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| Oxygen abundances in the most oxygen-rich spiral galaxies
Oxygen abundances in the spiral galaxies expected to be richest inoxygen are estimated. The new abundance determinations are based on therecently discovered ff relation between auroral and nebular oxygen-linefluxes in high-metallicity HII regions. We find that the maximumgas-phase oxygen abundance in the central regions of spiral galaxies is12+log(O/H) ~ 8.75. This value is significantly lower (by a factor of>~5) than the previously accepted value. The central oxygen abundancein the Milky Way is similar to that in other large spirals.
| Morphology and star formation in nearby low surface brightness galaxies
We present observations (B, R, K, Hα and HI) of six nearby lowsurface brightness galaxies (LSBGs). They show an astonishing amount ofvariety; while some systems appear smooth and featureless, othersresolve into loose assemblies of gas clouds. We have derived rotationcurves, gas surface density profiles and star formation thresholds forthree of the galaxies.The results have been used to test two ideas describing their starformation: one in which star formation depends solely on the HI gassurface density, and one that depends on differential rotation. We findthat a critical HI surface density criterion in the range 2.6-12.6× 1020cm-2(2.1-10.1Msolarpc-2) best describes thestar-forming ability of these galaxies on local and global scales. Acritical gas surface density based on the rotation of the gas is alsoable to describe the results on a global scale for two of the threegalaxies for which we were able to derive rotation curves.
| Supernovae 2005at and 2005au
IAUC 8496 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Circumnuclear Structure and Black Hole Fueling: Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Imaging of 250 Active and Normal Galaxies
Why are the nuclei of some galaxies more active than others? If mostgalaxies harbor a central massive black hole, the main difference isprobably in how well it is fueled by its surroundings. We investigatethe hypothesis that such a difference can be seen in the detailedcircumnuclear morphologies of galaxies using several quantitativelydefined features, including bars, isophotal twists, boxy and diskyisophotes, and strong nonaxisymmetric features in unsharp-masked images.These diagnostics are applied to 250 high-resolution images of galaxycenters obtained in the near-infrared with NICMOS on the Hubble SpaceTelescope. To guard against the influence of possible biases andselection effects, we have carefully matched samples of Seyfert 1,Seyfert 2, LINER, starburst, and normal galaxies in their basicproperties, taking particular care to ensure that each was observed witha similar average scale (10-15 pc pixel-1). Severalmorphological differences among our five different spectroscopicclassifications emerge from the analysis. The H II/starburst galaxiesshow the strongest deviations from smooth elliptical isophotes, whilethe normal galaxies and LINERs have the least disturbed morphology. TheSeyfert 2s have significantly more twisted isophotes than any othercategory, and the early-type Seyfert 2s are significantly more disturbedthan the early-type Seyfert 1s. The morphological differences betweenSeyfert 1s and Seyfert 2s suggest that more is at work than simply theviewing angle of the central engine. They may correspond to differentevolutionary stages.
| NGC 3125-1: The Most Extreme Wolf-Rayet Star Cluster Known in the Local Universe
We use Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph long-slit ultravioletspectroscopy of local starburst galaxies to study the massive starcontent of a representative sample of super-star clusters, with aprimary focus on their Wolf-Rayet (W-R) content as measured from the HeII λ1640 emission feature. The goals of this work are threefold.First, we quantify the W-R and O-star content for selected massive youngstar clusters. These results are compared with similar estimates madefrom optical spectroscopy available in the literature. We conclude thatthe He II λ4686 equivalent width is a poor diagnostic measure ofthe true W-R content. Second, we present the strongest known He IIλ1640 emission feature in a local starburst galaxy. This featureis clearly of stellar origin in the massive cluster NGC 3125-1, as it isbroadened (~1000 km s-1). Strong N IV λ1488 and N Vλ1720 emission lines commonly found in the spectra of individualW-R stars of WN subtype are also observed in the spectrum of NGC 3125-1.Finally, we create empirical spectral templates to gain a basicunderstanding of the recently observed strong He II λ1640 featureseen in Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at redshifts z~3. The UV fieldobserved in local starbursts provides a good overall match to thecontinuum and weak photospheric features in LBGs in the spectral rangeλλ1300-1700 but cannot reproduce the He II λ1640emission seen in the composite LBG sample of Shapley et al. Anadditional (ad hoc) 10%-15% contribution from ``extreme'' W-R clusterssimilar to NGC 3125-1 on top of the field provides a good match to thestrength of this feature.Based on observations with the NASA ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS5-26555.
| Oxygen and nitrogen abundances in nearby galaxies. Correlations between oxygen abundance and macroscopic properties
We performed a compilation of more than 1000 published spectra of H IIregions in spiral galaxies. The oxygen and nitrogen abundances in each HII region were recomputed in a homogeneous way, using the P-method. Theradial distributions of oxygen and nitrogen abundances were derived. Thecorrelations between oxygen abundance and macroscopic properties areexamined. We found that the oxygen abundance in spiral galaxiescorrelates with its luminosity, rotation velocity, and morphologicaltype: the correlation with the rotation velocity may be slightlytighter. There is a significant difference between theluminosity-metallicity relationship obtained here and that based on theoxygen abundances determined through the R23-calibrations.The oxygen abundance of NGC 5457 recently determined using directmeasurements of Te (Kennicutt et al. \cite{Kennicutt2003})agrees with the luminosity-metallicity relationship derived in thispaper, but is in conflict with the luminosity-metallicity relationshipderived with the R23-based oxygen abundances. The obtainedluminosity-metallicity relation for spiral galaxies is compared to thatfor irregular galaxies. Our sample of galaxies shows evidence that theslope of the O/H - MB relationship for spirals (-0.079± 0.018) is slightly more shallow than that for irregulargalaxies (-0.139 ± 0.011). The effective oxygen yields wereestimated for spiral and irregular galaxies. The effective oxygen yieldincreases with increasing luminosity from MB -11 toMB -18 (or with increasing rotation velocity fromVrot 10 km s-1 to Vrot 100km s-1) and then remains approximately constant. Irregulargalaxies from our sample have effective oxygen yields lowered by afactor of 3 at maximum, i.e. irregular galaxies usually keep at least1/3 of the oxygen they manufactured during their evolution.Appendix, Tables \ref{table:refero}, \ref{table:referV}, and Figs.\ref{figure:sample2}-\ref{figure:sample5} are only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org}
| The ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey II. The catalog of optically identified galaxies%
The ISOPHOT Serendipity Sky Survey strip-scanning measurements covering≈15% of the far-infrared (FIR) sky at 170 μm were searched forcompact sources associated with optically identified galaxies. CompactSerendipity Survey sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in at leasttwo ISOPHOT C200 detector pixels were selected that have a positionalassociation with a galaxy identification in the NED and/or Simbaddatabases and a galaxy counterpart visible on the Digitized Sky Surveyplates. A catalog with 170 μm fluxes for more than 1900 galaxies hasbeen established, 200 of which were measured several times. The faintest170 μm fluxes reach values just below 0.5 Jy, while the brightest,already somewhat extended galaxies have fluxes up to ≈600 Jy. For thevast majority of listed galaxies, the 170 μm fluxes were measured forthe first time. While most of the galaxies are spirals, about 70 of thesources are classified as ellipticals or lenticulars. This is the onlycurrently available large-scale galaxy catalog containing a sufficientnumber of sources with 170 μm fluxes to allow further statisticalstudies of various FIR properties.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.Members of the Consortium on the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (CISS) areMPIA Heidelberg, ESA ISO SOC Villafranca, AIP Potsdam, IPAC Pasadena,Imperial College London.Full Table 4 and Table 6 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/422/39
| The structure and environment of young stellar clusters in spiral galaxies
A search for stellar clusters has been carried out in 18 nearby spiralgalaxies, using archive images from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. All of the galaxies have previouslybeen imaged from the ground in UBVI. A catalogue of structuralparameters, photometry and comments based on visual inspection of theclusters is compiled and used to investigate correlations betweencluster structure, environment, age and mass. Least-squares fits to thedata suggest correlations between both the full-width at half-maximum(FWHM) and half-light radius (Reff) of the clusters and theirmasses (M) at about the 3σ level. Although both relations show alarge scatter, the fits have substantially shallower slopes than for aconstant-density relation (size ∝ M1/3). However, manyof the youngest clusters have extended halos which make theReff determinations uncertain. There is no evidence forgalaxy-to-galaxy variations in the mean cluster sizes. In particular,the mean sizes do not appear to depend on the host galaxy star formationrate surface density. Many of the youngest objects (age <107 years) are located in strongly crowded regions, and about1/3-1/2 of them are double or multiple sources. The HST images are alsoused to check the nature of cluster candidates identified in a previousground-based survey. The contamination rate in the ground-based sampleis generally less than about 20%, but some cluster identificationsremain ambiguous because of crowding even with HST imaging, especiallyfor the youngest objects.Full Tables \ref{tab:all}-\ref{tab:hstphot}, and \ref{tab:gb} are onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/537Based on observations obtained 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.
| Circumnuclear Dust in Nearby Active and Inactive Galaxies. II. Bars, Nuclear Spirals, and the Fueling of Active Galactic Nuclei
We present a detailed study of the relation between circumnuclear dustmorphology, host-galaxy properties, and nuclear activity in nearbygalaxies. We use our sample of 123 nearby galaxies withvisible-near-infrared color maps from the Hubble Space Telescope tocreate well-matched, ``paired'' samples of 28 active and 28 inactivegalaxies, as well as 19 barred and 19 unbarred galaxies, that have thesame host-galaxy properties. Comparison of the barred and unbarredgalaxies shows that grand-design nuclear dust spirals are found only ingalaxies with a large-scale bar. These nuclear dust spirals, which arepresent in approximately one-third of all barred galaxies, also appearto be connected to the dust lanes along the leading edges of thelarge-scale bars. Grand-design nuclear spirals are more common thaninner rings, which are present in only a small minority of the barredgalaxies. Tightly wound nuclear dust spirals, in contrast, show a strongtendency to avoid galaxies with large-scale bars. Comparison of theactive galactic nuclei (AGNs)and inactive samples shows that nucleardust spirals, which may trace shocks and angular momentum dissipation inthe interstellar medium, occur with comparable frequency in both activeand inactive galaxies. The only difference between the active andinactive galaxies is that several inactive galaxies appear to completelylack dust structure in their circumnuclear region, while none of theAGNs lack this structure. The comparable frequency of nuclear spirals inactive and inactive galaxies, combined with previous work that finds nosignificant difference in the frequency of bars or interactions betweenwell-matched active and inactive galaxies, suggests that no universalfueling mechanism for low-luminosity AGNs operates at spatial scalesgreater than a ~100 pc radius from the galactic nuclei. The similaritiesof the circumnuclear environments of active and inactive galaxiessuggest that the lifetime of nuclear activity is less than thecharacteristic inflow time from these spatial scales. Anorder-of-magnitude estimate of this inflow time is the dynamicaltimescale. This sets an upper limit of several million years to thelifetime of an individual episode of nuclear activity.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS5-26555.
| The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
IRAS flux densities, redshifts, and infrared luminosities are reportedfor all sources identified in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample(RBGS), a complete flux-limited survey of all extragalactic objects withtotal 60 μm flux density greater than 5.24 Jy, covering the entiresky surveyed by IRAS at Galactic latitudes |b|>5°. The RBGS includes629 objects, with median and mean sample redshifts of 0.0082 and 0.0126,respectively, and a maximum redshift of 0.0876. The RBGS supersedes theprevious two-part IRAS Bright Galaxy Samples(BGS1+BGS2), which were compiled before the final(Pass 3) calibration of the IRAS Level 1 Archive in 1990 May. The RBGSalso makes use of more accurate and consistent automated methods tomeasure the flux of objects with extended emission. The RBGS contains 39objects that were not present in the BGS1+BGS2,and 28 objects from the BGS1+BGS2 have beendropped from RBGS because their revised 60 μm flux densities are notgreater than 5.24 Jy. Comparison of revised flux measurements forsources in both surveys shows that most flux differences are in therange ~5%-25%, although some faint sources at 12 and 25 μm differ byas much as a factor of 2. Basic properties of the RBGS sources aresummarized, including estimated total infrared luminosities, as well asupdates to cross identifications with sources from optical galaxycatalogs established using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Inaddition, an atlas of images from the Digitized Sky Survey with overlaysof the IRAS position uncertainty ellipse and annotated scale bars isprovided for ease in visualizing the optical morphology in context withthe angular and metric size of each object. The revised bolometricinfrared luminosity function, φ(Lir), forinfrared-bright galaxies in the local universe remains best fit by adouble power law, φ(L)~Lα, withα=-0.6(+/-0.1) and α=-2.2(+/-0.1) below and above the``characteristic'' infrared luminosityL*ir~1010.5Lsolar,respectively. A companion paper provides IRAS High Resolution (HIRES)processing of over 100 RBGS sources where improved spatial resolutionoften provides better IRAS source positions or allows for deconvolutionof close galaxy pairs.
| The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas
We present the largest galaxies as seen in the near-infrared (1-2μm), imaged with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), ranging inangular size from 1' to 1.5d. We highlight the 100 largest in thesample. The galaxies span all Hubble morphological types, includingelliptical galaxies, normal and barred spirals, and dwarf and peculiarclasses. The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas provides the necessary sensitivityand angular resolution to examine in detail morphologies in thenear-infrared, which may be radically different from those in theoptical. Internal structures such as spirals, bulges, warps, rings,bars, and star formation regions are resolved by 2MASS. In addition tolarge mosaic images, the atlas includes astrometric, photometric, andshape global measurements for each galaxy. A comparison of fundamentalmeasures (e.g., surface brightness, Hubble type) is carried out for thesample and compared with the Third Reference Catalogue. We furthershowcase NGC 253 and M51 (NGC 5194/5195) to demonstrate the quality anddepth of the data. The atlas represents the first uniform, all-sky,dust-penetrated view of galaxies of every type, as seen in thenear-infrared wavelength window that is most sensitive to the dominantmass component of galaxies. The images and catalogs are availablethrough the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and Infrared ScienceArchive and are part of the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog.
| Do bulges of early- and late-type spirals have different morphology?
We study HST/NICMOS H-band images of bulges of two equal-sized samplesof early- (TRC3 <= 3) and late-type spiral (mainly Sbc-Sc)galaxies matched in outer disk axis ratio. We find that bulges oflate-type spirals are more elongated than their counterparts inearly-type spirals. Using a KS-test we find that the two distributionsare different at the 98.4% confidence level. We conclude that the twodata sets are different, i.e. late-type galaxies have a broaderellipticity distribution and contain more elongated features in theinner regions. We discuss the possibility that these would correspond tobars at a later evolutionary stage, i.e. secularly evolved bars.Consequent implications are raised, and we discuss relevant questionsregarding the formation and structure of bulges. Are bulges ofearly-type and late-type spirals different? Are their formationscenarios different? Can we talk about bulges in the same way fordifferent types of galaxies?
| The Luminosity-Metallicity Relation, Effective Yields, and Metal Loss in Spiral and Irregular Galaxies
I present results on the correlation between galaxy mass, luminosity,and metallicity for a sample of spiral and irregular galaxies havingwell-measured abundance profiles, distances, and rotation speeds.Additional data for low surface brightness galaxies from the literatureare also included for comparison. These data are combined to study themetallicity-luminosity and metallicity-rotation speed correlations forspiral and irregular galaxies. The metallicity-luminosity correlationshows its familiar form for these galaxies, a roughly uniform change inthe average present-day O/H abundance of about a factor of 100 over 11mag in B luminosity. However, the O/H-Vrot relation shows achange in slope at a rotation speed of about 125 km s-1. Atfaster Vrot, there appears to be no relation between averagemetallicity and rotation speed. At lower Vrot, themetallicity correlates with rotation speed. This change in behaviorcould be the result of increasing loss of metals from the smallergalaxies in supernova-driven winds. This idea is tested by looking atthe variation in effective yield, derived from observed abundances andgas fractions assuming closed box chemical evolution. The effectiveyields derived for spiral and irregular galaxies increase by a factor of10-20 from Vrot~5 to 300 km s-1, asymptoticallyincreasing to approximately constant yeff forVrot>~150 km s-1. The trend suggests thatgalaxies with Vrot<~100-150 km s-1 may lose alarge fraction of their supernova ejecta, while galaxies above thisvalue tend to retain metals.
| The Luminosity Function of Star Clusters in Spiral Galaxies
Star clusters in six nearby spiral galaxies are examined using archiveimages from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board theHubble Space Telescope (HST). The galaxies have previously been studiedfrom the ground and some of them are known to possess rich populationsof ``young massive clusters.'' Comparison with the HST images indicatesa success rate of ~75% for the ground-based cluster detections, withtypical contaminants being blends or loose groupings of several stars incrowded regions. The luminosity functions (LFs) of cluster candidatesidentified on the HST images are analyzed and compared with existingdata for the Milky Way and the LMC. The LFs are well approximated bypower laws of the form dN(L)/dL~Lα, with slopes in therange -2.4<~α<~-2.0. The steeper slopes tend to be foundamong fits covering brighter magnitude intervals, although direct hintsof a variation in the LF slope with magnitude are seen only at lowsignificance in two galaxies. The surface density of star clusters at areference magnitude of MV=-8,Σ-8cl, scales with the mean star formationrate (SFR) per unit area, ΣSFR. Assuming that the LFcan be generally expressed asdN(L)/dL=cAΣγSFRLα,where A is the galaxy area, γ~1.0-1.4, α=-2.4, and thenormalization constant c is determined from the WFPC2 data analyzedhere, the maximum cluster luminosity expected in a galaxy from randomsampling of the LF is estimated as a function of ΣSFRand A. The predictions agree well with existing observations of galaxiesspanning a wide range of ΣSFR values, suggesting thatsampling statistics play an important role in determining the maximumobserved luminosities of star clusters in galaxies. Based onobservations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555.
| A Catalog of H I-Selected Galaxies from the South Celestial Cap Region of Sky
The first deep catalog of the H I Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) ispresented, covering the south celestial cap (SCC) region. The SCC areais ~2400 deg2 and covers δ<-62°. The average rmsnoise for the survey is 13 mJy beam-1. Five hundredthirty-six galaxies have been cataloged according to their neutralhydrogen content, including 114 galaxies that have no previous catalogedoptical counterpart. This is the largest sample of galaxies from a blindH I survey to date. Most galaxies in optically unobscured regions of skyhave a visible optical counterpart; however, there is a small populationof low-velocity H I clouds without visible optical counterparts whoseorigins and significance are unclear. The rms accuracy of the HIPASSpositions is found to be 1.9′. The H I mass range of galaxiesdetected is from ~106 to ~1011 Msolar.There are a large number of late-type spiral galaxies in the SCC sample(66%), compared with 30% for optically selected galaxies from the sameregion in the NASA Extragalactic Database. The average ratio of H I massto B luminosity of the sample increases according to optical type, from1.8 Msolar/Lsolar for early types to 3.2Msolar/Lsolar for late-type galaxies. The HI-detected galaxies tend to follow the large-scale structure traced bygalaxies found in optical surveys. From the number of galaxies detectedin this region of sky, we predict the full HIPASS catalog will contain~5000 galaxies, to a peak flux density limit of ~39 mJy (3 σ),although this may be a conservative estimate as two large voids arepresent in the region. The H I mass function for this catalog ispresented in a subsequent paper.
| An Infrared Space Observatory Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies
In this first paper in a series we present an atlas of infrared imagesand photometry from 1.2 to 180 μm for a sample of bright spiralgalaxies. The atlas galaxies are an optically selected,magnitude-limited sample of 77 spiral and S0 galaxies chosen from theRevised Shapley-Ames Catalog (RSA). The sample is a representativesample of spiral galaxies and includes Seyfert galaxies, LINERs,interacting galaxies, and peculiar galaxies. Using the Infrared SpaceObservatory (ISO), we have obtained 12 μm images and photometry at60, 100, and 180 μm for the galaxies. In addition to its imagingcapabilities, ISO provides substantially better angular resolution thanis available in the IRAS survey, and this permits discrimination betweeninfrared activity in the central regions and global infrared emission inthe disks of these galaxies. These ISO data have been supplemented withJHK imaging using ground-based telescopes. The atlas includes 2 and 12μm images. Following an analysis of the properties of the galaxies,we have compared the mid-infrared and far-infrared ISO photometry withIRAS photometry. The systematic differences we find between the IRASFaint Source Catalog and ISO measurements are directly related to thespatial extent of the ISO fluxes, and we discuss the reliability of IRASFaint Source Catalog total flux densities and flux ratios for nearbygalaxies. In our analysis of the 12 μm morphological features we findthat most but not all galaxies have bright nuclear emission. We find 12μm structures such as rings, spiral arm fragments, knotted spiralarms, and bright sources in the disks that are sometimes brighter thanthe nuclei at mid-infrared wavelengths. These features, which arepresumably associated with extranuclear star formation, are common inthe disks of Sb and later galaxies but are relatively unimportant inS0-Sab galaxies. Based on observations with the Infrared SpaceObservatory (ISO), an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA MemberStates (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, andUnited Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| Local velocity field from sosie galaxies. I. The Peebles' model
Pratton et al. (1997) showed that the velocity field around clusterscould generate an apparent distortion that appears as tangentialstructures or radial filaments. In the present paper we determine theparameters of the Peebles' model (1976) describing infall of galaxiesonto clusters with the aim of testing quantitatively the amplitude ofthis distortion. The distances are determined from the concept of sosiegalaxies (Paturel 1984) using 21 calibrators for which the distanceswere recently calculated from two independent Cepheid calibrations. Weuse both B and I-band magnitudes. The Spaenhauer diagram method is usedto correct for the Malmquist bias. We give the equations for theconstruction of this diagram. We analyze the apparent Hubble constant indifferent regions around Virgo and obtain simultaneously the Local Groupinfall and the unperturbed Hubble constant. We found:[VLG-infall = 208 ± 9 km s-1] [\log H =1.82 ± 0.04 (H ≈ 66 ± 6 km s-1Mpc-1).] The front side and backside infalls can be seenaround Virgo and Fornax. In the direction of Virgo the comparison ismade with the Peebles' model. We obtain: [vinfall} =CVirgo/r0.9 ± 0.2] withCVirgo=2800 for Virgo and CFornax=1350 for Fornax,with the adopted units (km s-1 and Mpc). We obtain thefollowing mean distance moduli: [μVirgo=31.3 ± 0.2(r=18 Mpc )] [μFornax=31.7 ± 0.3 (r=22 Mpc). ] Allthese quantities form an accurate and coherent system. Full Table 2 isonly available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/393/57
| FAUST observations of ultraviolet sources in the directions of NGC 4038-39 and 6752
Analysis of ultraviolet (UV) observations with the FAUST shuttle-bornetelescope toward the Antennae and NGC 6752 celestial regions resulted inthe detection of 46 and 221 candidate sources respectively, for asignal-to-noise ratio of 8. We discuss the source detection process andthe identification of UV sources with optical counterparts. Usingcorrelations with existing catalogues, we present reliableidentifications for approximately 60 per cent of the sources. We findthat most identified objects are B, A and F stars. The remainingidentified objects are galaxies, a white dwarf in a binary system, andtwo K-type stars. Nearly all of the remaining unidentified objects haveassigned optical counterparts but, lacking additional information, wegive these only as best estimates. With help from new diagnosticdiagrams, we suggest that these unclassified objects are main-sequence(or giant) stars within the local spiral arm or halo; or other hotevolved objects within the local spiral arm. We discuss the nature ofthe objects found and compare our results with those predicted fromspectral and Galactic models.
| The Multitude of Unresolved Continuum Sources at 1.6 Microns in Hubble Space Telescope Images of Seyfert Galaxies
We examine 112 Seyfert galaxies observed by the Hubble Space Telescopeat 1.6 μm. We find that ~50% of the Seyfert 2.0 galaxies which arepart of the Revised Shapely-Ames (RSA) Catalog or the CfA redshiftsample contain unresolved continuum sources at 1.6 μm. All but acouple of the Seyfert 1.0-1.9 galaxies display unresolved continuumsources. The unresolved sources have fluxes of order 1 mJy,near-infrared luminosities of order 1041 ergs s-1,and absolute magnitudes MH~-16. Comparison non-Seyfertgalaxies from the RSA Catalog display significantly fewer (~20%),somewhat lower luminosity nuclear sources, which could be due to compactstar clusters. We find that the luminosities of the unresolved Seyfert1.0-1.9 sources at 1.6 μm are correlated with [O III] λ5007and hard X-ray luminosities, implying that these sources are nonstellar.Assuming a spectral energy distribution similar to that of a Seyfert 2galaxy, we estimate that a few percent of local spiral galaxies containblack holes emitting as Seyferts at a moderate fraction,~10-1-10-4, of their Eddington luminosities. Wefind no strong correlation between 1.6 μm fluxes and hard X-ray or [OIII] λ5007 fluxes for the pure Seyfert 2.0 galaxies. Thesegalaxies also tend to have lower 1.6 μm luminosities compared to theSeyfert 1.0-1.9 galaxies of similar [O III] luminosity. Either largeextinctions (AV~20-40) are present toward theircontinuum-emitting regions or some fraction of the unresolved sources at1.6 μm are compact star clusters. With increasing Seyfert type thefraction of unresolved sources detected at 1.6 μm and the ratio of1.6 μm to [O III] fluxes tend to decrease. These trends areconsistent with the unification model for Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies.
| Statistical Properties of Circumnuclear H II Regions in Nearby Galaxies
We analyze the statistical properties of the circumnuclear H II regionsof a sample of 52 nearby galaxies (v<1000 km s-1) fromarchival HST/NICMOS H-band and Paα (1.87 μm) observations atunprecedented spatial resolutions of between 1 and 30 pc. We catalog HII regions from the continuum-subtracted Paα images and find H IIregions in the central regions of most galaxies, and more than a hundredin each of eight galaxies. In contrast to disk H II regions, thephysical properties (luminosity and size) of individual circumnuclear HII regions do not vary strongly with the morphological type of the hostgalaxy, nor does the number of circumnuclear H II regions per unit area.The Hα luminosity within the central kiloparsec, as derived from HII region emission, is significantly enhanced in early-type (S0/a-Sb)galaxies. We find evidence that bars increase the circumnuclear starformation, presumably by funneling gas from the disk toward the nucleus.Barred galaxies exhibit enhanced luminosities of the brightest H IIregion, the central kiloparsec Hα luminosities (an effect mostlydue to the early-type galaxies in our sample), and the star formationrates per unit stellar mass (which could also be understood as theintegral equivalent widths of Paα) over the central kiloparsecwith respect to nonbarred galaxies. We fit the luminosity functions(LFs) and diameter distributions of the circumnuclear H II regions ineight galaxies where we can catalog enough H II regions to do so in ameaningful way. We use power laws and find that the fitted slopes of theH II region LF are exactly in the previously found ranges and evenconfirm a trend with steeper slopes in galaxies of earlier morphologicaltype. This implies that the physical processes giving rise to enhancedstar formation in the circumnuclear regions of galaxies must be similarto those in disks. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which is operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| Homogenization of the Stellar Population along Late-Type Spiral Galaxies
We present a study of the broadband UBV color profiles for 257 Sbcbarred and nonbarred galaxies, using photoelectric aperture photometrydata from the literature. Using robust statistical methods, we haveestimated the color gradients of the galaxies, as well as the total andbulge mean colors. A comparative photometric study using CCD images wasdone. In our sample, the color gradients are negative (reddish inward)in approximately 59% of the objects, are almost null in 27%, and arepositive in 14%, considering only the face-on galaxies, which representapproximately 51% of the sample. The results do not change, essentially,when we include the edge-on galaxies. As a consequence of this study wehave also found that barred galaxies are overrepresented among theobjects having null or positive gradients, indicating that bars act as amechanism of homogenization of the stellar population. This effect ismore evident in the U-B color index, although it can also be detected inthe B-V color. A correlation between the total and bulge colors wasfound that is a consequence of an underlying correlation between thecolors of bulges and disks found by other authors. Moreover, the meantotal color is the same irrespective of the gradient regime, whilebulges are bluer in galaxies with null or positive gradients, whichindicates an increase of the star formation rate in the central regionsof these objects. We have also made a quantitative evaluation of theamount of extinction in the center of these galaxies. This was doneusing the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and the Near InfraredCamera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Hubble Space Telescope(HST) archival data, as well as CCD B, V, and I images. We show thatalthough the extinction in the V-band can reach values up to 2 mag inthe central region, it is unlikely that dust plays a fundamental role inglobal color gradients. We found no correlation between color and O/Habundance gradients. This result could suggest that the color gradientsare more sensitive to the age rather than to the metallicity of thestellar population. However, the absence of this correlation may becaused by dust extinction. We discuss this result by considering apicture in which bars are a relatively fast, recurrent phenomenon. Theseresults are not compatible with a pure classical monolithic scenario forbulge and disk formation. On the contrary, they favor a scenario inwhich both these components are evolving in a correlated process inwhich stellar bars play a crucial role. Based partly on observationsmade at the Pico dos Dias Observatory (PDO/LNA-CNPq), Brazil.
| The relationship between star formation rates and mid-infrared emission in galactic disks
The Hα and mid-infrared mean disk surface brightnesses arecompared in a sample of nearby spirals observed by ISOCAM. This showsthat, in spiral disks, dust emission at 7 and 15 mu m provides areasonable star formation tracer. The fact that the 15 to 7 mu m fluxratio is nearly constant in various global exciting conditions indicatesa common origin, namely the aromatic infrared band carriers, and impliesthat at these wavelengths, dust emission from the disks of normalgalaxies is dominated by photodissociation regions and not by H Iiregions themselves. We use this newly-found correlation between themid-infrared and the Hα line to investigate the nature of the linkbetween the far-infrared (60 and 100 mu m) and Hα . Although theseparation of the central regions from the disk is impossible to achievein the far-infrared, we show that a circumnuclear contribution to thedust emission, having no equivalent counterpart in Hα , is mostlikely responsible for the well-known non-linearity between far-infraredand Hα fluxes in spiral galaxies. We derive a calibration of 7 and15 mu m fluxes in terms of star formation rates from a primarycalibration of Hα in the literature, and also outline theapplicability limits of the proposed conversion, which should not beblindly extrapolated to objects whose nature is unknown. Based onobservations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESAMember States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| The impact of bars on the mid-infrared dust emission of spiral galaxies: global and circumnuclear properties
We study the mid-infrared properties of a sample of 69 nearby spiralgalaxies, selected to avoid Seyfert activity contributing a significantfraction of the central energetics, or strong tidal interaction, and tohave normal infrared luminosities. These observations were obtained withISOCAM, which provides an angular resolution of the order of 10arcsec(half-power diameter of the point spread function) and low-resolutionspectro-imaging information. Between 5 and 18 mu m, we mainly observetwo dust phases, aromatic infrared bands and very small grains, both outof thermal equilibrium. On this sample, we show that the globalF15/F_7 colors of galaxies are very uniform, the onlyincrease being found in early-type strongly barred galaxies, consistentwith previous IRAS studies. The F15/F_7 excesses areunambiguously due to galactic central regions where bar-inducedstarbursts occur. However, the existence of strongly barred early-typegalaxies with normal circumnuclear colors indicates that therelationship between a distortion of the gravitational potential and acentral starburst is not straightforward. As the physical processes atwork in central regions are in principle identical in barred andunbarred galaxies, and since this is where the mid-infrared activity ismainly located, we investigate the mid-infrared circumnuclear propertiesof all the galaxies in our sample. We show how surface brightnesses andcolors are related to both the available molecular gas content and themean age of stellar populations contributing to dust heating. Therefore,the star formation history in galactic central regions can beconstrained by their position in a color-surface brightness mid-infrareddiagram. Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instrumentsfunded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France,Germany, the Netherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISASand NASA.
| An atlas of mid-infrared dust emission in spiral galaxies
We present maps of dust emission at 7 mu m and 15 mu m/7 mu m intensityratios of selected regions in 43 spiral galaxies observed with ISOCAM.This atlas is a complement to studies based on these observations,dealing with star formation in centers of barred galaxies and in spiraldisks. It is accompanied by a detailed description of data reduction andan inventory of generic morphological properties in groups definedaccording to bar strength and HI gas content. Based on observations withISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States(especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands and theUK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| Beauty and astrophysics
Spectacular colour images have been made by combining CCD images inthree different passbands using Adobe Photoshop. These beautiful imageshighlight a variety of astrophysical phenomena and should be a valuableresource for science education and public awareness of science. The widefield images were obtained at the Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) bymounting a Hasselblad or Nikkor telephoto lens in front of a 2K by 2KCCD. Options of more than 30 degrees or 6 degrees square coverage areproduced in a single exposure in this way. Narrow band or broad bandfilters were placed between lens and CCD enabling deep, linear images ina variety of passbands to be obtained. We have mapped the LMC and SMCand are mapping the Galactic Plane for comparison with the MolongloRadio Survey. Higher resolution images have also been made with the 40inch telescope of galaxies and star forming regions in the Milky Way.
| 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 Variability of Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 Galaxies at 1.6 Microns
We present a study of Seyfert 1.5-2.0 galaxies observed at two epochswith the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 1.6 μm. We find thatunresolved nuclear emission from nine of 14 nuclei varies at the levelof 10%-40% on timescales of 0.7-14 months, depending upon the galaxy. Acontrol sample of Seyfert galaxies lacking unresolved sources andgalaxies lacking Seyfert nuclei show less than 3% instrumental variationin equivalent aperture measurements. This proves that the unresolvedsources are nonstellar and associated with the central parsecs of activegalactic nuclei. Unresolved sources in Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 galaxies arenot usually detected in HST optical surveys; however, high angularresolution infrared observations will provide a way to measure timedelays in these galaxies.
| Young massive star clusters in nearby spiral galaxies. III. Correlations between cluster populations and host galaxy properties
We present an analysis of correlations between integrated properties ofgalaxies and their populations of young massive star clusters. Data for21 nearby galaxies presented by Larsen & Richtler (\cite{lr99}) areused together with literature data for 10 additional galaxies, spanninga range in specific U-band cluster luminosity T_L(U) from 0 to 15. Wefind that T_L(U) correlates with several observable host galaxyparameters, in particular the ratio of Far-Infrared (FIR) tomBox{B-band} flux and the surface brightness. Taking the FIRluminosity as an indicator of the star formation rate (SFR), it is foundthat T_L(U) correlates very well with the SFR per unit area. A similarcorrelation is seen between T_L(U) and the atomic hydrogen surfacedensity. The cluster formation efficiency seems to depend on the SFR ina continuous way, rather than being related to any particularly violentmode of star formation. We discuss fundamental features of possiblescenarios for cluster formation. One possibility is that the correlationbetween T_L(U) and SFR is due to a common controlling parameter, mostprobably the high density of the ISM. Another scenario conceives a highT_L(U) as resulting from the energy input from many massive stars incase of a high SFR. Based on observations made with the Nordic OpticalTelescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, andwith the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, La Silla, Chile.
| HI study of the NGC 6744 system
We present preliminary results of our 5-configuration, 20-pointingmosaic with the Australia Telescope Compact Array of the neutralhydrogen in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6744. The bulk of the HIresides in a "ring" underlying the outer optical disk, with two HIspiral arms extending further out to almost 1.5 optical radii. Thevelocity field is fairly regular, apart from evidence for streamingmotions along the HI arms, and the influence of the companion IB(s)mgalaxy NGC 6744A. We associate a cloud of HI at a heliocentric velocityof 846 km per sec with another companion object, ESO 104-g44. Ourattempts to construct a mass model for NGC 6744 suffer from poorresolution in the inner disk, and the uncertainty in the total HI fluxof NGC 6744. We anticipate that HIPASS observations will be crucial inresolving the latter issue.
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