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Study of the Structure of the Coma Cluster Based on a Hierarchical Force Clustering Method
Six subclusters in the Coma cluster have been selected on the basis of ahierarchical clustering method that takes the gravitational interactionamong galaxies into account. Of these, 3 central subclusters around thegalaxies NGC 4889, NGC 4874, and NGC 4839 have been singled out. We haveused the objective statistical criterion applied by Vennik and Anosovain studies of close groups of galaxies to evaluate each member includedin a subcluster with a high probability. Galaxies with a significantdeficit of hydrogen HI, including objects from the Bravo-Alfaro list,have been identified with members of the subclusters, with the greatestnumber of them in the subclusters around NGC 4874 and NGC 4839. Aquantitative estimate of the hydrogen deficit using the HI index in theRCG3 catalog reveals a statistically significant excess value for thosegalaxies that are members of the subclusters compared to galaxies with ahydrogen deficit in the overall Coma cluster field. A substantial numberof the spiral galaxies with a hydrogen deficit in the subclusters turnedout to be radio galaxies as well.
| The X-ray luminosity function of galaxies in the Coma cluster
The XMM-Newton survey of the Coma cluster of galaxies covers an area of1.86 square degrees with a mosaic of 16 pointings and has a total usefulintegration time of 400 ks. Detected X-ray sources with extent less than10'' were correlated with cataloged galaxies in the Comacluster region. The redshift information, which is abundant in thisregion of the sky, allowed us to separate cluster members frombackground and foreground galaxies. For the background sources, werecover a typical Log N-Log S in the flux range10-15-10-13 ergs s-1 cm-2 inthe 0.5-2.0 keV band. The X-ray emission from the cluster galaxiesexhibits X-ray colors typical of thermal emission. The luminosities ofComa galaxies lie in the 1039-1041 ergss-1 interval in the 0.5-2.0 keV band. The luminosity functionof Coma galaxies reveals that their X-ray activity is suppressed withrespect to the field by a factor of 5.6, indicating a lower level ofX-ray emission for a given stellar mass.
| The Extinction and Distance of Maffei 1
We have obtained low- and high-resolution spectra of the core of thehighly reddened elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. From these data, we haveobtained the first measurement of the Mg2 index and havemeasured the velocity dispersion and radial velocity with improvedaccuracy. To evaluate the extinction, a correlation between theMg2 index and effective V-I color has been established forelliptical galaxies. Using a new method for correcting for effectivewavelength shifts, the V-I color excess reveals that the optical depthof Galactic dust at 1 μm is 1.69+/-0.07. Thus,AV=4.67+/-0.19 mag, which is lower by 0.4 mag than previouslythought. To establish the distance, the fundamental plane for ellipticalgalaxies has been constructed in I. The velocity dispersion of Maffei 1,measured to be 186.8+/-7.4 km s-1, in combination with modernwide-field photometry in I, leads to a distance of 2.92+/-0.37 Mpc. TheDn-σ relation, which is independently calibrated, gives3.08+/-0.85 and 3.23+/-0.67 Mpc from photometry in B and K',respectively. The weighted mean of the three estimates is 3.01+/-0.30Mpc, which is lower than distances judged with reference to M32 and thebulge of M31 from the brightest stars seen at K'. Since the luminosityof asymptotic giant branch stars at K' is strongly dependent on age, thelower distance suggests that the last epoch of star formation in Maffei1 occurred farther in the past than in these other systems. The distanceand luminosity make Maffei 1 the nearest giant elliptical galaxy. In theabsence of extinction, the galaxy would be among the brightest in thesky and would have an apparent size 2/3 that of the full Moon. Theradial velocity of Maffei 1 is +66.4+/-5.0 km s-1,significantly higher than the accepted value of -10 km s-1.The Hubble distance corresponding to the mean velocity of Maffei 1,Maffei 2, and IC 342 is 3.5 Mpc. Thus, it is unlikely that Maffei 1 hashad any influence on Local Group dynamics.
| The Color-Magnitude Relation in Coma: Clues to the Age and Metallicity of Cluster Populations
We have observed three fields of the Coma Cluster of galaxies with anarrowband (modified Strömgren) filter system. Observed galaxiesinclude 31 in the vicinity of NGC 4889, 48 near NGC 4874, and 60 nearNGC 4839, complete to M5500=-18 in all three subclusters.Spectrophotometric classification finds all three subclusters of Coma tobe dominated by red, E-type (elliptical/S0) galaxies with a mean bluefraction, fB, of 0.10. The blue fraction increases to fainterluminosities, possible remnants of dwarf starburst population or theeffects of dynamical friction removing bright, blue galaxies from thecluster population by mergers. We find the color-magnitude (CM) relationto be well defined and linear over the range of M5500=-13 to-22. The observational error is lower than the true scatter around theCM relation, indicating that galaxies achieve their final positions inthe mass-metallicity plane by stochastic processes. After calibration tomultimetallicity models, bright elliptical galaxies are found to haveluminosity-weighted mean [Fe/H] values between -0.5 and +0.5, whereaslow-luminosity elliptical galaxies have [Fe/H] values ranging from -2 tosolar. The lack of CM relation in our continuum color suggests that asystematic age effect cancels the metallicity effects in this bandpass.This is confirmed with our age index Δ(bz-yz), which finds a weakcorrelation between luminosity and mean stellar age in ellipticalgalaxies such that the stellar populations of bright elliptical galaxiesare 2-3 Gyrs younger than low-luminosity elliptical galaxies. Withrespect to environmental effects, there is a slight decreasingmetallicity gradient with respect to distance to each subcluster center,strongest around NGC 4874. Since NGC 4874 is the dynamic and X-raycenter of the Coma Cluster, this implies that environmental effects onlow-luminosity elliptical galaxies are strongest at the cluster corecompared with outlying subgroups.
| The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.
| The First Hour of Extragalactic Data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Commissioning: The Coma Cluster
On 1999 May 26, one of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) fiber-fedspectrographs saw astronomical first light. This was followed by thefirst spectroscopic commissioning run during the dark period of 1999June. We present here the first hour of extragalactic spectroscopy takenduring these early commissioning stages: an observation of the Comacluster of galaxies. Our data samples the southern part of this cluster,out to a radius of 1.5d (1.8 h-1 Mpc, approximately to thevirial radius) and thus fully covers the NGC 4839 group. We outline inthis paper the main characteristics of the SDSS spectroscopic systemsand provide redshifts and spectral classifications for 196 Comagalaxies, of which 45 redshifts are new. For the 151 galaxies in commonwith the literature, we find excellent agreement between our redshiftdeterminations and the published values, e.g., for the largesthomogeneous sample of galaxies in common (63 galaxies observed byColless & Dunn) we find a mean offset of 3 km s -1 and anrms scatter of only 24 km s -1. As part of our analysis, wehave investigated four different spectral classification algorithms:measurements of the spectral line strengths, a principal componentdecomposition, a wavelet analysis and the fitting of spectral synthesismodels to the data. We find that these classification schemes are inbroad agreement and can provide physical insight into the evolutionaryhistories of our cluster galaxies. We find that a significant fraction(25%) of our observed Coma galaxies show signs of recent star formationactivity and that the velocity dispersion of these active galaxies(emission-line and poststarburst galaxies) is 30% larger than theabsorption-line galaxies. We also find no active galaxies within thecentral (projected) 200 h-1 kpc of the cluster. The spatialdistribution of our Coma active galaxies is consistent with that foundat higher redshift for the CNOC1 cluster survey. Beyond the core region,the fraction of bright active galaxies appears to rise slowly out to thevirial radius and are randomly distributed within the cluster with noapparent correlation with the potential merger or postmerger of the NGC4839 group. We briefly discuss possible origins of this recent galaxystar formation.
| The FIRST Bright Quasar Survey. II. 60 Nights and 1200 Spectra Later
We have used the Very Large Array (VLA) FIRST survey and the AutomatedPlate Measuring Facility (APM) catalog of the Palomar Observatory SkySurvey I (POSS-I) plates as the basis for constructing a newradio-selected sample of optically bright quasars. This is the firstradio-selected sample that is competitive in size with current opticallyselected quasar surveys. Using only two basic criteria, radio-opticalpositional coincidence and optical morphology, quasars and BL Lacobjects can be identified with 60% selection efficiency; the efficiencyincreases to 70% for objects fainter than 17 mag. We show that a moresophisticated selection scheme can predict with better than 85%reliability which candidates will turn out to be quasars. This paperpresents the second installment of the FIRST Bright Quasar Survey(FBQS), with a catalog of 636 quasars distributed over 2682deg2. The quasar sample is characterized and all spectra aredisplayed. The FBQS detects both radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars outto redshift z>3. We find a large population of objects ofintermediate radio loudness; there is no evidence in our sample for abimodal distribution of radio characteristics. The sample includes ~29broad absorption line quasars, both high and low ionization, and anumber of new objects with remarkable optical spectra.
| 1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. III. observations of 558 galaxies with the TIRGO 1.5 m telescope
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm ) surface photometry of 558galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and in the Virgo cluster. This dataset, obtained with the Arcetri NICMOS3 camera ARNICA mounted on theGornergrat Infrared Telescope, is aimed at complementing, withobservations of mostly early-type objects, our NIR survey of spiralgalaxies in these regions, presented in previous papers of this series.Magnitudes at the optical radius, total magnitudes, isophotal radii andlight concentration indices are derived. We confirm the existence of apositive correlation between the near-infrared concentration index andthe galaxy H-band luminosity Based on observations taken at TIRGO(Gornergrat, Switzerland). TIRGO is operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| 1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. V. Profile decomposition of 1157 galaxies
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm) surface brightness profiledecomposition for 1157 galaxies in five nearby clusters of galaxies:Coma, A1367, Virgo, A262 and Cancer, and in the bridge between Coma andA1367 in the ``Great Wall". The optically selected (mpg≤16.0) sample is representative of all Hubble types, from E to Irr+BCD,except dE and of significantly different environments, spanning fromisolated regions to rich clusters of galaxies. We model the surfacebrightness profiles with a de Vaucouleurs r1/4 law (dV), withan exponential disk law (E), or with a combination of the two (B+D).From the fitted quantities we derive the H band effective surfacebrightness (μe) and radius (re) of each component, theasymptotic magnitude HT and the light concentration indexC31. We find that: i) Less than 50% of the Ellipticalgalaxies have pure dV profiles. The majority of E to Sb galaxies is bestrepresented by a B+D profile. All Scd to BCD galaxies have pureexponential profiles. ii) The type of decomposition is a strong functionof the total H band luminosity (mass), independent of the Hubbleclassification: the fraction of pure exponential decompositionsdecreases with increasing luminosity, that of B+D increases withluminosity. Pure dV profiles are absent in the low luminosity rangeLH<1010 L\odot and become dominantabove 1011 L\odot . Based on observations taken atTIRGO, Gornergrat, Switzerland (operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy) and at the Calar Alto Observatory (operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy). Table 2 and Figs. 2, 3, 4are available in their entirety only in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The specific entropy of elliptical galaxies: an explanation for profile-shape distance indicators?
Dynamical systems in equilibrium have a stationary entropy; we suggestthat elliptical galaxies, as stellar systems in a stage ofquasi-equilibrium, may have in principle a unique specific entropy. Thisuniqueness, a priori unknown, should be reflected in correlationsbetween the fundamental parameters describing the mass (light)distribution in galaxies. Following recent photometrical work onelliptical galaxies by Caon et al., Graham & Colless and Prugniel& Simien, we use the Sérsic law to describe the light profileand an analytical approximation to its three-dimensional deprojection.The specific entropy is then calculated, supposing that the galaxybehaves as a spherical, isotropic, one-component system in hydrostaticequilibrium, obeying the ideal-gas equations of state. We predict arelation between the three parameters of the Sérsic law linked tothe specific entropy, defining a surface in the parameter space, an`Entropic Plane', by analogy with the well-known Fundamental Plane. Wehave analysed elliptical galaxies in two rich clusters of galaxies (Comaand ABCG 85) and a group of galaxies (associated with NGC 4839, nearComa). We show that, for a given cluster, the galaxies follow closely arelation predicted by the constant specific entropy hypothesis with atypical dispersion (one standard deviation) of 9.5per cent around themean value of the specific entropy. Moreover, assuming that the specificentropy is also the same for galaxies of different clusters, we are ableto derive relative distances between Coma, ABGC 85, and the group of NGC4839. If the errors are due only to the determination of the specificentropy (about 10per cent), then the error in the relative distancedetermination should be less than 20per cent for rich clusters. Wesuggest that the unique specific entropy may provide a physicalexplanation for the distance indicators based on the Sérsicprofile put forward by Young & Currie and recently discussed byBinggeli & Jerjen.
| E and S0 galaxies in the central part of the Coma cluster: ages, metal abundances and dark matter
Mean ages and metal abundances are estimated for the stellar populationsin a sample of 115 E and S0 galaxies in the central 64 arcmin × 70arcmin of the Coma cluster. The estimates are based on the absorptionline indices Mg2, and HβG, and themass-to-light ratios (M/L). Single stellar population models fromVazdekis et al. were used to transform from the measured line indicesand M/L ratios to mean ages and mean metal abundances ([Mg/H] and[Fe/H]). The non-solar abundance ratios [Mg/Fe] were taken into accountby assuming that for a given age and iron abundance, a [Mg/Fe] differentfrom solar will affect the Mg2 index but not the M/L ratio orthe and HβG indices. The derived ages andabundances are the luminosity-weighted mean values for the stellarpopulations in the galaxies.By comparing the mean ages derived from theMg2-HβG diagram with those derived from theMg2-M/L diagram, we estimate the variations of the fractionof dark matter. Alternatively, the difference between the two estimatesof the mean age may be caused by variations in the initial mass functionor any non-homology of the galaxies.The distributions of the derived mean ages and abundances show thatthere are real variations in both the mean ages and the abundances. Wefind an intrinsic rms scatter of [Mg/H], [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] of 0.2 dex,and an intrinsic rms scatter of the derived ages of 0.17 dex. Themagnesium abundances [Mg/H] and the abundance ratios [Mg/Fe] are bothstrongly correlated with the central velocity dispersions of thegalaxies, while the iron abundances [Fe/H] are uncorrelated with thevelocity dispersions. Further, [Mg/H] and [Fe/H] are stronglyanticorrelated with the mean ages of the galaxies. This is not the casefor [Mg/Fe].We have tested whether the slopes of the scaling relations between theglobal parameters for the galaxies (the Mg2-σ relation,the -σ relation, the HβG-σrelation and the Fundamental Plane) are consistent with the relationbetween the ages, the abundances and the velocity dispersions. We findthat all the slopes, except the slope of the Fundamental Plane, can beexplained in a consistent way as resulting from a combination betweenvariations of the mean ages and the mean abundances as functions of thevelocity dispersions. The slope of the Fundamental Plane is `steeper'than predicted from the variations in the ages and abundances.Because of the correlation between the mean ages and the meanabundances, substantial variations in the ages and the abundances arepossible while maintaining a low scatter of all the scaling relations.When this correlation is taken into account, the observed scatter of thescaling relations is consistent with the rms scatter in the derived agesand abundances at a given velocity dispersion.
| On the local radio luminosity function of galaxies. II. Environmental dependences among late-type galaxies
Using new extensive radio continuum surveys at 1.4 GHz (FIRST and NVSS),we derive the distribution of the radio/optical and radio/NIR luminosity(RLF) of late-type (Sa-Irr) galaxies (m_p<15.7) in 5 nearby clustersof galaxies: A262, Cancer, A1367, Coma and Virgo. With the aim ofdiscussing possible environmental dependences of the radio properties,we compare these results with those obtained for relatively isolatedobjects in the Coma supercluster. We find that the RLF of Cancer, A262and Virgo are consistent with that of isolated galaxies. Conversely weconfirm earlier claims that galaxies in A1367 and Coma have their radioemissivity enhanced by a factor ~ 5 with respect to isolated objects. Wediscuss this result in the framework of the dynamical pressure sufferedby galaxies in motion through the intra-cluster gas (ram-pressure). Wefind that the radio excess is statistically larger for galaxies in fasttransit motion. This is coherent with the idea that enhanced radiocontinuum activity is associated with magnetic field compression. TheX-ray luminosities and temperatures of Coma and A1367 imply that thesetwo clusters have significantly larger intracluster gas density than theremaining three studied ones, providing a clue for explaining the higherradio continuum luminosities of their galaxies. Multiple systems in theComa supercluster bridge (with projected separations smaller than 300kpc) have radio luminosities significantly larger than isolatedgalaxies. Table~1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html}
| The tilt of the Fundamental Plane of early-type galaxies: wavelength dependence
The photometric parameters R_e and mu_e of 74 early-type (E+S0+S0a)galaxies within 2 deg projected radius from the Coma cluster centre arederived for the first time in the near-infrared H band (1.65 μm).These are used, coupled with measurements of the central velocitydispersion sigma found in the literature, to determine the H-bandFundamental Plane (FP) relation of this cluster: logR_e~Alogsigma+bmu_e. The same procedure is applied to previouslyavailable photometric data in the BVrIK bands, to perform amultiwavelength study of the FP relation. Because systematicuncertainties in the value of the FP parameters are introduced both bythe choice of the fitting algorithm used to derive the FP template, andby the presence of statistical biases connected with the sampleselection procedure, we emphasize the importance of deriving the FPparameters in the six different photometric bands using an identicalfitting algorithm, and appropriate corrections to eliminate the effectsof sample incompleteness. Once these corrections are applied, we findthat the FP b coefficient is stable with wavelength (~0.35+/-0.02),while the A coefficient increases significantly with increasingwavelength: from ~1.35 to ~1.70 (+/-0.1) from the optical to theinfrared, in agreement with an earlier result presented recently byPahre and Djorgovski. Therefore the slope of the FP relation, althoughchanging with wavelength, never approaches the virial theoremexpectation A=2.0 when the central velocity dispersion only is used tobuild the FP. We also find that the magnitude of the slope change can beentirely explained by the presence of the well-known relation betweencolour and magnitude among early-type galaxies. We conclude that thetilt of the Fundamental Plane is significant, and must be the result ofsome form of broken homology among early-type galaxies, while itswavelength dependence derives from whatever mechanism (currently thepreferred one is the existence of a mass-metal content sequence)produces the colour-magnitude relation in those galaxies.
| The Universality of the Fundamental Plane of E and S0 Galaxies: Spectroscopic Data
We present central velocity dispersion measurements for 325 early-typegalaxies in eight clusters and groups of galaxies, including newobservations for 212 galaxies. The clusters and groups are the A262,A1367, Coma (A1656), A2634, Cancer, and Pegasus Clusters and the NGC 383and NGC 507 Groups. The new measurements were derived frommedium-dispersion spectra that cover 600 Å centered on the Mg I btriplet at lambda ~ 5175 Å. Velocity dispersions were measuredusing the Tonry & Davis cross-correlation method, with a typicalaccuracy of 6%. A detailed comparison with other data sources is made.
| The Universality of the Fundamental Plane of E and S0 Galaxies: Sample Definition and I-Band Photometric Data
As part of a project to compare the fundamental plane and Tully-Fisherdistance scales, we present here I-band CCD photometry for 636early-type galaxies in eight clusters and groups of galaxies. These arethe A262, A1367, Coma (A1656), A2634, Cancer and Pegasus Clusters, andthe NGC 383 and NGC 507 Groups. Sample selection, cluster properties,and cluster membership assignment criteria are discussed. We presentphotometric parameters that are used in the fundamental plane relation,the effective radius r_e, and the effective surface brightness mu_e, asderived from a r^1/4 fit to the observed radial photometric profile ofeach galaxy. A comparison with similar data found in the literature forthe Coma Cluster shows that large systematic uncertainties can beintroduced in the measurement of r_e and mu_e by the particular methodused to derive those parameters. However, the particular combination ofthese two parameters that enters in the fundamental plane relation is aquantity that can be measured with high accuracy.
| 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.
| The distribution of the rotation axes of the disk galaxies in the Coma cluster: statistical samples.
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| 21 CM H1 Line Spectra of Galaxies in Nearby Clusters
A compilation of HI line fluxes, systemic velocities and line widths ispresented for \Ndet detected galaxies, mostly in the vicinities of 30nearby rich clusters out to a redshift of z ~ .04, specifically for usein applications of the Tully-Fisher distance method. New 21 cm HI lineprofiles have been obtained for ~ 500 galaxies in 27 Abell clustersvisible from Arecibo. Upper limits are also presented for \Nnod galaxiesfor which HI emission was not detected. In order to provide ahomogeneous line width determination optimized for Tully-Fisher studies,these new data are supplemented by the reanalysis of previouslypublished spectra obtained both at Arecibo and Green Bank that areavailable in a digital archive. Corrections for instrumental broadening,smoothing, signal-to-noise and profile shape are applied, and anestimate of the error on the width is given. When corrected forturbulent broadening and viewing angle, the corrected velocity widthspresented here will provide the appropriate line width parameter neededto derive distances via the Tully-Fisher relation.
| The Relative Distance Between the Clusters of Galaxies A2634 and Coma
The Tully-Fisher (TF) and Fundamental Plane (FP) relations are used toobtain two independent estimates of the relative distance between theclusters A2634 and Coma. Previously published studies of A2634 showed alarge discrepancy between the distance estimates obtained with the TFand the \dns\ relations, questioning the reliability ofredshift-independent distances obtained using these relations. Becauseof the importance of this issue, we have obtained new distance estimatesfor A2634, based on much larger samples than previously used, andselected according to rigorous membership criteria. New I band CCDphotometry for 175 galaxies, new 21 cm observations of 11 galaxies, andnew velocity dispersion measurements for 62 galaxies are used togetherwith previously published data in building these samples. As part of alarger project to compare the TF and FP distance-scales, we haveobtained a new FP template using for the first time I band photometry.The template is derived using a sample of 109 E and S0 galaxies that aremembers of the Coma cluster. Its parameters are in very good agreementwith recent determinations of the FP obtained at shorter wavelengths.The uncertainty with which the FP can provide peculiar velocityestimates for single galaxies is =~ 0.43 mag in the distance modulus, or20% of the distance. This uncertainty is slightly larger than thetypical uncertainty that characterizes TF estimates. However thisdisadvantage is partly compensated by the fact that the sampleincompleteness bias has a less severe effect on FP cluster distanceestimates than it has on the corresponding TF distance estimates. Also,cluster membership is more readily established for early-type objectsthan for spirals. After the appropriate corrections for sampleincompleteness have been taken into account, we find the TF and FPdistance estimates to be in good agreement, both indicating that A2634has a negligibly small peculiar velocity with respect to the CosmicMicrowave Background reference frame. Because of the high accuracy withwhich the two distance estimates have been obtained, their agreementstrongly supports the universality of the TF and FP relations, andtherefore their reliability for the estimate of redshift-independentdistances.
| Morphological classification and structural parameters for early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster.
We present the results of an isophotal shape analysis of three samplesof galaxies in the Coma cluster. Quantitative morphology, together withstructural and photometric parameters, is given for each galaxy. Specialemphasis has been placed on the detailed classification of early-typegalaxies. The three samples are: i) a sample of 97 early-type galaxiesbrighter than m_B_=17.00 falling within one degree from the center ofthe Coma cluster; these galaxies were observed with CCD cameras, mostlyin good to excellent resolution conditions; ii) a magnitude completesample of 107 galaxies of all morphological types down to m_B_=17.00falling in a circular region of 50arcmin diameter, slightly offcenteredto the North-West of the cluster center; the images for this and thenext sample come from digitized photographic plates; iii) a completecomparison sample of 26 galaxies of all morphological types down tom_R_=16.05 (or m_B_=~17.5), also in a region of 50arcmin diameter, butcentered 2.6degrees West of the cluster center. The reliability of ourmorphological classifications and structural parameters of galaxies,down to the adopted magnitude limits, is assessed by comparing theresults on those galaxies for which we had images taken with differentinstrumentation and/or seeing conditions, and by comparing our resultswith similar data from other observers.
| Multicolour CCD surface photometry for E and S0 galaxies in 10 clusters
CCD surface photometry for 232 E and S0 galaxies is presented. Thegalaxies are observed in Gunn r and Johnson B, or Gunn r and g. For 48of the galaxies surface photometry in Johnson U is also presented.Aperture magnitudes in Gunn nu are derived for half of the galaxies.Galaxies in the following clusters have been observed: Abell 194, Abell539, Abell 3381, Abell 3574, Abell S639, Abell S753, HydraI (Abell1060), DC2345-28, Doradus and Grm15. The data are part of our ongoingstudy of the large-scale motions in the Universe and the physicalbackground for the fundamental plane. We use a full model fittingtechnique for analysing the CCD images. This gives radial profiles oflocal surface brightness, colour, ellipticity and position angle. Theresiduals relative to the elliptical isophotes are describedquantitatively by Fourier expansions. Effective radius, mean surfacebrightness and total magnitude are derived by fitting a de Vaucouleursr^¼ growth curve. We have derived a characteristic radius r_nsimilar to the diameter D_n introduced by Dressler et al. The derivationof the effective parameters and of r_n takes the seeing into account. Weconfirm the results by Saglia et al. that the effects of the seeing canbe substantial. Seeing-corrected values of the effective parameters andr_n are also presented for 147 E and S0 galaxies in the Coma cluster.Colours, colour gradients and geometrical parameters are derived. Thephotometry is internally consistent within 0.016 mag. Comparison withthe photoelectric aperture photometry from Burstein et al. shows a meanoffset of 0.010 mag with an rms scatter of 0.034 mag. The globalphotometric parameters are compared with data from Faber et al., Luceyet al. and Lucey & Carter. These comparisons imply that the typicalrms errors are as follows - log r_n:+/-0.015 log r_e:+/-0.045m_T:+/-0.09 mag; _e:+/-0.16 mag. The rms error on thecombination log r_e-0.35_e which enters the fundamental planeis +/-0.020. Also, comparisons with data from Saglia et al. arepresented. The accuracy of the absolute photometry, as well as thederived parameters, makes the data suitable for our investigations ofthe fundamental plane and of the large-scale motions in the Universe.
| Automated surface photometry for the Coma Cluster galaxies: The catalog
A homogeneous photometry catalog is presented for 450 galaxies withB25.5 less than or equal to 16 mag located in the 9.8 deg x9.8 deg region centered on the Coma Cluster. The catalog is based onphotographic photometry using an automated surface photometry softwarefor data reduction applied to B-band Schmidt plates. The catalogprovides accurate positions, isophotal and total magnitudes, major andminor axes, and a few other photometric parameters including rudimentarymorphology (early of late type).
| ROSAT observations of Coma Cluster galaxies
The approximately 86 ks ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter(PSPC) image of the Coma Cluster is deeper than any previous X-rayobservation of a galaxy cluster. We search for X-ray emission from 35individual galaxies in a magnitude-limited sample, all of which liewithin 20 arcmins of the optical axis in at least one of the four Comapointings. We detect seven galaxies in the 0.4-2.4 keV band at asignificance level exceeding 3 sigma, and a further four at above 2sigma. Although we can set only upper limits on the individual flux fromeach of the other galaxies, we are able to measure their mean flux bystacking the observations. The X-ray luminosities of the sevendetections range from 6.2 x 1040 to 1.5 x 1042ergs/s (0.4-2.4 keV for H0 = 50 km/s/Mpc). For galaxies witha blue absolute magnitude of about -21 we find a mean X-ray luminosityof 1.3 x 1040 ergs/s. The ratio of X-ray to opticalluminosity is substantially smaller for such subjects than for thebrightest galaxies in the cluster. The X-ray luminosities of the fourbrightest galaxies are ill-defined, however, because of ambiguity indistinguishing galaxy emission from cluster emission. Each objectappears to be related to significant structure in the diffuseintracluster medium. We also investigate emission in the softer 0.2-0.4keV band where detections are less significant because of the higherbackground, and we discuss the properties of a number of interestingindividual sources. The X-ray luminosities of the Coma galaxies aresimilar to those of galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and in other regionswith relatively low galaxy density. We conclude that large-scaleenvironmental effects do not significantly enhance or suppress theaverage X-ray emission from galaxies, but that individual objects varyin luminosity substantially in a way which may depend on the detailedhistory of their environment.
| A catalogue of velocities in the central regions of the Coma cluster.
We present a catalogue of velocities for 305 objects in a field of48x25arcmin^2^, centered between the galaxies NGC 4889 and NGC 4874, aswell as in a field of 10x10arcmin^2^ centered on NGC 4839, in the Comacluster. Of these velocities, 225 are new measurements, 78 of which forobjects with at least one velocity already available in the literaturebefore our survey. Our sample is 95% complete in redshift up to amagnitude b_26.5_=18.0.
| The nature of E and S0 galaxies: A study of magnitude-limited sample of galaxies in the Coma Cluster
Differences and similarities of E and S0 galaxies have been investigatedon basis of new CCD surface photometry in Gunn r for 171 galaxies withinthe central square degree of the Coma Cluster; 146 of the galaxies areclassified as E or S0. The galaxies form a magnitude-limited sample withGunn r less than or equal to 15.3 mag. Together with the sample of Virgogalaxies compiled by Caon et al. (1993), this sample is one of the firstvolume-limited samples. The isophotal shapes of the galaxies have beenstudied in terms of ellipticity, c4 and c6. Thesample is deficit of apparently round S0 galaxies. The distribution ofthe apparent ellipticities for the S0 galaxies cannot be fittedsatisfactorily with any simple distribution of the intrinsicellipticities. This suggests that face-on S0 galaxies have beenclassified as ellipticals. It is shown that theellipticity-c4 diagram can be used for determination ofrelative disk luminosities, LD/Ltot. Thedistribution of LD/Ltot for galaxies fainter thanMB(sub T) = -22 mag is very broad (H0 = 50 km/(sMpc) is used). The distribution is best fitted by a model where 10% ofthe galaxies are diskless and 90% of the galaxies are drawn from adistribution which is uniform from zero to one. This model also predictsdistributions of apparent ellipticities, c4, and inclinationswhich are in agreement with the data. E galaxies brighter thanMB(sub T) = -22 mag do not show any evidence of disks and mayform another class. The sample contains no S0 galaxies brighter thanMB(sub T) = -22 mag. Our analysis implies that the E and S0galaxies fainter than MB(sub T) = -22 mag form one class ofgalaxies with a continuous change in LD/Ltot.Face-on members of this class are mostly classified as E galaxies whilemore edge-on members are classified as S0 galaxies. Further, it is foundthat only 12% of all the galaxies in the sample are truly disklesssystems. The diskless systems contribute approximately 30% to the totalluminosity of the sample, most of this originates from the six brightestgalaxies.
| Star formation in early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster
The Hydra bench spectrograph on the 4 m telescope at Kitt Peak is usedto obtain multifiber spectra of 125 early-type galaxies in the Comacluster of galaxies. About one-third of all galaxies in a field locatedabout 40 arcmin SW of the center of the cluster exhibits enhanced Balmerabsorption lines or emission lines, indicative of recent star formationor nuclear activity. In contrast, very few such galaxies are found inthe central field of the cluster. It is argued that the anomalousspectral features cannot arise from morphological misidentifications. Itis suggested that an environmental process similar to that frequentlyfound in clusters at moderate redshift is occurring at the present epochin the outskirts of the Coma cluster.
| Associations between quasi-stellar objects and galaxies
A table is presented here listing all close pairs of QSOs and galaxiesthat were found in a computer-aided search of catalogs of QSOs andbright galaxies and an extensive search of the literature. There is alarge excess of pairs with separations of 2 arcmin lor less, or about 60kpc, over the numbers expected if the configurations were accidental.The angular separation for 392 pairs adds to the evidence for physicalassociation, and it is shown that selection effects are not important. Ageneral rule is stated that QSOs tend to lie in the vicinity of normalgalaxies much more often than is expected by chance whether or not thegalaxies and the QSOs have the same redshifts. It is emphasized thatthis rule cannot be explained in terms of gravitational microlensing,and it is concluded that some part of the redshift of all classes ofactive nuclei is not associated with the expansion of the universe.
| The manifold of early-type galaxies from IR photometry - The Coma cluster
Accurate IR JHK photometry was obtained for galaxies of variousmorphotogical types (38 elliptical, 48 lenticular, 18 spiral, and oneirregular), which are members of the Coma cluster, to determine if thereare systematic trends in the population and metallicity effectscorrelated with galaxy morphology and/or luminosity. Results show nodefinite trends in (J-H), (H-K), and (J-K) vs K(-0.3) diagrams. Theaperture-corrected (V-K)sub -0.3 vs K(-0.3) diagram revealed a weakrelationship between the color and the magnitude for the early-typegalaxies in the Coma cluster. The positive correlations between themetallicity index Mg2 and the luminosities L(B) and L(K) are confirmed;the metallicity effect was found to be steeper in the blue region thanin the IR.
| Magnesium gradients in elliptical galaxies. III - Results and interpretation
Magnesium-index data out to faint levels in the E4 Coma Cluster galaxyNGC 4839 are reported, and the reduction procedure devised to deal withits elongated shape is discussed. The results are compared with earlierones reported for the E1 cD galaxy located near the center of the ComaCluster and with those reported for the much-studied E0 galaxy NGC 4841about 18 arcmin north of the cluster center. In dimensionless form, themagnesium-index gradient in NGC 4839 is found to be -0.055 + or - 0.005in the surface brightness range 18.4-20.0 mag/sq arcsec and -0.020 + or- 0.003 in the range 20.2-23.8 mag/sq arcsec. These two values bracketthe gradients found in NGC 4874 and NGC 4881. Unless the relationship ofthe Mg2 index to the metallicity (Fe/H) differs greatly from that givenby Terlevich et al. (1981), the metallicity near the center of NGC 4839is greater than the solar value, and drops to only a little less thanthe solar value in the halo.
| Groups of galaxies in the Center for Astrophysics redshift survey
By applying the Huchra and Geller (1982) objective group identificationalgorithm to the Center for Astrophysics' redshift survey, a catalog of128 groups with three or more members is extracted, and 92 of these areused as a statistical sample. A comparison of the distribution of groupcenters with the distribution of all galaxies in the survey indicatesqualitatively that groups trace the large-scale structure of the region.The physical properties of groups may be related to the details oflarge-scale structure, and it is concluded that differences among groupcatalogs may be due to the properties of large-scale structures andtheir location relative to the survey limits.
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