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Scale Heights of Non-Edge-on Spiral Galaxies
We present a method of calculating the scale height of non-edge-onspiral galaxies, together with a formula for errors. The method is basedon solving Poisson's equation for a logarithmic disturbance of matterdensity in spiral galaxies. We show that the spiral arms can not extendto inside the ``forbidden radius'' r0, due to the effect ofthe finite thickness of the disk. The method is tested by re-calculatingthe scale heights of 71 northern spiral galaxies previously calculatedby Ma, Peng & Gu. Our results differ from theirs by less than 9%. Wealso present the scale heights of a further 23 non-edge-on spiralgalaxies.
| Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes
Central black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representingmorphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the largespectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-banddata from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are foundusing a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation,while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensionalbulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlatedagainst a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleusand host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), aswell as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [NII]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree ofcorrelation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with linewidth supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virialequilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very goodemission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizingcontinuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massiveblack holes generate harder spectra. Apart from theinclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations arefound between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significantdifferences are found between the distributions of black hole masses inearly-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) inthe sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger centralblack holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies arefound preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributionsshow a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense thatearlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also cleardifferences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely arerelated to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, aKs-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellentagreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a largedispersion at a given morphological stage.
| On the alignment between binary spiral galaxies
We show some significance against the null hypothesis of randominteractions of binary spiral galaxies, and in favour of the alternativethat more interactions than expected occur for axes either nearlyparallel (spins being parallel or anti-parallel) or nearly orthogonal.We discuss this in the context of similar prior studies, using adifferent statistical focus in such a way that we are able toincorporate additional data.
| Observations of Supernovae in the Period 1997-1999
We present our photometric observations of the 15 supernovae (SN)discovered in the period 1997-1999; of these, six are type Ia SN, twoare peculiar type Ia SN, three are type Ib/c SN, and four are type IISN. For 11 SN, we constructed reliable light curves and determined theirmaximum brightnesses and absolute magnitudes at maximum. Based on theshapes of the light curves, we improved the classification for threetype II SN. We show that the two peculiar type Ia SN (similar to SN1991T) studied, SN 1998es and SN 1999aa, have enhanced and normalluminosities at maximum, respectively.
| Vertical Scale Parameter Estimates for 48 Non-edge-on Spiral Galaxies
In the first paper of this series, we directly studied the mathematicalforms, symmetry of spiral structure, and the projection of galacticdiscs on the images, and measured the pitch angles of the spiral armsand inclination angles of the galactic discs for 60 spiral galaxies. Inthis second paper, we estimate the vertical scale parameters of 48non-edge-on spiral galaxies based on the method proposed by Peng et al.and on the results given in Paper I. As we know, for edge-on discgalaxies we can obtain the vertical scale parameter from the photometry,once a mathematical form is specified for the vertical lightdistribution. For non-edge-on galaxies, some other methods have to beused. The statistical result was that the vertical scale parameter iscomparable for edge-on and non-edge-on galaxies, although it is obtainedfrom two very different methods.
| Bar Galaxies and Their Environments
The prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.
| A Method of Obtaining the Pitch Angle of Spiral Arms and the Inclination of Galactic Discs
We investigate the mathematical form, the symmetry of spiral structureand the projected images of galactic discs. The measured pitch angles ofspiral arms and inclination angles of galactic discs for 60 spiralgalaxies are presented. The global spiral structure is emphasized in thestudy. It is found that, except for small-scale distortions, the spiralarms of those galaxies that were classified as AC 12 in the armclassification system of Elmegreen & Elmegreen, can be representedby the logarithmic spiral form.
| Galaxies with Rows
The results of a search for galaxies with straight structural elements,usually spiral-arm rows (“rows” in the terminology ofVorontsov-Vel'yaminov), are reported. The list of galaxies that possess(or probably possess) such rows includes about 200 objects, of whichabout 70% are brighter than 14m. On the whole, galaxies with rows makeup 6 8% of all spiral galaxies with well-developed spiral patterns. Mostgalaxies with rows are gas-rich Sbc-Scd spirals. The fraction ofinteracting galaxies among them is appreciably higher than amonggalaxies without rows. Earlier conclusions that, as a rule, the lengthsof rows are similar to their galactocentric distances and that theangles between adjacent rows are concentrated near 120° areconfirmed. It is concluded that the rows must be transient hydrodynamicstructures that develop in normal galaxies.
| The Frequency of Active and Quiescent Galaxies with Companions: Implications for the Feeding of the Nucleus
We analyze the idea that nuclear activity, either active galactic nuclei(AGNs) or star formation, can be triggered by interactions by studyingthe percentage of active, H II, and quiescent galaxies with companions.Our sample was selected from the Palomar survey and avoids selectionbiases faced by previous studies. This sample was split into fivedifferent groups, Seyfert galaxies, LINERs, transition galaxies, H IIgalaxies, and absorption-line galaxies. The comparison between the localgalaxy density distributions of the different groups showed that in mostcases there is no statistically significant difference among galaxies ofdifferent activity types, with the exception that absorption-linegalaxies are seen in higher density environments, since most of them arein the Virgo Cluster. The comparison of the percentage of galaxies withnearby companions showed that there is a higher percentage of LINERs,transition galaxies, and absorption-line galaxies with companions thanSeyfert and H II galaxies. However, we find that when we consider onlygalaxies of similar morphological types (elliptical or spiral), there isno difference in the percentage of galaxies with companions amongdifferent activity types, indicating that the former result was due tothe morphology-density effect. In addition, only small differences arefound when we consider galaxies with similar Hα luminosities. Thecomparison between H II galaxies of different Hα luminositiesshows that there is a significantly higher percentage of galaxies withcompanions among H II galaxies with L(Hα)>1039 ergss-1 than among those with L(Hα)<=1039ergs s-1, indicating that interactions increase the amount ofcircumnuclear star formation, in agreement with previous results. Thefact that we find that galaxies of different activity types have thesame percentage of companions suggests that interactions betweengalaxies is not a necessary condition to trigger the nuclear activity inAGNs. We compare our results with previous ones and discuss theirimplications.
| Optical Spectroscopy of Type IB/C Supernovae
We present 84 spectra of Type Ib/c and Type IIb supernovae (SNe),describing the individual SNe in detail. The relative depths of thehelium absorption lines in the spectra of the SNe Ib appear to provide ameasurement of the temporal evolution of the SN, with He I λ5876and He I λ7065 growing in strength relative to He I λ6678over time. Light curves for three of the SNe Ib provide a sequence forcorrelating the helium line strengths. We find that some SNe Ic showevidence for weak helium absorption, but most do not. Aside from thepresence or absence of the helium lines, there are other spectroscopicdifferences between SNe Ib and SNe Ic. On average, the O I λ7774line is stronger in SNe Ic than in SNe Ib. In addition, the SNe Ic havedistinctly broader emission lines at late times, indicating aconsistently larger explosion energy and/or lower envelope mass for SNeIc than for SNe Ib. While SNe Ib appear to be basically homogeneous, theSNe Ic are quite heterogeneous in their spectroscopic characteristics.Three SNe Ic that may have been associated with gamma-ray bursts arealso discussed; two of these have clearly peculiar spectra, while thethird seems fairly typical.
| The 1.0 Megaparsec Galaxy Pair Sample in Low-Density Regions
Using complete redshift catalogs, we have compiled a list of galaxypairs based solely on a pair's projected separation, rp, andvelocity difference, ΔV. We have made high-velocity precision H Iobservations of each galaxy in the sample and have reported these in theliterature. Due to the nature of the redshift catalogs, we are able toquantitatively evaluate the effects of isolation and number density ofsurrounding galaxies on each pair in the sample. For the close galaxypairs (rp<100 kpc), the degree of isolation (a measure ofthe number of near neighbors) has little effect on the median ΔV.This median is about 55 km s-1 for the 25 close pairs (ifmedium-density close pairs are omitted ΔV is even smaller, but thedifference is not statistically significant). The effect of isolation isstrong for the entire sample of galaxy pairs with separations as largeas 1.0 Mpc. For these larger separation pairs, relaxation of strictisolation requirements introduces small groups into the sample, whichdramatically increases the median ΔV. We find little evidence ofan increase in the median ΔV with decreasing rp, norwith increasing total luminosity. For our isolated pairs in low-densityregions, the overall median ΔV is only 30 km s-1. Forsimilar separations and isolation criteria, galaxy satellites withlarger luminosity ratios (i.e., less dynamical friction) in higherdensity regions have ΔV approximately twice as large. Weconjecture that our orbits are highly eccentric, so that the indirecteffect of dynamical friction leads to predominantly small ΔV.However, the halos of our galaxies may also be of low density (althoughhighly extended).
| 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.
| Lopsided Galaxies, Weak Interactions, and Boosting the Star Formation Rate
To investigate the link between weak tidal interactions in disk galaxiesand the boosting of their recent star formation, we obtain images andspatially integrated spectra (3615 Å<=λ<=5315Å) for 40 late-type spiral galaxies (Sab-Sbc) with varying degreesof lopsidedness (a dynamical indicator of weak interactions). Wequantify lopsidedness as the amplitude of the m=1Fourier component of the azimuthal surface brightness distributionaveraged over a range of radii. The median spectrum of the most lopsidedgalaxies shows strong evidence for a more prominent young stellarpopulation (i.e., strong Balmer absorption, strong nebular emission, aweak 4000 Å break, and a blue continuum) when compared to themedian spectrum of the most symmetric galaxies. We compare the youngstellar content, quantified by EW(Hδabs) and thestrength of the 4000 Å break (D4000), with lopsidednessand find a 3-4 σ correlation between the two. We also find a 3.2σ correlation between EW(Hβemission) andlopsidedness. Using the evolutionary population synthesis code ofBruzual & Charlot we model the spectra as an ``underlyingpopulation'' and a superimposed ``boost population'' with the aim ofconstraining the fractional boost in the SFR averaged over the past 0.5Gyr (the characteristic lifetime of lopsidedness). From the differencein both EW(Hδabs) and the strength of the 4000 Åbreak (D4000) between the most and least symmetric thirds ofour sample, we infer that ~1×109 Msolar ofstars are formed over the duration of a lopsided event in addition tothe ``underlying'' star formation history (assuming a final galacticstellar mass of 1010 Msolar). This corresponds toa factor of 8 increase in the star formation rate over the past5×108 years. For the nuclear spectra, all of the abovecorrelations except D4000 versus areweaker than for the disk, indicating that in lopsided galaxies, the starformation boost is not dominated by the nucleus.
| 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.
| Supernova 1997ei in NGC 3963
IAUC 6802 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Extensive Spiral Structure and Corotation Resonance
Spiral density wave theories demand that grand-design spiral structurebe bounded, at most, between the inner and outer Lindblad resonances ofthe spiral pattern. The corotation resonance lies between the outer andthe inner Lindblad resonances. The locations of the resonances are atradii whose ratios to each other are rather independent of the shape ofthe rotation curve. The measured ratio of outer to inner extent ofspiral structure for a given spiral galaxy can be compared to thestandard ratio of corotation to inner Lindblad resonance radius. In thecase that the measured ratio far exceeds the standard ratio, it islikely that the corotation resonance is within the bright optical disk.Studying such galaxies can teach us how the action of resonances sculptsthe appearance of spiral disks. This paper reports observations of 140disk galaxies, leading to resonance ratio tests for 109 qualified spiralgalaxies. It lists candidates that have a good chance of having thecorotation resonance radius within the bright optical disk.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available
| Catalogue of HI maps of galaxies. I.
A catalogue is presented of galaxies having large-scale observations inthe HI line. This catalogue collects from the literature the informationthat characterizes the observations in the 21-cm line and the way thatthese data were presented by means of maps, graphics and tables, forshowing the distribution and kinematics of the gas. It containsfurthermore a measure of the HI extension that is detected at the levelof the maximum sensitivity reached in the observations. This catalogueis intended as a guide for references on the HI maps published in theliterature from 1953 to 1995 and is the basis for the analysis of thedata presented in Paper II. The catalogue is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The thicknesses and inclinations of 71 northern spiral galaxies
This paper presents the thicknesses and inclinations (i.e., the anglebetween the galactic plane and the tangent plane) of 71 northern spiralgalaxies. The method for measuring the thickness has been proposed byPeng. It is based on the solution of Poisson's equation for alogarithmic disturbance of density. The inclination is determined byassuming that the pattern of spiral structure is a logarithmic spiral.We find that the thickness is correlated with color and with theH_α+[NII] equivalent width.
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
| A catalogue of spatially resolved kinematics of galaxies: Bibliography
We present a catalogue of galaxies for which spatially resolved data ontheir internal kinematics have been published; there is no a priorirestriction regarding their morphological type. The catalogue lists thereferences to the articles where the data are published, as well as acoded description of these data: observed emission or absorption lines,velocity or velocity dispersion, radial profile or 2D field, positionangle. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are proposed in electronic form only, and areavailable from the CDS, via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (to130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Supernova 1997ei in NGC 3963
IAUC 6800 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Supernova 1997ei in NGC 3963
IAUC 6796 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Supernova 1997ei in NGC 3963
IAUC 6795 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| A Search for ``Dwarf'' Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies
We have completed an optical spectroscopic survey of the nuclear regions(r <~ 200 pc) of a large sample of nearby galaxies. Although the mainobjectives of the survey are to search for low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei and to quantify their luminosity function, the databasecan be used for a variety of other purposes. This paper presentsmeasurements of the spectroscopic parameters for the 418 emission-linenuclei, along with a compilation of the global properties of all 486galaxies in the survey. Stellar absorption generally poses a seriousobstacle to obtaining accurate measurement of emission lines in nearbygalactic nuclei. We describe a procedure for removing the starlight fromthe observed spectra in an efficient and objective manner. The mainparameters of the emission lines (intensity ratios, fluxes, profilewidths, and equivalent widths) are measured and tabulated, as areseveral stellar absorption-line and continuum indices useful forstudying the stellar population. Using standard nebular diagnostics, wedetermine the probable ionization mechanisms of the emission-lineobjects. The resulting spectral classifications provide extensiveinformation on the demographics of emission-line nuclei in the nearbyregions of the universe. This new catalog contains over 200 objectsshowing spectroscopic evidence for recent star formation and an equallylarge number of active galactic nuclei, including 46 that show broad Halpha emission. These samples will serve as the basis of future studiesof nuclear activity in nearby galaxies.
| Close Galaxy pairs in Medium Density Regions: The Northern Sky
We present HI synthesis and optical CCD data for pairs of spiralgalaxies chosen in an objective manner from the CfA redshift catalog.This is a simple extension to higher velocity differences and higherbackground galaxy density (i.e. to densities comparable to that of loosegroups, called `medium' density here) of an earlier study on fieldgalaxy pairs (Chengalur, Salpeter & Terzian 1994). The extension tohigher background density has a dramatic effect on the pair kinematics,with the median velocity difference for pairs in medium density regionsbeing ~ 100 \kms, as compared to the median velocity difference of ~ 30\kms seen in the low density pairs of CST94. Despite this increase inmedian velocity difference, many of the pairs in the medium densityregion show extensive tidal disturbances, including large ( ~ 100 kpc)HI tails, common HI envelopes etc. We also find a number of smaller(typically uncataloged and also gas rich) companion galaxies around themain galaxy pair. Although the sample is small, there appears to besystematically more gas rich companions found around pairs in mediumdensity regions (five out of eight pairs) as compared to pairs in lowdensity regions (two out of eight). In a forthcoming paper we willpresent data for 15 pairs of galaxies, chiefly from the southern sky andanalysis of the properties of the complete galaxy pair sample.
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