained.
| Uncertainties in 21 centimeter redshifts. I - Data
High-precision data on the 21-cm redshifts, profile widths, and shapesfor 625 galaxies are presented. Each galaxy is listed in across-identification and morphology table. High-resolution spectra arealso given for each galaxy. Internal redshift consistency is roughly 1km/s for galaxies for which the S/N is above 15. No systematic effectshave been found which might influence the observed redshift quantizationat 72.5 km/s or its submultiples.
| The nuclear activity of interacting galaxies
A search for active galactic nuclei among interacting galaxies isreported. A sample of 167 systems of interacting and asymmetric galaxieswas observed spectrophotometrically in the spectral range 4700-7100 A.The results are compared with a sample of isolated galaxies. It is foundthat (1) there are no Seyfert nuclei in elliptical or dwarf irregulargalaxies of the sample; (2) there is an excess of Seyfert nuclei amonginteracting spirals, but it is only at the 90 percent confidence level;(3) this excess becomes statistically significant (98 percent) when onlystrongly interacting spirals are included (four new Seyfert nuclei arepresented); (4) in the subgroup of galaxies with extreme tidaldistortions, no Seyfert nuclei were found.
| Analysis of groups of galaxies with accurate redshifts
Arecibo radio telescope redshift measurements have been obtained forover 100 galaxies in more than 40 different groups which generallyconsist of a large spiral galaxy with one or more companions. This setof data is supplemented with over 160 galaxies in more than 40 groupswhose dominant galaxy is brighter than 11.8 mag. An analysis of theentire sample indicates that typical structure in extragalactic space isone in which a large central galaxy has smaller and fainter companionsextending from about 20-900 kpc around. The companion galaxies in thesegroups have significantly higher redshifts than the brightest galaxy inthe group, confirming previous studies in whose results the companiongalaxies are systematically redshifted with respect to the dominantgalaxy.
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Observation and Astrometry data
Catalogs and designations:
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NEWS@SKY (Science&Space News)
